What Do You Look For in a Dental School?

[DMD-2-B]

I'll be applying to dental schools next summer, and I never imagined the task of narrowing down 10-15 schools to apply to would be so difficult!

It seems like every school has its pros and cons. I'm trying to weigh out factors like clinical exposure, prespectives for specialization, cost, reputatability, location, etc. but I don't know what to give priority to.

So I was wondering... what do you look for in a good dental school?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

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[coral2005]

I'd say:

Look for the cheapest school that will accept you. 😀

 

[RaiderNation]

Location, location, location.

 

[DMD-2-B]

Location, location, location.

So what these posts are implying is that all things considered, the quality of education and the level to which all dental schools prepare their students is basically equal across the board, and that what matters most (assuming desirable acceptance results) is choosing a school that will leave me with less debt or allow me to be in an enjoyable city.

Is this the concensus?

I don't mean at all to sound doubtful. This may very well be a fair assessment.

It's just not what I expected to hear...

 

[dat_student]

So what these posts are implying is that all things considered, the quality of education and the level to which all dental schools prepare their students is basically equal across the board, and that what matters most (assuming desirable acceptance results) is choosing a school that will leave me with less debt or allow me to be in an enjoyable city.

Is this the concensus?

I don't mean at all to sound doubtful. This may very well be a fair assessment.

It's just not what I expected to hear...

I agree. I am sure for every dollar I borrow I must eventually pay $10 😡

 

[DMD-2-B]

Thanks for all your input. It's nice to hear what other have to say about this issue.

So is this to say then that a dentist from a not-so reputible school is of equal skill as say a dentists from a more reputable dental school like Tufts?

 

[rajmahal1980]

I agree. I am sure for every dollar I borrow I must eventually pay $10 😡

Lol...its nothing like that actually. Going to dental school is a solid investment even for the most expensive schools.If the debt issue was that bad, the number of applicants to dental school would not be skyrocketing.

As someone who has worked in financial management, my advice would be that choosing a school just on cost is a bit myopic.

For example a school like UOP is super expensive. But at the same time you'll come out with better clinical training than most schools and could do a lot more with your own practice. I observed a lot of general dentists and the best one I saw was from UOP. While my dentist was just doing basic procedures, this one was doing everything including root canals, implant dentistry, cosmetics, etc. So his debt might have been higher but so was his payoff for the investment.

So yeah cost matters but factor everything else in. If you have a goal of running your own practice make sure your school addresses practice management. Any dentist can make a lot of money but the key is how well do you save it and how efficiently you run your practice.

 

[binsbts]

Lol...its nothing like that actually. Going to dental school is a solid investment even for the most expensive schools.If the debt issue was that bad, the number of applicants to dental school would not be skyrocketing.

As someone who has worked in financial management, my advice would be that choosing a school just on cost is a bit myopic.

For example a school like UOP is super expensive. But at the same time you'll come out with better clinical training than most schools and could do a lot more with your own practice. I observed a lot of general dentists and the best one I saw was from UOP. While my dentist was just doing basic procedures, this one was doing everything including root canals, implant dentistry, cosmetics, etc. So his debt might have been higher but so was his payoff for the investment.

So yeah cost matters but factor everything else in. If you have a goal of running your own practice make sure your school addresses practice management. Any dentist can make a lot of money but the key is how well do you save it and how efficiently you run your practice.

yeah i agree with this guy..

 

[dat_student]

yeah i agree with this guy..

2:2 we need a tiebreaker

 

[mccarth2]

Check out the official guide to dental school published by the ADA. You'll find that depending on where you live you might not have a good chance at more than 15 schools based on state/regional acceptence preferences. It will also give you DAT & GPA averages so you know where you stand.

 

[Dental Mom]

Lol...its nothing like that actually. Going to dental school is a solid investment even for the most expensive schools.If the debt issue was that bad, the number of applicants to dental school would not be skyrocketing.

As someone who has worked in financial management, my advice would be that choosing a school just on cost is a bit myopic.

For example a school like UOP is super expensive. But at the same time you'll come out with better clinical training than most schools and could do a lot more with your own practice. I observed a lot of general dentists and the best one I saw was from UOP. While my dentist was just doing basic procedures, this one was doing everything including root canals, implant dentistry, cosmetics, etc. So his debt might have been higher but so was his payoff for the investment.

