Your opinion on choosing a dental school

[sweettooth5]

I am having a difficult time deciding on a school. I have been accepted to University of Louisville and University of Kentucky. If I choose Louisville, I can live with my parents and commute 35 min to school each day and save a ton of money over the 4 years. I don't want to make my decision based on money and I am also worried I may not really get the full effect of dental school and making friends if I live away from school. Kentucky is too far for me to commute but there I will have to pay rent and utilities every month. I like both schools in terms of facilities and staff but if anyone has any input on living away from school, I would appreciate it. Thank you!

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[texas_dds]

35 minutes is not far at all. normally i am an advocate of leaving the nest, but your situation sounds pretty good with Louisville. as long as you will be able to conduct a normal social life while living at your parents, i think you might want to consider it strongly.

 

[carbide]

is that 35 min with rush hour traffic? i think it would be too tempting to not live with the parents b/c of how much money you can save. As long as your parents are not crazy and you honestly think that you can live with them then I would do it. You will meet people easy enough as you will be around the dental school most of the day. Plus coming home to a cooked meal every so often is nice.

 

[sweettooth5]

No that isn't taking into consideration the traffic but I was going to drive it on Monday morning to get a feel of what it would be like. My parents are great and I would have our entire basement to myself. Thing is, I went away to do my undergraduate work in Alabama so I haven't lived with them in 4 years but I really think they will be easy to live with. I have always had a hard time making decisions...especially when they're both good choices. UK has a smaller class size and more friends in the area but UL has a SIM lab and great specializing programs. Thank you all for your help.

 

[DROCKINDAHOUSE]

Do you realize how lucky you are to have the opportunity to live at home and save so much money? Do yourself a favor and take advantage of it while you can. If the two schools are similar in your estimation then I would bet you will thank yourself in a couple of years for doing so.

 

[KOM]

Are you kidding me?

You're in your 20's!!! The greatest time in your life...and you want to save money by living with your parents?

Get a grip...be independent, grow up!!!!

DROCKINDAHOUSE needs to save his breath and save it for his next date. Don't listen to him.

Live your life bro...money isn't everything.

 

[DROCKINDAHOUSE]

Are you kidding me?

You're in your 20's!!! The greatest time in your life...and you want to save money by living with your parents?

Get a grip...be independent, grow up!!!!

DROCKINDAHOUSE needs to save his breath and save it for his next date. Don't listen to him.

Live your life bro...money isn't everything.

Great advice. "Spend an extra 80k in high interest money just so you can have your own place." What if the OP wants to start his/her own practice after graduation. Don't you think that they would be in much better shape to do so financially if they had that much less debt?

And KOM, there are all sorts of things that I could say that I'm not going to. I came to help not to hate.

 

[cookand]

Considering you lived away from your parents in undergrad(where did you go if you don't mind) I don't see as big of a problem living at home for DS. I love my parents but can't imagine ever living with them again after being on my own.

I personally think the money is secondary to the school you feel you will be more comfortable with.

 

[charlestweed]

When you live away from home, you have to spend time cooking your own meals….and it is time consuming. I'd rather spend time driving back and forth and have a nice dinner with my parents if I were you.

I did ortho at Louisville. It's a good school and the city is very nice….there are plenty of good restaurants and shopping centers. I really enjoyed watching the fireworks during the Kentucky Derby. Lexington is too small and boring (well, I only went to Lexington twice for CE classes).

I think it is crazy to spend an extra $80k so you can have your own place. I lived with 4 other roommates (classmates) and only paid 250/month. I didn't miss anything by not having my own place. In fact, these 4 roommates (and my parents) encouraged me to specialize. I also become a better person b/c of my close relationship with my parents.

Because I didn't spend a lot of money during my dental and residency years, I was able to afford 3 very nice cars and a beautiful home right after my graduation….I was able to accomplished my dream a lot sooner than I expected.

 

[charlestweed]

..

 

[Dental Mom]

If I was you I'd live with parents, it will really save you money, and if you already have a good relationship with them, then why not? Another $80K+ added to your loan will be huge to pay back.

If both programs are similar, *in few yrs from now when you have to start paying back all these loans you will be very happy that you did!

I have my husband to give me room and board, so I'll be saving a lot of money, will pay off the loans sooner, and have my own clinic sooner.

Do both schools have the same tuition???

What ever you decide, make sure you are happy and had explored all of your options. Get online and play with some loans calculators and compare your total debt....

 

[sajjy]

When you live away from home, you have to spend time cooking your own meals….and it is time consuming. I’d rather spend time driving back and forth and have a nice dinner with my parents if I were you.

I did ortho at Louisville. It’s a good school and the city is very nice….there are plenty of good restaurants and shopping centers. I really enjoyed watching the fireworks during the Kentucky Derby. Lexington is too small and boring (well, I only went to Lexington twice for CE classes).

I think it is crazy to spend an extra $80k so you can have your own place. I lived with 4 other roommates (classmates) and only paid 250/month. I didn’t miss anything by not having my own place. In fact, these 4 roommates (and my parents) encouraged me to specialize. I also become a better person b/c of my close relationship with my parents.

