NEED ADVICE: On choosing a school

[Ms.2:30]

Hey guys,

As we get closer to Dec 3, I have a burning question as I go through these interviews. Choosing a school definitely depends on which school you're most likely to fit into namely didactic base or clinical base.

What are the benefits of each one? Realistically which one will be most beneficial for the real world after graduation?

Secondly, would you get more loans to go to a more prestigious school? Namely UPenn and Columbia etc.
Or does the old saying....pick the cheapest school still applies?

If someone had already made a post about this feel free to post the link in the comments. Any comments are welcomed!

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[princeafrica]

Go to cheapest

 

[miamimami]

Girl, I got those same burning questions. This is advice of the blind leading the blind variety, but go where you want. You don't want to be miserable the next 4 years and salty the rest of your life. Pick whatever school checks all your boxes, and if more than one does that, then go to the cheaper of the two. This is my game plan at least.

As for clinical vs didactic, it wasn't until after a couple of interviews that I realized a big fat patient base with a ton of clinical experience is what's most important to me. Find out what that is for yourself. As for what's better in the real world, people on the forum seem to say everyone is on the same level a few years out of graduation. I find this a little crazy, wouldn't you want to be better than other recent grads so that your career takes off quicker at a time where we'll all be pretty broke and have nothing to fall back on?

If prestige matters to you, then go girl, no one can answer that for you. Plenty of people turn down the ivies for their state school, plenty others do the opposite.

None of this matters until Dec. 3rd though and you actually have to pick (HOPEFULLY), but then you'd have a month to decide and SDN got your back with the multitude of X vs Y threads.

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

There’s no garuntee that you get to specialize even if you go to a fancy expensive school. Sure it might be easier to specialize from one but you can’t really know if you like extractions, doing endo, working with children, taking X-rays, etc enough to dedicate your life to doing it until you’ve practiced it in dental school. That’s why I think it’s a better idea to go to a cheaper school than a more “prestigious” one. Your patients won’t care about it either way and you’ll be 100-250k more in debt. If you’re 100% set on specializing you’ll be driven enough to do it from your state school too.

 

[Faux]

Cheapest.

When I did the numbers on interest generated per month, I was practically buying a PS4 and then some every month at some schools.

 

[Life of Pablo]

Depends on what your end goals are. If you want to do GD, then by all means go to the cheapest school. If you want to do OMFS, Columbia's curriculum makes it so much easier to do well on the CBSE. If you want to do ortho, Penn matches like 25-30 people into ortho every year.

 

[deleted678432]

Hey guys,

As we get closer to Dec 3, I have a burning question as I go through these interviews. Choosing a school definitely depends on which school you're most likely to fit into namely didactic base or clinical base.

What are the benefits of each one? Realistically which one will be most beneficial for the real world after graduation?

Secondly, would you get more loans to go to a more prestigious school? Namely UPenn and Columbia etc.
Or does the old saying....pick the cheapest school still applies?

If someone had already made a post about this feel free to post the link in the comments. Any comments are welcomed!

You're about to get scorched. Everybody on SDN says to go to the cheapest option

 

[Likkriue]

Go to cheaper school

Be smart enough to still specialize.

=proftttttt$$$$$$$$

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

You're about to get scorched. Everybody on SDN says to go to the cheapest option

Big Hoss here, just reminding you to go to the cheapest school you get into.

Big Hoss

 

[wengerout]

I didn't pick my cheapest option and haven't regretted it yet, although in most case picking the cheapest school is the best advice. I had compelling reasons for why I choose against my cheaper options, and advice you have the same and ask yourself if it's really worth X amount more dollars to go to that school that is pricier.

 

[yasc]

I didn't pick my cheapest option and haven't regretted it yet, although in most case picking the cheapest school is the best advice. I had compelling reasons for why I choose against my cheaper options, and advice you have the same and ask yourself if it's really worth X amount more dollars to go to that school that is pricier.

The regret doesn't normally hit until you gotta start paying it back fam lol

 

[Stanelz]

Every dentist I have ever talked to said pick the cheapest school. The difference in schools is not worth 100k+.

When you are buying a house or car after graduation and wish you had an extra 100k to put down the regret will manifest.

 

[ProspectivePostPreDent]

There are a couple of schools that are inexpensive and are top shelf in terms of residency placement, too - it's not ivy vs everything else.

 

[Ms.2:30]

There are a couple of schools that are inexpensive and are top shelf in terms of residency placement, too - it's not ivy vs everything else.

Curious to know what are some of those schools?

