The cost of acceptance ...

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eldirty

eldirty

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This is my personal cost of acceptance ... though im sure if differs greatly between applicants:

2007:
Kaplan Prep Course - $1299
Transcripts Fee - $7
AADSAS Application Fee - $435
DAT - $175
DAT Reschedule Fee - $10
Sending DAT Scores - $125
Application Fees - $285 (5 schools, see predents)

2007 Total: $2336

I unfortunately was not accepted (not even 1 interview) so it was back to the drawing board for a reapply

2008:
DAT study material - $324.48
(Crack DAT PAT, Destroyer, Achiever, ScienceAide, Cliffs, Schaums)
Transcripts Fee - $21
AADSAS Application Fee - $1275
DAT - $190
DAT Reschedule Fee - $30
Sending DAT Scores - $500
Application Fees - $1090 (19 schools, see predents)
Interview Expenses - $1725.74
(6 trips, flights and hotel expenses only)
New Suit, Shoes, & overcoat - 613.09
Seat Deposit - $2000 (Post aceptance)

2008 Total: $7769.31

Grand Total: 10105.31

Please keep in mind that the application process is not over yet and I also turned down 6 additional interviews and only deposited at one school. This total does not include: undergrad tuition for pre-reqs as I returned to school after my first degree (quit my job in IT), food and misc. expense while on interview trips, cab/subway expenses, class books and notes used for DAT prep, or any other fee not listed. I also did not include the expence of interviewing at my state school as I drove. I was fortunate enough to stay with friends at 3 of the interviews and didnt require a hotel.

As you can see this can be a very expensive process and this is just my example. Im sure some have spent waaay more during their accepance quest. I hope people find this information helpful! Good luck and get those checkbooks warmed up!
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dude! we're totally on the same wavelength. i was just going to post something on this topic.

anyways, dannng man you could buy a small car for that amount. or like... 20 pairs of couture shoes. i bet this whole sd forum could buy a small country if we combined our costs. but i definitely think the investment is worth it. :D

My total COST:

$1199.00 Kaplan

DAT: $205

$325.00 Suit, shoes

$975 for 14 schools
(withdrew from some)

$65 (BU)

$75.00 (Columbia)

$75.00 Maryland

Penn??

$30.00 Temple

$60.00 Tufts

$75.00 UoP

UCLA $60.00

UCSF: $60.00

$50.00 UNLV

Transcripts:
4 official * 8.00= 32.00

Jc: = 10*4 =40.00

Travel:

$489.00 plane +hotel for Philadelphia

$598.00 plane+hotel for Philadelphia

$383.00 plane to NYC

$4.00 subway to Columb.

$200.00 plane to SF

$8.00 parking for USC

$1000.00 deposit

TOTAL COST: err... priceless?

REALISTIC COST: @ least $5933.00 i forgot taxis... which cost a pretty penny esp in phili. wahhh.
 
2school4cool ... where did you deposit?
 
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fortunately, i probably only spent between 1-2K
 
Oh absolutely ... I retook the DAT (see My DAT story), completed my biological sciences degree, submitted additional letters of recommendation, rewrote my personal statement, significantly increased my shadowing and volunteering hours, etc. I was basically a totally different applicant the second time around. I also applied to 19 schools whereas the first time I only applied to 5.

PDizz - can you expand predents to allow for previous DAT scores to be stored? I can see my 2007 application but when I updated my DAT scores it auto overwrote my previous scores. Maybe have a link under DAT scores that allows users to store up to 3 total scores. Just a thought
 
DAT prep - $1700
DAT - 380 (x2)
DAT procrastination - 100
DAT scores - 600 (ish)
AADSAS - 1000
Secondary - 1000 (ish)
Interviews:
ASDOH - 500
USC - 400
Buffalo - 400
Temple - 200
Washington - 200
Louisville - 500
Loma Linda - 400
VCU - 300

Deposit at Temple - 1500 (x2)

Grand Total: $9180 give or take...



Also, looking to the future...

Temple costs will be: $300,000 - $320,000...

