Hey guys! I just need a little advice as I am receiving a lot of conflicting counsel at the moment.
I am a first gen student about to graduate with a BS in Biomedical Sciences, but my science GPA and DAT could use a little work. I plan to retake the DAT in late May/early June and attend a one year specialized master's program this coming year to help build up my application. I applied to 5 different masters programs, all with the intent to also apply to dental school this summer so that I could hopefully matriculate next fall. Each of the masters programs that I applied to have a dental school on the same campus/attached and almost all of them offer some form of preferred admittance/guaranteed interview. I am weighing the pros and cons of each school and I was hoping to get another outside opinion on the matter.
1. Colorado- I was awarded an alternate seat for their MHA program, but considering how few people that they admit, I don't expect this to go anywhere. This was the only program that offered a reserved seat in the dental school following completion of one year of their masters program and meeting their performance standards in said program. I wanted to mention it, but I am no putting much weight into this choice considering the circumstances.
2. Rutgers- I was accepted into their Biomedical Sciences Masters (Dental Scholars track). It's a 30 credit hours (1 year) program and they offer a guaranteed interview if you have above a 3.7 GPA in the first 20 hours of the program and a minimum 20 TS and AA on your DAT. Obviously, I think Rutgers is a great school, but I honestly don't know much beyond that. I am not familiar with their program or New Jersey in general, but I don't want that to dissuade me from what could be a really good opportunity. You get to take classes in the dental school alongside dental students and conduct research in the dental school. On the downside, I am out of state so tuition would roughly be ~$41,000 and I think the cost of living would be relatively high.
3. Tufts- MBS (dental track). I am waiting on a decision from Tufts, but I wanted to include it here regardless for review purposes. This program has pretty stellar reviews from past students and their matriculation rate into dental school is through the roof. You get a guaranteed interview with their dental school so long as you have above a 3.2 GPA in the fall semester of your masters. It is specialized to dentistry with classes offered pertaining to oral biology and other related concepts. Tufts is another school with a fantastic reputation, but not so great cost of attendance. Once again, I am not from New England so I am not super familiar with Boston, but I know cost of living is high and their tuition is ~$65,000 (Dental school tuition is really high as well).
4. Roseman- I was accepted into their Masters of Biomedical Sciences. I had a really great interview with them and I felt like they were personally invested in my success as a student. Their program curriculum is a little vague, so I can't speak on that necessarily. It isn't exactly specific to dental, but they seem to focus a lot on their predental students and offer priority consideration to their dental school with above a 3.0 in the last 30 hours of science courses and above a 17 in all of your DAT subsections. In addition, it is a three year program so I would be done in less time than the others. Tuition is around ~$32,000 and the cost of living is lower compared to most other locations I am considering. Their dental school is pretty expensive as well, I couldn't find an exact cost for their 3 year program but current students are estimating around $350,000 or so.
5. UAB- I got into their Masters of Biomedical and Health Sciences, which is a pretty intensive 11 month program for pre-health students. It is not specific to dental at all and encompasses students aiming to become a variety of professional occupations (PA, DPT, MD, etc.). This is my in-state school, meaning that it is the cheapest tuition of all of my options ($16,000), but pretty on par with Roseman for cost of living. My main problem with UAB is that during my interview they advised me to wait until after I finished their masters to apply to dental school instead of applying this cycle. It also starts in May, meaning that I would have to move to Birmingham and attempt to take the DAT in a tiny window between graduating from undergrad and starting the masters. Most dentists that I know graduated from this program and they are adamant that I should attend here based on reputation and cost, but I worry about having to possibly take another gap year which I would like to avoid if possible. My family is really pushing for me to attend here as well just based on proximity, but I am not the type to feel homesick and don't want to limit myself to this school based on that. Also, they don't have any kind of connection/guaranteed interview type deal with the dental school (But, they admit a large percentage of their in-state applicants each year, around 45% or so).
Does anyone have any feedback or advice? I am open to anything, just needed another opinion. I am mostly looking at Roseman and UAB at the moment, but I am willing to go anywhere to achieve my goals.
