Tuition Cost Increase (My dental school expense breakdown)

[OncePreDent]

Hey Y'all!

Saying how we just finished our first semester of dental school, I wanted to post this to see how much tuition typically goes up yearly as you progress through dental school. Plus, people can go back to this in the future and too see what dental school cost in 2023. I am currently a D1 at Roseman (3-year program), and here is the breakdown of my expenses.

D1 year:

Tuition	$86,754
Technology Fee	$500
Instructional Material Fee	$1,760
Student Owned Kit	$2,912
Clinic Usage Fee	$11,490
Student Services Fee	$196
Computer	$1,900
Health Insurance (optional)	$3,900 (N/A for me)
Loupes	$990
Total including fees:	$105,512 (w/insurance - $109,412)

Living Expenses: (per month)

Rent	$1,000
Utilities	$100
Internet	$40
Car (gas)	$60
Food	$300
Misc.	$100
Total	$1,600
Total (12 months)	$1,600 x 12 = $19,200

Total expenses for D1 year = $124,712 (yikes)


Expenses for D2 tuition, fees, etc. below:

D2 year: w/% increase/decrease

Tuition	$90,650 (4.5% increase)
Technology Fee	$500 (no increase)
Instrument Material Fee	$1,620 (8% decrease)
Student Owned Kit	$0 N/A
Clinic Usage Fee	$11,490 (no increase)
Student Services Fee	$330 (68.4% increase)
Computer	$0 N/A
Health Insurance	$3,960 (1.5% increase) (still n/a for me)
Loupes	$0 N/A
Total:	$104,590 (w/insurance - $108,550) (0.8% decrease)

Living Costs: Assuming my D2 year will cost around the same $20,000 living costs.

Total D1 + D2 = $250k

I'm not sure what D3 cost will be yet, but it looks like it is very comparable to D2, so assume another $130k, considering tuition increasing by 4.5%.

Estimated tuition = $86,754 + $90,650 + $94,729.25 = $272,133
Total dental school cost = $380k for the 3-year program at Roseman.

Dental School is way to expensive

Final Update:

Roseman has updated the cost for my 3rd and final year as a dental student, and here it is below. I am honestly surprised they didn't increase it as much as I initially estimated when I did this calculation a year ago.

D3 year: Roseman (2025-2026)

Tuition	$92,500 (2% increase)
Technology Fee	$500 (no change)
Instrument Material Fee	$1,620 (no change)
Student Owned Kit	$0 N/A
Clinic Usage Fee	$11,490 (no change)
Student Services Fee	$500 (51.2% increase)
Computer	$0 N/A
Health Insurance	$3,900 (decrease by $60)
Graduation	$200
Total:	$106,990 (w/insurance - $110,890)

Sadly, this doesn't include the CDCA cost or INBDE, which I'm sure will add an additional $3- $5k.

Here is my final & total cost of attending dental school at Roseman University (1st 3-year program):

Year 1: Total expenses (including living) - $124,712
Year 2: Total expenses (including living) - $124,590
Year 3: Total expenses $106,990 + $24,000 (living) = $130,990

Total cost of dental education w/o living = $317,092
Total cost of dental education w/ living = $380,292

Side note: I found a post I did when I was accepted into Roseman (February 2023), comparing what I estimated would be the total cost to another school I was accepted to. I estimated at the time that the total cost of Roseman would be $370k in total (including living expenses). Unfortunately, I thought it would cost less money than it does. $380k is an absurd amount of money to spend on dental education, and yes, you can say that I get an extra year of income, so it can counteract some of the cost, but it is still a crazy amount of money. People considering spending $500k+ to attend school like USC, NYU, etc. should be highly cautious. Overall, I am happy about attending Roseman University for dental school, but man do I wish it cost less.

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[Ryxndek]

Oof. I think im projected 390k but honestly, they increased the total cost by 8% this year which is outrageous. Im praying it isn’t another 6-8% or I’m gonna be breaking 400k pretty easily…for a state school. I’d post a breakdown like this but our numbers are posted publicly. But no shame in doing it again! (I’ll edit it in) I think it would be nice to get one student from each school to break it down. Could be helpful to have a thread with all the costs so people don’t have to keep fishing for things. And I’ll add it to my signature! A fantastic idea @OncePreDent, hope you’re enjoying your brief winter break!

