UK vs. US dental degree
Hello! I'm a Filipino 11th grader starting IB at August (HL Chem, Bio, Psych), and I've been searching for Unis around the globe in hopes to becoming a dentist as my profession. Since I would be an international student when applying to colleges, the fees are crazy. I just want to ask if I should take the longer and more expensive route, the U.S or the UK for my dental degree?
I heard that the NHS with a British degree pays significantly less, and that a British degree can't be practiced in the U.S. (But then again, I don't want to be drowned in debt when I'm 40)
I have been struggling picking which country to focus on; I'll appreciate any advice/answers!
I heard that the NHS with a British degree pays significantly less, and that a British degree can't be practiced in the U.S. (But then again, I don't want to be drowned in debt when I'm 40)
I have been struggling picking which country to focus on; I'll appreciate any advice/answers!
Hey, this is just my take on the UK vs US dental degree, I'll try to give my two cents on it -
So the average cost of international fees in the UK depends very much so on the university, for instance universities such as Cardiff and Queen's Belfast tend to have lower fees of around 25k + 40k * 4, and Scottish universities tend to have fees of around 50k * 5. Each dental course in the UK takes 5 years, unless you're taking a foundation course, which will take 6 years. You enter this stage right after high school, and you receive a BDS, or a Bachelor of Dental surgery degree, or a BDS, which is an undergraduate degree. To get to this point, you will be using your IB grades, which hovers around the rate of 36, the UKCAT as well as a series of interviews. You apply through UCAS and you can only apply to four dental schools within the UK out of the 16. Currently, career progression means that after dental school you will work as a trainee within the NHS as a foundation dentist, where you'll be receiving somewhere within the range of 30-50k per annum. Should you choose to specialize, routes such as taking DCT years will also require you to work within the NHS within a hospital setting, this tends to take 1-3 years. Again, you'll be paid an NHS salary for this duration. After that you have the option to undertake private work.
International fees in the US are kind of similar. (Although tbh with the pound to dollar conversion rate with inflation I suspect it'll be lower in the next decade or so) However, you will have to take into account that before you go into dental school, you will first have to complete a prior undergraduate degree. This is commonly referred to as "premed" or "predent", where you pick courses that you major and minor in, such as population health, biological sciences etc. After you finish your undergraduate degree (where you will still have to maintain a consistently high GPA and honors), you will then apply to dental school. The good thing about the US is that there are more dental schools and you can apply to as many as you want to. This involves taking tests such as the DAT (dental version of the more famous MCAT), where you then have to undergo interviews etc. After getting in, typically it's a 4 year course (i think but I'm not too sure), and you graduate with a DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery), a postgraduate degree, where you can then practice immediately, typically privately. Career progression in the US means you'll be earning about 200k per annum on average, compared to the 80-120 that you'd earn in the UK privately. (This figure can and will change, depending on specialties, further training etc.)
A British degree is less recognized than an American Degree. Although in many countries (and states), you will have to take conversion tests, an American Degree tends to have a little bit more standing worldwide. This difference isn't that significant, because most Western European, Middle Eastern and North American countries accept both, with the exception of Canada which doesn't recognize a British dental degree. This also depends on nationality. The Philippines tends to have more ties to the US than it does the UK, and you will find most of your peers will be applying to America, so that may be a factor in your decision making process.
What I can say though, however, is that the admissions process is very different. The UK puts a high emphasis on your academics during high school, and they like students to have supercurriculars, and certain hobbies. The US puts high emphasis on everything, your grades (GPA has to be high, not just your final IB exams), your report cards (you should be getting 7s across the board), a huge emphasis on competitions, charity work, volunteering etc. Essentially, the US admissions process is significantly harder than the UK admissions process and you will likely be spending a lot of time focusing on those to become a successful pre-dent candidate. So it is up to you on whether you think you have the time and the commitment to do so, however in many cases this is well worth the effort. (In this paragraph I am referring to undergraduate entry, dentistry in the UK and predent in the US)
The UK admissions, no matter what people say, is easier, doing a standard IB of 3HL and 3SL is harder than doing 3 A levels (UK . Legacy points aren't a thing in the UK, and neither will they be significant in the US in the near future, and won't be much of an issue unless you have your sights on ivies.
