Interesting thread on DentalTown about $400k+

[Chipotlegonewild]

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http://www.dentaltown.com/MessageBoard/thread.aspx?s=2&f=2656&t=283658


You will have to sign up to read it. It's worth being a member, it's a wealth of information.





TL;DR - Practicing dentists talk about the ramification of the cost of dental schools. A necessary read for everyone thinking about a
$4(3)00k+ school.

 

[Likkriue]

Kind of annoyed they aren't letting the 2021 class sign up yet.

 

[htdt]

Kind of annoyed they aren't letting the 2021 class sign up yet.

Just say you're class of 2020. You'll be anyways if you choose to go to Pacific.

 

[blablabla1]

Just want to say that while dentaltown is an excellent resource, it is also a small percentage of current practicing dentists.

We see the phenomenon all the time on the news where the bad news stories are always presented and the good things are relegated to the last couple minutes of the news segment. Similarly, on the internet, the bad tends to get emphasized over the good.

It is very important to manage your finances carefully and taking the advice of current practicing dentists is important, but it's also good to remember that dentaltown is not the gospel.

TL;DR: don't let one single resource form your decision making. Get a lot of different perspectives and regardless of the decision you make, be smart about your finances. It's a lot of money.

 

[Dr5paceman]

Kind of annoyed they aren't letting the 2021 class sign up yet.

I'm also annoyed that they ask for so much personal information just to register

 

[DC206R]

I'm also annoyed that they ask for so much personal information just to register

We could get a credit card with less information than what dentaltown is asking for just to register. lol

 

[Chipotlegonewild]

We could get a credit card with less information than what dentaltown is asking for just to register. lol

Or get a $400k loan.


Dentaltown is worth going through the hassle to sign up. Seeing what dentists say from a real life prospective is...eye opening.

 

[Likkriue]

400k before interest is about 500k after interest after 4 years. Just putting this out there.

 

[wengerout]

Or get a $400k loan.


Dentaltown is worth going through the hassle to sign up. Seeing what dentists say from a real life prospective is...eye opening.

As another poster said though, Dentaltown is only a small % of dentist, and to be honest I feel like the top earners in the dental field aren't spending their days on Dentaltown obsessions over their loan, they are out working on growing their business to pay off that loan and prosper.


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[gfs6]

I am Co/2021 and they let me sign up, but they made me prove it by giving them an acceptance or DAT score sheet.

 

[Chipotlegonewild]

As another poster said though, Dentaltown is only a small % of dentist, and to be honest I feel like the top earners in the dental field aren't spending their days on Dentaltown obsessions over their loan, they are out working on growing their business to pay off that loan and prosper.


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None on there are obsessions over their loan, they are talking about the problem of current students having to pay $60k/pr year with post tax dollars.

At a $120k salary, you will be living on less money than a teacher.

 

[rivarat]

None on there are obsessions over their loan, they are talking about the problem of current students having to pay $60k/pr year with post tax dollars.

At a $120k salary, you will be living on less money than a teacher.

Exactly, they are quite concerned with the current state of affairs.

 

[Screwtape]

It is crazy how quickly things have spiraled out of control. I remember 4 years ago (when I was applying to dental school) where everyone was talking about how spending $300k+ on dental school is way too much and a precarious situation to be in. Now the number being thrown around is $400k+ and most dental schools out there will put you in at least $300K of debt. When will this stop? $600k? $700k? It's probably because I went to school in the "$300k era", but that amount really does seem like what the ceiling should be. I am fortunate I will be $250k in the hole when I graduate (just paid my last tuition bill!), but if I had to go over the $300K threshold I would have definitely actively pursued NHSC and maybe HPSP. This mentality is probably similar to the older dental town guys, they all paid X amount and think too much more than that is ludicrous. However, there are some younger dentists in that thread with the $400k+ loans, and they are making it work. You just need to fully understand the implications of being $400k+ in the hole as a fresh dentist. To me, being a dentist is not worth that debt. But then again, I never really had to think about that level of debt.

 

[LFA20]

It is crazy how quickly things have spiraled out of control. I remember 4 years ago (when I was applying to dental school) where everyone was talking about how spending $300k+ on dental school is way too much and a precarious situation to be in. Now the number being thrown around is $400k+ and most dental schools out there will put you in at least $300K of debt. When will this stop? $600k? $700k? It's probably because I went to school in the "$300k era", but that amount really does seem like what the ceiling should be. I am fortunate I will be $250k in the hole when I graduate (just paid my last tuition bill!), but if I had to go over the $300K threshold I would have definitely actively pursued NHSC and maybe HPSP. This mentality is probably similar to the older dental town guys, they all paid X amount and think too much more than that is ludicrous. However, there are some younger dentists in that thread with the $400k+ loans, and they are making it work. You just need to fully understand the implications of being $400k+ in the hole as a fresh dentist. To me, being a dentist is not worth that debt. But then again, I never really had to think about that level of debt.

250k is still a hefty amount of debt..[/QUOTE]

 

[Screwtape]

250k is still a hefty amount of debt..

[/QUOTE]
$1m of debt is a hefty amount too. But if that $1m could make you $10m over 10 years it would be a worthwhile ROI. Looking at debt merely as a small or large number is doing it wrong.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Doesn't matter, too many bio majors who don't know what the heck to do with their degrees are gonna sign up for 500k+ in student Lon debt if it means they get to be a doctor.

 

[Chipotlegonewild]

Doesn't matter, do many bio majors who don't know what the heck to do with their degrees are gonna sign up for 500k+ in student Lon debt if it means they get to be a doctor.

