Creighton vs. Western U

[hardline]

Hey fellow pre-dents. I was just invited to an interview at Western U not long ago and I am in a predicament. I have already been accepted to Creighton's dental program and was wondering if the community thinks Creighton is overall a better school than Western U and if I should even attend the interview @ Western.

Here are my thoughts on the schools.

Creighton Pro's - Over 5,000 dentists have graduated (over 100 years old), Price is better than Western U, 95% pass boards first time from Creighton, Will have tons of clinical experience , the city of Omaha sounds nice, smaller class size.

Con's - Weather is cold!, facilities might be outdated need clarification here, that's pretty much it from what I've read.

Western U's Pro's - Brand new facilities / great equipment, weather is way nice in Cali, read good things about faculty.

Con's - The dental school has no reputation as of yet, heard the program is difficult and decently high drop rates for students, price is a bit higher, Is Pomona a nice city?, someone told me the school isn't fully accredited which isn't a good sign IMO.

Anyways that's just a small lists of the pros and cons going through my mind. Any input on why you would prefer which school over the other would be of great help in my decision making process.

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[wired202808]

Hey fellow pre-dents. I was just invited to an interview at Western U not long ago and I am in a predicament. I have already been accepted to Creighton's dental program and was wondering if the community thinks Creighton is overall a better school than Western U and if I should even attend the interview @ Western.

Here are my thoughts on the schools.

Creighton Pro's - Over 5,000 dentists have graduated (over 100 years old), Price is better than Western U, 95% pass boards first time from Creighton, Will have tons of clinical experience , the city of Omaha sounds nice, smaller class size.

Con's - Weather is cold!, facilities might be outdated need clarification here, that's pretty much it from what I've read.

Western U's Pro's - Brand new facilities / great equipment, weather is way nice in Cali, read good things about faculty.

Con's - The dental school has no reputation as of yet, heard the program is difficult and decently high drop rates for students, price is a bit higher, Is Pomona a nice city?, someone told me the school isn't fully accredited which isn't a good sign IMO.

Anyways that's just a small lists of the pros and cons going through my mind. Any input on why you would prefer which school over the other would be of great help in my decision making process.

cheaper school = #1 choice.

 

[lululime]

I really loved Creighton when I interviewed there. It wasn't as technologically advanced as other schools, so classrooms don't have a lot of technology learning aids. All the textbooks are paper, not online resources. Dr. Norton says they're getting sim modules for teaching purposes only. I think the only least impressive thing was the big open clinic where you can see everyone else and there's a lot of noise. There doesn't seem to be much patient privacy, and its really not like a real clinic in that sense. But otherwise, it seems like a great school =)

 

[Waldo2012]

I don't know much about Western but I have been accepted at Creighton and will most likely go there. One of my top reasons of going there is the great clinical experience you get there. There are no specialty programs so you will do many more serious, difficult cases than the average dental schools where the patient would be treated by one of the residents.

 

[HollyNicole]

I was initially really excited about Western because of the new facilities and it's location. Pomona, is a cute town. There isn't a whole lot to do there but it felt safe and since it's in southern California you are only a short 1-2 hour drive to the beach. When I visited Western the new facility is really nice and I liked having all of the health science schools along the same street, it felt like a tight knit community. However, the other buildings are rather old, they have been maintained and look decent. Also, I am very interested in research. I did a lot in undergrad and I am getting my masters in Oral Biology right now so I was less than impressed with Western's research opportunity because there is nothing offered. The school will be graduating their first class this spring and will then be fully accredited. As of now it has initial accreditation but cannot be fully accredited until their first class graduates. Another con is that they have no graduate programs. It is a very small university that didn't really give me the same feel that other schools gave me. It totally depends on your preference. I would suggest going to the interview so you know what your options are, it won't hurt. I hear great things about Creighton and have a few friends in med school there. They seem to love the small town feel. All of them are from southern California. Congrats anyway. Hope this helped!

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

If price isn't an issue, Creighton all the way. You can't go wrong with something that's been established for that long and has a great reputation.

 

[A6project]

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[hardline]

Hmm, this is tough all great comments keep em coming! As for the weather im going to school in montana at the moment, I'm used to the cold winters but that doesn't mean I like it... I'm thinking about going to the interview and checking out westerns campus.

Edit. And awesometeeth is right about the rep, thats a huge plus in my books, I want to be the best dentist possible.

 

[cottonschwab217]

Honestly, I think within 10 years Western U will be one of the better schools in the country. However, it is rather exspensive (350k) and kind of in the middle of nowhere. Pomona isn't all that nice, it's not the ghetto or anything, but I definitely wouldn't call it a "nice/safe" area. The biggest issue with Western is that it's so unknown at this point in time. Nobody has even graduated from the school yet. Like I said, I think Western will be great in 10 years or less, but as of right now, if there is a choice, I would be hesitant to commit to a school for the next 4 years that hasn't even graduated a class yet.

