Ucla

[youg]

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for those attending UCLA or thinking about UCLA .. here is some info on the school.

ranking on scale of 1-10 (10=best)

course load : 5 (extremely heavy course load w/ up to 12 finals in one quarter.)
research opportuntities: 9 (this is very research oriented school, the dean really focuses on research, there are many opportuntities to do it if you can find the time)
Dean's interaction with students: 2 (he is not very approachable, doesn't make it a point to learn students' names, won't even talk to students in the hallway, he is more focused on money and research)
Specializing: 9-10 (this is one of the strong suits of this school. many people get into the specialty of their choice. ie ~25 student applied to oral surg, 18 got in)
facilities: 8 for preclincial (new lab with typodont heads to help you learn positioning, nice wetlab area, )
4 for classrooms (many technical difficulties, things breaking down all the time)
3 for clinics (operatories are extremely small, not enough room for assistant if you can find one, many breakdowns, poor maintenance, only 116 cubicles for 288+ students.. you do the math!)
volunteer opportunities: 5 (it is up to you to take the initiative on this one, the school is not here to for volunteer opps. .. there are many opps to do so though.)
faculty : 5 (you have good profs and you have bad profs.. luck of the draw. altho one of the best profs just left.. usually, the Med profs are better than the dental ones)
How students are treated: 1 (this is where UCLA flunks!. Student morale at this school is very low. students usually get the brunt of the blame for things. faculty will demean students .. if you are thin skinned , look elsewhere. If you want respect from faculty and want to be treated like a colleague, look at UOP, UCSF, Harvard, UConn, not here. students have not graduated on time... something to think about)
Clinical experience: 5 (although there is a shortage of patients, you get patient interaction early on.. like the beginning of your second year. If you are eager enough, some 1st years get to do things as well).
Would i recommend UCLA: 4 (despite it's problems like treating students poorly, UCLA has a very good reputation in the dental field. If you want research opps and want to specialize, this is a good school. if you want to be treated with respect, and want a Dean that is there for the students, look elsewhere. In all, you do get a great education.)

 

[balance]

for those attending UCLA or thinking about UCLA .. here is some info on the school.

ranking on scale of 1-10 (10=best)

course load : 5 (extremely heavy course load w/ up to 12 finals in one quarter.)
research opportuntities: 9 (this is very research oriented school, the dean really focuses on research, there are many opportuntities to do it if you can find the time)
Dean's interaction with students: 2 (he is not very approachable, doesn't make it a point to learn students' names, won't even talk to students in the hallway, he is more focused on money and research)
Specializing: 9-10 (this is one of the strong suits of this school. many people get into the specialty of their choice. ie ~25 student applied to oral surg, 18 got in)
facilities: 8 for preclincial (new lab with typodont heads to help you learn positioning, nice wetlab area, )
4 for classrooms (many technical difficulties, things breaking down all the time)
3 for clinics (operatories are extremely small, not enough room for assistant if you can find one, many breakdowns, poor maintenance, only 116 cubicles for 288+ students.. you do the math!)
volunteer opportunities: 5 (it is up to you to take the initiative on this one, the school is not here to for volunteer opps. .. there are many opps to do so though.)
faculty : 5 (you have good profs and you have bad profs.. luck of the draw. altho one of the best profs just left.. usually, the Med profs are better than the dental ones)
How students are treated: 1 (this is where UCLA flunks!. Student morale at this school is very low. students usually get the brunt of the blame for things. faculty will demean students .. if you are thin skinned , look elsewhere. If you want respect from faculty and want to be treated like a colleague, look at UOP, UCSF, Harvard, UConn, not here. students have not graduated on time... something to think about)
Clinical experience: 5 (although there is a shortage of patients, you get patient interaction early on.. like the beginning of your second year. If you are eager enough, some 1st years get to do things as well).
Would i recommend UCLA: 4 (despite it's problems like treating students poorly, UCLA has a very good reputation in the dental field. If you want research opps and want to specialize, this is a good school. if you want to be treated with respect, and want a Dean that is there for the students, look elsewhere. In all, you do get a great education.)

youg,
Can you please let us know where you got this information? Are you a UCLA dental student?

Thanks

 

[youg]

yes.. i am..

 

[balance]

Specializing: 9-10 (this is one of the strong suits of this school. many people get into the specialty of their choice. ie ~25 student applied to oral surg, 18 got in)

Young,
Do you know why UCLA students get into the specialty of their choice?

1) Is it because they do really well on the boards?
2) Is it due to UCLA's reputation?

 

[Gulch]

yes.. i am..

what year did you just complete? In what ways are the med professors typically better? more animated, knowledgable, approachable?

 

[youg]

UCLA students do extremely well on the boards. last year, 6 students got 98-99%.. class average was 92-93%. And the rep of the school helps b/c many UCLA students do very well at their residencies. .. good track record.


Med profs ... they are a bit more approachable in asking questions, they seem more willing to teach, rather than focus on research. This is just generalization, there are some dental profs that are approachablle, but compared to med ones, they are fewer.

