Rejections/Denials? Ugh!!!

[GalDental54]

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They certainly are devastating and feel like a punch to the gut! 🙁

I've gotten:

- 3 interview invites

- 2 denials

- And, wait listed for an interview at one school.

What's your experience so far?

 

[dent_wannabe]

They certainly are devastating and feel like a punch to the gut! 🙁

I've gotten:

- 3 interview invites

- 2 denials

- And, wait listed for an interview at one school.

What's your score so far?

Two interviews, one continuing review, no news from anybody else.

 

[GalDental54]

Two interviews, one continuing review, no news from anybody else.

Congrats on the two interviews! 🙂 (And, good luck!!)

I've actually debated (in my head...ha!) whether I'd just rather not hear back from a school than get the dreaded denial email. I guess it's good to know, so we can cross them off the list and just say "next".....but it's also very deflating to get those emails

 

[Pearl E. White]

They certainly are devastating and feel like a punch to the gut! 🙁

I've gotten:

- 3 interview invites

- 2 denials

- And, wait listed for an interview at one school.

What's your experience so far?

Hey you have invites! That's awesome. Try to focus on that instead. Best of luck to you.

 

[GalDental54]

Hey you have invites! That's awesome. Try to focus on that instead. Best of luck to you.

Oh, I agree! And, thanks 🙂

It just hurts when one of my denials was from one of my top 3 schools (Loma Linda.....but, who the heck can figure them out??? 😉). I'm moving on and trying to stay positive though!!

 

[Pearl E. White]

Oh, I agree! And, thanks 🙂

It just hurts when one of my denials was from one of my top 3 schools (Loma Linda.....but, who the heck can figure them out??? 😉) I'm moving on and trying to stay positive though!!

I'm sorry to hear (read) that. Fingers crossed for the other top choices for you!

 

[dent_wannabe]

Congrats on the two interviews! 🙂 (And, good luck!!)

I've actually debated (in my head...ha!) whether I'd just rather not hear back from a school than get the dreaded denial email. I guess it's good to know, so we can cross them off the list and just say "next".....but it's also very deflating to get those emails

Which schools already gave you the denials?

I can say from job search experience that I would rather be told if somebody was not going to proceed with my application. Most employers just never contact you even if they intend to deny you, period.

 

[GalDental54]

Which schools already gave you the denials?

I can say from job search experience that I would rather be told if somebody was not going to proceed with my application. Most employers just never contact you even if they intend to deny you, period.

Loma Linda and UNLV (I figured out my scores with their formula and missed the cut off by just one point....sigh....but they don't count the PAT and that was my highest DAT score 🙁.....oh well, they were actually in my bottom three, but Loma Linda stung.)

And, I agree regarding what you said about how it's probably better to just be told than hold out false hope!

 

[dent_wannabe]

Loma Linda and UNLV (I figured out my scores with their formula and missed the cut off by just one point....sigh....but they don't count the PAT and that was my highest DAT score 🙁.....oh well, they were actually in my bottom three, but Loma Linda stung.)

And, I agree regarding what you said about how it's probably better to just be told than hold out false hope!

UNLV actually releases that information? Huh…

 

[GalDental54]

UNLV actually releases that information? Huh…

Yes. Here's the formula (from another post here):

"Their formula for calculating which students make the cut for interviews is ((CUM GPA + SCI GPA)/8)x(RC/30)x((BIO+QR+OCHEM)/90)x75
They add that score to an interview score (half faculty/half current student 25 points total) in order to determine a ranking of acceptance candidates (of course there are exceptions where some students are bumped up due to non numerical factors). But as you can see from the part 1 formula, two variables (from a x*y*z*=part 1 standpoint) are based on the DAT while only one is based on GPA.
From word of mouth and general consensus, if an applicant has a potential to receive at least a final score of 50 (or near 50), they are usually invited to interview."

I called them when I received the denial email and asked about this. They told me my application was strong and everything was good, except I didn't score quite high enough to be invited for an interview. They were extremely nice about it, but have a strict cut off I guess. I just missed it, but I do understand that each school has to have a method to narrow down the large number of applicants to those they invite to interview.

 

[Gauchonose]

1 interview rejection MWU-AZ after two days of submitting, but still alive for MWU-IL.

 

[dent_wannabe]

Yes. Here's the formula (from another post here):

"Their formula for calculating which students make the cut for interviews is ((CUM GPA + SCI GPA)/8)x(RC/30)x((BIO+QR+OCHEM)/90)x75
They add that score to an interview score (half faculty/half current student 25 points total) in order to determine a ranking of acceptance candidates (of course there are exceptions where some students are bumped up due to non numerical factors). But as you can see from the part 1 formula, two variables (from a x*y*z*=part 1 standpoint) are based on the DAT while only one is based on GPA.
From word of mouth and general consensus, if an applicant has a potential to receive at least a final score of 50 (or near 50), they are usually invited to interview."

I called them when I received the denial email and asked about this. They told me my application was strong and everything was good, except I didn't score quite high enough to be invited for an interview. They were extremely nice about it, but have a strict cut off I guess. I just missed it, but I do understand that each school has to have a method to narrow down the large number of applicants to those they invite to interview.

If that were the actual formula, I wouldn't have made the cut either, with 43 points…

 

[CanadianGurl]

loma linda rejected me lmao

then again, i'm not sda. although they say they don't discriminate, they definitely do. its a money grab, and they only accept like a handful of non-sda students anyway. like i'm religious and had a letter and community involvement, just not SDA..............

 

[GalDental54]

loma linda rejected me lmao

then again, i'm not sda. although they say they don't discriminate, they definitely do. its a money grab, and they only accept like a handful of non-sda students anyway. like i'm religious and had a letter and community involvement, just not SDA..............

