UPenn Vs. Uni of Maryland - HELP!

[Pyraeus]

Hey Guys!

I am grateful to have been accepted to both UMB (Maryland) and Penn because these are both my top choices.

I received a $20k/year Dean's Scholarship from Penn, but UMB is my in-state school and much cheaper.

I have a hard time to decide between these two.

If any students (or anybody with some knowledge) from these schools can help me out, I'll really appreciate it.

Please talk about both negative and positive aspects of both schools if possible. It can be anywhere from location, curriculum, clinics, to students and the environment in general. I'll be happy to know about your experiences as well!

You can also vote in the poll!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[bruins2677]

I would go with Maryland. From people I have communicated with, in state is always you're most viable option because of cost of attendance (not to mention Maryland is a great school). I'm not sure about tuition with UPenn because I didn't interview or apply there but I would go with your cheapest option.

 

[Dentalschoolbro]

I would go to Maryland unless you want to specialize. At Maryland you’ll get a lot more clinical training and get to do a lot more procedures than at Penn, so you’ll definitely be more prepared as a general dentist. If you want to specialize, it would be easier if you go to Penn as they have more recognition as an Ivy League school, so that’s something to consider

 

[Life of Pablo]

I never interviewed at Maryland, so I'll only share with you what I liked about Penn.

1) The vibe. Everyone I met and talked to, including clinical instructors and dental students, seemed very warm and welcoming. Nobody appeared to be overly stressed like at some schools I visited. I felt like I clicked with the school and the student body there more than any of the other schools I visited.

2) Facilities. Penn just renovated a majority of their facilities, so the school is super nice.

3) Location. This is subjective but I liked Philadelphia a lot. I've been to Baltimore in the past, and although I did enjoy Baltimore, Philly>Baltimore in my opinion.

4) The grading system. I like that Penn gives grades (A,B,C) but only ranks 1-10. This allows you to show programs how well you're doing academically without placing pressure on competing with your classmates for a higher ranking.

Obviously price is a big issue and Penn is expensive. I'm not sure how much cheaper UMB will be, but if it is drastically cheaper, then that may be the better option. Either way, these are two wonderful schools, and congratulations on the acceptances!

 

[Pyraeus]

I would go with Maryland. From people I have communicated with, in state is always you're most viable option because of cost of attendance (not to mention Maryland is a great school). I'm not sure about tuition with UPenn because I didn't interview or apply there but I would go with your cheapest option.

Thank you for your feedback, COA is definitely important in for making the decision!

 

[Pyraeus]

I would go to Maryland unless you want to specialize. At Maryland you’ll get a lot more clinical training and get to do a lot more procedures than at Penn, so you’ll definitely be more prepared as a general dentist. If you want to specialize, it would be easier if you go to Penn as they have more recognition as an Ivy League school, so that’s something to consider

Thank you for your feedback, clinical training and specializing are both very important to consider!

 

[Pyraeus]

I never interviewed at Maryland, so I'll only share with you what I liked about Penn.

1) The vibe. Everyone I met and talked to, including clinical instructors and dental students, seemed very warm and welcoming. Nobody appeared to be overly stressed like at some schools I visited. I felt like I clicked with the school and the student body there more than any of the other schools I visited.

2) Facilities. Penn just renovated a majority of their facilities, so the school is super nice.

3) Location. This is subjective but I liked Philadelphia a lot. I've been to Baltimore in the past, and although I did enjoy Baltimore, Philly>Baltimore in my opinion.

4) The grading system. I like that Penn gives grades (A,B,C) but only ranks 1-10. This allows you to show programs how well you're doing academically without placing pressure on competing with your classmates for a higher ranking.

Obviously price is a big issue and Penn is expensive. I'm not sure how much cheaper UMB will be, but if it is drastically cheaper, then that may be the better option. Either way, these are two wonderful schools, and congratulations on the acceptances!

Thanks for your thought-out response! These are some really good points.
From what I found out and calculated, the tuition+mandatory fees would add up to ~55k for UMB, and ~69k (minus the 20k), do you think that's a huge difference or can be neglected?

 

[jg4318]

As someone who interviewed at both schools, they are both great programs that have a lot to offer. I agree that it will most likely come down to whether you would like to specialize or not, because Maryland would definitely be a better fit if you want to be a general dentist. Cost is a concern, but with the scholarship from Penn, it's not a huge concern, so if you want to specialize, you should definitely still consider Penn. Penn's facilities were amazing but Maryland is also very up to date with all of the technologies.

 

[WolfsBane]

I interviewed and was accepted and ultimately turned it down for my state school. I thought that Maryland had a very strong focus on technology, and the future of dentistry in the clinical sense. The students did seem very happy to be there.

I think that when considering two options that are both really very good options you can’t go wrong. That said, IS at UMB is like 220k according to your numbers and Pen being 280k, thats a 60k difference before interest.

The firsts thought would be specializing and how much you want to specialize. Even if you truly want to specialize, I believe if you want to specialize you can do it anywhere. Although it may be easier out of Penn, you can definitely specialize out of UMB as well.

I think in the long term you will be happier to have saved close to 80k on dental and therefore I would say to go to UMB.