Will what school i go to for undergrad affect my chances of getting into dental

[JPevzner]

Hi,
I'm a junior in high school and will be applying to schools this summer. Now my question is: does which undergrad school i go to affect my chances of getting into dental school, because if it doesn't i'd probably go to my cheap state school (SUNY Binghamton). However, if dental schools do take into consideration which undergrad school i went to then i'd probably consider applying to say, Northwestern and Vendirbilt, even though they're quite expensive.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jon

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[Aceofspades]

This questions and variations of it have been asked before... in fact pretty recently I believe (do a search). The general answer is IVY > 4-year school >>>>>> CC. If it's not an IVY or CC then it shouldn't really matter.

 

[NyCzPeter]

Hi,
I'm a junior in high school and will be applying to schools this summer. Now my question is: does which undergrad school i go to affect my chances of getting into dental school, because if it doesn't i'd probably go to my cheap state school (SUNY Binghamton). However, if dental schools do take into consideration which undergrad school i went to then i'd probably consider applying to say, Northwestern and Vendirbilt, even though they're quite expensive.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jon

Of course it will affect it. But which will affect it positively and which negatively, you will never know.

 

[enfuego]

Nope. I go to a pretty big name school with a reputation and such, and all I get out of it is massive tuition bills and grade deflation. The biggest scam has got to be private undergrad institutions with their $50K tuitions. You don't get anything extra than the kid who goes to his state school for like $4K a year. (In fact, I had a high school teacher who had two degrees - one from University of Alabama and one from Harvard - and he said there was pretty much no difference in the education at those two institutions.) Save your money in undergrad - they all teach you the same stuff. My parents are paying my bills, and now that I know what a waste it all is, I feel terrible that they're spending so much money when the quality of my "name" school is probably no different than the state school I could have gone to for free.

Dental schools do take into consideration the name of your institution, but a big name doesn't make up for crappy grades at all. Might as well go to an easier, cheaper school.

 

[gryffindor]

SUNY Binghamton is not a joke school. The NY State dental schools (Buffalo and Stonybrook) would definitely take SUNY Binghamton seriously. Lots of my classmates in dental school went to undergrad there. If you graduate with a 4.0 from Binghamton, no dental school will hesitate to consider your application. Save your money, you'll need it for dental school.

 

[JPevzner]

@ nyczpeter: what undergrad did u go to that u got into stony brook??

 

[JPevzner]

thanks for ur replies everyone 🙂 So basically i'm getting the message that i'm better off just going to Binghamton

 

[because789]

Hi,
does which undergrad school i go to affect my chances of getting into dental school, because if it doesn't i'd probably go to my cheap state school (SUNY Binghamton).

Some dental schools only accept prerequisites if they are completed at a four year college/university.

Ex: HUCD
http://www.dentistry.howard.edu/admissions.htm

 

[doc toothache]

Hi,
I'm a junior in high school and will be applying to schools this summer. Now my question is: does which undergrad school i go to affect my chances of getting into dental school, because if it doesn't i'd probably go to my cheap state school (SUNY Binghamton). However, if dental schools do take into consideration which undergrad school i went to then i'd probably consider applying to say, Northwestern and Vendirbilt, even though they're quite expensive.

Do you feel that you could get a 4.0 just as easily at Northwestern or Vanderbilt?

 

[JPevzner]

I'm sure that getting a 4.0 at Northwestern or Venderbilt would be easier than getting a 4.0 at Binghamton... but my question is do you think i could get into stony brook dental school with a 4.0 from Binghamton?? would they look at that more favorablly than say, a 3.8 from Northwestern?? How much better would it look if i did get a 4.0 from Northwestern than if i got a 4.0 from Binghamton??
Thanks for all your help so far,
Jon

 

[thethethe]

You are not going to get a 4.0.

 

[Dentgirl09]

All in all: doesn't matter where you go.
Don't underestimate being able to have a good GPA over hwere you get that GPA from. I got to a big private school with ridiculous tuition (one of hte most expensive in the country)--luckily i go on scholarship ...BUT... for those that don't.. I don't know what the F they are doing here! It's really not worth the $$

 

[water88]

"I'm sure that getting a 4.0 at Northwestern or Venderbilt would be easier than getting a 4.0 at Binghamton"

Nope.

 

[JPevzner]

my bad guys... I messed up on my previous post. It should have been: "I'm sure that getting a 4.0 at Binghamton would be easier than getting a 4.0 at Northwestern." not the other way around... lol. Considering the tuition: at Binghamton it's around $10,000/year and Northwestern is about $25,000/year. I would like some more oppinions.
Thanks to all,
Jon

 

[water88]

Northwestern and Vanderbilt are top schools and as such, are very difficult to get into. Top students with 2200+ SAT get rejected. My point is, wait until you've been accepted to these schools, then you can decide where you should go.

