Is The Undergrad Price Tag Worth It?

[queenskillers]

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i think ive asked this question but i just wanted to see if i would get different responses........is it worth going to a private and payin all that money for ur undergrad if u are sure u want to go to dental school........how much does the institution u com from matter in the dental admission process......i was also thinking, say if one doesnt get into dental school and possibly would hav to jus settle for the bs degree they awarded to search for a job....in this scenerio, wouldnt it be worth it to pay for a private just in case for a back up degree.....jus curious.....thanks

 

[dane4695]

I don't know the answer to your question there, but I know I turned down other private schools to attend my state school. W/ scholarships I go for free... and it's just the most logical thing to do. I don't know if it will hurt me in the long run, but the consenus on the board is that it's better to get a high gpa from a so so school then a so so gpa from a awesome school. After all, you're stats as probably just through on an excel spreadsheet and they just check to see if you made the cut 🙂

 

[queenskillers]

thanks for the advice.............anyone else also hav their opinions on it?

 

[Supernumerary]

Save your money for dental school. With the exception of a few place like Harvard, most dental schools don't care where you went to school. Just be sure to do well wherever you go.

 

[edkNARF]

I happen to disagree with everyone here. I am assuming the original OP is currently a high school student applying to college. I am confident that you will probably choose dentistry as your career upon completion of your baccalaureate, but you may not. You may choose medicine (the horror!), or another profession. If you choose careers such as law or business you will find that these schools do give a great preference to certain schools (usually privates). I have chatted about my credentials with several adcoms from several different schools, and they say that you undergraduate school does make a difference when your application is reviewed. I would also suggest that you go with whatever schools "fits you best", regardless of where that school is in the US News and World Report ranking. It is also necessary to not that you also need to go where you and your family can afford, you don't want to put a large strain on your family's budget just to go the best school

 

[arns51]

the undergrad school does make a bit of a difference. However, its one of the last things that they look at. Your GPA, DAT, LOR, personal statement all matter much more. So is it worth it to shell out thousands of extra dollars for something that some dental schools will give slight consideration to? I dont think so, and if you are able to get a good GPA/DAT at a cheaper school then it is certainly not worth it.

 

[hockeydentist]

If your Dat and gpa are good, it doesn't matter what undergrad instiution you went too.

plus go where you can get the best education. good education means better scores on the DAT and then if your lucky instate dental school and maybe some scholarship money.

good luck
let us know what you decide

hd

 

[EHA DDS]

Save your money and go to a school you will like. Just get excellent grads, that's all they care about. When do they care about good schools? When you and another guy both have 3.8, they may lean towards the better school. But otherwise concentrate on doing well.

 

[onetoothleft]

I agree, if you are seriously considering dental school as a high school student then you are lightyears ahead of me and most of the people here. Plus you are probably a smart kid to be even asking that question, capable of getting a high score when you finally take the DATs.

Quite honestly, Dental school is not as competative as law and medical school. A smart and responsible kid like you could get at least a 21+ on your DAT and a 3.5 GPA. I think any highschool student that knows he/she is going to dental school that early in life can do that, because you have a goal and focus. With that you can go anywhere you want. Make sure you do some volunteerwork, shadowing, and research.

Therefore, I agree with the other posters. Go to the school with the best fit that will have the least debt. however, edkNARF is correct in saying that if you change your mind to law school, then you might be at a disadvantage.

I wish I knew so much about dentisty when I was your age! I will be an old fart when I graduate . . .

 

[anamod]

No

 

[Zurik5]

No

X10

 

[queenskillers]

wow u guys are truly great....all of u guys gave great advice that was very helpful..........i agree with the fact that i will be at a disadvantage if i do switch my career goals (at this point im very certain about them especially because i just shadowed my uncle for the whole last week and i enjoyed it)......what i figure is that if i do decide to change my career goals, ill know by my second year of college and at that point i can just apply as a transfer student to a prestigious private (although i heard this is difficult as well but since i will most likely keep a high gpa because im in an honors college program i should be in a decent position).......thanks a lot guys and any more advice is welcomed and really appreciated

 

[pmoney]

wow u guys are truly great....all of u guys gave great advice that was very helpful..........i agree with the fact that i will be at a disadvantage if i do switch my career goals (at this point im very certain about them especially because i just shadowed my uncle for the whole last week and i enjoyed it)......what i figure is that if i do decide to change my career goals, ill know by my second year of college and at that point i can just apply as a transfer student to a prestigious private (although i heard this is difficult as well but since i will most likely keep a high gpa because im in an honors college program i should be in a decent position).......thanks a lot guys and any more advice is welcomed and really appreciated

If you are a highschool student interested in D school, I suggest you look at the 7 year combined BS/DDS program between a couple of NY schools, including SUNY geneseo, fredonia, canisius, LeMoyne, and U buffalo SDM. This program allows you to automatically get a spot in UB after 3 yrs of undergrad, as long as you maintain a certain GPA (definietly manageable if youre a decent student) and get a certain score on the DAT (I think currently its a 18). Plus if you goto geneseo or fredonia you get state tuition and I know Canisius offers tons of scholarships. I myself am planning to apply to Canisisus and Geneseo (I'm a HS senior this year-Class of 05).


