For starters, the facilities are great, in comparison to other schools I visited. They are currently re-vamping the curriculum to a more integrated process where we are constantly assisting on operations within our first 3 months. Taking stab lab in the Summer b/w D1 & D2 instead of most schools taking it b/w D2 & D3, which allows us to get into clinic a semester and maybe a full year before a large majority of schools.
On a basic sciences level, we are within the top 5-6 schools when it comes to NBDE I scores (Currently at 97%). The basic sciences here are no joke (Pathology, Pharmacology, Anatomy, Histology, etc) so it will definitely prepare you for any exam and pretty much any situation that may come through your doors.
Clinically speaking, ULSD is located downtown Louisville so it makes it easy for patients in the Louisville/Indiana area to conveniently make it to the clinic, meaning we don’t have to go out & find patients which was an issue at more rural schools that I visited and talked to. When you’re in your D3 & D4 years, its nice not having to stop anyone you see at the grocery store to come be your patient while you’re dealing with Pharmacology, Boards Pt 2, graduating on time, finding a job, etc. Small but helps out in the long run. Another tidbit, ULSD received a grant for our radiology and digital dentistry programs where we are the only school in the country (Dean’s words not mine) to be using 3D printers & Oral scanners in an academic setting to create guides for complex oral surgery, endodontic and periodontic procedures. Thought I’d throw that in there for anyone who felt we didn’t use and gain experience with “digital dentistry”.
For those of you who wish to do research, ULSD ranks in the top 15 (#13 I think?) for research dollars granted, which for a school in our region is a huge deal when comparing to UCLA, USC, NYU, UM, etc. (
Rank Listing of NIDCR Grants to U.S. Dental Institutions, FY 2017 | National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research)
Long story short, ULSD was the fourth most applied to school last year for a reason. We have the second highest rankings among graduates about preparedness, satisfaction, etc.(
UofL School of Dentistry ranked No. 2 in the nation — School of Dentistry)
So far I love it, but you’ll love any school you go to really. Its all of the same information, its what you make of it.
Any other achievements and highlights can be found here:
School of Dentistry — Points of Pride
Hope this helped!
