I have been accepted to the University of Washington (my state school) along with a few other schools. I am hoping to get some general advice from any current students at the UW about their experience there. Are ya'll glad you chose to attend? How competitive is your class? How intense/difficult is the curriculum? The school seems to have a great reputation. Do you feel like your education matches the reputation? As far as specializing opportunities from the school, especially in oral surgery, how do students generally do from UW in matching into programs? Do you think the UW is a good place to be if you want to specialize (assuming I work hard and all of that). I know people say you can specialize from any school, but it does seem that some schools confer and advantage over others in certain areas. Any pros/cons of the school in general? Thank you very much for any replies.
University of Washington (UW) current dental student advice
- Thread starter Rustik
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Hey, congrats on the acceptance!! I will try to help you out with my limited experience. I am extremely happy I chose to attend, my class is awesome. Everybody works hard and does well, but nobody is cut throat. The curriculum is a lot of work, but I have a wife who is a full-time masters student and have two young kids...so if I got through the first quarter just fine then I'm sure you can. I think the school does have an excellent rep and I feel the education has lived up to that so far (1 quarter). I have no idea about match rates, I talked to a 4th year earlier who said over 50 of 63 applied to post doctoral of some kind (specialties plus GPR/AEGD). The school has every specialty, so you can get a lot of exposure and UW is a pretty big name in dentistry, so it should help for specialty. If you ended up at the top of your class here you should be a safe bet for specialty. There really haven't been any cons in my mind thus far. I think the culture at UW is supportive, everybody wants you to succeed and will do what it takes to get you there, and it seems like all the classes here are the same way, I know mine is. I hope that answers some of your questions, if you choose UW you won't regret it. Good luck with your decisions and congrats again!
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Our school is going through a lot of transitions right now. There has been lots of recent changes which has been agitating to our class. We no longer have home units during our fourth year and a bunch of small annoying changes have been going on. Our class feels that we have no voice in the administration. Things are and will get better through time. That being said, I would say UW lives up to its reputation.
I have been interviewing for post grad programs and numerous programs have told me that they highly respect UW students and that UW grads have been very prepared for their residencies.
We have a great OS experience, plenty of extractions (simple and surgical) in the OS clinic and urgent care clinic. We also place implants here as well, as long as you have the patients. You will get a little OR experience in your hospital rotation as well.
We do a decent amount of removable compared to most schools. We do 8.5 arches which must include CD/CD, ICD/ICD and RPD/RPD.
Our school is also known for its oral medicine program. We get a lot of didactic training in oral medicine (especially in your third and fourth year) and you have the opportunity to rotate through their clinic seeing lots of TMJ and mucocutaneous diseases.
We have a lot of electives you can take. Some include DECOD, oral medicine, surgical perio elective, honors endo, gold foil, tuckers gold study club, conscious sedation, oral path, etc.
For weaknesses, I feel our school has a weak clinical experience in endo. We have a endo residency program and we compete with them for the endo. Many times when you have a molar to do endo on, it will be sent to the residents. Our experience in pedo is also not very strong. They are working on making it better. We have 4 weeks of rotation but our experience is limited.
Overall I am happy I attended UW. I think it is a great school. Congrats on your acceptance.
I have been interviewing for post grad programs and numerous programs have told me that they highly respect UW students and that UW grads have been very prepared for their residencies.
We have a great OS experience, plenty of extractions (simple and surgical) in the OS clinic and urgent care clinic. We also place implants here as well, as long as you have the patients. You will get a little OR experience in your hospital rotation as well.
We do a decent amount of removable compared to most schools. We do 8.5 arches which must include CD/CD, ICD/ICD and RPD/RPD.
Our school is also known for its oral medicine program. We get a lot of didactic training in oral medicine (especially in your third and fourth year) and you have the opportunity to rotate through their clinic seeing lots of TMJ and mucocutaneous diseases.
