I wish I had more choice! [NYU or UMinn?]

[BobLoblawDDS]

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I don't want to be greedy or pompous or anything. I just honestly wish I had more choice at the moment. I have not received any rejections but I have heard nothing from the majority of schools I've applied to.

I feel lucky to have acceptances from both of the schools I've interviewed at so far (I interviewed at Case on Dec 1 and likely won't hear from them until mid-to-late January so I need to at least make a deposit now), but it digs at me inside that I wish I had more choice. I am not in LOVE with either school I am able to attend at the moment and I am unsure what to do. The fact that I'm going to be a dentist hasn't really settled in and I admit when I got the acceptances I wasn't particularly happy. My parents weren't, either. They viewed the schools as safety schools, I guess. Overly expensive and relatively unachieving in their eyes.

Deep inside though, I am praying for more interviews in the new year from my top choice schools (UPenn, Harvard, Columbia) but I know the chances are slim. I am confused as to why I'm not rejected after 3 months of review. It's a confusing and agonizing wait. If I had rejections I would feel far less ambivalent about this.

tl;dr: I have asked about this in previous threads but thought I might as well make a thread. At the moment I need to at least decide between NYU and UMinn. Any advice is appreciated! My stats are in my Pre-Dents profile and I am currently an international student, so UMinn is $14-$15k more a year to attend, but NYC is comparably much more expensive to live in than Minneapolis, obviously. Please feel free to chime in. 😳

 

[bing12]

I don't want to be greedy or pompous or anything. I just honestly wish I had more choice at the moment. I have not received any rejections but I have heard nothing from the majority of schools I've applied to.

I feel lucky to have acceptances from both of the schools I've interviewed at so far (I interviewed at Case on Dec 1 and likely won't hear from them until mid-to-late January so I need to at least make a deposit now), but it digs at me inside that I wish I had more choice. I am not in LOVE with either school I am able to attend at the moment and I am unsure what to do. The fact that I'm going to be a dentist hasn't really settled in and I admit when I got the acceptances I wasn't particularly happy. My parents weren't, either. They viewed the schools as safety schools, I guess. Overly expensive and relatively unachieving in their eyes.

Deep inside though, I am praying for more interviews in the new year from my top choice schools (UPenn, Harvard, Columbia) but I know the chances are slim. I am confused as to why I'm not rejected after 3 months of review. It's a confusing and agonizing wait. If I had rejections I would feel far less ambivalent about this.

tl;dr: I have asked about this in previous threads but thought I might as well make a thread. At the moment I need to at least decide between NYU and UMinn. Any advice is appreciated! My stats are in my Pre-Dents profile and I am currently an international student, so UMinn is $14-$15k more a year to attend, but NYC is comparably much more expensive to live in than Minneapolis, obviously. Please feel free to chime in. 😳

just because you mention it, doesnt mean you dont sound like it. If these are the only schools you received acceptances to, then clearly they are NOT safety schools.

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

just because you mention it, doesnt mean you dont sound like it. If these are the only schools you received acceptances to, then clearly they are NOT safety schools.

I didn't mean they were safety schools to me, but to my parents, which sort of marrs my perception of them I guess. I'm just a bit disappointed that I didn't interview at one of my top choice schools. Ultimately I'm trying to make the best decision I can at the moment!

 

[bing12]

I didn't mean they were safety schools to me, but to my parents, which sort of marrs my perception of them I guess. I'm just a bit disappointed that I didn't interview at one of my top choice schools. Ultimately I'm trying to make the best decision I can at the moment!

how many international students attend Uminn? it seems that both schools will be similarly priced after you include cost of living. I know NYU has over a 100 international students. Where would you rather live? and How many classmates would you like to have?

 

[wired202808]

I don't want to be greedy or pompous or anything. I just honestly wish I had more choice at the moment. I have not received any rejections but I have heard nothing from the majority of schools I've applied to.

I feel lucky to have acceptances from both of the schools I've interviewed at so far (I interviewed at Case on Dec 1 and likely won't hear from them until mid-to-late January so I need to at least make a deposit now), but it digs at me inside that I wish I had more choice. I am not in LOVE with either school I am able to attend at the moment and I am unsure what to do. The fact that I'm going to be a dentist hasn't really settled in and I admit when I got the acceptances I wasn't particularly happy. My parents weren't, either. They viewed the schools as safety schools, I guess. Overly expensive and relatively unachieving in their eyes.

