Attend a cheap dental school or a top school

  • Thread starter Thread starter deleted738762
  • Start date Start date
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Alpha Centauri said:
IMO Paying for a top school carries a lot more to it than just the name. Say picking a state school in Arizona vs a school like Columbia (The only Ivy I interviewed at) in NYC. The state school is cheaper no doubt and I am sure it has a great clinical emphasis (I know 0 about MWU-AZ FYI just pulling this out of thin air). Meanwhile Columbia may be double the price, but you do get pass/fail, live in an awesome city (although go to UCLA or similar for a cool city w/ in state tuition). Columbia had the best vibe to it out of the other schools I interviewed at as well, something that other people who attended on average 6-8 interviews agreed on. The non-competitive nature may not be worth the 400k to some, but to ME, being around a "family" going through the same struggle as I am is insanely critical to my success as it has in the past. I can't imagine competing against dozens of other qualified applicants rather than working cooperatively like I have been my whole life.

Columbia also offers grants for people to pursue dual degrees in things such as your masters in public health or your MBA so you pay little to nothing for it. If you end up wanting to specialize last minute, you don't need to kill yourself working for the top 10% because it is P/F and it is "easy" to specialize at an ivy. You can literally decide this on a moment's notice once you decide on general vs specialization vs other fields. How the hell do I know what field of dentistry I like if I have never touched a handpiece or a typodont? I had an hour long chat with my interviewer who was focusing in dental public health, a field I have never looked into yet but is very interesting to me.

Otherwise, no biggie if you don't desire to specialize. It's not for everyone and each school has their benefits, but I think that if you can utilize them WISELY then maybe the 400k debt will be worth it to you in the form of having a great school experience, making lifelong friends and connections with mentors, research opportunities, etc. Again, some of this can be had for a lot of other schools, but there are things I saw personally about Columbia that all other schools lacked.

TL;DR some people want "just" a school for in-state tuition level costs that they can pay off in 5-10 years, while other people don't mind taking out a 15-25 year loan for a dental school "experience". My feeling is that a school like Columbia, Harvard, or Penn offers many different avenues of dentistry to travel, but it is up to you to decide if it is worth the cost of attending a school offering these options to you
Click to expand...
P/F isn't an ivy exclusive thing. Also, I think you might be over generalizing schools that rank their students. Honestly the people that are trying to perform well/ specialize are the most helpful (They post the best study reviews). It's not nearly as cut-throat as you make it out to be (at my school at least).
Members don't see this ad.
 
Advance said:
P/F isn't an ivy exclusive thing. Also, I think you might be over generalizing schools that rank their students. Honestly the people that are trying to perform well/ specialize are the most helpful (They post the best study reviews). It's not nearly as cut-throat as you make it out to be (at my school at least).
Click to expand...
I'm not a dental school student so take what I wrote with a grain of salt
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Incis0r said:
This is a wonderful question. I kept hearing both sides of the argument for P/F vs graded/ranked, and so I decided to go straight to the source.

I spoke with a few specialty program directors about my options, and they encouraged me to choose the graded and ranked program.
Click to expand...

Hmm interesting, I can see why. Still, with the Ivy's having a near 50% specialization rate something has got to give.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Incis0r said:
This is a wonderful question. I kept hearing both sides of the argument for P/F vs graded/ranked, and so I decided to go straight to the source.

I spoke with a few specialty program directors about my options, and they encouraged me to choose the graded and ranked program
Click to expand...
Yes, but keep in mind that they were giving you a biased opinion. Graded/ranked transcripts are easier for them to understand, but that does not necessarily mean that this system is in YOUR best interest.

The question comes down to whether you would like the "name" of a Harvard, Columbia, UConn, etc. to do some talking for you when you apply to residency programs versus preferring to prove yourself in an additional "objective" way. From what administrators have told me, the person who benefits most from a respected P/F program in applying to residencies is someone who has a great personality (i.e. gets good rec letters and nails interviews) and can perform on standardized tests.

Someone might prefer a graded system if they want to be compared against their classmates and/or if they want a residency in a location where the name of their school doesn't carry enough weight.

