Case vs. UMN vs. Iowa

[VortexGreen]

I've researched all three of these schools and looked up some past threads on them. I'm still unsure where I should attend. Tuition/Fees costs are not an issue as I will likely be attending under an HPSP military scholarship. Some background on my personal experiences with the school interviews/areas (please feel free to contradict/correct my inferences):

Area: I live in MN, went to school in Madison, and lived in Seville, Spain for a while. I like living in new cities and, in retrospect, I regret not applying to more schools in other cities. I do rate opportunity for nightlife and cultural exposure important as I don't plan to ONLY study. I like Minneapolis/Saint Paul a lot (the most of the 3 areas...I think, though I only spent 2 days in Cleveland and 1 day in Iowa City), BUT I'd be happy to explore a new area. Iowa City seemed very friendly and to have surprising culture for such a small town, but it seemed a smaller version of Madison (where I already spent 4 years) and at ~50,000 it may be smaller than I'd like. Cleveland has a bad rep, but appeared to have more to do than I expected and is roughly the same size as the Twin Cities.

Interview: Unfortunately, I was not greatly impressed with the UoMN tour and I have heard from friends at the school they currently have some problems with faculty and filling chairs. I was very impressed during my U of Iowa tour. The school and faculty seemed to put forth a large effort in informing the interviewees and the facilities seemed the newest and most up-to-date of the schools. I've also heard Iowa has high specialty placement rates. I liked my Case interview, but it was my last interview and I was pretty burnt out by then. I don't think I soaked up everything I could have. The program impressed me, except I'm not sure how I feel about PBL. I also remember the classrooms and building seemed real old. people/alumni seem to be excited about Case on this forum.

I want anyone willing to share whatever helpful information they have about these schools, especially current or recent past dental students and individuals who have lived in one or more of the cities.

I want to hear everything/anything possible about the 3 programs and the areas - curriculum, availability of patients, faculty, location/nightlife/culture, rate of specialty placement, etc.

Please inform me!

Thanks!

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[bhagan01]

I've researched all three of these schools and looked up some past threads on them. I'm still unsure where I should attend. Tuition/Fees costs are not an issue as I will likely be attending under an HPSP military scholarship. Some background on my personal experiences with the school interviews/areas (please feel free to contradict/correct my inferences):

Area: I live in MN, went to school in Madison, and lived in Seville, Spain for a while. I like living in new cities and, in retrospect, I regret not applying to more schools in other cities. I do rate opportunity for nightlife and cultural exposure important as I don't plan to ONLY study. I like Minneapolis/Saint Paul a lot (the most of the 3 areas...I think, though I only spent 2 days in Cleveland and 1 day in Iowa City), BUT I'd be happy to explore a new area. Iowa City seemed very friendly and to have surprising culture for such a small town, but it seemed a smaller version of Madison (where I already spent 4 years) and at ~50,000 it may be smaller than I'd like. Cleveland has a bad rep, but appeared to have more to do than I expected and is roughly the same size as the Twin Cities.

Interview: Unfortunately, I was not greatly impressed with the UoMN tour and I have heard from friends at the school they currently have some problems with faculty and filling chairs. I was very impressed during my U of Iowa tour. The school and faculty seemed to put forth a large effort in informing the interviewees and the facilities seemed the newest and most up-to-date of the schools. I've also heard Iowa has high specialty placement rates. I liked my Case interview, but it was my last interview and I was pretty burnt out by then. I don't think I soaked up everything I could have. The program impressed me, except I'm not sure how I feel about PBL. I also remember the classrooms and building seemed real old. people/alumni seem to be excited about Case on this forum.

I want anyone willing to share whatever helpful information they have about these schools, especially current or recent past dental students and individuals who have lived in one or more of the cities.

I want to hear everything/anything possible about the 3 programs and the areas - curriculum, availability of patients, faculty, location/nightlife/culture, rate of specialty placement, etc.

Please inform me!

Thanks!

