- Joined
- Nov 26, 2016
- Messages
- 57
- Reaction score
- 97
Last edited:
Can You Answer These Questions About Your Dental School? (Part 2)
- Thread starter Double Bonded
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2016
- Messages
- 89
- Reaction score
- 69
BUMP for UNC or Columbia!! Anyone?
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2014
- Messages
- 65
- Reaction score
- 26
anyone want to do ASDOH or UIC????
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2014
- Messages
- 1,535
- Reaction score
- 1,821
1. Name of Your Dental School
University of Texas School of Dentistry in Houston
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
1st year
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
2-3 exams a week after the first 3 weeks into school
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Subjective but for first years, it would probably have to be neuroscience. Other students also have trouble in biomedical sciences and human biology.
In the 2nd year everyone complains about pathology.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Informatics, it's online.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Powerpoints made by professors
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Electronic; some books like operative and dental anatomy, people will buy the physical copy.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Percentage for regular classes, P/F for electives.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Everyone tries to help each other but of course there are always a few gunners but none of us try to sabotage each other.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Nope
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
For most classes, yes.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
All professors are very easy to contact.
13. What is the drop out rate?
According to the upperclassmen, 1-2 a year at most.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Your peers, professors, and the internet.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
I believe 100%. We all take a small prep class during the summer and are required to pass a mock exam before taking the real boards.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Summer going into your 3rd year.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
Yes as mentioned in question 15.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
Not sure how long but I do know we take a small review class in the summer.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Some study in the library, some at home.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
Our school is always packed with patients so you shouldn't have any problem fulfilling your requirements.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
We are fit to seat more patients than how many students there are; we can seat 105 I believe.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Not sure about all the others but in your 4th year you need 17 crowns and 7 RPDs. You have requirements in your 2nd year and of course 3rd year as well.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We take a class that distributes first years all throughout the school into different specialty clinics (that you choose) where you will shadow or assist. Additionally, you are free to be active about shadowing the clinics yourself on your own time.
24. Is there sufficient preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
Yes, we offer many electives (which are free to enroll in) that will gear you toward practice management. Additionally, every student is required to take DPRC (dental practice readiness) which stretches all throughout your 4 years.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Color coded scrubs; as of spring of 2017, 1st years wear royal blue, 2nd years wear gray, 3rd years wear baby blue, 4th years wear navy blue. You'll be stuck with the same colored scrubs all throughout dental school as the 4th year colors will be passed onto the future 1st years.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
There is a lot of camaraderie. We hang out with each other very often during the weekends and at night.
27. What student organizations are most active?
PsiOmega (dental frat), ASDA (everyone is required to join), TAWDS (Texas Association of Women Dentists), AASDA (Asian ASDA), Butler Society (OMFS Organization), and Peds to name a few.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Location is amazing, we're right next to the world's largest medical center and it's near downtown and close to a lot of bars and restaurants. Student housing is difficult to get in but other surrounding places, you shouldn't have a problem finding a place to live. Safety is of course a concern but it's generally safe the closer you get to the school.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Mandatory attendance x__x
30. Any last words or advice?
Don't drown in material.
University of Texas School of Dentistry in Houston
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
1st year
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
2-3 exams a week after the first 3 weeks into school
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Subjective but for first years, it would probably have to be neuroscience. Other students also have trouble in biomedical sciences and human biology.
In the 2nd year everyone complains about pathology.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Informatics, it's online.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Powerpoints made by professors
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Electronic; some books like operative and dental anatomy, people will buy the physical copy.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Percentage for regular classes, P/F for electives.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Everyone tries to help each other but of course there are always a few gunners but none of us try to sabotage each other.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Nope
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
For most classes, yes.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
All professors are very easy to contact.
13. What is the drop out rate?
According to the upperclassmen, 1-2 a year at most.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Your peers, professors, and the internet.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
I believe 100%. We all take a small prep class during the summer and are required to pass a mock exam before taking the real boards.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Summer going into your 3rd year.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
Yes as mentioned in question 15.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
Not sure how long but I do know we take a small review class in the summer.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Some study in the library, some at home.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
Our school is always packed with patients so you shouldn't have any problem fulfilling your requirements.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
We are fit to seat more patients than how many students there are; we can seat 105 I believe.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Not sure about all the others but in your 4th year you need 17 crowns and 7 RPDs. You have requirements in your 2nd year and of course 3rd year as well.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We take a class that distributes first years all throughout the school into different specialty clinics (that you choose) where you will shadow or assist. Additionally, you are free to be active about shadowing the clinics yourself on your own time.
24. Is there sufficient preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
Yes, we offer many electives (which are free to enroll in) that will gear you toward practice management. Additionally, every student is required to take DPRC (dental practice readiness) which stretches all throughout your 4 years.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Color coded scrubs; as of spring of 2017, 1st years wear royal blue, 2nd years wear gray, 3rd years wear baby blue, 4th years wear navy blue. You'll be stuck with the same colored scrubs all throughout dental school as the 4th year colors will be passed onto the future 1st years.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
There is a lot of camaraderie. We hang out with each other very often during the weekends and at night.
27. What student organizations are most active?
PsiOmega (dental frat), ASDA (everyone is required to join), TAWDS (Texas Association of Women Dentists), AASDA (Asian ASDA), Butler Society (OMFS Organization), and Peds to name a few.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Location is amazing, we're right next to the world's largest medical center and it's near downtown and close to a lot of bars and restaurants. Student housing is difficult to get in but other surrounding places, you shouldn't have a problem finding a place to live. Safety is of course a concern but it's generally safe the closer you get to the school.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Mandatory attendance x__x
30. Any last words or advice?
Don't drown in material.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 16, 2013
- Messages
- 70
- Reaction score
- 34
Here's some input for UIC.
1. Name of Your Dental School
University of Illinoist at Chicago
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
D1 2nd semester
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Block schedule. We have exam week once in a while, everything (clinical/science) come together.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Most people struggle with DBCS (basic science course including histology, physiology, biochemistry, embryology, etc). We study everything of 1 system at a time. e.g everything for cardiovascular and respiratory system for this exam, and GI system for next module. I personally think they are equally challenging, but you will be fine if you just figure out your weaknesses and strength and put in a lot of effort to improve yourself.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
SGL. It's pass/fail. You basically have to just be there and do your homework.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Both, but more on lecture powerpoints.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Most of us use electronic textbook, and I prefer electronic because it comes handy when we have to search for SGL.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Some stuff are pass/fail, but it comes down to letter grade at end of the semester.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
People usually support each other and try to help everyone out here. =)
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
We have recordings for all lectures. No notetaking service.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Yes (according to college policies), but some people still skip class/come late to class.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Most of our professors are very approachable. You can always email them/go to their office.
13. What is the drop out rate?
Not quite sure. As far as I know only 1 or 2 people drop out every year if there is any. I'd say below 0.5%?
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Yep. They assign tutors to students who are struggling. We also have peer mentor group, which I found to be extremely helpful (they help you review science stuff, waxing, and there are clinical sessions too).
Of course we always help each other as well.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Passing rate has been 100% so far.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
I heard most people take during D2 year, winter break or Spring break.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
We have a board prep class in D2 Fall semester.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
Wish I could answer this, but I'm not there yet. Will come back to answer once I get there.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Lot of people study in the library, or in dental school. Library may get crowded some weeks because we have med and pharm students here too.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
Not sure about that. I'm still a fresh off boat D1.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We have 6 specialty clinics here. You are always welcome to go down there and shadow them. From what I heard, you also get a class in each area (e.g ortho class).
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
We have practice management class, but so far it's only about HIPAA (maybe more will come later on?). Not sure about career placement, but there's was a career fair couple weeks ago.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Always have wear scrubs if you are in clinic, but for D1, D2's, we wear casual a lot for days we don't have clinics.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA, Delta Sigma Delta fraternity, peer mentor group, and Hispanic student dental association are all pretty active.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
I love the location, it's pretty convenient with all the buses/trains nearby. Plenty of housing around area, but you need to do some research to find cheaper ones. It's pretty safe here. You can take a red car home after 11 pm if you live on campus.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Weather can threw you off sometimes. Our AC system has some kind of issue. It's usually like some rooms are really hot in winter, and some rooms are super chilly in summer (you would have to wear double sweater).
I have mixed feelings about SGL. I like discussions for thinking in different perspectives, but sometimes it may go well or bad depending on which facilitator you have and your group members.
30. Any last words or advice?
Really think about if you like SGL or not. This is a big part of our curriculum. 6 hours a week, and it goes on to D2 as well (not sure if D3 and D4's have them). Also, you will get tested on stuff you learned in SGL. Some of the stuff we covered in SGL are covered in lecture, but some are not, and you have to learn them by yourself or with your group.
I was also surprised that the living cost here is not as high as I expected. During my interview, people told me that their rent is around $800+ a month. You can find much better deals than that if you do a lot of research in advance. You can definitely find places from $550-$700 (living with roommates). Grocery shopping/explore downtown is pretty convenient too.
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2014
- Messages
- 65
- Reaction score
- 26
Thanks fam. I got wait listed sadly but this was still helpful. But just for fun, would you still pick uic over any other places you got in?Here's some input for UIC.
1. Name of Your Dental School
University of Illinoist at Chicago
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
D1 2nd semester
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Block schedule. We have exam week once in a while, everything (clinical/science) come together.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Most people struggle with DBCS (basic science course including histology, physiology, biochemistry, embryology, etc). We study everything of 1 system at a time. e.g everything for cardiovascular and respiratory system for this exam, and GI system for next module. I personally think they are equally challenging, but you will be fine if you just figure out your weaknesses and strength and put in a lot of effort to improve yourself.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
SGL. It's pass/fail. You basically have to just be there and do your homework.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Both, but more on lecture powerpoints.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Most of us use electronic textbook, and I prefer electronic because it comes handy when we have to search for SGL.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Some stuff are pass/fail, but it comes down to letter grade at end of the semester.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
People usually support each other and try to help everyone out here. =)
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
We have recordings for all lectures. No notetaking service.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Yes (according to college policies), but some people still skip class/come late to class.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Most of our professors are very approachable. You can always email them/go to their office.
13. What is the drop out rate?
Not quite sure. As far as I know only 1 or 2 people drop out every year if there is any. I'd say below 0.5%?
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Yep. They assign tutors to students who are struggling. We also have peer mentor group, which I found to be extremely helpful (they help you review science stuff, waxing, and there are clinical sessions too).
Of course we always help each other as well.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Passing rate has been 100% so far.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
I heard most people take during D2 year, winter break or Spring break.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
We have a board prep class in D2 Fall semester.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
Wish I could answer this, but I'm not there yet. Will come back to answer once I get there.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Lot of people study in the library, or in dental school. Library may get crowded some weeks because we have med and pharm students here too.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
Not sure about that. I'm still a fresh off boat D1.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We have 6 specialty clinics here. You are always welcome to go down there and shadow them. From what I heard, you also get a class in each area (e.g ortho class).
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
We have practice management class, but so far it's only about HIPAA (maybe more will come later on?). Not sure about career placement, but there's was a career fair couple weeks ago.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Always have wear scrubs if you are in clinic, but for D1, D2's, we wear casual a lot for days we don't have clinics.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA, Delta Sigma Delta fraternity, peer mentor group, and Hispanic student dental association are all pretty active.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
I love the location, it's pretty convenient with all the buses/trains nearby. Plenty of housing around area, but you need to do some research to find cheaper ones. It's pretty safe here. You can take a red car home after 11 pm if you live on campus.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Weather can threw you off sometimes. Our AC system has some kind of issue. It's usually like some rooms are really hot in winter, and some rooms are super chilly in summer (you would have to wear double sweater).
I have mixed feelings about SGL. I like discussions for thinking in different perspectives, but sometimes it may go well or bad depending on which facilitator you have and your group members.
30. Any last words or advice?
Really think about if you like SGL or not. This is a big part of our curriculum. 6 hours a week, and it goes on to D2 as well (not sure if D3 and D4's have them). Also, you will get tested on stuff you learned in SGL. Some of the stuff we covered in SGL are covered in lecture, but some are not, and you have to learn them by yourself or with your group.
I was also surprised that the living cost here is not as high as I expected. During my interview, people told me that their rent is around $800+ a month. You can find much better deals than that if you do a lot of research in advance. You can definitely find places from $550-$700 (living with roommates). Grocery shopping/explore downtown is pretty convenient too.
D
deleted606640
MWU IL?
7
786783
I wish the following question could be added to the questionnaire: how many patients does the average D3/D4 treat in a day?
Is it mostly 2 per day nation-wide? One in the AM and one in the PM?
Is it mostly 2 per day nation-wide? One in the AM and one in the PM?
Last edited by a moderator:
M
M-Neo
1) Name of Your Dental School
Faculty of Oral & Dental Medicine, Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST), Egypt.
2) Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
First year. Class of 2021. It's 5 years here right after high school. We don't take the NBDE.
3) What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Block Schedule.
4) What is the hardest class? Why?
I'm still in my first year, and so far general chemistry and organic chemistry, because we have chemistry-heavy curriculums and terrible professors. Upperclassmen might say anatomy, physio, path, oral path, etc.
5) What is the easiest class? Why?
Bio-statistics, because our professor is a very sympathetic lady, and the course is 1 credit hour with a simple 70 page book/workbook.
6) Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
No, generally everybody tries to help everybody out if they can.
7) Are the class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Mostly textbooks, rarely ever powerpoints.
8) Are there any classes taken with medical students? If so, which ones?
No, but there are many courses given by medical faculty, such as histo, anatomy, physio, etc.
9) What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Percentages and letter grades with GPA, just like college.
10) Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
No, but individual students can write their own notes and sell them in bookstores for other students to study from.
11) Is class attendance mandatory?
No lecture attendance in most courses, but practical attendance is mandatory.
12) In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Well, let's just say they're reachable but don't really care. There are some TAs though who do care. In clinical courses however, it can be a disaster till you get a TA to look over your work.
