Tufts Vs. Western

[lala90]

Ahhh I'm so torn I need help deciding!

Tufts vs. Western!!

My case between the two...

Western: its only about 30 mins from my home/family so its always good to be by your support system/family. The standard of living is cheaper than boston so I would save some money, and I'm already familiar with the area, and they have Interprofessional education which seems interesting

Tufts: Better known, established, boston seems like a cool place to live except its far as hell from me , a good externship program, higher cost of living though and I would probably only be able to see my family 3 or 4 times a year

I'm not too concerned about reputation, because my sister is a dentist and I will have a job coming out of graduation (working with my sister)

I've done a lot of research between the two but I just want to see your guys input!

Thank you all

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[Bis-GMA111]

given your situation i would say western.

 

[aznboi89x]

Ahhh I'm so torn I need help deciding!

Tufts vs. Western!!

My case between the two...

Western: its only about 30 mins from my home/family so its always good to be by your support system/family. The standard of living is cheaper than boston so I would save some money, and I'm already familiar with the area, and they have Interprofessional education which seems interesting

Tufts: Better known, established, boston seems like a cool place to live except its far as hell from me , a good externship program, higher cost of living though and I would probably only be able to see my family 3 or 4 times a year

I'm not too concerned about reputation, because my sister is a dentist and I will have a job coming out of graduation (working with my sister)

I've done a lot of research between the two but I just want to see your guys input!

Thank you all

you have your answer yet western is a clinical oriented school

 

[lala90]

you have your answer yet western is a clinical oriented school

Isn't tufts a clinical oriented school too?

 

[aznboi89x]

Isn't tufts a clinical oriented school too?

yes it is but so is WesternU

but you stated that you dont care about reputation and Western is closer to family. You're gonna save lots of money by living at home near Western.

 

[lala90]

yes it is but so is WesternU

but you stated that you dont care about reputation and Western is closer to family. You're gonna save lots of money by living at home near Western.

^ooh gotcha! Thank you for the advice

I dont think I could live at home and do well in school though lol

 

[aznboi89x]

^ooh gotcha! Thank you for the advice

I dont think I could live at home and do well in school though lol

how so? too much noise? Either way you are already familiar with soCAL so its better for you!

 

[lala90]

how so? too much noise? Either way you are already familiar with soCAL so its better for you!

^haha yah definitely too much noise! like 7 people live in my house including my sisters 3 little kids! not the best studying environment lol and that's what i was thinking too

 

[ddsmission]

^ooh gotcha! Thank you for the advice

I dont think I could live at home and do well in school though lol

living cost in pomona is ALOT lower than living cost in boston area. on top of that, pomona is a quiet area compared to the hustle bustle of boston

 

[tianyuan430]

AHH!!! I'm in this exact same boat, except I live about 90 minutes away from Western! And I don't have a guaranteed job out of school so perhaps reputation might mean more...

The two schools couldn't be more opposite of one another, but it's 50/50 for me right now. They're both private schools with new facilities so the prices are really comparable (93k vs 97k for first year). And both set you up for clinic right out of school. I haven't made a decision yet either but here's MY pros/cons list...

Western:
Pros: Good weather, close to home, suburb-ish, can shape the school yourself, smaller class, maybe easier to start a clinic in CA afterwards?, LA close by
Cons: No specialties, campus looks run down even though it's new, new school may need some tweaks, not as many research opportunities, not as many dental clubs, business casual every day

Tufts: City life, good food (Chinatown!!), well established/more prestigious, specialties, good research programs and clubs
Cons: COLD (oh my it was so cold when I visited), slightly more expensive (but I'll be taking out student loans either way), big class size, FAR AWAY (haha), public transportation (this isn't inherently a bad thing but it stresses me out )

At Tufts you take care of scheduling your own patients while at Western they do it for you (not sure yet if this is a pro or con).

Have you studied outside of California before? I went to undergrad in the south and while I loved being away from home I'm split between craving socal and exploring city life as a young person...

Keep me posted! Maybe we'll end up going to the same one.

 

[ddsmission]

AHH!!! I'm in this exact same boat, except I live about 90 minutes away from Western! And I don't have a guaranteed job out of school so perhaps reputation might mean more...

The two schools couldn't be more opposite of one another, but it's 50/50 for me right now. They're both private schools with new facilities so the prices are really comparable (93k vs 97k for first year). And both set you up for clinic right out of school. I haven't made a decision yet either but here's MY pros/cons list...

