* Random Question Thread *

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Originally posted by ShawnOne
has ANYBODY heard ANYTHING from UCLA?

I was told (a few weeks ago by email) that they would finally start interviewing soon. What a lag!


UCLA has cashed checks and the party is over man.
I am very dissapointed in both UCLA and USC.
U have at least received an e-mail, I have not
received anything.
+pissed+
 
Depends on where you go to school. Additionally, don't neglect the cost of insurance. I nearly bought a newish car before class started, but it would've cost me more to insure than it did to purchase. Needless to say, I backed out of that one in a hurry.
 
Well, I wouldnt have to worry about insurance, my grandparents got that😀

Why does it matter where we go to school? I thought all schools make out a budget for you to live on that basically only varies depending on the cost of living of the city the dental school is in. Im sure if you factor in for cost of living that schools would vary a little but not that much, correct me if im wrong.
 
arns,

great posts again. are you sure you haven't been reading my mind?🙂
 
Originally posted by arns51
Well, I wouldnt have to worry about insurance, my grandparents got that😀

Why does it matter where we go to school? I thought all schools make out a budget for you to live on that basically only varies depending on the cost of living of the city the dental school is in. Im sure if you factor in for cost of living that schools would vary a little but not that much, correct me if im wrong.
The biggest consideration becomes the annual cap in government loans. If you go to an in-state public school (like me), the $38,500 annual allotmentcan be enough to get you through without much trouble. If you go private, though, any expenses above the federal cap have to come from private lending sources, which are typically much more expensive.
 
Does anybody know how USC handles the Dec 1 date? Do they usually send out emails on the 1st?
 
For UCLA interview, a girl in my tufts's interview on 11/20 said she received UCLA's email on 11/19 inviting her for an interview on 12/5 (I do not exactly remember the date).
I applied there too, but I just don't expect anything from them.
 
Who else is skipping class today?
 
Congrats to all who got accepted!


Heres the question:

Around what percentage of each class is filled at various school on Dec 1?

i know applying late is far from ideal however does it make sense to assume that the only people who get accepted on Dec 1 are those who would most likely get accepted anyways. Are ones chances of acceptance that much greater when applying earlier?

What im trying to ask is
Most of the superior applicants have already been accepted so therefore the competion mostly consitsts of average applicants(like myself) trying to stand out

i know that there are exceptions

thanks
 
i really don't think you can answer that question with any certainty.
it really depends on many factors.

many applicants who got acceptances may still be waiting to hear from other schools. therefore, these applicants most likely will not accept it until the last deposit day.

on the other hand, if someone gets one acceptance, he/she will most likely take the offer inorder to avoid any chances of delay.


i wish you could answer that questions, but i doubt anyone can.


now i have a question.
how much can one rely on the "WAIT LIST"?
UCONN and IUSD told me that they really do end up taking many from the wait list. what worries me is that for a class size of 40 (UCONN) and UCONN being so reputable, why won't it fill? why would they even need a wait list?
 
Originally posted by PERFECT3435
[B
now i have a question.
how much can one rely on the "WAIT LIST"?
UCONN and IUSD told me that they really do end up taking many from the wait list. what worries me is that for a class size of 40 (UCONN) and UCONN being so reputable, why won't it fill? why would they even need a wait list? [/B]

If a waitlist is all you have, then you have no choice but to rely on it. I was on Tufts' waitlist last year. I think in total there were about 65-70 people on it. I was ranked 13th, and got in this year.

Sometimes waitlists are just a safety valve for a school. If for some reason no one decides to attend, then they still have a large pool of people who would kill for a seat. Some schools call alot of students off their lists, others do not call any. It all depends on the school and competition in the applicant pool.

Just to clarify, you got waitlisted at IU, or were you rejected? I'm confused because you have said both.

good luck
 
Perfect,
I?m guessing IU?s waitlist moves around more than UConn's, but I'm sure there are people (don't know how many though...anyone else?) that get in off of the waitlist at both schools.
 
ok i am a little confused about how this works.


i know that most people will start applying for their financial aids sometime soon.
now what happens if someone is on a waitlist and they get accepted let say just weeks before school starts. wouldn't that be too late to apply for financial aid?
 
Not sure if this helps or not. But I was told that when you fill out the FAFSA there is room to enter the code for up to 5 schools I believe. So if you are undecided between schools or not sure where you will gain admittance enter the top 5 schools when you fill it out.
 
ARNS,

thanks for the info, but you didn't answer my question.

what i wanna know is that wouldn't it be late when you are applying for FAFSA?

ie,
let say that i get accepted to IUSD ro UCONN in JUNE 2004. now, i know FAFSA works as first come first serve. the funds are limitted and by june they have alread have had a lot of student loans awarded to others. so how would i get the gov student loans that i would need in order to go to any of these schools?
 
Perfecto,

You can fill out the FAFSA on Jan 1. It does not matter if you have an acceptance yet. On that FAFSA, you can pick up to 5 schools. I suppose once you get into a school you will have to submit a cost of attendence statement for that school, which determines your needs.

