Which schools should I apply to?

[drsoni]

So I was thinking about schools I wanted to apply to. My cumulative GPA is 3.97 (although it might get a slight hit this semester) and my science GPA is 4.0. My DAT is 25.
Currently, I'm looking at UNC, UCLA, Texas schools, Case Western, Marquette, and Columbia. Any suggestions on which other good shools I should apply to?
Also, does anyone here know if there are any schools that give some scholarships?


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[mcbnerd]

Honestly, you should just apply to any schools you would like to go to. You have a high chance of getting into a lot of places.

 

[drsoni]

Honestly, you should just apply to any schools you would like to go to. You have a high chance of getting into a lot of places.

I really wanna go to UNC, but they are super competitive for OOS students. So I don't know how much chance I have there.

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[SmileItsLife]

Are you from Texas?

 

[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

You've got a shot anywhere... Yes UNC and Texas are notoriously hard for OOS students, but you are about as competitive as they come so you are the type of student who definitely has a chance.

 

[Cali20002]

If you are set on becoming a GP, definitely add Creighton. I'd also recommend Pitt, Penn, and UConn. Pitt and Penn offer some really nice scholarships.

 

[drsoni]

Are you from Texas?

No, I'm from Illinois.

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[drsoni]

If you are set on becoming a GP, definitely add Creighton. I'd also recommend Pitt, Penn, and UConn. Pitt and Penn offer some really nice scholarships.

I'm more interest in doing OMFS. I'll def. keep Penn and Pitt in mind.

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[chives_irvine]

Anywhere you want, you will be fine

 

[8_man]

Personally, I would apply to the cheapest school. If you are in a fortunate financial situation and you have your sights set on specializing, though, the ivies are always a great choice.

 

[super frank]

lol

On a more helpful note, Penn gives out a bunch of scholarships, especially to people with stats like yours.

 

[drsoni]

lol

On a more helpful note, Penn gives out a bunch of scholarships, especially to people with stats like yours.

Lol I've heard a lot about that but I really don't wanna go to Philly. Also, couple of my friends went there for an interview, and they told me that it's also not the safest area.

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[drsoni]

Personally, I would apply to the cheapest school. If you are in a fortunate financial situation and you have your sights set on specializing, though, the ivies are always a great choice.

Not in fortunate financial situation lol. I'm really looking into Virginia Commonwealth and UNC. Do you know if they have good reputation for OMFS?

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[super frank]

Lol I've heard a lot about that but I really don't wanna go to Philly. Also, couple of my friends went there for an interview, and they told me that it's also not the safest area.

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West Philadelphia? Just as safe as the areas surrounding Case Western and Columbia, if not safer, lol.

 

[drsoni]

West Philadelphia? Just as safe as the areas surrounding Case Western and Columbia, if not safer, lol.

Lol, I've learned recently that Case Western and VCU are not in the safest neighborhood either.

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[deleted678432]

Lol I've heard a lot about that but I really don't wanna go to Philly. Also, couple of my friends went there for an interview, and they told me that it's also not the safest area.

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You'll learn that the best hospitals are in places that are "not safe". This would be a good experience, to live in a big city. Maybe homeless people asking for a coffee was their idea of "not safe", which shouldn't scare you away (I hope).


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[deleted678432]

Not in fortunate financial situation lol. I'm really looking into Virginia Commonwealth and UNC. Do you know if they have good reputation for OMFS?

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Who cares about rep.. I've worked under 6 oral surgeons for a few years now and they went to: Kentucky, case, Oklahoma, colorado, and Pitt. Not the most "prestigious" schools but they're all practicing surgeons and the smartest people I know. Work hard and you can go anywhere


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[drsoni]

Who cares about rep.. I've worked under 6 oral surgeons for a few years now and they went to: Kentucky, case, Oklahoma, colorado, and Pitt. Not the most "prestigious" schools but they're all practicing surgeons and the smartest people I know. Work hard and you can go anywhere


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By reputation I meant if they have good research opportunities. I've heard about how Texas schools lack in research, and that'd be bad for getting a match for OMFS due to lack of research experience. But then again, I don't know a lot about it. It's what I've read other people say on SDN.

