*** Official U of T in memphis Acceptance thread 2009 cycle***

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Good strategy!! It's making me feel more comfortable about my chances. :)

Yeah, I totally agree... There were blemishes on my transcript that I wanted to be able to explain, too. I didn't even know if they had read my essay yet, so I found myself just regurgitating snippets from my essay. They didn't act like they had heard it before, so I kept going... But I blanked on a few key things that I had done to explore dentistry but didn't have room to put in my essay, which really could have helped my case. Yes, I actually exceeded the character limit and had to whittle it down a lot (with what seemed like a chainsaw, unfortunately)!

Is the pre-professional evaluation considered AT ALL? The deadline on the website says "May," so I was surprised when Dr. Coleman sent out a generic letter informing us that a decision would be delayed until X, Y and Z were submitted and Z was the evaluation... So I was scrambling to get it done in time and I called the office to check and they told me that not having it in would NOT affect my chances of being considered on the 18th. I mean, what the heck? I still don't even know if I will hear a decision on Monday, since I waited until the last minute and the pre-professional committee still hasn't submitted it. Does it really matter? They say it does, but does it really? Has anyone else ever heard a decision without having turned it in?

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Haha I noticed that too on their website about the evaluations not being required until May. I don't know how UT is about accepting people without the evaluations in yet so I can't say. I would think that you would need at least some form of recommendation, such as a letter from a dentist. I tihnk the preprofessional file is a complete waste of time in my opinion. If you want one of your letters to be from a teacher thats fine, but to force you to get 3 teachers to write a letter for you is stupid. Half the time the teacher doesn't know you that well and it is so difficult to get to know a teacher in a class of 200 students.

I hate the fact that dental schools refacter in F's to the GPA even if you have retaken the class. I got one freaking F my freshman year and it has sucked bringing up my GPA. Whats annoying though is that my GPA without the F is pretty good, but that one F will really affect your GPA. Thats what I wish I could have talked about in my interview.

In our Student Dental Association meetings I'm always like "Whatever you do, do not fail a class!" Withdraw, do anything to avoid it cause it will always be a monkey on your back.
 
Yeah, I had my dentist fill out the verification of experience form and she put that I 'would be an asset to Dentistry!' :D

I have over 200 credits... not all of them are A's and B's. When I graduated in 2001, I think I had a 2.9 (from a school that gives 3.833 for an A-). After two years of taking prerequisites, I now have about a 3.05 cumulative, with a science GPA of around 3.5... (if you ignore my past life, which I'm pretty sure they won't do completely. Luckily, I didn't take many science classes back then.)
 
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at the interview they told us that now that you have been accepted to interview, we accept students for the class out the the interviewed based on three things:

1. gpa/sgpa
2. dat score
3. interview

so basically, once you interview, i am under the impression that ec, lor's ... dont matter for acceptance, just to get the interivew. the acceptance (post interview) is based on the 3 factors above.

at least that was my interperation of it.

too bad for the my science gpa is not too great. Dat score is average. so i think for me it comes down to how they judged my interview...

let us know if anyone calls today or waits till monday

also, I interviewed Jan 9 with 8 people. they interview 7 or 8 people every friday. Jan 9 was also the first interviews after Christmas break. so looks like the ad committee reviewed on wednesday reviewed about 8 students from jan 9 till last friday which is 6 weeks so that 48 plus the applicants that they did not accept or reject from Dec admission meeting. so they possibly reviewed anyone in december that interviewed after the dec acceptance; maybe 8 or 16... plus 48 from jan 9 till now + how ever many the decided to re-review from pre-dec interviews. so they probably reviewed about 64-80 applicants total I would assume on Wednesday...

now out of those 64-80 (rough est) they either accept, reject, or wait to re-review next month or april...
 
Since yall are on the topic of GPAs, I got some info you may (or may not) want to hear. I applied/interviewed last year and didn't get in. The reason: my GPA was a little lower. Dr. Coleman said that they calculate your GPA unweighted, meaning that a B+ would be worth a B, C+ worth a C, etc. This can be pretty harmful to your GPA (in my case it lowered it .4). Just throwing that little bit of info out there...
 
