Choosing dental schools for Pre-OMFS?

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SV10

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This is more of a pre-dental question, but I was hoping to get some advice from some people who are in dental school already. I'm strongly considering pursuing OMFS specialty, and I want to choose a dental school that will maximize my chances of getting into OMFS residency or set me up best for that route. Any advice for choosing which schools to apply to in this case?
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SV10 said:
This is more of a pre-dental question, but I was hoping to get some advice from some people who are in dental school already. I'm strongly considering pursuing OMFS specialty, and I want to choose a dental school that will maximize my chances of getting into OMFS residency or set me up best for that route. Any advice for choosing which schools to apply to in this case?
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I’m an OMFS resident.

Go to the cheapest school.

No bull****; I’m serious. Go to the cheapest school. Those in debt shy away from specialties. Also, it’s very hard to stand out when you’re 1 of 20 applying and you all have the same rank. Tons of residents come from cheap public schools. Don’t get tricked into paying extra for the same DMD. What will really matter is where you trained during residency, not your stupid dental school.
 
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Ivy.ch said:
I’m an OMFS resident.

Go to the cheapest school.

No bull****; I’m serious. Go to the cheapest school. Those in debt shy away from specialties. Also, it’s very hard to stand out when you’re 1 of 20 applying and you all have the same rank. Tons of residents come from cheap public schools. Don’t get tricked into paying extra for the same DMD. What will really matter is where you trained during residency, not your stupid dental school.
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That seems to be the general consensus. So if cost wasn't an issue, is there anything at all that you would look for in a dental school, or do OMFS programs really not care at all?
 
SV10 said:
That seems to be the general consensus. So if cost wasn't an issue, is there anything at all that you would look for in a dental school, or do OMFS programs really not care at all?
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If cost were the same I would go to a school that has an oms program, pass fail curriculum, and breaks that allow you to study for the cbse.
 
I would also add to check on their attendance policy. Mandatory attendance (pop quiz, take attendance, etc.) forces you to be way less efficient with your time. Mandatory attendance policies take what could be done in 4-5hrs on your own and stretches it to 8hrs.
 
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bergus95 said:
Go to a P/F school. It’s worth it. UConn/stony/UCLA/UCSF are a good deal!
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I agree but just to add, Stony isn't PF anymore. That said, they still take classes with med, and they're also cheaper than private although they run pretty expensive for public.
 
Go to the cheapest school you are accepted to, and then do everything you can to become a good applicant. My school had no OMFS program, was not pass fail, was very competitive with grades, had nearly zero breaks for cbse studying, etc, and everything worked out fine. Not a pat on my own back, because it worked out fine for my other classmates applying to OMFS as well.

The last thing you want is to go to a school that will supposedly help you match to OMFS and develop some sort of entitlement attitude. Matching to OMFS is hard no matter where you go to school. Might as well be saving money while you put in the needed work.
 
What is going to make the biggest differences is your CBSE score and your ability to network and get to know surgeons really well to write letters on your behalf. Externships too are huge. The school isn't that big a of a deal from what I have read
 
McGill university has omfs program on site and medical school curriculum for the first year and a half in dental school and is pass fail.
 
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Heard good things about Columbia, and I don't go there
 
LegendaryPanda said:
I agree but just to add, Stony isn't PF anymore. That said, they still take classes with med, and they're also cheaper than private although they run pretty expensive for public.
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Stony Brook is mixed ABC and HPF. ABC for large didactic and lab courses, HPF for clinic and some smaller didactic courses.
 