We have a lot of electives you can take. Some include DECOD, oral medicine, surgical perio elective, honors endo, gold foil, tuckers gold study club, conscious sedation, oral path, etc.
For weaknesses, I feel our school has a weak clinical experience in endo. We have a endo residency program and we compete with them for the endo. Many times when you have a molar to do endo on, it will be sent to the residents. Our experience in pedo is also not very strong. They are working on making it better. We have 4 weeks of rotation but our experience is limited.
Overall I am happy I attended UW. I think it is a great school. Congrats on your acceptance.
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Are y'all glad you chose to attend?
Depends on the day you ask me. I have definitely thought, at times, that I may have had a better education at another school. But I've never attended the other schools I was accepted to and maybe it's just a "grass is greener" situation. As an in-state resident, I'll probably be happier with my loan bills in the end. But I sometimes wonder if the $______ K I saved at UW was an $______K less of an education.
How competitive is your class?
I'm not sure. I'm not interested in specializing, so I stay out of all that stuff. I occasionally hear stories about people being weird underhanded competitive jerks and I've also heard stories about people being dishonest to get good grades, but I've never seen it outright myself. In my class, there may be some people like that, but if there are, they do a good job of hiding it. Most people I talk with are helpful and nice.
How intense/ difficult is the curriculum?
That depends on the class. There is a lot to learn, no doubt about it. Some classes are very well thought out. Others are not. Some classes are very informative and chock full of details, but have easier exams. Other classes have laid-back lectures and ridiculously hard exams. I imagine it's on par with most other schools. The curriculum is very out- of- balance, though I hear they're changing that somewhat. First year was a pretty light load. Too light of a load when considering the hell that was 2nd year. 3rd year, so far, makes for long days but is reasonable.
Do you feel like your education matches the reputation?
No. Not really. I feel like there are two UW's. There is the lots- of –published- papers, bastion of noble and true dental science UW. Then there is the UW that I attend where we are struggling to get patients in our chairs, where most of my class has very limited clinical experience thus far, a school that has virtually NO communication between departments, and that repeatedly has multiple confusing and burdensome bureaucratic snafus.
Know this- UW has no dean currently, and our previous dean did very little to improve the school. She was very hands-off and it shows. If there were one thing that I wish I'd thought more about when I was making my choice for dental school, I would have preferred to go to a school with a dean that was very involved in the interview process. I think that shows the dean has a personal interest in the school and feels a personal drive to make sure the school is operating as best as it can and its students are given the best education possible. Maybe that's not true, maybe it just means those deans were better actors, but that's the way I see it. I don't know though, because I chose not to attend those schools and I don't know what their educational experience is actually like.
While my daily frustration is with the current admin not bothering to step up and make things run more smoothly and efficiently, I feel ensuring that a dental school is running at top-notch falls on the dean's shoulders. Though, I guess the admin at UW feels the same say, which is why it's not really running as well as it should.
Specializing:
UW is a wonderful school for specializing. It has a great reputation and lots of opportunities to build a good application – there are some genuine outreach activities, research opportunities, and tons of BS line filler extracurriculars too. Some of the clinic grading policies make it difficult to have any control over the grade you actually get, but if you distinguish yourself in other ways, I can't imagine it would be that big of a deal. If you're smart, a hard worker, and determined to specialize, UW can help you fulfill that goal. If you're smart and a hard worker, but plan to be a general dentist, want a lot of clinical experience, and/ or have little tolerance for ineptitude or illogical policies, UW may not be you.
Depends on the day you ask me. I have definitely thought, at times, that I may have had a better education at another school. But I've never attended the other schools I was accepted to and maybe it's just a "grass is greener" situation. As an in-state resident, I'll probably be happier with my loan bills in the end. But I sometimes wonder if the $______ K I saved at UW was an $______K less of an education.
How competitive is your class?
