Penn vs Pitt vs UOP Help Please!

[Itztheh]

Which one would you guys choose and why?
Penn and UOP are both about 380k with everything, while Pitt is about 330k which I feel is a significant difference. I am from California and am planning on moving back when I graduate.

Penn (GREAT well roudned school, toughest school I got into)
Pros: Good for specialization, 1 test every week, wellrounded program
Cons: cost, no connections with CA dentists/patients

UOP (3 year clinically strong)
Pros: Near home, clinically strong, get out 1 year early, humanism, connections with Bay Area dentists/patients
Cons: cost, stress of 3 year program, tougher to specialize

Pitt (well rounded, cheaper program)
Pros: CHEAP! (~50k cheaper), well blanaced, good specialization rates
Cons: no Podcast, some negative reviews on have unorganized lectures, no connections with CA dentists/patients

Thank you everyone in advance. I am planning on making this decision pretty soon and I would appreciate all the help i can get. Thanks!!!!!!!!

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[Double Bonded]

Didn't Pitt's deposit deadline pass already?

 

[coolbeans123]

Penn (GREAT well roudned school, toughest school I got into)
Pros: Good for specialization, 1 test every week, wellrounded program
Cons: cost, no connections with CA dentists/patients

UOP (3 year clinically strong)
Pros: Near home, clinically strong, get out 1 year early, humanism, connections with Bay Area dentists/patients
Cons: cost, stress of 3 year program, tougher to specialize

Pitt (well rounded, cheaper program)
Pros: CHEAP! (~50k cheaper), well blanaced, good specialization rates
Cons: no Podcast, some negative reviews on have unorganized lectures, no connections with CA dentists/patients

Based on everything you've said, I'd go with UOP. It's closer to home which definitely reduces stress. You're going to have connections since you plan on returning to Cali. The price is offset since you graduate in 3 years instead of 4 years. I've never been a believer in going to a school just because they have high specialization rates. UOP

 

[ginaych]

Which one would you guys choose and why?
Penn and UOP are both about 380k with everything, while Pitt is about 330k which I feel is a significant difference. I am from California and am planning on moving back when I graduate.

Penn (GREAT well roudned school, toughest school I got into)
Pros: Good for specialization, 1 test every week, wellrounded program
Cons: cost, no connections with CA dentists/patients

UOP (3 year clinically strong)
Pros: Near home, clinically strong, get out 1 year early, humanism, connections with Bay Area dentists/patients
Cons: cost, stress of 3 year program, tougher to specialize

Pitt (well rounded, cheaper program)
Pros: CHEAP! (~50k cheaper), well blanaced, good specialization rates
Cons: no Podcast, some negative reviews on have unorganized lectures, no connections with CA dentists/patients

Thank you everyone in advance. I am planning on making this decision pretty soon and I would appreciate all the help i can get. Thanks!!!!!!!!

I am from Cal and I am also debating on staying in-state for connections or out-of-state for reduced cost. I think in your case 50k isn't a whole lot of difference (at least to me), and with the job market in california you almost always have to have some sort of connections to be able to get a decent job easily. not saying it's impossible to find a job if you go out of state for dental schools, but it'll be much harder competing with people that are already in the network. That's something to consider. I suggest UOP.

 

[predent18]

Ultimately you have to make the decision, but here is how I'd rank things
If you want to specialize 1) Penn 2) UoP 3) Pitt
Cost wise - They are all about the same, too close to matter IMO
All dental schools are stressful, so throw that out too...
Do you want summer vacations? 1) Pitt 2) Penn 3) UoP
Wanting to practice in CA 1) UoP 2) Penn 3) Pitt

I wouldn't be considering Pitt, for me it just comes down to whether you are 100% set on specializing, if so go Penn, if not go UoP and still try to specialize there from day 1.

 

[Silencio]

UoP. The new building set to open in 2 years will take this school to another level. Plus that family atmosphere in the school is very conducive to a successful and happy dental school experience.

 

[Demps]

Ultimately you have to make the decision, but here is how I'd rank things
If you want to specialize 1) Penn 2) UoP 3) Pitt
Cost wise - They are all about the same, too close to matter IMO
All dental schools are stressful, so throw that out too...
Do you want summer vacations? 1) Pitt 2) Penn 3) UoP
Wanting to practice in CA 1) UoP 2) Penn 3) Pitt

I wouldn't be considering Pitt, for me it just comes down to whether you are 100% set on specializing, if so go Penn, if not go UoP and still try to specialize there from day 1.

