Nova

[hteteibo]

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Hi everyone

can someone PLEASE tell me what they think about NOVA and its apparent problems like lack of patients, lack of dental chairs etc? I dont know if they are true or just true to some extent. I really need help deciding between NY and Nova but Nova's cheaper so Im leaning towards nova. I dont want to make the wrong choice!

 

[Hordel]

The TRUTH is that there is SOME validity to these claims. However they are NOT nearly as severe as most make them out to be. The patients thing, from my understanding (I am a D2 and talk with some D3's but am NOT in clinic currently), is not so bad as it was. From what I have heard early on each student got 5 patients, but some of these patients didn't come to appointments and were basically inactive. So some students, to BEGIN, only had 2 patients or so. Yet, I have heard that things have gotten better and that these students got a new batch of patients and that EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY! Further, I have been told that there is a WAITING LIST to be a patient at the school, so I would say the patient thing is NOT going to be an issue (Not to mention the more time you have in the clinic [i.e. 4th yr vs 3rd yr] the more likely you are to get patients so you can finish on time) As for the chair problem, I would say again that this is NOT as bad as most make it sound. There is difficulty getting a chair at times and if your patient cancels that really screws you over. Yet, I have also heard that almost you have a set of time for a chair each week, AND there are other clinics (2 that I know of) where you can go as a D4 to get more chair time. The bottom line is, you are going to dental school. If you want no problems/headaches then choose NOT to go to dental school.
From what I can tell, and my knowledge is definatly NOT complete in regards to all dental schools, MOST dental schools have their obstacles that you have to get past. Getting X-rays in endo lab, not enough patients, Dr so and so won't sign something off, too many projects not enough time...etc. Get VERY used to the idea that things WILL be a struggle at times and try to learn to live with it or else dental school WILL be hell.
Overall, I would say choose where you want to go based on what you liked about the schools in regards to faculty, facilities, whether you like to live in cold or hot temperatures, whether you have family close in either place, whether you like beaches or a big city...etc. Choose where you would feel most comfortable living and go with that, you will be there 4 years after all!😉

Oh, and CONGRATS on your acceptance! It is a milestone you should embrace and enjoy! Good luck with your decision and if you need any more advice about Nova feel free to send me a message and we can talk!

 

[dentalWorks]

Hi everyone

can someone PLEASE tell me what they think about NOVA and its apparent problems like lack of patients, lack of dental chairs etc? I dont know if they are true or just true to some extent. I really need help deciding between NY and Nova but Nova's cheaper so Im leaning towards nova. I dont want to make the wrong choice!

I don't think there is much comparisson between the 2 schools. One is 100 students (nova), the other starts you with 230 and the addition of ALOT of international dentists in 2nd year. I think at NYU, your class in 2nd year will be like 300+ students, thats alot.

The other thing you brought up is the cost, if nova is cheaper, then thats a good deciding factor.

As far as the patient pool is considered, from my interviews and the few threads i've read.... pretty much every dental school falls into 1 out of 2 categories:
One: you have a dental school thats is in the middle of the ghetto, LOTS of poor patients who can't afford a dentist, so they come to the school. Huge clinical experience (examples, detroit, buffalo, temple, etc etc)

Two: you have a dental school that is in the middle of a nice city, where majority of folks are middle-higher class. These patients, most of them, have money or insurance and they can avoid going to the dental school and have a DS3 or DS4 take 2-3 hours working on 2 fillings.... instead they go to the local dentist where they'll be done with them in less than an hour (examples michigan, Nova, etc etc)

I did ask the person interviewing (in Nova) about this very thing. He assured me (Dr. Zarr ~ spelling 😕) that they don't exactly have any problems finding patients for thier 3rd and 4th year students. He told me, that the school has about 2000 patients on a "waiting list", and this is pretty constant. They are doing some changes to the curriculum such that, its no longer a minimum of procedures done to pass that portion of the clinic, instead, now its a minimum procedures done UNTIL THEY CAN EVALUATE you and see if you need more practice.... I think this is a better system.

And don't forget, with Nova, you have the luxury of taking NBDE part 1 right after year 1. So the material is still pretty fresh in your mind. The only downside to this is... you take MASSIVE amounts of science credits your first year haha.

My opinion, go to Nova

 

[almon]

Which school did you get a better impression from after the interview? I for one am not worried about a few thousand bucks when I know I'm going to be spending four years at the school I choose. Who cares about "reputation" and all that. Go to the one you liked better.

 

[hteteibo]

Thanks guys for all your help. I think Ive pretty much decided to go to Nova because of the cost. Also I liked the atmosphere at the school. By the way, those 6/8 fancy high tech dental chairs that Nova has....are they all working?? And also I dont think I remmebr new york having them

 

[Munchy]

Thanks guys for all your help. I think Ive pretty much decided to go to Nova because of the cost. Also I liked the atmosphere at the school. By the way, those 6/8 fancy high tech dental chairs that Nova has....are they all working?? And also I dont think I remmebr new york having them

Nova is expensive...
What do you mean you are going there because of the cost?

What is Nova's yearly budget including EVERYTHING?

 

[hteteibo]

Its cheap for me cos Im from Canada........and its definitely cheaper than New York.

 

[almon]

Nova and NYU are really about equal in price. The instrumental rental and fees and Nova are 14k the first year compared to 8k at NYU. That pretty much makes up for the cheaper tuition at Nova.

 

[Munchy]

not to mention the living expense at ft. lauderdale. If you compare it to NYC it might be a bit lower but definitely one of the most expensive places to live in.

Reconsider your options carefully and go to the school that you want to go to.

 

[hteteibo]

Yeah you know what....I looked into it and you guys are right. I looked at housing provided by Nova and it is about half the price of New York's housing but the thing is my parents are saying they'll buy me a 2 bedroom apartment there so I could also rent one room out for money. But the thing about the instruemnt costs rly made me think twice. 🙁
Now Im back to square 1!

 

[RedDevilDDS]

Nova is expensive...
What do you mean you are going there because of the cost?

What is Nova's yearly budget including EVERYTHING?

Nova is Expensive BUT still cheaper than a lot of private schools like NYU, BU, USC, Penn...etc.

It's because students at Nova only pay ONCE for their instrument purchase fee whereas you pay all 4 years at other private institutions which saves you like 20k for 4 years.

For tuition, it will be 50k next year, which is about 8-9k cheaper/year than NYU and Penn.

For Canadians, I think the cheap private schools are Nova, UDM and Case.

 

[Dent001]

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[hteteibo]

Red Devil DDS...thanks for the comment. I completely agree with you about the cost of Nova. Thank you.

I actaully investigated this and Im not sure if the problem is as bad as it is made out to be. I could just be naive but all their students do graduate with their requirements all done. And if I can graduate with a lower debt, Im willing to put up with the stress that comes. Im sure it'll be hard and there will be problems with the school but I know that all their students graduate and thats all I need to know.