What are your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd...etc. choice Dental Schools?

[RacerDude2249]

Just wondering,

What are everyone's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd...etc. choice Dental Schools? Where do you guys REALLY, REALLY want to go...

just wondering... (Wow, look at those teeth)

Racerdude

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[MDP]

I dunno if you want top 3 choices irrespective of any life circumstances ($$$, relationships etc...) but since that's simply fantasy, I'll give you my top 3 ALL THINGS CONSIDERED!

1) Nova
2) Columbia
3) NYU

 

[Thebeyonder]

Hi,
Good question: here's my answer
1)UCONN
2)UMinn
3)Harvard
4)Tufts
5)BU
6)UPenn
7)UK
8)ULouisville
9)Temple

 

[juice_cruz]

I guess mine would be:
1)UIC
2)Nova
3)Tufts
4)Case Western
5)Temple
6)BU

 

[10_10]

LOL, Tufts?

my top 5 choices:

1)Nova
2)UoP
3)Temple
4)Columbia
5)UCSF

school location, environment, size of patient pool, quality of education, school hardware and reputation were taken into my consideration.
I excluded the cost. UoP costs around $60k/yr for 3 years. Temple is a pretty darn nice choice except for its location. It ranks down to #3 on my list.

 

[erasure]

hi all,
maybe i am mistaken but isnt the u of pennsylvania a 4 your program? my friends in dental school laughed at me when i asked if they changed from a 4 to a 3 year program.or is it optional to finish in 3 years?

 

[Doggie]

I noticed that a lot of you guys put down NOVA as one of the top choices. Is that the new school in florida? Not that i'm saying it's a bad school or anything, but what's so special about the place?

 

[anamod]

1. U of Iowa
2. U of Minn
3. USC (Location)
4. Nova (90 degrees in november, how can you go wrong)
5. Louisville
6. U of Michigan
I would have a real hard time picking one of these schools to go to.

 

[anamod]

Beyonder,
What may I ask made you pick U of Minn as your #2 pick. Just curious.

 

[10_10]

OOPS...

I meant to put down UMaryland as my #5 choice...

1)Nova
2)UoP
3)Temple
4)Columbia
5)UMaryland

UoP = I meant University of Pacifics

oh yes, weather around Nova is wonderful

 

[GoatBoy]

Can I ask a question, why have people put Nova so high on their lists (besides the fact that it is hot in the winter)? Is there something about the school I dont know? I thought it was even having trouble being recognized by the American Dental Association.

 

[Thebeyonder]

anamod,
I choose UMinn because the StPaul area is nice, the school is good, and the tuition is low.
Tim

 

[hunk22]

I lived in Ft Lauderdale and even though Nova has a nice location, the school is probably one of the worst picks. The patient pool is hardly sufficient, it barly got approved by the ADA, just by interviewing the school has a highly unprofessionl feel and most importantly from some of my 3'rd year friends who got there, they say they regret making the choice. I was even told that old tests are circulated year after year and the same tests appear as the actual exams. Anyways you'll end up paying $58K-$62K to live in Fl Lauderdale which is'nt supposed to be an expensive city compared to LA, Boston, NY so yeah the only thing going for Nova is the location and new facility. But hey we all want different things, so if quality of education is one of them Nova is not a good choice.

 

[MDP]

As I read the comments on this topic, I must admit that a big smile comes onto my face! I was the 1st to put Nova Southeastern University at the top of my list and I'll try to elaborate a bit.

1) Having interviewed @ Nova last year (unable to attend b/c I didn't have the $$$), I must say that they have a class A clinical facility. It's virtually new and it's certainly state of the art.

2) Location, location, location....you can't count out the beauty factor Ft. Lauderdale has going for it. As a Canadian, the warm winters are a big plus factor!!

3) Cost...it's no more expensive than your run of the mill private school (I'd argue that all things considered, it's definitely cheaper) and for your tuition dollars, I feel you get great facilities with which to work in.

Some have said it has a poor faculty and a non-existant patient base but what does one expect for a school that is 5 years old?? You think that NYU and UCLA evolved into "super clinics" overnight? No, they're old schools which have built up a solid reputation over the years...just as I believe will happen in Ft. Lauderdale.

Look, no school has it all but for my tuition dollars, studying in a new facility in sunny South Florida cannot be beat.

Ciao,
MDP

 

[RacerDude2249]

Hi MDP,

I am just wondering, you say that you were unable to attend NOVA becaue of your finanical situation. I'm sorry to hear that, but I am wondering why you didn't take out loans to help finance your situation. There are plenty of viable routes one could pursue to secure loans to finance a dental education. Hmmm, maybe I am just misunderstanding the situation?

