Pros and cons about Western University

[ddsshin]

Western University
hello, I want to know pros and cons about this school? I know it is brand new school, but I want some advise from students from western university? Is this school more clinical side? how is sim lab and how many hrs do you guys spend per week? How are the faculty members and are there any research opportunities?? How is housing up there????

1) How many hours do students spend on sim lab per week?
2) are there any research opportunities?
3) How are sim lab different from other sim labs?
4) how are the housing prices and safety of that area?
5) How are curriculums like? I heard students take basic sciences with DO
students? Are they effective?
6) Are there any tutoring services? EC activities? student organizations?
7) When will the students begin to see real patients? Will there be enough
patients? How are the dental clinic?
8) What is student: faculty ratios? Can student involve in committee to
improve the Western Dental School?
9) How many hours will student spend time per week at clinics in the future?
10) What do you see WEstern DS in 5 to 10 years?
thank you

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[Tommy43087]

Western University
hello, I want to know pros and cons about this school? I know it is brand new school, but I want some advise from students from western university? Is this school more clinical side? how is sim lab and how many hrs do you guys spend per week? How are the faculty members and are there any research opportunities?? How is housing up there????

1) How many hours do students spend on sim lab per week?
2) are there any research opportunities?
3) How are sim lab different from other sim labs?
4) how are the housing prices and safety of that area?
5) How are curriculums like? I heard students take basic sciences with DO
students? Are they effective?
6) Are there any tutoring services? EC activities? student organizations?
7) When will the students begin to see real patients? Will there be enough
patients? How are the dental clinic?
8) What is student: faculty ratios? Can student involve in committee to
improve the Western Dental School?
9) How many hours will student spend time per week at clinics in the future?
10) What do you see WEstern DS in 5 to 10 years?
thank you

There are information sessions done periodically, i suggest you go there to get these questions answered plus more!

Also you can wait till the day of your interview and ask em...

 

[fsddsms]

Western University
hello, I want to know pros and cons about this school? I know it is brand new school, but I want some advise from students from western university? Is this school more clinical side? how is sim lab and how many hrs do you guys spend per week? How are the faculty members and are there any research opportunities?? How is housing up there????

1) How many hours do students spend on sim lab per week?
2) are there any research opportunities?
3) How are sim lab different from other sim labs?
4) how are the housing prices and safety of that area?
5) How are curriculums like? I heard students take basic sciences with DO
students? Are they effective?
6) Are there any tutoring services? EC activities? student organizations?
7) When will the students begin to see real patients? Will there be enough
patients? How are the dental clinic?
8) What is student: faculty ratios? Can student involve in committee to
improve the Western Dental School?
9) How many hours will student spend time per week at clinics in the future?
10) What do you see WEstern DS in 5 to 10 years?
thank you

Might be a tough call to answer some of those good questions bc I dont think there are D3s yet. It's too knew to have any exact answers I would think and student experiences will only go as far as the D1 phase. Nothing is set in stone and I'm sure they'll be fine tuning the program with every class that passes. We're sorta guinea pigs even though I'm sure they have a predetermined curriculum for the 4 years. I wish they gave free tuition bc of the risk we take to go there though hehe but only in a dream world, especially with the amount of applicants willing to take the chance. I'm sure it'll be a great program eventually, but will need some experimentation on what works and what doesn't. Time will tell; every school was new once.

But at the very least, you have great interview questions for your interviewer. I have a ton when I go to mine as well.

 

[lDlMlDl]

I’m currently a D1 student at WesternU and thought I would try to answer some of your questions. From my experience, I don’t believe there are many cons in the program thus far. Not having an established network of alumni (or reputation) would defiantly be one of the cons (but this would be expected being that the school is new), and the new building is not finished so we have to drive to another location for our sim labs. However, the new building should be finished in time for our second semester. Another thing that I personally don’t like would be the PBL part, which we have only done a few times.

WesternU is more community and clinically based, so we have been spending a lot of time practicing in the sim lab. The amount of time varies from week to week, some weeks we spend 4 hours, and sometimes 8 hours, etc. The amount will also vary from semester to semester, this semester we are taking 3.5 units of essentials of clinical dentistry (sim lab & lecture), and next semester we will be taking 10 units.

