Here's What Dental School Could Cost for the Class of 2021

[Student Loan Planner]

Summary

-About 10% of grads in 2021 could owe over $600,000 at graduation

-About 1 in 3 could owe over $500,000

-About 50% could owe over $400,000

-About 80% could owe over $300,000

These numbers assume that everyone attending a public state school is an in state student and qualifies for the lower tuition, so this estimate is probably low for someone financing their entire education with student loans. Current average dental school debt according to the ASDA is $261,000. That number includes people who had spouses pay for cost of living, families that paid for part of their school, HPSP scholarships that covered 3 out of 4 years etc. So my point is that if you're paying for dental school yourself, there's an 80% chance or better that you'll leave with over $300,000 in student loans for the class of 2021.

The Details

The blue bars are the current listed cost of attendance. The orange bars are my own estimate. All the numbers below represent the in state tuition cost. If you were an out of state student, from what I've researched you would probably owe over $500,000. These estimates are if you have no spousal, family, or personal financial support during school. They assume you have no scholarships, no military assistance, or anything but the federal loan program.

I'm attaching the resulting excel file below showing the links where I got the info at each school. It includes my notes on the data gathering so folks can check for themselves. I would appreciate any comments or thoughts to make it better. Also, if I'm made a mistake please let me know in the comments below.

I'm working on cost estimates for all professional programs, but wanted to post the dental results here. I've written in the past why dental schools misstate the true cost of attendance. That makes their published cost estimates not represent the true amount of student loans you could have at graduation.
Why is this? It's because they include a fraction of loan origination fees if at all. They never include future cost increases in tuition, but state in the fine print that they've "historically been between 4% to 7% per year."
Also, schools never include accrued interest in their cost of attendance. For that reason, I've found it important to multiply the 4 year school estimate for cost of attendance by 1.27 to get the true cost if you're paying for everything with student loans. I estimated $20,000 per year for living expenses if the school neglected to include an estimate.

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[#cariology]

 

[Obaidi]

 

[rhemsley]

Because one thread wasn't enough

 

[Student Loan Planner]

I just wanted to put this info out there so people can see. Now you know what the cost could be at your specific school.

 

[Cali20002]

Might have to check the cost of attendance for some schools. UIC is not cheaper than U Pitt.

 

[rhemsley]

I just wanted to put this info out there so people can see. Now you know what the cost could be at your specific school.

I just tease. I personally don't mind what you're doing in trying to raise awareness. Fortunately my school is very near the bottom.

 

[rhemsley]

I also think calculations might be off. I don't understand how Nebraska is more expensive than Iowa.

 

[super frank]

It's also important to note that you can easily slash estimated living expenses almost in half at most schools, if you're willing to live frugally.

 

[Student Loan Planner]

Might have to check the cost of attendance for some schools. UIC is not cheaper than U Pitt.

I included all the links in the Excel file I attached, please do check me. I assumed 20k per year as total cost of living if the school didn't list it in an easily findable place

 

[Likkriue]

These calculations also involve taking out the maximum amount of loans they offer you. One person on sdn sent back 20k worth of loans because they gave him too much. You can effectively chop off a good 15k or so loans every year. This eliminates almost 60k worth of loans and the interest accrual on that 60k.

The reason why they overestimate is so they don't accidentally end up causing a student to have no funds for the semester.

 

[Cali20002]

I included all the links in the Excel file I attached, please do check me. I assumed 20k per year as total cost of living if the school didn't list it in an easily findable place

Yeah, they purposely make it difficult to find. They used to have on the Registrar's site that tuition is around $16K per semester IS....but there are 3 semesters...Now, I believe you must request the COA. Not sure if this helps, but this is the COA that they gave out during interviews.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Posting here just to be on the first page

 

[bingo74]

whew im not in those percentages thank the lord. Thank you for making figures btw!

 

[1070752]

Good assumptions/calculations, I'm sort of lucky getting a 2.7% loan, although it would be in the $300's including everything. Realistically, loans under $400k aren't too difficult to pay off.

 

[powerballwinner]

Good assumptions/calculations, I'm sort of lucky getting a 2.7% loan, although it would be in the $300's including everything. Realistically, loans under $400k aren't too difficult to pay off.

