Does school matter?

[HurricaneAlana]

I'm just curious:

I know (for example) many law schools take into consideration what university an applicant attended... I know somewhere out there, there is a quality ranking type list that is sometimes used... obviously science programs vary GREATLY in difficulty from school to school... I don't want to mention schools, but comparing the level of work needed by some of my friends to pull As is comparable to what I would need for Bs in similar courses... Does this factor in at all when decisions are made?

Thanks

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[dmd2011]

do a search, this topic has been covered before.

 

[dr.rex]

short answer is yes just depends on where you apply

 

[Drill2Fill]

Just go to any 4 year university, make good grades, do good on the DAT.

 

[lgwdnbdgr]

Yes, dental schools do take into consideration where you went to undergrad. How much of an impact it makes depends on the school and which faculty happen to be on the admissions committee at the time.

 

[yeabuddy]

I know for a fact that admissions committee members take into account where you went for undergrad. I spoke about this with an admissions officer at a dental school. She used this example "a student with a 4.0 gpa from a community college is not considered as competative as a student from say Harvard with a 3.0 gpa." I know she used an extreme example but u get the idea.

 

[tooth decay]

Contrary to much of what has been said, I think the name of the undergraduate university or non community college (maybe aside from the very top ranked schools) is much less important than your performance. All in all, people place way too much emphasis on the importance of an undergraduate university name (and spend way too much money on the name) especially when they already plan to go onto professional graduate school. Just ask the many thousands of the students who finish from an expensive brand name undergraduate school whether or not it was worth the tens of thousands of dollars of debt they incurred for just a bachelors degree.

 

[Fuji]

MIT

still paying it off

more than worth it

 

[tooth decay]

My point is that many, if not most, of the successful applicants into many of the excellent professional schools come from regular (and cheaper) state and non "brand name" universities and colleges. And they can start their professional careers with much less debt.

 

[pre-dentalguy]

Just go to any 4 year university, make good grades, do good on the DAT.

I concur!

Marion

 

[Rev Balls]

MIT

still paying it off

more than worth it

Hey Fuji, How is it still paying off?.....ouch!!!!! i forgot, MIT is probably much more than a technology school. I hope u don't mean it in terms of helping you getting in D-Skool.

Like the kid above says 'go to any undergrad and rock everything....grades...dat....good LORs....good experince....and then you're golden.

----------------Reverend Balls------------D-Skool coming soon

 

[1992Corolla]

people who say they get mad at others for pulling A's at an 'easy' school probably can't hack it at their 'harder' school. Show off what you know when you take the DAT.

It doesn't matter where you go as long as it is not a CC.

 

[indpndntrd]

It seems here that everyone believes that it doesnt matter which school that you go to for undergrad. Well, I am in the process of selecting which school to go to for undergrad and how much of an effect does community college have? I mean if I go to CC and then transfer to schools like Berkeley or even schools like UOP, UCLA or USC which have their own D-schools, wouldn't going to their schools for undergrad give me a pretty good edge when it comes down to applying for their dental school? even though I did go to a CC for 2 years..? Is CC something that I want to avoid at all costs?

 

[PChemGrad]

It seems here that everyone believes that it doesnt matter which school that you go to for undergrad. Well, I am in the process of selecting which school to go to for undergrad and how much of an effect does community college have? I mean if I go to CC and then transfer to schools like Berkeley or even schools like UOP, UCLA or USC which have their own D-schools, wouldn't going to their schools for undergrad give me a pretty good edge when it comes down to applying for their dental school? even though I did go to a CC for 2 years..? Is CC something that I want to avoid at all costs?

That is only something you can decide on.
A lot of people here went to CC's and got into dental school. Just run a search for it about a hundred threads will come up.
But if you have the opportunity of going to a 4 year out of high school, take it. I enjoyed my time at a CC, it was a better education than the 4 year school i went to but it probably hurt my chances at some dental schools.

Do what you like we cant tell you not to go to a CC, because some of us did and others of us didnt.
Enjoy college, and work hard no matter where you choose to go.

 

[tooth decay]

It seems here that everyone believes that it doesnt matter which school that you go to for undergrad. Well, I am in the process of selecting which school to go to for undergrad and how much of an effect does community college have? I mean if I go to CC and then transfer to schools like Berkeley or even schools like UOP, UCLA or USC which have their own D-schools, wouldn't going to their schools for undergrad give me a pretty good edge when it comes down to applying for their dental school? even though I did go to a CC for 2 years..? Is CC something that I want to avoid at all costs?

If you transfer, try to transfer to a state school (much cheaper). Fortunately for you (assuming you are a California resident), most of the UC schools are ranked nationally in either undergraduate or graduate programs.

 

[Fuji]

Hey Fuji, How is it still paying off?

There was an "it" in my sentence.

I hope u don't mean it in terms of helping you getting in D-Skool.

Actually, I think it did help me get in. MIT is a well respected school and only one interviewer didn't ask about my experience.

 

[EmanUT]

You never know if school choice matters. If you go to a CC for 2 years, that means that all of your prereqs minus physics will be from a CC. I honestly do not know how good that looks.

A high GPA is a high GPA, so you should focus on that regardless of where you go to school. I assume that the better school you go to, the more slack is given

A 4.0 from Emory and a 4.0 from a top 100 are both great, but a 3.5 from Emory looks better than a 3.5 from a top 100.

 

[prplmnkydshwshr]

yes it matters

ivy league >> community college

duh.

 

[angelg5]

It definitely can make a difference. If your sci. GPA and overall GPA are mediocre at a top school (3.0 < GPA < 3.5 ), make up for it by rocking the DAT. You can still get into a top dental school.