What to look for in dental schools?

[nebuchadnezzar90]

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Hey, I just took the DAT today and did pretty decent and now the next part is where to send the applications to.

I know to looks for schools with similar DAT scores and GPA as mine and look for good locations, but what other things should i look for? How do i know if it's a good dental school?

Thanks in advance and thanks to everyone for the help while studying for the test.

 

[joelm]

Talking to current / former dental students is a great first step. They're in a position that will most replicate yours if you were to go to that school. If you can try to talk to people from different years, what do students have to say about the curriculum, educational methods (lecture, vs. self directed vs. PBL), the faculty, the clinical experience and exposure, the school culture, and the overall experience?

Talking doesn't have to be only face to face, forums are also great and looking through SDN you'll find a treasure chest of information (try looking outside the DAT forums). You can also talk to other people who are applying, and pick their brains for how they made their application decisions. Then, you also want to consider how broadly you want to apply (ie. how many schools), depending on your stats, and your willingness to move.

All dental schools have their pros and cons, it's all about trying to educate yourself as much as possible and figuring out which handful of schools you could see yourself attending. Good luck!

 

[nebuchadnezzar90]

Thanks a lot for the information, i also just noticed that this was for DAT discussion only, so sorry for posting here. If anyone has any questions about what i did for the DAT though i'll be happy to help.

 

[nebuchadnezzar90]

Hey, I just took the DAT today and did pretty decent and now the next part is where to send the applications to.

I know to looks for schools with similar DAT scores and GPA as mine and look for good locations, but what other things should i look for? How do i know if it's a good dental school?

Thanks in advance and thanks to everyone for the help while studying for the test.

 

[Typical Average Student]

Cost.

 

[Advance]

A "good" dental school is really based on what you're looking for. Are you looking to specialize? Do you want a cheap school? Is location important to you? Do you want to attend an Ivy?

Outside of board pass rates all the other factors are really a personal preference.

 

[JLT223]

Location for me, personally, was #1. It all depends on what YOU want. You'll get a good education at 99% of dental schools.

 

[meeshii00]

Maybe think about if you would prefer letter grades or pass/fail system

 

[fogorvostan]

Narrow first by IS/OOS/Private schools. Then I would do cost. Then location.