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NYU Dental School Cost: Over $700,000 for Class of 2024

The direct educational cost of NYU dental school is $426,232 for the 2022-2023 school year.

That number ignores accrued interest, loan fees, living expenses, and tuition inflation. If you add these costs, an NYU Dental degree costs far more.

For this high cost, NYU Dean Dr. Charles Bertolami has blamed “real horror stories […] that involve excessive [dental student] living expenses.”

In the analysis below, I'll use our estimate of the true cost of NYU Dental for the class of 2024, which we calculate as $705,997.

The only horror story is the price NYU sets for its dental school degree, which we will break down in detail for you.  

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NYU Dental School cost explained

NYU Dental School Cost by YearEducation ExpenseLiving ExpenseLoan FeesAccrued Interest at GraduationExpected Tuition Inflation
2020-2021$99,562$40,000$4,187$34,500
2021-2022$98,677$41,200$4,196$28,597$4,934
2022-2023$98,577$42,436$4,230$21,070$10,114
2023-2024$98,577$43,709$4,269$11,592$15,549
Total by Category$395,393$167,345$16,882$95,760$30,597
Source: NYU and Student Loan Planner analysis


Grand Total: $705,977

NYU Dental School removed its cost of living estimate off their website around 2018, presumably because the total amount looked appalingly high. If you check internet archives, you can see NYU estimated about $38,000 per year before that estimate was removed.

We assume above a 6% accrued interest rate, a blended 3% upfront origination fee (from 25% Stafford loans and 75% PLUS loans, and 5% yearly tuition inflation, which has happened virtually every year at NYU.

The total cost of NYU Dental for the class of 2024 without financial help is $705,977, if you borrowed the full amount.

NYU associate dentist salaries are not high enough to pay for the degree without Income Based Repayment

The average associate dentist makes around $120,000 to $140,000 (about $80,000 to $100,000 after taxes). The average NYU dental grad that I’ve worked with owes about $600,000.

Keep in mind you cannot go back in time and borrow at yesterday's tuition prices. Therefore, take any mention of the student debt of the graduating class with a grain of salt.

Even if you could refinance that debt to 5%, you’d have to pay about $5,800 a month, or roughly $70,000 a year just to make a meaningful dent in the principal.

When prospects and students ask about how they’ll pay back their loans, how can NYU’s dental school say anything but “Our graduates from working-class and middle-class families are almost exclusively at the mercy of federal income-based repayment and forgiveness programs for their financial survival.”

Yet, students have told me that financial aid and administrators do not tell them that. They even suggest that they’ll “pay it back in no time.” That assertion seems to be at odds with basic math.

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NYU dental student claims of misleading statements by admissions office 

I have had numerous clients and readers who told me that when they applied to NYU, someone in the administration claimed that the average repayment period for dental student loans was only seven years. 

Is this possible? Perhaps if you include students from wealthy backgrounds who borrow nothing, or maybe it’s just blatantly false.

Much of the national discussion has been about regulating the banks, insurance companies, or investment firms. Who’s watching the universities who are taking our Millennial and Gen Z generations to the poor house?

Look at this presentation to the class of 2016 on NYU College of Dentistry's financial aid website. They suggest trying to make payments on the accruing interest while still in school to make paying back the loans easier.

That is TERRIBLE advice. If someone can barely afford to pay down the interest, they will struggle ever paying back the loan in the first place and should use an income-driven strategy like PAYE or SAVE, formerly called REPAYE.

*Source: NYU presentation listed on website

After listening to NYU’s financial aid department, you’ll only have to deal with $500,000 of student debt instead of $550,000. How helpful!

Excuses about the cost of NYU Dental School

One of the most common excuses I’ve heard from administrations everywhere at dental programs for rising tuition is that “The cost to educate a dentist has soared and that’s why tuition had to go up.”

Another one of my favorite excuses is “Federal and state support for higher education has declined enormously, so we had to make up the difference in revenue with higher tuition.”

Yes, inflation happens over time. I understand that faculty want raises and that health insurance costs for staff continue to increase rapidly.

However, at least in NYU’s case, the university owns some of the most valuable real estate in the world, which has only gone up in value.

It established locations in Shanghai and Abu Dhabi. Are they unrelated to the finances of the dental school? Perhaps. 

That said, the school is not hurting for money.

Professional schools are a profit center for universities

I’d argue that dental school is a big profit center. The tuition increases have little to do with rising costs of equipment or insurance. It’s mostly about an institution that seems to act like a for-profit business.

