The Biggest Challenge of My Life NYU vs. Michigan

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I got accepted to both schools NYU/Michigan and a lot of factors make decisions extremely hard

Reading a lot of personal commentaries of both school Michigan seem far superior in their dental education compared to NYU. Personally, I do feel I will benefit more by going to Michigan.

The big issue is that I want to practice in NY and I feel if I go to Michigan, I don't have strong networking (for patients) back at home like I would if I attended NYU. Does anyone know that by going to school outside of where they want to practice in the end makes it difficult to start up a practice after graduation? Does Michigan dental graduate have a hard time setting up practice at NY and other places after graduation?

That is far my biggest concern and have me leaning towards NYU even though i feel the school's learning environment does not fit me well.

Another concern I have is the living expense in Michigan .. can someone tell me what the average rent at Ann arbor is?

-people keep talking about the opportunites that NYU has to offerr. but What opportunities will I be forgoing if I attend Michigan rather than NYU???

-Can someone also shed some light into the academic schedule of both schools.. how are the testing period .. is it spread out or is it bunched in one week.. Also, When I interviewed what really turned me off was that they mentioned NYU clinic experience was under rotation.. so half of the class gets to see patients while the other class does nothing in that period .. can someone explain to me what this is about?

-also Does Michigan give ample time to study for the boards compared to NYU...

ALL COMMENTS/ADVICE ARE APPRECIATEd~

 

[all4xtrm]

I won't be able to answer your question because I am going through exactly the same dilemma, NYU vs. Michigan.
For some people, it's a very simple decision to make, but for others, it's not that easy because we all know that everyone has different situations and backgrounds.
I just wanted to say that I totally understand how you might feel now and how difficult it is to make up your mind.
My friends say that I must be a happy person since I have a choice to make while there are people who are still waiting for an interview invitation. Yes, I was indeed the most happiest person in the world when I got the acceptance letters, but when it comes down to making a decision, it's not that easy, especially when you know that you will have to spend several hundreds of thousands dollars for the next 4 years.
I believe that no one can give a clear answer for this. Whichever school I will go, there will be a moment that I regret that I should have made a different decision.

 

[nydds25]

I doubt UMICH is "far superior" to NYU in its dental education. Both schools are accredited, have similar classes, similar procedures. Don't drink the juice from this forum.

 

[achilles2]

I doubt UMICH is "far superior" to NYU in its dental education. Both schools are accredited, have similar classes, similar procedures. Don't drink the juice from this forum.

this


people rip NYU on this forum (mostly due to the price)

Nothing wrong with the program tho....in fact other then Stony Brook and Columbia, NYU's programs design was my favorite. I like how you can work in a speciality clinic during your fourth year (if your a competitive student and have a good grasp on your clinical).

And since NYU AA for 2008 was like a 20 despite having a class size of 200+ thats pretty impressive.

The things people don't like about NYU:
1) it seems a bit cut throat
2) its price

 

[TeamGuo]

I doubt UMICH is "far superior" to NYU in its dental education. Both schools are accredited, have similar classes, similar procedures. Don't drink the juice from this forum.

that is correct. Both schools are excellent, you just need to go with your gut. Only reason people turn down NYU is due to the high costs, so if you are an in-state student, go with Mich, if not, it doesn't really matter since UMich out-of state tuition is pretty damn high.

You are thinking way too much into it. Don't worry about making connections, practicing in NY, etc etc. You still have a long way to go my friend.

 

[Hysteria24]

These might answer some of your questions:

1. What school do you attend? U of M

2. What part of the city do you live? central campus, close to downtown

3. How much do you pay a month + utilities? $1050 + electricity + $100 parking

4. How many bedrooms/baths? 1 bd/1 bath

5. Do you share a room or have a roomate? No

6. Is your housing/neighborhood nice/safe (yes this is relative)? Yes, very nice

7. How far away are you from campus and how long does it take you to commute and by what (car, walk, bike, bus)? 5 min. walk, 2 min. by bus

8. Anything else we should know? 24 hours security and camera in use

1) Name of Your Dental School
THE University of Michigan

2) What is your examination schedule like? Block Schedule (midterms and finals week) or several every week?
Most classes have a midterm and final, but IMS = (Integrated Medical Sciences) has a quiz or test about every week

3) What is the hardest class? Why?
IMS by far...it's tough in the very first semester of D-school (combines biochem, immunology, micro, + anatomy) but as you get to 2nd semester and 2nd year (primarily focuses on anatomy and physiology) it makes it easier because you learn information by organ systems and don't have everything repeated a billion times.

4) What is the easiest class? Why?
Lots of easy BS classes: ethics, behavioral sciences, ortho/pedo classes have open book exams, etc...

5) Are your classmates generally gunners and try to sabatoge each other? If not, is the culture one where everybody tries to help everybody out?
Everyone helps each other out and I've never heard of anyone sabatoging anyone else.

