For those of you attending Penn...

[mac_a]

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I was wondering how people planning to attend Penn can afford the tuition and living expenses. It's one of the most expensive school- it costs more than 70k a year. Now I just feel miserable because my family's telling me to go to the state school, but I really don't want to stay next four years in Richmond (not that it's not a good school, but that place isn't just for me). I don't think I can get any support from my family, so probably I would have to get more than two loans to attend Penn.

For those people who's attending Penn, can you share me some wisdom that how you can afford it, and if it's going to make a big financial difference after I graduate from the state school or Penn (the difference will be about 150k)??

 

[fightingspirit]

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[nothen2do]

hey there. from the way you describe the issue here, i think i kinda get the idea of what type of family you have and what of life you've had so far. apparantly, your undergrad education was not the costly. and it seems that you are young (21, 22 or 23)....so her eis my advice to you:

keep in mind:

1-after undergrad, we have one chance to have an ivy league alma mater
2-if you have lived that long in richmond and gone to school there, please do get out and experiece bigger cities like philly.
3-how many times are you gonna be young? how many times are you gonna be young and going to a cool ivy league school?

make it an expericnce you'd never forget. penn is expensive because you are paying for more than just an education. you are paying for an expericnce in a gorgious campus, with interesting people in an interesting city. you're young and you'll be able to pay back your loans. dont worry...just go to penn and enjoy every minute of it....

i dont know anything about VCU...but i do know that richmond is kinda rough and nasty...philly is not paris but it is waaaay better than richmond

Ya, very good advice. Go to Penn because its undergrad is an IVY league school.

If you don't want to live in Richmond, go to Penn. If you're afraid of the extra expense, go to your state school. I don't think anyone else will tell you different.

 

[Demeter]

I am sure UPENN is great, but 280 K is not easy to pay back. Those loans will haunt you for many years. If you were going to Law school, going to an IVY league would be important. But in dentistry it would not matter if you got a degree from mississippi or harvard. Get your DDS with the least amount of student loans. I am worried about paying back my 100K from San Antonio.

 

[Columbiadent]

Ya, very good advice. Go to Penn because its undergrad is an IVY league school.

If you don't want to live in Richmond, go to Penn. If you're afraid of the extra expense, go to your state school. I don't think anyone else will tell you different.

UPenn as a whole is an Ivy League School... not just it's undergrad...

 

[syn_apse]

you sound like you already made up your mind, but here goes anyways...

trust me, philly is not $150,000.00 better than richmond! you're going to be a poor student consumed by your work for the next 4 years... you aren't going to have a lot of time or money to enjoy your surroundings no matter where you go.

DMD = DDS = VCU = Penn. ask yourself, would you rather 'impress' people with the name Penn or would you rather have $150,000.00 to put towards your practice, your home, your family and your debt-free peace of mind? your patients won't care what school you went to and if you work hard, you can specialize from anywhere.

obviously the decision is yours... but here is my take-home message:
you could buy 150,000 Frosties if you stay in Richmond!! 😛

 

[syn_apse]

UPenn as a whole is an Ivy League School... not just it's undergrad...

the ivy league is an athletic conference. you playing ball at columbia?

 

[nothen2do]

the ivy league is an athletic conference. you playing ball at columbia?

Exactly what I was going to say lol

 

[gryffindor]

keep in mind:

1-after undergrad, we have one chance to have an ivy league alma mater
2-if you have lived that long in richmond and gone to school there, please do get out and experiece bigger cities like philly.
3-how many times are you gonna be young? how many times are you gonna be young and going to a cool ivy league school?

😕

Those are good points, but it's possible to accomplish them AFTER dental school too. You know, when you actually have a job as a dentist and real money to spend on the experience of the big city. I would hate to be a poor dental student living in NYC right now - all those exciting temptations, but no money to spend and too many exams to study for. FWIW, the only "name brand" schools on my CV come from the residencies I did AFTER dental school.

 

[EyeAmCommi]

The case with this OP is not the whether or not he/she should choose Penn cause of its prestige versus his hometown dental school for its proximity. The case here is that he/she has been in Virginia his/her entire life.

Honestly, I think living in Philadelphia and studying at Penn would be a great, rewarding experience that will define who you are as a person. Studying at VCU will make you a dentist but it won't give you that "outside of Richmond" experience that you seem to desire. It sounds like Penn is the right choice for you. It's expensive but in the end I think you'll enjoy getting out of your hometown.

