What's your first choice this cycle?

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miamimami

miamimami

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Hey ya'll,
My flight's delayed, I thought I'd kill some time! When I tell family and random uber drivers that I'm applying to dental school, I always get asked what my first choice is and I sincerely have no idea. I'm a strong believer of "the best school is the one that accepts you." But anyways, as Dec 3rd draws closer (4 WEEKS YO), do you guys have a first choice? What school and why?
 
UConn is my dream school. Medical-based curriculum, in-state tuition (170k for all 4 years if I live at home), pass/fail grading system, small class size, etc etc.
 
Marquette. I love their dedication to outreach programs as well as their really awesome curriculum!
 
Cost aside...

Was anyone else blown away by the either Midwesterns' clinical programs? What their students do in their 3rd and 4th years is just so impressive when compared to a majority of other schools. Not to mention the various certifications included. I also have an in-state option if accepted, but I am at a crossroads at deciding if the MWs extra strong clinical side and preparedness for the real world can justify a $170Kish difference. Any thoughts?
 
dp1357 said:
Cost aside...

Was anyone else blown away by the either Midwesterns' clinical programs? What their students do in their 3rd and 4th years is just so impressive when compared to a majority of other schools. Not to mention the various certifications included. I also have an in-state option if accepted, but I am at a crossroads at deciding if the MWs extra strong clinical side and preparedness for the real world can justify a $170Kish difference. Any thoughts?
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I think that regardless of where you go, you'll come out of dental school with no idea what you're doing. That's what I've been told by a ton of students at least.
 
dp1357 said:
Cost aside...

Was anyone else blown away by the either Midwesterns' clinical programs? What their students do in their 3rd and 4th years is just so impressive when compared to a majority of other schools. Not to mention the various certifications included. I also have an in-state option if accepted, but I am at a crossroads at deciding if the MWs extra strong clinical side and preparedness for the real world can justify a $170Kish difference. Any thoughts?
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Yeah I was blown away. But I didn't think the cost was worth it lol

The Midwestern graduates that practice in my area as top notch though with no residency and still under 30.
 
dp1357 said:
Cost aside...

Was anyone else blown away by the either Midwesterns' clinical programs? What their students do in their 3rd and 4th years is just so impressive when compared to a majority of other schools. Not to mention the various certifications included. I also have an in-state option if accepted, but I am at a crossroads at deciding if the MWs extra strong clinical side and preparedness for the real world can justify a $170Kish difference. Any thoughts?
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The amount of procedures the Midwestern students get to perform is crazy when compared to most other schools. With that being said, I would only consider MW with an HPSP or NHSC scholarship. 500k of debt ain't worth it lol
 
dp1357 said:
Cost aside...

Was anyone else blown away by the either Midwesterns' clinical programs? What their students do in their 3rd and 4th years is just so impressive when compared to a majority of other schools. Not to mention the various certifications included. I also have an in-state option if accepted, but I am at a crossroads at deciding if the MWs extra strong clinical side and preparedness for the real world can justify a $170Kish difference. Any thoughts?
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what kind of certification do they get?
 
dp1357 said:
Cost aside...

Was anyone else blown away by the either Midwesterns' clinical programs? What their students do in their 3rd and 4th years is just so impressive when compared to a majority of other schools. Not to mention the various certifications included. I also have an in-state option if accepted, but I am at a crossroads at deciding if the MWs extra strong clinical side and preparedness for the real world can justify a $170Kish difference. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
YES i was absolutely amazed by the experience that even 3rd years have! Multiple implants and 2nd molar endo. Is it just me or was everyone just SO nice and warm!? I also liked the competency based graduation requirements, self evaluation grading, student faculty ratio, no need to seek out your own patients, and how they gave us so much time to really just explore the sim clinic and clinic and talk to whoever we wanted. I did not expect to like the program so much. I do not have an instate option and probably wont, but if I did get into this school it would be a top choice but I don't think I could choose it over Temple which offers almost the same opportunities at a lower cost and in a location that I prefer.
 
dp1357 said:
Cost aside...

