What are the best things about attending University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine?

The best things about UConn can be broken down into a few main topics. First, the curriculum. In the preclinical portion (first 1.5 years or so), you will be thoroughly trained in the basic life sciences through a combined curriculum with the medical students. Classes are spent in a Team-Based Learning format (different than what most are used to but a much better environment for learning) with your medical colleagues in which you will become more than prepared for NBDE and treating medically compromised patients. You essentially prepare for class outside on your own and when you come to class, you take a quiz and then work on different complex problems with 6-7 other students at your table with faculty discussion in-between. The curriculum is challenging and definitely can be more than needed in some cases, but it prepares you very well to communicate and participate in an interprofessional setting. UConn also has a strict Pass/Fail curriculum. This means there are no class rankings, no grades, and little competition. This in no way means that the curriculum is easy, but it facilitates a sense of comradery between classmates because there is no need to fight for a rank. It can actually be pretty difficult to pass as our exams are written by professors and faculty who write for Step 1 of the Medical School boards. Dental school can be a very competitive place for those students who want to go on to specialize, but I feel like that is completely nonexistent at UConn because of the Pass/Fail grading scheme.

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What are the worst things about attending University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine?

Honestly, if you wanted to go straight into private practice as a general dentist, this might not be the program for you. Most students who end up doing general dentistry tend to do a GPR or AEGD residency. Due to the fact that we are integrated with the medical school for the first year and a half, we aren’t exposed to dental-related things as early as other schools. While we do have morphology, oral histology, and operative our first year, it is not as intense as other schools. Once you finish the medical school curriculum, it really picks up and they try to catch you up.

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What do students need to know/What do you wish you knew before attending University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine?

The course load is a lot, but it’s certainly manageable. You aren’t required to be in class a ton your first year and a half, and then after that, you’re pretty much there 8-5. Clinic starts the end of your 2nd year and then you are in clinic all of your 3rd and 4th years with some classes sprinkled in. Between your first and second year, you have about 3 months off with which you can do whatever you want. Some students worked, some did research, some traveled. It’s completely your call and how you want to spend it. The faculty have no expectations.

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