Michigan vs Nova vs State school

[Dr. Indecisive]

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I was fortunate enough to receive multiple acceptances and have narrowed my choices down to 3 schools. My choices are nova, my state school(UMN) or Michigan. That being said, lately I've been leaning towards Mich and Nova.

Nova - Pros:
1) Awesome weather (duh)
2)great vibe at the interview
3) not a competitive atmosphere (from what I've read not sure)
4) students seemed happy.
5)25-30% specalization (don't know if this includes GPR / AEGD)

Nova - Cons:
1) Money~ about 20K/Yr more than my cheapest (UMN)
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Michigan- Pros:
1) Great reputation
2) specialty rate (does any one know this figure)
3)


Michigan- Cons:
1)bad weather
2) didn't enjoy the interview day as much as the others
3)


I know I've most likely forgotten some aspects that should go into making this choice, so please, if any come to mind that I may have forgotten do not hesitate to mention them.

Right now I'm definitely leaning towards NOVA but feel as though the obvious and correct logical choice should be Michigan since I, like all other soon to be dental students, want to consider specializing (yes I know I have no idea if I truly want to or not) I just want to keep the option open and also because it's only 7K/Yr more than my state school.

Any suggestions or past anecdotal advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mgether36]

Honestly, I would go with Michigan, but maybe i'm bias because that's where I'm going.

I was fortunate enough to have to choose between 6 schools and Michigan was the clear choice for me.
1) Their clinical program is absolutely incredible
2) They are research intensive, so I'll be able to continue doing research throughout dental school
***but if you don't like research that's okay, because you can just pick one of the 2 other pathways they offer for their curriculum.

 

[Dr. Indecisive]

Michigan is a great school which why I cant image saying no!

Anyone else?

 

[sjv]

I vote Michigan.

 

[Dr. Indecisive]

would you mind elaborating?

 

[FOX_ONE]

Are you gunning for cost?

if so, then state school.

state school all the way imo

7k/year more is $28000 in loans with a juicy 7.5% interest tag.

Michigan is one of the top D-Schools in the country, though, and has a ROCK SOLID reputation.

If you don't pick Michigan then it frees up another spot for me if I interview next month, though 🙂

 

[DrDentistaC]

DELETE

 

[Dr. Indecisive]

J.

??

 

[DrDentistaC]

??

Whoops sorry my phone apparently goes wild on sdn in my purse lol

But for what it's worth, I'd say you should STRONGLY consider going to your least expensive option unless you think you'd absolutely hate it there. Hate it enough to justify spending an extended period of time repaying loans. I'm making a similar decision right now and every dentist I've spoken with has said that the landscape of dentistry seems to be changing and it may not be a lucrative for us as it was for them.

But obviously only you can decide what's best for you, what you want to get out of dentistry etc. I'm just a pre-dent/dent-student hybrid what do I know lol

Good luck!

 

[free99]

Another one for Michigan. If the price difference were more than $7k/year I might lean toward UMN, but with a negligible price difference you can start to weigh other more subjective criteria ("feel", prestige, etc).

 

[Dr. Indecisive]

Another one for Michigan. If the price difference were more than $7k/year I might lean toward UMN, but with a negligible price difference you can start to weigh other more subjective criteria ("feel", prestige, etc).

What is the significance of prestige? Patients won't really care (from what I've read on here and from shadowing experience) and I was also under the impression that the student was more important in regard to specializing than the school was. I keep coming back to the idea that U of Mich is a well known, reputable school but does this really matter / should it garner serious consideration?

 

[dentaldoctor]

At the end of the day you will still have your DDS/DMD degree and will still be practicing dentistry. If I were you, I would be blessed to get something in-state considering its always cheaper than out of state. One thing I will recommend you do is check if there are any scholarships the schools offer. It'll definitely help a lot with a scholarship for the in-state school (considering its cheapest). If you don't want to specialize, then you will be doing general dentistry so it won't matter about the school. If you go with general dentistry, then I would recommend your in-state school because you save yourself.....~$30,000 +/- (with interest) because the end result will be the same but with more debt.

 

[Meowmixers]

From what I've heard, Michigan's interviews are notoriously tough -- so it makes sense why you might not enjoy the interview. Perhaps contact a current student at michigan and get a different assessment? It sounds like the main thing holding you from Michigan (and making you lean towards Nova) is the experience you had with the students, and a different perspective might be nice. I'm not sure why you didn't write much about your state school; i'm assuming you've crossed it off your list.

Also... I'll offer a dissenting voice to the traditional SDN advice of "cheaper = better". Yes, a more expensive school will leave you with more debt. But it's also 4 years of your life, 4 years of memories, and future friends/connections/referrals that will hopefully remain with you for life. Will you thrive at a school, or would the atmosphere make it hard to study? I see the dentist I shadow remaining close friends with his dental buddies from 30 years ago, and I know I want that support and lifelong friendship.

...Of course, I might not want it enough to pay 200k extra, depending on how different I find the two schools. So it's up to you -- but that's my 2 cents. Contact the schools and students that attend, check for possible scholarships, and make your decision!

 

[Ferneezy]

What is the significance of prestige? Patients won't really care (from what I've read on here and from shadowing experience) and I was also under the impression that the student was more important in regard to specializing than the school was. I keep coming back to the idea that U of Mich is a well known, reputable school but does this really matter / should it garner serious consideration?

some say it matters to residency PDs if you're looking to go beyond general dentistry, though i still believe most of the credit falls on the student himself.

what you might want to consider is that becoming a wolverine dentist inserts you into an alumni network that spans the globe. people come from all over to attend michigan, then go everywhere else once they're done.

the student body is involved and active, and the administration takes feedback from the students and sincerely works to streamline the curriculum. i can't count how many times i've heard "your upperclassmen let us know 'x' was extremely painful unhelpful last year, so we're trying it this way this year". that's their way of saying they listen. it shows.

good luck with your decision.

 

[DentalDoge]

At the end of the day you will still have your DDS/DMD degree and will still be practicing dentistry. If I were you, I would be blessed to get something in-state considering its always cheaper than out of state. One thing I will recommend you do is check if there are any scholarships the schools offer. It'll definitely help a lot with a scholarship for the in-state school (considering its cheapest). If you don't want to specialize, then you will be doing general dentistry so it won't matter about the school. If you go with general dentistry, then I would recommend your in-state school because you save yourself.....~$30,000 +/- (with interest) because the end result will be the same but with more debt.

Not always.

 

[Dr. Indecisive]

Not always.

I think the point that was being made was still clear even if technically incorrect.

some say it matters to residency PDs if you're looking to go beyond general dentistry, though i still believe most of the credit falls on the student himself.

what you might want to consider is that becoming a wolverine dentist inserts you into an alumni network that spans the globe. people come from all over to attend michigan, then go everywhere else once they're done.

good luck with your decision.

Interesting, I haven't thought about the networking implications of my decision, thank you!

 

[studentdent110]

It sounds like you're not really leaning towards Michigan so maybe just give up your seat for someone who really wants it!

 

[Dr. Indecisive]

It sounds like you're not really leaning towards Michigan so maybe just give up your seat for someone who really wants it!

Do not mistake my hesitation in decision making for lack of enthusiasm. I just happen to like both schools for very different reasons, which makes them difficult to compare and therefore difficult to decide where to attend.