Please help

[pistolpete007]

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I am torn between two schools....i live in tenn right now and I had my heart set with meharry (nashville) but now i do not know ne more....the other school is Colorado, Colorado will cost me close 120-130k more in course of 4 years after all expenses.....I do not know if that is worth it. PLEASE HELP...does school name matter...when it comes to find assoc job. or specializing or if i get my own practice.

 

[JamesOSU]

cheaper school, hands down. 120k is a LOT of money.

 

[Moe Lester]

I am torn between two schools....i live in tenn right now and I had my heart set with meharry (nashville) but now i do not know ne more....the other school is Colorado, Colorado will cost me close 120-130k more in course of 4 years after all expenses.....I do not know if that is worth it. PLEASE HELP...does school name matter...when it comes to find assoc job. or specializing or if i get my own practice.

Well, what school do you like?

Take into account not only the name of the school but what the school offers. To be honest $120k is not even enough to determine the rest of your life! You will be able to pay that off in a few years after graduation.

Make a pro's and con's list and see who comes on top. If you do, post it here.

 

[pistolpete007]

Meharry Pro's- Great mission of serving the underserve community, 130K cheaper, I went to School in TN so it's only a drive away

Meharry Con's- Not prally the highest in the ranking of schools according to stats, that's because they take people that will prally go back to a community that will help serve the underserve

Colorado- VERY GOOD SCHOOl, new environment for me

Colorado Con's- 130K more im lookin at prally 340K loans by the time im done, more competitive environment

 

[danielcarverjr]

Not prally the

Meharry is probably a lot more likely to teach you how to do teeth grills, which is probably something of interest to you. I am basing this on your inability to use words that exist in a real dictionary.

 

[HalfMan]

Meharry is probably a lot more likely to teach you how to do teeth grills, which is probably something of interest to you. I am basing this on your inability to use words that exist in a real dictionary.

Just ignore this fool. Colorado is the way to go man, this should not even be a question vs. Meharry 😀

 

[Ranelar]

Meharry is probably a lot more likely to teach you how to do teeth grills, which is probably something of interest to you. I am basing this on your inability to use words that exist in a real dictionary.

Can SDN implement a "down vote" system so that we can give posters a visible reminder of how inane we think their comments are? 😛

 

[Xtiansqueen]

I know a very successful endodontist from Meharry and he told me its not about the school name, its about what you put into your 4 years there. DOn't let anyone discourage you about going where you want to go. If you have the option of a school that you like...and its cheaper...why wouldn't you pick that one? You can increase your chances of specializing and having a private practice by simply doing well.

I am torn between two schools....i live in tenn right now and I had my heart set with meharry (nashville) but now i do not know ne more....the other school is Colorado, Colorado will cost me close 120-130k more in course of 4 years after all expenses.....I do not know if that is worth it. PLEASE HELP...does school name matter...when it comes to find assoc job. or specializing or if i get my own practice.

 

[HalfMan]

I know a very successful endodontist from Meharry and he told me its not about the school name, its about what you put into your 4 years there. DOn't let anyone discourage you about going where you want to go. If you have the option of a school that you like...and its cheaper...why wouldn't you pick that one? You can increase your chances of specializing and having a private practice by simply doing well.

I agree with you about going to a cheaper school, but at what expense though? The expense of not doing so hot on the boards and giving up your chance to specialize since Meharry has one of the lowest pass rates on boards compared to other dental schools. Going to a cheaper school is fine and dandy but you also have to look at what the school offers, not just its price tag!

 

[armorshell]

I agree with you about going to a cheaper school, but at what expense though? The expense of not doing so hot on the boards and giving up your chance to specialize since Meharry has one of the lowest pass rates on boards compared to other dental schools. Going to a cheaper school is fine and dandy but you also have to look at what the school offers, not just its price tag!

Meharry likely has a lower pass rate because the students the accept tend to have lower statistics, not because the school is deficient in any way. I'd say go with Meharry, $130,000 isn't an amount to be taken lightly.

 

[Ranelar]

Meharry likely has a lower pass rate because the students the accept tend to have lower statistics, not because the school is deficient in any way. I'd say go with Meharry, $130,000 isn't an amount to be taken lightly.

I agree with your statement in principle, but if I were in his position, I'd choose Colorado. $130,000 is a lot, but it's also not so much over the career of a dentist. Meanwhile, I might be living with a bunch of "what if's" hanging over my head if I chose a less reputable school for financial reasons.

 

[HalfMan]

We can all come up with reasons as to why the board scores are low. But the truth is that they are low, simple as that. Taking into account that the school might be cheaper, but it ain't free! So I would get my money's worth and go to the right school.

 

[adizzle87]

I've heard some great things about Colorado, particularly about how they had recently had a building or two renovated or built? You can't go wrong with a public school that has the backing of the state, research options, and a good name. I think living somewhere different for the next four years is exciting and if it turns out you're not the biggest fan of Aurora you can always decide to go back to TN after you get your degree.