 

[atlanta478]

for those attending UCLA or thinking about UCLA .. here is some info on the school.

ranking on scale of 1-10 (10=best)

course load : 5 (extremely heavy course load w/ up to 12 finals in one quarter.)
research opportuntities: 9 (this is very research oriented school, the dean really focuses on research, there are many opportuntities to do it if you can find the time)
Dean's interaction with students: 2 (he is not very approachable, doesn't make it a point to learn students' names, won't even talk to students in the hallway, he is more focused on money and research)
Specializing: 9-10 (this is one of the strong suits of this school. many people get into the specialty of their choice. ie ~25 student applied to oral surg, 18 got in)
facilities: 8 for preclincial (new lab with typodont heads to help you learn positioning, nice wetlab area, )
4 for classrooms (many technical difficulties, things breaking down all the time)
3 for clinics (operatories are extremely small, not enough room for assistant if you can find one, many breakdowns, poor maintenance, only 116 cubicles for 288+ students.. you do the math!)
volunteer opportunities: 5 (it is up to you to take the initiative on this one, the school is not here to for volunteer opps. .. there are many opps to do so though.)
faculty : 5 (you have good profs and you have bad profs.. luck of the draw. altho one of the best profs just left.. usually, the Med profs are better than the dental ones)
How students are treated: 1 (this is where UCLA flunks!. Student morale at this school is very low. students usually get the brunt of the blame for things. faculty will demean students .. if you are thin skinned , look elsewhere. If you want respect from faculty and want to be treated like a colleague, look at UOP, UCSF, Harvard, UConn, not here. students have not graduated on time... something to think about)
Clinical experience: 5 (although there is a shortage of patients, you get patient interaction early on.. like the beginning of your second year. If you are eager enough, some 1st years get to do things as well).
Would i recommend UCLA: 4 (despite it's problems like treating students poorly, UCLA has a very good reputation in the dental field. If you want research opps and want to specialize, this is a good school. if you want to be treated with respect, and want a Dean that is there for the students, look elsewhere. In all, you do get a great education.)

Thank you for the information Youg. The “course load”, “specializing”, “clinical experience” and “student treatment” are known positives/negatives of the school. When you’ve chosen UCLA, how much did you know about the good/bad stuff above?

 

[ecdoesit]

knowing that i changed 180 degree. I came in know part of these truths, but i thought it would still be a great education. dont count on the sch to bring those board score high. u have to do most of the work. however, i talked with a helpful school official today. he gave me some advice. knowing protesting wont help a bit, as our sch is very stubborn, we shall still do what we could. if it changes, that is great. if it doesnt, we did our part.

so, ready to stand up and help the students to make a voice and help urselves out?

p.s. even though ucla is far from perfect. if i have to choose again, i m still going to choose ucla over other schools. love is blind.

for those attending UCLA or thinking about UCLA .. here is some info on the school.

ranking on scale of 1-10 (10=best)

course load : 5 (extremely heavy course load w/ up to 12 finals in one quarter.)
research opportuntities: 9 (this is very research oriented school, the dean really focuses on research, there are many opportuntities to do it if you can find the time)
Dean's interaction with students: 2 (he is not very approachable, doesn't make it a point to learn students' names, won't even talk to students in the hallway, he is more focused on money and research)
Specializing: 9-10 (this is one of the strong suits of this school. many people get into the specialty of their choice. ie ~25 student applied to oral surg, 18 got in)
facilities: 8 for preclincial (new lab with typodont heads to help you learn positioning, nice wetlab area, )
4 for classrooms (many technical difficulties, things breaking down all the time)
3 for clinics (operatories are extremely small, not enough room for assistant if you can find one, many breakdowns, poor maintenance, only 116 cubicles for 288+ students.. you do the math!)
volunteer opportunities: 5 (it is up to you to take the initiative on this one, the school is not here to for volunteer opps. .. there are many opps to do so though.)
faculty : 5 (you have good profs and you have bad profs.. luck of the draw. altho one of the best profs just left.. usually, the Med profs are better than the dental ones)
How students are treated: 1 (this is where UCLA flunks!. Student morale at this school is very low. students usually get the brunt of the blame for things. faculty will demean students .. if you are thin skinned , look elsewhere. If you want respect from faculty and want to be treated like a colleague, look at UOP, UCSF, Harvard, UConn, not here. students have not graduated on time... something to think about)
Clinical experience: 5 (although there is a shortage of patients, you get patient interaction early on.. like the beginning of your second year. If you are eager enough, some 1st years get to do things as well).
Would i recommend UCLA: 4 (despite it's problems like treating students poorly, UCLA has a very good reputation in the dental field. If you want research opps and want to specialize, this is a good school. if you want to be treated with respect, and want a Dean that is there for the students, look elsewhere. In all, you do get a great education.)

 

[dexadental]

This is great info...UCLA is one of my top choices...and I'm out of state (Florida).

 

[ecdoesit]

Besides the sun, what's the other reason that you want to come here?

This is great info...UCLA is one of my top choices...and I'm out of state (Florida).

 

[JohnUNLV]

I hear UCLA accepts very little out of state students, can one of you tell me whether they are involved with WICHE and how many out of state students are in your class? Also, does anyone know the stats from last years accepted students?

 

[ecdoesit]

not wiche
roughly 10%

I hear UCLA accepts very little out of state students, can one of you tell me whether they are involved with WICHE and how many out of state students are in your class? Also, does anyone know the stats from last years accepted students?

