NO INTERVIEWS --- only rejections :(

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Well...you applied to 22 schools and according to your predents, you have only 3 rejetions. I know the stress of waiting is absolutely the worst...but you have 19 schools remaining to hear from. Take it easy. I think its safe to say that not hearing within the next few weeks will take you out of the running for a pre-december interview, but dont lose hope as there are lots of post-dec interviews.
 
This year's competition is extremely high
There are way more applicants
A lot of people have 3.5~3.6 GPA
It might be really difficult to get a pre december interview
However, again, just hold tight, you might get few interviews after December
Good Luck
 
Not hearing back might have to do with when you retook your DAT and/or late submissions of LORs, if that is applicable. When did you do your retake?
 
We are in the same boat. But your DAT scores are better than mine! Congrats! My GPA is 3.3. I applied to 30 schools (might withdraw from 2-3 schools). Deferred from Iowa, rejected from NJ and Indiana. If I don't get in this year, I will want to do very well on the DAT for the second time for the next cycle. As others mentioned, it is very competitive to get into dental schools, especially with slightly lower GPA. I check my emails constantly and hoping for just one freaking interview. lol. Anyways, call the schools if you are concerning about any missing documents that may delay the process, which in the same time you may be able to find out if they are reviewing your application. Good luck! :luck:
 
You'll get in somewhere with those stats dont worry
 
hsia2 said:
This year's competition is extremely high
There are way more applicants
A lot of people have 3.5~3.6 GPA
It might be really difficult to get a pre december interview
However, again, just hold tight, you might get few interviews after December
Good Luck
Click to expand...
And the source of this information is?
 
navneetdh said:
I have literally gone underground/hibernating/hiding after taking my DAT and waiting for decesions from schools.

I have kept my fingers crossed and had every negative thought pushed back in my head and buried deep there.

BUT IT IS 10-15-2009 and come on!!! please i just dont know wht is wrong. 😕

GPA overall 3.3
only science is 2.97
only non science is 3.6
*** ok i know my GPA is on the Sh-itt-y side. But still!!
I graduated from UCLA with Biology major. I was a transfer student there but did all of my science work at ucla.

DAT attempt 1 was bad, TS 17 AA 17 PAT 20. But I still applied to schools and af-course got rejected.

Then I took DAT again AA 21 / TS 21/ PAT 20/ Math 20/ RC 22/ Bio 24/ OC 21/ GC 19
i continued to volunteer at dental practice.

Volunteer experience
dental office 1 : ~400 hours over 2+ years
UCLA school of dentistry 80 hours
Dental office 2 : ~ 200 hours.

I applied to 22 schools. Will I get rejected again and waste another year.
If i dont make it this time again I doubt my family would be too happy about me applying again or going for masters and then applying to dental school again. They already think I am getting old and starting dental school any later would be a UH-O.

Any ways I got rejected from INdiana, CAse and New jersey so far. 🙁🙁🙁

How are my chances looking ????
Click to expand...
I think you still have a very good chance of getting in. It's only Oct and you have applied to 22 schools.
What I'm wondering is that have you changed your personal statement from last year. According to some of the admission coordinators I've spoken to, some schools don't like it when you copy/paste the same exact personal statement from the previous year and if you've done that, it may explain why you haven't gotten any interviews yet (just a guess!).
But if I remember correctly you're a Cali resident and you've applied to many Cali schools. Remember that Cali schools take their time when it comes to their admission process, so you probably won't hear from them till the end of Oct.
Out of State schools usually give preference to their own state residents, and they usually review and interview their applications. So, you must wait for some of them till they get to your application.
Nevertheless, it's too early to start worrying, specially with your stats.

Good luck👍
 
I extracted that info from Vicviper under "news of Pittsburgh"
"There were many more applications to Pitt than in previous years, and in the first few weeks have already gone through at least 1300 applications. Because of this, the competition is going up, and Rose said she was commonly seeing averages of 3.6 GPA and close to 21AA, with a good number of 30's here and there."