There are also people who were not accepted last year and since their interview was not their issue they did not have to interview again this year and are still under consideration as well(students who I ate with at lunch were prime examples of this). Trying to figure out the numbers is extremely hard because some interview groups could be 15(like mine) people some could be 5(a friend's group). They also had a habit of skipping interview days due to special events on campus.

All I can say to everyone is good luck, and just remember everything works out for a reason.
 
Just in case he had, I called again just now and asked if the Dean had approved the list yet... They aren't meeting until Monday (we already knew that). We should try back on Monday afternoon.
 
When I interviewed Dr. Coleman said they are interviewing 160 people this year, cause I remembering thinking about how half of the people who get interviewed will be accepted.

Does UT give a preferance to reapplicants? since it shows determination...

needa20: I see that you got your MBA. Did you get your masters in Knoxville? I am a Finance major with a collateral in Accounting. It is my backup plan in case dentistry doesn't work out. If you don't mind I'd like to personal message you about the job market if you don't mind since you probably know a lot more about it then I do, let me know if thats ok.

jwalke: I know about the no +'s. Thats really annoying. But I guess if you think about it, besides the 4.0's, everyone's GPA will go down some. I think mine went down .08, haha which doesn't seem like a lot but when you are fighting to stay competitive with average stats it can be detrimental.

Do yall think its annoying when people keep asking about if you have gotten in yet? I hate having to be like "no I'm still waiting..."
 
When I interviewed Dr. Coleman said they are interviewing 160 people this year, cause I remembering thinking about how half of the people who get interviewed will be accepted.

Does UT give a preferance to reapplicants? since it shows determination...

needa20: I see that you got your MBA. Did you get your masters in Knoxville? I am a Finance major with a collateral in Accounting. It is my backup plan in case dentistry doesn't work out. If you don't mind I'd like to personal message you about the job market if you don't mind since you probably know a lot more about it then I do, let me know if thats ok.

jwalke: I know about the no +'s. Thats really annoying. But I guess if you think about it, besides the 4.0's, everyone's GPA will go down some. I think mine went down .08, haha which doesn't seem like a lot but when you are fighting to stay competitive with average stats it can be detrimental.

Do yall think its annoying when people keep asking about if you have gotten in yet? I hate having to be like "no I'm still waiting..."
feel free to PM me

on a side note, it did not seem like UT really cared that i had an MBA which i found strange as some schools realize now how important the business aspect is. now some offer an MBA alongside the DDS/DMD... anyways, I just thought it would look good, but Memphis did not seem to really care
 
I KNOW!!! I mean a Finance degree, especially an MBA, is not a walk in the park. And having to take both science and business courses together takes a lot of effort. Some of my Finance and Accounting classes are just as hard as some of the science classes I took. And both used the same types of critical thinking, etc.

Yea my dad is a physician and he has always told me about how he had wished he knew more about business. I mean it is more than about just making more money, it is about keeping your costs down through management and other business areas so that your patients can have smaller bills.
 
Haha let's hope. I tried not to think about it this weekend. I'm gonna call around 2 and hope there is news. I hope they don't say call back tomorrow. Good luck everyone
 
good luck to all of us!

its monday, any call yet?
 
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I called around 11 this morning and the lady said to call back later this afternoon because they hope to have the list finalized by then.
 
the wait is killing me.

so they will either tell us acceptance, rejection, or denied over the phone? Or will they only tell us if we are accepted on the phone and send a letter for the other two?
 
Perhaps it bodes well for us that it's taking so long for the list to be approved... I like to think that someone's fighting for us, but maybe that's too idealistic.

I don't think rejections or waitlist decisions go out until later in the year.
 
Yea if you are accepted they say that your in. But if you aren't accepted this time, they just say that your name will be brought up again at the next committee meeting next month. I think they will have two more after this, one in March and then another in April. By then a lot of it has to do with who has accepted their acceptances and who has turned down their acceptances because then they will need to fill those spots.
 
