UMDNJ vs. Maryland

[David1991]

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Anyone have opinions on these 2 schools? So far these are the 2 I have been accepted at, I have an interview at Pitt in January and still need to hear back from UNC, Stony Brook, Temple and Upenn. Although I really doubt I would consider Temple or Upenn.

I'm from Central Jersey so UMDNJ is certainly closer but it's 45min vs 1.5hr to Maryland if I take the train...so not a huge difference. The change of scenery in Maryland could be nice. Tuition is very similar between the two. Maryland is much more highly ranked (1-5 or so depending on where I've looked) compared to UMDNJ (~25-30 it seems) so I almost feel like I'm settling with UMDNJ. Also the area of Maryland is certainly better and there's more to do compared to Newark.

Having said that, it seems with all of these schools the facilities, staff, what you learn, the opportunities you have, the buildings, etc...they're all so similar that it seems like it barely matters. Like you could go to UMDNJ and have the same opportunities for the most part as if you went to Maryland. Or Harvard. It could be argued that the worse the school is the better your chance is of getting to the top of the class and getting your choice of specialty lol. I know UMDNJ's clinical requirements are actually fairly intense compared to a lot of schools but I also hear Maryland is good with their clinical experience as well. Both of relatively new buildings.

I have to put a deposit down by Jan 3rd ($1500) for UMDNJ and Jan 7th ($750) for Maryland....ideally I'd decide on one or the other by then.

Any help?

 

[NDPitch]

Is jersey cheaper because you're in state? I don't know what the deal is with them and in state and out of state tuition.

 

[mdb6476]

ya, I heard it's hard to establish residency in Maryland. I thought UMDNJ was like 250K for everything and Maryland is about 350K OOS.

 

[RU1992]

When I talked to a Professor at UMDNJ, who was a graduate of Maryland, he told me Maryland was a TOP-NOTCH school. He told me he got a great education at that school and that the entire campus is newly done and "beautiful", in his words. Pretty much, he hinted that Maryland was a better place to be than UMDNJ.

 

[mdb6476]

When I talked to a Professor at UMDNJ, who was a graduate of Maryland, he told me Maryland was a TOP-NOTCH school. He told me he got a great education at that school and that the entire campus is newly done and "beautiful", in his words. Pretty much, he hinted that Maryland was a better place to be than UMDNJ.

hmm. I don't know if you are being biased or not BUT you've posted an entire thread asking if anyone was dropping their UMDNJ spot.....


OP, if I had the choice minus costs I would pick Maryland..only because I consider the location better and the technology was impressive. I interviewed at Maryland this cycle (didnt hear back yet) and UMDNJ last cycle. However, with money involved and if I was instate for UMDNJ I would attend there. Both are good programs.

Goodluck!

 

[RU1992]

No I'm being completely honest. UMDNJ is obviously good because its cheap and close to this person's house. But even then, the OP said tuition and location were very similar. So in that case, obviously choose the school with the better and more reputable program which is by far Maryland. I'm saying this statement came from a Professor that spoke to us at the Gateway Summer Program at UMDNJ, when he was supposed to be selling UMDNJ to us, those were his exact words. If tuition and location were an issue, I would have said UMDNJ without hesitation.
I'm not trying to jeopardize someone else's future because I want to go to a school. Plus, this person dropping the school doesn't automatically put me in the running for a seat. I already got into a few schools and am comfortable with where I'm currently at. Thanks for trying to point fingers though.

 

[mdb6476]

No I'm being completely honest. UMDNJ is obviously good because its cheap and close to this person's house. But even then, the OP said tuition and location were very similar. So in that case, obviously choose the school with the better and more reputable program which is by far Maryland. I'm saying this statement came from a Professor that spoke to us at the Gateway Summer Program at UMDNJ, when he was supposed to be selling UMDNJ to us, those were his exact words. If tuition and location were an issue, I would have said UMDNJ without hesitation.
I'm not trying to jeopardize someone else's future because I want to go to a school. Plus, this person dropping the school doesn't automatically put me in the running for a seat. I already got into a few schools and am comfortable with where I'm currently at. Thanks for trying to point fingers though.

Relax. I worded my statement well enough that implied I didn't know if it were biased or not. The explanation would have been satisfactory without the paragraph addition of your defensiveness.

 

[David1991]

Is jersey cheaper because you're in state? I don't know what the deal is with them and in state and out of state tuition.

Well any school as far as I know will be cheaper if you are in state BUT I believe if I change to MD residence after the 1st year the cost should be similar

UMDNJ: http://www.umdnj.edu/studentfinancialaid/app_process/13 Budgets/2012-13_NJDS.pdf

MD: http://www.fincsvc.umaryland.edu/sa/images/dds.pdf (Note it's per semester)

So just going by tuition it appears to be $34,445/year at UMDNJ and $26,314 per year at MD in state, but $57,515 if out of state. So in theory UMDNJ should be $137,780 for the 4 years and MD should be $57,515 + 3x26,314 = $136,457 so almost exactly the same. Not accounting for books, supplies, living expenses, etc which I assume will be similar at both.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but that's what it looks like to me

ya, I heard it's hard to establish residency in Maryland. I thought UMDNJ was like 250K for everything and Maryland is about 350K OOS.

