Which schools have superior clinical training?

[Generallee]

Hey everyone,

I really would like to go to a school that absolutely has superior clinical training. One that will help prepare you to start practicing with confidence right out of school. So, if you are in dental school or have heard of great clinical schools, please share why they are superior.

Thanks in advance!

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[Biogirl361]

i think the usual rule of thumb i've heard is the bigger the city the better the clinical training because the area around the school will have a large proportion of people without the funds to visit the more expensive private practicioners. this = lots of patients with diverse needs for you to treat while in school.

 

[Tzips]

i think the usual rule of thumb i've heard is the bigger the city the better the clinical training because the area around the school will have a large proportion of people without the funds to visit the more expensive private practicioners. this = lots of patients with diverse needs for you to treat while in school.

Very true, but I've heard (so it's only hearsay) that Stony produces superior clinicians, even though it would seem that their entire patient body consists of chipmunks with the occaisional squirrel or skunk.

 

[DB#1]

Hey everyone,

I really would like to go to a school that absolutely has superior clinical training. One that will help prepare you to start practicing with confidence right out of school. So, if you are in dental school or have heard of great clinical schools, please share why they are superior.

Thanks in advance!

Yeah, Schools surrounded by poor areas such as Temple and Case have the best patient pools. I interviewed at Temple and patients are on waiting list to be treated where as in other schools seniors fight for patients to finish their clinical requirements.
I was also told by few students who are doing residencies at Temple that if they had went to Temple for the first 4 years, they would've felt more confortable in dealing with patients. But they had went to other schools and came to Temple to do their residencies for the schools reputaion in clinical exllence. They thought that Temple students were superior to others in clinical experience, and that what they had to say about the clinical education deal.

 

[Nendo21]

Hey everyone,

I really would like to go to a school that absolutely has superior clinical training. One that will help prepare you to start practicing with confidence right out of school. So, if you are in dental school or have heard of great clinical schools, please share why they are superior.

Thanks in advance!

tufts is great...

 

[egpndoc]

Hey everyone,

I really would like to go to a school that absolutely has superior clinical training. One that will help prepare you to start practicing with confidence right out of school. So, if you are in dental school or have heard of great clinical schools, please share why they are superior.

Thanks in advance!

The schools that i have heard produce competent clinicians are as follows ( please no one get offended, I may be wrong or right, or I may leave out some schools, but this is what many dentists have told me): UoP, LLU, UWashington, Temple, Tufts, Creighton, Case, OHSU, Indiana, Buffalo, UNC, and one of the Texas schools, I dont remember which one. Please take this with a grain of salt, just some leads so you can look into it yourself

 

[jmill0]

All schools teach you how to make HAMBURGERS and HOT DOGS for your patients. It's what you learn AFTER school that teaches you to make STEAK and LOBSTER for them.....

 

[The Candidate]

All schools teach you how to make HAMBURGERS and HOT DOGS for your patients. It's what you learn AFTER school that teaches you to make STEAK and LOBSTER for them.....

I second that...

 

[TravisP]

Southern Illinois University.

The clinic is in East Saint Louis!

 

[bets3]

students at Case and UMDNJ get their chairs. do u think this is an advantage?

 

[jessUMD]

All schools teach you how to make HAMBURGERS and HOT DOGS for your patients. It's what you learn AFTER school that teaches you to make STEAK and LOBSTER for them.....

how true!! well said.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Interesting that this thread is in pre-dental and based entirely on what people have heard.

 

[The Musketeer]

students at Case and UMDNJ get their chairs. do u think this is an advantage?

It's a small advantage, as you don't have to fight for a chair everyday and you can also take your sweet time working on the patients knowing that no one is trying to take your chair afterwards.

Also, I am not sure if other school does this, but Case uses a method of handing down patients from upper classmen to the new DS (ie: 4th yr student will be assigned with a 2nd yr student and the senior will kind of share his/her patient with 2nd yr; likewise for 3rd and 1st yrs). So that way, the graduating class will basically give their patients to the 3rd years..minimizing time to go look for new patients as well as to develop a doctor-patient relationship early on.

 

[DMD_hopeful]

Very true, but I've heard (so it's only hearsay) that Stony produces superior clinicians, even though it would seem that their entire patient body consists of chipmunks with the occaisional squirrel or skunk.

Does this mean I will be qualified to treat animals and humans when I am done?

