Are you happy with your dental school choice?

[The Chosen One]

'Tis the season where those with Dec 1 acceptances are allowed to bask in the glow of their achievements for all the hard work, time, and MONEY spent just for the privilage to work harder, spend even more time and more MONEY in dental school!

For those of season's past, are you ginuinely happy with your selected choice of school?

If you would be so brave as to state your current school and the one that got away or any other pearls of wisdom to the current crop of acceptancees we would forever be in your debt .

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[kayakfisher]

I have a couple weeks left of the first semester at NYU, and even that this really really crappy point in time.... I have been happy with it.

My applications werent finished until Dec, and was basically just planning on applying the following year to have a fair shot at all the schools. Buuut, I ended up getting into NYU and it was very hard to say no!

Coming in, a lot of people were worried about class size. Nobody wants to feel like they are in a "dental mill". But I have never once felt like the class was TOO big. General lectures are held together, and always recorded. For all the labs, the class is broken down into several groups. There is more than enough one on one time with faculty and professors. I have never felt that I was actually 1/230 students. I was amazed at hearing one of the directors would look at the class list pictures to start learning everyones names right away.

The common theme of most of the faculty is that they are there for YOU. Obviously there will always be a few exceptions, but it really doesnt feel as big as it is (except when you want an elevator at 8am). The diversity is amazing in the class, and with 230 people... I have met some great people, which is one of the most important things when the going gets tough. It feels like a team effort, and people seem to help motivated others.

The hardest part has not been the actual coursework, even though I have probably learned more this semester than most of undergrad! They know everyone is smart, so they have somehow cleverly formulated the max pace at which the top tier of college students can learn at... and go just a little bit faster! They are very technology savvy here.... the first week is really getting everyone a laptop and up to speed on how everything will work electronically.

The hardest part is figuring out how be EFFICIENT. This was my problem this semester... do I take notes on my computer, do I write them and then type them, how do I learn how to type like a courtroom reporter by TOMORROW, do I write notes on powerpoint slides, so I pay to print in color, do I rely on past notes? It doesnt seem important, but nobody is able to perform at their peak until they figure out how they learn the best! And the answer to these questions will vary per person AND per class. But, so far I have never felt that any tests werent "fair".

This year there was a 100% pass rate on the 1st boards for the upperclassman... 100% of our class rarely passes any big test (so far). There is a reason for pushing the students at the beginning. But it is funny, because all the time I will hear upperclassman and faculty say "Oh, your a D1? Im sorry, how are you holding up? Dont worry.... itll get better!" Its like they are all encouraging you to fight through the disease that you were just diagnosed with! HAHA

The city, well.. Im from the west coast, so it has been a bit of a change. No matter where you go, you will not be able to go out much unless you are a "just want to pass kinda person". But, when those rare days roll around (I hear it increases as we go along) when you have put your work in and decide to go let loose... well, you are in NYC!! And being in NYC, there are more than enough patients to go around when clinic starts. It is very common for 3rd year students to completely finish their clinic requirements.

Thats all I can think about right now... let me know if anyone has any specific questions.

 

[Samus2008]

Thanks kayakfisher. Very useful info. I forget why I come on here many times after reading post after post of nonsense. I remember now some people are very useful.

 

[AUtiger5]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I offer greetings from the dirty south. I was fortunate to have a choice between four schools last year, of which I chose the University of Alabama. So far, I am happy with my decision.

My class size is small (54, split 50-50 male-female), and that was a major selling point to me. Moreover, nearly everyone in my class is of good humor and everyone enjoys laughing and cracking jokes throughout the day which makes tough days bearable. We have more than a couple comedians. This is a tribute to the admissions department who searches the best and brightest for those who will also have good chemistry and rapport. Also, Auburn grads outnumber Bama grads by a large margin, so they are considering changing the name to Auburn University's School of Dentistry (no, not really, but they should lol).

