UNC (OOS) vs. San Antonio (OOS) vs. UTSD-Houston (OOS w/ IS tuition)

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Roger Fed

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Hi everyone!

I'd really like to hear your thoughts on these schools - they are all OOS for me. I was offered a scholarship by UTSD-Houston that would allow me to pay IS tuition all four years if I choose to attend Houston. This makes Houston my most affordable option (~30k cheaper than SA, ~70k cheaper than UNC). Price aside, I think I would prefer living in Chapel Hill > SA > Houston (not really a huge fan of big cities, but definitely not a deal-breaker). I believe that all three schools use letter grades and a ranking system (though UNC might move to P/F in the future, I don't think this will happen in a time-frame that will affect me much).

I'm also pretty interested in specializing and would like to leave that door open. It seems like UNC might have resources (research, reputation, etc.) that could make it a bit easier to specialize based on my conversations with D4s from each school. Can anyone speak to how good the clinical training and/or specialty match rates typically are at SA/Houston? What else am I missing that might help me make this tricky decision?

School 1: UNC (OOS)

Pros:
  • Chapel Hill is my preferred city of the three
  • Class size is a bit smaller (~80 vs. ~100)
  • Great opportunities to do research with renowned faculty
  • Price aside, UNC is probably my "favorite" school
Cons:
  • Most expensive of the three (though still relatively affordable considering you can qualify for IS tuition after D1)
School 2: San Antonio (OOS)

Pros:
  • Big city without a big city feel
  • Selectives
  • Lots of clinical hours (2,000+ according to numbers they gave us)
  • Nice campus for D1/D2 years with lots of green + new clinical building for D3/D4
Cons:
  • Seems to have a more competitive class environment?
School 3: UTSD-Houston (OOS w/ IS tuition)

Pros:
  • The vibe here seems to be very collaborative (family-oriented)
  • Electives
  • My cheapest option
  • Great facilities
Cons:
  • Living in Houston
  • I hear you may have to find your own patients sometimes?
  • Maybe harder to specialize from here (based on views from current students I've spoken with; feel free to chime in if you know something I don't)

Summary:

Honestly, I would be thrilled to attend any of these schools, but I'd really like to find the best fit. The Texas schools are cheaper, but I love the program at UNC slightly more. I'd love to hear any more insight on any of these schools from those of you who have more experience with them than I do (current students, please!). Thank you!!

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I don't think you'll have a better chance specializing out of UNC than the others. With that said, you have to weigh if 70k is worth it to go to UNC for you.
 
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Perceptions of the school/area from a single interview day aren’t good indicators of what your experience will be like. With a high cost difference, unless you hated a program, better to go with the cheaper option (with rare exception).
 
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Cheapest option. Like the people above said, the benefits you listed are not worth paying more.

you’ll be able to specialize just fine from any of these if that is what you end up wanting to do. And the tuition savings will be huge going forward depending on what you specialize in and if the program you match to charges tuition.
 
Curious as to why you say that it might be harder to specialize from Houston?
Thanks for all the responses! I based that statement on my conversations with current students and the vague numbers I got from administration. However, I agree with what others have said that a good student can specialize from any accredited dental school. I do think that some schools have the resources and track-record to facilitate the process a little bit, but overall it's up to the student.
 
Thanks for all the responses! I based that statement on my conversations with current students and the vague numbers I got from administration. However, I agree with what others have said that a good student can specialize from any accredited dental school. I do think that some schools have the resources and track-record to facilitate the process a little bit, but overall it's up to the student.
I asked because that's the same impression I got, I feel like San Antonio is stronger clinically and have more students specialize.
 
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