Why does Columbia have a high spec rate?

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Does the fact that Columbia has a high specialization rate an indicater that it is a premier program or that they accept students that have proven to do well on standardized tests?
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it probably has to be both reasons.

taking classes with medical students help for the boards.
 
I don't think there's a clear straight up answer to that. Maybe it is due to the fact that the students take classes with the med students.. the strong didactic background? Or perhaps the type of the students the school attracts.. every1 is gunning for a specialty? In addition, Columbia only takes top 10% of DAT scorers .. maybe these students also happened to be awesome test takers for the board. o_O All just speculations..
 
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I think it's actually the really high Residency Acceptance Rates that they refer to isn't it? Not to say anything negative about Columbia, but the numbers might be somewhat inflated due to the fact that everyone who practices dentistry in NY is required to do at least a 1 year residency.
 
Vicviper said:
I think it's actually the really high Residency Acceptance Rates that they refer to isn't it? Not to say anything negative about Columbia, but the numbers might be somewhat inflated due to the fact that everyone who practices dentistry in NY is required to do at least a 1 year residency.
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That's true.. but aside from AEGD and GPR .. the specialty rate is still around 50%. I thought that's pretty high...
 
Vicviper said:
I think it's actually the really high Residency Acceptance Rates that they refer to isn't it? Not to say anything negative about Columbia, but the numbers might be somewhat inflated due to the fact that everyone who practices dentistry in NY is required to do at least a 1 year residency.
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if that is the case, shouldn't NYU, Stony Brook, and Buffalo also have pretty high specialization rates? Yet nobody talks about them...
 
thethethe said:
if that is the case, shouldn't NYU, Stony Brook, and Buffalo also have pretty high specialization rates? Yet nobody talks about them...
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Yeah, it certainly makes sense that people in New York to specialize; if you have to do a 1-year residency anyway, why not do 2-3 years and specialize?

I'm pretty sure Stony Brook is also know for having high specialization rates. And people talk about Buffalo and NYU all the time, they just have different strengths.
 
somethinpositiv said:
Yeah, it certainly makes sense that people in New York to specialize; if you have to do a 1-year residency anyway, why not do 2-3 years and specialize?

you're talking like it is up to the person to decide if he/she wants to do a REAL speciality. REAL specialities are MUCH more competitive than the 1 year programs.
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I would say that the name has nothing to do with your match placement. And i ask this to the director of admissions of Michigan dental school recently during my interview at Michigan. She agree with me that how well you match to specialty depend on how hard you work during 4 years.



One thing to note about Columbia, they focus too much on ditactic. What if you do not want to specialize anymore during those 4 years, and come out not as a competent clinician like other. Further, you would have to take your AEGD/GPR so it is like it takes 5 years to get your D.M.D

My 2 cents
 
I think a common misconception with us pre-dents is that you can either be a competent scientist or a competent practitioner. This is just not the case. Many people in this forum claim that going to Columbia, Harvard, UCSF, Penn or any school with high GPA/DAT intrance averages will decrease your ability to work with your hands. The immense didactic curiculum in these programs is not a trade-off with the clinical experience. It does not matter where you go, you are going to be slow and most likely you are going to need to learn more before you go out on your own. That is why most graduates from all schools work as an associate prior to opening their own practice.
 
I spent some time reading this Nile guy/forgot his actual user name (he posted his interviewing experiences + current market in finding his current job).. over at the dental forum. It seem like as he noted.. most places that hire associates are looking for some1 with at least a GPR or AEGD training.. over experiences in private practices.
 
thethethe said:
you're talking like it is up to the person to decide if he/she wants to do a REAL speciality. REAL specialities are MUCH more competitive than the 1 year programs.
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That wasn't my point at all. If you are practicing in New York, you need to have AT LEAST a 1-year residency, so if that's the case, why not do 2-3 years and specialize? In no way was I downplaying the competitiveness of a "real" specialty. I was saying that it makes sense that people in New York would "want" to specialize, not that they necessarily could do it.
 
lazybummy said:
I spent some time reading this Nile guy/forgot his actual user name (he posted his interviewing experiences + current market in finding his current job).. over at the dental forum. It seem like as he noted.. most places that hire associates are looking for some1 with at least a GPR or AEGD training.. over experiences in private practices.
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I'm not too sure how accurate that is considering ~50% of graduating dentists go straight into private practice/associates (I think ~25% do GPR/AEGD). But I could see how a GPR/AEGD could make a potential hire stand out.
 
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isn't it obvious? Columbia only takes people with really high DAT scores and doesn't seem to care as much about GPA. Hence, those that do well on standardized exams. Put these guys in didactics at the med school = killer board scores. Couple the board scores with a P/F curriculum and that'll do the trick.
 
not sure how exactly but Columbia does well on the boards and so I'm not shocked they get a good match w/ specialties. I wonder if they are sending out the next batch of acceptances yet?
 
Homing Swan said:
I think a common misconception with us pre-dents is that you can either be a competent scientist or a competent practitioner. This is just not the case. Many people in this forum claim that going to Columbia, Harvard, UCSF, Penn or any school with high GPA/DAT intrance averages will decrease your ability to work with your hands. The immense didactic curiculum in these programs is not a trade-off with the clinical experience. It does not matter where you go, you are going to be slow and most likely you are going to need to learn more before you go out on your own. That is why most graduates from all schools work as an associate prior to opening their own practice.
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In fairness, there is some truth to the trade off. I grabbed drinks with a couple of 3rd years at columbia last week and we were discussing our experiences. They are in clinic 12 hours a week, compared to 20 hours a week at NYU. Add that up over the course of a year and there is a marked difference in the amount of clinical experience. That's part of the reason so many Columbia students sought residencies before they were actually mandated by the state.
 
Sephisabin said:
In fairness, there is some truth to the trade off. I grabbed drinks with a couple of 3rd years at columbia last week and we were discussing our experiences. They are in clinic 12 hours a week, compared to 20 hours a week at NYU. Add that up over the course of a year and there is a marked difference in the amount of clinical experience. That's part of the reason so many Columbia students sought residencies before they were actually mandated by the state.
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You only have 4 hours/day to see patients at NYU? Are you a 4th year?
 
Sephisabin said:
In fairness, there is some truth to the trade off. I grabbed drinks with a couple of 3rd years at columbia last week and we were discussing our experiences. They are in clinic 12 hours a week, compared to 20 hours a week at NYU. Add that up over the course of a year and there is a marked difference in the amount of clinical experience. That's part of the reason so many Columbia students sought residencies before they were actually mandated by the state.
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things changed now since they finish their basic science courses in 1.5 years. i'm guessing they have an extra 1/2 year doing clinical stuff.
 
armorshell said:
You only have 4 hours/day to see patients at NYU? Are you a 4th year?
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I'm a 2nd year... don't see patients yet. I got the specs wrong, it's 20-24 hours a week, depending on the week, but yes... it does seem to break down to about 4 (sometimes 6) hours a day for the most part. How is it at your school?
 
NyCzPeter said:
isn't it obvious? Columbia only takes people with really high DAT scores and doesn't seem to care as much about GPA. Hence, those that do well on standardized exams. Put these guys in didactics at the med school = killer board scores. Couple the board scores with a P/F curriculum and that'll do the trick.
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It seems so simple wen you actually *think* about it.
 
I just into Columbia today, super surprised as I was not expecting to get in.

I now have the happy dilemna of choosing between a stong clinical school, temple, and columbia with their medically focused curriculum, P/F system and high placement rates.

time to do some soul searching
 
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