Dental School Loans

[l1278]

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This is the first time I'm taking out loans so very confused on how the process works. I will likely be taking out 130-200k over the next 4 years for dental school. Should I go private or federal or both? It seems like many people on these threads are against private loans, and I can't seem to understand why considering the interest rates they offer are much lower than federal loans. For context, my credit score is high in the "very good" zone, and I would also have a co-signer. Would love to hear about other students' experiences and the pros and cons of each. If you guys have any recommendations of preferred lenders, I'd love to hear that too.

 

[dochopeful2026]

This is the first time I'm taking out loans so very confused on how the process works. I will likely be taking out 130-200k over the next 4 years for dental school. Should I go private or federal or both? It seems like many people on these threads are against private loans, and I can't seem to understand why considering the interest rates they offer are much lower than federal loans. For context, my credit score is high in the "very good" zone, and I would also have a co-signer. Would love to hear about other students' experiences and the pros and cons of each. If you guys have any recommendations of preferred lenders, I'd love to hear that too.

You will have to go private now. Starting in July you can only take out 200k in federal loans total for all four years.

 

[OncePreDent]

What is your interest rate for private vs federal?

 

[Pablo Sanchez]

You will have to go private now. Starting in July you can only take out 200k in federal loans total for all four years.

Sounds like this person is taking out less than $200k in loans total. Sounds they won’t have to go private now.

I know a lot of it was due to timing, but having federal loans was very helpful to me because it was during COVID. The interest rates went to 0% and allowed me to pay it all off in a year. Private loans were collecting interest the whole way, and don’t offer that kind of flexibility. Federal loans also tend to have more gracious repayment options.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You should maximize your low-interest federal options before pursuing private loans.

Paying for School

 

[bswa]

This is the first time I'm taking out loans so very confused on how the process works. I will likely be taking out 130-200k over the next 4 years for dental school. Should I go private or federal or both? It seems like many people on these threads are against private loans, and I can't seem to understand why considering the interest rates they offer are much lower than federal loans. For context, my credit score is high in the "very good" zone, and I would also have a co-signer. Would love to hear about other students' experiences and the pros and cons of each. If you guys have any recommendations of preferred lenders, I'd love to hear that too.

Hey! I hope you were able to sort out your best option! I am also a dental student and also had a hard time navigating what the best federal / private option was. I do want to recommend making an account with Juno if you end up taking out any other private loans in the future (here: Juno!). Juno got me the best interest rate out of all of the lenders I looked into and they are completely a free resource to students. I highly recommend even just making an account with them for if you ever want to look into lower interest rate options (for free and with NO hard credit check!)

 

[JacquesVallee]

Hey! I hope you were able to sort out your best option! I am also a dental student and also had a hard time navigating what the best federal / private option was. I do want to recommend making an account with Juno if you end up taking out any other private loans in the future (here: Juno!). Juno got me the best interest rate out of all of the lenders I looked into and they are completely a free resource to students. I highly recommend even just making an account with them for if you ever want to look into lower interest rate options (for free and with NO hard credit check!)

Sounds like an ad... For the record to anyone reading this, instead of using Juno!, just don't attend dental school if you have to take out these predatory private loans.

 

[SigmaFS]

You should maximize your low-interest federal options before pursuing private loans.

I wouldn't describe the Federal Direct Unsub Loan as low-interest. The rate is about 8%.