Why the Ivy League hate?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
E

EmanUT

Senior Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2006
Messages
214
Reaction score
1
Members don't see this ad.
After reading a lot of threads, it seems that there is a lot of hatred towards the Ivy League dental schools. May I ask why? These schools have great traditions and have been around for a while. If they were so bad, wouldn't they have closed down like many of the dental schools (Oral Roberts, Fairleigh Dickinson, etc)? I don't like how everyone is so negative towards Harvard, Columbia and Penn. These schools consistently have the highest admission requirements (UCLA too) and get the top applicants every year. So why is everyone so anti-Ivy? Believe it or not, they do train their graduates to be leaders of the dental field. The schools all have the same ADA requirements, so enough of this "Harvard grads have poor hand skills." Last time I checked, the NERB, WREB, etc. isn't any different at Harvard than it is at any other school. How about let's congratulate these students for their academic achievements and their admissions to an Ivy League institution.
 
EmanUT said:
After reading a lot of threads, it seems that there is a lot of hatred towards the Ivy League dental schools. May I ask why? These schools have great traditions and have been around for a while. If they were so bad, wouldn't they have closed down like many of the dental schools (Oral Roberts, Fairleigh Dickinson, etc)? I don't like how everyone is so negative towards Harvard, Columbia and Penn. These schools consistently have the highest admission requirements (UCLA too) and get the top applicants every year. So why is everyone so anti-Ivy? Believe it or not, they do train their graduates to be leaders of the dental field. The schools all have the same ADA requirements, so enough of this "Harvard grads have poor hand skills." Last time I checked, the NERB, WREB, etc. isn't any different at Harvard than it is at any other school. How about let's congratulate these students for their academic achievements and their admissions to an Ivy League institution.
Click to expand...

Because they could't get into one of those.... I think they are just jealous.

I barely see people who turn down a big name school for a less reputable school for whatever reason. it is very hard and a few people do that, but many people will still choose a big name school over anything if they get admitted.
 
EmanUT said:
After reading a lot of threads, it seems that there is a lot of hatred towards the Ivy League dental schools. May I ask why? These schools have great traditions and have been around for a while. If they were so bad, wouldn't they have closed down like many of the dental schools (Oral Roberts, Fairleigh Dickinson, etc)? I don't like how everyone is so negative towards Harvard, Columbia and Penn. These schools consistently have the highest admission requirements (UCLA too) and get the top applicants every year. So why is everyone so anti-Ivy? Believe it or not, they do train their graduates to be leaders of the dental field. The schools all have the same ADA requirements, so enough of this "Harvard grads have poor hand skills." Last time I checked, the NERB, WREB, etc. isn't any different at Harvard than it is at any other school. How about let's congratulate these students for their academic achievements and their admissions to an Ivy League institution.
Click to expand...


Dude, it is true that Harvard is more of a didactic dental school rather than a clinical-based dental school. So the students there don't get as much training as dental students at a more clinical-based dental school.

I heard Harvard dental students are limited to only one or two extractions, and their clinical requirement is not as rigorous as other dental schools.

Yes, they do have high admissions standards because a lot of smart applicants want to attend Harvard dental school due to its name and ivy league reputation. However, attending a dental school simply for the "name brand" is not a smart choice.

Columbia, on the other hand, have a decent clinical program. A dental resident I have met while shadowing graduated from Columbia's dental program and his hand skills are great. Although Columbia too focuses on didactics, I think their small class size allows students to work on patients more. Plus Columbia is near Harlem and the ghetto neighborhoods. Hence the students there get plenty of hands-on experiences.
 
Don't listen to ivy league down players. Its all tricknology so that you will apply somewhere else giving them a better chance of getting in. The person that says "Yo I don't think you should apply to Harvard or Columbia b/c the clinical experience isn't good," is a person who wants those same schools just as bad as the next man. A tricknologist will try to play mind games with people so that they can benefit from their mistakes. Ivy league schools ain't good? Your the biggest Ivy league dummie in the hood.:laugh:


"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow."
 