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Curious to know what are some of those schools?

You can specialize out of any school. The name of your school won't get you into a residency. The work YOU do will get you into a residency.

Big Hoss

 

[Life of Pablo]

Curious to know what are some of those schools?

UCLA, UCSF, UConn, Stony Brook, UNC.

Also keep in mind the Ivies DO give scholarships that greatly lower the cost. Does everyone get them? No, but a lot of people do (at least from Penn). I have classmates that got 40k a year making their cheapest option Penn.

 

[yasc]

Curious to know what are some of those schools?

I just interviewed at my instate school (SIU) most ppl haven't heard of it and the only post grad program they have is a AEGD residency but nearly 40% of the 2018 class got into a specialty program somewhere and COA is less then 200k.

 

[princeafrica]

You can specialize out of any school. The name of your school won't get you into a residency. The work YOU do will get you into a residency.

Big Hoss

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Big Hoss spitting truth

 

[wengerout]

The regret doesn't normally hit until you gotta start paying it back fam lol

Lol fair but I am a notorious planner and have already planned out how I am paying them back, target income levels, how much to pay for a house/living cost, how much to save for retirement etc.

I think the critical thing is having a plan on how you are going to pay it back to make it worth it. Full disclosure though, I did get some scholarship $$$ which made it cheaper although I still had several options that were cheaper than the school I attend (One school would have been a grand total of 90k over the 4 years).

You can specialize out of any school. The name of your school won't get you into a residency. The work YOU do will get you into a residency.

Big Hoss

Yes and no. Fact of the matter is lots of people want to specialize in state schools until they get punched in the mouth by classes and the option is taken away from them. There's a reason some schools put two people into OMFS and others put in 20. Does it make it worth the $$$? Debatable, but if I was going to take on extra debt for any speciality it would be OMFS (And I say that as someone who has 0 interest in being one.)

 

[Life of Pablo]

Yes and no. Fact of the matter is lots of people want to specialize in state schools until they get punched in the mouth by classes and the option is taken away from them.

Or punched in the mouth by hand skills, which then causes your mouth to be punched again by classes because you're spending too much time practicing your hand skills not not studying.

 

[wengerout]

Or punched in the mouth by hand skills, which then causes your mouth to be punched again by classes because you're spending too much time practicing your hand skills not not studying.

Yup exactly. Being Pass Fail has been nice in terms of not having to stress about that.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Fact of the matter is lots of people want to specialize in state schools until they get punched in the mouth by classes and the option is taken away from them.

So the answer is to hide behind a P/F grading system? What you can’t hide from is the Dept. of Education when your student loans enter repayment.

Big Hoss

 

[Life of Pablo]

So the answer is to hide behind a P/F grading system? What you can’t hide from is the Dept. of Education when your student loans enter repayment.

Big Hoss

Actually, I'd argue that the p/f system allows you to focus on the areas you're weaker at and make them stronger. It also creates a WAY more collaborative environment because you're not directly competing with each other. It's not a coincidence that almost every medical school is p/f. Dental schools are slowly but surely following the trend.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

It also creates a WAY more collaborative environment because you're not directly competing with each other.

So, if you’re applying for a “competitive” residency after dental school, against whom are you competing?

#memesfordays

Big Hoss

 

[Lil Norkii the Supreme]

don't talk about regret unless youre in the military

lil norkii the supreme

 

[Life of Pablo]

So, if you’re applying for a “competitive” residency after dental school, against whom are you competing?


#memesfordays

Big Hoss

Well it must not be each other, otherwise ~30% of Columbia's class wouldn't be able to match into OMFS but they do

 

[Stanelz]

I agree with @Life of Pablo

At LECOM our class is the first class to have grades and there is a considerable difference in the way students collaborate and spend their time. Our class spends all our time studying because even for people who dont care about specializing, the thought of making a "C" after making straight A's to get into dental school is an impossible thing to accept. People spend all their time studying instead of working on areas they are poor in or perfecting their clinical skills.

You could argue that its just because we are D1's but after speaking with upper classmen and staff, everyone seems to notice a difference in the way our class spends our time solely because we are graded.

I was happy about grades at first but then I realized that it causes me to want to do less sim work and engage in extracurricular activities/research less because I am so focused on getting an A all the time. If I just needed to pass and no one would know my grade, I would literally be studying half the amount of time that I do and focusing more on making my application for residency as strong as possible through means other than grades. I would also have more time to study for boards and ADAT in the future rather than focusing on stupid small details from lecture to put me over the top grade-wise among my class.

