*top choice* (of accepted schools)

[dentdent12]

List in order and put some reasons next to your rankings.

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[lmaozedong1]

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[dentalWorks]

1) detroit mercy - 10 cerec machines, enough said. On and 25 minutes away
2) buffalo - friendly environment, amazing clinical education, and in-state tuition after 1 year
3) temple - what can I say, If my 1 and 2 didn't have strong clinical education, I would pick temple in a heart beat. Amazing clinical training

 

[Erhatstil]

1) detroit mercy - 10 cerec machines, enough said. On and 25 minutes away
2) buffalo - friendly environment, amazing clinical education, and in-state tuition after 1 year
3) temple - what can I say, If my 1 and 2 didn't have strong clinical education, I would pick temple in a heart beat. Amazing clinical training

interesting...i figured UB would be your #1 of the collection. how much more expensive is UDM over the 4 years than UB? btw, congrats on the acceptances!

 

[dentalWorks]

interesting...i figured UB would be your #1 of the collection. how much more expensive is UDM over the 4 years than UB? btw, congrats on the acceptances!

well... at UDM, my plan is to stay with the parents. At UB (and granted I get the in-state status change after 12 months) it turns out to be a little cheaper still, but the difference isn't that much. I think with UDM it would be around 260-280k and UB would be around 230-240k

Don't get me wrong, I still haven't made up my mind between mercy and Buffalo.... Buffalo had such an impact on me, I can't just disregard it lol

 

[Rubber Dam Man]

1. Maryland - brand new school (only a few years old), cutting-edge technology (ie. 10 new CEREC machines), wonderful Dean who is all about ensuring that students are learning the latest techniques in dental medicine, online lectures available, podcasts, part I boards after 1st year, very friendly faculty/students, not a competitive atmosphere among students, very high passing rate for boards (~95%), in-state tuition for me , I could go on and on...
2.
3.
4. any other dental school...

 

[lmaozedong1]

bump

 

[nanilla]

1. UCLA-Loved the school, curriculum, people, p/f, and location.
2. UCONN- Great curriculum, good facilities, small class size, medical curriculum, p/f. However, clinics seemed kinda old and location not my favorite
3. UofP- Great school, everyone loves it, everyone seemed friendly, humanistic model, great facilities, great location. Only negatives is that perhaps do not prepare you quite as well didactically or at least it is rushed, lower board scores.
4. Penn-Love the location, and being attached to the undergrad. Overall, not impressed with Penn and I had high expectations coming in. Not pass/fail, seemed extremely competitive simply due to the grading structure, the clinics were in a warehouse, the classrooms were in a basement and could have used a renovation a couple of decades ago. The new part of the school, where they first take you, is awesome, but as a dental student you would rarely be in it.

 

[redchesus]

1. UCSF or Columbia (both well-known for being good schools! and I love both cities, so I'm having a hard time deciding... I'm leaning towards UCSF because I can get in-state tuition after a year, but declining Columbia's offer is going to break my heart)

2. UIC (in-state school, but not necessarily cheap any more because of budget problems... and it's average statistically)

3. SIU (in-state school, cheapest of them all but in an rather undesirable location)

 

[Montserrat]

3. UofP- Great school, everyone loves it, everyone seemed friendly, humanistic model, great facilities, great location. Only negatives is that perhaps do not prepare you quite as well didactically or at least it is rushed, lower board scores.

The reliance upon NDBE I for specialties isn't likely going to be a reality for you guys. It is a safe bet that no school's training is going to be ideal for all of the new specialty exams, and there will be no legacy Q-banks to rely on.

Just food for thought.

 

[dentalWorks]

The reliance upon NDBE I for specialties isn't likely going to be a reality for you guys. It is a safe bet that no school's training is going to be ideal for all of the new specialty exams, and there will be no legacy Q-banks to rely on.

Just food for thought.

Yeh. Ortho programs have been shifting thier attention towards the GRE, and OMFS, from what I hear, is going to be a different test, very similar to USMLE step 1 (forgot its name).

I wonder tho, are students, whom are interested in specializing, going to study for these "extra" exams WHILE they are in dental school or after they finish?

 

[nanilla]

Montserrat- Yeah I totally realize the shift in p/f boards, and now it is really going to depend what specialty you are looking to get into. Ortho, using the GRE it will not really matter. But, OMS using, most likely, NBME it will be greatly beneficial to go to a school with strong didactics (Uconn, UCLA, [any school with medical curriculum]).

 

[The Chosen One]

1. The University of Louisville: They weren't my 1st choice intially (OOS, tuition, etc...), but they blew away the competition. The faculty and student body were down-to-earth and freakishly friendly! The new facilities are AMAZING (fiber optic hand pieces; say WHAAT!, leather message chairs; I kid, I kid ), great city (cost of living is dirt cheap)! too much to list...
2. None!
3. UIC: After my interview I was VERY DISAPPOINTED in my home school! Too much corruption (BLAGO, QUINN, and DALEY need I say more?) They claim they're BROKE; tuition for in-staters is only $2k less than Louisville out-of-sate tuition! and they're already planning more increases WTF!!! The facility is a dump for you're expected to shell out . Although some of the faculty were friendly, most act is if they were doing you the favor by ROBBING you! The 20 or so d-students that graced us with thier presence for the Q&A were USELESS, self-absorbed, and they ate all of the DONUTS! ... and yes I was accepted, but I rejected them same day they called.
4. SIU: I'll go easy on them, I've ran out of rant!

