Hey everyone, thank you for all of the input so far.
If anyone has anything to say about the following programs, I would appreciate your feedback:
UW (Wash)
Mich
LSU
UAB (Alabama)
UI (Iowa)
UCLA
West LA VA
UCSF
Loma Linda
Thank you,
I received interviews at UW, UAB, UCLA, and I visited West LA VA.
UW-solid program with good history, about 150 implants per resident, facilities okay, expensive/no stipend but in SEATTLE, new program director in the near future, masters not required but expected, not a lot of time for your research within the curriculum but must be done on the side.
UAB-great program, one of the best, 200 plus implants per resident, virtually every type of implant and graft material available, perio department updated but school is older, prosth shares the department space, old director promoted so new director, VA rotation 1 day/week for 10 months each year, masters optional, have digital radiographs but still have paper charts!
UCLA-smaller program, 2 residents per year, perio program in basement, doesn't seem that aggressive-light in sedation, they pay a stipend and masters is optional, all the residents were from UCLA or UCSF, overall an okay program but I wasn't that impressed
West VA in LA-small, 4 residents for the 3 year program, very little instruction, resident said that "I learned crown lengthening by watching YouTube", sometimes have to work in the OD department, director was pretty rude, almost didn't even want to meet with me, even after I drove six hours there, overall bad impression of the program.
I don't know much about LSU, but the old LSU perio program relocated to University of Colorado after Katrina hit (essentially starting the UC perio program) and some but not all of the faculty when back to NOLA after the recovery to re-start the program