Current Dental Students! Share your experiences! Pros/Cons of your dental school! =)

[Dentalist]

Hey guys,

Many people have questions regarding pros/cons of each dental school. So I thought it would be nice to have a thread on what dental students thought of their school. If you are a dental student or graduate, please share your experiences! I would appreciate it if you could follow this format.

Name of dental school:
Current year:
Things you like about the school:
Things you wish to be changed:
Why choose your dental school over others?
Any other comment:

Thank you for your time! 🙂

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[Dentalist]

From Drpheta

Tufts
1st year (class of 2007)

Like:
-Clinically strong
-Excellent location (public transportation, city life...though Boston is definitely not NYC)
-Strong reputation among profession
-Diverse student body
-Admin tries to cater to students' needs
-Mass allows 3rd year dental students to be licensed hygienists ($$$ on the side)
-Big Brother/Big Sister (you have a 2nd year assigned as your sibling to give you advice, help you out, answer student type questions the admin can't answer), though my big bro sucked nads. Whoever has me will be lucky, cause I wouldn't want my little bro/sis to get shafted.
-Faculty is excellent. For the most part, they are on their game clinically and didactically.
-I'm doing well here

Wish would change:
-Politics (admin does try to cater to students' needs, but the "higher ups" make that difficult)
-Wish school didn't worry about image too much (i.e. not willing to go out on a limb to try something new/daring in lieu of improving student experience/improving curriculum/etc.)
-Wish school didn't baby the less driven so much (the need to be spoon fed isn't discouraged)
-Wish tuition was cheaper
-Wish FULL scholarships required earning for each year (i.e. admissions stats depict full scholarships for 1st year, 1st year stats depict full scholarships for 2nd year, and so on.)
-Wish the dental student lounge wasn't so weak
-Wish the subjective grading on projects wasn't there (HOWEVER, this is something to be dealt with in all clinical situations including the licensure exams)
-Main campus is too far, so we can't take advantage of the free amenities they offer to easily (i.e. free state of the art gym).

If you have no shot at your state school (or a cheaper alternative), and the difference btw tuition between your choices is $10,000 or less, choose Tufts b/c:
-Clinical is excellent (1st year alone, and I can see how competent we'll be when we graduate)
-The commute to school is much easier than Harvard or BU (green line stinks, and BU is some blocks away from the subway stop. Tufts is right there, next to the orange line subway stop)
-It's not the most expensive of all the private schools, though still not the cheapest
-Besides the need to be spoon fed, the students are very easy going. Tufts does a fairly good job of choosing the right classmates
-Upperclassmen are very very helpful. Entire student body is helpful
-Not cutthroat here. Most want to be GP, and those that want to specialize usually don't hold any grudges (at least I don't see any...ignorance is bliss).


tanwe461

Name of dental school: University of Otago, New Zealand
Current year: 3rd
Things you like about the school: The patient system
Things you wish to be changed: Hahah...the guys...not enough eligible ones
Why choose your dental school over others? Good quality of education?
Any other comment: I hate the fact that we have to suck up to supervisors. Clinical skills are pretty much marked based on how you suck up to your supervisors. Too much politics.....but then I still like the fact that we are still students....


UNLV OMS Wannabe

Name of dental school: UNLV SODM
Current year: 3rd
Things you like about the school: The DEAN, this guy gets it done! I think he is the greatest asset to our school, a real mover and shaker. Faculty have a great attitude and are willing to help (for the most part). Facilities (brand new everything), technology (love my laptop, especially for games ), willingness to adapt curriculum based on student input, innovative ideas. Patient pool is huge, no shortage here. On and ON.

Things you wish to be changed: Mostly little annoying stuff that people tell me happens at everyschool. Biggest beef=subjective grading in certain classes.

Any other comment:Since I hope to specialize I was wary about attending UNLV. I had my doubts many times, even through my first year. But I can honestly say now that I DON'T regret my decision one bit. I think that it is a great school and in a few years it will be AWESOME. If I were applying today and knowing everything I know today I wouldn't hesitate a second about coming here.


MVIRTS

Name of dental school: University of Maryland
Current year: First
Things you like about the school: Rich culture & diversity of Baltimore
Things you wish to be changed: Can't wait for the new building!
Why choose your dental school over others: Reputation; positive, honest alumni feedback
Any other comment: Maryland has an absolutely time-tested reputation for excellence. Going to UMB from Washington College in Maryland seems like a perfect segue.


TexasDDS
Name of dental school: University of Texas HSC San Antonio
Current year: 4th
Things you like about the school: the pricetag is very nice, awesome reputation, strong research, great facilities (must see the 3rd and 4th year clinics - best I saw out of many schools on my interviews), great friends, some very good looking students!
Things you wish to be changed: our pros department is brutal
Why choose your dental school over others: Reputation and facilities; GREAT faculty (for the most part!) the low cost of tuition, student laptop program , San Antonio has LOW cost of living
Any other comment: UTHSCSA Dental School is one of the nations best - come join us!

Tinker Bell

Name of school: UCSF School of Dentistry
Current year: Second year
Things I like about the school: The name, the fame, the city, view of golden gate bridge from the library, view of the bay from the clinic, large cubicles, huge library, exclusive health science campus for graduate levels, many specialties offer, good professors, nice classmates, nice dean, P/F system, new curriculum, strong clinical exposure.

