Tufts, Maryland, or Penn??

[Seamonkey Doc]

Dude, Are you really going to base your decision off a poll? About half of the voters probably didn't get into a school. And the other half of the voters are just going to vote for the school they interviewed at. Which leaves you no where. You're capable of getting good grades and acing interviews...it can't be that hard to make a decision.. So tired of these threads!

Me too lol.

Base your decision on impressed you were with what you saw and your interactions with people while you were there for interviews. All three are good schools in nice cities.

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[21312632]

Hi Everyone... I'm having the same debate but my schools are Temple and Maryland. Of course Maryland is such a nicer facility and probably a little safer but Temple's extremely large patient pool (second to NYU) provides a clinical experience that may be hard to pass up. Temple is in-state for me but cost is not really a variable that I am worrying about. Any suggestions between the two schools? Thanks for any input.

 

[omnipoDent]

Hi Everyone... I'm having the same debate but my schools are Temple and Maryland. Of course Maryland is such a nicer facility and probably a little safer but Temple's extremely large patient pool (second to NYU) provides a clinical experience that may be hard to pass up. Temple is in-state for me but cost is not really a variable that I am worrying about. Any suggestions between the two schools? Thanks for any input.

Congratulations on the acceptances. They are both strong programs, so you have some good choices.

A few things to consider:

Are you looking to specialize? If so, have you looked into the placement numbers from each program into their own specialty programs, as well as other programs, as some schools may give more preference for their students than others?

Was there a patient issue at Maryland? I would think Baltimore would have more than enough patients, but was there something that made you question whether or not you would get to see an equally wide ranging amount of patients as at Temple?

Did you get a chance to speak with any faculty and students while you were at each school? What did you think of the facilities and each curriculum? What was your gut telling you about how you would learn there as a student? Did you feel like one program would obviously prepare you better than the other? I know Temple students pride themselves on their strong clinical training they receive. Maryland also is known for having some of the best facilities and faculty in the country.

Personally, of those two, based on the parameters you want us to consider, I'd go Maryland over Temple. That's just me, though. You can't go wrong with either. Best of luck.

 

[ViviPreDent]

I'm in state in MD as well. I just really don't like baltimore never have and i wouldn't see myself happy there for 4 years of my life. i just wish the dental/medical center were near the undergraduate campus, which is on the D.C. metro system. DC is awesome!

 

[supermax]

Hi Everyone... I'm having the same debate but my schools are Temple and Maryland. Of course Maryland is such a nicer facility and probably a little safer but Temple's extremely large patient pool (second to NYU) provides a clinical experience that may be hard to pass up. Temple is in-state for me but cost is not really a variable that I am worrying about. Any suggestions between the two schools? Thanks for any input.

Attend Temple, MD is not the best bet.

 

[supermax]

I’m in a similar boat. I’ve been accepted to both Tufts and Maryland. I need to put my deposit down by March 2nd on both schools, but every day I’m changing my mind on which one is most appropriate for my circumstance.

Tufts – I thought the facilities were great, everyone was incredibly friendly, and the school was very forward thinking. Even though placing into program isn’t as difficult as Maryland, I think that the quality of education and overall program is about as competitive as it gets. The relative lack of a highly competitive applicant pool is likely to due to cost and not quality; Tufts is pricing themselves out of that applicant pool. $400K+ is such a difficult pill to swallow. I absolutely love the New England area. There’s such a high density of young bright people that the city has no choice but to be geared towards the interest of this crowd. Boston is also a safe place (homicide rates I believe are around 1/20,000). The biggest downfall I see is that Boston and Tufts are expensive.

Maryland - Also great facilities, friendly, and forward thinking. Very solid program and I love the fact that you can mildly tailor your education to your interest. I have the feeling that the ability to choose your own electives (thus tailoring your education) can help you specialize. I’m without a doubt going for OMFS, so this is helpful. It seems that you can get in state tuition if you plan ahead. Thus, cost may be considerably decreased (cost of attendance should be approx 261K if residency is received after 1st year, 292K if after 2nd year, and 359K if for some reason you can’t get residency). To me, Baltimore is not an attractive city. The rate of violent crime is beat only by Detroit. I think the homicide rate is around 1 in 2700. I took a wrong turn after my interview and ended up in some very unsavory areas. Google “Baltimore homicide map”. It’s a bit unnerving.

