UCLA (IS) vs University of the Pacific

[todentornottodent]

School 1: UCLA (IS)
Pros:

• P/F
• Great didactic education
• Cheaper (~400k)
• Name recognition (I know in reality that's worth nothing but it's still cool)
• Exposure to specialties, great match rates (particularly OMFS and Ortho)
• Part of a big university, lots of resources
• Student housing

Cons:

• Close to home
• sub-par clinical education
• sub-par facilities
• I've heard they're having trouble with faculty turn over
• Admin not the most helpful
• not collaborative from what I've heard

School 2: University of the Pacific

Pros:

• Clinical preparedness
• Dugoni family
• 3 year program
• San Francisco, away from home, new experience
• Gorgeous clinic
• collaborative, fewer gunners
• Innovative, many other schools try to model after Dugoni
• Solid match rate for Ortho.

Cons:

• Graded
• might feel rushed at times
• more expensive (~530k)
• less exposure to specialties
• large class size

Summary: If money wasn't a factor I'd choose UoP. I'm just having difficulty deciding if having that extra year of earnings and having a jump start is worth 130k. I love San Francisco and have spent my whole life in SoCal, so I want something new. Everyone at Dugoni was so welcoming and passionate about their work. I'm leaning towards GP, but I do want exposure to the specialties so I give those a fair shake. I know UoP costs more but which school do you guys think offers better value? I also want to own my own practice regardless of whether or not I specialize.

Also, please don't just comment "cheapest." I understand that cost is a highly important factor and that will be my primary consideration. In your opinion, which school is more cost efficient and sets me up better 5 or 10 years down the line? Please share your reasoning.

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[macsak]

School 1: UCLA (IS)
Pros:

• P/F
• Great didactic education
• Cheaper (~400k)
• Name recognition (I know in reality that's worth nothing but it's still cool)
• Exposure to specialties, great match rates (particularly OMFS and Ortho)
• Part of a big university, lots of resources
• Student housing

Cons:

• Close to home
• sub-par clinical education
• sub-par facilities
• I've heard they're having trouble with faculty turn over
• Admin not the most helpful
• not collaborative from what I've heard

School 2: University of the Pacific

Pros:

• Clinical preparedness
• Dugoni family
• 3 year program
• San Francisco, away from home, new experience
• Gorgeous clinic
• collaborative, fewer gunners
• Innovative, many other schools try to model after Dugoni
• Solid match rate for Ortho.

Cons:

• Graded
• might feel rushed at times
• more expensive (~530k)
• less exposure to specialties
• large class size

Summary: If money wasn't a factor I'd choose UoP. I'm just having difficulty deciding if having that extra year of earnings and having a jump start is worth 130k. I love San Francisco and have spent my whole life in SoCal, so I want something new. Everyone at Dugoni was so welcoming and passionate about their work. I'm leaning towards GP, but I do want exposure to the specialties so I give those a fair shake. I know UoP costs more but which school do you guys think offers better value? I also want to own my own practice regardless of whether or not I specialize.

Also, please don't just comment "cheapest." I understand that cost is a highly important factor and that will be my primary consideration. In your opinion, which school is more cost efficient and sets me up better 5 or 10 years down the line? Please share your reasoning.

cheapest
it more cost efficient and sets you up better 5 or 10 (or more) years down the line...

 

[todentornottodent]

cheapest
it more cost efficient and sets you up better 5 or 10 (or more) years down the line...

Literally asked for no "cheapest" comments. Can't directly compare a 3 yr and 4 yr program bc it's difficult to quantify that year of my life. Does getting out in 3 yrs set me up better, even tho it costs more? Or is it better to do 4 for less? And why?

 

[Ryxndek]

It might be more helpful to use an online calculator to see how much interest your loans will accrue while in school and see how much that 130k difference actually turns to, it might be closer to 150-180k+ and that’s a much larger difference even if you get one more year practicing. From my view, I don’t think I’d choose a 3 year program. I just can’t imagine how stressful it would be to cram a typically 4 year degree into 3 years.

I also wouldn’t want a large class size.

 

[macsak]

Literally asked for no "cheapest" comments. Can't directly compare a 3 yr and 4 yr program bc it's difficult to quantify that year of my life. Does getting out in 3 yrs set me up better, even tho it costs more? Or is it better to do 4 for less? And why?

i answered your question
and gave a reason...

 

[todentornottodent]

i answered your question
and gave a reason...

Usually explanations have a little bit more depth.

 

[LFA20]

School 1: UCLA (IS)
Pros:

• P/F
• Great didactic education
• Cheaper (~400k)
• Name recognition (I know in reality that's worth nothing but it's still cool)
• Exposure to specialties, great match rates (particularly OMFS and Ortho)
• Part of a big university, lots of resources
• Student housing

Cons:

• Close to home
• sub-par clinical education
• sub-par facilities
• I've heard they're having trouble with faculty turn over
• Admin not the most helpful
• not collaborative from what I've heard

School 2: University of the Pacific

Pros:

• Clinical preparedness
• Dugoni family
• 3 year program
• San Francisco, away from home, new experience
• Gorgeous clinic
• collaborative, fewer gunners
• Innovative, many other schools try to model after Dugoni
• Solid match rate for Ortho.

