Compilation of Dental School Rankings

[dr thunder]

It seems to be a fairly popular topic here on the Pre-Dental forums of SDN, and it was of interest to me when I started researching dental schools, so I decided to gather as many sites with rankings as I could find that looked objective and reasonably credible, and then consolidate the data. Before I start, there are some caveats. First, dental schools are no longer ranked by the US News like medical schools are. In 1993, under the direction of AADSAS, all of the dental schools combined to boycott the ranking system.

News Article explaining the end of dental school rankings
- http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19...029_1_dental-school-rankings-graduate-schools

However, there are a few sites that still rank dental schools, and it was these sites, along with the last US News rankings in 1993, that I gathered the data from. Second, the rankings you see below are based on averages from the different ranking websites. Not every school was found in the top 15 of every website, so any school that was found on all four websites automatically takes precedence over schools found on only three, and three over two. Below is posted an excel worksheet with the breakdown of where each US dental school ranked on each website and their overall score.



Ranking websites:
- https://dentalschool.wordpress.com/tag/dental-school-rank/
- http://toptennation.blogspot.com/2008/02/top-10-best-dental-schools-in-us-and.html
- http://dental-schools.startclass.com
- http://www.topuniversities.com/univ...ankings/new-ranking-worlds-top-dental-schools

These rankings are not a reflection of my opinion, just a compilation of the data I found. If anyone has any other sources that you can site that aren't just someones opinion on SDN feel free to post them.

Rankings
1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
2. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
3. Harvard University
4. University of Washington
5. University of California, Los Angeles
6. University of California, San Francisco
7. University of Maryland, Baltimore
8. University of Pennsylvania
9. Columbia University
10. University of Minnesota
11. University of Iowa
12. University of Texas, San Antonio
13. New York University
14. Ohio State University
15. Boston University
16. University of Alabama, Birmingham
16. Virginia Commonwealth University
18. University of Florida
19. University of Connecticut
20. University of Illinois, Chicago


I noticed the further down the list you went the more inconsistencies there were between the rankings. The top five or six schools in the rankings are probably the most accurate as their rankings were the most consistent from one ranking to the next. Also, VCU and UF were tied.

Additionally, I thought it would be of some worth to compare these rankings to the 2015 US News medical school rankings. So, I averaged the primary care and research rankings. If a school was found in the top ten (including only universities with dental schools as well as medical schools) on either the primary care or research rankings, I included it.

US Medical School Ranking Average
1. University of California, San Francisco
2. University of Washington
3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
4. Harvard University
5. University of California Los Angeles
5. University of Pennsylvania
7. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
8. Baylor College of Medicine
9. Oregon Health and Science University
10. University of Colorado
11. University of Pittsburgh
12. New York University
13. University of Minnesota
14. Columbia

As you compare the top five medical schools with the top dental schools on these rankings you'll notice that they are all found on each other's list with the exception of UNC being at seven on the med school rankings and UCSF being at six on the dental school rankings. I think this adds a small degree of credibility to these rankings as dental school is closely related to medical school in its curriculum. In any case, these rankings are not official, they're just the best I could do with the information available.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[JLT223]

Dental Schools aren't ranked. End of story.

 

[Advance]

Is this a popular topic? I rarely see people bring this up.

 

[jokersmiles]

rankings are not dental schooled.

 

[BeaverLover]

lol

 

[ajj70]

The rankings are meaningless unless you tell us the methodology for the rankings, mining data from other websites/rankings isn't good enough. What are these rankings based on, the number of applications, the passing rates for the various boards, how many general dentists start their own practice.....or, how popular the school name happens to be? Honestly, entrance stats are meaningless, it shows that you are book smart, but well all know that doesn't always translate into people skills, the ability to manipulate the various tools, etc.

 

[doktorinprogres]

Except for the part where we know nothing about the methodologies I think rankings would be useful to have. We all know dental schools aren't ranked but I think it's of note to consider why. It's my opinion that the ADA realized the lower ranked schools were ill-regarded and wanted to equalize the impression of US dental schools as a whole by getting rid of rankings. It's kind of amusing that we know to recommend Uconn over Midwestern for example (finances and other factors) almost without pause but are hesitant to formalize in numbers a rank list that says the same.

 

[ajj70]

Except for the part where we know nothing about the methodologies I think rankings would be useful to have. We all know dental schools aren't ranked but I think it's of note to consider why. It's my opinion that the ADA realized the lower ranked schools were ill-regarded and wanted to equalize the impression of US dental schools as a whole by getting rid of rankings. It's kind of amusing that we know to recommend Uconn over Midwestern for example (finances and other factors) almost without pause but are hesitant to formalize in numbers a rank list that says the same.

What criteria are you using to rank UConn over Midwestern?

 

[PocketRocket]

Don't be that guy

 

[DocVaquero]

Would I be happy if my school was actually the 11th best school in the nation? Sure. Unfortunately this is impossible to tell.
Choose what school is best for you. Cost, location, class size, curriculum, etc. They're all different and a ranking system is futile.

 

[A Pre-dent]

.

 

[Dent5291]

Except for the part where we know nothing about the methodologies I think rankings would be useful to have. We all know dental schools aren't ranked but I think it's of note to consider why. It's my opinion that the ADA realized the lower ranked schools were ill-regarded and wanted to equalize the impression of US dental schools as a whole by getting rid of rankings. It's kind of amusing that we know to recommend Uconn over Midwestern for example (finances and other factors) almost without pause but are hesitant to formalize in numbers a rank list that says the same.

If cost wasn't a factor I would have chosen to attend Midwestern over any other school I interviewed at, which includes 2 schools on the above list. You can't rank dental schools because the best school depends entirely on what you're looking for in a school.

 

[ajj70]

I'm still trying to figure out why rank matters...in a field were most of us will be self employed, like your boss is going to care if you went to Harvard or Midwestern???

 

[kholley25]

Hey guys, I've done extensive research on this topic and think I've narrowed down the list pretty well.

From best to worst:

1. The school you attend
.
.
.
2. Everyone else

Seriously, these school rankings are meaningless. If you're looking to go to the "best school", you first need to ID what you believe makes a school "good". Is it research funding? Specialization match rate? Board passing rate? Clinical experience? Strong alumni network? Updated technology? World-renowned professors? Large/small class size? Location?

Some of those factors can be objectively measured, but many are subjective. Apply to the schools that best fit you.

 

[zEkii]

There is no such thing as a "bad" dental school or "easy" dental school...There's only "hard" and "harder" dental schools. I agree with the consensus of these posts. Please don't compare our curriculum and profession to other professions. There is a reason why becoming a dentist is hard. We aren't Law Students ( hehe.. jkjk).

 

[BYU4you]

The best school is where you will be happiest at