Student loans amoritized at 8.5% over 30years: $830,000

If I can pull off paying it back at 8.5% in 15years: $532,000
 
The only thing that saved me was being invited to interviews post dec. 1 acceptances. I told myself that I would attend every interview up until I was accepted and then I would pick and choose.
 
Wow, nearly 10 grand is crazy.

I think mine was about as low as possible. Took the DAT once, sent it to one school, applied to one school, etc. Probably not the best idea going in without a backup plan, but I definitely minimized my application costs.
 
If I had seen this thread before applying, I would have been so stressed out.

I only had a lil bit of money, so here is my cost:

-1 DAT book,
-1 roundtrip ticket to Boston (took care of 3 interviews in one trip ;)) and I stayed at my sis' place. (so no hotel)
-1 night at hotel for UF's interview($40) + gas to go there.
-DAT test
-Applied to 6 schools on AADSAS

I hope this helps future applicants that are looking at this thread, even if only a lil. I hope nobody gets discouraged to apply bec/ it is so expensive. :thumbup:
 
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OhioStBuckteeth said:
Wow, nearly 10 grand is crazy.

I think mine was about as low as possible. Took the DAT once, sent it to one school, applied to one school, etc. Probably not the best idea going in without a backup plan, but I definitely minimized my application costs.
Click to expand...

That sounds like my dads application story. Took the DAT because a friend was taking it and rode along ... took it for fun, applied to one school, accepted to one school, no interview required. I guess that was nearly 30 years ago though.
 
Am i really the king of this mountain? This is depressing!
 
wow over 10K
Kaplan on-line 1K
All my other dat prep, destroyer,odyssey,Barron's,cliffs,schuams,crack dat math,crackdatpat, topscore,achiever ($700+ I had way too much stuff started getting this stuff about a year too soon never even got to some of it)
aadsas 2100+
Dat 900+
Dat retake 300+ not retaking as I received 8 interviews and counting with my first scores. So not bad
Flights- 1700+ west coast to east coast is expensive :(
Hotels 1700
rental cars 500
Supplemental fees 1800 +
postage 60+

Holly crap over K. I had no idea until I just did this. I made the mistake of under estimating my scores and overall strength of my application. This is why I applied to 33 schools. It was tough with all the same questions. A lot of cutting and pasting. I will get in this cycle though. I'm 29 and close to 30. I didn't want to take any chances. Goal of being a dentist first. School second.

Update: found this from awhile back
 
:eek: I'm not looking forward to any of that. Hopefully it all pays off though.
 
DAT prep: 1700
DAT: 200
DAT scores: 500
AADSAS: 1635
Secondary: 1700
Interviews:
*Louisville: 400
*Midwestern: 250
*USC: 250
*Oklahoma: 300
*UNLV: 250
*Case: 400
*Michigan: 450

Deposit at Michigan: 1500

Grand Total: $9535...
 
MrEcon said:
wow over 10K
Kaplan on-line 1K
All my other dat prep, destroyer,odyssey,Barron's,cliffs,schuams,crack dat math,crackdatpat, topscore,achiever ($700+ I had way too much stuff started getting this stuff about a year too soon never even got to some of it)
aadsas 2100+
Dat 900+
Dat retake 300+ not retaking as I received 8 interviews and counting with my first scores. So not bad
Flights- 1700+ west coast to east coast is expensive :(
Hotels 1700
rental cars 500
Supplemental fees 1800 +
postage 60+

Holly crap over K. I had no idea until I just did this. I made the mistake of under estimating my scores and overall strength of my application. This is why I applied to 33 schools. It was tough with all the same questions. A lot of cutting and pasting. I will get in this cycle though. I'm 29 and close to 30. I didn't want to take any chances. Goal of being a dentist first. School second.

Update: found this from awhile back
Click to expand...
How did you pay $1700 in hotel bills for 8 interviews? I went to 6 interviews and stayed at a 4-star hotel every time. With priceline, the bill was always $55/nt-$85/nt, and I was always minutes from the school.

Is that total a misprint? Or did you stay for a week at every interview location? ....or were you hosed?
 
I probably take the cheese...

