Hey all, hope everyone is doing well. I just got a waitlist letter from Iowa, so my options are now down to UIC and SIU. I'm from Illinois, and was hoping to make up my mind and place a deposit by the end of the week. I think that both schools have some positives and drawbacks, and more than anything I was looking for some outside perspective or opinions that could help me think about this problem in a new light.
I think that UIC has a lot to offer-- it's in Chicago, which is right next to my hometown. I would be amazing to live in the city. I was impressed with the professors and had a pleasant time on my interview. Although the curriculum is now switched to a project-based learning style, I think that could work with my personality. This may be unfounded (I haven't been able to find data anywhere), but I heard that I stand a better chance of specializing attending UIC than SIU. However, having not even started dental school, I don't know if specializing would even be for me! The downsides of UIC are the cost, and the facilities (from what I've heard). Although the facilities seemed nice enough on my interview day, I've heard they are quite archaic and doing simple procedures is greatly complicated by them. The cost is 80K more than SIU for four years, and the tuition seems like it's not going to stop increasing anytime soon.
As for Southern, I really didn't like the town of Alton. However, I was on a bad-weather day, and I attended undergraduate in a similar small town in Missouri, so I think I could adjust really easily. It seemed like the facilities were pretty nice. I was impressed with the SIM lab, but the students made it seem like having to schedule your own patients was a big pain in the ass. The cheaper price is good-- being able to only spend 225Kish for four years seems like a good deal. I know they have a good clinical reputation. They told me that they place almost no emphasis on research, and I'm somewhat concerned that attending SIU would shut doors on myself later in life-- is the 80K saved now worth costing myself a chance at specializing?
Right now, I feel as if I'm making a decision based on imperfect information. If anyone is a current student at either school, I would love to ask some questions. Thank you for any input!
I think that UIC has a lot to offer-- it's in Chicago, which is right next to my hometown. I would be amazing to live in the city. I was impressed with the professors and had a pleasant time on my interview. Although the curriculum is now switched to a project-based learning style, I think that could work with my personality. This may be unfounded (I haven't been able to find data anywhere), but I heard that I stand a better chance of specializing attending UIC than SIU. However, having not even started dental school, I don't know if specializing would even be for me! The downsides of UIC are the cost, and the facilities (from what I've heard). Although the facilities seemed nice enough on my interview day, I've heard they are quite archaic and doing simple procedures is greatly complicated by them. The cost is 80K more than SIU for four years, and the tuition seems like it's not going to stop increasing anytime soon.
As for Southern, I really didn't like the town of Alton. However, I was on a bad-weather day, and I attended undergraduate in a similar small town in Missouri, so I think I could adjust really easily. It seemed like the facilities were pretty nice. I was impressed with the SIM lab, but the students made it seem like having to schedule your own patients was a big pain in the ass. The cheaper price is good-- being able to only spend 225Kish for four years seems like a good deal. I know they have a good clinical reputation. They told me that they place almost no emphasis on research, and I'm somewhat concerned that attending SIU would shut doors on myself later in life-- is the 80K saved now worth costing myself a chance at specializing?
Right now, I feel as if I'm making a decision based on imperfect information. If anyone is a current student at either school, I would love to ask some questions. Thank you for any input!
