torn between case or temple...

[dentgirl08]

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any thoughts???
i want to have the option to go for either gp or specialty...both being clinically oriented...would one outweigh the other???

 

[drbutter07]

I am probably bias because I interviewed at Case, but not Temple. But from what I gathered from talking to some pre-dent friends, temple is a dump. I don't think I've ever heard anything good about them. I know the neighborhood is bad, however, most dent school's neightborhoods are. Likewise for cleveland, but I think it's a little better than temple regardless.

Case is better academically. You might stand a better chance in specializing if you decide to go that route with Case. Also, I think they train students how to run a practice too. If I had an acceptance offer to case, they would high on my list. I applied to temple only with "backup" intensions. Hope this helps! 😎

 

[sicspeed]

Why is that a question? CASE!

 

[toofshucker]

Temple is not a dump. Funny that someone from Cleveland would rip on Philadelphia. Ha ha.

 

[Sch81]

I am probably bias because I interviewed at Case, but not Temple. But from what I gathered from talking to some pre-dent friends, temple is a dump. I don't think I've ever heard anything good about them. I know the neighborhood is bad, however, most dent school's neightborhoods are. Likewise for cleveland, but I think it's a little better than temple regardless.

Case is better academically. You might stand a better chance in specializing if you decide to go that route with Case. Also, I think they train students how to run a practice too. If I had an acceptance offer to case, they would high on my list. I applied to temple only with "backup" intensions. Hope this helps! 😎

I never understand people who make this point. All of these schools teach the same course material - is somebody who comes out of Temple with a 3.8 GPA and in the top 2% of the class going to get turned down from specialty programs because they went to Temple? No way. Just because Temple doesn't have a huge percentage of its class specializing doesn't mean you can't do it.

 

[dr.rex]

you might want to look at which way you learn better, at case we are only in class 2 full days a week and we do a lot of PBL, which is pretty much just learn things on your own. but we get to do a lot of clinical stuff in our first year. so i hope that helps

 

[DSpagnoli]

I am probably bias because I interviewed at Case, but not Temple. But from what I gathered from talking to some pre-dent friends, temple is a dump. I don't think I've ever heard anything good about them. I know the neighborhood is bad, however, most dent school's neightborhoods are. Likewise for cleveland, but I think it's a little better than temple regardless.

Case is better academically. You might stand a better chance in specializing if you decide to go that route with Case. Also, I think they train students how to run a practice too. If I had an acceptance offer to case, they would high on my list. I applied to temple only with "backup" intensions. Hope this helps! 😎

Funny, I have always heard Temple was one of the best clinical dental schools in the country.

 

[Smills91]

Case...based solely on location between the two cities. Temple is in a not-so good part of town in Philly. Not the end of the world, but not my ideal situation either.

 

[toofshucker]

I never understand people who make this point. All of these schools teach the same course material - is somebody who comes out of Temple with a 3.8 GPA and in the top 2% of the class going to get turned down from specialty programs because they went to Temple? No way. Just because Temple doesn't have a huge percentage of its class specializing doesn't mean you can't do it.

I completely agree with you. The school doesn't matter; you do. Everybody in dental school is basically equal when it comes to smarts. This isn't undergrad, where most of us are a lot smarter than everyone else. Dental school goes from being smart to effort. The students that put in the most effort, get the best grades; no matter what school they go to. There is a guy in my class that is number 1 in our class, 4.0 gpa. He would have the same grade whether he was Harvard, Temple, or Howard. He has that grade because he spends every waking hour studying the material.

I think the choice between Case and Temple is easy. Temple has a better clinic, and didactically, you reap what you sow. Philadelphia is 1000 times better than Cleveland. Cleveland is a dump. You are 2 hours from DC or NYC. 1.5 hours from the beach. Lifestyle is much better in Philly. Clinic is much better than Case. Didactics are what you want them to be.

I really don't see anything that Case has that is exponentially better than Temple, but Temple has many things that blow Case out of the water.

 

[HuyetKiem]

Please choose Temple because a friend of mine is waiting for Case's acceptance letter 😀😀

 

[DSpagnoli]

I completely agree with you. The school doesn't matter; you do. Everybody in dental school is basically equal when it comes to smarts. This isn't undergrad, where most of us are a lot smarter than everyone else. Dental school goes from being smart to effort. The students that put in the most effort, get the best grades; no matter what school they go to. There is a guy in my class that is number 1 in our class, 4.0 gpa. He would have the same grade whether he was Harvard, Temple, or Howard. He has that grade because he spends every waking hour studying the material.

