Why is applying early to Dental Schools a BENEFIT?

[Tooth Fixer]

I see looking through other threads on SDN that everyone keeps saying its a benefit to apply early, or the day that aadsas opens. No one really has explained why this is the case.

1) What is the LOSS if you apply in may as opposed to June, July, August or September?
2) Is the only satisfaction of applying early just so that they can tell you if you got in or not early (December), or does it actually increase your chances over others that applied late?
3) Lets say you're in the lower half of the applications pile that dental schools have received, don't schools keep interviewing untill they have looked through all the files? It doesn't make sense for a school to let in all those people who have low gpa's that apply early and then not take in the people with high gpa and DAT scores that applied late. Is this the case?

I'm having a tough time understanding what the benefit is other than getting interviewed early and possibly knowing earlier if you got in or not, but this has nothing to do with increasing or decreasing chances from what I can put together. To me rolling admission means we interview, if your stats are good we accept if not we keep you on file, we keep interviewing till all the applications are looked through then if your stats above others that we have looked at we will then grant you admission, I don't see how this is any good news or bad news.
If you could answer these questions I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks

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[Nendo21]

I see looking through other threads on SDN that everyone keeps saying its a benefit to apply early, or the day that aadsas opens. No one really has explained why this is the case.

1) What is the LOSS if you apply in may as opposed to June, July, August or September?
2) Is the only satisfaction of applying early just so that they can tell you if you got in or not early (December), or does it actually increase your chances over others that applied late?
3) Lets say you're in the lower half of the applications pile that dental schools have received, don't schools keep interviewing untill they have looked through all the files? It doesn't make sense for a school to let in all those people who have low gpa's that apply early and then not take in the people with high gpa and DAT scores that applied late. Is this the case?

I'm having a tough time understanding what the benefit is other than getting interviewed early and possibly knowing earlier if you got in or not, but this has nothing to do with increasing or decreasing chances from what I can put together. To me rolling admission means we interview, if your stats are good we accept if not we keep you on file, we keep interviewing till all the applications are looked through then if your stats above others that we have looked at we will then grant you admission, I don't see how this is any good news or bad news.
If you could answer these questions I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks

hmm well first you avoid the rush if you are applying through aadsas people tend to send in applications in august-september a lot more than in may and june so your stuff is less likely to get lost by them, also it gets to schools faster which gives you an advantage because the schools have less applications to look through early on. it's good if your stats are lower because the more competitive people will apply later on, but it's also good if your stats are good because you'll get your interviews out of the way early and you'll have the acceptance in your mailbox by december 1st. much less stressful than waiting till january/february...also good in case your file is not complete at some school you have all the time to send the missing things in and not having to worry about missing deadlines can't think of anything else other than most schools recommend the applicants to apply early on... your chances are bigger as the 75% rule applies to those who interview early as opposed to those who interview after december. Just do it it's better than having to reapply...

 

[airvent]

Well ADSAS takes a while to process your application. June, july are not too late. If schools have your Adsas app and DAT and LORs by September you are in good shape.

Schools admit students on a rolling basis, which means that the start admitting students before all applications are in. So if you app is not complete..say..by November you may not get an interview until january. By then many seats are filled and you are competeing for fewer seats.

So in theory if your grades are average you may have a better chance if you get your app in earlier. At least that is the impression I got.

 

[Sweeti8286]

For one- if there's anything missing in the applicaiton package, you can take care of it sooner. Getting interviewed early is good-it also means if you are good enough to be accepted, they put you on the accepted list rather than on the waiting-list after your itnerview. You get to know around Dec. 1st. Besides- getting the interview early in the semester is better than later in the semester with everything gets harder in the classes near the end. Also- it's kind of like a first come first served basis--if you apply later...you have to have grades that beat a lot of other applicants to make yours stand out to get an interview.

 

[Irene010]

I applied mid-June and had almost all of my interviews scheduled before December. Take my interview at UMDNJ for example...I got the invitation to interview at the very beginning of September, and had it scheduled by mid-October. My stats were most likely competative compared to the relatively small number of other applications that they had already reviewed before mine, so my application was good enough to land me an interview.