I go to Columbia and had adequate time during the biomedical curriculum to study for and take the CBSE, earning my goal score. P/F was very, very nice… but, the “medical school curriculum” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Also, the school is in shambles due to lack of faculty and overall disorganization. I don’t think it’s worth the price and my suggestion would be to go to the cheapest school you get into. If you’re sure on Oral Surgery, you’ll care about it enough to match into a residency program .
 
caffeine jitters said:
I go to Columbia and had adequate time during the biomedical curriculum to study for and take the CBSE, earning my goal score. P/F was very, very nice… but, the “medical school curriculum” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Also, the school is in shambles due to lack of faculty and overall disorganization. I don’t think it’s worth the price and my suggestion would be to go to the cheapest school you get into. If you’re sure on Oral Surgery, you’ll care about it enough to match into a residency program .
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I’ve never met an OMFS resident who liked dental school. Actually, I’ve never met anyone who liked dental school. Some schools have more benefits than others, but they are all miserable experiences. So might as well save some money.
 
Ivy.ch said:
I’ve never met an OMFS resident who liked dental school. Actually, I’ve never met anyone who liked dental school. Some schools have more benefits than others, but they are all miserable experiences. So might as well save some money.
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Glad to hear I’m not alone lol
 
I agree going to the cheapest school but just know if the school is brand new, pass-fail, and some problem based learning schools more emphasis will be placed on CBSE - not a bad thing as this should be the main highlight of any application. Also know some schools have bad reputations with certain programs and while you can still match you will again have to strengthen your CBSE (LECOM is held in very poor regard for military programs but that’s down to their earlier classes and could change).
 
I can only speak about my experience. Current OMFS PGY2 in a well regarded southern program. I went to a very affordable public dental school. Maybe I'm just a little bit salty because my school was graded with ABCDF +/- system so everyone had to bust their tails to get a 93 (below 90-93 was 3.5/4.0). Nobody in my class had a 4.0 by the time we graduated. No time off given for CBSE studying and no time off given for externships. As a result, only 2 people on average would make it to OMFS applications each year; not due to a lack of interest, but because they made it very difficult to be successful. Most dropped their OMFS dreams after 1st year because of rank (gotta compete against those ortho gunners 😉) and then any remaining dropped when CBSE studying came around. But then again, we had a 100% MATCH rate from my school for like a decade and everywhere I interviewed people were very positive about applicants coming from my school so maybe the filtering process was for the better.

Needless to say, my co-residents had it way easier in dental school. They were from P/F schools and told me straight up that they didn't have to try very hard and had lots of free time. Maybe I'll feel different once I graduate with little/no debt in 4 more years.
 
Ivy.ch said:
I’ve never met an OMFS resident who liked dental school. Actually, I’ve never met anyone who liked dental school. Some schools have more benefits than others, but they are all miserable experiences. So might as well save some money.
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Week 3 of dental school just ended and I'm absolutely having a blast. Guess that means I'm still in the honeymoon phase? 😂
 
Ivy.ch said:
I’m an OMFS resident.

Go to the cheapest school.

No bull****; I’m serious. Go to the cheapest school. Those in debt shy away from specialties. Also, it’s very hard to stand out when you’re 1 of 20 applying and you all have the same rank. Tons of residents come from cheap public schools. Don’t get tricked into paying extra for the same DMD. What will really matter is where you trained during residency, not your stupid dental school.
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I completely second this. I am an OMFS resident too. Go to the CHEAPEST SCHOOL. End of discussion lol
 
Cheapest school, but also take a look at how many people tend to go on to specialize. OMS PGY1 here, went to a school where the focus is on making really good GP's. We had no specialty programs. I wish I had had more classmates on the same page as myself, and upperclassmen who could have been good mentors on this process (it is a process) because I felt like I was making it up as I went along. You don't have a bad choice imo, some schools just lend themselves to making your life easier over 4 years as others said above. You don't want to burn out as a D3 if you're looking at 4-6 years of residency.
 
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Coming from a non P/F school I'd say definitely go to one with P/F system(penn, columbia, harvard, UCSF) if you can. Granted, getting accepted to these schools are harder but competition is intense at a state dental school with letter grade system. A difference in .05-.1 can drop your rank significantly(I dropped 13 spots after dropping .05 in cumulative GPA from from my first to second year). Also, worthless classes like dental anatomy waxing lab can be a real bitch that bring down your GPA unless you are naturally gifted with hand skills.
 
