Paying for Dental School

[shahindian2009]

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Hey guys,

I got into two great dental schools UoP and UPenn.

My problem is... I don't know how the heck to pay for these schools which are both around $400,000.

I applied for the HPSP scholarship for both Air Force and Navy... but since UoP (my first choice) is only a three-year school and all the 3-year scholarships for Navy/Air Force were given out a long time ago/given to students who are in their first year at dental school...I will not be able to get an HPSP military scholarship for three years if I decide to go to UoP; however, I will be able to get the HPSP scholarship if I go to UPenn for 4 years.

So, my question is... how the heck are people planning on paying for dental school? Obviously loans. But loans through the federal government? Private loans?

Doing the math is insane.

Dental School: $400,000
IF I GO INTO A SPECIALTY: $200,000+
Opening a Private Practice: $250,000+
PLUS, all the interest that builds up on these loans... plus owning a car/house/having a family etc.

I know dentistry is the profession for me. I am just concerned on how people are paying for dental school and what is a realistic time frame to pay off these loans. I was counting on the HPSP scholarship; however, since things didn't work out.... I am not sure what to do.

Any guidance will be very helpful. Thank you!

 

[DrDDSman]

Hey guys,

I got into two great dental schools UoP and UPenn.

My problem is... I don't know how the heck to pay for these schools which are both around $400,000.

I applied for the HPSP scholarship for both Air Force and Navy... but since UoP (my first choice) is only a three-year school and all the 3-year scholarships for Navy/Air Force were given out a long time ago/given to students who are in their first year at dental school...I will not be able to get an HPSP military scholarship for three years if I decide to go to UoP; however, I will be able to get the HPSP scholarship if I go to UPenn for 4 years.

So, my question is... how the heck are people planning on paying for dental school? Obviously loans. But loans through the federal government? Private loans?

Doing the math is insane.

Dental School: $400,000
IF I GO INTO A SPECIALTY: $200,000+
Opening a Private Practice: $250,000+
PLUS, all the interest that builds up on these loans... plus owning a car/house/having a family etc.

I know dentistry is the profession for me. I am just concerned on how people are paying for dental school and what is a realistic time frame to pay off these loans. I was counting on the HPSP scholarship; however, since things didn't work out.... I am not sure what to do.

Any guidance will be very helpful. Thank you!

The cost of attending dental school is definitely scary, and is a pretty serious consideration. For both schools (pretty much all schools), you will have to look beyond the government subsidized stafford loans. The good news is that you'll most probably be eligible to obtain other loans (albeit at a higher rate, through your schools fin aid office) to cover the remaining balance. The bad news is that its going to be accruing interest from the day its dispersed.

The plus side of UoP (as you already know) is that you get an extra year to make those payments+ an extra year of interest saved on the accrual. I dont know much about HPSP but its probably not something you can count on getting. There are also some loan repayment programs which you can enroll in after you complete school-but those are very competitive and you cant count on getting those either.

Most people say its possible to pay the loans off before the given time period, but those people were also in school when the cost of attendance was much lower.

 

[DavesNotHere]

The cost of attending dental school is definitely scary, and is a pretty serious consideration. For both schools (pretty much all schools), you will have to look beyond the government subsidized stafford loans. The good news is that you'll most probably be eligible to obtain other loans (albeit at a higher rate, through your schools fin aid office) to cover the remaining balance. The bad news is that its going to be accruing interest from the day its dispersed.

The plus side of UoP (as you already know) is that you get an extra year to make those payments+ an extra year of interest saved on the accrual. I dont know much about HPSP but its probably not something you can count on getting. There are also some loan repayment programs which you can enroll in after you complete school-but those are very competitive and you cant count on getting those either.

Most people say its possible to pay the loans off before the given time period, but those people were also in school when the cost of attendance was much lower.

I agree. I would add, the fed govt will give you unsub loans and grad plus loans. You will have enough capital (through) loans to cover, but the interest will be way worse. Def something to get out in excel before you choose dentistry, a school and a residency.

I will add that you have specialty costing 200,000. Many residencies will pay a resident's salary. PEDO, OMFS, and GPR pretty much all pay out a salary across the board (40-60k). You can go on loan deferment at that point where you will owe no payments but some of your loans will still accrue interest.

Plan ahead. There are many routes to takes in a dental career and some are far more lucrative than others.

Good luck 🙂

 

[DrDDSman]

I agree. I would add, the fed govt will give you unsub loans and grad plus loans. You will have enough capital (through) loans to cover, but the interest will be way worse. Def something to get out in excel before you choose dentistry, a school and a residency.

I will add that you have specialty costing 200,000. Many residencies will pay a resident's salary. PEDO, OMFS, and GPR pretty much all pay out a salary across the board (40-60k). You can go on loan deferment at that point where you will owe no payments but some of your loans will still accrue interest.

