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Im a NY resident and received acceptances to both NYU and USC. Just interested to know from the students their opinions on which school they recommend and why. Thanks.
would u rather live in LA or NY?
do u like PBL or prefer traditional lectures?
both schools are expensive, usc i believe has a higher tuition (pretty lame,since you're teaching yourself) but living expenses are much less because it's located in the slums; manhattan is expensive
^^just a few things to consider
Im a NY resident and received acceptances to both NYU and USC. Just interested to know from the students their opinions on which school they recommend and why. Thanks.
man, the weather in california is soooo much better. i dont know about you but my mood and studying habits improve when the day is longer. as far as PBL, who needs lectures anyways? in basic science classes, students do not attend anyways because they use the time to study on their own. then after year one you get the dental school classes; it depends on the school whether these are mandatory or not, but either way, like basic science classes, you're better off using the daytime hours to study as opposed to attending lectures. have you ever been to california? the beaches and the long mild eternal summer alone should make you choose USC......
As far as I know, in many schools (with the exception of those with small classes), you can skip lectures. As for PBL, they usually take attendance on those. Furthermore, the general consensus (of people that I know) is that PBL sessions are even more of a waste of time than lectures.
This has been my experience too, ZERO regrets. To the list with Dr. Kahn, add Malamed, Magne, Slots, and others. About not graduating on time...those students are lazy. ...... Do you think patients will just line up at the door of your office? Do you think you won't have to find information on your own? By the way, who said dental school was supposed to be easy?
I also attend SC dental and I thought I would add another view of this great school. I have zero regrets since I made the decision to attend here. As you know, the objective of the first 2 years (pre-clinical years) of all dental schools is to prepare it's students for the part 1 boards, and most importantly to be ready to treat patients in the clinic. USC does both of these very well. Since PBL began, we have had higher averages on part 1 than the traditional curriculum had, and last year the average was in the upper 80's, and many I talked to got in the upper 90's. Now to the preclinical aspect. Our teachers for restorative are top notch. An example is Dr. Kahn, who is one of the most qualified doctors in the country to teach a composite course. Yes, it is difficult to graduate from here as the clinical requirements are tough, however, this is dental school after all! As graduates, we will be more proficient operators for that. Every dental school has it's problems, you just have to concentrate on the positives and not dwell on every little weakness that a school has. Best of luck to you in your decision. I know it can be a stressful time.
thank you for your thorough description of the school. However, I hear most of the first year really enjoy their time at USC. As time progresses, students become more and more disgruntled. So just to get some perspective, what year are you and dreyfus?
I am totally in the same position as the original poster of the message except in reverse...
I'm from CA and got into USC and NYU (and Tufts). At this point I've figured that I want to live in LA or NY bc i have family on both sides (and i want to be able to go to small indie shows, museums, etc on the off off chance i can go).
But yeah i'm definitely having a hard time on this one, and i have to let the dir. of admissions from NYU know asap since she just called me yesterday and the deadline to have money deposited is coming up May 1st.
I hear rumors about both, both having good and bad reps, so i'm at a loss here.
I am in the class of 2009 and I would not recommend USC. Many students have trouble getting patients, graduating on time, and it is very expensive and very unprofessional. Plus students have a lot of difficulty learning all the procedures and I am worried that by when I graduate I will only be a dent of some basic trades, not all trades. Private message me for details.
Here are some of the "extras" that may set USC apart from some other schools in my opinion.
*Great looking students!!!
As far as 3rd and 4th year, the biggest gripe students have is graduating on time. Last year something like 30% of students graduated on time. This year it should be significantly higher. I do not know about other schools, but to me it seems like most students should graduate on time. Personally, I'm not graduating on time. It is not because I'm lazy, as somebody else pointed out. And its not because I'm lacking in hand skills nor knowledge. Personally, it has to do with my patient pool and lack of procedures. Some people get lucky, and some people just don't. As it was last year, I gave many great patients and cases to my seniors (we work in vertical teams), hoping that they would give me some patients in return. They didn't. And then the rules have been changed to where my juniors do not give me any patients. So now I have another class to compete for patients. So here I sit a week and a half from graduation looking for a few more crowns to prep so I can graduate, and likely no solution other than to pay an underclassman money for their patient in addition to helping compensate the patient for the work.
THe one thing I can say is that things are getting better. While every day I question some of the idiotic decisions made by our leaders, I feel the school is moving in the right direction. THe clinic is being redone within the next year. There are some great new faculty who are teaching us some amazing dentistry.