 

[EdwardKim]

Montserrat- Yeah I totally realize the shift in p/f boards, and now it is really going to depend what specialty you are looking to get into. Ortho, using the GRE it will not really matter. But, OMS using, most likely, NBME it will be greatly beneficial to go to a school with strong didactics (Uconn, UCLA, [any school with medical curriculum]).

UCLA isn't one of the medical curriculum schools, right?

 

[Osity]

1) Midwestern University-AZ
Pros: Incredible facilities and brand-new 250 chair clinic. Set-up is a private-practice model, and most of the staff have owned their own practices in the past. Students were extremely happy and friendly. Great location. Take the boards after year 1, something like 97% pass rate. Close to home for me.

Cons: Cost is a little higher than some schools, however, the Glendale area is very inexpensive to live in.

2) Nova Southeastern University
Pros: Great facilities, loved the area. Friendly faculty and happy and friendly students. Take the boards after year one.

Cons: Fort Lauderdale is more expensive to live in, 2,000+ miles away from home.

3) OHSU
Pros: Great clinical experience, friendly students and faculty. Really liked the Portland area.

Cons: The school is outdated. Clinic is very cramped, but is updated to digital all-around. Portland is fairly expensive to live in. Not much business emphasis.

4) Western University
Pros: Great faculty and staff. Happy students. Brand-new facilities.

Cons: Most expensive area to live in that I interviewed at. Building, while new, wasn't all the way finished. Didn't have the same 'feel' as Midwestern or Nova. Highest tuition of any school I got accepted to as well.

By the way, I'm OOS everywhere, so getting in-state tuition (with the schools I applied to/interviewed at isn't an option)

 

[nanilla]

EdwardKim- No they do not, I was just saying that schools with medical curriculum and schools with strong didactics

 

[Montserrat]

Yeh. Ortho programs have been shifting thier attention towards the GRE, and OMFS, from what I hear, is going to be a different test, very similar to USMLE step 1 (forgot its name).

I wonder tho, are students, whom are interested in specializing, going to study for these "extra" exams WHILE they are in dental school or after they finish?

Well starting in Jan 2012... let me know how that works out for you

 

[Montserrat]

Montserrat- Yeah I totally realize the shift in p/f boards, and now it is really going to depend what specialty you are looking to get into. Ortho, using the GRE it will not really matter. But, OMS using, most likely, NBME it will be greatly beneficial to go to a school with strong didactics (Uconn, UCLA, [any school with medical curriculum]).

I don't really know how to put it than this. If they gave the MLE Step I to the dental students at UConn, Columbia,and Harvard ... they would get boned.

 

[nanilla]

^ Yeah I do not doubt that, but it really would not matter since its dental students competing against dental students. So those dental students who went to more didactically challenging schools would have a leg up.

 

[Montserrat]

Well, yes and no.

To elaborate a bit more -- we've been told that the older metric, NDBE I, was utilized to assess whether a student would be able to pass MLE Step I during their residency. If this gives you any indication... it is that they do not expect a student to pass Step I after 1/1.5/2 years of dental school. Because of this, dental students are more likely to be given a scaled back version of the exam that all dental students will find challenging. To give dental students a similar exam to the MLE would make everyone look bad, as they will be comparing admissions numbers to find the cream of the crap.

As for whether it will provide a leg up -- you can decide that in the years to come to form your own opinion. But from old schoolmates that have already taken that road and entered OMFS -- the consensus has been no, it did not make the process or subsequent exams any easier relative to their co-residents who graduated from what pre dents call "clinically strong schools"..

 

[Hopeful20]

1. UConn - in-state, I know I'll be prepared by my 4th year, P/F, good specialization rates, great board scores, med/dental curriculum
2. Penn - only reason why I applied was because of their 'campus' setting and it was beautiful as expected. (also an ivy)
3. Columbia - another ivy, similar curriculum with UConn but horrible location. H/P/F is basically A/B/F...it might reduce some pressure but you'll feel it for sure.
4. Buffalo - last choice...if I was born in Buffalo and had family there, I'd definitely go...otherwise, highly unlikely.

 

[DMBdmd]

I would like some feedback on UAB's dental program...I read the acceptance thread but no one has anything to say about the curriculum(i did read they adopted a new curriculum in '09), the facilities, deans, tuition or anything. I'm currently pre-dental and looking into schools in the southeast region to be close to family for help with my son and I haven't really found much info on UAB on SDN. Any feedback is welcomed!! Thanks!!

 

[Want2B ADentist]

How would you guys rank LSU, UMKC, and Tennessee?? And why? Thanks