Marquette vs UPenn

[dentaldream78]

Marquette
OOS
Pros:

• I've heard they are good for general dentistry? (which is what I want to do)
• great reviews from current students that I've talked to
• low cost of living
• cheaper tuition

Cons:

• not as many opportunities? (compared to Penn)
• technology not as good

UPenn
OOS
Pros:

• more opportunities (how relevant is this for those who want to go into GP?)
• more endowed
• name recognition
• only rank top 10, everyone else is ranked 11th

Cons:

• farther from home
• more expensive (~$120 more than Marquette after 4 years)
• after talking to current students I've actually gotten a handful of bad reviews regarding administration, disorganization, etc and they strongly recommend me to attend any other dental school other than Penn

Summary: I am interested in going into general practice after school. Research and academia do not interest me. I toured both campuses and loved both. I am leaning towards Marquette because of the cost and better reviews from current students. Penn's negative reviews have really turned me off, but again I talked to 5 people who attend the school so I am not sure if it is an accurate representation.

I would love to hear what others think/have heard especially if you attend either of these schools. Thanks!

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[DMD12345]

Marquette. Countless reasons in your post

 

[dentaldream78]

Marquette. Countless reasons in your post

Could you still talk about your experience at PDM so far?? pros/cons? just curious since you didn't recommend penn

 

[DMD12345]

Could you still talk about your experience at PDM so far?? pros/cons? just curious since you didn't recommend penn

My experience at pdm hasn’t been bad. Just a d1 though. Has its downs but overall I like it and would choose to go here again, but imo it’s a no brainer for you to go to Marquette.

You’re heavily leaning towards gp, and can still specialize from Marquette if you end up wanting to and have worked hard, so your pros for penn don’t matter for you, but those cons are huge. Your pros for Marquette are great, and your cons don’t really matter.

All signs point to Marquette

 

[deleted903013]

more expensive (~$120 more than Marquette after 4 years)

Marquette

 

[dentaldream78]

My experience at pdm hasn’t been bad. Just a d1 though. Has its downs but overall I like it and would choose to go here again, but imo it’s a no brainer for you to go to Marquette.

You’re heavily leaning towards gp, and can still specialize from Marquette if you end up wanting to and have worked hard, so your pros for penn don’t matter for you, but those cons are huge. Your pros for Marquette are great, and your cons don’t really matter.

All signs point to Marquette

Yeah thats kind of what I was thinking... I just didn't want to regret/miss out on an amazing opportunity that could greatly benefit career.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how much an Ivy could actually help or benefit someone going into GP vs a non-Ivy?

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Does anyone have any thoughts on how much an Ivy could actually help or benefit someone going into GP vs a non-Ivy?

During my time as a GP, I can literally count the number of times patients asked where I went to dental school on my hands. And unless you set up shop in a fancy pants part of town, literally no one knows UPenn is an Ivy League school.

Go. To. The. Cheapest. School.

Big Hoss

 

[DMD12345]

During my time as a GP, I can literally count the number of times patients asked where I went to dental school on my hands. And unless you set up shop in a fancy pants part of town, literally no one knows UPenn is an Ivy League school.

Go. To. The. Cheapest. School.

Big Hoss

Good amount of people actually know but yeah not many, but agreed 100% go to the cheaper school in *most* cases.

Although just throwing this out into the world cuz I’d genuinely like to know, it’d be interesting to hear from some Penn/Columbia/Harvard graduates if they’ve witnessed anything noteworthy come from attending an Ivy League school other than trivial examples. Like for example at pdm they offer for you to get a dual degree with an MBA from Wharton, wonder if people who do that make some crazy connections and end up doing something I’m not educated enough to think of like real estate investment with dental offices or something or even leave dentistry all together because of some Wharton job connection and end up making millions a year. Same with the Carey JD. Or just general Penn/C/H connections they meet along the way.

That stuff is obviously not likely so 100% don’t choose someplace for that, but it’s gotta exist in some form for those lucky few. Cool thought

 

[deleted903013]

Good amount of people actually know but yeah not many, but agreed 100% go to the cheaper school in *most* cases.