I think the choice between Case and Temple is easy. Temple has a better clinic, and didactically, you reap what you sow. Philadelphia is 1000 times better than Cleveland. Cleveland is a dump. You are 2 hours from DC or NYC. 1.5 hours from the beach. Lifestyle is much better in Philly. Clinic is much better than Case. Didactics are what you want them to be.

I really don't see anything that Case has that is exponentially better than Temple, but Temple has many things that blow Case out of the water.

Agreed. I have interviewed and visited both and my pick would be Temple because of the clinical experience -- and I loved Philly.

Case is an excellent school as well - so you are going to have to decide based on what YOU want.

 

[superfinger45]

I am probably bias because I interviewed at Case, but not Temple. But from what I gathered from talking to some pre-dent friends, temple is a dump. I don't think I've ever heard anything good about them. I know the neighborhood is bad, however, most dent school's neightborhoods are. Likewise for cleveland, but I think it's a little better than temple regardless.
Case is better academically. You might stand a better chance in specializing if you decide to go that route with Case. Also, I think they train students how to run a practice too. If I had an acceptance offer to case, they would high on my list. I applied to temple only with "backup" intensions. Hope this helps! 😎

Don't have an opinion if you don't know. Also, Temple must be a better school than you thought if you didn't even interview at your "backup" school.

 

[dr.rex]

i will tell you one thing that some of you have wrong, everyone in dental school is not smart. they are not the best students. in my class we have a lot of people who do not pass all the tests. we mainly have people that just get by and are fine with that. it is really sad that someone would decide on a profession and then not try to be good at what they do.

 

[dentgirl08]

thanks for all of the feedback...
it's almost like...being a freshman all over again...you know how to go about college (better) once you've completed it and think "i wish i knew this before entering into...or...i wish someone shed light on these aspects..."

as a newbie into this whole dental school business...i just feel so lost and don't know what criterias are even important to make sure the school has...
😕

 

[dentgirl08]

I never understand people who make this point. All of these schools teach the same course material - is somebody who comes out of Temple with a 3.8 GPA and in the top 2% of the class going to get turned down from specialty programs because they went to Temple? No way. Just because Temple doesn't have a huge percentage of its class specializing doesn't mean you can't do it.

i guess - although there are ton's of factors that go into picking a student from school X over Y - the question then woudl be...if someone from Temple with 3.8 GPA vs Case with 3.8 with similar research/extracurricular/board scores etc...were applying...which looks more "qualified"?

 

[drbutter07]

There probably isn't a difference. You are as qualified as you make yourself depending on how hard you work and how well you do. If you are the last in the class but still graduate, you are still a dentist. I haven't heard of individual patients asking for dentists' schooling rankings or GPA (although it would be funny).

 

[dentgirl08]

or even...which school is more supportive of their students in pushing them to do their best as well as offer them various opportunities so taht the student truly can be lead through their 4 years to see what type of dentist...what kind of dentist they want to become?

 

[toofshucker]

i will tell you one thing that some of you have wrong, everyone in dental school is not smart. they are not the best students. in my class we have a lot of people who do not pass all the tests. we mainly have people that just get by and are fine with that. it is really sad that someone would decide on a profession and then not try to be good at what they do.

The fact that you can just "get by" with minimal effort shows you how smart they are. Dental/Medical/Law school is all about effort. The ones that are ranked in the top 10 of your class are the 10 students that study the most. The ones in the bottom 10 are the ones that study the least.

 

[toofshucker]

i guess - although there are ton's of factors that go into picking a student from school X over Y - the question then woudl be...if someone from Temple with 3.8 GPA vs Case with 3.8 with similar research/extracurricular/board scores etc...were applying...which looks more "qualified"?

Let's think about this. If Case and Temple had exactly the same stats, research, board scores, etc and these two students were trying to get into Oral Surgery programs, would the program take the student with over 200 OS procedures or the one with less. One more reason to go to Temple. You must perform 120 surgeries (os) just to graduate. One senior I know has done over 300 extractions in his two years in the clinic.

 

[drbutter07]

One more reason to go to Temple. You must perform 120 surgeries (os) just to graduate. One senior I know has done over 300 extractions in his two years in the clinic.