I've also heard (from dentists and students) that Stony produces great clinicians. I guess it based more on the focus of the program than the size of the school.

 

[jmill0]

All schools teach you how to make HAMBURGERS and HOT DOGS for your patients. It's what you learn AFTER school that teaches you to make STEAK and LOBSTER for them.....

Except Arizona, they teach you to make BEANIE WEENIES.

 

[IWuvTeef]

Except Arizona, they teach you to make BEANIE WEENIES.

that didn't make my day, but it made my hour!

 

[nnjh]

I was definately impressed by case western's program and facilities. Also

heard Temple has a great clinical program.

 

[Omahahahaha]

Everyone is going to tell you that their school is the best.

By the way...
Creighton has an excellent clinical program with tons of patients.

 

[J2AZ]

Interesting that this thread is in pre-dental and based entirely on what people have heard.

Of course it is b/c the predents are the only ones with ganas to say anything. If this was in the dental forum all you would here is "it does not matter where you go...all programs are equal...etc." Not trying to be rude but look at your post. Here you had the opportunity to say something constructive based on your experience and all you did was bash the thread. Atleast we predents are trying to figure things out, even if it is based on hearsay.

 

[Painless]

Baylor produces VERY competent clinicians

The schools that i have heard produce competent clinicians are as follows ( please no one get offended, I may be wrong or right, or I may leave out some schools, but this is what many dentists have told me): UoP, LLU, UWashington, Temple, Tufts, Creighton, Case, OHSU, Indiana, Buffalo, UNC, and one of the Texas schools, I dont remember which one. Please take this with a grain of salt, just some leads so you can look into it yourself

 

[DDSdude]

Of course it is b/c the predents are the only ones with ganas to say anything. If this was in the dental forum all you would here is "it does not matter where you go...all programs are equal...etc." Not trying to be rude but look at your post. Here you had the opportunity to say something constructive based on your experience and all you did was bash the thread. Atleast we predents are trying to figure things out, even if it is based on hearsay.

I realize that at first glance you feel he is bashing this thread, but before you are quick to post look into the individual making the statement. ItsGavinC is one of THE most helpful people in the pre-dental and dental forums. He has spent hours upon hours educating us on Arizona's program and is continually giving helpful advice to those of us working towards a common goal. So in all fairness to ItsGavinC , he is absolutely correct in his assessment. You can get some good input from pre-dents but in the end you should be speaking with current students in different schools and making an apples to apples comparison based on actual facts and experience.

And your comment regading having the "brass" to say anything, that is not correct entirely. You will be pleasantly surprised as to the honest answers you will get from dental students and practicing dentists as to their feelings about their school and their clinical training.

My two cents. Flame away...

 

[J2AZ]

I agree...Gavin is very helpful...probably the most helpful person on SDN. However, his post did not contribute anything. It just emphasized what most current dental students say over and over "dont listen to hearsay b/c it means nothing" However, very few share their experience.

 

[Kiluminati]

Interesting that this thread is in pre-dental and based entirely on what people have heard.

Isn't it all heresay though? Even if you are currently in dental school the only experience you have is from your specific school. If you attend NYU, how can you compare with Stony Brook unless you have attended both school? Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[atlanta478]

I realize that at first glance you feel he is bashing this thread, but before you are quick to post look into the individual making the statement. ItsGavinC is one of THE most helpful people in the pre-dental and dental forums. He has spent hours upon hours educating us on Arizona's program and is continually giving helpful advice to those of us working towards a common goal. So in all fairness to ItsGavinC , he is absolutely correct in his assessment. You can get some good input from pre-dents but in the end you should be speaking with current students in different schools and making an apples to apples comparison based on actual facts and experience.

And your comment regading having the "brass" to say anything, that is not correct entirely. You will be pleasantly surprised as to the honest answers you will get from dental students and practicing dentists as to their feelings about their school and their clinical training.

My two cents. Flame away...

Dude, J2AZ made his statement and expressed his opinion. BTW his opinion probably shared by some people on the forum, including myself. True that Gavin is one of the most helpful people on the forum, especially if you “care” for the Arizona DS, but it doesn’t articulate that everything he is saying is correct and/or accommodating

 

[SLIMDEETS]

Hey everyone,

I really would like to go to a school that absolutely has superior clinical training. One that will help prepare you to start practicing with confidence right out of school. So, if you are in dental school or have heard of great clinical schools, please share why they are superior.

Thanks in advance!

