<p>So, recently I have been seriously been considering going to dentristy school. Can anyone tell me about Ohio state's dentristy school? For ecample, Is it better than dentristy at penn state, UF, or other state schools? How would it be ranked nationally among other universities?</p>
<p>And about majoring in dentristy, are the introductory courses similar to pre-med, like biology and chemistry, or is it much more strenuous?</p>
<p>Any input is appreciated.</p>
<p>My dentist went to UMass. He's rediculously successful. He went to UPenn for grad.</p>
<p>Pre-dental requirements are very similar to pre-med requirements.</p>
<p>You can't major in dentistry as an undergrad; it's a professional school field. For undergrad, you needn't limit yourself to colleges with a school of dentistry.</p>
<p>try JHU or stanford</p>
<p>I hope you're talking about undergraduate schools because Johns Hopkins and Stanford do not have dental schools ^.</p>
<p>Penn State doesn't have a dental school.</p>
<p>Ohio State's dental school is good. So is Florida.</p>
<p>UPenn is excellent. It's quite possibly one of the best dental schools in the nation.</p>
<ul>
<li>I meant less strenuous--the premed program will be harder, of course.</li>
</ul>
<p>Manutd200le, do you know where I can find some type of top 50 ranking for dentistry schools. As of now, I am trying to decide between Florida and OSU. Which one is better? Or is the difference so inconsequential that it's negligible? I know it is a graduate school, but I have to decide which of those universities to attend soon, so I might as well pick the one most sound in the professional field.</p>
<p>you do realize that picking an undergrad school based on its dentist school makes absolutely no sense?</p>
<p>No, I didn't actually.
If I know I that may choose to be a dentist, wouldn't it be more convinient to attend the school I was accepted to that has the better dentistry program? Do you mean after most students complete undergrad, they consider other universities for their professional field? Because I was thinking about staying all four years(or more)at a single university and going to that university's dentistry school. Could you please elucidate that?</p>
<p>Go to the pre-med forums here on CC...every time it says "medical" substitute "dental", instead of "MCAT" read "DAT"</p>
<p>Really, the two paths are almost identicle. The courses needed are almost identicle, and you'll be taking them with a lot of pre-med students. Undergrad institution should be based on the place where you fit in the best (regardless of whether they have an affiliated dental school), you can major in whatever, and every single dental school is a quality instituion - the difference between the best and worst is negligible because there aren't that many.</p>
<p>Bigredmed, after how many years would you say it takes for a freshman to take all the courses necessary and become a practicing dentist? But I still don't get it though; If dentistry schools--except for a few that are more renowned--are comparable and the undergraduate caliber of the schools you are considering is also equivalent, wouldn't it be convinient to pick the university(among those you are accepted to) that you believe has the best dentristy school?</p>
<p>DO most graduate students decide to go to another university for dentistry?</p>
<p>Dental schools really aren't graduate schools. After four years of undergraduate school, you go to dental school for four more years. You can start your own practice right away, do residency, or specialize in other fields of dentistry once you graduate dental school.</p>
<p>I really don't see any point in going to an undergraduate school based on its dental school.</p>
<p>I used to believe in this, but now I see that it has almost no benefit.</p>
<p>The only good thing is probably in-state tuition. You pay for dental school through student loan, so I really don't see much of difference; you still pay off the debt well into your 30s anyway.</p>
<p>It's good to apply to some schools based on this theory though. For example, UNC's dental school is extremely difficult to get in as an out-of-state applicant. If you go to UNC as an undergraduate, you're more likely to be accepted than other applicants. The key is to attend an undergraduate school, probably a state one, that use this method and use it as a "safety."</p>
<p>This way, you have the option of applying to other dental schools with less stress.</p>
<p>By the way, I am using this method. </p>
<p>However, the most important factor in getting into any dental school is to get a good GPA, score high on DAT, and do a lot of extracurricular activities relating to dentistry. Harvard (research mainly), Columbia, UPenn, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Florida, Pacific, UCSF, Tufts, UNC, and more dental schools are excellent. They all want students who have characteristics I listed above. </p>
<p>There's no ranking for dental schools. They stopped publishing in 90's. </p>
<p>You should join Student Doctor Network.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/index.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentdoctor.net/index.asp</a></p>
<p>Go here, make an account, and use the pre-dental forum.</p>
<p>It's very addictive like CC. </p>
<p>In conclusion, go to the undergraduate school you want and major in something you enjoy. GPA, DAT, and extracurricular work will get you into dental schools.</p>
<p>ManU, you've got a lot of good info in there. </p>
<p>One thing I'd point out is that as far as state schools, it's not so much that being out of state hurts you as that being in-state is that big of boost for an applicant. This favortism is not found when applying to private schools. </p>
