Might Want to Think Twice About Nova

[anonymousnova]

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I just started my second year at Nova. I've quickly come to realize that all the school cares about is the bottom line. The school has greatly increased the number of international students that they accept. My class size just jumped by 28 compared to the 10 that were added to the fourth year’s class. Despite the increase in students there has been no increase in faculty or chairs in the clinic. If you don't arrive early to lecture you are forced to sit on the stairs because of the lack of seats. Most of my classes in the sim-clinic can be described as "teach-your-self-dentistry". In my endo clinic class, me and about 20 fellow classmates crowded around a new forth year dental student and stood on our tip toes as she gave us the fly by night version on how to access the pulp. Every time I start to think of the stress that awaits me when I reach the clinic my third and fourth years I just want to scream! 85 chairs in the clinic, 108 students in my class, plus 28 new international students, times by two (3rd and 4th years) = train wreck! But I bet the accountants for the school are smiling, 28 more students paying tuition, with no more new faculty to teach us = $$$$$. No one cares about the dive in the quality of our education. Don't expect to reciece honest answers when on your interviews. They always have the new first year dental students give the tours because they are still naive to all the problems with this school. A current forth year was allowed to give interview tours and gave the interviewees honest anwsers to their questions. When the administration found out he was placed on probation for telling the interviewees how he really felt. How's that for freedom of speech? Feel free to ask questions and I will tell you what I really think as anonymousnova. Good luck to all in the application process!👍

If your interested in Nova then you have to read this article that was recently published in a local paper. This publication is available in bins at our school but I was told by a fourth year that when the school saw this article that they collected all the papers and threw them in the dumster!

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2007-06-14/news/nova-to-workers-drop-dead/

 

[xdianaax]

As much as you may not like it I have plenty of friends in the program, and I still hope to get in myself. They all seem really happy and they do love it. Every school has the good and the bad, that's just the way it is.

 

[El Sol]

I just started my second year at Nova. I've quickly come to realize that all the school cares about is the bottom line. The school has greatly increased the number of international students that they accept. My class size just jumped by 28 compared to the 10 that were added to the fourth year’s class. Despite the increase in students there has been no increase in faculty or chairs in the clinic. If you don't arrive early to lecture you are forced to sit on the stairs because of the lack of seats. Most of my classes in the sim-clinic can be described as "teach-your-self-dentistry". In my endo clinic class, me and about 20 fellow classmates crowded around a new forth year dental student and stood on our tip toes as she gave us the fly by night version on how to access the pulp. Every time I start to think of the stress that awaits me when I reach the clinic my third and fourth years I just want to scream! 85 chairs in the clinic, 108 students in my class, plus 28 new international students, times by two (3rd and 4th years) = train wreck! But I bet the accountants for the school are smiling, 28 more students paying tuition, with no more new faculty to teach us = $$$$$. No one cares about the dive in the quality of our education. Don't expect to reciece honest answers when on your interviews. They always have the new first year dental students give the tours because they are still naive to all the problems with this school. A current forth year was allowed to give interview tours and gave the interviewees honest anwsers to their questions. When the administration found out he was placed on probation for telling the interviewees how he really felt. How's that for freedom of speech? Feel free to ask questions and I will tell you what I really think as anonymousnova. Good luck to all in the application process!👍

If your interested in Nova then you have to read this article that was recently published in a local paper. This publication is available in bins at our school but I was told by a fourth year that when the school saw this article that they collected all the papers and threw them in the dumster!

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2007-06-14/news/nova-to-workers-drop-dead/

Thank you for your honesty.

 

[blasterx]

Do all schools pile in the international students like that?

 

[rimmies]

Just as an FYI to those who are not local to nova....The New Times is part of the village voice network....an "alternative" media outlet to say the least. I'm in no way connected to nova but I did follow the worker strike at Nova, and the fact is that the leaders of the workers had poor information and poor leadership. The strike was compared to the strike at UM in the article, however the two were very different in organization and outcome.
As for the school, yes-nova is getting more crowded. It's a concern of mine as I apply, however, as a florida resident it's much better than being crammed into the 3rd floor of shands at UF. just my .02

 

[rimmies]

Do all schools pile in the international students like that?

I'm not sure about international students but I would assume most schools do their beast to fill spots lost to attrition...

 

[pine88]

"Rimmies"...kinda a dirty word over here 😀

 

[rimmies]

"Rimmies"...kinda a dirty word over here 😀

just a name from a basketball team for me...

 

[collegeboy30000]

...
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2007-06-14/news/nova-to-workers-drop-dead/ ...

