Whoa there buck-o...try to keep that excitement in a little bit for everyone's sake. I'll do the best i can fielding these
1- Do you think your classes have prepared you enough for boards or do you feel like you have to do extra extensive studying?
it depends what grade you want on the boards. If you want high 90's--no because nothing and no school can prepare you for that. If you want 80's then from what I've heard form upper classman--yes.
2 - When do students first get any orientation to clinic? Will we need to have collected many teeth before school starts?
YES!!! I cannot stress enough to start collecting teeth now. they never "go bad" so to speak, and it's not like you need a ton of them, but get a good jar or two and that's all you need. Clinic orientation? what does that mean? you start doing clinic stuff first year but it's on eachother and it is actually kinda lame
3 - What do most students do in the (wonderful and unbelievably) long summer breaks for D1 and D2
Research, Travel, work, just be "a kid" are the most common things to do. Some people do dental service trips. You can do whatever you want.
4 - I looked up Mission Bay on google Map, if a student lived there or around there, how long would you say it takes to get to ucsf without a car? I know Muni and Bart are awesome there, but just want to get an estimate of what can be a practical distance between home and school.
There is a shuttle that runs directly from there to campus ~20-40 min depending on traffic. it runs all the time...muni and bart are a wast of time for missions bay. I would recommend living within 10 blocks. That's easy to calculate... streets run alphabetically (N-->S) and numbered (E-->W) School is on the "J" street (judah = parnassus) between 4th ave and "1st" ave (arguello st.)
5 - How do 4th year rotations at different clinics work?
i dunno, ask a 4th year. i think they do like 3 weeks of externship somewhere of their choosing
6 - Where do you see many ucsf grads practicing? How much of the graduating class is engaged in research/specialties/general practice once they're done? I just want to get a general idea, do many stay in the SF area because of an alumni network?
Short answer--in California. Alumni network isn't that important for dental school, but it's very strong here.
7 - Is it true that if you can't move in before september you're pretty much not going to be able to get any ucsf housing?
I dunno. do you mean student housing?
8 - Is there a used books website or resource we can visit? Is there one for specifically ucsf housing? What classes will we be taking first year?
upper-classman are good for books, so is all of the same sites you used in undergrad. the bookstore is really good about prices. it's only a little cheaper online--I've looked for everything. You will be taking a lot. I will try not to scare you. Here goes: Gross anatomy, head and neck anatomy, histology, pathology, immunology, microbiology, tooth morphology, operative dentistry, crown and bridge, biomaterials, physiology, neurology and neuroanatomy, biochemisty, a little developmental bio, tooth development, oral radiology/pathology, and "intro to clinical dentistry (patient-centered care). and also a bull-$hit course on how to conduct clinical research. don't be overwhelmed though; it's all integrated together for the sciences and it goes by fast--really fast. everyone gets though it.
9 - How would you say ucsf financial aid is? How much and how often are scholarships awarded? And this might be a noob question, but it gets evaded whenever I ask anyone for some reason: We fill out our financial aid forms and then the ucsf office applies for those loans for us, right? If i'm wrong them i'm in so much trouble.[/QUOTE]
Yes, you have it correct. It depends on your need for scholorships, i suspect. But instead of going though student aid. Try some other resources like graduateleverage...I wish I had heard about them last year. For all you financial calculator people, it's a good deal because it's collective bargaining. It's a cool service for professional students that drives the cost of loans down.