Hope this helped.

 

[Rezdawg]

If you want to use undergrad to get to the next level, that being dental school, go with the state school. No need to dish out the money at all. It makes little or no difference.

For me, I decided to go to private school for other reasons. All my friends went to UT-Austin, so if I had joined them there, I really wouldnt have branched out and grown on my own. So, I decided to go to a private school to gain more than just a classroom education. I wanted the overall experience that I dont think I would have gotten if I went to UT. Of course, I ended up getting my arse kicked in school, but I also experienced things that I wouldnt have had I stayed in state. Worth the money? Its tough to say. But I do know that the friends/experiences there will last me a lifetime. I wouldnt want to give that up to save the extra bucks.

 

[drat]

I am a firm believer that your undergrad education is what you make out of it. You can get a great education at top notch private school or a state school but if you don't apply yourself outside of the lecture halls (research, interact with your professors, participate in extracurriculars, etc.), you have cheated yourself out of something more worthwhile than a 4.0. Personally, I am happy that I went to a private school because I think having a smaller class size allowed for more individual attention from my professors. This was helpful both in learning the material better and certainly came in handy when I requested letters of recommendation.

 

[Sprgrover]

I am a firm believer that your undergrad education is what you make out of it. You can get a great education at top notch private school or a state school but if you don't apply yourself outside of the lecture halls (research, interact with your professors, participate in extracurriculars, etc.), you have cheated yourself out of something more worthwhile than a 4.0. Personally, I am happy that I went to a private school because I think having a smaller class size allowed for more individual attention from my professors. This was helpful both in learning the material better and certainly came in handy when I requested letters of recommendation.

I agree. I, however, went to state schools. Yes, I had large classes, but I had some small ones too. What I discovered is that by working hard, always attending class, and making a point to get to know your professors it is easy to be a big fish in a big pond. Besides getting some great LOR, I also made some good friends, went to lots of dinner parties, and did plenty of house/pet sitting for some of my professors. If you apply yourself academically then it will show through on your transcripts and DAT scores. If you develop your interpersonal skills then that will shine through in an interview - and I think that will eclipse any 'name' of an undergraduate institution. I recommend that you save the money (you'll have plenty of opportunities later on to collect debt, believe me) and pick a decent public school that you feel you could call home for the next fours years. Best of luck!

 

[zimaad]

Here is my $.02. Undergraduate school as a whole can be one of the greatest experiences of your life. It is first and foremost there for educational purposes, but a close second is the life experiences and personal growth that you get. My point is, go to a school where you think you will mesh best. If you don't like the thought of a huge general chemistry class with 1 professor to 500+ students, then a huge state school may not be the ticket.(by the way..they always have free tutors available to help you out if you want) I personally went to a large state school of 25,000+ students. I loved almost every minute of it. I took a challenging curriculum and managed to meet my now best friends, go to tons of football games including my school playing(and losing) in the national championship, have lots of fun, and still get a great education.

You can get into almost any dental school no matter where you go to undergrad. My advice is to go wherever you think you can get the education you want and can become a part of the culture of that school.

 

[drPheta]

WIth regard to utility in admissions and pursuing medicine/dental/pharmacy/podiatry/optometry/chiropractic/etc...

I personally think private UNDERGRAD is useless for the health profession admissions. However, for law, business, etc. being an alumn of a private school will make a big difference. Every LARGE university will have the basic science classes to teach you what you need to know for the DAT and health prof admissions. The difference comes from the perks. Does your state school provide an extensive research network? How about excellent resources for you to use at your liesure, like facilities. Is the school convenient and conducive to your learning and success? Everyone needs different, but I'm one who can adapt to all institutions, so I'd take a state school over private for undergrad (if you have a choice). In fact, I'd have taken my state dental school over Tufts if I weren't rejected (I'm still bitter at UMDNJ for their blatant lying), but everything works out in your favor in the end.

If you foresee that you're definitely going to attend a health prof school after undergrad AND you are very resourceful with and laid back about what you have, save the cash and take the state school

What you should worry about is what programs at your state school suck compared to your potential private universities, and vice versa. Sometimes the private school will have better research opportunities. For example, Stanford will kick the crap out of most (if not all) Cal State Universities. On the otherhand, Rutgers University (I feel) spanks Princeton in terms of health professions preparation. I will, though, take Princeton over Rutgers any day when it comes to pre-law or pre-business.

HTH.