Info on 1st year dent @ UofT from a 2nd year

[Guest sweetyork]

Hi,

 

I am a second year dent student at UofT. I have noticed that a lot of you want more info on UofT dent. I have been answering some questions that one of you have been emailing to me. I figured that I should post my responses on this forum for all those who are interested. I forgot the particular questions, but you can figure them out from my responses.

 

This is where I’ll say that "I don’t mean to scare you" but I’ll end up scaring you nonetheless. OK, I’ll begin by giving you some background info on myself b/c what I find tough may not be your definition of “tough”. I did three years majoring in mathematics and physics at York U., so my undergrad, although was “tough” conceptually, was not that heavy on the workload. Although people had said that first year would be the easiest of the four years of dental school, I found that last year was the hardest year I have ever done. There was a trillion things to memorize and I felt that there was not enough time to memorize even a third of it (but I am a slow memorizer). To make things even tougher, you are in school for about eight hours each day (compared to three hours I was used to at York) so when you come home you are in no mood to open up a book, but you have to. Not to mention, I use to take a lot of help sessions from my fraternity for a course called “Oral Anatomy”. The most surprising part is that 1/3 of your “energy” goes towards one single course, “Gross Anatomy”. What I had a beef with was “why do dentists need to do general dissection (that means all of the body, not just the head) when even nurses don’t do it and when a lot of med schools use only pre-dissected specimens”. Now here is the good news. If you study the right way and hard, then you can survive (meaning, you’ll get a 60 for sure; my class average was in the high seventies, but don’t quote me on that). The right way means having an unholy reliance on past year tests (which I was not used to) and joining a fraternity. I always relied on understanding things, not memorizing past year test answers.

 

Research seems to be a favorite among UofT dent students. But a lot (maybe half, maybe third, maybe most, I don’t really know) are not doing research this summer. They need a break from academics. (We all do.) There are lots of position at UofT (b/c it’s the biggest dental research centre in Canada). You can also do research in other dental faculties (I am and I hate staying away from Toronto). However, you cannot work as a dental student outside the faculty (I think it’s illegal - I just don’t know any dental student who is). I also tried finding out whether I could volunteer. Although I never pursued the matter, I do know of someone who volunteered in the faculty last summer. I forgot to tell you on my last email that despite all the hard work, I am glad that I picked UofT. It is really good for your career to graduate from a world famous university (especially with a professional degree)

 

First of all, ask me as many questions as you want. I have nothing better to do (believe me). I forgot how incredibly dull research can be. Second, here is the bad news. You heard right. Jeans are not technically allowed in UofT dent’s dress code (that means whenever you are in class or in lab). Now, here is the good news. After two weeks of school, 10% of the people will start wearing jeans. By two months, everyone starts wearing jeans. When you are in clinics (and you’ll be in clinics a lot), you have to wear your scrubs (no exception). At first, wearing scrubs is such a treat. You fell like a real dentist. After two months, you start despising ever having to change. There are tons and tons of more regulations concerning clinic attire (i.e., monochromatic colored shoes, no jewelry, etc.) In labs, you have to wear either a lab coat (simple) or scrubs (only for restorative - second semester). Third, almost everyone (maybe four people were missing) attended part or all of orientation. It gives you a chance to meet your classmates and 2nd year students (who will be saving your butts for certain exams). But I ended up skipping half the events b/c I found them to be stupid. However, you get tons of free stuff (like automatic tooth brush, Advil packets, etc.) and banks make their presentations. Don’t expect good meals; the food sucked. So here is another longwinded response to your simple questions. If you want to me stop boring you with such long responses in the future, say it in you next email. But I have a feeling that you might enjoy all the info I give. I remember how I was craving info about first year dent last summer. Bye for now.

[Guest per te]

Hey sweetyork,

 

Thank for the info on UofT dentistry. I like having information beforehand so feel free to tell us anything you feel like I had no idea there was a dress code for classes.. :rolleyes

 

~*per te*~

[Guest 1molar]

hey thanx sweetyork for all the useful info! It is much appreciated!

