Finished first year at UNC. AMA

[UNCDentalStudent]

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We have a bit of time off before summer classes start, so figured I could answer some questions that applicants and incoming students might have regarding the the application process and first year of dental school at UNC!

 

[zToothinator]

Thanks for doing this! I'm an undergrad at UNC applying to the dental school this summer!

After your first year, anything that has stood out to you (good or bad) about the program? Are there adequate resources to help students understand the material? Do you feel that there's a strong sense of competition between you and your classmates?

 

[UNCDentalStudent]

Thanks for doing this! I'm an undergrad at UNC applying to the dental school this summer!

After your first year, anything that has stood out to you (good or bad) about the program? Are there adequate resources to help students understand the material? Do you feel that there's a strong sense of competition between you and your classmates?

The good:

I think our class is awesome. Everyone gets along very well and there is good camaraderie. Obviously different friend groups have formed so there are a lot of people i don't really hang with outside of classes, but I've made some really good friends that I can see myself being lifelong friends with. We have a really good group. The school is beautiful and honestly it's just a nice building to be in.

All of the exams are relatively straight forward. The questions come from the powerpoints and things mentioned in class. There isn't really any extra reading you have to do outside of classes to prepare for the exams which I think is nice. I don't think I've opened a textbook once.

Mostly all of the classes are lecture captured, so you don't actually have to go to class if you don't want and if you study better from other methods.

We have some awesome professors that know so much about their specific topics. They are all more than willing to help if you shoot them an email.

The bad:

There really isn't too much bad. I can think of 1 class out of the 14 we've already taken that was a little disorganized but other than that there isn't a lot to complain about.

Resources:

Like I mentioned earlier, all of the information is really in everything that the professors give us. Classmates share a lot of notes and study guides so people are very collaborative and that makes studying pretty easy. If you need extra assistance, then you are able to reach out to the professors and they will help. I believe there is also tutoring available, but I haven't looked too much into that.

Competition:

I definitely don't feel like there is any competition. There are a decent number of people I know who want to specialize, but that doesn't really foster any competition. Everyone is very helpful in terms of sharing notes and stuff like that. If anything, people just work really hard.

 

[tarheel2017]

How would you say your workload is weekly outside of class? I'm starting this year at UNC.

 

[zToothinator]

In hindsight, anything you wish you would've done differently during the application cycle/advice for students applying this cycle?

How is the curriculum at UNC structured? (Are you in lecture the first year? A mix of lab and lecture?)

When do you start clinic?

Do you have the chance to take elective classes?

 

[UNCDentalStudent]

How would you say your workload is weekly outside of class? I'm starting this year at UNC.

Depends on the week. On weeks when we have no exams people pretty much just do whatever and don't do much work during school. Weeks when there are lots of exams is a different ball game. I remember when I started last year after the first week, everyone in my class was studying the anatomy lectures we went over that day and putting in like 2-3 hours a day and all the D2's were like "what are ya'll doing studying, your first test isn't for three weeks". And we were all "gotta get ahead and stay up to date!" Doesn't really work like that lol.

Basically if I had a week with no exams, I would hardly do any work outside of class. I also didn't hardly go to some classes once I realized I could do just as well on the exams not going to lecture and studying during that time instead. The last three weeks of the spring semester though, I think we had three exams per week. So then, I was basically studying in all my free time except to eat or exercise. Different people do different things though, so you'll figure out what works for you. But that's enough for me to be successful and putting myself with a good rank/GPA.

 

[UNCDentalStudent]

In hindsight, anything you wish you would've done differently during the application cycle/advice for students applying this cycle?

How is the curriculum at UNC structured? (Are you in lecture the first year? A mix of lab and lecture?)

When do you start clinic?

Do you have the chance to take elective classes?

During the application cycle? No, I applied to a lot of schools and went to a lot of interviews which cost a decent amount of money, but i thought it was a good experience, I met some awesome people that go to different schools I still keep in touch with, and I figure it was better to be safe than sorry.