[...you could have said page 4 fourth paragraph.]

...I did follow the worker strike at Nova, and the fact is that the leaders of the workers had poor information and poor leadership.

workers were not told the correct information.

...however, as a florida resident it's much better than being crammed into the 3rd floor of shands at UF. just my .02...

not true.
...and does UF increase its class size?
I say no, correct me if I am wrong.

...

Since you are making a list of questions with the Dean of Admissions of Nova Dental, can you ask him why the increase in students [100 to 125]? And follow up with, why are the incoming dental students not informed of this?

And whatever answer he gives you just smile and reply:

..."[I suppose] Every school has the good and the bad, that's just the way it is."...

 

[anonymousnova]

As much as you may not like it I have plenty of friends in the program, and I still hope to get in myself. They all seem really happy and they do love it. Every school has the good and the bad, that's just the way it is.

I don't take offense to the fact that your friends like the program. The fact is that if you had asked me a couple months ago if I liked the school I would have said "Yes, there are some things that need to be changed but it's OK." The shortage of faculty has always been an issue as I am sure it is at many schools. The difference is that other schools aren't compounding the problem by adding large numbers of students to the class. Everybody wants to take pride in their school and most are not going to be brutally honest with the schools shortcomings. If you have your heart set on Nova then I wish you the best, I just don't want you to be blindsided as many of my fellow classmates feel we have been.

 

[anonymousnova]

[...you could have said page 4 fourth paragraph.]

Ya, but those really interested in Nova should check out the whole article.
Many of my fellow classmates have not received their loan disbursements yet for summer semester. They are racking up credit cards just to pay groceries and other necessities. The reason they have not received their money yet is because they have switched their lender to Graduate Leverage. Nova's financial aid says that it's due to an e-filing problem on Graduate Leverage's end. The part that has my friends scratching their heads is that other students from other dental schools have had absolutely no problem with Grad Leverage and had their money weeks ago. I have yet to figure out why this problem is affecting Nova but not these other schools.

Since you are making a list of questions with the Dean of Admissions of Nova Dental, can you ask him why the increase in students [100 to 125]? And follow up with, why are the incoming dental students not informed of this?"

We sure were not informed of this. The funny thing is that a couple of the international students that are our new classmates used to be our faculty. My friend was talking with one of the new international students and come to find out he just completed an AEGD with Nova and is now a second year dental student.

 

[anonymousnova]

I just want to make it clear that my problem is not with the international students. You can't blame them for trying to better their lives. I blame Nova for creating this bad situation. The international students that I have met to date are great people.

 

[Fonz]

well if this is the truth then i'll definitley take it to consideration when it comes to choosing that school.

 

[mg777]

Im at UFCD. Very interesting stuff there OP. We have international students in our class who entered in the early part of sophomore year in time to get in our endo and oral path courses. They have their own clinic and we dont see them too much, but we only have 8-9 max. So are the 28 new heads all international students or are some of them students from other dental schools that left for one reason or another? Anytime you have private institution, they are going to be all about the bottom line.

Nova isnt all bad. I interviewed there, and was accepted. You could be glad you're not in a college town w/ 50k kids if nothing else. You're in a nice city, the school is beautiful. Btw, Is it true they give you all 3 months to study w/ no class to study for part I?

 

[Dutchboy]

Im at UFCD. Very interesting stuff there OP. we have international students in our class who entered in the junior year. they have their own clinic and we dont see them too much. not twenty of them though like you mentioned, i think in my class theres 8-9 max.

but hey man nova isnt all bad. i interviewed there. t be glad youre not in a college town w/ 50k kids if nothing else. You're in a nice city, the school is beautiful. I'm also jealous that you all took your board in first year. Is it true they give you all 3 months to study w/ no class?

The beach is the only thing down here that is beautifull.

 

[anonymousnova]

Im at UFCD. Very interesting stuff there OP. We have international students in our class who entered in the early part of sophomore year in time to get in our endo and oral path courses. They have their own clinic and we dont see them too much, but we only have 8-9 max. So are the 28 new heads all international students or are some of them students from other dental schools that left for one reason or another? Anytime you have private institution, they are going to be all about the bottom line.

Nova isnt all bad. I interviewed there, and was accepted. You could be glad you're not in a college town w/ 50k kids if nothing else. You're in a nice city, the school is beautiful. Btw, Is it true they give you all 3 months to study w/ no class to study for part I?

