Questions about Student Loans for Dental School

[childofthesacredheart]

Dear SDN,

In December, I got accepted into a dental school, and next month, I will have a meeting with the financial aid office to ask them questions about taking out loans to pay for dental school. However, I don't know what questions to ask. I have never taken out any loans. I don't understand anything about loans. I have no idea what I am doing. I don't know what documents I should bring.

What questions should I ask the financial aid representative?
Can you please help me come up with a list of questions, as soon as possible?

When I went to the dental school interview, there was a portion of the interview where they explained the financial aid - but I completely fell asleep during the financial aid portion of the interview.

Should I ask them to give me that financial aid presentation of the dental school interview day?

What questions should I ask them? Where do I begin?

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[sjv]

It works like this: You need X amount of money for dental school, the government is willing to give it to you, you then promise to pay them back but the amount you pay back is more than what you initially borrowed due to interest.

First, fill out FAFSA here: https://fafsa.ed.gov

Then the school you've committed to attend will send you a financial aid package likely consisting of loans. You fill out the paperwork promising to pay it back and tada, you have sold your soul to the government and they will disperse you the money when school starts.

Read about direct loans here: http://www.direct.ed.gov/student.html

 

[toothfixeralex]

Biggest thing I'd suggest is make sure you know what you're getting into with your debt. Dental school is definitely not cheap and the options like Income Based Repayment and Pay As You Earn have a lot of pit falls that can be very misleading. Taking out loans is sadly one of the only ways to really pay for school, just know that the current climate for schools is one in which you pay a lot more than those that went before you so you'll be paying back those loans a bit longer.
Having said that, dentistry is a very rewarding profession and in the end I think taking out the debt is "worth it."

As far as questions, definitely check with your school. I know the school I went to had a great financial aid dept. within the dental school so I never really had to deal with the main campus at all, which was great. They were also very willing to talk through my options with them on the phone whenever something would come up.

Finally, I'd highly suggest looking at other ways to pay for school, or at least to help offset the costs. One option is the Health Professions Scholarship Program offered through the Army, Air Force, and Navy. This program pays for 100% of your school and gives you a bit more than $2100/month in a stipend to help live off of. In return you work for the military for 3-4 years making very good money while there. There is also a program where the Reserves will pay you a stipend while in school but nothing towards your tuition, in return you serve a couple of days per month and something like a week or two later in the year. I could go on for a while about the benefits of the Army (and I have under my old username: stagemanagerav).
If you have any questions let me know. Either way, you're going into an amazing field; however you choose to get there.

 

[Faux]

Since you're in the army toothfixeralex, how do you feel about your hand skills has you transitioned into the public sector? Thats one of my main concerns about the scholarship.

 

[Dgeorg6]

What is the best loan one can get and at what interest rate? I think I read that direct stafford loans are at only 5.4% right now (up to what amount though??) and then jump up to 6.4% after a certain amount is met. Then after you reach a 40k a year thresh hold you have to jump up to Direct Plus loans at 6.8%?? Is this correct?

and also isn't the interest rates supposed to increase every year and is connected to the economy? so the %'s I just posted are basically irrelevant for next year?

 

[sjv]

What is the best loan one can get and at what interest rate? I think I read that direct stafford loans are at only 5.4% right now (up to what amount though??) and then jump up to 6.4% after a certain amount is met. Then after you reach a 40k a year thresh hold you have to jump up to Direct Plus loans at 6.8%?? Is this correct?

and also isn't the interest rates supposed to increase every year and is connected to the economy? so the %'s I just posted are basically irrelevant for next year?

D1 and D2 max for Direct is $40,500, D3 and D4 max is $47,167, and current rate is 5.41%. Aggregate total is $224,000 if you have outstanding Stafford Loans. After that, you would use Direct Plus currently at 6.41%. Rates are tied to financial markets and interest rates will be determined each June for new loans being made for the upcoming award year.

 

[toothfixeralex]

Since you're in the army toothfixeralex, how do you feel about your hand skills has you transitioned into the public sector? Thats one of my main concerns about the scholarship.

I haven't transitioned to private practice yet but I can tell you that you'll get very very fast at direct restorations while in the Army. Amalgam vs composite depends on the clinic where you work, but you'll be doing your preps is a 3-5 minutes usually. The "risk" is in pros. Right now I've only cut a few crowns, but my clinic is hoping to get a CEREC soon so we'll be cutting a lot more. My OS is good as we have an OS suite at my clinic so we do a good amount of work there. Endo is struggling, but again, clinic specific. We do a good number of pulps, but not the obturation.

Overall, basic hand skills are well nutured, which is the most important. In my opinion, if you can cut a Class II amalgam prep perfectly then you can do pretty much anything in restorative dentistry.

Hope that helps.

 

[str8ner]

Dear SDN,

In December, I got accepted into a dental school, and next month, I will have a meeting with the financial aid office to ask them questions about taking out loans to pay for dental school. However, I don't know what questions to ask. I have never taken out any loans. I don't understand anything about loans. I have no idea what I am doing. I don't know what documents I should bring.

What questions should I ask the financial aid representative?
Can you please help me come up with a list of questions, as soon as possible?

When I went to the dental school interview, there was a portion of the interview where they explained the financial aid - but I completely fell asleep during the financial aid portion of the interview.

Should I ask them to give me that financial aid presentation of the dental school interview day?

What questions should I ask them? Where do I begin?

Childofthesacredheart,

I assume you are dead set on going to dental school? I only ask because the debt issue is a killer. Contrary to popular belief, it's ok to question your decision to be a dentist. That said, you need to predict how much money will be necessary to get through 4 years of dental school. From there, you can determine about what your monthly payment will be for the next 25 years. Also determine what you plan to do when you graduate. If you aim to become a general dentist, you can expect around $120,000 per year as an associate. After making the loan payment, will the money left over be satisfactory to you? Remember, dental school is long and arduous. If you are like me, you don't want to just get by after all that effort. You may want to be a specialist. If so, that will equate to more income, but only after incurring more debt. You are about to embark a long journey. It will be hard to change course once you sign the promissory note.

Bottomline: Keep your debt under control and be aware of the income you will need to be happy and pay off those loans.