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My biggest concern about dental school is the debt. Im taking out $110,000 a year to pay for school. Plus, I'm carry over almost $30,000 from undergrad. Thats ging to be $470,000 not including the interest. When I graduate, I'm going to live with my fiance and he will pay for all my expenses and 100% of my income will go towards paying back loans as soon as possible. Even with this it still seems like its going to be awhile to pay it off.

Going to dental school seems like a horrible financial decision. Any advice or personal experiences would be appreciated. Thank you!
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What makes it 110k/year? What’s the total tuition/fees and how much is living expenses?
 
Consult with studentloanplanner. They might be able to guide you better.
 
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Jinx121 said:
My biggest concern about dental school is the debt. Im taking out $110,000 a year to pay for school. Plus, I'm carry over almost $30,000 from undergrad. Thats ging to be $470,000 not including the interest. When I graduate, I'm going to live with my fiance and he will pay for all my expenses and 100% of my income will go towards paying back loans as soon as possible. Even with this it still seems like its going to be awhile to pay it off.

Going to dental school seems like a horrible financial decision. Any advice or personal experiences would be appreciated. Thank you!
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I don't recommend going to dental school with that amount of debt.
 
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BeggarsCantBeChoosers said:
Temple just increased tuition by 4% for 2020-2021. These schools have no mercy.
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Absurd. Even when schools seems to move to remote learning and without as much access to campus resources this year due to COVID, I would hope the moral thing to do would decrease tuition at least a minimal % ...
 
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Temple dental is ridiculous! A tuition freeze was proposed back in April by the president of Temple University and approved two weeks ago. Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple Podiatry, and Temple Law also decided to freeze tuition. But what about Temple dental? NOPE. Let's increase tuition by 4% to add to the fire and let the students suffer.
 
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Jinx121 said:
My biggest concern about dental school is the debt. Im taking out $110,000 a year to pay for school. Plus, I'm carry over almost $30,000 from undergrad. Thats ging to be $470,000 not including the interest. When I graduate, I'm going to live with my fiance and he will pay for all my expenses and 100% of my income will go towards paying back loans as soon as possible. Even with this it still seems like its going to be awhile to pay it off.

Going to dental school seems like a horrible financial decision. Any advice or personal experiences would be appreciated. Thank you!
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With that type of debt, consider the military. You can do the HPSP offered by the Army, Navy or Air Force. It pays 100% of tuition plus gives monthly stipend in exchange for service after graduation. Imagine graduating and not owing a dime from dental school. Also, the National Guard and Army Reserves have loan repayment programs. You can also consider the NHSC. They pay your tuition and give stipend and you have to work at an NHSC site when you graduate. Considering any of the aforementioned options can save you at least $600,000
 
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Jinx121 said:
$75,000 tuition
$15,000 books and supplies
$13,000 housing and personal
$5,000 other
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HPSP and NHSC are the best options but they are pretty competitive. Another one is public service loan forgiveness I think they got a work for 10 year and forgive rest of your loan policy for now, but who knows if that'd change in future. I know quite a lot of friends with that loan amount and they are going for REPAYE. You are not the only one It will be okay.
Try to cut down the budget in some areas for e.g you definitely don't need that much $ for books/supplies. And try to find a cheap place to live. I lived in a pretty cheap place that looks like it's from the 70s for 4 years lol.
 
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Hi!

I recently graduated from dental school in California and my student loan is around ~$230k right now.
I want to hear what other dentists have done to pay off their loans. What would be the best way?
PLEASE Any advice or personal experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Work as many days as you can without getting burned out, refinance to a lower rate as soon and as often as possible, live like a student/resident, don't buy an expensive car, put everything you have after living expenses towards your debt.

I had about $250K after graduating and I paid it off in less than 5 years. It would've been sooner had I not gotten married and bought a house (not that I regret doing those things, just saying that as a single working dentist you can probably pay off $230K in 3 years).
 
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I forgot to mention that it's easier if you DON'T live and practice in California...
 
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Svart Aske said:
I forgot to mention that it's easier if you DON'T live and practice in California...
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Can I ask which state you practiced in? It’s okay not to share :) but thank you so much for sharing! I want to pay off my loans asap and don’t mind living like a student! And I’m single atm but I’m interested in buying a house.
 
Svart Aske said:
Work as many days as you can without getting burned out, refinance to a lower rate as soon and as often as possible, live like a student/resident, don't buy an expensive car, put everything you have after living expenses towards your debt.

