Does undergraduate school matter?

[th0mast33]

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I was wondering if dental schools take into consideration how difficult your undergraduate school was...because obviously getting a 3.5 GPA at one school cam be much easier then getting it at another. Thanks!

 

[organichemistry]

I was wondering if dental schools take into consideration how difficult your undergraduate school was...because obviously getting a 3.5 GPA at one school cam be much easier then getting it at another. Thanks!

yeah, most do... especially the "elite" schools like harvard. but really, as long as you go to an average state school and keep a 3.5 and make a 20 on the DAT, you should get in most places you want.

 

[NCdds]

From those I've talked to, most take undergrad school into consideration, if you have not perfect grades at an excellent & difficult science school that will look better than strait A's in sciences at a community college...but with everything, there's always exceptions to the rule...

 

[45540]

yeah, most do... especially the "elite" schools like harvard.

how is that, since Harvard gives out mainly A's and B's only.

 

[organichemistry]

how is that, since Harvard gives out mainly A's and B's only.

i would just assume that Harvard, a very selective dental school, would look favorably upon those who did undergrad work at the ivy leagues, Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, Emory, the strong Pac 10 schools, etc etc etc

 

[smang]

The pac-10 has horrible schools. They have low graduation rates for student athletes. Big Ten schools are probably the best that I know of.

 

[bspeedy00]

how is that, since Harvard gives out mainly A's and B's only.

True but you need to be pretty intelligent to get into an ivy in the first place

 

[organichemistry]

stanford, usc, university of washington? horrible schools?

ok.


the big 10 is fine... but the pac 10 is one of the best academic conferences in the country, no doubt.

 

[dexadental]

intelligent to get into an ivy league school? I think not. Many an idiot have been accepted to these schools under the premise that their parents paid their way in. Ivy schools don't necessarily have the most intelligent students..but they do have the students with the most money if you ever wanted to do a little bit of surveying. Sure, a few smart people do go to these schools...but these are definitely an acception. I think you should get your facts straight before you indirectly insult everyone else on here, and feed the notion that Ivy league schools are the !@#$.

 

[AUG2UAG]

if you have not perfect grades at an excellent & difficult science school that will look better than strait A's in sciences at a community college...

I totally disagree.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I totally disagree.

I do also, in part. Straight As from anywhere is going to look impressive. A string of B+ grades in a tough major from a great school isn't going to look bad either.

And to be honest, at least in my experience, they are only viewing the grades to get you an interview. After that it's interview time, which involves more than just numbers.

So the trick is to get good enough grades to get an interview and do well in your coursework.

 

[smang]

What is the big deal about an Ivy League dental school? They cost more and from what I saw their facilities were out dated. I realize that many people emphasize the match rates, but you can specialize at any school if you do well. The only reason that I could see going ivy for dental is to be in the company of other competitive students to contend with and that may or may not help you out. I realize for that for law and medicine a degree from an Ivy League school will benefit down the road in certain firms or residencies, but for dental school this really isn't the case. Just from my experience touring schools I didn't see anything special about going ivy.

 

[NCdds]

I totally disagree.

That is why I said there's exceptions...this is just what I was told from an admissions counselor.

 

[penguinteeth]

stanford, usc, university of washington? horrible schools?

ok.


the big 10 is fine... but the pac 10 is one of the best academic conferences in the country, no doubt.

I think stanford, berkeley, UCLA is fine but I don't know abut USC hehe of more over UW? Hmm, mostly for washington residents. Even dentistry.

 

[organichemistry]

I think stanford, berkeley, UCLA is fine but I don't know abut USC hehe of more over UW? Hmm, mostly for washington residents. Even dentistry.

the university of washington is comparable to a university of virginia or university of michigan. very good schools.

washington is consistently one of the top public schools in the country. and USC is strong too!

 

[frogger33]

In my own personal experience, where I went to school DID matter. The fact that I went to Emory for Undergrad was brought up in my dental school interviews by the people interviewing me. I did some post-bac work at one of my state schools taking 21+ hours of science only classes and maintained a 4.0 GPA. However, the dental schools TOLD ME that they were more impressed with my 3.5 from Emory than the 4.0 from my state school. I was also honest with them and told them that I worled much harder for the 3.5 than the 4.0

So.... to answer your question, YES they take it into consideration but you HAVE to meet their requirements for then to even look at your application that closely!!

 

[Bullfan16]

Some adcoms have told me that undergrad institution matters....but thats not the case entirely. Grades matter more. End of story. I will say, however, that if you do fairly well and maintain a 3.2-3.3 at an "upper echelon school" I am sure it will help that you attended that school. Any state school is acceptable and I would say a 3.2+ and an 18 DAT will get you into at least one dental school...at least ONE maybe not all! I was having this debate with my friend whose brother is number 1 in his high school class and got a 34 ACT....why would you go to Harvard and go up against more competition and shell out the big bucks when you can get a great gpa and have school paid for if you go to a state institution...in our case it was U of Illinois but I am sure he has offers from Michigan as well as other Big 10 schools. I mean yeah you go up against the best of the best but when it comes down to it a class at Harvard is probably the same is a class at XYZ University....I dont think the Harvard grad will learn more in their classes. Will they push themselves more...probably but whats the point? He said its about the experience...I say f$%& the experience and save money and still receive a solid education. Oh, and listen to Smang he has made two excellent points.

 

[smile87]

intelligent to get into an ivy league school? I think not. Many an idiot have been accepted to these schools under the premise that their parents paid their way in. Ivy schools don't necessarily have the most intelligent students..but they do have the students with the most money if you ever wanted to do a little bit of surveying. Sure, a few smart people do go to these schools...but these are definitely an acception. I think you should get your facts straight before you indirectly insult everyone else on here, and feed the notion that Ivy league schools are the !@#$.

Whoa! Way to sound totally bitter. Did you even go to an Ivy, or have you at least had the opportunity to take a class at one?? Talk about getting your facts straight! Are you honestly suggesting that nepotism occurs only at Ivy League schools? Finally, if only a few smart people are accepted into the Ivy League, while the majority of students are idiots who are lucky to have a rich daddy, how do you explain these schools having some of the most competitive SAT/SATII/grade requirements out there??? By the way, it's exception not acception.

 

[smang]

If you go to a highly ranked undergrad institution you still need to maintain a high GPA. If you went to blankity blank state and got a 3.3 and someone who went to Crazy Tech lets say a top 5 university and had a 3.3 the person at Crazy tech would have the edge, but if you had something lower than a 3.3 than the person that went to the lesser tier school would be better off with their superior grades. I am a bioengineering major and many would consider it as a more challenging major than business or basic sciences. I have friends in my major who had average gpas that didn't get into certain schools compared to people in a basic science curriculum with better grades. They expected that since they entered a more challenging major their lower Gpa could be justified, not the case. Point here is that you can't ride on a name- being a school or major; you have to put in the effort and get the grades to prove yourself. Some people don't want to prove themselves and would rather fly with the flock so they need that fancy pants degree. Also, typically private institutions have a better ratio of faculty to students than state universities. Does anyone know if this is the case in dentistry?

 

[delicious]

If you go to a highly ranked undergrad institution you still need to maintain a high GPA. If you went to blankity blank state and got a 3.3 and someone who went to Crazy Tech lets say a top 5 university and had a 3.3 the person at Crazy tech would have the edge, but if you had something lower than a 3.3 than the person that went to the lesser tier school would be better off with their superior grades. I am a bioengineering major and many would consider it as a more challenging major than business or basic sciences. I have friends in my major who had average gpas that didn't get into certain schools compared to people in a basic science curriculum with better grades. They expected that since they entered a more challenging major their lower Gpa could be justified, not the case. Point here is that you can't ride on a name- being a school or major; you have to put in the effort and get the grades to prove yourself. Some people don't want to prove themselves and would rather fly with the flock so they need that fancy pants degree. Also, typically private institutions have a better ratio of faculty to students than state universities. Does anyone know if this is the case in dentistry?

Whoa dude!! Calm down now, or I'm gonna open up a can of whoop-ass! I went to Crazy Tech and I feel it made a huge impact on my application. Interviewers went crazy when I dropped the C-Bomb. It helped a lot I can tell you this.

