hey if anybody here is out of school and paying off 100,000-300,000+ in debt, can you tell us a little how it is going (hopefully offer comfort and reassurance instead of grimness for us just starting to incur debt in dschool).....
for those currently paying off loads of debt
- Thread starter Stephie3
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It sucks paying off that much debt and I would be concerned if I was a dental student with 300k in debt. You just have to consolidate it over 30 years and make larger payments when you can. Also, if you decide to buy a practice that debt payment will make your student loan payment look like peanuts. A practice loan is usually for 7 years and if its for 400k then you are paying about 7k/month.
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Take all the financial stress out of your life and join the military 🙂.
Taking out a sizable amount for school may mean in deferring in other things...like buying a practice or buying a house. Run some numbers on the salliemae.com website. A 300,000 loan over 30 years at 5% is $1600 a month (but a hefty interest over the long term - $279,000)
http://www.collegeanswer.com/financing/lt_financial_planning/ltfp_monthrep.jsp
Follow the First Year Salary Survey thread.
Look for other alternatives to pay. If you're in a state without a dental school, you may be eligible for a grant through WICHE http://www.wiche.edu/SEP/PSEP/
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Go to a online calculator and plug in your loan at 6.2 percent for 30 years. See what your monthly payment is. Most can pay it off fairly easily if they have no dependents starting the first year. However the first 1-2 years out can be harder, but still doable if you have a family to support. Here is some more advice:
1. Go to the least expensive school that you'll be happy with.
2. Take advantage of any scholarship you can while in school. Many are available from financial aid for those who ask.
3. Consider the military or the public health scholarships if you really want to have no debt and are ok to several years of institutional dentistry and being deployed.
4. Live like a student while you're in school so you can live like a professional when you are out. Borrow only what you need.
why does it seem like im missing something here?
Im going to do a program that will cost me close to $40,000 and it wont even get me a degree...its a certificate =/ but only so that I have a better chance of getting acceptance to a good D.D.S program which will be close to $200,000 (for wanting to stay in california). That gives me a $240,000 debt.
Am I just not thinking about it clearly? The way I think of it is when I become 'big shot' =) paying that off wont be a problem....and NO my daddy isnt paying for ANYTHING!
What am i missing???
Im going to do a program that will cost me close to $40,000 and it wont even get me a degree...its a certificate =/ but only so that I have a better chance of getting acceptance to a good D.D.S program which will be close to $200,000 (for wanting to stay in california). That gives me a $240,000 debt.
Am I just not thinking about it clearly? The way I think of it is when I become 'big shot' =) paying that off wont be a problem....and NO my daddy isnt paying for ANYTHING!
What am i missing???
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If you are a US citizen or a permanent resident take out federal loans/grants and look for scholarships. Consider joining the military. Or look into Health Professionals Scholarship.
If you are a foreign trained dentist like me, you might be on the right track. (although I did not go for a preceptorship program)
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i have about 180K in loans from dental and ortho together (yay public schools)
100k at 2.8% (yes that says 2.8 😀) - 30 years, about $500/mo
80k at 5% - 10 years, about $800/mo
these are manageable with an associates income. but if i made much less or owed much more, it would be hard.
100k at 2.8% (yes that says 2.8 😀) - 30 years, about $500/mo
80k at 5% - 10 years, about $800/mo
these are manageable with an associates income. but if i made much less or owed much more, it would be hard.
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Your range of numbers is too broad. 100k isn't considered "loads" of debt. In fact, it's very small and I doubt many newer dentists had total loan amounts less than that. You also have to consider that many dentists graduated at a time when interest rates were low (2-5%) and you will most likely be dealing with much higher interest rates (6.8-8.5%). 300k however, is what I would consider loads. Many people will be graduating with principal in that range and more along with 6.8-8.5% loans. That's very different from the 100k @ 5% older dentists keep throwing around. Lastly, I don't think there have been too many dentists who graduated and are in a position to comment about large high interest rate loan repayment yet.
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Even a lot of public schools are now getting more expensive with debts accumulating to over 200-250k over the 4 years in school. Only in the biggest private schools will you get debts over 300k. In regards to paying off the loan, it is all relative to the income you are generating. Remember, if you are married then hopefully your wife or husband is generating a decent income too to support the lifestyle you wish to live. It's not unheard of to put most of your paychecks into your loan repayments if you have the support I mentioned from your significant other. If you aren't married then it'll be very difficult to justify living the life of a professional while having 300k in loans to repay. If you're single, you can take the entire 30 years to pay off the loan with minimal payments while living nicely but realistically you are just setting yourself up to repay more and more in interest payments.
Even though I'm not a military type person or even like the idea of getting deployed, the thought of saving 300k (d-school) and 170k (15 year) interest payments changed my mind as this was the best guaranteed financial decision for myself and family.
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