I have interviewed at all three of these schools, and if you are looking for the best city life I would say go to umn. I lived in Iowa for 4 years and it really started to get annoying that there are only two "cities" in iowa to go to. I do believe out if those 3 programs, iowa has the best. I felt the same about case as you did. Everything seemed old, pbl is not my thing, and the students that gave me a tour did not really seem happy at the school. I live right outside the twincities and would have to say if money is not an issue (if oos) go to umn. Twincities are awesome! Iowa is great if you don't mind being in the middle of no where (personally got on my nerves), and I don't really have much to say about case, didn't really leave an impact on me.

 

[wired202808]

I've researched all three of these schools and looked up some past threads on them. I'm still unsure where I should attend. Tuition/Fees costs are not an issue as I will likely be attending under an HPSP military scholarship. Some background on my personal experiences with the school interviews/areas (please feel free to contradict/correct my inferences):

Area: I live in MN, went to school in Madison, and lived in Seville, Spain for a while. I like living in new cities and, in retrospect, I regret not applying to more schools in other cities. I do rate opportunity for nightlife and cultural exposure important as I don't plan to ONLY study. I like Minneapolis/Saint Paul a lot (the most of the 3 areas...I think, though I only spent 2 days in Cleveland and 1 day in Iowa City), BUT I'd be happy to explore a new area. Iowa City seemed very friendly and to have surprising culture for such a small town, but it seemed a smaller version of Madison (where I already spent 4 years) and at ~50,000 it may be smaller than I'd like. Cleveland has a bad rep, but appeared to have more to do than I expected and is roughly the same size as the Twin Cities.

Interview: Unfortunately, I was not greatly impressed with the UoMN tour and I have heard from friends at the school they currently have some problems with faculty and filling chairs. I was very impressed during my U of Iowa tour. The school and faculty seemed to put forth a large effort in informing the interviewees and the facilities seemed the newest and most up-to-date of the schools. I've also heard Iowa has high specialty placement rates. I liked my Case interview, but it was my last interview and I was pretty burnt out by then. I don't think I soaked up everything I could have. The program impressed me, except I'm not sure how I feel about PBL. I also remember the classrooms and building seemed real old. people/alumni seem to be excited about Case on this forum.

I want anyone willing to share whatever helpful information they have about these schools, especially current or recent past dental students and individuals who have lived in one or more of the cities.

I want to hear everything/anything possible about the 3 programs and the areas - curriculum, availability of patients, faculty, location/nightlife/culture, rate of specialty placement, etc.

Please inform me!

Thanks!

I would go with Case. I found UMN to be a less superior school and I dont think its the best place to get a clinical experience. While Cleveland isnt the most fun you can ever have, it seems better than living in Iowa. But then again I dont know how good/bad the Iowa school really is. I believe that Case is a lot better than UMN. Esp since $$$ is not an issue.

 

[bhagan01]

I would go with Case. I found UMN to be a less superior school and I dont think its the best place to get a clinical experience. While Cleveland isnt the most fun you can ever have, it seems better than living in Iowa. But then again I dont know how good/bad the Iowa school really is. I believe that Case is a lot better than UMN. Esp since $$$ is not an issue.

If you make the choice between iowa and case, I would say iowa is by far the better choice. Cleveland and iowa city both don't have much to offer, therefore you should just go to university of iowa for the better school (iowa is also in the process of completely redoing there school). The only reason I was suggesting umn was its a good program in the best city of the three.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

I've researched all three of these schools and looked up some past threads on them. I'm still unsure where I should attend. Tuition/Fees costs are not an issue as I will likely be attending under an HPSP military scholarship. Some background on my personal experiences with the school interviews/areas (please feel free to contradict/correct my inferences):

Area: I live in MN, went to school in Madison, and lived in Seville, Spain for a while. I like living in new cities and, in retrospect, I regret not applying to more schools in other cities. I do rate opportunity for nightlife and cultural exposure important as I don't plan to ONLY study. I like Minneapolis/Saint Paul a lot (the most of the 3 areas...I think, though I only spent 2 days in Cleveland and 1 day in Iowa City), BUT I'd be happy to explore a new area. Iowa City seemed very friendly and to have surprising culture for such a small town, but it seemed a smaller version of Madison (where I already spent 4 years) and at ~50,000 it may be smaller than I'd like. Cleveland has a bad rep, but appeared to have more to do than I expected and is roughly the same size as the Twin Cities.