 

[JohnUNLV]

not wiche
roughly 10%

Just 10%? dang... how big is the class?

 

[youg]

I did know the school had problems recruiting students, but I didn't know students were unhappy. Yes, all school have problems.. my advice, talk to current students before you commit. Figure out what is important to you.. whether it be specializing, faculty treatment of students, clinic experience, etc... and ask those questions. I decided to come to UCLA because of its reputation and sunny CA.

In a class of 88, about 5 or so are from out of state.. it is difficult, but if your scores are high enough 22+ of DAT , 3.5+ GPA.. then you have a shot at it. Differentiate yourself from other applicants the best you can so you wil stand out.

As far of Boards, UCLA doesn't really support its students in preparing for the Boards... they only give 2 weeks off before the boards. the quarter before boards (spring quarter), in their infinite wisdom, they gave 10 finals! So it is really a testimate to the students how intelligent they are and how hard they work.

 

[drhobie7]

Youg what year did you just complete?

 

[drhobie7]

for those attending UCLA or thinking about UCLA .. here is some info on the school.

ranking on scale of 1-10 (10=best)

course load : 5 (extremely heavy course load w/ up to 12 finals in one quarter.)
research opportuntities: 9 (this is very research oriented school, the dean really focuses on research, there are many opportuntities to do it if you can find the time)
Dean's interaction with students: 2 (he is not very approachable, doesn't make it a point to learn students' names, won't even talk to students in the hallway, he is more focused on money and research)
Specializing: 9-10 (this is one of the strong suits of this school. many people get into the specialty of their choice. ie ~25 student applied to oral surg, 18 got in)
facilities: 8 for preclincial (new lab with typodont heads to help you learn positioning, nice wetlab area, )
4 for classrooms (many technical difficulties, things breaking down all the time)
3 for clinics (operatories are extremely small, not enough room for assistant if you can find one, many breakdowns, poor maintenance, only 116 cubicles for 288+ students.. you do the math!)
volunteer opportunities: 5 (it is up to you to take the initiative on this one, the school is not here to for volunteer opps. .. there are many opps to do so though.)
faculty : 5 (you have good profs and you have bad profs.. luck of the draw. altho one of the best profs just left.. usually, the Med profs are better than the dental ones)
How students are treated: 1 (this is where UCLA flunks!. Student morale at this school is very low. students usually get the brunt of the blame for things. faculty will demean students .. if you are thin skinned , look elsewhere. If you want respect from faculty and want to be treated like a colleague, look at UOP, UCSF, Harvard, UConn, not here. students have not graduated on time... something to think about)
Clinical experience: 5 (although there is a shortage of patients, you get patient interaction early on.. like the beginning of your second year. If you are eager enough, some 1st years get to do things as well).
Would i recommend UCLA: 4 (despite it's problems like treating students poorly, UCLA has a very good reputation in the dental field. If you want research opps and want to specialize, this is a good school. if you want to be treated with respect, and want a Dean that is there for the students, look elsewhere. In all, you do get a great education.)

First off, I want to thank the poster for being respectful with the comments, rather than bashing the school. That being said, I disagree with much of what was written.

I'm a 3rd year at UCLA and I love it. Even after just finishing a brutal year I think it's a terrific school. Here are my comments:

1) Yes we do have an extremely challenging course load. I'd wager it's one of the toughest in the country. If you want a chill dental education UCLA probably isn't for you. If you know you want to be a GP you may want to consider UOP. Consider this fair warning, UCLA is extremely difficult.

2) Research is abundant. Definitely true.

3) Unfriendly Dean? Being a state school, we don't have much money so the Dean has the unfortunate and challenging task of trying to fundraise. I think he's a nice guy. He always stops and says hello to us when he passes, asks us how we're doing, smiles. Sure he doesn't know our names, but I don't know many people's names outside my class. There are close to 400 students in the school! I think that's asking a little much. His job isn't to socialize with us, it's to improve the school and right now we need cash to do that.

4) UCLA is an outstanding school for specializing. Not only are some of the best specialists here, giving you the opportunity to learn from them, but as long as you work hard you can do whatever specialty you want.

5) Facilities. Like I said, we're a state school. We don't have millions of dollars lying around. The new preclinical lab is great. A huge amount of that was paid for with donations from OUR FACULTY, averaging $5,000 per person. The clinics are fine, they just don't look like Dr. Dorfman's office. If you want to have a school that looks like a private dental office you may have to pay $50,000 a year in tuition. I haven't noticed a problem with things breaking down. We work with complex mechanical equipment and push it to the limit, so things will occasionally break down. They get fixed immediately. Regarding the "math" stated above, it's 200 students and 116 cubicles because 2nd years are not in the clinic doing treatment. Yes I know 116 does not equal 200, but you're not in clinic every day of the week. You have rotations in radiology, oral surgery, perio, ortho, etc. During these days you do not treat patients. The point it that every 3rd and 4th year is not in the clinic simultaneously. There are enough cubes to go around. If there were 200 cubes there would be dozens of cubes empty every day of the week.

6) Volunteer opportunities. Yes, you have to take the initiative. I've never heard of anyone being asked if they want to volunteer. There are COUNTLESS opportunities to volunteer at UCLA with Venice clinic, LADS, UMMA, Health Fairs, and all those other student run clinics. They work really hard and do great things for the people they treat.

