UNC v Columbia v UCONN PLS HELP!!

[rockkiller]

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Hi,
Basically I have my top 3 choices narrowed down and I hope to get some good, truthful advice from current students. I have a lot of respect for all 3 programs and they all offer me many different things--I just don't know if my eyes perceive the schools the same as others. Please correct me or add to below!

Level of education: I really feel like the didactics in all 3 schools are on par with each other, they simply focus differently. At UCONN you take 2 years with the med students, at Columbia 1.5 yrs with the med students, and UNC completely separate (hence more focus on the mouth, yknow the place you'll be working on for the rest of your life!). All 3 set up their students to pass the boards, and for specialty schooling. I like that UCONN has such a small class size and it feels like a family there.

Culture: OK this is where it gets SO tricky. Everywhere I read people say "click on some of the other posts and you'll find that UCONN is a nightmare". HUH? I couldn't find these posts. As far as I know, Columbia is eextremely competitive, and the other 2 are much more collaborative. I have no clue how to judge the faculty, so would love to get some help on that. Do you have an example of when a faculty went out of their way to show they care about you? Stress level is very important to me. It seemed to me that Columbia students are always feeling rushed and busy. UCONN students weren't exactly 'rushing' from place to place, but it was obvious that they study all day long (not such a bad thing as long as it is low stress!!). UNC students clearly had balance in their lives.

Facilities: UNC is all brand new you have to love it. Plus they pull a ton of gvt funding for research. UCONN has a lot of new facilities too, perhaps not as much as UNC. Columbia is old obviously. All the schools have most/all specialty programs for us to get a taste of which is nice.

Cost: UNC < UCONN << Columbia

Location: I have to admit, I'm from CT and most my family is in the tri-state area. I love NYC, but Columbia is so high uptown it sorta isn't really a part of NYC at all plus its in a dangerous neighborhood. UCONN is in TOO nice/low populated of a neighborhood, and students have to go off-site to find patients. UNC is clearly nice weather-wise which I love about it. Personally I think UNC & UCONN would fit my lifestyle needs the most because I could have a car and a full kitchen.

Thats all I could come up with. Will anyone please share experiences to help this student decide?!

 

[rockkiller]

also does school image ever come in to play? Will a residency/specialty judge me depending on where I went? I can't tell which of the 3 has a better image...

 

[Ninja9]

I would go to UNC based on the reasons you gave in your post.

But I'm a little biased, considering that is the only school out the three I would even consider going to. 😛

 

[TeamGuo]

dude... listen... it seems like you know where you want to go the most. All 3 schools are excellent so you can't go wrong.

It's not like you are going to listen to the next SDNer telling you to go to XX school. Just think about it again and make a decision. It's not rocket science.

 

[tonto1]

so far I haven't been very stressed at all at columbia and the environment is not at all competitive. Theres no reason to be competitive with each other since we are only competing with ourselves in order to do well in our classes. A few classes grade on a curve but I believe those are getting re-worked next year so probably won't have that problem. As far as stress goes, when i was interviewing someone told me that if you got stressed in undergrad about tests then dental school will also be really stressful, but if you didn't get stressed out about exams in undergrad then dental school won't be that stressful. So far I think this is absolutely true.

 

[link517]

Definitely UNC.. no new england/new york winters!

 

[RAK1987]

Hi,
Basically I have my top 3 choices narrowed down and I hope to get some good, truthful advice from current students. I have a lot of respect for all 3 programs and they all offer me many different things--I just don't know if my eyes perceive the schools the same as others. Please correct me or add to below!

Level of education: I really feel like the didactics in all 3 schools are on par with each other, they simply focus differently. At UCONN you take 2 years with the med students, at Columbia 1.5 yrs with the med students, and UNC completely separate (hence more focus on the mouth, yknow the place you'll be working on for the rest of your life!). All 3 set up their students to pass the boards, and for specialty schooling. I like that UCONN has such a small class size and it feels like a family there.

Culture: OK this is where it gets SO tricky. Everywhere I read people say "click on some of the other posts and you'll find that UCONN is a nightmare". HUH? I couldn't find these posts. As far as I know, Columbia is eextremely competitive, and the other 2 are much more collaborative. I have no clue how to judge the faculty, so would love to get some help on that. Do you have an example of when a faculty went out of their way to show they care about you? Stress level is very important to me. It seemed to me that Columbia students are always feeling rushed and busy. UCONN students weren't exactly 'rushing' from place to place, but it was obvious that they study all day long (not such a bad thing as long as it is low stress!!). UNC students clearly had balance in their lives.