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[drsoni]

You'll learn that the best hospitals are in places that are "not safe". This would be a good experience, to live in a big city. Maybe homeless people asking for a coffee was their idea of "not safe", which shouldn't scare you away (I hope).


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I currently live in Chicago and go to UIC. UIC's dental school is in a quite unsafe area lol. I used to do research there my freshman year, and not the most pleasant experience. We also multiple crime alerts every week about robberies lol. The main reason I'm looking mainly into OOS schools is bc I don't want to end up with UIC-like neighborhood lol

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[Cali20002]

Who cares about rep.. I've worked under 6 oral surgeons for a few years now and they went to: Kentucky, case, Oklahoma, colorado, and Pitt. Not the most "prestigious" schools but they're all practicing surgeons and the smartest people I know. Work hard and you can go anywhere


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Iono, Pitt's OMFS program is awesome

 

[Cali20002]

I currently live in Chicago and go to UIC. UIC's dental school is in a quite unsafe area lol. I used to do research there my freshman year, and not the most pleasant experience. We also multiple crime alerts every week about robberies lol. The main reason I'm looking mainly into OOS schools is bc I don't want to end up with UIC-like neighborhood lol

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Lots of schools are in areas like UIC. Marquette definitely is

 

[tyjacobs]

So I was thinking about schools I wanted to apply to. My cumulative GPA is 3.97 (although it might get a slight hit this semester) and my science GPA is 4.0. My DAT is 25.
Currently, I'm looking at UNC, UCLA, Texas schools, Case Western, Marquette, and Columbia. Any suggestions on which other good shools I should apply to?
Also, does anyone here know if there are any schools that give some scholarships?


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What do you want to do professionally?
Are you interseted in specializing or not?

 

[deleted678432]

I currently live in Chicago and go to UIC. UIC's dental school is in a quite unsafe area lol. I used to do research there my freshman year, and not the most pleasant experience. We also multiple crime alerts every week about robberies lol. The main reason I'm looking mainly into OOS schools is bc I don't want to end up with UIC-like neighborhood lol

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If you live in Chicago then west philly or Cleveland should be no problem. Minus a few, the best OOS schools are in big cities, which tend to be sorta sketchy


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[deleted678432]

Iono, Pitt's OMFS program is awesome

Those were their Dental schools. Of course it's awesome but it's not the Ivy name that everybody seems to love


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[drsoni]

What do you want to do professionally?
Are you interseted in specializing or not?

Yes, I am interested in OMFS

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[ncide]

Harvard, UCLA, and Columbia have high match rates for OMFS, and they have good research opportunities.

VCU has pretty high match rates too.

 

[wengerout]

I'm more interest in doing OMFS. I'll def. keep Penn and Pitt in mind.

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I feel you but be sure to not say this at the interview...or your stats won't matter much come December 1st.


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[wengerout]

I currently live in Chicago and go to UIC. UIC's dental school is in a quite unsafe area lol. I used to do research there my freshman year, and not the most pleasant experience. We also multiple crime alerts every week about robberies lol. The main reason I'm looking mainly into OOS schools is bc I don't want to end up with UIC-like neighborhood lol

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I'm not sure how UIC is like but Columbia isn't in the best part of town. Wouldn't say dangerous but Washington Heights is not the same as say Time Square.


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[wengerout]

Not in fortunate financial situation lol. I'm really looking into Virginia Commonwealth and UNC. Do you know if they have good reputation for OMFS?

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Have you considered UCONN? They seem to be a good fit for what you're looking for.


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[drsoni]

Have you considered UCONN? They seem to be a good fit for what you're looking for.


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Just did! Good fit indeed, added it to my list. Thanks!

