Meharry vs. USC

[brown23]

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Hey guys, I need help fully deciding which school I should go to. I’m currently leaning towards USC, but the cost of attendance is extremely high which has made it a tough choice.

USC:

Pros:
- Great facility
- Larger networking opportunity
- Location

Cons:
- Cost of attendance ($144,000/year - I did receive a $20,000/year scholarship however)

Meharry:

Pros:
- Smaller class size
- Students seem to have a family vibe
- Cost of attendance ($80,000/yr)

Cons:
- Location
- Older facility, doesn’t seem up to date


Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

Save the $44,000 each year ( $174,000 difference before interest) and go to Meharry. With 174k you could buy so much CE and bridge any difference in clinical education within the first year and still have a house in the midwest money.

 

[axiumgod]

Definitely Meharry. 320k vs 496k.

 

[Westhill16]

First off congrats on the Scholarship at USC.

I would definitely choose USC. Most of the responses above only talk about the finances as an expense but this isn't an expense this is an investment. Everyone's financial circumstances are different so it's hard to compare that metric across people.

USC is a prestigious school - I currently attend Stanford undergrad and USC was my second choice school. California is a great place to study because you benefit from a better lifestyle, diverse range of people, and California public/private health system is vast.

They have also given you a scholarship which could increase so they are keen on having you in their program as you probably demonstrated having qualities that are above and beyond a lot of their applicants.

USC is expensive because it is a top educator- A house made from better quality will be more expensive then a cheaply made house. The top earners in dentistry either live in California or studied in California so you will also have that benefit. Schools that cost more will be able to invest more into the students, staff, facilities, program, and community- Overall providing a much better experience (which you have identified in your post). I have had family and friends that went to USC and they absolutely loved it- USC also has a close family feel from what they have advised me. They were also highly employable and found high paying jobs across the entire US- which they were prepared for because a lot of the curriculum you are dealing with real patients.

Sounds like you are already on the right track because you are leaning towards USC. Go Trojans!! Let us know when you make your decision.

Goodluck!!!!

 

[tooth-tastic]

First off congrats on the Scholarship at USC.

I would definitely choose USC. Most of the responses above only talk about the finances as an expense but this isn't an expense this is an investment. Everyone's financial circumstances are different so it's hard to compare that metric across people.

USC is a prestigious school - I currently attend Stanford undergrad and USC was my second choice school. California is a great place to study because you benefit from a better lifestyle, diverse range of people, and California public/private health system is vast.

They have also given you a scholarship which could increase so they are keen on having you in their program as you probably demonstrated having qualities that are above and beyond a lot of their applicants.

USC is expensive because it is a top educator- A house made from better quality will be more expensive then a cheaply made house. The top earners in dentistry either live in California or studied in California so you will also have that benefit. Schools that cost more will be able to invest more into the students, staff, facilities, program, and community- Overall providing a much better experience (which you have identified in your post). I have had family and friends that went to USC and they absolutely loved it- USC also has a close family feel from what they have advised me. They were also highly employable and found high paying jobs across the entire US- which they were prepared for because a lot of the curriculum you are dealing with real patients.

Sounds like you are already on the right track because you are leaning towards USC. Go Trojans!! Let us know when you make your decision.

Goodluck!!!!

lol 🤣

 

[LaughingGas]

lol 🤣

Must be a Meharry waitlisted applicant

 

[GoDental101]

First off congrats on the Scholarship at USC.

I would definitely choose USC. Most of the responses above only talk about the finances as an expense but this isn't an expense this is an investment. Everyone's financial circumstances are different so it's hard to compare that metric across people.

USC is a prestigious school - I currently attend Stanford undergrad and USC was my second choice school. California is a great place to study because you benefit from a better lifestyle, diverse range of people, and California public/private health system is vast.

They have also given you a scholarship which could increase so they are keen on having you in their program as you probably demonstrated having qualities that are above and beyond a lot of their applicants.

USC is expensive because it is a top educator- A house made from better quality will be more expensive then a cheaply made house. The top earners in dentistry either live in California or studied in California so you will also have that benefit. Schools that cost more will be able to invest more into the students, staff, facilities, program, and community- Overall providing a much better experience (which you have identified in your post). I have had family and friends that went to USC and they absolutely loved it- USC also has a close family feel from what they have advised me. They were also highly employable and found high paying jobs across the entire US- which they were prepared for because a lot of the curriculum you are dealing with real patients.