They will never actually tell you rejected until around June(that's when the letter was sent last year). They like to continue saying "you have not been accepted yet." After he final decision in April you will not even be told waitlisted or rejected they simply say "we have offered acceptances to fill our class and depending on how many accept will determine if we are able to issue anymore." They LOVE the waiting game for some reason.
 
I HATE the waiting game.

I called a little bit ago and the lady at the front desk said to call back at 4 and they should have the list then.
 
The list is ready... I didn't get in this round. GPA's too low. Good luck everybody [else]!
 
Im sorry you didn't get in. What was your GPA , if you don't mind me asking ??..... Good luck to everyone else !!

Ar2
 
I got in!!!!:D Good luck everyone!
 
UUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

Not this time either... freaking GPA. That F is gonna keep me out. Oh well

congrats to everyone else!
 
Didn't get in either...congrats to those that did
 
So this is fantastic!!! you really need to read this:

I called and Dr Coleman was on the other line. I left my phone number for him to call me back. I was at work and ran outside to answer the phone. He said "your accepted" I was like seriously, thank you so much! I was speachless and so excited!! he said so you are First M Last name correct? I said I am First (same) M (Different) Last (same). he said what? I said you are joking right? this is my first middle and last name (not very common btw). He said your middle name is not ____ and you are not from ___. I said no, my middle name is ___ and I am from ____. He said hold on. after about 3 of the longest minutes of my life, he said looks like we had 2 people with the same name apply and interview, but different middle names. You are not accepted yet, you will be reviewed again in March. I was like are you kidding me? you just told me i was accepted, and my name is def not common especially interviewing at the same school. he said sorry...

I went from the 2nd most happy time of my life to the 2 most sad within a matter of 3 minutes...

I am absolutely shocked that this could happen....seriously, why me? I was SPEECHLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
So this is fantastic!!! you really need to read this:

I called and Dr Coleman was on the other line. I left my phone number for him to call me back. I was at work and ran outside to answer the phone. He said "your accepted" I was like seriously, thank you so much! I was speachless and so excited!! he said so you are First M Last name correct? I said I am First (same) M (Different) Last (same). he said what? I said you are joking right? this is my first middle and last name (not very common btw). He said your middle name is not ____ and you are not from ___. I said no, my middle name is ___ and I am from ____. He said hold on. after about 3 of the longest minutes of my life, he said looks like we had 2 people with the same name apply and interview, but different middle names. You are not accepted yet, you will be reviewed again in March. I was like are you kidding me? you just told me i was accepted, and my name is def not common especially interviewing at the same school. he said sorry...

I went from the 2nd most happy time of my life to the 2 most sad within a matter of 3 minutes...

I am absolutely shocked that this could happen....seriously, why me? I was SPEECHLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG.....i m so sorry....that is almost the worst thing that could have happen!
 
OMG.....i m so sorry....that is almost the worst thing that could have happen!
thanks for your support, I am going to call later to make sure they really have all the correct info.

my name is not very common, the only 2 people i have ever met in my entire life w my name is my father and grandfater. so another ____ applying to the same school and getting one of the 150 interview spots.... seems a little surprising. Also, Dr Coleman was very nice, but i think it is weird that they would have only reviewed about 60 applicants, and do not remember 2 people with the same non-common name...

If there really is another person w my name, I am going to ask for them to check to make sure they have the right info in my file and not his. correct transcripts, LOR's (i had some good ones)..., If when they met on the 18th, that they made sure they were reviewing the right person; either me or the other guy...

my wife works in Admissions at another school and she said that if there are 2 people with similiar (especially the same) names, it is very easy for info to get mixed up between the 2 during the whole application process.

I am not trying to get somthing that I do not deserve, but seems like too much of a coinincendence to me. I just want to make sure all the info was correct when reviewing me and that the other guy's file did not have any of my info in it.

what do you all think?
 
OMG! I am so sorry to hear that! That is very weird. I almost can't believe it. I am very familiar with UT and how they do things, and am SHOCKED that they did that! I would definitely call and ask to speak with the DEAN of the college (not the admissions dean ) and find out what is going on ! It can't hurt! I mean you called the guy and he told you that were in! are you kidding me? I mean, try not to go off on anyone, but try to get a better explanation than that...
I have a very qualified friend who was not accepted either, so it must have been very competitive this time. Well, keep your heads up and remember that the committee will be meeting again soon and the class is still not full!
Good Luck!
 