Also, all financial assistance is going to be in the form of loans and not grants, so they will not run out. (i.e. dont worry about first come first serve).

You shouldnt have any problem with timing. Not for the government programs at least.

What you might have a problem with is credit worthiness for private loans, which you will likely need if you plan on taking more than about 40k/year.

Private lenders have credit criteria for private loan programs. The following is directly off a document sent to me by a school.

"Lenders will generally make you a loan provided that your credit report demonstrates that you meet the lender's criteria. These are not [school] criteria, but rather those of lenders. To be approved for private educational loans you credit report must show:

  • no more than one account rated 60 or more days delinquent the time of the credit report
  • no more than 2 accnts that have been 60 or more days delinquent in the past two years.
  • no account delinquent 90 or more days within last 5 years
  • no record of a paid or unpaid collection or charge-off in the past two years.
  • no record of foreclosure, repossession, open judgement or suit, unpaid prior educational loans default or other negative public credit item in the past six years.
  • no record of bankruptcy in past seven years.
  • no more than three inquiries to an authorized credit reporting agency in the past six months.
  • accounts listed as "Not Paid as Agreed" will be classified as delinquent 90 days.

If even one of these situations applies to you, it may be likely you will be denied education loans. Uou should contact creditors to make arrangements to clear delinguencies now so that you may meet lender' credit criteria by the time you apply for student loans."

You can checkout a website called www.myfico.com. Its a great site for finances. You can get your credit report for about $15. Also, they have free financial aid calculators (use the mortgage calclator for student loans).

S1
 
thanks shawn,

that link was very helpful. its actually 39.95 but still worth it.

the news as expected was not good.

now, since i screwed up pretty bad in my freshman years and destroyed my credit, what will happen as far as dental school loans go?


i am pretty confused about how the loans would work. if i have really bad credit, is that mean that i won't qualify for any loans? because that would mean no d school even if i do get accepted.
i thought that FAFSA is a gov based program. i know that the loans could come from private lenders like my undergrad loan is from Bank of America.

i am completely lost now.
 
Let me try and clear things up...

As a dental student, you will file a FAFSA. This is like the AADSAS since it will be used to apply for all your loans.

Now you will probably need to get loans from multiple sources. One of these sources (the primary one) will be stafford loan program (which is a sure thing). I beleive you can get about 42,000 in stafford loans/year. (8500 subsidized, 34500 unsub).

Next there is Perkins and HPSL loans. These loans will be awarded depending on family contribution. In other words, you must disclose your family income, and if it qualifies, you can get these loans. You might get 5-10k year from these combined.

Lastly, there are private loans. These loans are made by private companies and they each have their own criteria for granting loans (as mentioned earlier). IF you have bad credit, you can get someone to co-sign the loan. So if you have a rich uncle with good credit, maybe he can help.

If you plan on going to a school like BU, Tufts, NYU, or USC, you will definately need some private loans to cover the $70k/year expense.

S1
 
thank you very much. things are much clear now. i just was confused because i thought that all of your loans would come from the private lender.


i am all crystal clear now.

oh yeah, i knew my fiance would come handy at some point in my life. she has an excellent credit.🙂
 
well, i finally got into anatomy lec and lab. we have our 1st look at the cadaver this coming wed. they have one for every 5 people. not bad considering that its only cal state school.

anyways, i was wondering if someone would help with another question of mine. with school being almost right around the corner, what are some of the things that pre dents should make sure they have ready?

1. i have already sent my FAFSA app.
2. made sure that i have all the pre reqs before school starts.
3. already looked into apartments and where i'd move (god UHAUL is gonna be pretty expensive for me no matter where i move)
4. looked into jobs for my fiance

i have heard in the past about having your vaccinations done. is this something general or are there specific vaccinations that i should have done?

i know i am not accepted yet, but i just do not wanna run into problems once i hear the good news.

thank you all again
 
wow, very important info.
i have no idea why this belongs to "random question thread"

Have anyone tried the free credit report yet?
Any idea whether they will try to sell u stuff later on?
 
i used to try free things, but i learned my listen. there s no such thing as free. i got my credit reort for 39.9. i believe the site's name was myfico.com.

i don't know how exactly it'll help me to know my credit score, but i did it anyways jus to have it out of the way. m credit record sucks and so i don't know what i'll have to do when it comes to financial assurance for dental school. let see what happens with FAFSA 1st.
 
ecdoesit

The only way to receive a free credit report in the state of California is only when there have been a negative action take on you based on that credit reporting agencies. Otherwise, freecreditreport.com is just a name; not a description of their services. I got a free credit report due to my credit card reducing my credit limit from 1000000 to only 980000. :laugh:
 
ok since it seems like there aren't many people here on SDN planning on attending IUSD, i didn't wanna start a new thread.

just wondering who is gonna go there. please pm me.
 
