Tufts is a decent enough school. I'm in my third year there, and I'll tell you like it is.
A) Don't expect to do well on the NDBE part I (or rather, don't expect to coast through it like the previous classes did). Administration is ****ting themselves right now because our class ranked 23rd and last years class ranked 24th. The previous class? Ranked 6th. Yeah. Why? Because the administration feels that we need to be both in clinic seeing patients, in class studying, and studying for the boards all at the same time. So keep that in mind. Ohh yeah, before I forget to mention it, they *are* changing the system yet again. They've given the D'06s the option to take the computerized version of the part I. D'07s, from what I've heard, won't have an option and will *have* to take the computerized portion. How this will affect board scores, I have no idea.
B) Whoever set up the 2nd year curriculum should be shot. Way too much work in the lab, while being swamped with didactics. You end up putting more time in worthless classes than you do in the clinically important classes. Trust me when I say that I'm surprised I didn't turn to anti-depressive medications for part of that year. There's something wrong about having 9 exams every day for a two weeks and this happening every month or so. Compounded by the fact that Mark Gonthier and the rest of the administration have no compassion for the amount of work we have. Though, I'll say one thing. Dr. Goode is possibly one of the best Oral Path instructors in the country (my opinion of course).
C) Administration doesn't seem to have a clue as to the real concerns of the students. They are more concerned about board scores (which attract potential students) and now that those scores haven't materialized, hopefully they'll come talk to us about it. Honestly, I'm glad the scores came out the way they did. There are some fundamental flaws to how the program is layed out in first and second years (first year students won't really realize it until late in 2nd year, trust me).
D) Clinical experience at Tufts is top notch. You learn infinitely more about dentistry in the clinics than you do in class. That said, there's no real integration program into the clinic, so the learning curve is extremely steep. But everyone survives it, so it's no big deal in the long run. The biggest problem is that there aren't as many patients as there used to be (what with Mass Health not covering dental procedures anymore).
E) Tufts is expensive. If you have the option to go to a state school, don't hesitate for even a second. It's not worth dropping 60k a year unless you have to. Regardless of board scores, clinic experience or whatever.
That said, I don't know how Tufts compares to other schools when it comes to the negatives I discussed. I barely know other dental students at BU or Harvard (I know a few) and from what I can tell, we have it a lot worse than either of them. But that's also a lopsided and highly biased opinion. We don't have a 4 month "apex" program (which, apparently is about as useless as 'tits on a duck' according to my friend at BU).
I'm purposely giving you the crappy aspects of Tufts and not so much of the sunny aspects. All of the positives have been posted ad nauseum by Tufts students. They are, for the most part true, but what I've posted above is what I personally find to be the faults of the school, most of which could be changed if the administration would stop trying to cater to incoming students and actually tried to take care of the students already at the school. If you go to Tufts, you will have to be prepared for it and I'd rather not blow sunshine up your... 🙂
If you put the time and effort, you'll do well. No matter what school you go to. The only thing Tufts has going for it over other schools (in my opinion) is the strength of its clinical program. Best clinical program, you learn soooo much and it's so interesting. A lot of the instructors are *amazing* and you really get an advanced feel for procedures that most other dentists would be referring. But its didactic program is at best average with the rest of the country.
I hope that helps you out.
PS. I'm not unhappy at Tufts. I'm loving third year. I really enjoyed first year too (regardless of all the useless classes we had to take). Fourth year will be that much sweeter as it's my last year.
*EDIT* I'm just adding a couple of things here that I wanted to address in some of the other posts I read. The dental lounge is weak... but the med school lounge has a pool table and a foosball table. 🙂 So if that's keeping you from going, let the truth set you free.
Also, Boston is a great city simply because of its size. The T closes at 12:30 yes.. but for the most part a cab to any part of downtown will cost you about 5-10... which is pretty reasonable, in my modestly humble opinion. 🙂
Hmm.. Lastly, rent in boston sucks. No way around that fact... expect to pay almost 5-6 times more in Boston than most other cities. Oh yeah, and the dorms are really weak too. *laughs* You'll want your own place in the city. If any one is looking or wants an idea of where to look, PM me and I'll tell you where the rent is cheaper and where you get the most from your rent. 🙂
