IAMA Senior Dental Student @ Temple AMA

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I just finished my residency apps so I am bored now. Ask me anything about Dental School at Temple.

To start off: Our Averages last year were around a 3.5GPA and a 20DAT and (if I remember correctly) we received around 4000 applications.

Nice! Reddit style ama.

I'm getting my loan information in order & totally underestimated the cost of attendance for my school despite being an instate applicant (UMDNJ).

It seems my cost of attendance is gonna be $70k+

Q ) apart from HPL(title VII funding), what other tips/suggestions do you have to keep loans as little as possible?

(The hpl loan is subsidized but only$4,800 , and the rest of the loans are unsubsidized federal loans. So far $42,700 I know I'll have to apply for grad plus loan to cover the difference)



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What should (or did you) look for in choosing a school (not money related). Also I've heard a lot about P/F in your opinion is H/P/F a better system than grades/rank when trying to specialize?

EDIT: didnt see that this was a Temple specific thread

In thought this was for Temple questions.

What are your thoughts on the dean? He seems to have shaken things up and made changes since taking the throne. Is the overall vibe amongst students positive? Or is there some grumbling in the ranks?

How has your patient and chair availability been thus far? I know it can't be perfect at any school, but how is it holding up compared to what's sold on brochures and interviews?

Originally Posted by dentalprodigy

Nice! Reddit style ama.

I'm getting my loan information in order & totally underestimated the cost of attendance for my school despite being an instate applicant (UMDNJ).

It seems my cost of attendance is gonna be $70k+

Q ) apart from HPL(title VII funding), what other tips/suggestions do you have to keep loans as little as possible?

(The hpl loan is subsidized but only$4,800 , and the rest of the loans are unsubsidized federal loans. So far $42,700 I know I'll have to apply for grad plus loan to cover the difference)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

Depends on the level of risk you are willing to assume. Discover offers Prime + 3.25% Health Profession loans. There are actually a decent amount of private loans you can acquire that may have lower interest rates than federal. The problem is your risk tolerance due to the fact that they are variable interest as opposed to fixed. If the Prime rate rises you lose your savings :/

You could always look into Army Scholarships, National Health Service Corps Scholarships, Indian Services, etc

Few scholarships are available to cover tuition - so you either enslave yourself with a government deal or enslave yourself to loan payments!

Originally Posted by klee0891

What should (or did you) look for in choosing a school (not money related). Also I've heard a lot about P/F in your opinion is H/P/F a better system than grades/rank when trying to specialize?

EDIT: didnt see that this was a Temple specific thread

This thread doesn't have to be Temple specific. Money, clinical experience, and location are the three most important things to me. Temple is average - expensive (for private a out of state school), very good clinicals, location sucks. My family is a 5 hour plane flight.

At this point, anyone applying to dental school and looking to specialize will have to realize that specialty applications won't be what they are now. The old NBDE score will have to be replaced by something, because schools like UCLA are P/F and programs have difficulty distinguishing students that are P/F boards and grades... I don't think it really matters. Students will specialize from both types of programs. P/F potentially has less competitiveness, but I really have no idea since Temple has grades.

Originally Posted by jeffity

In thought this was for Temple questions.

What are your thoughts on the dean? He seems to have shaken things up and made changes since taking the throne. Is the overall vibe amongst students positive? Or is there some grumbling in the ranks?

How has your patient and chair availability been thus far? I know it can't be perfect at any school, but how is it holding up compared to what's sold on brochures and interviews?

You could ask that question to every faculty member at the school and come up with a different opinion every time. Seeing as I entered Temple with Dean Ismael I have zero knowledge as to the workings of the previous Dean. I would say that the general consensus is that the Dean has made some drastic improvements in many areas, but there are things he could have done better. Dean Ismael makes himself readily available to the students and faculty and addresses concerns quickly. A lot of situations are simply out of his control. For instance, the state cutting a lot of Medicaid coverage really hampered down the amount of Endo, Crown/Bridge, S/RP, and dentures... Our school is currently undergoing renovations in the clinic and my class, as well as the class above us, are forced to work with about 70% of the clinic floor in operation so far. Some students complain of poor patients and unavailability of seats, but in many cases in came down to the student's poor patient management. To answer your question I would say there is a lot of positive, but there is also a decent amount of grumbling. I don't think anyone could ever change anything without a bit of grumbling though...

As far as my own patient/chair availability... I should meet my graduation requirements well before graduation. I believe last year 20-30 had to stay past graduation (some for a few days some a few weeks) Currently at Temple we schedule our own patients so a lot rides on your shoulders. If you maintain good patient management the clinics are a breeze. If you have difficulty with patient management or simply get AWFUL luck in patients it can get frustrating. Like many schools, if patients continually don't show to their appointments you are permitted to drop them from your patient list. Many students have a difficult time cutting their losses I feel.

