does the university you go to for dentistry matter in terms of opportunities

The BDS course is standardised across all unis by the GDC so where you graduate from doesn’t make a difference to your employability. Employability and opportunity to specialise is down to you as a person and how well you do, not what uni you went to.

Reply 2

are you sure even for dentistry as I've heard that if someone got the same result but one goes kcl and one goes Plymouth obviously the employer would choose the person from kcl

Reply 3

Original post by Aj53

are you sure even for dentistry as I've heard that if someone got the same result but one goes kcl and one goes Plymouth obviously the employer would choose the person from kcl

Lol, check you get your information from reliable sources.
The employer would choose the better dentist

Reply 4

ahhh ok thanks for the help

Reply 5

Original post by Aj53

ahhh ok thanks for the help

Focus on becoming a friendly, empathetic dentist that patients would love to be treated by! Learn your clinical skills and no employer will look at what uni you went to! Good luck with your applications 😁

Reply 6

yh I really like dentistry but I'm worried that the employer won't be able to see that ill be a good dentist as theyll only look at my qualifications

Reply 7

out of curiosity are you a dentist or a dental student

Reply 8

Original post by DBZ17

Do you not think your being at least a little naive? Your not going to help him/her if you just make statements you can't back up.

The reality is it won't make much of a difference, especially once you have experience as a dentist. Obviously employers and people who select for places on specialisation courses will have pre concieved notions of universities etc... and there's nothing you can do to stop that.

I wouldn't worry about it, all dentistry degrees count for the same thing and plenty of people from Plymouth university and similar will get competitive places..

Reply 9

Original post by RuneFreeze

oh right but currently I have an interview for Plymouth only but I was looking forward to taking a gap year so do you think I should accept the offer and play it safe or try applying next year

Reply 10

Original post by Aj53

oh right but currently I have an interview for Plymouth only but I was looking forward to taking a gap year so do you think I should accept the offer and play it safe or try applying next year

I'd probably just take it.

I can help you more if you have an idea of specifically what you want to do once you've qualified as a dentist. Then you can actually try and find evidence for and against holding off for a year to go to a higher ranked university.

Remember, this is important: If you reject the offer now, you might never get the chance again. Afaik if you reject an offer that counts against you when reapplying later. It's the same for Veterinary Science and Medicine; tbh I'd just take it.

Reply 11

ohh i thought it wouldn't matter if I rejected it 😬
but yh after graduating I'd like to do some hospital dentistry for a while and maybe specialise in prosthodontics later on as I think that'll make the most immediate impact on someone's appearance and self confidence

Reply 12

Original post by Aj53

To be honest I've thought about it and I would definitely take the offer you have. Dentisty is possibly THE most competitive course to get on and I really doubt it will make much of a difference at all.

Reply 13

ahhh ok then I'll probably just take it thanks for all the help

Reply 14

Original post by RuneFreeze

I don’t think I am being naive, I’m just offering advice based on my own experience. I’ve worked in general practice for almost 5 years now and my manager didn’t take in to account where myself or any of my colleagues graduated from. She did consider our work ethic, personalities and skills though and that’s what I’m saying is more important.
You then go on to say though that you don’t think it makes much difference either though so I’m confused?

Reply 15

Original post by Aj53

oh right but currently I have an interview for Plymouth only but I was looking forward to taking a gap year so do you think I should accept the offer and play it safe or try applying next year

If you wanted a gap year then why did you apply? I would call up Plymouth and any other unis you applied for whether you can defer for a year, and if not whether rejecting offers would affect future offer chances

Reply 16

i applied so that I can get a sense of what the ukcat would be like and maybe get some interview practice. I didnt apply for a deferred entry as I read online that some unis don't accept deferred entries so I applied to a normal course so I could get at least some interviews. Another reason I applied this year was if mid year i changed my mind and decided to accept the offer I could whereas if I applied to deferred entry I don't think I could change it.

Reply 17

so yh ill call Plymouth tomorrow and ask thanks for all the advice you've given

Reply 18

btw I've decided I won't take the offer if I get one from Plymouth as right now its the lowest spot on the dentistry league table and I think I can do better so I don't want to settle as I'm hard working and I get A's and A*'s, I had a really good personal statement with a lot of work experience but I just folded under the ukcat pressure so I won't make that mistake again next year

Reply 19