Academically, we are the 3rd class in an updated and progressive curriculum which offers earlier clinical experience. We start assisting and going on various rotations in the first semester in addition to beginning the basic sciences and pre-clinical dentistry courses. This first semester has been challenging but genuinely fun at the same time. Next semester is the doozie, apparently, when we start the anatomies and the workload increases while free time decreases. This quote is the best and most concise I have heard in my time here: "first semester is like the honeymoon; they are getting you acclimated to the pace and expectations. Second semester is when you realize you don't really know who you married." So, take it for what its worth.

If anyone has any questions, or will be visiting the school, feel free to contact me and I will do my best to answer any questions you may have or offer tips at no additional charge. War Eagle ya'll!

-AUtiger5

 

[Daurang]

I hated my school. But sometimes it's not a choice to make.

 

[newyorkblork]

Summary (because I didn't realize how much I just ranted)
Many aspects of NYU are frustrating, but probably the same as other schools.
Some aspects of NYU [anatomy, some of the lab faculty] are awesome.
Prepare to be frustrated rather than amazed, and you will be happier.
NYU is probably not worth 2x the amount of other schools, but it's tough to say something like that from first year.

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Kayakfisher, I really envy you your positive attitude. And I type that without the slightest hint of sarcasm - I really, truly wish I could be as positive as you are about NYU.

My take on NYU has been that it is terribly disorganized and frustrating. Professors regularly give incorrect information about their own exam questions. Professors regularly give incorrect or misleading information about what will be tested on the exam. One professor continually insists that "the textbooks and other professors are wrong", and tries to cover himself by saying things like "This is really new information. You won't find this in any textbook yet." This makes studying his exams a wonderful time of unlearning anything you remember from undergrad; trying to decipher his questions is a real treat too.

Many classes are a waste of time but are attendance-based, so you are forced to come in. Scheduling is disjointed and unorganized - in the first two weeks of school we had three professors drop classes completely (I'm terribly sorry guys, I didn't know I had to teach). Ethics. Epidemiology. Health Promotion, dental-patient relationship, dentistry as a science and profession. I hate to say it, but these are all joke classes that I feel have been added to the curriculum only to meet accreditation requirements, with no real thought or planning.

"Technologically savvy" - again, you must be a much more optimistic, patient individual than I am, and I say that, again, without sarcasm. Because when I go to class, what I see is: "Where did my pointer go? For some reason it disappears... oh there it is. Wait... it's gone again." "Hang on guys... TurningPoint isn't working. Let me try that again." "I don't know why Microsoft PowerPoint turns my numbers into symbols... it isn't me, it's Microsoft." "Is the feedback gone? What about now? Can you hear me now? Does anyone know how to turn this thing up?"

On the techy note, though, I do love VitalBook - it crashes a lot, so you have to be gentle, but when it does work, it's really quite awesome being able to Find Function through seventeen different textbooks. Being able to full-screen anatomy pictures on my laptop and zoom in to different pictures while working on my desktop has been a LOT nicer than slicing my textbooks up so I don't have to carry 90 pounds daily.

Actually, my brief time at NYU has felt like a constant hunt for gems in a giant pile of rocks. Many of the lab faculty doesn't care much about waxups; others don't care; but there are a few who will give you calm, measured feedback on your work.

On the plus side, the Anatomy Department has been really amazing to work with - the head of the department is a skilled and entertaining presenter and the supporting faculty have all been very good about helping with understanding details. However, the shoddy quality of the Basic Sciences department [if they are separate departments] makes me feel that I am receiving a crappy version of my NYU Undergraduate education, which I found to be very good.

WHEW. That all said... I imagine it's about the same as any dental school. You will have annoying professors and bad classes and bad lecturers just about anywhere you go. I personally have no reason, as yet, to believe NYU is truly worth the money if you get in elsewhere, but you would need to do a side-by-side comparison of NYU graduates versus graduates of other schools to get a better view.