Tell me more about this magical loan you're getting please

 

[super frank]

Tell me more about this magical loan you're getting please

There are also HPLs, which you may qualify for depending on your financial situation. They don't accrue interest during dental school and they start accruing 12 months after graduation. They're locked at 5% interest.

 

[JeepinDDS]

Y'all need SO's with jobs to help reduce debt

 

[SmileItsLife]

Why is there a star next to VCU?

 

[Likkriue]

There are also HPLs, which you may qualify for depending on your financial situation. They don't accrue interest during dental school and they start accruing 12 months after graduation. They're locked at 5% interest.

They award 8-10k a year. So that's another 40k that interest will NOT accrue on.

 

[Student Loan Planner]

Why is there a star next to VCU?

I couldn't find their school cost of attendance anywhere on their website. In fact, VCU's website was the worst out of all 60+ schools in terms of finding out financial information. They directed me to some calculator that was supposed to estimate cost and it wouldn't work and I kept getting errors. So I just used a third party source to estimate the cost. Hopefully that number is right. The University of Puerto Rico also looked really odd and didn't have any cost info I could locate.

One concern I have with the data is some of the schools did not list the info on summer semester costs very clearly and it took a lot of digging

 

[Student Loan Planner]

Y'all need SO's with jobs to help reduce debt

That's really the secret sauce. If you've got a SO in dental school paying your cost of living and covering your health insurance, you can shave off 100k-150k off the cost of dental school, making the in state schools really decent bargains

 

[SmileItsLife]

I couldn't find their school cost of attendance anywhere on their website. In fact, VCU's website was the worst out of all 60+ schools in terms of finding out financial information. They directed me to some calculator that was supposed to estimate cost and it wouldn't work and I kept getting errors. So I just used a third party source to estimate the cost. Hopefully that number is right. The University of Puerto Rico also looked really odd and didn't have any cost info I could locate.

One concern I have with the data is some of the schools did not list the info on summer semester costs very clearly and it took a lot of digging

Okay, thank you. I thought it was weird that the cheapest two schools had an astrick, so I thought I should ask.

Also here is something that could help, if you want to verify your information for VCU:

 

[nyroadrunner]

plz go away

 

[MaizeGoBlue]

plz go away

"Let me bury my head in the sand in peace"

 

[rivarat]

Thank you!

 

[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

I have a question, why do you care?

Not in the sense of "oh you're lying go away", but why do you, a non-dentist, care about the loan outlook of dental students.

I don't care if you say you just want to inform us, that's a load of BS.

What do you get out of it?

 

[Cali20002]

I have a question, why do you care?

Not in the sense of "oh you're lying go away", but why do you, a non-dentist, care about the loan outlook of dental students.

I don't care if you say you just want to inform us, that's a load of BS.

What do you get out of it?

He's marketing. It's smart of him

 

[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

He's marketing. It's smart of him

Yeah this is what I'm getting at, but I'm so confused by the positive responses he gets here, like he's obviously trying to stir up some business

 

[MaizeGoBlue]

I have a question, why do you care?

Not in the sense of "oh you're lying go away", but why do you, a non-dentist, care about the loan outlook of dental students.

I don't care if you say you just want to inform us, that's a load of BS.

What do you get out of it?

He gets free marketing. He's said that from the beginning.

 

[Student Loan Planner]

I have a question, why do you care?

Not in the sense of "oh you're lying go away", but why do you, a non-dentist, care about the loan outlook of dental students.

I don't care if you say you just want to inform us, that's a load of BS.

What do you get out of it?

In the short term since this is a pre-dent forum and I only work with dentists, I get nothing. I'd have to wait 4 years for any of you to be my clients. I've been doing this for 5 months so I'm not super long term at this point. I do this bc I like it and it's fun to help folks

Long term, I could definitely get something. When all the folks that ignore me graduate and have an unbelievably high amount of debt, and the school raised tuition at 7% instead of 3%, and interest rates rise faster than expected and the avg dentist owes $400,000, you're probably not going to be able to manage that and optimize payback on your own.

Maybe some of you will remember that guy from the forum that tried to warn you. Maybe some will say oh crap he was more correct than I expected, and will contact me for help coming up with a student loan repayment strategy.

Also I wanted to vet these numbers before I post them on my site as part of a larger project I'm working on, so that's helpful too.

