Marquette graduate of 2011 here. I can tell you first hand that the clinic experience that the school provides is absolutely exceptional. I can attest to this because I have traveled to several different schools and programs in my search for post-graduate residency and working with different dental school students and graduates at my program. Patient encounters begin at the end of the first year during the denture course, continue early in the second year with hygiene, basic periodontal procedures, and restorative. By the end of the second year students are in the clinic full time. The didactic schedule is also very rigorous and thorough. When boards were scored out of 99, we consistently had very competitive scores and less than 3 (out of 80) failures per year maximum. Nearly every students that wants to specialize is able to do so. In addition to the dental education, they also provide business management and start-up classes during the beginning of fourth year. Plenty of opportunities also exist in each specialty, outreach programs, research, etc. Milwaukee is a small but fun city and the cost of living is very cheap. The classmates that I continue to keep in touch with had no problem finding a job and are doing very well for themselves. The school is held with high regard by many practicing dentists and specialty programs. I would highly recommend this program to anyone that was interested in pursuing a DDS degree.
In response to DMDWTF, I would have to completely disagree. The surgical services department provides an extensive experience in exodontia. Students rotate multiple times during their 3rd and 4th years for a week at a time and rounds are held both in the morning and afternoon to completely dissect the patients medical/dental history and approach to their specific procedure. In addition to this, students are responsible for exodontia at the off-site clinics and acute care clinic. As with any program, there are strong students and weak students. I'm sorry your perception of our graduates has been tainted. In general, my colleagues have been very pleasantly surprised by how well they have been trained, particularly in exodontia, once they reach clinical practice.
