Correct me if I'm wrong, but interviewing =/= making decisions on applicants. I'm not trying to offend, just curious. 😉
I think an accurate point would be to admit that you cannot speak for every adcom instead of attempting to put my posts down. I'm sure that this is not the most important factor in the actual re-application, but to say that it's BS and that it's not ever taken into account is much too general a statement IMO.
The mere fact that AADSAS asks applicants to list schools from previous application cycles and whether someone was accepted or enrolled means that information is there. Beyond that, I don't think anyone can say for certain how it's used other than the admissions officers. I did my due diligence to try to get the info from the horse's mouth, and even though the process is not exactly the same for medical and dental school the reasoning I was given was one that wasn't strictly tied to whether someone was a medical school or a dental school applicant.
In the end, I believe what you're saying is true if one compares expensive private school to their state school, but becomes less and less true when one compares expensive private school vs expensive private school.
I had no say whatsoever in who got accepted, or interviewed for the undergraduate dental program. I did, however, see every dossier on all the applicants to the post graduate program and had a much more active role there.
My honest opinion is that you're fear mongering a little. You're getting these guys to second guess every decision. Fundamentally, the most sound decision has more to do with the cost of education than any other factor. Especially since a state school can be almost half the cost of a private school. Now this trend is starting to change and state school tuitions are going up dramatically. But as a doctor who has very real debt and has to pay them off, my sense is that at the level of the debt some/many of these kids graduate with, it's not worth it. The debt will not just be a burden to your personal life, but also impede your professional career. You may have an opportunity to work in an amazing office. The pay may not be great up front but over the course of your career it might be amazing... if you have huge student loans, you won't be able to consider these practices. Instead, these guys have to jump into a practice where they need to make money and fast. Guess what. That means either a chain, or other form of high volume low reimbursement practice.
Now if you're not in dental school, or haven't graduated, none of this is your 'reality'. But I know plenty of people who are stuck in such a boat. Especially in the north east where the cost of living is so high.
If my only choice was USC or don't go to dental school, and my expected loans were to exceed 400k, I'd choose not to go to dental school. The other thing no one has mentioned in this thread (that I'm able to see) is that the loans you take out are accruing interest during the 4 years of dental school, with the exception of the subsidized loans. So your 400k is actually closer 450k once you graduate, or even higher.
If you go the IBR route, your payments are manageable, yes, but I'm not terribly comfortable with my loans actually getting bigger every year instead of smaller. Interest payments on a 400k loan is 2300+/mo alone. If your first year out you're only making 80k or 100k, you're only going to pay about 1000/mo. That extra 1300k is still accruing every month.
I don't know, for all the work you go through to become a dentist and to be compensated so poorly because of student debt, there are better ways to make a living and other ways to help people without becoming impoverished yourself.
