CWRU Dental school vs. USC Dental school

Started by hopefuldent77
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hopefuldent77

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Hello everyone, I am an incoming D1 student!
I am trying to decide between Case Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine and USC School of Dental Medicine. I know both schools have their ups and downs, but if any dental student knows anything in particular about these two schools, please comment! Other than the cost of tuition and living, which school is better?

Things that are important for me:
- supportive environment ( both students and faculty)
- clinical experience
- less depressing environment lol
- I want to specialize in orthodontics, so I would like to gain research opportunities
 
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The people of the internet have spoken…

forums.studentdoctor.net

USC FIRST YEAR Cost of Attendance $173k 2023-2024

People are still applying! 2012: $114k (4% increase) 2013: $123k (8%) 2014: $127k (3%) 2015: $130k (2%) 2016: $134k (3%) 2017: $137k (2%) 2018: $140k (2%) 2019: $149k (6%) 2020: $152k (2%) 2021: $154k (1%) 2022: $162k (5%) 2023: $168k (4%) 2024: $173k (3%) *Plus interest rates of 6%+ for...
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net

Big Hoss
 
hopefuldent77 said:
but if any dental student knows anything in particular about these two schools, please comment! Other than the cost of tuition and living, which school is better?
Click to expand...
This is what I would ask if I was evaluating two schools

1) how many students ended up specializing with respect to each specialty in the last 2-3 years. They should give you these stats.
2) what are the graduating requirements. How many crowns, fillings, root canals etc are needed to graduate
3) is the school pass/fail or is there ranking
4) what is the class size


If cost is reasonably not a huge difference these factors would weigh heavily into the decision. Furthermore Southern California is far superior than Ohio. You will be living there for four years.
Also if you’re thinking long term, many find their spouse during dental school. Based on probability this could influence where you end up for the long term.
 
The school itself genuinely doesn't matter, which is why most people on this forum will always advise you to attend the cheapest program. I think that's solid advice for the vast majority of pre-dents, probably yourself included.

With that being said, I graduated from USC last year, so I guess I can touch on each one of those things you mentioned:
- Students are fun to be around and supportive, sure. There's no class rank, so less competition. Just like every other school, there will be faculty you'll love and others you'll avoid.
- Clinical experience depends almost entirely on you. See as many patients as you can in clinic, go out of your way to volunteer with the several mobile clinics you'll have at your disposal, find a mentor, etc., and I'll be shocked if you don't have some confidence after graduation.
- It's a rich university situated in the heart of a coastal megacity. There's lots to do, if that's what you're asking.
- There's plenty of research opportunities.

Again, I can't stress this enough... There's no "better" school. It's what you make of it.
 
I’m curious to know the cost of attendance for case western dental school.

School of Dental Medicine | Student Financial Services | Case Western Reserve University

Tuition and fees for students of the School of Dental Medicine for the Academic Year 2026-2027 and Academic Year 2025-2026 can be found in the tables ...
case.edu

This is all I could find.

Tuition is 100k.
USC tuition is 113 k.

The price difference is pretty negligible. Both are very expensive.

Personally I would pay a higher price to avoid living in Ohio.
I’d pay a a reasonable premium to live in Southern California.
 
Syncope Inducer said:
The school itself genuinely doesn't matter, which is why most people on this forum will always advise you to attend the cheapest program. I think that's solid advice for the vast majority of pre-dents, probably yourself included.

With that being said, I graduated from USC last year, so I guess I can touch on each one of those things you mentioned:
- Students are fun to be around and supportive, sure. There's no class rank, so less competition. Just like every other school, there will be faculty you'll love and others you'll avoid.
- Clinical experience depends almost entirely on you. See as many patients as you can in clinic, go out of your way to volunteer with the several mobile clinics you'll have at your disposal, find a mentor, etc., and I'll be shocked if you don't have some confidence after graduation.
- It's a rich university situated in the heart of a coastal megacity. There's lots to do, if that's what you're asking.
- There's plenty of research opportunities.

Again, I can't stress this enough... There's no "better" school. It's what you make of it.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for elaborating about USC! I definitely understand that I have to go out and make the most of my clinical experience. Did you have to look for your own patients at all or does the school usually assign you to a patient? I was a bit confused about this
 
Silver_arrow said:
I’m curious to know the cost of attendance for case western dental school.

School of Dental Medicine | Student Financial Services | Case Western Reserve University

Tuition and fees for students of the School of Dental Medicine for the Academic Year 2026-2027 and Academic Year 2025-2026 can be found in the tables ...
case.edu

This is all I could find.

Tuition is 100k.
USC tuition is 113 k.

The price difference is pretty negligible. Both are very expensive.

Personally I would pay a higher price to avoid living in Ohio.
I’d pay a a reasonable premium to live in Southern California.
Click to expand...
Yeah but you’re not including additional fees and living cost differences which in this case are likely double.

...Seems like that differential is 50k annually according to this (tuition is listed as 77k):
 
Ivy.ch said:
As a dentist, sure, maybe. But as a student? Absolutely not worth it. If he/she can’t make a temporary sacrifice on location for long term benefit, they’re in for a rough life.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the real talk! There's definitely a different in rent between LA and Ohio lol
 
hopefuldent77 said:
Thank you for the real talk! There's definitely a different in rent between LA and Ohio lol
Click to expand...
It's not even a serious discussion to attend USC or NYU unless you have wealthy parents to pay, or the HPSP/NHSC/Indian health scholarship. Sit and look at how expensive cars and houses. You will be broke trying to buy those things if you are 800k+ deep. It's laughable to even be typing this lol
 
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hopefuldent77 said:
Thank you so much for elaborating about USC! I definitely understand that I have to go out and make the most of my clinical experience. Did you have to look for your own patients at all or does the school usually assign you to a patient? I was a bit confused about this
Click to expand...
School will assign patients. You're also able to bring in your own, if you wish to do so.
 
USC is located in the very rough part of LA. It's not safe to walk home alone at night. My wife went there 20+ years ago (before the PBL curriculum was put into place). A lot of students had hard time finding patients to fulfill their graduation requirements. Many students had to stay back an extra semester (and paid more tuition) to complete their graduation requirements. It's a very stressful environment to be in. I don't know if things at USC are better now or not.
 
Big Time Hoosier said:
Did you fully rely on student loans? What was the cost difference between the schools? If those other schools were schools like NYU, Midwestern, or ASDOH, my argument stands.

Big Hoss
Click to expand...
no I didnt fully rely on Loans, parents helping me. cost difference was a lot actually, 150k. picked the school id be happiest at location wise and closest to family. it wasnt any of those schools you mentioned
 
Big Time Hoosier said:
And there’s our answer…

For those poor souls who do have to pay for school on their own, you’re being irresponsible encouraging them to start their career with nearly a million dollars in student loans.

Big Hoss
Click to expand...
I said "a lot of people who go to usc have the means to pay for it, and if they do then why not".
 
dent490130 said:
I said "a lot of people who go to usc have the means to pay for it, and if they do then why not".
Click to expand...
If you have the means to afford it outright, sounds to me like you’re not paying your fair share of taxes…

IMG_0869.gif


Big Hoss
 
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