Interview: Unfortunately, I was not greatly impressed with the UoMN tour and I have heard from friends at the school they currently have some problems with faculty and filling chairs. I was very impressed during my U of Iowa tour. The school and faculty seemed to put forth a large effort in informing the interviewees and the facilities seemed the newest and most up-to-date of the schools. I've also heard Iowa has high specialty placement rates. I liked my Case interview, but it was my last interview and I was pretty burnt out by then. I don't think I soaked up everything I could have. The program impressed me, except I'm not sure how I feel about PBL. I also remember the classrooms and building seemed real old. people/alumni seem to be excited about Case on this forum.

I want anyone willing to share whatever helpful information they have about these schools, especially current or recent past dental students and individuals who have lived in one or more of the cities.

I want to hear everything/anything possible about the 3 programs and the areas - curriculum, availability of patients, faculty, location/nightlife/culture, rate of specialty placement, etc.

Please inform me!

Thanks!

Out of the these places, the twin cities are probably going to be the most enjoyable for life outside of dental school. I've heard Iowa City can be pleasant (and you've mentioned it too). Cleveland on the other hand, not so much.

So, in terms of location/city life: I would say Minneapolis/St. Paul would be ideal.

I've heard really really good things about Iowa as a school. It's mainly stuff you already said in your post. I have yet to meet anyone who was not impressed with the school. As for MN, there's no reason to go there if you weren't impressed and if tuition cost is not a concern. I've heard various stuff about Case and it seems to be a fine school. But if you're unsure about PBL, it might be best to avoid it if you can.

So in terms of school: I would say Iowa is probably the best bet, especially if you weren't turned off by Iowa City.

Good luck

 

[wired202808]

If you make the choice between iowa and case, I would say iowa is by far the better choice. Cleveland and iowa city both don't have much to offer, therefore you should just go to university of iowa for the better school (iowa is also in the process of completely redoing there school). The only reason I was suggesting umn was its a good program in the best city of the three.

Thats cool ye if you believe Iowa is better than obv it might be a better choice vs. Case. I think UMN is a good school, but the others are great schools. So then I vote Iowa. If OP doesn't like the city then Case it is.

 

[VortexGreen]

Thanks for your replies so far guys. The consensus here seems to be that both Iowa and Case are better schools than UMN. Why? I'm also interested in hearing any arguments for why Case is a better program than Iowa or vice versa.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

Thanks for your replies so far guys. The consensus here seems to be that both Iowa and Case are better schools than UMN. Why? I'm also interested in hearing any arguments for why Case is a better program than Iowa or vice versa.

Have you considered talking to dental students at the schools? Maybe posting something on the dental forum or PM'ing students? They can give you insights from their own experiences that could be more informative than the opinion of a few pre-dents. No offense to pre-dents, bhagan01 provided very good info. Just a suggestion

 

[VortexGreen]

That's a good suggestion. I have talked with some current dental students, but I'll take this to the dental forums for additional insights.

 

[goffdent]

I've lived in madison, and currently attend iowa. I didn't mind MN, I just wasn't as impressed during the interview. The students didn't seem the happiest to be honest. (granted in general you are not happy while in dental school) The faculty at Iowa is pretty great. The classes have a lot of comraderie and often plan nights out, "Friday after class", bar crawls, bowling, dinners, bike rides, ski trips... They also work together and share notes, study guides, etc. They are about to start renovating the school now that the new section is ocmpleted. This will have an impact on patients and students as everything will be messy and swapped around. They are doing the best they can by only renovating 1/2 a floor at a time. I would assume their to be high specialty rates because ALL the specialty departments are represented.

Many people complain that you don't get to do much for treatments at schools with specialty programs, but i'll tell you what's up:
1. Plenty of oral surgery, endo, pedo, prosth. etc..
2. You have the "experts" right down the hall that can help with consults
3. You are taught by full-time PROFESSORS/dentists, NOT adjunct faculty. People who want to teach and are therefore a lot better at it than some once a month dentist/ specialist. (granted you get some lectures thrown in by random dentists)

Also, faculty is very receptive to student requests and suggestions. Ex: if scheduled with too many tests in 1 week. Students can contact the instructor and dean of students, vote, and have exam moved to another day.