 

[A6project]

p

 

[timwatley]

Honestly, I think within 10 years Western U will be one of the better schools in the country. However, it is rather exspensive (350k) and kind of in the middle of nowhere. Pomona isn't all that nice, it's not the ghetto or anything, but I definitely wouldn't call it a "nice/safe" area. The biggest issue with Western is that it's so unknown at this point in time. Nobody has even graduated from the school yet. Like I said, I think Western will be great in 10 years or less, but as of right now, if there is a choice, I would be hesitant to commit to a school for the next 4 years that hasn't even graduated a class yet.

I'm not sure it will be one of the better schools. I wasn't impressed when I interviewed at Western. Creighton, on the other hand, has a great rep and ancient faculty members that know how to make a successful dentist. I wouldn't even question Creighton. The newer dental schools that are popping up are a little suspicious to me.

 

[Golfguy]

I'm not sure it will be one of the better schools. I wasn't impressed when I interviewed at Western. Creighton, on the other hand, has a great rep and ancient faculty members that know how to make a successful dentist. I wouldn't even question Creighton. The newer dental schools that are popping up are a little suspicious to me.

Also, I believe their upper class are now D3s, not D4s. Pomona is kind of dumpy. I'm sure you would be fine there, but Creighton is established and cheaper. No-brainer IMO.

 

[dantemac]

Whoever said that in 10 years Western will be one of the great schools is correct. Their curriculum seems very good (early introduction to clinical skills and operatory), and their fourth year will be rotation based like ASDOH's( love love love). Also, although Pomona isn't the greatest city, it's far enough away from Loma Linda and USC/UCLA that competition won't be a problem. The staff of the school and the D3's are already building up the client base.

 

[timwatley]

Whoever said that in 10 years Western will be one of the great schools is correct. Their curriculum seems very good (early introduction to clinical skills and operatory), and their fourth year will be rotation based like ASDOH's( love love love). Also, although Pomona isn't the greatest city, it's far enough away from Loma Linda and USC/UCLA that competition won't be a problem. The staff of the school and the D3's are already building up the client base.

Great as in UCLA, Harvard, Penn, UConn? No way. The campus is a joke. They have no credentials. A DO school. The schools I've mentioned have made countless, relevant contributions to society through research and education. Someone at UCLA just developed a mouthwash that prevents caries. Harvard is one of the best institutions in the world. Just because they are already building up a client base does not put them in the running. And nearly every dental school I've interviewed at has preached 1st year clinical exposure.

 

[UltimateHombre]

Creighton is the easy decision here!!! It is well respected by the dental community and has a good clinical reputation. And since it is cheaper in tuition and living expenses, it makes it a no brainer. Not to mention you have cornhusker football right down the road, which would be a huge plus for me.

 

[cottonschwab217]

Great as in UCLA, Harvard, Penn, UConn? No way. The campus is a joke. They have no credentials. A DO school. The schools I've mentioned have made countless, relevant contributions to society through research and education. Someone at UCLA just developed a mouthwash that prevents caries. Harvard is one of the best institutions in the world. Just because they are already building up a client base does not put them in the running. And nearly every dental school I've interviewed at has preached 1st year clinical exposure.

I'm thinking more along the lines of UoP.

 

[timwatley]

I'm thinking more along the lines of UoP.

Again, I think that's a stretch. U of P is a 3 year program that has an awesome location in one of the nicest neighborhoods in San Fran. It is more of a newer school I guess. Westerns just kind of blah. It will do the job. The thing about SDN is that people come on here spouting out statements like "Roseman will be among greats a few years" or "MWU IL" will be one of the best clinical schools". These statements really detract from the dental schools that have been around for over a hundred years or so. Nothing beats consistency, reliability, trust, and experience. Again, Creighton's been around for 100+ years and they see 58,000 + patient visits each year. They have famous alumni, a great basketball team, and are proven to weather through horrible times (Great depression). In a way (to me anyway), it's like someone saying the same things about a generic 4-5 year old program in England when institutions like Cambridge have a proven, rich history and have actually gone through WW2 bombings. The thing Western has going for it is Weather.

YouTube "Creighton 107 year old alumni" and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

 

[hardline]

thanks SDN community, always following through with reliable information. I will most likely decline the interview and keep my fingers crossed to hear something positive from the UW

Good luck with finals everyone!

 

[dantemac]

I realized I never advised anything. I would pick Creighton over Western, since it probably isn't the best program it can be yet.

 

[timwatley]

thanks SDN community, always following through with reliable information. I will most likely decline the interview and keep my fingers crossed to hear something positive from the UW

Good luck with finals everyone!

Good call. We are in very similar situations I think. My state school interviews in January so hopefully I'll hear something from them. Good luck

 

[lemoncurry]

Creighton, hands down.

 

[hardline]

Ahhhhh! just received an interview invite to UW!
Dreams do come true

 

[UltimateHombre]

Ahhhhh! just received an interview invite to UW!
Dreams do come true

Congrats!!

UW and Creighton would be a much tougher decision!!

 

[dantemac]

Ahhhhh! just received an interview invite to UW!
Dreams do come true

Congrats and good luck!

 

[OU11BB]

creighton......cheaper and easier to get around town. other than that all dental schools are going to be challenging. at western they recommend you live ten to thirty miles outside of pomona because the city is not safe. western was really nice and creighton is out dated. just some thoughts