Was anyone else blown away by the either Midwesterns' clinical programs? What their students do in their 3rd and 4th years is just so impressive when compared to a majority of other schools. Not to mention the various certifications included. I also have an in-state option if accepted, but I am at a crossroads at deciding if the MWs extra strong clinical side and preparedness for the real world can justify a $170Kish difference. Any thoughts?
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I live 15 minutes from Midwestern it would definitely be my most convenient choice but my state options 250k less lol I just don't think it's price is justified.
 
Assuming I receive an HPSP..Creighton and Midwestern AZ are tied for my top pick.

MWU has everything I want-outstanding clinical experience, awesome weather, and cheap housing. The only downside is that MWU is far from family.

Creighton is a great school too, but the dress code is business casual and I'm tired of snowy winters. The upside is that I have lots of family in the Omaha area and my hometown is 2hrs away.

I have been in the Midwest and surrounded by family all my life, I'm not sure how how I'd react being away from all that. This may be my only chance to leave the area and go outside my comfort zone. I have no idea how I would choose between the two schools if I get accepted to both lol
 
BasicG said:
Assuming I receive an HPSP..Creighton and Midwestern AZ are tied for my top pick.

MWU has everything I want-outstanding clinical experience, awesome weather, and cheap housing. The only downside is that MWU is far from family.

Creighton is a great school too, but the dress code is business casual and I'm tired of snowy winters. The upside is that I have lots of family in the Omaha area and my hometown is 2hrs away.

I have been in the Midwest and surrounded by family all my life, I'm not sure how how I'd react being away from all that. This may be my only chance to leave the area and go outside my comfort zone. I have no idea how I would choose between the two schools if I get accepted to both lol
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Dunno about awesome weather lol wait until you hit the June-August slump with 115 degree highs


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
Big Time Hoosier said:
That extra $200,000 in student loans to go to your “favorite” school will end up costing you an additional $18,000/year for the next TWENTY YEARS. Go to the cheapest school you get into.

Big Hoss
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or get the HPSP and go to a school that's 500K for 4 years of attendance!
 
Sure. It's nice to go to a dream DS. But it's only 4 yrs of your life. It's goes quick. Why choose MWU or any other expensive private DS since they have fancy clinics and their students see more clinical procedures than the average DS? Has there been research showing that MWU private DS et al grads make more money post DS? Implants? I know several dentists who have taken reputable 2 week CE on implant placement. Cost? Around $14,000-15,000. I know for a fact that in the dental Corp I work at .... even if you have DS experience or post CE implant course ... as a GP you have to be certified internally to be able to place implants as a GP. It's all about proficiency and liability.

How about Invisalign? Align Tech will gladly train and certify you for less than $4000. Probably less.

If you have to pay out of pocket (loans) for a dream or expensive DS. It's not worth it in the long run. Graduate with a lot of DS debt and I can assure you .... you will be economically disadvantaged compared to those with little debt.

Lastly ....I'm a firm believer that it is YOU .... not where you graduated ... that determines how successful you are after DS.
 
Big Time Hoosier said:
That extra $200,000 in student loans to go to your “favorite” school will end up costing you an additional $18,000/year for the next TWENTY YEARS. Go to the cheapest school you get into.

Big Hoss
Click to expand...

2TH MVR said:
Sure. It's nice to go to a dream DS. But it's only 4 yrs of your life. It's goes quick. Why choose MWU or any other expensive private DS since they have fancy clinics and their students see more clinical procedures than the average DS? Has there been research showing that MWU private DS et al grads make more money post DS? Implants? I know several dentists who have taken reputable 2 week CE on implant placement. Cost? Around $14,000-15,000. I know for a fact that in the dental Corp I work at .... even if you have DS experience or post CE implant course ... as a GP you have to be certified internally to be able to place implants as a GP. It's all about proficiency and liability.

How about Invisalign? Align Tech will gladly train and certify you for less than $4000. Probably less.