TheNobleTooth said:
Dude, it is true that Harvard is more of a didactic dental school rather than a clinical-based dental school. So the students there don't get as much training as dental students at a more clinical-based dental school.

I heard Harvard dental students are limited to only one or two extractions, and their clinical requirement is not as rigorous as other dental schools.

Yes, they do have high admissions standards because a lot of smart applicants want to attend Harvard dental school due to its name and ivy league reputation. However, attending a dental school simply for the "name brand" is not a smart choice.

Columbia, on the other hand, have a decent clinical program. A dental resident I have met while shadowing graduated from Columbia's dental program and his hand skills are great. Although Columbia too focuses on didactics, I think their small class size allows students to work on patients more. Plus Columbia is near Harlem and the ghetto neighborhoods. Hence the students there get plenty of hands-on experiences.
Click to expand...
:laugh:
 
TheNobleTooth said:
Dude, it is true that Harvard is more of a didactic dental school rather than a clinical-based dental school. So the students there don't get as much training as dental students at a more clinical-based dental school.

I heard Harvard dental students are limited to only one or two extractions, and their clinical requirement is not as rigorous as other dental schools.

Yes, they do have high admissions standards because a lot of smart applicants want to attend Harvard dental school due to its name and ivy league reputation. However, attending a dental school simply for the "name brand" is not a smart choice.

Columbia, on the other hand, have a decent clinical program. A dental resident I have met while shadowing graduated from Columbia's dental program and his hand skills are great. Although Columbia too focuses on didactics, I think their small class size allows students to work on patients more. Plus Columbia is near Harlem and the ghetto neighborhoods. Hence the students there get plenty of hands-on experiences.
Click to expand...

Harvard's class is half the size of Columbia's, so if Columbia does provide better clinical training, thats not the reason. I haven't been a student at either one so I really can't say much about the quality of their clinical training, but I can say that a big part of an education comes from who you are surrounded by, and at both of these schools (as well as Penn) you're surrounded by the best. Both the faculty and the students at these schools provide a learning environment that you just won't have at many other places.

Not to say that other schools aren't good, because I think that most dental schools are good, but I think its ridiculous to say that the schools that clearly attract the most competitive students are the schools that are most lacking as dental schools.
 
To add to that, how do you as a non-dentist determine who has good hand skills or not? And how can you base your argument on one resident? Harvard students consistently pass all classes and earn very high board scores, and the school seems to have a reputation for placing their small class size at residencies and specialty training programs all over the country. More than 15 current deans are Harvard graduates. If all of the other dental schools think that Harvard graduates are good enough for them, who are you to judge?
 
True enough, there are plenty of anti-ivy sentiment around. It's not only in this forum, but it's in other places as well. Much of it is unfair,

I believe that a large part of the dislike stems from the fact that, for some, the decision becomes almost automatic and hierarchical in nature--> go to an ivy if accepted with disregard to other tangibles that other schools have to offer. Consequently, there are individuals from these schools who "look down" on other applicants who do attend/or have graduated from other institutions.

It's human nature to target something that is perceived to be better. For some, it's an ivy education. Yes, Ivies do provide a good education. And so do other dental schools. Ultimately, it's up to the individuals to determine their future success.
 
hm I just think if you're going to Harvard... you're going somewhere nice in your life. haha If a person is smart enough to find his or her way into Harvard, I'm sure he or she can find a way into a great job as well. 🙂
 
if ever i get accepted to an ivy league, i would turn it down in a second for 2 reasons:

1. i want something more clinically based
2. cant afford it
3. far from home (come from a close-knit family)

the last two are more important.

i dont have anything against these schools, they just dont have what i need.

but i would give two thumps-up 👍 to anyone who got accepted to them! congrats!
 
I agree with most of the posts here. I think the skills that Ivy grads have are more than enough to be successful dental professionals. I am turning down some very clinical dental schools in order to attend an Ivy and it is discouraging that people show 100% negativity towards my decision.
 
EmanUT said:
So why is everyone so anti-Ivy?
Click to expand...

Not so much anti-Ivy as realistic. In dentistry, moreso than most other fields, where you went to school doens't matter. If you're going to business school you'll have a much better outcome if you attend a Wharton, but in dentistry it doesn't matter where you go to school.

