I have never actually posted on SDN before, but am desperate for some answers and help. I was accepted into UoP and CU Denver on Dec. 2nd. I was dumbfounded I was able to get into UoP, so it would be very hard to turn down, but without a Military Scholarship I don't think I can afford it. So, I am leaning towards CU because of cost, location and my wife will not have to re-license in Colorado, but I have read many things on SDN from a few years ago and one from last February that make me really nervous to attend there. I would love some feedback from current students or anyone on what they think of the school or have heard. My concerns are:
1. No mock boards offered and high failure rate
2. Increased student class size and available simlab and clinical chairs
3. Grading on RVUs in clinic and grades?
4. Ability to get patients and varying cases
5. Financial trouble of the school and many staff retiring/quitting
Any Help Would Be Greatly Appreciated!!!! Thank You!!!
I am a student at CU Denver now and I love it so far. I'll respond to your concerns one by one.
1. I don't know where you heard that there was a high failure rate, but I am pretty sure that is not true. There has been an extremely high pass rate for the past few years, and probably even longer. There may not be any mock boards, but they prepare us exceptionally well in other ways.
2. Increased class size was difficult at first, but most of the problems have been taken care of. There is plenty of room and time for everyone to get done what they need in the sim lab (unless you wait until the last minute which is really your own fault anyway). As far as room in clinic goes, there is a brand new 4th floor clinic which was built to help just that. I talked to some D3s and D4s specifically about this and they all said that they have never had a problem and never heard of it being a problem either.
3. No idea.
4. The ability to get varying cases is always a struggle no matter what school you go to. The advantage of going to CU is that they have the ACTS programs which sends you out to clinics across the state during your 4th year. You are able to see more there than probably any other student at any other dental school. As far as the ability to get patients, once again, I asked my upper D-class friends and they all said that they have never had a problem.
5. This one that I have no idea about either. Although there have been some staff retiring, most have been because they are all old. There has only been 1 staff that I have heard of that left in a hurry and in a somewhat unclear circumstance, but other than that, it all seems normal.
I know how you feel. I read some pretty scary things about CU before I came here too and it worried me. I didn't want to choose a school that had a bad reputation or had some sketchy things going on, but despite what I read, I decided to come here anyway and have no regretted it at all. Almost everything bad that I read about CU turned out to be either completely false or from some bitter student who was upset about something that didn't matter anyway and decided to declare war on the school's reputation.
I hope this helps. Feel free to come back with more questions and I'll be sure to look into them specifically for you.