D1 year: MINNESOTA (2027)

Tuition (In-State)	$45,442
Capital Enhancement Fee	$150
Course Fees	595
Instrument Usage Fees	$4,274
Dentistry Collegiate Fees	$414
Student Services Fee	$962.96
Professional Student Gov Fee	$34.14
Long-Term Disability Insurance Fee	$101.64
Loupes	$1500-3000 (personal preference)
Total including fees:	$52,350.74 (+1500-3000 Have to request more funding)

**Not all fees are on here, tuition and total cost with fees is correct, the breakdown will be added as an excel sheet!

Living Expenses: (per month)

Rent (1 bedroom)	$1,350 (this is cheap), assume 1400-1700 to live alone
Utilities	$100
Internet	Free!
Car (gas)	$200
Food	$600
Misc.	$200
Total	$2,450
Total (9 Months)	$2,450 x 9 (our D1 year is 9 months) = $22,050

Total expenses for D1 year = $74,350
Keep in mind, they do D1 fall - August - December, however you get loans in Sept. And D1 Spring is January - May.
D2 summer starts in May so I didn't factor those costs into the total year as that is a separate year for us.

An additional breakdown is attached for class of 2027. We saw roughly an 8% increase so assume the same or (hopefully...) less for CO2028.

 

[OncePreDent]

Oof. I think im projected 390k but honestly they increased the total cost by 8% this year which is outrageous. Im praying it isn’t another 6-8% or I’m gonna be breaking 400k pretty easily…for a state school. I’d post a breakdown like this but our numbers are posted publicly. But no shame in doing it again! (I’ll edit it in) I think it would be nice to get one student from each school to break it down. Could be helpful to have a thread with all the costs so people don’t have to keep fishing for things. And I’ll add it to my signature! A fantastic idea @OncePreDent, hope you’re enjoying your brief winter break!

Holy cow.. 8% is crazy. Hopefully, it doesn't go up that much going forward. $400k for in-state is insane. I thought the 4.5% increase on my side was a lot lol

Break is amazing! Great to be back home. Hope you had a good first semester at Minnesota! Have you guys been in the sim lab or clinic yet?

 

[Ryxndek]

Holy cow.. 8% is crazy. Hopefully, it doesn't go up that much going forward. $400k for in-state is insane. I thought the 4.5% increase on my side was a lot lol

Break is amazing! Great to be back home. Hope you had a good first semester at Minnesota! Have you guys been in the sim lab or clinic yet?

It's been good! We've been in sim clinic doing waxing. Our oral anatomy is very in-depth, honestly have a love-hate relationship with waxing but BOY do I know point angles, line angles, and embrasures. We start operative next semester with perio and proths as well. We've been in the clinic a few times assisting, but we don't get our first patients until end of D2 year I believe.

And yeah...it hurt me seeing the 8% increase. But rumor had it they increased D1 by a lot so they didn't have to increase the remaining years by too much. So...hopefully that's the case. Living in Minneapolis right now isn't cheap, unfortunately.

 

[charlestweed]

Hey Y'all!

Saying how we just finished our first semester of dental school, I wanted to post this to see how much tuition typically goes up yearly as you progress through dental school. Plus, people can go back to this in the future and too see what dental school cost in 2023. I am currently a D1 at Roseman (3-year program), and here is the breakdown of my expenses.

D1 year:

Tuition	$86,754
Technology Fee	$500
Instructional Material Fee	$1,760
Student Owned Kit	$2,912
Clinic Usage Fee	$11,490
Student Services Fee	$196
Computer	$1,900
Health Insurance (optional)	$3,900 (N/A for me)
Loupes	$990
Total including fees:	$105,512 (w/insurance - $109,412)

Living Expenses: (per month)

Rent	$1,000
Utilities	$100
Internet	$40
Car (gas)	$60
Food	$300
Misc.	$100
Total	$1,600
Total (12 months)	$1,600 x 12 = $19,200

Total expenses for D1 year = $124,712 (yikes)


Expenses for D2 tuition, fees, etc. below:

D2 year: w/% increase/decrease

Tuition	$90,650 (4.5% increase)
Technology Fee	$500 (no increase)
Instrument Material Fee	$1,620 (8% decrease)
Student Owned Kit	$0 N/A
Clinic Usage Fee	$11,490 (no increase)
Student Services Fee	$330 (68.4% increase)
Computer	$0 N/A
Health Insurance	$3,960 (1.5% increase) (still n/a for me)
Loupes	$0 N/A
Total:	$104,590 (w/insurance - $108,550) (0.8% decrease)

Living Costs: Assuming my D2 year will cost around the same $20,000 living costs.

