(international)UCLA vs. Temple

[Landy]

Hi everyone, I am a non-Canadian international trained dentist.
Here is my profile: Before I apply to advanced standing programs, I had a master's degree in dental science (prostho) and 3 years of experience (all of which are training and internship) in my home country. My dental education was not in English and I do not have much experience in endo and pedo. I did research in the U.S. for one year. I would like to work as a general dentist in the future.
Currently, I had acceptance from UCLA and interviewed in Temple, which would send a decision in Jan. 2020.

Here are some points I learned from the interviews and comments from peers:

UCLA
Pros
Great name and faculty
Weather, LA city
Lowest cost in CA schools

Cons
Higher living expense
Limited patient pool

Temple
Pros
Larger patient pool
No prosthodontic department, DDS students have more comprehensive cases in prostho
Lower living expense

Cons
More cases required for graduation
Maybe stressful because of my proficiency in English

Thank you for reading and I really appreciate any comments!

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[artist2022]

Moving to International Dental as this seems to be for PPID programs, and not for 4 year DDS/DMD programs for predental students.

 

[Landy]

Moving to International Dental as this seems to be for PPID programs, and not for 4 year DDS/DMD programs for predental students.

Thank you for the correction. I did here because I couldn’t find a similar sub forum in the International Dental

 

[deleted978819]

I'd personally go with UCLA given the rep and faculty alone. Many dentists I have worked with have advised me not to weigh too heavily on costs when picking between schools as it ends up not mattering as much in the long run - even if it's a hard pill to swallow now. In terms of the prosthodontics at temple - id mainly weigh that in if you want to pursue prostho. UCLA would definitely be my pick.
Do you mind sharing your stats please?

 

[Landy]

I'd personally go with UCLA given the rep and faculty alone. Many dentists I have worked with have advised me not to weigh too heavily on costs when picking between schools as it ends up not mattering as much in the long run - even if it's a hard pill to swallow now. In terms of the prosthodontics at temple - id mainly weigh that in if you want to pursue prostho. UCLA would definitely be my pick.
Do you mind sharing your stats please?

Thank you for your comment. My main concern for UCLA is the small patient pool there. Have you been to any of these schools before? What do you think about it?
As for my stats, besides the info I listed in the thread, my BDS GPA is 3.09 and passed NBDE part 1 and 2 in 3 months.

 

[Lena1028]

What’s your choice now?

 

[deleted1003756]

Temple. I know the other is a great name, but too costly. Besides, not many would care from where did you graduated as long as you graduate. Also, if you get at the top of the class at Temple, will be better that doing average at UCLA.

There is a very famous surgeon out there who is from temple and nobody cares about that, BUT (here is the trick) he was among the top from Temple on his generation.

 

[chuckler]

Hi everyone, I am a non-Canadian international trained dentist.
Here is my profile: Before I apply to advanced standing programs, I had a master's degree in dental science (prostho) and 3 years of experience (all of which are training and internship) in my home country. My dental education was not in English and I do not have much experience in endo and pedo. I did research in the U.S. for one year. I would like to work as a general dentist in the future.
Currently, I had acceptance from UCLA and interviewed in Temple, which would send a decision in Jan. 2020.

Here are some points I learned from the interviews and comments from peers:

UCLA
Pros
Great name and faculty
Weather, LA city
Lowest cost in CA schools

Cons
Higher living expense
Limited patient pool

Temple
Pros
Larger patient pool
No prosthodontic department, DDS students have more comprehensive cases in prostho
Lower living expense

Cons
More cases required for graduation
Maybe stressful because of my proficiency in English

Thank you for reading and I really appreciate any comments!

Dr. Ho, just be relaxed and go to California. See you soon.