 

[Columbiadent]

the ivy league is an athletic conference. you playing ball at columbia?

Does every student at any of the 8 Ivies have to play ball? No.. True the Ivy League is an athletic conference founded in 1954, but all of the Ivy League institutions share general characteristics, such as being the oldest academic institutions in the U.S. Also, the term itself has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and a certain amount of academic elitism. This applies to each school as a whole in general… not just their undergrad programs…


Anyway there is no point discussing this over mac a's thread. Mac a, I would say just choose the school where you believe your money will be wisely invested. Dental school education is an investment, and some dental school education's are worth more…

 

[duh?]

I was wondering how people planning to attend Penn can afford the tuition and living expenses. It's one of the most expensive school- it costs more than 70k a year. Now I just feel miserable because my family's telling me to go to the state school, but I really don't want to stay next four years in Richmond (not that it's not a good school, but that place isn't just for me). I don't think I can get any support from my family, so probably I would have to get more than two loans to attend Penn.

For those people who's attending Penn, can you share me some wisdom that how you can afford it, and if it's going to make a big financial difference after I graduate from the state school or Penn (the difference will be about 150k)??

Hi there. I know how you feel about being in one place most of your life and the need to get out. Hey, I felt the same way and I moved to another country! Was it more expensive? HELL YES! My parents and I had to pay my tuition for 2 years before I got a scholarship. Now anybody that has time can do the GNP/GDP/economics math 🙂 :
Income from a developing/3rd world country-- Our exchange rate is 140 to $1, the PPP for my country is about $780 per year and we were paying tuition of about $16,000.00 No we are not rich. NOT at all. Was I broke most of the time? Yes. Did I have to spend my first christmas ALONE in this country working as a custodian-- you know, those invisible people that clean up after you in college? Yes. Did I like it? NO but WAS I HAPPY? YES! YES! YES!!! And because I understood the sacrifice before I got into it, I was strong because I knew what I wanted and I was going to do everything to get there. Where there days I thought I would die from the pain, uncertainty, loneliness with no family in sight and no money to make an international call? YES!

I have grown from my experiences and I am still going. LIVE! You are young so please LIVE! What do you want to do? Choose and face whatever comes your way with the courage to stand for what you believe.

If I have a next life. I will do everything the same way. I would wait 3years after high school just so that we can save up enough money for me to achieve my dream.

Sometimes, living life the way you truly want requires sacrifices. You may never be able to buy that private jet if you go to a more expensive school. But you will have had the exeriences you craved most.

In the end when all we have are our memories, experiences and loved ones. the only question you will have to answer that matters is HAVE I LIVED MY LIFE THE BEST WAY I COULD? I'm working on answering YES! Good luck! 🙂

 

[fightingspirit]

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[Columbiadent]

Hi there. I know how you feel about being in one place most of your life and the need to get out. Hey, I felt the same way and I moved to another country! Was it more expensive? HELL YES! My parents and I had to pay my tuition for 2 years before I got a scholarship. Now anybody that has time can do the GNP/GDP/economics math 🙂 :
Income from a developing/3rd world country-- Our exchange rate is 140 to $1, the PPP for my country is about $780 per year and we were paying tuition of about $16,000.00 No we are not rich. NOT at all. Was I broke most of the time? Yes. Did I have to spend my first christmas ALONE in this country working as a custodian-- you know, those invisible people that clean up after you in college? Yes. Did I like it? NO but WAS I HAPPY? YES! YES! YES!!! And because I understood the sacrifice before I got into it, I was strong because I knew what I wanted and I was going to do everything to get there. Where there days I thought I would die from the pain, uncertainty, loneliness with no family in sight and no money to make an international call? YES!

I have grown from my experiences and I am still going. LIVE! You are young so please LIVE! What do you want to do? Choose and face whatever comes your way with the courage to stand for what you believe.

If I have a next life. I will do everything the same way. I would wait 3years after high school just so that we can save up enough money for me to achieve my dream.

Sometimes, living life the way you truly want requires sacrifices. You may never be able to buy that private jet if you go to a more expensive school. But you will have had the exeriences you craved most.