When I actually went to the interview, as my one-on-one talk with the interviewer was concluding, he informed me that the admissions committee would actually be meeting that very afternoon to discuss the applicants who had interviewed that day...and at that time, a decision would be made as to who would/would not be accepted. So, even though I didn't get my acceptance letter until December, I was actually accepted on October 15th. Therefore, I no longer had to compete with those people who applied later than me (even if their stats might be higher)...I know...it might not be that fair to those later applicants w/ higher stats, but this was the situation at a handful of schools that I interviewed at.

The later you apply, the more people you have to compete with...and especially, if you interview after December, some of the class has already been filled, so there are less seats available, decreasing your chances even more.

And also, aside from increasing your chances, take it from me, it feels soooo good just to get it all overwith. Applying to dental school is stressful, and its not something you want hanging over your head. Just get all your stuff taken care of, send it all out, and that way its out of your hands, all you have to do is sit back and wait for feedback. Plus, its really draining to have to travel around for interviews...its expensive, you have to miss school, it throws of your schedule...its just a pain. If you can limit all the interview nonsense to just your Fall semester, you'll do yourself a big favor. But if you apply late, you'll have interviews spilling over into Spring semester and you you'll just be dragging the process on longer than necessary...and meanwhile making it more competative and stressful.
Anyway, sorry for the novel here , but honestly, applying early worked wonders for me....I was a solid applicant, but my stats weren't anything spectacular, and I think that applying early really cut out a lot of competition in my case. Best of luck to you!

 

[Tooth Fixer]

I applied mid-June and had almost all of my interviews scheduled before December. Take my interview at UMDNJ for example...I got the invitation to interview at the very beginning of September, and had it scheduled by mid-October. My stats were most likely competative compared to the relatively small number of other applications that they had already reviewed before mine, so my application was good enough to land me an interview.

When I actually went to the interview, as my one-on-one talk with the interviewer was concluding, he informed me that the admissions committee would actually be meeting that very afternoon to discuss the applicants who had interviewed that day...and at that time, a decision would be made as to who would/would not be accepted. So, even though I didn't get my acceptance letter until December, I was actually accepted on October 15th. Therefore, I no longer had to compete with those people who applied later than me (even if their stats might be higher)...I know...it might not be that fair to those later applicants w/ higher stats, but this was the situation at a handful of schools that I interviewed at.

The later you apply, the more people you have to compete with...and especially, if you interview after December, some of the class has already been filled, so there are less seats available, decreasing your chances even more.

And also, aside from increasing your chances, take it from me, it feels soooo good just to get it all overwith. Applying to dental school is stressful, and its not something you want hanging over your head. Just get all your stuff taken care of, send it all out, and that way its out of your hands, all you have to do is sit back and wait for feedback. Plus, its really draining to have to travel around for interviews...its expensive, you have to miss school, it throws of your schedule...its just a pain. If you can limit all the interview nonsense to just your Fall semester, you'll do yourself a big favor. But if you apply late, you'll have interviews spilling over into Spring semester and you you'll just be dragging the process on longer than necessary...and meanwhile making it more competative and stressful.
Anyway, sorry for the novel here , but honestly, applying early worked wonders for me....I was a solid applicant, but my stats weren't anything spectacular, and I think that applying early really cut out a lot of competition in my case. Best of luck to you!

Wow this just answered my questions really in great depth. That's very interesting how the process works. I guess I apply in May then. I need all the help I can get. Thanks for helping me out guys.

 

[Profchaos]

I see looking through other threads on SDN that everyone keeps saying its a benefit to apply early, or the day that aadsas opens. No one really has explained why this is the case.

1) What is the LOSS if you apply in may as opposed to June, July, August or September?
2) Is the only satisfaction of applying early just so that they can tell you if you got in or not early (December), or does it actually increase your chances over others that applied late?
3) Lets say you're in the lower half of the applications pile that dental schools have received, don't schools keep interviewing untill they have looked through all the files? It doesn't make sense for a school to let in all those people who have low gpa's that apply early and then not take in the people with high gpa and DAT scores that applied late. Is this the case?