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Sorry for the bad news. That's an unbelievable coincidence. You should definitely call and have them check that everything is straightened out.
 
Oh , I am so sorry .. I was so shocked that that story that I forgot to congratulate those who did get in! I can't wait to meet everyone this fall and am looking forward to an exciting experience! congrats.. and now you can relax! :cool:
 
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I got in!!! Good Luck to everyone else!

University of Tennessee College of Dentistry Class of 2013
 
thanks for everyone's support. I called Dr Coleman, and he said sorry. I dont have a common name so when he looked at the acceptance list, he assumed it was me....

I said are you sure you have the correct LOR's, transcripts...ect in my file and that the committee reviewed me with my info and not the other guys....

He said it was the GPA that kept me out this round. he said they only meet one more time around the end of march....and I would be re-reviewed then. he also said, everytime they meet, they drop the gpa requirement some.

also, there are still seats open, but there are still more interviews to do...

So, basically I got screwed. Should i just leave it alone and hope i get in in March? or should I do what Streptmutan says and go higher up? I dont really want to go above Coleman b/c they still have to meet once more...not sure what to do, I was really counting on this...

Congrats to all who got in, I just feel like i got screwed
 
:bullcrap: They are making these first-round cuts by GPA. And just a rant of warning: for anyone who thinks that he/she can come back to school after a few years in the workforce and have his/her academic slate wiped clean by a fresh start and plenty of optimism, think again! If you screwed up back then, your goose is well and truly cooked. :eek: They will factor all your old grades into your science GPA, too. (I guess I shouldn't have been surprised). They may let you in eventually, but only after the supply of applicants with higher GPAs has been exhausted.

But, just to be fair, it seems like they will not factor in any lower-level bio courses that you may have taken to boost your confidence (and gotten A's in), though they will certainly use that C- from intro oceanography from a tier 1, big 10 university to knock you down a few pegs. Why did you think it mattered that you went to a good school back then? It means nothing! :hungover: In fact, you should have just taken your science classes at a community college, like so many of those pharmacy and nursing kids did. All that matters is GPA! It doesn't matter where you take them as long as you have at least a 3.5. And, yes, that means you (me!), girl who's working full time and taking classes at night. +pity+We're sorry: it's really the only way that we can accurately compare students. You know, because an A is an A is an A and we've never even heard of grade inflation... The DAT? Oh, yes, well that's all very well and good, but that doesn't actually level the playing field or anything! :smuggrin:

I don't know how, but Dr. Coleman said that my science GPA was below 3.0. :( When I figure it out (with all science and math), it's 3.1. It's 3.5 for my classes since 2006. Maybe I'm doing it wrong...

All y'all are gonna get in before I am. I'm just trying to be realistic & I don't think this is gonna be my year. It's disappointing because the admissions website actually suggests that they are looking for more than just a high GPA.

And now, with all sarcasm and bitterness aside, congratulations to everyone who got in! You are setting the bar very high this year! For the rest of us, it isn't totally over yet... Good luck and study hard! :xf: :luck:
 
Are you counting the + and -? UT only do the whole letter grade thing. B+ would be a B
 
:bullcrap: They are making these first-round cuts by GPA. And just a rant of warning: for anyone who thinks that he/she can come back to school after a few years in the workforce and have his/her academic slate wiped clean by a fresh start and plenty of optimism, think again! If you screwed up back then, your goose is well and truly cooked. :eek: They will factor all your old grades into your science GPA, too. (I guess I shouldn't have been surprised). They may let you in eventually, but only after the supply of applicants with higher GPAs has been exhausted.