Cost of living isn't out of this world, you can PARK YOUR CAR! if you need to. $200 for the normal school year.
Just some helpful information.

 

[VortexGreen]

Great information goffdent. Thanks! I just PMed you.

Anyone else who's a current dental student have some input?

 

[bhagan01]

I personally would choose umn over case in a heartbeat (as I already did). If you are interested in research, umn has many research opportunities (with 3m as well). I also am a fan of larger class sizes, albeit only 20ish, it is more people to meet. As I saw it, the students were happier at umn than students at case (i may have gone to case on a bad day as even the admissions office was out of whack, both my interviewers didn't bother to show up). The students also were more proud of their institution(and said good things about the school) and overall more motivated than the 4 students I spoke to at case who all had the motto C's get degrees.

Imo iowa(great school/ok location)>>>umn(good school/awesome location)>>>case(ok school/ok location)

I think wired may have a vendetta against umn (maybe waiting for an acceptance)because he seems to bash it, even when people aren't asking about it (see NYU vs case thread). But in all fairness I may be skewed to say nice things about umn since that is where i am going.

I too would suggest speaking with current students, they will have best info instead of my observations at interviews.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

I personally would choose umn over case in a heartbeat (as I already did). If you are interested in research, umn has many research opportunities (with 3m as well). I also am a fan of larger class sizes, albeit only 20ish, it is more people to meet. As I saw it, the students were happier at umn than students at case (i may have gone to case on a bad day as even the admissions office was out of whack, both my interviewers didn't bother to show up). The students also were more proud of their institution(and said good things about the school) and overall more motivated than the 4 students I spoke to at case who all had the motto C's get degrees.

Imo iowa(great school/ok location)>>>umn(good school/awesome location)>>>case(ok school/ok location)

I think wired may have a vendetta against umn (maybe waiting for an acceptance)because he seems to bash it, even when people aren't asking about it (see NYU vs case thread). But in all fairness I may be skewed to say nice things about umn since that is where i am going.

I too would suggest speaking with current students, they will have best info instead of my observations at interviews.

When comparing Case and MN, MN wins in my opinion as well.

As for what wired said.... It's why I suggested it's important to talk to people who are actually at the school on a regular basis. Pre-dents can only tell you so much, and most of it is based on things we have heard from other people or our opinions from visiting/researching the school or grudges/biases.

 

[omnipoDent]

I personally would choose umn over case in a heartbeat (as I already did). If you are interested in research, umn has many research opportunities (with 3m as well). I also am a fan of larger class sizes, albeit only 20ish, it is more people to meet. As I saw it, the students were happier at umn than students at case (i may have gone to case on a bad day as even the admissions office was out of whack, both my interviewers didn't bother to show up). The students also were more proud of their institution(and said good things about the school) and overall more motivated than the 4 students I spoke to at case who all had the motto C's get degrees.

Imo iowa(great school/ok location)>>>umn(good school/awesome location)>>>case(ok school/ok location)

I think wired may have a vendetta against umn (maybe waiting for an acceptance)because he seems to bash it, even when people aren't asking about it (see NYU vs case thread). But in all fairness I may be skewed to say nice things about umn since that is where i am going.

I too would suggest speaking with current students, they will have best info instead of my observations at interviews.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

 

[Kentuckylover]

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

Wired's opinions about UMN aside, he mentioned it because I had earlier turned down UMN while comparing it with NYU. I'm the one who started the thread in the first place.

I have my doubts about turning down UMN; it's out-of-state cost is what scared me the most, I think. I realize that NYU will still be a bit more expensive in the long-run (thanks to cost of living), but I felt like I was getting what I paid for in terms of the location. Paying more tuition as an OOS student for the curriculum at UMN didn't seem to make much sense to me vs. NYU, as I wasn't impressed with the school overall.

OP, unfortunately I have little advice to give as I don't know much about Iowa. I hope you come to a decision soon though! Congrats on all your acceptances.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

Wired's opinions about UMN aside, he mentioned it because I had earlier turned down UMN while comparing it with NYU. I'm the one who started the thread in the first place.