Plan ahead. There are many routes to takes in a dental career and some are far more lucrative than others.

Good luck 🙂

Dave, can you go into deferment when you are a paid resident or do you have to make an adjusted minimum payment? Does the interest capitalize after deferment or after the 6 month grace period? I know eiither way, its gonna suck.

 

[DavesNotHere]

Dave, can you go into deferment when you are a paid resident or do you have to make an adjusted minimum payment? Does the interest capitalize after deferment or after the 6 month grace period? I know eiither way, its gonna suck.

1. Paid residents can def go into deferment...myself and 75% of my co ressies do this. I'm not an economic whiz, but there's no downside to deferment. I'm in deferment but still making payments on my higher interest loans in an attempt to provide some hemostasis to the bleeding.

2. And I believe that it depends on the loans. Again some correct me if I'm wrong, but the grad+ loans start right away...where's as the sub loans don't for 6 months.

Like u said u basically have to understand that you're going to be incurring about 20k (for me) a year while in residency, but I've crunched the numbers on my prospective salary and it's still way worth it.

 

[dansou5]

Maybe someone said this already but i just skimmed. But i thought UofP had 4 billing periods so it would count as 4 yrs. May want to look into it...

 

[RemiLunaDDS]

In the financial info they gave us it had 4 billing cycles.

 

[DrDDSman]

Maybe someone said this already but i just skimmed. But i thought UofP had 4 billing periods so it would count as 4 yrs. May want to look into it...

Not sure about this, but how does that change the fact that you're only in school for 3 years? I think more billing cycles in this case is actually beneficial in the long run.

 

[dansou5]

Not sure about this, but how does that change the fact that you're only in school for 3 years? I think more billing cycles in this case is actually beneficial in the long run.

Maybe someone from UofP with HPSP can chime in but from what i remember is that they will count the 4 billing cycles for the 4 yr scholarship. I think i ask the recruiter about this and this what i was told. I'm just suggesting to look into it rather then assume you must get a 3yr scholarship for uofp instead of the more common 4 yr.

 

[vienhuynh]

I not even do the DAT test yet, but talking about debt, I have an idea how to pay it off. My mom and dad prob get around 35k per years, I guess? And have to raise 2 kids, yet they manage to save 80k over 5 years. So, just spend on what u need, and push hard to pay off debt, try to pay it off asap. Dont let the interest works its magic. :] Parents grown up in war countries always have an idea how to say, I thankful for that.

 

[colorful]

Besides loans and HPSP, does anyone have other ways paying for the expensive dental schools like UoP, BU, USC, etc?

 

[Silent Cool]

Hey guys,

I got into two great dental schools UoP and UPenn.

My problem is... I don't know how the heck to pay for these schools which are both around $400,000.

I applied for the HPSP scholarship for both Air Force and Navy... but since UoP (my first choice) is only a three-year school and all the 3-year scholarships for Navy/Air Force were given out a long time ago/given to students who are in their first year at dental school...I will not be able to get an HPSP military scholarship for three years if I decide to go to UoP; however, I will be able to get the HPSP scholarship if I go to UPenn for 4 years.

So, my question is... how the heck are people planning on paying for dental school? Obviously loans. But loans through the federal government? Private loans?

Doing the math is insane.

Dental School: $400,000
IF I GO INTO A SPECIALTY: $200,000+
Opening a Private Practice: $250,000+
PLUS, all the interest that builds up on these loans... plus owning a car/house/having a family etc.

I know dentistry is the profession for me. I am just concerned on how people are paying for dental school and what is a realistic time frame to pay off these loans. I was counting on the HPSP scholarship; however, since things didn't work out.... I am not sure what to do.

Any guidance will be very helpful. Thank you!

Shahindian,

I agree. My only objection is that you forgot to include interest 😱

There is a great thread started by a relatively recent grad (in the past 5 years I think) on dental town regarding dental school debt. The thread is here:

http://www.towniecentral.com/Messag...&f=214&t=202553&g=1&st=get out of debt thread

I think personally you should pursue HPSP if you are young and want to attend these schools. But talk to the dentists on this thread. Message them and be straight with them and they will give you the real deal.

good luck.

 

[hockeykspiky]

Look into this new program called PAYE.
Read the program description and do an Excel calculation sheet.

In short, you borrow your 500k for dental school you come out making 100k starting and hit max at 350k 20 years into your career.
In this scenario, you will only pay about 500k TOTAL in 20 years.
500k in 20 years is nothing if you factor in inflation.
In 20 years, 500k will feel like 276k today. 3% inflation. (500k/1.03^20)

Your payment will be based on your income,
If you make 100k you pay 10k.
If you make 350k you pay 35k.
So it's quite manageable.
If you have a smart accountant, you will save more money.

