Pacifc or UMN?

[g3k]

Alright, my turn:

I got into both the schools and I love both the schools equally. Here are the reasons I see UMN over Pacific:

1. Dr. Berthold

2. Two full years of clinical experience vs 1 1/2 years in Pacific.

3. I already paid a LOT of money to UMN.

4. It is a lot cheaper.

5. If I want to specialize, it maybe easier with UMN.



These are the reasons I think Pacific is better than UMN:

1. It is in San fransisco. I have zero tolerence to cold cold Minneapolis.

2. I have been fascinated by Pacific... I guess attracted to its name and fame.

3. I have family in California.

I will add more later. Let me know your views.

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[marcce]

what are your stars?

 

[Smile2007]

Hey G3K,

Congrats dear!!!

Well, I dont know about UMN, but I loved Pacific...The school and the faculty

are really amazing...and you can live in SFO.....

Anyways, goodluck ...

 

[newyorkdentist]

Even if a deposit of 14 thousand was paid at UMN,its not a big deal in the long run- may be less than your one month salary once you start earning- but the education you earn and the rigorous 2 years you spend are going to be the basis on which ur enite life would be built on-and these two years need to be good in terms of weather , family support and how you feel in the ambience.

californian weather is unbeatable.you feel like doing something there-achieving something-as against the gloomy icy comditions with fear of falling on the ice. weather can ruin your goals if you don't like the weather of a place where you are going to spend tough 2 years.if you have family support in california- the acceptance fund you paid at UMN is minniscule.

go for california- the whole of USA moves to california-never heard of people opting for ice box minnesota rather than sunny california.UOP is known for good clinical experience for general dentists and a history of prodicing skilled GPs.

 

[valdora]

UMN does graduate dentists that are capable of practicing. Plus as you said its better if you want to postgraduate. As an alumni of UOP, I would say just stick to UMN specially when you paid a lot of money. The dean of UOP has changed so you are ought to see some changes in the school. The previous dean was very good at what he did but I donot believe that the new dean shares the same philosophy. Plus weatherwise 2 years go by in a blaze plus you wont even have time to think about the weather bcoz of school. So, if I were you I would stick with UMN (cheaper, post graduate oppurtunities and more clinical exposure). The 1year and half at UOP is not the same as you think. First of all the first 6 months you donot have full time clinical schedule its more like 3 half days plus you donot have prefrence for the chairs since UOP doesnt have chairs equivalent to number of students. You hardly get anything done is first 6 months. So its really only 1 year of clinical experience. Overall I wouldnt rate my experience at UOP any higher than I would have at any other school if I were to go to a different school. The only reason UOP is hyped up is bcoz of the staff which is very nice and caring, Other than that I would believe any program in US is as equivalent as UOP's. So just take everything into account and then decide becoz money does matter.

 

[g3k]

Thanks for all your suggestions. After some deep research I can say the only reason I think I would choose Pacific is the SFO weather. I don't think I am comfortable spending close to 200,000 dollars to enjoy the weather . UMN has a new program but I am sure the director will make it as great as he did it at UPENN.

I like both the programs, UMN being slightly better as I will have more clinical experience. Also, there is no dearth of chairs. There is more opportunity to specialize. The only thing I see lacking (maybe because of my ignorance) is poor technology (maybe not).

I will keep you updated.

Edit: Money is not my primary factor. Yes, it plays a role but not a huge role because education is an investment and I want to invest it right.

 

[Oralsurgeon]

Hi g3k..... How are you? My hearty congratulations to you on getting into UOP and most importantly for having an opportunity to choose between two of the most sort of programs by foreign trained dentists.
Here is my 2% of what i think you should do.
First of all know if you want to do specialization and decide based on that factor. Because if you want to do a specialization, then your set of goals during the 2yrs is going to be different (concentrating on the GPA, class rank etc ). If you want to be a GP then you might want to join a program that gives a lot of clinical experience (like UOP).
Also, 50k is a LOT of money between the two programs but, well not in the long run as already was pointed out.
Well.... congrats once again and All the best.

