Dental schools begin notifying applicants, either orally or in writing, of provisional or final acceptance no earlier than December 1 of the academic year prior to the academic year of matriculation.
—ADEA Rules for Extending Offers of Admission to Dental School,
approved March 2010, ADEA House of Delegates
Written by Emil Chuk, PhD, Admissions Director
Case Western University School of Dental Medicine
The December 1 “Decision Day” is one of the most emotional days any predental student will experience. The admissions committees and officers who are part of this day work frantically to make such a day possible. Many of these officers have recruited their students, faculty and administration to send personal messages to applicants, even making phone calls of congratulations! It is often unappreciated just how much coordination Decision Day requires of each admissions office and committee, as decisions on hundreds of applicants need to be made before the crush of grading exams, reporting grades and planning Thanksgiving getaway vacations. For me in Cleveland, I cross my fingers to ensure no blizzards are in the forecast!
But no matter what happens, the best-made plans can only be controlled to a limit. On the night of November 30, the elements not controlled begin entering my mind. Will the emails actually go out at midnight? Will the star applicants I wish to come to my program be ecstatic with our decision, or have they always had other schools in mind that they prefer? I’m reminded of one of my students whose campus email server was being serviced the entire Thanksgiving weekend, so she never got any acceptance emails that were intended for her. She contacted me the next day in tears wondering why our office never sent an email to her (though we did). Five minutes later, she got the email through a different email account, and her despair quickly changed to joy.
When will the schools release their decision?
Do all interviewed candidates receive communication from the schools?
How long do I have before making a final decision?
Will I be notified of a scholarship when I receive an offer?
Do schools fill up their classes with December admits?
Do I need to do an academic update if I will finish taking classes before starting dental school?
After I receive an offer of admission, what else do I need to do?
It's before December 1, and I got interviewed. Should I contact my number one choice?
See answers to these questions and the full article here.