The D2's in our class seem to study a fraction of what the D1's are and they are MUCH more involved in student orgs because to them an A and a C are the same.

 

[2TH MVR]

I wonder what % of expensive private schools are P/F?

 

[Blackca3]

Exceptional people can go to any school and still be exceptional. If you are a middle of the pack person, going to a popular named school isn't going to suddenly change you from being a middle of the pack person. These schools don't have any secret hidden knowledge truths that they are going to reveal to you and change who you are as a person.

Think about it logically as if you owned a business. Would you hire the exceptional person who went to public state school and finds a way to be successful regardless of circumstances? Or would you hire the person who went to popular name school, who was middle of the pack and thinks that the name of his school entitles them to something more so than being exceptional?

 

[Betty White]

View attachment 240413

Big Hoss here, just reminding you to go to the cheapest school you get into.

Big Hoss

I understand what you are saying, but I have a serious question about this. I have interviewed at my state school and 2 OOS state schools. The OOS school is my number 1 choice as of right now. They teach implants (prep and placement), start clinic your second year instead of third, 1 of 5 schools that have an intraoral scanner, and the only school in the nation that can perform same day crowns (4 hours or less to be exact). They also have a 600+ patient waiting list and there are 4-5 office workers that recruit the patients for you. The Dean told us he had a D4 perform his crown last year and he was in and out in 2 hours and 10 minutes. They still teach you the traditional method of crown procedures just FYI. The OOS state is very clinical based as you can tell. The tuition difference is around 160k. My state school is obviously cheaper, they do not teach you implants, do not have a scanner, start clinic your third year, and you have to go out and recruit your own patients. Would you still choose the state school based solely on tuition costs?

 

[Betty White]

I should have stated that my biggest concern is clinical experience.

 

[Blackca3]

I understand what you are saying, but I have a serious question about this. I have interviewed at my state school and 2 OOS state schools. The OOS school is my number 1 choice as of right now. They teach implants (prep and placement), start clinic your second year instead of third, 1 of 5 schools that have an intraoral scanner, and the only school in the nation that can perform same day crowns (4 hours or less to be exact). They also have a 600+ patient waiting list and there are 4-5 office workers that recruit the patients for you. The Dean told us he had a D4 perform his crown last year and he was in and out in 2 hours and 10 minutes. They still teach you the traditional method of crown procedures just FYI. The OOS state is very clinical based as you can tell. The tuition difference is around 160k. My state school is obviously cheaper, they do not teach you implants, do not have a scanner, start clinic your third year, and you have to go out and recruit your own patients. Would you still choose the state school based solely on tuition costs?

I know your asking him but hell yeah you should pick the cheaper school. That school is definitely not the only school that places same day crowns. Fairly certain intraoral scanners are common. You can learn those things for significantly cheaper or even get paid to learn them after school. None of those things you listed are going to net you $160k right after graduation. As long as your clinic schedule keeps you busy then the number of people on the waiting list is irrelevant. $160k is a enormous difference. It is very difficult to understand that until you see how much stress and sweat goes into each dollar you earn. At which point you will look back and be upset about how little value you traded your future labor away.

 

[Betty White]

I know your asking him but hell yeah you should pick the cheaper school. That school is definitely not the only school that places same day crowns. Fairly certain intraoral scanners are common. You can learn those things for significantly cheaper or even get paid to learn them after school. None of those things you listed are going to net you $160k right after graduation. As long as your clinic schedule keeps you busy then the number of people on the waiting list is irrelevant. $160k is a enormous difference. It is very difficult to understand that until you see how much stress and sweat goes into each dollar you earn. At which point you will look back and be upset about how little value you traded your future labor away.

Thanks for the reply! All the info I stated about the OOS school was words from the Dean. I wasn't trying to talk down on my state school by talking up the OOS school. I was simply stating what the Dean told us on interview day!

 

[Blackca3]

Thanks for the reply! All the info I stated about the OOS school was words from the Dean. I wasn't trying to talk down on my state school by talking up the OOS school. I was simply stating what the Dean told us on interview day!

That's very concerning to me that the Dean would make statements that they either didn't fact check, knew were false, or just didn't care. I would argue that cost of education should be the number one deciding factor and is probably the number controllable thing that dental students can do to set themselves up for success after school. More or less everyone comes out of school on the same level playing field. That is what the boards are for. Tip the scales of success in your favor by finding the cheapest option.

