Application Cycle Costs

[super frank]

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Hey guys,

I will be applying to dental schools next year and was wondering how much of a cost I should be prepared for, including both DAT and individual school fees. I come from an economically disadvantaged situation, so I will probably have to take out a little extra in my student loan for undergrad in order to pay for it. I will be applying to 9-12 schools. A ballpark number would be helpful!

 

[SableFire]

Eh depending on DAT prep materials and test cost anywhere between 400-1500 (including test cost) and $1500+ for just applications alone not including travel costs.

 

[ph159]

~4000/5000
This is a rough estimate! With travel it could be more

 

[Typical Average Student]

I applied to 11 schools and it costs upwards of 1500 including secondaries, interviews are roughly 300 each.

 

[The real 007]

I've spent about 2200 so far and this including the DAT, test prep material, applications (10 schools), secondaries.
I have not received any interview yet (application was mailed out yesterday) so i'm expecting to pay roughly 3000- 3500 in total.
Keep in mind i'm probably at the cheap end of the spectrum.

 

[super frank]

Thanks for getting back to me! I'm thinking about taking $3000 out.

 

[dentjo]

Hey guys,

I will be applying to dental schools next year and was wondering how much of a cost I should be prepared for, including both DAT and individual school fees. I come from an economic disadvantaged situation, so I will probably have to take out a little extra in my student loan for undergrad in order to pay for it. I will be applying to 9-12 schools. A ballpark number would be helpful!

The very first thing you should do when the application open is to apply for the F.A.P. Since you mentioned that you have an economic disadvantage, as long as you apply right away you should be approved. This not only pays for your first 3 schools (~$480), but many schools offer secondary fee waivers for those that have been approved of F.A.P. Around 8 of the 11 I have applied to have offered the fee waivers and I have saved around $400 on just the secondary fees alone.

 

[babowc]

This is the main reason I opened a SouthWest Airlines card last year.
I racked up enough in charges to get my points to fly basically anywhere within the US for a good bit.
This cycle will be costly. I feel like secondaries are ~65% of what you'll be paying to AADSAS. Then add the travel costs for your interviews.
It'll be 5k easy, if you applied to 10-15 schools and get interviews at 5+ schools.

 

[super frank]

This is the main reason I opened a SouthWest Airlines card last year.
I racked up enough in charges to get my points to fly basically anywhere within the US for a good bit.
This cycle will be costly. I feel like secondaries are ~65% of what you'll be paying to AADSAS. Then add the travel costs for your interviews.
It'll be 5k easy, if you applied to 10-15 schools and get interviews at 5+ schools.

Luckily I will not be flying anywhere. I will be applying throughout the northeast, all of which are within driving distance (some are longer than others, but oh well).

@dentjo, I have already looked into that and will be applying for the upcoming cycle. But thank you for the advice!

 

[fogorvostan]

Just make sure that you apply early for ADEA FAP.

When you go the AADSAS portal right now, this is what it says, "The Fee Assistance Program is no longer accepting applications for the 2016 cycle, as of Friday, July 17, 2015. ADEA FAP received a high number of applicants for the 2016 cycle, and because the program run on a first come first served basis, the funding for the program has been depleted for this cycle. Applicants who have been approved for fee assistance will have 10 business days from the date they were approved, to eSubmit their ADEA AADSAS application. If you do not eSubmit your ADEA AADSAS application within 10 business days of being approved, your acceptance for the FAP will be denied automatically. If your required supporting documents are received by FAP within 10 business days of you eSubmitting your FAP application, your application will be processed within 3-5 business days of being received."

I am not sure what it was like last year, but I think we can reasonably assume next year will be similar.

 

[willwash]

I applied to nine schools, my total AADSAS costs were roughly 1,000.
DAT was about 400 plus another 100 in postponing fees. About 500 in DAT prep materials.
Supplemental applications are sitting around 500 dollars.
Just dropped 400 traveling to one interview and 600 for another, and that's only 2 interviews. Expecting to spend another 1500 or so.

Total costs about 5,000-ish. I'd say I'm about average, but I've heard of some people scraping by with less, others much much more.

 

[OSUkid]

Just make sure that you apply early for ADEA FAP.

When you go the AADSAS portal right now, this is what it says, "The Fee Assistance Program is no longer accepting applications for the 2016 cycle, as of Friday, July 17, 2015. ADEA FAP received a high number of applicants for the 2016 cycle, and because the program run on a first come first served basis, the funding for the program has been depleted for this cycle. Applicants who have been approved for fee assistance will have 10 business days from the date they were approved, to eSubmit their ADEA AADSAS application. If you do not eSubmit your ADEA AADSAS application within 10 business days of being approved, your acceptance for the FAP will be denied automatically. If your required supporting documents are received by FAP within 10 business days of you eSubmitting your FAP application, your application will be processed within 3-5 business days of being received."

I am not sure what it was like last year, but I think we can reasonably assume next year will be similar.

Wait. So you can apply for that and they will give you money, which does not have to be paid back? Im applying next year so I still have time, send me a link with more info as well thanks.

 

[akog]

Thanks for getting back to me! I'm thinking about taking $3000 out.

I'm not an expert, but investigate how to make sure your school will approve the bank giving you that money---if that's the route you chose. The school assesses what you'll reasonably need for school and only let the bank lend you that much.

At the beginning of the academic year, my school gave me a max number they would let the bank loan me for school for that year. The loan calendar runs August through August, and by the time summer rolled around I wanted to take out the rest of the budget they gave me back in August. But they only approved a fraction of what I asked based on how much summer school would now cost going forward... I told them I wanted the rest for application costs, but they said they couldn't approve that as a school expense. (Basically my school only cared that they got paid; they could've cared less about the entire reason I went back to school to get that degree.)

 

[fogorvostan]

Wait. So you can apply for that and they will give you money, which does not have to be paid back? Im applying next year so I still have time, send me a link with more info as well thanks.

http://www.adea.org/dental_educatio...lInstructions/Pages/FeeAssistanceProgram.aspx

They will waive fees. Some schools will also waive their supplemental fees if you qualified for ADEA AADSAS FAP; however, not all schools will. I remember seeing a post somewhere on SDN where people were talking about which schools will. Other than that, I don't know the process. I knew that I wouldn't qualify, so I did not apply for it.

 

[strep mutans]

Wait. So you can apply for that and they will give you money, which does not have to be paid back? Im applying next year so I still have time, send me a link with more info as well thanks.

You apply and send in all the required supporting documents, and if you are approved, they will waive the primary app fee for the first 3 schools you apply to through AADSAS ($431 value this cycle).

http://www.adea.org/dental_educatio...lInstructions/Pages/FeeAssistanceProgram.aspx