No acceptances and the frustation that follows

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Maybe.a.dentist

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Does anyone else who has been rejected from all their schools or at least heard nothing as of yet just feel a great deal of frustration? I thought I was a decent applicant and I felt the interview went well but in spite of that I have heard no news. Now I have to spend the next five or so months fixing all the possible deficiencies in my application to possibly be admitted in 2017. I worked like a dog through undergrad to have a near perfect GPA now I live with my parents, working retail with people who didn't go to college at all. I'm engaged and had planned on getting married in May, but I was counting on financial aid money to support us, now I'm going to delay my wedding at least a year while staying in my parents trailer way out in the sticks. I just feel like this was for nothing and I'm wasting the next year of my life. Can anyone relate or share advise on how to make this a meaningful gap year?
 
Well if you've been interviewed and you haven't heard from them yet, the schools could be still reviewing applications and at least it isn't a rejection... Lots of of people are in the same boat
 
mavis989 said:
Well if you've been interviewed and you haven't heard from them yet, the schools could be still reviewing applications and at least it isn't a rejection... Lots of of people are in the same boat
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That's true, but my interview was early September, I would assume if good news was coming it would be here by now.
 
I'm a D1 student now but took my DAT late for the previous year. Honestly that gap year was the best time of my life. Met an awesome women, traveled to Europe for 2 weeks with her and went to Bermuda for another week. Did some handyman courses, did some cool and fun dates with the gal, like painting and pottery courses. Caught up with some games and just relaxed.
 
Faux said:
I'm a D1 student now but took my DAT late for the previous year. Honestly that gap year was the best time of my life. Met an awesome women, traveled to Europe for 2 weeks with her and went to Bermuda for another week. Did some handyman courses, did some cool and fun dates with the gal, like painting and pottery courses. Caught up with some games and just relaxed.
Click to expand...
This is the sort of thing I'm looking for, probably won't travel for financial reasons, and I'm a little too high strung to sit back and enjoy many little things but I definitely would like to better myself over the next year.
 
I cannot relate from my own personal experiences, but I can tell you if you want to be a dentist keep trying. In college, my mentor ' s roommate's dream was to be a surgeon. He tried for 19 years to get into med school until he finally made it that 19th time. He eventually achieved his dream due to persistence. I hope it doesn't take that long for you, but don't give up if your heart is in dentistry. It is worth it in the end.
 
There is a good chance you will hear back jan-mach time

I can kind of relate, I hadnt heard back dec 1st and all of my friends (with lower stats) had gotten multiple offers. With luck by my side I got one acceptance the next day. I can imagine what you are going through..I do know that the system definitely feels unfair (and is unfair) when people with great stats don't get accepted. Keep your head up
 
NAVY DDS 2010 said:
I cannot relate from my own personal experiences, but I can tell you if you want to be a dentist keep trying. In college, my mentor ' s roommate's dream was to be a surgeon. He tried for 19 years to get into med school until he finally made it that 19th time. He eventually achieved his dream due to persistence. I hope it doesn't take that long for you, but don't give up if your heart is in dentistry. It is worth it in the end.
Click to expand...

This can't be true.. 19 times? Really?
 
Maybe.a.dentist said:
Does anyone else who has been rejected from all their schools or at least heard nothing as of yet just feel a great deal of frustration? I thought I was a decent applicant and I felt the interview went well but in spite of that I have heard no news. Now I have to spend the next five or so months fixing all the possible deficiencies in my application to possibly be admitted in 2017. I worked like a dog through undergrad to have a near perfect GPA now I live with my parents, working retail with people who didn't go to college at all. I'm engaged and had planned on getting married in May, but I was counting on financial aid money to support us, now I'm going to delay my wedding at least a year while staying in my parents trailer way out in the sticks. I just feel like this was for nothing and I'm wasting the next year of my life. Can anyone relate or share advise on how to make this a meaningful gap year?
Click to expand...