I've applied to two cycles. The first cycle, I went to 5 interviews. The second cycle, I went to 11 interviews. In both cycles, I did Kaplan DAT, with a bit of private tutorial in the first. I did private Kaplan consulting throughout. The DAT was taken twice. I flew out of Hawaii on most occasions for interviews.

Airfare: ~$15,000
Hotels: ~$6,500
Kaplan DAT classroom: ~$2,500
Kaplan DAT private: ~$1,500
Kaplan consultation: ~$1,500
DAT study materials: ~$400
AADSAS Fees: ~$2,500
Application Fees: $1,000
DAT Fees: ~800
Tufts Deposit: $2,000
Taxi: ~$1,500

So, that's around $35,000 spent over the course of 3 years.

I mean, what really killed me was the airfare. Living in Hawaii sucks man... it's 5.5 hours of flying JUST to get to the west coast. But anyways, I admit that I could've cut costs by not being quite so spoiled with my accommodations and tutoring. But, well, it was permitted, so I'm not about to argue. I had a great time, really.. lots of sightseeing and great hotels:)

Don't hate me.
 
I think you might be the all time cheese winner!

I feel your pain ... Hawaii, what a drag
Congrats and im looking forward to meeting you next fall!
 
everyone wishes they could redo their aadsas process once they're through it, me included.... regardless, it's worth any cost to be accepted and once you face the cost of dental school it truly is almost irrelevant
 
Me thinks Hawaii only sucks when you leave ;-)

I never tallied or kept accurate track of how much I spent, but it's in the $1000s, though not above $4000 I wouldn't think.

I don't think deposits should count - those go towards your tuition once you matriculate. They would count for the schools you deposited for and didn't go to, if you had multiple deposits.
 
JamesOSU said:
Me thinks Hawaii only sucks when you leave ;-)

I never tallied or kept accurate track of how much I spent, but it's in the $1000s, though not above $4000 I wouldn't think.

I don't think deposits should count - those go towards your tuition once you matriculate. They would count for the schools you deposited for and didn't go to, if you had multiple deposits.
Click to expand...

very good point
 
eldirty said:
PDizz - can you expand predents to allow for previous DAT scores to be stored? I can see my 2007 application but when I updated my DAT scores it auto overwrote my previous scores. Maybe have a link under DAT scores that allows users to store up to 3 total scores. Just a thought
Click to expand...


Great idea!!
 
Thanks ... I PMed PDizz but havent heard anything back yet
 
ooh my goodness, I feel so lucky now! And to think I was actually complaining about the money I spent... While I was applying during my junior year, I changed my mind and decided to take a year off to deal with personal stuff and spend time with my family since I was not going to get to see them much for the net 4 years. Plus I just needed a break from school. Since I never submitted my AADSAS application, it cost me nothing.

-I took the DAT once, cost me $265 to 8 schools. I bought a Kaplan ($65) book and studied off that for 2 hours/day for 2 1/2 weeks. Those books are nice, I did fine just studying off that.
-AADSAS to 8 schools cost me $615.
-Most of the schools I applied to were in the Northeast US and Dalhousie in Canada. Dalhousie reps came to my state (Nice) and traveling to other schools that gave me early interviews cost me ~$100. I went to BU and Tufts during the same visit to Boston. I was accepted to Tufts in December and I canceled all other interviews/acceptances right away.
- Fees to the schools were about $500.
-Transcripts/LOR fees were about another $30.
- Lodging was free because I stayed with friends!
My total was about $1575. The first time I was applying before I changed my mind I was pretty sure about Tufts and I was not going to apply to many other schools. The second time around, I decided to apply to 7 more just in case. I wish I had trusted myself and only applied to Tufts, I would have saved myself about $1000.

I didn't include deposits since that goes toward tuition.
 
cybermech said:
I probably take the cheese... So, that's around $35,000 spent over the course of 3 years.
Click to expand...

:eek: WOW. That is INSANE!!! Mine is more modest.
Kaplan course: $1300
Destroyer: $150
Topscore: $50
Achiever: $50
Transcripts: $8
DAT: $410 (I took it 2x)
DAT to extra schools: $175
MCG: $60
AADSAS: $500
Secondaries: $350
Suit/shirt/tie: $500
Airfare: $700
Hotels: $360
Tufts deposit: $2000:)
Total: Around $6,600

I had no idea I spent that much till now.
 