Deep inside though, I am praying for more interviews in the new year from my top choice schools (UPenn, Harvard, Columbia) but I know the chances are slim. I am confused as to why I'm not rejected after 3 months of review. It's a confusing and agonizing wait. If I had rejections I would feel far less ambivalent about this.

tl;dr: I have asked about this in previous threads but thought I might as well make a thread. At the moment I need to at least decide between NYU and UMinn. Any advice is appreciated! My stats are in my Pre-Dents profile and I am currently an international student, so UMinn is $14-$15k more a year to attend, but NYC is comparably much more expensive to live in than Minneapolis, obviously. Please feel free to chime in. 😳

hey ill chime in again. NYU is def the way to go between those two. Nice city and nicer school. Better clinical exposure and better quality of life.

Costs will not matter significantly at that point, plus you'll probably get in somewhere else later down the line and will probably choose an alternate school anyway.

 

[dantemac]

Both are great schools. As an international student, I think I'd want to live in New York City. Can't go wrong with NYU.

 

[toothexplore]

go to new york! i can't even locate minneapolis on a map.....

 

[Golfguy]

Cleanup, I would make the decision based off of where you want to live, and which school you think is superior. Use those two to make the decision for your initial deposit.

I personally like U of MN better, and have heard things about NYU that I don't particularly care for. I am a little older, so maybe you would like to experience the cultural life that NYC has to offer as a younger person.

Do your parents know anything about these schools or dentistry? If not, don't make your decision based off of their perceptions, make it for the best interests of YOU!

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

Cleanup, I would make the decision based off of where you want to live, and which school you think is superior. Use those two to make the decision for your initial deposit.

I personally like U of MN better, and have heard things about NYU that I don't particularly care for. I am a little older, so maybe you would like to experience the cultural life that NYC has to offer as a younger person.

Do your parents know anything about these schools or dentistry? If not, don't make your decision based off of their perceptions, make it for the best interests of YOU!

I think that yes, I would rather live in NYC, and that seems to be a driving factor for many of my friends giving me their opinions. I think they're sort of blinded by the romance of living in New York, though.

Would you care to elaborate on why you prefer UMN over NYU? 🙂 I'm all ears at the moment.

 

[amalgamgrillz]

I don't want to be greedy or pompous or anything. I just honestly wish I had more choice at the moment. I have not received any rejections but I have heard nothing from the majority of schools I've applied to.

I feel lucky to have acceptances from both of the schools I've interviewed at so far (I interviewed at Case on Dec 1 and likely won't hear from them until mid-to-late January so I need to at least make a deposit now), but it digs at me inside that I wish I had more choice. I am not in LOVE with either school I am able to attend at the moment and I am unsure what to do. The fact that I'm going to be a dentist hasn't really settled in and I admit when I got the acceptances I wasn't particularly happy. My parents weren't, either. They viewed the schools as safety schools, I guess. Overly expensive and relatively unachieving in their eyes.

Deep inside though, I am praying for more interviews in the new year from my top choice schools (UPenn, Harvard, Columbia) but I know the chances are slim. I am confused as to why I'm not rejected after 3 months of review. It's a confusing and agonizing wait. If I had rejections I would feel far less ambivalent about this.

tl;dr: I have asked about this in previous threads but thought I might as well make a thread. At the moment I need to at least decide between NYU and UMinn. Any advice is appreciated! My stats are in my Pre-Dents profile and I am currently an international student, so UMinn is $14-$15k more a year to attend, but NYC is comparably much more expensive to live in than Minneapolis, obviously. Please feel free to chime in. 😳

You graduated from UofT with an insane GPA - that's crazy impressive, so don't feel feel bad about saying these are safety schools. I hope you applied to Canadian schools, because you'll get picked up in a heartbeat.

That being said, the only way we Canadians can really justify going to the states for dentistry/medicine (without being "that guy who had to go to the States," even if we willingly chose to go), is by going to a very well-respected school. NYU gives you that luxury. Despite being an arguably better deal, I would give up Minnesota and go to NYU.

 

[mc719]

I think that yes, I would rather live in NYC, and that seems to be a driving factor for many of my friends giving me their opinions. I think they're sort of blinded by the romance of living in New York, though.

Would you care to elaborate on why you prefer UMN over NYU? 🙂 I'm all ears at the moment.

I'm in the same situation as you. I was expecting a lot more from this application cycle. It's definitely humbling and very frustrating. After doing well on the DAT and maintaining a high GPA, I thought I was going to be able to get into whatever dental school I wanted. Haha, I guess I needed to be humbled. But unless I hear from another one of the schools I applied to, I'm going to NYU. They have the biggest patient base of any dental school in the country. NYU is also very big and they have a lot of specialty programs. If I end up wanting to specialize, I would have every resource necessary to do so at NYU. Even though it isn't the most competitive school, I think that is 100% because of the cost, not because it is lacking in any area.

