U Buffalo (IS) vs. OSU (IS)

[Giblonius]

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Preamble: I've listed both schools as in-state because for UB, I've lived in NY state for 10 years, and for OSU, I qualify for the "Forever Buckeye" policy because I grew up and graduated from HS in Ohio.

School 1: University at Buffalo (IS)
Pros:

• Lowest projected cost, but not a massive difference ($336,873).
• According to an associate whom I've shadowed frequently, he said that his experience attending UB was less stressful than what he's heard other schools can be like.
• I like the look of their predental lab space a lot.
• I like the city of Buffalo and the outlying natural areas. I'm a big birdwatcher and general outdoor enthusiast, I find it to be very therapeutic.
• It's closer to Ithaca, NY where I've spent the last 10 years and have a decent and supportive friend group, all of whom are working professionals and adults even older than me (35 yrs).

Cons:

• I've heard multiple dentists and online quips say that the clinical exposure is mediocre at UB. During my visit, I did get the impression that students are sitting on their thumbs a lot of the time, have to share patients, don't get as broad of procedure exposure and reps as would be best. The general impression is that graduates aren't quite ready to practice right out and need a GPR/AEGD at minimum.
• A bit further from my mother and aunts+uncles (~3.5 hr drive), but still doable for the occasional weekend. I'm 35 years old and a career changer, so the closeness to family is as much about me being present vs. getting support from them.
• The recent construction updates have all been focused on the areas for the specialty programs rather than the predoctoral clinic.
• Notoriously bad weather, re: snow. I've lived in the north all my life, but I still hate dealing with blizzards.

School 2: The Ohio State University (IS)
Pros:

• Clinical experience seems much more robust. A bigger city with a bit more poverty than Buffalo probably translates to more patients. Things like the OHIO Project that send you to another county for a few weeks minimum to work at "real" dental offices look great; students and a recent graduate I talked to really felt it gave them valuable experience. There still seems to be a little patient-hunting, but not to an onerous extent. In general, people seem to come out of OSU with more competency and ready to start practicing.
• I didn't get to see the clinic area while it was active, but it's pretty nice. The "rooms" have higher walls than almost any other school I've seen (not sure if that privacy is good or bad!).
• Significantly closer to my mother, extended family, and hometown friends, not to mention my undergrad is less than 45 minutes away (haven't been in years, but reconnecting with former professors would be nice). In general, I think I have a stronger potential network in Ohio.
• Better weather.
• I have a PhD in biochem and a significant research background. If I decide I want to do some of that, OSU has a much better program.

Cons:

• Somewhat more expensive than UB ($381,536 + ~$4,500 more for D1 according to an email from them = $386,036).
• Pre-dental lab is a little more ho-hum. I'm not sure what kind of technology access there is vs. UB.
• Parking seems like a bigger P.I.A., at least based on my experiences visiting the OSU campus vs. UB.
• The city has a lot of "gated communities," I don't like what it shows about the general attitude of residents (not that I'll be living in them, granted). Nature-wise, I think there are some good places to go, but maybe not as good as the Buffalo area (far from Great Lakes).

Summary: I think I'm leaning OSU. My mentors agree that OSU will prepare me better than UB for working right out of the gate. That's important to me as someone who will be 40 by the time I graduate, eager to get experience and money to open a practice. I doubt I will want to specialize, especially for the time reasons. Pediatrics would be the most likely specialty for me, if any. However, the cost difference in favor of UB is small but significant, ESPECIALLY with the BBB nonsense. I generally like both cities, so that's not an issue; cost of living seems very comparable.
I'd love to hear thoughts!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Congratulations.

Networking will be important, though not the most critical. Being in Columbus means you can attend Ohio Dental Association meetings in town (unless they move it for whatever reason), while the New York Dental Society holds its large convention near NYC. Not that this is a big deal, but if you ultimately want to practice in NY, you may want to be closer.