I agree, however, no matter where you go, you can do as many procedures as you want. Just because they have a set number doesn't mean you cannot do more. If I plan on oral surgery, I'm going to get as many OS procedures in as possible regardless of where I attend.

 

[DSpagnoli]

I agree, however, no matter where you go, you can do as many procedures as you want. Just because they have a set number doesn't mean you cannot do more. If I plan on oral surgery, I'm going to get as many OS procedures in as possible regardless of where I attend.

Yes, but at Temple - there is no shortage of patients who need such procedures. I think Case, being in Cleveland will also not have this problem.

 

[ladybug123]

To start, I must say I have a biased opinion bc I am a first year student at Case, and I don't know much about Temple.

However, If you are seriously considering Case, I would suggest thinking long and hard about what type of curriculum will suit you best. Here at Case, we have anything but a traditional curriculum- there is probably 50% PBL (independent study combined with small group learning)- and your class would be only the third to test it's effectiveness. I have confidence that the curriculum will work, and believe it will better teach us to problem solve and become leaders in the field. However, there are still some kinks to be worked out, and it is a challenge- I personally struggle with it every day.

Contrary to what others have suggested, Case has an excellent clinical program and you will be more than prepared to practice immediately after graduation if you decide to attend. We have just completed our first semester and a groundbreaking sealant program. I doubt any other dental school provides this type of experience in their first year (1st semester!!).

I do not plan on specializing, however I agree with what was said earlier. If you are in the top of your class, it will probably not matter if you graduated from Case or Temple. What will matter are your board scores, and those are entirely dependent on how hard you work for them.

Good luck with your decision!!!😀

 

[DrSmiles12]

I interviewed at case but not temple... So I am obviously biased but Case just seemed like a really solid school. Lot of good people and lots of good things going on. Temple well I never really had any reason to apply.

 

[HuyetKiem]

You must perform 120 surgeries (os) just to graduate. One senior I know has done over 300 extractions in his two years in the clinic.

wow over 300 ? hehehe. Many people in my class '08 have done way more than that. I had reached that number near the end of my second year.

 

[lollipop999]

the students I ate lunch with at Temple were like,,,, we really do not learn anything that the boards does not need us to know.... they do not learn anything beyond....

BEING a good clinical school = we have bad classes.... so we have to have something to brag about...

I DONT need clinical Exposure... I HAVE MY WHOLE LIFE TO DO THAT.. plus GPR/ special.... who knows... i want to learn the material as best as I can.... at any school you can go crazy and do more procedures.. but not at any school you will find good teachers and smart kids around you who push you to study harder......

 

[lollipop999]

wow over 300 ? hehehe. Many people in my class '08 have done way more than that. I had reached that number near the end of my second year.

EXACTLY MY POINT..........!!!!!!! it doesnt matter where you go for "Clinical"

 

[letsgfuad]

the students I ate lunch with at Temple were like,,,, we really do not learn anything that the boards does not need us to know.... they do not learn anything beyond....

BEING a good clinical school = we have bad classes.... so we have to have something to brag about...

I DONT need clinical Exposure... I HAVE MY WHOLE LIFE TO DO THAT.. plus GPR/ special.... who knows... i want to learn the material as best as I can.... at any school you can go crazy and do more procedures.. but not at any school you will find good teachers and smart kids around you who push you to study harder......

It sucks that you have to have others push you to study harder. And yes you will have your whole life to do that, but if i were to mess up, id rather do it in school than in my practice. And the only limiting factor is the individual, not the school. Technically, you can learn ( academia) to be the smartest dentist in the world w/o going to dental school.

 

[DSpagnoli]

the students I ate lunch with at Temple were like,,,, we really do not learn anything that the boards does not need us to know.... they do not learn anything beyond....

BEING a good clinical school = we have bad classes.... so we have to have something to brag about...

I DONT need clinical Exposure... I HAVE MY WHOLE LIFE TO DO THAT.. plus GPR/ special.... who knows... i want to learn the material as best as I can.... at any school you can go crazy and do more procedures.. but not at any school you will find good teachers and smart kids around you who push you to study harder......

This is clearly the dumbest post I have ever read. Noob.