I'm not sure. I'm not interested in specializing, so I stay out of all that stuff. I occasionally hear stories about people being weird underhanded competitive jerks and I've also heard stories about people being dishonest to get good grades, but I've never seen it outright myself. In my class, there may be some people like that, but if there are, they do a good job of hiding it. Most people I talk with are helpful and nice.
How intense/ difficult is the curriculum?
That depends on the class. There is a lot to learn, no doubt about it. Some classes are very well thought out. Others are not. Some classes are very informative and chock full of details, but have easier exams. Other classes have laid-back lectures and ridiculously hard exams. I imagine it's on par with most other schools. The curriculum is very out- of- balance, though I hear they're changing that somewhat. First year was a pretty light load. Too light of a load when considering the hell that was 2nd year. 3rd year, so far, makes for long days but is reasonable.
Do you feel like your education matches the reputation?
No. Not really. I feel like there are two UW's. There is the lots- of –published- papers, bastion of noble and true dental science UW. Then there is the UW that I attend where we are struggling to get patients in our chairs, where most of my class has very limited clinical experience thus far, a school that has virtually NO communication between departments, and that repeatedly has multiple confusing and burdensome bureaucratic snafus.
Know this- UW has no dean currently, and our previous dean did very little to improve the school. She was very hands-off and it shows. If there were one thing that I wish I'd thought more about when I was making my choice for dental school, I would have preferred to go to a school with a dean that was very involved in the interview process. I think that shows the dean has a personal interest in the school and feels a personal drive to make sure the school is operating as best as it can and its students are given the best education possible. Maybe that's not true, maybe it just means those deans were better actors, but that's the way I see it. I don't know though, because I chose not to attend those schools and I don't know what their educational experience is actually like.
While my daily frustration is with the current admin not bothering to step up and make things run more smoothly and efficiently, I feel ensuring that a dental school is running at top-notch falls on the dean's shoulders. Though, I guess the admin at UW feels the same say, which is why it's not really running as well as it should.
Specializing:
UW is a wonderful school for specializing. It has a great reputation and lots of opportunities to build a good application – there are some genuine outreach activities, research opportunities, and tons of BS line filler extracurriculars too. Some of the clinic grading policies make it difficult to have any control over the grade you actually get, but if you distinguish yourself in other ways, I can't imagine it would be that big of a deal. If you're smart, a hard worker, and determined to specialize, UW can help you fulfill that goal. If you're smart and a hard worker, but plan to be a general dentist, want a lot of clinical experience, and/ or have little tolerance for ineptitude or illogical policies, UW may not be you.
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Ha Ha UW dental student, did you just join to post that? That was your first post. Sounds like a 4th year ready to get out!!
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Yes, I did sign up just to post this. If the OP has a few schools to decide between, I think it's good to give them honest insight into what the experience is like at UW so that they can make an informed decision. It's just my perspective on the school, though. I make no claims to being the ultimate authority on the UW experience. I can only offer what I think about it. Feel free to chime in if you have a different perspective, I'm sure the OP would love to hear more thoughts on this.
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That was precisely the general feeling I got after interviewing there. Like seriously, this is the all-mighty University of Washington? I felt like it was a joke at times. There were so few people in the clinic it was disturbing. I honestly can't blame them though, you couldn't pay me to venture into that endless dungeon for discounted care. Not to mention all I heard throughout the day was how good the staff was at research. I guess that's necessary but I'm trying to become a dentist!
If I eventually get into UW I still don't think I'll have any choice but to go because of low tuition, but if I don't I really think it might be a blessing in disguise. By far the least impressive out of the 6 schools I interviewed at in my opinion.
If I eventually get into UW I still don't think I'll have any choice but to go because of low tuition, but if I don't I really think it might be a blessing in disguise. By far the least impressive out of the 6 schools I interviewed at in my opinion.
