Please help me!!! USC vs. U of Minnesota

[jymind88]

Hello!
I got accepted to USC and U of Minnesota so far and I am still deciding which one would fit the best for me to be a better dentist in the future.

Could you please give me your opinions on these schools? (tuition/program/weather/license/living environment/etc...........)

Thanks a lot!!😀

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[predent18]

USC is Pbl, I am not sure about Minnesota? If you don't like Pbl that school could be miserable.
Minnesota is cheaper by 70k, but if you are from the west coast you'll hate it there... Weather, living, etc.
Where are you from/live?
where do you want to practice?

 

[SoulPower]

Financially Minnesota is better. (Tuition, CoA)

Their facilities are top notch as well.
The twin cities are quite fun as well w/ stuff to do.

Can't comment on USC other than I know it's expensive and it's LA, so yeah living is much more expensive.

 

[Predent1771]

MINNESOTA! I have heard many great things about the school. I went to USC undergrad and have not heard good things about their dental school. I think it is very fun but not the best education. U of Minn is more more prestigious. (if you can handle the snow and freezing winters)

 

[jymind88]

USC is Pbl, I am not sure about Minnesota? If you don't like Pbl that school could be miserable.
Minnesota is cheaper by 70k, but if you are from the west coast you'll hate it there... Weather, living, etc.
Where are you from/live?
where do you want to practice?

Thank you so much for your reply!🙂
I live in Illinois and I think i will probably practice in Illinois too since my family is here. I would love to live in California but I heard that you need to get another license after graduating dental schools in California if you want to practice in the other states. Is this true? And do you know specializing rates for both USC and Minnesota?
I know Minnesota is really cold... but I heard there is a huge tunnel in the city of Minnesota. That makes me feel better

 

[jymind88]

Financially Minnesota is better. (Tuition, CoA)

Their facilities are top notch as well.
The twin cities are quite fun as well w/ stuff to do.

Can't comment on USC other than I know it's expensive and it's LA, so yeah living is much more expensive.

Thank you so much for your reply! If you only compare dental programs of USC and Minnesota, what would you choose? USC has PBL program and I've heard both good/bad things. And do you know specializing rates for both USC and Minnesota?
Again, thanks a lot for your reply!

 

[jymind88]

MINNESOTA! I have heard many great things about the school. I went to USC undergrad and have not heard good things about their dental school. I think it is very fun but not the best education. U of Minn is more more prestigious. (if you can handle the snow and freezing winters)

Thank you so much for your opinion!!!🙂 I've also heard good things about Minnesota since I live in Illinois but have not heard that many things about USC since it is in the west coast. I think I will be able to handle freezing winters hopefully since I live in chicago suburb Thank you!!!

 

[predent18]

Thank you so much for your reply!🙂
I live in Illinois and I think i will probably practice in Illinois too since my family is here. I would love to live in California but I heard that you need to get another license after graduating dental schools in California if you want to practice in the other states. Is this true? And do you know specializing rates for both USC and Minnesota?
I know Minnesota is really cold... but I heard there is a huge tunnel in the city of Minnesota. That makes me feel better

If you are from Illinois, I think it is an easy decision for Minnesota. Cheaper, probably a better school, and close to where you want to be. Good luck in dental school and congrats!
Specializing rates are probably really similar, you need to be at the top... Neither school is ivy league or ucla, ucsf, etc.
I don't know about your boards at USC, but Minnesota is probably better for you in that regard.

 

[jymind88]

If you are from Illinois, I think it is an easy decision for Minnesota. Cheaper, probably a better school, and close to where you want to be. Good luck in dental school and congrats!
Specializing rates are probably really similar, you need to be at the top... Neither school is ivy league or ucla, ucsf, etc.
I don't know about your boards at USC, but Minnesota is probably better for you in that regard.

Thank you so much!!🙂👍👍👍👍

 

[r2thekesh]

Minnesota is a lot closer to home for you. Megabus and Amtrak will take you to Chicago (while studying if you wanted) and it's a quick drive if you ever wanted to go home. The move to USC alone would cost you around $1000. Minnesota is much cheaper for things to do for fun as well. Vikings tickets and U. of Minnesota tickets (basketball and football) are relatively cheap. Comparing Lakers tickets to Timberwolves tickets, bar prices, whatever shows, museums, etc. is all cheaper in Minnesota. Isn't out of state Minnesota a lot cheaper than USC too?