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[tyjacobs]

Yes, I am interested in OMFS

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if you are interested in OMFS your top schools are:
columbia
uconn
harvard
stonybrook

these 4 schools all have a med school based curriculum --> places you at massive advantage for CBSE (oral surgery entry exam, its basically UMSLE step 1) and OMFS program directors like students who had a med school education. These 4 schools have high placements into omfs

Also, because your interested in OMFS, you should be less concerned about price. Like if you got into uconn and columbia, uconn would be the better choice but if you got into columbia and some state school, go to columbia because your chances of getting into omfs from columbia is way way way way higher (much harder to do at other state school) and your income as an OMFS will be way higher than a dentist so you'll repay loans quickly when you start making salary

 

[deleted678432]

if you are interested in OMFS your top schools are:
columbia
uconn
harvard
stonybrook

these 4 schools all have a med school based curriculum --> places you at massive advantage for CBSE (oral surgery entry exam, its basically UMSLE step 1) and OMFS program directors like students who had a med school education. These 4 schools have high placements into omfs

Also, because your interested in OMFS, you should be less concerned about price. Like if you got into uconn and columbia, uconn would be the better choice but if you got into columbia and some state school, go to columbia because your chances of getting into omfs from columbia is way way way way higher (much harder to do at other state school) and your income as an OMFS will be way higher than a dentist so you'll repay loans quickly when you start making salary

Great post. Would thumbs up twice if possible


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[deleted696582]

OP, since you're an Illinois resident like myself, I'd recommend you have Southern Illinois in your sights. I can't believe nobody suggested it. I interviewed there and was impressed with their curriculum and facilities. Small town, but very cheap cost of living, and St. Louis is 35 minutes away. After four years of school you would come out with 250k of debt compared to 500k at an Ivy League school. Add some more to that due to interest if you go to a 4 year or 6 year OMFS residency. That difference is the cost of a nice house.

You can specialize out of any school - it's all up to you whether you work hard. Any incredibly driven dental student can do well on the CBSE, especially with all of the SDN studying advice out there.

Playing devil's advocate here - what if you end up disliking extractions and other OMFS related things once in dental school? What if you end up not wanting to specialize once the reality of dental school classes hit? Maybe being a GP will sound pretty good after a few more years of academics. You have an amazing DAT and GPA, which suggests you'll handle the rigors of dental school, but it's good to consider alternate possibilities.

 

[super frank]

if you are interested in OMFS your top schools are:
columbia
uconn
harvard
stonybrook

these 4 schools all have a med school based curriculum --> places you at massive advantage for CBSE (oral surgery entry exam, its basically UMSLE step 1) and OMFS program directors like students who had a med school education. These 4 schools have high placements into omfs

Also, because your interested in OMFS, you should be less concerned about price. Like if you got into uconn and columbia, uconn would be the better choice but if you got into columbia and some state school, go to columbia because your chances of getting into omfs from columbia is way way way way higher (much harder to do at other state school) and your income as an OMFS will be way higher than a dentist so you'll repay loans quickly when you start making salary

No Penn or Harvard?

 

[Panis et Circenses]

So I was thinking about schools I wanted to apply to. My cumulative GPA is 3.97 (although it might get a slight hit this semester) and my science GPA is 4.0. My DAT is 25.

Just apply to Harvard. That's it.

 

[tyjacobs]

OP, since you're an Illinois resident like myself, I'd recommend you have Southern Illinois in your sights. I can't believe nobody suggested it. I interviewed there and was impressed with their curriculum and facilities. Small town, but very cheap cost of living, and St. Louis is 35 minutes away. After four years of school you would come out with 250k of debt compared to 500k at an Ivy League school. Add some more to that due to interest if you go to a 4 year or 6 year OMFS residency. That difference is the cost of a nice house.

You can specialize out of any school - it's all up to you whether you work hard. Any incredibly driven dental student can do well on the CBSE, especially with all of the SDN studying advice out there.

Playing devil's advocate here - what if you end up disliking extractions and other OMFS related things once in dental school? What if you end up not wanting to specialize once the reality of dental school classes hit? Maybe being a GP will sound pretty good after a few more years of academics. You have an amazing DAT and GPA, which suggests you'll handle the rigors of dental school, but it's good to consider alternate possibilities.

I think a big pitfall for many people on sdn is that because you did very well in undergrad and on DAT, you'll be able to specialize in any school you want.

WRONG.

Its very competitive at almost every dental school. Just because you did well in undergrad does not mean you will do

OP, since you're an Illinois resident like myself, I'd recommend you have Southern Illinois in your sights. I can't believe nobody suggested it. I interviewed there and was impressed with their curriculum and facilities. Small town, but very cheap cost of living, and St. Louis is 35 minutes away. After four years of school you would come out with 250k of debt compared to 500k at an Ivy League school. Add some more to that due to interest if you go to a 4 year or 6 year OMFS residency. That difference is the cost of a nice house.

