Fundraising for Dental School..Is that a thing?

[zEkii]

I just keep looking at my tuition that I would need to dread over... I understand that there is scholarships, programs and financial aid that can help with the process.

I am just curious on how successful can one be for fundraising on social media, using a regular fundraising website to be used towards myself or anyone else to help pay for dental school.

Anyone know someone who is currently doing that or has done it or will be doing?

It is something that recently came across my mind, it doesn't seem like a bad idea, but it is a strong commitment!

Any inputs on this topic?

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[Advance]

I've seen people make gofundme's for ridiculous things.
At least this is for a good cause. Go for it.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

Lord please do not make a gofundme. Unless you have very wealthy and generous friends, I cannot imagine you'd make a dent in your tuition with what you raise. All you'll do is become one more thing to scroll past on social media

 

[MolarBear11]

This isn't really a "good cause" because he'd be raising money for his own education. An education that he can use to pay back all that money himself

 

[Advance]

This isn't really a "good cause" because he'd be raising money for his own education. An education that he can use to pay back all that money himself

Think of it as an investment towards all of the patients he will help in the future.

It's definitely a good cause compared to what I've seen. "I want to run for Miss Texas USA! GOFUND ME"
"Help me kick start my modeling career GO FUND ME"

 

[Incis0r]

Think of it as an investment towards all of the patients he will help in the future.

It's definitely a good cause compared to what I've seen. "I want to run for Miss Texas USA! GOFUND ME"
"Help me kick start my modeling career GO FUND ME"

Exactly.

I've seen some ridiculous GoFundMe campaigns. People asking for help with IVF especially- because if you can't afford the money for IVF, how will you be able to afford the thousands of dollars needed to raise your child to 18?

 

[hellofuturedentists]

Exactly.

I've seen some ridiculous GoFundMe campaigns. People asking for help with IVF especially- because if you can't afford the money for IVF, how will you be able to afford the thousands of dollars needed to raise your child to 18?

IVF is insanely expensive and a lot of money to spend at one time. Raising a child, you don't usually need that much money at once.
The ridiculous ones I see are "help me pay to go to Europe to fulfill my dream of drinking alcohol on a different continent".
I'd still say unless your cause is to help someone pay for hospital bills or something like that, don't make one.

 

[Advance]

IVF is insanely expensive and a lot of money to spend at one time. Raising a child, you don't usually need that much money at once.
The ridiculous ones I see are "help me pay to go to Europe to fulfill my dream of drinking alcohol on a different continent".
I'd still say unless your cause is to help someone pay for hospital bills or something like that, don't make one.

Hopefully this wasn't the title.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

Hopefully this wasn't the title.

it may as well have been

 

[Incis0r]

IVF is insanely expensive and a lot of money to spend at one time. Raising a child, you don't usually need that much money at once.

"On average, nationally, a “fresh” IVF cycle costs $12,000, before medications, which typically run another $3,000 to $5,000." Source: Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnve...rned-while-battling-infertility/#760ed672a797).

Now, I'm not expecting someone to come up with $17K all at once, but if you can't save that kind of money over one year and afford it then, or if you are too impulsive/unwilling to plan in advance and want it immediately (and thereby resort to GoFundMe and other crowdfunding sites), then are you really financially fit to be a parent?

When I want something really badly, and I cannot get the kind of money to support it, I look at what it is that I am buying: is it an asset or a liability? Things that produce positive cash flow like a dental education and a dental practice are assets, and I'm OK with taking out loans for those (but even that is limited). Things like index funds are also assets, but I refuse to buy on the margin since they are risky assets.

Things like video games, TVs, etc. are all liabilities. They will continue to reduce my cash flow in the future. I only buy them if I can a) buy them upfront or b) secure a supplementary revenue stream to pay for them without reducing my main income stream. Otherwise, I go without.

IVF is, in my opinion, a liability. A baby is not going to be an income-producer for you unless you and your partner are supermodels and the baby gets national ad time and stars in movies.