As far as housing is concerned, I’ve heard the cost being around $400-$600 per month around the area. My first impression of downtown Pomona was not the best, but just like many other dental schools, it is a fairly safe area. There are apartments across the street from campus (Helix apartments) which can help you save on both parking and transportation costs, and if you feel unsafe then you can live in Chino Hills (~10 miles away) which ranks one of the safest places in the US.

Western is one of a few dental schools that offers the same classes for dental and med students. So far we have taken Gross Anatomy, Head and Neck, and Biochemistry. It is difficult and we probably go into more detail that is medically based and not related to the board exam compared to other schools. But I would rather learn too much than too little. I also feel that the block schedule helps me better learn and remember the topics. If you plan to go to Western, expect to go to class from 9am – 5pm and study when you get home.

There is tutoring available if you need help. In your spare time (if you have any), there are always activities that you can do depending on what you like.

We will start seeing patients next semester, either at events (such as Give Kids A Smile) or assist our faculty in the new dental clinic. Western continues to hire new faculty in the dental program so it is hard to say the faulty to student ratio. But I can say that the faculty has been extremely helpful, caring, and willing to listen to any students’ ideas to improve the school. But don’t expect changes if you want to whine about every little thing.


I hope this was of some help.

 

[xhamburgersamx]

Western University
hello, I want to know pros and cons about this school? I know it is brand new school, but I want some advise from students from western university? Is this school more clinical side? how is sim lab and how many hrs do you guys spend per week? How are the faculty members and are there any research opportunities?? How is housing up there????

1) How many hours do students spend on sim lab per week?
2) are there any research opportunities?
3) How are sim lab different from other sim labs?
4) how are the housing prices and safety of that area?
5) How are curriculums like? I heard students take basic sciences with DO
students? Are they effective?
6) Are there any tutoring services? EC activities? student organizations?
7) When will the students begin to see real patients? Will there be enough
patients? How are the dental clinic?
8) What is student: faculty ratios? Can student involve in committee to
improve the Western Dental School?
9) How many hours will student spend time per week at clinics in the future?
10) What do you see WEstern DS in 5 to 10 years?
thank you

With your stats, you'll probably get into UOP. Don't worry about Western because you don't want to go to brand new schools anyway

 

[lDlMlDl]

I agree with your initial opinion:

Depends if money is an issue. You can't go wrong with any dental school. Western's tuition is 50k/year, USC is like 70k

 

[lekso]

Western is one of a few dental schools that offers the same classes for dental and med students. So far we have taken Gross Anatomy, Head and Neck, and Biochemistry. It is difficult and we probably go into more detail that is medically based and not related to the board exam compared to other schools. But I would rather learn too much than too little. I also feel that the block schedule helps me better learn and remember the topics. If you plan to go to Western, expect to go to class from 9am – 5pm and study when you get home.

How does the block schedule work?
I wonder if it is the same as the module system they have at ASDOH and Midwestern.

Thanks.

 

[lDlMlDl]

How does the block schedule work?
I wonder if it is the same as the module system they have at ASDOH and Midwestern.

Thanks.

At any given time we are taking about 3 classes, however most of our time is spent focusing on a single basic science course at a time. The length of the basic science class is shorter (~2months for GA), but the amount of time spent each day is longer (~4-5hrs/day). I'm not sure about the ASDOH or Midwestern curriculum, but maybe some other students can answer that.

 

[lekso]

At any given time we are taking about 3 classes, however most of our time is spent focusing on a single basic science course at a time. The length of the basic science class is shorter (~2months for GA), but the amount of time spent each day is longer (~4-5hrs/day). I'm not sure about the ASDOH or Midwestern curriculum, but maybe some other students can answer that.

Thanks for the response. I heard ASDOH and Midwestern have module system. Depends on the class, but I think they spend 1 week or 2 focusing on a single class all day for the length of the module. They get it done at the end of that module and dont have to worry about it until they take the boards. Maybe someone that actually goes to MWU and ASDOH could give a better explanation.
But I do like the method you guys use. It still allows you to focus more time on that basic science class.

 

[Tommy43087]

At any given time we are taking about 3 classes, however most of our time is spent focusing on a single basic science course at a time. The length of the basic science class is shorter (~2months for GA), but the amount of time spent each day is longer (~4-5hrs/day). I'm not sure about the ASDOH or Midwestern curriculum, but maybe some other students can answer that.

