UCONN vs. Columbia

[nm107]

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Hoping to reach out to students at UCONN or Columbia (or anyone with an opinion on this) to get some insight on these schools. Debt probably will not be an issue, so any advice and pros/cons would be appreciated!

 

[ProspectivePostPreDent]

Debt probably will not be an issue, so any advice and pros/cons would be appreciated!

How, if you don't mind me asking? These are my top two, as well, but I'm trying to get my head around the numbers for Columbia.

 

[ssm38]

I'd look at the cost difference first, but you said debt isn't an issue. If not, look at the location and curriculum.

UConn: Suburban area in CT
- Curriculum: PBL style learning

Columbia: NYC
- Curriculum: More lecture based? - not entirely sure, I'm sure a Columbia student can give you more info

Both schools have classes with med students so if you want to do OMS, you'll be good at both. Good luck, it's a tough decision!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

UCONN is a school with heavy ivy league vibes. If debt isn't an issue of course go for Columbia. Otherwise, UCONN is an amazing choice. If you only got into non ivy league private schools then UCONN all the way due to the excellent match rates, Pass fail curriculum, and most importantly the in state tuition

 

[FeralisExtremum]

The core difference would be ranked (Columbia, into thirds) vs. unranked (UCONN). I think UCONN is P/F for all 4 years while Columbia is currently P/F first two years and H/P/F for the last two. The other major difference is PBL curriculum (UCONN) vs. traditional lectures (Columbia).

 

[wengerout]

The core difference would be ranked (Columbia, into thirds) vs. unranked (UCONN). I think UCONN is P/F for all 4 years while Columbia is currently P/F first two years and H/P/F for the last two. The other major difference is PBL curriculum (UCONN) vs. traditional lectures (Columbia).

Starting with our class I don't think we are ranked into thirds anymore (At least for the first two years).

 

[JH2323]

Can any UCONN students or Columbia alum (in terms of debt) contribute? Facing similar dilemma.

 

[0rgansm]

Uconn has a pretty good reputation for residency programs. Small class size, no rankings, and pass fail. Sadly for OMFS they don’t pull many teeth (something like 20). I’m also not a fan of the PBL curriculum.

Idk much about Columbia.

 

[jg4318]

Both great programs, personally I would go with UConn

 

[FanOfCostco]

Uconn because you're stuck on a hill and you can't get in trouble

 

[nm107]

How, if you don't mind me asking? These are my top two, as well, but I'm trying to get my head around the numbers for Columbia.

Family support

 

[ncide]

I hate PBL, so my vote goes with Columbia.

There are a few PBL-centered courses at my school and those courses are easily the least liked courses.

 

[UCONNREP]

Honestly, both of your choices are excellent programs. You will need to see what fits best for you. The program style is pretty similar especially if you take out the financial aspect. I wrote a post similar to this for someone else but I will try to shorten it because the other one was too long lol

Things that I like about UConn:

• Class Size: UConn is just about 50 students. I personally liked having the medical students the first two years so it feels like a class of 150 and then 50 students the last two years. Dental school is very hands-on, having individual attention is important.

• Student to faculty ratio: I would say our sim lab is somewhere between 6:1 to 10:1 depending on the lab. Clinic is never more than 8:1 but is usually closer to 6:1. In more complex procedures such as endo or OMFS it's 2:1. Individual faculty attention is probably UConn’s biggest strength.

• Dental stuff: I believe that Columbia and UConn are similar in the BMS for the 1.5 years, then 8 months of straight dental and then up in clinic. Timing of sim lab and such is pretty consistent at both schools.

• Basic sciences: BMS is going to be strong at both programs since it is with the medical school. A lot of people complain about TBL but I honestly think it teaches you an important skill which is how to become an independent learner. Here at least is one difference between UConn and Columbia at least until Columbia's med school switches over to TBL.

• Environment: I love my classmates, the faculty, and the environment of the university as a whole. I have friends who have gone to Columbia and who have told me it also has a really supportive environment. I actually like living in Connecticut and it has been perfect for me. With that being said, location is really important and if you think you would be happier living in NYC then you should do that. Farmington is definitely not Washington Heights but some people like that. Your dollar goes much farther here.

I am not trying to persuade anyone to go to UConn; I would only want people to matriculate who would be happy here.

I personally could not be more happy with my education and I knew UConn would get me where I needed to go. I just finished up interviewing for OMFS and at several places, the first thing the interviewers said to me was “well you are coming from UConn so you already have a leg up on everyone else.” UConn grades have consistently made excellent residents and program directors know that. They know what they are getting when they take a UConn student and for me, that is more important than any style of curriculum or location but everyone has different priorities and that is okay. This year UConn in Phase 1 we have had 100% match rate in each specialty and I have no doubts that when Phase II Match happens in January OMFS, Peds, and GPR/AEGD will have 100% match rates.

I know that Columbia does extremely well in Match as well. I would say UConn does have a slight advantage in that there are fewer students. Last year something like 20 students from Columbia applied for OMFS while there were only 3 from UConn. It is hard for a PD to interview all the people from Columbia (even if they are stellar candidates) while interviewing 3 from one school is nbd. It just adds a little bit of internal competition with your classmates at bigger schools. (totally my own opinion on it)