Sorry if my first post was a little confusing but they added 28 international students to our class not 20. It used to only be 10 a year until last year when they decided to add another 18. Unlike your school, these students will be in the same clinic as us and compete for the same 85 chairs. It's true that that school is beautiful but you can't judge a book by its cover. Despite being new, the AV equipment in our lecture halls are constantly malfunctioning. Mics will cut in and out all lecture long making it impossible to pay attention. The faculty members will apologize and tell us that its unacceptable but nothing ever gets fixed. It used to be true that students would have the summer between 1st and 2nd year off to study for the boards. Last year the administration decided to add summer classes. Big surprise, board scores went down. So what did the administration do to fix it? They added more summer classes of course!
Oh, and the city is not that beautifull. It's flat as a board and the people here are rude as hell! If your order at a fast food resturant is ever correct get on your knees and thank god because it will never happen again!

 

[UOP_Dentist]

Sorry if my first post was a little confusing but they added 28 international students to our class not 20. It used to only be 10 a year until last year when they decided to add another 18. Unlike your school, these students will be in the same clinic as us and compete for the same 85 chairs. It's true that that school is beautiful but you can't judge a book by its cover. Despite being new, the AV equipment in our lecture halls are constantly malfunctioning. Mics will cut in and out all lecture long making it impossible to pay attention. The faculty members will apologize and tell us that its unacceptable but nothing ever gets fixed. It used to be true that students would have the summer between 1st and 2nd year off to study for the boards. Last year the administration decided to add summer classes. Big surprise, board scores went down. So what did the administration do to fix it? They added more summer classes of course!
Oh, and the city is not that beautifull. It's flat as a board and the people here are rude as hell! If your order at a fast food resturant is ever correct get on your knees and thank god because it will never happen again!

thanks for your honesty.

Yes there are good and bads of every school and its best to do your research before you apply. If you get in to a school and you end up not liking it, then it's only 4 years. You'll have to tough it out. But this just emphasizes how serious you must research a school before you apply. If you're a competitive applicant, then research as much as possible, because you have to look at yourself and say....does this school deserve ME? Sometimes a school isn't as great as the students they teach.

Ask students like this guy (annonymousnova), but don't rely on him/her absolutely. Just like research you'll have to get opinions from a large sample size.

good luck everyone

 

[jeninny44]

[...you could have said page 4 fourth paragraph.]

I went there, and I will post what the link said here:

Two white third-year dental students in baby-blue scrubs stopped to watch the spectacle. Once they figured out what all the noise was about, one of the young men said, ¨Sounds right up Nova´s alley to me -- this school is screwing everyone.¨ Then he launched into a tirade about how his annual tuition has skyrocketed $10,000 in three years, to $40,000, even as the program gets more crowded. Aspiring dentists were told at the outset of their studies that 100 students would compete for 85 clinical study chairs, he said. Instead, his class is up to 125. Without time in the chair, the dental students can´t get the practice they need to graduate. But the young men would not give even their first names or hometowns because they fear retribution. ¨They would kick us out instantly, and it wouldn´t be based on this -- it would be based on something totally obscure,¨ one explained.

😱😱😱

 

[blasterx]

It used to be true that students would have the summer between 1st and 2nd year off to study for the boards. Last year the administration decided to add summer classes. Big surprise, board scores went down. So what did the administration do to fix it? They added more summer classes of course!

Great. This was one of the major drawing points for me. 👎

 

[Regmata]

I am so glad that I dont have to worry about competing for clinic chairs...good luck down there

 

[PlanB21]

man, I feel bad for my friends who start Nova in august and have to deal with that crap. On top of all that extra stress and frustration, they will be in 280K+ in debt. What a freaking ripoff

 

[shane.]

When you all talk about competing for clinical chairs, what do you mean?


Battle to the death?

 

[UOP_Dentist]

man, I feel bad for my friends who start Nova in august and have to deal with that crap. On top of all that extra stress and frustration, they will be in 280K+ in debt. What a freaking ripoff

wow, is Nova that expensive? UOP cost just the same and it's 3 years

You don't really need 4 years to be a dentist

 

[997GT3]

Wow anyone know other schools also competing for ~40 less dental chairs?

 

[OceanBlue]

wow, is Nova that expensive? UOP cost just the same and it's 3 years

You don't really need 4 years to be a dentist

some said 4 yrs aren't enough

 

[diagnodent]

Are you saying that a fairly new private dental school is concerned about money? What do you think they should be concerned about, students? These are large "corporations" and their main objective is to make money and continue their existence, their second objective is education.