 

[AKGopher]

I'm a little biased because I go to Minnesota for undergrad but it really is a great place. There's always things to do in the Twin Cities, its SUPER bike friendly (Minneapolis is the #1 city in the country for biking). The only reason I'm not going there is because I'm out-of-state and going to D-school closer to home after being away for 4 years. Seriously you won't regret your decision at all. Its not super cold here either, the wind sucks but you get used to it. We JUST had our first snowfall too, a little unusual but hey it happens. And yes there are tunnels everywhere, or skyways, but you'll be in one building all day so that doesn't matter. The bio-med library (super quiet, great place to study) is connected to Moos Tower, where the school is, so you don't even have to go outside to study. The one thing I'll tell you is that right now there are some transitions going on with the dental school, and some students are upset about not getting enough time in the "advanced sim clinic" where your instruments are tracked by a computer that tells you exactly what you're doing, but thats about it. Good luck! If you have more questions just PM me.

 

[letsdoitbama]

tomorrow LA is going to be 70 while minnesota will be 27. Yeah that's not "super cold" at all. Might want to put on a sweatshirt tonight, it'll be a balmy 6 degrees.

 

[AKGopher]

haha I guess its all perspective. It IS January after all, I'd be more upset if it was 70...we have to have snow sometime! But I'm also from AK, we barely get 70 during the summer!

 

[hifive]

Wow both are tough on the wallet, but in this case I would go to UMN. USC has PBL which you might have read doesnt work as it does in theory. You dont hear a whole lot about UMN on sdn, it is located on the parent campus which doesnt really give it a good location to get some diverse clinical cases, but I think it is better than USC (I have friends that go to USC).

 

[AKGopher]

But although its on main campus Minneapolis has the largest Somalian immigrant population in the country, and a large Hmong and Latino population with poor dental access as well. I wouldn't count out the diverse clinical cases.

 

[hifive]

But although its on main campus Minneapolis has the largest Somalian immigrant population in the country, and a large Hmong and Latino population with poor dental access as well. I wouldn't count out the diverse clinical cases.

You are right but there is more to determining diversity then immigrant populations. The main building is isolated, most places like Temple and UDM are located in the heart of such populations, the immediate vicinity of the clinic is very important.

 

[jymind88]

Minnesota is a lot closer to home for you. Megabus and Amtrak will take you to Chicago (while studying if you wanted) and it's a quick drive if you ever wanted to go home. The move to USC alone would cost you around $1000. Minnesota is much cheaper for things to do for fun as well. Vikings tickets and U. of Minnesota tickets (basketball and football) are relatively cheap. Comparing Lakers tickets to Timberwolves tickets, bar prices, whatever shows, museums, etc. is all cheaper in Minnesota. Isn't out of state Minnesota a lot cheaper than USC too?

wow! I didn't know that I can take megabus and amtrak to go to Minnesota! That is AWESOME! do you know which station in illinois i need to use to use amtrack? I tried to find it on the website but it's not shown🙁

and YES. Minnesota is cheaper than USC.

Estimated cost of USC including indirect costs(room and board, Personal/Misc, Transportation): $116,313
Estimated cost of UMN (for non-resident) including indirect costs: $77,126

but if you compare only programs of USC and UMN what would you choose? Tuition is really important factor for me... but I would like to choose one that has a better program... It is so hard to choose!!!!🙁

 

[coolbeans123]

wow! I didn't know that I can take megabus and amtrak to go to Minnesota! That is AWESOME! do you know which station in illinois i need to use to use amtrack? I tried to find it on the website but it's not shown🙁

and YES. Minnesota is cheaper than USC.

Estimated cost of USC including indirect costs(room and board, Personal/Misc, Transportation): $116,313
Estimated cost of UMN (for non-resident) including indirect costs: $77,126

but if you compare only programs of USC and UMN what would you choose? Tuition is really important factor for me... but I would like to choose one that has a better program... It is so hard to choose!!!!🙁

I would say UMN because I've heard more positive things about it.

 

[Timpson]

I like USC but I suggest you go to Minnesota for one reason only. The economic situation in California is pretty rough for dentists right now, but Minnesota is doing OK. You will make all your contacts through your dental school and these contacts will lead you to a job after school. For this reason alone, I suggest you go to Minnesota.

