Official AADSAS Q&A Thread 2020-2021

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Now that we can do academic update, I have a question about whether I should update to include summer courses sooner or later. I can enter my grades now, but the verification process takes a few weeks. I am just a little concerned that since interviews are starting to be sent out, my application will be marked as incomplete again and be thrown to the bottom of the "pile." Should I wait until later to update, or should I do it immediately?

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I know there are schools who automatically screen out GPA's lower than 3.0. My BCP GPA +/- is a 3.05 but my BCP without +/- is a 2.97. Would I be automatically screened out?

Yes, you will most likely be screened out. I have a friend who applied to both Midwesterns and got an email denying her application because of her sub-3.0 gpa!
 
Hey guys, I submitted my application to a few schools back in June and it got verified, but then I took a class during the 2nd summer session. I submitted a new official transcript back when that course finished up and I haven't thought much about it since then.. until now. I just submitted an application to an additional school and when I went to look at the PDF of it, I noticed that last course still says it's not verified. I looked through and every single PDF to every single school has that course as not verified. The official transcript was received over a month and a half ago.

I'm completely freaking out. Have my apps been sent to any schools? Do all of the schools think my app still just isn't verified? Have they not looked at it because of what AADSAS has done?

I haven't received any interview invites yet. Could this be why?
 
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Hi!

When selecting courses to confirm prerequisites under Program Materials of the AADSAS, do we select all attempts for retaken courses? For instance, to manually select the courses the correspond under Biochemistry, would you only select the most recent, retaken course or all attempts?

Thanks in advance!
 
How do Rejections work in the application cycle, are they sent out on December 15th? Or do schools tend to send them out prior to this/after? Just curious since I haven't been invited for a single interview and am wondering if I will have to wait till December to find who rejected me. Thanks!
 
How do Rejections work in the application cycle, are they sent out on December 15th? Or do schools tend to send them out prior to this/after? Just curious since I haven't been invited for a single interview and am wondering if I will have to wait till December to find who rejected me. Thanks!

 
didn't see that thread, oops! Thanks :)
 
Hi!

When selecting courses to confirm prerequisites under Program Materials of the AADSAS, do we select all attempts for retaken courses? For instance, to manually select the courses the correspond under Biochemistry, would you only select the most recent, retaken course or all attempts?

Thanks in advance!
Just the attempt that satisfies the pre-req - C or above.
 
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I've seen some threads about letters of interest and intent and wanted to get some new (updated) opinions on the matter. I just interviewed at my state school and really enjoyed that atmosphere, on top of the COA. I know some people don't think a letter of intent is important but I am leaning towards writing something before Dec 15th saying how I enjoyed the school and I would reject other offers and matriculate into their program. thoughts?
 
How do Rejections work in the application cycle, are they sent out on December 15th? Or do schools tend to send them out prior to this/after? Just curious since I haven't been invited for a single interview and am wondering if I will have to wait till December to find who rejected me. Thanks!
@artist2022 I'd like to know more about this too. Do schools release all the news on Dec 15 for the people they have made a decision on (acceptance or rejection), or is it just the start date allowing acceptances which may come at any time later?
 
@artist2022 I'd like to know more about this too. Do schools release all the news on Dec 15 for the people they have made a decision on (acceptance or rejection), or is it just the start date allowing acceptances which may come at any time later?
start date...
 
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If you're a reapplicant, do schools still have access to your applications from previous years?
 
I've seen some threads about letters of interest and intent and wanted to get some new (updated) opinions on the matter. I just interviewed at my state school and really enjoyed that atmosphere, on top of the COA. I know some people don't think a letter of intent is important but I am leaning towards writing something before Dec 15th saying how I enjoyed the school and I would reject other offers and matriculate into their program. thoughts?
That's fine but usually they're sent once you know you've been waitlisted by the school to try and get off the waitlist.... so maybe wait?
@artist2022 I'd like to know more about this too. Do schools release all the news on Dec 15 for the people they have made a decision on (acceptance or rejection), or is it just the start date allowing acceptances which may come at any time later?
Schools can release rejections before Dec 15th but acceptances/waitlist can only come on or after Dec 15th -- so, it's the start date.
If you're a reapplicant, do schools still have access to your applications from previous years?
If you're applying to the same schools, it's likely that those schools will have your previous app for comparison purposes.
 
