earth.razer Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 I applied to UWO and UT this year and got waitlisted at UT. Then I got really sick (hospitalized) and so I failed a course and deferred 2 exams. Now I don't have enough credits and my gpa is like 2 this semester. I can't make the 3.0 requirement from UT. I took some summer courses to try to make it up, but obviously dental school deadlines are to complete all courses by May. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchEnemy Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 My suggestion is that you first wait till you get off the waitlist, ie accepted, before asking/explaining your situation to the admissions department. Reason being, once you GET IN, there's always leeway to be given, especially since it wasn't your choice to be hospitalized. Hope you're feeling better now (physically at least). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnadee Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 omg i feel for you earth.razer..i'd suggest waiting too until you get off the waitlist with respect to contact uoft dentistry...in the mean time make sure to keep every record of your illness...get a doctor's form, unless you havent gotten one yet, and keep a copy of it...also make sure to have a record of your hospitalization.... unless u have tried this already, i'd suggest, in the meantime, to meet up with a counselor at the university to try to get special approval to allow you to give the exams early by explaining them your obvious situation, the May deadline, your waitlist as well as putting in context the competition involved to get in... i hope all will turn out well for you, but the only reason i stress on trying to get the deferral exams done is bcuz they can be delayed for months under deferral...if u can try to get them done, it wont matter much that u did not finish the course in May... good luck and hope that you're feeling better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomed Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Given that you get off the waiting list (which I sincerely hope that you do), I'm sure the UT admissions committee won't give you a difficult time as long as you provide proper documentations which support your unfortunate circumstances. Good luck and I wish you a speedy recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnadee Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 also keep in mind that some ppl dont get off the waitlist until right before class begins...so you've potentially enough time to go through summer courses and get their grades... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomed Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 By the way, good job on placing 18th on the waiting list. If the waiting list trend continues, I believe that you have an excellent chance this year. Also regarding your GPA calculation of 3.91, is this excluding your worst academic year (with worst year dropped)? Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earth.razer Posted June 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 When I get off waitlist I won't "get in" because I do not meet their minimum requirements of 15 credits and 3.0 annual GPA. If I don't talk to them they will probably skip right past me. FML Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euphaire Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Why don't you visit their office/call/snail mail and show them a hospitalization record? Proof speaks more than anything. If you're seriously hospitalized I'm sure they'll understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earth.razer Posted June 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 Proof is not a problem, I have a letter from the hospital showing I've been hospitalized for 7 days. I wish I knew how far dental schools can compromise their rules and under what circumstnaces they are willing to do it. Im hoping they can be flexible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDent2010 Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Proof is not a problem, I have a letter from the hospital showing I've been hospitalized for 7 days. I wish I knew how far dental schools can compromise their rules and under what circumstnaces they are willing to do it. Im hoping they can be flexible. Some schools like UWO are flexible in that they will only take the best 2 years dropping the rest including the one you were sick in. Unfortunately schools like uwo are the minority, and most aren't so comprehensive. I myself was sick for 2 months (mono + psychological burnout) in the winter of 2007 and I suffered horrible grades that year because of it. This basically jeopardized my CGPA and ruined my chances at any dental school that looks at CGPA (and not best 2 years like uwo). I explained what had happened in application letters, made notes on applications, wrote emails, but to no avail. This is why I only got 1 interview - you guessed it UWO and it is my only shot at dental school. Unfair but that is life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earth.razer Posted June 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Some schools like UWO are flexible in that they will only take the best 2 years dropping the rest including the one you were sick in. Unfortunately schools like uwo are the minority, and most aren't so comprehensive. I myself was sick for 2 months (mono + psychological burnout) in the winter of 2007 and I suffered horrible grades that year because of it. This basically jeopardized my CGPA and ruined my chances at any dental school that looks at CGPA (and not best 2 years like uwo). I explained what had happened in application letters, made notes on applications, wrote emails, but to no avail. This is why I only got 1 interview - you guessed it UWO and it is my only shot at dental school. Unfair but that is life. Did you provide any medical documentation to the schools? If so may I ask what kind of documentation and what was the Dental school's response? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDent2010 Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Did you provide any medical documentation to the schools? If so may I ask what kind of documentation and what was the Dental school's response? I didn't provide any medical documentation since I wasn't planning on going to dental school at the time. It was only the following year that I decided on dentistry and the motivation given to me by my new goal allowed me to get top grades in the following 3 years, which then allowed me to get an interview at uwo. Maybe my lack of providing medical proof is the reason why most schools looked past me but... from what I hear from a lot of people is that most schools just don't care plain and simple, the competition is too great to start analyzing if the candidates GPA really represents his full potential and were there times he was sick, etc is just too big of a task for most dent schools. That is the sad reality. But by all means try to contact all schools and ask them if they would accept medical documentation proving your sickness. I hope for you that it will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earth.razer Posted June 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Thanks for wishing me luck. UOfT drops your lowest year as well, so you shouldnt be penalized for 1 bad year. Anyways I retained a human rights