Sounds like you are already on the right track because you are leaning towards USC. Go Trojans!! Let us know when you make your decision.

Goodluck!!!!

Can't tell if joking, flexing, or just from California...

To the OP, go to the cheaper school. Your scholarship from USC doesn't mean anything until it reaches about 60k per year since that is the difference in cost between the two schools.

 

[Milkteeth12]

The top earners in dentistry either live in California or studied in California so you will also have that benefit.

Sources? According to US News and World Report, the states with the highest mean salary are Delaware, Alaska, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. Forbes also states that California is one of the 10 states where dentists earn the least money, which is concerning because living/housing costs can be extremely high. You get the same degree with any dental school and $150k is a large chunk of change.

 

[HKSZYU]

First off congrats on the Scholarship at USC.

I would definitely choose USC. Most of the responses above only talk about the finances as an expense but this isn't an expense this is an investment. Everyone's financial circumstances are different so it's hard to compare that metric across people.

USC is a prestigious school - I currently attend Stanford undergrad and USC was my second choice school. California is a great place to study because you benefit from a better lifestyle, diverse range of people, and California public/private health system is vast.

They have also given you a scholarship which could increase so they are keen on having you in their program as you probably demonstrated having qualities that are above and beyond a lot of their applicants.

USC is expensive because it is a top educator- A house made from better quality will be more expensive then a cheaply made house. The top earners in dentistry either live in California or studied in California so you will also have that benefit. Schools that cost more will be able to invest more into the students, staff, facilities, program, and community- Overall providing a much better experience (which you have identified in your post). I have had family and friends that went to USC and they absolutely loved it- USC also has a close family feel from what they have advised me. They were also highly employable and found high paying jobs across the entire US- which they were prepared for because a lot of the curriculum you are dealing with real patients.

Sounds like you are already on the right track because you are leaning towards USC. Go Trojans!! Let us know when you make your decision.

Goodluck!!!!

OP please do not take this advice. I'm going to assume the advice was well intentioned, but it is way off base.

When it comes to dental education, you should almost always go to the least expensive program. You're going to be a dentist regardless of where you come out of: you're going to have the same skills, know the same procedures, and have similar post-grad opportunities. Even if you want to specialize, people specialized from everywhere, and you can keep those doors open with the right grades and test scores.

Dentistry is a profession with very high debt. Once you're out of school (assuming you don't specialize), you're either going to do corporate, become an associate, or become an owner. Becoming an owner is most people's long-term goal because your earning potential is higher. When it comes to ownership, your patients aren't going to ask you where you went to dental school. They're just going to want someone has good diagnostic & hand-skills and friendly disposition. Same with corp gigs and associateships when it comes to hiring.

Coming out of school with less debt will help get you to ownership faster. Moreover, it will give you more geographic flexibility. The post above mentions that California dentists are top earners in the field. I'm not sure where they got that information, but California, especially SoCal, is a very saturated dental market. Opening a practice there is very hard, and the competition is going to drive down your earnings unless you're a really top dentist. So even if you went to USC, the chances that you could stay in SoCal after school -- as a new-grad dentist with ~$500k debt accruing 7% interest each year -- is low.

When you factor in the interest your debt will be accruing while you're in school, there is nearly a $200k difference. Put that money towards your future practice. Save it. Heck, do anything else with it. But please, do not spend $200k additional so that you can graduate with the exact same degree, doing the same procedures, with the same future opportunities.

 

[Westhill16]

OP please do not take this advice. I'm going to assume the advice was well intentioned, but it is way off base.

When it comes to dental education, you should almost always go to the least expensive program. You're going to be a dentist regardless of where you come out of: you're going to have the same skills, know the same procedures, and have similar post-grad opportunities. Even if you want to specialize, people specialized from everywhere, and you can keep those doors open with the right grades and test scores.

Dentistry is a profession with very high debt. Once you're out of school (assuming you don't specialize), you're either going to do corporate, become an associate, or become an owner. Becoming an owner is most people's long-term goal because your earning potential is higher. When it comes to ownership, your patients aren't going to ask you where you went to dental school. They're just going to want someone has good diagnostic & hand-skills and friendly disposition. Same with corp gigs and associateships when it comes to hiring.

