Stony Brook (IS) vs. Columbia vs. Penn

[michael922]

Stony Brook (IS) vs. Columbia vs. Penn

Hi all! Thank you for being so supportive throughout this process. I am very fortunate to have gotten these acceptances and need some help deciding.

School 1: Stony Brook
IS

Pros:

• Cheapest option (COA ~$349k)
• Close to home (1.25 hr drive) + support system nearby
• Pretty good for specializing

Cons:

• Boring location
• Facilities were not the most up-to-date
• Small class size (too small imo)
• Not P/F
• Not as good (relative) for research

School 2: Columbia
IS

Pros:

• P/F
• In NYC - very excited about location
• Also close to home (55 mins) + support system nearby
• Great for specializing
• Integrated med curriculum
• Research

Cons:

• Expensive (COA ~$583k)
• Not the strongest pre-clinical experience

School 3: Penn
OOS

Pros:

• $40k/yr scholarship
• Philly is a solid location
• Good for specializing
• Research (less so than Columbia from what I understand)

Cons:

• Still expensive (COA w/ scholarship ~$406k)
• Not (fully?) P/F

Summary: I am a New York State resident. I want to specialize (most likely OMFS but I don't know for certain). I have been working for an oral surgeon in a hospital for multiple years and seeing the day-to-day has made it very enticing. I have always been heavily involved in research and want that to continue throughout my dental school career. I am also incredibly fortunate in that I can cover about $300k from family contributions without a loan. Given the ability to do this, I haven't written off an expensive school like Columbia. Stony Brook feels like the sensible option, but Columbia + NYC are always where I've aspired to be. Penn also seems like an option that I should not discount based on my options. Any thoughts?

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[Mr.Smile12]

Becoming an OMFS isn't a cakewalk. Take Stony Brook (read other comparison posts).

 

[JacquesVallee]

So, you can go to dental school almost for free if you attend Stony. That's something we'd all kill for. This is a no brainer. Attend Stony Brook! Moreover, Stony Brook is a state school that will prepare you well for OMFS. Listen to what a current OMFS resident has to say:

The best OS applicants I’ve ever met came from Stony Brook.

 

[Pablo Sanchez]

Congrats on having the option to go to these three great schools! You should feel proud of yourself for getting to this point.

I, too, thought that I was going to be an oral surgeon going into dental school. Things change. What you want changes. Your talents change. You can accomplish your goals from all three of these schools.

The financial difference is more significant than you realize. Federal student loan rates are at over 8% right now. $349,000 becomes over $420k by the time you graduate. That means that the first year after you graduate the interest in your loans will be about $34,000. So you’ll need to make about $50,000 pre tax just to cover your interest for the year and not pay anything down. This is for the cheapest of your options. (There are various loan repayment plans, but they all come with their own downsides ie tax bomb).

Go to the cheapest option (Stony Brook). Get out of debt as soon as possible so that you don’t have interest working against you. And get money invested as soon as you can so you actually have interest working FOR you.