You can specialize out of any school - it's all up to you whether you work hard. Any incredibly driven dental student can do well on the CBSE, especially with all of the SDN studying advice out there.

Playing devil's advocate here - what if you end up disliking extractions and other OMFS related things once in dental school? What if you end up not wanting to specialize once the reality of dental school classes hit? Maybe being a GP will sound pretty good after a few more years of academics. You have an amazing DAT and GPA, which suggests you'll handle the rigors of dental school, but it's good to consider alternate possibilities.

A very common pitfall on SDN is the idea that just because you did well in undergrad and got a high dat score means you can specialize anywhere you want.

This is a very risky slippery slope line of thought. Dental school is much harder than undergrad and is usually much more competitive than undergrad. I know people who did very well in undergrad and on dat but are struggling to be in top 15% of their class because its so competitive. In short, dont take your chances. If you want to specialize, go to school with higgest chance of you specializing.

 

[deleted696582]

A very common pitfall on SDN is the idea that just because you did well in undergrad and got a high dat score means you can specialize anywhere you want.

This is a very risky slippery slope line of thought. Dental school is much harder than undergrad and is usually much more competitive than undergrad. I know people who did very well in undergrad and on dat but are struggling to be in top 15% of their class because its so competitive. In short, dont take your chances. If you want to specialize, go to school with higgest chance of you specializing.

My argument is not that good undergrad GPA and DAT will correlate with specializing out of dental school. My argument is that any dental student at any dental school will be able to specialize given that they put the work in. This is irregardless of undergrad GPA and DAT. I understand your point about high GPA and DAT not correlating to dental school success, so maybe my statement to the OP about the likelihood of them doing well in dental school is incorrect. Maybe they won't do well. You probably know better than I do about the rigors of dental school as a current student. In the end, that still doesn't address my main point though.

I think that going to a school with the highest chance of specializing, just based on specialization rates alone, can be a poor financial decision. A state school half the price of an Ivy League school will still offer opportunities to boost a specialty application resume. I'm sure that many applicants have scored highly on the CBSE exam even if their school doesn't feature a medical curriculum. Sure, if two OMFS applicants are perfectly equal, and one is from Touro (new institution without "reputation") and the other Harvard, I'm sure the Harvard applicant gets chosen every time. I just don't think you should base a potentially $200k decision on specialization rates or school curriculum differences when the biggest factor of all is your work ethic.

 

[drsoni]

I feel you but be sure to not say this at the interview...or your stats won't matter much come December 1st.


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Be sure not to say what at the interview? Just clarifying lol

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[drsoni]

Harvard, UCLA, and Columbia have high match rates for OMFS, and they have good research opportunities.

VCU has pretty high match rates too.

How does UNC compare to them? Pretty sure won't be like Harvard or Columbia level, but how is it overall? I've heard really good things about their dental school in general, but don't know a lot about OMFS match rates and research opportunities.

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[wengerout]

Be sure not to say what at the interview? Just clarifying lol

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That you want to specialize/be an OMFS. Just say you're open to the idea of specializing but are primarily focused on being a GP.

 

[deleted678432]

Be sure not to say what at the interview? Just clarifying lol

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Saying you want to do OMFS- Huge red flag. Don't make it seem like you are only there for specializing because nobody wants to invest all that time and money into you for you to neglect your other concentrations


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[FeralisExtremum]

My argument is that any dental student at any dental school will be able to specialize given that they put the work in. This is irregardless of undergrad GPA and DAT.

I disagree, there is a limit to how far hard work alone will take you in dental school. In undergrad if you put enough work in, you're guaranteed to do well. That doesn't carry over to dental school. The volume of material and overall competitiveness of your classmates makes it a lot more challenging and there's really no sure way one can specialize. IMO maximizing your chances by attending certain schools makes sense financially as well, due to the improved chances and increased income from specializing.

 

[Cali20002]

I disagree, there is a limit to how far hard work alone will take you in dental school. In undergrad if you put enough work in, you're guaranteed to do well. That doesn't carry over to dental school. The volume of material and overall competitiveness of your classmates makes it a lot more challenging and there's really no sure way one can specialize. IMO maximizing your chances by attending certain schools makes sense financially as well, due to the improved chances and increased income from specializing.