Coming out of school with less debt will help get you to ownership faster. Moreover, it will give you more geographic flexibility. The post above mentions that California dentists are top earners in the field. I'm not sure where they got that information, but California, especially SoCal, is a very saturated dental market. Opening a practice there is very hard, and the competition is going to drive down your earnings unless you're a really top dentist. So even if you went to USC, the chances that you could stay in SoCal after school -- as a new-grad dentist with ~$500k debt accruing 7% interest each year -- is low.

When you factor in the interest your debt will be accruing while you're in school, there is nearly a $200k difference. Put that money towards your future practice. Save it. Heck, do anything else with it. But please, do not spend $200k additional so that you can graduate with the exact same degree, doing the same procedures, with the same future opportunities.

The point of my post was to highlight that you should go to an institution where you will enjoy and not be miserable for 4 years. They stated that they are leaning towards USC (clearly they visited both schools). On this basis they must have preferred USC for a lot of other reasons other than $$$. Technology, facilities, network all will be world class. This should be considered when giving advice.

Dentistry is a profession with very high debt but there are different ways to manage this.

Opening a practice is further down the line- the focus before this should be will there be opportunities - SoCal and NorCal have a lot of practices so this will be an advantage to find employment and continue experience. Working in a competitive market isn't a bad thing if anything it should be a benefit because you can develop better business skills work with other high level dentist (with mixed specialisms) etc for when you open your own practice (if you wish) (this practice doesn't have to be in Cali).

I don't know much about Meharry or Tennessee but I do know SoCal and NorCal are great places to live, work and study. Brown23 should take the non-financial matters into consideration and choose the place they will enjoy the most.

Being a dentist is a demanding career so why not do it somewhere you will enjoy , find happiness, and also enjoy life outside of work and study.

 

[tooth-tastic]

The point of my post was to highlight that you should go to an institution where you will enjoy and not be miserable for 4 years. They stated that they are leaning towards USC (clearly they visited both schools). On this basis they must have preferred USC for a lot of other reasons other than $$$. Technology, facilities, network all will be world class. This should be considered when giving advice.

Dentistry is a profession with very high debt but there are different ways to manage this.

Opening a practice is further down the line- the focus before this should be will there be opportunities - SoCal and NorCal have a lot of practices so this will be an advantage to find employment and continue experience. Working in a competitive market isn't a bad thing if anything it should be a benefit because you can develop better business skills work with other high level dentist (with mixed specialisms) etc for when you open your own practice (if you wish) (this practice doesn't have to be in Cali).

I don't know much about Meharry or Tennessee but I do know SoCal and NorCal are great places to live, work and study. Brown23 should take the non-financial matters into consideration and choose the place they will enjoy the most.

Being a dentist is a demanding career so why not do it somewhere you will enjoy , find happiness, and also enjoy life outside of work and study.

lol 🤣

 

[HKSZYU]

I'm sorry. I truly don't mean to be combative with you, but this is just not right.

The point of my post was to highlight that you should go to an institution where you will enjoy and not be miserable for 4 years. They stated that they are leaning towards USC (clearly they visited both schools). On this basis they must have preferred USC for a lot of other reasons other than $$$. Technology, facilities, network all will be world class. This should be considered when giving advice.

Every school has facilities and a network you can tap into. Schools will vary between technology, for sure, but at the end of the day, you will learn your procedures. I don't think fancy typodonts or a newer sim lab is worth $200k.

Dentistry is a profession with very high debt but there are different ways to manage this.

Opening a practice is further down the line- the focus before this should be will there be opportunities - SoCal and NorCal have a lot of practices so this will be an advantage to find employment and continue experience. Working in a competitive market isn't a bad thing if anything it should be a benefit because you can develop better business skills work with other high level dentist (with mixed specialisms) etc for when you open your own practice (if you wish) (this practice doesn't have to be in Cali).

Dental schools are pumping out a lot of grads who are flocking to SF, LA, NYC and it's saturating the markets there. Can OP can find a corp gig or associateship there? Probably. But how much will it pay? If you are in a saturated California market, they can (and often do) pay you less because there's a large supply of dentists. If you're graduating with $500k in debt, you don't have the luxury of taking a low-paying corporate job. You basically need ownership at this point, because you're gonna have a rough time servicing a $500k loan on $140k pre-tax associate income.

