Professor making me late! Am I missing out on interview opportunities?

[bloop]

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Basically, due to a communication problem with a prof, I might not be getting my last science LOR sent in till Sept. 11th "or the week after at the latest."

What I've learned about AADSAS mailing dates: From what I saw with my other letters, it looks like once letters are received, they won't be mailed off that week, but the following Friday.

Since this is one of my science LORs, I feel like most schools won't properly evaluate my app till its in, and that will be late September most likely. 🙁 Anyone know if my chances are being hurt and by how much?

Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.66 sGPA: 3.55
DAT: 19 AA / 20 TS / 19 PAT

(I do think a lot of schools are waiting on that letter because I haven't received supplementals from maybe half or more than half of the schools I applied to. Also, yes, I do think the letter from him is worth it because he knows me very well, is known for writing good letters, and I got the highest grade overall in two his classes.)

 

[Maygyver]

You really should have contacted letter writers before June in order to give them plenty of time. Expecting to contact him in August and have it done within the following couple weeks is expecting rather a lot from someone who is probably busy and has a life too. I think it might affect your chances just because a lot of schools are starting invites. You will still be in on time though.

 

[erk005]

I asked a professor in April and she got it done by the end of August. They are busy (esp in Aug) and you have to understand that they have many things higher on their list than writing you a letter. Just be sure to send periodic friendly "reminders" to the professor ~every two-four weeks. They are doing you a favor, so be nice (and you probably should of asked for the LOR earlier)

Once the letter is submitted, call the dental schools and they can "pull" the letter off of AADSAS immediately, instead of waiting a week for it to be mailed if you are really worried about it. Good luck!

PS: IMO you will get in somewhere with a 3.6GPA and a 19/20/19DAT even with a late app

 

[doc toothache]

Some professors apparently have a hard time keeping their priorities straight.

 

[bloop]

You really should have contacted letter writers before June in order to give them plenty of time. Expecting to contact him in August and have it done within the following couple weeks is expecting rather a lot from someone who is probably busy and has a life too. I think it might affect your chances just because a lot of schools are starting invites. You will still be in on time though.

I asked a professor in April and she got it done by the end of August. They are busy (esp in Aug) and you have to understand that they have many things higher on their list than writing you a letter. Just be sure to send periodic friendly "reminders" to the professor ~every two-four weeks. They are doing you a favor, so be nice (and you probably should of asked for the LOR earlier)

Once the letter is submitted, call the dental schools and they can "pull" the letter off of AADSAS immediately, instead of waiting a week for it to be mailed if you are really worried about it. Good luck!

PS: IMO you will get in somewhere with a 3.6GPA and a 19/20/19DAT even with a late app

Some professors apparently have a hard time keeping their priorities straight.

Thanks a lot, all of you. Nice to know I've still got hope. I will definitely take your advice, erk005, and call the schools once it's in.

I was trying to keep my initial post brief but to better explain the situation: I actually did not make the decision to apply to dental school until June, and I then had to run around, study for & take my DAT , get observation hours, write my personal statement, and get things in order. Quite honestly, I let my recommenders know as soon as I could once everything else was settled and, in fact, I received my other 3 LORS mid- to late-August.

With this particular professor, I appreciate the fact that he's got a life and is on summer vacation too, but he's actually written me a LOR before (for another grad program and a research program too) and told me that all he had to do was change the last paragraph of that same letter and modify it a little and he could send it off as a dental LOR. And from friends who were also getting letters from him, I heard that he was doing a batch of letters in August and knew that it wouldn't be over-stretching to shoot him an email at the beginning of August. The problem is, he didn't reply to it; when I called him, he told me he thought he'd replied to the email and said he'd be glad to do it, so really it was a matter of miscommunication.

I'm grateful he's doing it for me (and he got chocolates and a thank you card in the mail along with the other 3 writers 🙂 ), but as with my other LORs, he's turned them in either later than desired or just shy of the deadline, so if anything, I'm just guilty of making a late career-decision and asking for a letter from a professor that's got a reputation for being late-ish. Mainly I just wanted to know if mid- to late-September is late for finally getting your application totally complete and being considered by adcoms.

 

[lmaozedong1]

Some professors apparently have a hard time keeping their priorities straight.

Have you EVER said anything nice to someone? I get the hunch that you haven't. My god man, chill sometimes...

 

[lmaozedong1]

My personal opinion is that if you hurry that you'll get an interview.

 

[bloop]

My personal opinion is that if you hurry that you'll get an interview.

Thanks, dude. I think you commented in my DAT thread too when I was freaking out back in July. Took your advice--not retaking. Btw good luck on all your interviews! Not that I'm jealous or anything. 🙄

 

[minotaur9]

I hate to tell you, but you made yourself late. Did you just figure out you wanted to be a dentist in August or have you known since before the application cycle started in June? You should have asked this professor for this letter at least a month before you needed it. I'm sure they're busy starting a new semester right now as you probably are too. Take the responsibility on this one.

 

[doc toothache]

Have you EVER said anything nice to someone? I get the hunch that you haven't. My god man, chill sometimes...