 

[doc3232]

Northwestern and Vanderbilt are top schools and as such, are very difficult to get into. Top students with 2200+ SAT get rejected. My point is, wait until you've been accepted to these schools, then you can decide where you should go.

Till then, don't think about it. Don't even post hypothetical situations.

 

[doc toothache]

I'm sure that getting a 4.0 at Northwestern or Venderbilt would be easier than getting a 4.0 at Binghamton... but my question is do you think i could get into stony brook dental school with a 4.0 from Binghamton?? would they look at that more favorablly than say, a 3.8 from Northwestern?? How much better would it look if i did get a 4.0 from Northwestern than if i got a 4.0 from Binghamton??

No doubt a graduate from MIT would be looked upon more favorably than one from Podunk U assuming that the gpa and DAT scores were, at least, comparable. What is less clear is degree of importance that it may have on the evaluation of applicants. In the case of your scenario it is probably six of one and half a dozen of the other.

 

[nzaads]

look into the 7 year programs PLEASE. this will save you valuable time and make things much much much easier.

 

[Doh Boy Fresh]

I went to an average undergrad, got into every school I wanted to.

applied to 9, got into 6, got interviews from 1 post acceptance...

I didnt have a 4.0 GPA and got in every where I wanted and more.

So, NO, it doesn't make a difference. If you get good grades as long as you are at a 4 year university, you should be able to get into dental school.

 

[JPevzner]

thanks for all your help guys!

 

[Waitlisted2009]

.

 

[armorshell]

You can get in but can you get into a top top top program?

Define top program.

 

[yuppers]

Define top program.

Better yet....define a top top top program....

 

[Waitlisted2009]

.

 

[Jimmy Choo]

This is kind of a weird topic because most top students in high school who get accepted into top 20 undergrads aren't even considering dental school as their futures. I go to an Ivy League school and as far as I know, we don't even have a pre-dental club or a pre-dental advisor. Just look around SDN, most students go to random state schools that I've never ever heard of. I have yet to meet an incoming freshman at my undergrad who was pre-dental. If you go to an Ivy or any other top 20 undergrads, you are brilliant (or legacy) but you also care about prestige and dentistry doesn't offer that like medicine, law, or business.

But to answer your question, you should go to the less competitive undergraduate school where you can get a higher GPA. While a degree from a top 20 undergrad will definitely be more impressive than a less competitive school, it's hard to say how much of a boost in your GPA the dental schools would give for going to a more prestigious school. I think a 3.5 from say Northwestern would be be equal to a 3.8 from SUNY but that would be a pure conjecture.

Another thing to consider is that college is curved, which means only the top 10~20% can receive A's. If you go to a top 20 undergrad, you will be competing against your classmates who had 3.8+ GPA and 2100+ SAT just like you. What makes you think you can beat them? Go to SUNY and you certainly have a better shot at dominating state school dumbdumb's with 3.0's and 1500 SAT's.

On the other side though, you do get a more academic environment at the top schools. Being around your peers who are so brilliant and hard working will push you to be more successful. I really enjoyed this healthy competition and going to a top school was worth it for me because it brought out the best in me. But if you think you can do well in an environment where everyone else is partying, go ahead and do it. Like someone else said, if you have a 4.0 GPA from any college and a high DAT score to back it up, you can get into any dental school.

SDN hates the idea of attending a top undergraduate institution because most of them were too dumb in high school, too poor, and went to a less competitive college. But it has its benefits. The name will carry itself for the rest of your life and it opens up a lot of doors for you. It's where the children of the rich and the powerful come. And of course beautiful too, in case of me 😍

*Waits for an angry state school undergrad to come in and talk about all the connections he's made from networking. Guess what honey, we don't have to network that's for staters.

 

[gryffindor]

Another thing to consider is that college is curved, which means only the top 10~20% can receive A's. If you go to a top 20 undergrad, you will be competing against your classmates who had 3.8+ GPA and 2100+ SAT just like you. What makes you think you can beat them? Go to SUNY and you certainly have a better shot at dominating state school dumbdumb's with 3.0's and 1500 SAT's.

SUNY Binghamton, along with Geneseo, are considered to be at the top of the SUNY system. The "state school dumbdumbs" are less likely to be there.