Total D1 + D2 = $250k

I'm not sure what D3 cost will be yet, but it looks like it is very comparable to D2, so assume another $130k, considering tuition increasing by 4.5%.

Estimated tuition = $86,754 + $90,650 + $94,729.25 = $272,133
Total dental school cost = $380k for the 3-year program at Roseman.

Dental School is way to expensive

It's cheaper than going to UCLA (my alma mater). According to their website, the total cost for 4 years at UCLA is $430k🙁. Tuition & Projected Costs of Attendance: 4-Year DDS | UCLA Dentistry

 

[OncePreDent]

It's cheaper than going to UCLA (my alma mater). According to their website, the total cost for 4 years at UCLA is $430k🙁. Tuition & Projected Costs of Attendance: 4-Year DDS | UCLA Dentistry

That's rough; dental school is way too pricey. How much was it when you went to school at UCLA?

 

[OncePreDent]

It's been good! We've been in sim clinic doing waxing. Our oral anatomy is very in-depth, honestly have a love-hate relationship with waxing but BOY do I know point angles, line angles, and embrasures. We start operative next semester with period and proths as well. We've been in the clinic a few times assisting, but we don't get our first patients until end of D2 year I believe.

That's sweet! I think you all will like operative a lot more than doing waxing in sim.

And yeah...it hurt me seeing the 8% increase. But rumor had it they increased D1 by a lot so they didn't have to increase the remaining years by too much. So...hopefully that's the case. Living in Minneapolis right now isn't cheap, unfortunately.

Yeah hopefully that's true because that would be crazy high for it to increase by 8% per year (24%) increase by the D4 year. These dental schools know how to make some good money

 

[Ryxndek]

That's sweet! I think you all will like operative a lot more than doing waxing in sim.

Yeah totally, I’m ready to get a hand piece !

Yeah hopefully that's true because that would be crazy high for it to increase by 8% per year (24%) increase by the D4 year. These dental schools know how to make some good money

Hope and a prayer lol, we will find out in May if it’s true

 

[charlestweed]

That's rough; dental school is way too pricey. How much was it when you went to school at UCLA?

$92k for all 4 years…and the $8k/yr (+ $2k/summer quarter) tuition stayed the same the entire 4 years. It could have been much less, if I didn’t have to take out an additional loan (it was called dental residency loan) to pay for the ortho application fees and travel expenses for my ortho interviews. My sister went to UCSF and she only owed $70k for her 4 years there. My wife went to a cross town rival school, USC, and she took out $230k for her DDS + another $80k for her perio.

Because I maxed out the loan amount during my DDS years, my ortho program didn’t let me borrow the amount that I needed for the living expenses. I guess there was a cap of how much one could borrow. After paying the ortho tuition, I only had about $7k to live for the whole year. I had to use the credit card convenient checks to deposit more money into bank account so I could pay rents. My total debt was around $170k ($92k for DDS + $55k for ortho + around $25k in credit card debt). I know….It’s nothing in comparison to what the current students have to borrow.

 

[OncePreDent]

$92k for all 4 years…and the $8k/yr (+ $2k/summer quarter) tuition stays the same the entire 4 years. It could have been much less, if I didn’t had to take out an additional loan (it was called dental residency loan) to pay for the ortho application fees and travel expenses for my ortho interviews. My sister went to UCSF and she only owed $70k for her 4 years there. My wife went to a cross town rival school, USC, and she took out $230k for her DDS + another $80k for her perio.

Because I maxed out the loan amount during my DDS years, my ortho program didn’t let me borrow the amount that I needed for the living expenses. I guess there was a cap of how much one could borrow. After paying the ortho tuition, I only had about $7k to live for the whole year. I had to use the credit card convenient checks to deposit more money into bank account so I could pay rents. My total debt was around $170k ($92k for DDS + $55k for ortho + around $25k in credit card debt). I know….It’s nothing in comparison to what the current students have to borrow.

That's unreal 😳

Also, the fact that your wife only (lol) had $230k from her DDS at USC. It really makes me wonder how much dental school is going to cost in another 10 years. I feel like it has to stop at some point right? Every school can't hit the $1,000,000 in debt mark, hopefully.

