Rutgers (OOS ish?) vs. Pitt (IS)

[guinness_108]

School 1: Rutgers (OOS for the 1st semester, and then 2nd semester I'll be IS (just moved to NJ!)
Pros:

• Love the clinical experiences and the clinical strength
• much more social support (living with boyfriend, friends my age in the area)
• cheaper rent
• area wise there's more to explore
• nice and updated facilities

Cons:

• I'm 50/50 on wanting to specialize or not, so this might not be as strong for specializing compared to Pitt? but still have good match rates.
• considered OOS for the first semester, so extra tuition just for the fall but will transition to IS in the spring

School 2: Pitt (IS)
Pros:

• got a $15k/year scholarship, so the cost of attendance/living is $15k cheaper than if i were to go to Rutgers
• great family energy between the students

Cons:

• I've been in Pittsburgh for so long (6 years) and I want a change -- pretty isolated from other cities too
• no social support -- came out of school from the area but everyone i know in Pittsburgh now is younger than me

Summary: I think I'm leaning towards Rutgers, like my heart is at Rutgers right now, and eventually I do want to stay in the NJ/NY area so maybe I should go to Rutgers for the network, but that $15k scholarship from Pitt has been bothering me a lot because in the end after 4 years, that'll be $60k I'm saving. It seems like everyone on SDN is emphasizing that cost is super important. However, I've also been told a couple times that in the grander scheme of things, $15k/year is not that much. Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated 🥺

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[GoDental101]

Pitt

 

[guinness_108]

Pitt

could you please let me know your reasoning? thanks!

 

[LFA20]

Pitt (and I am a Rutgers grad lol and i loved my school). 60k/year is a lot of money that you can save on and this is before interest... Almost every single dentist I have met said to go to the cheapest school possible.. always. Both schools will give you adequate clinical training and chance to specialize..

NOTE: newark is a terrible area to be in and is one of the most dangerous cities in NJ. Yes we are one stop away from NYC but that place gets boring after a while. You won't have much time to explore when you are in dental school...especially if you are trying to specialize..

 

[macsak]

Pitt (and I am a Rutgers grad lol and i loved my school). 60k/year is a lot of money that you can save on and this is before interest... Almost every single dentist I have met said to go to the cheapest school possible.. always. Both schools will give you adequate clinical training and chance to specialize..

NOTE: newark is a terrible area to be in and is one of the most dangerous cities in NJ. Yes we are one stop away from NYC but that place gets boring after a while. You won't have much time to explore when you are in dental school...especially if you are trying to specialize..

it's $60k total, not a year...

 

[LFA20]

it's $60k total, not a year...

Oh yes I meant to write total. Still a lot of money

 

[Boat on the Chesapeake]

60k and cost of living in NJ is probably higher, no? But it sounds like you have a lot of compelling social reasons for being in NJ and (if you’re sure you can get in-state tuition) I think that’s a reasonable choice. $50-100k difference for a big difference in overall well being, support, etc *can* be worth it. If it’s OOS NJ for 4 years and IS Pitt that’d be bad.

 

[guinness_108]

60k and cost of living in NJ is probably higher, no? But it sounds like you have a lot of compelling social reasons for being in NJ and (if you’re sure you can get in-state tuition) I think that’s a reasonable choice. $50-100k difference for a big difference in overall well being, support, etc *can* be worth it. If it’s OOS NJ for 4 years and IS Pitt that’d be bad.

the 60k difference is with cost of living taken into account just because of how my living situation would be in NJ
also i did some more calculations and the difference in cost would be as low as 48k. but you're right, i do need to think about whether the cost difference is worth for my happiness.

im still thinking through all of this but i really appreciate everyone's answers so far 😊

 

[Kenshen]

Sound like your heart is set on Rutgers in your explanation, plus you have your support their. But is that worth 60K to you?

 

[Ivy.ch]

NOTE: newark is a terrible area to be in and is one of the most dangerous cities in NJ.

It made for some very entertaining late night bike rides around the city though. The dating was also 10/10 crazy.

It wasn’t so dangerous. Once in a while, a car window was broken. That’s it.