How Are you Paying for Application Process?

[pinwheeels]

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Is there such a thing as taking out a student loan to pay for the application process? I'm applying to 22 schools and the estimated cost according to AADSAS is going to be $2,300+!! Then if I get a few interviews, I will need a way to pay for all the travel expenses too. I don't want to open another credit card that will turn into 25% interest since I can't pay it off before school. So does anyone know of a way of taking a student loan to pay for these expenses that can be deferred while in school and then paid back once I'm making a decent salary as a dentist? I'm just curious how everyone else is handling this?

P.S. For disclaimer, I'm also applying to the military HPSP scholarships so I shouldn't have as much debt to pay off when I graduate.

 

[MattyMcChicken]

Is there a reason why you are applying to so many schools? If not, you could cut it down to 12-15 and save a lot. (Even though it will still be around +/- 2000 with supplemental fees)

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[Firik]

Don't forget there is also a secondary application fees ranging $50-100 per school.

 

[Bingwen]

I am paying for mine through student loans and doing clinical trials.

 

[eldmd_32]

I used student loans for just about everything. Then after paying a deposit on a school, post-December interviews came and my older brother fronted the bill for me to attend those as well as the new deposit after I got into a different school lol (best big bro ever). The process is incredibly expensive and it’s a really good idea to sort out how you plan to finance it before you apply or decide “I WANNA GO TO NYU!,” and later realize oh crap how am I going to pay for that monster of a deposit to keep a seat there?! More often than not I see posts from prospective applicants running into an issue like that: “HEY! So I managed to get into this school but I didn’t think about the deposit! What do I do?!” Figure it out now so that you don’t end up wasting money

 

[Ruguox3]

I am paying for mine through student loans and doing clinical trials.

How much can you get from doing clinical trials? And how do you find them?

 

[Bingwen]

How much can you get from doing clinical trials? And how do you find them?

There is a company in the Phoenix area that does clinical trials. The pay ranges. I have gotten 1250 for a trial and my max is 10,500. It really depends how long the trial lasts and how bad the drug they want to put in you is. helpresearch (dot) com is the site that is connected with Celerion (the company here). I think they also have a branch in Lincoln.

Most studies do require that you spend time in house (2-5 days/stay; sometimes multiple times a study) and multi-hour return visits. So if you have a real job or a family it isn't easy.

If you google jalr (just another lab rat) that is a good site I have used before to find clinical trials. Hope this helps.

As a disclaimer, the medications they test on you are experimental and can have serious consequences in terms of health and I am in no way recommending this to anyone. One study I was in had multiple people code (no deaths thankfully), the trial ended immediately and we had to stay in house for almost a week or sign a waiver saying the place was not at fault if something happened when we left. So keep that in mind!!!

 

[pinwheeels]

I just cut out 4 schools and narrowed it further down to 18. I'm non-trad applicant, already 34 years old, and applying for military HPSP. This is the last year I can apply before the age cutoff (at least for Air Force which is the branch I'm primarily applying for). Several other factors play in that are more personal, so bottom line is I need to get an acceptance this year.

How do you take out a student loan for these fees? I'm finishing last prereqs through community college and have been paying tuition there out of pocket since it's only $46/unit.

 

[Bingwen]

I just cut out 4 schools and narrowed it further down to 18. I'm non-trad applicant, already 34 years old, and applying for military HPSP. This is the last year I can apply before the age cutoff (at least for Air Force which is the branch I'm primarily applying for). Several other factors play in that are more personal, so bottom line is I need to get an acceptance this year.

How do you take out a student loan for these fees? I'm finishing last prereqs through community college and have been paying tuition there out of pocket since it's only $46/unit.

I applied for financial aid and took out extra. I took out extra loans to cover the cost of living and used those to pay for DAT, application, secondaries....

 

[pinwheeels]

So after paying this initial fee of nearly $2000 to submit my application on AADSAS, I'm to expect those $75-$125 fees again? This is insane. I wish the financial part of all of this was broken down into some kind of informative article to prepare us early so we could plan better. I've been planning to apply this cycle for over a year now and just had no clue how much to expect this all to cost - and I'm normally pretty good at uncovering a lot of research. I feel like everyone has been so good at keeping this information private and under wraps.

So for anyone else applying in the future, maybe expect to pay $200+/school you apply to plus travel expenses for the interviews? And then with an acceptance, you have to put down an immediate $1000 deposit to hold your spot.

 

[Bingwen]

So after paying this initial fee of nearly $2000 to submit my application on AADSAS, I'm to expect those $75-$125 fees again? This is insane. I wish the financial part of all of this was broken down into some kind of informative article to prepare us early so we could plan better. I've been planning to apply this cycle for over a year now and just had no clue how much to expect this all to cost - and I'm normally pretty good at uncovering a lot of research. I feel like everyone has been so good at keeping this information private and under wraps.

So for anyone else applying in the future, maybe expect to pay $200+/school you apply to plus travel expenses for the interviews? And then with an acceptance, you have to put down an immediate $1000 deposit to hold your spot.

Yeah it definitely sucks when you look at the total it is going to cost you. 200 per school plus travel (airfare, hotel, transport, food...) is probably a pretty good estimate. Plus the upfront deposit of around 1000 for most schools.

The amount doesn't include the amount you will pay in DAT, DAT prep, and other smaller hidden costs of applying to dental school. In the end putting away 5-6k would not be a bad idea when applying to dental school.

