Stony Brook Dental School, Uconn Or Stony Brook, Help!!!

Q: OK I've narrowed it down to the University of Connecticut or Stony Brook. I think both programs are about equal, well maybe UConn is slightly better educationally but I think that Stony Brook is better clinically. UConn is pass/fail and Stony Brook ABCF. Both schools will place me in a residency if I desire they both have near 100% placement compared to the national average of 40%. I feel comfortable in both schools but I have a lot more connections at Stony Brook than at UConn. On one hand it would be nice to start from scratch again and fresh at Conn but I just can't pass up all of the wonderful connections that I have at Stony Brook. Both will cost me about the same amount with maybe a 6,000$ difference in the favor of Conn but not much. It just seems that UConn puts more effort into their relations with students. They present themselves much better and seem more organized than Stony Brook. On the other hand the patient pool will be much better at Stony Brook. The only real downside is that the school is a bit cut-throat. But aren't all dental schools like that? Argh!!! I knew this was going to happen even before I applied to schools!!! I can't tell you all how damn frustrating this is. I have been so blessed with being accepted to a lot of schools and I narrowed it down to the two that I felt were best for me and now I can't decide between them. This really sucks! It would have been so much easier to have been accepted to just one school. Ah well... any suggestions? If it helps I am thinking of practicing in either Rhode Island, Conn., Mass. or Maine, somewhere near the shore. There is an outside possibility that I may stay in NY but not likely. I am also currently thinking about going into Prosthodontics or Periodontics but am just not sure (need experience). I could really use some serious help here I have to make my final decision by Fri. the 14th!

A:Time to start accepting responsibility for your own career. This is the point at which only you can decide and it really, really does not matter which place you actually go. BTW, I don't remember dental school (Tufts 78) as being particularly cut throat. I remember the faculty being exceptionally abusive to the students. There was little respect between faculty and students. I did four years in the Air Force prior to dental school and the Air Force treated you with the assumption that you were telling the tuth unless proved otherwise i.e. the definition of an officer and a gentleman. Dental school was just the opposite. I have vivid memories of my dental school interviews. My admissions interview at Tufts (fall '75--I was an alternate, wound up at NYUCD) was easily the strangest! From your e-mail address I gather you are Stony Brook undergrad. I graduated from Stony Brook Dental 16 years ago. I am now located in Connecticut, and I work with people who have graduated recently from both schools. My impression is that both schools pretty similar. Either will get you the residency you want if you deserve it. Once you reach private practice, no one cares where you went and you realize it made little difference. An advantage to Stony Brook is that it is part of a university campus in a college town whereas UConn is part of its Health Science Center which is separate from anything else in the middle of no where.

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