Do you actually think this block scheduling is a good thing or bad thing? Wont you forget alot of stuff by the time the boards come?? Also i was curious to how the class rank system is set up since you guys take classes with the DO, etc students....

 

[PreDent08]

I'm a student at midwestern. here's a sample schedule of our 1st 2 weeks of the fall quarter. As you can see, it is a module system and there's a different instructor from different(or same) departments that teaches a specific subject within the module. hope that helps.

DATE​

TIME​

#​

LECTURE TITLE​

DEPARTMENT​

INSTRUCTOR​

Week 1​

BASI 1501 - Module 1: Cell Biology​

TU 09/01​

9:00 ​

1​

Introduction to Histology​

Anatomy​

Walters​

TU ​

10:00 ​

2​

Cell Structure I​

Anatomy​

Walters​

TU ​

11:00 ​

3​

Cell Structure II​

Anatomy​

Walters​

TU ​

1:10 ​

4​

AA, Protein Structure and Enzymes​

Biochemistry​

Hernandez​

TU ​

2:10 ​

5​

Carbo & Lipid Structure​

Biochemistry
Yueh

Wed 09/02​

9:00​

6​

Membrane and Membrane Transport​

Biochemistry
Yueh

Wed ​

10:00 ​

7​

Vesicular Transport​

Biochemistry
Yueh

Wed ​

11:00 ​

8​

Osmosis and Body Water​

Physiology
Vallejo
Wed

1:10​

9​

Signal Transduction I​

Biochemistry
Lawson
Wed

2:10​

10​

Signal Transduction II​

Biochemistry
Lawson
TH 09/03

9:00​

11​

Cell Cycle​

Biochemistry
Jeganathan
TH

10:00​

12​

Cytoskeleton​

Biochemistry
Yueh
TH

1:10​

1​

Chromatin Structure & DNA replication​

Biochemistry​

Lawson​

TH

2:10​

2​

DNA Repair​

Biochemistry
Lawson

Week 2​

BASI 1501 - Module 2: Molecular Cell Biology and Metabolism​

TU 09/08​

7:00 – Testing Center - Module 1 EXAM 1 (Lectures 1-12)

TU 09/08​

9:00 ​

3​

Transcription​

Biochemistry
Yueh

TU ​

10:00 ​

4​

Translation​

Biochemistry
Yueh

TU​

11:00​

5​

Control of Gene Expression​

Biochemistry
Yueh

TU ​

1:10 ​

6​

Insulin & Glucagon ​

Biochemistry
Kaiser

TU ​

2:10 ​

7​

Liver-Fed: Glycolysis, TCA & ETC/OP​

Biochemistry
Mann

Wed 09/09​

9:00​

8​

Liver-Fed: Glycogenesis & TG Synthesis​

Biochemistry
Mann

Wed ​

10:00 ​

9​

Liver-Fast: Fatty Acid Oxidation & Ketogenesis​

Biochemistry
Mann

Wed ​

11:00 ​

10​

Liver-Fast: Glycogenolysis & Gluconeogenesis​

Biochemistry​

Mann​

Wed

1:10​

11​

HMP Shunt, Fructose and Galactose​

Biochemistry​

Jeganathan​

Wed

2:10​

12​

Cholesterol Metabolism​

Biochemistry​

Kaiser​

TH 09/10

9:00​

13​

Lipoprotein Metabolism and Disorders

Biochemistry​

Kaiser​

TH

10:00​

14​

AA catabolism and Urea Cycle​

Biochemistry​

Mann​

TH

1:10​

15​

Interorgan AA& One Carbon Metabolism​

Biochemistry​

Mann​

TH

2:10​

1​

Epithelium I​

Anatomy​

Hall​

 

[lekso]

Thanks for the post PreDen08. What do you think about the module system? It seems like a lot of information to be learned in so little time but at the same time, it gives you time to focus on that one class for that module.

 

[lDlMlDl]

Do you actually think this block scheduling is a good thing or bad thing? Wont you forget alot of stuff by the time the boards come?? Also i was curious to how the class rank system is set up since you guys take classes with the DO, etc students....

Learning styles vary from person to person. I personally feel that focusing on one subject at a time is better for me because the material is much more organized and structured. Our curriculum will not allow us to take the first board exam til the end of our second year. What it comes down to it, is whether you like to learn one subject in a short period or if you like to learn a little of every subject over a whole semester. I will probably forget some material and have to relearn it before the board exam which shouldn't be that hard, but I'm sure that you would have to review the material regardless of which ever style of teaching you end up with.