NavyDentist2 said:
Coming from a non P/F school I'd say definitely go to one with P/F system(penn, columbia, harvard, UCSF) if you can. Granted, getting accepted to these schools are harder but competition is intense at a state dental school with letter grade system. A difference in .05-.1 can drop your rank significantly(I dropped 13 spots after dropping .05 in cumulative GPA from from my first to second year). Also, worthless classes like dental anatomy waxing lab can be a real bitch that bring down your GPA unless you are naturally gifted with hand skills.
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Good to know! 😳 I go to a non P/F school rn and I did not know rank was that fluid lol.
 
NavyDentist2 said:
Coming from a non P/F school I'd say definitely go to one with P/F system(penn, columbia, harvard, UCSF) if you can. Granted, getting accepted to these schools are harder but competition is intense at a state dental school with letter grade system. A difference in .05-.1 can drop your rank significantly(I dropped 13 spots after dropping .05 in cumulative GPA from from my first to second year). Also, worthless classes like dental anatomy waxing lab can be a real bitch that bring down your GPA unless you are naturally gifted with hand skills.
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Penn still has gpa but yeah no ranking is huge. Makes it a lot less stressful and very collaborative. Averages on exams so far are all 89-90 (a 90 here is an A/4.0), granted we still work really hard for it and those were just the first round of exams.

Also, our summer after d1 is a couple months of summer classes, haven’t heard how much work they are but I’m assuming it’s relatively light, followed by 4 weeks off (hopefully this doesn’t change). Obviously prime time for cbse studying. There're other benefits of Penn too. Now is it financially worth it? I know I definitely wouldn’t be taking out full loans for it (they give a lot of scholarships, so apply anyways and see if you get accepted with a lot or if your family is helping you a good amount), but d*** is this environment a luxury so far.

As an aside.. for the "Penn name" itself that gets harped on in other threads by some people...will the name Penn make you more money in the real world? No. Will it help you match? A bit. Will patients care? Slim chance. But do you make connections with Penn Law, Penn Med, and Wharton students and faculty? Yeah, just last week I met a senior girl at wharton going into investment banking. Lol. She's gonna make more money in a year than I will in a decade. My mom works at a hospital; is it a great feeling when I meet one of her colleagues and get to say I go to Penn and they're highly impressed? Uh, yeah, it never gets old. Did it feel great when the oral surgeon I assisted introduced me to all of his dentist and surgeon colleagues throughout the semester and without fail said/bragged to them that I go to Penn? 100%. The whole "no one cares about the Penn name" is dramatic nonsense. The merit behind it is that the name Penn itself isn't going to get you matched and it has a high price tag.

I'm very happy with my choice and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Omfs here we come. Again, don't take out full loans for it.
 
GnathicsNotDontics said:
Penn still has gpa but yeah no ranking is huge. Makes it a lot less stressful and very collaborative. Averages on exams so far are all 89-90 (a 90 here is an A/4.0), granted we still work really hard for it and those were just the first round of exams.

Also, our summer after d1 is a couple months of summer classes, haven’t heard how much work they are but I’m assuming it’s relatively light, followed by 4 weeks off (hopefully this doesn’t change). Obviously prime time for cbse studying. There're other benefits of Penn too. Now is it financially worth it? I know I definitely wouldn’t be taking out full loans for it (they give a lot of scholarships, so apply anyways and see if you get accepted with a lot or if your family is helping you a good amount), but d*** is this environment a luxury so far.

As an aside.. for the "Penn name" itself that gets harped on in other threads by some people...will the name Penn make you more money in the real world? No. Will it help you match? A bit. Will patients care? Slim chance. But do you make connections with Penn Law, Penn Med, and Wharton students and faculty? Yeah, just last week I met a senior girl at wharton going into investment banking. Lol. She's gonna make more money in a year than I will in a decade. My mom works at a hospital; is it a great feeling when I meet one of her colleagues and get to say I go to Penn and they're highly impressed? Uh, yeah, it never gets old. Did it feel great when the oral surgeon I assisted introduced me to all of his dentist and surgeon colleagues throughout the semester and without fail said/bragged to them that I go to Penn? 100%. The whole "no one cares about the Penn name" is dramatic nonsense. The merit behind it is that the name Penn itself isn't going to get you matched and it has a high price tag.

