Official AADSAS Q&A Thread 2020-2021

[em1012]

Is it a good sign that I’ve received supplementals from every school I’ve applied to? Or do they send supplementals out to everyone who applied?

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[notatoothfairy]

Is it a good sign that I’ve received supplementals from every school I’ve applied to? Or do they send supplementals out to everyone who applied?

I think they send them to everyone who applied

 

[em1012]

I think they send them to everyone who applied

That’s what I was thinking too, but someone told me that they check grade/scores criteria first. I’m not sure

 

[peach24fruit]

Do you know where we can include personal websites such as an art/music portfolio on the AADSAS app? If it's under experiences, what label should we give it?

 

[hardworkingstudnt1231241]

Do I need to put courses in progress? I am currently taking two summer classes. Is it necessary to enter them as courses in progress? I heard that entering courses that are in progress can delay verification process. I am planning to submit my application this Friday. What should I do?

 

[artist2022]

For Loma Linda University, do international applicants have to take Toefl exam in order to apply or does graduating from an US institution fill satisfy the requirement? Thank you.

No idea about this, you'd have to ask the school directly.

Is it a good sign that I’ve received supplementals from every school I’ve applied to? Or do they send supplementals out to everyone who applied?

Depends on the school. Some only send it to select applicants, and others send it to all applicants. Don't take it as a good/bad sign if you did/didn't get one, it honestly means nothing right now when the cycle has barely begun.

Do you know where we can include personal websites such as an art/music portfolio on the AADSAS app? If it's under experiences, what label should we give it?

I think you asked this and someone said they PM'd you but I'd probably put it under Experiences -> Extracurriculars.

Do I need to put courses in progress? I am currently taking two summer classes. Is it necessary to enter them as courses in progress? I heard that entering courses that are in progress can delay verification process. I am planning to submit my application this Friday. What should I do?

Yes. They're not going to delay the verification process because verification only happens for classes you've completed. You can enter them and submit, and then later send in their grades when the first Academic Update period opens (Aug 14th - Sept 30th for summer grades).

 

[NJ_Doc]

My AADSAS application was verified yesterday but my undergrad institution has not uploaded my letters of evaluations yet(my pre-health advisor holds letter at my school). Will schools still get my application or only when everything is in?

 

[kobe4554]

Is it bad to leave the Covid-19 impact section on AADSAS blank?

 

[NJ_Doc]

Is it bad to leave the Covid-19 impact section on AADSAS blank?

I think every school is expecting to have some short of small response to how COVID affected you. I did not add much but just mentioned what actions my undergrad institution took (online classes, online leadership roles etc), and how it affected me personally with family and working. It may seem like common sense stuff but admissions isn't going to know what actions your school took or how it impacted your extracurriculars unless you tell them explicitly.

 

[PreDentGator2021]

I accidentally hit the “Update my Application” button on my application page and nothing happened... is that fine or should I call the ADEA to get it corrected?

I think every school is expecting to have some short of small response to how COVID affected you. I did not add much but just mentioned what actions my undergrad institution took (online classes, online leadership roles etc), and how it affected me personally with family and working. It may seem like common sense stuff but admissions isn't going to know what actions your school took or how it impacted your extracurriculars unless you tell them explicitly.

I already submitted my application and left this blank should I just update it during the first academic update period?

 

[slimdentshady]

Hi!
I submitted my application a few weeks ago, and my application is currently under review for most of the schools that i applied to. I've been doing volunteering for a few weeks now, and I recently started volunteering at another place. I know I can add new things to the experience section and i want to update/add both of my volunteering experiences, but by doing that will it delay my reviewing process/will schools get the updated version?

 

[JustFlossy]

Hey!

It shouldn’t slow down the review process. And yes, schools will get the updates after you add them. A lot of students add new experiences all throughout the cycle, it doesn’t negatively impact when your application is reviewed/processed.

 

[TenaciousPreDent]

My AADSAS application was verified yesterday but my undergrad institution has not uploaded my letters of evaluations yet(my pre-health advisor holds letter at my school). Will schools still get my application or only when everything is in?

The schools will receive your application once its been verified. But usually they screen it for required materials (such as DAT scores, LoR, pre-reqs, etc). So if they're not in at the time you'll have to wait until they're submitted. Once they are, just email the schools updating them that materials are in and they'll screen your app again and send them to the admissions committees for review once they have all the things they need.

