IU (IS) vs. Louisville (OOS)

[Baryjt01]

Ok so here is the problem I have encountered. I have been accepted to Louisville and IU. IU is my state school so only 250k whereas Louisville is out of state which is 400k maybe a tad more. Louisville is the school I would rather go to but I dont know if i can do it with there being that much of a difference in tuition. What do you guys think?

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[Pearl E. White]

Many will tell you go to the cheaper school. Because it is clearly cheaper by a large amount. Which makes sense, right? Especially when you consider the interest that is accruing even while we are in school. Ultimately, it is your decision and yours alone, and it's your life. Either way, you will become a dentist. Is it worth several hundred thousand more dollars when the end result is the same? And why do you want to go there?

 

[zToothinator]

Pick IU. Here's a helpful article I found on ADEA with sample repayments to put it in perspective: Sample repayment amounts

Adding another $150,000 will raise the total repayment significantly. When I was at LECOM, the financial aid advisor said a quick way to roughly calculate how much you'll need to repay is $2 for every $1 borrowed due to the compound interest. So while the difference initially is only $150,000, over 10-25 years, it'll be closer to $300,000. That's a good amount of money that you could otherwise use as a downpayment for a practice or CE. What is it about Louisville that you like over IU?

 

[DSchoolorBust202X]

Ok so here is the problem I have encountered. I have been accepted to Louisville and IU. IU is my state school so only 250k whereas Louisville is out of state which is 400k maybe a tad more. Louisville is the school I would rather go to but I dont know if i can do it with there being that much of a difference in tuition. What do you guys think?

I know exactly where you're coming from. I'm in the same boat with UK and DCG. It's so hard!

 

[Baryjt01]

Many will tell you go to the cheaper school. Because it is clearly cheaper by a large amount. Which makes sense, right? Especially when you consider the interest that is accruing even while we are in school. Ultimately, it is your decision and yours alone, and it's your life. Either way, you will become a dentist. Is it worth several hundred thousand more dollars when the end result is the same? And why do you want to go there?

i want to go to lousiville due to the fact that when i toured everyone was so happy and so positive whereas at IU it seemed like everyone was just on autopilot and just wanted to put in their four years and get the hell out of there

 

[RemainPositive]

I would kindly ask Lousiville for any financial scholarship if this is the case. Not outright demanding for one, but something that you can mention in a "thank you for your offer of admission" email kind of thing.

 

[Cthuluhoop]

Both calculations below are calculated at 6% interest rate, which is bound to go up in the coming years.

If you do a 10 year repayment plan for IU, you will spend $40,000 a year on repayment for 10 years, total interest will be 150,000. Probably could even pay that off sooner if you up your payment.
If you go to Louisville out of state (based on $400K total COA), you will spend $64,000 a year for 10 years, total interest will be $240,000.

You will come out of school making between $100,000-$120,000 pre tax, so say 70K-90K yearly salary depending on where you are in the US, and most likely won't go up too much as an associate. Subtract rent, malpractice in, disability in, potential car payment, living expenses, possible spouse or kids depending on what that looks like for your life, and you're really tight on the Louisville budget for a decade and it's not going to be fun. Factor in a loan for buying a private practice loan to really make a dent in that Louisville debt.

If you do REPAYE get ready for that tax bomb at the end, and hope the current administration doesn't throw that program out.

 

[Likkriue]

Dental is literally a quick 4 years In and then out. Middle of second year already yet I still remember real well studying for the DAT.

When you start I’m going to be in my third year, it’s that fast. I would go to the cheaper one as long as IU isn’t known for kicking students out for failing 1-2 practicals.

 

[Likkriue]

That is very unfortunate. I have a classmate from undergrad going there right now as a D3 and he is enjoying it so far. Every school has issues internally that isn’t all that public.
Normal attrition rate is about 2% per dental school, so as long as it’s not absurdly above that it is quite normal. Life happens, or you make bad desicions and sometimes you just aren’t made for dental school and your head goes on the chopping block.
But the only school I know about is Stony Brook, we have our own hiccups as a state school but nothing major so far.

 

[2TH MVR]

Ok so here is the problem I have encountered. I have been accepted to Louisville and IU. IU is my state school so only 250k whereas Louisville is out of state which is 400k maybe a tad more. Louisville is the school I would rather go to but I dont know if i can do it with there being that much of a difference in tuition. What do you guys think?

I don't see a problem. Pick IU. Not only less expensive, but here's something that has not been brought up. If you plan on practicing in your home state ....there are many advantages to attending a DS in your state. You will be familiar with the geography and demographics of your state. The attendings at the DS are LOCAL dentists and are a valuable source of information when it comes to job, practice opportunities after DS. Nice to have your family near by.

Don't be one of those dentists that regrets going to a more expensive DS. 4 years is relatively short. Think that is long? Try 7 years to specialize.