I had about $250K after graduating and I paid it off in less than 5 years. It would've been sooner had I not gotten married and bought a house (not that I regret doing those things, just saying that as a single working dentist you can probably pay off $230K in 3 years).
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Do you regret not waiting out the 25 years and letting the government pay it off for you? Heard that’s what the cool kids are doing these days...
 
flossopher said:
Can I ask which state you practiced in? It’s okay not to share :) but thank you so much for sharing! I want to pay off my loans asap and don’t mind living like a student! And I’m single atm but I’m interested in buying a house.
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I practice in Pennsylvania but anywhere outside of the coastal metros should be good.
 
vk223 said:
HPSP and NHSC are the best options but they are pretty competitive. Another one is public service loan forgiveness I think they got a work for 10 year and forgive rest of your loan policy for now, but who knows if that'd change in future. I know quite a lot of friends with that loan amount and they are going for REPAYE. You are not the only one It will be okay.
Try to cut down the budget in some areas for e.g you definitely don't need that much $ for books/supplies. And try to find a cheap place to live. I lived in a pretty cheap place that looks like it's from the 70s for 4 years lol.
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Thats actually what the school estimated for books and supplies. Who knows, maybe my tools will be made out of gold haha.
Thanks for your advice anyway. I think I'll look into REPAYE
 
dababy123 said:
Incoming D1s/D1s would be not too bad in a position, you think? Low interest rates and will be in school while economy recovers
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these publications state that the dental industry will take 1-2 years to get back to the levels prior to the current recession but it won't recover to the level it was previous to the great recession (2007-2010)

https://www.dentaleconomics.com/money...

https://milliman-cdn.azureedge.net/-/...

incoming D1s/D1s will have to deal with yearly higher increasing tuition rate. When we graduate the reimbursement rate may decline even more, our job opportunities could be more DSO and less private or public health (so the avg salaries may decrease) and no one knows how this pandemic truly will affect production.

I would wait to see how the industry is after they introduce the vaccine to the masses.
 
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Upcoming D3 here, and I need advice, the debt is truly eating me out. Graduation is 2yrs from now (hopefully w/ corona who knows...), and I added my loans in the studenaid.gov calculator, and it comes up to 309,000 after the 4yrs, I am in state... I am married, my husband doesn't make enough money to pay for everything, so I've been having to pick up half the payments for rent, food etc.. etc.. We don't have car payment, my husband doesn't have school loans, he graduated debt free. Our lease is expiring, and my mom suggested we move back home for the next two years.

We'll be living rent free, and although it sounds amazing because with husband's salary we'll start paying some of my undergraduate debt the ones that are subsidized, and I'll be able to reduce the amount of loans that I am taking the next two years, so the debt should come up to a 265k, or something...and that's without paying the undergraduate one.

My fear is that if it's worthy all the issues I see coming in the next two years. We are moving from a 2B/2Br to 1BR it has its own bathroom, but the closet space is nonexistent.

We've lived with my parents before and I even though we have a great relationship, I am scared. We love our freedom, and we love the perks, we are close to school, close to restaurants, and friends. Moving to my parents it's pretty far, like 20min drive from school.

I just wondering if it'll be worthy it.
 
Is the 309k what you currently have? Or is that the projected total when you graduate?


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O Cabra said:
Is the 309k what you currently have? Or is that the projected total when you graduate?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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That's when I graduate, sorry I noticed it wasn't clear, I updated it.
 
So I'm a rising D2 but I'll give you my perspective. My wife and I just had our second child and we had one already when I started dental school. We decided to live with my inlaws to save money as well. We decided that it was worth saving the rent money, which for us would have been an extra 50K over four years for student housing. Although it's not ideal, and my commute to school is now 30-45 minutes, it's worth it to me to save that extra money. I think if you guys can make it work, it will be worth it in the long run. An extra 40-50K might not seem like a lot in the long run, but I think you'll be thanking yourself in the future when more of your income can go into your own pocket instead of student loans. Not only will you not have to take out more loans, but you said your husband's income will allow you to pay off some of the existing student loans which will be great because that will be less interest accrued. And if you decide you hate living with your parents you always will have the option to move out, although it's not fun to move a second time. That's just my opinion though.
 