Thanks for doing this!

Looking back, what do you feel was really important in your application, preparation, and acceptance into dental school?

Are you specializing?

What mistakes do you think most predents and first year dental students make?

How does it feel?

How are your study habits and how have they changed since your first year? I see a lot of variance with this... It seems like some students think they need to learn everything presented to them and live inside their textbooks, while others tend to focus on the important material and try to study "smart," but not necessarily learn everything. What's your consensus and how has it worked for you?

Q. How did you study for tests?

I know most class you just consult the professors provided notes/powerpoints but could you elaborate on that...like did you print them out/ just annotate extra details on them using your laptop..

Q. Just bought a tablet, any useful ways I can use that to supplement my studies?
(I bought it thinking that I could use it to review notes/slides in bed since it is smaller& portable then my laptop)
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Hello,
I was wondering if you knew anything about how temple looks at people from schools that it's affiliated with? My school (shippensburg university) has a 3+4 program with Temple but I was curious if they would prefer people from schools they are affiliated with even if they aren't in the special fast track programs.

Sorry for the delay!

Originally Posted by Illfavor

Thanks for doing this!

Looking back, what do you feel was really important in your application, preparation, and acceptance into dental school?

Are you specializing?

What mistakes do you think most predents and first year dental students make?

How does it feel?

I think applying early is important. Having everything complete by the end of August at the latest... I had taken a lot of heavy course load of Science throughout undergrad while working part time. I think this prepared me for the first few years of dental school's class work and preclinical requirements. Do some mock interviews with a professor before you actually go to any interviews. It helps with the anxiety I feel. Before you arrive at a school be sure that you know your application inside and out. Be prepared to talk about any and everything that you included as well as the particular school. Do your research before attending.

Yes.

I am guilty of it as well, but most predents and first years get too stressed over the process. If you have the scores - you will get in somewhere. Be stressed about getting the "numbers" then relax when it comes time for your interviews. First years - Don't try to cram for exams. Study a little bit each day. Work on your preclinical work well before deadlines because anything can happen. Talk with upperclassmen and get the low down on all of your courses/instructors. They will be a great resource when it comes to what and how you should study.

Originally Posted by wcombs

How are your study habits and how have they changed since your first year? I see a lot of variance with this... It seems like some students think they need to learn everything presented to them and live inside their textbooks, while others tend to focus on the important material and try to study "smart," but not necessarily learn everything. What's your consensus and how has it worked for you?

My study habits haven't changed since High School. I go to class and listen - I rarely take notes - I'll review the material once a week - and study the night or two before an exam. I think if you are seeing a material a few times before studying the minute details for an exam it sinks in a little better. When I say I review I mean that I will usually take 5 to 10 minutes per powerpoint and go over it at the end of the week. When I study I generally have everything printed out and I memorize the details the night or two before an exam.
Sometimes textbooks can get you in trouble and other times they save your life. I've had classes where our exams were straight from the text and nothing from class was tested and vice versa.. it depends on the class/instructor. Ask upperclassmen. Generally, what the instructor presents in class (PPT) is what they want you to know. Memorize that and if you want supplement with the text. Our core dental classes I read the text even when it wasn't tested on simply because it's information that you should know.

Originally Posted by dentalprodigy

Q. How did you study for tests?

I know most class you just consult the professors provided notes/powerpoints but could you elaborate on that...like did you print them out/ just annotate extra details on them using your laptop..

Q. Just bought a tablet, any useful ways I can use that to supplement my studies?
(I bought it thinking that I could use it to review notes/slides in bed since it is smaller& portable then my laptop)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

I usually printed notes and wrote anything important directly on them. We had backtests available to us in most courses and I would generally write the questions into the notes as well. By the end, I had a single powerpoint printed out for each lecture that had all related test questions for the past few years written on it. This can be total preference though.

Tablet - Review powerpoints the night after a lecture or at the end of the week. Even if you spend minimal time it helps you retain information. Go over it quickly once a week until the exam and studying is way easier. It helps to do this because we frequently had all of our exams clustered together and cramming for 5 exams in one week is impossible.

Originally Posted by Becirovic

Hello,
I was wondering if you knew anything about how temple looks at people from schools that it's affiliated with? My school (shippensburg university) has a 3+4 program with Temple but I was curious if they would prefer people from schools they are affiliated with even if they aren't in the special fast track programs.

In previous years I feel like they gave a little preferential treatment to affiliated schools. We may be moving towards more of a committee approach on Admissions so I can't speak to the future, but I would assume that the preference will be maintained. In state and affiliations help, but everything else is more important. GPA, DAT, CV...