13) Is there a big brother/big sister program that pairs you with an upperclassman or professor who "mentors" you?
No, but upperclassmen are friendly and even seek underclassmen to help them and tutor them, it's like a tradition.
14) What is the drop out rate?
Not sure, but I think at least 85% of students here pass and get their degrees.
15) Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
No, not much you can do except consult your professors, or TAs if it's a practical matter. Other than that: study harder, and don't forget there are always friends.
16) What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score?
The national association for dental licensure here in Egypt gives license to any dentist who completes 1 year of internship at an approved hospital after graduation from the 5 year dental program.
17) When do you take the NDBE? 1st year or second year?
We don't take the NBDE, but get our national license to practice dentistry after the internship year (6th year).
18) Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
It's like college. Quizzes and practical exams are taken simultaneously with classes, but mid-terms and finals have their own blocks of time.
19) Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Some study in the library, some on the grass, some in cafeterias, and some at home. No particular distribution here, and the place never clears out because it's a university, there are always students until late evening.
20) Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
We don't have NBDEs here.
21) Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
It's a national problem in every dental school here. Patients are hard to find and maintain. We literally have patient middlemen/brokers who scout patients for you and get a commission. The reason behind this is 2 things: patient attitude, and excessive dental students. But, because our university includes a hospital with dental clinics, we get more patients than some other private universities here.
22) Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
Chairs are not abundant like in most US dental schools, but you you can find a chair if you arrive early. It's not the biggest problem.
23) What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Don't know the numbers, but as I hear it can be difficult to attain the requirements for certain courses.
24) Are there opportunities for different off-site dental clinic rotations? If so, what are they?
Don't know.
25) Are there opportunites for outreach trips to underserved areas or countries? If so, what are they and for how long?
Have heard of those, but not arranged by the school itself, trips could be a day or a few days.
26) Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
There is not great preparation for practice management, but sufficient. Haven't heard of any career placements by the school.
27) What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
Just the regular rotations, as far as the school provides.
28) What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Casual pretty much until you reach the clinical 4th and 5th years (3rd and 4th years in USA), you'd have to wear scrubs then.
29) Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yeah. There's a lot of camaraderie. Students depend on each other so much.
30) What student organizations are most active?
The biggest dental student organization in our school is "DSSA MUST" which stands for "Dental Student Scientific Association MUST". It is a non-governmental organization that aims mainly to develop public awareness of oral and dental health, beside its role in representing Egypt in IADS, and it makes efforts to connect Egyptian dental students to their colleagues worldwide.
31) What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
The location is pretty good and famous. Any student can get here with public transportation. Finding housing can be a problem for internationals or out of city students, but everybody usually figures their way out by connections. Safety is not an issue at all.
32) What do you not like about your dental school?
Well, I could write a separate post about this till the break of dawn. But, I'll just skim it. Some big problems are not only in our dental school but every other dental school in Egypt, such as: student to faculty ratio, school size and equipment, patient availability, school budget, r&d. Those are pretty common issues in Egyptian dental schools. However, extra problems pertaining to MUST's dental school would be: 1-total lack of organization. 2-lack of quality infrastructure and equipment, we literally have only 2 big rooms for all dental trainees in the first 3 years, while 4th and 5th years train in the hospital. I'd expect any below average dental school to have at least two entire floors for the faculty for lectures and labs. Teaching and learning method is textbooks only pretty much, which I find is very archaic and should only be used in certain courses as a supplement. Even receiving our books is a gruesome process every semester due to very poor administration and organization. Enough about the infrastructure, because I'm sure at first glance you'd know that it hasn't been renewed or touched for 8 years at least.
33) Any last words or advice?
I think I've said enough. Advice: come here only if you're short on cash and haven't been accepted into Cairo university or Ain Shams or equivalent quality public dental school, which of course everybody wants to get into because they cost nothing (not because of their phenomenal quality).
Faculty of Oral & Dental Medicine, Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST), Egypt.
2) Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
First year. Class of 2021. It's 5 years here right after high school. We don't take the NBDE.
3) What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Block Schedule.
4) What is the hardest class? Why?
I'm still in my first year, and so far general chemistry and organic chemistry, because we have chemistry-heavy curriculums and terrible professors. Upperclassmen might say anatomy, physio, path, oral path, etc.
5) What is the easiest class? Why?
Bio-statistics, because our professor is a very sympathetic lady, and the course is 1 credit hour with a simple 70 page book/workbook.
6) Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
No, generally everybody tries to help everybody out if they can.
7) Are the class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Mostly textbooks, rarely ever powerpoints.
8) Are there any classes taken with medical students? If so, which ones?
No, but there are many courses given by medical faculty, such as histo, anatomy, physio, etc.
9) What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Percentages and letter grades with GPA, just like college.
10) Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
No, but individual students can write their own notes and sell them in bookstores for other students to study from.
11) Is class attendance mandatory?
No lecture attendance in most courses, but practical attendance is mandatory.
12) In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Well, let's just say they're reachable but don't really care. There are some TAs though who do care. In clinical courses however, it can be a disaster till you get a TA to look over your work.
13) Is there a big brother/big sister program that pairs you with an upperclassman or professor who "mentors" you?
No, but upperclassmen are friendly and even seek underclassmen to help them and tutor them, it's like a tradition.
14) What is the drop out rate?
Not sure, but I think at least 85% of students here pass and get their degrees.
15) Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
No, not much you can do except consult your professors, or TAs if it's a practical matter. Other than that: study harder, and don't forget there are always friends.
16) What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score?
The national association for dental licensure here in Egypt gives license to any dentist who completes 1 year of internship at an approved hospital after graduation from the 5 year dental program.
17) When do you take the NDBE? 1st year or second year?
We don't take the NBDE, but get our national license to practice dentistry after the internship year (6th year).
18) Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
It's like college. Quizzes and practical exams are taken simultaneously with classes, but mid-terms and finals have their own blocks of time.
19) Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Some study in the library, some on the grass, some in cafeterias, and some at home. No particular distribution here, and the place never clears out because it's a university, there are always students until late evening.
20) Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
We don't have NBDEs here.
21) Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
It's a national problem in every dental school here. Patients are hard to find and maintain. We literally have patient middlemen/brokers who scout patients for you and get a commission. The reason behind this is 2 things: patient attitude, and excessive dental students. But, because our university includes a hospital with dental clinics, we get more patients than some other private universities here.
22) Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
Chairs are not abundant like in most US dental schools, but you you can find a chair if you arrive early. It's not the biggest problem.
23) What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Don't know the numbers, but as I hear it can be difficult to attain the requirements for certain courses.
24) Are there opportunities for different off-site dental clinic rotations? If so, what are they?
Don't know.
25) Are there opportunites for outreach trips to underserved areas or countries? If so, what are they and for how long?
Have heard of those, but not arranged by the school itself, trips could be a day or a few days.
26) Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
There is not great preparation for practice management, but sufficient. Haven't heard of any career placements by the school.
27) What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
Just the regular rotations, as far as the school provides.
28) What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Casual pretty much until you reach the clinical 4th and 5th years (3rd and 4th years in USA), you'd have to wear scrubs then.
29) Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yeah. There's a lot of camaraderie. Students depend on each other so much.
30) What student organizations are most active?
The biggest dental student organization in our school is "DSSA MUST" which stands for "Dental Student Scientific Association MUST". It is a non-governmental organization that aims mainly to develop public awareness of oral and dental health, beside its role in representing Egypt in IADS, and it makes efforts to connect Egyptian dental students to their colleagues worldwide.
31) What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
The location is pretty good and famous. Any student can get here with public transportation. Finding housing can be a problem for internationals or out of city students, but everybody usually figures their way out by connections. Safety is not an issue at all.
32) What do you not like about your dental school?
Well, I could write a separate post about this till the break of dawn. But, I'll just skim it. Some big problems are not only in our dental school but every other dental school in Egypt, such as: student to faculty ratio, school size and equipment, patient availability, school budget, r&d. Those are pretty common issues in Egyptian dental schools. However, extra problems pertaining to MUST's dental school would be: 1-total lack of organization. 2-lack of quality infrastructure and equipment, we literally have only 2 big rooms for all dental trainees in the first 3 years, while 4th and 5th years train in the hospital. I'd expect any below average dental school to have at least two entire floors for the faculty for lectures and labs. Teaching and learning method is textbooks only pretty much, which I find is very archaic and should only be used in certain courses as a supplement. Even receiving our books is a gruesome process every semester due to very poor administration and organization. Enough about the infrastructure, because I'm sure at first glance you'd know that it hasn't been renewed or touched for 8 years at least.
33) Any last words or advice?
I think I've said enough. Advice: come here only if you're short on cash and haven't been accepted into Cairo university or Ain Shams or equivalent quality public dental school, which of course everybody wants to get into because they cost nothing (not because of their phenomenal quality).
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2014
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 0
1. Name of Your Dental School
University of Western Australia
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
3
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Depends on the unit- most have exams in a 1-2 week block period at the end of each semester which is preceded by a 1 week study break.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Everyone I've spoken to has found Oral Medicine very challenging due to the broad range of conditions covered and difficulties with histological/radiographic diagnosis. Apart from this, Complex Oral Rehabilitation (case presentations) can be very daunting as there is a 15-20min open questioning time following your patient presentation during which examiners can basically ask you anything dentistry-related.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
There are such things?
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Mostly custom lecture powerpoints are used based on primary evidence with lots of papers referenced. Textbooks either paper/digital are suggested reading however we are encouraged to refer to journal articles, especially to be informed about more recent developments/findings.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
I do prefer paper textbooks but they are way too bulky/expensive to be practical for me.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Percentages and gradings based on these - fail/pass/credit/distinction/high distinction.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Generally my classmates try to do well and of course there are always a few who will put in amazing efforts for grades, but I haven't experienced sabotage although I've heard rumors that incidents have happened.
There is also a system offered where volunteer upper classmates mentor a group of 1st years for 12 months.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
What is that?? This is a completely foreign concept - most students take their own notes (on laptops, annotating provided lecture slides or frantically reproducing what the lecturer says if they are ones who don't provide slides). Very few lecturers organise/authorize recorded lectures as many use patient photos in their slides and don't want these distributed.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Yes. Although sometimes you have rotations which clash with lectures so it's not always possible to attend every lecture.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
It depends, but generally all the lecturers are very helpful however some are more time poor than others. We are encouraged to ask questions during lectures unless the lecture is particularly long.
13. What is the drop out rate?
Quite low, although the class size is around 50-55 per year. 1-2 drop outs per year I think.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
If you are struggling, there is a student services staff member who you can speak to about the difficulties (e.g. health/mental health/finance etc) or in terms of academic/operative difficulties you generally speak to the unit coordinators who may organise extra sessions or assignments for you. Each year group has a designated year coordinator (one of the professors) who is a good first point of contact.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
N/A - no board exams here.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
N/A - no board exams here.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
N/A - no board exams here.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
N/A - no board exams here.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
The Med-Dent library is currently being refurbished but prior to closing for this, I did see a few students consistently studying by themselves there. There are rooms you can hire out and I've used them before for group assignments / study groups. After class finishes for the day (4-5pm) a lot of students go to the lab to finish up labwork until 6pm.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
We have a system where there is a pool of patients (who hold governement health-care cards for subsidised treatment) who have had initial screening to determine their treatment needs. Students then request the clinical requirements they're after from this pool and a staff member allocates patients to them based on screening needs + request needs. The problem is that sometimes these patients have multiple treatment needs (while you may be looking to fulfil specific pros/endo/perio/cons requirements) and you are then responsible for completing all their work in a systematic fashion. If you're desparate for a crown case, that can mean FIRST completing perio, cons, endo during multiple appointments before getting to the reconstructive phase for the crown. Generally 'piecemeal' treatment where a patient is seen by multiple students for different needs is very much discouraged except in emergencies/time limitations. Crown/veneer + bridge work is harder to find as there is a patient co-payment required for most of these procedures so not all the patients can afford these. Endo is also sometimes challenging to find (without multiple other needs in the same case).
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
We are allocated on average a commensurate amount of chairs to our year (DMD3 have 3 full clinical days per week, DMD4 have 4) however, some weeks are shortened as 3rd years are also rostered to assist 4th years during screening and emergency appointments.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Officially there are no set 'requirements' except in paeds during 3rd year (fissure seals, exams, radiographs, resto's). You are required to submit a portfolio in 4th year of 5 completed cases: Fixed anterior, fixed posterior, removable anterior, removable posterior and multi-discipline. You also need to present 2 cases of sufficient complexity for examination.
If your clinical tutors feel you haven’t gained enough proficiency or experience you may be asked to stay back for 1-6 months following final year and perform more clinical procedures under supervision.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
Yes, in 3rd year we have the opportunity to go to the children's hospital to observe/assist with paeds procedures as well as once or twice going to another hospital to observe paeds procedures under GA. In 4th year we have 8-10 week rotations to 2 external government dental clinics (one is rural, the other two metro) which also entail observing at domiciliary and on-site school dental services. At the school we have exposure to orthodontics, oral surg, oral med, and we have specialist endo, perio and pros clinical supervisors although we don’t observe these specialist in their own clinics.
Although not a specialty per se, in 4th year there are opportunities to go to a very remote indigenous community or south east Asia for 1 week however these are limited to about 3 students per program and highly competitive. There are also other programs student can participate in during semester breaks that are not considered part of the curriculum.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
No, and as we provide services for patients with government health care subsidy cards, we are not exposed much to the financial/operational side of patient management. I don't think there are career placement opportunities but many of the faculty staff are helpful in providing support and guiding students to industry mentors (e.g. ADA members who can advise re CVs/contracts/job opportunities).
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
In clinic all years are required to wear professional attire (no jeans, t shirts, sneakers) with white clinic coats. Nothing is permitted on hands (including rings, artificial nails or nailpolish, nails are expected to be trimmed). Some of the postgrad specialist students do wear scrubs however as far as I know, that's not an option for us!