But, just to be fair, it seems like they will not factor in any lower-level bio courses that you may have taken to boost your confidence (and gotten A's in), though they will certainly use that C- from intro oceanography from a tier 1, big 10 university to knock you down a few pegs. Why did you think it mattered that you went to a good school back then? It means nothing! :hungover: In fact, you should have just taken your science classes at a community college, like so many of those pharmacy and nursing kids did. All that matters is GPA! It doesn't matter where you take them as long as you have at least a 3.5. And, yes, that means you (me!), girl who's working full time and taking classes at night. +pity+We're sorry: it's really the only way that we can accurately compare students. You know, because an A is an A is an A and we've never even heard of grade inflation... The DAT? Oh, yes, well that's all very well and good, but that doesn't actually level the playing field or anything! :smuggrin:

I don't know how, but Dr. Coleman said that my science GPA was below 3.0. :( When I figure it out (with all science and math), it's 3.1. It's 3.5 for my classes since 2006. Maybe I'm doing it wrong...

All y'all are gonna get in before I am. I'm just trying to be realistic & I don't think this is gonna be my year. It's disappointing because the admissions website actually suggests that they are looking for more than just a high GPA.

And now, with all sarcasm and bitterness aside, congratulations to everyone who got in! You are setting the bar very high this year! For the rest of us, it isn't totally over yet... Good luck and study hard! :xf: :luck:

I wouldn't give up hope BillytheEchidna. I was just accepted at UT and I had 3 F's on my transcript and, as you described above, went into the workforce and then started over. My overall is a 3.4. My science gpa was high (3.6) and that may be the difference. Just thought you would like to know that I have a similar background as you and I got in. Best of luck!
 
Are you counting the + and -? UT only do the whole letter grade thing. B+ would be a B

I didn't use pluses or minuses when I calculated... I think they either discounted a few of my classes or averaged retakes for maximum damage!

In 1997, I took a general chemistry class that was 5 credits (with lab) and it combined the material of Gen Chem I and II, which most schools split up. It's just the way my school did it. On the placement exam during orientation, you could place into Organic if you did well enough, but I placed into Gen Chem. Anyway, I got a B in the 2-credit lab and a D in the 3-credit lecture, because I never did my homework. (D'oh!) I don't know how they averaged that with my more recent Gen Chem I and II... Similarly with General Bio I: I never read the textbook and rarely went to class and got a C. Oh well, these are my grades, so I have to live with them. :p But that would be why I'm hovering around a B average.

Thanks, Geauxhogs! I think I just need to work on it for another year. Congrats for turning it around so well! How many years have you been back in school?
 
I went to school for 1.5 years and accumulated a 1.9 gpa (thanks to those 3 F's). Worked during the following spring semester and immediately started over at a comm. coll. in the fall. After that it took me 5 years to graduate with a bio degree.
 
So this is fantastic!!! you really need to read this:

I called and Dr Coleman was on the other line. I left my phone number for him to call me back. I was at work and ran outside to answer the phone. He said "your accepted" I was like seriously, thank you so much! I was speachless and so excited!! he said so you are First M Last name correct? I said I am First (same) M (Different) Last (same). he said what? I said you are joking right? this is my first middle and last name (not very common btw). He said your middle name is not ____ and you are not from ___. I said no, my middle name is ___ and I am from ____. He said hold on. after about 3 of the longest minutes of my life, he said looks like we had 2 people with the same name apply and interview, but different middle names. You are not accepted yet, you will be reviewed again in March. I was like are you kidding me? you just told me i was accepted, and my name is def not common especially interviewing at the same school. he said sorry...

I went from the 2nd most happy time of my life to the 2 most sad within a matter of 3 minutes...

I am absolutely shocked that this could happen....seriously, why me? I was SPEECHLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so sorry to hear about that. I called UT today and he asked me my name 3 times. I know its no consolation, but Dr. Coleman did sound very remorseful for his mistake. Hopefully you will get in after the next meeting and you can look back on this and laugh. Best of luck!
 
I went to school for 1.5 years and accumulated a 1.9 gpa (thanks to those 3 F's). Worked during the following spring semester and immediately started over at a comm. coll. in the fall. After that it took me 5 years to graduate with a bio degree.

