I need some advice UF vs. UoP

[smilesmile1122]

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I am extremely happy about my acceptance into UF and UoP dental schools, now I need help. UoP has been my dream school for years for several reasons including the 3 year program but is the cost worth it? I am a Florida resident and UF would be a lot cheaper and a great school too.

What would you do and why?

Thank you all

 

[UCSD6]

Go to the cheaper school!

Don't get caught up in all the other bs schools try to sell u on. All dental schools are the same, in a sense that they prepare u enough to pass ur boards. You can specialize from any school, you can do research at any school, these are all individual skills, its not the school that allows u to specialize, its u.

 

[smilesmile1122]

Bump

 

[lemoncurry]

go to the cheaper school. just remember that UoP is 3 years and you have to factor in the additional year of potential income (they say it is an extra year in the middle of your career) as to which one will be cheaper.

 

[UCSD6]

Once again got to the cheaper school, you can't factor in your potential income in the middle of your career because you don't know what you will be making. Too many factors involved, who knows what the average salaries will be by then. What you do know is that going to the cheaper school you will come out less in debt. That is a fact! I am willing to bet that UF is atleats 100000 cheaper than UOP, not including interest. Be smart and make the right decision. Again, this is assuming that money is a factor in your decision.

 

[noles]

how is this even a question?

 

[smilesmile1122]

why not?

 

[GTFOOMICT]

I price out UoF at $240 at most.

UoP prices out at $380.

Both are disgusting.

Take the UoF.

 

[billythekid]

Take Florida. Cheaper dental schools are a way better choice.

 

[noles]

why not?

pretty much under 100k vs. over 300k. google compounding interest. this seems like a no-brainer to me

even if your parents (or sugardaddy/cougar) are paying the ENTIRE bill i would still 100% choose UF and have them buy me a porsche turbo for finishing undergrad. they would still have money left over too = great selling point!!!

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

UF all the way

 

[bigbadaboom]

if you plan to stay in Florida, UF, get your networking going.

if you plan to be a dentist in California, (who in the right mind would?), go to UoP

UoP and other California school grads have tough time finding work in California, they end up moving out of state anyway.

 

[sddat]

IF you want to live in CA, GO TO UoP. Just the way boards work there...it's portfolio based. So you would waste an entire year if you came from out of state (UF).

I suggest UoP personally. I want to live in CA. I think it's incredibly important to have that extra year to work and gain experience. I also know that UF is grueling as well. Either way you are going to work very hard. Maybe harder at UoP. But no summers off at UF either.

If I had the choice, I would pick UoP. I wish I applied there personally.

 

[smilesmile1122]

Bump

 

[briansle]

IF you want to live in CA, GO TO UoP. Just the way boards work there...it's portfolio based. So you would waste an entire year if you came from out of state (UF).

I suggest UoP personally. I want to live in CA. I think it's incredibly important to have that extra year to work and gain experience. I also know that UF is grueling as well. Either way you are going to work very hard. Maybe harder at UoP. But no summers off at UF either.

If I had the choice, I would pick UoP. I wish I applied there personally.

To the OP:

I hope you aren't seriously listening to this.

UF. no debate. If you pick UOP you're gonna suffer after you graduate and you will deserve to suffer. For passing up a state school for which you are a resident in.

 

[xXRAYNEXx]

If u had more than 2 brain cells, u pick UF!

Sent from my PC36100

 

[NileBDS]

OP, take this advice with a grain of salt (went to UOP, was waitlisted at UF - very familiar with both programs)




It really makes me cringe when people advise young dentiststo go to the cheapest school. Why? Really … WHY? Do you walk into a car showroom and ask for the cheapest car? Take your kids to the cheapest school you can get them into? Buy the cheapest house? Buy the cheapest health insurance? Why should dental/professional education be any different? The rea lquestion is how much do you value an education? How much worth do you see in that experience? No, not all schools are equal, and not all will "sew" similar qualities and philosophies "seeds" in their respective graduates. Aside the fact that you will have a degree and hopefully license once you're out, that is where most similarities end. Some schools actually see more value in the "product" they are selling,and hence ask for a higher fee, as you will in your practice later on in life. Your dental education is an investment like any other, but also unlike most you will make throughout your professional life. This is an investment in YOU, your future and your livelihood and should be approached as such.



I personally had an amazing time at Pacific (UOP). I hadgreat mentors, rubbed shoulders with great people, had an excellent and challenging academic curriculum and arguably one of the best clinical experiences you will find anywhere in this country. I wouldlike to believe that I am whoever I am today professionally, in part due to my formative years spent at UOP. That can never be understated, and can never be conveyed through simple words on an internet forum board. It's a true experience.



Luck for you, both your picks (UOP and UF) are excellentschools, so I do not think you will be very off in choosing either one. That'sa good problem to have. BUT, I could argue all day long in fact that UOP is abetter financial decision, and overall, you may even come out ahead. Simplycomparing tuition, fees and COA of various schools is terribly nearsighted inmy opinion, and will inevitably lead to a poor decision, and possibly even someregrets later down the road.