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Most year groups that I know get along pretty well, and there are groups of students who will hang out outside of school as well as many groups socialising at organised events. Generally students are good at helping one another, especially if you see a 1st or 2nd year struggling with something – we’ve all been in their shoes so people are generous with their help in clinic and lab.
27. What student organizations are most active?
UDSS – dentsoc, they are great are fundraising for various things, organising several annual social events, study club (journal paper discussion), writing a quarterly newsletter, and organising sports activities for interested students.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
The school is well-located in a safe area (strategically placed between a children’s hospital and teaching hospital) however there is a real shortage of parking. I think due to the prohibitively expensive area there’s not enough space for students who all have lunch break at the same time to eat comfortably (dental, hygienist, oral health therapists, dental nurse students all share 1 common room).
Housing is available either through colleges (fairly expensive I think $300+ per week) or more affordable private rentals/sharehousing.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Mostly that the dental nurse/nursing student and clinical tutor (which is planned at 1:5-6) to student ratio can be overly stretched due to sickness/unavailability and no suitable backups/on-call staff which makes it difficult to obtain help or feedback you need in a timely manner. Patient allocation could probably be improved also, as some students end up with a high number of crowns/endo and others have very few (over the whole 4 years).
Timetables have been problematic as well (clashes/changes not sent to students), although the DMD program is very new so I think these will be ironed out after some time. Speaking to other Australian students from various institutions, this seems to be a common problem.
I also think there could be more time planned into the timetable for labwork as we only have 3 hours in 1 session per week (which doesn’t work out if you’ve taken an alginate impression on another day) – often students need to work before their 8am lecture, during lunch break or after the last lecture until 6pm in lab. Equipment shortages have also been reported (e.g. mounting plates) however some students feel this may be due to certain students hoarding more than the school’s provisions.
The course is also very demanding and more efforts could probably be put into caretaking of students’ mental health especially as there is a large proportion of international/interstate students who don't have their social support (friends/family back home) around to benefit from. We do sometimes feel very isolated at the dnetal school (from the rest of the university) so more opportunities to integrate into the wider student body/university environment would be nice.
30. Any last words or advice?
UWA is a small but much more affordable school for local students than other Australian post graduate entry dental courses (USyd/UMelb). There are far more government-subsidised places which reduces tuition drastically in comparison (11k/yr vs 65k/yr) and Perth is a beautiful smaller city to live in although it has a relatively high cost of living. The class sizes mean that everyone in the years get to know each other and I believe also encourages camaraderie. We also get clinic time (fabricating F/F) from year 1 which helps you develop crucial communication/patient management conceptual understanding and hand skills early on - although I've heard this may be changing in the future.
I feel that the fairly new DMD program has room to improve and will continue to get better with time. The large research component of the course has been really enjoyable for me, with the opportunity to be exposed to very interesting work.
University of Western Australia
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
3
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Depends on the unit- most have exams in a 1-2 week block period at the end of each semester which is preceded by a 1 week study break.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Everyone I've spoken to has found Oral Medicine very challenging due to the broad range of conditions covered and difficulties with histological/radiographic diagnosis. Apart from this, Complex Oral Rehabilitation (case presentations) can be very daunting as there is a 15-20min open questioning time following your patient presentation during which examiners can basically ask you anything dentistry-related.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
There are such things?
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Mostly custom lecture powerpoints are used based on primary evidence with lots of papers referenced. Textbooks either paper/digital are suggested reading however we are encouraged to refer to journal articles, especially to be informed about more recent developments/findings.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
I do prefer paper textbooks but they are way too bulky/expensive to be practical for me.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Percentages and gradings based on these - fail/pass/credit/distinction/high distinction.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Generally my classmates try to do well and of course there are always a few who will put in amazing efforts for grades, but I haven't experienced sabotage although I've heard rumors that incidents have happened.
There is also a system offered where volunteer upper classmates mentor a group of 1st years for 12 months.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
What is that?? This is a completely foreign concept - most students take their own notes (on laptops, annotating provided lecture slides or frantically reproducing what the lecturer says if they are ones who don't provide slides). Very few lecturers organise/authorize recorded lectures as many use patient photos in their slides and don't want these distributed.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Yes. Although sometimes you have rotations which clash with lectures so it's not always possible to attend every lecture.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
It depends, but generally all the lecturers are very helpful however some are more time poor than others. We are encouraged to ask questions during lectures unless the lecture is particularly long.
13. What is the drop out rate?
Quite low, although the class size is around 50-55 per year. 1-2 drop outs per year I think.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
If you are struggling, there is a student services staff member who you can speak to about the difficulties (e.g. health/mental health/finance etc) or in terms of academic/operative difficulties you generally speak to the unit coordinators who may organise extra sessions or assignments for you. Each year group has a designated year coordinator (one of the professors) who is a good first point of contact.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
N/A - no board exams here.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
N/A - no board exams here.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
N/A - no board exams here.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
N/A - no board exams here.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
The Med-Dent library is currently being refurbished but prior to closing for this, I did see a few students consistently studying by themselves there. There are rooms you can hire out and I've used them before for group assignments / study groups. After class finishes for the day (4-5pm) a lot of students go to the lab to finish up labwork until 6pm.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
We have a system where there is a pool of patients (who hold governement health-care cards for subsidised treatment) who have had initial screening to determine their treatment needs. Students then request the clinical requirements they're after from this pool and a staff member allocates patients to them based on screening needs + request needs. The problem is that sometimes these patients have multiple treatment needs (while you may be looking to fulfil specific pros/endo/perio/cons requirements) and you are then responsible for completing all their work in a systematic fashion. If you're desparate for a crown case, that can mean FIRST completing perio, cons, endo during multiple appointments before getting to the reconstructive phase for the crown. Generally 'piecemeal' treatment where a patient is seen by multiple students for different needs is very much discouraged except in emergencies/time limitations. Crown/veneer + bridge work is harder to find as there is a patient co-payment required for most of these procedures so not all the patients can afford these. Endo is also sometimes challenging to find (without multiple other needs in the same case).
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
We are allocated on average a commensurate amount of chairs to our year (DMD3 have 3 full clinical days per week, DMD4 have 4) however, some weeks are shortened as 3rd years are also rostered to assist 4th years during screening and emergency appointments.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Officially there are no set 'requirements' except in paeds during 3rd year (fissure seals, exams, radiographs, resto's). You are required to submit a portfolio in 4th year of 5 completed cases: Fixed anterior, fixed posterior, removable anterior, removable posterior and multi-discipline. You also need to present 2 cases of sufficient complexity for examination.
If your clinical tutors feel you haven’t gained enough proficiency or experience you may be asked to stay back for 1-6 months following final year and perform more clinical procedures under supervision.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
Yes, in 3rd year we have the opportunity to go to the children's hospital to observe/assist with paeds procedures as well as once or twice going to another hospital to observe paeds procedures under GA. In 4th year we have 8-10 week rotations to 2 external government dental clinics (one is rural, the other two metro) which also entail observing at domiciliary and on-site school dental services. At the school we have exposure to orthodontics, oral surg, oral med, and we have specialist endo, perio and pros clinical supervisors although we don’t observe these specialist in their own clinics.
Although not a specialty per se, in 4th year there are opportunities to go to a very remote indigenous community or south east Asia for 1 week however these are limited to about 3 students per program and highly competitive. There are also other programs student can participate in during semester breaks that are not considered part of the curriculum.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
No, and as we provide services for patients with government health care subsidy cards, we are not exposed much to the financial/operational side of patient management. I don't think there are career placement opportunities but many of the faculty staff are helpful in providing support and guiding students to industry mentors (e.g. ADA members who can advise re CVs/contracts/job opportunities).
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
In clinic all years are required to wear professional attire (no jeans, t shirts, sneakers) with white clinic coats. Nothing is permitted on hands (including rings, artificial nails or nailpolish, nails are expected to be trimmed). Some of the postgrad specialist students do wear scrubs however as far as I know, that's not an option for us!
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Most year groups that I know get along pretty well, and there are groups of students who will hang out outside of school as well as many groups socialising at organised events. Generally students are good at helping one another, especially if you see a 1st or 2nd year struggling with something – we’ve all been in their shoes so people are generous with their help in clinic and lab.
27. What student organizations are most active?
UDSS – dentsoc, they are great are fundraising for various things, organising several annual social events, study club (journal paper discussion), writing a quarterly newsletter, and organising sports activities for interested students.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
The school is well-located in a safe area (strategically placed between a children’s hospital and teaching hospital) however there is a real shortage of parking. I think due to the prohibitively expensive area there’s not enough space for students who all have lunch break at the same time to eat comfortably (dental, hygienist, oral health therapists, dental nurse students all share 1 common room).
Housing is available either through colleges (fairly expensive I think $300+ per week) or more affordable private rentals/sharehousing.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Mostly that the dental nurse/nursing student and clinical tutor (which is planned at 1:5-6) to student ratio can be overly stretched due to sickness/unavailability and no suitable backups/on-call staff which makes it difficult to obtain help or feedback you need in a timely manner. Patient allocation could probably be improved also, as some students end up with a high number of crowns/endo and others have very few (over the whole 4 years).
Timetables have been problematic as well (clashes/changes not sent to students), although the DMD program is very new so I think these will be ironed out after some time. Speaking to other Australian students from various institutions, this seems to be a common problem.
I also think there could be more time planned into the timetable for labwork as we only have 3 hours in 1 session per week (which doesn’t work out if you’ve taken an alginate impression on another day) – often students need to work before their 8am lecture, during lunch break or after the last lecture until 6pm in lab. Equipment shortages have also been reported (e.g. mounting plates) however some students feel this may be due to certain students hoarding more than the school’s provisions.
The course is also very demanding and more efforts could probably be put into caretaking of students’ mental health especially as there is a large proportion of international/interstate students who don't have their social support (friends/family back home) around to benefit from. We do sometimes feel very isolated at the dnetal school (from the rest of the university) so more opportunities to integrate into the wider student body/university environment would be nice.
30. Any last words or advice?
UWA is a small but much more affordable school for local students than other Australian post graduate entry dental courses (USyd/UMelb). There are far more government-subsidised places which reduces tuition drastically in comparison (11k/yr vs 65k/yr) and Perth is a beautiful smaller city to live in although it has a relatively high cost of living. The class sizes mean that everyone in the years get to know each other and I believe also encourages camaraderie. We also get clinic time (fabricating F/F) from year 1 which helps you develop crucial communication/patient management conceptual understanding and hand skills early on - although I've heard this may be changing in the future.
I feel that the fairly new DMD program has room to improve and will continue to get better with time. The large research component of the course has been really enjoyable for me, with the opportunity to be exposed to very interesting work.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2010
- Messages
- 135
- Reaction score
- 57
Bump! Nova anyone?
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2017
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 6
wow this was amazing! I want to get into dental school here sometime in the near future and this helps a lot thank you1. Name of Your Dental School
MWU-AZ
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
1st
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
We have one course that encompasses all of our sciences. Its called Basic Science. Usually you have 15-16 fifty-minute lectures a week, and are tested every Tuesday on the previous weeks material. Basic is supplemented with 2-3 Dental classes and those have their own quizzes. But the sizable majority of the studying youll do your first year is for Basic.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Basic is tough but doable. Its pretty heavy but they try to make it digestible. Since all of the lectures are systems based, youre drawing parallels between all of the material.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Dr. Rolf.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
All the classes provide you with powerpoints that will be lectured upon, and all of the testable material will be found on these powerpoints.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
We have electronic tooth atlases, and the only textbook Ive used so far is an Atlas for Anatomy.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter Grades
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Super chill class
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Notes are provided to you. Lecture goes into more depth but the test questions are culled from the notes.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
No
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Very approachable. We have an open door policy, so you can walk into a professors room at any time - no appointment necessary. Ive never done this but I know people do. Teachers routinely end their lectures reminding you to call or see them if you have any questions.
13. What is the drop out rate?
IDK probably 0?
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Yes
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
High pass rate, dont know average score
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Summer after first year
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
Basic is taught with Part 1 in mind. Professors alert you in their lectures if theyve seen material on old NBDEs or review banks.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
We have three months of summer after our first year, and we schedule the boards at our own convenience.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Its not a 24/7 library but its open till 12. Id wager 1/3 of the class studies there regularly.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
I dont know yet
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
I do know that we have 8 chairs per student if you consider that we do paired dentistry here. (3rd years work with 4th years, the idea being 1 + 1 = 4)
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
I dont know yet
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
Heavy clinic work, specialty clubs
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
I cant comment here
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs, all 4 years. Each class has their own color. Buy 5 pairs online.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yes
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA and student government. We have social events pretty often too.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Glendale is like super suburbia. You have loads of space everywhere around you. Really cheap housing and cost of living. Housing and safety are definitely not problems. Social life is meh in the surround blocks but PHX and Scottsdale are only 30 minutes away. There are some perks to being in suburbia, too. Our local bar sends a bus out to pick us up and drop us off every time we go out.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Tuition costs so much!
30. Any last words or advice?
IF you choose here, you will pay a lot, but youll get awesome faculty, state-of-the-art technology, and awesome classmates. With the cost of living, its on par with a lot of private schools. And it's definitely a good decision to come here if youre choosing between schools with similar finances.
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2015
- Messages
- 257
- Reaction score
- 266
Please answer the questions in the following format. Feel free to expand on your response and skip anything you don't want to answer.