Yeah, I've been told that now by a few people (regarding how few they actually accept who are not SDA). The day I received my denial email, 2 of my friends also received one and they had high GPA and high DAT scores (one was a 25 AA!!). I am a Christian and had an excellent religious LOR from my pastor who I've know most of my life....but not SDA!

 

[Faefly]

what is SDA?

 

[GalDental54]

what is SDA?

Seventh Day Adventist 🙂

 

[someday112]

If that were the actual formula, I wouldn't have made the cut either, with 43 points…

From my understanding of that statement, I think you would make the cut because you definitely have the potential to reach 50 total points after interview. You would just need 7/25 from the interview.

Please someone correct me if I misunderstood that formula calculation.

 

[Faefly]

Seventh Day Adventist 🙂

Oh, so they don't accept people who don't believe in anything? I thought they wouldn't, right?

 

[princeafrica]

Lol that's not the sole reason they reject you and probably not the reason at all. DAT Bootcamp group has a couple students who said they got into Loma Linda without religious affiliation and without a spiritual letter in their supplemental

 

[CanadianGurl]

Lol that's not the sole reason they reject you and probably not the reason at all. DAT Bootcamp group has a couple students who said they got into Loma Linda without religious affiliation and without a spiritual letter in their supplemental

key word: couple.

 

[MacAttack66]

key word: couple.

True. I applied and got a denial too, but my DAT was 18, so I wasn't surprised (I wasn't aware their cutoff was 20 when I applied). I know a few students there and it's a great program, but highly religious and mainly 7th Day students who get in and attend.

 

[MacAttack66]

They certainly are devastating and feel like a punch to the gut! 🙁

I've gotten:

- 3 interview invites

- 2 denials

- And, wait listed for an interview at one school.

What's your experience so far?

I have 4 interviews (only been to one so far, but 3 others are scheduled).

One denial (Loma Linda).

 

[CanadianGurl]

True. I applied and got a denial too, but my DAT was 18, so I wasn't surprised (I wasn't aware their cutoff was 20 when I applied). I know a few students there and it's a great program, but highly religious and mainly 7th Day students who get in and attend.

My DAT was above cut-off, my GPA was greatly above their averages, and my ECs were stellar. They should've just said "no brown religions" and left it at that lmao

 

[JohnDoeJR]

My DAT was above cut-off, my GPA was greatly above their averages, and my ECs were stellar. They should've just said "no brown religions" and left it at that lmao

I have heard very similar complaints about Loma Linda in the past. I understand that a school can have values and beliefs that they wish to see in their students, but dentistry serves a community and unless your dream is to serve white-washed suburbia, a school like Loma Linda does not reflect the diversity someone should be open to. Just my two cents.

 

[artist2022]

My DAT was above cut-off, my GPA was greatly above their averages, and my ECs were stellar. They should've just said "no brown religions" and left it at that lmao

Based on the stats you've posted, your DAT is average to theirs but your GPAs are below their averages, and also you're Canadian. All of these factors had an influence, not just the fact that you aren't SDA (neither am I, I believe in a small "brown" religion too). I got an interview before my spiritual letter was in, and was accepted shortly after my interview. It's a SDA school, but they won't reject you for not being SDA- there are many factors that go into interviews & acceptances. Just putting that out there.

For everyone else, theoretically all you need is one interview, and many of you have more than one! I've talked to a lot of people on here and in real life, and some of them have had only one interview, or even none at all. Be grateful for the interviews you've received (you deserved them!) and learn from the rejections and move on. Good luck! Y'all got this

 

[princeafrica]

key word: couple.

....and DAT Bootcamp group, just like SDN, is not a full representation of the applicant pool and this is just the few current students that happened to be active in group.

 

[CanadianGurl]

Based on the stats you've posted, your DAT is average to theirs but your GPAs are below their averages, and also you're Canadian. All of these factors had an influence, not just the fact that you aren't SDA (neither am I, I believe in a small "brown" religion too). I got an interview before my spiritual letter was in, and was accepted shortly after my interview. It's a SDA school, but they won't reject you for not being SDA- there are many factors that go into interviews & acceptances. Just putting that out there.

For everyone else, theoretically all you need is one interview, and many of you have more than one! I've talked to a lot of people on here and in real life, and some of them have had only one interview, or even none at all. Be grateful for the interviews you've received (you deserved them!) and learn from the rejections and move on. Good luck! Y'all got this

My gpa is a 3.63 after re-calculations, isnt that above their average? Canadian is obviously a factor, but I firmly believe that SDAs have an advantage. Many questions were geared towards em during the supplementaries, and unless you have stellar 4.0/28AA you won't stand a fair shot against SDAs with similar stats.

 

[IranBrooklyn77]

I applied to loma Linda in 2016 and I got rejected . After I got the rejection I spoke to the director of admission and one of the factor was that I am not Christian .. I do believe that they are religious focus

Sent from my moto g(6) using SDN mobile

 

[cystinosis]

loma linda rejected me lmao

then again, i'm not sda. although they say they don't discriminate, they definitely do. its a money grab, and they only accept like a handful of non-sda students anyway. like i'm religious and had a letter and community involvement, just not SDA..............

CanadianGurl & others:
Everyone who was planning on applying to Loma Linda and is not SDA should have read last year's thread: applicants with really high GPA and DAT were rejected with unreasonable explanations like " you are not a competitive applicant" to someone with 3.8 and 24. !!
or " ....improve your DAT" for someone with DAT=21. Surprizing since Loma Linda's statistics are below average compared to all dental schools (Science GPA of 3.39 , overall GPA =3.5 and DAT=19.something)
Research a lot before applying, read previous years threads, do not waste $$$$$ and time on writing all the additional essays and such..

 

[SwissyD]

3 Interviews, 1 Continuing review, and many others unanswered.