If you have to pay out of pocket (loans) for a dream or expensive DS. It's not worth it in the long run. Graduate with a lot of DS debt and I can assure you .... you will be economically disadvantaged compared to those with little debt.

Lastly ....I'm a firm believer that it is YOU .... not where you graduated ... that determines how successful you are after DS.
Click to expand...


I always enjoy reading responses from you two. Always so helpful.
 
BasicG said:
MWU has everything I want-outstanding clinical experience, awesome weather, and cheap housing. The only downside is that MWU is far from family.

Creighton is a great school too, but the dress code is business casual and I'm tired of snowy winters. The upside is that I have lots of family in the Omaha area and my hometown is 2hrs away.
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Housing is not all that cheap close to the school, especially if you are used to living in the Midwest. Unless you have roommates you can count on $1000+/month for a small place, most students are closer to $1500. Also, the dress code is either business casual or scrubs (no shorts on those 115 degree days).

On HPSP it makes the schools much more on an equal playing field, but with cost of living, I'd still be considering Creighton over MWU.
 
Nachatta said:
Dunno about awesome weather lol wait until you hit the June-August slump with 115 degree highs
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
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Haha well I'd much rather deal with 115 degree weather for 3 months than deal with snow for 4-5 months

knewstance said:
Housing is not all that cheap close to the school, especially if you are used to living in the Midwest. Unless you have roommates you can count on $1000+/month for a small place, most students are closer to $1500. Also, the dress code is either business casual or scrubs (no shorts on those 115 degree days).

On HPSP it makes the schools much more on an equal playing field, but with cost of living, I'd still be considering Creighton over MWU.
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I've been checking out housing options near Creighton the past few days...they're dirt cheap, like sub $1000 for relatively good houses. Probably will go to Creighton because of that and how important family is to me!
 
Michigan and Uconn, didnt hear back from either 🙁 and I think UConn doesn't do post dec interviews.
 
Firik said:
Really?! What did you like the most?
Even with all that natural disaster?
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I'm from Oklahoma. Hurricanes are nothing 🤣
In all seriousness, I just had an amazing time at my interview. I loved pretty much everything, and I felt that the environment there was super supportive. :xf::xf: for good news from them.
 
This is one question I want to understand. Which school would you pick? School A: great feeling about school and you know this is a place where you will succeed, but it's OOS. School B: being ignored during interview day, so naturally feeling upset after the interview, but it's IS.
 
Firik said:
This is one question I want to understand. Which school would you pick? School A: great feeling about school and you know this is a place where you will succeed, but it's OOS. School B: being ignored during interview day, so naturally feeling upset after the interview, but it's IS.
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B - Cheapest. You got ignored for one day. You will get ignored for one day at A too.

If A offers you a great scholarship then go to A
 
I got waitlisted at all my top choices (UConn, Stony Brook, Harvard) and I would have turned down the HPSP had i been accepted to any of them. So things worked out in the end for me cuz i would have borrowed 300K to attend any of those.

Im at a pretty expensive school (400-500K for 4 years). Borrowing all that money is no joke and you're not going to pay it back in the time span the financial aid officers say that you will, none of them borrowed 500K for school. Pick the cheapest school people. @Big Time Hoosier isn't lying.
 
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averageasian said:
I got waitlisted at all my top choices (UConn, Stony Brook, Harvard) and I would have turned down the HPSP had i been accepted to any of them. So things worked out in the end for me cuz i would have borrowed 300K to attend any of those.

Im at a pretty expensive school (400-500K for 4 years). Borrowing all that money is no joke and you're not going to pay it back in the time span the financial aid officers say that you will, none of them borrowed 500K for school. Pick the cheapest school people. @Big Time Hoosier isn't lying.
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Yeah, debt in the 250-300k range is still a lot of money. No where near as bad as 400k, but still a lot. Minnesota, my cheapest option, falls in that range and I won't hesitate to take the HPSP scholarship to attend.
 