Temple has an excellent clinical program. If you want to learn how to play guitar do you read about it, or do you practice everyday. Same with dentistry, there's no substitute for hands on. Don't listen to those other clowns. The minute you graduate from Temple you can practice Dentistry because you've already been certified. The clinical program was featured in Dental Education magazine last month (peer reviewed to boot). Ask a Dentist in Philly, or anywhere for that matter, who he would prefer to hire.....

 

[Tzips]

Isn't it all heresay though? Even if you are currently in dental school the only experience you have is from your specific school. If you attend NYU, how can you compare with Stony Brook unless you have attended both school? Doesn't make sense to me.

I think the people who have the most accurate ideas are the residents, because they can see how well prepared other residents from different schools are compared to themsleves. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and even the best dental school can put out a horrible clinican (and vice versa) - and since many residency programs are very small, chances are they won't see a truely representative sampling from each school - but I still think that, in terms of first-hand experience, they are probably the best people to ask.

Just an example - what really turned me off dental school X was that I volunteered in a dental clinic over the summer, and I used to listen to the residents talking - comparing schools, debt, etc. and the runnning joke among them was that if you were taking the Boards, and there was someone there who had no clue what he was doing, it was a good bet he came from X. What was even scarier is that the two residents from X found this funny and said it was probably accurate. Yikes

So basically, go find you some residents

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

I think the people who have the most accurate ideas are the residents, because they can see how well prepared other residents from different schools are compared to themsleves. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and even the best dental school can put out a horrible clinican (and vice versa) - and since many residency programs are very small, chances are they won't see a truely representative sampling from each school - but I still think that, in terms of first-hand experience, they are probably the best people to ask.

Just an example - what really turned me off dental school X was that I volunteered in a dental clinic over the summer, and I used to listen to the residents talking - comparing schools, debt, etc. and the runnning joke among them was that if you were taking the Boards, and there was someone there who had no clue what he was doing, it was a good bet he came from X. What was even scarier is that the two residents from X found this funny and said it was probably accurate. Yikes

So basically, go find you some residents

you are so rigth...residents are good resources to use.....obviously all the residents at Temple think their clinical education is just amazing....for instance, there was a BU grad doing her GPR at Temple and she told me her education at BU was a ripoff and her clinical education was poor and that I made an excellent choice coming to Temple

but its true that students get stigmatized from the school they went to....

all I know is that Temple is extremely well-known in the dental community for its strong clinical education. As already mentoined, there are plenty of other schools that have siimlar repuations

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

All schools teach you how to make HAMBURGERS and HOT DOGS for your patients. It's what you learn AFTER school that teaches you to make STEAK and LOBSTER for them.....

you simplify it quite nicely, but i dont agree and Ill try to simplify it more for ya:

If you goto a strong clinical school and do procedure "A" 100 times, by the time you graduate, you can concentrate on refining your skills on procedure "B", "C", etc. On the other hand, other graduates from not so strong clinical schools are still trying to perfect procedure "A". Get it?

So although most of the learning is done after graduation, A strong clinical school will get you a huge headstart once you graduate and you can concentrate on learning other procedures cause as we all know, dentristry is an endless career of knowledge and your practice will be a direct result of what you can put in it!

 

[lafemmedentiste]

that didn't make my day, but it made my hour!

Great to see you are on the list for Indiana. I am currently a 1st year myself. If you have any questions feel free to ask away.

Chri s

 

[jmill0]

you simplify it quite nicely, but i dont agree and Ill try to simplify it more for ya:

If you goto a strong clinical school and do procedure "A" 100 times, by the time you graduate, you can concentrate on refining your skills on procedure "B", "C", etc. On the other hand, other graduates from not so strong clinical schools are still trying to perfect procedure "A". Get it?

So although most of the learning is done after graduation, A strong clinical school will get you a huge headstart once you graduate and you can concentrate on learning other procedures cause as we all know, dentristry is an endless career of knowledge and your practice will be a direct result of what you can put in it!

As a practicing dentist for five years now, I'm going to assume that I've seen a few more things than your average first year dental student. I completed a AEGD residency with graduates from Michigan, UOP, Creighton, UMKC, Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Temple. Pretty broad range, huh? Spent the next two years working alongside graduates from Tufts, Marquette, NYU, Pitt, Case Western, and Louisville to name a few. Seen all their work and would have to say that no one school STOOD OUT as producing SUPERIOR work to any other. Everyone pased their boards, everyone can do the basics.