 

[armorshell]

We can all come up with reasons as to why the board scores are low. But the truth is that they are low, simple as that. Taking into account that the school might be cheaper, but it ain't free! So I would get my money's worth and go to the right school.

$130,000 is not "might be cheaper." That's half a house.

If you choose to base a $130,000 decision on a single number, without bothering to think about the what or why behind it, by all means feel free.

 

[armorshell]

I agree with your statement in principle, but if I were in his position, I'd choose Colorado. $130,000 is a lot, but it's also not so much over the career of a dentist. Meanwhile, I might be living with a bunch of "what if's" hanging over my head if I chose a less reputable school for financial reasons.

$130,000 isn't a lot? Are you joking? With current interest rates, and a 30 year payback, $130,000 extra in loans amounts to paying $1000 a month, after taxes, for 30 YEARS. That's $1000 out of your pocket, that could be invested, $1000 that could be paying for your boat/lambo/mansion.

Now how about someone postulates what Colorado has that Meharry doesn't, that will net you roughly $1000 a month for the rest of your career?

 

[DrReo]

I agree with your statement in principle, but if I were in his position, I'd choose Colorado. $130,000 is a lot, but it's also not so much over the career of a dentist. Meanwhile, I might be living with a bunch of "what if's" hanging over my head if I chose a less reputable school for financial reasons.

Are you footing the bill or are you getting some serious cash after your jewish mission trip?


Many people lack the understanding of an American dollar. Let's blame it on their parents!

 

[Ranelar]

Are you footing the bill or are you getting some serious cash after your jewish mission trip?


Many people lack the understanding of an American dollar. Let's blame it on their parents!

I'm paying for my dental education, and my trip is to study. I am paying a little bit to be there, but the majority is on scholarship.

edit: I'm also 25 and have been working "in the real world" for a couple years 😛 Armorshell makes a compelling point, but assuming we're all going to live relatively comfortable lives as dentists, what's the difference if we lose out on 300k over 30 years? I'd rather pay that difference than to think about what if's (would I have gotten better board scores, would I have enjoyed my time at Colorado more, would I be more proud of my degree), but that's my personal feeling. I don't plan to live a very extravagant lifestyle, so the difference between netting 70k a year vs 80k is not huge to me.

Also, someone who is planning to live an extravagant lifestyle is also probably aiming to make much more than the average general dentist, and so the difference would be even less significant 😛

 

[armorshell]

I'm paying for my dental education, and my trip is to study. I am paying a little bit to be there, but the majority is on scholarship.

edit: I'm also 25 and have been working "in the real world" for a couple years 😛 Armorshell makes a compelling point, but assuming we're all going to live relatively comfortable lives as dentists, what's the difference if we lose out on 300k over 30 years? I'd rather pay that difference than to think about what if's (would I have gotten better board scores, would I have enjoyed my time at Colorado more, would I be more proud of my degree), but that's my personal feeling. I don't plan to live a very extravagant lifestyle, so the difference between netting 70k a year vs 80k is not huge to me.

Also, someone who is planning to live an extravagant lifestyle is also probably aiming to make much more than the average general dentist, and so the difference would be even less significant 😛

I don't see how the "what-ifs" couldn't equally be applied in the reverse situation? "Would I have enjoyed my time in Tennessee more?" "Would I have gotten the same boards scores?"

Let me ask you this question. You've taken the DAT. How much credit do you give to your undergrad for your score? 100%? 50%? 10%?

 

[HalfMan]

I think the OP has already answer his own question. He asked which school was better and then responded:

Colorado- VERY GOOD SCHOOl, new environment for me

 

[Ranelar]

I don't see how the "what-ifs" couldn't equally be applied in the reverse situation? "Would I have enjoyed my time in Tennessee more?" "Would I have gotten the same boards scores?"

Let me ask you this question. You've taken the DAT. How much credit do you give to your undergrad for your score? 100%? 50%? 10%?

I'm somewhat basing the what if's on his situation. He's from Tennessee, so he knows what it's like, maybe Colorado would be a nice change. If it's not, well at least he'll know 😛

I don't know how much specific dental schools affect board scores, since I'm not in dental school, but there's an argument that it does. I think dental schools and board scores are more directly linked than undergrad and DAT scores anyway, since dental schools obviously want their students to do well on the boards, while your undergrad education is somewhat oblivious to the DAT.

I'll tell you this much -- I'm extremely happy I went to UCLA instead of staying home at the University of Hawaii, even though UH would have cost me a whole lot less. It probably didn't help me do any better on the DAT, but the experiences, environment, school pride, and other intangibles were worth it.

 

[pistolpete007]

I really do value everyone's opinion here, and I will take all of them in my consideration....thanks a lot.

 

[HalfMan]

I am torn between two schools....i live in tenn right now and I had my heart set with meharry (nashville) but now i do not know ne more....the other school is Colorado, Colorado will cost me close 120-130k more in course of 4 years after all expenses.....I do not know if that is worth it. PLEASE HELP...does school name matter...when it comes to find assoc job. or specializing or if i get my own practice.

Have you made up your mind yet? Meharry starts soon......tick tick tick tick