Columbia Dental or Penn Dental?

[CoachJawbone]

without considering cost of attendance, at which school do you think you'll be happiest at?

Please dont forget to post why you attend X school, thanks!!

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[CoachJawbone]

no thoughts?

 

[toroisgood]

Gut feeling

 

[sacjumpman]

pass/fail!

 

[CoachJawbone]

is P/f/h a big factor for alot of people. How about in terms of prestige, does anyone think one is more "lofty" than the other?

 

[MilDoc23]

im in the same boat as you are jawbone... i can't decide plus im considering umdnj as well

 

[CoachJawbone]

so most people find these schools to be equal. I guess i have to go where i'll be happiest

 

[SHC1984]

Any new votes?? Looks like these schools are equal. 👍

 

[tamkhan]

Any new votes?? Looks like these schools are equal. 👍

I think Upenn is a notch better🙂

Congratulations on the acceptance.👍

 

[UCSF2012]

Why would anyone not consider cost? The price difference is huge! Reputation isn't a significant concern, as they're both top notch. Reputation matters more to students who've never gone to a top school. You should consider the depth of ea. school's resources, instead. Manhattan seems to have a bottomless supply of nearby institutions you can utilize for your learning pleasure.

 

[SHC1984]

bump!😀
Thanks for all the responses!

 

[jackbauer!]

bump!😀
Thanks for all the responses!

My vote goes for Penn.

I believe that Penn provides a more well-rounded education. A didactic curriculum run by the med school exemplifies laziness, in my opinion, on the school's part. I think taking med courses is truly overkill especially because of the time commitment you must also put forward for pre-clinical courses/lab work.

You will undoubtedly get a better clinical education at Penn. I have many friends there and they are happy.

Just my opinion,
jb!🙂

 

[LeoDDS]

My vote goes for Penn.

I believe that Penn provides a more well-rounded education. A didactic curriculum run by the med school exemplifies laziness, in my opinion, on the school's part. I think taking med courses is truly overkill especially because of the time commitment you must also put forward for pre-clinical courses/lab work.

You will undoubtedly get a better clinical education at Penn. I have many friends there and they are happy.

Just my opinion,
jb!🙂

Some of it may be due to laziness on the school's part to combine the classes, but there are also benefits to the dental student: you get a deeper medical education, and you get classes that otherwise would have never been offered to dental students. Back as a D1/D2, we had Dr.Oz come in and talk to us for cardio (he is an author and was on Oprah), Dr. Gershon (author, appeared on Colbert Report) for the gut, and Dr. Kandel (Nobel winner) for neuroscience. Dental schools, in general, tend to be less well-organized than medical school, so there is a BENEFIT to piggy-backing on the med classes. Most of our dental classes, though also well taught, are not nearly as organized and well taught as the combined medical classes were.

 

[jackbauer!]

Some of it may be due to laziness on the school's part to combine the classes, but there are also benefits to the dental student: you get a deeper medical education, and you get classes that otherwise would have never been offered to dental students. Back as a D1/D2, we had Dr.Oz come in and talk to us for cardio (he is an author and was on Oprah), Dr. Gershon (author, appeared on Colbert Report) for the gut, and Dr. Kandel (Nobel winner) for neuroscience. Dental schools, in general, tend to be less well-organized than medical school, so there is a BENEFIT to piggy-backing on the med classes. Most of our dental classes, though also well taught, are not nearly as organized and well taught as the combined medical classes were.

I agree with a lot (if not all) of your points. We have med school professors that lecture us in many courses and I admit that they are a hell of a lot more organized than the biomedical faculty at the dental school. I just feel like a completely medical school education doesn't complement a strong pre-clinical education.

Just my thoughts. Granted, I don't attend Columbia, UConn or Harvard so I really have nothing to compare UMaryland to.

jb!🙂

 

[AdidasPete]

I would hardly say that its lazy for a dental school to work alongside the medical school. As Leo mentioned, its pretty sweet having Profs like Oz and Kandel (who wrote the book that many other dental and medical schools use, "Principles of Neurosciene", pretty industry standard) I actually was able to attend CDM's anniversary banquet and take a gander at the original Dental School charter from way back in 1916. Right there in like the second paragraph it states that it was their intent to have the two integrated then and forever more... They wanted to produce, to borrow a phrase they love to use at interviews, "Doctors of the Mouth", rather than hole-diggers. While sometimes it sucks having a class or two that seems totally off base, that sort of info can definitely come in handy someday, especially with the growing trend of finding clues to systemic problems that first become apparent with a quick glimpse in the mouth. Whether it be early CHD detection, figuring out that its the Fosamax thats wreaking havok on some poor osteoporotic woman's jaw, or thinking leukemia if you see a set of insanely red gums, that sorta stuff does come in helpful and I feel its a plus.

Plus for the tuition we pay I might as well say I go to med school with about 40% more classes.

 

[Montserrat]

Penn does really pride itself on offering a well balanced education in curriculum and clinic - and they've earned it. I've seen enough of the school and spoke to enough faculty and students to learn that. However, Columbia is strong in areas that I am interested in (didactics). So as long as you know what you are getting into, you won't be upset. For instance, I've had family members at more didactic heavy schools that were incredibly annoyed at cadaver dissections that spanned the entire body, and having to take anatomy exams that focused not on the head neck, but on the entire body. They kept on complaining to me over the phone, asking "WHY ARE WE STUDYING THIS CRAP IN THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL ?" Well, just know what you want, and shoot for it. You'll be pissed enough having to study and absorb large volumes of material - no need to further agitate yourself by walking into a curriculum that you don't find worthwhile.