I can’t afford to apply to every school on my list right now

[eightoheight]

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Hello guys!!

I’m applying to dental school right now and had some questions.

As you know application fees add up. At this very moment I have enough money to apply to three of the schools on my list that will fit into my budget. Next month I will have enough to cover the rest. Here’s my question:

Is August considered “late”? I’m very anxious about this and debating which schools I should apply now and which ones I should wait and “sacrifice”. Some students have scared me about the timeline to apply but I’m doing the best I can within my budget. Any advice would be great.

 

[macsak]

what are your stats, and which schools are you considering?

 

[rectangle]

Do you qualify for the fee assistance waiver?

 

[ab117]

I know a lot of people are wary of this kind of thing, but if you don’t qualify for the fee assistance, apply for a credit card with an interest free period and pay it off when you can. You’ll probably need it when you move to school too cause loans don’t pay out til the week after school starts.

 

[zToothinator]

Ditto what ab117 said. If you already know that you'll have enough money next month to cover the rest, put it on a credit card. Doesn't make sense to have a later application when you can essentially take out a risk-free 0% loan to cover it. Travel hacking is something I do on the side and will be happy to talk to you about credit cards.

Again, this advice assumes that you will have the money next month. Don't put spend on a credit card that you won't be able to pay off before the interest kicks in.

 

[eightoheight]

Thanks guys for all the helpful tips! Made some calls and fortunately I will be able to cover the rest sooner than expected so I won’t need to use credit, (which was going to be my go-to since I don’t qualify for the fee waiver). Thanks again!!

 

[ab117]

Thanks guys for all the helpful tips! Made some calls and fortunately I will be able to cover the rest sooner than expected so I won’t need to use credit, (which was going to be my go-to since I don’t qualify for the fee waiver). Thanks again!!

I still recommend getting one. You’re going to be buying a whole bunch of plane tickets in a couple months. I got hundreds of dollars in rewards during interview season and wouldn’t have been able to pay for them all without a card. With 12 months interest free you can just let it sit until your loans pay out and roll it all into your total dental school costs.

 

[BluntForceTrauma]

I still recommend getting one. You’re going to be buying a whole bunch of plane tickets in a couple months. I got hundreds of dollars in rewards during interview season and wouldn’t have been able to pay for them all without a card. With 12 months interest free you can just let it sit until your loans pay out and roll it all into your total dental school costs.

This. I paid for almost all of my flights due to rewards, and then paid the cards off anyway. Cards can be useful tools if used correctly

 

[Pearl E. White]

Ditto what ab117 said. If you already know that you'll have enough money next month to cover the rest, put it on a credit card. Doesn't make sense to have a later application when you can essentially take out a risk-free 0% loan to cover it. Travel hacking is something I do on the side and will be happy to talk to you about credit cards.

Again, this advice assumes that you will have the money next month. Don't put spend on a credit card that you won't be able to pay off before the interest kicks in.

I would love some info on travel hacking.

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

I would love some info on travel hacking.

There is a subreddit for racking up the best/most crdit card benefits reddit.com/r/churning

 

[princeafrica]

If I had to go back, I would have paid the $2500 I paid for my applications with an airline credit card. I saw people get so many points that covered a lot of their interviews. I ended up only attending 5/12 interviews I had and would of liked to attend more if I had been smarter at first and gotten the credit card.

 

[Tatu78]

Would like to hear about it as well🙂

 

[Tatu78]

I would love some info on travel hacking.

Ditto what ab117 said. If you already know that you'll have enough money next month to cover the rest, put it on a credit card. Doesn't make sense to have a later application when you can essentially take out a risk-free 0% loan to cover it. Travel hacking is something I do on the side and will be happy to talk to you about credit cards.

Again, this advice assumes that you will have the money next month. Don't put spend on a credit card that you won't be able to pay off before the interest kicks in.

Would like to hear about it as well🙂

 

[FanOfCostco]

If I had to go back, I would have paid the $2500 I paid for my applications with an airline credit card. I saw people get so many points that covered a lot of their interviews. I ended up only attending 5/12 interviews I had and would of liked to attend more if I had been smarter at first and gotten the credit card.

I know this is a lie because I've seen your jet that rivals the one tony stark has.

 

[eightoheight]

I still recommend getting one. You’re going to be buying a whole bunch of plane tickets in a couple months. I got hundreds of dollars in rewards during interview season and wouldn’t have been able to pay for them all without a card. With 12 months interest free you can just let it sit until your loans pay out and roll it all into your total dental school costs.

Thanks for the tips! Ugh there’s so many hacks I’m unfamiliar with. I will do more research about this so I can make an informed decision. Thank you so much.

 

[thestylishgeek]

i opened a chase sapphire preferred card during the app cycle, got the 50k points after 4k spend and used that for a few interview flights. one of the travel hacks you can do is convert those points to a chase ur partner airline miles, or just use them for 1.25x value on flights. so 50k points are worth 625 usd towards flights on the chase travel portal. you can also get 5k points from setting an authorized user. to get to the 4k spend within the first three months, i asked my family to buy everything they normally would with that card, plus about 2k from the cost of dental school applications. the card used to be fee-less for the first year but it changed to having the 95$ annual fee w/ a 60k bonus recently.

