<p>I have my heart set on being a dentist. Should i go to a "famous" school like harvard or something or an "easy" school like...UT Austin.(Ok its not easy, but its less difficult). The reason being, i heard dental schools base their desicisons upon DAT/MCAT Scores, and GPA. So it'd probably be easier to get a higher GPA if i go to an easy school...i think. Would that give me a better chance in?</p>
<p>look at the "good pre-med schools" thread in the pre-med section. Every time it says "med" replace it with "dent" and read the information. It applies equally.</p>
<p>I would like to know as well.</p>
<p>To reiterate BRM's point:</p>
<p>LOL. Clearly you have the same misconceptions about Harvard that most have. Harvard inflates grades. In fact, it is one of the worst schools for inflating grades. Therefore, it is definitely <em>not</em> easier. I don't know anything about UT-Austin, but perhaps UT is even harder. The hardest part about Harvard is getting in. :)</p>
<p>Here is why this matters: You go to a school like Harvard and you will have the reputation, but you won't have the same experience of NEEDING to master your material. Maybe I am biased, but I believe that most people need something pushing them to break past their plateaus. Some people have an unusual amount of self-motivation, but most don't have enough to trump a good butt-kicking from an outside source. You could go to Harvard and kick your own butt and still do fabulously. Or you could go to a place like, say, Swarthmore and kick your own butt `til you don't think you can do it anymore, until someone else pushes you and you realize that, hey, maybe you CAN do more than you thought was even POSSIBLE.</p>
<p>"it'd probably be easier to get a higher GPA if i go to an easy school...i think"</p>
<p>Med and Dental schools know what GPA's mean in the context of the school and program. A 4.0 in an easy chem program will NOT trump a 3.5 in a difficult engineering program. Sorry, but all GPA's are not equal and the schools know that.</p>
<p>you need to keep in mind that in the case of virtually all schools accused of grade inflation, such a policy does NOT extend to the science/math/engineering departments, which are the classes that will comprise one's BCPM GPA, which is of great importance. In such instances, I think it laughable to suggest that it's easier to get a high grade in a class at harvard than at an 'easier' school.</p>
<p>With regard to 'kicking your own butt' I must disagree with your entire analysis. The top schools have a pervasive culture of being motivated to succeed that I think sorely lacking at many other colleges, and the peer pressure is quite effective in driving one to perform.</p>
<p>As an aside, Swarthmore has been discussed previously on this board for their strange premed statistics that suggest they may strongly discourage people from applying to medical unless there is an overwhelming likelihood that they'll be admitted when applying as a rising senior, a feature that would stand out to me as a strong negative in any premed/predental/prewhatever program</p>