lawyer to help with my case. From what I gather from him I should be entitled to accumadation in light of my medical disability. The tricky part is the failed course. My registrar kindly wrote the dental schools a letter explaining my situation. I also registered with Accessibility Services on his recommendations. I'll try to keep this post updated in case people run into a similar situation in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanup Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 I just hope you don't use your lawyer to mediate communication between yourself and the school. That might seem like bullying the school into giving you special consideration, which I'm not sure they would take very kindly to. I do hope you're only using him as a consultant. And don't worry CDent2010, I'm in a similar boat. Had a bad 3rd year so I was rejected from U of T. UWO is my only chance as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firesinx Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Why not petition the this entire semester? You have a valid reason and as long as you provide support it'll work. PM me if you want more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeliciousMelon Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Did you do terrible on the exam or was it term work? If it was the latter that caused you fail the course (ie. you did okay on the exam), I believe you can petition the faculty for a different weighing formula. That being said, it’s only granted under extremely extenuating circumstances, and you would need detailed medical or other documentations to explain your case. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to get a lawyer for this though. Personally, I think it would be best to just approach them and explain your situation with evidence.Also, the Faculty of medicine and dentistry at UofT has an anonymous counseling service for students. If you want, you can call them and ask for some advice on how to approach this situation. All the best to you. I sincerely hope everything will work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDent2010 Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 I just hope you don't use your lawyer to mediate communication between yourself and the school. That might seem like bullying the school into giving you special consideration, which I'm not sure they would take very kindly to. I do hope you're only using him as a consultant. And don't worry CDent2010, I'm in a similar boat. Had a bad 3rd year so I was rejected from U of T. UWO is my only chance as well. Let's hope for redemption this week if UWO are nice enough to release answers late this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earth.razer Posted June 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 At this point my lawyer is only an adviser. I have also considered that a lawyer may seem adversarial and I am definitely hoping I wouldn't have to resort to getting him involved formally. But I'm just that desperate. Did you do terrible on the exam or was it term work? If it was the latter that caused you fail the course (ie. you did okay on the exam), I believe you can petition the faculty for a different weighing formula. That being said, it’s only granted under extremely extenuating circumstances, and you would need detailed medical or other documentations to explain your case. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to get a lawyer for this though. Personally, I think it would be best to just approach them and explain your situation with evidence.Also, the Faculty of medicine and dentistry at UofT has an anonymous counseling service for students. If you want, you can call them and ask for some advice on how to approach this situation. All the best to you. I sincerely hope everything will work out. Can you point me to the counseling service at UofT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugenius Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 so would u sue the faculty of dentistry if u didnt get in? good luck though and hope everything works out, or u hear from uwo. let us know what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronaldmcdonald Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 At this point my lawyer is only an adviser. I have also considered that a lawyer may seem adversarial and I am definitely hoping I wouldn't have to resort to getting him involved formally. But I'm just that desperate. Can you point me to the counseling service at UofT? What if they reject you even after disregarding your last term? Would you stll sue them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earth.razer Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I'm not going to sue anyone, at most I will have my lawyer represent me in my appeal to the school. Also I'm mostly concerned about keeping my waitlist spot at UofT. If UWO can work out some compromise with me then great, if not then there's nothing I can do since I never had a spot to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeliciousMelon Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 At this point my lawyer is only an adviser. I have also considered that a lawyer may seem adversarial and I am definitely hoping I wouldn't have to resort to getting him involved formally. But I'm just that desperate. Can you point me to the counseling service at UofT? See my PM. I totally understand the desperation and frustration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeliciousMelon Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I'm not going to sue anyone, at most I will have my lawyer represent me in my appeal to the school. Also I'm mostly concerned about keeping my waitlist spot at UofT. If UWO can work out some compromise with me then great, if not then there's nothing I can do since I never had a spot to begin with. Hold on. I'm slightly confused. So you got a conditional offer at UWO (which you don't meet the course requirement) and you are currently waitlisted at Toronto right? Have you talked to the adcom at western and what were their suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanup Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I believe he's still waiting on an offer from UWO like the rest of us. Only early admissions were given out for UWO, which is like 10-15 spots or something. There is a chance that UWO won't really care about his final year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euphaire Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hey forgot to ask....instead of going at UofT or UWO, why don't you explain to your own faculty/course/professor to see if they can change the marking scheme for you -- like, omitting a major project or something. It's not gonna be easy but with medical proof and explanation of how this would ruin your dream of being a dentist, I think you may have a chance. You were hospitalized for 7 days. How much time in total did it take you to recover both in hospital and outside? If I were a dental admission person, I might be skeptical on how 7 days of hospitalization would make you do so bad -- even failing a course. So it would be better to explain to them regarding the details.... I wish you best luck! One bad year isn't gonna hurt you. I know many people with 1 or 2 bad years and still got in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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