Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider MCTC.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Minnesota State, Minnesota West, Rochester Community and Technical College, and Century Community and Technical College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Northwest Technical College, HCC, Minnesota State, and Minnesota West.
Excellence
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at HCC, South Central College, Minnesota State, and Minnesota West.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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St. Cloud Technical And Community College • St. Cloud, MN
Studying Dental Assisting (completion in 2011)
• 7/7/2011
"I really like St. Cloud Technical College because it was a lot like high school with the small class sizes and such. It is an affordable school and is very well maintained."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | This school, like I said before, has affordable tuition, small class sizes, a nice lab, and great teachers. If you want to be a dental assistant, this is a great school to get your degree. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | I feel the dental assisting program has a great reputation. Most everyone graduates from it and everyone in my class had all passed the boards we had to take. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I loved St. Cloud Technical College because it is very affordable and they have a dental clinic for learning purposes. The teachers were very good and the clinic was great. |
| Instruction | 7 | There were only two courses you had to have before you got accepted into the program, so that was nice. I learned quite a bit, but as always, stuff you don't use everyday goes away. Most of the things we learned were relevant and all but one class was of high quality. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The program was quite difficult. We had to do everything within a certain percentage and sometimes that was hard to do. The work load wasn't horrible, but sometimes we had lots to do in one week or in one class. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We had a mix of both kinds of learning. Everyday we had lab learning which is hands on and in class learning which is books. It was really a great program because of it being set up that way. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | We had a strict schedule. In each semester their were certain days and times you had to be there. If you missed a day, then you had to make it up right away and it was up to the teacher on whether you got to continue in the program or not. We didn't have any weekend, evening, summer, or online options. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | We did use a lot of the library and computer resources to print things off for class. We also had lab time and everything was open as we needed it. It was all very accessible. |
| Social Life | 5 | I wasn't involved in my school stuff very often. It was an average experience, though. |
| Placement Services | 7 | They do have a career center that helps you get ready for job interviews and has services that you can use for finding jobs online. They also keep a book in the career center that tells how many people graduate each year and where they are and what their pay is. It is a very nice tool. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I haven't used any services yet. I have heard that we can still come into school and use their services, such as the career center. |
St. Cloud Technical And Community College • St. Cloud, MN
Studying Dental Assisting (completion in 2011)
• 7/11/2011
"I was very satisfied with the faculty and staff that provided my schooling. They were very helpful and caring. We had great resources as well."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend this program and this school to anyone who is serious about becoming a dental assisting. It was not easy, so if you're not sure you're interested, it could be harder for you. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | SCTCC has a great reputation because of its facilities. They are now putting up a new dental lab next to the school. Also, the faculty is known for being helpful. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I loved the school I went to because of the staff. I become close with all the teachers. They were passionate about what they are doing and it shows through the students. |
| Instruction | 10 | The school has a dental lab in it where we practiced every morning. The staff was knowledgeable and enjoyed teaching us. |
| How Difficult | 9 | To prepare us for keeping up on our professional portfolio, we were given a lot of extra assignments. At the end of our two year program, we put it all together and organized it. We were then graded on it. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I would say that approximately 75% was hands on. We learned from the book, but we always did it hands on work along with it. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | As far as the dental assisting program went, it was a Monday through Friday schedule only. We had to be at lab at 7:30 am, had a lunch break at 12:00pm, and went back to lab until 4:00pm. | |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | We had 12 chairs in our lab that were fully equipped. They are now building a new dental lab that will have nitrous oxide built in. |
| Social Life | 7 | I met a lot of great people in our class, but we weren't too involved in school activities. All of us dental assisting students were very involved with fundraising and helping each other out. |
| Placement Services | 9 | I did not use the career services, but they are excellent. They post jobs for the students and provide interviewing help. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Although I just graduated, I have not heard from the school about any alumni networking. I stay in contact with some of the other students, but that is all. |
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