Western:
Pros: Good weather, close to home, suburb-ish, can shape the school yourself, smaller class, maybe easier to start a clinic in CA afterwards?, LA close by
Cons: No specialties, campus looks run down even though it's new, new school may need some tweaks, not as many research opportunities, not as many dental clubs, business casual every day

Tufts: City life, good food (Chinatown!!), well established/more prestigious, specialties, good research programs and clubs
Cons: COLD (oh my it was so cold when I visited), slightly more expensive (but I'll be taking out student loans either way), big class size, FAR AWAY (haha), public transportation (this isn't inherently a bad thing but it stresses me out )

At Tufts you take care of scheduling your own patients while at Western they do it for you (not sure yet if this is a pro or con).

Have you studied outside of California before? I went to undergrad in the south and while I loved being away from home I'm split between craving socal and exploring city life as a young person...

Keep me posted! Maybe we'll end up going to the same one.

i'm not an advocate of western, but here's how i see it.
IMO not sure if not having a specialty @ western is a con... not having specialty = dental students having more exposure more complex cases because having specialty = residents taking all the complex cases.
so in tufts case, as a entering dental student, it actually puts you at a disadvantage by having specialties.
surprisingly enough, even though western is a new school, they have many dental clubs on campus and mixed disciplinary clubs.

 

[Dent4GA]

Western hands down. Moving itself is stressful and expensive, and when you want to visit home you won't be paying for a very expensive plane ticket.

Western already has our D4's getting plenty of specialty matches, and our board pass rate is close to 98%. I'm pretty sure Tuft's is a good bit lower, but they do have a MUCH larger class.

Business casual is annoying, but nothing that you can't deal with. It's not a deal breaker in my opinion.

Western has some of the best faculty available!

School feel is a little different than a larger campus, but you are mainly going to be in Sim lab, and studying on campus. I had the same feeling about the campus when I first interviewed and got accepted. The aesthetics could be more appealing, but it really isn't that big of a deal.

Faculty, modular based classes, and small class size were my major deal breakers.

 

[lala90]

AHH!!! I'm in this exact same boat, except I live about 90 minutes away from Western! And I don't have a guaranteed job out of school so perhaps reputation might mean more...

The two schools couldn't be more opposite of one another, but it's 50/50 for me right now. They're both private schools with new facilities so the prices are really comparable (93k vs 97k for first year). And both set you up for clinic right out of school. I haven't made a decision yet either but here's MY pros/cons list...

Western:
Pros: Good weather, close to home, suburb-ish, can shape the school yourself, smaller class, maybe easier to start a clinic in CA afterwards?, LA close by
Cons: No specialties, campus looks run down even though it's new, new school may need some tweaks, not as many research opportunities, not as many dental clubs, business casual every day

Tufts: City life, good food (Chinatown!!), well established/more prestigious, specialties, good research programs and clubs
Cons: COLD (oh my it was so cold when I visited), slightly more expensive (but I'll be taking out student loans either way), big class size, FAR AWAY (haha), public transportation (this isn't inherently a bad thing but it stresses me out )

At Tufts you take care of scheduling your own patients while at Western they do it for you (not sure yet if this is a pro or con).

Have you studied outside of California before? I went to undergrad in the south and while I loved being away from home I'm split between craving socal and exploring city life as a young person...

Keep me posted! Maybe we'll end up going to the same one.

YAY someone is in the same boat as me! I agree with all those pros/cons! I went to school in california but I didn't live at home, so I'm def split between moving away and exploring city life and between wanting to spend more time with my family

Right now I'm leaning more towards Western, just because it's easier, closer to family, and a little bit cheaper, but who knows...that could change tomorrow, ive always wanted to live on the east coast! I'm still very torn!

which one are you leaning towards??

 

[ShneekyBiznaz]

You'll have the best four years of your life in Boston instead of Pomona

 

[Bis-GMA111]

agreed, but the poster could enjoy that life in boston after he or she becomes a dentist. just saying, if you can save money....save it and don't look back. you'll thank yourself later on when you're paying back your debt.

 

[ddsmission]

agreed, but the poster could enjoy that life in boston after he or she becomes a dentist. just saying, if you can save money....save it and don't look back. you'll thank yourself later on when you're paying back your debt.

this guy knows.

 

[lala90]

You'll have the best four years of your life in Boston instead of Pomona

Is Boston really that great? I only visited when I went to interview so I didn't really get to experience it but the buildings are pretty! Lol

 

[Heartvalve]

Western. They have great stats for boards, clinical experience, and specialties. Location alone makes it a better choice for you. For Tufts, living in Boston is very expensive- expect to be paying around a grand for an extremely small room, with laundry off site, and very cold/wet weather. Chinatown in Boston is not a nice place to live when money is an issue... not to mention relocation, etc...

 

[lala90]

Western. They have great stats for boards, clinical experience, and specialties. Location alone makes it a better choice for you. For Tufts, living in Boston is very expensive- expect to be paying around a grand for an extremely small room, with laundry off site, and very cold/wet weather. Chinatown in Boston is not a nice place to live when money is an issue... not to mention relocation, etc...

Thank you for the advice