Harvard Vs, Canadian Dental Schools

[TheGreatNorth]

My friend was accepted to Harvard, but also has interviews at Western University, UofT and McGill for Dentistry (OOP). He is a Canadian, but is set on specializing in either Ortho or OMFS ( his parents are dentists so he had experience shadowing both fields). He is not sure which school to attend, if he were to gain acceptance at the Canadian schools , but is leaning towards Harvard and is looking for more feedback.

I am currently a McGill student and so have been a little biased in suggesting he attend McGill haha! I decided to post on this forum as well on his behalf, so that he can receive input from different perspectives. Thanks everyone for your time!

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[Ivy.ch]

Which is cheapest?

 

[2thPirate🦷]

And does he want to practice in the US or in Canada?

 

[TheGreatNorth]

Which is cheapest?

I can only speak to Canadian schools as I did not apply to US Dental Schools. The overall costs are:
1) UofT - about $200,000 Canadian
2) Western University - about $175,000 Canadian
3) McGill (OOP) - About $100,000 Canadian (P/F and med curriculum)

The above is just for 4 years of tuition + equipment/lab fees. I did not include cost of living, but in that respect Toronto would be the most expensive.

And does he want to practice in the US or in Canada?

I don't think it matters to him much. He seems to be fairly set on specializing though and there are less opportunities to do so in Canada compared to the US.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

I’m not 100% on this. But I believe he is better off going to a Canadian school. As a canadian, you cannot take further loans for post-graduate study in the US, i.e. for ortho, and would have to get a private loan. Also, if he doesn’t have citizenship, then most omfs programs won’t take him, because they would need to pay to sponsor his visa. These are both problems I’ve seen my international classmates have.

 

[TheGreatNorth]

I’m not 100% on this. But I believe he is better off going to a Canadian school. As a canadian, you cannot take further loans for post-graduate study in the US, i.e. for ortho, and would have to get a private loan. Also, if he doesn’t have citizenship, then most omfs programs won’t take him, because they would need to pay to sponsor his visa. These are both problems I’ve seen my international classmates have.

Oh I was under the impression that a lot of the 4 year OMFS programs were open to Canadian Citizens, albeit you would need higher stats (75+ CBSE). If he were to pick between the Canadian schools I mentioned which would you recommend? Does the prestige of UofT or McGill yield any benefits in matching to the USA? Would McGill's P/F no rank curriculum alongside med curriculum for first 1.5 years be a negative if he wanted to match OMFS or ortho?

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

Oh I was under the impression that a lot of the 4 year OMFS programs were open to Canadian Citizens, albeit you would need higher stats (75+ CBSE). If he were to pick between the Canadian schools I mentioned which would you recommend? Does the prestige of UofT or McGill yield any benefits in matching to the USA? Would McGill's P/F no rank curriculum alongside med curriculum for first 1.5 years be a negative if he wanted to match OMFS or ortho?

Can’t tell you much about Canadian schools/post grad opportunities. Hopefully someone else can shed some light on that

 

[Steins;Gate]

Oh I was under the impression that a lot of the 4 year OMFS programs were open to Canadian Citizens, albeit you would need higher stats (75+ CBSE). If he were to pick between the Canadian schools I mentioned which would you recommend? Does the prestige of UofT or McGill yield any benefits in matching to the USA? Would McGill's P/F no rank curriculum alongside med curriculum for first 1.5 years be a negative if he wanted to match OMFS or ortho?

Canadian here who matched to ortho this cycle. PM me if you would like.

 

[MG14]

Your ‘friend’ would be absolutely foolish to chose Harvard over a Canadian school. Not even a question if those options are on the table.

 

[TheGreatNorth]

Your ‘friend’ would be absolutely foolish to chose Harvard over a Canadian school. Not even a question if those options are on the table.

Oh is that mainly because of cost of tuition? Which would be best if cost wasn't an issue? He's specifically thinking of specializing in ortho, or possibly OMS. I thought Harvard had one of the highest specialization rates.

 

[2thPirate🦷]

Oh is that mainly because of cost of tuition? Which would be best if cost wasn't an issue? He's specifically thinking of specializing in ortho, or possibly OMS. I thought Harvard had one of the highest specialization rates.

If cost isn’t the issue, then citizenship is still something that has to be considered. Is he willing to go through the naturalization process? It can take a couple of years, but it will be worth it in the end if he wants to specialize and practice in the US.

 

[MG14]

Oh is that mainly because of cost of tuition? Which would be best if cost wasn't an issue? He's specifically thinking of specializing in ortho, or possibly OMS. I thought Harvard had one of the highest specialization rates.

It’s all the same. It’s not so much what school you go to as where you are in your class.

And contrary to @cplz you actually don’t need to be a citizen to work in the US. So that’s not a hurdle.

also, be careful with the “what if cost wasn’t an issue” hypothetical. Unless your going HPSP or have a full ride by some other means. Cost is a HUGE issue. Go wherever is cheaper. Especially considering the difference between most US and Canadian schools. You can specialize from any school. Specializing is more about how the student applies themselves than what school they went to.

 

[2thPirate🦷]

It’s all the same. It’s not so much what school you go to as where you are in your class.

And contrary to @cplz you actually don’t need to be a citizen to work in the US. So that’s not a hurdle.

also, be careful with the “what if cost wasn’t an issue” hypothetical. Unless your going HPSP or have a full ride by some other means. Cost is a HUGE issue. Go wherever is cheaper. Especially considering the difference between most US and Canadian schools. You can specialize from any school. Specializing is more about how the student applies themselves than what school they went to.

I wasn’t saying he needed to be a citizen to practice, but it would be beneficial to gain citizenship if he’s going to live here long term. One of my parents and countless others in my family have had to deal with the process and having it done and over with early on can save a lot of stress down the line.