How much of a factor should cost be when choosing a school?

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hopefuldentist

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<< I'm putting this in the "Dental" forum as opposed to the "Pre-Dental" forum because I want opinions of current dental students or practicing dentists. >>

I've been accepted to 6 schools, and 2 of them stand far above the rest for me: UNLV and Creighton (via the RDEP Program). I love UNLV - I've been there many times and get an awesome vibe from all of the students and faculty. It's been kind of my "dream" school. It's also very close to home. Because I interviewed at the University of Utah for the Creighton program, I haven't actually visited their school yet (I fly out in a couple weeks to check it out). But Creighton will cost me substantially less money.

For a Utah resident, the Creighton RDEP program works out to be roughly $140,000. UNLV works out to be roughly $200,000 (after applying for in-state tuition for years 2-4).

A $60,000 savings over 10 years at 6.8% means that Creighton would be $82,000 cheaper in the long run. The monthly loan payments would be $1,800 for Creighton vs. $2,500 for UNLV.

If I visit Creighton and absolutely love it, I'll probably choose Creighton. If I visit and I certainly know it's not the place for me, I'll choose UNLV. But most likely I'll visit and get a vibe somewhere in between those two extremes.

My question is... how much weight should I place on cost when choosing a dental school?
 
hopefuldentist said:
<< I'm putting this in the "Dental" forum as opposed to the "Pre-Dental" forum because I want opinions of current dental students or practicing dentists. >>

I've been accepted to 6 schools, and 2 of them stand far above the rest for me: UNLV and Creighton (via the RDEP Program). I love UNLV - I've been there many times and get an awesome vibe from all of the students and faculty. It's been kind of my "dream" school. It's also very close to home. Because I interviewed at the University of Utah for the Creighton program, I haven't actually visited their school yet (I fly out in a couple weeks to check it out). But Creighton will cost me substantially less money.

For a Utah resident, the Creighton RDEP program works out to be roughly $140,000. UNLV works out to be roughly $200,000 (after applying for in-state tuition for years 2-4).

A $60,000 savings over 10 years at 6.8% means that Creighton would be $82,000 cheaper in the long run. The monthly loan payments would be $1,800 for Creighton vs. $2,500 for UNLV.

If I visit Creighton and absolutely love it, I'll probably choose Creighton. If I visit and I certainly know it's not the place for me, I'll choose UNLV. But most likely I'll visit and get a vibe somewhere in between those two extremes.

My question is... how much weight should I place on cost when choosing a dental school?
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Cost #1.
 
Can't you think of something better to do with $600 every month than writing student loan checks? In the end it's not going to matter which school you attended. They will both prepare you for being a dentist. It is nice to have family nearby during dental school to help you out if you are close to them and want that. On the other hand, dental school is busy enough that not having family around could remove a source of distraction and allow you to concentrate fully on school and sleep.
 
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use the search function. or just look at the nine threads started in this forum just this week with the exact same topic. if you need to hear it again, even in vegas cash is king. go where it's cheapest. everything else is secondary.
 
cost is everything. go to cheaper school and never look back. and if somebody tells you something else...their parents paid for their school!!!
 
Cost is #1

Even if your parents pay for the overpriced education, it is still several hundred grand that would otherwise be earning interest for the next 30+ years until they are ready to pass it on to you.

The only time cost isn't a top priority is if you have a full ride from the school, military or some other similar program.
 
Cost if everything and will affect every decision you make after school... the more debt you have the less decisions you will have.
 
I chose the cheaper school - NJDS over NYU. There are sooo many times that I wish I went to NYU, so that I could be close to my family. But to be honest, my first semester is coming to a close - its finals week right now - and I am in a way glad that I went away for school.

Semesters fly by in dental school - believe it or not - I still can't believe it's finals, and I am glad to be going to NY for the break - away from NJ - away from dental school.

So it really comes down to what you want. I chose to go to the better school (this is my opinion only and not to offend any body at NYU). I'd rather have less loan debt and be a dentist.
 
Definitely agree with everyone's sentiment that cost should be of the highest priority. Question though: at what amount do you think that the cost difference is insignificant?

Say two schools that you're very interested in have a cost difference of $10,000. Do you still think you should go to the cheaper school if you're more interested in the other? At what tuition amount difference do you "draw the line"?

I hope that question made sense. lol
 
MusicJunkie said:
Definitely agree with everyone's sentiment that cost should be of the highest priority. Question though: at what amount do you think that the cost difference is insignificant?

Say two schools that you're very interested in have a cost difference of $10,000. Do you still think you should go to the cheaper school if you're more interested in the other? At what tuition amount difference do you "draw the line"?
Click to expand...

$10,000 is pocket change in the grand scheme of thing so go to the one you like.
 