Really? I know a few schools who said it's very easy but not sure about Maryland. Any more detail about that or how reliable the source is? I do recall them saying it can't seem like you just want to move their for the dental school and move back but I think that goes for all states

When I talked to a Professor at UMDNJ, who was a graduate of Maryland, he told me Maryland was a TOP-NOTCH school. He told me he got a great education at that school and that the entire campus is newly done and "beautiful", in his words. Pretty much, he hinted that Maryland was a better place to be than UMDNJ.

Interesting. My dad's oral surgeon went to MD and liked it a lot, he said they're both good schools. Apparently his accountant and his friends all say MD way over UMDNJ though....not sure if that's just based on what they hear around or what.

OP, if I had the choice minus costs I would pick Maryland..only because I consider the location better and the technology was impressive. I interviewed at Maryland this cycle (didnt hear back yet) and UMDNJ last cycle. However, with money involved and if I was instate for UMDNJ I would attend there. Both are good programs.

Goodluck!

Thanks, technology as far as stuff like their Mediasite or what they had available to use to work on patients and practice models or..?

I'll be honest I was extremely tired for my MD interview 😀 it seemed like every school was bragging about their new building, their new up to date technology in their classrooms and clinical areas, etc....seemed very similar to me.

Did you turn down UMDNJ from last cycle? The actual building/campus area itself is decently nice but yea the entire surrounding area is not good. But as mentioned in my first post sometimes I wonder if that should even be a huge concern since 90% of my time will be in the school buildings anyway

No I'm being completely honest. UMDNJ is obviously good because its cheap and close to this person's house. But even then, the OP said tuition and location were very similar. So in that case, obviously choose the school with the better and more reputable program which is by far Maryland. I'm saying this statement came from a Professor that spoke to us at the Gateway Summer Program at UMDNJ, when he was supposed to be selling UMDNJ to us, those were his exact words. If tuition and location were an issue, I would have said UMDNJ without hesitation.
I'm not trying to jeopardize someone else's future because I want to go to a school. Plus, this person dropping the school doesn't automatically put me in the running for a seat. I already got into a few schools and am comfortable with where I'm currently at. Thanks for trying to point fingers though.

Funny, similarly when I was interviewing at Maryland I mentioned that I had interviewed at UNC already and my interviewer was talking about how he went there and how great of a school it was which I found odd/amusing


Thanks for the helpful replies so far guys. Any further input is definitely appreciated.

Oh and I've been to UMDNJ twice so I think I have a good feel for the area and school at this point, but I will likely go back to MD during winter break to see it again since I was so out of it that day and was really just trying to get it over with. Any thoughts on what I should check out? I'm thinking mostly the direct area around the school and if I go the 19th or 20th the school is still in session so maybe I could check out inside and talk to students or see where I'd be living....although I know a lot of these schools don't let anyone who is not a student or faculty member into the building.

 

[CedarZ4]

Anyone have opinions on these 2 schools? So far these are the 2 I have been accepted at, I have an interview at Pitt in January and still need to hear back from UNC, Stony Brook, Temple and Upenn. Although I really doubt I would consider Temple or Upenn.

I'm from Central Jersey so UMDNJ is certainly closer but it's 45min vs 1.5hr to Maryland if I take the train...so not a huge difference. The change of scenery in Maryland could be nice. Tuition is very similar between the two. Maryland is much more highly ranked (1-5 or so depending on where I've looked) compared to UMDNJ (~25-30 it seems) so I almost feel like I'm settling with UMDNJ. Also the area of Maryland is certainly better and there's more to do compared to Newark.

Having said that, it seems with all of these schools the facilities, staff, what you learn, the opportunities you have, the buildings, etc...they're all so similar that it seems like it barely matters. Like you could go to UMDNJ and have the same opportunities for the most part as if you went to Maryland. Or Harvard. It could be argued that the worse the school is the better your chance is of getting to the top of the class and getting your choice of specialty lol. I know UMDNJ's clinical requirements are actually fairly intense compared to a lot of schools but I also hear Maryland is good with their clinical experience as well. Both of relatively new buildings.

I have to put a deposit down by Jan 3rd ($1500) for UMDNJ and Jan 7th ($750) for Maryland....ideally I'd decide on one or the other by then.

Any help?

