Western U any good?

Started by coolfez
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coolfez said:
I know Western U is new. Anyone got any insight on how good the program is?

Here is the review I found:
http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/Western_University_of_Health_Sciences.html

Also, since it doesn't have a reputation yet, would it be hard to find a job? Obviously, new graduates won't have the benefit of having any alumni connection.
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I don't know about the review but to me, the review is obviously not accurate. I don't know who review it but that person must really hate WesternU. If you have interviewed at WesternU, you will see what I am talking about. As a student from WesternU, I am very offended by the review. Our faculty is really good and they care about the students a lot. Our science curriculum is probably one of the hardest you will in any dental school because we are taking all the classes together with DO program which has been well proven for over 30 years now.

You can check out other posts about WesternU on SDN also. Well.. if you have done that before, you probably won't post this.
 
coolfez said:
I know Western U is new. Anyone got any insight on how good the program is?

Here is the review I found:
http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/Western_University_of_Health_Sciences.html

Also, since it doesn't have a reputation yet, would it be hard to find a job? Obviously, new graduates won't have the benefit of having any alumni connection.
Click to expand...

According to this website, my alma mater, which is a private religious school, is in the top 2 for colleges with the easiest girls, and most drug use. I wouldn't trust much of the info that you find here.
 
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Take that website review with a grain of salt. The program is great: the faculty are wonderful and actually care about the students, we get a lot of hands on experience very early on, we don't really compete with each other - it's a very supportive and positive environment. We do have a block schedule, but I prefer it that way. As far as getting jobs, we will be doing externships and making connections in this and other communities as well as creating a portfolio as we go along. If you put in the time and do quality work, you won't have a hard time finding a job. Come and do a tour or go to an information session and form your own opinion about the school and whether you think it's a good match for you.
 
I was hesitant about WesternU when I read some stuff on the internet too. I went to Western for an interview and it became my top choice. I had multiple acceptances and chose Western over some well established reputable schools because I felt like Western was the best choice for me. I was excited about the new facilities, the friendly, high-caliber faculty, and the vision for the school and community service. Don't be afraid to apply and check it out.
 
Once they graduate their first class and get rid of the unknowns, they're going to be one of the top choices for pre-dents.
 
Western had one of the most organized and well-structured programs i have ever seen. Although the curriculum is really tough I can almost guarantee the students will have NO problems once boards time comes around(although it wont show to much cuz of P/F). The problem is that it's way too new, its location, and the campus sucks...ALTHOUGH the new building is AMAZING!!
 
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Joli said:
Thanks Row. I saw those pics some times ago and kind of hoping to see some more pics for the dental clinics and the cool technologies that everyone been talking about.
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http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/toothdocbob?ref=ts

Check out Dr. Stevenson's facebook page and go to Photos. You will see some more pics of the clinic. *Go to HEC Sneak Peak Album*

Don't know if you need to be his friend to view it...but I think you can just see it that way.

Also, WesternU is awesome. The program is difficult because we are put together with DO's but it is all hands on clinical experience from Week 2 of school.
 
There's a very good chance that the people involved at Western will not screw things up. Not only is their reputation on the line but the university itself. It doesn't matter how great or new a facility is because when it comes down to dentistry, you don't need a fancy chair to do a procedure. What's more important is the types and quantity of procedures you are exposed too. Does Western require 25 crown preps with 5 competency tests? OR does it just require 10 total with 1 comp... there's a big difference between the number and type of preps you will accomplish in order to really say you are getting a good clinical experience at a school. The one advantage at Western is the LACK of any post-doc or advanced specaility residents. This might allow the pre-doc dental students to take on more complicated cases and maybe even place implants and do endo retreats...👍 and ortho too? hehehe
 
Was the question about 25 crown preps and 5 competency tests Actually posed? Or was it for added effect to your argument?

xhamburgersamx said:
There's a very good chance that the people involved at Western will not screw things up. Not only is their reputation on the line but the university itself. It doesn't matter how great or new a facility is because when it comes down to dentistry, you don't need a fancy chair to do a procedure. What's more important is the types and quantity of procedures you are exposed too. Does Western require 25 crown preps with 5 competency tests? OR does it just require 10 total with 1 comp... there's a big difference between the number and type of preps you will accomplish in order to really say you are getting a good clinical experience at a school. The one advantage at Western is the LACK of any post-doc or advanced specaility residents. This might allow the pre-doc dental students to take on more complicated cases and maybe even place implants and do endo retreats...👍 and ortho too? hehehe
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agree with supertank. according to this website, UPenn is #2 for the "cutest boys" category and #6 for "ugliest guys" category :eyebrow:

I mean anyone who chooses schools based on such criteria probably shouldn't be choosing schools in the first place, but also shows how unreliable this website is as all of their information comes from unvalidated information/firsthand experiences.
 
iwannabadentist said:
agree with supertank. according to this website, UPenn is #2 for the "cutest boys" category and #6 for "ugliest guys" category :eyebrow:

I mean anyone who chooses schools based on such criteria probably shouldn't be choosing schools in the first place, but also shows how unreliable this website is as all of their information comes from unvalidated information/firsthand experiences.
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Honestly, I love WesternU. The faculty, classmates, sim clinic, and overall experience is an AWESOME one. I hated elementary, middle, highschool, and many parts of undergrad (with the exception of all the time I had. But I LOVE D-school. I finally made it and actually have time to enjoy everything including going out and hanging with buddies I met here in school. Probably some fo the best friends I will ever have.
 