What I'm talking about is the fact that 99.99% of new graduates are not ready for complex restorative cases. I don't care what school you went to. My point is that dental school is merely a stepping stone to bigger and better things if you should so choose. Any graduate can cut a class II prep and slug some amalgam in it. How many can do a proper veneer prep? Most can say they read about it in a book.

Whether or not you did 5 or 500 of a procedure doesn't mean you're any better. You could have done 500 terrible fillings and your neighbor working out of the chair next to you may grasp it the first time.

In the past five years, I've racked up probably 500 hours of CE. I hope to God my work looks a lot better than when I graduated.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

As a practicing dentist for five years now, I'm going to assume that I've seen a few more things than your average first year dental student. I completed a AEGD residency with graduates from Michigan, UOP, Creighton, UMKC, Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Temple. Pretty broad range, huh? Spent the next two years working alongside graduates from Tufts, Marquette, NYU, Pitt, Case Western, and Louisville to name a few. Seen all their work and would have to say that no one school STOOD OUT as producing SUPERIOR work to any other. Everyone pased their boards, everyone can do the basics.

What I'm talking about is the fact that 99.99% of new graduates are not ready for complex restorative cases. I don't care what school you went to. My point is that dental school is merely a stepping stone to bigger and better things if you should so choose. Any graduate can cut a class II prep and slug some amalgam in it. How many can do a proper veneer prep? Most can say they read about it in a book.

Whether or not you did 5 or 500 of a procedure doesn't mean you're any better. You could have done 500 terrible fillings and your neighbor working out of the chair next to you may grasp it the first time.

In the past five years, I've racked up probably 500 hours of CE. I hope to God my work looks a lot better than when I graduated.

I am not gonna let you downplay my post by comparing credentials. I dont care if you are a practicing dentist and did an AEGD or something. If Im a patient, I would trust a dentist who did a procedure 500 times over the dentist who only did it 10 times. I dont care what you say, but dentistry is just like any other hands-on skill....PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

First year dental student or not, Im not alone on this philosophy...I invite you to visit a thread I made last year about dentists at DentalTown emphasizing the importance of a solid clinical education.....Enjoy!:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=139202&highlight=clinical+education

 

[QuietGuy]

I am not gonna let you downplay my post by comparing credentials. I dont care if you are a practicing dentist and did an AEGD or something. If Im a patient, I would trust a dentist who did a procedure 500 times over the dentist who only did it 10 times. I dont care what you say, but dentistry is just like any other hands-on skill....PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

First year dental student or not, Im not alone on this philosophy...I invite you to visit a thread I made last year about dentists at DentalTown emphasizing the importance of a solid clinical education.....Enjoy!:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=139202&highlight=clinical+education

Nicely put Dr.BadVibes!!!

 

[jonnytight]

LOMA LINDA UNIVERISTY (according to the dean of a california school that told us interviewees)

and the dean wasnt from llu

 

[jmill0]

BadVibes-
I'm sorry that you could not grasp my original point. Let me simplify it for you:

All schools can teach you the basics. Some schools might even give a student a chance to do another procedure or two more than the dental school the next state over. What it boils down to is that when a graduate receives his/her diploma from dental school, they're ready to open up a "McDonalds". Maybe the guys from Temple can open up a "Wendy's", I don't know... Guess what? They both still serve "HAMBURGERS".

What I said was that they are not ready for "STEAK and LOBSTER". It takes years to achieve that. I learn something new every day from my successes AND even MORE from my failures. I don't claim to be there now, but have probably passed many of my fellow grads clinically by learning after school.

Tell me WHAT patient is going to say, "Hey, you went to School X? Great! I heard you got to do 7 molar endos there to prepare you for private practice. That's much better than Dr. Z down the street. I heard he only had to do 5!"


Dogs bark at what they don't understand.

 

[Generallee]

I am not gonna let you downplay my post by comparing credentials. I dont care if you are a practicing dentist and did an AEGD or something. If Im a patient, I would trust a dentist who did a procedure 500 times over the dentist who only did it 10 times. I dont care what you say, but dentistry is just like any other hands-on skill....PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

First year dental student or not, Im not alone on this philosophy...I invite you to visit a thread I made last year about dentists at DentalTown emphasizing the importance of a solid clinical education.....Enjoy!:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=139202&highlight=clinical+education

.
Thanks Dr. Badvibes! Your thread really is what I was looking for in the first place when I posted my thread. Very helpful....