1. Name of Your Dental School
OHSU
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
2021
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Midterms 3x quarterly (fall, winter, spring, summer A, Summer B)
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
I'm still not sure my self as I've been here for just the first 2 terms. I'll try to keep this updated as we go. Term 1 (summer B) hardest class is gross anatomy. Fall term hardest classes are Histology, Head and Neck, and Biophys. Current term is full of sciences and the 2nd years ahead of me still lament about Biophys class (it's year round and a conglomeration of sciences)
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Dental History so far. It's enjoyable, online video based, and was a single credit. I loved it but some disliked how simple it was.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Powerpoints. There arent exactly "class notes" it's just powerpoints that you get. You have textbooks that the powerpoints are based on but most students dont use them, opting to focus primarily on the powerpoints and in class assignments
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Pure electronic. I dont care either way as I rarely used them in undergrand and dont use them now except as references
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Pass fail, if you get above a certain threshold you get a letter of commendation in the class. Class rank is based on your number of letters of commendation relative to your classmates.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
There are people that clearly strive hard to letter in every class so they have the option to specialize or whatever, but I havent heard of anyone sabatoging anyone at all yet specifically. Everyone in our class works hard together, we provide notes on a facebook page and google docs. Everyone seems cohesive and noones really a huge jerk about stuff.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Not that I know of.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Yes. Many classes have in class assignments and they discourage absence. If you are absent they ask that you email the professor and watch the replays of the videos of the lectures for the day.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
I'd say they're approachable. Havent had any big jerk instructors yet personally.
13. What is the drop out rate?
So far 1 person has dropped out and 1 person xfered in the first week to Midwestern University (closer to her home). so 2/76 initial students so far from the first 2 terms. I can confirm that at least a few students will have to re-take a couple of classes (I know of a couple re-taking Gross anatomy)
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
The admissions commitee also act as student affairs. They're really great. They hook you up with more senior classmate as tutors when needed, they help sit you down for counseling and resources also. It's pretty common to hear from classmates about seeing a tutor and I know of a few people that go as multiple classmates to a single tutor weekly
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Supposedly 0 fails in the last 4 years for the part 1 Board.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
I will be taking it during summer term after first year. They rush us through the basic sciences to get us more into the clinic early here at OHSU since it's a heavily clinically based school.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
I dont think so, but there are practice exams written by the instructors and previous exams available. they also have dental decks and first aid and stuff in the library. I plan on using the B&B program and reviewing with dental decks before taking it personally.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
Yes, you get summer term B off after first year. (6 weeks) Many of the 2nd year students didnt take it however until the christmas break (3 weeks)
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
You can always find classmates before class in the library, and after classes there. Prob like 30-40% of them study there, rest at home or in different rooms.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
I'm not yet in the clinic. I've heard it can be difficult to get in root canals for requirements.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
I havent heard complaints about this yet.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Unknown to me so far.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
There are externships and rotations available to students as well as clubs for them. Since the school is pass/fail and residencies only see if you graduated with highest honors, high honors, and honors (depending on your number of letters of commendation compared to classmates) there is supposedly pretty decent number of acceptances to specialities. The school also has most of them in house, which can be annoying if you want to get experience in something that generally goes to residents instead, but I have heard that you can get them if you show interest in those procedures.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
I've heard there's like 1 class and that it isnt enough for practice management. I dont know about career placement opportunities yet
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs on all days you're in the clinic and pre-clinic. No light colors(pastels) and Avoid light/sky blue as they're O.R. scrubs and avoid dark green as they're the nursing programs scrubs. All other conservative and generally dark colors are a go as long as they arent mis-matched. Non-clinic days are recommended business casual but people wear casual.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Our class seems pretty close. There are a few cliques here and there but everyone's accepting and get along great. People hang out a lot outside school and the reality is that at least for our first year we hang out a lot inside the school till late night studying and stuff.
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA, Sports clubs, A frat.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Cool area, Housing is expensive. Safety is good from what I hear but I'm not a woman so I could have a skewed perspective.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Very little. I only wish that a few classes were a bit better organized but even those werent that bad and the instructors seem like they want to improve. Also, portland is expensive. The school is expensive to go to even as an in-stater. I would like some real clinical experience placing implants, doing molar endo, and impacted extractions but I fear they may not be a thing I get to do while in school. I will likely need CE for those.
30. Any last words or advice?
Work hard and play hard. I personally love the school so far. I dont know where else I'd prefer to go other than maybe a texas school due to tuition costs but we get really REALLY a ton of exposure to bread and butter dentistry from day 1. The school really pushes you into the clinic and tries to kill you with the didactics to get your first board exams over after year 1. I like that but some dont handle stress well and so they are struggling, but we're all helping eachother out and in this together.
1. Name of Your Dental School
OHSU
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
2021
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Midterms 3x quarterly (fall, winter, spring, summer A, Summer B)
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
I'm still not sure my self as I've been here for just the first 2 terms. I'll try to keep this updated as we go. Term 1 (summer B) hardest class is gross anatomy. Fall term hardest classes are Histology, Head and Neck, and Biophys. Current term is full of sciences and the 2nd years ahead of me still lament about Biophys class (it's year round and a conglomeration of sciences)
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Dental History so far. It's enjoyable, online video based, and was a single credit. I loved it but some disliked how simple it was.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Powerpoints. There arent exactly "class notes" it's just powerpoints that you get. You have textbooks that the powerpoints are based on but most students dont use them, opting to focus primarily on the powerpoints and in class assignments
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Pure electronic. I dont care either way as I rarely used them in undergrand and dont use them now except as references
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Pass fail, if you get above a certain threshold you get a letter of commendation in the class. Class rank is based on your number of letters of commendation relative to your classmates.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
There are people that clearly strive hard to letter in every class so they have the option to specialize or whatever, but I havent heard of anyone sabatoging anyone at all yet specifically. Everyone in our class works hard together, we provide notes on a facebook page and google docs. Everyone seems cohesive and noones really a huge jerk about stuff.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Not that I know of.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Yes. Many classes have in class assignments and they discourage absence. If you are absent they ask that you email the professor and watch the replays of the videos of the lectures for the day.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
I'd say they're approachable. Havent had any big jerk instructors yet personally.
13. What is the drop out rate?
So far 1 person has dropped out and 1 person xfered in the first week to Midwestern University (closer to her home). so 2/76 initial students so far from the first 2 terms. I can confirm that at least a few students will have to re-take a couple of classes (I know of a couple re-taking Gross anatomy)
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
The admissions commitee also act as student affairs. They're really great. They hook you up with more senior classmate as tutors when needed, they help sit you down for counseling and resources also. It's pretty common to hear from classmates about seeing a tutor and I know of a few people that go as multiple classmates to a single tutor weekly
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Supposedly 0 fails in the last 4 years for the part 1 Board.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
I will be taking it during summer term after first year. They rush us through the basic sciences to get us more into the clinic early here at OHSU since it's a heavily clinically based school.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
I dont think so, but there are practice exams written by the instructors and previous exams available. they also have dental decks and first aid and stuff in the library. I plan on using the B&B program and reviewing with dental decks before taking it personally.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
Yes, you get summer term B off after first year. (6 weeks) Many of the 2nd year students didnt take it however until the christmas break (3 weeks)
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
You can always find classmates before class in the library, and after classes there. Prob like 30-40% of them study there, rest at home or in different rooms.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
I'm not yet in the clinic. I've heard it can be difficult to get in root canals for requirements.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
I havent heard complaints about this yet.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Unknown to me so far.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
There are externships and rotations available to students as well as clubs for them. Since the school is pass/fail and residencies only see if you graduated with highest honors, high honors, and honors (depending on your number of letters of commendation compared to classmates) there is supposedly pretty decent number of acceptances to specialities. The school also has most of them in house, which can be annoying if you want to get experience in something that generally goes to residents instead, but I have heard that you can get them if you show interest in those procedures.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
I've heard there's like 1 class and that it isnt enough for practice management. I dont know about career placement opportunities yet
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs on all days you're in the clinic and pre-clinic. No light colors(pastels) and Avoid light/sky blue as they're O.R. scrubs and avoid dark green as they're the nursing programs scrubs. All other conservative and generally dark colors are a go as long as they arent mis-matched. Non-clinic days are recommended business casual but people wear casual.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Our class seems pretty close. There are a few cliques here and there but everyone's accepting and get along great. People hang out a lot outside school and the reality is that at least for our first year we hang out a lot inside the school till late night studying and stuff.
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA, Sports clubs, A frat.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Cool area, Housing is expensive. Safety is good from what I hear but I'm not a woman so I could have a skewed perspective.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Very little. I only wish that a few classes were a bit better organized but even those werent that bad and the instructors seem like they want to improve. Also, portland is expensive. The school is expensive to go to even as an in-stater. I would like some real clinical experience placing implants, doing molar endo, and impacted extractions but I fear they may not be a thing I get to do while in school. I will likely need CE for those.
30. Any last words or advice?
Work hard and play hard. I personally love the school so far. I dont know where else I'd prefer to go other than maybe a texas school due to tuition costs but we get really REALLY a ton of exposure to bread and butter dentistry from day 1. The school really pushes you into the clinic and tries to kill you with the didactics to get your first board exams over after year 1. I like that but some dont handle stress well and so they are struggling, but we're all helping eachother out and in this together.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2016
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 0
Someone do Ohio State please!
D
deleted678432
Bump for Columbia/stony?
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2017
- Messages
- 43
- Reaction score
- 17
Marquette please!!
D
deleted696582
1. Name of Your Dental School
University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
D2.
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
It's a mix. Some classes have a midterm and a final, and some have weekly exams or quizzes.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
In my opinion, winter semester Clinical Foundations. We had practicals for class IV restorations, class II preparations, and class II restorations. All were difficult to learn and required a lot of practice outside of class time. Tooth Development and Genetics was tough due to the way the instructor asks questions. Head and Neck Anatomy was hard as well with having to identify structures on cadavers.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Pathways. You just show up, learn about random dental topics, and get credit for attendance.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture PowerPoints made up by professors?
PowerPoints.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
What is a textbook?
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter grades.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabotage each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
There are gunners for sure. But the gunners are awesome people and everyone is supportive in our class.
10. Is there a note-taking service for lecture available?
Nah.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Technically, all classes are mandatory. However, those of us who hate sitting in lecture don't go unless iClickers or something else is used for attendance (which is about half of the classes).
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Very approachable professors.
13. What is the drop out rate?
We've lost two people and our class just finished D1 year. We started with 109.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Not really. You can ask the professors for ideas, but it's mostly on you. Remediation is allowed in some classes.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Not sure but I've heard of only one failure through all of the current classes.
16. When do you take the NBDE Part 1?
Late in D2 year.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
No.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
You study alongside classes.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Half of the people go to the library/commons area, and the other half leave.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
Haven't heard of much trouble getting patients.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
Definitely enough chairs.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Not sure, but will update as I keep going.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We do rotations with each specialty.
24. Is there sufficient preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunities does your school offer?
Not sure, and I don't care since I'll be headed to the Navy. But there are lots of networking events held and older students all seem to have jobs lined up.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs or business casual, but everyone prefers scrubs.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Lots of friend groups and everyone intermingles between them as well. Some drama here and there. Lots of fun at the campus bars and the dental frat holds some events like a yearly Halloween party.
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA and the three dental frats. Two are more academic, and the other one is more social.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Ann Arbor is pretty cool. Lots of bars, restaurants, and close to Detroit for bigger events like concerts or sports. Housing is abundant and safety is great.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Mandatory attendance and a few classes which are absolutely pointless and frustrating. They are renovating the school next year I believe, so I'm sure the construction will be annoying. Some disorganization in our pre-clinical foundations class, but it has a lot of moving parts, so I sort of understand.
30. Any last words or advice?
Dental school gets tough sometimes, but it's doable. I procrastinate, skip class, go out on weekdays to concerts and bars, and still managed to pass all of my classes D1 year. If you want to specialize though, you'll need to sacrifice social time for study time.
University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
D2.
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
It's a mix. Some classes have a midterm and a final, and some have weekly exams or quizzes.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
In my opinion, winter semester Clinical Foundations. We had practicals for class IV restorations, class II preparations, and class II restorations. All were difficult to learn and required a lot of practice outside of class time. Tooth Development and Genetics was tough due to the way the instructor asks questions. Head and Neck Anatomy was hard as well with having to identify structures on cadavers.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Pathways. You just show up, learn about random dental topics, and get credit for attendance.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture PowerPoints made up by professors?
PowerPoints.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
What is a textbook?
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter grades.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabotage each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
There are gunners for sure. But the gunners are awesome people and everyone is supportive in our class.
10. Is there a note-taking service for lecture available?
Nah.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Technically, all classes are mandatory. However, those of us who hate sitting in lecture don't go unless iClickers or something else is used for attendance (which is about half of the classes).
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Very approachable professors.
13. What is the drop out rate?
We've lost two people and our class just finished D1 year. We started with 109.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Not really. You can ask the professors for ideas, but it's mostly on you. Remediation is allowed in some classes.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Not sure but I've heard of only one failure through all of the current classes.
16. When do you take the NBDE Part 1?
Late in D2 year.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
No.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
You study alongside classes.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Half of the people go to the library/commons area, and the other half leave.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
Haven't heard of much trouble getting patients.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
Definitely enough chairs.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Not sure, but will update as I keep going.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We do rotations with each specialty.
24. Is there sufficient preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunities does your school offer?
Not sure, and I don't care since I'll be headed to the Navy. But there are lots of networking events held and older students all seem to have jobs lined up.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs or business casual, but everyone prefers scrubs.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Lots of friend groups and everyone intermingles between them as well. Some drama here and there. Lots of fun at the campus bars and the dental frat holds some events like a yearly Halloween party.
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA and the three dental frats. Two are more academic, and the other one is more social.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Ann Arbor is pretty cool. Lots of bars, restaurants, and close to Detroit for bigger events like concerts or sports. Housing is abundant and safety is great.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Mandatory attendance and a few classes which are absolutely pointless and frustrating. They are renovating the school next year I believe, so I'm sure the construction will be annoying. Some disorganization in our pre-clinical foundations class, but it has a lot of moving parts, so I sort of understand.
30. Any last words or advice?
Dental school gets tough sometimes, but it's doable. I procrastinate, skip class, go out on weekdays to concerts and bars, and still managed to pass all of my classes D1 year. If you want to specialize though, you'll need to sacrifice social time for study time.
