Uwo Vs U Of T!

[dentopia]

I know that many people in Ontario have applied to both Western and U of T dentistry. In the event that you get accepted to both, which will you choose and why? (please provide your reasons). I myself have been accepted to Western and at U of T, and will be expected to make a decisions soon.

[dds19]

Didn't you post on U of T thread that you got accepted?!!!

[sktoddl]

Everyone has a different pros/cons list. You should make your own based on your own evaluation of each program. Idk how much of this is true, but I have been told that there is more family-like atmosphere at Western ( I felt it during my interview too) while U of T seems more academic oriented.I personally value that kind of atmosphere which is more encouraging and supportive - so I would choose Western. If you are thinking about specialization however, I was told by many graduates from Western and UBC DMD that state universities dont really acknowledge Western and UBC DMD. They were asked where the school is how it is and etc. Regardless they got in so I dont think the name matters so much. But if you are person who cares a lot about reputation than you should go to Toronto DMD. Just my two cents.

[dentopia]

Didn't you post on U of T thread that you got accepted?!!!

Sorry my bad, I am waitlisted elsewhere, but got into U of T yes. I blame my Mac's autocorrect 

[molars]

If I were in your position, I would consider factors like volunteer opportunities, research opportunities,  location, whether a school is better for specializing (if you plan on doing so). I also think it is important to talk to someone you may know from each of these schools and ask them about their experiences.

[nizzyr]

I am completely unaware of the degree of accuracy of this post. This post was submitted by an upper year dental student at UWO on another thread, and I'd love to hear something from the upper year students at UWO regarding what's being said here. Is any of it still true? 

 

 

Just want to clarify something. It is not just the new curriculum that has us senior students being upset. The clinic is not treating patients appropriately or in a timely manner, even for a dental school. Graduating students are doing bare minimum clinical work to get our DDS, and some not even. Many faculty/staff are quitting or not showing up regularly to work anymore. This is what has us upset. This problem has been there for a long time, and I cannot see it being solved by the time 2016 enters 3rd year unless some severe changes are made (change in the clinic thrones, that is).

As for the new curriculum... let's just say the 3rd years are still in the simulation clinic. Lol.

Here's what I mean.

http://vimeo.com/36236045

 

[( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

Let's just say that both dental schools give students a lot of shit to deal with. You have to be independent and comfortable with not having your hand held all the time. At the end of the day, you're graduating with a DDS and patients will come see you regardless. Whether or not you're "good" is on you. The best dental students at Western will be better than the worst students at UofT and vice versa.

 

For those of you lucky enough to get into both schools, I suggest you ask yourself which school is the better fit in terms of what you want to pursue in the future and the opportunities available. Specialization? General? Research? Which city would you rather live in? Small vs. large class? These are all dependent on the applicant and UofT/Western will be a better fit for some but not others.

 

I was pretty set on choosing Western over Toronto because I heard their clinical skills are quite strong and the class seems a lot more tight knit. But I had a change of heart and am ranking Toronto over Western for more personal reasons now.

[uwopremed]

I am completely unaware of the degree of accuracy of this post. This post was submitted by an upper year dental student at UWO on another thread, and I'd love to hear something from the upper year students at UWO regarding what's being said here. Is any of it still true? 

 

I'm choosing meds over dents, and while I would have chosen toronto over western it i did choose dents - take the senior student's quote with a grain of salt.  If you watch the meds shows at any school - the videos always trash their own programs (it's usually exaggerated satire that pokes at relatively minor problems). Western dents is a great program - and while all dental schools have a hard time getting enough clinical hours/practice into only 4 years of school (with increasing didactic learning demands) - they are still doing it.  Dentists will always feel a bit unprepared IF THEY DO NOT BECOME PROACTIVE IN THEIR OWN CLINICAL LEARNING because they become independent after only 4 years.  MDs can be babied for years - sometimes even in residency too.  I would not be surprised if at some point, a 1 year residency for general practice will be required for dentists.

 

Most people I know at Western are really happy - with the types of gripes all privileged whiny kids anywhere seem to have.

[ims316]

What does that mean? If i want to specialize then going to western is not a good idea? I mean is it impossible to specialize by going to western rather than uoft?

[( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

What does that mean? If i want to specialize then going to western is not a good idea? I mean is it impossible to specialize by going to western rather than uoft?

 

Not at all. Western dents have been successful at specializing in Canada and abroad. However, if you feel you may not be competitive at Canadian schools, going to UofT may give you a very minor advantage--if any at all--only because Americans tend to have heard of UofT. In the end it's more about you as an individual rather than the school you go to.

[lifesavers]

From my understanding, the class rankings play a big role in specializations..  

If more students planning to specialize choose U of T, wouldn't you have a harder time specializing out of U of T due to more competition?

[( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

From my understanding, the class rankings play a big role in specializations..

If more students planning to specialize choose U of T, wouldn't you have a harder time specializing out of U of T due to more competition?

I believe it's more about grades than ranking because if that were the case, it would be very difficult for the majority of students in top dental schools to specialize. However when you look at schools like Harvard where the majority specializes, they use a P/F system like med school. Not sure why dental doesn't do that since grading can be very subjective and arbitrary, causing a lot of really good students to rank around the middle of their class. But then you'd have to put in place some sort of standardized exam to ensure competency for the lazy ones.

 

I think people say to stay in the top 10% of their class as a general rule of thumb. Also UofT has like 2x the amt of students so more people can rank higher? Tbh a lot of students want to specialize when they start out but by the time 4th year comes around, most people just want to get out and are more than happy to be general dentists.

[uwo2015]

Everyone has a different pros/cons list. You should make your own based on your own evaluation of each program. Idk how much of this is true, but I have been told that there is more family-like atmosphere at Western ( I felt it during my interview too) while U of T seems more academic oriented.I personally value that kind of atmosphere which is more encouraging and supportive - so I would choose Western. If you are thinking about specialization however, I was told by many graduates from Western and UBC DMD that state universities dont really acknowledge Western and UBC DMD. They were asked where the school is how it is and etc. Regardless they got in so I dont think the name matters so much. But if you are person who cares a lot about reputation than you should go to Toronto DMD. Just my two cents.

 

UBC has a DMD but UWO and UT have a DDS degree. That's an odd statement about the state universities "acknowledging" Western. There are about equal numbers of students specializing in the 2015 UWO and UT class this year. It doesn't matter if one particular interviewer hasn't heard of UT or UWO, both schools are fully recognized by the ADA. They probably don't know about all the dental schools in the US, let alone in Canada as well. As a whole the US schools know so little about Canadian schools. If you expect going to Toronto to give you an edge in these specialty programs by the name, I feel like you'd be pretty disappointed in the reality. Definitely do not use this as a factor in picking between UT and UWO.

 

What does that mean? If i want to specialize then going to western is not a good idea? I mean is it impossible to specialize by going to western rather than uoft?

 

Read above. School means nothing. Class ranking, CV, and reference letters mean everything.

 

 

Before you even enter dental school, don't focus on specializing so much. The landscape of dentistry is changing a lot and specializing is honestly not as great as it once was. You have a higher earning potential with good business skills and being a GP. It's getting harder and harder for specialists to have their own clinic - many specialists are going (or even being forced into) the route of doing part time at multiple GP practices. What happens there is that a GP office may bring in an orthodontist once a week for the complex cases, an endodontist once a week, etc. 

New technology is making it easier and easier to do more and more for every GP. 

 

Specializing is good and all, but predents spending so much time worrying about specializing pathways is pretty ridiculous... worry about where you personally will get the best dental education. That will be much more important.

[ims316]

UBC has a DMD but UWO and UT have a DDS degree. That's an odd statement about the state universities "acknowledging" Western. There are about equal numbers of students specializing in the 2015 UWO and UT class this year. It doesn't matter if one particular interviewer hasn't heard of UT or UWO, both schools are fully recognized by the ADA. They probably don't know about all the dental schools in the US, let alone in Canada as well. As a whole the US schools know so little about Canadian schools. If you expect going to Toronto to give you an edge in these specialty programs by the name, I feel like you'd be pretty disappointed in the reality. Definitely do not use this as a factor in picking between UT and UWO.

 

 

Read above. School means nothing. Class ranking, CV, and reference letters mean everything.

