Boston U

[Simplystressed]

So i've heard a lot of negativity regarding BU's dental program...i'd like to get some positive perspectives ...what do current students think?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[dreaming2k5]

What concerns you? Give us some questions to work with.

 

[Simplystressed]

there was a post on the predental forum a few months back that totally ripped the school apart...about terrible classes, poor clinical exposure...students having to pay for their patients procedures...it seemed that a lot of students who went there were unhappy....BUT i just got accepted so i'd like to hear some good aspects too

 

[dreaming2k5]

I believe management of the clinical situation in most private dental school is quite messy - there's no good way to go about it in comparison to state schools that get funding from the states allowing them an overabundance of patients, chairs, and staff.

So yes, at BU, there's a problem with scheduling patients. It's not unusual to book ghost appointments and offer them to your patients afterward. It's standard practice to wake up at 5 am to wait in line in order to be the first to book appointments on certain day of the week. It's also a pain to get stuff signed off, get the right patients for fixed, remo, whatever, and everything in between. However, people learn to play with the system, and 60%? made it out this year on time with the remaining scheduled to graduate/signed out 4 months later. At times, when a student have the perfect patient for a graded exercise but the patient can't pay for the procedure ~ ... ie patient should crown the tooth, but can only afford amalgam. Well, you need a couple more crowns to graduate, what are you going to do?

As for poor clinical exposure... if they meant we don't get to do enough procedures because all the hard stuff get referred out to other floors ~ then yes. But we rotate through all the specialty so I don't see the big deal.

Terrible classes? They're ADA approved curriculum. I will say that great professors far outnumber bad professors. In fact, the professors are the best thing that we have at BU. Most of the didactic lecturers at BU are great, and I think ALL preclinc didactic professors are wonderful. Let me run through the 2nd year schedule for you ~

Monday: Endo - Dr. Jiang ~ although her English isn't superb, she knows what she is talking about and she never abandons a student in pre-clin lab who needs her help.

Tuesday: Operative - Dr. McManama ~ the best lecturer by far. I don't know how he does it, but I almost always stayed awake for his lectures and take excellent notes. He teaches CE classes occasionally in Yankee Dental.

Wednesday: Removable - Dr. Emerling & Dr. Schnell ~ Not a lot of people like remo, but the two of them try their best to drive the material into the student's head. They're very helpful 1 on 1 and very approachable.

Thursday: We got misc classes here...
> Radiology with Dr. Gohel - really good if you actually show up to class at 8 am

> Oral Bio - we get all sorts of professors through here. The lecturers are good, but because the topics are kinda... unimportant for the future of our hands-on careers... most people don't care for the class.

> Bio-Material - again, all the lecturers are great. When you get to this class, remember NOT to skip because the man take note of how many is in the class and would just pop a quiz on the spot whenever he feels like it.

>Periodontology - there's a lot of dislike for Dr. Polins because of his long ramblings concerning irrelevant things. Also, dislike stems from Dr. Polins' jokes that aren't really... PC. He knows his stuff, but because he knows his stuff so damn well, it's nearly impossible to study for the class. He'd just... look at a slide of a patient's oral cavity and talk about periodontitis, etiology, initial preparation... whatever.. for an entire hour and you haven't a single clue what he is going to say next. So, because of his hard to follow lecture, and his piss poor usage of powerpoint, he is the worst of the didactic profs to study for (but fun to listen to).

Friday: Fixed pros with Dr. Brown. Dr. Brown is a character ~ he'd tell you things about dentistry that I can't repeat here. For pre-clinical lab, he has *extremely high* expectation of the students. This is the one class that I had to practice the most for.

I don't know about other schools, but one thing about BU is that they emphasize on "No student left behind." If you're in trouble, and you need help ~ you'd get help. Almost all the pre-clinical instructors are super nice and extremely helpful.

To be honest, I forgotten a lot about first year. But almost all the profs in first year are awesome as well. Especially for anatomy... I love it when Dr. Whitney used her ambidextrous skillz to draw out the neuro nerve tracts.

Finally - BU is an easier dental school than many others out there. We're in the suck right now - but I was able to finish GTA4, COD4, Zelda, Metroid, and watched countless anime episodes and movies since the semester started. Hell, I'd probably finish MGS4 before the 3 week summer break starts.

 

[Sama951]

Finally - BU is an easier dental school than many others out there. We're in the suck right now - but I was able to finish GTA4, COD4, Zelda, Metroid, and watched countless anime episodes and movies since the semester started. Hell, I'd probably finish MGS4 before the 3 week summer break starts.

loooool I love how it's now possible to judge the school based on how many video games you can finish during the semester

Thanks for the other info too

 

[UCFpremed]

To be honest, I forgotten a lot about first year. But almost all the profs in first year are awesome as well. Especially for anatomy... I love it when Dr. Whitney used her ambidextrous skillz to draw out the neuro nerve tracts.

There's definitely something I can't explain about the way Dr. Whitney draws those tracts! I just finished 1st year and am currently on APEX in Florida. Life was tough for me in first year because I was just bored of seeing all the same subjects from undergrad. There were also a lot of distractions for me and I'm planning on working harder 2nd year.

1st year is all science and a little dentistry. The profs are experts in their fields but i wish that I had went to their office more frequently. They're always available when you need them through email, phone, or to meet in person.

Being on APEX has really made me seen what real world dentistry is like. I'm externing with the dentist that I used to shadow in undergrad and now I realize that there's much more to dentistry than what's taught in school.

Regarding the problems that you mentioned I think every school has problems. Our biggest problem from what I've heard is that we have too many students at our school. But we just have to deal with it and try to learn as much as we can while here. Boston is a great place to be in school and although expensive it's a fantastic city.