Thank you!!!
nice
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2017
- Messages
- 86
- Reaction score
- 95
1. Name of Your Dental School
The Ohio State University College of Dentistry
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
D2
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
They come in waves and are different for every class. Some weeks we have nothing but lectures and labs followed by a week with a few exams (hell, but we survive and celebrate afterwards)
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Anatomy because of the sheer amount of information. It’s a year long class that causes a week of late nights before each test
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Intro to clinic. It’s a pass/fail class where we get used to being in an operatory while a classmate is our “patient”. Not much studying involved.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
I’d say about 95% from lecture powerpoints. Every test has one or two questions that come from the reading. Who has time to read for a few hours to get a couple points? I just take the L
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
I’ve only purchased 1 textbook so far (oral anatomy. Good to have for review and our professor wrote it). Almost everyone uses the electronic ones in the rare case that we have reading that will be useful.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter grades. 90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C…etc. We don’t have +’s or –‘s.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
My class seems pretty good at sharing study guides. Definitely no one is a saboteur
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Nope. Most of our difficult lecture classes are recorded. Insanely helpful for studying.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Some are, some aren’t. If the class isn’t recorded, you are playing a dangerous game by not attending. I generally get a lift in during classes that are recorded and then listen to them at 2x speed later. For some reason my attention span in class is that of a 5 year old.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
I would say 9 out of 10 teachers are super approachable for anything you need help with. There’s always a bad apple though…
13. What is the drop out rate?
No one in my class
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Lots. We have a good program for the students who are struggling with hand skills. Most of those who are in it end up surpassing those who aren’t because of all the extra practice and one on one guidance from the faculty.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Unfortunately not sure about that
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
December of our D2 year
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
I don’t believe so. Our class is trying to get the group discount for B&B
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
No. Most of us are planning on taking winter break to crank out the few weeks of studying and take it before spring semester starts.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Everyone is different. I personally study in my apartment, but plenty of kid use the billion different libraries we have at OSU.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
I don’t have a ton of experience with clinic obviously, however, I hear it all depends on your work ethic. If you want to get ahead of the requirements, work hard to always have someone in your chair.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
I’ve never heard of anyone saying they don’t have a chair.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
I don’t know them
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We have all of the specialties here. You can shadow them whenever you have free time. There is also research if you want.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
I’m not there yet, but I highly doubt it. Why business/practice management isn’t a basic class is wild to me.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs all day, every day.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
There are 110 of us and we do stuff together all the time. Columbus has anything you could want from OSU football to pizza festivals. There are literally too many fun things to do in the summer right now.
27. What student organizations are most active?
We have a pretty solid ASDA chapter here that is always doing something. Our two fraternities are pretty active as well.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Location is one of the reasons I chose OSU. It is connected to the huge hospital which makes you feel like you are truly a part of something bigger than just classes and drilling. I live 5 minutes from campus and 10 minutes from downtown. I’ve never had any safety issues, but there are places that feel kind of sketchy like any city in the world. Don’t walk around those places late at night with a $500 phone in your pocket and a $1000 dollar laptop in your backpack and you’ll be alright.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
The most glaring negative about OSU CoD is that we are currently renovating pretty much our entire school. Our sim labs and clinics definitely need to be redone. It is supposed to be completely finished by 2021…when I graduate lol. Once its complete though, it’s gonna be pretty saweet. I’m jealous of everyone who’ll get to use it.
30. Any last words or advice?
Go Bucks
The Ohio State University College of Dentistry
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
D2
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
They come in waves and are different for every class. Some weeks we have nothing but lectures and labs followed by a week with a few exams (hell, but we survive and celebrate afterwards)
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Anatomy because of the sheer amount of information. It’s a year long class that causes a week of late nights before each test
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Intro to clinic. It’s a pass/fail class where we get used to being in an operatory while a classmate is our “patient”. Not much studying involved.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
I’d say about 95% from lecture powerpoints. Every test has one or two questions that come from the reading. Who has time to read for a few hours to get a couple points? I just take the L
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
I’ve only purchased 1 textbook so far (oral anatomy. Good to have for review and our professor wrote it). Almost everyone uses the electronic ones in the rare case that we have reading that will be useful.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter grades. 90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C…etc. We don’t have +’s or –‘s.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
My class seems pretty good at sharing study guides. Definitely no one is a saboteur
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Nope. Most of our difficult lecture classes are recorded. Insanely helpful for studying.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Some are, some aren’t. If the class isn’t recorded, you are playing a dangerous game by not attending. I generally get a lift in during classes that are recorded and then listen to them at 2x speed later. For some reason my attention span in class is that of a 5 year old.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
I would say 9 out of 10 teachers are super approachable for anything you need help with. There’s always a bad apple though…
13. What is the drop out rate?
No one in my class
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Lots. We have a good program for the students who are struggling with hand skills. Most of those who are in it end up surpassing those who aren’t because of all the extra practice and one on one guidance from the faculty.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Unfortunately not sure about that
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
December of our D2 year
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
I don’t believe so. Our class is trying to get the group discount for B&B
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
No. Most of us are planning on taking winter break to crank out the few weeks of studying and take it before spring semester starts.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Everyone is different. I personally study in my apartment, but plenty of kid use the billion different libraries we have at OSU.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
I don’t have a ton of experience with clinic obviously, however, I hear it all depends on your work ethic. If you want to get ahead of the requirements, work hard to always have someone in your chair.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
I’ve never heard of anyone saying they don’t have a chair.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
I don’t know them
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We have all of the specialties here. You can shadow them whenever you have free time. There is also research if you want.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
I’m not there yet, but I highly doubt it. Why business/practice management isn’t a basic class is wild to me.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs all day, every day.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
There are 110 of us and we do stuff together all the time. Columbus has anything you could want from OSU football to pizza festivals. There are literally too many fun things to do in the summer right now.
27. What student organizations are most active?
We have a pretty solid ASDA chapter here that is always doing something. Our two fraternities are pretty active as well.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Location is one of the reasons I chose OSU. It is connected to the huge hospital which makes you feel like you are truly a part of something bigger than just classes and drilling. I live 5 minutes from campus and 10 minutes from downtown. I’ve never had any safety issues, but there are places that feel kind of sketchy like any city in the world. Don’t walk around those places late at night with a $500 phone in your pocket and a $1000 dollar laptop in your backpack and you’ll be alright.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
The most glaring negative about OSU CoD is that we are currently renovating pretty much our entire school. Our sim labs and clinics definitely need to be redone. It is supposed to be completely finished by 2021…when I graduate lol. Once its complete though, it’s gonna be pretty saweet. I’m jealous of everyone who’ll get to use it.
30. Any last words or advice?
Go Bucks
D
deleted678432
Is it hard to get in state tuition after the first year there? By the way, love the videos!
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2017
- Messages
- 86
- Reaction score
- 95
Thanks! and I'm going through that process right now. It is pretty nitpicky...they track your spending, make sure you don't leave the state for too long, and you can't get any outside financial help. All for an entire year. Once you're in state though, you save like 20K a semester so Ima jump through any hoop that I have to.
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2017
- Messages
- 37
- Reaction score
- 16
I would love to see an updated one for Pitt as well
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2011
- Messages
- 545
- Reaction score
- 155
1. Name of Your Dental School: University of Detroit Mercy
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?): DS4
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
We have midterms and Finals during Fall and Winter semesters. Summer just has final exams at the semester end
4. What is the hardest class? Why? Gross anatomy was Hard for me back in 1st year just cause of the sheer amount of information they 'teach' you.
5. What is the easiest class? Why? Practice management classes in 3rd and 4th year. common sense classes. You can go into the exam with 2-3hrs of studying and get an A
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors? Powerpoints made my profs. Idk about textbooks, never used any for the classes. Don't even bother using them.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks? Still Idk, never used any textbooks for classes at all.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages? Percentages.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out? Na...My whole class is super chill. We help each other out alott. You get the gunners here and there but the majority of the class is relaxed.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available? Don't remember them being any when I was a DS1 or 2. Lectures were recorded and i prefered using those to take my own notes
11. Is class attendance mandatory? Never went to most classes in Ds1 or 2 unless attendance was part of our grade. Going to class become pointless when lectures are recorded. My advice: Skip when you can and study on your own. You learn alot more from lecture recordings and researching online
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)? Some are , some are not. This is the same in any university. Unfortunately in Dental school you don't have the option of picking teachers unlike Undergrad. So just study and bide your time and graduate
13. What is the drop out rate? 99.5% of my classmates are still with me in my Final year.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling? They changed the whole system this year for DS1 and 2s so not sure as of now.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)? I think all my classmates passed. Don't know anyone who didn't but then again i doubt those who didn't pass would advertise it.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1? Jan 2017
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1? Nope which sucks cause you're basically studying all DS1 and summer DS2 by yourself.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes? Nope again. you are required to study for it same time with classes. Unfortunately for my class we had to skip important lab classes in order to study which was unfortunate but we all survived in the end.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own? Cleans out. I leave the moment I'm done unless I'm working on patient charts.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in? You need to hustle to get patients in. FACT
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs? We have enough chairs. Just not enough patients
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
We have a large class size and our requirements are alot so there is some difficulty getting certain cases. For example, we have to graduate with 8 crowns per person and there are 143 people in my class. You do the math.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties? This is all upto you. You need to be at it if you are interested. If you want to do OS, you got to go into OS as a first year and get to know all the facs and find out what is needed.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer? I doubt it and none
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years? Scrubs every year
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school? We get along really well outside school.
27. What student organizations are most active? AO and DSD are the main ones.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue? School is located in Detroit...not a place i would recommend walking around at night but still a great city if you head to downtown or greektown with buddies. Housing isn't much of an issue if you are willing to pay a little more
29. What do you not like about your dental school? PM if interested
30. Any last words or advice?
Don't compare yourself to others. Someone is always going to be ahead. Just use that as encouragement for yourself to do better.
You will have those days where you feel overwhelmed but just think about the 100's of students that have been in your spot in that same chair and clinic bay who felt the same way and got through it. Dental school isn't easy or a breeze. It's a grueling process but I promise you that you will get through all the tough times and only come out stronger and more confident than before. Congrats to all those who got in this year and Welcome to the next 4 years of your life.
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?): DS4
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
We have midterms and Finals during Fall and Winter semesters. Summer just has final exams at the semester end
4. What is the hardest class? Why? Gross anatomy was Hard for me back in 1st year just cause of the sheer amount of information they 'teach' you.
5. What is the easiest class? Why? Practice management classes in 3rd and 4th year. common sense classes. You can go into the exam with 2-3hrs of studying and get an A
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors? Powerpoints made my profs. Idk about textbooks, never used any for the classes. Don't even bother using them.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks? Still Idk, never used any textbooks for classes at all.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages? Percentages.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out? Na...My whole class is super chill. We help each other out alott. You get the gunners here and there but the majority of the class is relaxed.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available? Don't remember them being any when I was a DS1 or 2. Lectures were recorded and i prefered using those to take my own notes
11. Is class attendance mandatory? Never went to most classes in Ds1 or 2 unless attendance was part of our grade. Going to class become pointless when lectures are recorded. My advice: Skip when you can and study on your own. You learn alot more from lecture recordings and researching online
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)? Some are , some are not. This is the same in any university. Unfortunately in Dental school you don't have the option of picking teachers unlike Undergrad. So just study and bide your time and graduate
13. What is the drop out rate? 99.5% of my classmates are still with me in my Final year.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling? They changed the whole system this year for DS1 and 2s so not sure as of now.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)? I think all my classmates passed. Don't know anyone who didn't but then again i doubt those who didn't pass would advertise it.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1? Jan 2017
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1? Nope which sucks cause you're basically studying all DS1 and summer DS2 by yourself.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes? Nope again. you are required to study for it same time with classes. Unfortunately for my class we had to skip important lab classes in order to study which was unfortunate but we all survived in the end.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own? Cleans out. I leave the moment I'm done unless I'm working on patient charts.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in? You need to hustle to get patients in. FACT
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs? We have enough chairs. Just not enough patients
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
We have a large class size and our requirements are alot so there is some difficulty getting certain cases. For example, we have to graduate with 8 crowns per person and there are 143 people in my class. You do the math.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties? This is all upto you. You need to be at it if you are interested. If you want to do OS, you got to go into OS as a first year and get to know all the facs and find out what is needed.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer? I doubt it and none
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years? Scrubs every year
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school? We get along really well outside school.
27. What student organizations are most active? AO and DSD are the main ones.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue? School is located in Detroit...not a place i would recommend walking around at night but still a great city if you head to downtown or greektown with buddies. Housing isn't much of an issue if you are willing to pay a little more
29. What do you not like about your dental school? PM if interested
30. Any last words or advice?
Don't compare yourself to others. Someone is always going to be ahead. Just use that as encouragement for yourself to do better.
You will have those days where you feel overwhelmed but just think about the 100's of students that have been in your spot in that same chair and clinic bay who felt the same way and got through it. Dental school isn't easy or a breeze. It's a grueling process but I promise you that you will get through all the tough times and only come out stronger and more confident than before. Congrats to all those who got in this year and Welcome to the next 4 years of your life.
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2017
- Messages
- 20
- Reaction score
- 8
There's another thread with an old version for UW.. but a lot has changed in recent years so here's an update!
1. Name of Your Dental School: University of Washington School of Dentistry
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?) D4
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
-Exam schedule in first and second year is like block schedule AND several every week. There will be weeks there aren't many, and weeks there are a lot. Some classes have their exams spread out and some classes group them into midterms and finals. So expect to take a lot of exams (and quizzes!!) especially in the first two years. 3rd year is more just midterms and finals and fourth year is like a vacation
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Oral path is very hard but very rewarding. There is a lot of memorization that goes into it but you will take a lot away from it as well. Fixed pros can be one of the hardest lab classes because a lot of time in sim clinic is required and you have practicals that can be a little tricky as well!
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
It really depends on your strengths. Some people are great at waxing, others aren't. For me, some of the easier classes were complete dentures, periodontics, removable partial dentures. I am by no means great at dentures but the way things were tested in these classes made sense and didn't leave me furiously studying until 1 AM.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Lecture PPTs in almost every class (dental anatomy and oral path are some exceptions).