 

1molar

[Guest 1molar]

I was wondering how is it that we can join ODA? There was no form sent by U of T at least so far...

[Guest sweetyork]

Hi,

 

First of all, some of you maybe taking what I said about the dress code a bit too seriously. You can wear whatever you want in the classes. What I was talking about (i.e. NO JEANS) was "suggestions" that the faculty makes to students about keeping a professional appearance once you are in the building. However, when in the clinics, these "suggestions" become "rules" and there are penalties for disobeying them. Second, regarding the question about the ODA, you can join ODA/CDA during orientation or any time during the year. There will even be a formal lunch paid by the ODA/CDA during orientation where they will ask you to join the two organizations. Some people last year waited till the middle of 2nd semester to join, but I think an overwhelming majority ended up joining. For those of you who haven’t yet taken CPR/First Aid courses, DON’T! Once you join ODA/CDA, they will offer free courses for members. I felt like such a moron last year paying so much money for these courses and then finding out that they could have been free if I had waited. Hope that helps. Bye for now.

[Guest HOTfuchsia]

thanx for all your comments...they were very informative!

 

I was wondering how your typical class schedule was Mon-Fri....class from 8 till 5??? Drilling till 8/9??? And, do the dents have shared seminars/events with the meds and law students? I have friends in both...so I was hoping to see them around UofT. And, whats a rough estimate on how much books will cost??? Can you buy used ones? Gotta budget some of that...

[Guest reena98765]

Hi Sweetyork,

 

Thank you so much for your post!

 

So do most students live downtown? How realistic is it to commute and still do well in school? My commute is going to take about 1:20 each way, in the summer(driving to the Go Train station, jumping on the train for half and hour, and then either walking to U of T or taking the subway). I was thinking of trying the commute first year, but it seems that first year is killer! Do you know if commuters still do well? I am looking to purchase a condo, but most of the closing dates for new condos are not for at least another year. So, I am definitely planning on moving to toronto for clinicals in 3rd and 4th year, but possibly commuting for the first two. Opinion?

 

Thanks.

[Guest rez32]

Hi sweetyork,

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us. While you're being bombarded with questions, I thought I'd join in the fray. I noticed you said you got into UofT Dentistry after your 3rd year of undergrad at York, which is amazing. If you don't mind me asking, what were your GPA and DAT scores? And what sorts of extracurricular things did you do? I'm going into my second year of undergrad at York U, and to be honest, am getting kind of psyched out about my chances. If possible, do you have any advice on how I can become a stronger applicant?

[Guest sweetyork]

First, to answer HOTfuchsia , we have the following courses: Gross Anatomy, Oral Anatomy and Occlusion, Histology, Biomaterials, Oral Health and Disease, Community Dentistry, Preventative Dentistry, Restorative Dentistry (this is where you drill, and you won’t do any of that until 2nd semester), Nutrition and Introduction to Clinics. Your day starts at 8:30 or 9 and ends at 5. But a lot of days, you have to stay late in the faculty, either getting help from your fraternity or practicing drilling (during second semester). We don’t have any classes with the meds or law students. They have their own faculties (buildings) and we have our own. However, Gross Anatomy is in the Med building b/c, by law, the cadavers (dead people on which you will be performing dissections) can only be in one building. The estimate that I was given on books was $2,000, but I think it ended up costing about $1,200 (or less). Believe me, this is will mean nothing compared to the $25,000 loan. Wait till orientation when you all will be given a booklet on all the courses (with info on which tests to study for and which not to, which profs are hard and which courses are easy, every thing…)

 

Second, to answer reena98765, a lot of students live downtown and a lot don’t (I think maybe it’s a 40 and 60 breakdown, respectively – I don’t really know, that’s my perception). You can do well and commute at the same time. I do commute for a bit more than 2 hr each day and I think I did well. I did not fail; I missed getting an A- average by 0.02, but I think that it may still be considered an A- (I don’t really know). However, a lot (maybe the majority) move downtown during the 3rd (or, as we call it, the killer) year. I suggest reading on the bus and train if you do commute.