Although we take classes with DO students, each of the individual colleges has it own ranking system.

 

[whoaaitzkyle]

Western University
hello, I want to know pros and cons about this school? I know it is brand new school, but I want some advise from students from western university? Is this school more clinical side? how is sim lab and how many hrs do you guys spend per week? How are the faculty members and are there any research opportunities?? How is housing up there????

1) How many hours do students spend on sim lab per week?
We have ~1hr of dental lecture every tues/thurs and ~4hrs in sim lab after that (1-5pm)

2) are there any research opportunities?
We are told there are but honestly I'm just trying to get used to the sheer volume of material I'm expected to learn on a daily basis.

3) How are sim lab different from other sim labs?
Can't confidently say, but I can say that ours is the newest. Faculty says we have the most up-to-date stuff a lot of dental schools don't have. We've only been working class I's really so IMO a handpiece is a handpiece

4) how are the housing prices and safety of that area?
Housing depends where you want to live. Safety IN school is good bc lot of security. If you want to take a walk at night in the area I heard it's not so safe.

5) How are curriculums like? I heard students take basic sciences with DO
students? Are they effective?
yea, you get to make more friends. You're on your curve so it doesn't really matter.

6) Are there any tutoring services? EC activities? student organizations?
Yes. lot of tutoring available. we don't have a lot of dental clubs bc this is our first year,but we're currently working on establishing the ASDA chapter.

7) When will the students begin to see real patients? Will there be enough
patients? How are the dental clinic?
I HEARD we are going to assist as early as next semester. As for being operator I'm not sure. I do know however they want to get us as much experience as we can ASAP.

8) What is student: faculty ratios? Can student involve in committee to
improve the Western Dental School?
Student/faculty ratio is good. something you come to expect probably with a private school. Yes. The student government is active and plays a role in relaying our "voice" to the faculty.

9) How many hours will student spend time per week at clinics in the future?
Since we haven't been in clinic yet that answer is probably still in the making.

10) What do you see WEstern DS in 5 to 10 years?
that's your answer

thank you

I have had many great experiences and also many not so great experiences thus far (as with any other dental school probably as well). I don't know what distinguishes the quality of one school over another, but I do know that most of the faculty members are very responsive and care about our success which is one of stronger aspects of the program. Hope this helped.

 

[PreDent08]

Thanks for the post PreDen08. What do you think about the module system? It seems like a lot of information to be learned in so little time but at the same time, it gives you time to focus on that one class for that module.

It is a lot of info, because that's on top of sim lab(which takes the whole day on mondays, and case studies every couple of weeks). But it's certainly doable. I could care less if it was module based or regular classes, because I think it's human nature that once a midterm/final or class is finished, we forget about it and move on to the next subject. We're all going to have to review everything once again as we prepare for the boards in the summer.

 

[Just Peachy]

I feel like most of the dental schools, no matter how long they've been in existence, are going to give you basically the same education and you will have the opportunity to do equally well on the boards. What it comes down to is how you personally learn the best, how you like the vibe you got from the school, how you feel about the faculty, if you feel like you would be a good fit based on the students you have met, etc. It's just as much about you feeling like the school is a good fit for you as it is the school thinking you will make a good dentist and be a good fit there.

For me, I learn best with hands on, which we get in the sim clinic on a regular basis - it reminds me why I'm studying ridiculous amounts each day. I also learn best when I can focus on one major thing at a time, so the block scheduling is GREAT for me. I like that the faculty treat us as colleagues and take our opinions seriously. I like that we do not really compete against each other. We, for the most part, feel like we'll all be denstists at the end of the four years and so we help each other out when we can. It's a great environment for my personality and my learning style.

Like I said, it really comes down to what you think is a good fit for your personality and learning style and if the school feels the same way about you.

 

[cjb04]

The module system is great. I think the greatest benefit for me was that we were tested and quizzed every single week, so I was forced to study pretty much every day to stay on top of the material and not fall behind. Also, there is some overlap in material so that acts as a review of sorts. A disadvantage is that each exam is composed of questions written by all of the different instructors, and a couple of those instructors write tougher, more detail oriented questions than the others. Overall, I'm learning much more and performing better than I did in undergrad. with this curriculum.