I hear the university of phoenix is opening up a dental school. You attend every tuesday night for 3 hours and in four short years you will be a dentist and it only costs 200k. The apollo groups stock shot up 20% on this news. j/k

 

[UOP_Dentist]

some said 4 yrs aren't enough

Well i guess it matter on which school you went to. There's schools that focus on irrelevant topics that take up time and money. If you dissect the entire curriculum and eliminate things that are not clinically relevant or topics that won't be covered in the boards then it opens up more time for clinical experience.

 

[Sorrymsjackson]

I am also beginning my second year at nova and am very disappointed with the school thus far. I agree with the previous posts by anonymous and believe that those posts just scratch the surface. The school has demonstrated that it cannot put together a logical schedule of classes and often resorts to last minute emails; with many revised emails following to correct the problems that arise. It really seems as though the administration has constructed the class schedule the night before classes’ start. This could be attributed to school infancy or the high turnover within the faculty also, but one thing is for certain there is a definite lack of professionalism. This lack of professionalism spills into all aspects of nova’s education or lack thereof. For example, there is no such thing as preparation or organization at nova. All too often we arrive to operative lab to a faculty that was briefed 5 min before the start of the lab and essentially is just as lost the students. We, the students, spend a good chunk of our lab time wandering around trying to find out which prep/restoration/tooth we are supposed to be working on and this is a chronic problem. Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but it my help some predents see past the palm trees and beaches.

 

[mg777]

How much usage do you all get with the high tech cgi dental simulator?

 

[mg777]

Well i guess it matter on which school you went to. There's schools that focus on irrelevant topics that take up time and money. If you dissect the entire curriculum and eliminate things that are not clinically relevant or topics that won't be covered in the boards then it opens up more time for clinical experience.

I'm in with UOP. I say give us the dental decks and released exams first week of school. Structure the whole first year , if need be, around part I of the board. Lets face it, whole first year or two is about getting the class ready to take part I. I bet the way they slice it down at UOP to 3 years is by eliminating all the extraneous immunology, path, whatever that is not going to be asked on part I. I know at my school, we went into way too much depth on those topics I mentioned, and via eliminating this material we would lose a week here and there eventually youre down to 3 years. This way, we as Dentists get more hands on treating patients instead of memorizing useless research data thats been collecting for the last thirty years. If we eliminate the 4 year of dental school, a lot of educators may find themselves disposable as lecturers thus freeing up more money for dental related education and much needed dental instructos.

 

[anonymousnova]

How much usage do you all get with the high tech cgi dental simulator?

Ha! Those really cool dental simulators that they show you on your interview tour have been out of order since the end of last year! We still have simulator rotations in our schedule but don't have to go. I've been in there about a total of 2 hours since I've been here.

 

[anonymousnova]

I am also beginning my second year at nova and am very disappointed with the school thus far. I agree with the previous posts by anonymous and believe that those posts just scratch the surface. The school has demonstrated that it cannot put together a logical schedule of classes and often resorts to last minute emails; with many revised emails following to correct the problems that arise. It really seems as though the administration has constructed the class schedule the night before classes’ start. This could be attributed to school infancy or the high turnover within the faculty also, but one thing is for certain there is a definite lack of professionalism. This lack of professionalism spills into all aspects of nova’s education or lack thereof. For example, there is no such thing as preparation or organization at nova. All too often we arrive to operative lab to a faculty that was briefed 5 min before the start of the lab and essentially is just as lost the students. We, the students, spend a good chunk of our lab time wandering around trying to find out which prep/restoration/tooth we are supposed to be working on and this is a chronic problem. Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but it my help some predents see past the palm trees and beaches.

Amen! They don't tell you how to do anything, and then if you do it different then what they expected they look at you as if you are the idiot.😕 You need a functioning crystal ball just to get from day to day at Nova.

 

[anonymousnova]

When you all talk about competing for clinical chairs, what do you mean?


Battle to the death?

Shanks, blades, anything goes. It seems that someone in the school has resorted to stealing other students teeth in Endo lab. I've heard that three students in my class have had jars of teeth disappear. The disorganization sometimes creates cut-throat situations. We had received an e-mail awhile back that we needed to be collecting teeth for endo, but were never told a specific number or that certain teeth would be needed. To the shock of much the class we were told on the first day of class that we needed a large number of anterior teeth.😱 Many students had no where near the amount required. A fellow student asked a faculty member what could be done if they didn't have the correct number of teeth and the faculty member replied "You can remediate the class next summer". It's really no surprise that someone has resorted to stealing others teeth considering the dire situation.

