Udmercy 7yr Program vs UMich vs Central Michigan

[Drummerboy13]

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I have been accepted into the University of Detroit Mercy 7yr BS/DDS program, as well as the University of Michigan standard 4 year undergrad College of LSA. I have also been awarded full tuition to Central Michigan University, but hesitate to accept due to the rankings. My question is, would I be better off accepting the 7yr invitation, going to UMich undergrad for full price, or going to Central Mich and finish 4 yrs with no debt. Deadlines for responses are approaching quickly and I need a decision soon. The ultimate goal is to get into dental school, so which option is the best?

 

[tarheel616]

I wish I would've applied to Detroit Mercy's 7 year program or accepted the 7 year offer I got from Marquette...anyways, I decided not to do these programs because as much as I knew I wanted to pursue dentistry I wasn't 100% or 7 years of my life sure of it coming out of high school. I'm from Michigan and my dad is a dentist there currently and he even suggested I go to college and explore my options. With all this being said, I wish I could've gone back and done a 7 year program to save myself the stress of having to apply and worry of getting in. I would say though that if you decided not to go to Detroit Mercy that going to U of M or CMU, you would have more options in schools to apply. Don't forget also that it's not where you go to college necessarily, it's how you DO in college.

 

[sgv]

I'd go to Michigan or Central Michigan. How bad is Central Michigan? Could you get need based aid for UofMich? Grants? The best route would be to get into UofMichigan dental school, not UDM. UDM costs too much even if you save a year.

 

[kingenamel]

U of Michigan is pretty awesome and I would want to go there out of the three but coming out debt free sounds nice at central michigan. UDM is pretty expensive and I like Ann Arbor over Detroit

 

[HaverfoodsDDS]

If Central Michigan was good enough for Chris Kaman, it's good enough for you...Debt free is the way to go !

 

[Ferneezy]

I have been accepted into the University of Detroit Mercy 7yr BS/DDS program, as well as the University of Michigan standard 4 year undergrad College of LSA. I have also been awarded full tuition to Central Michigan University, but hesitate to accept due to the rankings. My question is, would I be better off accepting the 7yr invitation, going to UMich undergrad for full price, or going to Central Mich and finish 4 yrs with no debt. Deadlines for responses are approaching quickly and I need a decision soon. The ultimate goal is to get into dental school, so which option is the best?

lots of older dentists might tell you the same thing they've told me: all dental school does is give you the tools for the same exact license, don't pay more than you need to.

that said, and assuming you're a MI resident, your best overall financial move would be to take the full ride at cmu, do well in classes (which you'll need to do anyway, 7-yr program or not), then apply and hope to get into umich dental as an in-stater. you may not be able to see or appreciate it now, but receiving all of that education at the lowest cost you can will grant you so many opportunities so much earlier in your career.

good luck.

 

[Gaucho4Life]

Take the full ride at Central Mich and don't look back. Always go with the cheaper school, you'll thank yourself in the end.

 

[packerland]

Take the full-ride! Its still a reputable school. That full ride would be hard to turn down - especially since UDM is so expensive.
Like others have said, its HOW you do in your schooling that matters. And doing well in your courses at an in-state university with NO cost is probably your smartest move, in my opinion!
I'm assuming you're an in-state resident, so if you were able to get into UM and the 7-year UDM program AND CMU with a full-ride, I'm also assuming you're a great student. Just keep up that hard work at CMU and you will be golden come application time!

 

[aqz]

If your financial situation isn't a concern, I'd go to Michigan. You won't regret the connections you build here, professionally or personally.

But from the fact that you made this post, it seems like finance is a concern. In that case, go to CMU. As someone about to graduate with an engineering degree at Michigan, I can tell you the reputation of my institution did zilch for me when it came time to apply to dental school. Unless it's a community college, dental schools do not care where you went, and I suspect they might not even care how hard your program was.

 

[lmr9y]

Unless it's a community college, dental schools do not care where you went, and I suspect they might not even care how hard your program was.

Eh, I disagree with that. I went to an undergrad thats among the top 25 and at almost all my interviews (9 total), the interviewer mentioned my institution and were impressed by it. It often led to conversation about my school itself and the surrounding areas and they didn't harbor as much on my under-par grades. That's just my personal experience.

Granted wherever the OP goes, you have to keep up the good grades. I've heard of too many horror stories with individuals who go to combined programs, didn't keep up, good grades, were kicked out of the program, and ended up going thru the normal application process. Also don't think "Oh i get to save a year" because that doesn't help you in the long run (a year here or there). Look at costs, program, can you see yourself at that institution, etc and come to a decision. Good luck!

 

[aqz]

Eh, I disagree with that. I went to an undergrad thats among the top 25 and at almost all my interviews (9 total), the interviewer mentioned my institution and were impressed by it. It often led to conversation about my school itself and the surrounding areas and they didn't harbor as much on my under-par grades. That's just my personal experience.

Granted wherever the OP goes, you have to keep up the good grades. I've heard of too many horror stories with individuals who go to combined programs, didn't keep up, good grades, were kicked out of the program, and ended up going thru the normal application process. Also don't think "Oh i get to save a year" because that doesn't help you in the long run (a year here or there). Look at costs, program, can you see yourself at that institution, etc and come to a decision. Good luck!

It will certainly not hurt to go to a top 25 institution as lmr9y says. But OP, just know that some of the most successful applicants on here went to "no-name" schools.