How do you decide where to go?

[Jaws]

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Hey everybody. I have been lucky enough to get into several of my top schools...now comes the hard part, deciding where to go. How is everybody making their decision (especially since with dental schools, you aren't really compairing apples to apples), and what are the top factors that you are weighing (Cost, type of education, location)?

Thanks for your thoughts. 🙂

 

[edkNARF]

I went on location, and the schools reputation on sending its students into specialty programs.

 

[runveryfast]

Hey everybody. I have been lucky enough to get into several of my top schools...now comes the hard part, deciding where to go. How is everybody making their decision (especially since with dental schools, you aren't really compairing apples to apples), and what are the top factors that you are weighing (Cost, type of education, location)?

Thanks for your thoughts. 🙂

Jaws,

The reason why I chose Colorado was for a number of reasons. I liked that they take the first part of the boards after year one, which means more clinical time. I liked that they don't have a ton of specialty programs which means more clinical exposure. I liked that they are getting a new facility. Since I am a WICHE applicant I have the possibility of getting 20K/yr. for school. I liked their small class size which means that there is a less likely chance that you will "...fall through the cracks," that is what U of Nebraska says. Finally, Colorado is a nice state and moving to Denver will prevent me from living a complacent lifestyle in a small easy living city. Good luck on your decision.

 

[Rezdawg]

If I got into my state school, I would go there in a heartbeat. No point in spending 2-3x as much money for another school.

 

[JavadiCavity]

I wasn't interested in research. And, from my interveiw experience, with the exception of UNC, if the school was great at research, they were weak in the clinic.

So, for me, I based my decision on clinical experience. I thought I'd get a fantastic clinical education at Pacific. And, with the scholarship, the tuition became very comparable to the other dental schools I applied to (i.e. Arizona, Nova, Michigan, and Maryland). Oh, and the three year thing is REALLY nice.

 

[RxTech]

Hey everybody. I have been lucky enough to get into several of my top schools...now comes the hard part, deciding where to go. How is everybody making their decision (especially since with dental schools, you aren't really compairing apples to apples), and what are the top factors that you are weighing (Cost, type of education, location)?

Thanks for your thoughts. 🙂

I want lots of debt, so I'm going to NYU.

 

[BeachLuvr]

If I got into my state school, I would go there in a heartbeat. No point in spending 2-3x as much money for another school.

Rezdawg are you from Texas?

 

[trypmo]

I want lots of debt, so I'm going to NYU.

The deciding factors for me were that (a) one school, above the others, really felt like home to me (b) and my experiences with the students I met there gave me the feeling I would fit in best there. It was the completely intangible stuff that really cemented my choice.

It was the same way when I first came to visit the grad school I ultimately attended; I still remember my moment of revelation where I looked out over the city from a tall building and the thought "wow, I'd like for this to be my home" whispered itself into my ear.

I guess that, based on my experiences, I'd advise someone having trouble deciding (assuming you don't have the means to travel all over creation and visit them all again) to get in touch with some current students (either via SDN or through admissions maybe?) and get some conversations going. One of the most useful questions I've asked of current dental students is why they chose the school they did: if their reasons end up being the same as your priority list of what you're looking for in a school, then there's a good sign!


jmho, ymmv, $0.02, and all that.

 

[Rezdawg]

Rezdawg are you from Texas?

Yeah, from Houston, HTown.

 

[Profchaos]

I wasn't interested in research. And, from my interveiw experience, with the exception of UNC, if the school was great at research, they were weak in the clinic.

So, for me, I based my decision on clinical experience. I thought I'd get a fantastic clinical education at Pacific. And, with the scholarship, the tuition became very comparable to the other dental schools I applied to (i.e. Arizona, Nova, Michigan, and Maryland). Oh, and the three year thing is REALLY nice.

BUMP once

 

[DrTacoElf]

$


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