 

[fb0301]

Hi friends, quick question!
I was a Resident Advisor (RA) during college. AKA I lived with the students in the dorms, attended diversity training meetings, was required to go to breakfast/lunch/dinner with residents, etc etc, and quite frankly considered it a full time job.
I was inputting the amount of hours I worked as an RA. I'm almost considering putting 168 hours per week, aka 24 hours per day. Of course, I would leave my dormitories to attend class and some club meetings/events. However, I spent a majority of that year being really involved in RA life. How many hours would you recommend I put?
(When I put 168 hours x 36 weeks, it becomes 6,048 hours. Which is so much for the AADSAS app!)

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Hi friends, quick question!
I was a Resident Advisor (RA) during college. AKA I lived with the students in the dorms, attended diversity training meetings, was required to go to breakfast/lunch/dinner with residents, etc etc, and quite frankly considered it a full time job.
I was inputting the amount of hours I worked as an RA. I'm almost considering putting 168 hours per week, aka 24 hours per day. Of course, I would leave my dormitories to attend class and some club meetings/events. However, I spent a majority of that year being really involved in RA life. How many hours would you recommend I put?
(When I put 168 hours x 36 weeks, it becomes 6,048 hours. Which is so much for the AADSAS app!)

Did you sleep? Usually when you’re counting the number of hours in a full time job, you don’t count the time that you are home. It will still amount to a lot of hours.

 

[nso12]

Should I have received a confirmation email that my LOR has been uploaded? I received an email when I sent the request but nothing now that it has been uploaded.

 

[TenaciousPreDent]

Should I have received a confirmation email that my LOR has been uploaded? I received an email when I sent the request but nothing now that it has been uploaded.

You should get an email from AADSAS notifying you that it's been uploaded by your professor/supervisor. It will even notify you on the applicant dashboard. If you don't see any update in either of those places then it means more likely then not that the letter has not been uploaded. I'd follow up with the professor/supervisor if they said they already did. Hope that helps!

 

[@armydentalstudent]

I submitted my application a few weeks ago, but I didn't have my letters of recommendation. Now that they have been uploaded to AADSAS, do I need to do anything or will schools just be notified that my application is complete?

 

[predentttbear]

Hi, I'm not sure if this has already been asked but:
If I received an email that my supplemental fee had not been received after I had actually submitted the fee, should I email back to confirm that it has been received? or should I just wait?

 

[2thdoctah]

Someone mentioned that you are allowed to add to your experiences even after your submit your application. Is that true? I submitted mine and I tried to add volunteering hours I had since then, but all the buttons are greyed out.

 

[PreDentGator2021]

Someone mentioned that you are allowed to add to your experiences even after your submit your application. Is that true? I submitted mine and I tried to add volunteering hours I had since then, but all the buttons are greyed out.

I imagine you would have to wait until the Academic Update period, there’s an update button that I accidentally hit on the application but I’m not even sure if that actually changes anything.

 

[BMorePreDent]

Someone mentioned that you are allowed to add to your experiences even after your submit your application. Is that true? I submitted mine and I tried to add volunteering hours I had since then, but all the buttons are greyed out.

After you submit you can add new experiences but you cannot edit any that you have already entered.

 

[kobe4554]

I just applied today. Just wondering if I am still considered early?

 

[JustFlossy]

Hi everyone! I have a few questions regarding the "Experiences" section:

1. For dental shadowing experiences, what type of recognition would this fall into? Options are compensated, received academic credit and volunteer.

2. Also for dental shadowing, if you were there for only 2 months to shadow for 4 hours a week, what status are you considered? Full time, part time or temporary?

3. To clarify “Current Experience” does that mean it is an activity currently involved. If this shadowing experience ended in 2018, would this mean it is not a current experience?


Thank you!

1. Volunteer

2. I would do “Per-diem”, that should be an option as well. But temporary could suffice.
For future reference:
full-time = 40hr week; structured, contractual, and scheduled work week
part-time = 20hrs week; structured, contractual, and scheduled work week
per-diem (per day) = any amount of hours, does not imply a structured scheduled work week.
temporary = subbing, or very short work intervals.

3. Current experience means on going. So if you’re no longer shadowing there, it is not current.

 

[NJ_Doc]

Hi friends, quick question!
I was a Resident Advisor (RA) during college. AKA I lived with the students in the dorms, attended diversity training meetings, was required to go to breakfast/lunch/dinner with residents, etc etc, and quite frankly considered it a full time job.
I was inputting the amount of hours I worked as an RA. I'm almost considering putting 168 hours per week, aka 24 hours per day. Of course, I would leave my dormitories to attend class and some club meetings/events. However, I spent a majority of that year being really involved in RA life. How many hours would you recommend I put?
(When I put 168 hours x 36 weeks, it becomes 6,048 hours. Which is so much for the AADSAS app!)