 

[chippy]

it saddens me that you think MN is "unachieving." it beats NYU on every list in this link: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/archive/index.php/t-29733.html.

also, MN has an awesome new sim lab. Minnesotans are known for being nice. Minnesota is cheaper (in terms of cost of living). Minnesota has a smaller class size. You're Canadian...and Minnesotans like Canadians no matter what How I Met Your Mother Says. You'll always get a white Christmas.

also...someone seemed to think Minneapolis lacked culture, like there's nothing to do or something. its a metro area of 3.5+ million. There's gonna be stuff to do, don't worry.

also...why'd you apply somewhere you don't want to go? seems like the wrong approach

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

it saddens me that you think MN is "unachieving." it beats NYU on every list in this link: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/archive/index.php/t-29733.html.

also, MN has an awesome new sim lab. Minnesotans are known for being nice. Minnesota is cheaper (in terms of cost of living). Minnesota has a smaller class size. You're Canadian...and Minnesotans like Canadians no matter what How I Met Your Mother Says. You'll always get a white Christmas.

also...someone seemed to think Minneapolis lacked culture, like there's nothing to do or something. its a metro area of 3.5+ million. There's gonna be stuff to do, don't worry.

also...why'd you apply somewhere you don't want to go? seems like the wrong approach

Wow. People need to read my original post a little more carefully. I have no issue with either school. I am disappointed because I didn't have the opportunity to interview at my top choice schools, and I am not head-over-heels for either UMN or NYU. My parents believe neither school is up to their standards, but by no means does this mean that I feel the same way. Just because I don't love a school doesn't mean I look down upon it. I didn't mean to personally offend anybody, regardless of where they're from.

For what it's worth, I was initially leaning toward Minnesota before about 8000 people tried to persuade me to deposit at NYU instead. Now I'm not sure what to think, and I need to sleep on it for a while.

I'm always looking for more feedback though.

[Edit] Also, the thread you linked just reads like a bunch of people bickering. UMN certainly has a higher GPA average than NYU, but IMO that's largely artificial due to NYU's cost scare factor. Most people who go to UMN are still Minnesotans (yes, I am aware of the decent amount of Canadians as well), who achieved highly and as a result earned the right to attend their state school, such as yourself. It doesn't mean either school is worse than the other, though.

 

[chippy]

not personally offended. i was trying to crack some jokes actually.
but...you are obviously shooting for ivy league.
Minnesota might not be that glamorous, but it's a good school with good people.

Good luck.

 

[FROGGBUSTER]

I think you need to give yourself more credit for getting acceptances in the first place. Parents don't know anything. They don't know how tough it is in this day and age to even get in, so give yourself a huge pat on the back. It's also tougher for Canadians in the first place, I presume.

I just checked out your Presents profile, your stats are awesome. Honestly, you'll be fine anywhere you go. Also, the game is not over yet - it's still early December. Great job thus far, chin up!

 

[AKGopher]

Wow. People need to read my original post a little more carefully. I have no issue with either school. I am disappointed because I didn't have the opportunity to interview at my top choice schools, and I am not head-over-heels for either UMN or NYU. My parents believe neither school is up to their standards, but by no means does this mean that I feel the same way. Just because I don't love a school doesn't mean I look down upon it. I didn't mean to personally offend anybody, regardless of where they're from.

For what it's worth, I was initially leaning toward Minnesota before about 8000 people tried to persuade me to deposit at NYU instead. Now I'm not sure what to think, and I need to sleep on it for a while.

I'm always looking for more feedback though.

[Edit] Also, the thread you linked just reads like a bunch of people bickering. UMN certainly has a higher GPA average than NYU, but IMO that's largely artificial due to NYU's cost scare factor. Most people who go to UMN are still Minnesotans (yes, I am aware of the decent amount of Canadians as well), who achieved highly and as a result earned the right to attend their state school, such as yourself. It doesn't mean either school is worse than the other, though.

I am an undergrad at MN and also got accepted to their dental school. I love it here in MN! I'm not sure about whether I'll attend school here, because I'm from AK and want to go out west (I also got accepted to UW) but I wouldn't go to NYU if I had the chance. The reason is simple: class size and living expenses. MN is smaller by more than 100 people, so you'll have better opportunities to develop strong relationships with your professors. Its also relatively reasonable to live here (I split a 1 bedroom fully furnished apt with all electric and internet provided for $1150) there's no WAY you could find that in NYC. Honestly your patients are not going to care where you went as long as you're a competent dentist, so why not choose the cheaper (in terms of living expenses) route? And the SIM clinic that Chippy was talking about is amazing!