Lets actually assume both these programs were perfectlyequal financially … which school/program/city would you want to spend the nextfew years of your life at? You mentioned UOP had been your dream school. Nowask yourself why? How about living away from home for a few years? Experiencinga different city, state, culture for a few years? You can always come back hometo practice, but these life experiences are what make for a good/poor qualityof life, and what you will remember when your loans are long paid off. That, inaddition to many other intangible factors, should all be accounted for as partof your total "experience package" when weighing where to go to school.



Good luck with your decision, and best of luck in school!

 

[UCSD6]

@nileBDS

Are you kidding me, that is terrible advice. Both schools will offer you a good experience, both schools will offer you research, an opportunity to network, meet leaders in dentistry, specialize, achieve you main goal of becoming a dentist. All selling points that schools will use. The fact is that they don't cost the same, UOP is significantly more expensive, is that extra 100000k not including interest worth the experience? The answer HELL KNOW! By the way you don't buy a ferrari when you can't afford one, that why I don't have one.

 

[Timpson]

👍 Great Post. I still think UF is better just cuz it is significantly cheaper, but I think your argument is particularly valid when comparing expensive private schools to each other where cost differences are not so magnified. These are 4 years (or 3) that you will never get back in the prime time of your life. I went to a boring school so I knew that for d-school I wanted to be in a big exciting city. I can always live the cheapr, rural life after I graduate and move somewhere where dentistry is not so saturated.

OP, take this advice with a grain of salt (went to UOP, was waitlisted at UF - very familiar with both programs)




It really makes me cringe when people advise young dentiststo go to the cheapest school. Why? Really … WHY? Do you walk into a car showroom and ask for the cheapest car? Take your kids to the cheapest school you can get them into? Buy the cheapest house? Buy the cheapest health insurance? Why should dental/professional education be any different? The rea lquestion is how much do you value an education? How much worth do you see in that experience? No, not all schools are equal, and not all will “sew” similar qualities and philosophies “seeds” in their respective graduates. Aside the fact that you will have a degree and hopefully license once you’re out, that is where most similarities end. Some schools actually see more value in the “product” they are selling,and hence ask for a higher fee, as you will in your practice later on in life. Your dental education is an investment like any other, but also unlike most you will make throughout your professional life. This is an investment in YOU, your future and your livelihood and should be approached as such.



I personally had an amazing time at Pacific (UOP). I hadgreat mentors, rubbed shoulders with great people, had an excellent and challenging academic curriculum and arguably one of the best clinical experiences you will find anywhere in this country. I wouldlike to believe that I am whoever I am today professionally, in part due to my formative years spent at UOP. That can never be understated, and can never be conveyed through simple words on an internet forum board. It’s a true experience.



Luck for you, both your picks (UOP and UF) are excellentschools, so I do not think you will be very off in choosing either one. That’sa good problem to have. BUT, I could argue all day long in fact that UOP is abetter financial decision, and overall, you may even come out ahead. Simplycomparing tuition, fees and COA of various schools is terribly nearsighted inmy opinion, and will inevitably lead to a poor decision, and possibly even someregrets later down the road.



Lets actually assume both these programs were perfectlyequal financially … which school/program/city would you want to spend the nextfew years of your life at? You mentioned UOP had been your dream school. Nowask yourself why? How about living away from home for a few years? Experiencinga different city, state, culture for a few years? You can always come back hometo practice, but these life experiences are what make for a good/poor qualityof life, and what you will remember when your loans are long paid off. That, inaddition to many other intangible factors, should all be accounted for as partof your total “experience package” when weighing where to go to school.



Good luck with your decision, and best of luck in school!

 

[NileBDS]

👍 Great Post. I still think UF is better just cuz it is significantly cheaper, but I think your argument is particularly valid when comparing expensive private schools to each other where cost differences are not so magnified.

...

Let's crunch some numbers then.



University of Florida 4-year instate COA = $235,680

[$58,920 x 4]
http://www.dental.ufl.edu/Offices/Admissions/DMD/cost_attendance.php



Pacific total 3-year COA = $383,575

[$84,179 (LP1) + $73,476 (LP2) + $74,441 (LP3) + $73,215 (LP4)+ $78,264 (LP1-4 off-campus room & board)]
http://dental.pacific.edu/Academic_...nd_Fees/Estimating_Your_Attendance_Costs.html



$383,575 - $235,680 = a total difference of a whopping $147,895. Surely no chump change, but that's what it is. If you go to UF, assuming you are a Florida resident for all 4 years, you graduate a year late, and save $147,895 in total costs. Conversely, if you go to UOP, you are expected to graduate a year early, and $147,895 in additional accrued debt. No need to get into tedious arguments about compounding interest over 'X' amount of years or detailed breakdown of interest accrued.


Let's take a round figure of $150,000. That is what this egregious and reckless decision to go to UOP -your dream school- would end up costing you, versus going to a pretty sensible state school. The obvious choice.


UOP class of 2015. UF class of 2016. That's an extra year in practice. An extra year of income. An extra year of real-world experience.


Ask yourself this: do you not expect to make $150,000 a year as a general dentist? I know plenty of associates making much more than that. I personally know of many first year associates that make at-least that.