Save up the $17K for it, then buy the IVF. It has been widely estimated that it costs over $200K to raise a kid to 18. That's $11K/yr. If you can't save $17K over 1-1.5 yrs, then you're not financially ready to be a parent.

My $0.02.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

"On average, nationally, a “fresh” IVF cycle costs $12,000, before medications, which typically run another $3,000 to $5,000." Source: Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnve...rned-while-battling-infertility/#760ed672a797).

Now, I'm not expecting someone to come up with $17K all at once, but if you can't save that kind of money over one year and afford it then, or if you are too impulsive/unwilling to plan in advance and want it immediately (and thereby resort to GoFundMe and other crowdfunding sites), then are you really financially fit to be a parent?

When I want something really badly, and I cannot get the kind of money to support it, I look at what it is that I am buying: is it an asset or a liability. Things that produce positive cash flow like a dental education and a dental practice are assets, and I'm OK with taking out loans for those (but even that is limited). Things like index funds are also assets, but I refuse to buy on the margin since they are risky assets.

Things like video games, TVs, etc. are all liabilities. They will continue to reduce my cash flow in the future. I only buy them if I can a) buy them upfront or b) secure a supplementary revenue stream to pay for them without reducing my main income stream. Otherwise, I go without.

IVF is, in my opinion, a liability. A baby is not going to be an income-producer for you unless you and your partner are supermodels and the baby gets national ad time and stars in movies.

Save up the $17K for it, then buy the IVF. It has been widely estimated that it costs over $200K to raise a kid to 18. That's $11K/yr. If you can't save $17K over 1-1.5 yrs, then you're not financially ready to be a parent.

My $0.02.

Ok we can agree to disagree but this definitely derails the thread haha

 

[Incis0r]

Ok we can agree to disagree but this definitely derails the thread haha

Agreed to disagree.

I was actually curious what Suze Orman would say about this, since people often ask her whether they can afford something or not, and she tends to be (in my opinion, again) a little bit liberal with allowing spending. Dr. Oz also weighed in.

If anyone is curious, here is their opinion- pretty funny:

Suze Orman's Reaction to IVF

Anyways, end of derail. Sorry about that @zEkii

 

[akog]

I can see circumstances from which this would be palatable to some people. The problem is that I wouldn't personally feel comfortable acting from any of those circumstances. For example:

1) Like any traditional funding campaign, you can promise material rewards. Obviously that would be tacky and maybe unethical to some people.
2) You could argue that it's for the public good, that you will end up serving more of the underserved than the typical dentist. That could work, but it would only be appropriate if you have a demonstrable history of dedication to public service, in which you'd probably be competitive for NHSC anyway.
3) You could make it a sort of human interest story, e.g. "help me achieve my dream." If you come from a disabled or objectively disadvantaged background, that could be appropriate. But the reality is that 95% of us pre-dentals are, in the grand scheme of the world, incredibly privileged and well-positioned people, especially after being admitted to school. That, in my opinion, makes asking for money sorta... ignoble.

But hey, it's true that people have asked for money for stranger things. And maybe you can get some money just by asking. Then again, we are future professionals who were chosen for admission based on our potential to make principled and empirical decisions, not because we justify our actions because "other people do it."

 

[Scumbag_Steve]

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[doc toothache]

Panhandling in the electronic age.

 

[Miley Cyrus.]

Being a stripper would probably make a bigger dent in your dental tuition.

 

[A Pre-dent]

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[Queen Beach]

Op, why would you go on SDN to ask such a question (get some friends)?! To begin, why do you need the approval or disapproval of SDNers....
Since you asked politely, the answer is NO. There's a reason the system is setup this way. Go look at the salary range and school tuition for other professions. What do you conclude from that??? For someone like myself, this will be chump change. Now put on your big boy pants and stop being a punk ass.

 

[zEkii]

OP please don't make a GoFundMe for dental school. I can't think of anything besides Trump supporters that would piss me off more if I scrolled through my FB feed and saw it.