In my view, the main reason tuition at schools like NYU has soared is simply because they have been able to get away with it. Students don’t say, “You know what, I’d rather not be a dentist because of that sticker price.” Why is this?

  • Income-based programs keep students from feeling the full weight of their debt load.
  • Schools like NYU still have many more applicants than seats.
  • Publications routinely tout the high incomes and job stability of the dental fields without mentioning the debt.

One dentist told me a story about being forced to buy an equipment box at the cost of hundreds of dollars. Meanwhile, a bait and tackle box that basically performs the same purpose can be had for $30 on Amazon.

Others have shared stories about software programs that run in the thousands, textbooks so expensive that you might as well carry around gold instead, and other equipment that seems unneeded or at least wildly more expensive than it should be.

The average NYU dental school debt vs the NYU loan balance I’ve seen

According to the most recently available College Scorecard data, the NYU dental school average debt for students in 2016 and 2017 was $357,882. The median was $387,660. That big difference between the median and mean suggests that there are a lot of smaller debt burdens from students, with family assistance hiding the true cost for students without financial help.

Keep in mind that the estimated cost of attendance I’m showing you is supposed to be for entering 1st-year students in the fall of 2020. However, I mentioned that the debt loads of the class of 2015-2020 that I’ve seen have been about $600,000 for NYU dental students.

That means that when they went to school, the published cost of attendance was significantly less than what’s on the NYU website today.

Dentists have told me that their tuition increased while they were in school. If you look at NYU’s four-year cost of attendance estimate, you’ll only see the published prices at today’s rates. That gives an inaccurate picture for a student interested in their final loan balance at graduation.

Accrued Interest Growth Has a Big Impact on the Cost of NYU Dental

The worst impact though comes from the accrued interest growth while you’re in school. Unlike undergraduates, professional students receive few subsidies. The accrued interest balance once you finish can often be over $80,000 for dental students. At NYU Dental I project that new students will add just under $100,000 of interest on the balance borrowed during school alone. 

This interest goes directly into your principal balance at graduation (called capitalization).

Hence, there are three ways that the school’s cost of attendance estimate is flawed:

  • Future tuition increases are not accounted for.
  • Accrued Interest isn’t mentioned.
  • Loan Fees are not accurate.

High cost of living in New York City adds to NYU Dental School cost

NYU college of dentistry student loan planner

Let me focus on one aspect of the NYU student loan balances that is not the fault of the school: location.

New York City is extremely expensive. You’re virtually guaranteed to need the super high-cost Grad PLUS loans to pay for living expenses there. In New York (or any expensive city for that matter), your rent could easily exceed $2,000, or even $3,000, a month.

Motivated students might try to live with roommates or avoid expensive food and entertainment options, but that only goes so far when your required tuition and fees cost $100,000 each year.

If you have other options, I always suggest to prospective applicants to choose a low-cost location for their graduate study. You’ll be working and studying most of the time anyway, so you might as well save $100,000 or more in living expenses that will result in a much lower debt burden.

Is NYU Dental School the worst offender?

There are plenty of offenders out there in the high balance student loan world.

I have already written about St. George’s med and vet schools, so this is not the first time I’ve called out a university before.

There are certainly other extremely expensive dental schools I could mention. I've chosen NYU Dental to analyze because I consistently hear so many horrifying stories coming from my clients and readers. It's also one of the biggest dental schools by class size.

A cynical person might say I'm attacking NYU because I have a student loan consulting business. If I was smart, I'd keep my mouth shut and send a thank you note to NYU administration for producing so many new clients in need of our services. I'd rather folks have options when they graduate dental school that include not being at the mercy of government repayment plans. 

In my view, the school seems to pair lots of poor information with a massive debt load. They are a virtual factory churning out dentists at a huge rate. 

At other high-cost schools including USC, I have heard more stories of financial aid departments going out of their way to tell people about how they will likely need to use income-based repayment programs when they graduate.

Another example is Midwestern University. They list on their cost of attendance estimate that students should expect tuition increases of between 4% and 7% annually.

In contrast, I have heard SO many stories of NYU employees claiming fast repayment periods for half-million-dollar loan balances that I felt compelled to write this article.

What if you already have NYU Dental School debt?

