The following information is what I know from working at USC dental school for a couple of years, having a relative that has an administrative position and on the admissions board, and having friends in the dental school.
USC:
Pros-
-easier lifestyle (lots of free time with PBL) --> happy students
-larger patient pool
-quality name (recognizable by patients)
Cons-
-The school is still in a transition period with PBL. They are not running things very efficiently right now --> hence, students are not that happy (problems are not usually addressed immediately are taken into account for following years)
-The school is banking on its name that has been really built up by the traditional students. With that in mind, not many know how difficult it has been to transition to PBL.
-Since the start of PBL, the top faculty that worked at USC left because of disagreements with PBL. These are some of the top faculty that had made such a positive impact over the years with the traditionals.
- Board scores for the last experimental PBL class were not as high as the traditionals (unexpected)
-One of the highest priced schools in the nation $300K+
-lower quality of students (they have a hard time getting quality students nowadays because of the changes/price). I know this sounds harsh, but it just means that this school is not as competitive as it was back in the day.
I don't have much insider info on UCLA, but here is what I know
UCLA:
Pros-
-Quality name
-High quality of students
-CHEAP
-Pass/no Pass
Cons-
-This is a specialty school where most students go on to specialize. That means if you plan on specializing, you better be in the top of the class to have a chance of making it. Schools are not going to interview an overwhelming number of applicants from only one school, so they will likely only interview the top students from UCLA only. Although during the interview they reported something like 70/80 made it on to specialize in 2002, it included students that went to GPR.
-This school is tough! From what I hear from the students, they make things really tough on the students for no reason. I've been told that they feel like things are made overwhelming just for the sake of keeping them busy as heck. They say that UCSF does not put their students through as much as the UCLA students.
-Not that great of a patient pool. You basically get whatever is handed down from the higher years. Unfortunately, Westwood is a nicer area so people prefer to get their dental work done from a dentist and not done at a school.
