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

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Hey, Toothytay!

Looking at your GPA and DAT scores on predents, you seem like a shoe-in. The interview is very informal. You will get there at 8 AM or so and have breakfast and coffee. Dr. Coleman will then recite his spiel and brag about his sons. The order of our interviews was random -- our names were written on the board and we were interviewed in the order that they appeared. They asked me "Why Dentistry?" and "What have you done to explore dentistry?" Some people have had "Tell us about yourself." Very open-ended, general questions. The interview is closed-file, which means they won't know your grades until afterward. After the interview, there will be a tour of the campus and lunch. Everyone wore suits.

Just to ease your fears: On my interview day, one kid and his wife took a wrong turn because their GPS told them to. They got lost and were about 30 minutes late. He still got accepted.

One of the interviewers' cell phones went off twice during my interview.

Good luck -- I bet you will be picked in the first round of acceptances!

Needa20, none of the people that I knew personally that reapplied got in this year. The numbers are just going to get higher and higher, and I can't compete. Other schools might give me a chance, but circumstances of my choosing have me stuck in Memphis. If I don't enjoy being a cytotechnologist and histotechnologist as much as I think I will, then I can reapply with a Master's degree and will probably have a much better shot. Hope you're having fun at Loma Linda!
 
bryantje said:
Think it would still be possible to make the 1st decision cutoff if I apply by Aug 15th? Taking the DAT August 12th and haven't wanted to sacrifice study time to write an essay they probably don't even read. Oh and I had Coleman pegged within 30 seconds of our first phone conversation. I got the hint that he's anti-Vanderbilt and EXTREMELY anti-DAT course. Fortunately I gave him a phony name when I called, I would recommend you all do the same
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I'm not sure... I guess it would all depend on when the interview slots fill up. If you are interviewed by mid-November, I think you will have a shot at being considered at the first meeting of the admissions committee.

Don't underestimate how long it will take you to write the essay. I thought it would be a piece of cake, too, but it was actually very difficult. That delayed me submitting my application by about a month.
 
About how long is the essay supposed to be? I have no idea how to judge length by the number of characters...
 
bryantje said:
About how long is the essay supposed to be? I have no idea how to judge length by the number of characters...
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Dr. Coleman says no more than two pages single spaced. It should be short and to the point.
 
bryantje said:
Ah, well I wish I had checked this forum before I hit submit b/c mine is about 5 pages double spaced. Oh well, it was less than the maximum amount of characters so Coleman can shove it.

Anybody know how long it takes to hear back after submitting the app?
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BTW....Dr. Coleman looks at SDN. He mentioned it at my interview..... Be careful!
 
bryantje said:
Any interview stories from those of you who have interviewed? This year or previous ones...
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Yeah - I already had mine this year. It was really conversational, and nothing out of the ordinary 🙂 8 ppl there, 4 girls 4 guys from a wide range of places! We all got to know each other really well during the day, and just about everyone's parents came.
 
toothytay said:
Yeah - I already had mine this year. It was really conversational, and nothing out of the ordinary 🙂 8 ppl there, 4 girls 4 guys from a wide range of places! We all got to know each other really well during the day, and just about everyone's parents came.
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Why would anyone bring their parents with them when they are going to a graduate school interview?
 
Probably because UT basically encourages it in the interview packet. All but my parents (who are in Greece) and another man's parents came to the interview.

I see your point, and that's how I thought, but the families were very welcome to be there.
 
toothytay said:
Probably because UT basically encourages it in the interview packet. All but my parents (who are in Greece) and another man's parents came to the interview.

I see your point, and that's how I thought, but the families were very welcome to be there.
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Interesting.
 
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Does anyone know about in state eligibility rules? Parents moved out of state while I am attending UTK, would I still be consider in state?
 
During the interviews how many students did you meet? Did they seem like they were happy with the school? I'd love to hear stories from people who met dental students on their interviews
 
Finally heard back from UT Memphis about my interview! It's on December 11th...anyone heard of anybody interviewing in December (apparently, a "late" interview date) and getting in? It doesn't make sense that all the slots would be full by then if the application deadline is almost 3 full months away, but what do I know...
 
bryantje said:
Finally heard back from UT Memphis about my interview! It's on December 11th...anyone heard of anybody interviewing in December (apparently, a "late" interview date) and getting in? It doesn't make sense that all the slots would be full by then if the application deadline is almost 3 full months away, but what do I know...
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Yes, it happened last year, but I have heard that they are trying to fill up the class as soon as possible this year. Your interview is after the first AdComm meeting, so you will not be part of the first acceptances. Several people I interviewed with in January were accepted.