Point is they are going to be worse off financially taking on that loan rather than being an electrician from day one.

 

[Likkriue]

Point is they are going to be worse off financially taking on that loan rather than being an electrician from day one.

What if they didn't want to be an electrician?

 

[distressstudent]

Just want to say that while dentaltown is an excellent resource, it is also a small percentage of current practicing dentists.

We see the phenomenon all the time on the news where the bad news stories are always presented and the good things are relegated to the last couple minutes of the news segment. Similarly, on the internet, the bad tends to get emphasized over the good.

It is very important to manage your finances carefully and taking the advice of current practicing dentists is important, but it's also good to remember that dentaltown is not the gospel.

TL;DR: don't let one single resource form your decision making. Get a lot of different perspectives and regardless of the decision you make, be smart about your finances. It's a lot of money.

I'd take caution too if I took advice from a thread that's just a mix of a non-dentist salesmen making sales pitch and a bunch of other dentists just ****-posting

As another poster said though, Dentaltown is only a small % of dentist, and to be honest I feel like the top earners in the dental field aren't spending their days on Dentaltown obsessions over their loan, they are out working on growing their business to pay off that loan and prosper.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Five bucks saying you never even read dentaltown

 

[Chipotlegonewild]

I'd take caution too if I took advice from a thread that's just a mix of a non-dentist salesmen making sales pitch and a bunch of other dentists just ****-posting

You mean a consultant that specializes in student loan repayment?

If the overwhelming majority of dentists, that actually have real world experience, say they wouldn't go into dentistry if the started off $400k in the hole, I would be worried.

 

[distressstudent]

You mean a consultant that specializes in student loan repayment?

If the overwhelming majority of dentists, that actually have real world experience, say they wouldn't go into dentistry if the started off $400k in the hole, I would be worried.

I would take advice from a student loan consultant on student loan repayment. But I was specifically responding to that quote, and by no stretch of imagination would I ever decide to enter dentistry or not based on what a loan consultant is saying. Quite honestly, that isn't even on that OP's agenda.

From this particular thread all I see are people dicking around. It's like if I peeked inside an American psychiatric ward and extrapolated my impression of America based on that. If I tell someone that's what I did, I will get discredited immediately.

There are more sophisticated threads on DT that discusses whether or not one should enter dentistry on DT. I don't take it well when someone just paints DT as a small minority of dentists grieving about "bad news"

 

[blablabla1]

There are more sophisticated threads on DT that discusses whether or not one should enter dentistry on DT. I don't take it well when someone just paints DT as a small minority of dentists grieving about "bad news"

Sorry if I offended you (though to be fair I wasn't the one who said that DT is just a bunch of grieving dentists).

However, sample bias is a real thing and is especially prominent on the internet, so I will exhibit my caution when I'm being told about anything (particular of a negative matter) that is on a forum with a very specific focus. When obtaining info that is not 100% objective, it's just good practice to be aware of where the info is coming from. Humans love to complain on the internet because it provides them a medium to reach a lot of people very easily. But how often do you see people share positive stories? Not very often, because happiness does not elicit the same type of reaction as frustration and stress does. I am by no means suggesting every dentist on DT is grieving or a grouch, I am saying that is more likely for the unhappy dentists on DT to share their experiences than the happy ones.

As an example, if you go on to any specific forum about Apple online, you'll find a bunch of really smart people giving endless complaints about the products and the direction of the company. But in reality, Apple is a thriving company with the highest customer satisfaction of any consumer technology corp. Unfortunately, there is no way to get an objective measure of the field of dentistry as a whole and so we must obtain it from real world dentists.

For that reason, I definitely will take dental town seriously, but with the mindset that the sample size is small, and may not be a holistic representation of the field as a whole.

 

[wengerout]

I'd take caution too if I took advice from a thread that's just a mix of a non-dentist salesmen making sales pitch and a bunch of other dentists just ****-posting



Five bucks saying you never even read dentaltown

lol well considering they need more info to join their website than to apply for dental school no I have never read it [emoji23] (Except for briefly through a friends account).

As the other poster said in this thread, I'm weary of any resource that people treat as gospel until proven otherwise.


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[wengerout]

Sorry if I offended you (though to be fair I wasn't the one who said that DT is just a bunch of grieving dentists).

However, sample bias is a real thing and is especially prominent on the internet, so I will exhibit my caution when I'm being told about anything (particular of a negative matter) that is on a forum with a very specific focus. When obtaining info that is not 100% objective, it's just good practice to be aware of where the info is coming from. Humans love to complain on the internet because it provides them a medium to reach a lot of people very easily. But how often do you see people share positive stories? Not very often, because happiness does not elicit the same type of reaction as frustration and stress does. I am by no means suggesting every dentist on DT is grieving or a grouch, I am saying that is more likely for the unhappy dentists on DT to share their experiences than the happy ones.

As an example, if you go on to any specific forum about Apple online, you'll find a bunch of really smart people giving endless complaints about the products and the direction of the company. But in reality, Apple is a thriving company with the highest customer satisfaction of any consumer technology corp. Unfortunately, there is no way to get an objective measure of the field of dentistry as a whole and so we must obtain it from real world dentists.

For that reason, I definitely will take dental town seriously, but with the mindset that the sample size is small, and may not be a holistic representation of the field as a whole.

So much this, not saying DT is a bad resource but some people treat the website as the gospel before even considering the site is only a certain % of dentist.


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[schmoob]

But I have a DT ACCOUNT!!!