I would assume that is the same for majority of dental shcools
 
hsia2 said:
I extracted that info from Vicviper under "news of Pittsburgh"
"There were many more applications to Pitt than in previous years, and in the first few weeks have already gone through at least 1300 applications. Because of this, the competition is going up, and Rose said she was commonly seeing averages of 3.6 GPA and close to 21AA, with a good number of 30's here and there."

I would assume that is the same for majority of dental shcools
Click to expand...
I wouldn't necessarily say that's an accurate assumption. You can't take the stats from one school and apply them to all the dental schools across the nation. Different "types" of applicants apply to different dental schools in different regions, so I'd assume every school's stat would be very specific to that school.
 
It always feels like this year is the hardest year ever. You really cannot make any assumptions until you see accurate statistics. Out of 22 schools you are bound to get a lot of rejections. Anyone would (well most). So, you just have to hang in there and realize that it only takes ONE acceptance and 21 rejections.
 
adizzle87 said:
Not hearing back might have to do with when you retook your DAT and/or late submissions of LORs, if that is applicable. When did you do your retake?
Click to expand...

I took my DAT in august. They had my scores by sept 16th and 20th. No late LORs for me.
 
nze82 said:
I think you still have a very good chance of getting in. It's only Oct and you have applied to 22 schools.
What I'm wondering is that have you changed your personal statement from last year. According to some of the admission coordinators I've spoken to, some schools don't like it when you copy/paste the same exact personal statement from the previous year and if you've done that, it may explain why you haven't gotten any interviews yet (just a guess!).
But if I remember correctly you're a Cali resident and you've applied to many Cali schools. Remember that Cali schools take their time when it comes to their admission process, so you probably won't hear from them till the end of Oct.
Out of State schools usually give preference to their own state residents, and they usually review and interview their applications. So, you must wait for some of them till they get to your application.
Nevertheless, it's too early to start worrying, specially with your stats.

Good luck👍
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the kind words.

I did change my personal statement up totally. However I kept a few facts i mentioned in the last one for the new essay. I cant change facts like who I am, that i immigrated etc.
I hope that was ok.
 
navneetdh said:
I took my DAT in august. They had my scores by sept 16th and 20th. No late LORs for me.
Click to expand...

NYU is still handing out interviews and getting to the students who applied later. Marquette, BU, Tufts and maybe others are done with pre-December invites. Checked your pre-dents page and I have to ask your reason for applying to Tennessee and Ohio State. Tennessee is very unique to other schools and rarely even interviews kids from the West. They stick to bordering states. They also consider science GPA more than anything else. So an 18 on the DAT with a 3.6 sGPA is much better to them than a 23 AA and 3.0 sGPA. So don't expect much from them. Ohio state is also public so applying late as an out of stater is going to hurt you. As for most of the other private schools it is likely you will get a post- dec. invite with your DAT score. And if you do hear from TN or Ohio St. please tell me and I will shut up
 
Oh I forgot to take off tennessee from my pre dents. I was going to apply but i didn't end up.

And i have not heard anything from Ohio. You maybe right.

FutureDent020 said:
NYU is still handing out interviews and getting to the students who applied later. Marquette, BU, Tufts and maybe others are done with pre-December invites. Checked your pre-dents page and I have to ask your reason for applying to Tennessee and Ohio State. Tennessee is very unique to other schools and rarely even interviews kids from the West. They stick to bordering states. They also consider science GPA more than anything else. So an 18 on the DAT with a 3.6 sGPA is much better to them than a 23 AA and 3.0 sGPA. So don't expect much from them. Ohio state is also public so applying late as an out of stater is going to hurt you. As for most of the other private schools it is likely you will get a post- dec. invite with your DAT score. And if you do hear from TN or Ohio St. please tell me and I will shut up
Click to expand...
 
Hi all,

Ok so now I have 8 rejections i think. And no interviews. My application was mailed early in June but schools didn't have my DAT until mid to late Sept.