 

[Schnitzels]

i guess - although there are ton's of factors that go into picking a student from school X over Y - the question then would be...if someone from Temple with 3.8 GPA vs Case with 3.8 with similar research/extracurricular/board scores etc...were applying...which looks more "qualified"?

I agree with this statement. But, what about the fact that Case is now P/F? They have no class rank and have no grades, so how will this affect those at Case trying to specialize?
In other words, how will the admissions committee know that the person at Case was a 3.8 caliber compared to the Temple 3.8 student?

 

[ladybug123]

The point of the P/F grading system is to minimize competition among the class and to promote a more pleasant learning environment. We are always shown our actual percentage and a class average after each exam so we know how well we are doing- and have a general idea of where we stand in the class, but we are not told our ranking.
Case also keeps track of our actual grades and is very aware of our class rank. If we choose to specialize, this info will be included in a recommendation letter. We have been told not to worry about the P/F system interfering with our chances to get into a specialty program.

 

[Schnitzels]

The point of the P/F grading system is to minimize competition among the class and to promote a more pleasant learning environment. We are always shown our actual percentage and a class average after each exam so we know how well we are doing- and have a general idea of where we stand in the class, but we are not told our ranking.
Case also keeps track of our actual grades and is very aware of our class rank. If we choose to specialize, this info will be included in a recommendation letter. We have been told not to worry about the P/F system interfering with our chances to get into a specialty program.

This is good to know. Are you sure they include your rank in the letter? I asked this on my interview and was told no. How do you like the integrated PBL curriculum at Case? I hear students have a lot of free time for studying. Do you find it easy to fall behind?

 

[ChilliCheeseDog]

Temple is a good school but coming up from the subway into downtown philly is like crawling into the dingus of the United States.....Case is where u want to be.😎

 

[Schnitzels]

Temple is a good school but coming up from the subway into downtown philly is like crawling into the dingus of the United States.....Case is where u want to be.😎

Hahaha! Yeah, unfortunately you're pretty accurate with your description. At least the area around Temple, from what I saw. My cab driver was totally sketched out when I told him the address of where I needed to go for my interview. I think I saw more Temple cops than Philly cops when I was there. Nice to know they are working to protect their students though.

 

[icechewer]

Temple is a good school but coming up from the subway into downtown philly is like crawling into the dingus of the United States.....Case is where u want to be.😎

Ha ha ha. Literally. But that's the adventure in going to school there. I welcome a challenge.

 

[dentgirl08]

so many informative and amusing thoughts - thanks everyone. a lot of the comments are actually making me realize no matter where i go...a lot does in fact have to do with my performance...i guess what we should all focus on is getting to a school that suits us individually and then work our butts off!!!

 

[letsgfuad]

Last year i interviewed there and i was walking by the school of dentistry in northern philly at 8 or 9 at night. I had a briefcase, my suit, and a bag looking for my hotel. Well i guess my hotel was by the undergrad campus so i was just wondering around. I finally found the SOD and saw a female dental student. I asked where my hotel was and she looked shocked when i told her i will just walk there (about 10 blocks or so away maybe further maybe shorter). Her response was Hurry come with me ill drive you.

If any of you are that very nice female who dropped me off THANKS. She could have saved me from a nice ace beating.

 

[vasco]

I'm a third year student at CASE and can just tell you what I like about their clinical requirements. I love the way CASE's clinic is run. You are placed in a group practice with around 7 juniors and 7 seniors. You get your own personal cubicle and you also have a PCC (secretery). She calls your patients takes care of your charts and does a lot of paper work for you. But the best part is that the clinical curriculum is more of a competency based program. They require minimal experiences for you to attain so that once you get those out of the way you don't have to worry about numbers anymore...you can just focus on delivering great comprehenive care for your patients. For example in junior year all you are required to do is 5 crowns, 30 operative, 3 dentures, 4 quads scalling a root planning and 2 endos. Your senior year all you have to do is take a competency in many areas. It's nice because many people finish all of their requirements and competencies quickly and can just focus on dentistry.

 

[toofshucker]

The point of the P/F grading system is to minimize competition among the class and to promote a more pleasant learning environment. We are always shown our actual percentage and a class average after each exam so we know how well we are doing- and have a general idea of where we stand in the class, but we are not told our ranking.
Case also keeps track of our actual grades and is very aware of our class rank. If we choose to specialize, this info will be included in a recommendation letter. We have been told not to worry about the P/F system interfering with our chances to get into a specialty program.

