Columbia or U Penn?

[PDPjester]

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Ahhhh!!! Columbia or U Penn! That is the question! Well, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on these two schools.

I am currently leaning towards U Penn because of better facilities and the amazing campus, but on the other hand I don't want to give up on Columbia ( and it's lil cheaper too). So all things considered - I'm really stuck and was wondering what you guys thought...

Jester-J😕

 

[tinker bell]

I'd say UPENN. ALL THE WAY.

Because Penn is in Philly. The dental school is amazingly rich. And they treat their students well. Just wish that I'm rich enough to go there. Go to PENN if you can. You can only go to dental school once.

 

[agutier3]

Well, what is it exactly about Columbia that you are holding on to (other than a slightly smaller tuition)? If you don't know, then I think you've made your decision on UPenn and just haven't realized it yet.

Both are fine schools.....so you really have to think hard about the little things which you liked/disliked about each and decide from there.

Either way, you are very priveledged to have this choice! Congratulations!

 

[PDPjester]

I think you are right Arby, I've already made my choice on U Penn. However, I'm not holding on to Columbia because of measly $10,000 per year. I'm hold on to it because of its stupid name!

I've made my choice on U Penn, but I feel I'm choosing it for all the wrong reasons, ie: better facilities, newer facilites, better campus life, better dorms, and it's not in NYC*. And you can see for yourself that no where do the above reasons contain "real" dental "EdUcAtIoNal PhlLLOsOpHiEs". Ok, the school's rich, so what? Will that help me study teeth and gum disease?

Columbia, on the other hand, has that NAME, which brings in better faculty members and researchers. (Too bad it didn't bring in better facilities like I wanted, and too bad it has really crummy campus in the middle of washington heights, where peeps used to get shot** and have racial tensions.) 🙁

Another reason, why I can't let go of Columbia is the commedation it receives from ADEA and dental society (and U Penn seems to be in the shadows). One way I can prove this is if you look at ADEA's website and in the section "Center for Educational Policy and Research" - they have published "Best Practices in Dental Education 2001" and "2002". Columbia has won (well, more of "has been recognized in") three areas of educational practices in those two years. Guess how many U Penn has won? nada... that really raised my brows. (fyi: Harvard has been recognized in 6 areas over two years, and UOP in three areas, and ect...) you can look at it here
http://www.adea.org/cepr/default.htm
Furthermore, other information that I'm gathering also do not show U Penn's commitment to dental educational "Society", BUT it heavily commits and pours money into local clinics and practices in patient care. (but then again, I have no idea why they are not recognized for that 😕 , it must be dental politics) - u penns bad with dental politics. 🙂

Anyway the MAIN QUESTION IS...

Where will Jester receive the BEST dental education possible? 😕
A) Doesn't Matter Which School You Go To
B) Best Recognized School in Dental Educational Society
C) The School Where You Feel Most Comfortable With (and with great facilities)
D) Don't Go To Dental School, We Are All Making A Big Mistake!

So, are my reasons legit; is it making any sense; am I totally confused out of my head; or am i totally confusing you? 😛

footnotes:
*NYC - it's a personal thing, I grew up in the city, so I kinda want to leave this cramed city.
** I think people still get shot up there!
***btw, choice (D) is one of the wrong ans! 🙂

 

[scandalouslj]

Hey Jester,
I had some of the same reasons as you for not applying to Columbia.. I didnt want to live in NYC, the neighborhood sucked, Upenn is a fun school from what I have heard, better facilities. My reasoning was either way you are gonna get a great education, both schools are the top, ( I thikn Upenn is the top) in getting people into specialties. I didnt know about that toher stuff, but i do know that Upenn tries to balance clinical and research and lets you pick which you want to concentrate on more, so that is one of the reasons they arent recoginized as much, becuase they dont emphasize it as much unless you want them too. I know Harvard is basically all research and so would easyily beat out other schools. Personally I like to see that Upenn is putting money into local clinics, becuase that gives us students more of an oppurtunity to work in them. I also know Upenn does get a lot of money from tons of research instituitions, just go to Upenns website under research and look, so I assume they arent that much behind, even if they arent in the spotlight. Finally Id say the name is still a bug part and that is something you are gonna have to decide perhaps someone with more knowledge on Columbia (as I lack it) can provide some insight. I had the same problem with picking between Upenn and Indiana, as Indiana is one of like 3 schools thats uses PBl and also has a huge number of people go into specialties, and all the dentists that I know that went there are millionares, not to mention it is a state school so a hell of a lot cheaper. But i went with thr name of Penn and the fact they have brand new facilities and still place more people in specialties. Hopefully this helped some, cuase i dont know what else to say.