 

[997GT3]

Shanks, blades, anything goes. It seems that someone in the school has resorted to stealing other students teeth in Endo lab. I've heard that three students in my class have had jars of teeth disappear. The disorganization sometimes creates cut-throat situations. We had received an e-mail awhile back that we needed to be collecting teeth for endo, but were never told a specific number or that certain teeth would be needed. To the shock of much the class we were told on the first day of class that we needed a large number of anterior teeth.😱 Many students had no where near the amount required. A fellow student asked a faculty member what could be done if they didn't have the correct number of teeth and the faculty member replied "You can remediate the class next summer". It's really no surprise that someone has resorted to stealing others teeth considering the dire situation.

How despicable. To think I used to respect the school....

 

[rimmies]

Well, i'm having second thoughts now...I keep hearing good things about Pacific and Lousiville....anybody have any info on UF 😳

 

[JamieMac]

Wow...thanks for the heads up. I had Nova ranked 3rd on my list, and that will likely change if an investigation confirms your commentary. Any program that involves competing for chairs has been taken right off of the list. I figure the stress associated with D school will be enough to deal with. Also, I have no intention of paying that much $ for absentee instruction. Good luck on making it work.

 

[blasterx]

Any program that involves competing for chairs has been taken right off of the list.

Haha. You're going to be taking a lot more schools off your list. Competing for chairs seems to be a common theme among dental schools.

 

[skyskier]

I was pretty surprised to hear that Nova makes you compete for chairs and forces some people sit on the floor during lectures. I told my wife about it, and she subsequently mentioned it to the dean of her dental hygeine school who happens to be a member of one of the ADA accredidation teams. Lets just say she wasn't very happy and will most likely look into the matter.

 

[blasterx]

I was pretty surprised to hear that Nova makes you compete for chairs and forces some people sit on the floor during lectures. I told my wife about it, and she subsequently mentioned it to the dean of her dental hygeine school who happens to be a member of one of the ADA accredidation teams. Lets just say she wasn't very happy and will most likely look into the matter.

That's good to hear. Please keep us updated if you hear any news! 👍

 

[mg777]

Haha. You're going to be taking a lot more schools off your list. Competing for chairs seems to be a common theme among dental schools.

It may not be a matter of enough of chairs at most schools, but enough faculty dentists supervising the clinic. Most dental clinics are limited by the number of faculty thus limiting the number of student dentists in the clinic at one time.

 

[Dutchboy]

I was pretty surprised to hear that Nova makes you compete for chairs and forces some people sit on the floor during lectures. I told my wife about it, and she subsequently mentioned it to the dean of her dental hygeine school who happens to be a member of one of the ADA accredidation teams. Lets just say she wasn't very happy and will most likely look into the matter.

Ya, nothing more comfortable than the stairs.

 

[anonymousnova]

I was pretty surprised to hear that Nova makes you compete for chairs and forces some people sit on the floor during lectures. I told my wife about it, and she subsequently mentioned it to the dean of her dental hygeine school who happens to be a member of one of the ADA accredidation teams. Lets just say she wasn't very happy and will most likely look into the matter.

This was not a problem for most of the first year but has become one since the addition of 28 new classmates. Even before the addition of the international students it would sometimes be slim pickings for chairs in our operative lectures because some faculty usually attend the lecture. Usually a couple people would get stuck sitting on some desks that they had thrown on the stairs (still don't think the fire chief would like that one) but at least you were not on the stairs. The administration has since moved our summer endo lecture (which we have with the international students) to a bigger auditorium. But you still have to get to our facial development class early or you risk sitting on the stairs. It will be interesting to see what happens in the fall semester when the bigger auditorium is not available and the international students will be in all our classes. It will be impossible to fix the situation by simply moving all our lectures to the bigger auditorium (there are only two) since the lecture halls are shared with the rest of the health professions division which includes medical, pharmacy, optometry, nursing, dental, ect. The only way students will not continue sitting on the stairs is if a large number don't come to lecture, but did I mention that we have mandatory attendance at Nova?😉 I think it would be great if someone looked into this situation. Simply tell them to ask how many chairs are available in our NORMAL lecture rooms (where we have at least 75% of our lectures) and then have them ask how many students are in the class (INCLUDING THE NEW INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS) and then sit back and laugh as they try to explain the discrepancy. When they are done, then ask "So where do the faculty and residents that attend the lecture sit? The stairs?"

