I can't choose.

[ladentista007]

I am choosing between UConn and UCSF dental schools and I have no idea how to choose especially since people tell me that I can't go wrong either way. I've always lived in the east coast and I really don't mind if I have to go to the west coast. That's not really an issue. The issue is that UConn out of state, after accumulated interest, comes out to 100K cheaper than UCSF out of state (but after the first year I would get instate) but I feel that I am missing the opportunity of being in a great city, amongst other things, by passing up UCSF. Again, both schools are out of state for me. I also haven't seen any threads b/t these two schools. I would really like some input on what you would do if u had to choose. Please and thank you!

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[M1K3AA]

I'd go UCSF because i think san francisco is awesome, especially for young professionals. but you really can't go wrong between the those two, they're both excellent programs

 

[Sublimazing]

They are both great schools you're right.

If you plan to specialize I'd give the edge to UCSF since they all specialize and the 100k is easier to pay back as a specialist

if you plan to be a general dentist i think Uconn has a huge edge since it's a tried and true good school and cheaper for you.

Also, where do you plan to work after graduation? May be easier to make connections for the east coast at Uconn

If you're unsure you'll just have to decide if 100k is worth it for you to have a more fun 4 years.

In the end it's a personal decision, you'll do well regardless.

 

[ladentista007]

These responses are very interesting!
After graduation, I would probably like to work in Florida. I don't think much in the east coast though. And I do plan to specialize, just not necessarily Oral surgery.
I'd like to know what more people think!

 

[auths4]

100k is a decent chunk of money but a drop in the bucket. I'd go to UCSF for sure.

 

[THS]

One thing to keep in mind is SF has one of the highest cost of living in the country, since the average income is so high there. This means more loans to pay for living, which means more to pay back. If you don't care about that, then go for it! I hear SF is a great city to live in.

Also, I am not convinced that some schools are more likely to get you into a specialty. If you are in the top 5% of your class in any school, you'll be able to specialize.

 

[ladentista007]

Yea THS that maybe true but UCSF provides housing for students that make it more affordable to live there, much cheaper than normal SF housinf costs.

 

[ladentista007]

No no 100K difference is including the increased interest, assuming the interest stays at 7%. Not sure if that changes your answer.

 

[sgv]

Yea THS that maybe true but UCSF provides housing for students that make it more affordable to live there, much cheaper than normal SF housinf costs.

UCSF housing is nearly impossible to get, especially for a first year dental student. It's based on lottery. Remember the housing is open to medical, dental, pharmacy, graduate students and professors. It's not necessarily much cheaper than what you can get outside of school.

 

[ladentista007]

okay crap lol where do you go to school @sgv?

You can message me if you want! Thanks!

 

[free99]

Nice to have options, huh?! Those are two great schools, and honestly, you can't go wrong either way. I'd tend to disagree a bit with those saying $100k is a drop in the bucket - that's a significant amount of money, which would sway me towards UConn. If your choice was between UCSF and another school with a traditional ranking system, I might opt for UCSF, but being that UConn is also P/F and boasts impressive specialization numbers as well, I'd probably opt to save the money and go to UConn. After dental school if you still want to move to a huge city like SF or NYC, you can focus your residency or job hunt in those areas.

 

[ladentista007]

Nice to have options, huh?! Those are two great schools, and honestly, you can't go wrong either way. I'd tend to disagree a bit with those saying $100k is a drop in the bucket - that's a significant amount of money, which would sway me towards UConn. If your choice was between UCSF and another school with a traditional ranking system, I might opt for UCSF, but being that UConn is also P/F and boasts impressive specialization numbers as well, I'd probably opt to save the money and go to UConn. After dental school if you still want to move to a huge city like SF or NYC, you can focus your residency or job hunt in those areas.

Is it not harder to get a residency in these areas after dental school than get into dental school in this area? Theres no guarantee I would get a residency in SF, not to mention id be 26 when I would, when I really get old. What if this is my last shot in living in a big city like this? I certainly would not want to work here given the saturation in big cities.

