Questions about University of the Pacific

[derArzt]

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-They require 4 semesters of biology... and at my school they cross-list biochemistry as both chem and bio, so do you think that would count as one?

-What universities/hospitals do they have 'agreements' with as far as residency is concerned? (I hear there are some)

-Is it really as good as people say for the endo match?

-Do they take AP Credit for pre-reqs? Sorry, I ask that a lot.

-Would you attend if you got one of the dean's scholarships? Why or why not?
The only reason I ask this is that I would only attend IF I got one of these, but that will be awhile before I apply.

 

[djeffreyt]

-They require 4 semesters of biology... and at my school they cross-list biochemistry as both chem and bio, so do you think that would count as one?

-Do they take AP Credit for pre-reqs? Sorry, I ask that a lot.

These are not good questions for the forum to answer. The word of mouth is what the admissions office says, so call them to get a real answer and not a supposition. But here's my supposition, no they don't and no they don't.

-Would you attend if you got one of the dean's scholarships? Why or why not?

Well, I don't have the Dean's Scholarship, and I attend, so I guess my answer is yes. Besides...the Dean's Scholarship is for $30,000 over the course of 3 years. $10,000 a year is a drop in the bucket compared to what we pay, so I don't know why that would be a major deciding factor. It's not like UPENN or UCLA or other schools that offer 1/2 or full rides.

-What universities/hospitals do they have 'agreements' with as far as residency is concerned? (I hear there are some)

-Is it really as good as people say for the endo match?

I don't really know what you are talking about as far as "agreements" for residency. The school only has two specialty programs, Ortho and OS. The OS residents work largely at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Other than that, there is no real agreement. Pacific's Ortho and OS programs do tend to take a couple students each year from its own school, but that is really no different than other schools. We also have rotations at various clinics like Union City, Stockton, etc, but those are not residencies.

As for Endo Match, I don't know. A couple friends have matched that I know, but I don't know all the #s. You do tend to get a decent amount of endo experience here since we do all our own endo work, and we have some really good endo faculty.

 

[armorshell]

DJeff got most of them, but I'll throw down some comments on 2 of the questions.

1. I got the Dean's Schloarship, and yes it made it much easier for me to decide what school I was going to attend. While $30,000 is only 10% of the total cost of education, it's still a lot of money and it definitely shows that the school has good faith in your abilities as a student. Had I not received the scholarship it's definitely possible I that I could have ended up at a different school.

2. UoP is affiliated with several hospitals, including California Pacific Medical Center, Laguna Honda Hospital, and the OMFS programs at Highland Hospital and ironically, UCSF-Fresno Community Medical Centers. There are no official agreements between any of the associated programs, but Highland has traditionally taken at least one UoP student and has on some occasions (This year for example) taken multiple.

3. As far as endo, the Endo director Dr. Gluskin said it's not unusual for his endo gunners to graduate having completed upwards of 30-40 cases, which is a ridiculous amount for a DDS student. I don't really see how that couldn't help you out, and I've heard tell that UPenn and Harvard really like UoP students, but that's just hearsay.