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
you can choose, some professors post the electronic versions online. I prefer traditional textbooks but that's just me. Honestly after first year I never really used textbooks (and I barely did in first year to begin with).
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Depends on the class. Clinic is pass/fail/honors, as well as some 1 or 2 credit courses throughout first and second year. Most other classes are on a 4.0 scale. They made a change and the classes that dental students take with the medical students are now on a 4.0 scale as well (used to be P/F)
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
There are always a few gunners in every class, but overall my class is really great with helping eachother out. We collect money for classmates whose wives have had babies, classmates who have had a death in the family and need a plane flight home, etc. You get really close to your clerkship group too, which is about 9 people you rotate through clerkships (endo, operative, pros) with throughout third year.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
No most people use one-note
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
In some classes yes, I think they started to make med school class attendance more or less mandatory. It really makes an impression on the faculty so overall I would say yes even if it's not explicitly stated.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
YES! Best part of UW hands down, faculty go out of their way to help you. I had to meet with a faculty today for a case and only emailed him yesterday about it, he was willing to meet me during his lunch hour and spent about 40 min with me.
13. What is the drop out rate?
In our class we had 2 students leave at the beginning of first year, one for family problems and the other just didn't want to do the program. I would say it's generally maybe 1-2 per class, but I haven't heard of anyone in the year below me dropping out.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Definitely, UW is aggressive in helping students who are struggling. They will identify students who are not doing as well in courses and will make sure someone works with them to get them up to speed with the rest of the class.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Unsure, I just know the bulk of our class passed part I and II (II scores are still coming in, but as far as I know).
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Winter of second year, after our med school classes were done.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
They used to, but we weren't a fan of it so they stopped offering it. Then they offered a mock board that students were required to pass in order to sign up to take the actual boards. I'm not sure if this is still going on for new students (esp with the transition to a combined part I and II)
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
We get a small break in summer beginning of second year, a winter break, and a small break at the end of second year. So it depends on when you want to take boards. Since I took mine during winter break, I had to study simultaneously with classes. This is what most students end up doing, we don't really have a designated block of time (maybe one or two weeks).
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Some people do study in the health science library, especially during lunch. It's a good place to get work done at school so I would say it just depends on personality and what students prefer.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
Lately the UW has been struggling a bit with having schedulers employed in order to get patients in to us... this has led to us not having a lot of patients so I can foresee there being a bit of struggle to fulfill my fourth year requirements. HOWEVER, UW is really good about making sure clerkship requirements are fulfilled in third year so there's not as much of an issue there. It's something that's in the process of being corrected though and has been getting better as of late.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
No, it's very easy to get a chair and we have a scheduler who manages chairs. We have plenty of chairs for patients.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
3 crowns and a competency crown, 5 fillings and a competency filling (both anterior and posterior), 4 root canals, 3 treatment plans, pediatric requirements done on our peds rotation (one week long), perio surgery, a lot of other competency exams. Nothing denture related, just suggested requirements.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We rotate through endodontics, oral surgery, pediatrics, orthodontics, in our clerkships so we get a little taste of each specialty and get to assist the residents. We can take electives in fourth year if we want to learn more about sedation, endodontics, etc.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
Not really, I don't think we feel very prepared for practice management going out of school. Our school has a listserv for job opportunities and also reviews our CV's and cover letters for us and offers corrections. We will see what they do the rest of the year! We have some people come in for lunch and learns to talk to us but those are spread out throughout the year.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs or business casual in clinic. pretty laid back. You can wear street clothes to lecture in first and second year.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yes! People make great friends in their class and many are in eachother's weddings, etc.
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA, Husky Smiles (pediatric outreach)
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
It's in a bit of a sketchy area, but many people live right around the school. You have to be aware of your surroundings and be careful at night. Finding housing isn't an issue, it's just probably going to be EXPENSIVE. But bus routes are great in Seattle and the light rail is being expanded so it's not too bad.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
There have been a lot of financial issues lately that the Seattle times has brought to light to the seattle area, which I think has deterred some patients from coming. It's made morale a bit low around the school because of these issues and also has led to a shortage of patients (especially when staff firings happened and there was no one to schedule us patients). SO, UW has been going through a bit of a turbulent time but we have a new interim dean who I am hopeful can get things back on track.
30. Any last words or advice?
Wherever you end up for school, make the most of it. At the end of the day, you will be a dentist no matter where you graduate from. If I've learned anything, it's that each school has pros and cons. I have heard about other schools that have better things than my school, and other schools that have way worse things than my school. UW has really cool opportunities (service learning rotation for 5 weeks in a community health center in fourth year) and great faculty. Good luck in your dental journey!
1. Name of Your Dental School: University of Washington School of Dentistry
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?) D4
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
-Exam schedule in first and second year is like block schedule AND several every week. There will be weeks there aren't many, and weeks there are a lot. Some classes have their exams spread out and some classes group them into midterms and finals. So expect to take a lot of exams (and quizzes!!) especially in the first two years. 3rd year is more just midterms and finals and fourth year is like a vacation
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Oral path is very hard but very rewarding. There is a lot of memorization that goes into it but you will take a lot away from it as well. Fixed pros can be one of the hardest lab classes because a lot of time in sim clinic is required and you have practicals that can be a little tricky as well!
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
It really depends on your strengths. Some people are great at waxing, others aren't. For me, some of the easier classes were complete dentures, periodontics, removable partial dentures. I am by no means great at dentures but the way things were tested in these classes made sense and didn't leave me furiously studying until 1 AM.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Lecture PPTs in almost every class (dental anatomy and oral path are some exceptions).
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
you can choose, some professors post the electronic versions online. I prefer traditional textbooks but that's just me. Honestly after first year I never really used textbooks (and I barely did in first year to begin with).
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Depends on the class. Clinic is pass/fail/honors, as well as some 1 or 2 credit courses throughout first and second year. Most other classes are on a 4.0 scale. They made a change and the classes that dental students take with the medical students are now on a 4.0 scale as well (used to be P/F)
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
There are always a few gunners in every class, but overall my class is really great with helping eachother out. We collect money for classmates whose wives have had babies, classmates who have had a death in the family and need a plane flight home, etc. You get really close to your clerkship group too, which is about 9 people you rotate through clerkships (endo, operative, pros) with throughout third year.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
No most people use one-note
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
In some classes yes, I think they started to make med school class attendance more or less mandatory. It really makes an impression on the faculty so overall I would say yes even if it's not explicitly stated.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
YES! Best part of UW hands down, faculty go out of their way to help you. I had to meet with a faculty today for a case and only emailed him yesterday about it, he was willing to meet me during his lunch hour and spent about 40 min with me.
13. What is the drop out rate?
In our class we had 2 students leave at the beginning of first year, one for family problems and the other just didn't want to do the program. I would say it's generally maybe 1-2 per class, but I haven't heard of anyone in the year below me dropping out.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Definitely, UW is aggressive in helping students who are struggling. They will identify students who are not doing as well in courses and will make sure someone works with them to get them up to speed with the rest of the class.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
Unsure, I just know the bulk of our class passed part I and II (II scores are still coming in, but as far as I know).
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Winter of second year, after our med school classes were done.
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
They used to, but we weren't a fan of it so they stopped offering it. Then they offered a mock board that students were required to pass in order to sign up to take the actual boards. I'm not sure if this is still going on for new students (esp with the transition to a combined part I and II)
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
We get a small break in summer beginning of second year, a winter break, and a small break at the end of second year. So it depends on when you want to take boards. Since I took mine during winter break, I had to study simultaneously with classes. This is what most students end up doing, we don't really have a designated block of time (maybe one or two weeks).
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Some people do study in the health science library, especially during lunch. It's a good place to get work done at school so I would say it just depends on personality and what students prefer.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
Lately the UW has been struggling a bit with having schedulers employed in order to get patients in to us... this has led to us not having a lot of patients so I can foresee there being a bit of struggle to fulfill my fourth year requirements. HOWEVER, UW is really good about making sure clerkship requirements are fulfilled in third year so there's not as much of an issue there. It's something that's in the process of being corrected though and has been getting better as of late.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
No, it's very easy to get a chair and we have a scheduler who manages chairs. We have plenty of chairs for patients.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
3 crowns and a competency crown, 5 fillings and a competency filling (both anterior and posterior), 4 root canals, 3 treatment plans, pediatric requirements done on our peds rotation (one week long), perio surgery, a lot of other competency exams. Nothing denture related, just suggested requirements.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We rotate through endodontics, oral surgery, pediatrics, orthodontics, in our clerkships so we get a little taste of each specialty and get to assist the residents. We can take electives in fourth year if we want to learn more about sedation, endodontics, etc.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
Not really, I don't think we feel very prepared for practice management going out of school. Our school has a listserv for job opportunities and also reviews our CV's and cover letters for us and offers corrections. We will see what they do the rest of the year! We have some people come in for lunch and learns to talk to us but those are spread out throughout the year.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs or business casual in clinic. pretty laid back. You can wear street clothes to lecture in first and second year.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yes! People make great friends in their class and many are in eachother's weddings, etc.
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA, Husky Smiles (pediatric outreach)
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
It's in a bit of a sketchy area, but many people live right around the school. You have to be aware of your surroundings and be careful at night. Finding housing isn't an issue, it's just probably going to be EXPENSIVE. But bus routes are great in Seattle and the light rail is being expanded so it's not too bad.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
There have been a lot of financial issues lately that the Seattle times has brought to light to the seattle area, which I think has deterred some patients from coming. It's made morale a bit low around the school because of these issues and also has led to a shortage of patients (especially when staff firings happened and there was no one to schedule us patients). SO, UW has been going through a bit of a turbulent time but we have a new interim dean who I am hopeful can get things back on track.
30. Any last words or advice?
Wherever you end up for school, make the most of it. At the end of the day, you will be a dentist no matter where you graduate from. If I've learned anything, it's that each school has pros and cons. I have heard about other schools that have better things than my school, and other schools that have way worse things than my school. UW has really cool opportunities (service learning rotation for 5 weeks in a community health center in fourth year) and great faculty. Good luck in your dental journey!
ILikeSinging
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2018
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 0
Hello! This is my first question on SDN: If my parents relocate with me outside of state to my OOS dental school will I receive instate tuition??
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2017
- Messages
- 1,083
- Reaction score
- 1,422
Not the right thread for this but it depends on the individual schools. Best to search their websites for the policy and to ask in individual school specific threads.
Truthaboutdental
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2018
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 1
Anyone that comes here to post wouldn't really tell the truth about how dental school is.
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2017
- Messages
- 74
- Reaction score
- 75
I just wanted to let you know you left off Touro College of Dental Medicine in New York.
1. Name of Your Dental School
University of Kentucky
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
D3
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
We are on the semester schedule for the most part though some classes run all year or are staggered to overlap between semesters a bit. This is actually beneficial because there isn’t so much to stress over at the end of every semester! Some courses have a single exam, others have a midterm + final, others have 4-5 exams/practicals total. Having more than 2 exams/practicals in a week in uncommon for the most part though can happen (or sometimes you may have an additional quiz or other assignment due). Overall, time management is important for all dental schools! Also, did you know we also get a decent summer break??
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Hard to say because people excel in different areas – ie. Hand skills can take some time to develop, memorizing Path is tough for others, understanding Physiology/Immuno pathways can be difficult for some. Fortunately, you get a wide variety of coursework at any given time so if one area is giving you trouble, you can prioritize that~ All of the slightly more “difficult” courses have group tutoring sessions before exams and if you are really struggling, individualized peer tutoring is an option. At UK we really want everyone to pass every class!
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Maybe not the easiest per se depending on if you like kids… but one of the most enjoyable across the board is D1 Sealant trip where students get to spend a few days in the more rural parts of KY providing sealants for children at elementary schools. We are pretty fortunate to see a lot of patients early on. As D1s, you will also rotate through the patient clinic and work with D4s or visit our various specialty departments (OMFS, Ortho, Perio, Peds, GPR, etc). In August of D2 year, patients will start being assigned to you for oral diagnosis, perio, restorative, and denture needs as you spend 2 sessions/week in the patient clinic (which becomes 3 sessions/week in the Spring semester). Keep in mind this is anecdotal but I was able to extract multiple teeth (with D4/resident help) in the beginning of D2 and also prepped my first crown towards the end of D2. There are always opportunities to get involved and help out during your down time.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
I don’t think I’ve had a class that didn’t provide a powerpoint or at least some handouts, though some professors do test on things they mention in class or they will assign book readings. Fortunately, our textbooks are almost always found on reserve at the medical library or on ClinicalKey for free. With the textbook readings, I’ve found it fairly simple to sift my way through the most important info so it’s not as daunting as it sounds!
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Okay well I’m sort of on the end of the note-taking spectrum that LIKES taking notes by hand whether it be via my SurfacePro or once in a while printing study guides and annotating SO I sometimes prefer buying a hardcopy textbook. Of course I resell these on ebay and make most of the cost back… but like I mentioned before, you can always find textbooks for free (ClinicalKey, PDFs floating around, professors are usually happy to let you borrow a copy). Keep in mind though that some of these books seem unimportant now but you might want to use them for reference later while you are a practicing dentist (ie. Oral pathology, pharm guides, systemic diseases and dentistry).
