which school has a better reputation

[futuredentista]

1. University of the Pacific Dental School (6 year program--3 undergrad and 3 dental)
2. SUNY: University at Buffalo Dental School (7yr--3 undergrad and 4 dental)

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[Nasem]

This is my opinion only~
But Im gonna go with Pacific, thier 3 year program is sweet!

 

[Veneto]

Reputation, shmation, the key factor is if you go Pacific you're sentenced to only three years rather than four. One more year in the greatest profession in the world is worth the extra money/work. Unless you like living in frigid temperatures, and in the hole known as Buffalo, Pacific is the way to go.

 

[armorshell]

In dentistry you get by on achievement, not credentials. The reputation of a school is mostly irrelavent, you need to make your decision based on other, more important factors.

How much do you want to spend? Where do you plan to practice? Would you be comfortable with an accerlerated curriculum (very accelerated in your case)? Where do you want to spend the better part of the next decade of your life?

 

[xplayer2885]

Reputation, shmation, the key factor is if you go Pacific you're sentenced to only three years rather than four. One more year in the greatest profession in the world is worth the extra money/work. Unless you like living in frigid temperatures, and in the hole known as Buffalo, Pacific is the way to go.

Yes... An its also " You get into it what you put outta it". Doesnt matter what dental school you graduate from. You have to love what your doing.

 

[tooth decay]

1. University of the Pacific Dental School (6 year program--3 undergrad and 3 dental)
2. SUNY: University at Buffalo Dental School (7yr--3 undergrad and 4 dental)

Outside of the fact that Pacific is in sunny California (but so is USC), and that it is a three year program (still much more expensive than Buffalo), I have yet to see any SDN or non SDN data ( not predental opinions ) supporting that Pacific has a national reputation over any school, let alone SUNY at Buffalo. Look at the curriculum, not the hype.

 

[Cymbidium]

Just be sure that you can guarantee entry into the program. I don't know about Pacific undergrad, but I think the average SAT at BUffalo is 1100 (which may be considered high for some and low for others). I would say, since both of the dental schools are great, pick the one that has a better undergrad reputation in case you don't get into the accelerated program.

 

[armorshell]

Outside of the fact that Pacific is in sunny California (but so is USC), and that it is a three year program (still much more expensive than Buffalo), I have yet to see any SDN or non SDN data ( not predental opinions ) supporting that Pacific has a national reputation over any school, let alone SUNY at Buffalo. Look at the curriculum, not the hype.

This man speaks the truth. Even among pre-dents, for every person you find who likes a school you can find someone who hates it. You also might want to look at how the combined program actually works, and what the requirements for automatic acceptance are.

 

[Fonz]

I live in CA and honestly I never hear much about Pacific undergrad or even have yet to meet anyone form Pacific undergrad. Keep in mind that the D-school is in SF but undergrad is in Stockton which is an incredibly whack place in the middle of nowhere in the central valley. Also because it is private just the undergrad portion too will be more expensive than SUNY i'd imagine.

 

[DDSY]

Let's just put it this way. Dentistry is an anomaly compared to other fields because usnews.com does not specifically rank the field. The closest ranking system you can find is for med schools, followed by rankings for undergrad.

Schools that are traditionally not as well-reputed (especially for undergrad and also, for med school) appear to attract much better predental students than those that are traditionally well-reputed in other fields.

Yes, SUNY Buffalo MIGHT have a bigger name than Pacific. However, the medical school at Buffalo is considered at most mediocre and the undergrad ranking (based on usnews.com) is somewhere mishmashed in the hundreds. Say, if ask a medical doctor that you graduated from Buffalo, they'll probably initally think that you're an average/below-average dentist even if Buffalo is considered a pretty good school by the dental profession. The same applies to Stony Brook, although the medical school at Stony is now considered more reputable than Buffalo, although not as well-known as the more expensive Columbia and NYU.

Again dentistry is more of a business than medicine, so reputation aside, other factors also count in determining the dental school that is a best fit for you.

Outside of the fact that Pacific is in sunny California (but so is USC), and that it is a three year program (still much more expensive than Buffalo), I have yet to see any SDN or non SDN data ( not predental opinions ) supporting that Pacific has a national reputation over any school, let alone SUNY at Buffalo. Look at the curriculum, not the hype.

 

[Regmata]

Buffalo is said to have one of the best clinical programs in the country...I have heard rankings place the program as high as #4 (don't ask where, I can't remember)...all in all I have yet to hear a disparaging word about the program...

UoP on the other hand...

 

[DDSY]

In terms of undergrad rankings (by national universities): http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php

98. University of Pacific
120. SUNY Buffalo

In terms of medical school: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/med/brief/mdrrank_brief.php

SUNY Buffalo: not in the top 50 (or unranked)
Pacific: does not have a medical school

 

[4thQtrDreams]

Buffalo is said to have one of the best clinical programs in the country...I have heard rankings place the program as high as #4 (don't ask where, I can't remember).....

are you talking about the dental school ?

...UoP on the other hand...

curious what the you meant by this..

From what little I gathered in my application year (which ended with me choosing pacific), what stood out was that only a couple of schools rival Pacific clinically.

 

[I'mFillingFine]

Yes, SUNY Buffalo MIGHT have a bigger name than Pacific. However, the medical school at Buffalo is considered at most mediocre and the undergrad ranking (based on usnews.com) is somewhere mishmashed in the hundreds. Say, if ask a medical doctor that you graduated from Buffalo, they'll probably initally think that you're an average/below-average dentist even if Buffalo is considered a pretty good school by the dental profession.

The reputation of the medical school that your dental school share a campus with has absolutely no relevance. If the medical faculty are horrific and the gross anatomy/histology curriuculum (the only experience you have with the med school) are a negative experience, then that may retract from your time. But why would the med school matter? And no MD will put you down; you are all professionals, and the little experience you'll have communicating with them professionally will mainly be short phone calls about medical history and getting permission for treatment.

Even your DENTAL SCHOOL's reputation doesn't matter. I don't think enough people realize this. Armorshell has the right idea.

Ask any dentist, not dental student. COST of school and contement while you're at school and preparation (no pun intended) for getting out and being a competant practitioner....these are all that matter.

 

[DDSY]

. . .your DENTAL SCHOOL's reputation doesn't matter. I don't think enough people realize this. . . .Ask any dentist, not dental student. COST of school and contement while you're at school and preparation (no pun intended) for getting out and being a competant practitioner....these are all that matter.

Agree. Reputation is pretty subjective. Other variables should play a bigger role, such as how happy you are with your school and cost.

Dentistry, unlike other fields such as law and medicine, is not as reputation-oriented as much as these other fields and, fortunately, is more of a business (free market competition, yay!).

 

[DDSY]

The reputation of the medical school that your dental school share a campus with has absolutely no relevance. . . .And no MD will put you down; you are all professionals, and the little experience you'll have communicating with them professionally will mainly be short phone calls about medical history and getting permission for treatment. . . .

Unfortunately, the reputation of a school (say undergrad) does correlate significantly with its reputation in other fields (say medicine, law or business). . . which many times is unfair. Just look at the schools for various fields at usnews.com and without any type of calculation, you can pretty much predict that Harvard is always going to #1 or 2 followed by pretty much the same other schools in standings.