While you might be able to put 50% of your take-home pay to your student loans, the first question I’d ask is if that’s a smart approach? If a loan forgiveness strategy shows a cost in today’s dollars of 60% of what you owe, then that would be the better path.

However, if your current family income today and in the future would warrant refinancing, you can get a plan for how and when to do that based on your career and family plans.

Maybe you want to start a family first, or buy a house, or purchase a private practice. Whatever your goals are, the student loans you have should bend to that objective.

NYU Dental School loans are a tax or a debt, whichever one is better for you

If your loans are federal, then you can choose to pay a percent of your income on your loans after school. That percentage is calculated based on your AGI, or Adjusted Gross Income. That means things like owning a dental practice and saving for retirement can reduce that payment.

You can also put about $500 to $1,500 a month into index mutual funds, to prepare for the taxes on forgiven student loan debt after 20 years of repayment.

The total percentage usually comes out to 10% to 20% of your income.

That often ends up being a good trade if you enjoy dentistry more than you would enjoy a different career. It also ends up being a good financial decision if what you're earning as a dentist minus 20% to your loan forgiveness strategy nets you more than what you'd earn without that degree.

I don't think NYU dental school understands this, but they do understand your income-driven payment is the same at $200,000 as it is at $600,000. That is why I think they've chosen to raise tuition so much.

Get a custom plan if you have high anxiety about your dental school debt

We specialize in making student loans plans for dentists, and our average dentist client owes somewhere around $380,000. Some have even owed over $1 million. Many have been NYU graduates. You can learn more about that service if you’re curious.

Eventually, the demand for seats at super expensive schools must go down.  While I think we are 10 years or more away from the bubble bursting for dentists, the current model is not sustainable. You cannot charge a half million for a degree to students whose main goal is to help patients. 

For now, the solution I have for folks interested in pursuing a dental school education at the ‘nonprofit’ NYU is simple: “May the buyer beware.”

 

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Comments

  1. jeff March 27, 2018 at 9:31 PM
    Reply

    love your ‘bullshit’ remark. would love to see you say it to their faces if an opportunity arises, though.

  2. Neda March 28, 2018 at 6:32 PM
    Reply

    I’m a fourth year at Nyu dental and could not agree more with what you have written, it’s the scary truth

    • Travis March 28, 2018 at 6:44 PM
      Reply

      Wish you the best of luck Neda. Keep that head down and quiet til you graduate and then you don’t have to worry.

  3. Anonymous March 29, 2018 at 2:37 AM
    Reply

    I’m a med student at NYU. I can’t speak for the dental school, but my experience financially at the med school deviates from this article:

    1. I was offered very generous grants that brought my total cost down to $20,000 per year (and from talking to my classmates, this is not unusual).
    2. For the rest of tuition, I was offered NYU-sponsored loans that are at 4-6% and don’t start accruing interest until 4 years from graduation (basically, when I’m an attending).
    3. The school offers guaranteed subsidized housing for $1000 per month, dramatically lower than the cost of rent in the neighborhood.
    4. 20-30% of any class will be in a 3-year program, meaning we finish our degree in 3 instead of 4 years, saving 1 year of tuition. Students can apply into this program at multiple points in the curriculum, making it very flexible and accessible (the only real requirement is you know what residency you want to do, because they have to guarantee you a spot in that residency program at NYU).

    In total, I will graduate with $80,000 in loans, including $20,000 from my time at undergrad. I think this is not bad at all, and NYU has been extremely generous in making this possible.

    I agree: schools that are ripping off students need to be called out. But I genuinely believe that NYU School of Medicine is not one of them. Such a small portion of their income is from students, and they’re actually shrinking class sizes to increase scholarship grant percentage.

    I’ve also polled students on this during financial health workshops. Here are the results (23 respondents):

    Question 1: How much in student loans do you expect to graduate with?
    Mean: $58,582
    STD: $100,863
    Minimum: $0
    Maximum: $330,000

    Question 2: How many years after graduation do you expect to fully pay off your loans?
    0-5 years: 7 respondents
    6-10 years: 8 respondents
    11-15 years: 5 respondents
    16-20 years: 5 respondents

    Obviously this survey is not perfect, but I just want to add some data points to the conversation on this topic.

    • Travis March 29, 2018 at 2:46 AM
      Reply

      I’d certainly be really interested in hearing from others at the med school too. That standard deviation is high, and this is expected debt, which in my experience deviates significantly from actual debt a few years out. If students are getting scholarships, that’s helpful, but I’m wondering how students who do not receive this generous financial assistance fare. And there could be truth that the dental school is way more intense than the med school with how much debt they put on people.

