From multiple threads I’ve read people saying that schools such as Harvard, UConn, Penn, and Columbia are know for having high specialty match rates.
But I do know you can specialize from anywhere if you put enough work in. I’m just under the assumption that going to UPenn or Columbia, being known for this, to help with specializing to a good program when working hard.
Just be cautious about "match rates". A lot of students going to the private schools have the same idea as you. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If the private school matches, say 20/25 to OMS in a given year, and a state school matches 2/3, who had a better match rate? The answer isn't clear. There are always some students from the private fancy schools that don't end up matching. I feel awful for them, because they went to these expensive schools thinking it would get them in. I imagine there are also games these schools could play with their numbers because they know pre-dents are looking at them. I wonder what they say to a dental student who wants to apply but they don't think they will match that year.
Thinking about what it takes to get an interview...
- A good test score (which is 90% the work each applicant puts into studying on their own)
- Class rank (easier to get a good rank at a school where most people just want to pass and be a general dentist vs. competition with everyone gunning for Ortho and other specialities. Regarding a true pass/fail school, yeah, that would be nice to have, but it also denies you the opportunity to stand out with your grades. Competing among the 20 gunners at my state school was stressful AF, but it let me stand out, and it was better than competing with 80 or not having a rank at all.)
- Letter of rec (I'd imagine it's easier to stand out when you're the only person in your year applying vs. 25 other people applying)
Each year we interview, there's usually a stellar applicant or two or three from Penn and/or Columbia, but all the others tend to blend together. Some of the Penn and Columbia applicants end up matching at less-than-stellar programs way down on their list, and true, matching to somewhere is better than not matching at all. But all this blabbering by me is to say that I don't think "match rate" argument holds much water against the astounding price of these schools. Just something to consider.
Just for fun, I looked at some program websites. Parkland, the traditional academic powerhouse of OMS, has 1 or 2 Penn students per class, most of their residents are from public schools. Of all the Michigan residents, I count 2 Harvard and 1 Penn. Case has 0 ivy-league grads. Kentucky has 1 Penn grad. Louisville has 1 Penn and 1 Colombia. Baylor has 1 Harvard. These numbers are out of ALL the residents at those programs. I can't find the lists for LSU-Shreveport, UAB, or UNC, but I think you get the point. All the ivy grads probably fill up the NYC program spots.