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Where do you get the stats of number of interviews given out per school oos and is? Is that in the adea official guide to dental school
 
I have seen a lot of questions on the thread regarding letters of interest/intent. My understanding based on the threads is that letter of interest = sent if you are waiting for an interview, letter of intent = sent if you are waitlisted/have already interviewed? I'm just curious about letters of interest...do you think schools take them seriously/makes a substantial impact on wether or not that applicant gets an interview?
 
I have been volunteering by tutoring neighbors and children k-12 in my community via Skype since 2016, but not through an organization. Can I put self as the organization on ADEA AADSAS? Also for the supervisor should I put one of the parents whom kids I tutor? Thanks.
 
Just called AADSAS and they lost my updated transcript for the fall update... I sent screenshots of my summer grades to all of the schools I applied to, do you think it will be a big deal that my summer grades are most likely going to get turned in late? I recently had my Penn interview and the admissions director told me not to worry about it, but I’m not sure if that’s universal...
 
I have been volunteering by tutoring neighbors and children k-12 in my community via Skype since 2016, but not through an organization. Can I put self as the organization on ADEA AADSAS? Also for the supervisor should I put one of the parents whom kids I tutor? Thanks.
Put it on there. Yes, you could put yourself as the org and you could put the parents as the supervisors. I might just put myself as the supervisor just for simplicity, but whatever works.
 
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Just called AADSAS and they lost my updated transcript for the fall update... I sent screenshots of my summer grades to all of the schools I applied to, do you think it will be a big deal that my summer grades are most likely going to get turned in late? I recently had my Penn interview and the admissions director told me not to worry about it, but I’m not sure if that’s universal...
Yeah that’s not a big deal
 
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I have seen a lot of questions on the thread regarding letters of interest/intent. My understanding based on the threads is that letter of interest = sent if you are waiting for an interview, letter of intent = sent if you are waitlisted/have already interviewed? I'm just curious about letters of interest...do you think schools take them seriously/makes a substantial impact on wether or not that applicant gets an interview?
Hard to say, I think some schools would appreciate such a letter if you still haven’t received an invite and invites are going out post dec 15th at that school and other schools wouldn’t care. Definitely a good idea to send one if you’re waitlisted, along with any updates to your app. If pre-dec 15th invites are still going out though I feel it’s best to be patient and let your app serve as your letter of interest.
 
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In all honestly my motivation and work effort have been bottom tier due to the pandemic and online learning. Also Senioritis and it being my last semester as I’m graduating a semester early. I am currently taking biochemistry and it looks like I’ll be ending with a B- / C+ after 3 semesters of straights As. This might seem like a red flag to schools that are giving post December interviews or waitlist acceptances. So does anyone know how long I can delay sending my updated grades upon completion of the semester?
By Feb 3rd, 2021.

Source: Updating Your ADEA AADSAS Application (Academic Update)
 
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Hi! I’ve heard conflicting things about this so I thought I’d ask here:

If we have planned coursework on AADSAS, are those binding? For context, I thought I was going to take Microbiology but it doesn’t seem likely anymore (unless I have to). I listed it as a planned course on AADSAS. No schools I applied to require it. But would it look bad if I didn’t complete it/could it impact my acceptance at a school? Thank you so much!
 
Hi! I’ve heard conflicting things about this so I thought I’d ask here:

If we have planned coursework on AADSAS, are those binding? For context, I thought I was going to take Microbiology but it doesn’t seem likely anymore (unless I have to). I listed it as a planned course on AADSAS. No schools I applied to require it. But would it look bad if I didn’t complete it/could it impact my acceptance at a school? Thank you so much!
Depends on schools, some want to be notified if you are not planning to take the course. It also could depend on your stats, if your stats are really good, probably they don't care. If they are on borderline, they might think, you are not taking because you are afraid of making bad grades in that class. What are your stats?
 
Hey everybody! I didn't see anyone ask this yet so hopefully I'm not double asking. I'm currently in my last semester of grad school and I've been interviewing for admission to dental school this coming year. My grad school just released a statement saying grades can be changed to pass/fail at the student's discretion and I was wondering if doing that would make dental schools revoke acceptances or anything of the sort. I would be making them pass/fail after December 15th if I needed to.
 
