Dental How can I balance paying for dental school?

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Mr.Smile12

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Hello,

I’ll be starting dental school in the fall and the costs of attending is making me lose sleep. I have about $15k in undergraduate loans and am fortunate that my family is willing to help pay for some of dental school. Though I feel bad taking the money, I want to make sure that if I do have to take out loans, what’s the best way of going around it. I know there are pros and cons of federal and private loans, but is it normal to not pay interest while in school (since I won’t be working) and let it accumulate? Also do most try to pay off their loans immediately when they start working or do they spread it out over 10-20years since not all debt is bad? I feel lost and want to make sure that if I do take out loans and let interest accumulate that there are others on the same boat and still have a happy life. Thank you in advance!
The next thing to do is ask your future classmates in school right now how they are addressing these concerns. You should be able to connect with your financial aid office. I can assure you ADEA and ASDA have a lot of surveys conducted that talk about the issues with student debt and you will not be the only one with these concerns.

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If you can afford to pay your loans during school you might as well not borrow that money in the first place. Focus on studying. Take loans as your family must be very well off if they can afford to pay for dental school. Live cheaply and pay off the loans ASAP after you start making money. Do not spread your loan repayment over 10 years unless you would be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
 
The best way of approaching student loans? You don't always have to borrow the full amount, borrow what you need and a little extra just in case of emergency expenses. If you are not working and/or no financial support, it's normal not to pay the interest while in school.

You could choose to pay your loans off immediately or spread it out under the standard 10 years unless your debt load is excessively high in proportion to your income. I would take the alternative approach (option 1), tell your family to save their money so that you can open an office quickly after you graduate (work part-time somewhere else while ramping up). That's probably the fastest way you can get out of debt. However, the other approach (option 2) is to use your family's money to pay off your loans or pay off your school tuition, work as an associate for awhile, then open an office or buy an office. The path to take depends on your priorities.

Option 1 is higher profit, higher risk, more pressure to succeed. In option 1, you have student loan debt and a practice that needs to start making money quickly.
Option 2 is lower profit, lower risk, less pressure to succeed since you have taken the debt burden out of the equation.

If you want a happy, reduced stress life, option 2 would provide that for you.
If you want to get out of debt and maximize profit/potential, option 1 would be a better choice, assuming your office does not fail.
 
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