UF (IS) vs Colorado (OOS)

[toothandtan]

University of Florida (IS)
Pros:

• My current undergrad school so I am comfortable living there, and know where I would live and my day to day life of grocery shopping, gym, etc would be the same
• Good reputation especially if working in florida after all professionals I have spoken to speak very highly of the program
• Know lots of current students and faculty
• Cheaper cost of living and tuition
• 5 hour drive from home
• football games

Cons:

• Hot in the summer
• Not sure how realistic it is to specialize from here
• Not a ton to do and I already live here now so not experiencing a new city - I love Gainesville for undergrad, but the thought of 4 more years there is overwhelming.
• Old facility, but there will be construction for a new building that might be open by my senior year

University of Colorado
OOS - with scholarship
Pros:

• New place to live
• Outdoorsy person and would have more of an opportunity to experience that lifestyle
• Current students have all had positive things to say about the program
• Would be open to staying in Colorado longer than these 4 years - I think this is a good opportunity to move away especially to a new state if I was ever to do so
• ACTS rotations
• modern facility
• specialization ? i think they had a higher percentage of people match, but want to know more
• can have a suburb and city life in combination

Cons:

• 4 hour flight from home (Have to plan when going home and can't do it as spontaneously)
• more expensive (40k more in total for all 4 years)
• Risk of not liking city or being so far from home (high risk high reward?)
• Aurora safety
• possibly would have to commute 20ish minutes to school depending on where I lived
• separate from undergrad campus
• snow isn't a con, but i don't have tons of experience living with in winter weather

Summary: I really am excited about the opportunity of having a new experience, but truly don't feel I know enough about Colorados program to walk away from a great program like UF so I would love any insight to the reputation and perception of Colorado especially from a clinical perspective. I am also unsure about specialization, but want to set myself up in the best possible place if I do decide to go that route. Both schools are similar in price, graded, have class rank, and are the only public school in their state.Thank you in advance!

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[JacquesVallee]

more expensive (40k more in total for all 4 years)

40k more after interest will be more like 80k when you finally pay it back. Pick UF

 

[macsak]

University of Florida (IS)
Pros:

• My current undergrad school so I am comfortable living there, and know where I would live and my day to day life of grocery shopping, gym, etc would be the same
• Good reputation especially if working in florida after all professionals I have spoken to speak very highly of the program
• Know lots of current students and faculty
• Cheaper cost of living and tuition
• 5 hour drive from home
• football games

Cons:

• Hot in the summer
• Not sure how realistic it is to specialize from here
• Not a ton to do and I already live here now so not experiencing a new city - I love Gainesville for undergrad, but the thought of 4 more years there is overwhelming.
• Old facility, but there will be construction for a new building that might be open by my senior year

University of Colorado
OOS - with scholarship
Pros:

• New place to live
• Outdoorsy person and would have more of an opportunity to experience that lifestyle
• Current students have all had positive things to say about the program
• Would be open to staying in Colorado longer than these 4 years - I think this is a good opportunity to move away especially to a new state if I was ever to do so
• ACTS rotations
• modern facility
• specialization ? i think they had a higher percentage of people match, but want to know more
• can have a suburb and city life in combination

Cons:

• 4 hour flight from home (Have to plan when going home and can't do it as spontaneously)
• more expensive (40k more in total for all 4 years)
• Risk of not liking city or being so far from home (high risk high reward?)
• Aurora safety
• possibly would have to commute 20ish minutes to school depending on where I lived
• separate from undergrad campus
• snow isn't a con, but i don't have tons of experience living with in winter weather

Summary: I really am excited about the opportunity of having a new experience, but truly don't feel I know enough about Colorados program to walk away from a great program like UF so I would love any insight to the reputation and perception of Colorado especially from a clinical perspective. I am also unsure about specialization, but want to set myself up in the best possible place if I do decide to go that route. Both schools are similar in price, graded, have class rank, and are the only public school in their state.Thank you in advance!

safety in aurora colorado area is a HUGE issue...

 

[DS2027]

The campus and apartments on campus feel very safe. I can see the school from my apartment, takes me a few mins to walk to campus. Aurora has a safety issue, I have never felt unsafe walking to and from campus. There is a police department down the street. Now, if you are leaving campus and going to other areas… not so safe. There’s a store very close, technically in Denver and I feel safe there. It’s not that bad honestly.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Does the scholarship allow Colorado to match Florida in-state tuition? How much are we talking about? 40K per year is still a fair amount, and Denver is slightly higher cost-of-living vs. Gainesville.

 

[Iowa1995]

Not sure why OP would state a con of Florida is "not sure how realistic it is to specialize from here"? Both my sons went to UF (one graduating this year) and matched at their first choices to highly competitive ortho programs. In addition, many of their classmates matched as well with I believe 5 matching to ortho this year. Like any dental school it is very competitive...one has to work extremely hard, make solid faculty relationships and realize your dental school experience if wanting to specialize will be a lot different from those not wanting to.