I don't know what your speculation is based on, but PITT students have like no break over the summer. 20 something credits to take during the summer, and they have ~1 month off but most of students said that they use this time to study for the board before the Fall D2 starts.

 

[dantemac]

Yeah, Pitt gets no summer vacation the first year and no spring break. So whoever said they give you good breaks...

Also, if you said Penn has no connection with CA dentists, you are wrong. If you look at their folder they gave you of where their dentists practice, there are lots of alumni in CA.

Personally, I would go to UoP. The debt is not THAT much more significant. But if you find that money is far and away the biggest consideration, don't hesitate to go to Pitt.

 

[hifive]

The option to choose any of those schools makes you a very lucky person. You wouldnt go wrong even if you were to put the names in hat and select the first one drawn. I am sure you have read many threads but do consider your finances as cost+interest will hit you like meteor. Also consider the clinic experience at the school you choose.

 

[Itztheh]

thanks everyone for the input!! it all really helps

 

[dantemac]

Here is something I made up about Pitt for other threads like this. This is coming from someone who went to school at Pitt and did research in the dental school. I was constantly in the clinics.

Pros:
1) Early clinical rotations first year - tissue charting, placing dental dam, getting introduced to specialties, assisting, etc.
2) Academically strong, research available to you.
3) Staff and students very cohesive and proud of their school. If you like college sports we have them and they are cheap to attend, and FUN!
4) Located on an undergrad campus, have a chance to meet pre-dental students and spread the word about dentistry and help people follow in your footsteps. Also have the libraries and restaurants there to use, younger girls to date, etc.
5) Beautiful sim labs and specialty clinics.
6) Comp care clinics are nice as well, not brand new, but digital charting and digital radiography. From my observation, everyone loved the clinical instructors watching you. They were even nice to me as a researcher. Also, the people in the equipment dispensary are very pleasant. I can't say a bad word about the clinics.
7) City is low crime, low noise, and pretty much low key. Rent is dirt cheap. You can get a beer for $2 and pizza for $5, no Manhattan prices here. Parking is $20 a year on the street with an apartment lease, can't beat that.
8) White coat ceremony is first year. Some schools do it later like before you enter clinic. Here, treated as a professional from day one.
9) Human cadaver lab - Not many schools have this, they use prosected cadavers or use embalmed cadavers (a la Bodies Exhibit). You actually get to dissect the facial anatomy yourself, pretty cool in my opinion.
10) Every clinic has a secretary to do the scheduling and financial counselors that you drop the patient off at after the appointment. You won't be doing too much of that yourself.
11) The class size is 80 and mostly everyone is very helpful and cohesive as a class. There is a dental frat and lots of organizations to join, lots of alumni involvement.

Cons:
1) Weather can be pretty harsh, lots of rain and snow. Cloud cover galore.
2) Block schedule - first year exams every week, sometimes twice a week (according to the D1s). I saw a statistic on here that Pitt has the 15th most class time of the 60+ dental schools. The curriculum is unforgiving.
3) Some things like waxing and teeth carving still going on. I know some schools have cut this out for you and have the lab do it - maybe a consideration? Expect lab work at any school!
4) Patient disappointment rate - In private practice this should be like 20% max, Dr. Etzel would only tell me it's 30% + at Pitt. Whoever said "I am concerned about getting patients to stay" may have been telling the truth. Not sure on this one, the clinics did seem to have a little down time, but mostly were always crowded.
5) Lack of rotations, externships, international opportunities - I could be wrong here, but I didn't really perceive an emphasis on getting the dental students outside of the friendly confines of the dental school. Not sure, ask a D3/D4.

Compared to Penn: I say Penn probably has a little bit more of a competitive class (conjecture) and older facilities than Pitt. They are both in similar cities (Pitt probably a little safer) and are both on very nice undergrad campuses. The Penn curriculum probably offers you a lot more than Pitt, but at a higher price. I'd argue both names look great on a wall, especially in pennsylvania.

I don't know about Pacific!