The schools all have the same ADA requirements, so enough of this "Harvard grads have poor hand skills." Last time I checked, the NERB, WREB, etc. isn't any different at Harvard than it is at any other school.
Click to expand...

None of those exams test hand skills.
 
Yea i agree where you go doesn't really matter as much as it does in say, business. My dad is a veterinarian and he went to Iowa State and he's like, one of the top vets around here (not to brag..i'm just really proud of the dude) and one of his co-workers went to UC-Davis or something and he totally sucks...so it depends more on your skill and what you take away from your educations as opposed to where you actually got it. Most people these days just want to get in given the crazy amount of applicants. So in my personal opinion, it doesnt matter...if you get into an ivy league..awesome, you deserve it and my props to you...i'm just happy to be going SOMEWHERE haha.
 
Revelde said:
Because they could't get into one of those.... I think they are just jealous.

I barely see people who turn down a big name school for a less reputable school for whatever reason. it is very hard and a few people do that, but many people will still choose a big name school over anything if they get admitted.
Click to expand...

I second that 😉
 
Goddess said:
I second that 😉
Click to expand...
One of the oral surgery residents on this board has a colleague who graduated from Columbia's dental school without ever doing a denture case. How in the world can you graduate from dental school without ever making a set of dentures for somebody?

To the OP, that's where the anti-Ivy sentiment comes from.
 
I think Ivy league schools are great. Personally I like less competition.

🙂
 
I think it really depends what you want to do. I hear that if you want to specialize that you should try to go to an IVY. I know for sure that this is what i want to do. If I wanted to do general dentistry there would be no way i would go to Penn...instead i would go to Temple as they see about 120,000 patients a yr as opposed to penn which sees about 20,000.
 
aphistis said:
One of the oral surgery residents on this board has a colleague who graduated from Columbia's dental school without ever doing a denture case. How in the world can you graduate from dental school without ever making a set of dentures for somebody?

To the OP, that's where the anti-Ivy sentiment comes from.
Click to expand...

Hmmm....

Isn't the better question, "how in the world did this person get accepted to an oral surgery residency program without ever making a set of dentures for somebody?"

I find it strange that almost all of the criticism of Ivy schools comes from predents and dental students and very little seems to come from program directors, academics, etc. who accept a disproportionate number of students into their residency programs each year. Do dental students and predents know something these doctors with years of experience and extensive knowledge of dentistry don't?

I realize that these programs take on residents largely on the basis of test scores and not on hand skills, but after an unskilled Ivy ***** injects lidocaine into someone's retina or screws an implant into someone's nose, don't you think PDs would learn their lesson and stop accepting people from these schools? Maybe Ivy students' knowledge of dentistry isn't so bad after all.

That being said, it does seem bad that someone can graduate dental school without doing a set of dentures. As you so rightly point out, however, "the plural of anecdote is not fact."🙂
 
Food 4 thought: @ 3 of my interviews Temple, BU, and Tufts I interviewed with top clinical professors that got their education at Howard ( a school that people who know nearly nothing about, continously speak negatively of)!

Some people consider Tufts, Ivy league in dentistry... I was accepted with a scholarship... and will not be attending.
 
Ething said:
I think it really depends what you want to do. I hear that if you want to specialize that you should try to go to an IVY.
Click to expand...

Specialization entails doing well on your boards where the majority is based on academia. Those who are able to get into Ivy generally excel in this area. I dont think specialty programs look into where you went to school, rather how you did in such and such school.
 
amichail said:
Food 4 thought: @ 3 of my interviews Temple, BU, and Tufts I interviewed with top clinical professors that got their education at Howard ( a school that people who know nearly nothing about, continously speak negatively of)!

Some people consider Tufts, Ivy league in dentistry... I was accepted with a scholarship... and will not be attending.
Click to expand...

Interesting as I've heard from one dentist (minority), who decided to go there because he was offered many scholarships, that Howard is one of the worst dental schools in the country as far as clinical experience is concerned.