 

[Yah-E]

AnonymousNova:

Quit your whinning! Grow some balls and suck it up! If you don't like NSUCDM, feel free to drop out. Getting rid of students like you will create more seats in the auditorium. I graduated from NSUCDM in 2006, yes, we had the same problems, the new international students joining our class our second year, the hectic scheduling of chairs, and yes, even the lack of seats in operative lectures!

This is what you do for the lack of chairs issue. You present your compliants to your class president, your class president will go talk to the course director, if that doesn't work, Dean Uchin will more than glad to address the issue. NSUCDM had always been more student friendly than other dental schools. Dean Uchin will have chairs available for students before faculty ANY DAY, but he needs to know about the problem!

As far as international students goes, you might want to accept them as part of your class instead of b1tch and whine. They're usually a diverse and great group of classmates, you might actually learn something from them if you give them a chance. Chair bookings is a b1tch, but you know what, students years and years ahead of you have dealt with the same crap and year after year we graduated!

You want to know why we graduated? Because we roll with the punches and don't whine like babies! EVERY school has their problems. For those of you predents that are considering NSUCDM, I highly recommend it. If you survey 100 students during your interview there whether they like it there or not, 90 of them will say "they love it there"!

If I had to do dental school all over again, I would select and go back to NSU CDM in a heart beat!👍

 

[xdianaax]

It's still my number one, yah-e!!! 😀

 

[Sorrymsjackson]

AnonymousNova:

Quit your whinning! Grow some balls and suck it up! If you don't like NSUCDM, feel free to drop out. Getting rid of students like you will create more seats in the auditorium. I graduated from NSUCDM in 2006, yes, we had the same problems, the new international students joining our class our second year, the hectic scheduling of chairs, and yes, even the lack of seats in operative lectures!

This is what you do for the lack of chairs issue. You present your compliants to your class president, your class president will go talk to the course director, if that doesn't work, Dean Uchin will more than glad to address the issue. NSUCDM had always been more student friendly than other dental schools. Dean Uchin will have chairs available for students before faculty ANY DAY, but he needs to know about the problem!

As far as international students goes, you might want to accept them as part of your class instead of b1tch and whine. They're usually a diverse and great group of classmates, you might actually learn something from them if you give them a chance. Chair bookings is a b1tch, but you know what, students years and years ahead of you have dealt with the same crap and year after year we graduated!

You want to know why we graduated? Because we roll with the punches and don't whine like babies! EVERY school has their problems. For those of you predents that are considering NSUCDM, I highly recommend it. If you survey 100 students during your interview there whether they like it there or not, 90 of them will say "they love it there"!

If I had to do dental school all over again, I would select and go back to NSU CDM in a heart beat!👍

and how many international students did you have in your class? You and I both know it was no where near 28 and your class probably wasn't 109 to begin with (that includes the previous classes you mentioned). By your own logic, if we are have the same problems as you did while you where at nova, then the school is not doing much to address their problems now are they? And you're right, we are learning from the international students. In fact, a few were faculty during our D1 year in operative lab and now they are our classmates. Sounds a bit strange doesn't it; being taught by people that can't legally practice dentistry in the US and are now fellow classmates. So, we not only increased the class by 28, we also reduced the faculty (if they can really be consider that) by 2 or 3, which is significant when you are talking about 12 or so. These are facts that predents should hear in order to make an informed decision, as opposed to your opinion.

Why do you feel the need to defend nova? You have already graduated. Let me take a guess....you have a bias toward nova driven by the need to defend your school and your decision to go to this school. You should be mentioning the cheating scandals that took place that never reached SND, since you would be more knowledgeable on the subject.

When the rose colored glasses are removed, you will discover a school in which you pay a premium for a poor dental education. Predents steer clear if possible!

 

[anonymousnova]

AnonymousNova:

Quit your whinning! Grow some balls and suck it up! If you don't like NSUCDM, feel free to drop out. Getting rid of students like you will create more seats in the auditorium. I graduated from NSUCDM in 2006, yes, we had the same problems, the new international students joining our class our second year, the hectic scheduling of chairs, and yes, even the lack of seats in operative lectures!

This is what you do for the lack of chairs issue. You present your compliants to your class president, your class president will go talk to the course director, if that doesn't work, Dean Uchin will more than glad to address the issue. NSUCDM had always been more student friendly than other dental schools. Dean Uchin will have chairs available for students before faculty ANY DAY, but he needs to know about the problem!

As far as international students goes, you might want to accept them as part of your class instead of b1tch and whine. They're usually a diverse and great group of classmates, you might actually learn something from them if you give them a chance. Chair bookings is a b1tch, but you know what, students years and years ahead of you have dealt with the same crap and year after year we graduated!