Based on what you've said, I think it is fair to say that you like Maryland more. Given that the tuition cost is so similar, if not actually a grand cheaper at MD (looking at your calculations), I'd think the choice is pretty obvious. General consensus is that cost is the major deciding factor when choosing a DS. Given that both are essentially the same, then other factors come into play (whether they are as significant or not). You mentioned you think the staff, faculty, opportunities, etc. are very similar, so that is null as well. You also brought up that you'd think there would be more to do in MD. That, along with being higher ranked. What I'm trying to say is, both schools are very very similar (for you, in terms of the aspects you are looking at), so you can't really go wrong with either. However, given that you are from NJ and are familiar with the area and want to try something new (e.g. MD) and like the environment, then just go for it. Otherwise, you might be always asking yourself the question, what if. It seems to me that you want to go to Maryland more, but because you are in-state, are having a hard time letting UMDNJ go because of what everyone is saying about "going to your state school." However, that is based purely on cost, and in your case is not a valid point. Choose what your heart wants. Where do YOU want to go? Just my .02

Best of luck deciding. Let us know what you decide on!

 

[UCSFx2017]

Just stay in Jersey and be close to family. Skip the hassle of moving and changing residency. I think you got the wrong idea about Baltimore. You might want to look into its incidence of homicide.

You totally forgot about fees which may make a difference. When you make a fixed cost estimation you have to factor in both tuition and fees.

 

[UCSFx2017]

Unless your school recently opened within the past two decades, each school is equally reputable. This isn't medicine or law where employers judge us based on alma mater. We're self-employed and no patient really cares what monkey cleans their teeth for them. If the procedure is more drastic they care more about costs and experience than what school you went to twenty years ago.

There has been no formal ranking of dental schools since the mid-90's. Without consent from the deans, no prospective ranking publisher will get any worthwhile information about any school. The rankings you see today are from blogs and are opinions from only one person. They're useless now and they would still be useless had formal rankings actually existed. Even U.S. News has a terrible formula for ranking medical schools because they factor irrelevant undergraduate rankings and possibly irrelevant research funding.

 

[David1991]

Based on what you've said, I think it is fair to say that you like Maryland more. Given that the tuition cost is so similar, if not actually a grand cheaper at MD (looking at your calculations), I'd think the choice is pretty obvious. General consensus is that cost is the major deciding factor when choosing a DS. Given that both are essentially the same, then other factors come into play (whether they are as significant or not). You mentioned you think the staff, faculty, opportunities, etc. are very similar, so that is null as well. You also brought up that you'd think there would be more to do in MD. That, along with being higher ranked. What I'm trying to say is, both schools are very very similar (for you, in terms of the aspects you are looking at), so you can't really go wrong with either. However, given that you are from NJ and are familiar with the area and want to try something new (e.g. MD) and like the environment, then just go for it. Otherwise, you might be always asking yourself the question, what if. It seems to me that you want to go to Maryland more, but because you are in-state, are having a hard time letting UMDNJ go because of what everyone is saying about "going to your state school." However, that is based purely on cost, and in your case is not a valid point. Choose what your heart wants. Where do YOU want to go? Just my .02

Best of luck deciding. Let us know what you decide on!

Thank you, all valid points and accurate regarding my feelings. There would definitely be the question in my mind about "what if" if I gave up Maryland for UMDNJ.

If I got into UNC things would get even more confusing...it's actually the cheapest one and as far as the area (and the girls 😀 ) it was definitely the school I liked most. With the downside being it's ~8 hours away and would really require a large change in my life as opposed to Maryland which is still reasonably close.

Unless your school recently opened within the past two decades, each school is equally reputable. This isn't medicine or law where employers judge us based on alma mater. We're self-employed and no patient really cares what monkey cleans their teeth for them. If the procedure is more drastic they care more about costs and experience than what school you went to twenty years ago.

There has been no formal ranking of dental schools since the mid-90's. Without consent from the deans, no prospective ranking publisher will get any worthwhile information about any school. The rankings you see today are from blogs and are opinions from only one person. They're useless now and they would still be useless had formal rankings actually existed. Even U.S. News has a terrible formula for ranking medical schools because they factor irrelevant undergraduate rankings and possibly irrelevant research funding.

Well I wouldn't agree that they're all completely equally reputable, but I get your point. That's what I was saying before about how they all pretty much give the same possible opportunities afterwards.

Having said that, if cost, opportunities, faculty, technology, clinical, etc is almost all identical (as is the case here) would you not agree then that some of the other factors should come into play? Such as which I would enjoy more, which is in a better and more entertaining area, which is more well known, which is a more preferable demographic, etc? In which case I feel like I would choose MD. Main downside is that it's a bit further and I'd have to establish residency. Definitely a hard decision.

 

[mdb6476]

I mentioned the residency thing because before I interviewed at Maryland (i'm oos) and searched old threads to find out about residency. Looks like the school doesn't care, it's just hard in the state to obtain it but can be do-able.