Penn or Columbia and why

[dentister]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I've concluded some comparisions of these two schools. Please advise,

Penn:

Better overall clinical training.
Better life and living condition. (I've heard many concerns from Columbia students where they had no life in their first two years, writing paper and reading everyday, learning not-so-useful material, cannot explore NYC.... I'm not afraid of challenge but don't wanna be overstressed. This might actually be my biggest concern)
Next to undergraduate campus.
Better professor and student communication.

Columbia:

Less expensive.
Smaller class size.
Seemingly better global recognition. (More people know Columbia than Penn, internationally. I don’t why this is listed here …)

If you know about the specialization rate comparison bet. these two schools, or how Penn and Columbia graduates are doing, please contribute here as I know there are quite a few of people here were accepted to the two very similar systems.

 

[Audio]

I'm sure Columbia doesn't have a smaller class size. You're with med students your first two years so I don't really think the class size is a positive for Columbia until your 3rd and 4th years when you hit the clinic. But then again, you already said Penn has a better clinical program. It sounds like you think Penn is a better school. To me, both schools are good, it's a matter of personal preference.

 

[BigRedDentist]

I agree with Audio, I am favoring Penn right now over Columbia simply because I would rather be in Philly. But I have a little chat scheduled with McManus on Thursday and he is rather convincing.

 

[BallDontLie]

I've heard many concerns from Columbia students where they had no life in their first two years, writing paper and reading everyday, learning not-so-useful material, cannot explore NYC.... I'm not afraid of challenge but don't wanna be overstressed. This might actually be my biggest concern)

not sure where you got this...the impression i got was yea, you're gonna be busy, but if you manage your time well, there's always time to relax and enjoy the city. This is gonna be true of any school you go to, especially at two great schools like Penn and Columbia. This is dental school. Either way you go, I'm sure there are gonna be times you feel overstressed, but that's just part of it. Basically I'm just saying don't make the workload a major concern because you're gonna put in a good amount of work wherever you go.

 

[Slash]

Just wanted to thank the OP for getting it right...Penn.

Not UPenn like I see so many here call it.

 

[Audio]

😍 UPENN UPENN UPENN UPENN UPENN UPENN UPENN UPENN UPENN UPENN 😍

 

[dentister]

not sure where you got this...the impression i got was yea, you're gonna be busy, but if you manage your time well, there's always time to relax and enjoy the city. This is gonna be true of any school you go to, especially at two great schools like Penn and Columbia. This is dental school. Either way you go, I'm sure there are gonna be times you feel overstressed, but that's just part of it. Basically I'm just saying don't make the workload a major concern because you're gonna put in a good amount of work wherever you go.

Thanks for pointing out. I used to think so too, but after talking to current students at both schools, Columbia students appear a lot more stressful. I know some first year students and all of them are overwhelmed by the amount of course load. If you are curious about Upenn, you can tell from how frequently Sprover and Edknarf appear on SDN🙂
At Columbia, you do have a bigger class size in the first two years as you take classes with medical students, but the dental program only has 75 people vs Penn's 115. This could be a factor when you apply to specialty.

 

[Richnator]

I've concluded some comparisions of these two schools. Please advise,

Penn:

Better overall clinical training.
Better life and living condition. (I've heard many concerns from Columbia students where they had no life in their first two years, writing paper and reading everyday, learning not-so-useful material, cannot explore NYC.... I'm not afraid of challenge but don't wanna be overstressed. This might actually be my biggest concern)
Next to undergraduate campus.
Better professor and student communication.

Columbia:

Less expensive.
Smaller class size.
Seemingly better global recognition. (More people know Columbia than Penn, internationally. I don’t why this is listed here …)

If you know about the specialization rate comparison bet. these two schools, or how Penn and Columbia graduates are doing, please contribute here as I know there are quite a few of people here were accepted to the two very similar systems.

If I were given ONLY those two choices, U PENN hands down.

 

[v&andy_yankee]

I'm not sure if Upenn is too, but Columbia is pass/fail/honors, which helps in keeping the stress lowered.

Columbia is intense. But you will have some time during the weekend to see the city. If you're shooting for straight honors because your aspiration is to go into oral surgery, then you probably won't have as much free time on your hands. You still have to work at it to pass, but it's not so insane to the point where you won't be able to see the city at all. Me? I go out about once a week (during the weekend) but I probably could go out more (I'm just too lazy and feeling old). It's all about time management.

 

[r0entgen]

I'm not sure if Upenn is too, but Columbia is pass/fail/honors, which helps in keeping the stress lowered.

Columbia is intense. But you will have some time during the weekend to see the city. If you're shooting for straight honors because your aspiration is to go into oral surgery, then you probably won't have as much free time on your hands. You still have to work at it to pass, but it's not so insane to the point where you won't be able to see the city at all. Me? I go out about once a week (during the weekend) but I probably could go out more (I'm just too lazy and feeling old). It's all about time management.

penn isn't pass/fail. they issue grades. H, A, B+, B, C+..etc. no minuses.