Daurang said:
$10,000 is pocket change in the grand scheme of thing so go to the one you like.
Click to expand...

agreed, but what amount is no longer considered pocket change? $50,000? $25,000?
 
wbloo said:
I chose the cheaper school - NJDS over NYU. There are sooo many times that I wish I went to NYU, so that I could be close to my family. But to be honest, my first semester is coming to a close - its finals week right now - and I am in a way glad that I went away for school.

Semesters fly by in dental school - believe it or not - I still can't believe it's finals, and I am glad to be going to NY for the break - away from NJ - away from dental school.

So it really comes down to what you want. I chose to go to the better school (this is my opinion only and not to offend any body at NYU). I'd rather have less loan debt and be a dentist.
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😕 NJDS and NYU are 20 minutes apart and millions of people commute between the two states every day. OK, maybe an hour in traffic. Not sure why you're so homesick. In any case, don't be so down wishing you went to the other school, you'll be fine.

And I agree, 40 - 50K is where I'd start weighing the cost difference between the two schools, and start heavily leaning at 60 - 70K. 80k+ and choose the other one. 80K can be a significant amount of a practice loan when you get out.
 
gryffindor said:
😕 NJDS and NYU are 20 minutes apart and millions of people commute between the two states every day. OK, maybe an hour in traffic. Not sure why you're so homesick. In any case, don't be so down wishing you went to the other school, you'll be fine.

And I agree, 40 - 50K is where I'd start weighing the cost difference between the two schools, and start heavily leaning at 60 - 70K. 80k+ and choose the other one. 80K can be a significant amount of a practice loan when you get out.
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Agreed.

$80,000 is probably close to what the average starting dentist makes out of school (or course there are plenty of exceptions, but its close).

So that means a year of earnings extra (go ahead and include 2-3 years with interest) to pay off in the long run. You could easily put that money to better use elsewhere.

I had to choose between 2 schools with about a $15,000 difference, but what I failed to realize, was that one school also had a cheaper cost of living. So in the long run, I'm coming out about even.
 
I know every penny is worth of itself, but when it comes to decide which dental school? I don't think so. As I calculated tuition and other expenses, the gap b/w like nyu where i heard the most expensive and like buffalo where the most cheap basically comes up almost same;at least 30k. 30k is a lot from someone, but is not really a lot from someone--it depends on person, but I think it's silly to go to the cheapest school where you would not be proud of or would not be satisfied with. So, choose whatever you want to go without considering money itself.
 
hunterpostbacst said:
I know every penny is worth of itself, but when it comes to decide which dental school? I don't think so. As I calculated tuition and other expenses, the gap b/w like nyu where i heard the most expensive and like buffalo where the most cheap basically comes up almost same;at least 30k. 30k is a lot from someone, but is not really a lot from someone--it depends on person, but I think it's silly to go to the cheapest school where you would not be proud of or would not be satisfied with. So, choose whatever you want to go without considering money itself.
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You mean 30k a year? So 120K by the time you finish?

Buffalo is around 38k for a nonresident; NYU is about 64k. That's 26k a year, not including the higher cost of living in NYC...

An extra 120K in loans is quite substantial
 
hunterpostbacst said:
30k is a lot from someone, but is not really a lot from someone--it depends on person, but I think it's silly to go to the cheapest school where you would not be proud of or would not be satisfied with. So, choose whatever you want to go without considering money itself.
Click to expand...

...says the pre-dent who has never written a $500 loan check versus a $3500 one, every month for decades in a row. Get it in your head now folks, any money you save on earning your dental degree can be applied to a practice loan where the REAL income will come from to write those loan checks. There is absolutely no difference in earning power based on the name of the school on your degree. NONE. There is a huge potential difference in earning power based on whether you are an associate or eventually purchase/start and run a succesful dental office but to be a practice owner means you will have to take out a sizeable loan on top of the dental school debt you already have.
 
Dont forget that your rates go up once you pass the allowable amount for a stafford loan...not only check out the difference in your monthly payment, but notice the difference in interest paid over the course of the loan.

Also, while Buffalo is 38k for a nonresident, you can get residency after a year or buy a house and get it first year...
 
Daurang said:
$10,000 is pocket change in the grand scheme of thing so go to the one you like.
Click to expand...

Don't fall into the faulty thinking that once you are a dentist, the money flows and you will not have big enough buckets to catch it all. Don't forget that interest will be turning that 10k/year into a lot more than you thought after 4 years.

If I would have gotten into multiple schools, I would have most likely chosen the cheapest school also factoring in the cost of living. My super expensive school was a motivating factor for getting HPSP.
 
hopefuldentist said:
<< I'm putting this in the "Dental" forum as opposed to the "Pre-Dental" forum because I want opinions of current dental students or practicing dentists. >>

I've been accepted to 6 schools, and 2 of them stand far above the rest for me: UNLV and Creighton (via the RDEP Program). I love UNLV - I've been there many times and get an awesome vibe from all of the students and faculty. It's been kind of my "dream" school. It's also very close to home. Because I interviewed at the University of Utah for the Creighton program, I haven't actually visited their school yet (I fly out in a couple weeks to check it out). But Creighton will cost me substantially less money.

