PENN and UMDNJ

[teethmagnet]

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so i have been accepeted into UMDNJ 😀 and just interviewed at Penn, if all goes well i will have to make a decision btw these two schools. I am considering speacilizing, I would really like to but I am not set on a speacilty yet and I could still see myself being a GP. So lemme know what you guys think:


UMDNJ Pro's:

• great clinically​
• cheaper ~60k/yr​
• 45 min away from my house, so i can come home on weekends​
• faculty was very nice when i interviewed there, they really look like they bend over backwards for the students​
• clinics are new and the school is not run down, seems to be very nice​

UMDNJ Con's:​

• in Newark​
• speacilty rates are average (i believe)​

PENN Pro's:

• Great clinically and academically​
• speacilty rates are crazy!(12 people got into ortho in 09')​
• Ivy League/ the name can get you far​
• I heard that the students are not ranked, which i think is an advantage​
• Philli is a great city, so i've heard​
• stressed externships​
• (Dentsims)--but i heard its nothing really speacil​

PENN Con's:​

• clinics are kind of old, basement is like a boiler room its so hard​
• PRICE- some ppl say its not worth the $90k/yr​
• Philli--would be 2 hrs away from home​

Let me know what you guys think
ooo, and "I see myself at both schools," seriously​

thanks,
Teethmagnet​

 

[doc toofache]

from what I understood, UMDNJ students were sought after for specialties because of their extreme clinical requirements. at my interview a D4 said she decided on Ortho only a couple months ago (if i remember correctly) and she was able to get a residency under a really quick turn around time...

 

[teethmagnet]

from what I understood, UMDNJ students were sought after for specialties because of their extreme clinical requirements. at my interview a D4 said she decided on Ortho only a couple months ago (if i remember correctly) and she was able to get a residency under a really quick turn around time...

thank you for your input doc
and i will be calling up the school to see their match list
and yes, they really are excellent in their clinical aspect, which is why I am deciding btw them and Penn, which is great clinically as well

 

[teethmagnet]

anyone else have some input?

 

[Montserrat]

from what I understood, UMDNJ students were sought after for specialties because of their extreme clinical requirements. at my interview a D4 said she decided on Ortho only a couple months ago (if i remember correctly) and she was able to get a residency under a really quick turn around time...

From what I understand, Penn has a very balanced curriculum. I would venture the guess that UMDNJ has a stronger clinical component than Penn, but UMDNJ would also have a weaker didactic component. So if clinical skills in dentistry are important, I would say UMDNJ. That, and UMDNJ is also a metric ton cheaper.

In terms of specializing, I find it hard to believe that UMDNJ students are sought after b/c of extreme clinical requirements, as Temple, USC, and number of other schools have as high or higher clinical requirements without the attached academic dishonesty and clinic scandals that affected UMDNJ in the past.

 

[teethmagnet]

From what I understand, Penn has a very balanced curriculum. I would venture the guess that UMDNJ has a stronger clinical component than Penn, but UMDNJ would also have a weaker didactic component. So if clinical skills in dentistry are important, I would say UMDNJ. That, and UMDNJ is also a metric ton cheaper.

In terms of specializing, I find it hard to believe that UMDNJ students are sought after b/c of extreme clinical requirements, as Temple, USC, and number of other schools have as high or higher clinical requirements without the attached academic dishonesty and clinic scandals that affected UMDNJ in the past.

i hear that
but i think if you are at the top of your class at UMDNJ, and have everything else going for you, i believe one has a great shot at speacilties

also------is it really true that there is NOTHING in newark and there's no real social life?

 

[DrDDSman]

i hear that
but i think if you are at the top of your class at UMDNJ, and have everything else going for you, i believe one has a great shot at speacilties

also------is it really true that there is NOTHING in newark and there's no real social life?

Its true if you excel at UMDNJ you wouldn't have to worry about much, but a Penn name offers a kind of insurance when/if you are applying to residency programs.

Although Newark is a rough area, I believe a lot of people go to NYC and Hoboken to hang out. Here Penn gets another plus because, well, you can stay in the same city and don't have to worry about catching the last train or a 30 min train ride into a city. But you already know the Pros and Cons...good luck.

 

[Montserrat]

i hear that
but i think if you are at the top of your class at UMDNJ, and have everything else going for you, i believe one has a great shot at speacilties

also------is it really true that there is NOTHING in newark and there's no real social life?

You make it sound like graduating at the top of the class at UMDNJ is a foregone conclusion. Words to remembers -- there are gunners everywhere, and it's tough to rise to the top anywhere you go. "Big fish in the small pond" -- if you apply this philosophy, I suppose it doesn't really matter where you go then, because all you have to do is be at the top anywhere you go... see the potential difficulties in that philosophy ?

I can't say much about social life in Newark - but the city is ranked up there with Camden, Compton, Detroit, and etc as the most dangerous places to live, isn't it ? It's not surprising to hear that a lot of their students need to get out to NYC to have a good time.

 

[Albuterol]

I'm a grad student at UMDNJ and while there are a few bars students go out to near by most of the socializing is done in either NYC or Hoboken.

 

[marina1285]

I will throw parties in my dorm room for social life at UMDNJ lol... no but seriously... UMDNJ is a lot cheaper, and that money can go into setting up your practice or buying that sweet new beamer out of dschool... just sayin.