7) Faculty. It is true that not every professor is going to be outstanding, but what school will have that? None. I love our professors and am extremely grateful for their time and dedication. I think the comment about the medical professors being better than the dental professors is ridiculous.

8) Student Treatment. With one isolated exception I think the faculty treat students great. It's been my experience that students are treated how they deserve to be. If you whine and cut corners you're not going to earn respect. I have always been treated with the utmost respect by faculty. The same is true for all student-faculty interactions I have witnessed over the past 2 years. In addition, I think it's unrealistic to expect to be treated like a colleague when you don't know much about dentistry. Faculty are not going to ask for your opinion regarding patient treatment. Maybe when 4th year rolls around you can expect this. I want to reiterate (because I think this is important), with the exception of one isolated individual, I have never heard of any faculty demeaning a student. In fact, they handle some students very gingerly, trying not to damage fragile egos.

9) Clinical Experience. There is no shortage of patients. The school get 125 new patients a week as recently reported by our Clinic Director. And if that's not enough you can seek them out on your own. I put an ad up on an obscure website just to see what happened and in 2 days I got 7 replies from people who wanted to become patients. There are some students who finished their requirements by the end of their 3rd year! Most people graduate on time. Some don't, but I find it hard to believe that is the school's fault. I'd chalk it up to poor patient management. Regarding working on Pts as a 1st or 2nd year, you do at least 1 crown, operative procedure, and denture as a 2nd year. If you want to do perio cleanings just ask. There's no rush. You'll be doing plenty of perio. Besides, there's no time to do cleanings during 2nd year, you've got to study.

10) So would I recommend UCLA? Obviously you know the answer is YES! I love this school, have no regrets, and would do it again if I was a pre-dent. I think the strength of UCLA is the people. Sure we may not have millions of dollars to renovate our buildings, but the people that I have met are truly wonderful. As for the faculty, I really do feel blessed they are dedicating their time to us. These people are the best in their specialties. They are know the world over and they choose to teach us rather than further their own careers. I think that's quite selfless. I am and will always be a die hard Bruin Dentist.

 

[drhobie7]

I did know the school had problems recruiting students, but I didn't know students were unhappy. Yes, all school have problems.. my advice, talk to current students before you commit. Figure out what is important to you.. whether it be specializing, faculty treatment of students, clinic experience, etc... and ask those questions. I decided to come to UCLA because of its reputation and sunny CA.

In a class of 88, about 5 or so are from out of state.. it is difficult, but if your scores are high enough 22+ of DAT , 3.5+ GPA.. then you have a shot at it. Differentiate yourself from other applicants the best you can so you wil stand out.

As far of Boards, UCLA doesn't really support its students in preparing for the Boards... they only give 2 weeks off before the boards. the quarter before boards (spring quarter), in their infinite wisdom, they gave 10 finals! So it is really a testimate to the students how intelligent they are and how hard they work.

I just re-read this and was confused. UCLA has problems recruiting students? What? I don't think we're recruiting students. UCLA is one of the best dental schools in the nation. I'm sure most people would be very happy to attend.

As for boards, spring quarter of second year was fairly chill. Everyday school was done at 12pm, except Wednesdays. There's plenty of time to study for boards. I'm taking it July 11th and if I don't feel prepared by then I have nobody to blame but myself. Jeez, you've seen how much time I spend on here in lieu of studying! 😀

 

[penguinteeth]

Well. If you are looking for socialization and friendly dean or If you want to be respected, why didn't you go for USC?

USC has full of patients and has one of the best clinic and labs. I was shocked by the number of patients in the USC lobby.

I volunteered in UCLA dental center and I saw many negatives but I would still choose UCLA because it is really cheap for South bay residents like me.

Cost of education for UCLA is unbeatable.

But for all of UCLA dental students, I have one question.

I heard the rumor that many UCLA graduates are pretty touchy. Is it true?

I am just curious.

 

[ecdoesit]

Schools' reputation tends to stick forever. Like UCLA lack of patients while USC has good clinics. As years go by, changes occured. I would have to say UCLA patient pool is getting better. USC's clinical faculty is leaving the sch due to the dean's pbl focus. By how much degree, that's hard to say. Seriously, I would rather spend that extra 100K buying a porsche or what not and that will definitely keep me happy no matter how hard sch is.

i m not a graduate yet. but i know we are good people inside. it is how stress and ACTH and cortisol will do to u. i getta admit that my temper during test time is far far far from my usual self.

Well. If you are looking for socialization and friendly dean or If you want to be respected, why didn't you go for USC?

USC has full of patients and has one of the best clinic and labs. I was shocked by the number of patients in the USC lobby.

I volunteered in UCLA dental center and I saw many negatives but I would still choose UCLA because it is really cheap for South bay residents like me.

Cost of education for UCLA is unbeatable.

But for all of UCLA dental students, I have one question.

I heard the rumor that many UCLA graduates are pretty touchy. Is it true?

I am just curious.

 

[ecdoesit]

So, I am bashing the school once again. Well, I am not sure how lovable 3rd year is if we have to do additional 10 plus hrs of labs, with clinics, and ~10 classes. but if i know i dont have to do labwork, 3rd yr will be a lot more enjoyable. Think about that and let me know if you still like 3rd year. i found an article that ties with this lab work topic. havent had time to read it yet. so cant reflect on that.