I think they establish high criteria at these AdComm meetings and if subsequent applicants meet or exceed the criteria, they may send an acceptance letter before the committee meets again in February. This happened to lhtran07 last year, if you want to read back to the beginning of this thread.

By the way, they continue to interview people through March, and with only ten or so slots available on a given Friday, and not all Fridays being available for interviews, your interview day sounds like it's exactly where it should be. And little about UT's admissions process "makes sense."
 
BillytheEchidna said:
Yes, it happened last year, but I have heard that they are trying to fill up the class as soon as possible this year. Your interview is after the first AdComm meeting, so you will not be part of the first acceptances. Several people I interviewed with in January were accepted.

I think they establish high criteria at these AdComm meetings and if subsequent applicants meet or exceed the criteria, they may send an acceptance letter before the committee meets again in February. This happened to lhtran07 last year, if you want to read back to the beginning of this thread.

By the way, they continue to interview people through March, and with only ten or so slots available on a given Friday, and not all Fridays being available for interviews, your interview day sounds like it's exactly where it should be. And little about UT's admissions process "makes sense."
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Hey Billy!
Why do you think they're trying to fill up the class asap this yr? Is that why they started doing interviews earlier?
 
toothytay said:
Hey Billy!
Why do you think they're trying to fill up the class asap this yr? Is that why they started doing interviews earlier?
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Hey, Toothy! That's just what I heard from a current dental student (D1), who I had an undergrad class with. He encouraged me to reapply early, if I was going to, because "they are trying to fill up the class before Christmas." I assume that they keep their students somewhat in the loop. Good luck!
 
Not sure I buy the whole "before Christmas" idea, because it would be pretty unethical to do without announcing it on the website. Some people may be applying to more than one school and may not be able to interview before Christmas. Of the 5 dates from which I could choose for my interview, 4 were after Christmas. That's 40 people who even though they applied weeks and months before the deadline, sent in 75 bucks to be considered, and took the expense of traveling to and staying in memphis for the interview, might have done so for nothing?

I know a lot of this process is backwards, but UT Memphis' website makes no mention of that possibility. The fact that 2/3 of the meetings of the ADCOMS occur AFTER christmas should be the first clue that this "before christmas" thing is nonsense.

Anyone who has already applied and does not get in and is told that they applied too late should call the dean of the dental school and demand to know why the website does not mention the importance of applying early. If I'm a dean of admissions at a dental school I want the best applicants. I don't care if they're the first 80 who applied or the last 80, I'm not going to try and expedite the process so I can take the rest of the year off. These people are dealing with the future lives and careers of hundreds of young people and should not be lazy about it or take that responsibility lightly.
 
bryantje said:
Anyone who has already applied and does not get in and is told that they applied too late should call the dean of the dental school and demand to know why the website does not mention the importance of applying early. If I'm a dean of admissions at a dental school I want the best applicants. I don't care if they're the first 80 who applied or the last 80, I'm not going to try and expedite the process so I can take the rest of the year off. These people are dealing with the future lives and careers of hundreds of young people and should not be lazy about it or take that responsibility lightly.
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Perhaps they are trying to weed out the students that were lazy about it and took the responsibility of applying lightly. 🙄
 
So I'm procrastinating and decided to stop by here for a quick look. The new Dean is really doing his best to step things up, which is great. And yes, one of the things he really wanted was to have a list for the upcoming class by Jan. He had Dr. Coleman start interviewing around early August, which is really early for UT. I think we only had a couple weeks of class before we were asked to sign up for interview lunches. So if you haven't submitted your applications yet...do it ASAP!

They plan to have a proposed list by Jan. But of course there will be people who turn down their acceptance to go to a different school so that's why they'll continue interviewing and then there's also a waitlist too.
 
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That's cool. All I'm saying is that if I don't get in because I applied too late I'm going ape. I put off applying because I was studying for the DAT (21 TS 20 AA, or 163 sum of 8 sections), and I graduated summa cum laude from vandy so if they think that's "lazy" that's their opinion.

