Class ranking needed to specialize?

[billiken10]

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I've been hearing that in order to specialize, you pretty much have to score in the top 1% of your d-school class. All the people I've met who are in specialty programs finished in the top 5 at their schools. Is it really that tough? Or am I just hearing so from a small sample group?

 

[dentist_to_be?]

I've been hearing that in order to specialize, you pretty much have to score in the top 1% of your d-school class. All the people I've met who are in specialty programs finished in the top 5 at their schools. Is it really that tough? Or am I just hearing so from a small sample group?

Well in order to specialize, they look at two things (1)Your board scores, and (2)Your class rank...

Apparently both are important. Ive heard on this forum that you have to be top 10%, but that means nothing if you dont have decent board scores.

Im not 100% sure on this, this is just what is typically said on SDN. However, you should check out the ADA website for more info

 

[niceteeth]

From what I’ve heard, the percentage of dental students matched for specialties vary from school to school. For UOP, I believe it is the top 2% for the Class of 2003. I could be mistaken. Some schools like UCLA don’t even rank their students; while others like Penn rank only their top 10 students. I’ve been told that 85% of Penn students were matched for post-docs.

 

[aphistis]

I've been hearing that in order to specialize, you pretty much have to score in the top 1% of your d-school class. All the people I've met who are in specialty programs finished in the top 5 at their schools. Is it really that tough? Or am I just hearing so from a small sample group?

It totally varies from school to school, but remember that 20% of dentists in America are specialists of one sort or another. That's one out of every five, not out of every hundred.

 

[sokkerpunk]

Greetings.

My best friend has had his own practice for the last 4 years. He will be leaving this summer to start a Pediatric Resisdency. In dental school, he finished in the middle of his class....something like 24/58.

Hope this helps.

 

[aceking]

From what I’ve heard, the percentage of dental students matched for specialties vary from school to school. For UOP, I believe it is the top 2% for the Class of 2003. I could be mistaken. Some schools like UCLA don’t even rank their students; while others like Penn rank only their top 10 students. I’ve been told that 85% of Penn students were matched for post-docs.

anything with high % like that it means that at lot of them as GPR and AE, 1 year long residency that not everything finishes.

 

[KellyHeetland]

From what I’ve heard, the percentage of dental students matched for specialties vary from school to school. For UOP, I believe it is the top 2% for the Class of 2003. I could be mistaken. Some schools like UCLA don’t even rank their students; while others like Penn rank only their top 10 students. I’ve been told that 85% of Penn students were matched for post-docs.

I really think specialty rates by schools and accepted applicant stats vary by program and class. I personally know of 12 in the '03 UOP class (I'm sure there were more that I'm not aware of) that matched right out of school (4 ortho, 3 pedo, 3 os, 1 endo, 1 pros) and that they were all in the top 20%, not 2%. And remember, many at the top of the class choose not to specialize. Basically though, do your best and hopefully it's enough to match somewhere if you're looking to specialize.

Agree w/aceking, 85% of a class matching means they're heading to AEGD/GPR. Personally, I would ask why. Are there that many grads seeking to do hospital dentistry/sedation/etc. or are many grads from that program feeling they're not yet prepared for private practice?

 

[The Musketeer]

Board score I is a lot more important than class ranking. A prof told me that a student was ranked 2nd in her class with extensive extracurricular involvements but did bad on her boards (about 85) and she was unsuccessful in getting into a specialty.

 

[Bullfan16]

I really think specialty rates by schools and accepted applicant stats vary by program and class. I personally know of 12 in the '03 UOP class (I'm sure there were more that I'm not aware of) that matched right out of school (4 ortho, 3 pedo, 3 os, 1 endo, 1 pros) and that they were all in the top 20%, not 2%. And remember, many at the top of the class choose not to specialize. Basically though, do your best and hopefully it's enough to match somewhere if you're looking to specialize.

Agree w/aceking, 85% of a class matching means they're heading to AEGD/GPR. Personally, I would ask why. Are there that many grads seeking to do hospital dentistry/sedation/etc. or are many grads from that program feeling they're not yet prepared for private practice?

Right on...I would like to add one thing however...it seems as if most in a dental class (including those who are at the top of their class and decide not to specialize) are content to be general practitioners and are ready to start practicing on their own. There are a select few who would love to do Endo (not really sure why), Ortho, OMFS, etc., but the amount will decrease each year that we complete (ie from D1-D2-D3-D4) and if these people really want it bad enough and dont have a 90 on the NBDE's or werent in the top of their class, they can still specialize...work a few years in a clinic, do some research, do a lot of CE classes, stay in touch with a contact who is involved in the program you want to match into....these are all things people can do if your scores arent up to par (by the way an 85 is not "bad"...technically neither is a passing score as long as you did indeed pass.) I personally know 3-4 dentists who had to do this because they wanted to specialize but didnt have the scores...so they worked hard and got the job done. Board scores and grades will help a lot but its not impossible to match without them....maybe times have changed and it is increasingly more competitive, but I think its still do-able without really high numbers

 

[gundam]

I've been hearing that in order to specialize, you pretty much have to score in the top 1% of your d-school class. All the people I've met who are in specialty programs finished in the top 5 at their schools. Is it really that tough? Or am I just hearing so from a small sample group?

Top 1%...
That's 1 out of 100 students.
If you go to somewhere there's only 50 students, we have to cut you in half.
30 students... we are gonna take off your balls(they weigh 20% of your body)
j/k
you see the point though, it depends on where you go.
Nova matched 7 out of 7 last year into Ortho. Only one has a board score of 90. So, it really depends.
Also, a common confusion is some universities tell you their post-doc percentage, dont get a heart attack if you see 98%. That's not true. Anyone can do GPR. A high post-doc rate only shows a lack of clinical training.

My 2 cents, go somewhere the clinical training is strong, and you also have a good chance to specialize, like Tufts and UCLA. This way you won't get stuck, deeply stuck.

 

[juggamynugga]

My 2 cents, go somewhere the clinical training is strong, and you also have a good chance to specialize, like Tufts and UCLA. This way you won't get stuck, deeply stuck.[/QUOTE]


ya except that UCLA isn't strong clinically, they basically told me that themselves in my interview...wrong thing to say.... adios

 

[gundam]

My 2 cents, go somewhere the clinical training is strong, and you also have a good chance to specialize, like Tufts and UCLA. This way you won't get stuck, deeply stuck.

ya except that UCLA isn't strong clinically, they basically told me that themselves in my interview...wrong thing to say.... adios[/QUOTE]

In your life, you gotta give and take.

UCLA's clinical is not the best, but it's good. They match into specialties pretty actively.
UOP's clinical is the best, but it doesn't match people into specialty that often.