Poor Dentist

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ll Source ll

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Hey I was wondering, is it possible to go to dental school and residency(orthodontist) without being in debt? And I mean WITHOUT the Army/Airforce/Navy Scholarship.Because I needed a full tuition scholarship to college because my single mom makes <30,000 a year and i really,truly want to become a dentist, but i just dont have the money to pay for dental school.If it makes any difference im an under-represented minority (African American).


So is there any sort of full scholarship, or significant amount scholarship, Grant+workstudy program, that is possible for ANY dental school that will allow me to graduate with 0$ debt?

thx.
 
I don't know about getting a full scholarship, but you definitely can get all the loans and aid you'll need without any trouble, and pay it off throughout your career.
 
Dude nobodys parents can afford it. Take out the loans or due it through military. Why would you expect just to get it for free? what a joke
 
This isn't a scholarship search, hun. Nobody wants to pay a cent for their schooling too.
 
some schools do offer their "top" applicant a full ride.
There are also a lot of private scholarships that would fund people in your situation. But i hope money doesn't discourage you from pursuing dentistry🙂
 
the answer to OP's post is "probably not". you could sit around and fill out dozens upon dozens of scholarships, write dozens upon dozens of essays in hopes of winning the prizes, only to have to do it again every year that you're in dental school.

Like someone said up there, there are plenty of loans + scholarships that will let you go through school without any problems, and once you're done and become a practicing dentist, you should have no problems paying those loans back.

As for work study, it's really not recommended. You'll need a lot of that free time to stay caught up in all your classes and lab experiments. it's not impossible (I have heard of a few people doing bartending every once in a while on the weekends for some spending cash), but not the type of money you'll need to get through d-school with zero debt.
 
Not only do I not have the money for dental school, I don't have the money for the bachelors degree I am getting right now. You are not alone. My parents have given me absolutely no money toward my education and they won't start when I go to dental school. I recently moved back in with my parents for personal reasons and they are making me pay rent to live there. I plan on taking out loans for the entire cost of dental school. Don't worry though, it will all be worth it. 😀
 
I'm wondering why you can only go to school if you don't take out loans? I certainly understand the situation with your mom, but that is why they offer student loans in the first place. I just don't want you to give up on a dream because you are afraid of the debt of school. It is an investment you are making on your future and one that you will be able to repay given the financial upside of the career.
 
So...if you actually did make it to become an orthodontist, making 300,000+ dollars a year, you feel as though you should not have to pay society back for putting you through school because your single mother is poor?

I don't get it, what makes you so special? There are plenty of programs out there that I am not eligible for because my parents did ok for themselves. So, my education will already cost me more money than someone whose parents are less financially fortunate. Funny thing is that my parents won't be paying my student loans.
 
The thing is... there are no dental schools that actually expect parents to pay for your dental education, at least in my opinion. I personally believe that the schools look for applicants that are motivated and mature enough to do it all on their own. There are plenty of applicants that they can choose from, so although there may be a 4.0 23+ DAT person applying, who expects his parents to do everything for him, there will be 5 other 4.0 23+ DAT persons who are going to do it all on their own.

My only advice to you is to accept the fact that you have to pay for your education. Think of it as an investment of your time, and money. You cant just invest your time, and you cant just invest your money. Its a commitment, and if your not willing to follow through with it, then I suggest you consider a different career path.

I may sound harsh, but that is reality. The reality is that SOME parents are able, and willing to put their kids through schools. The reality is that the MAJORITY of dental students pay for their own education through loans, or other means, but they do it one way or the other, which is why I am fully confident in the quality of dentists graduating from dental school. They are motivated enough to put up with all of it.
 
It's the very rare individual whose parents foot the bill when they're in professional school.

Most people take on the responsibility to pay for dental school themselves.
 
What a ridiculous thread. You should make more than enough as a dentist to pay for your loans. If you don't like debt, this is the wrong profession to be in.
 