Going to an Ivy to specialize is an expensive gamble that most people lose out on. You can never know if you will specialize until you're in school. Mind as well go to a cheaper school.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Going to an Ivy to specialize is an expensive gamble that most people lose out on. You can never know if you will specialize until you're in school. Mind as well go to a cheaper school.

I think most people that go to an Ivy and want to specialize are able to do so, some people simply decide they don't want to. The point is that it creates access for those who may have struggled to rank very highly in a non-Ivy program.

But expensive gamble or not, the more important point is that "you can go anywhere and specialize just as easily if you work hard enough" is sort of a widely circulated myth here. It's possible to specialize from any school, but the difficulty of actually doing so is not going to be uniform.

 

[Cali20002]

I think most people that go to an Ivy and want to specialize are able to do so, some people simply decide they don't want to. The point is that it creates access for those who may have struggled to rank very highly in a non-Ivy program.

But expensive gamble or not, the more important point is that "you can go anywhere and specialize just as easily if you work hard enough" is sort of a widely circulated myth here. It's possible to specialize from any school, but the difficulty of actually doing so is not going to be uniform.

Not sure how it's a myth. There are even students from non-Ivys ranked outside of their top 10 who matched into ortho. Do you think non-ranking really fools PD's?

 

[Cali20002]

I think most people that go to an Ivy and want to specialize are able to do so, some people simply decide they don't want to. The point is that it creates access for those who may have struggled to rank very highly in a non-Ivy program.

The same can be said at any state school. "Everyone" wants to specialize until they realize what it takes!

 

[Cali20002]

Somebody has to specialize at their state school. If we're confident and want it we should be saying "why not me?"

 

[I-hate-alginate]

In other words, they are saying going to ivy league schools will make it easier to specialize... that might be the case but just because you have great stats in undergrad and great score on the DAT doesnt mean you're entitled to anything. None of us can predict how OP will perform in DS. He might do super good or super bad, only time will tell. And sure, go to ivy league school, make sure you are at least 450k in debt before you graduate. But what if you don't want to specialize anymore, what if you want to specialize but you can't because of your weak performance in DS. If a pre-dent is determined to specialize, which I can't wrap my mind about because we pre dents didn't even get the chance to use a high speed handpiece yet, then he or she will specialize. It's all about the mindset. If you want to specialize, you can go to any school (ivy, state, private), work hard enough and compete with every student who wants to specialize and then who puts the most work in will get a spot at the specialty of his choice.

 

[Roy Williams]

I feel you but be sure to not say this at the interview...or your stats won't matter much come December 1st.


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Disagree. Pretty sure the only reason I got into Penn was because I told them I was set on omfs. In my supplemental and again in my interview. And that was with the dean of admissions.

 

[deleted696582]

I disagree, there is a limit to how far hard work alone will take you in dental school. In undergrad if you put enough work in, you're guaranteed to do well. That doesn't carry over to dental school. The volume of material and overall competitiveness of your classmates makes it a lot more challenging and there's really no sure way one can specialize. IMO maximizing your chances by attending certain schools makes sense financially as well, due to the improved chances and increased income from specializing.

As I said to @tyjacobs, I don't doubt that you two have a better idea about the rigors of dental school. But if my side argument about anyone being able to specialize is wrong, would it not follow that if pre-dents set on specializing attend Ivy League schools more on average (due to the perceived increase in chance of specializing), then Ivy League schools are then more competitive, and thus harder to specialize out of? If you put the work in to specialize at an Ivy League school, and then put that equal amount of work in to specialize at a state school, you would specialize out of the state school every time.

All of this aside, I disagree that attending certain schools due to this perceived increased chance of specializing makes sense financially. If your decision is between a private school and Ivy League school both at 500k, then yes, the Ivy is a better choice for specializing. My earlier example for OP as an Illinois resident comes into play here though. Southern Illinois would cost OP 250k at most, while Columbia or Pennsylvania would cost 500k. I would argue that a 250k difference in price is certainly not worth school name recognition or a medical curriculum.