 

[tinker bell]

Choice (C), jester,

And you clearly answered yourself why you want to go to the rich school: Better campus, facility, library, community clinics....etc...
UPENN also pays for your interest, which saves a lot in four years.

Also, in case that the economy goes down, medical, medicare go bankrupt, the school will have money to cover for some expenses, and make the cost more affordable. For example, BU lower their prices when medical in MA went down the sink....Some schools simply just lower their grad. requirements. But I don't think BU has done so, because it's so ridiculously rich and it can handle all of those expenses for the sake of the students clinical skills....

It's always best to go to the school that cares about your well being, your ability to practice, pass the board, etc....AND YES, the school that you are most comfortable with...

LAST, living forever in one city is not one great way to grow up. I wouldn't. Doesn't matter how great the city is, getting out of it for 4 yrs is a great idea. To get a different perspective about lifestyle, etc....And for Godsake, NYC is only 80 miles away from Philly.....

 

[PDPjester]

scandalous,
Thanks for the honest reply. It helped because you talked about how you also had to make a choice b/w two schools. It's good to know I'm not the only one having hard time deciding where to spend the $200,000.

But you didn't answer my multiple choice question! I'll take your answer to be a "C".

thanks,

 

[PDPjester]

DEar Tinker Bell,

I was actually thinking about that too, Finiancial status of the school. (well, at least in the back of my mind). I heard something strange, heard that one of the reasons why North Western closed down was due to lack of funding (again I don't know how true this is).
So you are right, it's something to think about. I don't want my dental school to go bankrupt while I'm studying and have to transfer to Buffalo** or somewhere.

And about NYC, you misunderstood. I WANT TO GET OUT!!!
I want to go out into the open field and practice dentistry where grasses are green and where there's no traffic and somewhere I can relax by read a book the in natural shade, perhaps between two big trees - in the shade I can relax while waiting for my next patient and... well you get the picture.

**And I'm just kidding about Buffalo. It's a great school, it was actually my number one choice when I was applying, and I heard this guy had to transfer there because NW closed down.

 

[DesiDentist]

Hey John,

I'm glad that you are choosing PENN. I'm here right now and I would love to do a rebuttal with you about some of the comments you made but I'm extremely exhausted. However, I promise to take some time and explore what your mentioned and put up what I find out.

If you have time come down to Philly, since I'm here, and I'll show you that PENN is for you.

Regards,

DesiDentist

 

[PDPjester]

I would like to thank those who replied back - to be honest I started this thread to see which crowd was more "cool" - those attending Columbia or U Penn.

But the answer is definately those that are thinking about UPenn starting Sept 2003. Peeps thinking about UPenn are already getting together to talk about housing infomation and everything. I really don't see that "unity" among the future Columbia enrollees.

Here I come U Penn!

 

[Stanford Fencer]

I don't have anything too meaningful to add to this thread, though I do want to note a trend that I've been observing over the years. It seems like a lot of kids on the west coast come down to splitting hairs between UCSF and UCLA. On the east coast, I'm observing similar gut-wrenching choices between PENN and Columbia. While it suffices to say that attending any of the four will be a great experience in itself, it does behoove the predent to try and see the schools for what they are. For those of us already in school, the differences among this crop are easily distinguishable and significant.😎

 

[DesiDentist]

Originally posted by PDPjester
Peeps thinking about UPenn are already getting together to talk about housing infomation and everything. I really don't see that "unity" among the future Columbia enrollees.

Here I come U Penn!

the PENN 007 class will be the best ever. We're gonna have some cool people in the class. The goal is to unite so no one feels left out.

DesiDentist