I wouldn't be so worried if I just hadn't got interviews and also had no rejections. But so many rejections are really stressing me.
I don't have research experience except for this 1 little temporary 1 month position I held as a research associate at an entomology lab. SO that probably got me 140 hours. But that is it. 🙁

Detroit Mercy asked me to send 2 new LORs from Science professors but I have not taken any more classes since I graduated so I cannot send them any new LORs. I tried to reach my old professors but I never heard back from them. And I think that is reasonable -- what would they think -- this girl is asking for LORs almost a year and a half after graduating. They probably already forgot about me.

UOP changed my status to --NO DECISION/ RE-REVIEW IN JAN

I thought my GPA and DAT was ok for NYU but I never heard from them either except app complete email which I got beginning of October.

For my in state schools -- California -- they are extremely competitive and with my GPA I feel I am not in a very comfortable position with them.

🙁

My parents ask me everyday -- so what have you heard, and I only have rejection news to give them. I am very bummed out. I probably wouldn't get to apply again and if anything I will have to give up on this pursuit of dentistry after this year and may have to settle doing a Masters in something. I don't want to give up but its hard to explain the kind of situation I am in because my family is more or less conservative Indian family and will not sit around to see a daughter "WASTE YEARS" for school. **SIGH**
 
If dentistry is your dream, don't give up! What would you do after if you get a master? (This was why I left my PhD program after two years in there, not being happy about how life would take me in the future). Not unless you know what to do with a master degree and know that's what you want it. Then pursue it.

Besides, you applied to 22 schools, the number of rejections would tend to be higher. Nevertheless, I wish you good luck and hope you get interviews from other schools :luck:
 
First, I am really sorry about your misfortunes so far. I hope things turn around quickly. My concern here is that something is standing out on your application. I don't want to freak you out, but if your DAT scores were sent to the schools around mid-september, receiving rejections in October and early November is almost an immediate response. It's like they saw something on your application that was below the cut-off. Your DAT scores are very good, regardless of what someone may tell you or the scores you see on this forum. However, was this your 2nd or 3rd attempt and what were your previous scores? You can PM if you don't want to reveal private information.

Let's also look into your sGPA. You went to UCLA, which is a great university. So it's not like your were taking easy courses. I am assuming you rounded up as well. So was it in the 2.9's or actually right at a 3.0. If it was in the 2.9's that may be your problem or the cut-off you haven't exceeded. From what your pre-dents page says, so many immediate rejections seems odd.

Did you pursue medicine at all, or was it dentistry the whole way. I don't mean just working in a hospital or volunteering, but rather taking the MCAT or extensive time in hospitals.

You also said you're Indian. I know in medical schools (at least in the south) each school has a minority quota to fill and it's up to them whether they choose to exceed the quota or not. So what ends up happening is Asians compete with Asians, Indians compete with Indians, and African-Americans with other African Americans for the limited spots. If this is the case in dentistry (which for BU, NYU, and others it's not) maybe your stats in comparison to your competition are less-competitive than they appear. Just a theory.
 
Boosting your Science GPA to a 3.0 will at least let many schools take more interest into your application... what you've provided seems very competitive with the exception of the sGPA.

I think you should consider applying to post-bac programs as a back up at this point (if dentistry is truly your passion); perhaps even for the Spring if possible. This will enable you to indicate this on your academic update that is coming up soon 👍 Yes, it would be cutting it close and you may have to begin in summer, but if all else fails, you can enroll in classes during the spring (as a non-degree seeking student) and then transfer those credits (while boosting that sGPA) to an actual program that you can continue pursuing in the summer/fall if you need to reapply to DS.

as for your parents, maybe if you convey to them that beginning to focus on another career choice will take even more time, they will be more tolerant and supportive of you... many applicants are reapplicants, as well as multiple reapplicants, so your situation is not unique. just be persistent and patient and hopefully it will work out! best of luck :luck:
 
Keep your head up, I don't think having an sGPA just below 3.0 will necessarily kill you. My overall and science GPAs are both 2.97 and I have gotten interviews at both Cali schools that I applied to, so you have a chance. USC does a ton of post-Dec interviews and only fills about 25% of their class Dec. 1st, plus a lot of people turn them down, so you may have a good chance there. A lot of the schools that have rejected you already have been moving things along quickly this cycle and have already rejected a ton of very well qualified applicants. You still have 14 schools left, which is more than most people even apply to in the first place. All the schools are busy right now, give them some time to review your new DAT scores and think positive.
 
