Go to NYU or re-apply this June for a cheaper school?

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But if you are an owner, and currently the vast majority of dentists are, then it is very easy to fudge your "income" to artificially deflate it to take advantage of these types of payback programs. The people in these programs very much have an incentive to do exactly this, which isn't illegal, to decrease their repayment overall. @LLUDDS15 does exactly this. And many many others. Not saying that they are wrong, just another variable in the equation we are both talking about.
Except in LLUDDS15's example (or any of these examples), you're not decreasing your repayment overall. They all end up paying more by stretching it over 25 years and taking the giant tax hit for forgiveness. But the concept is that a smaller proportion of your income during your early years will go back to paying the loans, and that you'll have the cushion in 25 years to pay the costs.

IBR repayments being based on income - realistically speaking, even if you under-pay yourself a first year associate salary for the next 25 years of your life as a practice owner (and that's assuming you start a practice as soon as you graduate) - you will still end up paying it back. Don't believe me? Check out the student loan calculator here: Repayment Estimator . I'm sure you may be able to come out ahead if you pay yourself significantly under a first year salary as a practice owner, but that's a great way to attract IRS attention - they do keep their eye out for things that look fishy like that.

Summary: stretching it out - you don't decrease your overall payment - the taxpayer is not "footing the bill" for a dentist who does 25-year IBR. You're actually increasing it. You just have more income free at the beginning of your career, with the anticipation that you'll have more resources available to pay the jumbo tax hit at the end.
 
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@SnozzBerry - just to add, aside from joining the military and National Health Service Corps, the only program that taxpayers really "pay the bill" for is 10-year Public Service Loan Forgiveness. If you do that for ten years, your remaining loans will be forgiven. Even if you make a decade-long commitment to public service dentistry, the future of PSLF is in doubt (no one has actually had their loans forgiven yet), there are other threads discussing this.
 
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I would probably go to NYU: Buffalo (300k) + 1 year lost income (125k) = 425k
Stony Brook = 350k + 1 year lost income (125k) = 475k

Oh and there is no garuntee you'll get into either.
Basically this, except the 1 year of lost income will probably be much greater than 125k.

You can think of it as losing a year's worth of peak earnings from the end of your career, whether it's 200K pretax (as a GP owner) or maybe even 600K (if you're fortunate enough to match into OMFS, additional debt/accumulated interest notwithstanding).

I'd go to NYU if you want to be a dentist.
 
But if you are an owner, and currently the vast majority of dentists are, then it is very easy to fudge your "income" to artificially deflate it to take advantage of these types of payback programs. The people in these programs very much have an incentive to do exactly this, which isn't illegal, to decrease their repayment overall. @LLUDDS15 does exactly this. And many many others. Not saying that they are wrong, just another variable in the equation we are both talking about.

We aren't wrong at all, it's a legal loophole. We use them whenever we can, because trust me...when you start paying taxes, you will find out that what you pay is more than your fair share.
 
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