Loans vs Military...confused!!

[Dingrao]

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Please help! I am a very confused and overwhelmed upcoming dental student and would appreciate ANY advice! I will be attending BU this fall and am running around with a few ideas about how to pay for it (Cost of tuition/expenses and personal expenses is ~$370,000), but I can't make a decision on what would be better in the long-run:

1) Take out loans for all expenses. Con: 10 years of a payment of over $4,000/month equates to over $500,000 total

2) Join the military. I was an army brat growing up and my dad moved around a lot because he was on active duty. Con: for national guard, I would owe 8 years. For active duty, I would owe 4 years. Also, the government OWNS YOU.

3) NHSC scholarship. Con: program is very competitive.

4) Loan repayment programs. I could take out loans and have some repaid. Con: also very competitive and would not cover all cost of loans.

Any dentists who can share their decisions/experiences would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

 

[MatthewLeeDDS]

Just FYI, you're likely too late for a military HPSP scholarship, at least through the Air Force if you want all 4 years covered. Also, I don't recommend you consider military if it's just for money... this will relieve the stress of $ but you'll likely be unhappy when time comes to serve your 4 years.