Tufts vs. Creighton

[Shamrocks26]

Hey everyone, I hope your cycles are going well! I wasn’t sure if I should make this post or not, but I’ve really been struggling with this decision and was hoping to get some outside opinions. Please read the pros and cons of each before anything! And thank you in advance.

School 1: Creighton (Estimated 103k a year tuition)

Pros:

• Small class size (115) with an abundance of patients
• No specialty programs (I don’t plan on specializing in the future, but I guess anything is possible)
• Very community service-based and haven’t heard anything but great things about the staff/admin
• More likely than Tufts to be in-person in the fall for D1's
• Has a “homey” feel, like its just one big family

Cons:

• Far from home (the school is in Omaha, NE and I live about 20 hours away on the East Coast)
• Less well known than Tufts

School 2: Tufts ((Estimated 95k a year tuition with scholarship)
Pros:

• Close to home/Boston might be a more fitting place to live
• More “well-known” on the east coast (which is where I plan to stay after dental school)
• Specialty programs? (If I decide to specialize I guess??? If not, it’ll probably be a con since I’ll likely see less complicated cases)
• More research-focused

Cons:

• Large class size (220) which will likely make it harder to see patients from what I've read
• Likely less clinical experience than I will receive at Creighton

Summary: I honestly have no idea where I am leaning at this point. I like the idea of being close to home at Tufts in case of emergencies/fam visiting and whatnot, but at the same time, it’s not too big of a factor. I like that Creighton seems less “cluttered” due to the class size and I feel it has the potential to make me a better GP, but I’m a bit worried that when I’m trying to look for jobs on the East Coast after graduation I’ll be passed up by someone who attended a more well-known school (such as Tufts). The cost is roughly the same for both schools, so that isn’t much of a deciding factor either. If there is anyone out there that can give me any insight that can help me make this decision, please do. Thanks again!

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[macsak]

Hey everyone, I hope your cycles are going well! I wasn’t sure if I should make this post or not, but I’ve really been struggling with this decision and was hoping to get some outside opinions. Please read the pros and cons of each before anything! And thank you in advance.

School 1: Creighton (Estimated 103k a year tuition)

Pros:

• Small class size (115) with an abundance of patients
• No specialty programs (I don’t plan on specializing in the future, but I guess anything is possible)
• Very community service-based and haven’t heard anything but great things about the staff/admin
• More likely than Tufts to be in-person in the fall for D1's
• Has a “homey” feel, like its just one big family

Cons:

• Far from home (the school is in Omaha, NE and I live about 20 hours away on the East Coast)
• Less well known than Tufts

School 2: Tufts ((Estimated 95k a year tuition with scholarship)
Pros:

• Close to home/Boston might be a more fitting place to live
• More “well-known” on the east coast (which is where I plan to stay after dental school)
• Specialty programs? (If I decide to specialize I guess??? If not, it’ll probably be a con since I’ll likely see less complicated cases)
• More research-focused

Cons:

• Large class size (220) which will likely make it harder to see patients from what I've read
• Likely less clinical experience than I will receive at Creighton

Summary: I honestly have no idea where I am leaning at this point. I like the idea of being close to home at Tufts in case of emergencies/fam visiting and whatnot, but at the same time, it’s not too big of a factor. I like that Creighton seems less “cluttered” due to the class size and I feel it has the potential to make me a better GP, but I’m a bit worried that when I’m trying to look for jobs on the East Coast after graduation I’ll be passed up by someone who attended a more well-known school (such as Tufts). The cost is roughly the same for both schools, so that isn’t much of a deciding factor either. If there is anyone out there that can give me any insight that can help me make this decision, please do. Thanks again!

cheaper + closer to home + nearer to where you wish to practice = no brainer

 

[Shamrocks26]

cheaper + closer to home + nearer to where you wish to practice = no brainer

Yeah, that's my thoughts....but you don't think the class size/clinical aspect should have an impact on the decision?

 

[macsak]

Yeah, that's my thoughts....but you don't think the class size/clinical aspect should have an impact on the decision?

plays a factor, but the others are bigger factors IMO
the amount of difference in clinical experience is dwarfed by the difference in what you learn in school vs while in practice...

 

[Shamrocks26]

plays a factor, but the others are bigger factors IMO
the amount of difference in clinical experience is dwarfed by the difference in what you learn in school vs while in practice...

alright cool, thank you for that insight. I never really thought about it like that I guess

 

[HankDental85]

Keep in mind that Creighton is 7 minutes from an international airport.

 

[Shamrocks26]

Keep in mind that Creighton is 7 minutes from an international airport.

