UT Health Houston (IS) vs. Harvard Dental Medicine (OOS)

[GreekSB24]

School 1:
UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry (already committed) (IS)

Pros:

• In-state TX tuition (~250k)
• Great class culture & supportive faculty
• Close to home (Dallas resident) + strong support system in Houston
• Located in the Texas Medical Center

Cons:

• Less prestige compared to Harvard
• Not pass/fail curriculum making every point matter + classes are ranked
  • Harder to specialize

School 2:
Harvard School of Dental Medicine (OOS)

Pros:

• Prestige
  • The name opens a lot of doors not only in terms of specializing
• Integrated medical school curriculum
  • Interested in bridging the gap between oral health and systematic health - HSDM does this like no other
• Pass/Fail Curriculum - This is a big factor for me because I tend to stress
• Amazing research & networking opportunities - interested in advancing the field
• High specialty placement
  • (Not 100% sure about which specialty or if I even want to but I have had prior interest in Perio or OMFS)

Cons:

• OOS tuition (~500k)
• Boston weather
• Lacking clinical education compared to Houston

Summary:

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to make this tough decision. I know both programs are strong, but I am still struggling to decide on my goals and which program will help me achieve them. I am interested in specializing but not fully sold - I feel as though Harvard makes that path easy, but I am not too keen on spending another 3-4 years after school in residency.

I appreciate any and all insight received. Thank you all immensely 🙂

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[macsak]

future you will thank present you for choosing the cheaper school...

School 1:
UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry (already committed) (IS)

Pros:

• In-state TX tuition (~250k)
• Great class culture & supportive faculty
• Close to home (Dallas resident) + strong support system in Houston
• Located in the Texas Medical Center

Cons:

• Less prestige compared to Harvard
• Not pass/fail curriculum making every point matter + classes are ranked
  • Harder to specialize

School 2:
Harvard School of Dental Medicine (OOS)

Pros:

• Prestige
  • The name opens a lot of doors not only in terms of specializing
• Integrated medical school curriculum
  • Interested in bridging the gap between oral health and systematic health - HSDM does this like no other
• Pass/Fail Curriculum - This is a big factor for me because I tend to stress
• Amazing research & networking opportunities - interested in advancing the field
• High specialty placement
  • (Not 100% sure about which specialty or if I even want to but I have had prior interest in Perio or OMFS)

Cons:

• OOS tuition (~500k)
• Boston weather
• Lacking clinical education compared to Houston

Summary:

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to make this tough decision. I know both programs are strong, but I am still struggling to decide on my goals and which program will help me achieve them. I am interested in specializing but not fully sold - I feel as though Harvard makes that path easy, but I am not too keen on spending another 3-4 years after school in residency.

I appreciate any and all insight received. Thank you all immensely 🙂

 

[JacquesVallee]

I just checked Harvard's cost and it is closer to 600k for all four years. Dentistry is not even remotely worth it for that price, even if Harvard was your only acceptance. In fact, most specialty programs cost money so you add on endo or ortho debt and you could easily push 900k from Harvard. Ironically, attending Harvard could prohibit you from specializing in that regard. Go to Texas.

 

[LFA20]

It's pretty obvious which one you should choose

 

[sumin5924]

"prestige" isn't really a thing in dentistry. seeing as how you're not even sure about specializing, it makes zero sense to attend a school at over double the cost. goto the cheaper school and focus on studying if you decide later on to specialize.