Please help me compare UNLV and Arizona

[Beestieboy]

Hi there. I am going to be interviewing at both Arizona and UNLV early Oct. I would really like to hear from people going to both schools about the pro's and con's of their school. Now, this is not an open invite for members of one school to bash on the other. I don't want to hear that. Chances are you've only attended one school so that will be the limit of your real experience. From what I've seen on these boards though, due to the newness of both schools, students going to both of them haven't really felt the need, or felt like they have to put other schools down. That's good.

OK, as for me, I've only been to Arizona's campus. I haven't interviewed there just yet, but my brother got married down there during the summer and I went down and made a point of visiting with Phillip (2-ply) who is an admissions guy I guess. Dr. Brownstein from UNLV just visited my school last week and gave us a great presentation. I was really impressed by the facilities at Arizona. Very new and very state of the art. Case has the same type of Sim Lab and when I interviewed there I got to see that in action. I like that the school is just not another building on a large campus. You can actually park next to the school!

Both schools are new and will have very nice facilities. Both have made it clear to me that they kind of pride themselves on not being tied to doing things a certain way just because of tradition. They are trying to be "different" in the way they do things, and that's OK I guess. Arizona has a module system that I think is pretty cool. They are both paperless and use laptops. Arizona takes the part 1 boards after the first year and UNLV after the second. What are the curriculums like specifically? I know that UNLV has ortho and pediatric dentistry specialties and is adding more. What about Arizona?

Tuition at UNLV is $50k the first yet, $30k the second and third year, and $20k for the last year. They say that their tuition has not increased since the schools inception. From what I remember, Arizona's tuition is in the $40's all the way through and the tuition raises every year.

Both are in the desert and you'll be sweating all over yourself during the summer at either one. I would really like to know about the communities and neighborhoods that the students live in. How much is a 2-bedroom apartment going to cost at each place? If you have a wife and kid(s), how are they coping? What's the cost of living like? Anything else you feel that is good to know about the school would be greatly appreciated. Both of these schools are in my top 3 so this information is pretty important to me. Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[teefRcool]

Hi there. I am going to be interviewing at both Arizona and UNLV early Oct. I would really like to hear from people going to both schools about the pro's and con's of their school. Now, this is not an open invite for members of one school to bash on the other. I don't want to hear that. Chances are you've only attended one school so that will be the limit of your real experience. From what I've seen on these boards though, due to the newness of both schools, students going to both of them haven't really felt the need, or felt like they have to put other schools down. That's good.

OK, as for me, I've only been to Arizona's campus. I haven't interviewed there just yet, but my brother got married down there during the summer and I went down and made a point of visiting with Phillip (2-ply) who is an admissions guy I guess. Dr. Brownstein from UNLV just visited my school last week and gave us a great presentation. I was really impressed by the facilities at Arizona. Very new and very state of the art. Case has the same type of Sim Lab and when I interviewed there I got to see that in action. I like that the school is just not another building on a large campus. You can actually park next to the school!

Both schools are new and will have very nice facilities. Both have made it clear to me that they kind of pride themselves on not being tied to doing things a certain way just because of tradition. They are trying to be "different" in the way they do things, and that's OK I guess. Arizona has a module system that I think is pretty cool. They are both paperless and use laptops. Arizona takes the part 1 boards after the first year and UNLV after the second. What are the curriculums like specifically? I know that UNLV has ortho and pediatric dentistry specialties and is adding more. What about Arizona?

Tuition at UNLV is $50k the first yet, $30k the second and third year, and $20k for the last year. They say that their tuition has not increased since the schools inception. From what I remember, Arizona's tuition is in the $40's all the way through and the tuition raises every year.

Both are in the desert and you'll be sweating all over yourself during the summer at either one. I would really like to know about the communities and neighborhoods that the students live in. How much is a 2-bedroom apartment going to cost at each place? If you have a wife and kid(s), how are they coping? What's the cost of living like? Anything else you feel that is good to know about the school would be greatly appreciated. Both of these schools are in my top 3 so this information is pretty important to me. Thanks in advance!

UNLV is in vegas baby!!

 

[teefRcool]

Hi there. I am going to be interviewing at both Arizona and UNLV early Oct. I would really like to hear from people going to both schools about the pro's and con's of their school. Now, this is not an open invite for members of one school to bash on the other. I don't want to hear that. Chances are you've only attended one school so that will be the limit of your real experience. From what I've seen on these boards though, due to the newness of both schools, students going to both of them haven't really felt the need, or felt like they have to put other schools down. That's good.