You want to know why we graduated? Because we roll with the punches and don't whine like babies! EVERY school has their problems. For those of you predents that are considering NSUCDM, I highly recommend it. If you survey 100 students during your interview there whether they like it there or not, 90 of them will say "they love it there"!

If I had to do dental school all over again, I would select and go back to NSU CDM in a heart beat!👍

Wow you should return as Nova faculty! Did you not catch my post where I clearly stated that my problem is not with the international students and that they are great people? If you would have used those big balls that you clam to have instead of just "sucking it up" maybe you would have left a better school for the upcoming classes. As I have mentioned your class had no more than 10 international students where our class now has 28. You admit in your post that you faced hectic scheduling of chairs in the clinic and a lack of chairs in lecture. I guess that you would agree that the best way to fix the problem is to add 18 more students? Is placing students on probation for speaking their mind student friendly? You are right, nothing says student friendly like more students with less faculty. Those third year dental students from the article might not agree that the school is student friendly. Are there some students that are willing to turn a blind eye to all of the schools problems and say that they like the school? Of course, but I guarantee that it's not even close to the 90% figure that you came up with. I would be surprised if it's even 50/50. Will we all eventually graduate? I would hope so, but it's not as simple as "rolling with the punches" as much as dealing with your face getting beat in. I don't have the exact figures but from what I hear a fairly large number of graduating students had to continue into the summer to finish their requirements. Last year the administration decided to place a large number of students on probation because they were behind on completing requirements. Student friendly?

 

[Yah-E]

and how many international students did you have in your class? You and I both know it was no where near 28 and your class probably wasn't 109 to begin with (that includes the previous classes you mentioned). By your own logic, if we are have the same problems as you did while you where at nova, then the school is not doing much to address their problems now are they? And you're right, we are learning from the international students. In fact, a few were faculty during our D1 year in operative lab and now they are our classmates. Sounds a bit strange doesn't it; being taught by people that can't legally practice dentistry in the US and are now fellow classmates. So, we not only increased the class by 28, we also reduced the faculty (if they can really be consider that) by 2 or 3, which is significant when you are talking about 12 or so. These are facts that predents should hear in order to make an informed decision, as opposed to your opinion.

Why do you feel the need to defend nova? You have already graduated. Let me take a guess....you have a bias toward nova driven by the need to defend your school and your decision to go to this school. You should be mentioning the cheating scandals that took place that never reached SND, since you would be more knowledgeable on the subject.

When the rose colored glasses are removed, you will discover a school in which you pay a premium for a poor dental education. Predents steer clear if possible!

I defend NSU CDM because it gave me a great education. Now I have no doubt that the school has problems, but which school doesn't? The school can't please 100% of their students, if you look at the track records, then you'll see that all of us graduated are doing great. You little new D2s need to learn to do a little less of b1tching and a little more of work.

Students stay behind in the summer to finish graduation requirements can be due to many reasons, some were lazy and passive getting their patients in and some are truly unfortunate to have no quality patients. Whatever the reason(s) are that they stayed behind, they will all eventually finish.

I know all about the previous incidents that occurred at NSUCDM and believe me, they were all mentioned on here SDN many times. Again, stop your girly whinnings and get to work!

If you don't like NSUCDM, then get the **** out. No one will miss you.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

This is what you do for the lack of chairs issue. You present your compliants to your class president, your class president will go talk to the course director, if that doesn't work, Dean Uchin will more than glad to address the issue.

I know nothing about Nova and the situation there, but your idea of how to deal with the lack of chair issue is very flawed. First, no matter what you or anyone else might say, a school should have enough operatories for each student so they can all theoretically work in the clinic at the same time, if possible. Next, the class president's job is as you stated to present complaits to the course directors and admiistration, but is the class president going to handle each complaint a student has each time they cannot work because there are no chairs available. No. They would not get their own work done if they were to take each and every complaint to the director each tie it happens. I am sure that the course directors are fully aware of the chair situation by now. Obviously, if the administration is accepting more students than when you were at the school, then they show they aren't too concerned with the issue. I am sure Dean Uchin is fully aware of the issue if the chair problem was an issue when you went through. He obviously has done nothing to improve the situation, only worsen the condition by accepting more students per class.

