dental school decision

[dentalschool2030]

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Hi! I'm very grateful to have good options. I have narrowed them down, but I am still unsure between a few schools. What do you think? I have financial assistance am hoping to match into ortho.

School 1: Stony Brook (IS)
Pros: small class size (44-46), good clinical experience, support system nearby
Cons: less name recognition, less to do nearby
School 2: Buffalo (IS)
Pros: good class size (~90), strong clinical skills
Cons: farther from support system, less name recognition, less to do nearby
School 3: UPenn
Pros: good clinical experience, very nice facility, only ranks the first 10 students, name recognition
Cons: large class size (168), expensive
School 4: Columbia
Pros: pass/fail, good class size (~80-90), support system in NYC, name recognition
Cons: med school for the first 1.5 years may limit clinical skills?, internally ranks students, expensive

 

[Mr.Smile12]

welcome to the forums.

When you say "less to do nearby," what is it you want to do? Apparently not doing midnight sim practice to make sure you stay on top of your preclinic grades.

I think you are putting too much weight in "name recognition." Dental specialties are small communities; all the "good ortho people" know each other, so it matters where you train that has good ortho people and clinics. The networking at state dental societies and ortho professional societies has more value than the name on the diploma alone.

So what experience does each program offer if you were to go into ortho? Figure out which program you get along with most and avoid ticking off the chair or big name faculty.