 

[MrVagus]

I don't know about other schools, but one thing about BU is that they emphasize on "No student left behind." If you're in trouble, and you need help ~ you'd get help. Almost all the pre-clinical instructors are super nice and extremely helpful.

This is only the case in preclin and didactics. Once on the clinic floor you're screwed if you cant pay for patient's treatment and/or figure out how to beat/cheat the system.

But like a lot of other programs where the majority of faculty are middle-aged semi retired men, being a student in a certain demographic with a charming smile and even better personality goes along way on the clinic floors...

Its not entirely all bad but there definitely much more room for improvement. With a new dean coming in soon there'll probably be some house cleaning and things will probably get worse before they gets better.

The two most pleasant experiences that you'll ever have at BU is the day you meet the admissions staff and day you signout of that place for good... But if its your only choice then welcome aboard.

caveat emptor

 

[Calidental]

So i've heard a lot of negativity regarding BU's dental program...i'd like to get some positive perspectives ...what do current students think?

If you can pay, you'll get in, up there with USC, NYU and NOVA as a place for less intellectual rich kids...at least you'll have a wide spread of colleagues as half your class may not be US, which is a positive as it increases diversity/contacts etc.

 

[dreaming2k5]

If you can pay, you'll get in, up there with USC, NYU and NOVA as a place for less intellectual rich kids...

You mean we just have bigger debts to settle once we graduate =)

 

[Cold Front]

You mean we just have bigger debts to settle once we graduate =)

I will forward this message to your military scholarship people, and let them know you still have some debt that they need to pay for. Seriously, man... you will have $0 debt!

To the OP: dreaming2k5 is pro-BU, I think because this is one school where you can sleep through the entire lecture without getting caught. He chills at home and plays video games, and then goes to school just to sleep. If he is not sleeping, he is admiring the hot professors and day dreams about them. I agree with him about the quality of education we get here though, the professors do a really good job presenting information, and classes are not very hard to pass (besides perio in 2nd and 3rd year - you will know what I mean when you get here).

Bottom line is, every school has a down side, students will always have something to complain about wherever they may be... that's life. Since dental schools got very competitive to get in, I would say our students are as bright as anywhere else (at least in my class). If you work hard and play hard, dental school should be a breeze.

If you I could start over again, I would not attend BU for tuition and how our clinics function in 3rd and 4th years (even though changes will be made to fix this problem next year). Ultimately, the pros (getting free ortho or any other treatment done at the school, ability to skip classes and just do old exams to get an "A" in the course, etc) far exceed the cons. I personally don't think there is any easier school out there.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[dreaming2k5]

To the OP: dreaming2k5 is pro-BU, I think because this is one school where you can sleep through the entire lecture without getting caught. He chills at home and plays video games, and then goes to school just to sleep. If he is not sleeping, he is admiring the hot professors and day dreams about them.

At least I go to classes and take a line of note every 30 minutes or so whenever I wake up. OP, Cold Front doesn't even go to class 50% of the time, and whenever he does show up, he is slacking off! I don't think he has gone to a single 8 am class in the past month except for the perio exam. I mean, I guess it's takes a lot of carbs and energy to work that python out at night, that's why he can't make it to morning classes.

 

[xtractime]

At least I go to classes and take a line of note every 30 minutes or so whenever I wake up. OP, Cold Front doesn't even go to class 50% of the time, and whenever he does show up, he is slacking off! I don't think he has gone to a single 8 am class in the past month except for the perio exam. I mean, I guess it's takes a lot of carbs and energy to work that python out at night, that's why he can't make it to morning classes.

oh gawd! he brought out the python! haha, well i'm headed to boston also but tufts. if you guys are slackers maybe i'll see ya out and about instead of in class across town.

 

[halosniper008]

Very few people had to pay for their patients treatment last year, and those that did had very poor management skills. You get out of it what you put in. Work hard, spend as much time as you can in the clinic, and you will get a great education. If you want to be lazy then you might end up having to pay for a few procedures to graduate. It's up to you...

 

[LaVidaDeAmreek]

dreaming is totally right. i like relaxing while going to bu dental.
drinking helps too...

 

[Cold Front]

dreaming is totally right. i like relaxing while going to bu dental.
drinking helps too...

BU dental is so easy, even a caveman can do it!

 

[Daurang]

bu Dental Is So Easy, Even A Caveman Can Do It!

Hey Stop It!

 

[Cold Front]

Hey Stop It!

Do you still prefer to eat roast duck with mango salsa every time you hear that?

 

[blankguy]

In all fairness, BU is in the middle of a new dean search. Maybe as soon as they get a dean he/she will begin to pull everything together at BU. A top graduate at BU is as valid as a top grad anywhere else.

 

[Stillmaticbeat]

what do people mean by its easy to get an A in bu classes haha. is it really THAT EASY. i don't believe it

 

[UCFpremed]

what do people mean by its easy to get an A in bu classes haha. is it really THAT EASY. i don't believe it

I don't think it's easy to get an A here. But, I do think it's easy to pass.

 

[WildcatDMD]

Pros of BU:
Some great didactic faculty - Dr. McManama who teaches us most of what we know about restorative dentistry is one of the best professors I've ever had. Probably the only thing I am really happy about my training at BU.
Some great clinical faculty - many of the clinical faculty in the 3rd and 4th years are great teaches as well. Some are not and make our lives much harder than necessary.
Cons:
The clinic is a disaster. Making appointments and getting signatures actually made me hate the school. There are too many students, too few chairs, not enough patients. Many people paid for procedures. Every one of my close friends paid in the hundreds for procedures, one paid well over a thousand if not $2k.
I don't know if I would put myself through that if I had it to do all over. I am only happy that I am done (I also finished 1 month late). Good luck. I'm sure it will be worth it.