Question for USC grads and practicing dentists

[Xdentallos]

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How much was your total debt in loans when you graduated and, in the loans they give you, do they include housing and food/living expenses?

Also how feasible is it to pay back with what you're making?

Also where did you live?

Thanks!

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

How much was your total debt in loans when you graduated and, in the loans they give you, do they include housing and food/living expenses?

Also how feasible is it to pay back with what you're making?

Also where did you live?

Thanks!

Cost of Attendance - Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC

Tuition and fees is right around $400,000. This does not factor in accrued interest or annual tuition increases. Looks like USC also expects you to need around $30,000/year for living expenses. There’s another $100,000+ on top of tuition and fees. So...I’d expect you to have AT LEAST $550,000 in student loans with a crushing 6-7% interest rate. Buckle up, the payback won’t be pretty. To pay that back in TWENTY YEARS, you’ll have to come up with $50,000/year. This is of course after tax money, so you’ll need to earn around $65,000/year just for your student loans. Any idea what other expenses life will throw at you? Long story short, if you get into a cheaper school, by all means go there!

Big Hoss

 

[averageasian]

Cost of Attendance - Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC

Tuition and fees is right around $400,000. This does not factor in accrued interest or annual tuition increases. Looks like USC also expects you to need around $30,000/year for living expenses. There’s another $100,000+ on top of tuition and fees. So...I’d expect you to have at least $550,000 in student loans with a crushing 6-7% interest rate. Buckle up, the payback won’t be pretty. To pay that back in TWENTY YEARS, you’ll have to come up with $50,000/year. This is of course after tax money, so you’ll need to earn around $65,000/year just for your student loans. Any idea what other expenses life will throw at you? Long story short, if you get into a cheaper school, by all means go there!

Big Hoss

you can pay that back with a orthodontist's/specialist's salary though in like 3 years:

350k a year times 3 = 1.5 mil

*sarcasm*

 

[allantois]

you can pay that back with a orthodontist's/specialist's salary though in like 3 years:

350k a year times 3 = 950k

*sarcasm*

My alarms went off until I saw the sarcasm part..

You could pay it off as long as that specialty program didn't add any additional debt - but how many of those are out there now

 

[deleted968166]

How much was your total debt in loans when you graduated and, in the loans they give you, do they include housing and food/living expenses?

Also how feasible is it to pay back with what you're making?

Also where did you live?

Thanks!

I went to USC and graduated with $400k of debt. It is more expensive now to attend USC. I paid it off in a little under 4 years and that was with living in my old high school room, having zero social life, working 5 to 6 days per week, taking no vacations/sick days, driving a beater car that had no gas gauge and eating a lot of sandwiches for dinner. Not kidding.

 

[prime1time]

I didn't go to USC, but I'm a 3rd year dental student at a private dental school. I'd recommend thinking long and hard about why you want to dentistry in the first place. Kids that go to expensive dental schools either have family members in Dentistry, come from a well-off family, get a NHSC/HPSP scholarship or have some other leg up. The vast majority aren't taking out the entire COA.

Even if you don't qualify for any of the military or NHSC scholarships before hand, after you graduate you can always join the respective agency and get solid loan repayment back that way. The guy above shows you another way to do it. I was just thinking about the pros and cons of moving back home also but I'm not willing to compromise my social life and take no vacation days for 4 years lol. What he did sounds very extreme and something that I'd not be willing to do.

If you are going into dentistry because you genuinely like the field you'll be fine. I'd recommend not going to a super expensive school like USC (they might be the most expensive school in the nation lol) if you can help it because the value of the education simply isn't there. The possible benefit of waiting a year, improving your numbers and going to another school is very real.

 

[avangusva]

USC grad; many classmates with 450k+ in loans. Great clinical school.

 

[yasc]

USC grad; many classmates with 450k+ in loans. Great clinical school.

Any idea on how they're all planning on paying it back?

 

[avangusva]

Any idea on how they're all planning on paying it back?

Most will be on some income based repayment program (RE-PAYE, PAYE) which is what I imagine most people will use if they have higher debts loads.

 

[predent2151]

550k pre accrued interest and delta just dropped their reimbursement rates by ~15% Jesus Murphy.