 

[219122]

SDN hates the idea of attending a top undergraduate institution because most of them were too dumb in high school, too poor, and went to a less competitive college. But it has its benefits. The name will carry itself for the rest of your life and it opens up a lot of doors for you. It's where the children of the rich and the powerful come. And of course beautiful too, in case of me 😍

You sound like Gossip Girl

 

[UCSF2012]

You sound like Gossip Girl

SDN is analogous to Dan and Vanessa. Haters of the rich and beautiful Upper East Siders. ...yea, I watch that show. I'm not ashamed to say it!

🙂

 

[alphaDDS]

There's a ranking I remember when I applied... 5 assigned to the best schools, 4 to second teir... 3... 2... 1 to community colleges. I don't know.

 

[219122]

SDN is analogous to Dan and Vanessa. Haters of the rich and beautiful Upper East Siders. ...yea, I watch that show. I'm not ashamed to say it!

🙂

Haha that analogy sorta breaks down when you realize that Dan is going to Yale and Blair screwed her way out of a spot at ANY top school.

 

[doc3232]

SDN is analogous to Dan and Vanessa. Haters of the rich and beautiful Upper East Siders. ...yea, I watch that show. I'm not ashamed to say it!

🙂

Oh, but you should be...

When you said, "it [attending a top undergraduate school] opens up a lot of doors for you", exactly what kinds of doors could it open up for me and what are the specific benefits? I was planning on transferring out of my not-as-well-known undergraduate school to somewhere else, out-of-state, that is more prestigious like Columbia.

Coming out of a better undergrad might help. But remember you will need to have solid grades when you get there.
Using the "better" undergrad excuse to explain a low gpa never works.

 

[JPevzner]

wow! thanks for all of the info guys!(and girls) I think i'm probably goona go to either Binghamton or Geneseo... visiting them this break, so we'll see!

 

[cyrano]

.

 

[predentn]

This is kind of a weird topic because most top students in high school who get accepted into top 20 undergrads aren't even considering dental school as their futures. I go to an Ivy League school and as far as I know, we don't even have a pre-dental club or a pre-dental advisor. Just look around SDN, most students go to random state schools that I've never ever heard of. I have yet to meet an incoming freshman at my undergrad who was pre-dental. If you go to an Ivy or any other top 20 undergrads, you are brilliant (or legacy) but you also care about prestige and dentistry doesn't offer that like medicine, law, or business.

But to answer your question, you should go to the less competitive undergraduate school where you can get a higher GPA. While a degree from a top 20 undergrad will definitely be more impressive than a less competitive school, it's hard to say how much of a boost in your GPA the dental schools would give for going to a more prestigious school. I think a 3.5 from say Northwestern would be be equal to a 3.8 from SUNY but that would be a pure conjecture.

Another thing to consider is that college is curved, which means only the top 10~20% can receive A's. If you go to a top 20 undergrad, you will be competing against your classmates who had 3.8+ GPA and 2100+ SAT just like you. What makes you think you can beat them? Go to SUNY and you certainly have a better shot at dominating state school dumbdumb's with 3.0's and 1500 SAT's.

On the other side though, you do get a more academic environment at the top schools. Being around your peers who are so brilliant and hard working will push you to be more successful. I really enjoyed this healthy competition and going to a top school was worth it for me because it brought out the best in me. But if you think you can do well in an environment where everyone else is partying, go ahead and do it. Like someone else said, if you have a 4.0 GPA from any college and a high DAT score to back it up, you can get into any dental school.

SDN hates the idea of attending a top undergraduate institution because most of them were too dumb in high school, too poor, and went to a less competitive college. But it has its benefits. The name will carry itself for the rest of your life and it opens up a lot of doors for you. It's where the children of the rich and the powerful come. And of course beautiful too, in case of me 😍

*Waits for an angry state school undergrad to come in and talk about all the connections he's made from networking. Guess what honey, we don't have to network that's for staters.

 

[enfuego]

Can you make the picture a little bigger? I can't quite see it. 😛

 

[Jimmy Choo]

If you're a competitive individual and work hard in school then you should go to a top 30 university. If you're an arrogant competitive individual go to school with people like "ugly pink shoe."

If you're a relatively relaxed person who doesn't have to work very hard to get good grades and you don't want your fun stifled by ultra competitive classmates go to a strong state school and save some money.

How DARE you.

 

[BillytheEchidna]

You can't necessarily predict what kind of college student you will be from the high-school vantage point. I was valedictorian of my h.s. class in the boonies, but when I got to the University of Michigan, I caved under the pressure. I succumbed to the "just average here" mindset and didn't try at all (big shocking self-fulfilling prophecy!). And I am finding that the Michigan name-brand degree doesn't make up for my bad grades there. At a school like U of M (and Northwestern), your classmates will be Harvard and Yale rejects; people who have gone to private schools their whole lives and are already ahead of the game.