Like most of my schoomates, we like our school, but we definitely wish we could make it more enjoyable. Life doesnt need to be that way. We could work hard while we are happy. It happens at UOP. It could happen here.

Research is abundant, but it is really hard to find time to do so. As you know, I kinda sacrifice my grade to do other things. Check out my post at the other thread. You have to manage ur time knowing u cant do everything. Like economics 101, limited resource(time). how will u utilize those time to achieve what u want and what is useful? i set my goal at barely passing my classes. so that frees up a chunk of time to do other things. i also know there are people who are amazing. doing everything possible really well in addition to get some eprs. Strategy is the key. Do you want people to read ur resume and see all those EPR(top 10% of the UCLA class). that's great, but some of my classmates agree that our curriculum(at least part of it) is bs. i dont want to be the king of bs bcos that's still bs. however, i shall change the perception, and after knowing our class has a purpose, then i will start an EPR. Just like my MS, people think i m crazy to skip lunches to take additional classes. dude, a MS is still a MS at UCLA. i think it will train my other side and let me know some practical knowledge in the research lab. What's ur strategy?

"I've never heard of anyone being asked if they want to volunteer." i did. i was asked many many times because my good friend is also the clinic rep. mobile clinic with usc is always a hot one cos first yr getta do dental stuff.

hum, the clinic is another frontier. i heard it depends on whom u got assigned. obviously, if u have an easy patient(pay the bill, tons of restoration needed, come on time... then that's great). i think it has to do with luck. and being ur faculty's favorite is always a plus.
you do get yelled at when you did something stupid. i havent seen it yet, so i donno. i always feel stupid in fixed, but the faculty only makes us stupid and ******ed, but never yell at us.

First off, I want to thank the poster for being respectful with the comments, rather than bashing the school. That being said, I disagree with much of what was written.

I'm a 3rd year at UCLA and I love it. Even after just finishing a brutal year I think it's a terrific school. Here are my comments:

1) Yes we do have an extremely challenging course load. I'd wager it's one of the toughest in the country. If you want a chill dental education UCLA probably isn't for you. If you know you want to be a GP you may want to consider UOP. Consider this fair warning, UCLA is extremely difficult.

2) Research is abundant. Definitely true.

3) Unfriendly Dean? Being a state school, we don't have much money so the Dean has the unfortunate and challenging task of trying to fundraise. I think he's a nice guy. He always stops and says hello to us when he passes, asks us how we're doing, smiles. Sure he doesn't know our names, but I don't know many people's names outside my class. There are close to 400 students in the school! I think that's asking a little much. His job isn't to socialize with us, it's to improve the school and right now we need cash to do that.

4) UCLA is an outstanding school for specializing. Not only are some of the best specialists here, giving you the opportunity to learn from them, but as long as you work hard you can do whatever specialty you want.

5) Facilities. Like I said, we're a state school. We don't have millions of dollars lying around. The new preclinical lab is great. A huge amount of that was paid for with donations from OUR FACULTY, averaging $5,000 per person. The clinics are fine, they just don't look like Dr. Dorfman's office. If you want to have a school that looks like a private dental office you may have to pay $50,000 a year in tuition. I haven't noticed a problem with things breaking down. We work with complex mechanical equipment and push it to the limit, so things will occasionally break down. They get fixed immediately. Regarding the "math" stated above, it's 200 students and 116 cubicles because 2nd years are not in the clinic doing treatment. Yes I know 116 does not equal 200, but you're not in clinic every day of the week. You have rotations in radiology, oral surgery, perio, ortho, etc. During these days you do not treat patients. The point it that every 3rd and 4th year is not in the clinic simultaneously. There are enough cubes to go around. If there were 200 cubes there would be dozens of cubes empty every day of the week.

6) Volunteer opportunities. Yes, you have to take the initiative. I've never heard of anyone being asked if they want to volunteer. There are COUNTLESS opportunities to volunteer at UCLA with Venice clinic, LADS, UMMA, Health Fairs, and all those other student run clinics. They work really hard and do great things for the people they treat.

7) Faculty. It is true that not every professor is going to be outstanding, but what school will have that? None. I love our professors and am extremely grateful for their time and dedication. I think the comment about the medical professors being better than the dental professors is ridiculous.

8) Student Treatment. With one isolated exception I think the faculty treat students great. It's been my experience that students are treated how they deserve to be. If you whine and cut corners you're not going to earn respect. I have always been treated with the utmost respect by faculty. The same is true for all student-faculty interactions I have witnessed over the past 2 years. In addition, I think it's unrealistic to expect to be treated like a colleague when you don't know much about dentistry. Faculty are not going to ask for your opinion regarding patient treatment. Maybe when 4th year rolls around you can expect this. I want to reiterate (because I think this is important), with the exception of one isolated individual, I have never heard of any faculty demeaning a student. In fact, they handle some students very gingerly, trying not to damage fragile egos.