Obviously cost is of paramount importance. If I get MD residency, I can save between 110-140K. This makes MD the better choice. But here’s the rub; this is an “IF”. There’s no guarantee. Considering changes in state funding, I could imagine the state intentionally making the process to receive residency for tuition purposes even more difficult than it already is. I would gladly pay an additional 40K (60K post interest) to go to Tufts, but 110-140K (165-210K post interest) is pushing it. I expect my future income to easily handle a 400K+ loan, but that doesn’t mean I want to be weighed down by it. I'm an older student and probably wont be done with my residency until I'm 38-40, and that seems like a crappy age to be weighed down by loans. Anyhow, I’m not going to make my final decision until I consult with more people and do a little more analyzing and soul searching. Hopefully I get into my state school (Florida) and this all becomes an unnecessary discussion. Either way, I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to go to either of these schools. I don't think I can go wrong with either, but I know there is a better choice between the two.

Attend Tufts.

 

[omnipoDent]

Attend Temple, MD is not the best bet.

Supermax, do you attend Maryland? I'm just curious as to what you believe are the problems with Maryland. I have never been to the campus, so I just wanted to get some feedback for future reference with giving opinions, based then on the direct feedback of a current student, about the school.

 

[dantemac]

Hi Everyone... I'm having the same debate but my schools are Temple and Maryland. Of course Maryland is such a nicer facility and probably a little safer but Temple's extremely large patient pool (second to NYU) provides a clinical experience that may be hard to pass up. Temple is in-state for me but cost is not really a variable that I am worrying about. Any suggestions between the two schools? Thanks for any input.

I'd honestly attend Maryland. Their research, selectives, externships, and Perryville retreat are things you can not get at any other school. Not to mention, Temple's renovations are not as nice as everyone says. A lot of the school is still very old. Maryland is brand new. If cost is not a consideration, Maryland is the better school. The cities are about equal.

 

[wired202808]

I'd honestly attend Maryland. Their research, selectives, externships, and Perryville retreat are things you can not get at any other school. Not to mention, Temple's renovations are not as nice as everyone says. A lot of the school is still very old. Maryland is brand new. If cost is not a consideration, Maryland is the better school. The cities are about equal.

agreed. I see no point in overpaying for Tufts. I didnt check if the OP is a resident in MD but if they are then its def a better deal.

 

[dantemac]

The choice was between Temple and Maryland. They said price was not a huge consideration.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

agreed. I see no point in overpaying for Tufts. I didnt check if the OP is a resident in MD but if they are then its def a better deal.

This thread turned into a thread within a thread *cue Inception music*

Post #52 stated cost was not a huge factor in decision and did not mention Tufts.

 

[CMistry]

Please disregard supermax's pessimism. I'll give you all real insight to Maryland.

The facilities and technology here are great, but most of you have picked that up already. I'd like to tell you about everything else. So our D1 and D2 years are spent mostly in the classroom, with a some time in the pre-clinic labs and clinic floors. 99.9% of our lecturers give us the PowerPoints they use to present, so you don't have to go crazy taking notes. All of the classes are recorded and can be watched anytime over the internet, so people like to sit at home and study all day during the D1/D2 years. Our basic science professors are mostly PhDs who work in the research labs, and all of our dental classes are taught by dentists. The courses are hard, as dental is everywhere. We take boards after first year, and are PLENTY prepared (we have people that score exceptionally high and those who unfortunately don't make it through the first time). The nice thing, of course, is that second year is almost all dental classes since the basic sciences were all covered. This makes your clinic transition at little easier since most things are fresh in your mind.

Clinical years are very different from didactic years. You are given patients to manage entirely on your own - you will work them up and do 95% of the work on them (5% maybe going to postgrad). Clinical years aren't difficult once you learn to work the system, but isn't really until you're almost done with 3rd year. I've spoken with students at schools everywhere and they almost all feel the same. Our requirement levels are on par with the average of schools everywhere. My classmates and myself are very confident in the dental procedures we do due to our preclinical training and awesome professors (sans one or two). Our clinic is a little stressful because we have to manage patients ourselves, but that is also a learning experience for those going into private practice. Most of us dream of schools that just have block rotations through their clinical years, but you can imagine that the lack of continuity of care is a big loss. Also a poster above mentioned the clerkships we have that cater to specialties - they are awesome. Many students pursue these to get additional experience in OMS, ortho, pedo, fixed/remo, and even special patient care. I am going into OMS next year and I think the clerkship has prepared me in ways most people wouldn't believe.

