Dude stop stressing so much. It's like picking between an apple and an orange. There's no right or wrong decision. Just go with one. In the end you'll be a dentist either way.
Seriously, I would suggest the OP to take a trip to both places, spend a day there during a weekday when there are plenty of dental students around, maybe follow them to class, lab and clinic, check out the facilities and the surrounding neighborhood, and ask plenty of questions! It will give you an impression of the schools and see which one will fit you better.
what can you get at Penn that you cant get at Uconn? You get high board scores, research galore, high speciality placement. The biggest difference between the two is tuition. Man is Uconn damn cheap compared to Penn......and after 1st year at Uconn you can establish residency......think about the amount of money you'd be saving by going to UConn.
I don't know much about upenn since I didn't get in there, but I'm in a similar situation, I am HORRIBLE at making decisions and currently I am trying to decide between UConn and Tufts....both good schools in very different ways. The cheap by comparison tuiton of UConn is definitely attractive and so is the excellent preparation for the boards. The one thing that scares me about Uconn is the high rate of attrition (20%). Dr. Thibodeau told us at the interview that out of a starting class size of 40, on average they lose about 8 students from each class. I suspect this may be because of the intense biomedical curriculum the first two years. I am definitely considering UConn because it would be the most economic decision but I am not sure how happy I would be in a rural setting and very small class size. (a lot of people like the individualized attention but for me personally i see it as a negative b/c i like the anonymity of a larger class size). I think maybe I should overlook the lack of an urban setting and small class size because going there would shave years off my loan repayment time. decisions, decisions 😕
You have all the right reasons to wonder which school - just like one said : apples vs oranges. I cancelled my Tufts interview after I heard from UConn - I've been to Tufts and BU and Harvard when I visited them with my undergrad pre-health program - I remember exactly what i liked and not liked about all three - I liked Tufts more than BU, and even though Harvard is great an'all - but I did not like Harvard - wanted to see the technological progress, and did not see it. Alright, back to the point. The reason why "I" decided on UConn (even before going to my last interview that i did not cancel at UPenn) was that UConn had everything I wanted in school. I loved the building, liked the small class size and individualized attention, the way of UConn teaching basic sciences, knowing that I will learn everything, not just about teeth. I wanted it for my own knowledge. As i wrote in other thread, I love being in the city atmosphere, but in all, i don't want to fail and be the one to add to that attrition rate number. I tell you my story just for some input about my personal thoughts - you might have different views and ideas about what you want in a school - UConn will be tough for me, may be tougher than Tufts would have been - but i want that challenge, as long as i don't burn in it. Good luck - visit the schools again is my suggestion. I made 1000+ mile drive in one weekend to see family in NY, friends in MA, and UConn, and back to Maryland - no a big deal.
P.S.> were you on the Open House at UConn on Jan 9th?
Dude stop stressing so much. It's like picking between an apple and an orange. There's no right or wrong decision. Just go with one. In the end you'll be a dentist either way.
Since you asked for a candid opinion:
I've heard that UConn isn't exactly the best place to go for early clinical exposure if you are interested in that.
