What should I do? Advice please

[heartonsleeve]

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Hi all,

I'm currently choosing between taking my pre-requisites (chem, bio, physics, etc.) in a satellite campus with 30 students maximum with the professor teaching lecture +discussion and TA teaching lab

or

going to the main campus with over 100 students, professor teaching lecture and TA doing discussion and lab.

I know this is depends on each individual person as a matter of preference but just wanted to see what y'all thought.

Side Note: I would be affiliated with a sorority at the main campus which sounds nice but is a large time commitment.

I also need to get some dental shadowing experience and there is a volunteer program at the main campus versus going individually to each private practice in the satellite campus in my home town and asking to shadow. Each has it's pros and cons.

Thank you in advance for taking the time out to answer.

 

[ICUrunning]

Do what you think is best for you. Personally, I didn't care about the class size. 2 of my LORs were from science professors who taught 150-200 students and that didn't stop me from getting fantastic letters. I just went to office hours when they were offered and formed a good relationship with them.

Is the volunteer program part of shadowing, what sort of volunteering is it?

 

[Dgino]

I would have LOVED to have had 150-200 students in a class with me at UW. Biochem had 700 students when i took it

 

[Glimmer1991]

Personally, I prefer smaller classes. At my undergrad, 30 students was literally the max for every class, and I loved it. I transferred from a much larger university where classes were often 200-400 people, and I quickly realized it wasn't the best learning environment for me.

However, if you'd rather be on campus, then do that. If the sorority is too large of a time commitment, don't do it--it's as simple as that. Make sure you give yourself time to shadow and volunteer.

Which will be cheaper (or does that not matter because of parents, scholarships, etc)?

 

[mts2801]

Personally, I prefer smaller classes. At my undergrad, 30 students was literally the max for every class, and I loved it. I transferred from a much larger university where classes were often 200-400 people, and I quickly realized it wasn't the best learning environment for me.

However, if you'd rather be on campus, then do that. If the sorority is too large of a time commitment, don't do it--it's as simple as that. Make sure you give yourself time to shadow and volunteer.

Which will be cheaper (or does that not matter because of parents, scholarships, etc)?

At some schools, it's really not "simple as that." Depending on the chapter, some organizations will make you be active/pay dues if you are a full time student (even if you don't participate in any events). I believe most of the time it's a national rule, not a local one. Just FYI that's something to consider financially. Other than that though, I think it comes down to personal preference.

Being in a Greek organization myself though, I know that being active in my chapter has helped me develop some social skills and leadership abilities that are necessary for the practice of dentistry. Every chapter is different, of course, and academics should be your first priority but being active in your chapter could have some really positive outcomes (for "life skills" and even for your dental school application)!