If I don't get in, I am going to finish up a bio degree. Then I'll have degrees in English and Bio (wheeee! :laugh:). I graduated in 2001 with my B.A. and a 2.9 (after 4 1/2 years, with my junior year spent studying abroad in England, which wasn't calculated into that GPA). I started taking science classes in 2006 and have done pretty well, but not straight-A's. 3.5-ish. So since I haven't taken a whole boatload of science, a couple of really good semesters should have a profound effect. Look at me, being all optimistic and stuff...
 
If I don't get in, I am going to finish up a bio degree. Then I'll have degrees in English and Bio (wheeee! :laugh:). I graduated in 2001 with my B.A. and a 2.9 (after 4 1/2 years, with my junior year spent studying abroad in England, which wasn't calculated into that GPA). I started taking science classes in 2006 and have done pretty well, but not straight-A's. 3.5-ish. So since I haven't taken a whole boatload of science, a couple of really good semesters should have a profound effect. Look at me, being all optimistic and stuff...

I was told by a friend that is D3 at UT that the AdCom really focuses on your science scores (DAT and science GPA). And 3.5ish is pretty darn good! My motto is plan for the worst and expect the best! Don't let that optimism fade away!
 
Oops, I guess that wasn't clear. No, I don't have a 3.5 science GPA... That's just my GPA without transfer credit, showing my upward trend in school for the last few years (mostly science classes). When averaged with my OLD science courses, my science GPA is slightly below 3.0. That's why it's so discouraging... Thanks, though! My DAT scores were 22 Bio, 21 RC, 19 AA, 19 TS, 18 GC, 17 OC, 16 QR, 16 PA.
 
Just for comparison: 20 Bio, 20 RC, 18 AA, 19 TS, 18 GC, 20 OC, 14 QR, 19 PA. Our scores were similar. Our totals were equal (148). Also, I may have had an edge since I'm from Arkansas. Did they ask you about your GPA during the interview?
 
Just for comparison: 20 Bio, 20 RC, 18 AA, 19 TS, 18 GC, 20 OC, 14 QR, 19 PA. Our scores were similar. Our totals were equal (148). Also, I may have had an edge since I'm from Arkansas. Did they ask you about your GPA during the interview?

Thanks for posting your scores. Nope, it was a closed-file interview. Just "tell us about yourself and why dentistry." I did devote a good portion of my essay to explaining my 'former life'... and I explained every bad grade for my pre-prof evaluation (which hasn't been sent to them yet!). I guess I don't know why I'm so surprised that they do it so strictly by the numbers... I also did very little shadowing, so that may be another thing hurting me. I'm fixating on the GPA, though, b/c that's the specific reason Dr. C gave me.
 
Well good luck! I will probably be declining them this week, so that will be 1 more spot open!
 
An Arkansas resident declining a spot os only going to open up a spot for another Arkansas person because they hold a certain number of spots for Arkansas people.

GeauxHogs congrats on getting into LSU. They put me on the alternate list for out of staters. Good news is that there is only 2 people on that list. I JUST NEED ONE OR TWO PEOPLE TO TURN DOWN THEIR SPOT!!!
 
An Arkansas resident declining a spot os only going to open up a spot for another Arkansas person because they hold a certain number of spots for Arkansas people.

GeauxHogs congrats on getting into LSU. They put me on the alternate list for out of staters. Good news is that there is only 2 people on that list. I JUST NEED ONE OR TWO PEOPLE TO TURN DOWN THEIR SPOT!!!

Thanks! I wasn't sure about that, because I've heard form a few D3 friends at LSU that if LSU is declined by an Arkansas resident they will give that spot to a Louisiana applicant. The way it was explained to me was that LSU only has to "accept" 4 Ark applicants, I don't think there were any Arkansas students in LSU's c/o 2012 because those applicants declined LSU. It may be different for the other out of state spots though, I'm not sure.
 
I gotcha. Man I wish they could give those Arkansas spots to other out of staters, but I think they can only have a maximum of 5 out of state spots taken.
 
I gotcha. Man I wish they could give those Arkansas spots to other out of staters, but I think they can only have a maximum of 5 out of state spots taken.

I think you're right. Best of luck getting in!
 
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