In the end when all we have are our memories, experiences and loved ones. the only question you will have to answer that matters is HAVE I LIVED MY LIFE THE BEST WAY I COULD? I'm working on answering YES! Good luck! 🙂

Great advice and post

and I agree with fightingspirit

 

[gryffindor]

for those who keep saying that philly and nyc are tempting but unaffordable for poor penn and columbia students, keep in mind that the fun that those students are gonna have is not related to philly or nyc. it is fun at those prestigeous univeristies. there will be plenty of parties, well funded parties, with good imported booze, free food will be all over the place and cool people to hang out with. kick butt halloween parties at grad schools and not just undergrad (in state univeristies it's the undergrads who have more fun).

go to penn

Are you still talking about the dental school? Wow, the students get to participate in such lavish parties (with imported booze? no way!) yet don't have their own chairs in the clinic. Good to see where those tuition dollars are going.

Are you a student at Penn, or just dreaming what it will be like when you get there? I recall someone posting on the dental board something about having to study while in dental school.

Take the 6-digits you'll save and treat you and your friends to several cases of imported booze.

 

[fightingspirit]

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[gryffindor]

griffin,

your post takes one aspect of my post and ridicules it. your post is so silly that i wont even bother to reply to it.

fightingspirit, I've seen this exact argument (right down to the imported beer comment) for "why Penn over ordinary state school" before on this board. But having been there, done that, I just want pre-dents to realize that dental school is not like undergrad. You don't get to pick your classes and arrange your schedule to take 2 hard classes and 3 easy classes and have loads of free time to socialize with your peers at the awesome parties every weekend. You will get hit with everything all at once and time management becomes crucial. You will socialize too, but not every weekend, guaranteed.

And after you get out, it is real money that has to be repaid. I am a recent grad working in private practice right now and it is not a piece of cake. I make enough for me, but I am not raking it in hand over fist as some would like to think they will the day after they graduate. If I had those private-dental school loans to pay off right now, I would have to sacrifice my current lifestyle - and I am not a lavish person. I just know that at my age (26), if I was watching all the young people around me with the non-dental corporate jobs going about living up their 20s while I am stuck pinching pennies because of my private school loans, I would not be happy. I anticipate that the money will come. But it's not easy in the beginning. unless you want to give it up and move rural - plenty of money & loan repayment to be found where no one wants to practice. And this is not just my story, many of my classmates also practicing in NYC & Philly right now are going through the same things as we try and establish ourselves.

Go to Penn if that's the only place you get in, but don't overlook the real financial aspect of your decision if you are to be paying the WHOLE thing with only loans.

 

[fightingspirit]

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[gryffindor]

griffin,

i know that d-school is not like undergrad. but you do get a bit of time to relax and chill. since d-students are broke, i was suggesting that the fun would not have to be in the epxensive cities and can be on campus cus it's cool and private. that's all i was saying! as far as repaying your loans, well, you're only 26 and you just graduated from there, so off ocurse you need to work hard. however, in a couple of years, you'll be much better off. also, i think you are a bit deceived by the yuppie appearance of NYC boys. man, i am a new yorker and my brother is a real estate broker. i live right next to lincoln center, which is probably the yuppiest place in manhattan. so here's the truth about guys of your age. those who do corporate, financial consulting, finance, morgage brokerage, investment banking and advertising work 24/7. they work more than slaves did back in the days. they are miserable and they act as though they are happy cus that's what you're supposed to do in america. you know you're supposed to take the beating and act cool about it. most of them work ridiculous hours and return home late everyday. rarely do they own their appartments. they mostly rent and a good chunck of them live with roommates. sure, they spend the money on equinox and get the latest banana republic flip flops and all. but behind this facade, is a typical roommate arrangement in a rental. only a handfull own by having their rich parents buy the appartments for them. yes, they may look pretty and hang out in starbucks and they all have well-aligned teeth. beleive me though, they are taking a beating at work. besides, those guys are always stressed cus their jobs are not secure. if they ever get fired or laid off, it will be very hard for them to find another job. you and your Penn loans are in a much better situation than them. dont mind their appearance: just remember, 1-they dont own...they rent and live with roommates 2-they are also taking a beating but they're suckin it up 3-their jobs are not secure as yours.

oh, and if you see them at whole foods, dont think that they go there everyday. and when they go, they buy only a few things


these should make you feel better

Wow, that actually made me laugh! It's so true! These guys (and there are girls with this lifestyle too) can't even turn those stupid blackberries off when they come for a 40 minute cleaning appointment!

I didn't graduate from Penn. I chose my state school over them.

PS - If you live near Columbus Circle, maybe I've ran into you. 😉

 

[fightingspirit]

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