FYI I'm interviewing december 11th, looking forward to watching the ducks walk in the Peabody...
 
bryantje said:
That's cool. All I'm saying is that if I don't get in because I applied too late I'm going ape. I put off applying because I was studying for the DAT (21 TS 20 AA, or 163 sum of 8 sections), and I graduated summa cum laude from vandy so if they think that's "lazy" that's their opinion.

FYI I'm interviewing december 11th, looking forward to watching the ducks walk in the Peabody...
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Bryan --- you're going to be FINE. Don't stress about it!!! I love the ducks at Peabody... have some fun while you're down there!
 
bryantje said:
Not sure I buy the whole "before Christmas" idea, because it would be pretty unethical to do without announcing it on the website. Some people may be applying to more than one school and may not be able to interview before Christmas. Of the 5 dates from which I could choose for my interview, 4 were after Christmas. That's 40 people who even though they applied weeks and months before the deadline, sent in 75 bucks to be considered, and took the expense of traveling to and staying in memphis for the interview, might have done so for nothing?

I know a lot of this process is backwards, but UT Memphis' website makes no mention of that possibility. The fact that 2/3 of the meetings of the ADCOMS occur AFTER christmas should be the first clue that this "before christmas" thing is nonsense.

Anyone who has already applied and does not get in and is told that they applied too late should call the dean of the dental school and demand to know why the website does not mention the importance of applying early. If I'm a dean of admissions at a dental school I want the best applicants. I don't care if they're the first 80 who applied or the last 80, I'm not going to try and expedite the process so I can take the rest of the year off. These people are dealing with the future lives and careers of hundreds of young people and should not be lazy about it or take that responsibility lightly.
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Nice sense of entitlement there, Bryantje. But, welcome to the real world. They can do whatever they want, regardless of whether or not they update their website to reflect their actual practices. They can fill the class as soon as they want to! Unfair? Definitely. That's what universities do, though. The later you apply, the less of a chance you have. You didn't apply to Vandy in January of your senior year, did you? By the way, the timing of the AdComm meetings mentioned was based on previous years and assuming this year would be similar. The new dean may be changing it up and having them meet earlier.

You didn't need to wait until you had taken the DAT to apply. The website says: "As a candidate for admission, applicants need not wait until the DAT has been taken to apply for admission, although acceptances will be contingent on successful completion of this exam."

In actuality, filling the class early will probably give them a more competitive class. Think about it: all the other dental schools operate in "fill up as soon as possible" mode. If UT is still accepting people in May, and those people have applied to and been accepted to other schools, they may not choose UT, so UT will have to go to the person lower on the list, with slightly poorer stats. It behooves them to require students to committ to the class earlier and pay their deposits earlier.
 
Of course they'll take applications before you take the DAT, but only if your application includes 75 bucks. If you could wait to pay the 75 bucks until after the DAT it would be a different story. First and foremost, that will never happen. Second, let's say I had bombed the DAT. If I had not yet applied, I would not bother applying to dental school because ADCOMS make it widely known that re-applicants have less of a chance of admission than first time applicants. That's 75 bucks that the admissions office misses out on just because they wouldn't accept applications before completion of the DAT.

No need to quote the website - I know that out of date and contradictory material inside and out. For example, the interview is granted based on what three things? GPA, pGPA, and what? That's right, the DAT. So if you're right and the website is correct, there's no point in applying before taking the DAT.
 
bryantje said:
Of course they'll take applications before you take the DAT, but only if your application includes 75 bucks. If you could wait to pay the 75 bucks until after the DAT it would be a different story. First and foremost, that will never happen. Second, let's say I had bombed the DAT. If I had not yet applied, I would not bother applying to dental school because ADCOMS make it widely known that re-applicants have less of a chance of admission than first time applicants. That's 75 bucks that the admissions office misses out on just because they wouldn't accept applications before completion of the DAT.

No need to quote the website - I know that out of date and contradictory material inside and out. For example, the interview is granted based on what three things? GPA, pGPA, and what? That's right, the DAT. So if you're right and the website is correct, there's no point in applying before taking the DAT.
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So take the DAT earlier? Someone needs to call the WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE!
 
I have an interview on the 2nd of October and I still haven't turned in LORs.. opps..
 
you don't need 'em at UT Memphis just that pre-professional evaluation
 
I have a January interview at Tennessee and Im an out of stater.

