Current D-students what would you do if you had it to do all over again?

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Linden00

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So I have been fortunate enough to get a number a acceptances and now I really need to figure out where I should/want to go.

I have narrowed my top 3 down to Harvard, UConn and UF.

Money is an issue as I will be taking loans and hopefully getting scholarships (currently looking for them). However, going to a school like Harvard has always been a dream as well.

Is there anything that you know now that would change you original d-school decision, that may help me here?

Cheers
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Save the money. Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters...
 
Go to the least expensive school.
 
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I can appreciate the "ivy fever" but I would highly highly recommend UF. Excellent school. Harvard's too expensive (really REALLY doesn't teach you to be a dentist -- you won't have the option to be a GP after graduating if at some point in the next four years you decide that's what you want to do). UConn is too small (with a total school population about 1/3 the size of my NYU CLASS I can only imagine how one-sided your education will be -- too few faculty to truly gain an appreciation for the infinite opinions on a case). UF is the perfect balance of size, cost, quality of education, specialty placement and, as a bonus, it's in sunny Florida! I lived in Gainesville for a few years - not a bad place to be. Beach is little over an hour east or west and Orlando, Tampa, Daytona, and Jax are all 2 hours away. For me it would be a no-brainer. When you're all done, take the Florida boards, get NERB reciprocity, and move back up to New England for specialty or practice. Save a few hundred thousand dollars at the same time.

My 2 cents.
 
Mackchops said:
I can appreciate the "ivy fever" but I would highly highly recommend UF. Excellent school. Harvard's too expensive (really REALLY doesn't teach you to be a dentist -- you won't have the option to be a GP after graduating if at some point in the next four years you decide that's what you want to do). UConn is too small (with a total school population about 1/3 the size of my NYU CLASS I can only imagine how one-sided your education will be -- too few faculty to truly gain an appreciation for the infinite opinions on a case). UF is the perfect balance of size, cost, quality of education, specialty placement and, as a bonus, it's in sunny Florida! I lived in Gainesville for a few years - not a bad place to be. Beach is little over an hour east or west and Orlando, Tampa, Daytona, and Jax are all 2 hours away. For me it would be a no-brainer. When you're all done, take the Florida boards, get NERB reciprocity, and move back up to New England for specialty or practice. Save a few hundred thousand dollars at the same time.

My 2 cents.
Click to expand...
I couldn't of said it better myself. Money matters!
 
+1 to the money deal. Keep as much in your pocket and out of the schools pocket as you can.
 
i'm also currently deciding between harvard, columbia, and maryland, and harvard appears to be the cheapest. i have talked to current students, faculty, researchers there and they have all said that there are a lot of scholarships available for students that reduces the tuition to like $7000 (what my friend pays).

here are the costs given by the financial aid office for first year, out of state (living expenses, dental supplies included)
harvard -- $67,000
columbia -- $78,000
marylan -- $91,000
 
comilla said:
i'm also currently deciding between harvard, columbia, and maryland, and harvard appears to be the cheapest. i have talked to current students, faculty, researchers there and they have all said that there are a lot of scholarships available for students that reduces the tuition to like $7000 (what my friend pays).

here are the costs given by the financial aid office for first year, out of state (living expenses, dental supplies included)
harvard -- $67,000
columbia -- $78,000
marylan -- $91,000
Click to expand...

During the interview at Harvard, we were told that they do not provide scholarships. However, according to the financial aid manual, they do:

http://hsdm.harvard.edu/file-richtext/FAManual-0910.pdf
 
Hey, thanks for all the responses. I appreciate it. Still trying to decide.
 
See, it really depends on long term goals...people always say blah blah blah school doesn't matter. It does...more so in keeping doors open. There is a reason certain schools will consistently match ppl to their top choices. Beware of posts fr ppl whom have never attended the schools they pass judgment on. For instance Uconn usually has 1:5 coverage in most clinics (faculty:student)...not very one sided. My graduating class had 2 persons fail NERB out of 48, 1 person didn't match their specialty of choice, no one failed part 1 (actually class average was 88)...slice it dice it anyway you want. But believe me while there is baseline all will learn, there is a lot of space between that and the top tier schools. Now what that fact is worth is totally up to you.
 
Mackchops said:
I can appreciate the "ivy fever" but I would highly highly recommend UF. Excellent school. Harvard's too expensive (really REALLY doesn't teach you to be a dentist -- you won't have the option to be a GP after graduating if at some point in the next four years you decide that's what you want to do). UConn is too small (with a total school population about 1/3 the size of my NYU CLASS I can only imagine how one-sided your education will be -- too few faculty to truly gain an appreciation for the infinite opinions on a case). UF is the perfect balance of size, cost, quality of education, specialty placement and, as a bonus, it's in sunny Florida! I lived in Gainesville for a few years - not a bad place to be. Beach is little over an hour east or west and Orlando, Tampa, Daytona, and Jax are all 2 hours away. For me it would be a no-brainer. When you're all done, take the Florida boards, get NERB reciprocity, and move back up to New England for specialty or practice. Save a few hundred thousand dollars at the same time.

My 2 cents.
Click to expand...


what about buffalo?
 
if you want to specialize in OMFS or something i am sure harvard will give you a much better chance than the others. i've heard the name matters when you apply to some really selective residencies...
 
Linden00 said:
So I have been fortunate enough to get a number a acceptances and now I really need to figure out where I should/want to go.

I have narrowed my top 3 down to Harvard, UConn and UF.

Money is an issue as I will be taking loans and hopefully getting scholarships (currently looking for them). However, going to a school like Harvard has always been a dream as well.

Is there anything that you know now that would change you original d-school decision, that may help me here?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Go to the cheaper school with more emphasis on clinical skills. You are going to be a practicing CLINICIAN no matter how you slice it, not a fact memorizing schoolboy. Clinic is where dentists are separated from students. You can know all the facts in the world, but when you get in clinic, you have to be able to use them and apply them. Go to the school that will let you do those things.
 
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