UT Houston or Baylor ?!

[HopperPlopper]

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I was accepted to all three Tx school but I'm torn between Houston and Baylor and can't choose.

The main reasons I was leaning Houston was because of the city and the brand new awesome facility. I lived in the DFW area all my life and thought some change might be nice, but then again Houston is going through a new curriculum too and so it's hard to gauge what it's like right now.

I loved Baylor because I know so many people who've either been there or are there now and it's got a great reputation, not to mention being close to home. It is an older building and I've heard a lot of people complain about all the extra lab work they have to do.

There are pros/cons for both, so I was hoping for some other people's feedback or insight !

Thanks

 

[psiyung]

I was accepted to all three Tx school but I'm torn between Houston and Baylor and can't choose.

The main reasons I was leaning Houston was because of the city and the brand new awesome facility. I lived in the DFW area all my life and thought some change might be nice, but then again Houston is going through a new curriculum too and so it's hard to gauge what it's like right now.

I loved Baylor because I know so many people who've either been there or are there now and it's got a great reputation, not to mention being close to home. It is an older building and I've heard a lot of people complain about all the extra lab work they have to do.

There are pros/cons for both, so I was hoping for some other people's feedback or insight !

Thanks

I went to UT Houston myself, but a good friend of mine went to Baylor. The bottom line is, you'll get a good education no matter where you go. What I would boil it down to is how much money will you save if you stay closer to home vs coming down to htown. Less debt = better

 

[UCSFx2017]

You Texans are extremely lucky to have multiple affordable and reputable schools. Either choice is a good choice but I would go to Baylor.

 

[txaggie03]

you will have to confirm this for yourself, but I heard through word of mouth that the students in houston can not get into the new facility after hours and on the weekend (I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that). If true, this would really put a burden on you trying to get lab work and sim-bot practice in during regular hours. I get caught up with work, and practice after hours, quite a bit.

If it were me, I would look at which school has the harder clinic requirements. After all, the more patients you see, the more confident you will be, and the less likely you will feel forced to join the rank and file in corporate dentistry.

Unless things have changed, BCD has the higher requirements. BCD also puts a lot of focus on lab work. Depending on how you look at it, that is a good/bad thing.

Either way, you will get a solid education with either choice.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

you will have to confirm this for yourself, but I heard through word of mouth that the students in houston can not get into the new facility after hours and on the weekend (I'm not sure of the reasoning behind that). If true, this would really put a burden on you trying to get lab work and sim-bot practice in during regular hours. I get caught up with work, and practice after hours, quite a bit.

If it were me, I would look at which school has the harder clinic requirements. After all, the more patients you see, the more confident you will be, and the less likely you will feel forced to join the rank and file in corporate dentistry.

Unless things have changed, BCD has the higher requirements. BCD also puts a lot of focus on lab work. Depending on how you look at it, that is a good/bad thing.

Either way, you will get a solid education with either choice.

Actually, the hours during the week are actually better at the new school than at the old school. The old school - hours were 6:30 am to 9 pm M-F. I rarely went in on the weekend, so I cannot remember the hours there. At the new school, it is 6:00am to 10:00 pm M-F (even though I was there until 1:00am once because a cleaning crew member accidentally broke somethign of mine and the security didnn't bother me), Noon-6:00pm S and 1:00pm-6:00pm Sunday. It does limit you some having to come in only during these hours, but this is pretty much the hours UTSD has followed for years and people have no problems graduating. Personally, I didn't like being limited in when I could come in because I have kids and would rather have come in during the night after the kids were asleep, but I dealt with it. Don't let the lab hours be a deciding factor. There are other factors that are great about the school. The lab times were just an annoyance.

 

[CMistry]

I've met graduates of both and really you can't go wrong with either!

 

[HopperPlopper]

Would going to Baylor put me in a better position to possibly get into a specialty program down the line because of their extra requirements and preparations? It sounds like Baylor prepares you more than Houston.