There are scholarships available and if you apply to enough, you can considerably slash your potential debt and costs. Would you be opposed to entering the military to have no debt at the end and a good shot at specializing if you don't mind staying in for longer? Good luck finding a way to finance dental school, it is unfortunate that it has to be so expensive and deter those interested in the profession from entering. But remember...you'll find a way.
 
ll Source ll said:
because my single mom makes <30,000 a year and i really,truly want to become a dentist, but i just dont have the money to pay for dental school.If it makes any difference im an under-represented minority (African American).
Click to expand...

My mom (also a single parent) made 22,K when I was in undergrad, and my scholarships and grants still didn't cover the cost. BUT, you know what? I wanted to go to school so bad, I was willing to do whatever it took: work 2 jobs, take out loans, credit cards, etc. just to make it happen. The problem with your post is that it implies that if you don't get your education paid for by someone else, that you will not be able to go. If that is the case, then maybe you don't "really, truly want to become a dentist".

As you have already heard, MANY people do not have the resources to sustain the financial demands of a dental/medical education. I know at least 6 people in D-school right now with every one of them needing to take out loans in order to make it. You should consider yourself fortunate that you do not have undergraduate loans to add to that burden.

I'm sure that scholarships for African Americans are out there, but I wouldn't count on them fronting the entire bill for your dental education. Most of us have to make sacrifices in order to achieve this goal. Is there a reason that you, or anyone else shouldn't be expected to? Be creative and apply for as many grants and scholarships as you can, BUT fully plan on taking out a loan IF you "really, truly want to become a dentist".

Whatever you do, don't let financial challenges keep you from pursuing dentistry. If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way. Good luck.
 
thanks for the replies guys/girls, you knocked some sense into my head. :luck:
 
just curious, are you getting a free ride for your undergrad education, or are you taking out loans to cover that?
 
NAVY DDS 2010 said:
It is not as rare as you think.
Click to expand...


I agree it is really not as rare as people think at all... I think many people who are in that situation just wont advertise it because it is weird esp when you know that people arent in your situation....

but that being said, everyone isnt as fortunate as some people whose parents promised them a debt free education and I think that its silly for someone to expect a full ride (black or otherwise) because while there is a lot of money out there for minorities, people arent throwing a free education... work hard and you will get some money, then take out some loans like everyone else who has to do that...
 
ToothPrincess said:
I agree it is really not as rare as people think at all... I think many people who are in that situation just wont advertise it because it is weird esp when you know that people arent in your situation....

but that being said, everyone isnt as fortunate as some people whose parents promised them a debt free education and I think that its silly for someone to expect a full ride (black or otherwise) because while there is a lot of money out there for minorities, people arent throwing a free education... work hard and you will get some money, then take out some loans like everyone else who has to do that...
Click to expand...

i feel no empathy for people in the OP situation. my mom made <25000 as long as i can remember. yea, i'm a white male, but i have the grades and extra curriculars to back up all of my scholarships and grants from the states i've lived in. oh, and yes, they were all need based, not so much scolastic. you want a free ride to school....you'd be better off moving to another country...you want to work hard for what you deserve...stay here and hope for the best. i'm not goign to play any kind of race card....but being a "minority" you have more options that i do for not only getting IN TO school, but finding a better way of paying for it. that's just the way it is. get over your self. good day!
 
bigstix808 said:
i feel no empathy for people in the OP situation. my mom made <25000 as long as i can remember. yea, i'm a white male, but i have the grades and extra curriculars to back up all of my scholarships and grants from the states i've lived in. oh, and yes, they were all need based, not so much scolastic. you want a free ride to school....you'd be better off moving to another country...you want to work hard for what you deserve...stay here and hope for the best. i'm not goign to play any kind of race card....but being a "minority" you have more options that i do for not only getting IN TO school, but finding a better way of paying for it. that's just the way it is. get over your self. good day!
Click to expand...


i totally agree with you... i am black and i get very angry when people play the race card... get over it... work hard, do well on the dat and hope for the best like everyone else... i dont know what it is like to ever have financial hardships, but i do know many people who do and they are in dental, medical, law, and every other type of school...
 