I don't know much about Meharry or Tennessee but I do know SoCal and NorCal are great places to live, work and study. Brown23 should take the non-financial matters into consideration and choose the place they will enjoy the most.

Being a dentist is a demanding career so why not do it somewhere you will enjoy , find happiness, and also enjoy life outside of work and study.

Part of enjoying and finding happiness is the ability to be successful. To suggest to OP that they should go to the most expensive school in the country so that they can graduate into the most saturated market in the country with $500k in debt is not setting him/her up to be successful. It's also closing doors, because when you have that much debt, you have to take the opportunity that allows it to be serviced. This is often going to be in a rural, less saturated area, and will almost always require ownership or a PSLF-qualified position.

Obviously, I want OP to have a pleasant dental school experience, and it seems like they prefer the location and facilities of USC. But the reasons (location and new facilities) are weak and the happiness that those aspects would bring would be bought at the detriment of future happiness and opportunities.

 

[LaughingGas]

Gawd. So many people giving bad suggestions about going to more expensive schools. Either a well written troll, waitlisted. If dental student or dentist, jeez really bad advice.

 

[GoDental101]

The point of my post was to highlight that you should go to an institution where you will enjoy and not be miserable for 4 years. They stated that they are leaning towards USC (clearly they visited both schools). On this basis they must have preferred USC for a lot of other reasons other than $$$. Technology, facilities, network all will be world class. This should be considered when giving advice.

Dentistry is a profession with very high debt but there are different ways to manage this.

Opening a practice is further down the line- the focus before this should be will there be opportunities - SoCal and NorCal have a lot of practices so this will be an advantage to find employment and continue experience. Working in a competitive market isn't a bad thing if anything it should be a benefit because you can develop better business skills work with other high level dentist (with mixed specialisms) etc for when you open your own practice (if you wish) (this practice doesn't have to be in Cali).

I don't know much about Meharry or Tennessee but I do know SoCal and NorCal are great places to live, work and study. Brown23 should take the non-financial matters into consideration and choose the place they will enjoy the most.

Being a dentist is a demanding career so why not do it somewhere you will enjoy , find happiness, and also enjoy life outside of work and study.

Sounds like you are trying to justify it. Stanford is a pretty expensive undergrad too right? Unless you have parents or something paying for undergrad/dental school price should be taken into first account. I hope you choose the cheapest dental school you can when you get in.

My undergrad was basically free and my dental school will be about 200k including living. I know it sounds like I’m just flexing, but I am so glad I went with the cheapest options I could. OP go to the cheaper school and you'll thank yourself later especially once the pre-dental excitement and hype disappears. Trust me it will, dental school hits like a truck haha.

 

[brown23]

Thanks everyone! After a lot of consideration I definitely have thought about it a lot and I am now basically 95% leaning towards Meharry. The thrill of California and the nice facilities obviously was an attractive option. However after much consideration, I had to realize that those things aren’t necessarily worth the 200k difference. Meharry may be a smaller school, but they have great board passing rates as well as a high amount of students that end up matching for a speciality, which is my end goal. Thanks for all of the input!

 

[HatInTheCat]

Don’t listen to that undergrad. Go to the cheapest set up. Dental school is four years of bull****, politics, crazy workloads, so do yourself the favor of dealing with that the LEAST costly way.

I’m so grateful to be a D4 now. Whew.

Oh, congrats tho!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Awisdomtooth]

First off congrats on the Scholarship at USC.

I would definitely choose USC. Most of the responses above only talk about the finances as an expense but this isn't an expense this is an investment. Everyone's financial circumstances are different so it's hard to compare that metric across people.

USC is a prestigious school - I currently attend Stanford undergrad and USC was my second choice school. California is a great place to study because you benefit from a better lifestyle, diverse range of people, and California public/private health system is vast.

They have also given you a scholarship which could increase so they are keen on having you in their program as you probably demonstrated having qualities that are above and beyond a lot of their applicants.