I'm having a tough time understanding what the benefit is other than getting interviewed early and possibly knowing earlier if you got in or not, but this has nothing to do with increasing or decreasing chances from what I can put together. To me rolling admission means we interview, if your stats are good we accept if not we keep you on file, we keep interviewing till all the applications are looked through then if your stats above others that we have looked at we will then grant you admission, I don't see how this is any good news or bad news.
If you could answer these questions I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks

It's not that big of deal. You only lose about 1/2 of chances of getting interviews and 2/3 of chances getting accepted.
Joking, but it hurts. Apply as early as you can.

 

[Tooth Fixer]

Hehe Nice

 

[Okazaki]

I applied mid-June and had almost all of my interviews scheduled before December. Take my interview at UMDNJ for example...I got the invitation to interview at the very beginning of September, and had it scheduled by mid-October. My stats were most likely competative compared to the relatively small number of other applications that they had already reviewed before mine, so my application was good enough to land me an interview.

When I actually went to the interview, as my one-on-one talk with the interviewer was concluding, he informed me that the admissions committee would actually be meeting that very afternoon to discuss the applicants who had interviewed that day...and at that time, a decision would be made as to who would/would not be accepted. So, even though I didn't get my acceptance letter until December, I was actually accepted on October 15th. Therefore, I no longer had to compete with those people who applied later than me (even if their stats might be higher)...I know...it might not be that fair to those later applicants w/ higher stats, but this was the situation at a handful of schools that I interviewed at.

The later you apply, the more people you have to compete with...and especially, if you interview after December, some of the class has already been filled, so there are less seats available, decreasing your chances even more.

And also, aside from increasing your chances, take it from me, it feels soooo good just to get it all overwith. Applying to dental school is stressful, and its not something you want hanging over your head. Just get all your stuff taken care of, send it all out, and that way its out of your hands, all you have to do is sit back and wait for feedback. Plus, its really draining to have to travel around for interviews...its expensive, you have to miss school, it throws of your schedule...its just a pain. If you can limit all the interview nonsense to just your Fall semester, you'll do yourself a big favor. But if you apply late, you'll have interviews spilling over into Spring semester and you you'll just be dragging the process on longer than necessary...and meanwhile making it more competative and stressful.
Anyway, sorry for the novel here , but honestly, applying early worked wonders for me....I was a solid applicant, but my stats weren't anything spectacular, and I think that applying early really cut out a lot of competition in my case. Best of luck to you!

My situation was exactly opposite of Irene's. My application got to the schools from AADSAS in friggin January. I had debates about whether to apply for this cycle or the next, and eventually decided... "what the hell" even though it was damn late. Fortunately for me, I was able to get interviews for the schools I applied.

Irene010 did things right and got an interview with UMDNJ and got accepted as early as possible. I applied late and got an interview on Feb.11th, which was the very last month they offered interviews. By the time I came for the interview, they said they already accepted 81 out of a class of 85. Fortunately, my stats were good enough to make this ridiculous cut.

Apply early.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Rolling admissions (sure, they can't let you know until Dec 1, but that doesn't mean that that can't put your file in the "accepted" pile in August).

 

[PERFECT3435]

good replies. i think the answers are all common sense.

 

[JakeMUSC]

Why is wearing your seat-belt a BENEFIT?

 

[Tzips]

To the OP's Q: one phrase: scholarship money .

Seriously, the scholarship money, at least in my experience, is given out on a first-come first-serve basis in terms of all the applicants who are qualified. If you apply late, and invterview post 12/1, you run the risk of encountering a situation where all the money is gone, even though your stats are competative.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Tzips, good answer that I hadn't thought of!

 

[onetoothleft]

Hey, I got into Columbia with a 20 DAT becasue I applied early (I was #2xx and intervied on the first day of interviews!). their avg is like 22.