What's the Truth About Boston?

[RU1992]

Hey guys! I really want to find out if all of those rumors and the bad mouthing of BU's dental school was warranted on the pre-dental page. So I'm asking people that are familiar with the current status of Boston University or are current students... Is it a good school to attend? Honestly speaking, please don't vouch for the school just because you go there please. I'm asking this with the intention that there is a great chance I may be going there. Thank you in advance!

PS: Please point out the plusses and minuses of the school if you could. I've heard A LOT of rumors!

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[sunflower8]

I would also like to hear some feedback on this.. I was accepted and really liked the atmosphere during the interview, it seems like a great school. I would like to put my mind at ease if I decide to attend by clarifying some of the speculations of the school

 

[HelpNbeHelped]

Well it depends what are you looking at?
If you are looking at only getting a degree, then BU is good. If you arelooking for theoretical knowledge then BU is good. But if you are looking for a great patient pool to work upon, perhaps not a good idea. If I had gotten into BU, I would have taken it myself only coz i would get a cheaper degree and FAST than NYU.
The patient pool and the confidence is what matters the most. Are BU people surviving in the real world? OH yes.. they are doping good.. but I am actually looking at those people who have had their experience in their respective countries.
If you have admission from ONLY one school, then may be BU is good..Beggars are no choosers..

 

[Daurang]

As the previous poster and I have repeatedly said...go ONLY as your last resort. Go read the rumors again and let it sink in. But if you should end up there as your last resort, you will do just fine.

 

[RU1992]

I have other options, but they offered me a hefty scholarship. I really want to know: What exactly is bad about the school? I really would prefer a straight up answer. What exactly is wrong with the patient pool? What is the faculty like? Why should I ONLY go as a last resort? I'd really like to understand.

 

[djeffreyt]

I cannot speak directly from experience, but I've had a couple dentists who graduated from BU in the regular dental class (not international) who came and worked at places I worked. Both were fired within a matter of weeks or months because clinical skills were a little sub par. Again, I won't say I know much about the school and these were only two isolated people that I know of, but there was a lack of confidence in both dentists which patients also commented upon, noting that the doctor seemed to be second guessing himself/herself. IN one persons case I had to go back and redo a lot of the work he did during a week he was working at the office I worked at. It wasn't outrageous, and honestly, everyone gets the hang of things after a few months out, but in these cases, I ended up redoing anterior root canals that were poorly filled or missed the full length of the canal and had post op pains and redid a lot of class 2 filllings that either did not remove all the decay or were not filled all the way to the gingival margins

Again, these were two people, not the class in general, but that was my only experience with dentists from BU so far. Perhaps the rest of the classes were much more clinically skilled upon graduation

 

[RU1992]

Can someone direct me as to where I can find these "rumors" please? Thanks.

 

[iamgosu]

I am currently a BU student, and I'd say that from talking to some of my friends at diff schools (NYU, Temple, VCU, UConn, and Nova), BU is about average in terms of clinical experience. The professors here are actually all really welcoming though, and our class and the upperclassmen's classes all get along well. There's a great sense of camaraderie, and although it's true that everybody has their own little niche of friends, everybody is friendly to each other. There may be 1 or 2 gunners in the class, but that's to be expected from any school.

The clinic and simulation equipment at BU is old though, so that may be off-putting for some. I'm jealous of Tufts in this sense. The biggest problem at BU Dental is the lack of pre-doctoral clinic chairs. The patient pool itself is fine, but when you have close to 400 people (3rd and 4th years + AS students) sharing only around 50 chairs, it's going to be a problem.

I know a couple of people who have graduated from BU, and they feel confident in their skills working in a private office as an associate. In addition, I know a few dentists who have friends who graduated from BU as well. They said they're definitely competent, but not exceptional.

 

[longhornpride]

I haven't had a problem with getting patients or having enough work to keep me occupied. actually quite the opposite... I almost have too many patients. I have 5 crowns to do at the moment and maybe 2-3 more that need to be treatment planned currently and i still have 1 week left in my first semester of clinic. Getting chairs can be a hassle, but I always seem to get enough chairs.

My biggest complaints are all the loop holes and unnecessary appointments we have to go through. The school needs to figure out a way to be more efficient. I feel like I waste half my appointments treatment planning things that could have been treatment planned in the initial consult.

Overall, I feel like I'm going to get an avg clinical experience here by the time I graduate with quite a few headaches along the way. There are some students that have done more than me and then are students on the other end of the spectrum that are really struggling to find patients that are willing to pay and come in. I'll also mention that the school has been fundraising for a new clinic. Not sure when they will be building it, but they have plans to upgrade the facilities. I also believe that newest entering class will have receptionists do the pt bookings for them, but I may be wrong about this. They seem to be trying to move in the right direction.

Honestly, talk to the 3rd and 4th years in the clinic that aren't giving you their tours. You'll probably get more honest opinions and then go from there. With that said, go to the cheapest school at the end of the day.

Hope this post helped.

 

[FlyingSky]

The clinic and simulation equipment at BU is old though, so that may be off-putting for some. I'm jealous of Tufts in this sense. The biggest problem at BU Dental is the lack of pre-doctoral clinic chairs. The patient pool itself is fine, but when you have close to 400 people (3rd and 4th years + AS students) sharing only around 50 chairs, it's going to be a problem.

50 chairs??? Lol is this serious?
I study in a really small faculty and we have chairs for everyone (3rd and 4th years students are in separated clinics) everyone has his own cubicle with his name on it

 

[little Buddy]

Ok so Boston might not be the top school in the nation but at the students cool? Do you have fun with each other/ on the weekends?

 

[Sublimazing]

Ok so Boston might not be the top school in the nation but at the students cool? Do you have fun with each other/ on the weekends?

My co resident went to boston, he had a blast

Take the warnings seriously tho, from my tiny insight they seem extremely true

 

[Bis-GMA111]

50 chairs?! man..