 

[free99]

Is it not harder to get a residency in these areas after dental school than get into dental school in this area? Theres no guarantee I would get a residency in SF, not to mention id be 26 when I would, when I really get old. What if this is my last shot in living in a big city like this? I certainly would not want to work here given the saturation in big cities.

@ 26 being old. If that's the case, I'll be a fossil by the time I graduate.

I don't really know whether getting a residency in the city where you went to school is easier - I'd venture a guess that if you have a competitive application (which presumably you would, given you were accepted at two of the best dental schools in the country), you're more than capable of getting a residency in the city of your choosing. It probably goes without saying that if you are choosing to specialize, this will limit the number of available residencies and limit your opportunity to be "choosy." If you plan on doing a GPR or AEGD, I suspect you'd be able to match at a residency in SF. Keep in mind I haven't gotten to this part of my education yet, so I haven't done as much research about residency applications as many other users on here.

I was in the same position as you last year, choosing between my relatively inexpensive state school and UCSF... Personally, I wasn't able to look past the ~$100k price difference and ended up sacrificing the opportunity to move out west to save the money. I can't say with any certainty yet, but I think I'll thank myself in 10 years when my repayment is a few years shorter or a couple grand less per month. Either way, good luck in your decision, keep us posted, and enjoy the time off before school starts --- Congrats!

 

[HamPorter]

I'm at 3rd year at UConn you can PM me if you have specific questions. I have no idea what UCSF is like, but generally around 50% specialize and 50% do general coming out of UConn. Pretty much 100% of those doing general do a GPR or AEGD, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.. we just don't have the highest volume of patients in clinic to be ready to enter the real world after graduation. On the other hand, it's pretty rare for students to have to stay after graduation to finish requirements, which I've heard is fairly common for other schools.

 

[Bereno]

If you go to UConn, you have to deal with a smelly monkey with poor vision that smokes an indefinitely lit cigarette. Be warned.

 

[UCLADDS2015]

Yeah 100k is alot, but the experience in living in SF would be priceless. UConn is a great school, but I interviewed there and there really isn't much to do around there. If you feel like you would be happier at UCSF, by all means go for it. You might never get the chance to live in SF again and might always regret it. As a dentist you will be making a comfortable living when you graduate and you will eventually pay off the extra cost.

 

[Member 6236]

Yea THS that maybe true but UCSF provides housing for students that make it more affordable to live there, much cheaper than normal SF housinf costs.

You only have a 25% of getting SF housing. It says so on their website. Most people scramble to find housing and wind up paying $2000-2500 a MONTH for rent. 100-150K is going to haunt you big time in the future. Also you seem like you really want to go enjoy the "city life"....then good luck specializing lol. You really need to beast everything in school to have even a shot at OMFS or Ortho. If you're planning on pursuing something else then you might have some leeway.

 

[Incis0r]

I'm at 3rd year at UConn you can PM me if you have specific questions. I have no idea what UCSF is like, but generally around 50% specialize and 50% do general coming out of UConn. Pretty much 100% of those doing general do a GPR or AEGD, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.. we just don't have the highest volume of patients in clinic to be ready to enter the real world after graduation. On the other hand, it's pretty rare for students to have to stay after graduation to finish requirements, which I've heard is fairly common for other schools.

I have always thought of UConn as a school that heavily favors those who want to specialize (in terms of admissions to the program). Would you say someone interested in general has a good shot of being accepted, if their stats are on par with someone intending to specialize?

 

[Kittenz]

I made my decision a little while ago in the exact same boat as you. I had to choose from UConn, UCSF, my state school, and some other expensive IV's, so I ultimately had to choose between UConn and UCSF (both OOS) since they were my least expensive and still great schools to choose from. I chose UConn because of everything mentioned above from expensive living costs in SF to the P/F curriculum at UConn. I do plan to specialize, but I felt that both would be equal in helping me achieve my goals. You can't go wrong either way, and if you're set on living in SF I would say that's a good choice too. I personally have lived in FL my whole life, so I kind of wanted a change in scenery.