Look. We all hear this and that and I know from experience that it's all about what YOU want to get out of your education. If you don't enjoy what you do, you're going to suck at it...plain and simple...regardless of where you graduate.
 
the Ivy Leagues gear their students towards different career goals. If you want to be an excellent clinical gp, then there would really be no need to go to an Ivy League (althought not to say that the Ivy Leagues are lacking at all...I think they're just as solid in clinical). I feel that the Ivy League schools want you to pursue something more in dentistry...they want to breed leaders of the dental world, not just dentists. there is a big difference between being just a dentist who opens up a private practice and one who seeks to further the profession. It's up to students to decide what they want to be...neither is better, neither is worse, just different. So why the Ivy League hatred, and misconceptions? I have no idea.
 
pacbum said:
the Ivy Leagues gear their students towards different career goals. If you want to be an excellent clinical gp, then there would really be no need to go to an Ivy League (althought not to say that the Ivy Leagues are lacking at all...I think they're just as solid in clinical). I feel that the Ivy League schools want you to pursue something more in dentistry...they want to breed leaders of the dental world, not just dentists. there is a big difference between being just a dentist who opens up a private practice and one who seeks to further the profession. It's up to students to decide what they want to be...neither is better, neither is worse, just different. So why the Ivy League hatred, and misconceptions? I have no idea.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said that better myself. *applause* hehehe 😀
 
I hate harvard because I didn't get in. Simple as that.
 
ItsGavinC said:
Not so much anti-Ivy as realistic. In dentistry, moreso than most other fields, where you went to school doens't matter. If you're going to business school you'll have a much better outcome if you attend a Wharton, but in dentistry it doesn't matter where you go to school.
Click to expand...

Great post👍
 
Suicide_Stat said:
Don't listen to ivy league down players. Its all tricknology so that you will apply somewhere else giving them a better chance of getting in. The person that says "Yo I don't think you should apply to Harvard or Columbia b/c the clinical experience isn't good," is a person who wants those same schools just as bad as the next man. A tricknologist will try to play mind games with people so that they can benefit from their mistakes. Ivy league schools ain't good? Your the biggest Ivy league dummie in the hood.:laugh:


"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely spit."
Click to expand...

Tricknology? You win the award for comming accross as the most uneducated poster on the thread. I hope snoop dog and j-lo will be willing to be treated by you, because I wouldnt.
 
To the OP:

One of the many reasons for the "hate" of Ivy League dental schools is because in the past, there were many posts by Ivy League students claiming to be superior.

The following was stated by a student at an Ivy League School:

"When we graduate and mingle as professionals the Columbia kids always stand out against any Canadian and most American schools(equal to Harvard, Penn, UCONN etc). We and you will be well educated."

SDN prohibits calling out members by name. But if you want to see the origin of this quote, you can check out: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=190968&highlight=Columbia

I attended what is arguably a very competitive undergrad institution. But I would never in my life ever publically state on an internet forum that I would "stand out" against other schools with lower SAT scores or with lesser known names. Nor would I singlehandedly insult the reputation of every Canadian University out there either. Doing that would not only be arrogant, but also unprofessional.

So, to the OP, I hope this answers at least part of your question.
 
ncalcate said:
To the OP:

One of the many reasons for the "hate" of Ivy League dental schools is because in the past, there were many posts by Ivy League students claiming to be superior.

The following was stated by a student at an Ivy League School:

"When we graduate and mingle as professionals the Columbia kids always stand out against any Canadian and most American schools(equal to Harvard, Penn, UCONN etc). We and you will be well educated."

SDN prohibits calling out members by name. But if you want to see the origin of this quote, you can check out: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=190968&highlight=Columbia

I attended what is arguably a very competitive undergrad institution. But I would never in my life ever publically state on an internet forum that I would "stand out" against other schools with lower SAT scores or with lesser known names. Nor would I singlehandedly insult the reputation of every Canadian University out there either. Doing that would not only be arrogant, but also unprofessional.

So, to the OP, I hope this answers at least part of your question.
Click to expand...

I read this.. and I have to say that gundam is a real A-hole. I don't know whats wrong with him but sounds very funny . :laugh:
 
ncalcate said:
To the OP:

One of the many reasons for the "hate" of Ivy League dental schools is because in the past, there were many posts by Ivy League students claiming to be superior.