 

[Cali20002]

Yeah this is what I'm getting at, but I'm so confused by the positive responses he gets here, like he's obviously trying to stir up some business

Good marketing is persuasive. I know he's marketing, but I also know that there is some truth to what he's saying. He is on track with some statements, but it is in his interest, whether hyperbolic, factual, or incorrect, to state that the debt outlook is very dangerous for dental students.

 

[Cali20002]

In the short term since this is a pre-dent forum and I only work with dentists, I get nothing. I'd have to wait 4 years for any of you to be my clients. I've been doing this for 5 months so I'm not super long term at this point. I do this bc I like it and it's fun to help folks

Long term, I could definitely get something. When all the folks that ignore me graduate and have an unbelievably high amount of debt, and the school raised tuition at 7% instead of 3%, and interest rates rise faster than expected and the avg dentist owes $400,000, you're probably not going to be able to manage that and optimize payback on your own.

Maybe some of you will remember that guy from the forum that tried to warn you. Maybe some will say oh crap he was more correct than I expected, and will contact me for help coming up with a student loan repayment strategy.

Also I wanted to vet these numbers before I post them on my site as part of a larger project I'm working on, so that's helpful too.

I appreciate your outreach because the healthcare debt burden is drastically larger today than it was before. My GD, c/o 2003, graduated with $120K debt. He is still paying that off on top of his practice loans. Keep in mind he is very successful and rakes in $400K conservatively. Now imagine having $400K+ loans......scary.

 

[allantois]

Some of you people won't be convinced even when dental school costs $1million to attend. Why can't a non-dentist be interested in ridiculous tuition inflation going on at dental schools?

The emperor has no clothes!

 

[klownzo]

I appreciate your outreach because the healthcare debt burden is drastically larger today than it was before. My GD, c/o 2003, graduated with $120K debt. He is still paying that off on top of his practice loans. Keep in mind he is very successful and rakes in $400K conservatively. Now imagine having $400K+ loans......scary.

That's not a good example. Your GD could easily have paid that off a long time ago but he is obviously choosing a life of luxury rather than quickly paying off his debt. I just read a thread yesterday of a guy who graduated with $350k in 2011 and had it paid off in 4 years and bought a practice at the end of his fourth year and is now making 400k+. Of course most of us won't find success like him but there are people out there who pay their debt off quickly. If you have a good personality, work fast, and do CE so you can do more procedures (increase your revenue) you can have the opportunity to put yourself in a spot that allows you to pay off your debt in ~5 years.

 

[tlovaj]

There are also HPLs, which you may qualify for depending on your financial situation. They don't accrue interest during dental school and they start accruing 12 months after graduation. They're locked at 5% interest.

Did your school offer you these loans?

 

[Advance]

I appreciate your outreach because the healthcare debt burden is drastically larger today than it was before. My GD, c/o 2003, graduated with $120K debt. He is still paying that off on top of his practice loans. Keep in mind he is very successful and rakes in $400K conservatively. Now imagine having $400K+ loans......scary.

So he makes at least 400k annually but can't pay off 120k in loans? He's been a dentist for over a decade. Am I missing something?

 

[Cali20002]

That's not a good example. Your GD could easily have paid that off a long time ago but he is obviously choosing a life of luxury rather than quickly paying off his debt. I just read a thread yesterday of a guy who graduated with $350k in 2011 and had it paid off in 4 years and bought a practice at the end of his fourth year and is now making 400k+. Of course most of us won't find success like him but there are people out there who pay their debt off quickly. If you have a good personality, work fast, and do CE so you can do more procedures (increase your revenue) you can have the opportunity to put yourself in a spot that allows you to pay off your debt in ~5 years.

So he makes at least 400k annually but can't pay off 120k in loans? He's been a dentist for over a decade. Am I missing something?

Guys, life happens. You get married, you have kids, you buy a house, you put your kids through college. All these things are incredibly expensive.

 

[Advance]

Guys, life happens. You get married, you have kids, you buy a house, you put your kids through college. All these things are incredibly expensive.

Hm. I suppose. Although my parents did those things with less than a fourth of the money that guy is making.

 

[Student Loan Planner]

If I was in your shoes, and some random financial planner guy had clients who told him that they were considering not having children or getting married because of how tough the loan burden has been on them, I'd want to know. All I've wanted to do is just make sure that there's awareness around this issue. Reputable publications like US News keep putting out Dentist is the #1 Job articles without mentioning cost of education at all, and that's wrong

 

[Cali20002]

Hm. I suppose. Although my parents did those things with less than a fourth of the money that guy is making.

Everyone makes different lifestyle choices. Some people have 2 kids some have 5. Some drive a mercedes some drive a toyota. Some have both parents working while some only have 1 breadwinner.

 

[klownzo]

Everyone makes different lifestyle choices. Some people have 2 kids some have 5. Some drive a mercedes some drive a toyota. Some have both parents working while some only have 1 breadwinner.

Yea and that's completely fair. We only commented on it because you used him as an example of someone who can't pay off his 120k from a decade ago making 400k so this current generation is doomed (which we might be)

 

[Cali20002]

Yea and that's completely fair. We only commented on it because you used him as an example of someone who can't pay off his 120k from a decade ago making 400k so this current generation is doomed (which we might be)

I got you. I suppose I fear that our generation of dentists may not be able to enjoy what previous generations did because of debt.

 

[DentistScientist]

Comment deleted

 

[powerballwinner]

There are also HPLs, which you may qualify for depending on your financial situation. They don't accrue interest during dental school and they start accruing 12 months after graduation. They're locked at 5% interest.

How do you go about applying for those? Are they offered through FAFSA?

 

[SmileItsLife]

How do you go about applying for those? Are they offered through FAFSA?

Yes, those are part of FAFSA and any additional documental the dental school requires. If you are eligible, the school will offer you an award letter with all of the types of grants loans that are available for you and how much of each. The school will always try to give you the maximum amount for the "better" loans based on your need. You are not required to take all the loan money in the offer.

For example if you can get through the year with a combination of a small academic scholarship, HPSL, and Direct Unsubsidized student loans, but they also offer you like $5000 of GradPlus to complete the amount of loan offered up to the total COA... You can decline some or all the GradPlus if you don't need it (either through frugal living or savings).

 

[powerballwinner]

Yes, those are part of FAFSA and any additional documental the dental school requires. If you are eligible, the school will offer you an award letter with all of the types of grants loans that are available for you and how much of each. The school will always try to give you the maximum amount for the "better" loans based on your need. You are not required to take all the loan money in the offer.

For example if you can get through the year with a combination of a small academic scholarship, HPSL, and Direct Unsubsidized student loans, but they also offer you like $5000 of GradPlus to complete the amount of loan offered up to the total COA... You can decline some or all the GradPlus if you don't need it (either through frugal living or savings).

Nice that's what i remembered they said but wasn't sure, thanks !

 

[SmileItsLife]

Yes, those are part of FAFSA and any additional documental the dental school requires. If you are eligible, the school will offer you an award letter with all of the types of grants loans that are available for you and how much of each. The school will always try to give you the maximum amount for the "better" loans based on your need. You are not required to take all the loan money in the offer.

For example if you can get through the year with a combination of a small academic scholarship, HPSL, and Direct Unsubsidized student loans, but they also offer you like $5000 of GradPlus to complete the amount of loan offered up to the total COA... You can decline some or all the GradPlus if you don't need it (either through frugal living or savings).

EDIT: I would recommend reading through the VCU's Financial Aid guide I posted above. The first three pages talk about all the loan types available, and it is totally applicable to many other dental colleges. It is a good, quick read for someone new to the process.

 

[aggietxdent]

-About 10% of grads in 2021 could owe over $600,000 at graduation

-About 1 in 3 could owe over $500,000

-About 50% could owe over $400,000

-About 80% could owe over $300,000

I think this is way off. I don't have a problem with you saying the COA of a school is what you say it is because you can take it with a grain of salt and also it's hard to calculate it knowing everyone's situation is different. However, there are ways we can measure people's ACTUAL debt load after their time at dental school, so you saying "X% of grads will owe Y" is very off. You're going off MAX loans for your COA analysis only because you have no other way to do it, but your numbers will be significantly higher than reality for the real debt load of students.

For example, you have the COA of my school reaching almost 300k, but the average debt load of students is only 160k as of now. Big difference.

 

[1070752]

Tell me more about this magical loan you're getting please

I'm a Canadian, the banks here give you loans at prime (2.7%) for graduate studies (medical/dental).