So yeah cost matters but factor everything else in. If you have a goal of running your own practice make sure your school addresses practice management. Any dentist can make a lot of money but the key is how well do you save it and how efficiently you run your practice.

Hey! That is some amazing DAT scores! Wow! I haven't noticed anyone else here with those numbers! Good luck with everything!

 

[howui3]

For me location is important and also how well the dental students to on their boards and how many get into the specialty of their choice. and lastly the outrageous price!

 

[gryffindor]

For example a school like UOP is super expensive. But at the same time you'll come out with better clinical training than most schools and could do a lot more with your own practice. I observed a lot of general dentists and the best one I saw was from UOP. While my dentist was just doing basic procedures, this one was doing everything including root canals, implant dentistry, cosmetics, etc. So his debt might have been higher but so was his payoff for the investment.

Right, b/c they don't teach how to do root canals at the east coast dental schools. 🙄

When you come out of dental school and get your first job (as an associate, your own practice, or in a residency), everyone has strengths & weaknesses from their education. But after about 3 months, you all catch up to a level pretty equal to each other.

Go for the cheapest school in a place where you can live for the next 4 years. No need to pile on the extra debt while in school. You can use that money to buy fun toys for your dental office instead - a much better return on your money.

I can't remember a lot of what I learned in school and I have only been out for 1.5 years. They just overload you with too much info across too many subjects while you are there so you can't possibly remember it all. Now that I'm out, I have lots more time to focus on learning more on procedures I really want to do and market, but my school did give me the basic foundation to approach every discipline. I don't have to waste time sitting in mandatory lectures anymore memorizing tons and tons of info on how to do complete dentures and take an agonizing nit-picky exam at the end, when really the market place is demanding bleaching (which was covered in like 2 lectures in first year), not dentures (which we spent 4 semesters of full-time classes on in 2nd & 3rd years 😱 ).

 

[Chris125]

If you wish to specialize, apply to schools that have a high percentage of students specializing in your chosen area.

If you want to be a general dentist, apply to schools that give you tremendous clinical exposure so you can avoid wasting a year or two in GPR.

If you want to keep specializing an option, but would be perfectly happy as a general dentist, apply to a school with good clinical exposure that also scores well on their NBDEs (like UW).

That's just my opinion.

 

[DMD-2-B]

All great advice!

I really like the way you categorized my considerations, Chris125. I would say I fall into the third one: wanting to keep specializing as an option but also would be happy as a gp. 😉

The three schools near me are Columbia, NYU and Stony Brook.

Stony Brook has the clear price advantage over the other two.

But between NYU and Columbia it seems that what NYU lacks Columbia offers, and what Columbia lacks NYU offers.

I still haven't given much thought to applying outside NYS. But that may be my next avenue.

There's so much to consider, but I truly beleive that if you work hard, stay focused, and be positive everything works out well in the end! 👍

 

[toofache32]

I'm not sure what location has to do with it. I agree with going with the cheapest. $$$$$$$=DDS/DMD. $=DDS/DMD.

 

[eapleitez]

Probably cheapest for me as well, but I do also have to consider location if I have to choose from more than one acceptance. Also, UOP is really expensive, but I would gladly go there over most other schools because I'll be done in 3 years, and thier reputation, and the fact that moving there will be alot easier than moving to some other state.

Plus my wife is an RN so I don't really have to worry about living expenses 😀

 

[DMD-2-B]

It sounds like this is really a 50-50. Half of you guys seem to think $ should be the deciding factor, and half think it should be other factors (quality of education, clinical opporunities, specialization opportunities, etc.).

Interesting though - noone has said go for the "name". That begs the question - what makes the name the name? For example, what makes Tufts, Tufts? I mean there must be some benefits that Tufts students gain over others, or else Tufts wouldn't have earned the rep.

I'm just picking Tufts bc it seems to be well known outside the dental world too. There are other reputed school, of course! 😉

And I'm not saying any of this to stir up controversy. I'm really just trying to figure out what advantages different schools offer their dental graduates.

Also - pardon my ignorance, but what does UOP stand for?