 

[SuxDrugs&Rocuronium]

Hey Y'all!

Saying how we just finished our first semester of dental school, I wanted to post this to see how much tuition typically goes up yearly as you progress through dental school. Plus, people can go back to this in the future and too see what dental school cost in 2023. I am currently a D1 at Roseman (3-year program), and here is the breakdown of my expenses.

D1 year:

Tuition	$86,754
Technology Fee	$500
Instructional Material Fee	$1,760
Student Owned Kit	$2,912
Clinic Usage Fee	$11,490
Student Services Fee	$196
Computer	$1,900
Health Insurance (optional)	$3,900 (N/A for me)
Loupes	$990
Total including fees:	$105,512 (w/insurance - $109,412)

Living Expenses: (per month)

Rent	$1,000
Utilities	$100
Internet	$40
Car (gas)	$60
Food	$300
Misc.	$100
Total	$1,600
Total (12 months)	$1,600 x 12 = $19,200

Total expenses for D1 year = $124,712 (yikes)


Expenses for D2 tuition, fees, etc. below:

D2 year: w/% increase/decrease

Tuition	$90,650 (4.5% increase)
Technology Fee	$500 (no increase)
Instrument Material Fee	$1,620 (8% decrease)
Student Owned Kit	$0 N/A
Clinic Usage Fee	$11,490 (no increase)
Student Services Fee	$330 (68.4% increase)
Computer	$0 N/A
Health Insurance	$3,960 (1.5% increase) (still n/a for me)
Loupes	$0 N/A
Total:	$104,590 (w/insurance - $108,550) (0.8% decrease)

Living Costs: Assuming my D2 year will cost around the same $20,000 living costs.

Total D1 + D2 = $250k

I'm not sure what D3 cost will be yet, but it looks like it is very comparable to D2, so assume another $130k, considering tuition increasing by 4.5%.

Estimated tuition = $86,754 + $90,650 + $94,729.25 = $272,133
Total dental school cost = $380k for the 3-year program at Roseman.

Dental School is way to expensive

 

[juniordentist]

I'm all for calling out dental schools for their ridiculous tuition. It is largely a scam. But 110k a year for a 3 year program doesn't seem too bad? If it was 4 years then we are talking on the same par as NYU which is a complete scam but only having to do 3 years of dental school allows an extra year of work by the time other students have finished their 4 year degree... plus I would rather 1 year less of suffering in dental school... plus it is much easier to get a job with a year of private practice experience.

So this is a case where I would happily pay extra for only 3 years of dental school and then go work rural for a year where the real experience is gained anyway, and overall a much better situation than a similarly priced 4 year program

 

[Pablo Sanchez]

Dental school is expensive. Limit your debts as much as you can. You can’t control tuition increases. You can control what you spend on rent, clothes, and entertainment, etc.

The good news is you can make substantial money in dentistry. Graduated with $200k of debt in 2022. Paid it off in just over a year. Now I’m a debt free DMD.

 

[OncePreDent]

Dental school is expensive. Limit your debts as much as you can. You can’t control tuition increases. You can control what you spend on rent, clothes, and entertainment, etc.

The good news is you can make substantial money in dentistry. Graduated with $200k of debt in 2022. Paid it off in just over a year. Now I’m a debt free DMD.

That's impressive that you could pay it down within your first 1 and a half.

My goal is to live like a poor dental grad until I pay off my loans (hoping to get them paid off within 3 years). How much did you/do you spend on CoL per month while you were paying it down?

 

[Pablo Sanchez]

That's impressive that you could pay it down within your first 1 and a half.

My goal is to live like a poor dental grad until I pay off my loans (hoping to get them paid off within 3 years). How much did you/do you spend on CoL per month while you were paying it down?

I probably averaged spending $1500 per month while paying it down. My main expenses were the cost of gas/tolls and dates with my girlfriend. We do something fun every weekend.

I lived at home with my parents during dental school and during my first year working. This is the entire reason I was able to do this. Some people look at my situation and dread the idea of living with your parents in your mid twenties. That’s fair. Everyone is different. I look at their situation and dread the lifetime of debt they put themselves into in order to wear figs in dental school and pay for their $2500/month apartment during dental school.

 

[Thehighwind87]

I probably averaged spending $1500 per month while paying it down. My main expenses were the cost of gas/tolls and dates with my girlfriend. We do something fun every weekend.

