As a result of
COVID-19, ADEA and the ADEA AADSAS® (Associated American Dental
Schools Application Service) Advisory Group have decided to extend the 2020-21
cycle acceptance notification date from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15. Similarly, all
applicant response times will be extended by two weeks. When extending offers,
most schools will call you and send you an official letter in the mail, in
addition to sending a standard email with your status change through WebAdMit.
Who Makes
the Calls?
Schools tend to
have admissions committee members, the students’ admissions deans and directors
make the calls to accepted applicants.
What Should You
Expect?
A hearty
congratulations that references something similar to who the committee really
thinks you are as a candidate and an acknowledgment that you will be a great
new addition to the incoming class.
Tip: Now is a good time to ask the school
about the availability of scholarships and how to apply for them. The school’s
representative will tell you where to find its offered scholarship applications.
Schools will
also tell you about second-look opportunities. These are generally
opportunities for you and your family members or significant others to visit
the school and sort of “kick the tires” and take the school for a “test drive.”
How Do You
Handle Multiple Offers?
Some of you
will receive multiple offers. If asked, feel free to use the following response:
“I have received multiple offers and I am [fill in adjective] about
the opportunities in front of me and will take the time given to discuss with
my family and determine which offer best aligns with my life’s mission and
goals.”
Please note you
will have 30 days to decide whether to accept or decline an offer, and
it is in poor taste not to communicate your intentions with all schools
concerning their offers.
What If I Do
Not Receive an Offer?
Some applicants
will not receive an offer on “Decision Day” and that’s okay. Most schools will
not try to fill their classes completely on the first date of notifications.
Do not hound
the admissions offices. Try to relax and be patient as most schools will update
you concerning your status with them.
Bear in mind, this
is an exciting day, filled with enthusiasm and you may run a full gamut of
emotions as all of your hard work has culminated to moving you closer to your
dream of being a great oral health practitioner. Please remember
that persistence is what pays the invoice for your dreams, so continue the due
diligence that your dream requires.
Good luck to you all!
About
B. Lamont Lowery, M.A.:
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B. Lamont Lowery, M.A.
Assistant Dean of Student Recruitment
and Engagement
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill Adams School of Dentistry
B. Lamont
Lowery, M.A., is the Assistant Dean of Student Recruitment and Engagement for
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry. Mr.
Lowery manages all recruitment and pipeline programs in addition to his
responsibilities of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
He served as
Director of Admissions for the East Carolina University School of Dental
Medicine (ECU SoDM) from 2010 to 2020. In that position, Mr. Lowery managed and
directed the student admissions processes for ECU SoDM, with an emphasis on
attracting and admitting academically qualified students from diverse
backgrounds who possess the aptitudes and skills to be highly competent,
ethical health care professionals who are prepared to assume leadership
positions within the underserved communities they serve in North Carolina. His
responsibilities extended well beyond the admissions process as he maintained a
strong supportive relationship with admitted students throughout their time of
enrollment in the school. Mr. Lowery developed, implemented and directed ECU
SoDM’s Preparing Tomorrow’s Dentists program, a program that previously
received funding through ADEA.
Mr.
Lowery has established strong collaborative relationships with the prehealth
advisors at colleges and universities across the state of North Carolina, and
has particularly strong ties with advisors, faculty and students at North
Carolina’s numerous historically black colleges and universities. Mr. Lowery is
a co-author of the academic paper, “An Approach to Using Noncognitive Variables
in Dental School Admissions,” published in the Journal of Dental Education
(JDE) in April 2014.
Mr.
Lowery earned an Associate of Arts degree from Randolph Community College in
1997. He subsequently worked as a medical photographer for East Carolina
University’s Brody School of Medicine for 12 years. Mr. Lowery earned a B.A. in
Communications from East Carolina University in 2007 and his M.A. in Health
Communication in 2018. He and his wife, Allessandra Bennett Lowery, D.D.S., are
the parents of four wonderful boys.