Where do dental students live? and what do they do for money?

[JYD]

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I'm sorry if my questions seem really basic, but I'm curious as to what kind of living arrangements are usually available for dental students. Is there student housing on campus, or do most dental students need to find off-campus housing (which can be very expensive)?

Also, we all know dental school can be very expensive, and scholarships and loans can only stretch so far, so what do dental students do for money while they are in school? Unfortunately, not everyone, myself included, can rely on our parents to supplement our finances during the dental school years. So what do dental students do to make ends meet and get through school when scholarships and loans are leaving you short?

 

[aphistis]

Scholarships? They definitely reach about as far as you can throw them in dental. Loans, on the other hand...It's been addressed in a couple other threads, HERE and HERE.

Basically, you can take out as much loan money as you need. I'm counting on $120,000 over the four years, and that's at the low end of the spectrum. You'll find plenty of people here who'll owe over twice that by the time they're out. Also, all your government loans should go through a single lender (Sallie Mae in my case); I'd go with whoever handled your undergrad loans for the sake of simplicity.

Hope this helps a little!

 

[aphistis]

Also, housing will vary depending on what school you're attending. IUSD is almost strictly commuter, and living arrangements are up to the student to arrange. Living allowances are included in your loans though, so don't worry about taking being turned down on big loan applications. As long as you can show you'll be spending it on something, you'll be approved. Remember, the more loans they give you, the more money they make from you, and health profession students are considered one of the safest loan investments around 😀

 

[gryffindor]

In our area, it is much cheaper to live off campus than to get the cushy, all inclusive campus-owned graduate housing.

Our school (a state school) budgets for everything that a dental student could need for school expenses and standard living costs and awards loans accordingly to cover that budget. Students tend to differ when it comes to the "living" expenses part. Some feel it is absolutely necessary to have a cable-connection high-speed internet and fancy cable. The school does not see this as necessary because you can use the school's dialup at home or wireless at school which is included in your tuition to accomplish school assignments. So those students have an extra bill. Also, it varies where you want to live. Some insist they can't live with a roommate. So their costs go up a lot more than if you share a place with someone. If you drive an SUV, your monthly gas bill is way higher than someone driving a Honda Civic. Many people have fancy gym memberships when you could theoretically use the school gym (although its hours are highly incovenient for dental students). It's little things like these where I see most people complaining how they don't have enough money.

So if you can discipline yourself to live on a strict budget, you can probably be ok. There are emergency loans available to students if you have an unexpected car repair or illness or something. Most of the students in my class don't work, although some have been able to hold down steady part-time jobs and still be dental students. However, their jobs must offer them some flexibility because sometimes your exam schedule is merciless. But I can't say that these are always the most stellar students holding down the regular part-time jobs.

 

[DoctorSaab]

what is the process of an international student to get loans? do u guys know?

are the interest rates way higher?