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O Cabra said:
So I'm a rising D2 but I'll give you my perspective. My wife and I just had our second child and we had one already when I started dental school. We decided to live with my inlaws to save money as well. We decided that it was worth saving the rent money, which for us would have been an extra 50K over four years for student housing. Although it's not ideal, and my commute to school is now 30-45 minutes, it's worth it to me to save that extra money. I think if you guys can make it work, it will be worth it in the long run. An extra 40-50K might not seem like a lot in the long run, but I think you'll be thanking yourself in the future when more of your income can go into your own pocket instead of student loans. Not only will you not have to take out more loans, but you said your husband's income will allow you to pay off some of the existing student loans which will be great because that will be less interest accrued. And if you decide you hate living with your parents you always will have the option to move out, although it's not fun to move a second time. That's just my opinion though.
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Thank you so much for replying, and giving me your perspective. My commute might also turn into 30-45 with traffic, but I think it'll be okay. Congratulations in your new baby!!
 
O Cabra said:
So I'm a rising D2 but I'll give you my perspective. My wife and I just had our second child and we had one already when I started dental school. We decided to live with my inlaws to save money as well. We decided that it was worth saving the rent money, which for us would have been an extra 50K over four years for student housing. Although it's not ideal, and my commute to school is now 30-45 minutes, it's worth it to me to save that extra money. I think if you guys can make it work, it will be worth it in the long run. An extra 40-50K might not seem like a lot in the long run, but I think you'll be thanking yourself in the future when more of your income can go into your own pocket instead of student loans. Not only will you not have to take out more loans, but you said your husband's income will allow you to pay off some of the existing student loans which will be great because that will be less interest accrued. And if you decide you hate living with your parents you always will have the option to move out, although it's not fun to move a second time. That's just my opinion though.
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How old are you if you don't mind?
 
~$300k is a lot, but it's not unmanageable, especially if you have a working spouse.

Let's say you graduate with $300k and get a corp job paying $150k/year. I don't know how much your husband makes, but let's also say he continues working and is making $70k/year. That amounts to a total of $220k household income, which would be ~$150k take home pay after taxes. If your $300k is on a 10-year repayment schedule and accruing interest at 6.8%, your yearly debt repayment would be ~$3400/month, or $40k/year. Even after debt service, you'd still be taking home $110k. That can provide for a very comfortable life.

I'm a big proponent of choosing the cheapest school available and doing what you can to reduce total loans, but I think there also needs to be a balance. You seem to have reservations about moving back in with your family, which is reasonable. Saving $50k now will save you nearly $100k in the future when you consider 10-years accrued interest, so moving is your better financial option. But if moving in with your family is going to hurt your academic performance or mental health, I probably wouldn't, given that your financial alternative is not so bad.
 
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40kish in savings is like getting 1-1.5 years closer to freedom from having to pay debt service on the loans, just my 2 cents.
 
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How much does your husband make? My first impression is that he needs to work more/get a better job.

I might move in with my inlaws, but it would be after I did other things that were painful. Personally, I'd rather live in a small apartment that was cheap than live with my inlaws.

I actually love my inlaws.
 
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NITRAS said:
How much does your husband make? My first impression is that he needs to work more/get a better job.

I might move in with my inlaws, but it would be after I did other things that were painful. Personally, I'd rather live in a small apartment that was cheap than live with my inlaws.

I actually love my inlaws.
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~30k, maybe a little more! :(... he's finishing a 2nd degree part-time to advance in his job... he works in management.
 
toothmagic said:
the debt is truly eating me
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if you are like me, debt will be a significant source of stress. I'm already debt free but am trying to go back to specialize and the idea of paying for school again makes me sick inside. it's really good that you are thinking of this critically and proactively, this alone tells me you will be 'ok' debt wise with either decision you make.

toothmagic said:
Moving to my parents it's pretty far, like 20min drive from school.

I just wondering if it'll be worthy it.
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20 minutes is not far in my opinion. for me its the perfect opportunity to "wind up" and "wind down" from the day. drink your coffee, have your alone time, etc. will you be driving and paying for parking at the school or taking public transportation? how much is parking if driving? D3 and D4 year for me was mostly clinical anyway so it's not like you will be losing study time if you're gunning for a specialty.

will it be worth it? only you can answer that. I will tell you my quick thoughts on debt, "good debt", "bad debt" "red debt" "blue debt" call it whatever you want, ALL DEBT IS BAD DEBT to me. Personally I'd live at home for 2 years and start paying it off if it were me. maybe I missed it, but do you have kids? its a very personal decision obviously. no ones going to blame you for choosing either way. best.
 
Thank you everybody for giving me some perspective, i think i made up my mind and we are definitively moving with the folks, i rather have less loans --> less interest lately... :) we'll be able to bounce back quicker from it than with 309k in debt.
 
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