What schools did you apply to, what exactly were your stats. Which school did you have your interview at? What were your EC's? It's not just about your GPA. Keep in mind, that just about everyone else that applied worked like a dog through UG and had nearly perfect GPA's and outstanding applications too.
 
swindoll said:
This can't be true.. 19 times? Really?
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i don't buy 19 consecutive cycles for a second lol

more likely they applied a couple times, moved on and got another job for a while, and reapplied 19 years later or something. even that is ****ing crazy but i could at least believe it
 
nonociceptors said:
i don't buy 19 consecutive cycles for a second lol

more likely they applied a couple times, moved on and got another job for a while, and reapplied 19 years later or something. even that is ****ing crazy but i could at least believe it
Click to expand...

Or he applied to 10 schools one year, 9 the next
 
nonociceptors said:
i don't buy 19 consecutive cycles for a second lol

more likely they applied a couple times, moved on and got another job for a while, and reapplied 19 years later or something. even that is ****ing crazy but i could at least believe it
Click to expand...
You can choose to believe me or not. That is your choice. I don't come to this website to fill people with a lot bullsh.. I'm already a dentist and have no reason to lie to you guys. You have to realize I am old enough to be a father to most people on this website. Past generations didn't have the I want it now attitude your generation has. People use to believe on holding on to their dreams. My mentor, who was the director of our science department, had no reason to lie about this. He brought it up in Class one year because of how excited he was for his friend and the class we were in was filled with mostly students wanting to be healthcare professionals.

Choose to believe me or not. Your choice. But, if you don't believe this, then don't believe anything I have ever posted or will ever post again. I have no reason to lie. Just giving an example of the definition of persistence I have personal knowledge of.
 
MCAT lasts 3 years, sometimes 2. You can take it a max of 7 times. 7x3=21, so it's possible. But here's the problem. Medical schools won't accept coursework that is more than a few years old, so he would have had to take the pre-reqs 3 times. IF he took the coursework 3x, that means he was applying and waiting before he took it the second time. EVEN the second time, after all that waiting, he obviously did not do well enough to get in. Additionally, that coursework costs money and he also had to pay for the applications, pay for the interviews, and pay to take the MCAT. If by some miracle this preposterous story is true, then this isn't a story of hard work. It's the story of a very silly and probably very privileged kid and I wouldn't let Dr. 19x touch me with a stethoscope.

rant ended 🙂
 
T14dan said:
MCAT lasts 3 years, sometimes 2. You can take it a max of 7 times. 7x3=21, so it's possible. But here's the problem. Medical schools won't accept coursework that is more than a few years old, so he would have had to take the pre-reqs 3 times. IF he took the coursework 3x, that means he was applying and waiting before he took it the second time. EVEN the second time, after all that waiting, he obviously did not do well enough to get in. Additionally, that coursework costs money and he also had to pay for the applications, pay for the interviews, and pay to take the MCAT. If by some miracle this preposterous story is true, then this isn't a story of hard work. It's the story of a very silly and probably very privileged kid and I wouldn't let Dr. 19x touch me with a stethoscope.

rant ended 🙂
Click to expand...

Privileged. .. no. Remember, your choice to believe. But, it did happen.

Now, you say you'd never let Dr. 19 touch you. You obviously have no clue. You'd never know they applied 19 x. You would never know if someone graduated last from dental school. The only thing you'd know is they are called Dr.

Rant ended.
 
OP,

Dental school admission is super competitive. Last year, I remembered going on SDN and reading stories of people with average stats and having multiple acceptances. This made me think dental school admission is chill and I am a cookie cutter applicant. I just sit back and enjoy the ride but no.

I had 6 interviews. 1 acceptance, and 5 waitlists. If you have 3 waitlists, chances are good you will get in. just try to hang on to your sanity.

these 6 interviews I got were all sept/oct interviews.

I understand how you feel but as someone above mention, you compete with division 1 students now, only the most capable students shell out 4-5k for app and interviews to go to dental schools while the less capable choose not to apply.
 
NAVY DDS 2010 said:
Privileged. .. no. Remember, your choice to believe. But, it did happen.

Now, you say you'd never let Dr. 19 touch you. You obviously have no clue. You'd never know they applied 19 x. You would never know if someone graduated last from dental school. The only thing you'd know is they are called Dr.

Rant ended.
Click to expand...
Haha, good point. Lol, he's probably my doc
 
You got rejected from every school you applied to? or are there still some schools you haven't heard from? How many did you apply to and what are your stats?
 
