Paying Back Loan during Dental School

[feblotus]

Hi guys, I was wondering if we can pay back the loan while enrolling in dental school for federal unsubsidized and PLUS loan? If I work during dental school, can I use my monthly salary to decrease the amount of interest I have to pay, or am I only allow to pay back the loan after I graduate?

PS. I understand that it is hard to work during dental school but I am just wondering if it is an option to avoid a higher amount of interest. Thank you!

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[2thDoc11]

Just curious what sort of work do you plan on doing while in dental school? How much will you work and will it compensate you enough to really make a difference in the end? Probably not impossible to work during school but probably not going to be making enough to make up for the additional stress and time that you could put towards school or just relaxing to prevent burning out quicker.

 

[feblotus]

Just curious what sort of work do you plan on doing while in dental school? How much will you work and will it compensate you enough to really make a difference in the end? Probably not impossible to work during school but probably not going to be making enough to make up for the additional stress and time that you could put towards school or just relaxing to prevent burning out quicker.

I don't have a plan yet because I am not sure if I should work during dental school. I do understand that the amount of stress and time can harm my performance in dental school, and the income probably will not make a significant difference. I am just more curious about whether or not it's an option for me to decrease the principal and therefore decrease my amount of interest accumulated during dental school. Thank you for your input tho!

 

[GreenDuck12]

You can but a better strategy would be to use the money you earn to reduce the amount you take in loans. For grad plus this is especially true since you get charged a loan origination fee in addition to interest.

 

[feblotus]

You can but a better strategy would be to use the money you earn to reduce the amount you take in loans. For grad plus this is especially true since you get charged a loan origination fee in addition to interest.

So do you mean that I should use the money I earned during D1 to reduce the amount of loans I take in D2 (if interest happens to be higher) instead of paying back the amount of loans I take out in D1? Thank you.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Take out less as you go - loans are disbursed quarterly. Towards the end of the academic year if you see that loan interest rates are going up you can accept loans that you previously declined to offset more expensive loans in the future.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Sorry - that was unclear. Use your earnings that accumulate during the term to return portions of your loans. This will negate the loan as well as the origination fee and interest that would accumulate on them.

 

[oralcare123]

Make dental school your priority and not finances. Risk of failing a school will be higher, if you load too much on

 

[feblotus]

Sorry - that was unclear. Use your earnings that accumulate during the term to return portions of your loans. This will negate the loan as well as the origination fee and interest that would accumulate on them.

I see. Thank you very much for the explanation!

 

[stumpdentist]

Hi guys, I was wondering if we can pay back the loan while enrolling in dental school for federal unsubsidized and PLUS loan? If I work during dental school, can I use my monthly salary to decrease the amount of interest I have to pay, or am I only allow to pay back the loan after I graduate?

PS. I understand that it is hard to work during dental school but I am just wondering if it is an option to avoid a higher amount of interest. Thank you!

Hey there,

I personally worked on the weekends during dental school. I think you have to be very selective of the job you do. I worked as a banquet bartender for a nice hotel and really liked it. Almost gave me a break from studying and allowed me to interact with other people in other walks of life. So 1) make sure you are getting paid well enough 2) Make sure that your work knows that schools comes first and you have limited availability.

 

[Pablo Sanchez]

Hi guys, I was wondering if we can pay back the loan while enrolling in dental school for federal unsubsidized and PLUS loan? If I work during dental school, can I use my monthly salary to decrease the amount of interest I have to pay, or am I only allow to pay back the loan after I graduate?

PS. I understand that it is hard to work during dental school but I am just wondering if it is an option to avoid a higher amount of interest. Thank you!

As others have said, it would be best to avoid the debt in the first place, but to answer your question, yes, you can pay off loans while you are in school.

 

[ESPN907]

Yes, you can work during dental school. Yes, you can payback loans but it’s smarter to return what you don’t need by the end of the 120 period. Yes, take advantage of the historic low rates and take max amount, future rates are likely to be higher. My 10-12hr side gig covers rent and then some...well worth it in my opinion.

 

[GreenDuck12]

I agree with the post above - working makes sense as long as one is able to manage their course load and engage with the necessary ECs to enhance one’s prospects after graduation. Finding a job that maximizes the return can be tough. Personally I tutor due to my background in education and find that I’m able to charge a reasonable amount for working with elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as tutoring the MCAT and SATs. I limit this to about 10 hours per week. Unfortunately there aren’t any on campus jobs due to the pandemic but hopefully that changes.

As for the low rates, definitely make sure you maximize direct loans. It’s unlikely that loan rates will increase significantly in the next 2-3 years due to the federal reserve announcing their intentions to keep rates low for the next several years. It’s unlikely we will see direct loans above 5% and grad plus loans above 6%.

 

[doktorinprogres]

Dont work, spend time in lab practicing skills and getting your accuracy and speed honed. Being at the top gets you scholarships that can offset the fact you chose not to work. Being faster and more confident in procedures has a better ROI.

 

[ESPN907]

Dont work, spend time in lab practicing skills and getting your accuracy and speed honed. Being at the top gets you scholarships that can offset the fact you chose not to work. Being faster and more confident in procedures has a better ROI.

Do both! 😱

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Yes, not hard to make money nowadays from your computer