Facilities: UNC is all brand new you have to love it. Plus they pull a ton of gvt funding for research. UCONN has a lot of new facilities too, perhaps not as much as UNC. Columbia is old obviously. All the schools have most/all specialty programs for us to get a taste of which is nice.

Cost: UNC < UCONN << Columbia

Location: I have to admit, I'm from CT and most my family is in the tri-state area. I love NYC, but Columbia is so high uptown it sorta isn't really a part of NYC at all plus its in a dangerous neighborhood. UCONN is in TOO nice/low populated of a neighborhood, and students have to go off-site to find patients. UNC is clearly nice weather-wise which I love about it. Personally I think UNC & UCONN would fit my lifestyle needs the most because I could have a car and a full kitchen.

Thats all I could come up with. Will anyone please share experiences to help this student decide?!

ok so this post may be a little biased (obviously)... but i had the same (and much tougher) decision to make (scholarship money was on the table).

anyways - - many ppl have ahd different experiences, but when i went to UNC i was REALLY turned off. the faculty and staff there that day didnt seem to me like they were concerned with trying to impress students - it seemed as though they were kind of "resting on their laurels."

i want an intense medical education - - so uconn is very appealing to me. many ppl run away from this b/c, to most, it is a turn off. i love to learn about the human body b/c oral health is a very important part of systemic health. i love the small class size at uconn - - seems very tight knit and very supportive. i come from a very cutthroat undergrad university - - so the colleagial environment was great!

a time when faculty went out of their way for me:

i'm not even at the school yet and i already have two prime instances of this. the first was on my interview. i interviewed with dr. taylor, the head of the reconstructive dept, and i was tlaking to him about my research with bone grafts. he said "i should see the new center." i thought that was just talk - - but after my interview he, personally, took me up to the new implant center and showed me around. just me.

and the second time was recently. i contacted one of the faculty members about summer research and i was expecting to be turned away b/c i'm not there yet, no one knows me or my work, etc. but she was so thrilled and immediately took my "under her wing." we talked on the phone for about two hours getting to now each other. she trusted me and my work and took a huge chance on me. that, to me, speaks volumes.... the fact that she was so eager and willing to help a student who hasnt even started there yet - without ever meeting me in person!!

anyways - - i have tons of reasons why i chose uconn; these are simply a mere few of them. p/m me if you want to talk about this anymore. (i know i didnt really cover unc and columbia - -but i still have my pros/cons lists for both!)

good luck.

 

[achilles2]

For what its worth I don't think you have a bad choice among the list. I've heard nothing but great things about all three schools.


The ONLY downside to UConn at least what I heard is sometimes issues getting patients, I know at Columbia since it has NYC this isn't a problem at all and I'm not sure about UNC.

UConn has a very small class size which I think is a great thing.


IMO since all three programs are outstanding I'd look at the money issue.

In terms of fun I can tell you this NYC is a great place to be.

 

[RAK1987]

For what its worth I don't think you have a bad choice among the list. I've heard nothing but great things about all three schools.


The ONLY downside to UConn at least what I heard is sometimes issues getting patients, I know at Columbia since it has NYC this isn't a problem at all and I'm not sure about UNC.

UConn has a very small class size which I think is a great thing.


IMO since all three programs are outstanding I'd look at the money issue.

In terms of fun I can tell you this NYC is a great place to be.

that's just an SDN rumor that uninformed ppl started long ago b/c the school is in a suburban setting, not a big city.

 

[PSU SHC 414]

ok so this post may be a little biased (obviously)... but i had the same (and much tougher) decision to make (scholarship money was on the table).

anyways - - many ppl have ahd different experiences, but when i went to UNC i was REALLY turned off. the faculty and staff there that day didnt seem to me like they were concerned with trying to impress students - it seemed as though they were kind of "resting on their laurels."

i want an intense medical education - - so uconn is very appealing to me. many ppl run away from this b/c, to most, it is a turn off. i love to learn about the human body b/c oral health is a very important part of systemic health. i love the small class size at uconn - - seems very tight knit and very supportive. i come from a very cutthroat undergrad university - - so the colleagial environment was great!

