D3 at RSDM:
I can confirm that all the things you've mentioned as pros about Rutgers are true. Our first and second years are mainly didactic years that are very rigorous. They set us up for a strong foundation once we enter clinic. We start seeing patients around March of our D2 year, but prior to, we assist upperclassmen in clinic every week since D1 year. We have a VERY STRONG clinical background, in part due to the large amount of requirements needed to graduated. For example, we need to deliver 19 units of fixed (crowns/bridges) and 12 units of removable (dentures) in order to graduate, other schools differ. Due to our location, we have a diverse patient pool, there's really no need to go out and seek your own patients. The school will assign you patients. The vast majority of each graduating class will finish their requirements by graduation (May) without any issues. The small handful of people who don't are usually those who still need to do minor adjustments or just have extenuating circumstances. Everyone finishes within 1 month post graduation if needed, because residencies start around July.
To address your cons:
Although we have a very rigorous curriculum, the school offers many resources to ensure students do well in every course. This will also vary by class, but mine has been VERY COLLABORATIVE and FRIENDLY. We all help each other out and contribute to study guides. If you want to specialize, you will without any issues, so long as you put in the work. Newark as a city is like every other big city, you just have to be smart and not wander into certain areas. Security within the school campus is good. The campus dorms are connected to the library, med school, and dental school. You're also going to be deep in the midst of studying throughout the year to really care about the neighborhood/environment outside of campus. Most class/school events are held in Hoboken/JC/NYC anyways, and it's very easy to get to these areas by transit, uber, or car. I will agree that we don't have as much of an emphasis on extracurricular activities as other schools, but that's not to say that it's non-existent. We all are super busy during the year, but you will always see a club tabling outside of the student lounge on any given day. There are various club social events held throughout the year; it's all about the time management.
Tuition:
I'm IS so I'm not too familiar with the OOS switching process. However, many of my friends and classmates had no issues filling for IS after our first year. Our school also offers various academic scholarships that you can apply to starting your D2 year. It's not full tuition by any means, but every bit helps.
If I had to go back and choose between the various schools I was considering, I would choose RSDM again. It's offered me a lot and I'm learning plenty everyday. Finances were definitely a huge factor for me. The clinical experience has been very rewarding so far. Also, we just renovated our clinics, so there are a lot of nice things to look forward to. Every school is going to have its own issues; you can ask so many people from various schools and more often than not, we're all going to want to complain just to vent. Dental school's going to be whatever you make of it. Hope this spiel gives you whatever insight you needed to make a decision. Best of luck and congrats!