I am a first gen student about to graduate with a BS in Biomedical Sciences, but my science GPA and DAT could use a little work. I plan to retake the DAT in late May/early June and attend a one year specialized master's program this coming year to help build up my application. I applied to 5 different masters programs, all with the intent to also apply to dental school this summer so that I could hopefully matriculate next fall. Each of the masters programs that I applied to have a dental school on the same campus/attached and almost all of them offer some form of preferred admittance/guaranteed interview. I am weighing the pros and cons of each school and I was hoping to get another outside opinion on the matter.
1. Colorado- I was awarded an alternate seat for their MHA program, but considering how few people that they admit, I don't expect this to go anywhere. This was the only program that offered a reserved seat in the dental school following completion of one year of their masters program and meeting their performance standards in said program. I wanted to mention it, but I am no putting much weight into this choice considering the circumstances.
2. Rutgers- I was accepted into their Biomedical Sciences Masters (Dental Scholars track). It's a 30 credit hours (1 year) program and they offer a guaranteed interview if you have above a 3.7 GPA in the first 20 hours of the program and a minimum 20 TS and AA on your DAT. Obviously, I think Rutgers is a great school, but I honestly don't know much beyond that. I am not familiar with their program or New Jersey in general, but I don't want that to dissuade me from what could be a really good opportunity. You get to take classes in the dental school alongside dental students and conduct research in the dental school. On the downside, I am out of state so tuition would roughly be ~$41,000 and I think the cost of living would be relatively high.
3. Tufts- MBS (dental track). I am waiting on a decision from Tufts, but I wanted to include it here regardless for review purposes. This program has pretty stellar reviews from past students and their matriculation rate into dental school is through the roof. You get a guaranteed interview with their dental school so long as you have above a 3.2 GPA in the fall semester of your masters. It is specialized to dentistry with classes offered pertaining to oral biology and other related concepts. Tufts is another school with a fantastic reputation, but not so great cost of attendance. Once again, I am not from New England so I am not super familiar with Boston, but I know cost of living is high and their tuition is ~$65,000 (Dental school tuition is really high as well).
4. Roseman- I was accepted into their Masters of Biomedical Sciences. I had a really great interview with them and I felt like they were personally invested in my success as a student. Their program curriculum is a little vague, so I can't speak on that necessarily. It isn't exactly specific to dental, but they seem to focus a lot on their predental students and offer priority consideration to their dental school with above a 3.0 in the last 30 hours of science courses and above a 17 in all of your DAT subsections. In addition, it is a three year program so I would be done in less time than the others. Tuition is around ~$32,000 and the cost of living is lower compared to most other locations I am considering. Their dental school is pretty expensive as well, I couldn't find an exact cost for their 3 year program but current students are estimating around $350,000 or so.
5. UAB- I got into their Masters of Biomedical and Health Sciences, which is a pretty intensive 11 month program for pre-health students. It is not specific to dental at all and encompasses students aiming to become a variety of professional occupations (PA, DPT, MD, etc.). This is my in-state school, meaning that it is the cheapest tuition of all of my options ($16,000), but pretty on par with Roseman for cost of living. My main problem with UAB is that during my interview they advised me to wait until after I finished their masters to apply to dental school instead of applying this cycle. It also starts in May, meaning that I would have to move to Birmingham and attempt to take the DAT in a tiny window between graduating from undergrad and starting the masters. Most dentists that I know graduated from this program and they are adamant that I should attend here based on reputation and cost, but I worry about having to possibly take another gap year which I would like to avoid if possible. My family is really pushing for me to attend here as well just based on proximity, but I am not the type to feel homesick and don't want to limit myself to this school based on that. Also, they don't have any kind of connection/guaranteed interview type deal with the dental school (But, they admit a large percentage of their in-state applicants each year, around 45% or so).
Does anyone have any feedback or advice? I am open to anything, just needed another opinion. I am mostly looking at Roseman and UAB at the moment, but I am willing to go anywhere to achieve my goals.
