Thoughts on UMaryland....

[crazy8]

Hello,

Outside of the new building etc....what are your thoughts on:
The clinical side (and research)
student body
location
Overall quality of the program

Any other serious input as well would be appreciated.
Thanks

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[USUaggie]

Clinical - I think there are plenty of patients to work on, it seemed pretty packed when I was there. I'm not sure how their clinical skills compare to other schools.

Research - the have an excellent program. I think they were 7th in the nation last year for amount of NIH grants. If research is important to you there are lots of opportunities to get involved.

Student Body - everybody I talked to seemed way cool. It definatly seemed like a fun atmosphere to be in. Even though it's a state school they accept a lot of out-of-staters so you get a pretty good mix.

Location - To me this was a plus and a minus. I'm from a small town and I don't know how I'd handle getting mugged or anything and Baltimore ranked the 7th most dangerous city in the nation last year - however- on the way to the school for the interview I saw a cop on every block just standing there watching things. The med, law, nursing, and other Umaryland professional schools are right there with it so they make sure that area is pretty safe. Also, I hear the harbor is full of culture and there's tons to do there.

Overall quality - I haven't heard anything wrong with it. The students seemed to like their professors. I felt like it was the best program out of all my interviews.

Other serious input - I'll be there and I'm pretty cool.

 

[SadSmile]

Clinical:
I have seen Tufts, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and NYU, and overall Maryland has a pretty good clinical setting. I don't know about you guys but when the tour guy took us down to the clinics, the whole environment felt more like a hospital than crammed dental offices. Also, Baltimore has a pretty diverse patient population, which is something you should definitely consider. Schools in urban areas are always good choices if you are looking for a good clinically experience.

Research:
Maryland does have an excellent research program.
I'm sure if this is entirely true but Dr. Meehan, Dean of Admission, said they were 2nd in the nation last year for NIH grants. I'm not sure if this means anything but at Tufts, they gave us a summary of schools with the most # of 2004 AADR abstracts. I guess, in other words, that means # of researches published:
1. BU
2. Harvard
3. NYU
4. Tufts
5. U. Penn
6. Maryland
7. Columbia
8. Temple
(From Harvard - Maryland, the schools differ by 1 or 2 but Maryland and Columbia differ by 9 in # of 2004 AADR abstracts.)

Student Body:
This was one of the reasons why I wanted to come here. Everyone had fun with each other, and the student body seemed tight compared to other schools I've been to, or at least that's how I perceived it.

Location:
Like I said before, urban areas usually have a diverse patient population so it was plus for me. Baltimore can be dangerous but I would assume there would be a pretty comfortable level of security around the dental school area. I've lived in NYC, and I can't say Baltimore is better than NYC but it's close to experiencing an urban life as you would in NYC if you are into things like that.

Overall quality:
I agree with USUaggie. It was the best program out of all my interviews. I got accepted to every school I interviewed, but for the reasons above, I picked Maryland.

Other serious input:
I have friends working at NIH (which has no affiliation with Maryland Dental), and all the people they have talked to said Maryland was the best in the country. I'm going to Maryland and I don't think it's the best in the country but I guess it's something to think about and something for you to decide.

 

[dentist_to_be?]

Research:
2nd for the most NIH grants.... that is very impressive. Also, I like the fact that you do research before entering you first year, and in the summer between D1 and D2.

Student Body:
I spoke to a fourth year student during the interview, and she was very bitter about the school, apparently the last dean was horrible and threatened to fail, it made their D1 and D2 years very hard. However, I have a friend who is in D2 and she loves it there. The new dean really listens to them, and the program is being changed to make it easier for students, (eg. allowing more time to study for broads). However, she told me that this year's D1 class was told that they were the smartest entering class, and that half the class had over 20 on the DATs. Apparently, this has made the D1 class very competive, to the point that the D2s are talking about it.

I mean that might be under your class's control, if next years class decides to be competitive with each other, it is kind of there own making. I dont think the school creates that environment.


