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mandis said:
The more prestigious school is notorious for its artificially difficult weed-out courses and grade deflation while the other is not as well known but has a lower chance of destroying my GPA. The main dilemma for me is what dental school admission committees will think of a lower GPA at a higher ranked school versus a higher GPA, possibly much higher, at a less prestigious school. I have already done some research but most of the threads I could find are from 10+ years ago and the replies say that GPA is more important, so the poster should go to the lower-ranked school. Things might have changed a decade later, so that's why I am asking here. I am willing to go to whichever school that gives me a higher chance of admission and work as hard as is necessary to earn a good GPA, but if the higher-ranked school only offers the chance of lowering my GPA and dental schools don't care about its ranking, it seems like going to the lower-ranked school is more logical for me personally. One final note, the lower-ranked school isn't a degree mill or anything, it has an accredited medical school and is part of my state's public university system meaning it does have standards.
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don't go to the weed out school...
 
My dental school class had a wide range of college backgrounds. Majority state schools, some ivy/pseudo and essentially all levels of tiers represented. Pretty much it was a numbers game. Doing well at a ivy/pseduo-viy can help but if you have a 3.2 versus someone that had a 3.8 at a state school then the latter would be the stronger applicant still. I had various friends regret going to weed out schools because of the difficulty of the courses and struggling to keep their GPA up.
 
mandis said:
The more prestigious school is notorious for its artificially difficult weed-out courses and grade deflation while the other is not as well known but has a lower chance of destroying my GPA. The main dilemma for me is what dental school admission committees will think of a lower GPA at a higher ranked school versus a higher GPA, possibly much higher, at a less prestigious school. I have already done some research but most of the threads I could find are from 10+ years ago and the replies say that GPA is more important, so the poster should go to the lower-ranked school. Things might have changed a decade later, so that's why I am asking here. I am willing to go to whichever school that gives me a higher chance of admission and work as hard as is necessary to earn a good GPA, but if the higher-ranked school only offers the chance of lowering my GPA and dental schools don't care about its ranking, it seems like going to the lower-ranked school is more logical for me personally. One final note, the lower-ranked school isn't a degree mill or anything, it has an accredited medical school and is part of my state's public university system meaning it does have standards.
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Besides the name or cost, how are the undergrad programs you are interested in? I'd say that's more important if you decide to not go into dentistry later on. How is the job placement for those who graduate with the type of degree you are seeking from either institution?
 
Cheapest school as long as it’s not community college. No one cares where you go for undergrad. Everyone care how much money they have though 🙂
 
Tough call. My kneejerk reaction is to say go wherever you can get the highest GPA. Sadly, a 3.8 at podunk U means more to admissions than a 3.0 at Johns Hopkins. This sucks IMHO but I don't make the rules. Although the flipside of the argument is anyone can get into dental school if you put in the work. Not just kids who went to top tier schools.

The positive of going to a top 20 type school is if you decide not to do dentistry or medicine....you now have a degree that may have the potential to open doors for you. No right or wrong answer.
 
Just my opinion, not worth any more or less than any others, but if your undergraduate degree won't be very useful unless you pursue further education with it, and if the costs are the same amongst both school options, then why would you go to the "prestigious" option? I mean at that point (with your bachelor's), no one will really care where you went. Also, why make it harder on yourself to get the highest grades as you possibly can? Go to the other one and make it easier on yourself. Your goals should be to get as high as grades as possible, and to learn enough so you can prepare well for the DAT. Some of the prerequisites you have to take won't even be tested on the DAT, so your goal should just be to get a highest grade as you possibly can with those classes, and to do it as easily as possible (without resorting to cheating or anything nefarious). A higher GPA at a "whatever" school will trump a lower GPA at a prestigious school. There's too many applications, I think, for the admissions committee to be concerned on such nitpicky details as to where you went.

In short, get the highest GPA possible, and if you have a better chance at the non-prestigious option, take it.
 
Read Malcolm Gladwell's book "David and Goliath". I think it will allow you to make a decision without other's opinion. Big fish little pond, or little fish big pond.
 
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