 

[wengerout]

Exceptional people can go to any school and still be exceptional. If you are a middle of the pack person, going to a popular named school isn't going to suddenly change you from being a middle of the pack person. These schools don't have any secret hidden knowledge truths that they are going to reveal to you and change who you are as a person.

Think about it logically as if you owned a business. Would you hire the exceptional person who went to public state school and finds a way to be successful regardless of circumstances? Or would you hire the person who went to popular name school, who was middle of the pack and thinks that the name of his school entitles them to something more so than being exceptional?

I have to push back a bit. If you took my entire class and dropped them in my state school, maybe two people get to do OMFS. Here almost 20 will. This is a fact that we can see via the specialization rate here vs. other schools. It's not about the name of the school, it's about the fact the school caters a majority of the class to specialize from the get go. There are other schools with a less common name that does the same thing (A perfect example being UCONN).

Clearly the numbers show that the specialty programs have no problem picking people from my school who are "middle of the pack" (which makes no sense since how can one be middle of the pack in a pass fail system? That would defeat the purpose of pass-fail entirely).

 

[wengerout]

I understand what you are saying, but I have a serious question about this. I have interviewed at my state school and 2 OOS state schools. The OOS school is my number 1 choice as of right now. They teach implants (prep and placement), start clinic your second year instead of third, 1 of 5 schools that have an intraoral scanner, and the only school in the nation that can perform same day crowns (4 hours or less to be exact). They also have a 600+ patient waiting list and there are 4-5 office workers that recruit the patients for you. The Dean told us he had a D4 perform his crown last year and he was in and out in 2 hours and 10 minutes. They still teach you the traditional method of crown procedures just FYI. The OOS state is very clinical based as you can tell. The tuition difference is around 160k. My state school is obviously cheaper, they do not teach you implants, do not have a scanner, start clinic your third year, and you have to go out and recruit your own patients. Would you still choose the state school based solely on tuition costs?

This type of stuff doesn't concern me when picking a school. Things that affect financials do. This includes specialization, remediation process, how much attrition in a class do they, etc.

For example, my state school is notorious for holding back 5-10 people in a class every year for very minor things that you could remediate at other schools. All of a sudden that dirt cheap tuition becomes an extra year of school tuition + an extra year of interest + an extra year of loss income. I personally know four people who were plenty intelligent in the same undergrad I went to who got held back at that school. Meanwhile, not a soul has been held back in my class here.

Don't get enamored with the clinical talk because in all honestly you'll learn more after school/in a GPR.

 

[Blackca3]

I have to push back a bit. If you took my entire class and dropped them in my state school, maybe two people get to do OMFS. Here almost 20 will. This is a fact that we can see via the specialization rate here vs. other schools. It's not about the name of the school, it's about the fact the school caters a majority of the class to specialize from the get go. There are other schools with a less common name that does the same thing (A perfect example being UCONN).

Clearly the numbers show that the specialty programs have no problem picking people from my school who are "middle of the pack" (which makes no sense since how can one be middle of the pack in a pass fail system? That would defeat the purpose of pass-fail entirely).

What? Just because your school doesn't assign you grades or a rank doesn't mean you all don't still fall along a bell curve. You may have a higher aggregate of higher performing individuals in your class or school. If 20 people from your class go to OS then it's because they put in the time and effort and did exceptionally well. I'm willing to bet if you put those same 20 people in other schools the vast majority of them would still find a way to get into OS. They don't get into OS specifically because of their schools they get in because of themselves.

 

[Firik]

So, do individuals here argue that more clinical years of experience in school doesn't matter because almost everyone is in the same playing field after graduation and that you will get enough experience after school? Does this mean you are willing to risk with your first-year patients after graduation (since you didn't start until D3) instead of getting more comfortable with treatment? I agree that there is individuals who learn quick, maybe as quick as 2 year, but based on the definition of expert, it takes 10 years (or 10,000 hours) of practice to be an expert in the field. Thus, the more years of practice the better!

 

[Blackca3]

My opinion - It may help a bit with the learning curve but not enough that I would drop any real money just to get into the clinics a little earlier. You can learn all the same things taught at any programs your first year out by doing GPR, AEGD, or CE and get paid to do so.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

it's about the fact the school caters a majority of the class to specialize from the get go.

By doing what exactly? And are these opportunities simply not available to the masses?

Big Hoss

 

[Life of Pablo]

By doing what exactly? And are these opportunities simply not available to the masses?

Big Hoss

How about the fact that they have a medical curriculum which caters entirely to specializing in OMFS.

