<p>I have no idea where to go... I got into both programs and I am having the hardest time deciding it.
Villanova/penn, I spend first 3 years at villanova university and then 4 years at upenn school of dental medicine.. and its almost a guaranteed admission to dental school
columbia college - biology.. well its COLUMBIA </p>
<p>so I have no idea where to go!</p>
<p>HELP HELP HELP!!!</p>
<p>how bad do you want to be a dentist?</p>
<p>in general i am not a fan of these kind of guaranteed programs. i know quite a few people that got in (especially when it was affiliated with perhaps a less prestigious undergraduate institution) and did not finish or go on to the medical/dental portion. so the important thing to remember it is not usually the Dental program v. Columbia, it is really going to Villanova or going to Columbia.</p>
<p>1) It doesn’t make you a better professional, often it makes you worse: I don’t know if you have to take the DAT anyhow, but let’s suppose you don’t, then all that work your peers have to do to study for the DAT, intern, learn about dentistry, you do not have to do. You enter dental school without the fury of feeling like you actually had to work to get there.</p>
<p>2) What if you change your mind: Maybe your dad or mom is a dentist, and you thought it was your life, but you’re a 3rd year in college, and your significant other is studying sustainable development, and gosh you realize that dentistry is really boring (because it is, bless my aunt, but yeah she even agrees). Now what do you do? You are at Villanova, a good school, but it is not Columbia in terms of a) supporting you to figure out what else is out there, b) providing you opportunities to reach that next level.</p>
<p>3) Changing your mind is good. This is related to the above, but from the other direction. You should go to college with a desire to change your mind. This is why these programs are not good because they ingrain complacency, and don’t push you to question everything before you.</p>
<p>4) Columbia is like a really good school. (I’ll give something to the person who picks up the reference.) I mean it is really good. It will push you to think harder, help you dream bigger, and provide you with the resources and the ability to not just become a dentist, but I don’t know, become some kind of bionic dentist that cures people on mars, or whatever. It is a very special place, and don’t just think about it from a prestige angle (throw the ranking out the door), but appreciate it for how special it really is. It is a full experience that will in the course of four years throw you in dozens of directions, give you hundreds of ideas, and it will help you transform into the person you will become. If you decide to become a dentist still, you will be a better dentist, who thinks about a larger range of issues, and brings a thoughtfulness to your practice and expertise.</p>
<p>I think Columbia is a clear choice. My bias is very clearly stated here. I think you gain so much more going to Columbia and learning more about yourself and what you are capable than honestly taking the easier (and potentially worse) route of doing the program.</p>