Pitt vs. Penn

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@cetylcholine

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Hey SDN!

I've seen a few old posts comparing the dental programs at Pitt and UPenn, but I wanted to get some current feedback. I was fortunate to receive acceptances to both schools, and I love the facilities, student-centered environment, and attentive faculty.

I received scholarships at Pitt and UPenn, though Pitt definitely covers a lot more, bringing the cost down to about ~20K for all four years. I'm not sure if I want to specialize at this point in my career, but after talking to students at Penn, the chances of specialization are definitely alluring. I like to keep my options open if I stumble upon a specialty I really enjoy, and it seems Penn's name and connections can get me there.

I felt right at home at both schools, so I can see myself going either way. Any thoughts? Thanks and I appreciate any feedback! SDN has been the backbone of my dental journey!
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Definitely Pitt, you’ll be able to pay off your loans within a year or two, something that will take more than 10 years for most people. On top of that, you’ll still have a very good chance at specializing at Pitt, and their clinical training seems to be stronger compared to Penn.
 
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Woahhh 20k a year?!?! You could go to dental school for 150k or less with living included. Take Upitt and run, that is a incredible deal.
 
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Not trying to stir beef between the overwhelming majority of SDN and myself, but I’ve started to hear from a lot of dentists (mainly OMFS) 10+ years out of school that going to reputable schools opens a lot of doors for their colleagues, and that sometimes it may be worth it to go to this more expensive school?


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spressomfs said:
Not trying to stir beef between the overwhelming majority of SDN and myself, but I’ve started to hear from a lot of dentists (mainly OMFS) 10+ years out of school that going to reputable schools opens a lot of doors for their colleagues, and that sometimes it may be worth it to go to this more expensive school?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
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You are telling me Upitt is not a reputable school?
There's a very reputable oms resident here who regrets paying 700k+ for an oms education he could've gotten for half of that. You should have a speak with him before playing with money you don't own.
 
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spressomfs said:
Not trying to stir beef between the overwhelming majority of SDN and myself, but I’ve started to hear from a lot of dentists (mainly OMFS) 10+ years out of school that going to reputable schools opens a lot of doors for their colleagues, and that sometimes it may be worth it to go to this more expensive school?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
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Just ask @The Anhedonia his opinion on the matter.
 
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caffeine jitters said:
Just ask @The Anhedonia his opinion on the matter.
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Likkriue said:
You are telling me Upitt is not a reputable school?
There's a very reputable oms resident here who regrets paying 700k+ for an oms education he could've gotten for half of that. You should have a speak with him before playing with money you don't own.
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Yikes didn't mean to offend you fellas. I have great respect for, and look up to The Anhedonia and Big Hoss for their achievements and knowledge, but I'm just stating an opinion from several people who are established in dentistry, have received a big-boy steady paycheck, and have seen dentistry form more angles than the majority of those giving advice on SDN. This isn't to say that their opinion is any more correct than Big H/Anhedonia/anybody on SDN, but it's a whole different viewpoint that they do not hold. I was more-so asking your opinions on what they said, and if anything looking for more of a rebuttal than sending me to the firing squad. And I totally think Pitt is a great school, as it is on my list, but again, just stating an opinion, so don't be so quick to shut it down because that's all it is after all!
 
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Likkriue said:
You are telling me Upitt is not a reputable school?
There's a very reputable oms resident here who regrets paying 700k+ for an oms education he could've gotten for half of that. You should have a speak with him before playing with money you don't own.
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Umm.... don't you know Pitt is not Harvard. Come on now.
 
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@cetylcholine said:
though Pitt definitely covers a lot more, bringing the cost down to about ~20K for all four years
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Likkriue said:
Woahhh 20k a year?!?! You could go to dental school for 150k or less with living included. Take Upitt and run, that is a incredible deal.
Click to expand...

^I think she’s saying $20K total, so $5K/year. An even more insanely sweet deal if that’s the case.

Congrats on the amazing offer OP.
 
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My interviewer at UPenn openly talked to me about how much better of a deal Pitt is. Just food for thought.
 