 

[g3k]

Hi g3k..... How are you? My hearty congratulations to you on getting into UOP and most importantly for having an opportunity to choose between two of the most sort of programs by foreign trained dentists.
Here is my 2% of what i think you should do.
First of all know if you want to do specialization and decide based on that factor. Because if you want to do a specialization, then your set of goals during the 2yrs is going to be different (concentrating on the GPA, class rank etc ). If you want to be a GP then you might want to join a program that gives a lot of clinical experience (like UOP).
Also, 50k is a LOT of money between the two programs but, well not in the long run as already was pointed out.
Well.... congrats once again and All the best.

Thank you! I will give you a call soon. I have been slightly busy. But will definitely give you a call soon. I thought over it and I am leaning towards UMN now.

 

[newyorkdentist]

you should know that UMN doesnt administer western regional board/ calif board- which means that even after DDS and specialty you cannot practice in cal without cal exams- and that is a pain in the neck- carefully pick the school based on where you want to practice in long term- what specialty are you interested in- check the profiles of faculty of that specialty at UMN and UOP see who has published how many papers at pubmed and what is the impact of their work- how many patients in that specialty have you handled at DDS at both schools- if you have two candidates- one from columbia and other from tufts- with similar GPAs and tufts guy has 15 RCT and 4 for columbia- tufts guy might be selected for endo PG. My friend just did DDS from a school of east coast ( i wont name it) is from calif and is now struggling to get settled back in calif due to liscensing.

it only happens for Ann arbor michigan that students there get preference for ortho- even with B grade due to world famous profs in ortho who are torch bearers for that specialty- look at pubmed - I am sure you should be familiar with it right- just search publication number and their number of faculty of both schools in your chosen specialty- I think UOP is good- keep every one posted and wish you best

 

[shlo]

hey g3k.......just got back and saw ur post......very happy for u......make a decision weighing all the pros and cons.....congrats and good luck

 

[zsy_lzy]

can u tell me your status

 

[practicaldentis]

congratulations!!!!!for making to two best programs. i dont know wht u r opting for.But UOP is great school right near you.And talking of clinical experience as far as i know UOP has best program for international dentist and aftr u gt licence u will be doing clinicals all ur life....

umn is a new program they are still working onprogram And if u are going to work in california they dont hve werb yet......there fee structure is expensive too fr first year thy are charging around 90,000$ and fr second year thy will be charging with 5% (inflation) and weather there is a negative too.

If i were u i would hve easily chosen UOP over umn....and wish u make bst choice nt jst fr u but fr ur family too!!!
bst of luck

 

[drcool13]

Its so nice to see how so many members are contributing in order for you to make a wise decision. I totally agree what they are saying about the weather part in SF and that both of them are great schools and great programs indeed. But my dear 6 days old member PRACTICALDENTIS, your concern about the accreditation and about the expenses is totally illogical here. As a matter of fact UMN is one of the cheapest PASS programs in the entire country. Plz check out the fee and living expenses differences between both the schools.And the fear that UMN is a relatively new program,then i must say that there is a thing called probability which indicates positively towards the director who is actually the inventor of the PASS program in UPENN (considered quite a great one).Apart from the weather i dont see any any negative point pinpointing towards UMN and ofcourse i dont see any major drawback in UOP. I think it should be a well thought over decision to be made keeping in mind the money spent, money to be spent, clinical experience needed, PG motives, immediate family and ofcourse where one feel comfortable and at ease.
Life is not gonna be easy for 2 yrs friends no matter its spent in an icebox (which is genuinely gonna be for only 3-4months) or on the beach in SF.....rest is upto g3k who has to eventually decide..

congratulations!!!!!for making to two best programs. i dont know wht u r opting for.But UOP is great school right near you.And talking of clinical experience as far as i know UOP has best program for international dentist and aftr u gt licence u will be doing clinicals all ur life....

umn is a new program they are still working on it and they are getting their accredition fr program i thnk in july.And if u are going to work in california they dont hve werb yet......there fee structure is expensive too fr first year thy are charging around 90,000$ and fr second year thy will be charging with 5% (inflation) and weather there is a negative too.

If i were u i would hve easily chosen UOP over umn....and wish u make bst choice nt jst fr u but fr ur family too!!!
bst of luck

 

[Enamel]

congrats for getting into uop.Dr Berthod is such a distraction and not to mention the financial committments.Uop is expensive but it has the most vocal and diehard of all alumnae(they insist -with reason )
All the best with your decision!

