I have been accepted to UCLA and Penn, and I am trying to decide which school to attend. Long story short, I am a California resident, so by attending UCLA, it will save me around 80k total, but since I am from a UC school for undergrad, I would like to try what a private school(more specifically, an IVY school) can offer..(i.e. strong alumni network).
I liked both schools during the interview, have seen happy students in UCLA and an unhappy student in Penn (mostly due to weather), and today, I talked to a dentist who graduated from UCLA five years ago and heard some stories about UCLA.
She said she and her classmates were having difficult time in finding patients in UCLA. She claimed that there is someting wrong with how UCLA manages patients, that the school makes it hard for patient to come to clinic and get treated easily. She also said that since UCLA is located in Westwood, many of the patients come from different parts of LA/SoCal, and they tend to go to USC or some other place because relatively higher cost of treatments at UCLA and horrible patient managment system keep patients away from coming to UCLA. At UCLA, you have to kiss up to admins who gets patients for appointments, and ds students are bottom-feeder there. She also mentioned that her classmates had advertisements on streets saying "Free Dental Treatment" and paid FOR the patients their dental treatments because it was that hard to get patients in UCLA to fulfill their high requirements.. She liked the fact that UCLA was P/F, being less competitive than other schools, that she was close to her family and the nice weather, but did mention those realistic problems she experienced when she was in school..
Also, she said California is hypersaturated with dentists (even with many specialty doctors) that it would be wise to think about working in other states especially with big loans due to tuition hikes these days. She said many of her classmates who specialized in ortho and endo even have hard time finding a job and getting paid less AND working more than the ones in the Eastern states (like Vermont, Tenesee...).
80k is a lot of money to me especially I am getting loans for my dental school education, but would it be worth to go to Penn (which is more recognized than UCLA in East coast) and work in east coast? I am very worried about the loan money I am about to take out and thinking to pay it back for the rest of my life. I would like to work in less saturated areas to pay back my tuition asap and settle down.
UCLA and PENN are both great schools but I would like to hear more true pros/cons about the schools, and this whole California being overly saturated with dentists from current students, recent grads or dentists who are working in the field right now. It is a big decision to me and any input will be appreciated. Thank you!
I liked both schools during the interview, have seen happy students in UCLA and an unhappy student in Penn (mostly due to weather), and today, I talked to a dentist who graduated from UCLA five years ago and heard some stories about UCLA.
She said she and her classmates were having difficult time in finding patients in UCLA. She claimed that there is someting wrong with how UCLA manages patients, that the school makes it hard for patient to come to clinic and get treated easily. She also said that since UCLA is located in Westwood, many of the patients come from different parts of LA/SoCal, and they tend to go to USC or some other place because relatively higher cost of treatments at UCLA and horrible patient managment system keep patients away from coming to UCLA. At UCLA, you have to kiss up to admins who gets patients for appointments, and ds students are bottom-feeder there. She also mentioned that her classmates had advertisements on streets saying "Free Dental Treatment" and paid FOR the patients their dental treatments because it was that hard to get patients in UCLA to fulfill their high requirements.. She liked the fact that UCLA was P/F, being less competitive than other schools, that she was close to her family and the nice weather, but did mention those realistic problems she experienced when she was in school..
Also, she said California is hypersaturated with dentists (even with many specialty doctors) that it would be wise to think about working in other states especially with big loans due to tuition hikes these days. She said many of her classmates who specialized in ortho and endo even have hard time finding a job and getting paid less AND working more than the ones in the Eastern states (like Vermont, Tenesee...).
80k is a lot of money to me especially I am getting loans for my dental school education, but would it be worth to go to Penn (which is more recognized than UCLA in East coast) and work in east coast? I am very worried about the loan money I am about to take out and thinking to pay it back for the rest of my life. I would like to work in less saturated areas to pay back my tuition asap and settle down.
UCLA and PENN are both great schools but I would like to hear more true pros/cons about the schools, and this whole California being overly saturated with dentists from current students, recent grads or dentists who are working in the field right now. It is a big decision to me and any input will be appreciated. Thank you!