6) Are the class notes based primarily on textbooks? or based on lecture powerpoints made up by professors?
Most classes are based off of powerpoints but there are a few that require reading a textbook as well

7) Are there any classes taken with medical students? If so, which ones?
No, but there are some classes taken at the med school (Head & neck anatomy)

8) What is the grading system? Pass/Fail/Honors? Letter Grades? Percentages?
Letter grades: +'s and -'s too

9) Is there a notetaking service for lecture available?
Our school pioneered a program w/ Apple and most of the lectures (at least all the important ones) are recorded via Itunes so you can Podcast them/download them and listen to them

10) Is class attendance mandatory?
Some are required (all lab classes/clinical stuff) as well as some didactic courses but there are some classes that aren't mandatory

11) In general, are teachers approachable for questions? Or are they for the most part very busy and unreachable (research, etc...)?
Very approachable, and most will go out of their way to help a struggling student (and there's a program designed for struggling students too)

12) Is there a big brother/big sister program that pairs you with an upperclassman or professor who "mentors" you?
Yes, you're paired up with a professor who "mentors" you during the first year

13) What is the % first time board pass rate? What is the average score?
Not sure exactly but I'm sure its up there

14) When do you take the NDBE? 1st year or second year?
Between 2nd and 3rd year, usually May or June

15) Do you get a block of time off before boards to study? If so, how long? If not, do you have to study simultaneously with classes?
You get like 3 weeks off in April/May and then have "Endo camp" = anterior endodontics for 1 1/2 weeks but that's pretty low key, and if you need more time you can just not schedule patients starting in June for a little more time

16) Do most people study in the University Library? Or does the place clear out right after school and everybody studies on their own?
depends, some people study at the D-school, but not that many, you can go to the Law library or the bazillion coffee shops in/around A2

17) Are patients readily available to fulfill clinical requirements or do you have to do a lot of work to get them in?
getting patients is not a problem, the problem lies in the fact that the patients sometimes don't show up to their appointment

18) Is it a hassle to get a chair once you get patients in? In your opinion, does your school have enough chairs?
its easy getting a chair except for a few days in the fall/spring when the D2s and Hygiene people are also up in the clinics (i think Mon + Weds)

19) What are the clinical requirements to graduate? (number of crowns, fillings, etc...) Is it reasonably attainable or pretty difficult?
Michigan uses the # of "C.E.U.'s" (i don't even know what that stands for) as the basis, ex: for a 2 surface composite i think you get 2.0 ceu's and for a complete denture you get 15 ceu's, a crown is like 7 or 8 and you need like 1100 to graduate which is completely attainable with most people graduating with a lot more than that

20) Are there opportunities for different off-site dental clinic rotations? If so, what are they?
as a D-3 you do 2 weeks of hospital rotations (1 in surgery and 1 in hospital dentistry), and as D4's you have a mandatory externship to different locations in the state (Grand rapids- Cherry hill clinic, flint, traverse city migrant program, and i think there's a couple more too) i think its for 1 week (may be 2)

21) Are there opportunites for outreach trips to underserved areas or countries? If so, what are they and for how long?
yes, but you have to search them out, ex: thru Operation Smile, ASDA, missions trips etc...

22) Is there sufficent preparation for practice management? What career placement opportunites does your school offer?
there are a couple of classes as D4's but i'm not there yet??

23) What is the dress code at your school? Scrubs? For what years?
during the first couple of years you can wear jeans (w/ no holes etc..) if you are not seeing pt's (to class or pre-clinic) but when you see pt's you have to wear scrubs or business casual

added perks: you can go to the football games and tailgate with the D-school before hand on the golf course across from the stadium. Ann Arbor is a cool city and attracts a lot of big name artists/plays/etc... for being a relatively small city, and you're by Detroit??? ok maybe not so cool.
-bad things: class often start at 8 am, 😴

Source of the two posts if you wanted to check out the equivalent for NYU:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=401980
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=476648

 

[dentist707]

Thanks, very helpful... like always...

 

[all4xtrm]

Wow... this is awesome!!.. Thanks, Hysteria24

These might answer some of your questions:







Source of the two posts if you wanted to check out the equivalent for NYU:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=401980
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=476648

 

[dentstd]

Go to Michigan dental, then do your mandatory 1 year residency in NY. Network while you're in NYC.

 

[Hysteria24]

Go to Michigan dental, then do your mandatory 1 year residency in NY. Network while you're in NYC.

Ah, very true. The OP is going to have to do a 1 year residency in order to gain licensure in the state of NY. If the OP went to Michigan, coming back and doing a residency in NY would give him/her time to transition from the world of academia into private practice in NY.

 

[TeamGuo]

Go to Michigan dental, then do your mandatory 1 year residency in NY. Network while you're in NYC.

There's your solution.

 

[zorie]

Go to Michigan dental, then do your mandatory 1 year residency in NY. Network while you're in NYC.

This is what I'm hoping to do too. Not exactly the same situation of those two schools, but I want to practice somewhere that I haven't gotten into, and I figure I'll just do a residency year there instead. The environment that you're in in dental school might not necessarily be the same one that you want to practice in anyway.

 

[crestwhite]

hi

 

[REH]

This is a great question, Crestwhite. I have the same concerns about Michigan myself. It'd be great if someone currently in the program could provide a detailed response.