I lived at home with my parents during dental school and during my first year working. This is the entire reason I was able to do this. Some people look at my situation and dread the idea of living with your parents in your mid twenties. That’s fair. Everyone is different. I look at their situation and dread the lifetime of debt they put themselves into in order to wear figs in dental school and pay for their $2500/month apartment during dental school.

Figs? The dentists now-a-days go for the more high end stuff.

 

[OncePreDent]

Final Update:

Roseman has updated the cost for my 3rd and final year as a dental student.

D3 year: Roseman (2025-2026)

Tuition	$92,500 (2% increase)
Technology Fee	$500 (no change)
Instrument Material Fee	$1,620 (no change)
Student Owned Kit	$0 N/A
Clinic Usage Fee	$11,490 (no change)
Student Services Fee	$500 (51.2% increase)
Computer	$0 N/A
Health Insurance	$3,900 (decrease by $60)
Graduation	$200
Total:	$106,990 (w/insurance - $110,890)

Sadly, this doesn't include the CDCA cost or INBDE, which I'm sure will add an additional $3- $5k.

Here is my final & total cost of attending dental school at Roseman University (1st 3-year program):

Year 1: Total expenses (including living) - $124,712
Year 2: Total expenses (including living) - $124,590
Year 3: Total expenses $106,990 + $24,000 (living) = $130,990

Total cost of dental education w/o living = $317,092
Total cost of dental education w/living = $380,292

Side note: I found a post I did when I was accepted into Roseman (February 2023), comparing what I estimated would be the total cost to another school I was accepted to. I estimated at the time that the total cost of Roseman would be $370k in total (including living expenses). Unfortunately, I thought it would cost less money than it does. $380k is an absurd amount of money to spend on dental education, and yes, you can say that I get an extra year of income, so it can counteract some of the cost, but it is still a crazy amount of money. People considering spending $500k+ to attend school like USC, NYU, etc. should be highly cautious. Overall, I am happy about attending Roseman University for dental school, but man do I wish it cost less.

 

[juniordentist]

380k for 3 years is ok, considering if you factor in a year of work and being able to save, I would say it's equivalent to 300k debt for 4 years of dental school, plus, at that point you have a years worth of experience so further ahead than grads of a 4 yr program.

Did you account for interest on your loans? Wouldn't your loans be much higher than 380k once interest is factored in?

 

[schmoob]

I never knew there was another school with a 3 year program. I thought it was only UoP. Is this going to become more common?

 

[Ryxndek]

I never knew there was another school with a 3 year program. I thought it was only UoP. Is this going to become more common?

yeah Lyon is a new 3 year program, along with Roseman now. Seems to be a trend, unsure how their grads are coming out of these programs. UoP has been pretty consistent, but Roseman hasn't graduated their new 3year cohort yet and Lyon is just starting this coming year I believe.

 

[D1Bound]

There was plenty of nonsense to cut out of my 4 year degree. 3 year should be standard. If I was applying today Roseman would be my #1 choice. Get in and get out.

 

[schmoob]

I agree. Memorizing the Krebs Cycle, and which are the start and stop codons or what the Golgi apparatus does is all irrelevant to our jobs. We have plenty of didactics and clinical time that we should be focusing on instead of information we data dump once we are done with the final exam.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

or what the Golgi apparatus does is all irrelevant to our jobs.

I’m not sure I appreciate this attitude…

Big Hoss

 

[OncePreDent]

I agree. Memorizing the Krebs Cycle, and which are the start and stop codons or what the Golgi apparatus does is all irrelevant to our jobs. We have plenty of didactics and clinical time that we should be focusing on instead of information we data dump once we are done with the final exam.

Even in the 3 year program we still have pointless classes that still don't relate to dentistry lol. I'm sure it is significantly less than 4-year programs though. I have 2 months left of classes and than I am full time clinic (starting D3 year). Honestly being in a 3 year program I couldn't imagine what a 4-year would be like. 3-years makes a lot of sense to me

 

[D1Bound]

Even in the 3 year program we still have pointless classes that still don't relate to dentistry lol. I'm sure it is significantly less than 4-year programs though. I have 2 months left of classes and than I am full time clinic (starting D3 year). Honestly being in a 3 year program I couldn't imagine what a 4-year would be like. 3-years makes a lot of sense to me

Plus you have one less year being analyzed by malignant faculty