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Majority of classes are letter grades but there are a few P/F classes thrown in there. Typically an “A” is a 90%+ but every syllabus is a little different regarding the grade breakdown.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Our class size ranges from ~65-70 students so it’s not really the type of environment to be unfriendly Overall, I think there are always people who are happy to share resources and study together though of course sometimes other people prefer to study on their own. I think at UK you also have the opportunity to get to know upperclassmen who are more than happy to share Quizlets, etc. I know every single D4 student by name (not that I’ve had conversations with every person obviously but I would feel comfortable approaching any one of them) and probably 75% of the D2s despite me being a D3. Having a small class size also means that there are overall more experiences/extracurriculars available to a given student. If you are interested in something here, you can do it.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Some of the more science heavy courses during D1-D2 are Echoed (video recording software that is available online to all students), but there is not a particular note taking service. Though like I mentioned before, I’m sure a lot of your friends/classmates would be open to comparing notes as you prepare for exams.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
A lot of classes are mandatory, but honestly I personally try to go to all of them even if they aren’t. This is for three reasons: 1. Professors often emphasize or mention in class things they will test on! (Wish I realized this in undergrad lol), 2. You can’t study everything every day in dental school so it’s important to use your time wisely and being in class forces me to look through the information at least one time, 3. I get that sometimes sitting in class can be draining but these are your professors and I would want to be respectful by showing up – everyone knows who you are especially by D3-D4 and I think initiative is a beneficial trait for any prospective dentist.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Definitely, all of their offices are spread out through the dental school. Emails or Axium messages are usually answered soon (within reason) and you can often stop by or schedule an appointment.
13. What is the drop out rate?
I don’t really know any specifics regarding this but I can say that every student I started with D1 is still currently in my class.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Yep I mentioned before that we have peer-based group tutoring available to anyone for the bulk of our classes and if you are really struggling as you progress through the semester, individualized tutoring can be an option. These are all free services. But also, I can’t stress enough that getting to know your classmates and finding a mini study group with similar study habits to you can be encouraging. Professors are always open to meeting with students to discuss exam grades and answer questions.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
You know what I am really not sure because that is not publicly released information to us, but I do think that is a preparation area that our school is working on improving. I personally think our courses are boards-relevant (I have only taken Part 1 so far) but studying for boards definitely takes individual effort and good material selection. And you know what, I also think sometimes you have to luck out on test day! One nice thing is that we had a ~6-7 week break to study during the summer between D2-D3.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Summer between D2-D3
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
When I took boards, we did not but we did have 6-7 week summer break to study on our own. I am not sure if that will change with the INBDE.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
Ugh I keep pre-emptively answering questions that are actually asked in the next question T_T. Yes, 6-7 weeks for Part 1 during D2-D3 summer and 4 weeks for Part 2 during D3-D4 summer.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Well UK has the big campus library that also services undergrads and some study there. This library is mostly 24 hours but the hours are a bit worse in the summer and during undergrad breaks. We also have a 2-floor Medical Library on the first floor of the dental building that is open to medical students, dental students, and I imagine other health professions students (Nursing, PT, Pharmacy) but I don’t think too many of them trek over to the medical/dental area of campus. I believe we just got 24 hour access to this library. So thirdly, there are a LOT of conference rooms that people often study in. I also spend way too much time at Starbucks :/
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
We have multiple faculty (Clinic Team Leaders) that make sure all D2-D4 students are on track with their requirements. As long as you put in the time and effort to get things done, you shouldn’t have any issues. We do not have to find our own patients at all and we do have coordinators that schedule patients typically (though you are usually welcome to call your own pt to schedule if you feel inclined). In fact, I think many students are able to excel in areas that interest them (ie. plenty of OS experience including a full-time clinic oral surgeon on faculty who oversees students for grafting/implants/complex OS, rotations in OMFS dept for extractions/routine alveolar/sedation, digital lab experience for implants/same day crowns/, there’s an endo suite that was also just renovated, morning rotations through our Urgent Care Clinic learning emergency dentistry, help treat ortho cases). I could go on but overall if you want to learn it, we have it.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
Nope, plenty of chairs. I’ve never not had a chair. We also just renovated our entire patient clinic so the operatories feel very secluded and private. To be honest, sometimes I wish we didn’t have as many chairs available for patients so I could sleep in once in a while j/k… kind of.
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
I actually don’t know too much about the D4 requirements yet but by the end of D3 you should be somewhat on track to completing at minimum: 2 complete/complete sets of dentures, RPD, 1 additional denture arch or interim or RPD, 12 quads SRP, 40 restorative experiences, 20 Exts. Your experiences here are all subjective though. Some of my friends finished all their required restorations by November and will obviously probably double that by the end of D3, others might be working on multiple dentures all at once. I have faith that it all evens out by D4 though!
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We rotate through specialties every year (D1-D4) and have to see patients in every realm (even peds). As you progress through dental school, your responsibilities increase in each of these departments or clinic areas. UK has a lot of specialties. When I was first starting dental school I remember hearing that sometimes specialty programs means that patients are “taken away” from students. That’s not true here because we also have all specialties in-house at the dental school. Ie. We have our own dental school faculty to oversee implant placement but if it was a really difficult all-on-4 then we would refer to GPR or if the patient needed #8 esthetic implant with extensive gum grafting/sinus lift/medically compromised/IV sedation then maybe they would see OMFS/Perio.
24. Is there sufficient preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
Oh man there are quite a few business/practice management classes that have been implemented recently. We also have Finance/Business type lunch and learns pretty much every 2-3 weeks (free lunch!) that are hosted by our school.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs (matching but any color your heart desires) or business attire is the official dress code but often students will wear casual clothes if there is just a few hours of lecture or a short day where you are not in the sim lab or clinic. The gym is also just a short walk from the dental school so sometimes people will bring gym clothes.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yes! I actually moved here from across the country so obviously didn’t know a soul in KY until the first day of school. You can find every type of person here: married, single, religious, dog lovers, partiers, non-drinkers, sports fans, gamers, different relationship preferences. As you can imagine, KY in general is less diverse than many other states but the various health professions (and faculty) at the school have a bit more balanced representation.
27. What student organizations are most active?
Hmm I am guessing that DSD and ASDA have the most events because they tend to be more social but we have a ton of clubs that have a lot of volunteering elements. See our website for a list so I don’t have to think of all the acronyms!
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Plenty of places to live. Lexington is very clean and overall a pretty nice place to live. I mean… it isn’t NYC or Chicago by any means but there’s a substantial selection of places to eat, handful of bars. It is also so cheap to live here! I was absolutely shocked about how low the cost of living is in this part of the country. I don’t think safety is too much of an issue beyond what you would expect on any large campus.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Starting clinic early at the beginning of D2 is awesome because you get the feel for patient experience but that means that some of our academic classes are pushed back to Fall of D3. At this point I’m starting to feel pretty exhausted sitting through classes still and wish I was just in clinic full time.
30. Any last words or advice?
Feel free to message me with any more specific questions. I am an expert procrastinator~
University of Kentucky
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
D3
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
We are on the semester schedule for the most part though some classes run all year or are staggered to overlap between semesters a bit. This is actually beneficial because there isn’t so much to stress over at the end of every semester! Some courses have a single exam, others have a midterm + final, others have 4-5 exams/practicals total. Having more than 2 exams/practicals in a week in uncommon for the most part though can happen (or sometimes you may have an additional quiz or other assignment due). Overall, time management is important for all dental schools! Also, did you know we also get a decent summer break??
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Hard to say because people excel in different areas – ie. Hand skills can take some time to develop, memorizing Path is tough for others, understanding Physiology/Immuno pathways can be difficult for some. Fortunately, you get a wide variety of coursework at any given time so if one area is giving you trouble, you can prioritize that~ All of the slightly more “difficult” courses have group tutoring sessions before exams and if you are really struggling, individualized peer tutoring is an option. At UK we really want everyone to pass every class!
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Maybe not the easiest per se depending on if you like kids… but one of the most enjoyable across the board is D1 Sealant trip where students get to spend a few days in the more rural parts of KY providing sealants for children at elementary schools. We are pretty fortunate to see a lot of patients early on. As D1s, you will also rotate through the patient clinic and work with D4s or visit our various specialty departments (OMFS, Ortho, Perio, Peds, GPR, etc). In August of D2 year, patients will start being assigned to you for oral diagnosis, perio, restorative, and denture needs as you spend 2 sessions/week in the patient clinic (which becomes 3 sessions/week in the Spring semester). Keep in mind this is anecdotal but I was able to extract multiple teeth (with D4/resident help) in the beginning of D2 and also prepped my first crown towards the end of D2. There are always opportunities to get involved and help out during your down time.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
I don’t think I’ve had a class that didn’t provide a powerpoint or at least some handouts, though some professors do test on things they mention in class or they will assign book readings. Fortunately, our textbooks are almost always found on reserve at the medical library or on ClinicalKey for free. With the textbook readings, I’ve found it fairly simple to sift my way through the most important info so it’s not as daunting as it sounds!
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Okay well I’m sort of on the end of the note-taking spectrum that LIKES taking notes by hand whether it be via my SurfacePro or once in a while printing study guides and annotating SO I sometimes prefer buying a hardcopy textbook. Of course I resell these on ebay and make most of the cost back… but like I mentioned before, you can always find textbooks for free (ClinicalKey, PDFs floating around, professors are usually happy to let you borrow a copy). Keep in mind though that some of these books seem unimportant now but you might want to use them for reference later while you are a practicing dentist (ie. Oral pathology, pharm guides, systemic diseases and dentistry).
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Majority of classes are letter grades but there are a few P/F classes thrown in there. Typically an “A” is a 90%+ but every syllabus is a little different regarding the grade breakdown.
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Our class size ranges from ~65-70 students so it’s not really the type of environment to be unfriendly Overall, I think there are always people who are happy to share resources and study together though of course sometimes other people prefer to study on their own. I think at UK you also have the opportunity to get to know upperclassmen who are more than happy to share Quizlets, etc. I know every single D4 student by name (not that I’ve had conversations with every person obviously but I would feel comfortable approaching any one of them) and probably 75% of the D2s despite me being a D3. Having a small class size also means that there are overall more experiences/extracurriculars available to a given student. If you are interested in something here, you can do it.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Some of the more science heavy courses during D1-D2 are Echoed (video recording software that is available online to all students), but there is not a particular note taking service. Though like I mentioned before, I’m sure a lot of your friends/classmates would be open to comparing notes as you prepare for exams.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
A lot of classes are mandatory, but honestly I personally try to go to all of them even if they aren’t. This is for three reasons: 1. Professors often emphasize or mention in class things they will test on! (Wish I realized this in undergrad lol), 2. You can’t study everything every day in dental school so it’s important to use your time wisely and being in class forces me to look through the information at least one time, 3. I get that sometimes sitting in class can be draining but these are your professors and I would want to be respectful by showing up – everyone knows who you are especially by D3-D4 and I think initiative is a beneficial trait for any prospective dentist.
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Definitely, all of their offices are spread out through the dental school. Emails or Axium messages are usually answered soon (within reason) and you can often stop by or schedule an appointment.
13. What is the drop out rate?
I don’t really know any specifics regarding this but I can say that every student I started with D1 is still currently in my class.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Yep I mentioned before that we have peer-based group tutoring available to anyone for the bulk of our classes and if you are really struggling as you progress through the semester, individualized tutoring can be an option. These are all free services. But also, I can’t stress enough that getting to know your classmates and finding a mini study group with similar study habits to you can be encouraging. Professors are always open to meeting with students to discuss exam grades and answer questions.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
You know what I am really not sure because that is not publicly released information to us, but I do think that is a preparation area that our school is working on improving. I personally think our courses are boards-relevant (I have only taken Part 1 so far) but studying for boards definitely takes individual effort and good material selection. And you know what, I also think sometimes you have to luck out on test day! One nice thing is that we had a ~6-7 week break to study during the summer between D2-D3.
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Summer between D2-D3
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
When I took boards, we did not but we did have 6-7 week summer break to study on our own. I am not sure if that will change with the INBDE.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
Ugh I keep pre-emptively answering questions that are actually asked in the next question T_T. Yes, 6-7 weeks for Part 1 during D2-D3 summer and 4 weeks for Part 2 during D3-D4 summer.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Well UK has the big campus library that also services undergrads and some study there. This library is mostly 24 hours but the hours are a bit worse in the summer and during undergrad breaks. We also have a 2-floor Medical Library on the first floor of the dental building that is open to medical students, dental students, and I imagine other health professions students (Nursing, PT, Pharmacy) but I don’t think too many of them trek over to the medical/dental area of campus. I believe we just got 24 hour access to this library. So thirdly, there are a LOT of conference rooms that people often study in. I also spend way too much time at Starbucks :/
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
We have multiple faculty (Clinic Team Leaders) that make sure all D2-D4 students are on track with their requirements. As long as you put in the time and effort to get things done, you shouldn’t have any issues. We do not have to find our own patients at all and we do have coordinators that schedule patients typically (though you are usually welcome to call your own pt to schedule if you feel inclined). In fact, I think many students are able to excel in areas that interest them (ie. plenty of OS experience including a full-time clinic oral surgeon on faculty who oversees students for grafting/implants/complex OS, rotations in OMFS dept for extractions/routine alveolar/sedation, digital lab experience for implants/same day crowns/, there’s an endo suite that was also just renovated, morning rotations through our Urgent Care Clinic learning emergency dentistry, help treat ortho cases). I could go on but overall if you want to learn it, we have it.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
Nope, plenty of chairs. I’ve never not had a chair. We also just renovated our entire patient clinic so the operatories feel very secluded and private. To be honest, sometimes I wish we didn’t have as many chairs available for patients so I could sleep in once in a while
j/k… kind of.22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
I actually don’t know too much about the D4 requirements yet but by the end of D3 you should be somewhat on track to completing at minimum: 2 complete/complete sets of dentures, RPD, 1 additional denture arch or interim or RPD, 12 quads SRP, 40 restorative experiences, 20 Exts. Your experiences here are all subjective though. Some of my friends finished all their required restorations by November and will obviously probably double that by the end of D3, others might be working on multiple dentures all at once. I have faith that it all evens out by D4 though!
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
We rotate through specialties every year (D1-D4) and have to see patients in every realm (even peds). As you progress through dental school, your responsibilities increase in each of these departments or clinic areas. UK has a lot of specialties. When I was first starting dental school I remember hearing that sometimes specialty programs means that patients are “taken away” from students. That’s not true here because we also have all specialties in-house at the dental school. Ie. We have our own dental school faculty to oversee implant placement but if it was a really difficult all-on-4 then we would refer to GPR or if the patient needed #8 esthetic implant with extensive gum grafting/sinus lift/medically compromised/IV sedation then maybe they would see OMFS/Perio.
