Help!! Decision!!

[soyungil]

I got accepted to several schools in December and settled on Temple. I just got a call this morning from Midwestern offering me a spot and I have till tomorrow morning to decide. I live in AZ and I want to stay, but Temple is great and established school. What do I do?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DentAZ]

The question is do you want to be a guinea pig or not? My best friend graduated ASDOH's inaugural class and it was difficult because they were trying to get things right and the first class suffered. My brother-in-law graduated Temple and he couldn't stand the bureaucracy. Couldn't wait to get the h*%$ out. My ASDOH buddy really liked his experience and felt more like a colleague of the faculty rather than a pee-on. I assume MWU will be a LOT like ASDOH.

Midwestern Pros:

-Arizona...need I say more?
-No moving costs (or very little)
-Dean Simonsen
-New school, new equipment
-Midwestern's founders were mostly ASDOH founders and have learned a lot from ASDOH's mistakes.
-Glendale is infinitely better than Philadelphia as far as safety and lifestyle.
-You don't have to commute to a ghetto campus like you would at Temple. -No tenured faculty, like Temple.
-If it is like ASDOH, you will have modules taught by dentists at the top of their respected fields. If the students don't like a professor, it is likely they can get rid of the louse. ASDOH doesn't tenure faculty, and I don't think Midwestern will either (same founders).
-You may have a say in how policies are set for future classes.
-You will be a pioneer for the school.



Midwestern Cons:

-No "brotherly love"
-New school.
-Dean Simonsen (some people love him, some people...not so much).
-No upper-classmen to help you out.
-No old tests to study.
-I don't think the clinic is finished, but when it is there will be kinks to work out.
-More difficult to fill the clinic with patients than at Temple. (I chose Detroit Mercy BECAUSE it is in the ghetto. Excellent clinical experience at the dental school and in their hospital clinic with compromised patients.)
-Accreditation worries (even though it really isn't a worry, it was always a lame rumor whispered in the background before ASDOH's first graduating class that they wouldn't get accredidation...BS).
-Fewer research opportunities, if any, I would presume.
-If you plan to specialize, I would bet that a Temple degree would be more advantageous than a MWU degree. (However my friend got into a great program with an ASDOH degree).


If you are worried about prestige and more of a traditional university setting, go for Temple. If you just want to be a great dentist and don't care about anything else...go for Midwestern. Either way, you will get a degree and be able to practice. When was the last time you went to your doctor and asked where they graduated from? No one cares unless you are applying for a specialty. Even then it may not be an issue at all.

Good luck.

 

[reapply2007]

Cost of attendance. Save those dollars. Nothing else really matters. Dental school is a grind wherever you go.

 

[billyjones]

What does tenured faculty mean?

 

[dreaming2k5]

Cost of attendance. Save those dollars. Nothing else really matters. Dental school is a grind wherever you go.

He is lying. Some dental schools are definitely easier. Case in point ~ for DMD 2009, pharmacology final was cumulative. People failed hardcore and they had to retake the class in their 4th year in the midst of clinics and handling patients. For our year, DMD 2010, pharm was no longer cumulative and everyone got high pass and those 4th year that had to take the class with us, were super pissed that we got off so easily.

 

[Cold Front]

He is lying. Some dental schools are definitely easier. Case in point ~ for DMD 2009, pharmacology final was cumulative. People failed hardcore and they had to retake the class in their 4th year in the midst of clinics and handling patients. For our year, DMD 2010, pharm was no longer cumulative and everyone got high pass and those 4th year that had to take the class with us, were super pissed that we got off so easily.

 

[DentAZ]

What does tenured faculty mean?

"Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have their position terminated without just cause. (wikipedia)."

In other words, the academic (professor) has been there so long that basically no matter what he does, they can't fire him. This, in my opinion, leads to laziness and narcissism which can, in turn, lead to you getting a prof. who thinks he is king and doesn't really care about his teaching. Not always, but it's common. It's extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible to fire a tenured professor. It is supposedly meant to foster academic freedom without fear of retribution from the school or community. Whatever.

 

[DrReo]

"Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have their position terminated without just cause. (wikipedia)."

In other words, the academic (professor) has been there so long that basically no matter what he does, they can't fire him. This, in my opinion, leads to laziness and narcissism which can, in turn, lead to you getting a prof. who thinks he is king and doesn't really care about his teaching. Not always, but it's common. It's extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible to fire a tenured professor. It is supposedly meant to foster academic freedom without fear of retribution from the school or community. Whatever.

There are some professors who have been at institutions for 20 years and are not tenure, then some who are tenure after 8. In research institutions, a assistant/associate professor is granted a tenure track position. Within those 4-5 years, they must contribute to the field via research. If that is sucessfully completed, they potential can earn tenure. As a result, just because you have been at an institution for 40 years doesn't nessesarly mean that they are tenure.

 

[youngmc27]

everyone has to make the decision for themselves but I loved the campus at MW and my friend in the DO program loves the school. I think that if it were me I would take the offer from Midwestern due to the fact that it is close to home. I aso think that it would be awesome to be the first class at a school they will remember you guys forever. Go with midwestern