UNC vs. Columbia

Started by tcc6115
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tcc6115

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Hi guys,

I was lucky to get accepted to both UNC and Columbia. Both are great schools, so I am having a very hard time picking where I want to go. I am thinking about specializing, so what are your guys opinions on these two schools if I want to specialize? And what are your general opinions about these two schools? Any help is appreciated. Thank you very much!
 
Both are great schools, but for specializing I recommend Columbia. Columbia has a VERY high rate of specializing students. Also, Columbia is always ranked high among the top dental schools in the country probably even the Top 5.
 
Dentman1 said:
Both are great schools, but for specializing I recommend Columbia. Columbia has a VERY high rate of specializing students. Also, Columbia is always ranked high among the top dental schools in the country probably even the Top 5.
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I thought dental schools weren't ranked?
 
Well, they arent officially ranked, but many people make rankings based on many factors. And based on peoples rankings, Columbia is always high on everyones list.
 
Columbia is one of the top schools in the country and is great for people wanting to specialize. Unc is a good school too. But for specializing, I'd choose Columbia.
 
If you're goal is to specialize you can't go wrong with either.

The real question is do you want to live in New York or Chapel Hill? What will be better for your well-being during school? Only you can answer that.
 
I highly recommend UNC. A high number of students end up specializing, and with one of (if not the best) ortho and prost programs in the country; you can't go wrong. Also, I feel that with a smaller class size that it is easier to be noticed and less competition within the class for rank. Class rank is very important when applying to residencies....But then again this is just my opinion and of course I'm biased toward my school.
 
People here are delusional. You can specialize anywhere you want to.
Pick the cheapest, in this case UNC. 100 K is a lot!
 
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I'd note that most of the advice on this thread is coming from predents, many of whom may be ill-informed about specializing.

If it's really your interest, you'll have an equal chance of doing it from any school in the country. It's all about what you put into it.

I can't speak for Columbia. I didn't interview there.

As for UNC, we literally wrote the book on orthodontics (Proffit) and operative dentistry (Sturdevant's Art and Science...). We've got the immediate past president of the American Board of Oral Path running our biopsy service, the editor of the Journal of Prosthodontics teaches crown and bridge, and one of the world's foremost researchers in the relationships between periodontal and systemic disease is in our perio department. Our surgery department has an active multidisciplinary craniofacial team. Our DDS program has more orthodontic training than the vast majority of dental schools in the USA.

At UNC, we have EVERY specialty program. If you're interested in learning about a specialty, chances are we not only have someone here who's engaging in high-level research in the subject, but who is also willing to let you assist them.

Picking a school isn't easy. As I said above, your ability to specialize has far more to do with you than the school you attend. Before you pay a lot of heed to folks referencing "rankings," however, take the time to really do your homework on programs beyond poking around on SDN. By spending the time now, you'll be less likely to regret your choice later.

As for me, I'd go with whichever school was cheapest, all other things being equal.

Best of luck with a hard decision.
 
TedyBearSuicide said:
Too bad there aren't many Columbia students lurking on SDN to defend their school, only clueless pre-dents.
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Did you read my post? I didn't say a single thing about Columbia that deserves defending. And regarding pre-dents, many of them are too far removed from the specialization process to speak with any first-hand knowledge of the process. Their perceptions may colored by what they read on SDN, which often can become an echo chamber of misinformation.

Just like I wrote above, you can specialize coming from any school. The poster who started this thread has two excellent choices. I just told him about the one I know about, which is what the poster asked for.
 
TedyBearSuicide said:
Too bad there aren't many Columbia students lurking on SDN to defend their school, only clueless pre-dents.
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I'm sorry Tedy, but I haven't seen which Ivy-league dental school you were attending?? In looking through your past posts, you sure seem to be "lurking on SDN" quite a bit - posting a lot of opinions. Columbia is obviously a phenomenal dental school, as is UNC. The OP is very fortunate to have such a decision to make. But I agree with others, it all comes back to the $$ and best fit location.

I vote UNC - we'd be classmates! 😀

UNC Class of 2014
 
I came to Columbia because we are the most hated on school...means we have to be doing something right 😛


PS we rank top 1/3 middle 1/3 and bottom 1/3...since we have like 80 in the class you just need to be in the top 25 to go pretty much anywhere you want and top 50 to have a really good shot...I guess that IVY does a LIL something something that some other schools can't match....

Yeah we are expensive (but for a private school we are actually pretty cheap)

Yeah they work us hard here

Gunners? We all want to do well but we help each other out, its not as cut throat as you would think

Yes we go out and party




waits for the haters


but seriously the above was just playing up our rep lol....in the end the best school is the one you attend and UNC is an AWESOME school (not just dental but in general as well). You cannot go wrong with that school and I DOUBT that if it comes down to specializing that going to Columbia vs. UNC is going to give you a significant edge (if any edge at all).
 
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I chose UNC over Columbia. It is about best fit. I'm from the south and feel naturally attracted to a southern school. NYC is a great place, Columbia is a great school. I have friends at both dental schools and medical schools, and the sentiment is all the same. It came down to $$$$. Columbia students who I know wish they had better scholarships/grants, etc to help supplement the higher costs of living and private school costs in NYC. Chapel Hill is awesome if you haven't been there. It can get old, but there are surrounding areas to get into trouble and not to mention some of the best specialty programs around are at UNC. UNC dentists are very prepared and columbia dentists are just as prepared.

Overall, UNC is Cheaper, some of the best programs (just like columbia) and cheaper costs of living. Seeing the theme.....cheaper. Why pay 100K-150K more? It would be different if both schools weren't phenomenal. If you're my dentist, I won't ask which school you went to. But i'll ask, how much debt are you in.

That was my rationale.
 
Welcome aboard. Let me know if I can help.

dent2b814 said:
I chose UNC over Columbia. It is about best fit. I'm from the south and feel naturally attracted to a southern school. NYC is a great place, Columbia is a great school. I have friends at both dental schools and medical schools, and the sentiment is all the same. It came down to $$$$. Columbia students who I know wish they had better scholarships/grants, etc to help supplement the higher costs of living and private school costs in NYC. Chapel Hill is awesome if you haven't been there. It can get old, but there are surrounding areas to get into trouble and not to mention some of the best specialty programs around are at UNC. UNC dentists are very prepared and columbia dentists are just as prepared.

Overall, UNC is Cheaper, some of the best programs (just like columbia) and cheaper costs of living. Seeing the theme.....cheaper. Why pay 100K-150K more? It would be different if both schools weren't phenomenal. If you're my dentist, I won't ask which school you went to. But i'll ask, how much debt are you in.

That was my rationale.
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maybe i dont belong here cause im not choosing between these two but like many i had a tough choice.... what i did was stop asking myself which school would be better and started asking where will i be the happiest... if you can get a definitive gut feeling on that question then thats that...the key is to trust your gut haha
 
I'd choose Columbia if I had family in Manhattan and thus had free housing, and I might choose it if I was going to specialize. Other than that, all factors considered, I'd choose UNC.
 
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