a time when faculty went out of their way for me:

i'm not even at the school yet and i already have two prime instances of this. the first was on my interview. i interviewed with dr. taylor, the head of the reconstructive dept, and i was tlaking to him about my research with bone grafts. he said "i should see the new center." i thought that was just talk - - but after my interview he, personally, took me up to the new implant center and showed me around. just me.

and the second time was recently. i contacted one of the faculty members about summer research and i was expecting to be turned away b/c i'm not there yet, no one knows me or my work, etc. but she was so thrilled and immediately took my "under her wing." we talked on the phone for about two hours getting to now each other. she trusted me and my work and took a huge chance on me. that, to me, speaks volumes.... the fact that she was so eager and willing to help a student who hasnt even started there yet - without ever meeting me in person!!

anyways - - i have tons of reasons why i chose uconn; these are simply a mere few of them. p/m me if you want to talk about this anymore. (i know i didnt really cover unc and columbia - -but i still have my pros/cons lists for both!)

good luck.

if the school sells itself, why the need to impress? you're an applicant to dental school, not royalty...

i'm curious as to what your con list for UNC is since i'm still in the decision-making process. would you mind sharing?

 

[rockkiller]

Thanks all,

There were some other things I didn't mention... all three schools have different volunteer experiences although they were not well enough explained on interview days for me to go into, research opportunities seem fairly obvious to rank Columbia > UNC > UCONN.. I just felt that I should get my key points of pros & cons out there so we could discuss differing opinions and possibly get some view points. It's not a popularity contest.

TeamGuo- You have good words of advice, and to be honest I'm not as frantic as my post title may have seemed😛. We're spoiled because we have this great resource SDN to share experiences. With that being said, you never know who's giving advice, so I take it all with a grain of salt. If anyone is kind enough to share then that's great. Other people in similar situations may benefit. In the end everyone makes the right decision.


RAK- I think I met you at the UCONN open house! I'll definitely PM you. Also I apologize for my attempt at humor, there are many benefits to taking curriculum with the med students.

PSU SHC- We have such limited time on a campus I think its safe to say people choose their school based on interview day. However, with access to hardly any faculty, and only seeing the best parts of a school while they minimize/never mention any negatives I begin to wonder how can people make a decision based on interview day alone. If that were the case then UCONN should get a gold sticker because they give a full day tour and an extremely thorough orientation. I wonder how many students choose Ohio State because they're treated like royalty on their interview dates... they do their interviews at a 5-star hotel not even on campus.

 

[PSU SHC 414]

PSU SHC- We have such limited time on a campus I think its safe to say people choose their school based on interview day. However, with access to hardly any faculty, and only seeing the best parts of a school while they minimize/never mention any negatives I begin to wonder how can people make a decision based on interview day alone. If that were the case then UCONN should get a gold sticker because they give a full day tour and an extremely thorough orientation. I wonder how many students choose Ohio State because they're treated like royalty on their interview dates... they do their interviews at a 5-star hotel not even on campus.

EXACTLY... well put rockkiller. So many naive students choose to dismiss schools solely based on what they experienced on a single interview day, and never take the time or effort to do the "dirty work" and dig deep to find out the real facts. (I've met RAK before, so I know that she doesn't fall into this category... I'm positive she did her research on all these schools. That's why I'm asking for her input on UNC).

Then, these aforementioned individuals come on these forums and spread (often inaccurate) information about schools based ONLY on that single interview day. That annoys me.

I agree that first impressions mean a lot, especially in this profession, but it baffles me how cursory some people are when it comes to making such an important (and expensive) decision. Just because the faculty and students bow at your feet on interview day doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to carry-over when you're actually a student there - putting on a front is a lot easier over a few hours vs on a day-to-day basis.

 

[UncUndergrad1]

I'm equally caught between columbia and UNC, so I'm bumping this for more discussion.

 

[Plopper]

Hi,
Basically I have my top 3 choices narrowed down and I hope to get some good, truthful advice from current students. I have a lot of respect for all 3 programs and they all offer me many different things--I just don't know if my eyes perceive the schools the same as others. Please correct me or add to below!

Level of education: I really feel like the didactics in all 3 schools are on par with each other, they simply focus differently. At UCONN you take 2 years with the med students, at Columbia 1.5 yrs with the med students, and UNC completely separate (hence more focus on the mouth, yknow the place you'll be working on for the rest of your life!). All 3 set up their students to pass the boards, and for specialty schooling. I like that UCONN has such a small class size and it feels like a family there.