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spressomfs said:
Yikes didn't mean to offend you fellas. I have great respect for, and look up to The Anhedonia and Big Hoss for their achievements and knowledge, but I'm just stating an opinion from several people who are established in dentistry, have received a big-boy steady paycheck, and have seen dentistry form more angles than the majority of those giving advice on SDN. This isn't to say that their opinion is any more correct than Big H/Anhedonia/anybody on SDN, but it's a whole different viewpoint that they do not hold. I was more-so asking your opinions on what they said, and if anything looking for more of a rebuttal than sending me to the firing squad. And I totally think Pitt is a great school, as it is on my list, but again, just stating an opinion, so don't be so quick to shut it down because that's all it is after all!
Click to expand...
spressomfs said:
Yikes didn't mean to offend you fellas. I have great respect for, and look up to The Anhedonia and Big Hoss for their achievements and knowledge, but I'm just stating an opinion from several people who are established in dentistry, have received a big-boy steady paycheck, and have seen dentistry form more angles than the majority of those giving advice on SDN. This isn't to say that their opinion is any more correct than Big H/Anhedonia/anybody on SDN, but it's a whole different viewpoint that they do not hold. I was more-so asking your opinions on what they said, and if anything looking for more of a rebuttal than sending me to the firing squad. And I totally think Pitt is a great school, as it is on my list, but again, just stating an opinion, so don't be so quick to shut it down because that's all it is after all!
Click to expand...


You have a partial point. If your objective is to work in the real world trenches ...not sure it matters what school you attend. If your objective is to pursue an academic position now or later ... then academic credentials (school, MS/MSD/MD vs. Certificate, board certification, etc. etc. ) are probably more important.
 
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I'm not sure if this will be helpful but this graduating class (class of 2018), 10 people matched into OMFS out of 80 people. It might not be as appealing as Penn but if you want to specialize, pitt is definitely not a bad option in my opinion (could be biased since I also go to pitt)
 
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EnergeticDent said:
I'm not sure if this will be helpful but this graduating class (class of 2018), 10 people matched into OMFS out of 80 people. It might not be as appealing as Penn but if you want to specialize, pitt is definitely not a bad option in my opinion (could be biased since I also go to pitt)
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Thank you! I'll definitely take that into consideration!
 
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@cetylcholine said:
Hey SDN!

I've seen a few old posts comparing the dental programs at Pitt and UPenn, but I wanted to get some current feedback. I was fortunate to receive acceptances to both schools, and I love the facilities, student-centered environment, and attentive faculty.

I received scholarships at Pitt and UPenn, though Pitt definitely covers a lot more, bringing the cost down to about ~20K for all four years. I'm not sure if I want to specialize at this point in my career, but after talking to students at Penn, the chances of specialization are definitely alluring. I like to keep my options open if I stumble upon a specialty I really enjoy, and it seems Penn's name and connections can get me there.

I felt right at home at both schools, so I can see myself going either way. Any thoughts? Thanks and I appreciate any feedback! SDN has been the backbone of my dental journey!
Click to expand...

WOW, definitely Pitt - especially with the scholarship!! A personal reason why I couldn't see myself at Pitt is because my ex is in the area and it ended badly.. However, I have high recommendations for the school - Pitt Dental's specialization rate is high (as mentioned above), the students are truly a family, faculty members really care about your success, there's a prevalent interdisciplinary health community with the Pitt Pharmacy school and Pitt Medical school as literal neighbors, the campus and city is top notch/very safe, they're well respected for dental research, and the cost of life and rent is very reasonable. 🙂
 
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Hi! Not sure if you've already decided where to go but I thought I'd give my input-- I graduated from Penn for undergrad and was also deciding between Penn and Pitt for the longest time before I decided on Pitt in January. Some things to note: I'm in-state, and Pitt gave me an academic scholarship as well, but nowhere close to yours. Penn did not offer me a scholarship. Overall, I am saving ~$200k over 4 years by going to Pitt. Like many others have said, I think Pitt is the way to go! Pitt has excellent specialization rates in the high 90%s, clinical experience starts VERY early (like, the second week of class early), the area is safe, cost of living is much cheaper than in Philly, and the people there are so incredibly nice 🙂
 
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@cetylcholine said:
Hey SDN!

I've seen a few old posts comparing the dental programs at Pitt and UPenn, but I wanted to get some current feedback. I was fortunate to receive acceptances to both schools, and I love the facilities, student-centered environment, and attentive faculty.

