how do y'all afford a life during dental school. job? loan? help

[Teflondon95]

just curious how are people living their everyday lives while in dental school. for example if u need food, or want to buy clothes, or go to the movies or just anything how do u afford it? do u take a little extra loan money and that takes care of you for a year or what???

Also, is it possible to work? i have a job where i tutor a kid at nights maybe for 2 hours and get paid 50 an hour so will i be able to continue this job given the workload? probably mon-thursday 6-8. I'm just thinking how am i ever going to buy anything if I'm not working a legit job or have rich parents. also I'm living at home during d school, just i just take the housing money and use that to live? or is that a bad financial move..

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[2TH MVR]

I augmented my loans with a weekend part time job at Gold's Gym. That's right. I helped middle aged moms get in shape. I also had a girl friend who helped with buying things. btw: I married my girl friend.

 

[PhansterZ]

They will give you loans for living expenses on top of your tuition. The amount given to living expenses is based on where you live but it ranges from around 22k/year in the middle of the country to 35k/year to places like Manhattan.

They won't let you starve while in dental school, but most people share apartments, cook at home and spend most of their time studying anyways. You'll save tons of money living at home. As for clothes, you will save tons of money on this as you will be mostly wearing scrubs throughout dental school.

As for a part time job, you have to see where your goals for your grades are. I tutored my fellow dental students for some cash, and it helped with me studying too. Some people bartend or work as assistants. It can be done, but you'll be fed a ton of information, and you may not be able to tutor every day.

 

[DentalABCs]

What my dentist told me was that "I could live like a student while a student, or live like a student when I'm a dentist." My advice is to first make sure you are frugal. Loans at 6-7% is no joke. Rule of 72 applies to both investments and interest loan payments so definitely try not to live like a dentist until you become one.
If I were you i'd make a budget of expenses you think you will have for the year and then maybe take out a couple thousand extra just in case. Its good that you're living with your parents. You're saving a ton there. Some of my friends in dental school work as waiters or dental assistants part time so I know its definitely possible. They also spend a lot though. Work Friday nights, Saturday all day, go out on Saturday, then work all day Sunday. They did not work during their D1 year. Good luck

Edit: I should also add that if you are interested in specializing, I would suggest not working.

 

[charlestweed]

I didn’t have to work because 3 of my roommates already helped pay 3/4 of the rent for me and I only needed to pay the remaining 1/4. Later on, I only paid 1/5 of the rent because another guy in our class moved in. If I rented a studio for myself, I would have had to pay $600 more every month. I’d rather face the “inconvenience” of having roommates than facing the “inconvenience” of getting a P/T job that paid $600/month. That’s how my parents could afford to buy a house and put all 3 of us in colleges and professional schools, when they only made slightly above the minimum wage. They couldn’t get good jobs because they came here when they were in their late 40s and didn’t speak any English. They bought a 4 bedroom house for $130k and rented out the other 2 rooms to 4-5 other housemates…. so their monthly mortgage payments were essentially $0. When all 3 of us moved out for dental and med schools, they rented out 3 other rooms. Now, the house is paid off and they can retire comfortably.

OP, living with your parents should put you way ahead of your classmates, who don’t have this opportunity because the dental school is too far from their houses. You save even more time and $$$, if your parents also cook for you. For the 4 years of dental school, you can easily save $40-50K for not having to rent a place to live. And this is a huge amount. For a new grad dentist, who makes $120k a year, to save $40-50k, it would take him 2-3 years of hard work. So you should be 2-3 years ahead of your classmates, if you live with your parents. If you plan to work while in school, you will be much further ahead.

If you go to a P/F dental school, you should have more free time to get a P/T job since it’s easier to just pass all the classes. That’s what one of my roommates, who was an engineer before entering dental school, did. While in dental school, he worked P/T on Saturdays and Sundays for his former employer. He actually put this P/T work experience on his CV when he applied for endo. And one endo program accepted him straight out of school (most endo programs require GPR or private practice experience). With very little loan after his endo residency, he bought and paid off his house in less than 3 years…and he didn’t need to own a practice…he’s a traveling endo.