Looks like you've got yourself a homework assignment.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Have you EVER said anything nice to someone? I get the hunch that you haven't. My god man, chill sometimes...

What are you smoking man? doc toothache and I butt heads from time to time on here, but in this instance I have no clue what the heck you are talking about. How do you get that he isn't saying anything nice to someone from his quote? All he was mentioning is some profs have different priorities. That is true about every single person in the world. We ALL have different priorities. If we didin't, life would be boring because we all would do the same thing.

You. sir/ma'am, are the one who needs to chill.

 

[lnngu]

Without wanting to be terribly negative, I agree with Minotaur. You chose to wait until August to ask for the letter, months after you decided to apply. The professors don't get paid to write those letters. They're doing us favors and long turnaround times are to be expected. I asked for mine in May, and was relieved to get them in early July.

That said, I hope things work out for you.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Without wanting to be terribly negative, I agree with Minotaur. You chose to wait until August to ask for the letter, months after you decided to apply. The professors don't get paid to write those letters. They're doing us favors and long turnaround times are to be expected. I asked for mine in May, and was relieved to get them in early July.

That said, I hope things work out for you.

We could debate this - where the fault lies - and we really wouldn't address the issue the OP wanted to address. The OP wants to know does this hurt his/her chances? It depends on when you get interviews after the application and LORs are received by the schools. I was in a similiar situation as you, but longer timeframe passed before my LOR was submitted. In this instance, it was my fault. I didn't think about the LOR until mid-May. This was during finals (I hadn't been in school there for 10 yrs, so finals weren't on my mind.) At my undergrad, most of the professors didn't teach courses during the summer and the don't do research, so they have time to play. The main professor usually takes a summer long vacation to places like Costa Rica, India, the Himalayan mountains, etc., so usually the day after his grades are submitted he is gone for the summer. So, I had to wait until school started up again to remind them of the LOR. It wasn't until mid-September that the LOR was sent and received. I was fortunate enough to get my interviews between late-Oct and mid-Nov (which is right at the magic cutoff date for 1st round selection). There is a chance you could get an interview before mid-Nov, but I would think it would be cutting it close if the LOR is submitted by late-Sept. If you don't get an interview before they cutoff for first round selections, yes, it does decrease the odds, BUT not by a huge amount. Most every school has a bunch of slots to fill after the fist round of selections go out at the beginning of Dec.

With your stats, I am sure you will get multiple interviews. I'd bet you will have a good chance of getting in somewhere with the stats you have. Nail the interviews and I am sure you will be fine. Just go into the interviews relaxed no matter when your nterviews are. Be confident and prove to them why they need to select you.

 

[bloop]

Thanks a ton, NAVY DDS 2010. I know I should have just simplified the first post so people would just address my main question. Yes, in the end, if I could go back and do it, I'd have sorted out my career goals and asked professors about letters while it was still May.

I am glad to hear that there's just as much chance of getting a post-Dec interview still, and you are an example that even with some things coming in late, getting in isn't impossible or anything. I'll be hoping for and practicing for potential interviews.

 

[drpj]

I was in the same boat as you. I just had my final letter submitted and it was mailed out today. I called some schools and they said it takes about 2-3 weeks to receive it. But I have one interview so far but not having my application considered "complete" is definitely holding me back. Let's just think positive and hopefully we'll get a lot of interviews. 🙂 and my stats are kind of similar to yours, 19 AA/19 TS/21 PAT and oGPA 3.69 and sGPA 3.6.

 

[bloop]

I was in the same boat as you. I just had my final letter submitted and it was mailed out today. I called some schools and they said it takes about 2-3 weeks to receive it. But I have one interview so far but not having my application considered "complete" is definitely holding me back. Let's just think positive and hopefully we'll get a lot of interviews. 🙂 and my stats are kind of similar to yours, 19 AA/19 TS/21 PAT and oGPA 3.69 and sGPA 3.6.

Cool, your story makes me feel better, & btw, nice stats. 🙂 Yeah, we're just gonna have to hope for the best; crossing my fingers for us both!

 

[UltimateHombre]

Have you EVER said anything nice to someone? I get the hunch that you haven't. My god man, chill sometimes...

Dude... say what you want, but the vast majority of the time DocToothache is right. Does he come off condescending... yes. But nevertheless, he is right and helps keep us prideful predents in check.

 

[Lethstang]

I've read somewhere alot of schools don't wait on your letters of rec to review your application. Every school is dif

 

[CANgnome]

I asked my prof in March, and he is just writing a letter now. It is frustrating, but you should remember, that he is doing it on your behalf, according to his own free will, so anything should be great.

I do understand how difficult it can be sometimes, though. It's been half a year already for me, but I am glad that I am receiving mines.

I do have 2 other sci LOR and a dental LOR submitted already, though, so perhaps I am not feeling the heat as much as you are, OP.

 

[peanutb123]

Have you EVER said anything nice to someone? I get the hunch that you haven't. My god man, chill sometimes...

doctoothache is like machete, most of heshe posts are never more than 1 line and to the point.