****EDIT Another cost that many overlook is the amount you will have to spend to get to dental school. When my wife and I moved from MN to AZ it cost another 3-4k for moving, rent, security deposit, and all those other costs, which we hadn't necessarily anticipated.

 

[MattyMcChicken]

So after paying this initial fee of nearly $2000 to submit my application on AADSAS, I'm to expect those $75-$125 fees again? This is insane. I wish the financial part of all of this was broken down into some kind of informative article to prepare us early so we could plan better. I've been planning to apply this cycle for over a year now and just had no clue how much to expect this all to cost - and I'm normally pretty good at uncovering a lot of research. I feel like everyone has been so good at keeping this information private and under wraps.

So for anyone else applying in the future, maybe expect to pay $200+/school you apply to plus travel expenses for the interviews? And then with an acceptance, you have to put down an immediate $1000 deposit to hold your spot.

The ADEA dental school book/dental school explorer online thing is pretty good and what I used to estimate costs, supplemental fees, and such


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[butterchkn]

Are you applying this cycle? If not, have you looked into ADEA AADSAS Fee Assistance Program?

 

[dent_wannabe]

I graduated with an engineering degree so I am working during my gap year and earn a decent salary.

I also only applied to 6 schools and made what I believe to be fairly realistic choices (e.g., I avoided Harvard and Columbia because I knew my grades and DAT wouldn't cut it at those two schools). Carefully research each school's requirements to make sure you meet them, because you waste money by applying to a school whose requirements you cannot meet. In your case, if you have or are completing prereqs at a community college, you want to beware of some schools' policy on this. If something is in the grey area (e.g., their community college credits policy), email and ask to obtain the answer in writing.

Applying to too many schools can backfire, if you ever get asked at an interview where else did you apply. In general, if you aren't competitive at 10 to 12 schools, you won't be competitive at 20 schools. To determine if you should apply to a certain school or not, you can ask yourself if you are willing to attend that school if that is the only one you get accepted to.

 

[Gymgivitis]

There is a company in the Phoenix area that does clinical trials. The pay ranges. I have gotten 1250 for a trial and my max is 10,500. It really depends how long the trial lasts and how bad the drug they want to put in you is. helpresearch (dot) com is the site that is connected with Celerion (the company here). I think they also have a branch in Lincoln.

Most studies do require that you spend time in house (2-5 days/stay; sometimes multiple times a study) and multi-hour return visits. So if you have a real job or a family it isn't easy.

If you google jalr (just another lab rat) that is a good site I have used before to find clinical trials. Hope this helps.

As a disclaimer, the medications they test on you are experimental and can have serious consequences in terms of health and I am in no way recommending this to anyone. One study I was in had multiple people code (no deaths thankfully), the trial ended immediately and we had to stay in house for almost a week or sign a waiver saying the place was not at fault if something happened when we left. So keep that in mind!!!

If this doesn’t sum up how outrageously overpriced the process of becoming a dentist is, I don’t know what does.

 

[Judajudo]

I was recently thinking the same thing about the high costs. Luckily I have a white collar job that allowed me to have savings that would pay for the applications, but there was no way I could have done this when I was still in school.

As far as interviews go, I would suggest checking out couchsurfing for free lodging. For food, the cheapest thing to eat on the road is usually pre-made food at grocery stores, I can get a good salad for 4-5 bucks, and a dinner for about 5-7. I would suggest checking flights as soon as you get an interview dates confirmed. Prices surge about 2 weeks out from the flight date for domestic flights. If you live in a smaller airport I would suggest taking a bus to a airport in a bigger city, as that can be cheaper (for example, flights out of Chicago are usually $200ish to almost anywhere vs smaller town airport about 2 hours away by bus is usually $450+).

 

[AKtoTXstudent]

I graduated with an engineering degree so I am working during my gap year and earn a decent salary.

I also only applied to 6 schools and made what I believe to be fairly realistic choices (e.g., I avoided Harvard and Columbia because I knew my grades and DAT wouldn't cut it at those two schools). Carefully research each school's requirements to make sure you meet them, because you waste money by applying to a school whose requirements you cannot meet. In your case, if you have or are completing prereqs at a community college, you want to beware of some schools' policy on this. If something is in the grey area (e.g., their community college credits policy), email and ask to obtain the answer in writing.

Applying to too many schools can backfire, if you ever get asked at an interview where else did you apply. In general, if you aren't competitive at 10 to 12 schools, you won't be competitive at 20 schools. To determine if you should apply to a certain school or not, you can ask yourself if you are willing to attend that school if that is the only one you get accepted to.

I second this! Only apply to schools you actually would attend

 

[DSchoolorBust202X]

So after paying this initial fee of nearly $2000 to submit my application on AADSAS, I'm to expect those $75-$125 fees again? This is insane. I wish the financial part of all of this was broken down into some kind of informative article to prepare us early so we could plan better. I've been planning to apply this cycle for over a year now and just had no clue how much to expect this all to cost - and I'm normally pretty good at uncovering a lot of research. I feel like everyone has been so good at keeping this information private and under wraps.

So for anyone else applying in the future, maybe expect to pay $200+/school you apply to plus travel expenses for the interviews? And then with an acceptance, you have to put down an immediate $1000 deposit to hold your spot.

Yeah, it's crazy! I applied to 23 schools and have spent over $4,000 already just on the initial application and supplementals/secondaries so far. I've worked full-time for the past 4 years, so I can afford it, but it still hurts.