Let me estimate mine. I included some of the very expensive pre-dental classes that I took.
AADSAS: $980
Kaplan: $1300
Kaplan retake: 300
Topscore: 90
CrackPat: 90
Secondaries: ~800
Scrubs: 60
Registering for DAT: 200
Sending DAT score: 220
Sending Rec letters: 100
Toothwaxing class: $350
Predental Clinical simulation lab: 200
Xray class: 250
Plane tickets: 600
Hotels+ meals: ~450
Taxi: 80
Gas: ~50
Interview attire (suit, shirts, pants, shoes, coat, handbag): ~ 750
miscellaneous ~100

Total (so far): $6970. I'm pretty sure that my actual cost is more than this otherwise I wouldn't be so broke this year. This does not include my 1500 deposit for Tufts and my upcoming NYU interview.

Yeah, dental application can be very expensive. So for those of you applying to more than 10 schools, don't be supprised if it costs you 10K. I only went to 4 intervews (gonna be 5).
 
Let me estimate mine. I included some of the very expensive pre-dental classes that I took.
AADSAS: $980
Kaplan: $1300
Kaplan retake: 300
Topscore: 90
CrackPat: 90
Secondaries: ~800
Scrubs: 60
Registering for DAT: 200
Sending DAT score: 220
Sending Rec letters: 100
Toothwaxing class: $350
Predental Clinical simulation lab: 200
Xray class: 250
Plane tickets: 600
Hotels+ meals: ~450
Taxi: 80
Gas: ~50
Interview attire (suit, shirts, pants, shoes, coat, handbag): ~ 750
miscellaneous ~100

Total (so far): $6970. I'm pretty sure that my actual cost is more than this otherwise I wouldn't be so broke this year. This does not include my 1500 deposit for Tufts and my upcoming NYU interview.

Yeah, dental application can be very expensive. So for those of you applying to more than 10 schools, don't be supprised if it costs you 10K. I only went to 4 intervews (gonna be 5).
 
illusionD said:
...Yeah, dental application can be very expensive. So for those of you applying to more than 10 schools, don't be supprised if it costs you 10K. I only went to 4 intervews (gonna be 5).
Click to expand...

For those of you applying to a lot of schools, it's a better idea to just take a semester off and just do your interviews, that way can string them all together without worrying about missing classes.

And as for hotels and food, well, it's better to pick a hotel near a cheap restaurant, but 4-start restaurant food is not cheap... learned this the hard way...
 
cybermech said:
For those of you applying to a lot of schools, it's a better idea to just take a semester off and just do your interviews, that way can string them all together without worrying about missing classes.

And as for hotels and food, well, it's better to pick a hotel near a cheap restaurant, but 4-start restaurant food is not cheap... learned this the hard way...
Click to expand...


I went on 7 interviews pre dec 1st with 14 credits and a 20hr/week job. I just stacked 5 interviews into 2 weeks and took time off. I was able to talk to my professors ahead of time and take tests early/turn in assignments early. It's possible but a major headache in case anyone is going to try this..
 
Simiam said:
I went on 7 interviews pre dec 1st with 14 credits and a 20hr/week job. I just stacked 5 interviews into 2 weeks and took time off. I was able to talk to my professors ahead of time and take tests early/turn in assignments early. It's possible but a major headache in case anyone is going to try this..
Click to expand...
OK, so maybe some colleges will allow this. But at major research universities with 600 students/class (Univ. of Washington for example), I've rarely had professors bend. So, I suppose you should do what you can.
 
cybermech said:
OK, so maybe some colleges will allow this. But at major research universities with 600 students/class (Univ. of Washington for example), I've rarely had professors bend. So, I suppose you should do what you can.
Click to expand...
In a smaller cap-stone class, my classmates were harassed when I'd return. I was only gone for 2 classes... A lot of professors are more worried about their class and forget our, the student's, goals. Rather pathetic if you ask me. If I had the choice, I wouldn't want my students to stop at ugrad. I'd want them to be life long learners and pursue further education.
 
cybermech said:
I probably take the cheese...