 

[dentister]

Isn't Honor only handed out to over 90%?
That could cause even greater competition.
Vandy, could you tell us how cut throat your class is? Cos' I heard from someone that this year has been very intense. A lot of people want to specialize and shoot for Honor.

 

[Sprgrover]

Isn't Honor only handed out to over 90%?
That could cause even greater competition...

Honors at Penn are handed out to anyone that earns a 95% or higher in a class, regardless of the number of people that earn them. If everyone averages 95% in a class, then the whole class gets an honors mark on their transcript. Just because someone earns a higher grade than you here doesn't mean you have been edged out of that H or A. Thus, your performance and its evaluation aren't lashed and bound to other students.

 

[v&andy_yankee]

Isn't Honor only handed out to over 90%?
That could cause even greater competition.
Vandy, could you tell us how cut throat your class is? Cos' I heard from someone that this year has been very intense. A lot of people want to specialize and shoot for Honor.

Honors will vary with each class, some classes will have a cutoff line at 90% while in others the cutoff line will be based on the standard deviation scale (1.0 sd above class average=honors). It really helps to decrease the stress level--a lot of my friends and I have talked about it--making it honors/pass/fail has not changed any of our study habits (we're still studying like it's lettered grades) but it does help to keep the cool during finals week when you're panicking (you always have the comfort of knowing that if you put in good work, you will pass; had it been lettered grades, people would just panic more about receiving a C).

In terms of the "cutthroat" my class is, I really don't see a big difference between my class now vs. the premed crowd from undergrad. Maybe I'm just oblivious to it all, but I really don't think of CU as a "cutthroat" environment at all--they are my colleagues and friends, just plain old classmates. I think why people say this class is more competitive than other is just because of national trends: each subsequent class has higher test scores, GPAs, etc, than the class previous, and therefore they're deemed more "cutthroat." Look at your undergrad, I'm sure in the 4 years you were there the admissions rate dropped but the incoming stats rose. I have no doubt that the class of 2010 at Columbia will be brighter and deemed more "cutthroat" than our class.

to the OP, have you visited both schools again? Maybe call up the schools and see if it's possible for you to re-visit, maybe even sit in on a few lectures to get a feel for it.

 

[ysk]

bump

 

[TuftsJZ]

You forgot to mention the "basement effect" for Penn.

I've concluded some comparisions of these two schools. Please advise,

Penn:

Better overall clinical training.
Better life and living condition. (I've heard many concerns from Columbia students where they had no life in their first two years, writing paper and reading everyday, learning not-so-useful material, cannot explore NYC.... I'm not afraid of challenge but don't wanna be overstressed. This might actually be my biggest concern)
Next to undergraduate campus.
Better professor and student communication.

Columbia:

Less expensive.
Smaller class size.
Seemingly better global recognition. (More people know Columbia than Penn, internationally. I don’t why this is listed here …)

If you know about the specialization rate comparison bet. these two schools, or how Penn and Columbia graduates are doing, please contribute here as I know there are quite a few of people here were accepted to the two very similar systems.

 

[WonderY]

I would personally choose Columbia because it's cheaper, you're in NYC, friendly students, family-like faculty, strong didactices (you're more prepared for boards).

 

[Audio]

I would personally choose Columbia because it's cheaper, you're in NYC, friendly students, family-like faculty, strong didactices (you're more prepared for boards).

Columbia is a great school but is it really cheaper when you factor in the cost of living. Also, haven't some Columbia students said they don't have much free time for hanging out in New York city so you shouldn't really pick Columbia because of NYC. On the other hand, NYU is where all the action is so if you really care about NYC, you should look at NYU.

The strong didactic aspect is extremely appealing! Does anyone know the board scores for Columbia and Penn? I can't believe they don't get published. I mean, if these schools get to see my scores, I want to see theirs 😀

 

[WonderY]

Yah, it's true. Cost of living is expensive in NYC, but it really depends on you. Chinatown is pretty cheap. =)

I think Upenn is a great school, but I think their tuition and fees are outrageous! Technology fee at Upenn is around $500, and the other schools' are under $100 (Maryland $60 and Columbia $80). I wonder if Upenn has extraordinary computer labs and tech-savvy equipments that I didn't see at my interview? 😀

(Audio, i think we've met, you were at my Upenn interview. 🙂)

 

[LadyxJC]

The strong didactic aspect is extremely appealing! Does anyone know the board scores for Columbia and Penn? I can't believe they don't get published. I mean, if these schools get to see my scores, I want to see theirs 😀

During my interview day at Columbia, one of the faculty members told us that the avg board score (Part I) last year was around 90 and that the score is rather consistent throughout the years. Can anyone else confirm this?

 

[BallDontLie]

During my interview day at Columbia, one of the faculty members told us that the avg board score (Part I) last year was around 90 and that the score is rather consistent throughout the years. Can anyone else confirm this?

yea i remember hearing that too. i dont remember the exact numbers nor did they give us a handout about it..but ya that sounds familiar to me.