9) Clinical Experience. There is no shortage of patients. The school get 125 new patients a week as recently reported by our Clinic Director. And if that's not enough you can seek them out on your own. I put an ad up on an obscure website just to see what happened and in 2 days I got 7 replies from people who wanted to become patients. There are some students who finished their requirements by the end of their 3rd year! Most people graduate on time. Some don't, but I find it hard to believe that is the school's fault. I'd chalk it up to poor patient management. Regarding working on Pts as a 1st or 2nd year, you do at least 1 crown, operative procedure, and denture as a 2nd year. If you want to do perio cleanings just ask. There's no rush. You'll be doing plenty of perio. Besides, there's no time to do cleanings during 2nd year, you've got to study.

10) So would I recommend UCLA? Obviously you know the answer is YES! I love this school, have no regrets, and would do it again if I was a pre-dent. I think the strength of UCLA is the people. Sure we may not have millions of dollars to renovate our buildings, but the people that I have met are truly wonderful. As for the faculty, I really do feel blessed they are dedicating their time to us. These people are the best in their specialties. They are know the world over and they choose to teach us rather than further their own careers. I think that's quite selfless. I am and will always be a die hard Bruin Dentist.

 

[drhobie7]

So, I am bashing the school once again. Well, I am not sure how lovable 3rd year is if we have to do additional 10 plus hrs of labs, with clinics, and ~10 classes. but if i know i dont have to do labwork, 3rd yr will be a lot more enjoyable. Think about that and let me know if you still like 3rd year. i found an article that ties with this lab work topic. havent had time to read it yet. so cant reflect on that.

Like most of my schoomates, we like our school, but we definitely wish we could make it more enjoyable. Life doesnt need to be that way. We could work hard while we are happy. It happens at UOP. It could happen here.

Research is abundant, but it is really hard to find time to do so. As you know, I kinda sacrifice my grade to do other things. Check out my post at the other thread. You have to manage ur time knowing u cant do everything. Like economics 101, limited resource(time). how will u utilize those time to achieve what u want and what is useful? i set my goal at barely passing my classes. so that frees up a chunk of time to do other things. i also know there are people who are amazing. doing everything possible really well in addition to get some eprs. Strategy is the key. Do you want people to read ur resume and see all those EPR(top 10% of the UCLA class). that's great, but some of my classmates agree that our curriculum(at least part of it) is bs. i dont want to be the king of bs bcos that's still bs. however, i shall change the perception, and after knowing our class has a purpose, then i will start an EPR. Just like my MS, people think i m crazy to skip lunches to take additional classes. dude, a MS is still a MS at UCLA. i think it will train my other side and let me know some practical knowledge in the research lab. What's ur strategy?

"I've never heard of anyone being asked if they want to volunteer." i did. i was asked many many times because my good friend is also the clinic rep. mobile clinic with usc is always a hot one cos first yr getta do dental stuff.

hum, the clinic is another frontier. i heard it depends on whom u got assigned. obviously, if u have an easy patient(pay the bill, tons of restoration needed, come on time... then that's great). i think it has to do with luck. and being ur faculty's favorite is always a plus.
you do get yelled at when you did something stupid. i havent seen it yet, so i donno. i always feel stupid in fixed, but the faculty only makes us stupid and ******ed, but never yell at us.

I just want to start off this reply by noting people frequently comment on things with which they have no experience. 1st years are freaked out about there not being enough patients, extra labwork, nasty professors, dentures, and all this other gossip they hear from upper students. It's really too bad because it perpetuates the myths and creates a negative aura that brings others down.

The extra labwork is designed with the same goal as all our other requirements --> to make UCLA graduates outstanding dentists. It's not punitive. It's not to save money. There is no hidden agenda. The restorative faculty simply looked at their curriculum and decided it needed improvement for a school the caliber of UCLA. It's only 10 crowns in 2 years! That's nothing! I wrote in a previous post about this and how I will voluntarily be doing all my labwork. Why? Because I want to be a damn good dentist when I graduate! I'm not here to just barely pass classes, do the minimum requirements and graduate. I'm here to take advantage of all the opportunities I have.

This UOP thing is so funny. People make it sound like being at UOP is doing dental school at Disneyland. Remind you these are people who have never attended a class at UOP. Maybe you've got a friend at UOP and he say life is great. Well you know what? I'm at UCLA and I'm saying life is great. Others are saying it sucks, and I bet there are students at UOP saying it sucks too. Dental school is dental school. It's not going to be enjoyable all the time no matter where you are. The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill.

That's cool your friend is a volunteer clinic rep. Yes, students will always inform their classmates about volunteer opportunities. But you're not going to have faculty come up to you and say, "Do you want to volunteer in my lab?"

You said above, "You do get yelled at when you did something stupid. i havent seen it yet, so i donno." Again this is based on heresay. You haven't seen it happen, but you know it happens? I have been here for two years and have never seen this happen (with the exception of 1 faculty member). Our faculty is wonderful. I know all of them and can say with certainty that none of them (except one 😉 ) would ever yell at, belittle, or disrespect a student. You also said, "I always feel stupid in fixed, but the faculty only makes us stupid and ******ed, but never yell at us." The faculty makes you stupid? I don't think so. If you think the faculty is making you feel stupid it's probably because you're having a hard time accepting criticism. Remember, you've only been doing crown preps for 1 quarter. You're not supposed to be good at them yet.