Because I didn’t spend a lot of money during my dental and residency years, I was able to afford 3 very nice cars and a beautiful home right after my graduation….I was able to accomplished my dream a lot sooner than I expected.

Can you share how much loans did you take out?

 

[MONKEYBOY]

Personally, I don't think it matters where you go to school. Seems like all the backwash learning materials are taken from some other school, so it probably shakes out to be pretty similar at each place.

The newer schools may do a better job if the enthusiasm is still there.

My $0.02

 

[charlestweed]

Can you share how much loans did you take out?

$0 in undegrad (I had a PT job and I lived w/ my parents). 92k for dental and 50k for ortho. My wife borrowed $308k (undergrad + dental + perio).

 

[sweettooth5]

Thank you all for your input!

*Cookand: I will graduate from Auburn in May.

*Dental Mom: Yes, both schools are about the same amount for tuition and fees.

 

[Dental Mom]

sweettooth5, as a mom of 2 boys I'm bias and will always love to help and have my boys living with me until the day they are done with college and get married, LOL!!!! Anyways, good luck!

 

[dent2009]

I don't know about dent schools in the south, but the ones that I know require you to be in class from 8-4 + lab work + studying. You'll most likely go home just to eat and sleep and probably won't get much face time with your 'rents which means less chances for them to bother you. SAVE THAT $$$.

No that isn't taking into consideration the traffic but I was going to drive it on Monday morning to get a feel of what it would be like. My parents are great and I would have our entire basement to myself. Thing is, I went away to do my undergraduate work in Alabama so I haven't lived with them in 4 years but I really think they will be easy to live with. I have always had a hard time making decisions...especially when they're both good choices. UK has a smaller class size and more friends in the area but UL has a SIM lab and great specializing programs. Thank you all for your help.

 

[pietrodds]

go where makes the most financial sense... also, it doesn't hurt to have warm, healthy meals waiting for you so you can focus on others things! I think half my mental anguish in school was that fact that I ate so poorly in Dschool... I felt like the guy in 'Super Size Me.'

 

[STREETRAT]

Go to the one with the easiest curriculum, and high graduation rate. It's an attractive idea to study in a less cut-throat environment.

So silly to think that sabotaging a classmate is going to win you that dream residency years from now.

 

[DROCKINDAHOUSE]

See...I keep telling everyone golf is a REAL sport.

 

[cookand]

Thank you all for your input!

*Cookand: I will graduate from Auburn in May.

*Dental Mom: Yes, both schools are about the same amount for tuition and fees.

Not a bad school.

 

[UCSF2012]

I am having a difficult time deciding on a school. I have been accepted to University of Louisville and University of Kentucky. If I choose Louisville, I can live with my parents and commute 35 min to school each day and save a ton of money over the 4 years. I don't want to make my decision based on money and I am also worried I may not really get the full effect of dental school and making friends if I live away from school. Kentucky is too far for me to commute but there I will have to pay rent and utilities every month. I like both schools in terms of facilities and staff but if anyone has any input on living away from school, I would appreciate it. Thank you!

Living with the parents blow. I left the crib at 18 and never looked back. Don't care if it costs more money, because there are some things on this planet more important than money.

 

[KOM]

Living with the parents blow. I left the crib at 18 and never looked back. Don't care if it costs more money, because there are some things on this planet more important than money.

LMAO. Amen.

 

[KOM]

Great advice. "Spend an extra 80k in high interest money just so you can have your own place." What if the OP wants to start his/her own practice after graduation. Don't you think that they would be in much better shape to do so financially if they had that much less debt?

And KOM, there are all sorts of things that I could say that I'm not going to. I came to help not to hate.

I see where you're coming from and everyone is different. 80K is a lot and I used to think like that.

However it's not "just so you can have your own place." It's so you can have your own life. I moved out with a couple thousand bucks in my pocket and drove 4500 miles across the US to experience something new. Best choice I ever made.

Ultimately you just need to figure out what you want for yourself.

 

[bigstix808]

Great advice. "Spend an extra 80k in high interest money just so you can have your own place." What if the OP wants to start his/her own practice after graduation. Don't you think that they would be in much better shape to do so financially if they had that much less debt?

And KOM, there are all sorts of things that I could say that I'm not going to. I came to help not to hate.

if you are spending 20k on living expenses a year...you might need to take a class on money management.

branch out...live your own life!

but don't hate...i'm from the south. we have some pretty cheap living down here

 

[somethinpositiv]

Living with the parents blow. I left the crib at 18 and never looked back. Don't care if it costs more money, because there are some things on this planet more important than money.

True that.

 

[MnBr63]

Not telling you either way what you should do but I will say that I have a few classmates that live at home about the same distance and it is taxing on them driving to and from every day. 35 mins each way is an hour and ten minutes of study time a day...almost 6 hours a week. not to mention there are times when you leave and come back to school. We just had a week of school canceled for snow and ice and our schedule is all over the place right now trying to make up those days.
I live downtown right now with 1 roommate and walk to school everyday and it is still the cheapest apartment i've ever lived in. I'm an out of state student so i'm looking to cut every possible cost.