For a Utah resident, the Creighton RDEP program works out to be roughly $140,000. UNLV works out to be roughly $200,000 (after applying for in-state tuition for years 2-4).

A $60,000 savings over 10 years at 6.8% means that Creighton would be $82,000 cheaper in the long run. The monthly loan payments would be $1,800 for Creighton vs. $2,500 for UNLV.

If I visit Creighton and absolutely love it, I'll probably choose Creighton. If I visit and I certainly know it's not the place for me, I'll choose UNLV. But most likely I'll visit and get a vibe somewhere in between those two extremes.

My question is... how much weight should I place on cost when choosing a dental school?
Click to expand...


The ONLY factor for the un-insane mind when making decisions about medical/dental school is COST. You will re-pay these loans, and you will feel half-******ed when you sit back and think about how much more you spent to go to a "name" school. Your patients won't know or care, but that Lexus you WON'T be driving will be a reminder of how (I don't want to say STUPID, but let's say "ignorant") it is to choose a school based on ANYTHING except dollars and cents. (Unless money is not a factor, you have rich parents, or you joined the military, this goes without saying)
 
Ok, so clearly cost is everything. I already sent in my deposit to my state school figuring I should just go to the cheapest place, plus I like it here! But......I have interviews at Columbia and UPenn still. I'm planning on cancelling them soon but want to double check something first. I don't know whether I want to specialize, but do I have a better chance specializing if I go to Columbia or UPenn and put in the same amount of effort that I would at the state school? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Twang77 said:
Anyone?
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Go to the cheapest school. No 'if' 'or' 'but' nothing.

Save the rest of your money and take a cheap-thrill trip to Cancun because you deserve it. Cancel all the other interviews.
 
Daurang said:
Go to the cheapest school. No 'if' 'or' 'but' nothing.

Save the rest of your money and take a cheap-thrill trip to Cancun because you deserve it. Cancel all the other interviews.
Click to expand...


Awesome, leaving for a cruise in a couple days which I think will do the trick : )
 
ski.bum said:
Haha, gryffindor, I like you. Seriously guys, I wish someone had given me this lecture before I started. REALLY. Sometimes my wife and I play a game where we think, "What would we buy with the $2500 we are paying to student loans this month?" As you can imagine, that game never ends with either of us in a good mood. I'll echo everyone else, AGAIN, and say GO TO THE CHEAP SCHOOL. If you are too stubborn to listen, enjoy the loan payments, which will more than likely be even worse than mine.
Click to expand...

Sounds like an extra fun game!
 
....cost is everything
 
Hey OP,

If you should consider yourself an enterprise, then consider DEBT to be a serious threat to you personal security. Debt is a terrorist and the less you have the better off you are - PERIOD.

Let us consider this - according an online savings calculator - if you can save $600 per month, at a conservative rate of 4% over 30 years, you will have accumulated over $400,000 (I am thinking a decent contributor to your retirement fund).

Additionally, less debt in dental school may present a situation werein you are more likely to get loans for residencies etc. ortho, pros, you name it.

Then again, forget that, let us apply some of that $600 to life insurance, health insurance and disability insurance etc. Buddy, you and your family are well taken care of should some unfortunate incident happen.

Additionally, less debt means better credit/debt ratio, more savings and less time to start a practice. Starting a practice quicker means more income and a better life for yourself and family.

Debt my friend is a threat to you personal security and any means of extinguishing the threat should be employed mercilessly.
 
I say go to a school you will enjoy. Four years is not a short time if you haven't noticed, so even if you end up paying a little more (within reason) have fun while in school. Just my .02
 
albodent said:
I say go to a school you will enjoy. Four years is not a short time if you haven't noticed, so even if you end up paying a little more (within reason) have fun while in school. Just my .02
Click to expand...
Watching Tebow cry= Priceless 😀 (too bad the bible thumper wasn't in "the swamp" with those tears"- 3:16 )
 
albodent said:
I say go to a school you will enjoy. Four years is not a short time if you haven't noticed, so even if you end up paying a little more (within reason) have fun while in school. Just my .02
Click to expand...

there is no way of knowing which school you will enjoy - but you can know for sure which one will cost more
 
albodent said:
I say go to a school you will enjoy. Four years is not a short time if you haven't noticed, so even if you end up paying a little more (within reason) have fun while in school. Just my .02
Click to expand...

Have you made any of your loan repayments yet? I just paid the interest on mine, $500 and I'm only a first year!

And like someone else said, you don't know which one you will enjoy, but you will absolutely know which school will cost more!
 
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