 

Third, to answer rez32, I had a GPA of 3.98 when I applied to UofT dent and by the end of my third year it was still 3.98. To prove that I am not bragging (not that 3.98 is any thing to brag about, especially if you only did 3 years of undergrad), I will now admit that I failed 3 out of the 4 sections on the DAT. I am not kidding. I got 5/30 in soap carving (for writing my name on the soap), 9/30 in reading, 12/30 in PAT and 21/30 in science. But, I cumulatively passed the two sections that UofT counts: PAT and Science. However, some years they also count the reading section (they just didn’t on my year). To not make myself look like a total idiot, I do admit that I studied for the DAT for only half a day (not kidding). The reason why I did so well on the science section is b/c most of chemistry questions required basic calculations if you knew how to manipulate the units. I did no extracurricular activities and there was no mention of it during the interview even (which surprised me seeing how they don’t even require you to list them like the med application). To become a stronger applicant, get a very high GPA and don’t cumulatively fail those two (or three) sections on the DAT.

[Guest rez32]

Hi sweetyork,

 

Thanks again for your candid response, I really appreciate it.

[Guest Trinity]

Thanks sweetyork!! I'm finding your section very helpful too...

 

Trinity

[Guest 1molar]

Hey sweetyork, thanks for all the info! I have another question for you or anyone else who knows the answer. OK, so having to pay interest at prime rate on a line of credit sounds great, but when we count the interest, it adds up to quite a bit. For example, if I took $30000 from my LOC in September(for fees, books, living etc), then at the rate of 3.75%, I would be paying around $93 every month from then on until it is paid off! Does that sound right? And of course the more we use, the higher interest one has to pay. It seems to me that a lot of the LOC will be used to make the interest payments! I do know that we can apply for OSAP, which is interest free for the time that we are a full time students, but I am wondering as to how much OSAP are we eligible for. Is there a maximum amount set for professional students or is ones' financial need the only criteria that is used to determine the eligibility for OSAP? Thanks in advance...

[Guest toothy jr]

Hi,

 

I think OSAP maxes out at 7k per year, and another 3k if you are eligible for millennium "scholarship". You may also receive other funds through in-school bursaries, of which I know nothing about (for U of T, anyway).

[Guest sweetyork]

First of all, the prime rate is not 3.75% (dream on), it was 4.5% the last time I checked. Second, $30K sounds a bit much for 1st year UofT. My current bank loan is around $13K (it’s low b/c of OSAP which gave $4K, $3K of millennium scholarship, UofT gave me [and anyone with a high loan] $2K, and I put in $4K from my savings). Third, don’t worry about interest payments on you LOC. UofT makes that for you (I think most universities do). Finally, don’t freak out about the huge loans. There will be bigger loans than this one in you carrier. Hope this helps!

 

P.S. As your cumulative loan increases, OSAP gives you more free money (not just the $3K millennium bursary).

[Guest 1molar]

Actually, the prime rate is 3.75% for RBC at the moment. Perhaps it has just reduced from 4.5% and of course it may increase at any time in the future. Btw, how is it that U of T makes our interest payments?

[Guest 1molar]

One more thing, how "current" does our immunization for polio, tetanus, rubella and hepatitis have to be? Thanks.

[Guest HOTfuchsia]

The immunization form says that tetanus and polia (& diptheria) need to be updated every 10 years. So, if you had those shots before '94, you need them again. Luckily, they do all come in one shot, if needed, so one needle does the job! For Rubella and Hepatitis (& measles and mumps), you only need to have had the immunization once. The nurse needs to take a blood sample from you, to check your titre level, to write down on your form that you are immune (reactive). But, if your not immune, you need those shots.

[Guest sweetyork]

First, you may be right about the prime rate. Last September, it was 4.5% (I don’t know why it would decrease so much). Second, UofT does make your interest payment for all four years. You will get the money with the UTAPS ($2k) payment. Mine was about $700 last year (so I got a $2700 in addition to my OSAP loan and millennium scholarship).

[Guest 1molar]

Thanks guys for all the info. !