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

BadVibes-
I'm sorry that you could not grasp my original point. Let me simplify it for you:

All schools can teach you the basics. Some schools might even give a student a chance to do another procedure or two more than the dental school the next state over. What it boils down to is that when a graduate receives his/her diploma from dental school, they're ready to open up a "McDonalds". Maybe the guys from Temple can open up a "Wendy's", I don't know... Guess what? They both still serve "HAMBURGERS".

What I said was that they are not ready for "STEAK and LOBSTER". It takes years to achieve that. I learn something new every day from my successes AND even MORE from my failures. I don't claim to be there now, but have probably passed many of my fellow grads clinically by learning after school.

Tell me WHAT patient is going to say, "Hey, you went to School X? Great! I heard you got to do 7 molar endos there to prepare you for private practice. That's much better than Dr. Z down the street. I heard he only had to do 5!"


Dogs bark at what they don't understand.

Im just gonna repeat what I said earlier....sure every dentist is gonna serve "hamburgers", but my point is that, coming from a clnical school, that graduate has perfected the art of making his hamburger....then they can start concentrating on perfecting the steak and lobsters.....

so although in the end, both dentists will eventually serve steak and lobsters, the clinical guy will just have a headstart at graduation to get to the steak and lobster level faster and bring in the higher income that the steak and lobsters come with much sooner.

I dont care what you say, but every type of procedure has to be practiced till perfect....not only will that make you more efficient and confident, but it allows you to spend more time on perfecting other procedures and hence be a more proficient dentist much sooner.

So in a nutshell, all Im saying is that everyone's ultimate goal is to be a proficient dentist, and the clinical graduate will most likely reach that goal the fastest.

If this is still considered barking from a clueless freshman, then I apologize in advance.

 

[Omahahahaha]

If this is still considered barking from a clueless freshman, then I apologize in advance.

From one D1 to another...it does sound like barking.

Using your previous logic that someone who has done 500 procedures is better than some who has done fewer procedures, I think that someone with 4 years of Dental school under their belt plus years of private practice knows a whole lot more than someone who has completed less than 1 year of dental school.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

From one D1 to another...it does sound like barking.

Using your previous logic that someone who has done 500 procedures is better than some who has done fewer procedures, I think that someone with 4 years of Dental school under their belt plus years of private practice knows a whole lot more than someone who has completed less than 1 year of dental school.

From one D1 to another, lick my ballz.

I really dont care what you guys say....when I graduate, Ill be saying the exact same things....when Ive been practicing for 20 years, Ill be saying the exact same thing.....just because Im a D1, doesnt mean Im oblivious to the common sense that Im trying to hammer in that practice makes perfect.

Click on that thread and read what dentists have been saying down at DentalTown and how they agree.

 

[cuspidarrow]

The dean at a certain school told us when we went for interviews that only the deans receive dental school ranks every year. He was generous enough to tell us that Loma Linda ranked first in clinical training among all dental schools last year. ( this dean was not the dean at Loma Linda, BTW) I think he said UCSF was number two.

 

[zidanereal2003]

The dean at a certain school told us when we went for interviews that only the deans receive dental school ranks every year. He was generous enough to tell us that Loma Linda ranked first in clinical training among all dental schools last year. ( this dean was not the dean at Loma Linda, BTW) I think he said UCSF was number two.

Denal schoo ranks!!
And who ranks them ?
There is no such a thing!!

 

[JavadiCavity]

Hate to take the middle of the road on this, but I agree with both posts. Given a choice, I'd take the school where I'll get a better clinical education (which means wider breadth of cases, more advanced cases, and rarely being told that I should just refer this case since it's too difficult). However, I really think too that the rubber will meet the pavement after graduation (once we get to take off the training wheels). During the first couple of years of practice, I plan on determining what areas will be my primary focus and what I will refer out (I want to choose what I'll refer instead of having that already determined by my school's faculty). Maybe I'll do everything or maybe I'll just limit myself to cosmetic. It's silly to say I know for sure now.

Anyway, the hotdogs and hamburgers I'll be serving won't be the cheap crap. Patients are going to get some good meat when the visit my shoppe. And, it's only going to get better over the years.

 

[paolorossifan]

I'm just going to spice things up hear ( I can already hear Dr.BV coming..):

Columbia is best "everything" school. Replace quotations with whatever a dental school should offer....be it clinical skills, research, specs., pre-clinical education, etc.