I'm very happy with my choice and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Omfs here we come. Again, don't take out full loans for it.
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Lol
 
GoDental101 said:
Lol
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Penn is one of those schools that give out small scholarships to make people feel good, but barely makes a dent in the overall cost. Your state school or a state school that gives in-state tuition after the first year is what you should be looking to achieve. After you get into dental school then maybe be open minded for a year or two before you start worrying about going into specific specialties.
 
GnathicsNotDontics said:
My mom works at a hospital; is it a great feeling when I meet one of her colleagues and get to say I go to Penn and they're highly impressed? Uh, yeah, it never gets old. Did it feel great when the oral surgeon I assisted introduced me to all of his dentist and surgeon colleagues throughout the semester and without fail said/bragged to them that I go to Penn? 100%.
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And 100% of these people assumed you’re a rich dingus.

When people go to Harvard and you ask about it and they say “yeah, it was cool, but it was expensive and pretty like anywhere else, but it definitely was nice” that’s a respectable opinion. When people brag about their school…
 
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GnathicsNotDontics said:
My mom works at a hospital; is it a great feeling when I meet one of her colleagues and get to say I go to Penn and they're highly impressed? Uh, yeah, it never gets old. Did it feel great when the oral surgeon I assisted introduced me to all of his dentist and surgeon colleagues throughout the semester and without fail said/bragged to them that I go to Penn? 100%. The whole "no one cares about the Penn name" is dramatic nonsense.
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giphy.gif


Big Hoss
 
GoDental101 said:
After you get into dental school then maybe be open minded for a year or two before you start worrying about going into specific specialties.
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This is where I'm at right now. I simply don't know enough to pick out what I like and dislike to choose a specialty.
 
GnathicsNotDontics said:
My mom works at a hospital; is it a great feeling when I meet one of her colleagues and get to say I go to Penn and they're highly impressed? Uh, yeah, it never gets old. Did it feel great when the oral surgeon I assisted introduced me to all of his dentist and surgeon colleagues throughout the semester and without fail said/bragged to them that I go to Penn? 100%. The whole "no one cares about the Penn name" is dramatic nonsense.
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I hate to add to this dog pile, but even if what you're saying is true, why would you derive your self worth/justify financial suicide based off of fleeting superficial interactions with strangers?
 
fermi555 said:
I hate to add to this dog pile, but even if what you're saying is true, why would you derive your self worth/justify financial suicide based off of fleeting superficial interactions with strangers?
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Same reason dozens of people die every year trying to get the "perfect" picture for Instagram.

www.fastcompany.com

People are falling off buildings in search of the perfect Instagram shot

In pursuit of clicks, likes, and followers, a growing number of daredevils are risking injury or even death. What can we do about that?
www.fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com

Big Hoss
 
Big Time Hoosier said:
Same reason dozens of people die every year trying to get the "perfect" picture for Instagram.

www.fastcompany.com

People are falling off buildings in search of the perfect Instagram shot

In pursuit of clicks, likes, and followers, a growing number of daredevils are risking injury or even death. What can we do about that?
www.fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com

Big Hoss
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The sad reality we live in is people today derive their happiness not from their family and their faith but from requiring a constant stream of superficial dopamine hits.
 
fermi555 said:
The sad reality we live in is people today derive their happiness not from their family and their faith but from requiring a constant stream of superficial dopamine hits.
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True, we can be different though maybe I gotta get off sdn haha
 
fermi555 said:
I hate to add to this dog pile, but even if what you're saying is true, why would you derive your self worth/justify financial suicide based off of fleeting superficial interactions with strangers?
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It’s not too different from why people buy luxury cars, exotic vacations, clothes, or homes that they cannot afford. Vanity.
 
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