The following was stated by a student at an Ivy League School:

"When we graduate and mingle as professionals the Columbia kids always stand out against any Canadian and most American schools(equal to Harvard, Penn, UCONN etc). We and you will be well educated."

SDN prohibits calling out members by name. But if you want to see the origin of this quote, you can check out: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=190968&highlight=Columbia

I attended what is arguably a very competitive undergrad institution. But I would never in my life ever publically state on an internet forum that I would "stand out" against other schools with lower SAT scores or with lesser known names. Nor would I singlehandedly insult the reputation of every Canadian University out there either. Doing that would not only be arrogant, but also unprofessional.

So, to the OP, I hope this answers at least part of your question.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have no negative feelings towards the Ivy schools themselves, I was very impressed on the interviews. But the people I met were extremely snobby.

So it's not the school that people bash, it's the general feeling while you are there. It's the superiority that did it for me.
 
kappa505 said:
Tricknology? You win the award for comming accross as the most uneducated poster on the thread. I hope snoop dog and j-lo will be willing to be treated by you, because I wouldnt.
Click to expand...

You know what the best part is Kappa50jive, one day I'll have a good a enough reputation to treat people like Cordazer Calvin Broadus and Jennifer Lopez. I don't feel insulted by someone who just gave me compliment; thank you I appreaciate that, it means a lot Kappa.Real talk, Kappa I didn't know the word "coming" had two "m's". I guess you got that through your education and I got my spelling from my uneducation. So here is some karma for Kappa, what goes around comes around. Another thing is how you assumed that Tricknology is something that refers to artists in movies and music. One of whom is Black and the other who is Latino. But if you look up the definition of Tricknology you won't see a reference to either one. Please tell me where you got the relation, I would be pleased to know, seeing how you are obviously educated and I am not. Listen no hard feelings, if you show up at one of my offices I will still treat you like a professional dentist that I'm going to be. Later Kappa.🙂

"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow."
 
...sure Harvard has the highest GPAs..but they only have like 20 students. if schools only took the top 20 students of their classes Harvard wouldnt sound so great.

heh my cousin went to harvard for dental school and she said the kids are ...not nice. 🙂
 
cocokeala said:
...sure Harvard has the highest GPAs..but they only have like 20 students. if schools only took the top 20 students of their classes Harvard wouldnt sound so great.

heh my cousin went to harvard for dental school and she said the kids are ...not nice. 🙂
Click to expand...

Yeah, and when I go to my alumni events I want to be glad to see my old classmates. I think the relationships among classmates is really important and I didn't see myself getting too friendly with some of the stuck up kids. Just my opinion.
 
I found the vast majority of the Ivy students friendly and relaxed. I graduated from a known "party school," and no one gave me any trouble. I also got a great education at that school and now have minimal debt. I think that anyone who puts down another school puts down the students who are accepted, attending or alumni of that school. The dental community should be supportive of each other. If dentists are always insulting each others schools and dental work, it becomes a really nasty community that no one will want to be part of. We should all try be supportive of our colleagues and their decisions, and stop the far fetched insults.
 
cocokeala said:
...sure Harvard has the highest GPAs..but they only have like 20 students. if schools only took the top 20 students of their classes Harvard wouldnt sound so great.

heh my cousin went to harvard for dental school and she said the kids are ...not nice. 🙂
Click to expand...

The atmosphere at Penn and Harvard was anything but snobby. I haven't been to Columbia yet, but I feel by the time people go to dental school, they grow up.
 
The hatred just lies in the form of jealousy, simple. Most people want what they can't have (or get into); thus, there is a distain for these schools.

Most people who rant about ivy league schools would accept an invitation to attend in an instant.
 