OK, as for me, I've only been to Arizona's campus. I haven't interviewed there just yet, but my brother got married down there during the summer and I went down and made a point of visiting with Phillip (2-ply) who is an admissions guy I guess. Dr. Brownstein from UNLV just visited my school last week and gave us a great presentation. I was really impressed by the facilities at Arizona. Very new and very state of the art. Case has the same type of Sim Lab and when I interviewed there I got to see that in action. I like that the school is just not another building on a large campus. You can actually park next to the school!

Both schools are new and will have very nice facilities. Both have made it clear to me that they kind of pride themselves on not being tied to doing things a certain way just because of tradition. They are trying to be "different" in the way they do things, and that's OK I guess. Arizona has a module system that I think is pretty cool. They are both paperless and use laptops. Arizona takes the part 1 boards after the first year and UNLV after the second. What are the curriculums like specifically? I know that UNLV has ortho and pediatric dentistry specialties and is adding more. What about Arizona?

Tuition at UNLV is $50k the first yet, $30k the second and third year, and $20k for the last year. They say that their tuition has not increased since the schools inception. From what I remember, Arizona's tuition is in the $40's all the way through and the tuition raises every year.

Both are in the desert and you'll be sweating all over yourself during the summer at either one. I would really like to know about the communities and neighborhoods that the students live in. How much is a 2-bedroom apartment going to cost at each place? If you have a wife and kid(s), how are they coping? What's the cost of living like? Anything else you feel that is good to know about the school would be greatly appreciated. Both of these schools are in my top 3 so this information is pretty important to me. Thanks in advance!

UNLV is in vegas baby!!
Arizona is same same as nevada except no vegas, life is boring.

 

[DIRTIE]

The tuition that they tell you includes books and all other fees, including the rental fee for the instruments. Way better deal than at other schools that I have seen.
The little COE sheet that Dr. B passes out says things a little different, but the only other fee that isn't included in tuition, which is still steep, is a laptop $1500.
Parking at UNLV is about 20 feet away also. Not bad

 

[eapleitez]

All I know is that cost of living in Arizona is very reasonable.

 

[unlvdmd]

I'm a UNLV'er. The cost of living for both is kind of a wash. Housing was cheap a few years back but went through the roof in both cities. They are both new, both have nice facilites... It just boils down to how you want to learn! AZ does the "entire class in one week" thing, and UNLV is more standard learning. It just depends on which you prefer.

 

[wimmcs]

I'm a UNLV'er. The cost of living for both is kind of a wash. Housing was cheap a few years back but went through the roof in both cities. They are both new, both have nice facilites... It just boils down to how you want to learn! AZ does the "entire class in one week" thing, and UNLV is more standard learning. It just depends on which you prefer.

I agree w/this post. I attend ASDOH and I really like it. Yes, it is VERY intense, but it will be GREAT to get those boards done and over with ASAP. I like learning on a modular basis because you are concentrating on one single subject for an entire week/2 weeks. The cost of buying a house has risen dramatically from last year, but it's still affordable. The median price for a home I believe is somewhere in the $250K. (I've read that from last year to this year, prices increased over 47%!!) I know people spending somewhere between $600-$800 a month for an apt (some spend more though). I have been very impressed with the faculty thusfar. The visiting professors we've had have been outstanding and true experts in their field. Nice thing is that they really like being here to teach us and devote as much time as needed during/after class. Remember that they are here for a week or 2 completely devoted to us. I also very much like using the computer to take notes, also having the books uploaded to my computer has been advantageous in many ways (mainly for search capabilities). You already know the campus and facilities which are very new and open and contain the latest technology. The weather is great and in terms of family, this is a great place to raise a family. There are lots of nice schools close to the campus and also a few daycares close by. There are lots of exciting things happening at our campus including the building of a YMCA right near our parking lot. All in all, I'm very happy to be here and quite honestly my experience is going much better than I expected. Good luck and feel free to send me a PM if you have any more questions.

 

[sinned]

I have a question regarding accreditation statuses on both schools. I know both Arizona and UNLV are in their initial accreditation stages. Do you guys know when the schools will get their full accreditation status? Is it when they graduate their first class, or is there more to it than just that? When is the first class expected to graduate for Arizona and UNLV?

 

[Beestieboy]

I know that Vegas graduates their first class this year. I'm not as sure about Arizona. They've got to be close though.

At Arizona, when you graduate, do you keep your laptop full of the electronic books and notes and what not? Do you also retain access to online materials? I'm just thinking that one nice thing about actually having textbooks is that you have them for reference even after shcool is done and can reference back to them if needed. $1500 isn't bad for a laptop if it's good one. Case is actually going to start using tablet PC's. I got to check one out while I was there.

Keep the input comming! Thanks much.