MWU-AZ vs Stony Brook

[DeeKayNY]

Hi everyone, I'm so excited to say that I was lucky enough to receive acceptances this cycle and I am currently down to between MWU-AZ or Stony Brook. I am looking for honest insight into the two programs based on the following Pros and Cons.

Things to note: I am a NY resident and not currently looking to specialize. MWU-AZ will likely be 60K-ish more than Stony Brook (please correct me if this doesn't seem correct). I am aware that in order to practice in NY, I need to do a residency anyways. I will be taking out loans and may be interested in the NHSC scholarship down the line.

Stony Brook: cheaper
(+) start seeing patients 2nd year.
(-) 1 year medical curriculum (Graded but not ranked)
(+) class size - individualized education
(-) small class size (might be too small of a class size for 4 years seeing the same 40 students)
(+) the faculty was so knowledgeable and welcoming.
(+) close to home and family support
(-) pre-docs can't place implants
(+) great reputation in the area because of how selective the program is.

MWU-AZ: more expensive
(+) more of a campus life, nicer class size (140)
(-) Arizona is far away and superrr hot. It will be an adjustment.
(-) relatively new school with less of an name if I want to come back to practice on the East Coast.
(+) great clinical exposure (at least two implant placements are required from what I understand tons of crowns and restorative work).
(+) D3/D4 pairing allows for ability to see more patients and learn to work with an assistant.
(+) No specialty residents so you are able to see more complex cases along with specialists instead of referring out to residents.
(+) Very technology forward, laser and Invisalign certification.

Again, any insight from current students (especially 4th years) and recent grads in both programs would be very appreciated to help guide me so I can make the best decision.

Please feel free to PM me as well with your thoughts

THANK YOU!!

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[Cello]

D2 at Midwestern, you seem to have put together a solid pro/con list.

If you are planning to stay in NY then IMO you should stick with Stony Brook. The connections you will make during your time at Stony Brook will be invaluable to you as a future dentist. If you participate in your local ASDA chapter and form a solid network, then you will have opportunities not available to you all the way out here in AZ.

Also, $60k may not seem like a lot, but you also have to factor in interest over the lifetime of the loan which will make it more like $80-$100k depending on how long you take to pay it back.

A lot of the advantages you will get at Midwestern AZ will not matter much once you have completed a decent AEGD / GPR. Placing implants at our school is great, especially if you plan to go straight into practice, but there are GPRs in the US where residents place hundreds of implants in a year. Besides, you can always pay for a decent implants course like many of our D3/D4 students do ($5k - $10k).

Lastly, I have seen several classmates struggle with big life events because they were so far away from their support network. This is professional school, and we are all grownups of course, but it can be hard to deal with a breakup, divorce, death, etc. without your family and close friends.

 

[schmoob]

Stony Brook

 

[DeeKayNY]

D2 at Midwestern, you seem to have put together a solid pro/con list.

If you are planning to stay in NY then IMO you should stick with Stony Brook. The connections you will make during your time at Stony Brook will be invaluable to you as a future dentist. If you participate in your local ASDA chapter and form a solid network, then you will have opportunities not available to you all the way out here in AZ.

Also, $60k may not seem like a lot, but you also have to factor in interest over the lifetime of the loan which will make it more like $80-$100k depending on how long you take to pay it back.

A lot of the advantages you will get at Midwestern AZ will not matter much once you have completed a decent AEGD / GPR. Placing implants at our school is great, especially if you plan to go straight into practice, but there are GPRs in the US where residents place hundreds of implants in a year. Besides, you can always pay for a decent implants course like many of our D3/D4 students do ($5k - $10k).

Lastly, I have seen several classmates struggle with big life events because they were so far away from their support network. This is professional school, and we are all grownups of course, but it can be hard to deal with a breakup, divorce, death, etc. without your family and close friends.

Thank you!! So helpful. I'm actually going to PM you if that's OK because I have some more specifics to ask about MWU-AZ.

 

[DeeKayNY]

Stony Brook

LOL ok, thank you! Is this your opinion based on my pros/cons list? Or reputation? Or what is your reasoning?

 

[schmoob]

LOL ok, thank you! Is this your opinion based on my pros/cons list? Or reputation? Or what is your reasoning?

It's a great school at a great price, and close to home.
IMO it's Stony hands down for you. I wouldn't overthink it.

 

[Cello]

Thank you!! So helpful. I'm actually going to PM you if that's OK because I have some more specifics to ask about MWU-AZ.

Sure

 

[ProspectivePostPreDent]

Stony Brook's greatest asset might be its clinical numbers. I wouldn't worry about getting short-changed in that department. They come out with a crazy number of procedures.

 

[2TH MVR]

Stony. Cheaper. Smaller class size which is a huge advantage imo. Can't emphasize the importance of family nearby. Doing a few implants is nothing. I went to Montefiore Med Center in the N. Bronx for specialty residency. Your weather stinks, but your bagels, pastrami sandwiches and pizza rules. .

I live in Arizona. Weather is perfect. Lots of New Yorkers here.

Go with Stony. Save your money because you will need it when you graduate.

 

[wengerout]

Stony 100%

 

[Likkriue]

Midwestern only runs 60k more? That's surprising, are you on a scholarship?

Their tuition alone is 74145 with about 13k(instruments + clinic and supply fees) in mandatory fees. I haven't included living costs yet.

I took out 70k in total for stonys first year with everything included. Also probably sending a good 5k back in excess. So unless you have a scholarship the number would be way higher than 60k.

 

[Incis0r]

(+) close to home and family support

This is a big big big BIG source of support and stress reduction. OP, def. weigh this heavily. @2TH MVR and @Cello are right.

 

[DeeKayNY]

Midwestern only runs 60k more? That's surprising, are you on a scholarship?

Their tuition alone is 74145 with about 13k(instruments + clinic and supply fees) in mandatory fees. I haven't included living costs yet.

I took out 70k in total for stonys first year with everything included. Also probably sending a good 5k back in excess. So unless you have a scholarship the number would be way higher than 60k.

OK. So actually that is my mistake 100%... I was using just the tuition and approximate housing costs to calculate my MWU cost of attendance. BUT recently, I was able to find a table on the MWU with all expected costs and the cost of attendance for 4 years is actually $462,632 (thrifty option). This is in comparison to Stony Brook's estimated cost of attendance which is: $324,076. Which is a difference of: $138,556.

SO YES @Likkriue - you are 100% correct, (I am not on scholarship at MWU) I completely miscalculated when I wrote 60K (at the time I didnt have access to the COA for MWU).

 

[Cello]

That is a big difference. If I had a state school option and I got in there I would have chosen it over MWU-AZ. But, as expensive private schools go, I am very happy with our program.

 

[y123]

Stony Brook