Looking for Advice: Sticking It Out vs. Transferring

[daintydazi]

Hi everyone, I’m finishing up my first semester of D1, and it’s been a pretty challenging adjustment for me. While I’m grateful for the opportunity to be in dental school, I’ve been feeling unhappy with certain aspects of my experience and wanted to get some advice.

I’ve been struggling with how disorganized my school’s curriculum feels. The strict attendance policy combined with lectures that don’t contribute to my learning has made it challenging, and I often end up having to teach myself the material. Sim labs can be frustrating since there’s never enough faculty available for feedback, and the clinics are very outdated, which doesn’t feel great considering the high tuition. I’ve also noticed some favoritism from faculty, which adds to my frustrations. I know no school is perfect, but things like these and many other things have been hard to overlook.

Socially, it’s been a mixed bag. While I’ve found a small group of classmates to hang out with and have been slowly getting close to them, I still don’t feel super connected with everyone. The environment feels a bit cliquey, which makes it harder to branch out. To be fair, I’ve always been on the quieter side, so I know part of this is probably me.

I’m also finding it hard to enjoy the area I live in—it doesn’t feel like the right fit for me. There’s not much that excites me here, and the weather here affects my mood negatively. This makes me miss my life prior to moving here for dental school but I can’t really visit during breaks since my family is actually closer to the school I currently attend...

All of this has made me wonder if transferring to one of the schools that originally accepted me (I was accepted in the state that I used to live prior to moving for dental school) would make things better. I know transferring is very difficult and could mean repeating a semester, which would cost me both time and money. Plus, there’s no guarantee I’d feel happier at the new school. That said, I do think I’d enjoy living in that area more.

So, I’m torn: Should I stick it out and push through until I graduate, or should I attempt to transfer if it could POTENTIALLY improve my overall experience/happiness?
I’d love to hear from anyone who’s faced similar struggles, especially if you’ve transferred schools before. What helped you make your decision, and was it worth it?
Thanks so much for reading and for any advice you can offer!

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[Futureoms26]

There’s problems at all dental schools. If you look for the negative you’ll most likely find it. Try to focus on yourself and look on the bright side. Get through first year and it will get much better. If you move schools now you’ll just be starting over in respect to a new school, new cliques, and a different way of doing things.

 

[D1Bound]

Hi everyone, I’m finishing up my first semester of D1, and it’s been a pretty challenging adjustment for me. While I’m grateful for the opportunity to be in dental school, I’ve been feeling unhappy with certain aspects of my experience and wanted to get some advice.

I’ve been struggling with how disorganized my school’s curriculum feels. The strict attendance policy combined with lectures that don’t contribute to my learning has made it challenging, and I often end up having to teach myself the material. Sim labs can be frustrating since there’s never enough faculty available for feedback, and the clinics are very outdated, which doesn’t feel great considering the high tuition. I’ve also noticed some favoritism from faculty, which adds to my frustrations. I know no school is perfect, but things like these and many other things have been hard to overlook.

Socially, it’s been a mixed bag. While I’ve found a small group of classmates to hang out with and have been slowly getting close to them, I still don’t feel super connected with everyone. The environment feels a bit cliquey, which makes it harder to branch out. To be fair, I’ve always been on the quieter side, so I know part of this is probably me.

I’m also finding it hard to enjoy the area I live in—it doesn’t feel like the right fit for me. There’s not much that excites me here, and the weather here affects my mood negatively. This makes me miss my life prior to moving here for dental school but I can’t really visit during breaks since my family is actually closer to the school I currently attend...

All of this has made me wonder if transferring to one of the schools that originally accepted me (I was accepted in the state that I used to live prior to moving for dental school) would make things better. I know transferring is very difficult and could mean repeating a semester, which would cost me both time and money. Plus, there’s no guarantee I’d feel happier at the new school. That said, I do think I’d enjoy living in that area more.

So, I’m torn: Should I stick it out and push through until I graduate, or should I attempt to transfer if it could POTENTIALLY improve my overall experience/happiness?
I’d love to hear from anyone who’s faced similar struggles, especially if you’ve transferred schools before. What helped you make your decision, and was it worth it?
Thanks so much for reading and for any advice you can offer!

You’re experiencing what dental school is like. It’s not like undergrad, which was actually organized. Dental school is toxic and it is a kingdom for administrative dentists. You’ve got to focus on the end goal and the things you can do outside of school that are fun. Transferring is a big IF. I’ve talked to several people at other schools, and they all echo similar problems I faced while in school. I wish I had better advice for you.

 

[yappy]

You’re experiencing what dental school is like. It’s not like undergrad, which was actually organized. Dental school is toxic and it is a kingdom for administrative dentists. You’ve got to focus on the end goal and the things you can do outside of school that are fun. Transferring is a big IF. I’ve talked to several people at other schools, and they all echo similar problems I faced while in school. I wish I had better advice for you.

100%. My dental school was the same as described above. The only lectures I enjoyed were the basic sciences ran by the medical school.
I think you should just press through and learn as much as you can. You will get a lot more attention in clinic, so the favoritism in simlab is not that big of a deal.
One thing I really encourage you to do is to actually do the reading in your dental courses. It will mitigate almost all the shortcomings of your dental school. Dental textbooks are very well organized and are usually updated every few years to be current based on research and experts in the subject. There is so much bullsh*t driven by the CE and supply companies that it’s very important for you to learn what’s true and the state of the art now.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

There’s problems at all dental schools.

This…

Big Hoss

 

[deleted923283]

What you describe could describe every dental school. Transferring won’t solve the problem.

 

[Saddleshoes]

1) What you are describing sounds pretty much like what 60 - 70% of the first semester D1's would have reported in my day. SO guess what --- What your are feeling is normal!

2) Transferring from one D-School to another D-School is nothing like transferring from one college to another college. That would be a major disruption.

3) Here is my "Father Message" for you...
Suck It Up Buttercup and move forward in your life, where you are right now.

 

[GoDental101]

Stick it out. You will be fine!

 

[nateriver]

It’s VERY difficult to transfer schools, stick it out, you got in !