I have my doubts about turning down UMN; it's out-of-state cost is what scared me the most, I think. I realize that NYU will still be a bit more expensive in the long-run (thanks to cost of living), but I felt like I was getting what I paid for in terms of the location. Paying more tuition as an OOS student for the curriculum at UMN didn't seem to make much sense to me vs. NYU, as I wasn't impressed with the school overall.

OP, unfortunately I have little advice to give as I don't know much about Iowa. I hope you come to a decision soon though! Congrats on all your acceptances.

Wired has talked about MN before as well. I'm not going to go through his posts to prove it lol. NYU vs Case was a recent example.

I hope you come to a conclusion about NYU and Case soon

 

[wired202808]

Wired has talked about MN before as well. I'm not going to go through his posts to prove it lol. NYU vs Case was a recent example.

I hope you come to a conclusion about NYU and Case soon

Stop monkeying around Mr. Monkey. UMN is mentioned in the thread and I simply stated I was not impressed by the school. I am not attending there nor do I care to attend there. The only two other schools left are Case and Iowa, I know Case is a great school but I dont know anything about Iowa. So hence those are the best choices to consider.

If you've been to UMN please chime in... if you havent then no need to chime in

 

[wired202808]

Wired's opinions about UMN aside, he mentioned it because I had earlier turned down UMN while comparing it with NYU. I'm the one who started the thread in the first place.

I have my doubts about turning down UMN; it's out-of-state cost is what scared me the most, I think. I realize that NYU will still be a bit more expensive in the long-run (thanks to cost of living), but I felt like I was getting what I paid for in terms of the location. Paying more tuition as an OOS student for the curriculum at UMN didn't seem to make much sense to me vs. NYU, as I wasn't impressed with the school overall.

OP, unfortunately I have little advice to give as I don't know much about Iowa. I hope you come to a decision soon though! Congrats on all your acceptances.

Right and I did mention this in your thread because its only logical to compare on what makes sense and what doesn't. I still dont believe that UMN is a better school as you said it yourself.

 

[wired202808]

I personally would choose umn over case in a heartbeat (as I already did). If you are interested in research, umn has many research opportunities (with 3m as well). I also am a fan of larger class sizes, albeit only 20ish, it is more people to meet. As I saw it, the students were happier at umn than students at case (i may have gone to case on a bad day as even the admissions office was out of whack, both my interviewers didn't bother to show up). The students also were more proud of their institution(and said good things about the school) and overall more motivated than the 4 students I spoke to at case who all had the motto C's get degrees.

Imo iowa(great school/ok location)>>>umn(good school/awesome location)>>>case(ok school/ok location)

I think wired may have a vendetta against umn (maybe waiting for an acceptance)because he seems to bash it, even when people aren't asking about it (see NYU vs case thread). But in all fairness I may be skewed to say nice things about umn since that is where i am going.

I too would suggest speaking with current students, they will have best info instead of my observations at interviews.

If you're going there then I congratulate you. I was not impressed with the school and am not attending there. But thanks for being biased and calling me out just because you want to attend the school.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

Stop monkeying around Mr. Monkey. UMN is mentioned in the thread and I simply stated I was not impressed by the school. I am not attending there nor do I care to attend there. The only two other schools left are Case and Iowa, I know Case is a great school but I dont know anything about Iowa. So hence those are the best choices to consider.

If you've been to UMN please chime in... if you havent then no need to chime in

I was responding to what bhagan01 and cleanup said regarding your past posts about MN. I simply stated that you had mentioned MN in previous posts aside from NYU vs Case. Is it a big deal? Maybe, maybe not. Up to the people reading this to decide for themselves if they wish.

Open forum + OP appreciated my advice + I've lived in the twin cities = I can chime in just as much as you, so don't tell me what to do

 

[wired202808]

I was responding to what bhagan01 and cleanup said regarding your past posts about MN. I simply stated that you had mentioned MN in previous posts aside from NYU vs Case. Is it a big deal? Maybe, maybe not. Up to the people reading this to decide for themselves if they wish.