 

[b0110]

Look into this new program called PAYE.
Read the program description and do an Excel calculation sheet.

In short, you borrow your 500k for dental school you come out making 100k starting and hit max at 350k 20 years into your career.
In this scenario, you will only pay about 500k TOTAL in 20 years.
500k in 20 years is nothing if you factor in inflation.
In 20 years, 500k will feel like 276k today. 3% inflation. (500k/1.03^20)

Your payment will be based on your income,
If you make 100k you pay 10k.
If you make 350k you pay 35k.
So it's quite manageable.
If you have a smart accountant, you will save more money.

How do you only pay 500k total if you pay it over 20 years? Won't interest buildup, so you end up paying much more than 500k?

 

[mtndew2013]

The plus side of UoP (as you already know) is that you get an extra year to make those payments+ an extra year of interest saved on the accrual. I dont know much about HPSP but its probably not something you can count on getting. There are also some loan repayment programs which you can enroll in after you complete school-but those are very competitive and you cant count on getting those either.

Agreed

 

[ATG20]

Maybe someone from UofP with HPSP can chime in but from what i remember is that they will count the 4 billing cycles for the 4 yr scholarship. I think i ask the recruiter about this and this what i was told. I'm just suggesting to look into it rather then assume you must get a 3yr scholarship for uofp instead of the more common 4 yr.

I specifically asked one of the UOP HPSP students about this at my interview. The schedule is weird, but only for the military, as they're the one's writing the check. You go up for a 4 year hpsp, as there are 4 billing "years" and still serve for 4 years.

Look into this new program called PAYE.
Read the program description and do an Excel calculation sheet.

In short, you borrow your 500k for dental school you come out making 100k starting and hit max at 350k 20 years into your career.
In this scenario, you will only pay about 500k TOTAL in 20 years.
500k in 20 years is nothing if you factor in inflation.
In 20 years, 500k will feel like 276k today. 3% inflation. (500k/1.03^20)

Your payment will be based on your income,
If you make 100k you pay 10k.
If you make 350k you pay 35k.
So it's quite manageable.
If you have a smart accountant, you will save more money.

Isn't this IBR/ICR with a different name? The program requires you to fill out the same forms. If that's the case, your interest is still snowballing, and come the 25-Year mark, you'll be paying taxes on any 'forgiven' amount; for some grads, this is a significant chunk of change. I plugged some numbers for a loan of 350k into an IBR calculator (see link). It's a lesser amount, but it's something to be considered.
http://tinypic.com/r/8znwwh/6

 

[hockeykspiky]

How do you only pay 500k total if you pay it over 20 years? Won't interest buildup, so you end up paying much more than 500k?

The remaining balance will be forgiven after 20 years of payments, and this is a tax-free event.

 

[cmcner]

The remaining balance will be forgiven after 20 years of payments, and this is a tax-free event.

I haven't been able to find any sources that say that it's tax free. As far as I can see it's only tax free with PSLF, if you have a source that says otherwise I'd be interested to see it.

 

[shootingstar7]

Isn't taxation the catch-22 of this whole IBR thing? Arent you left with hundreds of thousands of dollars of income tax left to pay? Or is it interest?

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

The remaining balance will be forgiven after 20 years of payments, and this is a tax-free event.

I don't think so...

http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/pay-as-you-earn

Disadvantages of Pay As You Earn

You may pay more interest—A reduced monthly payment under Pay As You Earn generally means you’ll be repaying your loan for a longer period of time, so you may pay more total interest over the life of the loan than you would under other repayment plans.

You must submit annual documentation—To set your payment amount each year, your loan servicer, the organization that handles billing and other services for your loan, needs updated information about your income and family size. You must provide the documentation or your monthly payment amount will be changed to the amount you would be required to pay under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, based on the amount you owed when you began repaying under Pay As You Earn, and will no longer be based on your income. This amount will be higher than your prior payment under Pay As You Earn that was based on your income. If you do not provide the required income documentation, unpaid interest will also capitalize.

Though FFEL Program loans are taken into account when determining whether you have a partial financial hardship, only Direct Loans are eligible for the Pay As You Earn repayment plan. Therefore, you will need to select another repayment plan, such as the Income-Based Repayment plan, for any FFEL Program loans that you have.

You may have to pay taxes on any loan amount that is forgiven after 20 years.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

Isn't taxation the catch-22 of this whole IBR thing? Arent you left with hundreds of thousands of dollars of income tax left to pay? Or is it interest?

Yeh, you're left with hundreds of thousands, that is "forgiven". Probably wanna be in ones of these states to reduce the taxes when that time comes.

 

[FlyingSky]

If you guys dont mind studying in Canada
You should learn french and apply to Quebec school
Even if you pay the "foreigner fees tuition" you will never pay close to 400k for school