 

[deleted678432]

By doing what exactly? And are these opportunities simply not available to the masses?

Big Hoss

Theres also schools like Michigan who have the pathways program which allows students to cater their education tremendously to speciality programs

 

[Blackca3]

How about the fact that they have a medical curriculum which caters entirely to specializing in OMFS.

Can you be more specific? Curriculum details that sets up someone for OMFS vs another dental school.

 

[ProspectivePostPreDent]

Exceptional people can go to any school and still be exceptional. If you are a middle of the pack person, going to a popular named school isn't going to suddenly change you from being a middle of the pack person. These schools don't have any secret hidden knowledge truths that they are going to reveal to you and change who you are as a person.

Think about it logically as if you owned a business. Would you hire the exceptional person who went to public state school and finds a way to be successful regardless of circumstances? Or would you hire the person who went to popular name school, who was middle of the pack and thinks that the name of his school entitles them to something more so than being exceptional?

I will always side with the " go cheaper" mantra, but it's demonstrably false that every school is the same. There are schools that produce virtually no specialists and schools that send half their classes to specialty and it's not because students at the former schools hate money or are all madly in love with gen dent (it's a great job, I'm just saying if the options were fully open, you wouldn't see that distribution).

I had a PI at the big research hospital in Boston attached to that one school(tm), who also happened to interview for one of the competitive residencies at that one school.

As my interviews rolled in, he was very explicit about where I should attend if I wanted to have my application in the "considered" pile for their program. Yes, even though I had already researched for their department. The list was essentially what Pablo posted plus 1 or 2 others.

You or I may think it's silly (I do), but it doesn't make the attitude any less real.

It is undoubtedly the case that if you work your ass off, you could be the guy who lands omfs from LECOM once a year or every other year.

Just like you can land orthopedic surgery from a DO school. But if you have both offers and they're comparable in price, then why would you risk it?

The 6th hardest working kid in LECOM's class would have done more than enough to land omfs from UConn, where up to 15% of the class might choose that specialty in a given year.

Now you might give the old school answer "well then suck it up and be the undisputed hardest worker at the lesser known school if you really want it that bad." Well, okay, maybe (you're still banking on not getting shut out by people like my former boss) but that's not really the point.

Whether or not you consider this attitude soft is immaterial - applicants are interested in knowing "do some schools make it easier to land certain specialities given the same effort level," and the answer is an unequivocal yes.

The poster above me mentioned that there is no magical secret curriculum which is exactly right - in other words, you could be a middle tier student at an unknown school for similar effort as passing your classes at a p/f "reputation" school.

How much is that worth to you? Hopefully not too much, but there's nothing dumb about paying 5k/yr more for UCLA over touro (dunno what they cost, just throwing out random examples).

Again, for me, price is #1 with no close second, but it's worth looking into high value schools as I mentioned. it's hard to express how wonderful it is to not worry about maintaining some ranking against my classmates in order to get attention from residencies. I can just focus on learning, handskills, and ecs when they fit in.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

How about the fact that they have a medical curriculum which caters entirely to specializing in OMFS.

So...that’s OMFS and I have already conceded elsewhere that a med curriculum does help with the CBSE. Is that help worth potentially $200,000? Doubtful. Remember there are several other specialties, though that fact is often lost on SDN. How about ortho, pros, endo, peds, and perio? What advantage do you have there? I argue you don’t have one. The fact that so many go on to specialty residencies from the “prestigious” schools is simply the proportion of the class applying. My friend said more than a third of his class at Columbia applied to OMFS, while around 5% of my public school class did. I’d also bet our Match rates were just as competitive: 100% ortho, 75% OMFS, 100% peds, 100% perio, 100% pros, and 66% endo. Let’s also not forget that many specialty residencies charge a ton of tuition. Going to UPenn for dental school and ortho residency would put you around $800,000 in debt. That’s ridiculous! Save money wherever you can.

Big Hoss

 

[Life of Pablo]

Can you be more specific? Curriculum details that sets up someone for OMFS vs another dental school.

Dental school curriculum is watered way down compared to medical school curriculum. Med students are learning things in exponentially more detail than dental students are required to. If you want to do OMFS, going to a school with a medical curriculum teaches you all the things that you will be tested on when you take the CBSE (entrance exam for OMFS). A dental curriculum does not. Balancing class ranking with studying for the CBSE sounds like a nightmare. I applaud anyone who does it.