24. Is there sufficient preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
Oh man there are quite a few business/practice management classes that have been implemented recently. We also have Finance/Business type lunch and learns pretty much every 2-3 weeks (free lunch!) that are hosted by our school.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs (matching but any color your heart desires) or business attire is the official dress code but often students will wear casual clothes if there is just a few hours of lecture or a short day where you are not in the sim lab or clinic. The gym is also just a short walk from the dental school so sometimes people will bring gym clothes.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yes! I actually moved here from across the country so obviously didn’t know a soul in KY until the first day of school. You can find every type of person here: married, single, religious, dog lovers, partiers, non-drinkers, sports fans, gamers, different relationship preferences. As you can imagine, KY in general is less diverse than many other states but the various health professions (and faculty) at the school have a bit more balanced representation.
27. What student organizations are most active?
Hmm I am guessing that DSD and ASDA have the most events because they tend to be more social but we have a ton of clubs that have a lot of volunteering elements. See our website for a list so I don’t have to think of all the acronyms!
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Plenty of places to live. Lexington is very clean and overall a pretty nice place to live. I mean… it isn’t NYC or Chicago by any means but there’s a substantial selection of places to eat, handful of bars. It is also so cheap to live here! I was absolutely shocked about how low the cost of living is in this part of the country. I don’t think safety is too much of an issue beyond what you would expect on any large campus.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Starting clinic early at the beginning of D2 is awesome because you get the feel for patient experience but that means that some of our academic classes are pushed back to Fall of D3. At this point I’m starting to feel pretty exhausted sitting through classes still and wish I was just in clinic full time.
30. Any last words or advice?
Feel free to message me with any more specific questions. I am an expert procrastinator~
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2018
- Messages
- 204
- Reaction score
- 40
pioneerdental
New Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2019
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 1
Thank you for your helpful reply.. It is really informative for us.1. Name of Your Dental School
MWU-AZ
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
1st
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
We have one course that encompasses all of our sciences. Its called Basic Science. Usually you have 15-16 fifty-minute lectures a week, and are tested every Tuesday on the previous weeks material. Basic is supplemented with 2-3 Dental classes and those have their own quizzes. But the sizable majority of the studying youll do your first year is for Basic.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Basic is tough but doable. Its pretty heavy but they try to make it digestible. Since all of the lectures are systems based, youre drawing parallels between all of the material.
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
Dr. Rolf.
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
All the classes provide you with powerpoints that will be lectured upon, and all of the testable material will be found on these powerpoints.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
We have electronic tooth atlases, and the only textbook Ive used so far is an Atlas for Anatomy.
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter Grades
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Super chill class
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Notes are provided to you. Lecture goes into more depth but the test questions are culled from the notes.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
No
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Very approachable. We have an open door policy, so you can walk into a professors room at any time - no appointment necessary. Ive never done this but I know people do. Teachers routinely end their lectures reminding you to call or see them if you have any questions.
13. What is the drop out rate?
IDK probably 0?
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Yes
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
High pass rate, dont know average score
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Summer after first year
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
Basic is taught with Part 1 in mind. Professors alert you in their lectures if theyve seen material on old NBDEs or review banks.
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
We have three months of summer after our first year, and we schedule the boards at our own convenience.
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
Its not a 24/7 library but its open till 12. Id wager 1/3 of the class studies there regularly.
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
I dont know yet
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
I do know that we have 8 chairs per student if you consider that we do paired dentistry here. (3rd years work with 4th years, the idea being 1 + 1 = 4)
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
I dont know yet
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
Heavy clinic work, specialty clubs
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
I cant comment here
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs, all 4 years. Each class has their own color. Buy 5 pairs online.
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yes
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA and student government. We have social events pretty often too.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
Glendale is like super suburbia. You have loads of space everywhere around you. Really cheap housing and cost of living. Housing and safety are definitely not problems. Social life is meh in the surround blocks but PHX and Scottsdale are only 30 minutes away. There are some perks to being in suburbia, too. Our local bar sends a bus out to pick us up and drop us off every time we go out.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Tuition costs so much!
30. Any last words or advice?
IF you choose here, you will pay a lot, but youll get awesome faculty, state-of-the-art technology, and awesome classmates. With the cost of living, its on par with a lot of private schools. And it's definitely a good decision to come here if youre choosing between schools with similar finances.
- Joined
- May 7, 2019
- Messages
- 387
- Reaction score
- 361
1. Name of Your Dental School
A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health (MOSDOH)
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
2018 graduate
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
we take one class at a time so depending on there length of the course you could have multiple exams/quizzes in one week or may be spread out over longer period if it's a more extensive course. No midterms or finals weeks.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Neuro or head and neck. Neuro because the instructor teaches a bit beyond what is necessary considering the length of the course. Head and neck because it is very in depth and one of the longest courses in didactic. But faculty teaching head and neck make it doable
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
most of the biomedical science classes were fairly easy. Coursework material is provided beforehand and faculty work to make sure all students can succeed
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Lecture powerpoints only. Our textbooks are online, I (along with most of the class) never opened a single one of them.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Electronic. Would've been nice now that I've graduated to have some traditional books I could keep in my office for reference
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter grades
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Theres always a couple gunners but for the most part, our class was very friendly and willing to help out. We utilized Google docs to share notes, test prep materials, etc with one another. No sabotaging whatsoever.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
We all used Notability. Loved it. Can record and write on PowerPoints on your ipad (which you're required to have) at the same time.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Yes all classes are mandatory
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Everyone is very approachable. Some of the biomed course faculty were harder to get ahold of (but not impossible) because they primarily teach the DO students so they are the focus. But the dental faculty and staff are all very approachable and friendly.
13. What is the drop out rate?
Our class had one person that had to repeat D3. And one person in the class below me chose to leave between D1 and D2. But other than those 2, everyone who started has graduated.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Class advisors are good about teaching out to students at the first sign of struggling and will offer to set up tutoring with an upperclassmen or classmate.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
100% for part I, 90% for part II
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Betweeb D1 and D2
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
Upperclassmen held review sessions and faculty also held their own review sessions
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
2 week "summer break" between D1 and D2. This is when most took boards. So most of our studying occurred during the last month or so of D1 but faculty was aware of this and we got much more time off during this last month to study (lectures 4-6 hrs/day instead of 8)
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
People studying in the IPE (dental building)n library, or at their home/apartment. Lots of group studying especially right before tests
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
I personally had no problem fulfilling any of my requirements. Faculty are very good at helping to find patients to help everyone fulfill their requirements.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
90% of the time theres no issue with this. When it is an issue, there's still chairs open, they just may not be in your section which isn't a huge deal
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
For the most part, the clinical requirements are very attainable. Its encouraged that you do a certain number of "essential experiences" before you do your competencies for each procedure. Only ones anyone in my class struggled with were bridges and dentures. You'd have no problem with the SRP, prophies, fillings, or extractions. Theres plenty of those to go around.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
During D3 and D4 you rotate through the specialty clinics (pedo, special needs, OS, urgent care, endo). Also if you have an affinity for one of these you can always talk to the faculty and get more time in any of them. Also with no specialty programs, you don't have to worry about anyone stealing cases. You'll be able to do molar endo, pulpotomies on kids, surgical wisdom tooth EXTs, etc.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
There could be more lecture on practice management. All we had was about ten 2-4 hour lectures given by an adjunct faculty who owns his own practice. Most of his advice was rather outdated as he started about like 30 years ago.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs or business casual (almost no one wears business casual) for all four years. The classes alternate between ceil blue and royal blue
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yes you will become very close with your classmates. We would go out just about every weekend during D1 and D2. Less so during D3 and D4 but we still did a lot together outside of school. It's a small class and you spend a lot of time with them so you'll get close with them quick.
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA and SGA. Theres a ton of orgs during D1 and D2, many of which allow co-mingling with the med students.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
First two years are in a small town. Tons of apartments available as it is a college town. Also student housing is available. No safety issues
Last two years are in St. Louis. Cost of living is higher and living close to the clinic is going to cost more. There are apartments right next to the clinic that several classmates lived in. There definitely are unsafe areas like north or south city but the school does a good job helping people with where to live.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Moving between D2 and D3 was very annoying. Would have loved to be in the same place all four years. But also small town for the first two years made studying a lot easier (less distractions) and big city for D3 and D4 was nice because we had more free time (less studying) to go out and do things.
30. Any last words or advice?[/url]
Great school if you're thinking about going into public health or if you want to be able to do more specialty procedures. Also we've had a 100% pass on licensure since the school was started so they must be doing something right.
A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health (MOSDOH)
2. Your Year (if you're not comfortable answering that, have you taken Part I of the NBDE?)
2018 graduate
3. What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
we take one class at a time so depending on there length of the course you could have multiple exams/quizzes in one week or may be spread out over longer period if it's a more extensive course. No midterms or finals weeks.
4. What is the hardest class? Why?
Neuro or head and neck. Neuro because the instructor teaches a bit beyond what is necessary considering the length of the course. Head and neck because it is very in depth and one of the longest courses in didactic. But faculty teaching head and neck make it doable
5. What is the easiest class? Why?
most of the biomedical science classes were fairly easy. Coursework material is provided beforehand and faculty work to make sure all students can succeed
6. Are class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Lecture powerpoints only. Our textbooks are online, I (along with most of the class) never opened a single one of them.
7. Are traditional (paper) textbooks used or are they electronic? If electronic, do you prefer traditional textbooks?
Electronic. Would've been nice now that I've graduated to have some traditional books I could keep in my office for reference
8. What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter grades
9. Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Theres always a couple gunners but for the most part, our class was very friendly and willing to help out. We utilized Google docs to share notes, test prep materials, etc with one another. No sabotaging whatsoever.
10. Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
We all used Notability. Loved it. Can record and write on PowerPoints on your ipad (which you're required to have) at the same time.
11. Is class attendance mandatory?
Yes all classes are mandatory
12. In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Everyone is very approachable. Some of the biomed course faculty were harder to get ahold of (but not impossible) because they primarily teach the DO students so they are the focus. But the dental faculty and staff are all very approachable and friendly.
13. What is the drop out rate?
Our class had one person that had to repeat D3. And one person in the class below me chose to leave between D1 and D2. But other than those 2, everyone who started has graduated.
14. Are there any resources to help students who are struggling?
Class advisors are good about teaching out to students at the first sign of struggling and will offer to set up tutoring with an upperclassmen or classmate.
15. What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score (if available)?
100% for part I, 90% for part II
16. When do you take the NDBE Part 1?
Betweeb D1 and D2
17. Does the school offer classes/review sessions to prepare for Part 1?
Upperclassmen held review sessions and faculty also held their own review sessions
18. Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
2 week "summer break" between D1 and D2. This is when most took boards. So most of our studying occurred during the last month or so of D1 but faculty was aware of this and we got much more time off during this last month to study (lectures 4-6 hrs/day instead of 8)
19. Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
People studying in the IPE (dental building)n library, or at their home/apartment. Lots of group studying especially right before tests
20. Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
I personally had no problem fulfilling any of my requirements. Faculty are very good at helping to find patients to help everyone fulfill their requirements.
21. Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
90% of the time theres no issue with this. When it is an issue, there's still chairs open, they just may not be in your section which isn't a huge deal
22. What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
For the most part, the clinical requirements are very attainable. Its encouraged that you do a certain number of "essential experiences" before you do your competencies for each procedure. Only ones anyone in my class struggled with were bridges and dentures. You'd have no problem with the SRP, prophies, fillings, or extractions. Theres plenty of those to go around.
23. What types of opportunities do students have to explore different specialties?
During D3 and D4 you rotate through the specialty clinics (pedo, special needs, OS, urgent care, endo). Also if you have an affinity for one of these you can always talk to the faculty and get more time in any of them. Also with no specialty programs, you don't have to worry about anyone stealing cases. You'll be able to do molar endo, pulpotomies on kids, surgical wisdom tooth EXTs, etc.
24. Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
There could be more lecture on practice management. All we had was about ten 2-4 hour lectures given by an adjunct faculty who owns his own practice. Most of his advice was rather outdated as he started about like 30 years ago.
25. What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
Scrubs or business casual (almost no one wears business casual) for all four years. The classes alternate between ceil blue and royal blue
26. Is there much camaraderie between students in the same class? Do students generally associate with each other outside of school?
Yes you will become very close with your classmates. We would go out just about every weekend during D1 and D2. Less so during D3 and D4 but we still did a lot together outside of school. It's a small class and you spend a lot of time with them so you'll get close with them quick.
27. What student organizations are most active?
ASDA and SGA. Theres a ton of orgs during D1 and D2, many of which allow co-mingling with the med students.
28. What are your opinions on the location of the dental school? Is finding housing an issue? Is safety an issue?
First two years are in a small town. Tons of apartments available as it is a college town. Also student housing is available. No safety issues
Last two years are in St. Louis. Cost of living is higher and living close to the clinic is going to cost more. There are apartments right next to the clinic that several classmates lived in. There definitely are unsafe areas like north or south city but the school does a good job helping people with where to live.
29. What do you not like about your dental school?
Moving between D2 and D3 was very annoying. Would have loved to be in the same place all four years. But also small town for the first two years made studying a lot easier (less distractions) and big city for D3 and D4 was nice because we had more free time (less studying) to go out and do things.
30. Any last words or advice?[/url]
Great school if you're thinking about going into public health or if you want to be able to do more specialty procedures. Also we've had a 100% pass on licensure since the school was started so they must be doing something right.
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2017
- Messages
- 70
- Reaction score
- 27
Can someone do this for UF and UPenn
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2019
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 24
UF would be great please
- Joined
- May 9, 2016
- Messages
- 175
- Reaction score
- 143
How is the GPR program at UNLV? I'm looking for more information about it.
- Joined
- May 31, 2016
- Messages
- 17
- Reaction score
- 10
They place a lot of implants. They place all the implants for the pre-doctoral clinic, and then the dental students restore them. That's about all I know about the GPR.
Similar threads