Maybe.a.dentist said:
This is the sort of thing I'm looking for, probably won't travel for financial reasons, and I'm a little too high strung to sit back and enjoy many little things but I definitely would like to better myself over the next year.
Click to expand...

We took cruises. Very economical.
 
Maybe.a.dentist said:
Does anyone else who has been rejected from all their schools or at least heard nothing as of yet just feel a great deal of frustration? I thought I was a decent applicant and I felt the interview went well but in spite of that I have heard no news. Now I have to spend the next five or so months fixing all the possible deficiencies in my application to possibly be admitted in 2017. I worked like a dog through undergrad to have a near perfect GPA now I live with my parents, working retail with people who didn't go to college at all. I'm engaged and had planned on getting married in May, but I was counting on financial aid money to support us, now I'm going to delay my wedding at least a year while staying in my parents trailer way out in the sticks. I just feel like this was for nothing and I'm wasting the next year of my life. Can anyone relate or share advise on how to make this a meaningful gap year?
Click to expand...

Your situation may be due to many reasons. As others have mentions, do you have a good DAT, leadership, etc?

Schools may also withhold on sending you acceptance assuming you will go to a "better" school. It's possibly the case if you appear to be "over qualified" for the schools you have applied to.

Remain active in terms of your volunteering and stuff and wait till Feb. before resorting to your backup plans.
 
NAVY DDS 2010 said:
You can choose to believe me or not. That is your choice. I don't come to this website to fill people with a lot bullsh.. I'm already a dentist and have no reason to lie to you guys. You have to realize I am old enough to be a father to most people on this website. Past generations didn't have the I want it now attitude your generation has. People use to believe on holding on to their dreams. My mentor, who was the director of our science department, had no reason to lie about this. He brought it up in Class one year because of how excited he was for his friend and the class we were in was filled with mostly students wanting to be healthcare professionals.

Choose to believe me or not. Your choice. But, if you don't believe this, then don't believe anything I have ever posted or will ever post again. I have no reason to lie. Just giving an example of the definition of persistence I have personal knowledge of.
Click to expand...
Okay I believe you. It is just absolutely insane in my mind. But don't be so quick to make such broad strokes over entire generations. 19 years for medical school is a long time. And with them being consecutive cycles as you claim, that, in my mind, goes beyond holding onto your dreams territory. To me that's obsessive to a fault and impractical. If I want something bad enough I wouldn't just quit after 1 try like you seem to think I would since I'm from this generation. 19 is just a whole other level. Anyway, he made it so I wouldn't feel any less comfortable with him as my doctor than anyone else.
 
nonociceptors said:
Okay I believe you. It is just absolutely insane in my mind. But don't be so quick to make such broad strokes over entire generations. 19 years for medical school is a long time. And with them being consecutive cycles as you claim, that, in my mind, goes beyond holding onto your dreams territory. To me that's obsessive to a fault and impractical. If I want something bad enough I wouldn't just quit after 1 try like you seem to think I would since I'm from this generation. 19 is just a whole other level. Anyway, he made it so I wouldn't feel any less comfortable with him as my doctor than anyone else.
Click to expand...
I don't think you would quit after 1 try. But, this generation more than any other in the past, wants and obsesses over getting what they want ASAP. There is nothing wrong with having a plan and executing it, but people have become less accepting of the idea of failure - which is essentially what getting rejected is. Failure is not a bad thing. If you want something bad enough, there is nothing wrong with trying over and over until you succeed. Ask some of the best athletes about this. They failed a lot, but they still persist. This can be applied to everything in life. Dentistry too.
 
19 times? Thats at least 6 new MCAT attempts considering they expire in 3 yrs. Letters of rec also need to be refreshed cycle to cycle, meaning roughly 57 letters at least. 19 new personal statements which are 95000 characters writen... Assuming his primary, secondary and Iinterview costs*19, he might as well have done something else probably.
NAVY DDS 2010 said:
I cannot relate from my own personal experiences, but I can tell you if you want to be a dentist keep trying. In college, my mentor ' s roommate's dream was to be a surgeon. He tried for 19 years to get into med school until he finally made it that 19th time. He eventually achieved his dream due to persistence. I hope it doesn't take that long for you, but don't give up if your heart is in dentistry. It is worth it in the end.
Click to expand...
 
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