Financial Aid for Dental School

[OoPredentoO]

I'm not really sure if financial aid cover expenses for dental school in a similar fashion as undergraduate studies. My family makes around k a year and financial aid has always helped out while I was an undergrad. Is there a ballpark as to how much financial aid can help out for dental school?

Edit: say for a school with an annual tuition of $45k

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[Typical Average Student]

When you apply for FAFSA, you are filing as an independent (you are not considered a dependent if you are in grad school). All your money will come from federal loans and private loans. You will qualify for federal loans up to $225,000 for the 4 years regardless of your parents income, if you require more than that, it'll need to be from a private loan.
Note: Most dental schools will cost more than $225,000 when you account for living costs and tuition/fees. So a private loan most likely will be needed. Yes, it's expensive but don't worry about it since dentists very rarely default on their loans... just don't drop out in the middle of school, or else you'll have to pay it all back.

 

[OoPredentoO]

When you apply for FAFSA, you are filing as an independent (you are not considered a dependent if you are in grad school). All your money will come from federal loans and private loans. You will qualify for federal loans up to $225,000 for the 4 years regardless of your parents income, if you require more than that, it'll need to be from a private loan.
Note: Most dental schools will cost more than $225,000 when you account for living costs and tuition/fees. So a private loan most likely will be needed. Yes, it's expensive but don't worry about it since dentists very rarely default on their loans... just don't drop out in the middle of school, or else you'll have to pay it all back.

Thank you!
As for financial based scholarships, I've noticed they're mostly given out to 3rd and 4th year students. This may be vague.. but is it uncommon for a school to give out scholarships to first year students based on their DAT/GPA/financial background?

 

[Typical Average Student]

Thank you!
As for financial based scholarships, I've noticed they're mostly given out to 3rd and 4th year students. This may be vague.. but is it uncommon for a school to give out scholarships to first year students based on their DAT/GPA/financial background?

Some schools give out small scholarships, around $1k-$6k, barely enough to make a dent, but it's something.

 

[gfs6]

Hey, here's a lesson I didn't quite understand when I first started applying:

Dental Financial Aid = Loan Assistance (i.e., There's no more free money)

Sure, some schools drop a few 1000 here and there, but like ^ said, it barely makes a dent.

As far as bigger scholarships go, Penn gives a max 30k per year for the most qualified applicants (but yearly COA is like 110k). I also believe Harvard gives aid to applicants like you but it's not publicly advertised. If you're looking for significant need-based scholarships, sorry, but they don't exist for dental school. Only private schools will give small scholarships, but they still end up being way more expensive in total than state schools.

Go to a state school. I'd give that advice to an applicant from a working-class family like yours or a trust fund applicant.