I received scholarships at Pitt and UPenn, though Pitt definitely covers a lot more, bringing the cost down to about ~20K for all four years. I'm not sure if I want to specialize at this point in my career, but after talking to students at Penn, the chances of specialization are definitely alluring. I like to keep my options open if I stumble upon a specialty I really enjoy, and it seems Penn's name and connections can get me there.

I felt right at home at both schools, so I can see myself going either way. Any thoughts? Thanks and I appreciate any feedback! SDN has been the backbone of my dental journey!
Click to expand...
Does the scholarship 20K for all four years mean "5K per year" or "20K per year"? Thanks!
 
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shaocat said:
Hi! Not sure if you've already decided where to go but I thought I'd give my input-- I graduated from Penn for undergrad and was also deciding between Penn and Pitt for the longest time before I decided on Pitt in January. Some things to note: I'm in-state, and Pitt gave me an academic scholarship as well, but nowhere close to yours. Penn did not offer me a scholarship. Overall, I am saving ~$200k over 4 years by going to Pitt. Like many others have said, I think Pitt is the way to go! Pitt has excellent specialization rates in the high 90%s, clinical experience starts VERY early (like, the second week of class early), the area is safe, cost of living is much cheaper than in Philly, and the people there are so incredibly nice 🙂
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Any idea why Penn didn't offer you any money?
 
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@Lau Sang I honestly have no clue, of the Penn grads before me, about 1/2 of the people who got into Penn dental were offered scholarships, and I just didn't happen to be one of them. I did email them asking them to reconsider and laid my other scholarship offers on the table, and they responded 3 weeks later saying no. There are so many exceptional Penn dental students so its no surprise, and everything worked out in the end for me 🙂
 
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shaocat said:
Hi! Not sure if you've already decided where to go but I thought I'd give my input-- I graduated from Penn for undergrad and was also deciding between Penn and Pitt for the longest time before I decided on Pitt in January. Some things to note: I'm in-state, and Pitt gave me an academic scholarship as well, but nowhere close to yours. Penn did not offer me a scholarship. Overall, I am saving ~$200k over 4 years by going to Pitt. Like many others have said, I think Pitt is the way to go! Pitt has excellent specialization rates in the high 90%s, clinical experience starts VERY early (like, the second week of class early), the area is safe, cost of living is much cheaper than in Philly, and the people there are so incredibly nice 🙂
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Hey! Thanks for the input! I totally agree that Pitt is a fantastic program, but I actually decided on Penn in the end because I have some aging family in the area, and I wanted to be close to them. Penn offered me a substantial scholarship too, so the blow isn't quite as hard as I initially thought. I lived in Pittsburgh my whole life, and I thought it was due time for a change and take the plunge! 🙂 And I know someone well qualified will take my spot and scholarship at Pitt and make great use of the experience there.
 
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shaocat said:
Hi! Not sure if you've already decided where to go but I thought I'd give my input-- I graduated from Penn for undergrad and was also deciding between Penn and Pitt for the longest time before I decided on Pitt in January. Some things to note: I'm in-state, and Pitt gave me an academic scholarship as well, but nowhere close to yours. Penn did not offer me a scholarship. Overall, I am saving ~$200k over 4 years by going to Pitt. Like many others have said, I think Pitt is the way to go! Pitt has excellent specialization rates in the high 90%s, clinical experience starts VERY early (like, the second week of class early), the area is safe, cost of living is much cheaper than in Philly, and the people there are so incredibly nice 🙂
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How do you go about getting a scholarship to a dental school? I didn't know they even offered those lol
 
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@iupredentstudent It really depends on the school and on interview day they'll have a whole presentation about financial aid. Some schools do merit scholarships and most offer financial aid through loans (Health Professions Loans, Direct Stafford, and Graduate PLUS). Pitt and Penn both award merit scholarships, Pitt's being anywhere from 5k-45k a year, and Penn's being anywhere from 10k-40k a year. For Pitt, I had to write an essay due ~2 weeks after my interview detailing why I thought I was deserving of a scholarship and for Penn there is no additional application. You typically find out your scholarship award at the time of acceptance, but I have heard of people getting last minute scholarships in May. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of information on dental school websites about all the school-specific scholarships there are :/
 
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