UofT vs Western vs McGill Dentistry

[DDaDentist]

Hey everyone,

I am interested in hearing everyone's opinion on the pros/cons of each dental school. I'll get it going based on what I've heard:

Toronto:

+ Big city living
+ Networking/Social
- Competitive atmosphere
- Cost of living
- Archaic program/facility
- Notoriously difficult profs

Western:

+ New/renovated facility
+ Cost of living
+ Less competitive atmosphere
- Less nightlife
- Smaller city

McGill:

+ Low tuition
+ Small class sizes
+ Beautiful city
+ Average program
- Out of Ontario
- French city
- Others????

[Human Being]

If you've been accepted to all three I would go to McGill hands down. Tuition is significantly cheaper; 15K/year vs 50K/year, small class size of like 40 so it won't be as competitive and you'll get to know everyone in the class, Montreal is a beautiful city and a big city, McGill is a very well respected name if that matters to you (may help if practice outside of Canada?). You know there aren't really any drawbacks if you list 'French city' as one.

[Lvl3sonly]

McGill hands down. Unless you are coming from a well-off family and getting your dental school paid for by your parents, McGill tuition is a huge advantage over the others. Good school, bad school, no one really knows because no one has been to more than 1 dental school. The amount of things you learn during dental school is nothing compared to what you'll learn once you graduate anyway so that shouldn't factor in at all.

[Crown2023]

I chose Western. It's cheaper with a smaller class size and newer facilities. Also, it has a decent night life from all the undergrads.

Best of luck next year :)

[Chaxon]

Why is McGills tuition so low?

Federal government handouts to Quebec?

[WeDayDream]

Ya it is subsidized by Quebec gov. 

[straight_teeth]

I had to choose between Western and McGill this year and it was tough deciding, but at the end of the day choose the program that is in line with your values. For me personally that was McGill.  

You may not have a choice of programs, I know of people who didn't even get interviews at Western or Toronto but were accepted at McGill. If you have the choice between programs, weigh your pros and cons, and choose the one that is fits best with your values. If you value the lower tuition then it's a no brainer. But others may prioritize living close to family over other factors (ex. I know someone who turned down McGill in favour of Dalhousie).

To add to your list, McGill's facilities are very new/renovated (both the student dental clinic and simulation clinic) as well which is a big plus. Tuition is incomparable between McGill and the other schools like others have mentioned. I personally love the city, though not everyone feels the same way because of the French and difficulty networking when you don't speak the official language. The cost of living and rent is fair (less than Toronto but more than London). You are expected to be proficient in French before entering Clinical Practice, and this can be a huge barrier to overcome on top of the fact that you are just starting to see patients. No one can say whether it's a good or bad program, but what is certain is that with the curriculum you won't be doing much dentistry until 1.5 years into the program. Another thing is that I heard that a significant number of McGill grads go into a general dentistry residency rather than going straight into private practice for various reasons (if a McGill grad can elaborate more on this or PM me because I have questions about this I'd appreciate it).