Usc Vs Unlv

[T DAT]

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Fellow Dental students I have a GOOD problem. I recieved an acceptance from UNLV and USC, who can recommend one over the other. I know USC is about 100 grand more, but aside from cost what would you recommend? Thanks

 

[stdmufin27]

Ugghhhhhh.....UNLV. No brainer. Tuition-UNLV (100k less like you mentioned). Cost of living-UNLV (single or married you're going to save a bunch here). Cirriculum-UNLV (no PBL), Traffic-UNLV (about a 15 minute drive from anywhere in the valley....CA traffic👎), Graduation rate-UNLV (USC's graduation issues😱), Intangibles-UNLV (you'll get the chance to learn conversational spanish, increased dental hygiene skills, etc.).

All in all, save a bunch of change in tuition and living expenses and also don't deal with the stress of CA traffic (I live in Southern CA) during school. My .02.

 

[K2 Dental]

Don't consider the "conversational" Spanish when making a decision on UNLV. Please don't even believe for one second that you will learn enough Spanish to converse with your patients.

While I was at UNLV I hated it. Now that I am practicing I realize that UNLV is a pretty damn good school. The only thing that is lacking is real molar endo experience. Maybe they've changed that now. I doubt it.

 

[stdmufin27]

You know better than I do cuz you went through the program (the students during my interview said the same thing) but I sure am going to try and make the most of that at least somewhat helpful spanish learning environment

 

[mola_pulla]

UNLV is a great school. You won't regret coming here. The students that were among the first couple graduating classes might tell you it was terrible but that might be because they were going through the bulk of the growing pains associated with a new school. Now, I'm not saying that there still aren't problems, every school has them, but it is getting better. I've been in contact with friends at USC and I haven't heard anything terrible. Both schools will have pros and cons. I can tell you I love it here and I don't regret my decision to attend UNLV.

 

[NVDental]

I agree that traffic, housing and tuition are positives for UNLV, but there are more than ample opportunities to speak and learn Spanish at USC. I don't know much about what is going on at UNLV, but I would think that there are more outreach opportunites at USC than at UNLV. I kinda enjoyed the PBL approach. I can't say that I am 100% thrilled about how the main clinic is operated, but I am ahead of schedule for ontime graduation.

I've just posted this on another thread, but here is more about what I like at USC.

*Special patients clinic- opportunity to provide comprehensive care to patients with special needs or medically compromised patients

*Sports dentistry selective - pretty self explanatory

*LAC-USC County Hospital Rotation- Lots of experience with extractions, and OS Case observation. This is a high volume hospital with lots of pt diversity.

*IV Sedation Team: 8 people from each class get to learn IV sedation for Stanley Malamed, and receive a certificate to perfrom IV Sedation upon graduation/licensure. (an $10,000 value).

*Center Craniofacial and Molecular Biology - numerous research opportunities.

*Oral Facial Pain Center - nice place to learn some on hands oral pathology identification

*AYUDA- a nonprofit mobile clinic affiliated with USC that provides free dental care to LA area kids, that runs about 2 weekends/month, plus at least 2 big trips a year to Latin/Central American countries. Tons of operative experience and a chance to give back to the community.

*Queens Care 1 & 2 - Nonprofit mobile children's dental clinics that set up at elementary schools.

* Children's Dental Clinic (CDC)- an off campus rotation providing comprehensive pediatric dental care. This is in addition to our pediatric clinic at the main campus.

*Union Rescue Mission- Off campus clinic offering dental care to the indigent/homeless community.

* 3 dental fraternities * I get lots of extra CE courses through my dental fraternity, from world reknown dental experts.

* USC Mobile Clinic- USC sponsored mobile dental clinic that provides care to Southern California communities. Can get extra experience on the weekends as well.

* CMDT Mobile Clinic -This is another pediatric dental clinic.

*Pt population- very diverse backgrounds, gets lots of experience dealing with varying socio-econmic backgrounds. Great place to perfect my Spanish!

*World Reknown Dental Experts- great resources and research opportunities.

* Awesome weather! Great Campus life! We are on the main university campus. Great atheletics dept. 100yds away from gym and swimming pool.

 

[UtahDent]

Go to UNLV. More Mormons = Better School.

 

[youngmc27]

USC is more expensive and traffic sucks but there are many pluses to USC. The clinical experience at USC is great as is the football team sorry UNLV can't claim that and you get many oppurtunities to help the community and learn Spanish. If that is a reason to pick one school over another. I love the PBL program, if you like sitting in boring lectures from 8-5 everyday with no free time to do your own studying then choose UNLV. If you like to study on your own and in small groups then PBL is for you. I personally can't stand studying powerpoint presentations about worthless crap. I like being able to research a topic and see how it all ties into a case setting. As dentists we will have to solve cases so why not get a head start. The students here at USC are not gunners and everyone is willing to help out each other as much as possible. USC traditionally has had great board scores and specialization from here is always an option. Of course USC has it's down sides but so does UNLV. All that I am saying is that cost shouldn't be the only factor in making your decision. Congrats on the two acceptances. Good luck in your choice. I hope to see you here next year.

 

[DIRTIE]

Go to UNLV. More Mormons = Better School.

Is there something wrong with you?

 

[bodiddely]

Umm hello, 100k is 100k. Plus, you get to live in Vegas for four years.

 

[stdmufin27]

Is there something wrong with you?

I hope you don't mean what I think you mean. The better school is ridiculous but the higher percentage of mormon's is true. It's a factor in the decision of many many many applicants.

 

[prtysmile]

I was faced with a similar situation as you. I was accepted to both UNLV and USC for this cycle and have chosen to attend UNLV in the fall. There are many factors that influenced my decision. One such factor is that I would be closer to my family at UNLV than USC. Cost was also a definite factor. USC would have been much much more expensive tuition-wise and I just didn't think it was worth the loan money when I would be paying in-state tuition at UNLV. It is also cheaper to live in Vegas than LA. I'm also not a fan of PBL. I know that I learn much better in a traditional classroom-style setting with slides and powerpoints. If I am going to be taking out loans and paying for school, I would much rather the school give me the information that I need to know than have to go search for it like in PBL.

I'm sure USC is a great school, I just know that it's not the school for me. Just thought I would give you my insight seeing that I was in a similar situation in picking schools. Good luck with your decision!

 

[T DAT]

Thanks for all your help! I am leaning toward UNLV still, but I am heading down to USC this weekend to see how things run. Thanks much to all for your insight.