How the heck do we intend to pay off the debt?

[Thebeyonder]

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For everyone going to a school that will cost ~$25,000 or more a year, how the heck do you plan to pay that off when you get out?
Say that you borrow ~$100,000 or more, some people borrow more than $200,000, how are we expected to pay this off?
What if we go directly into dentistry after graduating, and earn, hopefully more than $90,000, how can we afford to pay ~$2,500 in loan repayments per month? Will we ever be able to afford to live? What if we have to open our own practice if there are no practices looking for partners? Factor in rent for the office, mortgage payments, equipment purchases, staff salaries, car payments, malpractice insurance, health insurance, homeowners insurance, car insurance, utility payments, groceries, paying for bringing up children, etc., etc.
How are we supposed to survive?
I know that NYU is over $25,000 a year, plus to live in the city is very expensive, so loans will be high. Once out of school having to pay for the loan and everything else? How to do it?
Say you make $90,000/year
That's ~$7,500/month
Take out taxes then your left with ~$4,500/month
Mortgage for house/rent for office ~$1,600/month
Loan repayments ~$2,500
Left with $400 for car payments, groceries, insurance, etc.?
Never mind credit car payments, entertainment, vacations, etc...
How can we possibly survive?
Please help.
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But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must first believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
tb

 

[DrJeff]

Here's what I've done, and alot of folks do. First off, once you're done, consolidate, and spread it out over 30 years, that will cut the monthly payment by over 50%. Then, plan on if possible paying the amount per month that it would be on the 10yr plan. This may be a bit difficult at first, but for most folks this won't be a problem after a few months. Most folks will also pay as much as they can each month, and alot of folks will actually have everything paid off in under 10 years.

My current situation has the loans for my wife and I (original total of roughly 160,000) paid off in about 7 years. Also one of the things that I would reccomend is to find an accountant and a financial planner soon after you graduate. Both of them(especially the accountant) can really help you get a good handle on things and pay the government as little as possible!

 

[Blue Tooth]

Dr. Jeff (or any others that might know this),

My plans are a little bit different that most so I was wondering if you had any insight or other info into my situation. I don't really want to go into private practice. I plan on staying in acadaemia to practice, research, and teach. Since that'll require significant post-grad training, either specialty training, or also a masters and more likely a PhD, how does that affect my loan repayment? Since I wouldn't be making hardly anything after graduation, how can I start paying back my loans? Should I go in as an associate for a few years to get out of debt before going on for further training (I'm talking more along the lines of a PhD or the DSA award from the NIH here)? Any input is appreciated.

 

[DrJeff]

First off, your loans are deferable during residency training, some will acrue interest during then, some won't depending on the loans source and type. In a situation like yours, you might even want to consider some military residency training, alot of the military programs provide an excellent training program and some even have loan repayment incentives. If none of that works, then a loan consolidation program which will dramatically reduce your monthly payments would be a good choice. Additionallly, a popular current trend for many folks in academics is for part time private practice, part time academics.

This will probably become a big problem in the future, finding folks for academics. Its no big secret that you can make 2 to 4 or 5 times in private practice compared to academics. Thats going to be a big issue as alot of full time academic folks head towards retirement age. Maybe we can hope that alot of the academics had tons of Enron stock in their 401k's and won't be able to retire soon! 😀

 

[chocobo]

baccurso,
I'm not certain about this (since I'm not interested in academia and wasn't paying attention too much), but it seems like the NIH or NIDCR (sp?) give out scholarships for students training to become dental scientists (getting a DMD/DDS plus a PhD). I think they said tuition is completely paid during dental school and beyond when you're studying for your PhD. In addition, you get an annual stipend of I think about $20k or something like that. So, you wouldn't have any debt when you graduate. You should definitely look into it.

 

[Blue Tooth]

Yeah those are the combined 7 year programs. I looked into those but after several lengthy conversations with the Professor whose lab I work in I decided that there's too many problems with those programs. What I'm interested in is a 6 year program after dental school that combines specialty training and a PhD. Thanks for the advice though

 

[ashman2002]

this is just my two cents....i think ur concerns are very valid and unfortunately u really dont get the whole story from those very expensive schools...u are correct there are many schools like NYU, BU, UPENN etc...that will cost $250,000 for four years of dental school...and yes if u consolidate ur loans and pay for the next 30 years u can live an upper middle class life...but my suggestion is to attend ur state school if u have one...i mean u can come out of these state schools under $100,000...which can payed out comfortably over 10 years or whatever pace u decide...but dont get caught into this...well its a private school so its worth it..all that matters when u get out in the real world is that u treat ur patients good and u deliver the best possible dentistry that u can...and believe it or not these state schools deliver just as good if not better clinical training than these overpriced private schools...these private schools don't have the students best interests at hand..rather they are strugling everyday to keep their schools open and their pockets full at ur expense...just at the students and staff that used to be at NORTHWESTERN, EMORY,GEORGE WASHINGTON....all private schools all closed

 

[ashman2002]

this is just my two cents....i think ur concerns are very valid and unfortunately u really dont get the whole story from those very expensive schools...u are correct there are many schools like NYU, BU, UPENN etc...that will cost $250,000 for four years of dental school...and yes if u consolidate ur loans and pay for the next 30 years u can live an upper middle class life...but my suggestion is to attend ur state school if u have one...i mean u can come out of these state schools under $100,000...which can payed out comfortably over 10 years or whatever pace u decide...but dont get caught into this...well its a private school so its worth it..all that matters when u get out in the real world is that u treat ur patients good and u deliver the best possible dentistry that u can...and believe it or not these state schools deliver just as good if not better clinical training than these overpriced private schools...these private schools don't have the students best interests at hand..rather they are strugling everyday to keep their schools open and their pockets full at ur expense...just at the students and staff that used to be at NORTHWESTERN, EMORY,GEORGE WASHINGTON....all private schools all closed

 

[quantumhead]

Like someone said before, do what you want. I am so happy that I am finaly going to Dental school I could care less about how much it is going to cost. I am also from Utah where we have no in state choice so I am looking at alot of cash. In addition I have three kids. BUT, it dosent matter I am going to be a Dentist and do what I love (Drillin' an fillin'). In addition, has anyone ever heard of a Dentist not being able to pay off their school loans (note the able, I know one who was able but chose not to), it all works out in the end.

 

[tjmemtp]

You can always take a couple classes at a community college-$30/credit x 6 credits= part-time = deferment on student loan which can save lots of money in interest if you continue to pay on the principle of your loan while taking some classes. You can take any class accounting, investing, management, math 101 and just show up to take the tests or aerobics classes and skip the gym membership.