thoughts on the 3 year dental program?

[nateriver]

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3 year dental programs

 

[Troyvdg]

well..there's only one.
Specific question you had in mind?...

 

[Demilaax]

Such a thoughtful thread, very well matches your avatar.

 

[spazway]

Here's one, I guess. What does the accelerated program at UOP get rid of? Are there redundancies/review times in traditional 4-year curriculums that UOP just eliminates? I know UOP has a strong reputation for clinically proficient dentists, but how do they do that by reducing the amount of time in school?

 

[Glimmer1991]

My thoughts?

...Expensive.

(But really nice otherwise!)

 

[nateriver]

well would you think its worth it to take a three year program, the cost is the same cause they the tuition so high that it balances out with the 4 yr programs, so in that regard i think it really doesn't pay to compare, but in terms of getting out and being able to work sooner, or start residency sooner if you choose, and how high quality of an education would you feel you were getting from a 3 yr course of study vs 4, id be willing to do school in the summers and finish a year early as long as i was assured the quality of education was comparable, also, on the topic of price, which are the most affordable schools, and do they offer quality education as well, or does the lowered price come at a price, no pun intended lol

 

[Troyvdg]

well would you think its worth it to take a three year program, the cost is the same cause they the tuition so high that it balances out with the 4 yr programs, so in that regard i think it really doesn't pay to compare, but in terms of getting out and being able to work sooner, or start residency sooner if you choose, and how high quality of an education would you feel you were getting from a 3 yr course of study vs 4, id be willing to do school in the summers and finish a year early as long as i was assured the quality of education was comparable, also, on the topic of price, which are the most affordable schools, and do they offer quality education as well, or does the lowered price come at a price, no pun intended lol

Use the search function. All of these have been answered many times.

 

[Glimmer1991]

well would you think its worth it to take a three year program, the cost is the same cause they the tuition so high that it balances out with the 4 yr programs, so in that regard i think it really doesn't pay to compare, but in terms of getting out and being able to work sooner, or start residency sooner if you choose, and how high quality of an education would you feel you were getting from a 3 yr course of study vs 4, id be willing to do school in the summers and finish a year early as long as i was assured the quality of education was comparable, also, on the topic of price, which are the most affordable schools, and do they offer quality education as well, or does the lowered price come at a price, no pun intended lol

To the first bolded part--no, not really. This has been discussed on here before. I guess if you're comparing a 3-year program that's 450k vs a 4-year program that's 450k, the 3-year comes out better since you get an extra year of practice. However... the goal should be to get into a school cheaper than UoP and/or get a big scholarship to UoP. (Unless money is truly no object and/or your have a military scholarship!) (On the topic of scholarships at UoP, I don't know that they even offer anything *that* large.)

http://dental.pacific.edu/Academic_...nd_Fees/Estimating_Your_Attendance_Costs.html
UoP estimates first year SCHOOL costs to be ~120k, and then LIVING costs in San Francisco (one of the most expensive places in America) to be ~28k a year. THAT'S BASICALLY 150K A YEAR. Tuition costs rise ever year, so you can basically expect to spend this same amount for all three years. Oh, and don't forget to slap the 6.21% (or more) interest rate and super fun "origination fee" (which would be over 4% for most of that money) on those loans. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

To the second bolded part--you'll be doing summers at any school. 🙂

To the third bolded part--your state school is always going to be the most affordable. Beyond that, schools that allow you to switch to in-state tuition after the first year are the second cheapest. Then you get into the realm of private and schools that won't let you switch to in-state residency. You can get a quality education at ANY dental school--you get out what you put in (with maybe the exception of one school that I won't name so I don't offend people). 🙂

I don't want to slam on UoP. I know it's a fantastic program. However, the cost is just outrageous.

 

[dentalWorks]

I think last time I checked.... UoP doesn't have breaks in between semesters (or at least, their breaks are very short).

At a typical 4-year program, summer breaks are 3 weeks long, same with x-mass breaks.

 

[nateriver]

To the first bolded part--no, not really. This has been discussed on here before. I guess if you're comparing a 3-year program that's 450k vs a 4-year program that's 450k, the 3-year comes out better since you get an extra year of practice. However... the goal should be to get into a school cheaper than UoP and/or get a big scholarship to UoP. (Unless money is truly no object and/or your have a military scholarship!) (On the topic of scholarships at UoP, I don't know that they even offer anything *that* large.)

http://dental.pacific.edu/Academic_...nd_Fees/Estimating_Your_Attendance_Costs.html
UoP estimates first year SCHOOL costs to be ~120k, and then LIVING costs in San Francisco (one of the most expensive places in America) to be ~28k a year. THAT'S BASICALLY 150K A YEAR. Tuition costs rise ever year, so you can basically expect to spend this same amount for all three years. Oh, and don't forget to slap the 6.21% (or more) interest rate and super fun "origination fee" (which would be over 4% for most of that money) on those loans. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

To the second bolded part--you'll be doing summers at any school. 🙂

To the third bolded part--your state school is always going to be the most affordable. Beyond that, schools that allow you to switch to in-state tuition after the first year are the second cheapest. Then you get into the realm of private and schools that won't let you switch to in-state residency. You can get a quality education at ANY dental school--you get out what you put in (with maybe the exception of one school that I won't name so I don't offend people). 🙂

I don't want to slam on UoP. I know it's a fantastic program. However, the cost is just outrageous.

thank you for the in depth answer 🙂

 

[Glimmer1991]

I think last time I checked.... UoP doesn't have breaks in between semesters (or at least, their breaks are very short).

At a typical 4-year program, summer breaks are 3 weeks long, same with x-mass breaks.

http://dental.pacific.edu/Documents/students/calendar/acrobat/CLNDR 14-15.pdf

From this... doesn't it look like students have breaks between September 26 - October 6, December 19 - Jan 5, March 20 - 29, and June 12 - July 11? There are a few little random holidays interspersed. That actually isn't so bad. 🙂

 

[sgv]

it looks like they have a 4 week summer break from june 15 - july 15

 

[nateriver]

how many schools did u apply too @sgv

 

[dentalWorks]

http://dental.pacific.edu/Documents/students/calendar/acrobat/CLNDR 14-15.pdf

From this... doesn't it look like students have breaks between September 26 - October 6, December 19 - Jan 5, March 20 - 29, and June 12 - July 11? There are a few little random holidays interspersed. That actually isn't so bad. 🙂

ohhh they do have typical breaks then.... it must be then.... they cram DS1 and DS2 into just 1 intense year.

Thats a rough program. I'd rather go to 4-year

 

[kidsaremypassion]

Not worth the debt or stress. Dental school is stressful enough-just go the 4 year route.

 

[Bottle]

Seems like a good program if you are counting your practice years. Otherwise, it's not worth it.