Open forum + OP appreciated my advice + I've lived in the twin cities = I can chime in just as much as you, so don't tell me what to do

You haven't even been to the school what advice can you offer lol Yes I have a dark and seedy past about UMN and I have deep deep agenda and vendetta against them I'm not gonna explain this to you. You just simply hop on every post I respond It just gets very annoying after a while. Chime in something that makes sense and adds value. If you went to interview there then that's cool, but not knowing anything about the d-school adds nothing to the post.

I'm glad I inspire you to follow me around and comment on all my posts. I dare you to find some originality and respond in at least 1 thread that I have not previously commented on.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

You haven't even been to the school what advice can you offer lol Yes I have a dark and seedy past about UMN and I have deep deep agenda and vendetta against them I'm not gonna explain this to you. You just simply hop on every post I respond It just gets very annoying after a while. Chime in something that makes sense and adds value. If you went to interview there then that's cool, but not knowing anything about the d-school adds nothing to the post.

I'm glad I inspire you to follow me around and comment on all my posts. I dare you to find some originality and respond in at least 1 thread that I have not previously commented on.

I never said I didn't see the school. It's fine if you disagree with me, but the blunt personal attacks are ridiculous. Frankly, it's pathetic to see it from a non-traditional student. I know I said some immature things with cleanup's thread but I'm refraining some doing something similar on other threads. I don't "follow" you around. You have 2,000+ posts, obviously two people who comment on SDN often might comment on the same threads. For example, I commented here before you did: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=893699 . But I'm not going to make silly accusations and say you or the other posters follow me around.

In a previous thread, you said something about ignoring me. You can actually try doing it, since it might help you if my posts are such a problem.

... Have your obligatory last word again if you wish, but I'm done with this topic.

 

[omnipoDent]

You haven't even been to the school what advice can you offer lol Yes I have a dark and seedy past about UMN and I have deep deep agenda and vendetta against them I'm not gonna explain this to you. You just simply hop on every post I respond It just gets very annoying after a while. Chime in something that makes sense and adds value. If you went to interview there then that's cool, but not knowing anything about the d-school adds nothing to the post.

I'm glad I inspire you to follow me around and comment on all my posts. I dare you to find some originality and respond in at least 1 thread that I have not previously commented on.

I believe you should try taking your own advice.

 

[wired202808]

I believe you should try taking your own advice.

If you saw the school please chime in, if not please chime out.

 

[omnipoDent]

If you saw the school please chime in, if not please chime out.

As you consistently "chime in" about dental schools you've neither seen nor gotten an interview, you're in no position to be lecturing anyone on what schools they should and shouldn't post about.

 

[wired202808]

As you consistently "chime in" about dental schools you've neither seen nor gotten an interview, you're in no position to be lecturing anyone on what schools they should and shouldn't post about.

Scroll up and see my commentary about my experience at the school.

 

[omnipoDent]

Scroll up and see my commentary about my experience at the school.

Yup, I was referring to many of your other 2000+ posts made in other threads. Anyway, feel free to get the last word on this thread. I'm done.

 

[wired202808]

Yup, I was referring to many of your other 2000+ posts made in other threads. Anyway, feel free to get the last word on this thread. I'm done.

When there's a Tufts thread you're free to chime in! thats your area of expertise.

 

[VortexGreen]

OP, unfortunately I have little advice to give as I don't know much about Iowa. I hope you come to a decision soon though! Congrats on all your acceptances.

Thanks!

AND thanks to all who provided helpful insight on this thread. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that is what I was asking you guys to express. Of course, the more personal experience you have to back that opinion up the better. If anyone still has some valuable info to contribute please do, but lets not let this thread degenerate into bickering. Thanks again.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

Thanks!

AND thanks to all who provided helpful insight on this thread. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that is what I was asking you guys to express. Of course, the more personal experience you have to back that opinion up the better. If anyone still has some valuable info to contribute please do, but lets not let this thread degenerate into bickering. Thanks again.

I hope you are able to choose soon Good luck

 

[VortexGreen]

Me too...decisions decisions. Oh well, its a high-grade problem.