Suicide_Stat said:
You know what the best part is Kappa50jive, one day I'll have a good a enough reputation to treat people like Cordazer Calvin Broadus and Jennifer Lopez. I don't feel insulted by someone who just gave me compliment; thank you I appreaciate that, it means a lot Kappa.Real talk, Kappa I didn't know the word "coming" had two "m's". I guess you got that through your education and I got my spelling from my uneducation. So here is some karma for Kappa, what goes around comes around. Another thing is how you assumed that Tricknology is something that refers to artists in movies and music. One of whom is Black and the other who is Latino. But if you look up the definition of Tricknology you won't see a reference to either one. Please tell me where you got the relation, I would be pleased to know, seeing how you are obviously educated and I am not. Listen no hard feelings, if you show up at one of my offices I will still treat you like a professional dentist that I'm going to be. Later Kappa.🙂

"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow nothing."
Click to expand...

And he wrote me the same thing in the PM.
Tricknology:
mind games, usually from an authority figure

"the police used they're tricknology to make an innocent man confess to a crime."
Straight from Urban Dictionary

Peace out my brothers, I am going to hop in my hoop-t and roll on down to the corner store and buy a 40oz of Old E, slap the bit**es and count the skrill.
Dont bring the ghetto to dentistry.
 
kappa505 said:
And he wrote me the same thing in the PM.
Tricknology:
mind games, usually from an authority figure

"the police used they're tricknology to make an innocent man confess to a crime."
Straight from Urban Dictionary

Peace out my brothers, I am going to hop in my hoop-t and roll on down to the corner store and buy a 40oz of Old E, slap the bit**es and count the skrill.
Dont bring the ghetto to dentistry.
Click to expand...

I don't know exactly what this means, but I hope many of us will try to bring dentistry to the ghetto.
 
And getting back to the topic, I haven't been to Penn, but I agree that the students at Harvard and Columbia seemed very down-to-earth to me. I was actually surprised by it because I was expecting them to be a little snobby.
 
Suicide_Stat said:
You know what the best part is Kappa50jive, one day I'll have a good a enough reputation to treat people like Cordazer Calvin Broadus and Jennifer Lopez. I don't feel insulted by someone who just gave me compliment; thank you I appreaciate that, it means a lot Kappa.Real talk, Kappa I didn't know the word "coming" had two "m's". I guess you got that through your education and I got my spelling from my uneducation. So here is some karma for Kappa, what goes around comes around. Another thing is how you assumed that Tricknology is something that refers to artists in movies and music. One of whom is Black and the other who is Latino. But if you look up the definition of Tricknology you won't see a reference to either one. Please tell me where you got the relation, I would be pleased to know, seeing how you are obviously educated and I am not. Listen no hard feelings, if you show up at one of my offices I will still treat you like a professional dentist that I'm going to be. Later Kappa.🙂

"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow."
Click to expand...

Hypocrisy is a b*tch ain't it...'brotha'?
 
hgfdsa said:
I don't know exactly what this means, but I hope many of us will try to bring dentistry to the ghetto.
Click to expand...

I also hope to bring dentistry to the ghetto, but keeping some level of professionalism when I get there.
 
No doubt I'm also going to bring dentistry to the ghetto because thats a place where people need it. I also would like to bring it to 3rd world countries and teach preventative dentistry to less fortunate people. There are people right at this very moment living in pain because they need an extraction or a filling. Some of these people are kids and women. Imagine how great it would be to help someone in need like that.

"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow."
 
mymouthsmells said:
The hatred just lies in the form of jealousy, simple. Most people want what they can't have (or get into); thus, there is a distain for these schools.

Most people who rant about ivy league schools would accept an invitation to attend in an instant.
Click to expand...

The Truth😎

"Knowledge is food for thought so I wisely swallow."
 
To the OP, I think that a lot of the Ivy hate is definitely a case of sour grapes. I got rejected from UPenn so I can understand the bitterness involved there. I hear that Harvard is pass/fail and that cuts down on the cutthroat quite a bit, which is nice. I have no idea about Ivy League hand skills, so I can't say much in that department.

On the flip side, I can say is that I have ran into a few elitist Ivy snobs here and there, and that always leaves a bad taste in ones mouth. That is my 2 cents.
 
kappa505 said:
And he wrote me the same thing in the PM.
Tricknology:
mind games, usually from an authority figure

"the police used they're tricknology to make an innocent man confess to a crime."
Straight from Urban Dictionary

Peace out my brothers, I am going to hop in my hoop-t and roll on down to the corner store and buy a 40oz of Old E, slap the bit**es and count the skrill.
Dont bring the ghetto to dentistry.
Click to expand...