      • ghost May 8, 2018 at 3:40 PM
        Reply

        Not for dental. There is no subsidized housing for the dental students and they are expected to work >60 hours per week. We tried living in the suburbs and it was not sustainable so you’re stuck with $3000 p/m rent. There were some scholarships but mostly inconsequential (couple thousand here and there). Maybe NYUMC is more lenient, but NYUCD is definitely not. Hearsay is there used to be dental housing and they just sold it off to the med school

        • Travis May 8, 2018 at 9:36 PM
          Reply

          Ouch wouldn’t surprise me. Interesting that the institution cares more about keeping med school balances low over the dental school

  4. john April 8, 2018 at 4:26 AM
    Reply

    As a client of yours who was actually told at my interview that most students repay their debt within 7 years, thank you Travis for exposing this and helping pre-dents out there to make informed decisions.

    • Travis April 8, 2018 at 5:01 AM
      Reply

      Thanks John. Trying to fight the good fight.

  5. Anonymous DDS May 9, 2018 at 12:27 AM
    Reply

    Thank you so much for writing this article and vindicating what I’ve been saying for years. I graduated from NYU dental almost 10 years ago and have yet to put a dent in my loan payments. It prevented me for years from being able to buy a house because of how lopsided my debt to income ratio was. It’s like a ball and chain that barely keeps my head above water. God help me if I actually decide to have a family and raise children! In hindsight my biggest regret is not joining the armed forces beforehand and committing to 4 years of active duty and having my tuition fully paid for. Not sure if that program still exists but I’d recommend it to those of you considering taking on such an enormous debt burden, I just don’t think it’s worth it without specializing.

    • Travis May 9, 2018 at 2:22 PM
      Reply

      You still can have all the things you want like kids, but you’ll probably have to use the loan forgiveness programs to swing it. That’s the good news is even if the decision has been made, you still have options. But yes the point of this article is to wake people up that the emperor has no clothes. It shouldn’t cost over a half million dollars to become a dentist, and over $300,000 to become a physician.

  6. A May 9, 2018 at 2:10 AM
    Reply

    I graduated from an Ivy League Dental School 13 years ago with $278,000 worth of debt at 1.75%. I was paying $1500/month up until last year (when I paid off one of the loans that I did not consolidate) and now I pay about $1000/month. That being said, I still owe $200,000 because the beginning of the loan was all interest. Let’s not forget the $5100/month to pay off my practice. Plus a mortgage, plus daycare, health insurance for a family $2400/month etc. I love being a dentist, but it’s hard. Leaving dental school owing $500,000 Will make life so difficult. Sometimes my friends and I joke. This is not what we signed up for.
    If your family can not afford to help you, than I would seriously consider if this is really for you.
    My loans are based on graduating 13 years ago and a practice purchased 10 years ago. I can’t even imagine how we would survive with even more debt.

    • Travis May 9, 2018 at 2:20 PM
      Reply

      Yeah I’d count myself lucky you made it into the prior generation of dentists before the new Direct federal loan rules. 6 to 7 percent interest on everything. It’s super difficult for these young doctors.

    • Jeff August 10, 2020 at 5:28 PM
      Reply

      I came out of UCLA owing 275k. Put my head down and paid off everything in 13 months. Your scenario is exactly why I didn’t want to keep it around like a pet or a cloud over my head.

  7. Concerned DDS November 14, 2018 at 5:58 AM
    Reply

    I graduated about 20 years ago and I feel really bad for the current group of dental students because it is a wonderful field if you don’t have to worry about student debt. I distinctly remember the financial aid officer at my private dental school shaking her head and telling us that we had to be careful about borrowing too much because we were among the first class to have dental school loans surpassing 6 digits as in $100,000 in debt. I paid it off in 10 years with monthly payment of around $1300 but it was a lot considering I also had a $400,000 mortgage and car loans on top of that. I commend you for helping out students and bringing this situation to light because this is a problem both for the medical and dental students. By the way, I just checked NYU website and this year total cost is around $130,000 year….I can see tuition reaching $200,000 year in about 10 years from now! Now you know why dentists have to charge $7000 for invisalign or $4000 for a single implant but the problem is that dental insurance companies are capping costs and patients are refusing to pay that much money for dental work so something has to give…..

    • