Columbia Dental School Cost

[Dentalboithrowaway69]

Does anyone know the cost of attendance for Columbia dental school. I can't find accurate numbers when I try to google them and it is not posted on the school website.

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[axiumgod]

https://www.ps.columbia.edu/file/37521/download?token=wnzmHEJR

 

[deleted972255]

Does anyone know the cost of attendance for Columbia dental school. I can't find accurate numbers when I try to google them and it is not posted on the school website.

When I applied to dental school 3-4 yrs ago, during my interview they gave us a breakdown of cost. Essentially, its just about $500k even, before interest and loan disbursement fees.
Right then and there I immediately crossed Columbia off my list (along with NYU and UPenn) lol-went to a state school instead and am paying less than half that-even the amount I am paying is too much in my opinion. Dental school should not cost more than $150-200k.

 

[P7898]

Before interest..... wow.

 

[Life of Pablo]

When I applied to dental school 3-4 yrs ago, during my interview they gave us a breakdown of cost. Essentially, its just about $500k even, before interest and loan disbursement fees.
Right then and there I immediately crossed Columbia off my list (along with NYU and UPenn) lol-went to a state school instead and am paying less than half that-even the amount I am paying is too much in my opinion. Dental school should not cost more than $150-200k.

You weren't aware of the cost before going on the interview?

 

[deleted972255]

You weren't aware of the cost before going on the interview?

I was, but I had no acceptances yet. If I ended up getting in nowhere but columbia, I would have gone and lived at home with my parents in nyc. I had planned on omfs from the beginning so even if I had a good amount of debt I expected to be able to pay it off comfortably.

 

[PatsMan1]

I was, but I had no acceptances yet. If I ended up getting in nowhere but columbia, I would have gone and lived at home with my parents in nyc. I had planned on omfs from the beginning so even if I had a good amount of debt I expected to be able to pay it off comfortably.

are you doing omfs currently

 

[deleted972255]

are you doing omfs currently

No, I will be applying this cycle (I am a rising D4).

 

[macattackDMD]

Student loans can be intimidating and taking on that much debt may not be a great decision for everyone. You need to determine what your own personal goals are. I ended up graduating from an expensive school and owing around 450k in debt, but going to that school, I believe, helped me achieve my dream residency. If you think you want to work in the public health/ academia settings in dentistry which typically don't pay as well, then I would advise avoiding as much debt as possible. Obviously with a specialty like OMFS which pays better you should be less concerned about the cost of tuition and more about making connections with the referring dentists who you go to school with.

You also have to think about the possibility limiting your application net too narrow and not getting into dental school. If you have to reapply a year later, that means a year's loss of wages from working as a dentist on the other side. It really comes down to personal preference and level of comfort with carrying that kind of debt, but dentists do it all the time. Either way I would apply to as many schools as possible (regardless of tuition costs) and see what happens with interviews. I believe Columbia, UPenn and NYU are all excellent schools in my opinion.

 

[Anondds87]

Student loans can be intimidating and taking on that much debt may not be a great decision for everyone. You need to determine what your own personal goals are. I ended up graduating from an expensive school and owing around 450k in debt, but going to that school, I believe, helped me achieve my dream residency. If you think you want to work in the public health/ academia settings in dentistry which typically don't pay as well, then I would advise avoiding as much debt as possible. Obviously with a specialty like OMFS which pays better you should be less concerned about the cost of tuition and more about making connections with the referring dentists who you go to school with.

You also have to think about the possibility limiting your application net too narrow and not getting into dental school. If you have to reapply a year later, that means a year's loss of wages from working as a dentist on the other side. It really comes down to personal preference and level of comfort with carrying that kind of debt, but dentists do it all the time. Either way I would apply to as many schools as possible (regardless of tuition costs) and see what happens with interviews. I believe Columbia, UPenn and NYU are all excellent schools in my opinion.

How many years is it going to take you to be debt free? What residency did you get into?

 

[vk223]

Back then when I was applying Columbia has a dean's scholarship to a selected few that I think covers lot of the tuition. Don't know if they still have it.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Back then when I was applying Columbia has a dean's scholarship to a selected few that I think covers lot of the tuition. Don't know if they still have it.

They eliminated it for my class and it didn't cover that much if I recall correctly.

