ECU (IS) vs. Maryland (OOS)

[Janil411]

Hello,

I am an NC resident who is in the fortunate problem of picking between dental schools. Right now I am trying to decide between ECU and Maryland. I really loved both schools and I feel like both have pros and cons to going there. With ECU I love their mission to help underserved parts of NC and also they are the third cheapest dental school in the entire country. However, Greenville, NC is not the most exciting place to live and also being such a new school they don't have all the specialty programs and I may want to specialize in the future. I loved Maryland, the facilities were amazing and they also have a very established clinical system. Also, it's such an established program with all the specialities I feel like it will give me many resources and opportunities as a dental student. Additionally, having the ability to get in state tuition after a year is making this decision even harder. Thanks in advance for your advice!

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[maltese01]

Hello,

I am an NC resident who is in the fortunate problem of picking between dental schools. Right now I am trying to decide between ECU and Maryland. I really loved both schools and I feel like both have pros and cons to going there. With ECU I love their mission to help underserved parts of NC and also they are the third cheapest dental school in the entire country. However, Greenville, NC is not the most exciting place to live and also being such a new school they don't have all the specialty programs and I may want to specialize in the future. I loved Maryland, the facilities were amazing and they also have a very established clinical system. Also, it's such an established program with all the specialities I feel like it will give me many resources and opportunities as a dental student. Additionally, having the ability to get in state tuition after a year is making this decision even harder. Thanks in advance for your advice!

I personally would go with Maryland because I believe it gives you more opportunities post graduation. And yes Greenville NC is very boring.

 

[therealgenden]

Hello,

I am an NC resident who is in the fortunate problem of picking between dental schools. Right now I am trying to decide between ECU and Maryland. I really loved both schools and I feel like both have pros and cons to going there. With ECU I love their mission to help underserved parts of NC and also they are the third cheapest dental school in the entire country. However, Greenville, NC is not the most exciting place to live and also being such a new school they don't have all the specialty programs and I may want to specialize in the future. I loved Maryland, the facilities were amazing and they also have a very established clinical system. Also, it's such an established program with all the specialities I feel like it will give me many resources and opportunities as a dental student. Additionally, having the ability to get in state tuition after a year is making this decision even harder. Thanks in advance for your advice!

Which school did you end up choosing?

 

[Janil411]

Which school did you end up choosing?

Haha so I just put deposits at both schools just to give me more time to figure out which school to go to, because like i said before I really liked both of them and I wanted time to think about this major life decision lol! Yea did the financial breakdown for both schools and just looking at tuition there seems to be a $120k difference between both schools. So Im trying to figure out if going to UMD is worth the extra money because I like that school more. Coincidentally, I am going to ECU today to check out the school again also!

 

[Cthuluhoop]

120k at 7%+ interest is an insane amount of money in the current dental environment. That amount can seem insignificant right now when it's just a number on a piece of paper, but if you look at current dentist starting salaries, that is a ton of money and you'll realize that post graduation when you make your first loan payment. No school is worth that extra money unless you have some sort of fondness for the Ivy Leagues.

We're in a time where dental school is so expensive, we don't really have the luxury of choosing a school we like more for reasons such as liking a certain city more if you're the one financing you education. All of us future dental students need to be smart and just attend the cheapest school we got in to.
Go in-state and save that money. Like every dentist, dental student and dental resident has said here, you can can specialize from any school

 

[Janil411]

120k at 7%+ interest is an insane amount of money in the current dental environment. That amount can seem insignificant right now when it's just a number on a piece of paper, but if you look at current dentist starting salaries, that is a ton of money and you'll realize that post graduation when you make your first loan payment. No school is worth that extra money unless you have some sort of fondness for the Ivy Leagues.

We're in a time where dental school is so expensive, we don't really have the luxury of choosing a school we like more for reasons such as liking a certain city more if you're the one financing you education. All of us future dental students need to be smart and just attend the cheapest school we got in to.
Go in-state and save that money. Like every dentist, dental student and dental resident has said here, you can can specialize from any school

Yea man thanks for saying that yea I totally agree with what you're saying. When I originally posted this back in December the main worry was that if I wanted to specialize would it be a detriment to go to ECU. But through SDN and talking to students that I know that attend ECU that is not the case, and ECU dental students are matching to great programs. It doesn't matter what school you go to you just need to have the drive to do what is needed to be done to specialize and it can be done. Also the money I can save could be used to invest in a speciality program, future practice, etc.

 

[therealgenden]

Haha so I just put deposits at both schools just to give me more time to figure out which school to go to, because like i said before I really liked both of them and I wanted time to think about this major life decision lol! Yea did the financial breakdown for both schools and just looking at tuition there seems to be a $120k difference between both schools. So Im trying to figure out if going to UMD is worth the extra money because I like that school more. Coincidentally, I am going to ECU today to check out the school again also!

Well I hope ECU is a good experience for you today. To me, ECU would be the smarter choice!

 

[Cthuluhoop]

Yea man thanks for saying that yea I totally agree with what you're saying. When I originally posted this back in December the main worry was that if I wanted to specialize would it be a detriment to go to ECU. But through SDN and talking to students that I know that attend ECU that is not the case, and ECU dental students are matching to great programs. It doesn't matter what school you go to you just need to have the drive to do what is needed to be done to specialize and it can be done. Also the money I can save could be used to invest in a speciality program, future practice, etc.

Awesome! I think you’re definitely making the right choice. It’s your education and your future if you think it’s worth it then by all means go to whichever you feel will be your best!

But that is a lot of money, so financially and looking to the future you’re definitely making the right call. Like you said that frees up over $100k for you to open a practice or invest post graduation