First year curriculum is about 7 classes per semester for fall, spring, and summer. It is relatively rigorous compared to undergrad but it's not really that bad. First and second semester we are not in clinic at all, but we are in lab for dental anatomy probably 9 hours/week first semester and lab for operative dentistry about 9 hours/week second semester. This summer is when we first start clinic seeing hygiene patients, then we have stab lab at the start of second semester which is when we learn anesthetics and that's a quick 1-2 week crash course on anesthetics, and then we are able to see operative patients. So we start seeing patients relatively early compared to some other schools.

 

[zToothinator]

Do you think anything stuck out on your application to help separate you from others?

 

[deleted678432]

How does the material compare to undergrad? Is it harder, or just more fast paced? Was it easier/harder than you expected?

 

[Zaarge]

First off, thanks for doing this! I'm applying this cycle and UNC is at the top of my school lists because I've heard nothing but good things.

Obviously UNC is notoriously OOS-unfriendly. Do you know many classmates from out of state and know what made them stand out to the admissions committee? Or just have any general tips for applicants who are from outside of NC?

Also, could you give some insight into the social aspect of your dental school experience so far? Is it possible to go out occasionally or do fun things on the weekend? I saw that you said your workload varied by week depending on tests, so I imagine this is highly dependent on that, but just a general idea of free time and social/personal life would be appreciated.

 

[FanOfCostco]

Why does your basketball team suck so bad?

 

[UNCDentalStudent]

Do you think anything stuck out on your application to help separate you from others?

I think anything that isn't in the standard application formula will help set you apart. Those things that would be "standard" would be bio or chem major, dental shadowing, dental volunteering, dental mission trips and things like that. Anything out of the box is great. We have students in our class from lots of different majors, some college athletes, and some that applied 3-4 times getting in.

 

[UNCDentalStudent]

How does the material compare to undergrad? Is it harder, or just more fast paced? Was it easier/harder than you expected?

Umm compared to undergrad I wouldn't say the material is any harder. If anything it's probably a tiny bit less detail in certain classes. It's just definitely more face paced and just a tonnnn of information. For example, in our micro class, we had units in basic micro, immunology, virology, and one other. The basic micro which was the first unit was taught by the professor that teaches the undergrad micro course and it was basically all the exact same info. So we learned everything that undergrad students learned in an entire semester in about three weeks and then moved on to the next unit (which were also separate classes in undergrad, but different teachers so i can't compare them). Add all that on top of also taking physiology, oral bio, embryology at the same time plus some other time intensive classes, and it just gets to be a lot.

It's all manageable, though. Everybody figures it out and gets through it in their own way. Overall, I'd say it's easier than I expected. Still have plenty of time to do fun things and not get too bogged down with school work.

 

[UNCDentalStudent]

First off, thanks for doing this! I'm applying this cycle and UNC is at the top of my school lists because I've heard nothing but good things.

Obviously UNC is notoriously OOS-unfriendly. Do you know many classmates from out of state and know what made them stand out to the admissions committee? Or just have any general tips for applicants who are from outside of NC?

Also, could you give some insight into the social aspect of your dental school experience so far? Is it possible to go out occasionally or do fun things on the weekend? I saw that you said your workload varied by week depending on tests, so I imagine this is highly dependent on that, but just a general idea of free time and social/personal life would be appreciated.

I believe out of 82 students 14 were from out of state. You can see more on the class profile here (looks like a can't post a link because my account is new, but if you search class profiles unc dental school on google you can find it).

I'm not sure if things have changed, but I remember from my interview we were told that the AA and TS averages for IS students were 21 while for OOS they were 22. So typically they will have slightly higher stats, but anything else that would help them stand out are also beneficial.

And yeah we definitely have a ton of time to do fun things. I know it's probably different at other schools, but I've had time to leave the city and visit friends, go to concerts and other shows, we usually go out to dinner a couple times a month and have plenty of time. Some people take off every single weekend unless there is a Monday exam. Idk anybody that has trouble doing other things in addition to school work. I realize some people work harder than others, so this will definitely vary and some people may just not talk about it, but I'd say in general you will have plenty of time to do things. It's important for your mental health.

 

[UNCDentalStudent]

Why does your basketball team suck so bad?

Hey...

 

[FanOfCostco]

Hey...

You said AMA

 

[zToothinator]

Do you know if UNC has opportunities for their students to place implants?