Making one to fund interview/application/service trip while in dental school costs is one thing, but to fund tuition is ridiculous. Your dignity is worth more than the 0.5% of the cost of your education you'll get through a GoFundMe. I'd rather have the pride of knowing I don't beg other people for money and $400,000 of debt than no pride and $398,000 of debt.

You are 100% wrong. My dignity doesn't associate with fundraising for anything.

For example, I also fundraise for a friend for the 4K cancer bike ride across America... Doesn't mean my dignity or my pride is lost because I help him out so much by blasting his 4K cancer page to everyone on Facebook.

It's for a good cause( the 4K bike ride) and I know they are both totally different, but your justification for fundraising tuition doesn't prove a point. You're a bit salty for the fact about fundraising for tuition. Which is odd to me :/

 

[Scumbag_Steve]

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[zEkii]

Your friend is doing a very big event to raise money to go towards funding cancer research that benefits all 330 million people in this country. He is going out of his way to train for/perform this ride. That isn't just acceptable, that's admirable.

Starting a GoFundMe to pay for tuition for an education you chose to pursue as a career, which leads to one person getting a professional degree, is so vastly different that I can't believe I'm even justifying your comparison with a response. Comparing asking for money to fund your own education and the effort level of creating a page on a website is not only an insult to the effort your friend is putting forth to fundraise for cancer research, it's an insult to everyone who has ever had cancer of a loved one with cancer.

I'm taking out loans to finance the decision I made for myself, and to be honest my parents could probably help me out a little bit with tuition but I would never dream of asking because I actually have dignity. The thought of asking my parents for help with tuition is insane let alone other people.

Different strokes for different folks but I'm telling you a GoFundMe for dental school tuition is going to rub a lot more people the wrong way than the right way, and the money you do get is not worth the respect people will lose for you. You absolutely have the right to make one I'm just sharing my opinion

Just to be clear, I never compared both of them as the same cause... I even stated that they are both totally different things. I'm talking about from a fundraising stand point.

Your personal beliefs and "morals about dignity and shame" can't nullify someone else's thought or pursuit for fundraising( that's ridiculous). It's a bit awkward and too deep to be honest.

I respect your opinion though .

P.S: I never said I wanted to start a fundraiser for dental school, it was a thought and see if anyone else on SDN was successful on it. That's all!

 

[Scumbag_Steve]

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[zEkii]

Sometimes asking yourself tough questions about how you want to live your life can be awkward and deep. I'm glad you won't be doing it. I'm sorry I was a little harsh, I admit I get too fired up about things sometimes. Although we disagree I wishbone re best of luck in school and your career as a dentist!

Same to you! Even though, I am sure we will cross more paths and SDN posts in the near future haha

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

I know of a person who just got accepted to dental school who created a gofundme account to help pay off his undergraduate debt. Whether or not it has worked, I have no idea.

 

[Typical Average Student]

If you were to raise money via GoFundMe, I wouldn't raise it for tuition, you won't be able to make a dent. Instead, you should try to raise money for rent and such.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

If you were to raise money via GoFundMe, I wouldn't raise it for tuition, you won't be able to make a dent. Instead, you should try to raise money for rent and such.

I've heard stories about people failing to fundraising tuition/undergraduate debt. Imo, I don't think that will work but I agree with what you said about rent and stuff. It doesn't hurt to try I guess lol

 

[hellofuturedentists]

Fundraising for rent seems even weirder to me....everyone has to pay rent and buy food, so why would they pay for you to do it so you can funnel your money into tuition?

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Fundraising for rent seems even weirder to me....everyone has to pay rent and buy food, so why would they pay for you to do it so you can funnel your money into tuition?

True.
I'd personally never do it tbh.
I always thought that the decision to go to dental school was MY decision. I don't expect anyone to pay for me.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

True.
I'd personally never do it tbh.
I always thought that the decision to go to dental school was MY decision. I don't expect anyone to pay for me.

Exactly. And no matter how much debt I'm in, if someone had $100 to donate, I'd prefer they give it to someone who really needs it

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Exactly. And no matter how much debt I'm in, if someone had $100 to donate, I'd prefer they give it to someone who really needs it

Definitely!