Racerdude

 

[anamod]

Tim,
Have you toured the U of Mn and talk to the 2 admission panel ladies yet? Having been there a few times my self I was wondering what your thought about the place.
Chris

 

[MDP]

RacerDude:

The financial situation I'm in is a difficult one for no other reason than I'm a Canadian citizen. I'm therefore not able to receive any American loans and the tuition costs at virtaully all private US schools (the only ones that will even consider a Canadian applicant) are so enormous that any loans I could get from a Canadian bank/gov't really wouldn't be able to solve the money problem. Most US private dental schools are in big cities like NY, LA, Boston and the like and these cities have some amazingly high costs of living. Also, you've got to take into account that it currently takes $1.53 Canadian dollars to buy $1 US dollar...so the $35+ grand NYU charges in tuition alone is like $55 grand Canadian just for tuition!!!! Starting to see my problem?

I'm aware of CanHelp and other ways Canadians finance their US educations but I've worked out a way in which I could realistically attend Nova off some private funds and some Canadian bank loans...the reason is I have family that recently moved into the Ft. Lauderdale area and appears willing to let me live with them (for next to nothing!). So, Nova is #1 on my list b/c it'll grant be a DMD without financially destroying me for the next 30yrs of my life!

I'd also like to say that all you American's on this board, consider yourself lucky! I've seen some discussion already about how tough Canadian dental schools are to get into...I AGREEE. Anything less than a 3.6 to 3.7 GPA and an Ontario dental school won't even give you the time of day. US schools are more receptive to those of us who are good students but not academic all stars...and you US students can attend such schools with the generous financial aid available. It's your Canadian classmates that you should pat on the back b/c not only did they have to meet the same requirements to get into the program but they've also had to do some SuperMan like work to secure enough $$$ to attend dental school. My message, don't "dis" any school on anybody's Top3 list b/c a lot of us can't afford to attend Harvard, Penn or Columbia so it's the schools we can afford to attend (if we're even that lucky) that start looking real appealing!

Goodnight all,
MDP

 

[waiting]

interesting to see everyone's top choices...here are my top 5:

1. Harvard
2. UCLA
3. UNC
4. UCSF
5. Columbia

btw, i'm a north carolina resident, hence unc (plus it's a top tier program)....if the dental Gods like me they'll give me a shot at UCLA.....

 

[RacerDude2249]

Oh yeah,

How shameful of me to post a topic without answering my own question.

Well, here are my top 5.

1. UCLA
2. UCSF
3. Conn
4. Harvard
5. Penn

Racerdude

 

[makebelieve]

1)ucla
2)uconn
3)ucsf

low tuition is a major factor and the quality of the skool if u want to specialize. who cares bout the location, environment, the size of the patient pool ,and all that nonsense when u know ur going to come out with a huge debt that's going to take u at least 10 + yrs to pay off. now...for me that's too much of a burden. of course....ur saying..man...i can pay that off fast since i'll be making enough money as a dentist. well..sorwie to burst ur bubble...most fresh out of the skool dentists have to start out working for some other dentists...and the ave. salary is around 60K to 70K per yr..not much considering that u have to spit out 4000 per month to pay off the loans. by that time u'll regret for picking a skool for its beautiful weather and its new facility. u don't become a good dentist cuz of the skool...u become one cuz of the experience u get from a working as a dentist plus....if u just want to be a GP then who cares where u go just as long u go to a cheap skool....a dds is a dds..it doesn't matter where u get it from...nobody really cares...not even ur future patients. also...it's not like ur going to be there forever...it's just freaking 4 yrs then ur out of there. who cares bout warm summer...u'll be too busy studying anyway.

 

[waiting]

aren't you from southern cal??? hmmm, i think it's much easier for you to go off on warm weather and nice location as not being big deals b/c you're used to it!!

but i agree w/your point that ultimately it's what you get out of the school, tuition is a major factor, and that where you go to school isn't necc. where you have to spend the rest of your life......but i'm still prayin' for ucla!

 

[budfrog]

Hey Guys....I am from Ohio and here are my top 5 choices for dental school:

1. Case Western
2. Detroit Mercy
3. University of Michigan
4. Ohio State
5. Pittsburgh

If anyone is applying to an of the same schools or has questions as to why these are my choices feel free to ask!

 

[Thebeyonder]

Hi,
why would you pick cwu over osu, due to the fact that cwu will be far more expensive than osu, is cwu much better program?
Tim

 

[Makenzeey]

My Top choices are
1) UNC-Chapel Hill
2) VCU
3) Temple
4) Ohio State
5) UAB

 

[Lucus]

My list was as follows:

1. University of Toronto
2. Western University
3. Columbia
4. Harvard
5. Buffalo State
6. Tufts
7. Boston
8. Michigan

 

[MDP]

I have to agree with Lucas. I didn't originally include any Canadian schools in my Top 3 pick a while back but UofT, UofWestern Ontario, UofAlberta, UofBC and McGill U are all such wonderful programs that they should be on top of everyones lists! The only problem with these programs is that they're just so damn hard to get into unless you'rs

i) an academic genious (3.8+ GPA)
ii) a delightful person with lots of work, volunteer and research experience
iii) Really damn lucky!!

So, I want to start the list I posted earlier on this board with the following Canadian schools:

1) University of Toronto
2) University of British Columbia
3) University of Alberta
4) McGill University
5) University of Western Ontario

Nuff' said.
MDP