 

[jymind88]

Wow both are tough on the wallet, but in this case I would go to UMN. USC has PBL which you might have read doesnt work as it does in theory. You dont hear a whole lot about UMN on sdn, it is located on the parent campus which doesnt really give it a good location to get some diverse clinical cases, but I think it is better than USC (I have friends that go to USC).

Oh! you have friends at USC? What do they say about USC dental program? Are they satisfied with their education? When I tried PBL during the interview, it was okay... but I am not really sure if it will work for next four years in a dental school. 😕

 

[jymind88]

I like USC but I suggest you go to Minnesota for one reason only. The economic situation in California is pretty rough for dentists right now, but Minnesota is doing OK. You will make all your contacts through your dental school and these contacts will lead you to a job after school. For this reason alone, I suggest you go to Minnesota.

That is a really important point! Thanks a lot🙂👍

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

When I tried PBL during the interview, it was okay

Everything works okay in theory, they're not going to let PBL fail at the interview of all places. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on a quickie PBL session as an accurate representation of the next four years.

 

[jymind88]

I would say UMN because I've heard more positive things about it.

What kind of positive things have you heard? I have heard some bad and good things about USC but I haven't heard anything about UMN from people that much.....

 

[letsdoitbama]

timpson's reason is fairly legitimate. Not necessarily a deciding factor in my opinion, but I wouldn't even consider the possibility of staying in california after you graduate. PBL gets talked about a lot, but honestly in my opinion clinic matters far more. Learning the basic sciences is relatively similar from school to school, and from undergrad I think we can all agree that it's almost all personal accountability in studying the material yourself. Clinic on the other hand is where you learn to become a dentist, so I think the biggest factor besides cost should be what school will give you the best clinical opportunities. Don't know much about minnesota but I've heard decent things about USC's clinic, I would suggest reading what other students have to say about both programs. Good luck with your decision.

 

[wired202808]

I wouldnt touch USC with a 10 ft pole. Additionally, the tuition should be the primary deciding factor in this case. UMN is significantly cheaper and would allow one to save a lot of $$$ that can be used for marriage, a house, or investing in a practice. While USC has nicer weather than UMN, I wouldnt spend another $170K for a little bit of sunshine.

 

[ugashaun]

Would you pick USC over bu?

 

[jymind88]

Would you pick USC over bu?

i would choose USC over BU.......... I've heard only bad things about BU dental program....🙁

 

[jymind88]

does anyone know if a minnesota dental license can be used in Illinois or other states??

 

[Steel Panther]

Ill chime in on this debate, I have no clue about minn but ill give you my experience as a D1 at usc. The interview is a good representation of the staff I have been in contact with so far, very relaxed and much more knowledgeable than they seem. I didn't like pbl the first trimester, I believe it is a very inefficient way to learn, with a lot of time spent on topics that have no relevance to anything because your group can't think of any other things to learn. Also, come midterms/finals a lot of people were in the dark because they just didn't know they needed to know some of the topics. However, they have optional case review sessions that basically go over everything you need to know and they have a great online library website with thousands of ebooks, and it is very easy to find information on relevant topics with a little help from google. After the first trimester I did much better than I expected and I do feel I actually learned a lot. Now that everyone is a bit more used to the pbl process it goes a lot smoother and most people produce great learning needs. I should also add that pbl is only twice a week, the rest of the time you are in class or lab.
By the end of the first trimester we carved every tooth out of wax, preformed every type of simulated direct and indirect amalgam preparations and restorations, and we interacted with live patients by taking x-rays. I believe the emphasis on clinic, dealing with patients and actual dental work is where usc shines. The amalgam professor as well as his class was absolutely amazing, probably the best teacher I have ever had.
Ill also add that the weather is amazing and the amount of things to do here in LA are endless, many of my classmates have been snowboarding, scuba diving and everything in between.
The price is obviously a big factor when choosing a school and usc is definitely not perfect but I have no doubt that we will be very well prepared come clinic and I'm very happy I chose the school so far.

 

[SoulPower]

does anyone know if a minnesota dental license can be used in Illinois or other states??

No. You have to be licensed on a per state basis. That holds true for all states, except maybe D.C.