2TH MVR said:
Lastly ....I'm a firm believer that it is YOU .... not where you graduated ... that determines how successful you are after DS.
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That's true to a certain extent. There comes a point where no matter how many hours you put in, you just don't see the results you want to see. I know for me personally, I'll study my ass off and feel like there was nothing more I can do and sometimes I still won't quite get the grade I want. It definitely takes some inherent talent combined with some luck. Going to a school without a ranking definitely helps.

What a lot of people don't really realize is just how smart and hardworking all your classmates are going to be. Are you going to study 16 hours a day to beat the people "only" studying 12? I know I'm exaggerating a little bit, but you get my point.
 
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Firik said:
This is one question I want to understand. Which school would you pick? School A: great feeling about school and you know this is a place where you will succeed, but it's OOS. School B: being ignored during interview day, so naturally feeling upset after the interview, but it's IS.
Click to expand...

Hey! I felt the same way at my state school! In fat, it was the school I liked the very least. I didn't like the people, the admins, the interviewers, even hated the building. I absolutely fell in love with a few other schools, I mean I felt like I'd been there all my life and I simply belonged, could hear Disney birds sing around me as I left and everything, lol. Is it worth the $200,000 price difference? Probably not, it pains me to say.
 
Since ya'll are here already and "in your feelings" hours are approaching, anyone else dealing with the very real possibility of moving hours away from your significant others for 4 of the busiest years of your life? How are you guys going about it?
 
miamimami said:
Since ya'll are here already and "in your feelings" hours are approaching, anyone else dealing with the very real possibility of moving hours away from your significant others for 4 of the busiest years of your life? How are you guys going about it?
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Long distanced with my s/o all throughout undergrad and now we're doing it again in dental school (she's in NYC and I'm in Philly). It's going great for us so far, but I'm not going to lie a few relationships in my class have already ended 🙁 If your relationship is shaky, dental school will probably make it worse. If you have a strong relationship, there's nothing to worry about.
 
Life of Pablo said:
Long distanced with my s/o all throughout undergrad and now we're doing it again in dental school (she's in NYC and I'm in Philly). It's going great for us so far, but I'm not going to lie a few relationships in my class have already ended 🙁 If your relationship is shaky, dental school will probably make it worse. If you have a strong relationship, there's nothing to worry about.
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Oh that' so nice to hear! GOOD FOR YOU GUYS!!
 
miamimami said:
Since ya'll are here already and "in your feelings" hours are approaching, anyone else dealing with the very real possibility of moving hours away from your significant others for 4 of the busiest years of your life? How are you guys going about it?
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Not my S/O but my best friend as we became hella close in undergrad. Found out our families live 10 minutes away and theyre always at our house and vice versa. Our families even attend each others weddings, religious events, funerals to the point it's like we conjoined families. Ill randomly show up at their house at 2 am and just go in their fridge and eat their food then pass out on the sofa, or he'll do the same thing and our parents are used to it now. Gonna suck leavin him hes been a good bro and his mom and dad treated me like their own son many times. Biggest reason why I really dont want to go out of state as i feel like im not leaving just my home but also theirs. Damn
 
Bionicjawboy said:
Not my S/O but my best friend as we became hella close in undergrad. Found out our families live 10 minutes away and theyre always at our house and vice versa. Our families even attend each others weddings, religious events, funerals to the point it's like we conjoined families. Ill randomly show up at their house at 2 am and just go in their fridge and eat their food then pass out on the sofa, or he'll do the same thing and our parents are used to it now. Gonna suck leavin him hes been a good bro and his mom and dad treated me like their own son many times. Biggest reason why I really dont want to go out of state as i feel like im not leaving just my home but also theirs. Damn
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Oh thats precious! Don't you worry, friendships like that never end. No matter where you are or how little you get to talk to each other, every time you do catch up, it'll be like you never left. My bestest friend ever (our relationship is a lot like the one you've described) left for professional school last year. Our friendship is going strong. If anything, its stronger since I'm one of her major links to life back at home. I have breakfast with her parents every Sunday. I'm gonna miss them so much too, now I'm really in my feels. Damn.
 
