UPENN or Tufts! Help Needed in deciding!

[minnie33]

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Hi all, I need to make a decision between upenn and tufts. i am worried at upenn that students are supercompetitive and never go out (not that i will have tons of time for this....). At tufts i have heard that there is not enough faculty for the students.... Also, does it matter that upenn is "ivy league", should this be a factor. any one who can give any advice , it would be appreciated!! Also, sorry if these assumptions are not true about the schools, I liked them both very much and don't want to offend anyone!

 

[blankguy]

The claim that Tufts doesn't have enough faculty is bogus. Tufts is an excellent school clinically. I also heard that students at Penn a very competitive. If that scares you then you've answered your own question, Tufts.

 

[xtractime]

from my interview the claim that there aren't enough profs for students i think is bogus also. there may be a pinch in the prof:student ratio at times but every school has those problems. students told me at the schools that i interviewed at, the prof:student ratio in such areas as the pre-clinical labs aren't very important because you already know what to do and don't really need a prof to stand over you.

also, upenn is more expensive than tufts. on the flip side, upenn prob has a better specilization rate. boston is an awesome city. either way you will get a good education. congrats on getting into both

 

[small]

If you got into Penn, I can't imagine the average student is going to be much different than you in terms of competitiveness or anything else for that matter. I went to vist my friend at Penn for a weekend back in 2001 and we went to two parties with lots of dental students (one thrown by a dental student, the other a dental student's b-day bash at a cool bar) in the short span of 3 days! Work hard, play hard; I think you'll find likeminded people wherever you end up.
I know nothing about Tufts other than that an old high school girlfriend's brother and sister-in-law both went to Tufts and liked it. Who doesn't have a story like that, though...
Ivy name thing, who knows! Can't imagine it'd matter too much. If you don't work hard and come out a crapy dentist, no amount of Ivy nameness will make your life easier. If your at the top, though, well maybe, but probably wouldn't really matter.

 

[dmille73]

I am planning on attending Tufts in the fall and i dont know anything about UPENN. One thing you will need to keep in mind is that Tufts will be undergoing construction. This is both good and bad. Bad because we may get disrupted. But also good because the school will be growing and it shows that the school is willing to spend money to advance and expand. While some schools have been shutting down Tufts is growing which is a good sign. Boston is a Great area with lots of nice people. Good luck with your decision, if you have any other questions let me know.

 

[jackbauer!]

I am planning on attending Tufts in the fall and i dont know anything about UPENN. One thing you will need to keep in mind is that Tufts will be undergoing construction. This is both good and bad. Bad because we may get disrupted. But also good because the school will be growing and it shows that the school is willing to spend money to advance and expand. While some schools have been shutting down Tufts is growing which is a good sign. Boston is a Great area with lots of nice people. Good luck with your decision, if you have any other questions let me know.

...and which schools are these?

jb!🙂

 

[curiosteph]

I'm going to Penn and I'm not competitive. I plan on helping my classmates as much as possible through what is going to be an intense experience! Although there will always be gunners, no matter what. Hope to see you as a classmate next year!

 

[ShinyDMD]

Upenn is ivy league. You will be earning bragging rights for the rest of your life with that. Jokes apart, Upenn has awesome facilities, so have I heard and friends of mine in first year are having the time of their lives.

 

[minnie33]

Thanks everyone for all of your input!!!! I really appreciate it. I still am very torn so any more comments anyone has--keep them coming! thanks and good luck to all of you. 🙂

 

[minnie33]

one more thing! I was talking to some people at work today- not dentists but they were suggesting that choosing a school should be influenced by where I want to live int eh future- if i want to live in new england, then i should pick tufts because it has a great reputation there, but if i dont know where i want to go , i should pick penn because it has a better known name in the rest of the country....what do you all think about that suggestion? is this true? especially since i am not sure i want to specialize....thanks!!

 

[jackbauer!]

"reputation" usually stems from their undergrad rankings. sad, but true. tufts and penn are both household names to those familiar with us news college rankings.

your decision should be based on price, location, and how happy the students seemed. reputation is highly overrated.

about going to school where you want to practice- it's really not that big of a deal. most people don't know or care where their dentist when to school. they will care about how you treat them, your personality, and your price.

best of luck w/ your decision. congrats on getting into 2 schools.

jb!🙂

 

[minnie33]

"reputation" usually stems from their undergrad rankings. sad, but true. tufts and penn are both household names to those familiar with us news college rankings.

your decision should be based on price, location, and how happy the students seemed. reputation is highly overrated.

about going to school where you want to practice- it's really not that big of a deal. most people don't know or care where their dentist when to school. they will care about how you treat them, your personality, and your price.

best of luck w/ your decision. congrats on getting into 2 schools.

jb!🙂

Thanks JB! So basically you're saying that once a dentist when I am applying for jobs (or specialty programs) Upenn is not necessarilly better than tufts or vice versa?? Then what determines my success rate? grades an board scores?? Thanks!

 

[jackbauer!]

Thanks JB! So basically you're saying that once a dentist when I am applying for jobs (or specialty programs) Upenn is not necessarilly better than tufts or vice versa?? Then what determines my success rate? grades an board scores?? Thanks!

Class rank and board scores are the 2 most important factors when applying to specialty programs (and, I suppose, GPR programs).

If you're looking to go straight into private practice, personality and clinical skills/confidence trump your rank n board scores. A hiring dentist could care less about how well you can recite the spinothalamic tract; he/she cares more about how likable you are and how much money you are going to make for their practice.

I'm not suggesting that slacking and being last in your class won't hurt you, but middle of the pack ain't a bad place to be.

As far as which school will prepare you better for the boards, no one can tell you. I imagine Penn boasts higher board scores, but is that because they are really better at preparing students or just that highly motivated students attend (wow, I sound like armor 😳)?

As far as what school will make you marketable.. it really depends on the dentist doing the hiring. If the Doc is a Tufts grad, they may or may not be inclined to hire you b/c you went to tufts, or vice versa. Bottom line- neither school will make you significantly more attractive than the other.

jb!🙂

 

[minnie33]

Class rank and board scores are the 2 most important factors when applying to specialty programs (and, I suppose, GPR programs).

If you're looking to go straight into private practice, personality and clinical skills/confidence trump your rank n board scores. A hiring dentist could care less about how well you can recite the spinothalamic tract; he/she cares more about how likable you are and how much money you are going to make for their practice.

I'm not suggesting that slacking and being last in your class won't hurt you, but middle of the pack ain't a bad place to be.

As far as which school will prepare you better for the boards, no one can tell you. I imagine Penn boasts higher board scores, but is that because they are really better at preparing students or just that highly motivated students attend (wow, I sound like armor 😳)?

As far as what school will make you marketable.. it really depends on the dentist doing the hiring. If the Doc is a Tufts grad, they may or may not be inclined to hire you b/c you went to tufts, or vice versa. Bottom line- neither school will make you significantly more attractive than the other.

jb!🙂

Thanks jb this is so helpful! just out of curiousity, what year are you and where are you going to school!? THanks! 🙂 if anyone else has comments i would love to hear them!!! Thanks everyone !

 

[jackbauer!]

Thanks jb this is so helpful! just out of curiousity, what year are you and where are you going to school!? THanks! 🙂 if anyone else has comments i would love to hear them!!! Thanks everyone !

1st year @ UMaryland.

jb!🙂