Columbus is arguably more "hip" than Buffalo, though I don't think that necessarily matters at your point in life. However, the O-H-I-O culture is about as crazy as Bills Mafia times ten. OSU as a University feels (and probably is) much larger than UB; hence the parking issues. That said, you might be surprised with what is available around Columbus (golf thanks to Jack Nicklaus being from there). Cleveland/Lake Erie isn't that far, and Indianapolis/Cincinnati isn't far either. It's not Toronto.

OSU just did a massive reno with their clinic spaces, coincident with the pandemic so a lot of additional design elements were put in place for isolating aerosols and HEPA filtering (and the higher walls). You can bet the technology will be cutting edge for a dental school to keep up with the other schools that renovated (Penn, Case, Pacific, newer schools).

Columbus is too far for lake effect snow, but they get their fair share of bad snowstorms and heat. I don't know if there is more poverty in the disadvantaged parts of Columbus compared to the disadvantaged parts of Buffalo.

What I don't know is your health coverage. Ohio has become much more like a wishful Southern Republican state government, so the politics can be jarring. There are also fewer dentist graduates to compete against with only 3 schools (Case, NEOMED) vs. the many NY dental schools. I'm not sure how that translates to competitiveness for residencies you seek. I think the populations you will serve will be very similar; I think UB students have opportunities to work with the Seneca reservation (mobile clinics?); you already mentioned the Ohio Project.

UB SDM hasn't put up anything new on the video/YouTube front while OSU COD has a lot you can watch about their new clinic spaces. OSU is very good with marketing overall, and that may contribute to how they can effectively drive patients to the clinic. If you think you are learning to peds, ask each program about their clinic spaces for special needs and disabilities, and/or whether you will have opportunities to observe/work with pediatrics patients who are special needs.

 

[Giblonius]

Congratulations.

Networking will be important, though not the most critical. Being in Columbus means you can attend Ohio Dental Association meetings in town (unless they move it for whatever reason), while the New York Dental Society holds its large convention near NYC. Not that this is a big deal, but if you ultimately want to practice in NY, you may want to be closer.

Columbus is arguably more "hip" than Buffalo, though I don't think that necessarily matters at your point in life. However, the O-H-I-O culture is about as crazy as Bills Mafia times ten. OSU as a University feels (and probably is) much larger than UB; hence the parking issues. That said, you might be surprised with what is available around Columbus (golf thanks to Jack Nicklaus being from there). Cleveland/Lake Erie isn't that far, and Indianapolis/Cincinnati isn't far either. It's not Toronto.

OSU just did a massive reno with their clinic spaces, coincident with the pandemic so a lot of additional design elements were put in place for isolating aerosols and HEPA filtering (and the higher walls). You can bet the technology will be cutting edge for a dental school to keep up with the other schools that renovated (Penn, Case, Pacific, newer schools).

Columbus is too far for lake effect snow, but they get their fair share of bad snowstorms and heat. I don't know if there is more poverty in the disadvantaged parts of Columbus compared to the disadvantaged parts of Buffalo.

What I don't know is your health coverage. Ohio has become much more like a wishful Southern Republican state government, so the politics can be jarring. There are also fewer dentist graduates to compete against with only 3 schools (Case, NEOMED) vs. the many NY dental schools. I'm not sure how that translates to competitiveness for residencies you seek. I think the populations you will serve will be very similar; I think UB students have opportunities to work with the Seneca reservation (mobile clinics?); you already mentioned the Ohio Project.

UB SDM hasn't put up anything new on the video/YouTube front while OSU COD has a lot you can watch about their new clinic spaces. OSU is very good with marketing overall, and that may contribute to how they can effectively drive patients to the clinic. If you think you are learning to peds, ask each program about their clinic spaces for special needs and disabilities, and/or whether you will have opportunities to observe/work with pediatrics patients who are special needs.

Thank for all the information, that’s fantastic!
I know that OSU has a mandatory rotation of some kind with special needs patients at a designated clinic space, but UB only seems to have plans for that kind of thing, it’s not even constructed yet.

 

[macsak]

Thank for all the information, that’s fantastic!
I know that OSU has a mandatory rotation of some kind with special needs patients at a designated clinic space, but UB only seems to have plans for that kind of thing, it’s not even constructed yet.

you should consider where you wish to live/practice in the future
and being there for family as they age...