However, this is all likely to change by the time the Class of 2021 starts thinking about residencies, as the ADAT may become a reliable and standard test by then. More schools would be pushed towards P/F.
 
The Flossopher said:
Yes, but keep in mind that they were giving you a biased opinion. Graded/ranked transcripts are easier for them to understand, but that does not necessarily mean that this system is in YOUR best interest.

The question comes down to whether you would like the "name" of a Harvard, Columbia, UConn, etc. to do some talking for you when you apply to residency programs versus preferring to prove yourself in an additional "objective" way. From what administrators have told me, the person who benefits most from a respected P/F program in applying to residencies is someone who has a great personality (i.e. gets good rec letters and nails interviews) and can perform on standardized tests.

Someone might prefer a graded system if they want to be compared against their classmates and/or if they want a residency in a location where the name of their school doesn't carry enough weight.

However, this is all likely to change by the time the Class of 2021 starts thinking about residencies, as the ADAT may become a reliable and standard test by then. More schools would be pushed towards P/F.
Click to expand...

Very insightful response.
 
Last edited:
Members don't see this ad :)
wengerin said:
I did but not sure what that has to do with the specialization rates...

Especially with a 100% pass rate on the boards I'm failing to see the issue here.

Sent from my iPhone using SDN motbile
Click to expand...
It means students are struggling to complete clinical graduation requirements, which is likely a reflection of the clinical education. Don't go there to become a GP. But, I already knew as much. The dean even said so during my interview.

Big Hoss
 
Last edited:
Big Time Hoosier said:
It means students are struggling to complete clinic graduation requirements, which is likely a reflection of the clinical education. Don't go there to become a GP. But, I already knew as much. The dean even said so during my interview.

Big Hoss
Click to expand...

They just went through and passed accreditation. Also, it's no secret that a lot of people go there with intent to specialize, and the context of this thread was OP asking about specializing, so I'm confused as to why you're bringing up wanting to be a GP.



Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
I think the point is depending on the person and the school in question there are a myriad of reasons for why someone might choose a graded or a P/F program. No school is perfect and you have to think about your personal goals (and your wallet) when deciding which school you want to attend.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
wengerin said:
They just went through and passed accreditation. Also, it's no secret that a lot of people go there with intent to specialize, and the context of this thread was OP asking about specializing, so I'm confused as to why you're bringing up wanting to be a GP.



Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
I was just pointing it out after you posted the link. I was just really surprised that in 2013 almost 20% of the class didn't graduate on time.

I'm also just as surprised by how many predents are intent on specializing before they've even picked up an explorer and mirror. My advice: go to school with an open mind, work hard regardless, and after you've actually done some procedures then decide if a specialty is for you.

Big Hoss
 
Big Time Hoosier said:
I was just pointing it out after you posted the link. I was just really surprised that in 2013 almost 20% of the class didn't graduate on time.

I'm also just as surprised by how many predents are intent on specializing before they've even picked up an explorer and mirror. My advice: go to school with an open mind, work hard regardless, and after you've actually done some procedures then decide if a specialty is for you.

Big Hoss
Click to expand...
I think it's more telling that 90% are going into a post-doc program. Which means only 10% (or 20% of the ones not specializing) of their graduating class feels ready to take off their training wheels to do general dentistry. But it is NY so i think they might be more inclined to do a GPR to stay in NY
 
Big Time Hoosier said:
Did you also see the 10+% not graduating on time?
Click to expand...
Doesn't really seem like a big deal to me. Those students are not charged for another semester for graduating a month late. Also demonstrates the credibility of Columbia's clinical competency requirements, which I think is a positive reflection of the clinical education.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
choosing a dental school
Replies
3
Views
477
Bigjt1420
Bigjt1420
B
Help me with a school list
Replies
5
Views
380
Baowser
B
X
Paying for dental school
Replies
0
Views
1K
xxxiled
X
D
extracurricular activates for dental school
Replies
10
Views
1K
__deadroseht
D
M
Is it worth applying to Dental School this cycle?
Replies
3
Views
506
macsak
M
Top