 

[Blackca3]

I will always side with the " go cheaper" mantra, but it's demonstrably false that every school is the same. There are schools that produce virtually no specialists and schools that send half their classes to specialty and it's not because students at the former schools hate money or are all madly in love with gen dent (it's a great job, I'm just saying if the options were fully open, you wouldn't see that distribution).

I had a PI at the big research hospital in Boston attached to that one school(tm), who also happened to interview for one of the competitive residencies at that one school.

As my interviews rolled in, he was very explicit about where I should attend if I wanted to have my application in the "considered" pile for their program. Yes, even though I had already researched for their department. The list was essentially what Pablo posted plus 1 or 2 others.

You or I may think it's silly (I do), but it doesn't make the attitude any less real.

It is undoubtedly the case that if you work your ass off, you could be the guy who lands omfs from LECOM once a year or every other year.

Just like you can land orthopedic surgery from a DO school. But if you have both offers and they're comparable in price, then why would you risk it?

The 6th hardest working kid in LECOM's class would have done more than enough to land omfs from UConn, where up to 15% of the class might choose that specialty in a given year.

Now you might give the old school answer "well then suck it up and be the undisputed hardest worker at the lesser known school if you really want it that bad." Well, okay, maybe (you're still banking on not getting shut out by people like my former boss) but that's not really the point.

Whether or not you consider this attitude soft is immaterial - applicants are interested in knowing "do some schools make it easier to land certain specialities given the same effort level," and the answer is an unequivocal yes.

The poster above me mentioned that there is no magical secret curriculum which is exactly right - in other words, you could be a middle tier student at an unknown school for similar effort as passing your classes at a p/f "reputation" school.

How much is that worth to you? Hopefully not too much, but there's nothing dumb about paying 5k/yr more for UCLA over touro (dunno what they cost, just throwing out random examples).

Again, for me, price is #1 with no close second, but it's worth looking into high value schools as I mentioned. it's hard to express how wonderful it is to not worry about maintaining some ranking against my classmates in order to get attention from residencies. I can just focus on learning, handskills, and ecs when they fit in.

Well ok, if it's demonstrably false then show us the data to back up what you're saying. Personal anecdotes don't really have any value. For any students that are really looking into this, easy way to find out for yourselves
- call OMFS residencies and ask
- call local OMFS and ask
- go on dental town where you can ask a bunch of them at once

 

[Wingie]

Dental school curriculum is watered way down compared to medical school curriculum. This is TRUE

Med students are learning things in exponentially more detail than dental students are required to. This is TRUE

If you want to do OMFS, going to a school with a medical curriculum teaches you all the things that you will be tested on when you take the CBSE (entrance exam for OMFS). A dental curriculum does not. Probably true

Balancing class ranking with studying for the CBSE sounds like a nightmare. This is TRUE.

Nevertheless, graduating with more debt because of a leg up on specializing is probably not worth it. If you're smart enough to specialize, you can do so from ANY dental school. I have visited a number of OMFS programs, and these programs have residents who graduated from expensive prestigious schools as well as residents who graduated from much cheaper schools. Same residency....Big difference in Loan Balances.

 

[wengerout]

What? Just because your school doesn't assign you grades or a rank doesn't mean you all don't still fall along a bell curve. You may have a higher aggregate of higher performing individuals in your class or school. If 20 people from your class go to OS then it's because they put in the time and effort and did exceptionally well. I'm willing to bet if you put those same 20 people in other schools the vast majority of them would still find a way to get into OS. They don't get into OS specifically because of their schools they get in because of themselves.

There is no “real” bell curve if there’s no rank or GPA to begin with, however I don’t doubt that in terms of general performance some people perform better than others.. The only hard data point the people have coming out of here when they are applying for OS is their CBSE score (which they obviously must do well in). If you put all of those 20 people in my state school, they simply wouldn’t have the opportunity to all do OS because that school has no interest in sending 20 people to OMFS and they have said as much several times. The ranking system along with other facts would ensure of it, which is one of the reasons why you don’t see 20 people coming out of every dental school going into surgery. I don’t buy my school just has naturally more exceptional people to that level year after year. I’m confident if you sampled the average state school just as many people who wanted to do OS here would want to at the state school as well.


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[wengerout]

By doing what exactly? And are these opportunities simply not available to the masses?

Big Hoss

Pass-Fail, no ranking, med based curriculum, strong OS program with ample opportunity for externships etc.

They are available to the masses, it’s arguable UCONN has done it better than anyone in terms of making a fast track to OMFS. A lot of schools just have no interest in trying to send more than one or two to OS, and some are actively trying to produce only general dentist and say as much when you apply there.


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