Here is a major problem with people in our society and you, Tah-E, are included here. Too many people now days don't care. They think like you do and say suck it up when there is an obvious problem. Instead of trying to fix a problem, they say it is not my problem to deal with or I cannot do anything about it and the problem continues. Then down the line when another person complais about the issue, they say suck it up, deal with it, chill out about it, ect. I had to deal with it, so you can too. WHY? If there is a problem, do something about it. Don't defend the problem. You can agree there is problem without publically chastising a person for wanting to inform pre-dents that there is a major problem. You agree there is a problem, so why tell the OP to grow some balls and suck it up or withdraw from the program. The OP wants to be a dentist and is sucking it up, but he has the freedom here to anonymously inform people of the situation at the school without fear of being reprimanded or blacklisted by administration and faculty.

You sir, are a dentist now and know of the situation. Use your status as a dentist, your contacts, and the 'big balls' you claim to have (becuase you sucked it up) to help correct an obvious problem you agree the school has instead of having the cowardly, put on the blinders mentality that it is not your problem to deal with. If you are so proud of Nova as you state, do something to improve the school instead of trying to defend the school by telling people to just deal with the problems.

My 10 cents.

 

[Yah-E]

Wow you should return as Nova faculty! Did you not catch my post where I clearly stated that my problem is not with the international students and that they are great people? If you would have used those big balls that you clam to have instead of just "sucking it up" maybe you would have left a better school for the upcoming classes. As I have mentioned your class had no more than 10 international students where our class now has 28. You admit in your post that you faced hectic scheduling of chairs in the clinic and a lack of chairs in lecture. I guess that you would agree that the best way to fix the problem is to add 18 more students? Is placing students on probation for speaking their mind student friendly? You are right, nothing says student friendly like more students with less faculty. Those third year dental students from the article might not agree that the school is student friendly. Are there some students that are willing to turn a blind eye to all of the schools problems and say that they like the school? Of course, but I guarantee that it's not even close to the 90% figure that you came up with. I would be surprised if it's even 50/50. Will we all eventually graduate? I would hope so, but it's not as simple as "rolling with the punches" as much as dealing with your face getting beat in. I don't have the exact figures but from what I hear a fairly large number of graduating students had to continue into the summer to finish their requirements. Last year the administration decided to place a large number of students on probation because they were behind on completing requirements. Student friendly?

Things might've changed because faculties change yearly. I realize you may be going through some hard times, but trust me, if you tough it through, you'll be just fine when you get that DMD. Again, as I said before, if you don't like the school, no one is begging you to stay. Trash the school all you want, but why are you sticking around if it's so bad? Stop whinning and go wax up those dentures!

 

[Yah-E]

I know nothing about Nova and the situation there, but your idea of how to deal with the lack of chair issue is very flawed. First, no matter what you or anyone else might say, a school should have enough operatories for each student so they can all theoretically work in the clinic at the same time, if possible. Next, the class president's job is as you stated to present complaits to the course directors and admiistration, but is the class president going to handle each complaint a student has each time they cannot work because there are no chairs available. No. They would not get their own work done if they were to take each and every complaint to the director each tie it happens. I am sure that the course directors are fully aware of the chair situation by now. Obviously, if the administration is accepting more students than when you were at the school, then they show they aren't too concerned with the issue. I am sure Dean Uchin is fully aware of the issue if the chair problem was an issue when you went through. He obviously has done nothing to improve the situation, only worsen the condition by accepting more students per class.

Here is a major problem with people in our society and you, Tah-E, are included here. Too many people now days don't care. They think like you do and say suck it up when there is an obvious problem. Instead of trying to fix a problem, they say it is not my problem to deal with or I cannot do anything about it and the problem continues. Then down the line when another person complais about the issue, they say suck it up, deal with it, chill out about it, ect. I had to deal with it, so you can too. WHY? If there is a problem, do something about it. Don't defend the problem. You can agree there is problem without publically chastising a person for wanting to inform pre-dents that there is a major problem. You agree there is a problem, so why tell the OP to grow some balls and suck it up or withdraw from the program. The OP wants to be a dentist and is sucking it up, but he has the freedom here to anonymously inform people of the situation at the school without fear of being reprimanded or blacklisted by administration and faculty.

You sir, are a dentist now and know of the situation. Use your status as a dentist, your contacts, and the 'big balls' you claim to have (becuase you sucked it up) to help correct an obvious problem you agree the school has instead of having the cowardly, put on the blinders mentality that it is not your problem to deal with. If you are so proud of Nova as you state, do something to improve the school instead of trying to defend the school by telling people to just deal with the problems.

My 2 cents.

We're talking about the chairs you sit on in the lecture classrooms, not the clinical patient chairs. Lets get on the same topics.