Hi all,

thanks for your replies and advice.

FutureDent020 : yes my sgpa is like 2.976 or something. But 2.97 for sure. So I know my gpa puts me in a bad place. All my grades are As and Bs and I have only 1 C and 1 C- on my transcript. Besides that I cannot think of anything. This was my 2nd attempt at the DAT and applying to schools.

I was never pre-med. Never took the MCAT or volunteered at a hospital.

I guess I will just wait and see what happens. 😕
 
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Gbrando2 said:
Keep your head up, I don't think having an sGPA just below 3.0 will necessarily kill you. My overall and science GPAs are both 2.97 and I have gotten interviews at both Cali schools that I applied to, so you have a chance. USC does a ton of post-Dec interviews and only fills about 25% of their class Dec. 1st, plus a lot of people turn them down, so you may have a good chance there. A lot of the schools that have rejected you already have been moving things along quickly this cycle and have already rejected a ton of very well qualified applicants. You still have 14 schools left, which is more than most people even apply to in the first place. All the schools are busy right now, give them some time to review your new DAT scores and think positive.
Click to expand...

when did you send out your application and when was it complete at the schools you got interview from??
 
Gbrando2 said:
Keep your head up, I don't think having an sGPA just below 3.0 will necessarily kill you. My overall and science GPAs are both 2.97 and I have gotten interviews at both Cali schools that I applied to, so you have a chance. USC does a ton of post-Dec interviews and only fills about 25% of their class Dec. 1st, plus a lot of people turn them down, so you may have a good chance there. A lot of the schools that have rejected you already have been moving things along quickly this cycle and have already rejected a ton of very well qualified applicants. You still have 14 schools left, which is more than most people even apply to in the first place. All the schools are busy right now, give them some time to review your new DAT scores and think positive.
Click to expand...

Yea, I agree. I don't think just b/c you have a barely below a 3.0 sGPA, your are being rejected. I was just throwing ideas out there. Gbrando2 is a perfect example how dental schools take into consideration the entire application and not just numbers. Have you called any of the schools and asked about your rejections? Maybe they can give you some insight..
 
Being URM you can still get interviews with 2.97. But being an Asian on the other hand, (Indians are considered under Asians) it is much harder to get interviews with 2.97. this is straight from my interviewer who told me during the interview that 'i would have been slam-dunk if i was URM but being Asian, i need to have at least 0.5 higher GPA in general'

but to OP, even though it must be hard that you have only received rejections so far, you'll at least get few interviews (at least 1 for sure) sometime soon. probably january/feb interviews. Your DAT is very very good and you should be proud.
But remember, even with good interviews they will still have to consider your GPA before making final yes/no. you might want to consider Masters or post-bach just in case if things dont go your way.. Lot of people do this route and schools will definitely interview you wiht your DAT as long as you can convince them that you can handle science courses.
lot of people apply more than 2-3 times and with your age, you should probably start taking loans for future courses or work and manage your time so you can follow your dream of becoming a dentist

best of luck in the future
 
I don't think you should throw in the white towel this fast (even if you don't get in this year).... I mean if you give up already, then this just means you didn't really want it that bad.

IF and I mean IF... you don't get in this cycle, spend an entire year doing post-bacc upper level sciences and rock the crap out of them. Try to 4.0 every course, it will really boost your science GPA (Cause if you don't get in, then its probebly becuase of that low sGPA)..... So in my opinion all you really have to do is take 1 hardcore year of epic upper level sciences, rock all of them, and show those adcoms that you CAN handle science courses.