My question is that they ask if you want to bring any guests? Do they actually want you to bring a parent or spouse? And if you dont do they look down upon that? Im just saying b/c it would cost more for me considering i have far to travel and I'm most likely flying in.
 
DelToro06 said:
I have a January interview at Tennessee and Im an out of stater.

My question is that they ask if you want to bring any guests? Do they actually want you to bring a parent or spouse? And if you dont do they look down upon that? Im just saying b/c it would cost more for me considering i have far to travel and I'm most likely flying in.
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Yes, they want you to bring a guest or two, but don't feel like they will look down on you if you don't... They just want to involve your family in the process and make you/them feel welcome. For many people who are already married, the spouse will be in on the decision to move to Memphis. I think they realize that, so they would rather involve them by extending the invitation, than force them to sit in the hotel all day. I didn't bring anyone to my interview, and it wasn't an issue.
 
From what I hear (about the clinic at least), if my parents saw the condition of the facilities they wouldn't want me to go there, so I'm making them stay at home. I think we're timing things pretty well, though, because by the time we're 3rd year everything will be refurbished and relatively new with all the fundraising they're having to do.

Either that or the school will have to close due to loss of accreditation, which would be awesome.
 
The important question I have for those of you currently living in memphis: are any decent (read: cheap) pizza places around/near the dental school?
 
bryantje said:
The important question I have for those of you currently living in memphis: are any decent (read: cheap) pizza places around/near the dental school?
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Dr. Coleman suggested we try BBQ 😛
 
yeah you can't beat memphis bbq but bbq places in memphis are like starbucks- one around every corner. oh well i guess i'll just stick with papa johns until i find one
 
For pizza, I would suggest the Memphis Pizza Cafe (Madison Ave.), the Young Avenue Deli (Young Ave.), Little Italy (Union Ave.), Bosco's (Madison Ave.), or the Hi-Tone (Poplar Ave.). Warning: the Hi-Tone is a music venue and not a traditional restaurant. The pizza is delicious but the food service is awful!
 
Dr. Coleman told us specifically last year that the time you apply does not matter at all. THIS IS HOW YOU GET INTO UT:

SCIENCE GPA

Thats it!!

This is all that UT cares about, and if you think I'm joking I'm not. An applicant with a 3.7 sGPA and a 17 DAT will get in before an applicant with a 3.5 sGPA and a 20 DAT.

UT does really does not care about DAT all that much as long as it meets the required minimum. Dr. Coleman refers to this as "just one test". Also I don't think they take into account where you went to undergrad either, they just want to really boost the bottom line sGPA of their imcoming class.

So for the people who have a 3.6 or better sGPA, I say you are pretty much accepted no matter when you apply (assuming there aren't 80 other applicants who choose UT with higher than a 3.6 sGPA, but that won't happen).

I seriously think Dr. Coleman sorts the applicants by science GPA and then just goes down the list until the class is filled.
 
Also, I am basing this on what I've read on forums and NOT from talking to anyone at UT Memphis, so take it with a grain of salt. But is it true that UT Memphis does not take minuses or plusses into consideration? In other words an A- counts as A and B+ counts as B, etc. Again, I heard this on a forum so it might be complete hogwash but anyone at UT Memphis currently might be reading this...
 
Completely true. UT does not count any +'s or -'s. So this is good if you have a lot of minuses, but bad if you have a lot of pluses.

Also, UT has absolutely no remorse for retaken classes. If you get a F or D and retake they count that grade, as does any other school. However, some schools will understand if you had a slip up in you freshman year and then turned things around, so they will turn their heads and let a slip up slide. But UT doesn't care if you failed a class in you freshman year or you senior year. "An F is an F" says Dr. Coleman.

So if you have a blemish on your transcript you need to worry about what that does to your overall GPA because UT will not care.
 
NoFear66

Do you know how they fill the class ? Is it mostly filled by Dec 1st, or do they do it in waves ?.. Example. Do they take around 20-30 in decemeber.. 30 more in january, and the rest in february ?

The reason I ask is because I wasn't able to get an interview until late January, and I am worried the class will be pretty much full by that time. My overall GPA is 3.7 and my science is a 3.6

I appreciate your help. I am an OOS btw. From Arkansas
 
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