When you choose a school, you should also consider what kind of person you are. If you are easily overwhelmed by competition, you would probably do better at a state school that isn't gigantic (get involved in the Honors program, if you can). If you have an inflated ego and think you poop smarter than most people, you will probably excel anywhere that you go. No pun intended.

 

[LuckiLeigh]

I think the school name definitely matters but only if you can prove that you can handle the competition. I go to U of Michigan for my undergrad (a top public university) and when I interviewed at Harvard they made a point of telling me that there is usually always at least 1 U of M student in their incoming class (out of 35). I know that has been a trend at UCLA too. Considering these are both very difficult schools to get into (UCLA out of state is difficult) and the fact that they drew attention to it when I was interviewing shows that undergrad reputation definitely matters. Lesser known schools won't necessarily hurt you but well known undergrads definitely give you an edge up if you can earn a good GPA. That said, you have to weigh if this potential advantage is worth the cost difference.

 

[xhamburgersamx]

Maybe you should consider which public dental school you would "like" to attend and go to a school in that state whether its private or not. Either way your parents are probably going to pay for your undergrad so what's the big difference? If not you're just going to be adding a little more debt to an already big amount you will get for dental school.

Realistically, iits possible to get a 4.0 at SUNY or a 4.0 at Yale and have a relatively similar chance of getting into a top dental school. You put in the effort and you will be rewarded with good grades regardless what school you go to.

 

[BillytheEchidna]

I think the school name definitely matters but only if you can prove that you can handle the competition. I go to U of Michigan for my undergrad (a top public university) and when I interviewed at Harvard they made a point of telling me that there is usually always at least 1 U of M student in their incoming class (out of 35). I know that has been a trend at UCLA too. Considering these are both very difficult schools to get into (UCLA out of state is difficult) and the fact that they drew attention to it when I was interviewing shows that undergrad reputation definitely matters. Lesser known schools won't necessarily hurt you but well known undergrads definitely give you an edge up if you can earn a good GPA. That said, you have to weigh if this potential advantage is worth the cost difference.

Very well said, fellow wolverine. 🙂

 

[JPevzner]

how do the dental schools determine if you're in-state or out-of-state? For example, if i go to undergrad at a different state, do i become a resident of that state? do i lose my residency at my original state? how long does it take to be considered a resident of a state? Clarification on how exactly this process works would be greatly appreciated.
thanks for all your help,
Jon

 

[xhamburgersamx]

how do the dental schools determine if you're in-state or out-of-state? For example, if i go to undergrad at a different state, do i become a resident of that state? do i lose my residency at my original state? how long does it take to be considered a resident of a state? Clarification on how exactly this process works would be greatly appreciated.
thanks for all your help,
Jon

For most states, you can declare residency after being there for 1 year. Some states don't allow you to change residency because you are student so check up on that. The aadsas applications asks that you declare your province or state of residency, that is how they(dental schools) know. Yes you lose your residency in NY if you change, obviously.

 

[Jimmy Choo]

When you said, "it [attending a top undergraduate school] opens up a lot of doors for you", exactly what kinds of doors could it open up for me and what are the specific benefits? I was planning on transferring out of my not-as-well-known undergraduate school to somewhere else, out-of-state, that is more prestigious like Columbia.

Honestly, your undergraduate school matters but not that much when it comes to getting into the best dental schools. Like other haves pointed out, you can go to SUNY or Cal State and still get into the top schools if you get a high GPA/DAT.

But that's just dental school. There is a lot more to life than dental school.

When I say going to a prestigious undergraduate school opens up doors for you, I don't mean that in regards to dental school. Going to an Ivy League undergraduate enables to you to make connections with their alums and currents students who are and who will be leaders in business, law, politics, medicine, and any other sectors that you can think of. It's not the school itself that is "better" than the state school, it's the people that you will be surrounded that are better than the typical low expectation people who go to the state school to save $25,000 a year.

There is a lot of Ivy League bashing on SDN pre-dental but I expect nothing less than that from a group of students who mostly fit the mold of a typical small timing blue collar penny pinchers who can't even fathom the possibility of being in the same league as the best and the brightest of the world. Happy bargain hunting!

 

[UCSF2012]

Honestly, your undergraduate school matters but not that much when it comes to getting into the best dental schools. Like other haves pointed out, you can go to SUNY or Cal State and still get into the top schools if you get a high GPA/DAT.

But that's just dental school. There is a lot more to life than dental school.

