is UCLA good for dentistry?

<p>i know ucla is one of the top universities and one of the most competitive and i was wondering if it's dentistry program is really good. i really don't know any other colleges that have a dentistry program and if you know any, i'd really like to know. thank you</p>

<p>in californa, there are 5 dental schools:</p>

<p>-loma linda
-UCLA
-UCSF
-USC
-UOP</p>

<p>UCLA Dental School is excellent. </p>

<p>According to Wikipedia, The average UCLA Dental Admissions Test (DAT) scores for admitted students in the entering class of 2007 were 22 on the academic portion (3rd highest average in the nation after Harvard and Columbia) and 20 on the perceptual aptitude portion of the exam (3rd highest average after Harvard and University of Washington).</p>

<p>i think it's hard to say which schools are "top" programs for dentistry since every school's programs/methods vary. i.e. the USC teaching method is problem/case-based starting in Year 1, whereas at UCLA, Year 1 is pretty much all book-learning. I've heard UOP (I think?) be referred to as the "Disneyland" of dental schools because of their program/facilities. I think this is why dental schools are no longer ranked, since rankings don't mean anything due to having such varied programs. If you are really serious you should go to student doctor network forum to get indepth about the various programs, app process, etc.</p>

<p>On another note, I was also interested in dentisry and volunteered @ the dental school. I was able to talk to a lot of the students and I got several complaints about how they had to work really hard to study a lot of stuff/techniques that are not even necessary. However nobody said they regretted their decision to attend UCLA. Facilities are pretty nice, teachers are great.</p>

<p>most dental students would have no problem cutting their arm off to get into UCLA Dent</p>

<p>UCLA dent is top dental school in the world also med school</p>

<p>hey pppeachykeen,</p>

<p>how did you get to volunteer for the dental school?</p>

<p>UCLA would definitely be in the top 10 in dental school rankings imo (if anyone can find some).</p>

<p>Here is a list of all the dental schools in the US: List</a> of dental schools in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>

<p>thank you very much everyone :)</p>

<p>Just to clarify, are you looking for a college for undergrad that would get you into dental school, or are you a college grad looking for a dental school?</p>

<p>etti,</p>

<p>the dental school offers an 80-hour volunteer program. you sign up via the regular ucla hospital volunteer program.</p>

<p><a href="http://uclasod.dent.ucla.edu/admissions/index.asp?id=345#clinic%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://uclasod.dent.ucla.edu/admissions/index.asp?id=345#clinic&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>it's mostly officework though, and gives more insight into how a dental school runs, rather than the actual dental field. You do observe in the clinic for several hours, 4 I believe, out of the total 80. But it is a good opportunity to talk to dental students most of whom are very friendly and willing to answer questions.</p>

<p>i heard you can do 80hr program for medical school also! is that correct?</p>

<p>pppeachykeen,</p>

<p>thanks for that link...if you don't mind me asking, how long did you volunteer and when did you sign up? are they strict on volunteer's resumes such as GPA, etc....</p>

<p>i'm wondering if i should do it soon...i'll be an incoming sophomore...</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

<p>p.s., my bad for taking over the thread...lol</p>

<p>Torrancecali,</p>

<p>You can volunteer at the UCLA hospital, not the med school. 80 hours is required for volunteering -dental included. Hospital volunteering is different from the dental volunteering because you choose one particular area to volunteer in for all 80 hours, while the dental volunteering is a rotation. </p>

<p>Student</a> Program</p>

<p>etti,
For the dental program you have to do certain numbers of hours in certain areas. To sign up you have to first attend orientation for the regular hospital volunteer program (see link above). Even though they ask for GPA, references, I think it's all just formalities and pretty much anyone can volunteer.</p>

<p>Do it if you have the time. There is a 6-month time frame to complete all 80 hours. I tried doing it this past winter/spring quarter but my winter quarter was packed and I wasn't able to volunteer much. So I had to fit in doing 70 hours in 6 weeks last quarter between studying and working. It was hard to fit in because the dental school closes around 4:30-5 and I had morning/afternoon classes. Although you can postpone/pause your 6 month timeframe I chose not to and was exhausted trying to finish.</p>

<p>pppeach- so for the 80hr volunteer program has two options?
1)dental school
2)UCLA hospital
becuz im still debating between med or dent
Q.can do both at the same time?
Q. can you volunteer during weekend?</p>

<p>hi, i’m a new member. i want some info about dentistry books you study in UCLA. thanks</p>