 

[DentalDoge]

I have always thought of UConn as a school that heavily favors those who want to specialize (in terms of admissions to the program). Would you say someone interested in general has a good shot of being accepted, if their stats are on par with someone intending to specialize?

From what I've gathered so far on specializing so far is that specializing is alot less of a turkey shoot than dental admission. Certain programs have certain types of dentists that they like. It just so happens that some of the people that match with them are from those schools.

 

[ladentista007]

vacations in SF or anywhere with the $100K+ you'd be saving.

I made my decision a little while ago in the exact same boat as you. I had to choose from UConn, UCSF, my state school, and some other expensive IV's, so I ultimately had to choose between UConn and UCSF (both OOS) since they were my least expensive and still great schools to choose from. I chose UConn because of everything mentioned above from expensive living costs in SF to the P/F curriculum at UConn. I do plan to specialize, but I felt that both would be equal in helping me achieve my goals. You can't go wrong either way, and if you're set on living in SF I would say that's a good choice too. I personally have lived in FL my whole life, so I kind of wanted a change in scenery.

Do u think its a good choice if I do not want to live in SF my whole life but rather only the time that I am in dental school?

 

[HamPorter]

I have always thought of UConn as a school that heavily favors those who want to specialize (in terms of admissions to the program). Would you say someone interested in general has a good shot of being accepted, if their stats are on par with someone intending to specialize?

I honestly don't think saying you want to do general or specialize would help or hurt your application. You would not be at a disadvantage by saying you were pursuing general

 

[Incis0r]

Wow thanks! I'd read someone's interview impressions at UConn on SDN and they alleged that the interviewer told them something to the effect of: if you're going general, don't even bother applying.

So your statement brings a bit of relief!!!

 

[HamPorter]

Wow thanks! I'd read someone's interview impressions at UConn on SDN and they alleged that the interviewer told them something to the effect of: if you're going general, don't even bother applying.

So your statement brings a bit of relief!!!

Yeah that's definitely not the case here. If anything, they want you to keep an open mind coming in. Unless your shadowing experience is extensive with a certain specialty, I think it would sound bad saying you are set on specializing. you may not be as prepared clinically for general dentisty straight out of UConn which is why those doing general do GRPs. Maybe that's what the student was saying? We do,however, do a lot of comprehensive treatment plans for patients during our clinical years, which is a big part of dentistry.

 

[Incis0r]

Thank you. Your words soothe my heart and my hope is back up!

 

[HamPorter]

Haha Anytime!

 

[Bereno]

Ham is a soothing man. Soothing Ham...

 

[Incis0r]

Seriously @Bereno , you need to get your gums looked at. That cig has been on for WAAY too long, my primate friend.

 

[Kittenz]

Do u think its a good choice if I do not want to live in SF my whole life but rather only the time that I am in dental school?

If that were the case for me, I might consider the fact of specializing possibly changing your residency once again, so it does not appear to be a bad idea to choose SF because of its location for only dental school since it has no long lasting effects on where you'll practice due to a changing location after it. For me though, I would not choose to attend dental school for the experience of it's location without the intention if making it my home in the future if the difference in cost is anywhere near the 50k range. The biggest voice in my head says that you're going to be in dental school. You're not going on a vacation.

 

[Faux]

Uconn has high specialization rates. I'd do uconn and do my residency in SF if you really want to experience it. 100k difference is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Incis0r]

100k difference is nothing to sneeze at.

Residency is definitely a good way to see a part of the country you've always liked but never gotten to go to.

 

[sgv]

If you go to UConn, you have to deal with a smelly monkey with poor vision that smokes an indefinitely lit cigarette. Be warned.

Presentation: patient is a heavy smoker with hyperopia and presented with noticeably pungent stench similar to that of farts and poopies
Working diagnosis: nicotine stomatitis
Treatment: euthanasia

 

[ladentista007]

UConn it is! Thank you all!

 

[sgv]

UConn it is! Thank you all!

hmmmm....actually you should go to UCSF... just kidding!

You'll be going back and forth for a while...even after you've found an apartment and take your first class

 

[ncamc]

come to uconn! its a great school, and 100k is a LOT of money, unlesss you're already rich..