I've applied to two cycles. The first cycle, I went to 5 interviews. The second cycle, I went to 11 interviews. In both cycles, I did Kaplan DAT, with a bit of private tutorial in the first. I did private Kaplan consulting throughout. The DAT was taken twice. I flew out of Hawaii on most occasions for interviews.

Airfare: ~$15,000
Hotels: ~$6,500
Kaplan DAT classroom: ~$2,500
Kaplan DAT private: ~$1,500
Kaplan consultation: ~$1,500
DAT study materials: ~$400
AADSAS Fees: ~$2,500
Application Fees: $1,000
DAT Fees: ~800
Tufts Deposit: $2,000
Taxi: ~$1,500

So, that's around $35,000 spent over the course of 3 years.

I mean, what really killed me was the airfare. Living in Hawaii sucks man... it's 5.5 hours of flying JUST to get to the west coast. But anyways, I admit that I could've cut costs by not being quite so spoiled with my accommodations and tutoring. But, well, it was permitted, so I'm not about to argue. I had a great time, really.. lots of sightseeing and great hotels:)

Don't hate me.
Click to expand...


Wow! 11 interviews and no acceptance??! I will personally congradulate you at school!

I'd say about 5k for me (not including deposit)
 
My total cost was 4100 dollars not including the 2000 dollar deposit for school. Since I was late in the application, I applied to 17 schools. If you have a decent shot of getting into dental school and are a little indecisive as I was, it is better to apply to more schools than less because you never know which school will give you an interview. Also it could save you the extra year of having to reapply.

As far as cutting down expenses for the day of the interview,

If you have friends or know someone from college and are interviewing in a city where they live, kindly ask if you crash in their living room for the night.

If the city where your interviewing has a subway/public transportation, learn it beforehand. I learned how to use philly and boston's system and it save me a good amount of dough.

If you have interviews at schools in the same city but on different dates, kindly ask the adcoms from one of the schools if you could schedule the date closer to one that is before or after the interview of the other school. This will save the cost of flying out to the same city twice.

With that extra money saved, you can use it to get a VIP table at Las Vegas and party it up before heading out to school. Or you can be frugal and save it for books or couple months of rent.
 
Not too bad here:

TMDSDS (3 schools): $75
DAT: $220
Study Materials: $1700
Travel: $200

Total: $2195

Most of the cost was in the study materials...
 
That doesnt look too bad ... congrats on your acceptance.
 
anyone to add?
 
lets see.

aadsas application fee - 900 dollars.
DAT and sending score fee - 300 dollars
DAT studying materials - 400 dollars.
school application fee - 600 dollars
suits and other - 200 dollars
sending transcription - 10 dollars

transportation for interview - 400 dollars
hotel - 80 dollars
food - 50 dollars

deposit - 350 dollars
and others - 200 dollars

so its about lets see..

around 3500 doll hairs???
 
How does this compare to applicants years later? Anyone from this year have any input?
 
I'll bite! No interviews yet, but:
DAT: $415 :vamp:, nice to see how much the price went up
DAT prep: CDP ($100 I think), Destroyer ($150), AP Cliffs ($6), 1 month Chad's ($50) = $306
AADSAS apply to 11 schools: $1100
Supplementals: 11 x $65 (average probably) = $715
Playing the waiting game: priceless
Total: over $2000. Awesome. Hadn't added it up until now haha
 
hellofuturedentists said:
I'll bite! No interviews yet, but:
DAT: $415 :vamp:, nice to see how much the price went up
DAT prep: CDP ($100 I think), Destroyer ($150), AP Cliffs ($6), 1 month Chad's ($50) = $306
AADSAS apply to 11 schools: $1100
Supplementals: 11 x $65 (average probably) = $715
Playing the waiting game: priceless
Total: over $2000. Awesome. Hadn't added it up until now haha
Click to expand...

later on the price of anti-depression and anti-anxiety meds will be added to the cost of acceptance. Hopefully not that high.
 
6000 + 5000 deposit for a school I'm not going to.. + apartment security deposit and rent = very broke D1 student
 
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