I've been getting a few PM's with some general questions, and I'm sure other people have the same questions, so I'll answer what I can here.
How do you like Pitt so far?
Well, I just started in August, but so far, I like it. It's definitely not easy, and there's definitely things I'd like to see changed (more on that later), but I think one of the best answers I can give is that I'm not regretting my decision to turn down my offer at Columbia for Pitt. Your first week of dental school (not orientation), will likely be the longest week of your life, that's just how the game goes, but you get the hang of it soon enough. We've got class from 8-5 just about everyday with some exceptions (like our Monday testing block from 8-10, which we don't usually have tests in, and our Thursday "Clinical Applications" time after lunch which is usually empty). We're also taking 25 Units, yes, 25, and you really feel it. In undergrad I never normally took more than 14, so it hit me over the head pretty hard, but again, something you get used to.
What are things you like and dislike?
What I definitely like are the amazing faculty, most of whom are more than willing to go out of their way to help you (there's always a few teachers you don't like though). Also, the facilities are great, the sim lab is somewhat new, like 5-7 years old or so, and it's significantly better than some other dental schools I've seen. Each student has their own station which is a mini dental setup, with a torso and head that you can adjust, it's really like a small dental operatory. Another great thing about Pitt is that it's all digital. The school is uses completely paperless patient records with a terminal at every operatory and sim lab station, and all digital radiography, which works pretty seamlessly with the patient records. When a lot of schools are still using paper records, and are having to develop their own film, this is a REALLY big plus, and is pretty well implemented.
I also really like that the class is small enough (80) that you can really get to know everybody for the most part, and as a second year put it, you're all going through the wars together experiencing the same difficulty, and the friends you make will be your friends for a long time after dental school. Everyone's very helpful, and there's a real feeling of family. For the most part, the Faculty are also really willing to help you with any problems you might have, and there's always lots of upper class man who are more than happy to help you with anything you'd need, so you've really got a big safety net of people to turn to. They have this thing that's more or less a Big Brother / Sister program where they pair you with someone with a 2nd year who's similar to you (same undergrad, same area grew up, same age if older students), so you've got someone looking out for you.
I also really like the area, I went to school at a commuter university, so I really enjoy the "college town" feel that much of Oakland has. I live in what could be considered a more "family" area of town, called Squirrel Hill, and it's nice and quiet, very clean, and still near plenty of shops and book stores. I also really love the Bus system in Pittsburgh - before I came here I think I'd only ridden a bus like 3-4 times, but since your student ID is a free bus pass, and parking is HORRIBLE, I take the bus all the time now, around town and to get to school. There's tons of buses, and tons of stops all over. Google Maps Public Transit is your friend here.
I also like the Uniform, scrubs all day, everyday, great, comfortable, and you don't have to worry about what to wear everyday!
Lets see, things I don't like.... hm, and this one is more for me and will hopefully not be for you, they just totally changed the curriculum around, and we're seeing LOTS of growing pains. For one, they made the first semester harder than it was last year (though it's primarily because of shifting classes from the Summer semester, which was apparently a really doozy). At the same time, they made the standards for promotion (not getting kicked out) more difficult, and you can't repeat a year like you could last year, and they didn't really tell us this. Not that I'm expecting to have to, but that would have been nice to know ahead of time. Because of the new changes to the curriculum, many of the professors don't know exactly what's going on with certain things, and there really wasn't anything to clear it up. For example, they gave us a schedule, but it had some really vague things that they didn't explain, like entire afternoon blocks of what's called "Clinical Applications." So the first week we went to class and the first day was fine, but when Tuesday rolled around and we had "Clinical Applications," we had no clue where to go or what to do, and neither did any of our professors who weren't a part of that class. It turned out that we didn't have anything in the Clinical Applications block that day, and we were done at noon, but it took us an hour to figure this out, no one told us ahead of time. We've got that more or less figured out now, so it's not a problem anymore, but that was just one thing that stuck out to me. Anyways, like I said before, hopefully for you guys starting next year it won't be as bad, they're having these feedback sessions for us to tell them what the problems are, and they're saying that they're going to take everything into consideration when they make the curriculum for the class of 2014 (you guys). The other thing I don't like is that there's no real outside of class study help available, I know some other schools have tutoring and organized study groups for students who need help, and we really don't have anything like that, though I'm suggesting it at my feedback session next month.
I really love the school, so don't let my few sore points make you think badly of it! Just some things that need to be sorted out, haha.
I'll also include other things I like in other questions as well.
What kind of school is Pitt, Academic, Clinical, Research?
Pitt is a very research oriented school, but don't worry, it's not like everyone is doing research, it's just that the opportunity is there if you actually want to. I did dental research in undergrad, so that's something I was really interested in. Although I haven't been able to get involved in research yet, that's pretty common because of how much work we've got and that we're still adapting to everything, but hopefully next semester and next year once things ease up a bit. I guess you could also say Pitt is pretty Academic... but I think that goes hand in hand with research, and that you can tell the school is really dedicated to it. You take a lot of classes, and you're ready to take the boards at the end of your first year. Pitt is also very Clinic Oriented as well, I'm pretty sure they have every specialty, which only a few schools have, plus one of the only 2 anesthesia programs in the country (the other being Loma Linda). This means that you can take selectives during your 3/4 year which would allow you to become IV sedation licensed before you graduate, which is a great added thing for you to be able to do, that other's would have to take a bunch of CE to do after graduation. So far in our first year we rotate though all of the different clinics/ specialties, a different one every Tuesday all afternoon. You mainly observe, but you can also assist. It's not huge, but it's nice to be able to have something like what you're going to be doing once you graduate to distract you from the tons of science classes. We're also doing various pre-clinical stuff, like drilling a really basic prep and filling it with amalgam, nothing fancy, but just getting used to the instruments and setup. Oh, this on top of dental anatomy and tooth waxing, which I think every school has in the first year.
What kind of student would fit in at Pitt?
Well, I think this selection is a lot of what goes on at the interviews, especially because they can't see your scores. Lets see, well, this would probably be the same for most dental schools, but friendly, outgoing, helpful, dedicated, personable and able to converse with others pretty easily. From what I've seen so far, there isn't really anyone who's cut throat, and we all get along pretty well. Again, at your interview, it's important for you to be yourself, don't be what you think they want, they're very good at telling when you're being fake, and you don't want your representative to the admission committee to think you're not being completely truthful with them. If you got an interview, they already like you, so don't mess it up by being someone you're not.
What should I do if I get a Dec 1 acceptance at another school, and I have a post-Dec Interview at Pitt?
I think this answer is pretty common for all schools, but be sure to let the school know ASAP if you really don't want to go to the interview, this way they can get someone else to take your spot. Imagine if you didn't have a single interview, and while you would have gotten one if someone had told the school earlier that they already got accepted to their first choice and weren't coming to the interview, they didn't until the day before, and they couldn't give you that interview spot. Don't worry about if the school will think less of you if you cancel, if you don't want to go after you've gotten other acceptances, the school will understand since traveling is expensive. On that note, if you're on the fence, you should go to all of your interviews to see exactly what other schools are like.
==========================
I think that covers everything for now, be sure to post any other questions you think others might have as well here! Good luck to those of you who are interviewing tomorrow, go to sleep early so you're not stressed tomorrow. See you tomorrow morning!
