FutureDocDental said:
Hello there brittnylee,
I was also invited to attend UPITT class of 2010. I have not made any final decision about where I am going to attend. Perhaps we interviewed together. What made you decide to go to PITT? Did you get into any other schools? Where did you apply? I am just very interested in hearing what you thought about them if so. Thank You. 🙄
Hey
🙂
I interviewed at Pitt (11/21) and Temple (10/21). I believe both schools have great programs and it was a tough decision to make. Temple's class size is 2x the size of Pitt's, and personally, coming from a small, private undergrad college, I was attracted to this and the ratio of students to professors.
Temple stresses it's clinical exposure, which is extremely important to me, however I am not saying that Pitt lacks in this area. I don't believe there is as much lab work at Pitt; I think Pitt's lab work starts you from square one, but for the most part mocks what a dentist would do in the real world. Temple seems to start you from square one and continues to have you starting your own lab work from scratch as well as mocks what a dentist would do in the real world. However, the students I spoke with at Temple and Pitt all seemed genuinely confident in their training enough to address any problems that may arise when, in the real world, you may need to adjust what the labs send you for your patients.
Pitt has newer and a greater amount of operatories in their simulation clinic, whereas although Temple also has a simulation clinic, I got the sense that they were more quick to allow the students to work on real patients, and that overall their students spent less time in the simulation clinic. You'd have to check on that to be sure, and I believe there are equally as many pros and cons to this if it is true.
I was very impressed with Pitt's interview - I met a lot of the professors and the deans, and I felt a genuine sense of sincerity. Although I didn't meet many professors at Temple, the ones I did meet were very friendly.
I don't know how much of a factor this is, but at Temple you are required to cart around your instruments to different operatories, but at Pitt you and a classmate are assigned to one operatory. I personally liked the assignment better. I also liked that at Pitt you
and a financial advisor sit down with the patients to discuss payment options, and that you are not responsible for outstanding fees that have not been paid for by the patients. I am not sure if this is the case at Temple, however Pitt seems a bit more pricey, but then again the cost if living is higher in Philly than in Pitt. It goes back and forth!
I live near Philly, so I felt it was necessary at this point in my life to get away from home since the undergrad college I attended was only about 5 miles from my house! I don't know much about Pitt, I hear it has a 'midwestern' feel to it and I loved the campus. I know Philly and it is definitely a fun city!
Ultimately, I suppose even amidst all of the program details and the interview experience, and even the rate of students that pass the clinical boards and the percentages of students that get into specialty programs, I made my decision based on my feeling I had when I was at both schools and which I personally felt more drawn to as a person. I also do not believe you should base your success on percentages of others' success, but on where you believe you will personally be most successful and be most likely to excel. I believe every aspect of every program has its pros and cons, and we will truly only know these as a student and maybe not before, so I say go with your gut!
Well now that I have completed my novel (blah, sorry!), if anyone else has anything to say I'd love to hear your opinions as well!
~Brittany
😉
