Location vs Costs vs Requirements [SUNY Buffalo vs NYU vs Pitt]

College Search & Selection
21

<p>That is wonderful news! </p>

<p>It sounds like you are planning on getting very involved in activities.</p>

<p>The new dorm sounds really nice. The perk about Sutherland is that you are surrounded by kids in the honors college. My D really enjoyed that experience, and in fact is still living in honors housing.</p>

<p>Your route to Pitt is somewhat similar to my younger D’s. When she started searching for colleges, we encouraged her to look for matches and safeties. As the acceptances and scholarships started rolling in, I couldn’t help but compare the attributes of each school to Pitt. But we felt it was important that she NOT attend the same college that her older sister was enrolled at. She narrowed down her list to three, and visited each one again. After visiting the school I was sure she would attend, she made a few comments that told me she was comparing it to Pitt, and Pitt was winning. She didn’t realize it, however, until she attended the day for accepted honors students. But that weekend we sent in the deposit. By that time my H and I had realized that it was the best fit for her, so now we will have two kids at Pitt.</p>

<p>Please refer back to post #2. Didn’t I, ahem, advocate for, ahem, Pitt right from the beginning??? ;)</p>

22

<p>The plot thickens</p>

<p>So i went to visit Pitt dental today. Walked in and the lady we met with said that she doesn’t understand why the undergrad keeps offering this “guarantee” since it is by no means a guarantee. with the kind of stats Pitt is asking to maintain you could get into pretty much any dental school of your choosing. She did say being at Pitt has the advantage of getting to know the dental school and an excellent pre-dental club on campus. She said that I would be considered if i graduated early but they usually like students to finish all 4 years as they have become more mature at that point so there’s a possibility of me not getting in then. She also said I would have to resume build by shadowing, demonstrating leadership, volunteering, etc. If i make the requirements Pitt is giving me, I am also not guaranteed a spot - just an interview to make sure i have a personality. She told me though that if I went to pitt, and had slightly below the requirement (3.7gpa and 21DAT) i would be given an interview since they like their own students. The final thing she said was, “forget this letter that they gave you. Do what you feel is right (whether or not you go to Pitt). focus on your grades, dat scores, ECs, keep in contact with us and you’ll be fine no matter what undergrad/dental school you end up going to”</p>

<p>This opened up the box all over again:
Do I risk giving up a 7 year program spot by taking a risk at Pitt (which at this point is just a regular undergrad)?
Do I suck it up and go to Buffalo and suffer through 7 years of cold?
Do I take out loans and go to NYU? (definitely not preferable)
Do I reconsider other 4 year schools (notably either Michigan since it is a great school or Temple because of the full tuition ride)? And on the same line, do I wait on my waitlist schools (Northwestern and WashU) and turn in a deposit some place else?</p>

<p>On top of all of that, I have to decide by Saturday because my dad is leaving out of the country and won’t be back until after May 1.</p>

<p>All help is appreciated.</p>

23

<p>OMG, we need to go out for dinner to talk this over!!!</p>

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<p>Very true! What is your dream dental school?</p>

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<p>I find this statement interesting. This would indicate that even if you went to NYU and finished undergrad in three years, it could pose a handicap when applying to dental schools.</p>

<p>**The first thing I would do is contact the office that gave you the guaranteed admission to dental school, and tell them what you were told. Those two offices need to agree with each other. Call today. You don’t have time to wait for an appointment.</p>

<p>Do I risk giving up a 7 year program spot by taking a risk at Pitt (which at this point is just a regular undergrad)? Maybe, but I’m prejudiced.</p>

<p>Do I suck it up and go to Buffalo and suffer through 7 years of cold? NO!</p>

<p>Do I take out loans and go to NYU? (definitely not preferable) probably not</p>

<p>Do I reconsider other 4 year schools (notably either Michigan since it is a great school or Temple because of the full tuition ride)? A definite no to Michigan. That is way too expensive. However, with Temple, you have the full tuition, which at this point is cheaper than Pitt. Temple would give you the experience of living somewhere other than Pittsburgh, which was an objective of yours. The concerns about Temple would be: what is the quality of education compared to Pitt, and how safe is that area of Philadelphia?</p>

<p>And on the same line, do I wait on my waitlist schools (Northwestern and WashU) NO!</p>

