Harvard vs. UCLA (OOS)

[teethrcool3]

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Hey guys! just trying to get some opinions about these programs. I have spent a lot of time shadowing and I think that I was to specialize. I know that they are both good programs but any opinions that you guys could offer would be really appreciated! I feel like I have seen this debate back and forth a million times but to get some more recent ideas on this would be great, I am having the most difficult time deciding

 

[MGA100]

Congratulations on your acceptances. Both are great programs so specializing will be a viable option if you attend either. Harvard has a medical school based curriculum so that will give you a slight advantage especially for OMFS speciality as it will make taking the CBSE more manageable. If there is a significant difference in cost of attendance (i.e. greater than 40k), I personally would attend the cheaper of the schools. If they have similar costs, then I would choose UCLA because it's a strong program and in a better location. I am from MA and honestly the weather does make it more depressing at times and with the rigor of dental school, if you could get some year round sunshine you should take it. In addition, you need to consider living apart from your family ,etc and all other factors that are important to you. I recommend writing a pros and cons list to directly visualize and compare the programs.Good luck to you on your decision.

 

[westcoastbestcoast96]

Usually I would agree with cheaper, but I think when you take Harvard into account and the way they set you up at the top of the top for basically any avenue in dentistry, you should weigh that heavily. Be it specialization, academia, research, Harvard will get you to where you want to go with a lot more ease than other programs. (source: my dentist went to harvard) IMPORTANTLY, I know that Harvard's clinical program is significantly better than UCLA's...this being said, I think that is a significant criteria to balance with cost when deciding a dental school!

Either way both are solid, but I think it's gotta be harder to turn down Harvard!

 

[pookey123]

Harvard has the smallest class size of any dental school I know of; hard to go wrong with either choice