Family life

[AFVET]

I don't mean to double post but I havn't got much of a response on the predent page and thought I would try it here.

Anybody who has or is going through D-school with a wife and or husband plus kids, how hard is it? How do you do it financially? Is there time to be a decent spouse and parent? Would you reccomend it or is it just too much? How much debt will you be in? I know these questions are personal but would really help me out? What about health care? My wife works at starbucks so she gets full med, dental and vision for only 20 hours a week but I'm just wondering if there would be time for her to work while I'm in Dental school.

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[ItsGavinC]

I'm married with two young children. I've just completed first year and am studying for NBDE I. Going through school like this is hard, but doable. Of course, I don't know any other way to go through dental school--this is the norm for me. There is plenty of time to be a decent spouse and parent, so long as you are willing to settle (and perhaps settle isn't the right terminology) for Bs instead of As. And that doesn't mean you can't get some As, it just means that typically the amount of time necessary for you to bump your grade up from a B to an A will be spent with your spouse and children.

I didn't see anything wrong with that when I started last year, and I still don't see anything wrong with it. I know that I can still rock the Boards, even if I haven't gotten As (or always Bs!) in my coursework.

My family and I are on government healthcare, so we aren't in the situation that your family is in.

I don't know about working. Technically your spouse could work in the evenings and at night, but that is time that you'll need for studying, etc.

Of course, if you attend a school where lecture attendance is NOT mandatory, that would do a great deal for helping you schedule your time. You could study for 5 hours a day and then spend the remainder hanging with your family or watching the kids while your wife works.

 

[kin-tan-ti]

Gavin,
If this is too personal you don't have to reply, but financially...how do you do it with neither of you working? Did you save like crazy before dental school or are you taking out loans to cover school and living expenses for the entire family?

I only ask because I expect to be in a similar situation someday.

Thanks.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Gavin,
If this is too personal you don't have to reply, but financially...how do you do it with neither of you working? Did you save like crazy before dental school or are you taking out loans to cover school and living expenses for the entire family?

I only ask because I expect to be in a similar situation someday.

Thanks.

I take out the max. loans allowed by the school (which are equal to the student budget that is designed by the school).

That actually gives us about $1,400/mo. to live on.