<p>So I think your viable options are Pitt or Temple. Either way it looks like you will need to complete a 4 year undergrad program and build a resume, and then apply to dental school.</p>

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<p>These two points would be important if Pitt Dental School is high on your list of acceptable dental schools, which is why I started this post asking about your dream dental school. That answer to that question can help guide your decision making process.</p>

24

<p>I found this on the Pitt website under School of Dental Medicine Guarantee</p>

<p>Indicate Pre-Dentistry on admissions application.
Rank in the top 10 percent of high school class with 1300 SAT I (combined Critical Reading and Math) or 29 ACT, or better.
Maintain a 3.8 science and general grade point average as a full-time student in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.
Complete the minimum course work required of pre-dental students.
Attain a Dental Admission Test (DAT) score that will be set during the summer before senior year in college (the current score is 22).
Complete the American Dental Education Association application process.
Participate in a satisfactory pre-admissions interview prior to School of Dental Medicine admission.</p>

<p>The DAT score will be determined the summer of 2016. I believe someone told you that the score of 22 was probably what they thought you would need by the time you applied. So that fits. Who knows what Buffalo and NYU would require by that time? It’s possible that the numbers they gave you are their current numbers, but that they, too, will increase it when the time comes.</p>

<p>Also, this says that you still need to complete the application process and you need to sit for an interview.</p>

<p>So essentially their guaranteed admission is actually “guaranteed to look at you”.</p>

25

<p>Yup. Honestly so conflicted on what to do. I might as well just put all my schools on a dart board and throw one dart to decide :P. I honestly haven’t really thought about a “dream dental school.” I know that the top dental schools are Michigan, Washington-Seattle, UNC, UCSF, UCLA, Harvard, and Columbia (the last two being more research based). Then comes Pitt, Penn, Maryland, Buffalo. Schools like USC, NYU, and BU tend towards the bottom.</p>

<p>Ugh…i just don’t know any more</p>

26

<p>I decided to look up NYU’s requirements, but found this when I did a search. I think it’s enlightening. This was in response to a poster asking about guaranteed admission.</p>

<p>"Well, for starters, nothing is “guaranteed”. The actual term should be “preferred”. The NYU Dental admissions committee holds the BA/DDS students to the same exact standards as “traditional” 4-year applicants. We are humbly nothing special. The guidelines set by NYU CAS are not what determines admission into the NYU College of Dentistry. NYU CAS guidelines simply determine how the B.A. degree will be awarded after 4 years. The GPA requirement to get the B.A. degree is different from the GPA requirement for admission after the 3rd year. Therefore, the NYU Dental adcom has every right to waitlist students in the program that they are unsure about. It’s not just DAT scores and GPAs that determine admission. They also factor in what the BA/DDS applicant brings to the incoming class, how the applicant interviews, etc. Sometimes, a BA/DDS student has to repeat a course even though he/she has the “required” GPA due to program requirements and this can cause a wait list situation pending further review from the NYUCD admissions committee.</p>

<p>As for the 95% matriculating, it’s the 95% who actually stay in the program and don’t withdraw during the first 3 years that do indeed matriculate. To be more specific, matriculation in the BA/DDS program is the transition from first year of NYU dental to second year of NYU dental because the D1 grades/credits are used towards the B.A. degree from NYU CAS. The two statistics (NYUCD admission after 3rd year, and NYUCD official matriculation) are not the same thing. So the admission rate upon finishing NYU CAS might be lower than the total number of incoming BA/DDS students of a given class, but might be around 95% for the matriculation rate. Hope this clears up the confusion!"</p>

27

<p>Wow that’s different. See I know Buffalo is a guarantee similar to BS/MD programs. I have already interviewed for the program (the only dental program that I had to interview for) and they said you get the gpa and DAT and as a formality fill out the application, you’re in. Plus no resume building, you just have to do your shadowing. I don’t know it’s kind of looking better and better compared to some of my other schools. And if I was willing to go to Michigan which is just as cold as Buffalo, then why not go to Buffalo? </p>

<p>I don’t know. I might just flip a coin</p>

28

<p>Make a list of pros and cons for each college, and then give each pro or con a rating of 1-3, or maybe 0-3. Then total the ratings and see which college comes out ahead. That still might not be definitive, but it might help you see what your thoughts are.</p>