When I say going to a prestigious undergraduate school opens up doors for you, I don't mean that in regards to dental school. Going to an Ivy League undergraduate enables to you to make connections with their alums and currents students who are and who will be leaders in business, law, politics, medicine, and any other sectors that you can think of. It's not the school itself that is "better" than the state school, it's the people that you will be surrounded that are better than the typical low expectation people who go to the state school to save $25,000 a year.

There is a lot of Ivy League bashing on SDN pre-dental but I expect nothing less than that from a group of students who mostly fit the mold of a typical small timing blue collar penny pinchers who can't even fathom the possibility of being in the same league as the best and the brightest of the world. Happy bargain hunting!

Hey baby, how YOU doin'?

 

[doc3232]

Hey baby, how YOU doin'?

hahahaha, I don't why this is funny.

 

[somethinpositiv]

You can get in but can you get into a top top top program?

She applied to 9 schools, got interviews from 7, and acceptances from 6, including Penn, and her top choice UIC. That's not bad for someone with a 3.6 from an average public school, don't you think?

I'd think of it this way:

Northwestern 3.6 > SUNY Binghamton 3.6
Northwestern 3.6 < SUNY Binghamton 3.61

Wherever you think you will do the best, go there.

Honestly, I went to an average public school, and did average there, and got into 5 great schools. It hardly matters. If anything, going to an undergrad with a dental school might help your chances there because you have opportunities to network. Maybe if you went to Penn, Harvard, Tufts, NYU, BU, Stony Brook, Buffalo, Marquette, Pitt, Case, ect. for undergrad, you might have an edge at those schools... purely speculation.

If I were you, I'd go to SUNY Stony Brook or SUNY Buffalo. 🙂

 

[JPevzner]

thanks a lot for all the great comments guys!

 

[thethethe]

SDN hates the idea of attending a top undergraduate institution because most of them were too dumb in high school, too poor, and went to a less competitive college.

i love you

 

[Lemons]

I got into an ivy league school but went to my local state school. I had the unfortunate situation where my parents made a lot of money but were really bad at managing it so I had no help when it came to paying for college. I sucked it up and went to the state school thinking I could easily get a 4.0 and in the end it wouldn't hurt me.

NO, that couldn't have been further from the truth. I got into a difficult "honors" major at a state school and 75% of my classes were with other smart kids who also could have gone to a big name school. At most state schools only 10% of kids get an A, so in most of my classes I had Ivy League competition but without the Ivy League grade inflation or name to fall back on. However, the 25% of the classes I had with "regular" students (~85th percentile high school class rank and SATs) were EASY.

If you go to a state school, make sure your competition is really state school caliber otherwise you may get a situation with Ivy league competition and a not so great school name. Many of my classmates from my program cannot get into medical school or prestigious law schools. These are people who turned down ivy league schools for our state school and now are hoping they get into a nursing program. The only professional schools that took into account the difficulty of the program was the one at our school. Once you leave the state, no one knows or cares about which program you graduated from or the caliber of the student body, just the school name.

Do I regret it? Not really, I mean I don't have debt from undergrad but I'm probably just looking at the glass half full. If I had to do it all over again I probably would have skipped the "honors" and hard major and taken most of my classes with the regular state school kids and if I had the money, I would have gone to an Ivy with grade inflation.

What's worse than going to a really competitive program in a state school? Going to a small yet very competitive liberal arts school. No grade inflation + lack of a big name + expensive = you're screwed.

I have a friend who went to the "Harvard of small liberal arts colleges" and now she works as a glorified receptionist for $12/hr. She has over $30,000 in debt and close to nothing to show for it. I have met so many people who went to really competitive liberal arts colleges who now work the same type of jobs that people who only went to community colleges or very, very low grade colleges usually work. My friend could have gone to Yale but she wanted something closer to her boyfriend and now she won't admit it but I know she regrets her choice.

Also keep in mind not all big name schools have grade inflation, friends of mine who went to UC- Berkley, MIT, and Cornell have complained about the lack of grade inflation. These schools are notorious for not having grade inflation. Being in the top 10% of Liberty University (no offense) does not compare to being in the top 10% at MIT and it's a shame that they are given the same grade. However, at least my friends who went to MIT have a big name to fall back on.

I apologize for any JimmyChoo like statements but I wish someone had explained this to me when I was in High School.

 

[somethinpositiv]

At most state schools only 10% of kids get an A

I love how you going to a state school gives you insight on most state schools. I go to a state school and your statement couldn't be further from the truth for my school, but clearly my state school must be the exception, since most are that way, as per your experience Lemons...