UDM vs. UPenn

[JAdentist]

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I am trying to make my final decision on which dental school to attend and it has come down to UDM and UPenn. I currently live in the Boston area (5 hours north of Philly) so location-wise, UPenn would be more convenient as far as relocation is concerned. Also, my family and boyfriend are on the east coast. I know no one or nothing about Detroit except that UDM is there! Both schools offered my scholarships, however UDM's total cost will be ~18k/yr less than UPenn accounting for lower cost of living in the Detroit area etc. I have no desire/plans to specialize. Is the ~72k savings (over the four years) make it worth choosing UDM over UPenn?

 

[KittySquared]

Definitely go to UDM if you have no plans on specializing. The abundance of patients at UDM is simply unprecedented. The demographics of the city warrants you endless patients to work on so that you can be very practice ready and efficient general practitioner when you graduate. I seriously doubt Penn has the patient pool that UDM can provide. Plus you save SO MUCH in tuition overall. You can find a much nicer place a little away from the school and live comfortably.

 

[OsteotomyOMFS17]

I think UDM will be a better fit if you do not intend to specialize. Because it has such a strong clinical program, UDM graduates come out of school clinically experienced and ready for practice.

UPENN is very strong didactically (important for specialty), but many of their graduates desire additional clinical experience and do a GPR once they graduate. Both are really great programs, but for your purposes, it seems as though UDM is the winner.

 

[ecorohs]

Absolutely UPENN!!! IVY league school!!!! period!
You have no plans to specialize NOW but you never know. You might want to specialize after 4 years.

 

[gumdrop16]

is this a real question

 

[ewu6three]

You should consider input from everyone on this topic, however I advise you pay particular mind to what KittySquared has to say. Not many people know this but Kitty, our resident feline, is an expert in all things dentistry and dental admissions.

 

[ecorohs]

.

 

[ewu6three]

Are you sure? Isn't he/shoe going to be first year dental student??????

It is apparent to me that you did not take the time to consider her list of credentials, which can be found in checklist form in her signature line. The one item she omitted, perhaps out of modesty, was... [x]be god.

 

[KittySquared]

People coming out of UDM get into specialties just fine, however, Penn is clearly going to be a more specialty driven school. The OP has already stated s/he does not plan on specializing, the alternative choice - UDM is hands down one of the most clinically well known programs in the country. If you read enough on the forum and inquire enough about the schools on their websites/info packets, you'd know. Saving money and going to a school that prepares you to be a better general practitioner is a no-brainer to me.

Plenty of dental students turned down ivies for state schools to pay less for the same degree. It might come as a surprise to some, but not everyone is vain enough to jump on the ivy league bandwagon 😉

 

[JAdentist]

We are thinking alike Kitty -- I am most likely going to go with UDM. Thank you all for your feedback! 🙂

 

[KittySquared]

We are thinking alike Kitty -- I am most likely going to go with UDM. Thank you all for your feedback! 🙂

Great choice. I know someone there and another who graduated - they both were absolutely happy with it. The people I know who went to Penn aren't as happy about their schooling. The quality of a dentist is more defined by your attitude to the patient and your skills, not by how much medical knowledge you can spit out. Even if you do want to specialize, UDM will prepare you just fine for that also. Good luck 🙂

 

[Bis-GMA111]

she mad.

 

[KittySquared]

she mad.

Go make me some curry.

 

[Bis-GMA111]

Whoa

whoa

whoa

no.

 

[Menthol]

I decided to choose UDM!