Overwhelmed

[bkdeluca]

Please tell me I'm not the only person who feels so overwhelmed by all the things we need to accomplish/have done just to be able to apply to dental schools? I'm so afraid I'm going to do something incorrectly or not in time. I'm still so stressed about having professors write letters of recommendations because we really have nowhere for them to be sent and held until we're ready to apply. I was told to keep in touch with these professors and just have them send it straight to when it's time... but how do you keep in touch with a professor? It's hard enough to form a relationship with them for the semester. I'm so overwhelmed studying for the DAT PLUS my undergrad classes because my GPA isn't that great. And I wish experience in the field counted toward something because I have SIX YEARS! I just needed to vent. I have nobody in my life who has been through this before and when I try to talk to the people in my life... They don't understand :/

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[running22]

I use Interfolio to store my LOR! It cost $48 per year but to me its worth it to have those confidential letters in a safe place. All of the pre-dents I know use this program as well to store their letters.

 

[babytomato]

You are definitely not alone! I felt the same way when I was applying to schools. I've seen other posts from people who went through the same thing. There was no one else at my school my year who was applying at the same time, so I didn't have anyone to relate to either. Just know it's normal to feel this way! It gets overwhelming at times, and that's part of the process.

For the LOR, if your professors don't know you that well, you can send them a resume or something to help them out. Your professors don't have to write a stellar letter in order for you to get in!

 

[bkdeluca]

I use Interfolio to store my LOR! It cost $48 per year but to me its worth it to have those confidential letters in a safe place. All of the pre-dents I know use this program as well to store their letters.

I've heard that they don't accept Interfolio anymore because this was my plan before I heard that!

 

[bkdeluca]

You are definitely not alone! I felt the same way when I was applying to schools. I've seen other posts from people who went through the same thing. There was no one else at my school my year who was applying at the same time, so I didn't have anyone to relate to either. Just know it's normal to feel this way! It gets overwhelming at times, and that's part of the process.

For the LOR, if your professors don't know you that well, you can send them a resume or something to help them out. Your professors don't have to write a stellar letter in order for you to get in!

This makes me feel better lol! Anybody I talk to doesn't understand how competitive it is to get accepted and why I stress out as much as I do! I never thought of a resume for a professor... I had one professor make me feel stupid because she was like "do I know you? How am I supposed to write a letter if I don't." and that just amped up my LOR anxiety ‍♀️ Thank you!

 

[biochem5]

It’s overwhelming and so is dental school.
I didn’t do everything exactly as people on sdn and was still fine

 

[babytomato]

This makes me feel better lol! Anybody I talk to doesn't understand how competitive it is to get accepted and why I stress out as much as I do! I never thought of a resume for a professor... I had one professor make me feel stupid because she was like "do I know you? How am I supposed to write a letter if I don't." and that just amped up my LOR anxiety ‍♀ Thank you!

Glad it helped! I'm sorry that professor said that to you; even if they didn't know you, they shouldn't say it that way. Do you know any professors whom you're sure know who you are and can probably write a letter?

 

[Frychicken]

It’s part of the self-weeding process. Overwhelming, but necessary in my opinion. If not for it, everyone and their grandmas would be applying to grad school.

 

[bkdeluca]

Glad it helped! I'm sorry that professor said that to you; even if they didn't know you, they shouldn't say it that way. Do you know any professors whom you're sure know who you are and can probably write a letter?

I do have one lined up for my major, but not a science professor yet. I'm hoping to form a relationship with my Cell Biology professor in the Fall but plan to email a few of my previous professors just to see what they say!

 

[bkdeluca]

It’s part of the self-weeding process. Overwhelming, but necessary in my opinion. If not for it, everyone and their grandmas would be applying to grad school.

OH, Very true! I agree lol.

 

[Sweettooth11]

I felt the same way while applying! What helped me is going through the dates and requirements and creating a checklist by dates so I wouldn't miss anything. By the time I created a school list, I also created an excel sheet of supplemental information and other requirements and their due dates. Also, it helps if you create a folder in your email that all dental school related stuff goes to! I had issues with professors too, and I ended up asking about 4-5 professors to LORs and one of them said she didn't really know me and another didn't turn in a LOR and stopped responding to my emails. I feel the struggle, but sending your resume really does help, especially if they faintly remember you

Just be sure to really kill that DAT! I also had a lower GPA, and DAT and experiences made the difference for me.

 

[babytomato]

I do have one lined up for my major, but not a science professor yet. I'm hoping to form a relationship with my Cell Biology professor in the Fall but plan to email a few of my previous professors just to see what they say!

Sounds like a good plan! The best way I developed relationships with my profs was going in during office hours. I remember going into my orgo/biochem prof's office almost every week for help. After I got done taking his classes, I would still stop by his office once in a while just to chat. He was the only one I felt confident could write a good rec letter, but for my other writers, I knew they still knew who I was because I would go in for help and talk with them. It also helped that I went to a small undergrad school because classes were relatively small and office hours were usually readily available.

 

[Lemillion]

Recent dental grad here! I remember that stress of: DAT, applying, planning for the future very vividly haha. The key is having a good timeline of what you achieve. My timeline back in the day was: 1. Craft personal statement in March/April--2. Study for DAT in May----3. Take DAT in June---->Apply and having app submitted in July.

The LOR game can be a tricky one. I would periodically stop by during their office hours back in the day and attempt to "schmooze" haha. With what's going on, it's hard to "keep in touch". Were there any professors you connected/clicked with? Those always write the best letters. (Two of my letters were from a English and Business professor because they knew me the best instead of a science professor that could hardly remember me from a class of 100).

Anyways, if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. I would be happy to help provide some guidance.