 

 

Before you even enter dental school, don't focus on specializing so much. The landscape of dentistry is changing a lot and specializing is honestly not as great as it once was. You have a higher earning potential with good business skills and being a GP. It's getting harder and harder for specialists to have their own clinic - many specialists are going (or even being forced into) the route of doing part time at multiple GP practices. What happens there is that a GP office may bring in an orthodontist once a week for the complex cases, an endodontist once a week, etc.

New technology is making it easier and easier to do more and more for every GP.

 

Specializing is good and all, but predents spending so much time worrying about specializing pathways is pretty ridiculous... worry about where you personally will get the best dental education. That will be much more important.

[dentopia]

I was wondering whether I could accept my offer to Western although I have also accepted my offer to U of T. The reason for this being that I want to know whether I am eligible for the $40 000 scholarship Western offers, and if so, I may go to Western instead of U of T (also, 10 business days is not enough for me to make up my mind!!! ).

[uwo2015]

I was wondering whether I could accept my offer to Western although I have also accepted my offer to U of T. The reason for this being that I want to know whether I am eligible for the $40 000 scholarship Western offers, and if so, I may go to Western instead of U of T (also, 10 business days is not enough for me to make up my mind!!! ).

 

You wont find out until about halfway through the year.

[DENTISTLIFE]

I am having the same problem. I don't know which school is the best fit for me. A lot of people say U of T is the better school. Is this true? Also, many people say that western is more of a family/friendly environment. Is this true?

 

Help needed!!!

[dds19]

Well I am currently waitlisted at both schools but if I get lucky and get accpted to both, I would definitely choose uwo over u of t. I did my undergrad at u of t and did really hate the big classes we had. I felt like the uwo had a much friendlier environment on my interview day and feel like having a smaller class size would also help a lot when it comes to clinical training. I've also heard the uwo students get a stronger clinical training, starting from the first year.

[pTangel]

I'm in the same boat as post above, and definitely did feel Western had a more tight-knit welcoming atmosphere. Perhaps traumatized from undergrad at U of T, not the best environment.

 

With that being said I would pick Toronto due to family and friends though, as that's definitely a big factor in my decision. But purely based on schools itself I would go with Western. But that's just my opinion

[dentopia]

You wont find out until about halfway through the year.

How do you know this? 

[uwo2015]

How do you know this? 

 

Financial Assistance Profile is not due until Sept 30.

[marauder4life]

I would like to address a concern that multiple people have mentioned here that they feel hesitant about going to UofT dental because of the competitive environment they remember from undergrad. I can understand why this is a cause of concern for many, but I don't think it will be an issue once you are in dental school. I know of many close friends who went to UofT dental instead of UWO because they had paid their UofT deposit and wanted to be close to home (even though they initially wanted UWO because of smaller class size and friendly atmosphere), but they all love it at UofT! So UofT really isn't as bad as people think it is From the people I have talked to everyone seems to love their school. Maybe it would be a good idea to talk to friends who may are at these schools to get a better understanding of the student experience.

[dentopia]

Can anyone comment on whether it is allowed to accept our seat at both schools (until we make up our minds)? Or is there a rule against this? 

[ottawaliquid]

I'm sure there isn't... and I have accepted both spots for the time being. There are many other aspects that I need to sort out over the next few weeks before giving up my spot at UofT in favor of UWO. If things go a different way I may still go to UofT hence my hanging onto the spot for now. Sorry to wait listed individuals. I will give it up as soon as my financial and housing arrangements are sorted

[molars]

Can anyone comment on whether it is allowed to accept our seat at both schools (until we make up our minds)? Or is there a rule against this?

 

  

I'm sure there isn't... and I have accepted both spots for the time being. There are many other aspects that I need to sort out over the next few weeks before giving up my spot at UofT in favor of UWO. If things go a different way I may still go to UofT hence my hanging onto the spot for now. Sorry to wait listed individuals. I will give it up as soon as my financial and housing arrangements are sorted

I don't mean to rush you guys, but just want to clarify - Are you both planning on paying the deposit at Schulich and then decide between the two schools or do you plan on deciding before the June 1st deposit deadline?