OK last thing. Clinic success has nothing to do with luck. It has to do with patient management. If your patient doesn't pay his bill, guess what? That's your fault! You should have had him pay up front. If he doesn't show up? You should discharge him. There is plenty of dentisty out there. There's no need to deal with a patient's BS. You must remember that in the clinic, you're running the show. If you let your patients walk all over you, they will. Or you can lay down the law, decide how you want your clinic experience to be, and whip your patients into shape. Remember this: you train your patients to be the type of patient you want.

If you're this unhappy after 1st year you're going to be really, really sour after 2nd year. It would really benefit you and your classmates if you try and have a positive outlook. I'm sure you're a pretty smart person and probably have some great ideas for improving the school. Instead of trying to bring about those improvements by complaining about what is wrong, which never works, you should seek out people in the administration, tell them your constructive ideas, and see it through. That's exactly what my class did and your class is better off for it. I've seen 4th years bitch and moan about what they don't like about the school. You know what it accomplished? Absolutely nothing. It only served to create bad feelings. If you want to change something you need to put forth the effort and respect others in the process.

Time for boards... 😀

 

[drhobie7]

Well. If you are looking for socialization and friendly dean or If you want to be respected, why didn't you go for USC?

USC has full of patients and has one of the best clinic and labs. I was shocked by the number of patients in the USC lobby.

I volunteered in UCLA dental center and I saw many negatives but I would still choose UCLA because it is really cheap for South bay residents like me.

Cost of education for UCLA is unbeatable.

But for all of UCLA dental students, I have one question.

I heard the rumor that many UCLA graduates are pretty touchy. Is it true?

I am just curious.

I know a lot of this year's graduates and they're awesome people. Super friendly. Same thing for the new 4th year class that will graduate in a year.

 

[ecdoesit]

I trust my upperclass students(that including you of cos). It is just something/reality/myth that we have to expect. When we expect the worst, we can make arrangement to survive. My job here is still to relay information. Based on what i heard and saw, it is up to u to take away my sacastic comments and find out the truth. All the facts and comments are real and reflect my current view.

So far, we have no contacts from school officials to calm us down. That meeting with extra labwork is completely done without 1st year presence. I mean, if the people who are going to be "benefited" is not listening to those benefits? What is the meaning of that meeting? Now, we have a huge uncertainty what to expect in the clinic plus what to expect in our 3rd yr. Knowing 2nd yr is the toughest, 3rd yr is our last chance to catch a breathe. Adding 16 hrs a wk to our curriculum will take that thought away. I certainly dont want our 3rd yr be even tougher than our 2nd year. I certainly hope there will be someone informing us soon.

I tried to be positive the first year as most of you know. With so many changes and discussion among students, it is hard to convince myself to be positive. I will try to work with the sch to make our life more managable while getting things done. you are definitely right, working constructively is the key. yet, i think our incoming students and future applicants should know all the rumors/myth/facts at our school besides what they hear from a student or students' point of view.

I just want to start off this reply by noting people frequently comment on things with which they have no experience. 1st years are freaked out about there not being enough patients, extra labwork, nasty professors, dentures, and all this other gossip they hear from upper students. It's really too bad because it perpetuates the myths and creates a negative aura that brings others down.

The extra labwork is designed with the same goal as all our other requirements --> to make UCLA graduates outstanding dentists. It's not punitive. It's not to save money. There is no hidden agenda. The restorative faculty simply looked at their curriculum and decided it needed improvement for a school the caliber of UCLA. It's only 10 crowns in 2 years! That's nothing! I wrote in a previous post about this and how I will voluntarily be doing all my labwork. Why? Because I want to be a damn good dentist when I graduate! I'm not here to just barely pass classes, do the minimum requirements and graduate. I'm here to take advantage of all the opportunities I have.

This UOP thing is so funny. People make it sound like being at UOP is doing dental school at Disneyland. Remind you these are people who have never attended a class at UOP. Maybe you've got a friend at UOP and he say life is great. Well you know what? I'm at UCLA and I'm saying life is great. Others are saying it sucks, and I bet there are students at UOP saying it sucks too. Dental school is dental school. It's not going to be enjoyable all the time no matter where you are. The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill.

That's cool your friend is a volunteer clinic rep. Yes, students will always inform their classmates about volunteer opportunities. But you're not going to have faculty come up to you and say, "Do you want to volunteer in my lab?"

You said above, "You do get yelled at when you did something stupid. i havent seen it yet, so i donno." Again this is based on heresay. You haven't seen it happen, but you know it happens? I have been here for two years and have never seen this happen (with the exception of 1 faculty member). Our faculty is wonderful. I know all of them and can say with certainty that none of them (except one 😉 ) would ever yell at, belittle, or disrespect a student. You also said, "I always feel stupid in fixed, but the faculty only makes us stupid and ******ed, but never yell at us." The faculty makes you stupid? I don't think so. If you think the faculty is making you feel stupid it's probably because you're having a hard time accepting criticism. Remember, you've only been doing crown preps for 1 quarter. You're not supposed to be good at them yet.

OK last thing. Clinic success has nothing to do with luck. It has to do with patient management. If your patient doesn't pay his bill, guess what? That's your fault! You should have had him pay up front. If he doesn't show up? You should discharge him. There is plenty of dentisty out there. There's no need to deal with a patient's BS. You must remember that in the clinic, you're running the show. If you let your patients walk all over you, they will. Or you can lay down the law, decide how you want your clinic experience to be, and whip your patients into shape. Remember this: you train your patients to be the type of patient you want.