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All I have to say is that it is really about attitude as well. While many of these things are true, I have had a really good experience and have been very busy in clinic. Most my requirements are finished allowing me to spend a lot of time focusing on procedures that are a little outside the norm. Further I feel that there are parts of the coursework that are great strengths that you don't get at other programs. We get a great education in Oral Medicine, one class per quarter 3rd and 4th year. We spend most of the classes seeing cases, learning how to create differential diagnoses, and understanding testing. This has really helped me evaluate and treat difficult and complex patients.
A lot of people get caught up in whats being said, issues about locker space, or other little things in clinic. While these things may be true, you don't have to get caught up in them and let it consume your time. Come to school, learn while you are in classes, put your head down and go to work. This has been my approach and I have had a great time, made lots of long time friends, and had a great clinical experience.
Remember where ever you go you will have to deal with crap in clinic, requirements, and problems with administration. Why not go somewhere and pay a lot less. Your experience is what you make of it and the issues are at every school. The grass is never greener on the other side.
A lot of people get caught up in whats being said, issues about locker space, or other little things in clinic. While these things may be true, you don't have to get caught up in them and let it consume your time. Come to school, learn while you are in classes, put your head down and go to work. This has been my approach and I have had a great time, made lots of long time friends, and had a great clinical experience.
Remember where ever you go you will have to deal with crap in clinic, requirements, and problems with administration. Why not go somewhere and pay a lot less. Your experience is what you make of it and the issues are at every school. The grass is never greener on the other side.
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At UW, you can graduate doing a bare minimum amount of work if you aren't active. If you are motivated you can do a lot. I would say I have received a strong clinical experience so far.
I'm a fourth year and I understand the third years are having a harder time than we did with acquiring a good patient pool. It will be better for you guys once we graduate. But my advice is to make use of your time. If you have unfilled sessions, go to urgent care, DECOD, or any of the grad clinics and you can get some experience there. Talk to the residents, they can refer you good cases at times if you ask them. I recently got a patient that had no predoc student from perio, veneers #6-11. Get involved and learn whenever you can, you will be surprised at times what you can find and run into.
It truly is what you make of it whether your in school or practicing outside.
I'm a fourth year and I understand the third years are having a harder time than we did with acquiring a good patient pool. It will be better for you guys once we graduate. But my advice is to make use of your time. If you have unfilled sessions, go to urgent care, DECOD, or any of the grad clinics and you can get some experience there. Talk to the residents, they can refer you good cases at times if you ask them. I recently got a patient that had no predoc student from perio, veneers #6-11. Get involved and learn whenever you can, you will be surprised at times what you can find and run into.
It truly is what you make of it whether your in school or practicing outside.
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Here's an update for anyone looking into UW now or in the future.
The interim dean just informed the school that there are a number of changes that are happening right away to increase our patient pool. They are:
1. Ads for the school around the city, such as on buses
2. A new website for patients that makes it easier to navigate the UW system
3. A discount program for patients that are on medicaid. If you didn't know, our state cut medicaid funding for dental care for adults, which had a major impact on our clinics. This is huge.
4. A re-vamp of our patient admission process- some details still need to be ironed out.
It's great that the school is leaping to action. I'm feeling really optimistic about these changes and very happy things will be improving. A big source of discouragement in my class was our impression that the school was not doing anything to fix the situation, but the implementation of these changes shows the admin is serious about improving things.
The interim dean just informed the school that there are a number of changes that are happening right away to increase our patient pool. They are:
1. Ads for the school around the city, such as on buses
2. A new website for patients that makes it easier to navigate the UW system
3. A discount program for patients that are on medicaid. If you didn't know, our state cut medicaid funding for dental care for adults, which had a major impact on our clinics. This is huge.
4. A re-vamp of our patient admission process- some details still need to be ironed out.
It's great that the school is leaping to action. I'm feeling really optimistic about these changes and very happy things will be improving. A big source of discouragement in my class was our impression that the school was not doing anything to fix the situation, but the implementation of these changes shows the admin is serious about improving things.
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