WOW,

i just found a really nice 2 bedroom condo in IN (6 miles from the school) for 425/month.

since i have my fiance and daughter with me there, i asked about a 3 bedroom and the lady said i could get a 3 bd for 525/month.
is that awesome or what?

god we pay 700 for a one bedroom in a really terrible neighborhood in los angeles right now. i consider myself lucky for not being shot in my area yet. heck, when i 1st moved in here, Pizza hut even refused to deliver to our place saying the driver was too scared to deliver to my area. i swear this is all true but i had to live here for income reasons. i can't wait to drive 2000 miles in june😀
 
omg, that's great, ahmad.
i will stuck in those LA apartment for my next 4 yrs...........
 
well just to clarify things a little, i don't exactly live in los angeles. i live about 30 minutes away but i know that those LA apartments aren't any better.
 
Perf, Dont you live in the San Fernando Valley?
 
Originally posted by Thaxil
ecdoesit

The only way to receive a free credit report in the state of California is only when there have been a negative action take on you based on that credit reporting agencies. Otherwise, freecreditreport.com is just a name; not a description of their services. I got a free credit report due to my credit card reducing my credit limit from 1000000 to only 980000. :laugh:

With that kind of credit line you could charge you entire dental education on it. Just kidding I think you meant $10,000 to $9,800. If you meant $100,000 to $98,000 that's an awesome credit line - did you get that on a student card?
 
Originally posted by ShawnOne
Perf, Dont you live in the San Fernando Valley?


yes, i do. i live in northridge to be exact.
 
heck, when i 1st moved in here, Pizza hut even refused to deliver to our place saying the driver was too scared to deliver to my area. i swear this is all true but i had to live here for income reasons.

I have never seen any part of northridge that sounds like this. In general, I think Northridge is a decent area. A lot better than Reseda or North Hollywood.
 
i should invite you over sometime shawn.lol

no seriously man, its not even close to calling it a good place to live at.
 
Hey guys,

i had a question abt pre-reqs for dental school..and was wondering if anyone could help out..

Do all pre-reqs. have to be completed before applying?
 
As far as I know, all the courses you plan to take before dental school starts count toward your fulfillment of the pre-reqs. Of course, then, if you fink out & don't take what you said you would, I think schools generally reserve the right to rescind their offers of admission. If the coursework for Fall, Spring, and Summer of the 2004-2005 academic year doesn't count, then I know at least one person who will be screwed: me!! 😀 So I think it's OK to count toward your fulfillment of pre-reqs any courses that you plan to take in the 2004-205 academic year.
 
UofT-Girl said:
Hey guys,

i had a question abt pre-reqs for dental school..and was wondering if anyone could help out..

Do all pre-reqs. have to be completed before applying?

The simple answer...no
 
Thanks for your input..

So for the "organic chemistry" requirement -- would it be okay if i take it after i apply to dental school? (an organic chemistry course will not appear on my transcript when i submit my transcripts) ..I'm taking the canadian DAT, and it doesnt cover organic chem.. so it would be perfectly okay if i dont take organic chem until Fall 2005 (since i'll be applying the summer of 2005) ? and this wouldn't hurt my chances?

😕
 
At the time I applied I didnt have any physics and i also didnt have O-chem II.

You should be good to go.
 
UofT-Girl said:
Thanks for your input..

So for the "organic chemistry" requirement -- would it be okay if i take it after i apply to dental school? (an organic chemistry course will not appear on my transcript when i submit my transcripts) ..I'm taking the canadian DAT, and it doesnt cover organic chem.. so it would be perfectly okay if i dont take organic chem until Fall 2005 (since i'll be applying the summer of 2005) ? and this wouldn't hurt my chances?

😕
you're fine, I did the same with physics and english.
 
sorry people i know i am not a moderator, but i really didn't think we need to open up a new thread for every question we have.

lets keep this forum a little organized so that its easier to find older threads.
 
Thaxil said:
Why is the sky blue?
That would be the fourth-power frequency dependence of Rayleigh scattering.
 
I just wanted to say hello to all my SDN buddies.

I am currently in Spain and having a blast. However, the people around here smoke like crazy! 👎 😡
 
glad to hear that you are having a good time shawn.

enjoy it buddy.

btw, is that say USC 2008????
 
what is appropriate for a female to wear to interviews? i just bought a navy suit, is this too formal or just right?
 
ShawnOne said:
I just wanted to say hello to all my SDN buddies.

I am currently in Spain and having a blast. However, the people around here smoke like crazy! 👎 😡

Typical European 😳
I ran into a bunch of Germans in Margarita Venezuela and they smoked like freaking smoke stacks. Looks like our MD buddies here at SDN will have some job security 😀

Where in Spain are you? I used to live in the Canary Islands.
 
Biogirl361 said:
what is appropriate for a female to wear to interviews? i just bought a navy suit, is this too formal or just right?

I would say it's perfect!!!
 
Biogirl361 said:
what is appropriate for a female to wear to interviews? i just bought a navy suit, is this too formal or just right?

Biogirl,

that will do it. whatever that will look professional will work for the interview.
 
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