miamimami said:
Oh thats precious! Don't you worry, friendships like that never end. No matter where you are or how little you get to talk to each other, every time you do catch up, it'll be like you never left. My bestest friend ever (our relationship is a lot like the one you've described) left for professional school last year. Our friendship is going strong. If anything, its stronger since I'm one of her major links to life back at home. I have breakfast with her parents every Sunday. I'm gonna miss them so much too, now I'm really in my feels. Damn.
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All aboard the feels train 🙁
Choo choo
 
miamimami said:
Hey! I felt the same way at my state school! In fat, it was the school I liked the very least. I didn't like the people, the admins, the interviewers, even hated the building. I absolutely fell in love with a few other schools, I mean I felt like I'd been there all my life and I simply belonged, could hear Disney birds sing around me as I left and everything, lol. Is it worth the $200,000 price difference? Probably not, it pains me to say.
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What was it about the people, admins, the interviewers and even the building that you didn't like at UF?
 
miamimami said:
Since ya'll are here already and "in your feelings" hours are approaching, anyone else dealing with the very real possibility of moving hours away from your significant others for 4 of the busiest years of your life? How are you guys going about it?
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Currently in LDR. Have been for 2 years. So glad my dream school actually puts me much closer to my love 😍
 
BullGator1004 said:
What was it about the people, admins, the interviewers and even the building that you didn't like at UF?
Click to expand...

The arrogance, the terrible, terrible arrogance! Now I know that my fellow Floridians are gonna jump out and say "they have the right to be," and well, they really don't. They were rude in some way to almost every single interviewee I spoke to, we weren't allowed to ask questions during the interview, and the info session was a jeopardy game where the interviewees were the ones answering questions about the school. Maybe I'm nitpicking because I got such a weird vibe from them. Completely impartially though, the building is old and very much outdated. For a lot of the parts of the school it felt like you were in a dungeon.
 
miamimami said:
The arrogance, the terrible, terrible arrogance! Now I know that my fellow Floridians are gonna jump out and say "they have the right to be," and well, they really don't. They were rude in some way to almost every single interviewee I spoke to, we weren't allowed to ask questions during the interview, and the info session was a jeopardy game where the interviewees were the ones answering questions about the school. Maybe I'm nitpicking because I got such a weird vibe from them. Completely impartially though, the building is old and very much outdated. For a lot of the parts of the school it felt like you were in a dungeon.
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I volunteered at a place that UF D4s did part of their rotations and a lot of them did mention that the school is a bit outdated, which is a shame since they are the premier dental school in the state and so many schools around the country have done updates, are doing updates, or have at least plans in place for updates. I only recently received the supplemental so at this point I'm still just hoping for an interview, but from what you've stated I'm glad that I will have a school to use as a comparison if I do get an interview.
 
miamimami said:
The arrogance, the terrible, terrible arrogance! Now I know that my fellow Floridians are gonna jump out and say "they have the right to be," and well, they really don't. They were rude in some way to almost every single interviewee I spoke to, we weren't allowed to ask questions during the interview, and the info session was a jeopardy game where the interviewees were the ones answering questions about the school. Maybe I'm nitpicking because I got such a weird vibe from them. Completely impartially though, the building is old and very much outdated. For a lot of the parts of the school it felt like you were in a dungeon.
Click to expand...
I spent four years at UF for undergrad and could not agree more UF Dental is so MEANNNNNN. I am hoping to go to LECOM. I just love LECOM.
 
UTHSC Memphis. In-state so that's a plus. Almost every dentist I have talked to has graduated from there and have had positive things to say about it. The campus was very nice during the interview as well. Only thing that concerned me was how they test with their 'new' curriculum (not really new, but fairly new). You have 1 test every 3 weeks, on a Monday, over every class your first 2 years i.e. your test could consist mostly of Histology and very little on Anatomy. I'm sure that's not exactly how it goes, but a D4 did mention that on one test she only had 3 questions over Histology, so I was simply just using what I said as an example. There are definitely positive aspects to it, like not having tests every single week. Either way, it's my number 1 choice!
 
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