I don't know about all of you guys, but I'm excited to be hundreds of thousands in the hole!
 
The numbers that I've heard from a couple california schools are about 98% of students graduate with debt/loans. Dental students, however, have close to 99% payback rate on their loans. There are need based scholarships (a couple thousand dollars each) and many others ranging from one school to the next.
 
bigstix808 said:
i feel no empathy for people in the OP situation. my mom made <25000 as long as i can remember. yea, i'm a white male, but i have the grades and extra curriculars to back up all of my scholarships and grants from the states i've lived in. oh, and yes, they were all need based, not so much scolastic. you want a free ride to school....you'd be better off moving to another country...you want to work hard for what you deserve...stay here and hope for the best. i'm not goign to play any kind of race card....but being a "minority" you have more options that i do for not only getting IN TO school, but finding a better way of paying for it. that's just the way it is. get over your self. good day!
Click to expand...

I hear you. I could turn my life into a sob story but I refuse to. The OP needs to stop feeling sorry for himself.
 
so you black and broke. girl, you be trippin' if you think you isn't a dime a dozen.
 
That stat about $100k+ debt seems a bit inflated. When I was in school, the AVERAGE debt of someone finishing school was $40k. I borrowed for EVERYTHING and ended up $130k in debt. So if no one's parents are paying for school, there must be a ton of crack dealers in my school.
 
Elipar said:
That stat about $100k+ debt seems a bit inflated. When I was in school, the AVERAGE debt of someone finishing school was $40k. I borrowed for EVERYTHING and ended up $130k in debt. So if no one's parents are paying for school, there must be a ton of crack dealers in my school.
Click to expand...

Average schools now are 200-300k all in.

Also, I'm paying for alot of my school and I never dealt crack or got it from pops. I'm 26 and made some wise investments over the years. 🙂
 
Elipar said:
That stat about $100k+ debt seems a bit inflated. When I was in school, the AVERAGE debt of someone finishing school was $40k. I borrowed for EVERYTHING and ended up $130k in debt. So if no one's parents are paying for school, there must be a ton of crack dealers in my school.
Click to expand...

At several financial presentations we were told that the average debt of graduates last year was $163,000.
 
Elipar said:
That stat about $100k+ debt seems a bit inflated. When I was in school, the AVERAGE debt of someone finishing school was $40k. I borrowed for EVERYTHING and ended up $130k in debt. So if no one's parents are paying for school, there must be a ton of crack dealers in my school.
Click to expand...

Wow, I had never considered that option... would that be called unethical? 😳
 
NAVY DDS 2010 said:
It is not as rare as you think.
Click to expand...

I agree, Dental school is no different than Ivy League, or private undergrad, got a TON of friends who got that ride free.
-C
 
the top UW minority each year gets a full scholarship for tuition only from WSDA or WSDF. its a lot of money, but you still have to come up with money (be rich, work, LOANS) for cost of living and I think extra things like instruments and other misc lab fees
 
Source...just get over it. Nobody is gonna pay for you to become a rich ass dentist. That doesn't make any sense! Just about all of us will take out loans to pay for dental school. I'm in that same boat as you. Maybe even worse. Young black male, raised as a ward of the state after the death of my parents. I pulled myself up with loans and grants. There's no such thing as a free ride. Even in my situation. Stand up and be a man. If this is what you want than you'll have to pay dues. This is your life. Not anyone elses.
 
As has been mentioned, not all debt is bad. It takes money to make money, and educational debt (if taken responsibly) is a good type of debt. It will increase your earning potential, which is a good thing.
 
I'd like to hear back from you all in a few years and find out who is most in debt. What would be the most expensive tuition + room/board? NYU? Housing ain't cheap.
 
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