Overall I've been really happy my choice to attend Maryland. I was accepted to several other schools, Maryland was not my state school but I did get in-state status during first year. I think the faculty here are great, and the education I received is what I expected from a program that has been around for decades. This program has been around for 150+ years ... they know what they are doing. I'm not going to say it's the best dental school in the world but I will tell you that I am happy with my choice. As many of you mentioned, Baltimore is not the greatest city but the part students live in (where the school is) is not the dangerous area you hear about. There is plenty to do here, although I can't promise you'll have time for it! I'll be making another thread in this forum for any lingering questions.

p.s. Sorry I didn't spell check it was too long

 

[wired202808]

This thread turned into a thread within a thread *cue Inception music*

Post #52 stated cost was not a huge factor in decision and did not mention Tufts.

 

[omnipoDent]

agreed. I see no point in overpaying for Tufts. I didnt check if the OP is a resident in MD but if they are then its def a better deal.

Have I really upset you so much by disagreeing with your opinions that you want to lash out at Tufts when it's not even being discussed in what you're commenting about?

...But if one had no other choice and really wants to pursue dentistry then one should go to Tufts, obv in the last resort type of world.

I'm not a URM... but then again it doesnt matter. A Meharry grad will be a dentist just like a "super duper smart" Tufts grad.

I saw these posts you made on another discussion in another thread and enjoyed them so much I thought I'd include them. Anyway, Wired202808, to catch you up to what's actually being discussed, 21312632 is trying to decide between Maryland and Temple. Money is not an issue. Everyone has said that he should then attend Maryland.

 

[wired202808]

Have I really upset you so much by disagreeing with your opinions that you want to lash out at Tufts when it's not even being discussed in what you're commenting about?



I saw this post you made on another discussion in another thread and enjoyed it so much I thought I'd include it. Anyway, Wired202808, to catch you up to what's actually being discussed, 21312632 is trying to decide between Maryland and Temple. Money is not an issue. Everyone has said that he should then attend Maryland.

If you ask me... he should go to Tufts.

 

[omnipoDent]

If you ask me... he should go to Tufts.

I realize you're being sarcastic in this comment, but Tufts is a great school. Do you feel even remotely guilty for giving bad advice to someone (that might actually think you're giving unbiased and sound adivce) because I, someone that will be attending Tufts, disagreed with your opinions in past posts?

It just seems a little unnecessary, and I thought someone that prides himself on being mature and having been on SDN for so long wouldn't have resorted to this type of stuff.

 

[wired202808]

I realize you're being sarcastic in this comment, but Tufts is a great school. Do you feel even remotely guilty for giving bad advice to someone (that might actually think you're giving unbiased and sound adivce) because I, someone that will be attending Tufts, disagreed with your opinions in past posts?

It just seems a little unnecessary, and I thought someone that prides himself on being mature and having been on SDN for so long wouldn't have resorted to this type of stuff.

Well I'm attending Tufts this year. That's all really.

 

[omnipoDent]

Well I'm attending Tufts this year. That's all really.

Thanks for that.

It's great that you're attending and still so excited by the application cycle that you wanted another go round this time.

02-14-2012, 03:55 PM
#3545

wired202808
1K Member

Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,949

"LECOM interview offered today for March. I will be turning it down."

Seriously, though, there is no reason for you to lash out simply because someone disagrees with you.

 

[wired202808]

Thanks for that.

It's great that you're attending and still so excited by the application cycle that you wanted another go round this time.

02-14-2012, 03:55 PM
#3545

wired202808
1K Member

Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,949

"LECOM interview offered today for March. I will be turning it down."

Seriously, though, there is no reason for you to lash out simply because someone disagrees with you.

Yup Tufts all the way!

 

[omnipoDent]

Yup Tufts all the way!

Ok, I hoped you would be reasonable, as you had claimed to be older and mature, but oh well. I tried.

 

[wired202808]

Ok, I hoped you would be reasonable, as you had claimed to be older and mature, but oh well. I tried.

Go Tufts!