There are even more factors about working in either country - medical practice, medical ethics, dental specialty training, lifestyle, (which state you practice can also vary), legalities, etc. and there are lots of pros and cons that you will find on either side. It'd take far too long for me to detail this so this really is a decision that you should make yourself, with further research, the above is just a very, very, very simplistic view on what each side of the pond suggests. I hope this helps!
*PLease do not quote this post when replying, thanks
So the average cost of international fees in the UK depends very much so on the university, for instance universities such as Cardiff and Queen's Belfast tend to have lower fees of around 25k + 40k * 4, and Scottish universities tend to have fees of around 50k * 5. Each dental course in the UK takes 5 years, unless you're taking a foundation course, which will take 6 years. You enter this stage right after high school, and you receive a BDS, or a Bachelor of Dental surgery degree, or a BDS, which is an undergraduate degree. To get to this point, you will be using your IB grades, which hovers around the rate of 36, the UKCAT as well as a series of interviews. You apply through UCAS and you can only apply to four dental schools within the UK out of the 16. Currently, career progression means that after dental school you will work as a trainee within the NHS as a foundation dentist, where you'll be receiving somewhere within the range of 30-50k per annum. Should you choose to specialize, routes such as taking DCT years will also require you to work within the NHS within a hospital setting, this tends to take 1-3 years. Again, you'll be paid an NHS salary for this duration. After that you have the option to undertake private work.
International fees in the US are kind of similar. (Although tbh with the pound to dollar conversion rate with inflation I suspect it'll be lower in the next decade or so) However, you will have to take into account that before you go into dental school, you will first have to complete a prior undergraduate degree. This is commonly referred to as "premed" or "predent", where you pick courses that you major and minor in, such as population health, biological sciences etc. After you finish your undergraduate degree (where you will still have to maintain a consistently high GPA and honors), you will then apply to dental school. The good thing about the US is that there are more dental schools and you can apply to as many as you want to. This involves taking tests such as the DAT (dental version of the more famous MCAT), where you then have to undergo interviews etc. After getting in, typically it's a 4 year course (i think but I'm not too sure), and you graduate with a DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery), a postgraduate degree, where you can then practice immediately, typically privately. Career progression in the US means you'll be earning about 200k per annum on average, compared to the 80-120 that you'd earn in the UK privately. (This figure can and will change, depending on specialties, further training etc.)
A British degree is less recognized than an American Degree. Although in many countries (and states), you will have to take conversion tests, an American Degree tends to have a little bit more standing worldwide. This difference isn't that significant, because most Western European, Middle Eastern and North American countries accept both, with the exception of Canada which doesn't recognize a British dental degree. This also depends on nationality. The Philippines tends to have more ties to the US than it does the UK, and you will find most of your peers will be applying to America, so that may be a factor in your decision making process.
What I can say though, however, is that the admissions process is very different. The UK puts a high emphasis on your academics during high school, and they like students to have supercurriculars, and certain hobbies. The US puts high emphasis on everything, your grades (GPA has to be high, not just your final IB exams), your report cards (you should be getting 7s across the board), a huge emphasis on competitions, charity work, volunteering etc. Essentially, the US admissions process is significantly harder than the UK admissions process and you will likely be spending a lot of time focusing on those to become a successful pre-dent candidate. So it is up to you on whether you think you have the time and the commitment to do so, however in many cases this is well worth the effort. (In this paragraph I am referring to undergraduate entry, dentistry in the UK and predent in the US)
The UK admissions, no matter what people say, is easier, doing a standard IB of 3HL and 3SL is harder than doing 3 A levels (UK . Legacy points aren't a thing in the UK, and neither will they be significant in the US in the near future, and won't be much of an issue unless you have your sights on ivies.
There are even more factors about working in either country - medical practice, medical ethics, dental specialty training, lifestyle, (which state you practice can also vary), legalities, etc. and there are lots of pros and cons that you will find on either side. It'd take far too long for me to detail this so this really is a decision that you should make yourself, with further research, the above is just a very, very, very simplistic view on what each side of the pond suggests. I hope this helps!
*PLease do not quote this post when replying, thanks
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