That dude with the example of taking University of Illinois over Harvard College - Bullfan. That's just stupid. True, the courses are probably the same, but that's why the people in your class are what make your educational experience. So, that's why I would choose Harvard over Illinois in your example. You're not gonna get as much diversity and passion at a state school compared to say Harvard-Princeton-Yale. *flame shields on*

By the way, if you were dirt poor, harvard has ridiculous need-based scholarships.

 

[drat]

intelligent to get into an ivy league school? I think not. Many an idiot have been accepted to these schools under the premise that their parents paid their way in. Ivy schools don't necessarily have the most intelligent students..but they do have the students with the most money if you ever wanted to do a little bit of surveying. Sure, a few smart people do go to these schools...but these are definitely an acception. I think you should get your facts straight before you indirectly insult everyone else on here, and feed the notion that Ivy league schools are the !@#$.

no, dexadental, i think you should get your facts straight; your ignorance makes me uneasy. despite popular belief, all the kids at an Ivy undergrad do not come from wealthy families...over 50% of Dartmouth kids receive financial aid, with the average grant (i.e. money a student doesn't have to pay back) being over $20,000 per year per student -- not bad, eh? dartmouth can afford to award such scholarships because of their $2 billion dollar endowment, and many other Ivies have an endowment equally as impressive, if not more. therefore, dartmouth doesn't have to rely/accept only students whose families can afford the education -- they can accept students that exhibit strong academic potential. nearly 90% of the students at dartmouth were in the top 10% of their high school class, with 25% and 10% being valedictorians and salutatorians, respectively. i argue more than "a few smart people do go to these schools."

 

[Aero047]

Rutgers is a pretty good public school right?

 

[Calident]

Some adcoms have told me that undergrad institution matters....but thats not the case entirely. Grades matter more. End of story. I will say, however, that if you do fairly well and maintain a 3.2-3.3 at an "upper echelon school" I am sure it will help that you attended that school. Any state school is acceptable and I would say a 3.2+ and an 18 DAT will get you into at least one dental school...at least ONE maybe not all! I was having this debate with my friend whose brother is number 1 in his high school class and got a 34 ACT....why would you go to Harvard and go up against more competition and shell out the big bucks when you can get a great gpa and have school paid for if you go to a state institution...in our case it was U of Illinois but I am sure he has offers from Michigan as well as other Big 10 schools. I mean yeah you go up against the best of the best but when it comes down to it a class at Harvard is probably the same is a class at XYZ University....I dont think the Harvard grad will learn more in their classes. Will they push themselves more...probably but whats the point? He said its about the experience...I say f$%& the experience and save money and still receive a solid education. Oh, and listen to Smang he has made two excellent points.

I totally agree with you Bullfan16....as someone who was #2 in their graduating class with a 1570 SAT, I can tell you to go to the state school. I did the opposite and chose to attend a highly competitive school where I got killed. Yes, I was lazy early on, but then so many people who succeed in high school aren't used to studying for their grades. Also, the competition was INTENSE---also, I took classes in the summer at one of my state's universities and found the classes about 8 million times easier. Since you are graded on a curve it is better to pit yourself against people who aren't as "smart" as you (or as smart you think you are 🙂 ). Better to go to the state school and obtain relatviely easy As compared to somewhere where you have to kill for a B+.

 

[nothen2do]

I totally agree with you Bullfan16....as someone who was #2 in their graduating class with a 1570 SAT, I can tell you to go to the state school. I did the opposite and chose to attend a highly competitive school where I got killed. Yes, I was lazy early on, but then so many people who succeed in high school aren't used to studying for their grades. Also, the competition was INTENSE---also, I took classes in the summer at one of my state's universities and found the classes about 8 million times easier. Since you are graded on a curve it is better to pit yourself against people who aren't as "smart" as you (or as smart you think you are 🙂 ). Better to go to the state school and obtain relatviely easy As compared to somewhere where you have to kill for a B+.

At the same time, some, if not a lot, of grade inflation occurs in private schools.

 

[Moose1]

Additionally, the Ivies are "need blind" meaning the admissions committee has no access to your financial records when deciding whether or not to admit you. Tsk Tsk. Please get your facts straight before posting such idiotic messages. I'd hate for a high schooler from a middle class background who might be reading this to think that they don't have as good as a shot at an Ivy than somebody whose father is a big time lawyer.