USC is expensive because it is a top educator- A house made from better quality will be more expensive then a cheaply made house. The top earners in dentistry either live in California or studied in California so you will also have that benefit. Schools that cost more will be able to invest more into the students, staff, facilities, program, and community- Overall providing a much better experience (which you have identified in your post). I have had family and friends that went to USC and they absolutely loved it- USC also has a close family feel from what they have advised me. They were also highly employable and found high paying jobs across the entire US- which they were prepared for because a lot of the curriculum you are dealing with real patients.

Sounds like you are already on the right track because you are leaning towards USC. Go Trojans!! Let us know when you make your decision.

Goodluck!!!!

wrong in every aspect. There is no such a thing as a top educator when it comes to USC. Faculties are good but definitely not worth 500k tuition. I don’t know where you got your info but definitely you had a wrong source🙂

 

[BeggarsCantBeChoosers]

The point of my post was to highlight that you should go to an institution where you will enjoy and not be miserable for 4 years. They stated that they are leaning towards USC (clearly they visited both schools). On this basis they must have preferred USC for a lot of other reasons other than $$$. Technology, facilities, network all will be world class. This should be considered when giving advice.

Dentistry is a profession with very high debt but there are different ways to manage this.

Opening a practice is further down the line- the focus before this should be will there be opportunities - SoCal and NorCal have a lot of practices so this will be an advantage to find employment and continue experience. Working in a competitive market isn't a bad thing if anything it should be a benefit because you can develop better business skills work with other high level dentist (with mixed specialisms) etc for when you open your own practice (if you wish) (this practice doesn't have to be in Cali).

I don't know much about Meharry or Tennessee but I do know SoCal and NorCal are great places to live, work and study. Brown23 should take the non-financial matters into consideration and choose the place they will enjoy the most.

Being a dentist is a demanding career so why not do it somewhere you will enjoy , find happiness, and also enjoy life outside of work and study.

I'd rather be miserable for 4 years than miserable for the rest of my life being stuck in a debt hole.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Don't go to USC if you have another option

 

[0Mik3cho]

Go on over to the Dental sub-forum. I learned a lot about the finances of dental school over there.

 

[keep learning]

All the US dental schools are good in terms of dental education, just go cheaper so that you can save tuition within 4 years.

 

[david609666201]

As always, cheaper, the better.

 

[MG14]

First off congrats on the Scholarship at USC.

I would definitely choose USC. Most of the responses above only talk about the finances as an expense but this isn't an expense this is an investment. Everyone's financial circumstances are different so it's hard to compare that metric across people.

USC is a prestigious school - I currently attend Stanford undergrad and USC was my second choice school. California is a great place to study because you benefit from a better lifestyle, diverse range of people, and California public/private health system is vast.

They have also given you a scholarship which could increase so they are keen on having you in their program as you probably demonstrated having qualities that are above and beyond a lot of their applicants.

USC is expensive because it is a top educator- A house made from better quality will be more expensive then a cheaply made house. The top earners in dentistry either live in California or studied in California so you will also have that benefit. Schools that cost more will be able to invest more into the students, staff, facilities, program, and community- Overall providing a much better experience (which you have identified in your post). I have had family and friends that went to USC and they absolutely loved it- USC also has a close family feel from what they have advised me. They were also highly employable and found high paying jobs across the entire US- which they were prepared for because a lot of the curriculum you are dealing with real patients.

Sounds like you are already on the right track because you are leaning towards USC. Go Trojans!! Let us know when you make your decision.

Goodluck!!!!

Do not listen to any of this. First, it’s someone in undergrad (who hasn’t even been/gone to DS) who is only regurgitating the information the USC dental school recruiting office gave him and second, it’s someone who’s only drank the california kool-aid their whole lives and doesn’t understand how sucky it is to live there.

I was a dental lab technician for 3 years before DS, I rubbed shoulders with dozens of dentists. When I was applying I picked some of their brains about advice and the argument of “better fit/school” or “cheapest option.” Every single one said cheapest option without hesitating. Something to probably listen to/make note of.

You’ll understand once you get in, that school is 80% BS/politics with 20% dentistry. The hand skills and basics are learned but real world application happens..... well..... in the real world. If a dental school tells you they’re one of the top educational institutes in the nation/world, they’re lying. We have no current ranking system. (other than cost 😆) and cost does not mean better school. In my opinion just means better manipulation.