Although just throwing this out into the world cuz I’d genuinely like to know, it’d be interesting to hear from some Penn/Columbia/Harvard graduates if they’ve witnessed anything noteworthy come from attending an Ivy League school other than trivial examples. Like for example at pdm they offer for you to get a dual degree with an MBA from Wharton, wonder if people who do that make some crazy connections and end up doing something I’m not educated enough to think of like real estate investment with dental offices or something or even leave dentistry all together because of some Wharton job connection and end up making millions a year. Same with the Carey JD. Or just general Penn/C/H connections they meet along the way.

That stuff is obviously not likely so 100% don’t choose someplace for that, but it’s gotta exist in some form for those lucky few. Cool thought

My brother went to Wharton for undergrad. We're from the Midwest and I'd never met a single person from here who had even heard of Penn. Everyone thought we meant Penn State.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Good amount of people actually know but yeah not many

I assure you, 95% or more of the US population has no clue. Prolly why your school had to be so direct with its official seal.

Like for example at pdm they offer for you to get a dual degree with an MBA from Wharton

And you still have to be accepted to the program, which is going to be a lot easier said than done.

Big Hoss

 

[somefuturedoc]

For being a GP, cheapest is always best. There are certain fields where the Penn name carries a lot of weight. General dentistry is not one of them.

 

[TrkB]

For being a GP, cheapest is always best. There are certain fields where the Penn name carries a lot of weight. General dentistry is not one of them.

could you describe where you feel the name would carry more weight? not saying anything negative, I'm genuinely interested in what you have to say!

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

could you describe where you feel the name would carry more weight?

Business, where the “value” of your MBA is largely determined by the name on your diploma. Same applies somewhat to Law.

In dentistry, the only graduates DSOs pay a premium to are Harvard grads.

Big Hoss

 

[somefuturedoc]

could you describe where you feel the name would carry more weight? not saying anything negative, I'm genuinely interested in what you have to say!

Law and business are probably the most obvious. Fields where school ranking/name actually matters for getting desirable or competitive jobs.

 

[dentaldream78]

it’d be interesting to hear from some Penn/Columbia/Harvard graduates if they’ve witnessed anything noteworthy come from attending an Ivy League school other than trivial examples

This is something I would really like to hear. The PDM students I've talked to always say they don't know if all the money they are spending on the name is worth it in the end and that they will have to see if it is once they graduate.

PDM is known for their preparation for residency programs, so is there any connotation with those who graduate from PDM that go into GP compared to non-ivy (say Marquette)? Or is it the same, just that you had to spend more money on a degree that you could've saved money on? I feel like people used to have the idea that Ivys do not prepare their students as well clinically but I feel like that isn't as true anymore.

I wanted to go back to my point about technology in my original post. Penn talks about their top tier tech. I know that Marquette doesn't have tech as new as Penns. How much does this have an effect on learning everything clinically and working afterwards?

 

[macsak]

This is something I would really like to hear. The PDM students I've talked to always say they don't know if all the money they are spending on the name is worth it in the end and that they will have to see if it is once they graduate.

PDM is known for their preparation for residency programs, so is there any connotation with those who graduate from PDM that go into GP compared to non-ivy (say Marquette)? Or is it the same, just that you had to spend more money on a degree that you could've saved money on? I feel like people used to have the idea that Ivys do not prepare their students as well clinically but I feel like that isn't as true anymore.

I wanted to go back to my point about technology in my original post. Penn talks about their top tier tech. I know that Marquette doesn't have tech as new as Penns. How much does this have an effect on learning everything clinically and working afterwards?

"known" or "feel"?
two different things

you have several dentists in this thread telling you it makes no difference
sounds like you have talked to penn students who said they suspect the same thing

my opinion- cheaper...

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

sounds like you have talked to penn students who said they suspect the same thing

These students said the quiet part out loud.

Big Hoss

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

The PDM students I've talked to always say they don't know if all the money they are spending on the name is worth it in the end and that they will have to see if it is once they graduate.

And by then it will be too late for them. You can listen to Big Hoss now. The cost difference you’re looking at is not chump change. I turned down UPenn and Columbia for a state school and have zero regrets. On top of that, I had the HPSP so cost wasn’t even a factor.

Big Hoss