letter of rec dentist question

[Cloud 9]

I apologize if this has been asked before,

1) How necessary is this for schools that don't explicitly state they require a letter of rec from a dentist?

2) The reason I ask is because I'm not sure if I'd be able to get one before Sept, so if I submitted in say August and assuming shadowing is on the EC list, would schools that don't don't require one still invite for an interview? What about schools that do require? Would they assume you'd just get one or not even consider you without one on file?

3) How late is submitting in August; has anyone been successful with that timeline of an app?

Thanks

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[Kahr]

I apologize if this has been asked before,

1) How necessary is this for schools that don't explicitly state they require a letter of rec from a dentist?

First I want to say thank you for breaking up your questions, so much easier to reply than from a block paragraph of questions. If they don't state that it is required, it isn't, and you shouldn't worry about it.

2) The reason I ask is because I'm not sure if I'd be able to get one before Sept, so if I submitted in say August and assuming shadowing is on the EC list, would schools that don't don't require one still invite for an interview? What about schools that do require? Would they assume you'd just get one or not even consider you without one on file?

Yes they would still invite for an interview. The ones that do require it you might run into some trouble. I had several schools (OHSU and Western come immediately to mind) that asked specifically for the LORs they required (Please send us one more science letter, etc). Initially I only had 2 LORs in, and with those 2 in, my application was put on hold at all the schools I applied to (except UW I think... maybe), so it's difficult to say whether it was just the lack of 3+ LORs, or the types they wanted. I don't think it's safe to think that you're fine without the LORs they require.

3) How late is submitting in August; has anyone been successful with that timeline of an app?

My package wasn't complete until then because of the lack of LORs, as stated above, which meant I wasn't considered until around August. I think that may've hurt me a little, but not much. Your definition of success is your own, but that I was accepted, and invited to interview at more than 1 school was success to me.

Thanks

Just get everything in early. That dentist LOR you can get in any time (works just fine post submission of application), assuming you already have 3 LORs without the dentist, your chances of being put on hold are slim.