Help Needed Please. USC vs. NYU

Started by marlon650
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marlon650

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How's it going everybody? I know that there are many posts similar to this one and I apologize for bugging everybody since these posts seem to get repetitive. I know that this decision will ultimately come down to me, but I just wanted to get some other points of views and insights.

So far I have been accepted into USC and NYU. I am a California resident and was wondering what school you guys would choose.

Thanks again for any help.
 
USC will cost a bit more than NYU, I believe. So, thats one plus point of attending NYU.
Apart from that, USC has PBL - never been a fan of it.
I haven't been to USC, but NYU seems like a pretty nice place. If you can handle a huge class size, I think you should go for NYU.
 
I agree, NYU's installations are the best by far, brand new too, they just renovated. The faculty there, although obviously there are exceptions (like in EVERY school) is very nice, but you need to seek them out, they wont baby you. If youre the type that needs to be asked if youre doing allright 20 times a day, then dont go to NYU. Just keep in mind the class size AND the cost of living - NYC is very $$$, but hey, its NYC, you just cant beat it if you like cities.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Does anybody have any other opinions on this subject/question? Any opinions would be appreciated.
 
I was accepted to USC this year, and I was invited to interview at NYU, but I declined the invite. However, I only declined NYU's invite because I was already accepted to my top choice. Therefore, I have visited USC, but not NYU. Here's my 2 cents based on discussions from numerous practicing dentists, some who graduated from California d–schools and some that have graduated from NYU:

1. In regards to these two schools, I would choose the school based solely on location. If you want to practice in Cali in the long term, especially L.A., choose USC. If you want to practice long term in NYC or the east coast, choose NYU. The alumni network in a given area is a huge advantage when you looking for a new job/clinic.

2. Both schools are expensive as hell, so I wouldn't even bother worrying about the difference in costs of a few thousand here and there.

3. Make sure that you feel comfortable with the PBL system. If that system freaks you out even a little bit, that may be enough of a reason to go to NYU. I personally liked the PBL session I participated in during the interview, BUT, I don't know that I would want to spend four years in d-school going through PBL for every topic. HOWEVER, I would rather live in L.A. than NYU, but that is just my personal preference. In addition, I would just learn to deal with PBL.

4. USC has a much smaller class size than NYU, which I feel is a huge plus. A close friend of mine is at NYU now, and he feels that the large class size makes getting help from faculty difficult.

I hope this helped
 
maybe someone from USC can shed more light, i dont want to perpetuate a rumor or whatever.

wasnt USC the school with trouble graduating its class on time. even though NYU is larger, there is no trouble with that to the best of my knowledge. That and be sure PBL is for you.
 
If I were you, I would go to USC. USC is closer to home, better stats, cheaper tuition, and its CALI! Too bad I got rejected.
 
tamkhan said:
USC will cost a bit more than NYU, I believe. So, thats one plus point of attending NYU.
Apart from that, USC has PBL - never been a fan of it.
I haven't been to USC, but NYU seems like a pretty nice place. If you can handle a huge class size, I think you should go for NYU.
Click to expand...

i think usc would be cheaper than nyu...just my opinion.
 
i would imagine that the biggest advantage for USC would be it's name (if you're interested in social networking, sports, alumni hookups etc) and west coast location if you're going to want to practice here. You'd have to take different boards on the East Coast.

USC does have a problem with graduating on time, but they have addressed that partially by improving their clinic stuff, but they do still have more req's than most schools. But I know that they do have a lot of freedom in their schedule in terms of self-directed time which could be used to help specialize due to their PBL curriculum. USC also has many many opportunities to seize in terms of service, research, rotations etc, an important point for me when choosing a school. Plus it's a pretty campus.

I'm not actually very familiar with NYU, but I was in NY to interview for Columbia and for me, the NYC area was both a plus and a minus. I felt as though I could easily slip through the cracks and get lost (NYC's a pretty big city). The gargantuan class sizes probably wouldn't help. However, you don't need a car and transportation is very nice in NY. Not to mention all the things you can do. Also the weather is very seasonal... I don't know if that's your thing or not. It snowed 6" on my interview day.
 
I love SC it has been a good choice for me. I am jsut a first year so i have a ways to go but so far so good. Costs are similar and location wise NYU just doesn't compare. PBL is awesome unless you enjy boring lectures all day.
 
Cost isn't really a factor here since USC and NYU are the most expensive schools in the nation, and their total package tuition is comparable to one another. In terms of prestige, both schools are again pretty comparable in both the publics eye, as well as in the dental communities eye. In terms of specializing, neither school really has an edge over the other. So i guess, ultimately it comes down to 3 main differences that you must consider.

1) Location:
This is a big one since you'll be here for the next four years. Since your CA resident and if you decide that you wanna explore the wonders of NY, then go to NYU. USC may be in LA, but its not exactly street friendly at night if you know what i mean. Perhaps another pt is where you want to ultimately practice. If you want to stay CA, going to USC might make that a little more convenient, but this is far into the future and you could always take the WREB in the future if you wish to practice here.
2) PBL vs Traditional Lectures
Personally, i really like PBL. However, I don't believe its an adequate substitute for traditional lecture. USC started with a satellite program of 12 elite highly motivated dental students who rocked their boards and lived happily ever after. Take any 12 elite students and give them the means to do well and they definitely will. Changing the scenario from 12 top students to a 144 mixed-level-of-motivation students and you have counter production (this is just my opinion). PBL is fun, but imagine learning histology, biochemistry and physiology without any lectures or reading assignments. I hardly enjoy 8 hour lectures, but there is no substitute for a strong didactic foundation. Last year when I interviewed there, i spoke to the administration. They said they we're hoping to implement some form of didactic into their program, which i believe would dramatically improve their current program. However, for now they are 100% PBL. Other PBL programs consist of Case and Harvard, but to my knowledge, they have mix programs which consist of lectures and pbl, the perfect combination IMHO.
3) Class Size: Although it might not seem that big of a deal entering into a class of 330 students (since i imagine your undergrad class has thousands), you will soon see shortcomings of being but a face in the crowd. USC class less than half so that might be considered a perk.

Additional reasons:
Pro USC
1) USC has a huge DSD dental frat which throws the sickest parties!
2) Their foot ball team
3) Pretty nice dental facilities
Con USC
1) Unsubstantiated extremely low graduation rate due to high volume of procedure requirements.
2) No real faculty, mostly facilitators.
3) High chances of being mugged.

Pro NYU
1) at the forefront Cosmetic dentistry
2) The night life is hot
3) Sweetest Dental building ever
4) Former dean of UCSF

NYU Con
1) You'l have to take the CA licensure or WREB if you want to come to back CA.
2) 10% attrition rate, for your class size that would be like 30 people.

Alright, time to get back to my final's studying. Hi Amalgam, welcome to UCLA, where the education is pretty much as rough as it gets 😉.
 
youngmc27 said:
I love SC it has been a good choice for me. I am jsut a first year so i have a ways to go but so far so good. Costs are similar and location wise NYU just doesn't compare. PBL is awesome unless you enjy boring lectures all day.
Click to expand...

Have you been to NY? NY doesn't compare to SC? Sipping up to much of that LA smog I see!
 
Suren911 said:
^Ahh, thanx! Wouldn't PBL be a more practical approach to learning then?
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that's what they say...but of course it depends on you. I'm used to doing that stuff independently because I didn't like going to class, but I always had some sort of powerpoint or outline from which I could base my studies/independent learning. Who doesn't like House?

Hi Envision! That's also what they say...hah.
 
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