What if we view that extra year you save at UOP as an extra year that you are still in practice at the end of your career? What do you suspect as a seasoned 25 or 30 year veteran general dentist takes home from his practice? If you guessed anything less than $250,000, you would be mistaken.


Wait a minute … how about specializing? An end-of-career added year of income as your choice of dental specialist: $250,00-$500,000 ?



Yet UOP is UN-imaginably expensive at $147,895 more than U of F.



Face-value can be deceiving.

 

[UCSD6]

I don't understand the whole get out a year early and make more money. This is a terrible way to look at the situation. For one, it will take you a lot more time to pay off all that uop debt vs the florida debt. The cost of that saving a year, is the difference of the two school as well as the compouning interest on about 383,000k. Depending on how long it takes you to pay off that debt, you sure as hell could end up paying over 250,000 for the extra year. The high monthly re-payments will force you to slave away and change the way you practice. Plus, you will not have as much financial freedom coming out to start you own practice, etc.
Once again this is not a hard decision.

 

[toothster]

I don't understand the whole get out a year early and make more money. This is a terrible way to look at the situation. For one, it will take you a lot more time to pay off all that uop debt vs the florida debt. The cost of that saving a year, is the difference of the two school as well as the compouning interest on about 383,000k. Depending on how long it takes you to pay off that debt, you sure as hell could end up paying over 250,000 for the extra year. The high monthly re-payments will force you to slave away and change the way you practice. Plus, you will not have as much financial freedom coming out to start you own practice, etc.
Once again this is not a hard decision.

I agree with this post. I had the same dilemma. I was accepted to both UOP and an in state school. UOP was my dream school, but once I started crunching the numbers, I couldn't rationalize that increased debt. Yeah, you'll get out a year earlier, but the interest will kill you. Look up an interest calculator. If you paid off your debt in 10 years at UOP, your monthly payments will be ~ $4600 a month, at U of F you're looking at ~$2900 a month. That's paying $55,200/year vs 34,800/per year, or $552,000 vs 348,000 over the 10 year period. With the extra year, you're entire income won't be going to paying off your loans. You may be able to pay off $50,000 more of your loans, but you will still be paying 150,000 more going to UOP than U of F. You'll actually be loosing a year of income by going to UOP. If that's worth it to you, then go for it.

 

[billythekid]

To the OP: crunch the numbers yourself, and keep in mind that those people who went to UOP are just trying to validate their past decisions. Who wants to admit they made the wrong decision? The same can be said for many people who went to state schools.

This is also true for people who complete GPRs. Usually the people who didn't do one say to not waste your time completing one. However, those that take an extra year for them, say that a GPR is the way to go.

 

[stateu2013]

Let's crunch some numbers then.



University of Florida 4-year instate COA = $235,680

[$58,920 x 4]
http://www.dental.ufl.edu/Offices/Admissions/DMD/cost_attendance.php



Pacific total 3-year COA = $383,575

[$84,179 (LP1) + $73,476 (LP2) + $74,441 (LP3) + $73,215 (LP4)+ $78,264 (LP1-4 off-campus room & board)]
http://dental.pacific.edu/Academic_...nd_Fees/Estimating_Your_Attendance_Costs.html



$383,575 - $235,680 = a total difference of a whopping $147,895. Surely no chump change, but that's what it is. If you go to UF, assuming you are a Florida resident for all 4 years, you graduate a year late, and save $147,895 in total costs. Conversely, if you go to UOP, you are expected to graduate a year early, and $147,895 in additional accrued debt. No need to get into tedious arguments about compounding interest over 'X' amount of years or detailed breakdown of interest accrued.


Let's take a round figure of $150,000. That is what this egregious and reckless decision to go to UOP -your dream school- would end up costing you, versus going to a pretty sensible state school. The obvious choice.


UOP class of 2015. UF class of 2016. That's an extra year in practice. An extra year of income. An extra year of real-world experience.


Ask yourself this: do you not expect to make $150,000 a year as a general dentist? I know plenty of associates making much more than that. I personally know of many first year associates that make at-least that.


What if we view that extra year you save at UOP as an extra year that you are still in practice at the end of your career? What do you suspect as a seasoned 25 or 30 year veteran general dentist takes home from his practice? If you guessed anything less than $250,000, you would be mistaken.


Wait a minute … how about specializing? An end-of-career added year of income as your choice of dental specialist: $250,00-$500,000 ?



Yet UOP is UN-imaginably expensive at $147,895 more than U of F.



Face-value can be deceiving.

With all due respect, it is frightening that there are practicing dentists out there that don't have even a basic understanding of taxes.

Additionally, these breakdowns of "opportunity cost" that are always posted on these forums frustrate the hell out of me with their obvious double jeopardy of living expenses.

 

[NileBDS]

With all due respect, it is frightening that there are practicing dentists out there that don't have even a basic understanding of taxes.

Additionally, these breakdowns of "opportunity cost" that are always posted on these forums frustrate the hell out of me with their obvious double jeopardy of living expenses.

I'm all ears. Enlighten me.