What percentage of students graduating late do you feel is acceptable? Personally I believe too many people do not graduate on time, and that much more could be done to prevent that.
Nobody said dental school was supposed to be easy, but do you feel that it is possible the program is constructed in a way that makes it unnecessarily difficult for the majority to succeed?
I really want to thank all of you for being so sincere in your responses. I think that after talking to several ppl and reading all the posts here I prefer going to Tufts for reaons I won't bore you with.
But the only concern I have about going to Tufts is this: if I should decide to come back to California, will going to Tufts be a serious disadvantage comparing to students who went to USC?
Our teachers for restorative are top notch.
No offense. But it doesn't take a great dentist to drill n fill.
To the OP go to NYU. If you can live at home and commute you can save a bunch too. As for the weather, you'll have no time to enjoy it anyway.
I just started my 3rd semester in the clinic and I have so many patients that I simply dont have the time/chairs to see them.
Where did I get them?
-Emergency Clinic - I go anytime somebody cancels or when I dont have a chair. I talk to them about their problem and explain their options. Either they are going to the OS clinic and you never see them again or its a guaranteed RCT/Crown + a bunch of other stuff they need. Right now I have 8 patients (I just counted) I have gained in the last couple weeks that I have extirpated and who are in the works. Get them admitted ASAP so they dont lose interest. The emergency clinic is always packed w/ your target market!
-Handing out my cards outside of school. A couple patients I am working on are service people from my apartment complex. Do people you interact with outside of school (gym, church etc) know you are a dentist?
-Referrals These are the best patients because they are seeking YOU because they heard you are good. I just had a pt call me the other day because the provisional I made for her friend looked great.
-Family/friends/classmates. Easy money.
-Patients assigned from the school. Don't hold your breath because by the time it takes for them to get through the system, they have already lost interest.
I think I have been successful because I give them good service, I explain everything clearly, I show I genuinely want to help them (and myself graduate), and I basically make friends. Once they see you are knowledable, reliable, and friendly, they're yours!
I dont think any of these things are by luck. I just dont understand how you can say the problem is "lack of patient pool" when we are located in the heart of the second most populated city in the country. The seniors I have spoken with say they are behind because of comps. Mainly cast prep. Until i see otherwise, I say the reason is lack of planning ahead, not because there isnt enough patients.
I agree on everything you said in the second paragraph.
I really hope things continue on as well as you say they are, but honestly I was in the same position. There was a point where I had soooo many patients, but through attrition of the dental school they never come back. No money. Changing jobs. Fed up with not getting anything done. You know how many patients I have had assigned to me that I could never even get into a chair. Or how many patients I treatment planned and then never started work because all of a sudden they realize that they need $3000 in work when they just thought that they needed a cleaning.
Sure poor planning is a problem. Personally, I have done a comp on every cast prep. that was compable, including the first crown I ever prepped, so I really don't appreciate being called a poor planner. Where my class and your class differ is that your class did not give any procedures to my class, while I was forced to give all of my good patients that I treatment planned to my seniors. Its kind of hard to graduate when I had to give my patients all away to my senior, and then when I'm trying to get patients, they are all being funneled to a class below me.
There's a reason that only 19 people out of ~170 people graduate on time, and while poor planning and laziness play a role in this, for the most part that role is isolated and miniscule.
This has been my experience too, ZERO regrets. To the list with Dr. Kahn, add Malamed, Magne, Slots, and others. About not graduating on time...those students are lazy. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, but it's true. People who work hard graduate on time. Some people in life want everything spoon fed to them. Do you think patients will just line up at the door of your office? Do you think you won't have to find information on your own? By the way, who said dental school was supposed to be easy?
If your a girl and happen to be sleeping with the faculty then you will most likely graduate on time. But for the rest you are faced with sexually charged comments from old nasty dentists whom you must just sit and listen to b/c you are trying to graduate too.
Can you please provide more details on this? PM me if you must.
This has been my experience too, ZERO regrets. To the list with Dr. Kahn, add Malamed, Magne, Slots, and others. About not graduating on time...those students are lazy. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, but it's true. People who work hard graduate on time. Some people in life want everything spoon fed to them. Do you think patients will just line up at the door of your office? Do you think you won't have to find information on your own? By the way, who said dental school was supposed to be easy?
You can't call a class lazy when only 24 students of 140+ (not including ASPID's) sign-out on time. there is something clearly wrong with the system.
Are you interested in graduating early or something?