Why are Dental School Scholarships Rare?

[GoldFilling]

Just curious so I thought I'd ask: even though med schools are far less expensive on average than are dental schools, it seems that scholarships are more plentiful for med students. Any reason why that is? Also, as of the fact that I haven't been offered any scholarships, I was just wondering how much is usually offered to worthy applicants. $10k/yr? $20k?


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[Faefly]

This is kinda sad, I know some law schools pay full scholarships for students that have very high LSAT and GPA. Why dental schools don't do that as well?
On the other hand, I know a girl who got 26 on DAT and I don't know how much her gpa was, but she said she got the full ride in some dental school.
So I think it could happen!

 

[Buck-E-Badger]

I'll take a shot in the dark and say that it costs more to establish and maintain a dental school than it does other professional schools due to the expensive equipment (chairs, mannequins, etc.) and thus there is less money left over to go towards scholarships. Again, just a guess.

 

[toothdoctor123]

Most dental schools don't have money to give out to students. They tend to spend all of their revenue on clinic, salaries, facilities, new technology, etc.

Med schools, on the other hand, are cheaper to run and can have sizable endowments. Lots of people donate to med schools, while no one donates to dental schools. People like to think that their donations go towards saving lives.

 

[Likkriue]

Dentists aren't donating to their school as often as medical school.
If let's say 100 dentists donate 10k each to a scholarship for students, that's 1 million dollars. That can cover plenty of tuition. But how many dentists are willing/can afford to donate back with half a million dollars in debt? It's sad to be honest.

 

[toothdoctor123]

Dentists aren't donating to their school as often as medical school.
If let's say 100 dentists donate 10k each to a scholarship for students, that's 1 million dollars. That can cover plenty of tuition. But how many dentists are willing/can afford to donate back with half a million dollars in debt? It's sad to be honest

Well, that's certainly going to be a bigger problem in the future, but the current situation is due to the attitude of the older generation of dentists. I think a lot of them are bitter about the experiences they had in school, believe that dental education has gotten worse over time, and/or doubt that schools would put their money to good use.

The other thing is that non-dentists aren't going to donate to dental schools, whereas old billionaires who feel that their lives are owed to their physicians will donate millions to med schools. Bill Gates (e.g.) isn't going to walk out of a dental office feeling so profoundly touched by his dentist's commitment to service that he will send a big check to a random dental school. Our work is not considered as important. Plus, people think we're in this out of self-interest moreso than an interest in serving humanity (which is often true).

 

[Faefly]

Well, that's certainly going to be a bigger problem in the future, but the current situation is due to the attitude of the older generation of dentists. I think a lot of them are bitter about the experiences they had in school, believe that dental education has gotten worse over time, and/or doubt that schools would put their money to good use.

The other thing is that non-dentists aren't going to donate to dental schools, whereas old billionaires who feel that their lives are owed to their physicians will donate millions to med schools. Bill Gates (e.g.) isn't going to walk out of a dental office feeling so profoundly touched by his dentist's commitment to service that he will send a big check to a random dental school. Our work is not considered as important. Plus, people think we're in this out of self-interest moreso than an interest in serving humanity (which is often true).

Yet, you can't even function with a toothache! That's unfair!

 

[Likkriue]

Well, that's certainly going to be a bigger problem in the future, but the current situation is due to the attitude of the older generation of dentists. I think a lot of them are bitter about the experiences they had in school, believe that dental education has gotten worse over time, and/or doubt that schools would put their money to good use.

The other thing is that non-dentists aren't going to donate to dental schools, whereas old billionaires who feel that their lives are owed to their physicians will donate millions to med schools. Bill Gates (e.g.) isn't going to walk out of a dental office feeling so profoundly touched by his dentist's commitment to service that he will send a big check to a random dental school. Our work is not considered as important. Plus, people think we're in this out of self-interest moreso than an interest in serving humanity (which is often true).

Really a shame. I plan to donate no matter what and will definitely encourage my classmates to when we are graduated and settled.

 

[allantois]

Because dental school deans and administrators do a lousy job at trying to contain costs and/or establish school funding coming from sources other than student tuition.

 

[allantois]

Dentists aren't donating to their school as often as medical school.
If let's say 100 dentists donate 10k each to a scholarship for students, that's 1 million dollars. That can cover plenty of tuition. But how many dentists are willing/can afford to donate back with half a million dollars in debt? It's sad to be honest.

And that would only cover tuition for 2 students. Whereas if they were to donate to a nursing school, it would go to cover 100 students.

 

[rivarat]

Dentists aren't donating to their school as often as medical school.
If let's say 100 dentists donate 10k each to a scholarship for students, that's 1 million dollars. That can cover plenty of tuition. But how many dentists are willing/can afford to donate back with half a million dollars in debt? It's sad to be honest.

I, for one, won't donate a cent to my debtal school. Never.

 

[Likkriue]

I, for one, won't donate a cent to my debtal school. Never.

Which one did you go to that caused such resentment.

 

[Faefly]

I, for one, won't donate a cent to my debtal school. Never.

what is your school, if you don't mind asking.