Is it always better to go for cheaper or in-state school?

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park1234

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Hi everyone.
I got two offers yesterday. (one instate, and one oos private)
I was just wondering if I should always go for cheaper school.
From my calculation, my state school will cost me about 280 k for 4 years and and the other will cost me lil over 400k, including all tuition, fees, and living expenses.
Many people here usually say "it doesn't matter where you go, you will be trained to be dentist. so go to state school" but I just want to see what general opinions about private schools are.
For some of you who decided to go for expensive private schools over their in-state schools, why did you choose those schools?

Plus,
How much of debt is actually manageable? is 400k really not manageable as a dentist?
thank you for your thoughts!

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Pick the cheaper school. All practicing dentists (especially the newer ones) will tell you this. NOBODY cares where you went to school and this private school you want that will cost you 400k isn't worth 120k for you not to pick your state school. Go to your state school. If you want more experience in dental school, go on mission trips or take CE.

I personally think that if living costs are similar between two schools, if the difference btwn the 2 schools is $40k or less, then the applicant should pick the school they like the most. If the difference btwn the 2 schools is $45-50k or more, then the cheaper school should automatically be picked.
 
it really depends on which schools you are talking about , if the private school will offer you a lot more for that money difference then you might want to consider it. I am dropping a few private schools off my acceptance list strictly because of the price difference. I didn't feel like they were offering anything extra that the public school I got into did.
 
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also the public school was much better known for getting students into specialty programs so the choice was easy for me :)
 
it really depends on which schools you are talking about , if the private school will offer you a lot more for that money difference then you might want to consider it. I am dropping a few private schools off my acceptance list strictly because of the price difference. I didn't feel like they were offering anything extra that the public school I got into did.

I can't think of ONE circumstance where a private school would offer a significant advantage over any in-state school (assuming the in-state option is at least 15K cheaper than the private). There are only 2 reasons why I could understand choosing a private school over an in-state school: 1. if going to the private school allows your family to keep strong (spouse can keep well-paying job, keep your house, keep your kids in same schools) or be around family for emotional support in a recent death. 2. military HPSP scholarship making the school costs a non-factor.
 
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