<p>Mark (the OP), I'm not 100% that you understand the exact process of getting into dental school. First, undergrad where you complete a series of classes (usually a year in bio, gen chem, organic chem, and physics, along with some courses that may be unique to certain schools - some may require biochem or genetics or a business course - ManU will probably be able to give some better examples). Now while in undergrad, you don't actually have to finish a bachelor's degree before heading off to dental school - the general requirement is completion of 90 hours of undergrad course work (so 3 years). Lets just say for now that you will get your bachelors and finish in 4 years. During your junior year, you would have taken the Dental Admissions Test which covers general knowledge of math, bio, chem, physics, organic, reading comp, and your perceptual ability (how you are able to visualize things since you're going to be looking at everything upside down and backwards throughout your clinical career). Then during your senior year you apply to various medical schools through the ADSAS application. I'd imagine that the average applicant applies to probably 10 or so different dental schools. Some schools have interviews you'll be invited to, some not, and starting December 1st the schools start mailing acceptances out. The following august/september you'd start at the dental school. Dental school is 4 years and after graduation, with DDS degree in hand, you're able to start or join a practice, you can also specialize in fields like Orthodontics, Prosthetics, or pediatric dentistry in programs that are similar to the residency programs that new MD's go through. I'm not sure how long those programs last. </p>
<p>So all told minimum of 7 years (and that requires getting in after your junior year - you must be extremely well qualified to do this, the few people I know who did this are incredibly smart with near 4.0's and DAT scores into the 90th percentile). But say 8 and you cover most cases. Throw in a specialization fellowship, (2 years?) and it's a 10 year journey.</p>
<p>Thus the reason why your undergrad institution doesn't really matter is because you are likely to end up going to school somewhere else. Also keep in mind that the in-state favortism given at state schools applies to that states legal residents - you can go somewhere else and come back and so long as you maintain resident status where your parents live, that would be the state where you get the advantage. For example, I grew up in Kansas City on the Kansas side of the state line. I went to undergrad in Nebraska. When I applied to medical school, I was still a legal resident of Kansas even though I hadn't really lived there for 4 years. Now in my 2nd year of medical school (also in Nebraska) and I'm still a legal resident of Kansas b/c my driver's license is from there, I pay Kansas income tax, maintain the title of my car, etc, etc. So just because you go out of state doesn't mean that you become a legal resident of that state unless you go through the proper paperwork of doing so. Many states have very specific rules about what constitutes residency in terms of students.</p>
<p>Uf>>>>>osu</p>
<p>^ LOL. Man, you are just too funny. Is that supposed to help me or something?</p>
<p>Manutd, which dental school are you planning on applying to? And thanks both of you for the help. It is all much clearer now.</p>
<p>Seven+ years seems like a long time until you reap the benefits of the profession. From experience, have you guys encountered opportunities to start earning money(like internships or part time jobs) as a senior and beyond? I come from a low income family and will likely need student loans to get me through school, but lately I have realized how much I would love to be a dentist.</p>
<p>I'm still a high school senior.</p>
<p>My dream dental school is UPenn.</p>
<p>A lot of people usually volunteer or get jobs as dental assistants.</p>
<p>They earn money and experience this way before going to dental school.</p>
<p>All dental students take out loans unless they're spoiled to the limit and pay the enormous bill based on largess from their parents. So you shouldn't worry about the student loan for dental school; you end up paying it off gradually as you work through your 30s.</p>
<p>It's a tough profession at first, but future profit overcomes that disadvantage.</p>
<p>ManU, for a HS senior, your understanding of the process is really phenomenal. I've been advising pre-meds for about 5 years now in both formal (I was a student ambassador for the College of Arts & Sciences at my university and it was pretty much my job to explain what being a pre-med meant) and informal settings (like CC), and I've seen very few 1st semester seniors who have the handle on expectations that you do. You've obviously done your homework and deserve to be commended for that. Plus you're going about it (at least is seems so) in a great manner (not focusing on prestige, realizing what the end goal really is and how various factors do or don't play into acceptance). I'm very impressed.</p>
<p>Mark, as an undergraduate, holding a job is something that is certainly doable - I worked several places waiting tables and then taught Kaplan MCAT review during college. However, most med/dent students once in professional school are much to busy to hold a job. There are very few jobs that have the flexibility and level of pay to be of any worth...Kaplan (or I suppose TPR and the like) are really the only jobs that I know of that fit the bill. </p>
<p>You will have to take out huge loans to pay for school (my med school loans are about 38k a year for tuition and living expenses - that's at a state school at which I pay in-state tuition - private schools may be more than 60k a year in loans). It's just the way it is (though they always tell us that many lenders see it as "good" debt...whatever that means). Keep in mind though that if you do make it through dental school you are practically guaranteed a job, with a sizable salary - it's rare to find the dentist working full time that is not making 6 figures. Now business and several other fields have a far greater maximal earning potential, but are no where near the sure profession that any medical field is. Just something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>The University of Michigan has one of the top 5 Dental schools in the nation. However, there haven't been any official rankings of Dental schools in a decade. </p>
<p>Couldn't agree more about MAnU; from the breadth of your knowlegde, I assumed that you were doing your pre-med requirements already. Bigredmed, I am just curious, which school are you currently attending?</p>
<p>Thank you everyone that commented.</p>
<p>Those rankings are somewhat dubious, especially being from 14 years ago.
Harvard is listed as number one on Gourman but not even mentioned on us news top 12, go figure...</p>
<p>Yes, they are dubious...even 14 years ago they were considered dubious! LOL!!! Seriously, the reason the rankings of Dental schools ceased 12 years ago is because the rankings were considered to be completely unreliable, even back then.</p>