Questions for current UOP students

[drpsuedonym]

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I'll be starting UOP in July and I had some questions that I hope current students can answer and that other people might be wondering about.

1. A couple of questions about Pacific Apartments. I found this info on the website

1 bedroom: $1,292-$1,482
2 bedrooms: $872-$1,160 (per bedroom per month)
3 bedrooms: $882 (per bedroom per month)

I was wondering why such a big range in the price of a 2-bedroom? And how many bathrooms do 2 and 3 bedrooms come with? I REALLY don't want to share a bathroom, but it'll be a lot easier to get over it once I know for sure that I'll be sharing one.

2. Is there a student lounge, what's it like, do people actually use it? (I'm trying to think back to my tour on interview day, but it's all a bit of a blur at this point.)

3. I've seen the class schedule on the website (http://www.dental.pacific.edu/x1590.xml for anyone interested), so how accurate is it in terms of what you actually go through? I've heard that in the second year you have more free time because you're not in clinic as often as third years are. Is that true?

4. How often are exams and quizzes? Is it like there will be a whole bunch at once every couple of weeks, or is is that there are just constantly tests every week?

5. I know the school doesn't give you any time off specifically to take the boards (right?), but when do people usually take them? At our interview they talked alot about all the resources that the school provides to help you prepare for it, so does the reality match what they told us?

6. Can you explain how night clinics work, what they are, how often you go to them, how late they run, etc?

That's about all I can think of at the moment, but any other advice you have would be great. And if anyone else has any more questions, ask them so we can get all the questions together in one great UOP thread.

Thanks!

 

[yayforcoffee]

Yeah please these are good questions! Thanks in advance!

 

[djeffreyt]

Wow...varied questions

1. 3 BR apts come with 1 bathroom only. The 2 bedrooms apts all come with 2 bathrooms. The variation in price is because the layouts of all the 2 bedrooms vary...a lot. Some rooms are smaller than others, some have bigger closets, some have bigger bathrooms. The price varies depending on the layout.

2. Basically, no. Just because students sit in what they call a lounge doesn't make it a lounge. There is one 27" TV and 4 computers against a wall in a small little space with 3 small couches (not nice comfy sprawl out couches) and a couple tables. It's not a lounge regardless of how much some people want to call it that.

3. The schedule is pretty accurate. A couple courses have moved around (Radiology comes a quarter earlier, as does Cariology). It's decent for 1st year. 2nd year isn't accurate because the ICS course has a lot of open days for "studying" or "research" and Oral Pathology is a completely self-study course. Most of General Pathology is self study as well. In that sense, yes 2nd year is freer, but it's changing. They've made a mandatory Boards Deadline date in January, so 6th quarter, which had been a relatively free time for 2nd years became a lot of studying for Boards for people. Also, because of attendance issues, there is now a more strictly enforced clinic attendance policy, so if you don't have a patient, you are required to attend clinic and assist fellow students (so that free time is gone uless you ditch and just let it drop your clinic grade). If you have lab work, you'll have to find time to do it and there is also a literature Review Paper added to the ICS course that you do out of class as well as some projects. If you talk to someone who graduated 5 years ago or even a year ago, 2nd year free time was nothing like it is today, but it is still the most relaxed of the 3 years.

4. First year, constant tests and quizzes. 1st quarter is chill, but 2nd and 3rd quarter there will be a lot (1-3 quizzes, practicals and/or tests a week). Second year, much less. You may have a major exam every other week during 6th and 7th quarter. Third year, some projects and a few tests, but a lot of lab work and a lot of patient stuff to fill in any empty time. Finals are always a cram of lots of exams, the worst being during 1st year in 2nd and 3rd quarters.

5. There is a deadline now, so you have a window of about 3 months between October and January to take part 1 after your 1st year. The same pretty much applies to Part 2 now as well. The materials are fine. It's just old released exams and USC and UCSF have websites of that stuff. The class usually pools a lot of gathered resources for each other and shares them too, but we all get through it and our scores this year have been pretty good so far. They are currently reviewing the deadline policy as well as updating materials and considering "time off" for studying due to student concerns over the new policy.

6. Night clinic: Mondays and Thursdays from 6-8:30 PM. 2nd years are allowed 3 night clinic appts per quarter starting in 6th quarter. You sign up on a physical list (may change with new clinic system being installed). You can do more than 3, but you are waitlisted until the day before clinic so other people who haven't done 3 get first dibs. 3rd years do night clinic almost every night unless they were lucky/good enough to not need to in order to get all their work done. There isn't a lot more to it, and as a first year you will learn about it.

 

[drpsuedonym]

Thank you! Your answers really helped clear up a lot of what I was wondering about.

 

[drpsuedonym]

One more question! What's Pacific's laptop policy?

 

[drpsuedonym]

So I found information about the laptops here (http://dental.pacific.edu/Current_Students/Computing_Resources/Dell_Laptop.html) but I was wondering if you have to return them when you graduate or they're yours to keep.

 

[djeffreyt]

The current laptop is a Dell Latitude D630, or something like that. I have the D620. Yes, you have to get the one they assign you. It is part of the tuition, so you are welcome to use your own for other things, but you'll still have to buy it.

At the end of your time at Pacific, you'll get the option to buy it for $1. If you are like some of us, you'll do it. Others will not, others will buy it for $1 and then spike it with a pick axe. Others may accidentally break it right before the schools replacement policy expires....you'll see a range of feelings.

The incoming class may have a tablet, but that debate has yet to be settled by the IT department, and they have yet to OK a tablet thus far.

 

[darkle]

Thank you so- much for great questions and replies!! 🙂!!