Cons:

• Graded
• might feel rushed at times
• more expensive (~530k)
• less exposure to specialties
• large class size

Summary: If money wasn't a factor I'd choose UoP. I'm just having difficulty deciding if having that extra year of earnings and having a jump start is worth 130k. I love San Francisco and have spent my whole life in SoCal, so I want something new. Everyone at Dugoni was so welcoming and passionate about their work. I'm leaning towards GP, but I do want exposure to the specialties so I give those a fair shake. I know UoP costs more but which school do you guys think offers better value? I also want to own my own practice regardless of whether or not I specialize.

Also, please don't just comment "cheapest." I understand that cost is a highly important factor and that will be my primary consideration. In your opinion, which school is more cost efficient and sets me up better 5 or 10 years down the line? Please share your reasoning.

You won’t be clinically comfortable until after practicing for a few years. Id pick ucla because:
1. Less expensive
2. Stronger reputation
3. P/F
4. Weather

 

[Ivy.ch]

Pre-dents these days

This is such an easy decision. Listen to what all the actual dentists are trying to tell you. Most of the pros and cons you listed are useless fluff. Go to UCLA.

 

[Kenshen]

$130K is a lot of money, but really look into what your loan repayment will be. If you plan on going through loan-forgiveness, then the cost difference isn't as bad, but have a real plan. No matter what it's better if you can pay off your loans without forgiveness, but if that is your plan regardless, the price starts to not matter as heavily. But it still should always be a concern. I chose UOP because it fit me better personally. Only 3 years as an older student is nice, I was lucky to receive a scholarship that helps a lot, plus the atmosphere there as you stated. You can specialize anywhere if you work hard enough, but I am leaning towards GP personally but who knows.

 

[LFA20]

Pre-dents these days

This is such an easy decision. Listen to what all the actual dentists are trying to tell you. Most of the pros and cons you listed are useless fluff. Go to UCLA.

I LOLed when he said “Dugoni family”

 

[todentornottodent]

I LOLed when he said “Dugoni family”

Priorities do vary person to person in selecting a school. For personal reasons, getting out sooner makes a lot of sense for me. And I was thinking it might be worth it to enjoy my dental school experience. I know full well 130k is a lot of money.

I was a fool to expect anything other than the blanket “cheapest nothing else matters.” Like I said I’m considering cost and I will probably choose UCLA. Thanks for your input. Just tryna give it thorough thought.

Anyways, my bad for being such a silly pre-dent. brb gonna go start commenting “cheapest” on every X vs Y school post.

 

[Ivy.ch]

“I enjoyed dental school” it’s something I’ve literally never heard a single dentist say. It’s something we go to therapy for.

What we’re trying to say is that dental school will suck, so you might as well do it on the cheap.

And I will continue to complain about the cost of dental schools until I receive a Rolex in the mail. (I haven’t heard from Hoss in a while)

But seriously, I’m watching some local dentists and former classmates struggle financially because of their debt. Financial Independence isn’t something they’ll hit until retirement. Bro, we became dentists, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. And for the “forgiveness” crowd that thinks the debt will poof away after X years - the US debt just hit 31.5 Trillion, the fed doesn’t give a damn about low interest rates anymore, and republicans are pretending to care about the debt again - cancelling grad debt doesn’t look sustainable. And even so, salaries are down. Even without considering debt, some dentists are struggling to save much.

 

[todentornottodent]

“I enjoyed dental school” it’s something I’ve literally never heard a single dentist say. It’s something we go to therapy for.

What we’re trying to say is that dental school will suck, so you might as well do it on the cheap.

And I will continue to complain about the cost of dental schools until I receive a Rolex in the mail. (I haven’t heard from Hoss in a while)

But seriously, I’m watching some local dentists and former classmates struggle financially because of their debt. Financial Independence isn’t something they’ll hit until retirement. Bro, we became dentists, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. And for the “forgiveness” crowd that thinks the debt will poof away after X years - the US debt just hit 31.5 Trillion, the fed doesn’t give a damn about low interest rates anymore, and republicans are pretending to care about the debt again - cancelling grad debt doesn’t look sustainable. And even so, salaries are down. Even without considering debt, some dentists are struggling to save much.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. The dentists I know who went to UoP said they enjoyed their time, but then again that was several years after they graduated and maybe you gotta convince yourself you enjoyed it if you're shelling out that much cash. But that's why I'm factoring in "enjoyment." It's rare, but I know it can be a factor at some places.

I take it you think there's no point in getting out a year earlier? Or at least that getting out a year earlier, for that price, isn't worth it?