I was also an RA at my institution and asked a few questions on here as well as my pre-health advisor because it doesn’t really fit like other extracurriculars. What I put down was 20hrs/week based on speaking with my res life supervisor and pre-health advisor. It was tempting to put alot of hours because of being on call, extra duties that are not expected etc but if you look at it objectively, it is no where near 24/7 (I know it varies school to school but still). I was able to be president of other on campus orgs, on top of a job so admission committees would definitely ask about the integrity of my numbers if I put a crazy amount. Also, schools can contact the supervisor you put down and confirm your hours if they want to, and if your supervisor doesn't say 6,000hrs then that is an extreme red flag and could be grounds for terminating an app based on false info.

 

[fredthomas17]

Hey Question Regarding Transcripts and National Clearing House.

Has anyone had to physically mail their transcripts from their institution because they couldn't find the CAS I.D field while trying to e-send your transcripts online?

My school participates in the Clearing House and I was able to select ADEA AADSAS as a recipient but there wasn't a location to input my CAS I.D. There was only a field to input a recipient email address and now I'm waiting on a response from Clearing House to assist with the issue because an ADEA Rep told me there should only be a field for the CAS I.D not an recipient email address. I'm stuck as now I'm waiting on a response from the Clearing House.

 

[FutureDentDee]

Hey, does anyone know if the transcript verification process begins before you submit your app? Or do they only look at it after?

 

[wysdoc]

Hey, does anyone know if the transcript verification process begins before you submit your app? Or do they only look at it after?

After, because they are comparing it to what you filled in on your app.

 

[Pine85]

Hello everyone,
I'm a non-traditional applicant and have already submitted my application and had it verified.
The dentist who agreed to write my LOR called me 2 days ago and said he submitted my evaluation, but on my application
it just says "accepted" and not "completed" like my other LOR's.
Does it take a little while for the ADEA to process LOR's once they are uploaded, or did my dentist make a mistake in the process?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

For Loma Linda University, do international applicants have to take Toefl exam in order to apply or does graduating from an US institution fill satisfy the requirement? Thank you.

Check the website or email them, but I believe so.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Is it bad to leave the Covid-19 impact section on AADSAS blank?

No

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

I accidentally hit the “Update my Application” button on my application page and nothing happened... is that fine or should I call the ADEA to get it corrected?




I already submitted my application and left this blank should I just update it during the first academic update period?

1. You’re fine. 2. No you don’t need to

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Hi, I'm not sure if this has already been asked but:
If I received an email that my supplemental fee had not been received after I had actually submitted the fee, should I email back to confirm that it has been received? or should I just wait?

You might verify that it was received, just to be on the safe side.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

I just applied today. Just wondering if I am still considered early?

Yes

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

During the transcript review process, when asking for "Other Test Credit" the manual says "If the applicant has other test credits including International Baccalaureate (IB), CLEP, DANTE, REGENTS, or Institutional/Departmental exams (courses a person “tested out of” at the college), click “yes” and select them here"

On my transcript, I "tested" out of algebra and basic english but received no credit. It shows up as grade Transfer and Credit 0.00.
Do I still check yes?

Thanks!

I would.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Hello everyone,
I'm a non-traditional applicant and have already submitted my application and had it verified.
The dentist who agreed to write my LOR called me 2 days ago and said he submitted my evaluation, but on my application
it just says "accepted" and not "completed" like my other LOR's.
Does it take a little while for the ADEA to process LOR's once they are uploaded, or did my dentist make a mistake in the process?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sounds like he didn’t submit. Call adea to verify and if he didn’t then call the dentist and tell him he still needs to submit.

 

[PreDentGator2021]

1. You’re fine. 2. No you don’t need to

You are the bomb!! Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my question, I’ve seen you posting helpful information elsewhere too and I’m sure other students applying this cycle as well appreciate your help

 

[2thdoctah]

My application was verified today. While reviewing my transcript I noticed it looked odd and then I noticed my school sent my transcript without spring 2020 grades. Now schools will get my application with a lower GPA than its supposed to be. I contacted AADSAS and they said any new transcripts would not be verified until the academic update. Should I contact the schools I applied to and make them aware of this? I am afraid they will toss my application into the trash pile without knowing my GPA is not up to date.
I am a non traditional applicant and I was already counting on my most recent GPA and extracurriculars to help me at least catch their attention.

