Just got BU Interview 4/24... help?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

aquafoam

Jedi Master
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Messages
60
Reaction score
0
Hi All,

So I already sent both deposits to UPitt and even have my living situation there settled. I just got an interview for BU and I really wanted to stay in Boston... (this is my 5th year here). Should I go for it? It's close by and I guess I don't have anything to lose. Thoughts? Is the class mostly filled?

Thanks!

Members don't see this ad.
 
wow this is a tough one. what are some pros and cons about pitt and BU in your view? have you visited BU's dental school?
 
The class is filled on a rolling basis and as of last week, they have quite a bit of the class filled (a little over 2/3 is what I was told)

I think it isn't worth it, especially if you have UPitt set but that's just my opinion

Good luck!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Not to ruffle any feathers, but in my opinion, Pitt > BU.

You already got the living situation settled and put down your deposit. You're all ready to go. Unless you're just dying to stay in Boston, go to Pitt and explore a new city for the next 4 years of your life. You can move back to Boston afterwards if you want.

EDIT: Missed the fact that you're in Boston right now. Agree with cleanup, just go to the interview and figure it out later.
 
Last edited:
You said it's close by, so attending the interview would require very little effort. Just go. You can worry about it when/if you are accepted.
 
yeah I guess I see just trying it out. But Upitt > BU (no offense to anyone) so I think you are already better off
 
yeah I guess I see just trying it out. But Upitt > BU (no offense to anyone) so I think you are already better off

The fact that Boston is his home is an important dynamic that I feel people are missing... Who are you to say he's better off?

OP, just go and see how it is. Decide later. You're not well-equipped to make the decision now as you haven't visited BU and the possibility of attending a choice of the two isn't technically available to you yet. You never know until you try.
 
when I said better off, I was simply comparing the schools. Not the cities..sorry for the misconfusion

Good luck
 
Thank you for the advice everyone! I decided to still attend the interview and tour the school, since I have friends who currently attend the school. I may decide to go to BU for residency or specialization in the far future so it'd be nice to check out the facilities (and compare them with Pitt!)
 
I had an interview at both schools. Pitt>BU

Come to Pitt!
 
To everyone who replied and have any interest... I did in fact go to the interview yesterday and got accepted today.

My impression during the interview wasn't great though - they asked me how many offers I had standing, what other schools I applied to, and specifically asked if I also applied to Tufts and and Harvard. I thought they weren't supposed to ask those questions. I just told them I applied everywhere and didn't list specific schools.
 
My impression during the interview wasn't great though - they asked me how many offers I had standing, what other schools I applied to, and specifically asked if I also applied to Tufts and and Harvard. I thought they weren't supposed to ask those questions. I just told them I applied everywhere and didn't list specific schools.

That definitely would've rubbed me the wrong way. Sounds like they're trying to see if you like Boston as a city or whether you liked their school specifically. Either way, you still have Pitt :thumbup:
 
Go to the interview. Not going, will only make you wonder in the future what could have been. If they asked this late then they apparently like you! You should have no pressure going in, so naturally the interview should go really well. Look at it from an economics stand point.... only positive benefits can come from the interview. If the interview goes terrible you still have a great school in UPitt.

Congrats though
 
If you didn't like the school, withdraw for others who are dying to get into.
 
If you didn't like the school, withdraw for others who are dying to get into.

This is a good point.

If the school didn't impress you (particularly with their less-than-admirable questions/behaviour), then maybe Pitt is a better fit for you. There are people who would kill (not really, I hope) for your spot. Hope you can make a decision soon.

Congrats though! :)
 
I recently graduated from BU. My advice, go to Pitt.

I have no idea how good a school Pitt is or how helpful and competent the faculty are, but BU is going through a rough time and I would stay away if I were you.

Old facilities at BU. The clinic at BU is a nightmare to work in, they are trying to get together the funds to build a new school or at least slap a few floors on the side and top, a la tufts. In getting those funds together they have completely neglected the upkeep of their current clinic and it was a wreck.

Plus a large number of the faculty are fall into the low end of the competency ratings. There are a few great Instructors, but also there is a lot that either seriously need to retire or just don't know what they are doing.

Go to Pitt avoid the headaches.
 
What really sold me about Pitt is their research and stellar facilities. I just corresponded with their chair of research and it looks like I'll be pursuing a DMD/MS there!

BU placed heavy emphasis on "externships" and have few research opportunities. At UPitt they said they don't encourage externships because we won't have DMDs or licensure yet. Pitt doesn't want its students representing them to provide inadequate or lower quality care even to areas that are underserved. I agree with them.

In conclusion: I just sent in a notice declining the offer for someone else to have the seat :) Good luck to those that are waiting!

This is a good point.

If the school didn't impress you (particularly with their less-than-admirable questions/behaviour), then maybe Pitt is a better fit for you. There are people who would kill (not really, I hope) for your spot. Hope you can make a decision soon.

Congrats though! :)
 
I recently graduated from BU. My advice, go to Pitt.

I have no idea how good a school Pitt is or how helpful and competent the faculty are, but BU is going through a rough time and I would stay away if I were you.

Old facilities at BU. The clinic at BU is a nightmare to work in, they are trying to get together the funds to build a new school or at least slap a few floors on the side and top, a la tufts. In getting those funds together they have completely neglected the upkeep of their current clinic and it was a wreck.

Plus a large number of the faculty are fall into the low end of the competency ratings. There are a few great Instructors, but also there is a lot that either seriously need to retire or just don't know what they are doing.

Go to Pitt avoid the headaches.

Nothing has changed. What a sad state BU is in. I can't believe how crappy of facilities we put up with compared to other schools.

BU placed heavy emphasis on "externships" and have few research opportunities.

BU's idea of research is a joke. Students summarizing other researchers' work does not meet my definition of "research." To me that's called a term paper.

Those externships are there for 2 reasons.
1) APEX is useless waste; just an excuse for the school to charge you tuition for those 5 months of the rotation. If they eliminated it, they could shorten their program by an entire semester; but then they couldn't collect that extra tuition.
2) The 10 week D4 rotation exists because students hardly get any experience in the school's clinics because of the overcrowded facilities and the severe shortage of patients. Even with their pathetically low graduation requirements, without doing work at outside sites, almost zero students would graduate on time.
 
Top