umad? Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Hi all, my bro is trying to get into UBC dent. He's phucking smart, 98th percentile on AA (24), but his carving score was 17. His gpa is ~83% or so, event tho he's in ubc pharmacy school. mediocre EC and medocire lor from prof. 60 hr shadow from dentist that really likes him (good lor from dentist) should he retake dat or just apply with 17? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Sorry if I misread, but shouldn't you be knowledgeable since you are in UBC dent? Hi all, my bro is trying to get into UBC dent. He's phucking smart, 98th percentile on AA (24), but his carving score was 17. His gpa is ~83% or so, event tho he's in ubc pharmacy school. mediocre EC and medocire lor from prof. 60 hr shadow from dentist that really likes him (good lor from dentist) should he retake dat or just apply with 17? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umad? Posted July 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Sorry if I misread, but shouldn't you be knowledgeable since you are in UBC dent? I'm from ualberta in the UBC dent C/O 2015 (starts end of aug) I'm unaware of what carving score is good enough, and whether my bro should retake dat. I suggested retaking the dat... but why bother if its good enough right? For the record, I scored 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Oh ok. That makes sense. Well, I sat on the UBC Dent Admissions Committee while I was in dental school and though I will not disclose specific data/min. requirements, I can tell you people have gotten into dent with lower carving scores than that. EC's are pretty meaningless for dental school. LORs do play a small role. He should definitely have academics or professions (ie. dentist, NOT family doctor) write them. More importantly, make sure he asks if they can write him a strong reference as a bad one hurts way more than an awesome one can ever help. He seems competitive, but gotta do well on the interview. I'm from ualberta in the UBC dent C/O 2015 (starts end of aug) I'm unaware of what carving score is good enough, and whether my bro should retake dat. I suggested retaking the dat... but why bother if its good enough right? For the record, I scored 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisD Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 I'm from ualberta in the UBC dent C/O 2015 (starts end of aug) I'm unaware of what carving score is good enough, and whether my bro should retake dat. I suggested retaking the dat... but why bother if its good enough right? For the record, I scored 23 I got into UBC (2015) with a carving score of 16. However, I believe the rest of my file was pretty strong so it didn't hurt me too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCStudent128 Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Oh ok. That makes sense. Well, I sat on the UBC Dent Admissions Committee while I was in dental school and though I will not disclose specific data/min. requirements, I can tell you people have gotten into dent with lower carving scores than that. EC's are pretty meaningless for dental school. LORs do play a small role. He should definitely have academics or professions (ie. dentist, NOT family doctor) write them. More importantly, make sure he asks if they can write him a strong reference as a bad one hurts way more than an awesome one can ever help. He seems competitive, but gotta do well on the interview. Looking at the reference letter form on UBC DMD website, it doesn't leave a lot of room for comments though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umad? Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 I got into UBC (2015) with a carving score of 16. However, I believe the rest of my file was pretty strong so it didn't hurt me too much. Thanks for the response guys PS: I'll see you I aug Chris! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applesandsand Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Hi again umad! Just to add on, UBC looks at the average of PAT and Carving scores. This can be a plus if your brother did well on the PAT section! (though don't get me wrong, 17 isn't bad at all) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisD Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Looking at the reference letter form on UBC DMD website, it doesn't leave a lot of room for comments though. Your references can attach letters in place of writing on the form directly. That's what all my refs did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCStudent128 Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Your references can attach letters in place of writing on the form directly. That's what all my refs did. is that what students do normally ? How much did they write?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisD Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 is that what students do normally ? How much did they write?? I don't know what the norm is, but if your refs have lots of nice things to write about you and it won't fit in the space provided, why not go the letter route? Plus, IMO, letters look more professional (although it prob doesn't affect the outcome). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genemo Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Oh ok. That makes sense. Well, I sat on the UBC Dent Admissions Committee while I was in dental school and though I will not disclose specific data/min. requirements, I can tell you people have gotten into dent with lower carving scores than that. EC's are pretty meaningless for dental school. LORs do play a small role. He should definitely have academics or professions (ie. dentist, NOT family doctor) write them. More importantly, make sure he asks if they can write him a strong reference as a bad one hurts way more than an awesome one can ever help. He seems competitive, but gotta do well on the interview. Sorry to get off topic, but does one have to have dentist shadowing experience or have dentist's reference letter to get in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisD Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Sorry to get off topic, but does one have to have dentist shadowing experience or have dentist's reference letter to get in? No 10char Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I guess I should clarify my point. You do not need to shadow a dentist - one of my classmates told me he never did. What I meant to say for the LORs is that you may want to avoid getting a highschool teacher, a family doctor, a friend, etc. to write you one if you can. I marked the LORs before so trust me that it played a role. Sorry to get off topic, but does one have to have dentist shadowing experience or have dentist's reference letter to get in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umad? Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I guess I should clarify my point. You do not need to shadow a dentist - one of my classmates told me he never did. What I meant to say for the LORs is that you may want to avoid getting a highschool teacher, a family doctor, a friend, etc. to write you one if you can. I marked the LORs before so trust me that it played a role. I got into ubc dent on the first try by shadowing my family dentist and he wrote an awesome lor for me... I don't see whats wrong with asking your family dentist... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCStudent128 Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I guess I should clarify my point. You do not need to shadow a dentist - one of my classmates told me he never did. What I meant to say for the LORs is that you may want to avoid getting a highschool teacher, a family doctor, a friend, etc. to write you one if you can. I marked the LORs before so trust me that it played a role. The family dentist who you shadow, does not count under those "to-avoid" list right? Also could you comment on the difference between simply filling out the form on UBC reference form and someone writing a complete letter in addition to the form? Will that break the deal for some cases? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisD Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 The family dentist who you shadow, does not count under those "to-avoid" list right? Also could you comment on the difference between simply filling out the form on UBC reference form and someone writing a complete letter in addition to the form? Will that break the deal for some cases? Really, I believe it's all about getting people who actually know you to write LORs. A family doctor or dentist (of whom you hadn't actually interacted with outside of their professional duties, such as check-ups, etc) is probably not a good idea as they don't actually know you. Nothing will ''break the deal'' but it is much easier for someone who knows you personally to write a nice letter/commentary. As such, your letter will come across better as it is painfully obvious when the person doesn't know you as the letter will appear generic and will not have any examples displaying your character traits. The difference between the form and a letter? Nothing other than more space to write. Again, someone who doesn't know you will have trouble finding the words to complete an entire letter whereas a few lines of commentary on the form are easier. IMO, I don't believe friends are a bad idea as they know you best. Just don't get 3 LORs from your friends. For example, I used: My boss, one of my university profs of which I worked very closely with, a very good friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adversary Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I meant family doctor, not family dentist. And I mentioned family doctor because I saw a number of them. Think about it this way... while anyone can speak about your character, how well do you think a family doctor or any lay person can speak to your character and skills in relation to dentistry compared to a professor/dentist. At least with a professor, there is added weight in his/her academic advice despite possible lack of dental background. Of course, no one person is disqualified. I am only saying it is an advantage to have at at least one professor/dentist as part of your LORs. As I stated before, LORs are worth something, but not much. However, a bad one will hurt you way more than a good one will ever help. Just make sure no one will write you a bad one. Also, though I have marked LORs for one cycle only, I have never seen one that did not have an attached letter. It could just be the year I was on, but I think it's common to have a letter attached to the LORs. I got into ubc dent on the first try by shadowing my family dentist and he wrote an awesome lor for me... I don't see whats wrong with asking your family dentist... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCStudent128 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 I meant family doctor, not family dentist. And I mentioned family doctor because I saw a number of them. Think about it this way... while anyone can speak about your character, how well do you think a family doctor or any lay person can speak to your character and skills in relation to dentistry compared to a professor/dentist. At least with a professor, there is added weight in his/her academic advice despite possible lack of dental background. Of course, no one person is disqualified. I am only saying it is an advantage to have at at least one professor/dentist as part of your LORs. As I stated before, LORs are worth something, but not much. However, a bad one will hurt you way more than a good one will ever help. Just make sure no one will write you a bad one. Also, though I have marked LORs for one cycle only, I have never seen one that did not have an attached letter. It could just be the year I was on, but I think it's common to have a letter attached to the LORs. As I remember though, it is not only advantageous but mandatory for UBC Dent to have one professor writing you a LOR correct? I'm only asking about the letters because I can get letters from the dentist I'm shadowing and where I volunteered for 6 years, and they will be pretty good. But to get one from a professor, I just don't see a professor being able to know me good enough to write a full letter within a term. So if the prof doesn't write a letter, and other two does, I thought that it might be a bad sign... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanup Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 A friend as a referrer? C'mon! That's just silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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