What are the best things about attending University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry?

At UOP, we refer to the staff, students and alumni as “the Dugoni family”. We treat each other as family. Everyone is kind to each other. There isn’t a hostile, competitive environment. There are occasional conflicts between students, but nothing out of the ordinary. I have found that for the most part, everyone helps each other. They do that by answering questions in the class’s GroupMe or by sharing study notes/test files. I think this is because the admissions committee carefully selects who will be interviewed and accepted. They are very particular about who you are as a person, in addition to your stats. It is also worth noting that they don’t like to interview very many people. The vast majority of those who are interviewed at UOP are accepted.

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What are the worst things about attending University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry?

San Francisco is a very expensive city to live in (#2 most expensive city in US). Most studio apartments cost ~$2000-2500, 1 bedroom apartments cost ~$2750-3300 and 2 bedroom apartments cost ~$3500-4500. Most students will put 3 people into a 2 bedroom apartment (converting the living room into a bedroom) and they end up paying ~$1300-1700 each. It is pretty common for students to live across the street at “Mosso” and have that set up, though a 2-bedroom apartment there is upwards of $4,500 a month. Food is expensive. Parking is expensive (~$300/month at most garages) and street parking is doable, but sometimes challenging (~$100/year).

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What do students need to know/what do you wish you knew before attending University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry?

The overall cost of attendance at UOP is high, but it is no higher than other private schools or out of state costs at most public schools. It is just higher per year because it is 3 years instead of 4. Here it is worth mentioning that UOP grads have 2.9% default rate on student loans - the national average for dental schools is 11.9%. That being said, it is still one of the most expensive schools in the country.

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