I know, I saw that too. I guess it's more about if anyone has input on the schools themselves and what they think would be best given the details

 

[PerioDont]

Hey everyone, I hope your cycles are going well! I wasn’t sure if I should make this post or not, but I’ve really been struggling with this decision and was hoping to get some outside opinions. Please read the pros and cons of each before anything! And thank you in advance.

School 1: Creighton (Estimated 103k a year tuition)

Pros:

• Small class size (115) with an abundance of patients
• No specialty programs (I don’t plan on specializing in the future, but I guess anything is possible)
• Very community service-based and haven’t heard anything but great things about the staff/admin
• More likely than Tufts to be in-person in the fall for D1's
• Has a “homey” feel, like its just one big family

Cons:

• Far from home (the school is in Omaha, NE and I live about 20 hours away on the East Coast)
• Less well known than Tufts

School 2: Tufts ((Estimated 95k a year tuition with scholarship)
Pros:

• Close to home/Boston might be a more fitting place to live
• More “well-known” on the east coast (which is where I plan to stay after dental school)
• Specialty programs? (If I decide to specialize I guess??? If not, it’ll probably be a con since I’ll likely see less complicated cases)
• More research-focused

Cons:

• Large class size (220) which will likely make it harder to see patients from what I've read
• Likely less clinical experience than I will receive at Creighton

Summary: I honestly have no idea where I am leaning at this point. I like the idea of being close to home at Tufts in case of emergencies/fam visiting and whatnot, but at the same time, it’s not too big of a factor. I like that Creighton seems less “cluttered” due to the class size and I feel it has the potential to make me a better GP, but I’m a bit worried that when I’m trying to look for jobs on the East Coast after graduation I’ll be passed up by someone who attended a more well-known school (such as Tufts). The cost is roughly the same for both schools, so that isn’t much of a deciding factor either. If there is anyone out there that can give me any insight that can help me make this decision, please do. Thanks again!

If I were to go back and time and cost was not a factor, I would probably go to Creighton or MWU-AZ to become the best GP possible.

They really do get much more clinic time and experience as there are no speciality programs there. You get to do a lot more. One of the residents at my perio program told me she was doing molar endo re-treats, impacted horizontal wisdom teeth and a lot more fun stuff that would be impossible at many schools.

idk about anything else, 'homey' feel could just be a sales pitch and could vary greatly from class to class. I don't think employers care that much about where you went to school, its more on your individual skill set. You may have to do a bit more networking during your breaks if you can fly back home to find a job, but I don't think it would be a huge issue.

 

[Shamrocks26]

If I were to go back and time and cost was not a factor, I would probably go to Creighton or MWU-AZ to become the best GP possible.

They really do get much more clinic time and experience as there are no speciality programs there. You get to do a lot more. One of the residents at my perio program told me she was doing molar endo re-treats, impacted horizontal wisdom teeth and a lot more fun stuff that would be impossible at many schools.

idk about anything else, 'homey' feel could just be a sales pitch and could vary greatly from class to class. I don't think employers care that much about where you went to school, its more on your individual skill set. You may have to do a bit more networking during your breaks if you can fly back home to find a job, but I don't think it would be a huge issue.

That was an awesome answer, thanks so much! Where did you end up going if you don’t mind me asking? Also yeah I’m thinking distance from home isn’t as much of an issue as I thought it was. The clinic time and experience is big for me which is what makes the decision so hard (like the first reply so no brainer to go to tufts because it’s closer and a little cheaper), but I feel like there’s more to it

 

[PerioDont]

That was an awesome answer, thanks so much! Where did you end up going if you don’t mind me asking? Also yeah I’m thinking distance from home isn’t as much of an issue as I thought it was. The clinic time and experience is big for me which is what makes the decision so hard (like the first reply so no brainer to go to tufts because it’s closer and a little cheaper), but I feel like there’s more to it

I went to a state school that was relatively affordable.

I was referring more to your comment about Creighton being 'homey' in the class atmosphere. I hope that is true, but it could very well not be, and could vary with each class.

As far as being far away from home, that is a personal decision for you. You can fly out when needed, and it may or may not be as fun as being close to family for you but only you can answer that question.

Overall I agree with mac though, the extra clinical experience may not be worth you being that far away from your family etc. You will do more in 1 month of your practice life than all of dental school combined.

I don't know much about Tufts/boston/east coast personally but my understanding is that Nebraska may be a very different culture as well than you may be used to. Guessing cost of living will be cheaper though

 

[Shamrocks26]

I’ll also echo just how great Creighton is. Truly one of the top clinical schools. If you are set on general, it’s hard to beat

What makes you say that? Do you go there or know people that have gone there?