Specializing

[dents613]

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Hi everyone! I have been thinking about dental schools ever since I started this process of applying since AADSAS opened. But then someone threw me a curveball this past weekend and said if I want to go to even think of specializing, then I need to go to either Columbia, Harvard, Penn, or UConn. Is this true? Should I really rule out a school like UMDNJ, which would be so much cheaper? Please help! He made me so nervous!

 

[jeffity]

It's more individual-dependent than institutional-dependent.

 

[dantemac]

Any talk about specializing is really just smoke in the mirrors. The truth is always obscured. Yes, Ivies have great specialization rates. However, so do some other schools. Some schools take a lot of their own dental students. Etc.

Also, there is always people who really want to specialize and then burn out/decide not to, and there's always the people say they never dream of specializing and then have the grades and resume to do it. It's never a concrete decision.

 

[CMistry]

It's not true at all. Go to the cheapest school you get into, then try your hardest (if you want to specialize). Those schools do put out more specialists, mostly because they accept highly motivated students. But any school can get you into a given specialty.

 

[Mackchops]

Go wherever you feel you'll have the best opportunity to excel. For some this might be at an Ivy where a lot of your classmates are type-A gunners. For others this might be a large school with a lot of opportunities. And for some this might be a tiny school where you get individualized attention. Everyone is different and so is every school. Did you go to an Ivy for undergrad? Do you think that if you had you would be a better applicant for dental school? It's the same thing. When it comes time to apply for specialty training I guarantee your GPA, LORs, and exposure/experience is going to mean loads more than which (ADA accredited school) you attended...