Just don't give up, everything you have is soooo close to the end, you shouldn't give up no matter how discouraging the situation is today. Trust me if you give up today, 10 or 20 years from today you'll be kicking ur self

For now, worry about damage control, call up EVERY SINGLE school that rejected you and demand to know why. Tell them you really wanna be a dentist and your willing to improve whatever flaw they see in you
 
You got rejections from several schools that consider numbers very important like Case has cut off 3.4 GPA so rest of your application was not probably even looked at...
your s GPA is low enough not to be chosen as "first rate applicant" so you should not panic not hearing much pre Dec. If your PC , EC and LOE are good you will have good chance at some other schools that interview way into spring like USC, BU, Tufts and NYU.
 
Navneetdh,

I am sorry about this whole mess.. I really thought you were set and havent heard from you since your major improvement on DAT and a busy summer.. I am sure it will work out for you. be positive and dont give up yet.. its waay tooo early..
best of luck :xf:
:luck:
 
You'll be fine. There were students in this forum that were getting acceptances last spring and early summer. You went to a reputable school and have awesome DAT scores. Just sit back and relax for awhile.
 
Gbrando2 said:
Keep your head up, I don't think having an sGPA just below 3.0 will necessarily kill you. My overall and science GPAs are both 2.97 and I have gotten interviews at both Cali schools that I applied to, so you have a chance. USC does a ton of post-Dec interviews and only fills about 25% of their class Dec. 1st, plus a lot of people turn them down, so you may have a good chance there. A lot of the schools that have rejected you already have been moving things along quickly this cycle and have already rejected a ton of very well qualified applicants. You still have 14 schools left, which is more than most people even apply to in the first place. All the schools are busy right now, give them some time to review your new DAT scores and think positive.
Click to expand...

Hi Gbrando,

Congrats on your interviews, I was just curious, did you do a post bac/ or masters?...
 
navneetdh said:
when did you send out your application and when was it complete at the schools you got interview from??
Click to expand...

I submitted it early June and it was mailed out 7/17. Most schools sent me app complete emails in early August.

bellasees said:
Hi Gbrando,

Congrats on your interviews, I was just curious, did you do a post bac/ or masters?...
Click to expand...

Nope, just got my Bachelors in April. I did have a major upward trend though and had about a 3.5 my last 2 years. At UoP they said they ignore GPA and looked at my DAT percentiles and that's why I got an interview. At UNLV, both interviewers told me that they loved my personal statement and neither one of them had looked at my DAT scores or GPAs at all.
 
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Thanks guys. All the things you say -- i sorta know but I definitely needed to hear from someone else.

I will see till mid december before i start looking at Masters options.

I did contact some schools regarding my rejections. Indiana rejected me before they got my 2nd DAT score. Which was terrible because i thought they would atleast wait. Nova gave me another email to contact which I did mid last week and have not heard anything yet. Arizona put me in their spring list where they can pull up rejected files before so as to give specific responses as to why the students were rejected. But I have to wait for that till spring. Besides that I sent out a few more emails but have not heard anything.

But thank you all so much for your kind words and good wishes.
 
Of the schools that are left on my list I really wish to get a positive feedback from:

1. UOP
2. NYU
3. Detroit
4. Western
5.USC
6.Meharry
7. Boston Univ.
8. Temple

Can you please be frank and tell me which of these I am being completely unrealistic about and why. I ask this so that when i hear something from them I sorta expect it and not shocked -- badly.

Afcourse, UCSF and UCLA would be a dream come true but I am being realistic and "hoping for the best" but i know those schools might me out of my league. I still applied-- just out of hope.
 
