Questions about Financial Aid in Dental School

[MSPV]

1. So is it true that you can use federal loans such as the direct subsidized, unsubsidized, and may some others to pay for dental school?

2. If you graduate with a B.S. with a lot of hours, will that affect question 1? For example, in my case, in my last year of my B.S., I won't be able to use a pell grant and federal aid. I'll have too many hours and will have to take out loans before I get those hours. So 190 hours is the limit for federal aid at the university level. Is there a limit at the dental school?

3. Would federal aid be enough to be pay for out of state tuition if a Mississippi student like me were to be accepted to a dental school in say, Georgia, Tennessee, or Alabama?

4. Finally, if those questions cannot be answered, where or who can I go to to find answers to those questions? Could I ask them to my pre health advisors at my university?

Thank you!

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[suarez 7]

There are no grants for graduate programs like dental school. The only financial assistance the government will offer are loans. There are 3 types of loans you can get, and only these 3. Your undergraduate degree has no influence on whether or not you can take these loans.

1) Stafford unsubsidized (6.8% interest)
2) GradPLUS (7.9% interest)
3) Federal perkins (5%), but this is harder to get.

The first two will cover your tuition and other costs, it doesn't matter if you are going out of state for school. There is an annual limit on Stafford loans, which is about ~40k for your first year. If $40k is not enough to cover tuition, then you take GradPLUS which will cover the rest. GradPLUS does not have an annual limit.

 

[tommyinVA]

There are no grants for graduate programs like dental school. The only financial assistance the government will offer are loans. There are 3 types of loans you can get, and only these 3. Your undergraduate degree has no influence on whether or not you can take these loans.

1) Stafford unsubsidized (6.8% interest)
2) GradPLUS (7.9% interest)
3) Federal perkins (5%), but this is harder to get.

The first two will cover your tuition and other costs, it doesn't matter if you are going out of state for school. There is an annual limit on Stafford loans, which is about ~40k for your first year. If $40k is not enough to cover tuition, then you take GradPLUS which will cover the rest. GradPLUS does not have an annual limit.

Not true. First of all, you have the Perkins OR the Health Professional Student Loan (HPSL). HPSL is need-based and completely dependent on your parents' income and ability to contribute to your education, regardless of whether or not you're an independent.

Second, no one is required to get the GradPlus loan. At 7.9%, it's atrocious. You always have the option of taking a loan from a private lender, in which case you should be able to get a more competitive rate quite easily if you have good credit and/or a strong co-signer.