 

[Mo007]

Tufts is awesome, UNC, Temple & OSU will always be there, Louisville's program is great too.

I would say, schools that train students better (clinically) would produce better new associate clinicians, without a doubt. After all, no one starts their own practice straight out of dental school. The practice that hires you after dental school will obviously consider what training you have learned, so - if the dental school you've attended prepared you well, they might feel more comfortable with hiring you than a graduate with less clinical skills.

my 50 cents.

 

[paolorossifan]

if Columbia is best, then 100% for sure UConn is best too!! Same exact curric and training as CU, without the NYC and extra $200k-- the two school models are like brother and sister (w/ UConn being the brother and CU being the sister )

UCONN is awesome! (And PENN,Harvard, other like us). Though we are the big hardened-by-NYC brother.....

 

[luder98]

I'm just going to spice things up hear ( I can already hear Dr.BV coming..):

Columbia is best "everything" school. Replace quotations with whatever a dental school should offer....be it clinical skills, research, specs., pre-clinical education, etc.

Just curious about what you meant by research. Do you mean the funding or the research outcome from the school. This is a very touchy subject to discuss, but I thought I read that UCSF ranks number 1 in research funding for the last 13 years.

 

[paolorossifan]

Just curious about what you meant by research. Do you mean the funding or the research outcome from the school. This is a very touchy subject to discuss, but I thought I read that UCSF ranks number 1 in researching funding for the last 13 years.

Of course I'm being a little too biased here, promoting our schools and all. But Columbia's research is pretty good in terms of funding and overall ability to to conduct it from what I've read of the papers the schools sends me. I'm UCSF is number one in funding, its a good school too.

(but its the select north-east schools that take the cake!)

 

[dds]

The dean at a certain school told us when we went for interviews that only the deans receive dental school ranks every year. He was generous enough to tell us that Loma Linda ranked first in clinical training among all dental schools last year. ( this dean was not the dean at Loma Linda, BTW) I think he said UCSF was number two.

How can Loma Linda be "ranked first" if they had the worst passing rate for the licensing exam among California dental schools a year ago? That does not make any sense at all. I'm sure LLU dental is good, but #1 is a long shot, especially if your students can't pass.

As for UCSF being ranked second for clinical is also a delusional notion. UCSF is a great school, but their facilities are horrible. The UCSF preclinical lab is totally outdated. The clinic floor also needs to be redone. There are other schools out there that can provide students with a better learning environment. So, it's hard to imagine UCSF would even rank in the top 10 of clinical excellence.

Finally, after naming 2 top ranked California schools, it's hard to see why UOP, another excellent clinical California school, was not mentioned.

Something about what that dean told you certainly doesn't add up. Plus, who or what is this ranking committee involved?

 

[luder98]

How can Loma Linda be "ranked first" if they had the worst passing rate for the licensing exam among California dental schools a year ago? That does not make any sense at all. I'm sure LLU dental is good, but #1 is a long shot, especially if your students can't pass.

As for UCSF being ranked second for clinical is also a delusional notion. UCSF is a great school, but their facilities are horrible. The UCSF preclinical lab is totally outdated. The clinic floor also needs to be redone. There are other schools out there that can provide students with a better learning environment. So, it's hard to imagine UCSF would even rank in the top 10 of clinical excellence.

Finally, after naming 2 top ranked California schools, it's hard to see why UOP, another excellent clinical California school, was not mentioned.

Something about what that dean told you certainly doesn't add up. Plus, who or what is this ranking committee involved?

I notice that your posts regarding UCSF are very negative. It's all about opinion, so you say whatever you feel like. But here are a few facts for your reference:

1. They rank first in research funding for the last 13 years
2. They rank second in total expenditure per student($137,403/student/year)
3. They rank second in clinical productivity among all d-schools
4. They operate over 14 clinics
5. They have the best student to faculty member ratio in California
6. They have 9 spectialties

 

[Kiluminati]

I'm just going to spice things up hear ( I can already hear Dr.BV coming..):

Columbia is best "everything" school. Replace quotations with whatever a dental school should offer....be it clinical skills, research, specs., pre-clinical education, etc.

Columbia is a piece of crap.

 

[zidanereal2003]

Columbia is a piece of crap.

I never applied to Columbia and I don't know much about it. Are you a student there to say Columbia is a piece of crap..

Guys,
Don't talk about a school you never have attended.
Thanks