 

[g3k]

Thank you everyone for your valuable suggestions. I have thought a lot over it and finally declined Pacific's offer. Both UMN and Pacific are great schools.
The only reason I can think of not going to UMN is the weather. There are 100s of people living in Minneapolis. I am sure I can manage. There is probably more to do in SFO vs MSP but I don't think I am going to have time to enjoy SFO with the work load.
The program is a great program with a great director at UMN. I am sure it will turn out to be as good as Penn. Pacific must have a great director too but I didn't get to talk to him.
Pacific is a good school but I get 4 months less of clinical experience. I get two years of clinical experience at Minnesota. An average student easily sees 50 to 60 patients in both schools by the time he or she graduates.
I worked out the tuition + living expenses to be about 30000 to 40000 dollars more in Pacific. Yes, its probably not such a big deal but with interests it works out to be 85000 dollars more in 10 years. I could probably make 85 crowns at a low cost for my patients .
If I want to specialize it would be easier for me to intern at Minnesota as it has all the specialities I am looking at under the sun.
As far as location for family goes, both places are equal to me. My family can visit me at either places. In one place the frequency would be more than the other but the other would have longer duration visits. So that is like comparing apples to oranges.
I haven't gotten a chance to see the lab and as much of the clinic I have seen it seems to me that Pacific's clinic seems to be more tech savvy. But hey, that technology I can learn through Continuing Ed with the 30000 dollars I save at Minnesota.
So it all weighs out to be Minnesota as the lucky winner (J/K)!!

 

[annick]

First of all heartiest congratulations to u on ur success.Do u mond sharing ur stats as i m filling applications for california this year and it will give me an idea about score needed to make them call us.ur help will be appreciated.

 

[g3k]

First of all heartiest congratulations to u on ur success.Do u mond sharing ur stats as i m filling applications for california this year and it will give me an idea about score needed to make them call us.ur help will be appreciated.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=350309

You don't need scores. Pacific looks at the whole application. Other California schools, just practice your handskills.
Good Luck.

Plus, you have been here for so long, you should search before asking.

 

[HIM0098]

let me wipe the sweat from my forhead.

I was just following and reading this post without adding to it. Now I am just glad that you made the only wise option .

See you in class g3.

Thank you everyone for your valuable suggestions. I have thought a lot over it and finally declined Pacific's offer. Both UMN and Pacific are great schools.
The only reason I can think of not going to UMN is the weather. There are 100s of people living in Minneapolis. I am sure I can manage. There is probably more to do in SFO vs MSP but I don't think I am going to have time to enjoy SFO with the work load.
The program is a great program with a great director at UMN. I am sure it will turn out to be as good as Penn. Pacific must have a great director too but I didn't get to talk to him.
Pacific is a good school but I get 4 months less of clinical experience. I get two years of clinical experience at Minnesota. An average student easily sees 50 to 60 patients in both schools by the time he or she graduates.
I worked out the tuition + living expenses to be about 30000 to 40000 dollars more in Pacific. Yes, its probably not such a big deal but with interests it works out to be 85000 dollars more in 10 years. I could probably make 85 crowns at a low cost for my patients .
If I want to specialize it would be easier for me to intern at Minnesota as it has all the specialities I am looking at under the sun.
As far as location for family goes, both places are equal to me. My family can visit me at either places. In one place the frequency would be more than the other but the other would have longer duration visits. So that is like comparing apples to oranges.
I haven't gotten a chance to see the lab and as much of the clinic I have seen it seems to me that Pacific's clinic seems to be more tech savvy. But hey, that technology I can learn through Continuing Ed with the 30000 dollars I save at Minnesota.
So it all weighs out to be Minnesota as the lucky winner (J/K)!!

 

[HIM0098]

let me wipe the sweat from my forehead first....

I was just following and reading this post without adding to it. Now I am just glad that you made the only wise option .

See you in class g3.

Thank you everyone for your valuable suggestions. I have thought a lot over it and finally declined Pacific's offer. (J/K)!!

 

[g3k]

let me wipe the sweat from my forehead first....

I was just following and reading this post without adding to it. Now I am just glad that you made the only wise option .

See you in class g3.

Haha!! See you soon.