 

[Pearl E. White]

That’s the card I have! I love it! I have been using it for all my dental school stuff so far and I plan to put my dental kit on there. Easy 10k points

 

[Pearl E. White]

i opened a chase sapphire preferred card during the app cycle, got the 50k points after 4k spend and used that for a few interview flights. one of the travel hacks you can do is convert those points to a chase ur partner airline miles, or just use them for 1.25x value on flights. so 50k points are worth 625 usd towards flights on the chase travel portal. you can also get 5k points from setting an authorized user. to get to the 4k spend within the first three months, i asked my family to buy everything they normally would with that card, plus about 2k from the cost of dental school applications. the card used to be fee-less for the first year but it changed to having the 95$ annual fee w/ a 60k bonus recently.

That’s the card I have! I love it! I have been using it for all my dental school stuff so far and I plan to put my dental kit on there. Easy 10k points

 

[BluntForceTrauma]

i opened a chase sapphire preferred card during the app cycle, got the 50k points after 4k spend and used that for a few interview flights. one of the travel hacks you can do is convert those points to a chase ur partner airline miles, or just use them for 1.25x value on flights. so 50k points are worth 625 usd towards flights on the chase travel portal. you can also get 5k points from setting an authorized user. to get to the 4k spend within the first three months, i asked my family to buy everything they normally would with that card, plus about 2k from the cost of dental school applications. the card used to be fee-less for the first year but it changed to having the 95$ annual fee w/ a 60k bonus recently.

I snagged this recently and used it to buy some new loupes. 100% best move ever. Great card, even with the fee.

 

[Pearl E. White]

I snagged this recently and used it to buy some new loupes. 100% best move ever. Great card, even with the fee.

I completely agree.

 

[Savanah]

Do you qualify for the fee assistance waiver?

Where can I get more information about this program?

 

[BluntForceTrauma]

Where can I get more information about this program?

Google

 

[Faefly]

This. I paid for almost all of my flights due to rewards, and then paid the cards off anyway. Cards can be useful tools if used correctly

What kind of cards you all are using, the most I could get from my credit card is a meager 25 dollar once or twice lol!

 

[Pearl E. White]

What kind of cards you all are using, the most I could get from my credit card is a meager 25 dollar once or twice lol!

i opened a chase sapphire preferred card during the app cycle, got the 50k points after 4k spend and used that for a few interview flights. one of the travel hacks you can do is convert those points to a chase ur partner airline miles, or just use them for 1.25x value on flights. so 50k points are worth 625 usd towards flights on the chase travel portal. you can also get 5k points from setting an authorized user. to get to the 4k spend within the first three months, i asked my family to buy everything they normally would with that card, plus about 2k from the cost of dental school applications. the card used to be fee-less for the first year but it changed to having the 95$ annual fee w/ a 60k bonus recently.

 

[BluntForceTrauma]

What kind of cards you all are using, the most I could get from my credit card is a meager 25 dollar once or twice lol!

Just Google "best rewards credit cards" though I tend to stay away from cash back cards. The key is spending the sign-on amount to get the big bonus. If it's a card you've had for a while, it'll take forever to build up enough points for stuff (unless you have a business card and expenses). My loupes were around 3k, so I knew buying them would meet a bonus minimum (or get me close) so I got a new card just for that purchase. I've done the same thing with different purchases multiple times and it's paid for a few different trips for my family and me.

Personally I love the chase Sapphire line, Preferred is probably what you'll qualify for. Reserve if you can and want (though it has a bigger fee).
The Platinum card by AmEx is amazing, though super expensive and difficult to get with any debt and minimal income (student status).
Things like that 🙂

 

[2TH MVR]

As a side note. Credit cards are great for racking up points on personal items and especially in your dental practices that hopefully most of you will own.
But it goes BOTH ways. As future small business owners ..... YOU will be paying those credit card processing fees (rewards, etc. etc.)for all those that use a credit card for your dental services. There was a time I did not accept American Express or other reward cards since their fees were exorbitant. Yes .... those processing fees are a deductable business expense .... thankfully.

The other positive to using credit cards is fraud protection. It will happen.

 

[TheDentalSchoolCoach]

Hello guys!!

I’m applying to dental school right now and had some questions.

As you know application fees add up. At this very moment I have enough money to apply to three of the schools on my list that will fit into my budget. Next month I will have enough to cover the rest. Here’s my question:

Is August considered “late”? I’m very anxious about this and debating which schools I should apply now and which ones I should wait and “sacrifice”. Some students have scared me about the timeline to apply but I’m doing the best I can within my budget. Any advice would be great.

I think if you apply by first week of August, it's fine. But, it's still kind of late. But, get everything ready by then. If money is the only issue, perhaps ask for a small loan from a friend/family member and pay it back as soon as you have the money.