Its a big decision, and I'm going to post my indecisiveness as well, but if you're looking for a friendly atmosphere (its called Minnesota nice for a reason) as well as some great things to do, then MN is your place. Being from AK I love the outdoors and go camping/hiking/swimming/bike riding/fishing constantly, and there is never a shortage of things to do outside. There's no WAY you could do that in NYC, or be somewhere that you could in any reasonable amount of time, where as it takes only 15 minutes to get out of the Cities here...just my thoughts 🙂

 

[BobLoblawDDS]

I am an undergrad at MN and also got accepted to their dental school. I love it here in MN! I'm not sure about whether I'll attend school here, because I'm from AK and want to go out west (I also got accepted to UW) but I wouldn't go to NYU if I had the chance. The reason is simple: class size and living expenses. MN is smaller by more than 100 people, so you'll have better opportunities to develop strong relationships with your professors. Its also relatively reasonable to live here (I split a 1 bedroom fully furnished apt with all electric and internet provided for $1150) there's no WAY you could find that in NYC. Honestly your patients are not going to care where you went as long as you're a competent dentist, so why not choose the cheaper (in terms of living expenses) route? And the SIM clinic that Chippy was talking about is amazing!

Its a big decision, and I'm going to post my indecisiveness as well, but if you're looking for a friendly atmosphere (its called Minnesota nice for a reason) as well as some great things to do, then MN is your place. Being from AK I love the outdoors and go camping/hiking/swimming/bike riding/fishing constantly, and there is never a shortage of things to do outside. There's no WAY you could do that in NYC, or be somewhere that you could in any reasonable amount of time, where as it takes only 15 minutes to get out of the Cities here...just my thoughts 🙂

Though I understand the cons (and pros) of having such a large class size, I think that the faculty to student ratio at NYU is quite good. There's lots of small group learning; though pre-clinical might occur in enormous labs there seemed to be a lot of individual attention given. I may not be able to get to know ALL of the professors well, but I'll certainly have attention from MY professors/instructors.

The cost of living as you stated is my main concern with NYC. But I'm not from Minnesota so UMN is actually about $15k more than NYU for me to attend. That's $15k extra I can spend on living costs. I think at worst NYU would only cost a few extra thousand a year; at that point the decision rests more on where I'd rather study and live, which I guess is where I'm looking for advice, since although I may have my own preconceptions and ideas, I haven't lived in either city nor attended either school so I'm trying to garner as many opinions as possible.

In terms of lifestyle I think NYC fits me better, since I'm from Toronto and am used to a big-city atmosphere, where things are at my doorstep. I grew up in a much smaller city and love the outdoors as well, but over the years I've morphed into a city boy (I lived in Shanghai before moving to Toronto) and am unsure if I would welcome or struggle with another change in environment. Part of me wants to continue to explore more things; another part of me wants to just stick with what I know. This is why I wish I had the opportunity to attend one of my top choice schools; I feel like I'd be blinded by my excitement and would have little issue with making small sacrifices or compromises here and there in order to attend a school I was truly head over heels for... !

[Edit] After reading over this I guess it's sort of clear how people have swayed me over the past few days haha. But still, I'm really open to changing my decision. Also, is there anything that stops me from depositing at both schools if I'm truly still ambivalent in a couple weeks?

 

[spoog74]

Though I understand the cons (and pros) of having such a large class size, I think that the faculty to student ratio at NYU is quite good. There's lots of small group learning; though pre-clinical might occur in enormous labs there seemed to be a lot of individual attention given. I may not be able to get to know ALL of the professors well, but I'll certainly have attention from MY professors/instructors.

The cost of living as you stated is my main concern with NYC. But I'm not from Minnesota so UMN is actually about $15k more than NYU for me to attend. That's $15k extra I can spend on living costs. I think at worst NYU would only cost a few extra thousand a year; at that point the decision rests more on where I'd rather study and live, which I guess is where I'm looking for advice, since although I may have my own preconceptions and ideas, I haven't lived in either city nor attended either school so I'm trying to garner as many opinions as possible.

In terms of lifestyle I think NYC fits me better, since I'm from Toronto and am used to a big-city atmosphere, where things are at my doorstep. I grew up in a much smaller city and love the outdoors as well, but over the years I've morphed into a city boy (I lived in Shanghai before moving to Toronto) and am unsure if I would welcome or struggle with another change in environment. Part of me wants to continue to explore more things; another part of me wants to just stick with what I know. This is why I wish I had the opportunity to attend one of my top choice schools; I feel like I'd be blinded by my excitement and would have little issue with making small sacrifices or compromises here and there in order to attend a school I was truly head over heels for... !

[Edit] After reading over this I guess it's sort of clear how people have swayed me over the past few days haha. But still, I'm really open to changing my decision. Also, is there anything that stops me from depositing at both schools if I'm truly still ambivalent in a couple weeks?

If you plan on living in manhattan, i wouldnt go for it. NYC is bust as sht and really expensive. If you have the dough and wouldnt mind , go for it.