Things I don't like about the school? Subjective grading in operative classes. So, make it unfair for everyone because we are ranked. Some weirdo professors from the school of medicine write weirdo exams. Never like anything that's offered from the med school (except micro class) I think the whole med school needs to be reevaluate, they are sometimes made me sick that they're not even worth being my students, and I have to sit in class to listen to their BS. Really, really weird school of medicine if u ask me. Beside that, the dental school and the pharmacy school are excellent in teaching


I would appreciate your sincere comments! 🙂

 

[v&andy_yankee]

Name of dental school: columbia

Current year: first year

Things you like about the school:
-nice city, good to be back up north, lots of stuff to do in the city.
-the kids (dental and med) here are all affable and hard workers.
-the curriculum is hard, but i try to think of it in a positive light--it'll push me to do my best too (however painful it may be in the process) and hopefully i'll end up with a good board score.
-admins also seem nice and helpful.
-online resources (for classroom postings) seem ok.

Things you wish to be changed:
-$$$ lower tuition/costs so i don't have to worry about selling my kidneys.
-have nicer facilities (some of the classrooms are very old--they were showing us a "dental history" on columbia of CU students taking the class back in 1950s--and the students were sitting in THE EXACT same seats we were, they have not changed the stiff wooden chairs at all).
-the computer labs' printers are also very very slow. -sometimes it feels that the lectures are too much and we haven't put enough focus on clinical/lab (but then again, we are only starting).
-more diversity in the student population (right now, it's 60%+ asian, which can be weird).

Why choose your dental school over others?
-reputation (as my dentist said in his choosing upenn over temple "if i had gone to temple, i would have wondered for the rest of my life what it would have been like at upenn. but i chose upenn, and i have never though 'whatif'.")
-i wanted to be in NYC
-solid curriculum (high board scores)
-all the benefits that come with a higher board score (residency, etc)

Any other comment: i wish i paid more attention in spanish class in high school, because it is the predominant language in washington heights (moreso than english!). it's only after i have started school here that i realize how ignorant i am--the culture here is amazing...

 

[Dentalist]

bump!!!! if you are a current dental student or recent graduate, please share your experienes! we would love to hear from you! 😀

 

[MarkND]

BUMP

 

[Regmata]

There are other threads, almost exactly like this one with lots of responses...probably be a faster way to get the info you are looking for

 

[PlaqueAttack]

here one of those threads from last year:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=401980&page=3

 

[La Miraflorina]

Name of dental school: University of Maryland (aka Baltimore College of Dental Surgery)
Current year: 2nd year
Things you like about the school:
- All class materials (except textbooks) are downloadable online
- Mediasite - a website which broadcasts all lectures live and saves them for viewing at a later date (yes, you can sit home in bed and watch lectures, as long as you're motivated enough to do so)
- Brand-new building with the latest and greatest technology
- Huge patient base
- Begin clinical experience 2nd year (treat perio maintenance patients, collect data on new patients to be treatment planned, etc..)
- TONS of sim-lab work
- Fun (albeit dangerous) city
- Digital radiography
Things you wish to be changed:
- Old-school profs who still make attendance mandatory even though we have Mediasite (if we have the technology, why can't we use it?!)
- Some favoritism shown to sons / daughters of alumni (not bad, however)
- Still using paper chart system EVEN THOUGH we have the program in place for a paperless system. I believe some residencies are fully paper-less but undergrad still isn't😡
- Need to reduce the student/professor ratio

That's all my tired brain can think of for now - Will update this post if I think of anything else!

All-in-all, UMD is a great school 😉

 

[JamieMac]

I actually like the questions in this thread...simple and direct, and I'd like to see it keep going. Another (well organized) thread with more detailed questions is located at the top of the board as a sticky.

 

[MarkND]

I agree 🙂 BUMP

 

[bing12]

Hey guys,

Many people have questions regarding pros/cons of each dental school. So I thought it would be nice to have a thread on what dental students thought of their school. If you are a dental student or graduate, please share your experiences! I would appreciate it if you could follow this format.

Name of dental school: TEMPLE SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY
Current year: D1 ( so take what I say with a grain of salt).

Things you like about the school: my classmates, everyone is very helpful. Also, the first semester is relatively less stressful than most schools. It is still difficult, but we have time to relax and do things outside of school which is a huge plus. I also feel the Professors do care to help the students.We also have video recorded lectures, which comes in handy if you " accidentally" miss class. This is a HUGE plus. even if you attend class, you can go over the lectures for reinforcement. Our dean is also great, he has been here since 2007 I believe, there has been plenty of renovations. He is innovative and you can tell since he has been here, the school has been transforming rapidly to a better place.- Another HUGE advantage is the fact that many of my classmates help each other out. There will always be those handful that want to specialize and are very competitive. The general feel is that everyone is going through this together, and others will help each other out if one is falling behind.

Things you wish to be changed: the location, the specific location of D-school isnt bad. I dont feel stressed walking to school. I just wished it was in a nice area. This is the trade off to a huge patient base. Most students park a block or 2 from school, on the main road ( which is a safe road). I also wish it was cheaper, but for a private school in the region, its not that bad. Boston,Tufts, NYU, UPENN are all pricier.

Why choose your dental school over others? Students seemed happier here. Obviously dental school is stressful everywhere, but how students react to it is very important to me. If students feel relatively less stressed and happier, then the Dental School must be doing something to achieve that. and so far I am happy with my decision ( i have plenty of time to change my mind though. : ) .

Any other comment: During your interviews, I would recommend talking to as many students as you can and get contact information. If you are fortunate enough to get multiple acceptances, speak to your contacts about your situation.

Thank you for your time! 🙂

Temple School of Dentistry!