NYU Dental - drop 1st year students?

[thimsmits]

My brother finished dental school a few years ago, and as I was talking about schools to apply to, he mentioned not to apply to NYU. He said that they drop a large percentage of the students after their first year. It creates a very cut-throat enviroment. His knowledge is based upon a number of years ago, so it may not be true anymore. Has anyone else heard about this?

Thanks.

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[DDSY]

My opinion: Apply despite what your brother tells you. NYU has a large class size and. . . it's in NYC.

Quantitatively speaking, NYU probably drops more than other schools. But you have to account for its student size too. Speaking in terms of percentages, I've heard that NYU's attrition rate is not different from other dental schools.

But if you account for NYU's large size, applying to NYU is really like applying to a few dental schools. You have a higher shot of getting in. Many dental schools are pretty difficult to get into and dentistry is such a hot field right now that dental schools are not getting any easier to get into.

 

[lnsip9reg]

NYU's other graduate and professional schools have high rankings and good reputations, and NYU Dental is putting in the resources to achieve a similar level.

I know they've had a few bumpy years and some bad press. But I'd be hard pressed to believe that NYU Dental won't achieve the goal of a more selective student body and better reputation in a few years time.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Quantitatively speaking, NYU probably drops more than other schools. But you have to account for its student size too. Speaking in terms of percentages, I've heard that NYU's attrition rate is not different from other dental schools.

Many dental schools don't drop any students. NYUs attrition rate has to be light years ahead of the next school below it. In other words, it isn't anywhere near what attrition is at other schools. I'm not stating that dropping students is right or wrong, but it is what it is.

 

[Motherlovebone]

I agree with all your responses. More students equals more people that get dropped, it's just logical. You also have to remember unlike many other dental schools you have a big lifestyle change with living in Mannhattan. It's freaking expensive and finding an apartment is difficult. Yes, you can live in the dorms if you get picked to live in the dorms, however, a great portion of D1's probably are shacked up with other people by now and there isn't couple's housing. Likewise, if you have a family the housing situation is not attractive. Put this into perspective, think of all the people that decide dentistry isn't for them, have family members get sick, cannot afford to live in NYC, and those who plain can't make the grade... and lastly those infamous D1's who believe getting to dental school in itself is just good enough. There is the population that attride. FYI... never let opinions (rumors) of others stop you from making decisions towards your future, what is hard for someone maybe easy for you: To each their own.

In the words of the last barman poet, "Every song was great...Except for that last one."

 

[NYUCD2010]

I'm a D1 at NYU. We had 238 when our classes started (not including a few that left during Orientation Week), and now we have 223. Of those 15 or so that left, at least 3 I know are coming back to join next year's class - i.e. they are on voluntary leave due to personal reasons. Approximately 10-12 were told to hit the road, if I'm not mistaken.

I personally knew 3 of those 10-12 people that were "kicked out" for academic reasons ("involuntary" departure). All three students had 2+ F's in one given semester.

The few dozen students who had 1 F during the first semester need to remediate those courses over the summer. Only those students who failed 2 or more science courses in one semester are in danger of being asked to leave.

It can be a bit disheartening to see classmates being asked to leave. However, 12 out of ~240 is ~5%, and I would expect attrition to be around 5% for most other schools. Even 2-3 people getting kicked out in a class of 50-60 amounts to 5%, obviously.

I'm probably one of the biggest proponents of NYU you will run into on SDN. Nevertheless, there's no covering up the fact that NYU can be a pretty impersonal and intimidating school unless the student makes a conscious effort to take advantage of opportunities (e.g. in research, assisting in clinic, even simple things like approaching faculty to just sit down and talk, etc). For those that do so, it is a great experience... but for those that do not, it can suck.

Many dental schools don't drop any students. NYUs attrition rate has to be light years ahead of the next school below it. In other words, it isn't anywhere near what attrition is at other schools. I'm not stating that dropping students is right or wrong, but it is what it is.

 

[briansle]

I'm a D1 at NYU. We had 238 when our classes started (not including a few that left during Orientation Week), and now we have 223. Of those 15 or so that left, at least 3 I know are coming back to join next year's class - i.e. they are on voluntary leave due to personal reasons. Approximately 10-12 were told to hit the road, if I'm not mistaken.

I personally knew 3 of those 10-12 people that were "kicked out" for academic reasons ("involuntary" departure). All three students had 2+ F's in one given semester.

The few dozen students who had 1 F during the first semester need to remediate those courses over the summer. Only those students who failed 2 or more science courses in one semester are in danger of being asked to leave.

It can be a bit disheartening to see classmates being asked to leave. However, 12 out of ~240 is ~5%, and I would expect attrition to be around 5% for most other schools. Even 2-3 people getting kicked out in a class of 50-60 amounts to 5%, obviously.

I'm probably one of the biggest proponents of NYU you will run into on SDN. Nevertheless, there's no covering up the fact that NYU can be a pretty impersonal and intimidating school unless the student makes a conscious effort to take advantage of opportunities (e.g. in research, assisting in clinic, even simple things like approaching faculty to just sit down and talk, etc). For those that do so, it is a great experience... but for those that do not, it can suck.

For those students who got kicked out, are your classes curved?
Did they just completely drop the ball and not care?

I just have a hard time understanding how those students who achieved in undergrad and broke their backs to get in - wound up flunking classes?

What are the reactions of the 3 students you personally know? Where they surprised, or expected it?

 

[djeffreyt]

I think NYU also has a bad reputation from a mistake that happened several years back. They over-enrolled the first year class by a couple dozen people and on the first days of class had to ask for at least 20 seats to be given up. They offered to allow those students who voluntarily gave up their places secure spots in the next years class...and I think they even offered to pay for a semester or more of tuition. Not that many students took the chance, and the school had to cut more than usual that year from their low end of the class.

This isn't a rumor...it did happen. I think this little black mark has pretty much fueled the myth of NYU's huge kick-out rate.

 

[toysareus]

My brother finished dental school a few years ago, and as I was talking about schools to apply to, he mentioned not to apply to NYU. He said that they drop a large percentage of the students after their first year. It creates a very cut-throat enviroment. His knowledge is based upon a number of years ago, so it may not be true anymore. Has anyone else heard about this?

Thanks.

I'm a fourth year at NYU. I was in the class that was overbooked. Yes, students were given a free year of tuition if they came back the following year. People who took the offer mostly had jobs already (one was a pharmacist).
As far as NYU dropping students and being "cutt throat," NYU is anything but cutt throat. There are so many students, it's too hard to be in an enviroment like that. It's very laid back. You get what you put in. I'd say 5% of the class is cutt throat, but the other 95% is pretty relaxed.
I don't know how many students were kicked out of my class, but I imagine 25-30. A few had to remediate and repeat a year (about 8). NYU gives you a lot of chances, but if you keep failing, it's time to leave!

 

[ItsGavinC]

I'm a fourth year at NYU. I was in the class that was overbooked.

I have a buddy that is in your class, but his name is slipping my mind (long day, don't ask ).

Here's a picture of the view from his apartment. Look familiar?

 

[ddhm]

awesome! that picture of the view out onto the streets below brings back good memories of when i strolled around in manhattan.

personally, id love the chance to go back there for dental school.