Thoughts on Case Western vs. Western University in Pomona?

[godivie]

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I was recently accepted to both schools and have been very torn between the two. I am from California and plan on returning to California to practice. Both schools give their students early access to patient interaction and seem to have high pass rates of the boards. However, because Western is such a new school they have no available data on test scores. Western uses a block system for their biomedical sciences and students take some courses with the DO students. Case Western has more of a traditional curriculum but does incorporate some PBL. I like smaller classes so this does appeal to me. Both are essentially the same price, so cost isn't a deciding factor. Western does have brand new facilities and training with CEREC is built into the curriculum already- not sure if Case offers a class in CEREC as well.

My main concerns with Western is how new it is. They will be graduating their first class this June, so essentially will have no alumni. Case on the other hand has many alumni in California. Does anyone have an opinion on the importance of alumni with finding a job after graduating? I don't know much about finding a job after dental school, but I have heard California is a tough market to find a job in. Is it more important to go to school in the state I want to practice in?

I've asked some dentists I know and they have raised concerns with Western being so new, that they are still hiring faculty, and that they have had several deans quit already. Thoughts?

How are the learning environments? Competitive? Cooperative? Anyone at either of those school?

I would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

 

[KittySquared]

I loved Case. I would choose an accredited school with a good reputation over a new school any day, even if it means moving away from home.

 

[Just Peachy]

I'm going to try to address your concerns in the order you asked them so I don't miss anything. 🙂 I'm a 4th year at Western and I've really enjoyed it.

The benefit of going to school in CA when you want to practice here is that you can get licensure by portfolio or residency instead of dealing with the licensure exams. I don't know what exam they do at Case, but as someone who isn't planning on taking the WREB, it's quite a pain to try to figure out the logistics of taking a different exam and getting licensed in another state. I'm not sure that any school really has any available data on their test scores, but in my class we had all but one or two people pass both part 1 and part 2 of the NBDE on the first try. I've really liked the block system - it fits my learning style very well. The number of classes taken with the DO students is very small - I think now it might just the first semester (Gross Anatomy/Head and Neck type stuff). Everything else is taught by dental faculty. By the time you are looking for a job, there will be 4 classes of alumni - I know that's not a lot, but all you need is for one person to hire you haha! In all seriousness though, we do externships in our 4th year that help you network (which is also building a stronger reputation for Western throughout the whole state), we participate with the CDA and Tri County so we're able to make more connections with dentists in the area, and many of our faculty are VERY well connected and can get you where you need to go. I don't know how important alumni connections are in finding a job, but I don't think any of us are going to have a problem based on what I just mentioned and based on the number of my classmates who already have jobs lined up. CA is a really tough market for dentists - I think being in school in the state where you want to practice when the market is this competitive would be a real benefit for you. A point of clarification: we haven't had several deans quit - our original dean left to be closer to family after there were some medical concerns and now we have our current dean. The learning environment at Western is great - we're all very helpful and cooperative. Everyone wants to help each other out. Even now, as we're getting ready to do licensure exams everyone is coming together as a group to decide on a cap for paying patients to show up, sharing patients between each other, etc.

You'll be fine at whichever program you decide to go to. Best of luck with your decision! Let me know if I can be of any more help.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

My understanding is: Case does both NERB and WREB. I believe we do have a CEREC course, but I can check...