Hey everybody! I didn't see anyone ask this yet so hopefully I'm not double asking. I'm currently in my last semester of grad school and I've been interviewing for admission to dental school this coming year. My grad school just released a statement saying grades can be changed to pass/fail at the student's discretion and I was wondering if doing that would make dental schools revoke acceptances or anything of the sort. I would be making them pass/fail after December 15th if I needed to.
I think because of COVID a lot of the schools are more flexible about pass/fail grades. I dont think it would make them revoke your acceptance, especially since im assuming none of these courses are your core pre-reqs.
 
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Hi, if we are not able to pick up the call on decision day will the school email ?
 
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Hi!! I submitted my application in June but it wasn’t until last week I realized I made a mistake. I was the Vice President of a club but I accidentally wrote President. Should I email the schools and let them know of this mistake?
 
Also, when sending a letter of interest to a school, who should I address it to? thanks in advance for any help in this matter😊
 
Hi!! I submitted my application in June but it wasn’t until last week I realized I made a mistake. I was the Vice President of a club but I accidentally wrote President. Should I email the schools and let them know of this mistake?
Lol hell no
 
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Okay should I be concerned if I wrote Vice President last year? I am a reapplicant this year! I feel so dumb for making this mistake! Literally loosing sleep. Thanks again for any advice !
relax
 
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Okay should I be concerned if I wrote Vice President last year? I am a reapplicant this year! I feel so dumb for making this mistake! Literally loosing sleep. Thanks again for any advice !
No. They won’t ask about it and it’s not a big deal. Honest mistake. I get it, I was freaking out over another part of my app after I submitted. Once I got my first interview, I realized how little the adcoms actually analyze the fine details of your app. I wish someone would have told me to take a chill pill.
 
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No. They won’t ask about it and it’s not a big deal. Honest mistake. I get it, I was freaking out over another part of my app after I submitted. Once I got my first interview, I realized how little the adcoms actually analyze the fine details of your app. I wish someone would have told me to take a chill pill.
Thank you!! This was really helpful!!
 
Hello all!
I've got a question for you: does anyone know if academic updates now will factor into moving off of a waitlist? Or do schools decide about you beforehand, after the interview?

So I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have an SDN profile: the situation is, interviewed a while ago, hasn't gotten an acceptance nor a rejection. Now he is worried that he'll be stuck on a waitlist and is wondering if updating classes will help ( he is in the middle of a masters). Only trouble is he got a C in one of his classes so he's obviously hesitant to send in an update if he doesn't have to.

I figure a letter of intent would be more useful in this situation rather than an academic update.
What do y'all think?
 
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Hello all!
I've got a question for you: does anyone know if academic updates now will factor into moving off of a waitlist? Or do schools decide about you beforehand, after the interview?

So I'm asking for a friend who doesn't have an SDN profile: the situation is, interviewed a while ago, hasn't gotten an acceptance nor a rejection. Now he is worried that he'll be stuck on a waitlist and is wondering if updating classes will help ( he is in the middle of a masters). Only trouble is he got a C in one of his classes so he's obviously hesitant to send in an update if he doesn't have to.

I figure a letter of intent would be more useful in this situation rather than an academic update.
What do y'all think?
Yes, if he has a poor grade then don’t send an academic update. And yes a letter of intent would be a good idea.
 
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How long does it take for Academic Update transcripts to be processed? And is it okay to send a letter of intent to the dean of admissions directly?
 
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I have two questions 1) do the schools get notified when you make an academic update or should we reach out to them? 2) how do post-december interviews work, meaning do schools start sending out interviews as soon as January hits? Or do they usually come out after students who have been admitted decide if they will accept/deny admission offers? thanks :)
 
I have two questions 1) do the schools get notified when you make an academic update or should we reach out to them? 2) how do post-december interviews work, meaning do schools start sending out interviews as soon as January hits? Or do they usually come out after students who have been admitted decide if they will accept/deny admission offers? thanks :)

Some people received interview invites for January in December or even November so not entirely based on people accepting/denying. Interview invites sent out now can be anywhere from Jan-Feb which may be for the actual class if it’s not full. Which I doubt because people turn down offers.
 
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