I believe Western U is already well established for other medical sciences, I dont see why dentistry would be any different...
 
What do you call a student that graduates from Western U?
A doctor.

Enough said.

Now, if you care about specializing afterwards, then... I don't know what to say about Western U, except it's new and any new school still have to work through its kinks and growing pains.
 
I heard from someone that Western U's PCC is over-booked right now? Is this true?

I remember that when I went to the interview, there were only 7-8 patients/day in a place where there are 80 chairs. Since it's a new building that just opened this year, I knew that the patient pool was going to be small at first but since it'll take a few years for class of 2015 to be actually in the clinic to fulfill the clinical requirements (certain # of fillings, crowns, etc) I thought it was going to be okay.

Hearing that it's already over-booked made my hesitation go away, can someone (current student) confirm this??
 
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The PCC hasn't opened for dental patients yet. I know some hygienists were doing cleanings there but for the most part nobody is doing any dental work there. I know the D2's are spending more time over at the PCC practicing charting etc. The D1's have only been over there to practice head and neck exams and to get familiar with the layout of the PCC. I believe the PCC will be opening in February, someone else correct me if they know the exact date the big opening will be but there is a waitlist of 250 patients signed up for dental work when the students can start work on them with more continuing to sign up. I wouldn't worry about the patient pool since the school is in Pomona.
 
spud daddy said:
The PCC hasn't opened for dental patients yet. I know some hygienists were doing cleanings there but for the most part nobody is doing any dental work there. I know the D2's are spending more time over at the PCC practicing charting etc. The D1's have only been over there to practice head and neck exams and to get familiar with the layout of the PCC. I believe the PCC will be opening in February, someone else correct me if they know the exact date the big opening will be but there is a waitlist of 250 patients signed up for dental work when the students can start work on them with more continuing to sign up. I wouldn't worry about the patient pool since the school is in Pomona.
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That's not at all true - the dental faculty have been seeing patients since I think September or October. There is a long list of patients for when we, the 2nd years, start working on real people and not just our typodonts. I'm also not worried about the patient pool due to the large waitlist and the school location.
 
Just Peachy said:
That's not at all true - the dental faculty have been seeing patients since I think September or October. There is a long list of patients for when we, the 2nd years, start working on real people and not just our typodonts. I'm also not worried about the patient pool due to the large waitlist and the school location.
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I know some of the professors will see an occasional patient but I meant for the students as I'm sure that is what healthcaree meant.
 
spud daddy said:
I know some of the professors will see an occasional patient but I meant for the students as I'm sure that is what healthcaree meant.
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Gotcha. As far as students-seeing-patients is concerned, the current D1s will start seeing patients sooner than we D2s have been able to do, and I believe the class of 2015 will start seeing them even earlier than that. I wouldn't worry at all about clinical experience or patient base at Western. There will be plenty of both to go around.
 
During my interview at Western, one of the students mentioned that about 10 of her classmates had dropped out over the past year. Has anybody else heard this? If so, what are the reasons?
 
spud daddy and Just Peachy,

thanks for the school info! sorry, i should've elaborated more on my question, but both of you answered my question 🙂 dr.lee mentioned that there are 7-8 px/day but he was referring to the patients that he's seeing since there aren't D3s yet in the school to directly provide care to the patients.

and about the post right above, this is my first time hearing about it. can you guys confirm to that also?? (about 10 people dropping out, d1? d2?)
 
I only know one person who has dropped out in my class and I don't know the reason, it was within the first two weeks and I didn't really get the chance to get to know her. We have two people in my class that had to re-mediate from the D2 class but they are doing much better this time around. There will be some people who will re-mediate from my class but as far as D2's dropping out, I don't know the number.
 
AtlantaBraves said:
During my interview at Western, one of the students mentioned that about 10 of her classmates had dropped out over the past year. Has anybody else heard this? If so, what are the reasons?
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Yes, the first class at Western (D2s) started with 75 people and we are down to 65. We technically started with 73 because we had two that never actually came to campus (one for personal reasons and the other couldn't sell his house in time so he deferred). We've had a couple of students who left due to health reasons, one who realized that dentistry wasn't for him, a few who failed some classes and had to repeat the year and are currently D1s, and a couple who failed some classes and decided that their hearts weren't in it enough to repeat the year. It stinks, but I feel like if this is what you want to do with your life, the dental faculty are going to do their best to keep you here. We have free tutoring, after hours practice sessions in the sim clinic, and the faculty doors are always open to strategize about how to do better in your classes. There are several steps you go through before you have to make the "stay or drop out" decision, and the faculty does their best to help you stay at Western and finish school.
 
thanks for sharing this info spud daddy and Just Peachy!

I think Dr. Koelbl mentioned during the interview that they are extending the # of seats for incoming D1s (72 to 80 seats), maybe just to make sure that the numbers stay above certain line.
 
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