How do students like NYU?

[Trusturdentist]

Hi!
I will soon be starting NYU dental school and I am very excited but also a little concerned. Ive heard a lot of mixed feelings about the school, some have said it was amazing and other have complained about it a lot. If you are currently a dental student, I would really appreciate it if you could give me a better picture of what to expect my next four years!
Thanks!!

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[Trusturdentist]

Anyone?

 

[Mackchops]

I graduated last year but I have mixed feelings about it. I liked the location, the patients, and even the education we received. I'd pit my skills and knowledge against anyone out there. But I feel like the curriculum is a bit of a mess and sometimes the quality of teaching is a little lacking (sometimes it's stellar though!). One bit of advice - don't expect to be spoon-fed the information. You need to take an active role in your own education and that means more than listening to lectures and looking at powerpoints. Use Wiki, textbooks, or whatever other supplement you want but try to LEARN the stuff and you'll fare much better - trust me.

 

[BigAppleDDS]

Feel free to PM me, I'm a D1 (finishing up!) and I think NYU has done a great job of really changing their program. Instead of giving you all the negatives, here's one of my favorite things I've heard recently.

UPenn D1 students up to this point have had 2 practicals: Class II amalgam, and class II composite.
NYU D1 students up to this point have done Class I, II, III, IV, V all amalgam (when it applies) and composite. We've done complex and atypical (onlays), worked on natural human teeth set in epoxy, done impressions, worked with liners and bases, and have been tested rigorously on it. While we have a huge class (I kind of like that though...) and it is ridiculously expensive (not as cool), I am extremely confident in my pre-clinical skills. And we get to see our first patient in winter of D2 - even if it will probably be very basic, it's still cool.

Oh yeah, and with that huge class size every year maximum 1 or 2 people fail the part I boards out of ~230. I'd say NYU is doing a pretty good job these days. There are certainly things to complain about, but I think the pre-clinical experience we're getting outweighs it.

Obviously this is only the opinion after 1 year, but we are the first class that has this revamped program of integrating the clinical experience earlier.

 

[KAIN DDS]

Thanks for the info big apple! So yr not intimidated by the cost, debt?

 

[Trusturdentist]

Thanks for all the advice! I really appreciate it! I feel much more confident about my decision now =)

 

[davaidavai1]

Thanks for all the advice! I really appreciate it! I feel much more confident about my decision now =)

The decision is a good one assuming you have no cheaper alternatives. If its Buffalo, Stony Brook, or UMDNJ vs. NYU, then I can't imagine how NYU would be the better choice.

 

[Trusturdentist]

Well i did have other schools that the TCA was cheaper but I got a pretty good scholarship to NYU and with the scholarship...it is actually the cheaper choice! But yea otherwise...i would've probably considered by other options much more.

 

[davaidavai1]

Well i did have other schools that the TCA was cheaper but I got a pretty good scholarship to NYU and with the scholarship...it is actually the cheaper choice! But yea otherwise...i would've probably considered by other options much more.

what's the GPA you need to keep that scholarship?

 

[BrownieDDD]

and how do you get this scholarship...

 

[BigAppleDDS]

Thanks for the info big apple! So yr not intimidated by the cost, debt?

The cost sucks, the debt sucks, but you'll be okay. Haven't heard of any NYU graduated dentists living the rough life. If money trumps everything else, go to the cheapest school you got into. I had a lot of other things that were more important to me in my decision-making process. Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions!

 

[davaidavai1]

The cost sucks, the debt sucks, but you'll be okay. Haven't heard of any NYU graduated dentists living the rough life. If money trumps everything else, go to the cheapest school you got into. I had a lot of other things that were more important to me in my decision-making process. Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions!

No one is gonna go broke, but I think its foolish to assume that one should overpay for their education. I think state schools do a good enough job to warrant forgoing NYU. If one has other cheaper options.

 

[KAIN DDS]

The cost sucks, the debt sucks, but you'll be okay. Haven't heard of any NYU graduated dentists living the rough life. If money trumps everything else, go to the cheapest school you got into. I had a lot of other things that were more important to me in my decision-making process. Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions!

Thanks big apple I'll do that.

 

[Vapor1122]

Well i did have other schools that the TCA was cheaper but I got a pretty good scholarship to NYU and with the scholarship...it is actually the cheaper choice! But yea otherwise...i would've probably considered by other options much more.

This was the case with me as well.

what's the GPA you need to keep that scholarship?

2.5, unless they've changed it since I started.

and how do you get this scholarship...

Everyone's automatically eligible once they get accepted. Supposedly it's merit-based. In my case the letter telling me I got the $ came in the same envelope as my acceptance letter, but I don't think that's the norm -- I forget the reason.

 

[TheDentist16]

You can also get a scholarship some time late in your first year of NYU. Based on first-year performance, you can be eligible for a merit-based scholarship which can be applied to tuition and such. The financial aid officer during my interview back in Feb. told me about this.

 

[davaidavai1]

You can also get a scholarship some time late in your first year of NYU. Based on first-year performance, you can be eligible for a merit-based scholarship which can be applied to tuition and such. The financial aid officer during my interview back in Feb. told me about this.

Ye but its probably so hard to get that you'd have to be a total gunner

 

[Trusturdentist]

Yea i got the scholarship with my acceptance letter too. It said they where based on my academic credentials, and I have to maintain a 3.0 gpa.

 

[somedayDDS]

Feel free to PM me, I'm a D1 (finishing up!) and I think NYU has done a great job of really changing their program. Instead of giving you all the negatives, here's one of my favorite things I've heard recently.

UPenn D1 students up to this point have had 2 practicals: Class II amalgam, and class II composite.
NYU D1 students up to this point have done Class I, II, III, IV, V all amalgam (when it applies) and composite. We've done complex and atypical (onlays), worked on natural human teeth set in epoxy, done impressions, worked with liners and bases, and have been tested rigorously on it. While we have a huge class (I kind of like that though...) and it is ridiculously expensive (not as cool), I am extremely confident in my pre-clinical skills. And we get to see our first patient in winter of D2 - even if it will probably be very basic, it's still cool.

Oh yeah, and with that huge class size every year maximum 1 or 2 people fail the part I boards out of ~230. I'd say NYU is doing a pretty good job these days. There are certainly things to complain about, but I think the pre-clinical experience we're getting outweighs it.

Obviously this is only the opinion after 1 year, but we are the first class that has this revamped program of integrating the clinical experience earlier.

At UPENN we've also done everything that you've mentioned except work on natural human teeth. Don't know where you got your information from. Yes our graded practicals covered Class II and IV composite, and Class II amalgam only but we also had to perform the other procedures in class multiple times and they were graded as PASS/FAIL.