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Hi, thanks for doing this!
1. How do you like UCSF so far?
2. How rigorous is the program?
3. What is you study schedule like and how often do you have exams?
4. What do you think about its facilities (simlab, clinic)?
5. What do you not like about UCSF (other than high cost of living)?
6. What do you think about the faculty and your peers?
 
Hello! I am so glad you posted this. I am currently deciding between Columbia and UCSF. What do you think are some of the pros and cons of the program? Do you feel like you are hindered at all in wanting to specialize?
 
UCSF2021:) said:
1. I love UCSF. I was fortunate to have my pick of “top” schools, and I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else.
2. The program is rigorous, but I have never heard of any dental school that wasn’t. About half/one third of my peers want to specialize, including myself, but there is no competitive nature between us. Everyone helps each other out and we don’t allow anyone to fall behind. The P/NP curriculum along with there being no class rank is a major help. That said, it is UCSF and it is Dental School. You are drinking out of a firehose, but everyone of my classmates is getting through it.
3. I would say we have some sort of exam on a biweekly/every three week basis, with the exception of midterms/finals. Those two weeks you have 6-8 exams. Again, it sounds like a grind, which it is. But, everyone gets through it. I find that most people are in class/study from 8am-10pm allowing 3 hours in there for lunch/dinner/gym/hobby. Finals obviously change that.
4. Can’t speak on Clinic, but simlab is pretty new to all of us. That said, it’s pretty good instruction and we are all learning a lot.
5. That’s a toughy. Believe it or not the cost of living isn’t too bad. Everyone gets Cal-Fresh & the Cost of Living Supplement Grant. Most people I know took out a lot less loans than you are allotted. Probably the fact that it’s not So-Cal weather and the fact that most don’t have a car are the biggest complaints. Buts it’s SF, one of the most desirable places to live for young adults. If you aren’t happy here, you won’t be happy anywhere.
6. The faculty is superb, the top of their professions. My peers are impressive, perhaps most impressive is their willingness to help others and not only be self serving. The upperclassmen are what blow me away. They go way out of their way to help out. I can’t wait to pass it forward.

Good luck if you are lucky enough to get in here! I hope you are able to make the most of this experience!
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Do you mind explaining more about cal fresh and cost of living supplement grant? Wondering about cost of living in sf if I got accepted there
 
UCSF2021:) said:
Paying it forward
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Thanks for doing this! What do you think of UCSF as a school for someone who wants to go straight into general dentistry? Based on recent graduation stats, it seems like only 30% go straight into private practice.
 
UCSF2021:) said:
Calfresh = an EBT card for food to be used at grocery stores w/ 250 put on it every month. COLS = 2400/yr to offset the expense of housing. Basically free money
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Wow they give you that much money for housing? Do you have to qualify or is that for everyone?
 
One downside I heard from previous UCSF grads is that the majority graduate without doing any molar endo since you have to do an endo clerkship in order to do molar cases in clinic. Is this still the case or are they allowing more students to do molar endo now?
 
UCSF2021:) said:
I would say that half of my classmates want to go into General Dentistry and half end up doing so. An AEGD or GPR typically is one year, almost always paid where you are honing skills that would better prepare you as an associate/practice owner/dental provider. I would say that the diversity of the 90 individuals in my class is something I see at few other dental schools, everyone has a different direction they are pursuing. A few DDS/PhD’s pursuing an academic career, some pursuing fellowships in Dental Education, public health, OMFS (both private practice and academic), Ortho, Peds, Perio etc. I think many come in wanting to do General Dentistry and find that they want to further pursue a specialty that they have enjoyed in Dental School.
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Thanks for such a thorough response. With regards to the students choosing to do a GPR/AEGD, do you think most students graduate feeling comfortable going straight into private practice without a GPR/AEGD? While they are paid, you make half or a third as much as you would in private practice. It also means applying, interviewing, and moving again.
 
UCSF2021:) said:
I can’t speak on that since I don’t know much about it. But, I know for a fact that there are plenty of endo electives you can take and some taking it. Clinically, those that have graduated have felt prepared. But, I would argue with so many choosing to specialize, I would rather students choose to take electives than being forced to graduate with a specific requirement that they will never do again.
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Thanks for the reply! I had heard from a UCSF student who graduated last year that 18 of his classmates who took the WREBs didn't pass the endo portion and had to end up retaking it down in SoCal so that was alarming to me. He is doing a GPR this year, and said that some other classmates who are doing GPR/AEGD also felt they didn't get enough endo experience so they felt the need to do a general residency before working.
 
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