 

[Pine85]

Sounds like he didn’t submit. Call adea to verify and if he didn’t then call the dentist and tell him he still needs to submit.

Thanks for the quick response S_Diamond_DDS!
According to the adea, he did not.

 

[notatoothfairy]

Hi, I have a quick question. Should I reconsider retaking a couple of the bio classes I received a B+ in? I was a math major so I only took 4 bio classes, and all of them I got B+'s in. Thanks in advance for your help.

I have a sGPA 3.68 and cGPA 3.71

 

[artist2022]

My application was verified today. While reviewing my transcript I noticed it looked odd and then I noticed my school sent my transcript without spring 2020 grades. Now schools will get my application with a lower GPA than its supposed to be. I contacted AADSAS and they said any new transcripts would not be verified until the academic update. Should I contact the schools I applied to and make them aware of this? I am afraid they will toss my application into the trash pile without knowing my GPA is not up to date.
I am a non traditional applicant and I was already counting on my most recent GPA and extracurriculars to help me at least catch their attention.

You can, and see if they'd take an unofficial copy into consideration, but I would doubt it. You'd need to unfortunately wait until 8/14 to resend transcripts and have them verified. :/

Hi, I have a quick question. Should I reconsider retaking a couple of the bio classes I received a B+ in? I was a math major so I only took 4 bio classes, and all of them I got B+'s in. Thanks in advance for your help.

I have a sGPA 3.68 and cGPA 3.71

It's up to you but keep in mind that AADSAS does not do grade replacement, so all the B+s + the As (I assume) from the retakes would average out to just about A-s for all of those classes, which would maybe raise your sGPA a teeny bit but not really help your cGPA as much... I think a better thing would be to take upper division bio courses (like virology, immunology, etc.) and pull As in those to show you can handle harder science courses vs. just the basic prereqs needed.

 

[notatoothfairy]

Do dental schools prefer bio classes with bio lab components? For my school, immunology and upper level cell bio do not have a lab component. But another university does. Should I consider taking the classes there?

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Do dental schools prefer bio classes with bio lab components? For my school, immunology and upper level cell bio do not have a lab component. But another university does. Should I consider taking the classes there?

Once you get past the prereqs they don’t care if you have a lab component or not. And in response to your previous question, at most schools you are not allowed to retake the same class over for credit unless you failed. So I agree with artist about taking upper division bio courses to improve your bio GPA.

 

[AJAAJA]

For my volunteer experience, I just noticed that I put wrong dates.. it should be only 2 weeks from July 2017 to mid july 2017.. but I noticed that I put July 2017 to July 2020.. what should I do? Should I email schools that these dates are wrong? Or will schools simply think that I made a mistake because I only put total weeks as 2 weeks?

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

For my volunteer experience, I just noticed that I put wrong dates.. it should be only 2 weeks from July 2017 to mid july 2017.. but I noticed that I put July 2017 to July 2020.. what should I do? Should I email schools that these dates are wrong? Or will schools simply think that I made a mistake?

Don’t do anything. It’s better not to email schools about your mistakes, especially small ones, in my opinion. If they ask about it in an interview, which is a 0% chance, just tell them it should have said june to july 2017.

 

[AJAAJA]

Don’t do anything. It’s better not to email schools about your mistakes, especially small ones, in my opinion. If they ask about it in an interview, which is a 0% chance, just tell them it should have said june to july 2017.

Thank you! So do you think it is ok since I put 2 weeks as total weeks? I hope schools just figure out I made a small mistake....

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Thank you! So do you think it is ok since I put 2 weeks as total weeks? I hope schools just figure out I made a small mistake....

Yeah it’s fine. If they even notice, they have enough sense to realize it was a mistake.

 

[AJAAJA]

Yeah it’s fine. If they even notice, they have enough sense to realize it was a mistake.

Thank you so much! You gave me so much relief. I had a mental breakdown over this HAHA.
One last question, small mistake like this doesn't affect admission at all right? especially when they can figure out easily that it was a silly mstake?? It is my first applying so I get lots of anxiety

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Thank you so much! You gave me so much relief. I had a mental breakdown over this HAHA.
One last question, small mistake like this doesn't affect admission at all right? especially when they can figure out easily that it was a silly mstake?? It is my first applying so I get lots of anxiety

Yeah it’s not that big of a deal. If it was a grammatical/spelling error on your personal statement or something, then I might be more worried for you.

 

[macsak]

Yeah it’s not that big of a deal. If it was a grammatical/spelling error on your personal statement or something, then I might be more worried for you.

lol