If you're this unhappy after 1st year you're going to be really, really sour after 2nd year. It would really benefit you and your classmates if you try and have a positive outlook. I'm sure you're a pretty smart person and probably have some great ideas for improving the school. Instead of trying to bring about those improvements by complaining about what is wrong, which never works, you should seek out people in the administration, tell them your constructive ideas, and see it through. That's exactly what my class did and your class is better off for it. I've seen 4th years bitch and moan about what they don't like about the school. You know what it accomplished? Absolutely nothing. It only served to create bad feelings. If you want to change something you need to put forth the effort and respect others in the process.

Time for boards... 😀

 

[drhobie7]

I trust my upperclass students(that including you of cos). It is just something/reality/myth that we have to expect. When we expect the worst, we can make arrangement to survive. My job here is still to relay information. Based on what i heard and saw, it is up to u to take away my sacastic comments and find out the truth. All the facts and comments are real and reflect my current view.

So far, we have no contacts from school officials to calm us down. That meeting with extra labwork is completely done without 1st year presence. I mean, if the people who are going to be "benefited" is not listening to those benefits? What is the meaning of that meeting? Now, we have a huge uncertainty what to expect in the clinic plus what to expect in our 3rd yr. Knowing 2nd yr is the toughest, 3rd yr is our last chance to catch a breathe. Adding 16 hrs a wk to our curriculum will take that thought away. I certainly dont want our 3rd yr be even tougher than our 2nd year. I certainly hope there will be someone informing us soon.

I tried to be positive the first year as most of you know. With so many changes and discussion among students, it is hard to convince myself to be positive. I will try to work with the sch to make our life more managable while getting things done. you are definitely right, working constructively is the key. yet, i think our incoming students and future applicants should know all the rumors/myth/facts at our school besides what they hear from a student or students' point of view.

First off, I have the utmost respect for ecdoesit and anyone else who makes constructive comments on here. I just don't want a proliferation of misleading rumors.

In an attempt to alleviate some of the mystery/fear, here's my take on 2nd year:

Summer
Super chill. Fixed lab is the biggest time consumer. You start a big project of making several gold crowns. I really liked it. Molten gold is neat. Waxing is kind of a pain, but it's good practice for when you have to carve a big amalgam or do direct composite veneers. Here's the thing, each step is vital to the next, so each step must be done correctly. Otherwise you have to redo the whole thing. So relax, take the time and do it right the first time. Rushing through will inevitably cause you to do it over.
Pharm also takes some time this quarter too. You will inject each other. This could be one of the few instances where giving is better than receiving.

Fall
Dentures is the biggest time consumer here. I'm sorry it's been built up so much. I think it's just that our class did worse than usual. Be on time to class so you can take all the quizzes and show up to lab. Practice a few setups before the midterm and you'll have a great chance of passing.
Systemic path was ok. It's kinda like a Whitman's Sampler (that's a box of chocolates) of diseases. You know a little bit about 75 or so diseases. Not a big deal.
Pharm takes a fair amount of studying too. It's pretty straight forward memorization.
Fixed is wrapping up that big project during started in summer, so that takes a fair amount of lab time. But like I said, if you do it right the first time you won't have to redo it, which is the biggest time drain.

Winter
Hopefully you passed a denture setup in fall. If not, this is the quarter to do it. If you don't pass one in fall or winter you have to take the remedial denture class during the spring. You definitely don't want to do that. It takes a lot of work and is stressful. If you don't pass that you retake the 3 quarters of dentures with the class below you. I think there are 7 people from my class doing that. Again, we're a little exceptional in that area. 🙂 What can I say? We're special. 🙄
Radiology and pharm takes a fair amount of time to study for. Endo lab is chill. No problem finishing all the projects during the lab time.

Spring
Pretty chill, unless you're taking remedial dentures. Surgery and path take the most study time. Path takes the most though. Dentures takes a fair amount of labwork because you're fabricating a denture for a patient. HAVE YOUR PATIENT PAY THE ENTIRE AMOUNT UPFRONT BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING! It will save so much trouble. When it's all done you feel pretty damn good. You look at your patient and think, "Wow, those are some nice looking teeth!" Everything else is ok.

Here's the thing, yeah we had 12 finals in winter but only 3-4 of them were hard core classes. That's how it is every quarter 2nd year. We have what looks like a hell of a lot of finals, but about half of them are once a week classes, where the amount of material is pretty small. Still, you bust your ass, but it's totally doable. I didn't do much studying after school this year (like I did fall quarter of 1st year). Instead, I come home, watch TV, play on the internet, go out, hang with friends....then when midterms and finals roll around I'm super stressed and study like mad for 1 week. Unfortunately that's the time when the 1st years are most likely to see us because we're all together in the fishbowl or library studying. And we like to talk about how crazy everything is because doing so is cathartic. We make it sound worse than it is. Oops. Sorry about that. 😳

We were worrying about clinic issues too since we're going to be there in 1 week. But it's only because we're afraid we won't be able to do it. That's silly though. We'll all do it just fine. Anyway, I should have been studying for boards while I was writing this so I've got some catchup to do. Enjoy the break all.