<p>Then go to sleep and when you wake up tomorrow morning, see which college you think of first.</p>

<p>I can see why you are thinking of Buffalo now. It seems like finishing in 7 years is very important to you, and Buffalo is fairly cheap.</p>

<p>I still like Pitt, but this isn’t about me.</p>

29

<p>For anyone in the future in this situation who is reading this (and for FlyMeToTheMoon) I committed to Pitt last night!! :)</p>

<p>Here is why:
-Cost, Cost, Cost. At Pitt i can pay for my entire undergrad + 3 years of dental school for the cost of Michigan undergrad OOS. I will be saving around $350k vs NYU.
-Location. Probably the warmest choice out of all my choices. really didn’t want to be miserable in the snow for 4 to 7/8 years. Plus being close to home has benefits for networking (parents are bound to know people who can help you out - i.e. dentists for me - if you stay close to home. but do make sure (and I plan on) not going home every weekend)
-Campus. I loved Oakland during the day when I visited. It was basically it’s own small city filled with a ton of college kids but it wasn’t as big as NYU/NYC something that I don’t think I was ready for.</p>

<p>Because of the money i’m saving on undergrad my parents said they would let me go to any dental school better than Pitt (harvard, columbia, upenn, unc, michigan) if i want plus they’d help out with a car, house/apartment, or buying into a practice.</p>

<p>I don’t think I could have made a better decision :)</p>

30

<p>You did a good job, guitarkid! I know it was rough, but you thought it through, and you knew what criteria you used to make your decision.</p>

<p>You will do well, and have a promising future ahead of you. Of course I am very happy because you chose Pitt!! Hail to Pitt!!</p>

31

<p>Thanks FlyMeToTheMoon! It is such a relief now!</p>

32

<p>Hello there, from your prior posts I think you decided upon
Pitt undergrad. I’ve got some thoughts to share with you, I speak from
Experience as I’m a dentist graduated from Pitt and cmu undergrad and a native pittsburgher. I now live in NYC for the past six years. My advice, go to Pitt for dental school.
While the excitement of living in NYC is great, I know lots of nyu
Grads around my age, 36, and older paying off loads of debt fr dental school.
They come out 300,000 or more in debt. Also fr
Speaking with my nyu dental grad friends , each class is super large,
And you are required to make a certain amount on production monetary
Wise in order to graduate. There was an
Article in the ny post or daily about an
Honors student who was suing nyu bc they wouldn’t
Let her graduate bc she hadn’t met the production quota.
Pitt will give you a lot of great opportunities, small class size,
Computer simulated predental clinics when working on typodonts,
A lot of clinical experience, good anesthesia skills. Most importantly
You’ll be in so much less debt especially if you’re parents are helpong
To pay. My parents were able to pay for most of my dental schooling,
I came out with little debt. It’s a good feeling as a practicing dentist not to
Have thousands or hundred of thousands in debt to pay back. My advice go do
A gpr in NYC after dental school. That’s what I did. At least you’ll be getting paid
Somewhat of a salary and still can experience NYC/manhattan living without the
Huge debt or larger debt you’ll have from going to nyu dental. Good luck!</p>

33

<p>Hey everyone. I’m in the class of 2014 for high school so my admissions process is beginning now. I’m considering NYU and BU 7 year programs. My parents own a dental office in Boston so I’m taking that over when I graduate dental school. Also, that makes the money less big of a deal since I don’t need to set up a practice. (Also I would be able to get paid by them during school if I went to BU) But before all that I’m not sure if I’ll get into one of these programs.
4.28 GPA weighted, 2210 SAT, 34 ACT, 780 Math 2, 730 Bio E (the rest here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1543870-chances-7-year-dental-program-bu-nyu-maybe-more.html#post16296854[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1543870-chances-7-year-dental-program-bu-nyu-maybe-more.html#post16296854&lt;/a&gt; )
I have 500 hours of experience in a dental office which includes shadowing and such but also marketing and management. My sister is an undergrad at BU (not going into dental) and my mom graduated from BU Dental School.</p>

<p>So…what are my chances of getting into NYU’s program (and BU’s program)?</p>

<p>(Ahh it’s crucial. I’ll be able to save 60k, my parents can retire a year earlier, and I can make a living a year earlier)</p>