Location:
Baltimore is a dump, but the schools with the best clinicals are in bad areas. HOwever, the campus is in the corner of Baltimore that is nice, near the harbour and camden yards

Overall quality:
Good clincial, strong research = good school

Other serious input:
I think this is one of the best dentals in the country. I am still waiting to hear (I interview just recently) but I know I would be very disapointed if I didnt get in, and I will definitely stop going to my other interviews (Columbia) if I get in.

 

[USUaggie]

Studying for broads? That does sound easy for the students

Why Umaryland over columbia? I didn't apply there and don't know much about it but some of the pre-dent columbian sdn'ers seem to be pretty cocky about their school.

 

[SadSmile]

I know two people who turned down Columbia to come to Maryland. I guess for some, Maryland has more or perhaps better things to offer than Columbia.

The cocky sob's will face the reality when they are left with their thumbs up their asses in debt.

 

[dentist_to_be?]

Well Ive actually heard bad things about Columbia. Apparently their clinical isnt as good, and they focus too much on the academics. Also, it is $60000 a year to attend Columbia. Also, Columbia is known for its post-doc, thats where their strenght lies, not in their DDS program.

Well I havent done my interview yet at Columbia, its in March. I might end up going out of curiousity if I get into Maryland before I go, but I doubt I will pick Columbia over MD.

 

[rocknightmare]

why are there so many threads about maryland lately??

are they accepting more students than usual? and people are wondering about them or what?

 

[crazy8]

why are there so many threads about maryland lately??

are they accepting more students than usual? and people are wondering about them or what?

The class size for this Fall will be the same more or less than it has been. I think UMD has made a big effort to project itself forward in terms of clinics and research.

I interviewed and was accepted to several schools. Most of them, in my opinion were solid. What sold me on Maryland besides the students, teacher, city, new building was feedback from clinic directors.

I spoke to several (4) and they have all said that on the hold, they turn out the most competent dentists (to be I guess). I should note, that these clinical programs are all in the east, so the draw is predominately students from the northeast. But with that said, there are a lot fo great schools this way. 3/4 of the directors told me I would be nuts to pass up UMD as they felt that it is a great school and soon to be top one or two.

Just my 2 cents

 

[SadSmile]

Rocknightmare,

When did you interview at VCU? When did you hear back from them?

I got into my first choice and many other schools so I'm satisfied. But I was just curious about VCU because I haven't heard a jacksh it from them ever since they cashed my check for the application fee in September.

Thanks.

 

[rocknightmare]

i interviewed early december.. so past the dec 1st deadline.. i didn't get an acceptance envelop until january 20th or so.

 

[dentist_to_be?]

When I went to my interview, late Jan, they said they wont look at our application until Feb 28th...then mail out the next round of offers March 1st. That is going to be the third round of offers.

The thing that sucks about VCU is that they have this stupid D.5 program that they admit some students who dont have strong appl into. The problem is last year they had 19 students admitted to D.5, which means out of 88 seats, 19 are already taken. So now we are fighting for 69 seats. I have decent stats, but when I heard this, I'm not sure if I have a fighting chance because my app were so late.

 

[rocknightmare]

When I went to my interview, late Jan, they said they wont look at our application until Feb 28th...then mail out the next round of offers March 1st. That is going to be the third round of offers.

The thing that sucks about VCU is that they have this stupid D.5 program that they admit some students who dont have strong appl into. The problem is last year they had 19 students admitted to D.5, which means out of 88 seats, 19 are already taken. So now we are fighting for 69 seats. I have decent stats, but when I heard this, I'm not sure if I have a fighting chance because my app were so late.

not completely true on the 19 students. they must get a 3.5 or above i believe.

so you should assume that few of them aren't making it. but yea your point is clear.

I have talked to some faculty and they said they aren't ever doing that again. They seem to be clueless on how 19 people got into the program.

 

[dentist_to_be?]

not completely true on the 19 students. they must get a 3.5 or above i believe.

so you should assume that few of them aren't making it. but yea your point is clear.

I have talked to some faculty and they said they aren't ever doing that again. They seem to be clueless on how 19 people got into the program.

Sorry you are right... I think the number dropped down to 17. All you need to do is get Bs in the classes you are taking. Considering you are taking first year classes, with a lighter load, I dont see that being hard.

I dont see how it is the schools benefit in doing this, they are seriously going to lose out on strong candidates.