Culture: OK this is where it gets SO tricky. Everywhere I read people say "click on some of the other posts and you'll find that UCONN is a nightmare". HUH? I couldn't find these posts. As far as I know, Columbia is eextremely competitive, and the other 2 are much more collaborative. I have no clue how to judge the faculty, so would love to get some help on that. Do you have an example of when a faculty went out of their way to show they care about you? Stress level is very important to me. It seemed to me that Columbia students are always feeling rushed and busy. UCONN students weren't exactly 'rushing' from place to place, but it was obvious that they study all day long (not such a bad thing as long as it is low stress!!). UNC students clearly had balance in their lives.

Facilities: UNC is all brand new you have to love it. Plus they pull a ton of gvt funding for research. UCONN has a lot of new facilities too, perhaps not as much as UNC. Columbia is old obviously. All the schools have most/all specialty programs for us to get a taste of which is nice.

Cost: UNC < UCONN << Columbia

Location: I have to admit, I'm from CT and most my family is in the tri-state area. I love NYC, but Columbia is so high uptown it sorta isn't really a part of NYC at all plus its in a dangerous neighborhood. UCONN is in TOO nice/low populated of a neighborhood, and students have to go off-site to find patients. UNC is clearly nice weather-wise which I love about it. Personally I think UNC & UCONN would fit my lifestyle needs the most because I could have a car and a full kitchen.

Thats all I could come up with. Will anyone please share experiences to help this student decide?!

you should definitely join us at UConn...seriously though, fantastic program, great faculty, p/f, great specialization rates, highest board scores of those 3, what else could you want?!

 

[UncUndergrad1]

Is there somewhere that makes the board scores of the schools available to view?



I guess on my end, the question is whether or not Columbia is worth the additional 120k over UNC, also taking into account that I want to to OMFS eventually, and that I'm tired of being in Chapel Hill.

 

[drpsuedonym]

I think cost should be a HUGE factor in your decisions. Since it's not like you're picking a cheap program that you hate over an expensive program you love, you might as well as go for a program that you like that wont break the bank. It's easy to overlook cost right now, but everyone says that once you have to start writing those student loan repayment checks, it's not so easy to overlook. Besides, $120,000 is A LOT of money.

 

[dentstd]

The major authorities in clinical dentistry are at UNC. They wrote one of the MOST widely used textbook in operative dentistry, (The Art and Science of Operative Dentistry) and many schools learn from what they had to say. It's hard for Columbia and UConn to compete with that. Of those 3 schools, you may get the best clinical education at UNC.

 

[gryffindor]

Is there somewhere that makes the board scores of the schools available to view?



I guess on my end, the question is whether or not Columbia is worth the additional 120k over UNC, also taking into account that I want to to OMFS eventually, and that I'm tired of being in Chapel Hill.

No, it is not worth the extra 120K. If you go to a 6 year OMFS program after dental school, that 120K could pay for your med school tuition.

 

[gryffindor]

The major authorities in clinical dentistry are at UNC. They wrote one of the MOST widely used textbook in operative dentistry, (The Art and Science of Operative Dentistry) and many schools learn from what they had to say. It's hard for Columbia and UConn to compete with that. Of those 3 schools, you may get the best clinical education at UNC.

Same goes for Ortho. William Proffit, author of "Contemporary Orthodontics," is the top man at UNC ortho.

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Is there somewhere that makes the board scores of the schools available to view?



I guess on my end, the question is whether or not Columbia is worth the additional 120k over UNC, also taking into account that I want to to OMFS eventually, and that I'm tired of being in Chapel Hill.

Does Chapel Hill get boring/old pretty fast?

 

[UncUndergrad1]

Does Chapel Hill get boring/old pretty fast?

No, I've just been here for 5 years and grew up 45 minutes away, so I would like a change of scenery - but I guess I should wait for residency for that, 120K would double my loans.

 

[jmick101]

The major authorities in clinical dentistry are at UNC. They wrote one of the MOST widely used textbook in operative dentistry, (The Art and Science of Operative Dentistry) and many schools learn from what they had to say. It's hard for Columbia and UConn to compete with that. Of those 3 schools, you may get the best clinical education at UNC.

Wow, looks like cereal in a bag wins this round!