Help! West Virginia University or Ohio State for dental school!?

[Gseif]

Hi everyone,
I recently got accepted to both OSU and WVU for dental school. I am really torn between the two and I have to make my decision within the next few days.

I come from a small university, with a total of about 3,000 students. WVU is out of state for me, and they only accept 50 students, with about 9 from out of state. I feel really privileged that I got accepted to such a selective class, however I am not sure if I love the campus, how far away from home and friends it is, etc.

On the other hand, I already know students in the dental school at OSU who are upperclassmen, have family in the city, and like the buildings/layout of the campus. I have been hearing numerous crime stories and that is deterring me from that university though. OSU has outdated technology, however, I think I should be learning from the basics to understand and familiarize myself with the technology that dental offices have today.

I really like WVU's small class size, however, OSU students have told me that still have attention from the professors.

OSU is ranked better than WVU's dental school..however, I dont think that I want to be in a program where there is constant competition between students. In the end, each one of us will be a dentist. Comparing the programs, does anyone have any experience with OSU or WVU and the way they are taught, the professors, the amount of free time? Do you always feel overwhelmed with the amount of work?

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[Freeskier02]

I cannot speak for West Virginia so I'll give you my experience with OSU so far (only 1 quarter..). I feel that Ohio State was the best decision for me, I could not have picked a better school for my needs and personality. My incoming class boasted the highest stats (GPA / DAT) the school had ever seen, yet this last quarter showed zero signs of unhealthy competitiveness amongst my classmates. Everyone was extremely willing to share notes, flashcards, outlines, etc with the class. We even set up a community dropbox account to facilitate this, which was very helpful to me. Even though my class had high stats, the admissions committee did an excellent job in selecting well-balanced individuals it seems. I was surprised at how athletic my class was, we are filling up teams to compete in intramural basketball, bowling, hockey and volleyball. Most the class attends tailgaiting events for the OSU football games, and we've had quite a few get togethers outside of class time. It's a lot of fun, these extracurriculars are very important to me because that's how I blow off steam when school gets intense, and it's cool to get to know your classmates outside of class.

All the professors within the college of dentistry are terrific, a lot of them have been around for awhile so they know what you're going through so they can relate to your situation. Some of the classes are taught by professors outside of the college of dentistry, and the quality of instruction is hit or miss. This didn't really bother me though because ALL the information to succeed in these courses was provided, I didn't need someone to regurgitate it to me in front of the class. Being the first quarter I felt a little overwhelmed at first with the workload, but with everything in life you acclimate to the situation. Half the battle is knowing how to organize yourself and manage your time. I feel that OSU sort of eases you into the curriculum, they DON'T want anyone to fail or drop out.

The crime has been a bit ridiculous lately, it seems I get an alert on my cellphone every other week or so. We got an email from President Gee this last week with a pledge to make campus safer, they are allocating like $50,000 for more campus police and are starting new campus watch programs. I personally feel safe going to and from school, but I'd be hesitant about walking home late. I think they'll get this under control by the time you'd be starting school with the amount of complaints they've been receiving lately, safety is of the upmost importance to school officials.

Anyways, good luck in your decision. Picking a school is a very difficult / big decision in your life, but I don't think you can go "wrong" with any of them. For me Ohio State was by far and large the cheapest school. Columbus has been a very entertaining city for me and my wife, lots of restaurants and things to do. OSU has awesome perks for sporting events with the football / basketball games. The school has a solid reputation of producing skilled clinicians, lots of opportunities to experience the specialties of dentistry, and a large network of alumni.

Hit me up if you have some more questions

 

[Gseif]

Thank you so much for the help and for your advice. It definitely made me feel better about my decision of accepting OSU's offer.

I am looking forward it!

 

[Freeskier02]

Thank you so much for the help and for your advice. It definitely made me feel better about my decision of accepting OSU's offer.

I am looking forward it!

Congrats!!! I'm glad I could help, I'll see you around campus this Fall!