I wonder if you are a racist future dentist who sees the black and latino communities as a place to sharpen hadn skills? nah i dont think so.. you're too cool for that!!!
 
I don't understand the hate either, but I also wouldn't say the Ivys are the best dental schools. They are pretty great, but not the greatest in my opinion.

I shadowed a specialist who graduated from Harvard. His business wasn't going too well, and I heard from other general dentists that his work sucked and they wouldn't refer any more patients to him. His school's big name then became a burden rather than a help in this case, because other dentists would include that when they make fun of his workbehind his back.

This specialist made me realized that going to an Ivy does not guarantee great skills nor great business. It is true that your skills count much more than anything in dentistry unlike some other professional fields. I have known great dentists who graduated from less reputable schools, and I have also known poorly-skilled dentists from other prestigeous schools. For students who attend Ivys and think their careers are guaranteed to be successful in the future, I think that is not necessarily the case.

Having that said, I understand that most of the Harvard grads are not like this specialist and it is biased to judge a school based on the quality of one of their grads. I agree that there shouldn't be hate toward the Ivys simply because of a few poorly trained or cocky dentists. I was not convinced that Ivys are the best, though, due to some solid factors that I have seen at the interviews.

Some Ivy students may want to stop defending their schools by saying things like "one who disagrees with the idea that Ivys are the best is only because s/he couldn't get in and is bitter." You are only making your school look worse by saying that. It may be the most suitable school for you but not necessarily for everyone else. I talked to some students from UCSF and UOP at the interviews, and they have so much respect for each other's school. No one ever claims "my school is better than yours" and their attitude really made me think highly of the students at these 2 schools. This kind of humble attitude is less commonly seen on the Ivy students.

I believe that people should be able to see a lot more clearly once they look pass the big names. Turning down an Ivy offer shouldn't be hard if it is not right for you. Don't attend a school simply for its name. I am not saying this because I am bitter. I got offers from 2 of the Ivys and am going to another school instead.
 
151AND8TH said:
I wonder if you are a racist future dentist who sees the black and latino communities as a place to sharpen hadn skills? nah i dont think so.. you're too cool for that!!!
Click to expand...

I am black, and I dont think that I was the one who choose to place dental schools in such locations. So maybe you should be a little more realistic.

Racism, do a search for the thread.
 
Bump
 
Not an Ivy League hater, because I graduated from one as an Undergrad. But the trend of an Ivy League education has, and continues to be, "Difficult to gain admission, no more difficult than any other school to excel."

Didactics can always be supplemented with additional reading when one has available time. Patient access, however, is not something that can be overcome when a student has a bit of extra time. The clinical education at Harvard and Penn is lacking when compared to other schools, because that is not their focus. Penn, seems to pride itself on churning out well rounded dentists grounded in hard science, rounding out students for potential careers in clinic, research, teaching, or any combination of those. However, time is the finite constraint, and is reflected in the complaints some D3's have uttered about their lack of chair time. This is why I didn't bother applying to didactic heavy schools like Uconn.

It really depends on what you go for. I've been told by several department chairs that you can specialize out of any school you go to, as long as you excel in class ranking (if not pass fail), do well on NBDE I, and not have the personality equivalent of plywood. They have soft spots from some schools, but this varies with the committees alma maters, and experience with previous students who have attended their program.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Why don't they send out the rejection email already?
Replies
5
Views
1K
TheeRockChewer
TheeRockChewer
B
Why unc dental?
Replies
1
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
D
the number needed
Replies
3
Views
440
Ryxndek
Ryxndek
A
Do the Ivy League schools send out official rejections?
Replies
3
Views
822
0Mik3cho
0Mik3cho
P
Is dropping beneath 15 credits a problem (for applying to competitive dental schools like UCSF, UCLA, ivies, etc.)
Replies
2
Views
1K
lowlypredent
L
Top