I understand the purpose of P/F, and think it is great what Case is trying to do. BUT if you do want to specialize, you definitely want a class rank. Most specialties want a class rank and board scores. They glean more info from your class rank than just "he/she is smart." Your board scores show that. Most specialties take the ranked student over the un-ranked student with everything else being the same.

 

[ladybug123]

This is good to know. Are you sure they include your rank in the letter? I asked this on my interview and was told no. How do you like the integrated PBL curriculum at Case? I hear students have a lot of free time for studying. Do you find it easy to fall behind?

Sorry, I don't think they will include an actual rank, probably more like "so and so was in the top 5% of the class (or bottom 10%😱)." I can not say whether or not this is better or worse than a rank, but if you are in the top 5% of a class of 70, they can probably figure out your estimated rank!

I am torn on how I feel about the PBL portion of our curriculum. Yes, it is awesome having 3 half days a week, and it definitely frees up time for studying. You can spend as much or as little time on your independent study topic then how much time you have left for studying the other courses depends on your time management skills- and it is easy to fall behind. Sometimes I hated PBL and wished we had a traditional curriculum, but then I would consider the alternative, sitting in class from 8-5 then having to study for another 4-6 hours after class, and I was so grateful for PBL!

 

[HuyetKiem]

I'm a third year student at CASE and can just tell you what I like about their clinical requirements. I love the way CASE's clinic is run. You are placed in a group practice with around 7 juniors and 7 seniors. You get your own personal cubicle and you also have a PCC (secretery). She calls your patients takes care of your charts and does a lot of paper work for you. But the best part is that the clinical curriculum is more of a competency based program. They require minimal experiences for you to attain so that once you get those out of the way you don't have to worry about numbers anymore...you can just focus on delivering great comprehenive care for your patients. For example in junior year all you are required to do is 5 crowns, 30 operative, 3 dentures, 4 quads scalling a root planning and 2 endos. Your senior year all you have to do is take a competency in many areas. It's nice because many people finish all of their requirements and competencies quickly and can just focus on dentistry.

Actually, you don't need to wait till senior year to take your competencies. Few of us had started and completed most our competencies in the junior year 👍👍👍.

 

[HuyetKiem]

EXACTLY MY POINT..........!!!!!!! it doesnt matter where you go for "Clinical"

Yes, it does matter where you go for "clinical". Only few schools could offer such experiences. Yup, Case is one of them 👍👍 . Don't know about other schools though.

 

[tamkhan]

Temple is one of the best clinical schools in the country, as far as I've heard. That being said, Case is a very good school, too. Go to the cheaper one. Nothing will guarantee you a place into any specialty program at any university. If you work hard and do well in dental school, you can specialize, regardless of what school you go to.

 

[rkamsterdam]

well if you were a guy, id say go to case because caligirl is going there. (have you seen her tat?)

 

[armorshell]

well if you were a guy, id say go to case because caligirl is going there. (have you seen her tat?)

Psh sucka, everyone knows she's coming to Pacific. All she has to do is show off that tat to her interviewers and it's a done deal.

 

[armorshell]

I understand the purpose of P/F, and think it is great what Case is trying to do. BUT if you do want to specialize, you definitely want a class rank. Most specialties want a class rank and board scores. They glean more info from your class rank than just "he/she is smart." Your board scores show that. Most specialties take the ranked student over the un-ranked student with everything else being the same.

I don't know how true this is, most of the kids from the P/F schools seem to do just fine.

 

[rkamsterdam]

Psh sucka, everyone knows she's coming to Pacific. All she has to do is show off that tat to her interviewers and it's a done deal.

yeah, you're lucky. if i were you, id lobby for a student spot on the adcom.

 

[CaliGirl15]

Psh sucka, everyone knows she's coming to Pacific. All she has to do is show off that tat to her interviewers and it's a done deal.

Damn it, so thats what I did wrong last year at interviews...I think that would have turned my 3 waitlists into 3 acceptances. I knew there must have been something!

 

[tamkhan]

Damn it, so thats what I did wrong last year at interviews...I think that would have turned my 3 waitlists into 3 acceptances. I knew there must have been something!

perhaps, some hefty scholarships as well.😀

 

[CaliGirl15]

Hmmm, a scholarship now that would awesome! I wish that would work, just flash my tat and get school paid for.