 

[macattackDMD]

How many years is it going to take you to be debt free? What residency did you get into?

I got into my top choice Ortho program- I plan to be debt free 5-7 years after completing my residency. Some dentists choose to spread it out over a longer period for lower payments a month to free up more liquid cash for buying a house, car, practice (and just life ). There are refinancing/ debt consolidation options that offer lower interest payments (but then you forgo any government protection options like payment grace periods etc). My point is that it's doable. People only get into trouble with debt if they push it off again and again and the interest compounds. As a dentist (regardless of the specialty) you will be making enough where you can afford to pay off debt in sizable chunks if it's your priority.

 

[macattackDMD]

If you have any other questions feel free to message me directly! I All I can do is talk from my own personal experience, but I remember how daunting the unknown of debt felt when I was trying to choose a dental school, and if there is any way I can help you through this process I will do what I can.

 

[HKSZYU]

$122k a year...not to mention that the projected housing cost feels low for NYC and they haven't included origination fees in the calculation. These private schools are really in a race to the bottom here...And it just gets worse every year. The COA for some of these private schools has increased ~$10k/year, just from when I applied two years ago.

OP, unless you're getting significant financial help, I would focus on getting into your state school and look at these super expensive programs (USC, NYU, etc.) as last resort options.

 

[caffeine jitters]

$122k a year...not to mention that the projected housing cost feels low for NYC and they haven't included origination fees in the calculation. These private schools are really in a race to the bottom here...And it just gets worse every year. The COA for some of these private schools has increased ~$10k/year, just from when I applied two years ago.

OP, unless you're getting significant financial help, I would focus on getting into your state school and look at these super expensive programs (USC, NYU, etc.) as last resort options.

Washington heights is far less expensive than most NYC neighborhoods. The school is very expensive, but I don’t believe anything about their posted budget is misleading. If anything, I would say it’s showing the higher side of spending for CDM and living in Washington Heights with roommates.

 

[Anondds87]

I got into my top choice Ortho program- I plan to be debt free 5-7 years after completing my residency. Some dentists choose to spread it out over a longer period for lower payments a month to free up more liquid cash for buying a house, car, practice (and just life ). There are refinancing/ debt consolidation options that offer lower interest payments (but then you forgo any government protection options like payment grace periods etc). My point is that it's doable. People only get into trouble with debt if they push it off again and again and the interest compounds. As a dentist (regardless of the specialty) you will be making enough where you can afford to pay off debt in sizable chunks if it's your priority.

That's really impressive that you have 450k debt from undergrad and then after ortho will only take 5-7 years. Was it a paid residency? What do you anticipate your income to be as an ortho?

 

[wengerout]

They eliminated it for my class and it didn't cover that much if I recall correctly.

Not sure that's true, I know a few D3's who have it. It covers half.

 

[macattackDMD]

That's really impressive that you have 450k debt from undergrad and then after ortho will only take 5-7 years. Was it a paid residency? What do you anticipate your income to be as an ortho?

My residency is not paid, but after refinancing my interest payment is much much lower. A starting salary should be anywhere from 250-300 depending (sometimes you'd accept around the 200k mark if the practice is new and you can grow it or there is an option to buy in later). But your salary really depends on how much you want to work/ how hard you work- obviously working 4 days a week starting out you won't hit that number and conversely working 6 days a week at different practices you could far exceed it. I'm hoping to purchase a practice after working for 3-4 years so that will have an increase in salary as well and make it easier to pay off the remainder of my loan at that point.

 

[P7898]

My residency is not paid, but after refinancing my interest payment is much much lower. A starting salary should be anywhere from 250-300 depending (sometimes you'd accept around the 200k mark if the practice is new and you can grow it or there is an option to buy in later). But your salary really depends on how much you want to work/ how hard you work- obviously working 4 days a week starting out you won't hit that number and conversely working 6 days a week at different practices you could far exceed it. I'm hoping to purchase a practice after working for 3-4 years so that will have an increase in salary as well and make it easier to pay off the remainder of my loan at that point.

Sensible way of doing things. If you can manage your finances and understand your limits anything is possible. Cuddos.

What is the process of refinancing your student loans? How did you go about doing it and what interest rate were you able to obtain?

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Not sure that's true, I know a few D3's who have it. It covers half.

Pretty sure that's a different scholarship, but things do change every year at that school.