It worries me when I am leaning towards Houston that most dentists recommend either Baylor or SA but rarely if ever have I heard anyone recommend Houston.

 

[skifastrokclimb]

We have a brand new facility at UT Houston and they are working hard to optimize things in clinic. Baylor students have to do WAY more lab work than we do. I believe they have to set all their own denture teeth and cast their own crowns. You will be a dentist either way, and I do prefer Dallas over Houston, but I'd recommend UTSD.

 

[txaggie03]

Baylor students have to do WAY more lab work than we do. I believe they have to set all their own denture teeth and cast their own crowns.

We do set our denture teeth, and cast our own crowns.

👍

We will definitely know what to look for in lab work.

 

[HopperPlopper]

We do set our denture teeth, and cast our own crowns.

👍

We will definitely know what to look for in lab work.

Would you say this is a good thing or a big waste of time? Would you recommend Houston over Baylor because of all the extra lab work?😕

 

[txaggie03]

Would you say this is a good thing or a big waste of time? Would you recommend Houston over Baylor because of all the extra lab work?😕

This totally depends on how you view school, what you want out of school, and if you think you might want to fill any of your time with doing your own lab work.

Personally, I like it. I enjoy designing my own stuff. Honestly, I like the control.

Will I be doing my own lab work when I graduate? No, but I will damn sure be able to order good lab work, dialogue with the lab, give the lab needed info, and have no hesitation firing a lab for work I know damn well is possible.



Also, I think too many students fall into the trap that dental school is high school, or even to an extent, undergrad. Lots of us, myself included, treated HS as a place to do the very minimum to get whatever grade we wanted. I think we did this because we had a hard time finding the relevancy of the material to our future lives. Sadly, I think this habit followed many to dental school.

If you can somehow break this habit, you would see that dental school is very directly teaching to our future. And as such, you should be prying the most info you can out of professors heads and getting your hands on as much of dentistry as you possibly can. Dental school is four, very short years. It is not nearly long enough to learn everything you really need, IMHO.

 

[Bryophyta]

This totally depends on how you view school, what you want out of school, and if you think you might want to fill any of your time with doing your own lab work.

Personally, I like it. I enjoy designing my own stuff. Honestly, I like the control.

Will I be doing my own lab work when I graduate? No, but I will damn sure be able to order good lab work, dialogue with the lab, give the lab needed info, and have no hesitation firing a lab for work I know damn well is possible.



Also, I think too many students fall into the trap that dental school is high school, or even to an extent, undergrad. Lots of us, myself included, treated HS as a place to do the very minimum to get whatever grade we wanted. I think we did this because we had a hard time finding the relevancy of the material to our future lives. Sadly, I think this habit followed many to dental school.

If you can somehow break this habit, you would see that dental school is very directly teaching to our future. And as such, you should be prying the most info you can out of professors heads and getting your hands on as much of dentistry as you possibly can. Dental school is four, very short years. It is not nearly long enough to learn everything you really need, IMHO.

Every single class gets met with a this type of comment from most people : I'm trying to be a dentist, I don't need to know about (insert any extraoral scientific fact).

It's absolutely mind boggling how these kids are going to start clinic soon and have no idea what Ibuprofen is, what chamber blood flows into after the right atrium, what attrition is, that you don't need to light cure alginate, ... I could keep on going ... but hey, as long as you store old exams in your photographic memory, who cares about learning.

OP, as long as you give a damn, you'll do well in any D-school. Best of luck to ya!

 

[Blue87Fiero]

^^^ non-vascular plants are not allowed to post on SDN.... I had to say something I love the name. I wish I would of taken a couple botany classes. Sorry OP I know nothing about the Texas schools

 

[socr1216]

Was there a reason in specific that you didn't choose SA or at least think of it as a legit option? I know I only got accepted to UTHSCSA and so the choice for me was a no brainer. I would probably have preferred going to UTSD or UT-houston, just because I am from there but one semester into school and I can honestly say that it was for the best that I ended up here. It's been a great experience so far!