After TCNJ? Esp. for dental?

shielapathukare
Wed, 11 Jan 2017 23:30:01 +0000

Due to financial constraints, I will be attending TCNJ (graduating class of 2021) on a full scholarship & commuting. My goal is to become a dentist, or maybe a dental surgeon. I will my majoring in Public Health & minoring in Spanish.
My parents have agreed to pay for dental school since I will be getting a free undergraduate education, and my dream dental school is UPenn Dental. I scoured the TCNJ website and was disappointed to see that many students attended UMDNJ, and I know FOR A FACT that I do not want to spend eight consecutive years in NJ. I would rather like to study dentistry in a prestigious university. This is not meant to come off as snobby or pretentious - getting into any dental school is a feat in itself, but it looks like most students just continue on to study at NJ’s Dental school and I do not want to spend so much time in suburban NJ. I’ve heard TCNJ is sort of like a HS atmosphere, and I really want to study at an elite university without this type of environment at some point in my life. I was not able to receive the undergraduate education I wanted (my dream was to study at an elite LAC like Haverford, Middlebury, or Smith, then go onto dental school), so I refuse to compromise my professional education. Would anyone be able to affirm that TCNJ students can go on to top dental schools (or med schools, I suppose they fall under the same category). I looked at both the UPenn Dental Undergrad Matriculation list, and TCNJ is listed once in six years. I also looked at the TCNJ pdfs about the “One Year Marks”, and the majority are at UMDNJ. By attending TCNJ, am I compromising my entire dental education experience? (Not that UMDNJ is a bad school - it is just that I LONG to attend an ivy or top dental school). Does TCNJ facilitate the process for students who are motivated to attend such schools after undergrad? Also, does TCNJ allows students to do research? Could anyone find evidence that shows that TCNJ graduates can and do in fact attend top dental schools such as Penn, Columbia, UNC, Tufts, etc.?
Thanks. I am very disappointed - I was accepted into several top LACs and strong state schools, but am only getting a full ride from TCNJ so I have to choice but to attend. It would be great if someone would assure me that my entire education isn’t compromised by attending a regional school for undergrad.