UoP - stats OK, focus will be on PS and ECs but they don't give out many interviews in general
NYU - shot at Post-Dec, not too big, not too small
Detroit - idk, avg GPA is 3.5 though their DAT is 19
Western - stats OK, focus on PS & ECs
USC - you have a shot I think, post-Dec
Meharry - unless you are an URM, you most likely won't be granted an interview
BU - shot at Post-Dec, not too big, not too small
Temple - idk

Don't give up, there are still plenty of interviews to be handed out post-Dec! You went to a very competitive school and your DATs are solid, just hang in there.
 
I totally understand what you are going through, my parents ask me pretty much the same thing every other day. and i totally feel like i am letting them down sometime. but we did the best we could and i am sure our parents will understand.

getting rejections is hard, but you still have other schools. so dont give up. think positive and we'll get there.

good luck to everyone
 
navneetdh said:
Of the schools that are left on my list I really wish to get a positive feedback from:

1. UOP: idk, this school is really weird in giving people interviews, they love no-name undergrad school *cough, cough* Cal State.
2. NYU: Definitely you have an interview here post-December
3. Detroit: idk
4. Western: Definitely you have an interview here post-December
5.USC: Definitely you have an interview here post-December and you don't worry, you have pretty much the same chance as pre-december
6.Meharry:idn
7. Boston Univ: idk
8. Temple:idn

Can you please be frank and tell me which of these I am being completely unrealistic about and why. I ask this so that when i hear something from them I sorta expect it and not shocked -- badly.

Afcourse, UCSF and UCLA would be a dream come true but I am being realistic and "hoping for the best" but i know those schools might me out of my league. I still applied-- just out of hope.
Click to expand...

I would say you have UCSF chance since a lot of people i saw on predents have the same stat as you and got interview there. Do you do research? I interviewed there and they really like people with research.
Gluch
 
ucla2134 said:
I would say you have UCSF chance since a lot of people i saw on predents have the same stat as you and got interview there. Do you do research? I interviewed there and they really like people with research.
Gluch
Click to expand...

Hey UCLA2134, did UCSF say why they liked research?
 
FutureDent020 said:
Hey UCLA2134, did UCSF say why they liked research?
Click to expand...

Well, just to reminder that you do not have to do research in order to get accepted,but the dean there stress the importance of research on my interview day, 30% of his presentation, he talked about research. Further, my student interviewer asked me details about my research. I would say research helps you but no doing it will not harm you.
 
hang in there, all my interviews came in in the 3rd round. Prior to them I received 19 rejection letters!!! Hold on tight and good things will happen!!
 
Thanks guys.

I really really dream about getting into UCSF. My second choice is UOP. But UCSF will be like --- OMG !! When I came to america my dream was to go to ucla. And when i got in UCLA I was so happy that i was literally crawling up walls. UCSF would be that dream 10x more.

I do not have any research which is pretty crappy. Well I held 1 job a few months ago and it was temporary for 1 month. And it was a research position. I held a pretty important position for a new graduate, designing the studies we should do and conducting them but it was such a short term thing that it may go unnoticed.

But thank you all for the advice you have given me.
 
Just stay positive like you are trying to do. I'm piggybacking on what every one is telling you that you have competitive stats and went to a great school. Just relax and when the interviews come, be confident that you are competitive on paper. Keep your head high. 🙂
 
navneetdh said:
Thanks guys.

I really really dream about getting into UCSF. My second choice is UOP. But UCSF will be like --- OMG !! When I came to america my dream was to go to ucla. And when i got in UCLA I was so happy that i was literally crawling up walls. UCSF would be that dream 10x more.

I do not have any research which is pretty crappy. Well I held 1 job a few months ago and it was temporary for 1 month. And it was a research position. I held a pretty important position for a new graduate, designing the studies we should do and conducting them but it was such a short term thing that it may go unnoticed.

But thank you all for the advice you have given me.
Click to expand...

Oh, are you an international student?
 
u got UNLV interview and much more to come
 
Congrats! Do you know, by any chance, if permanent residents are treated the same as citizens in terms of getting interviews or acceptances?
 
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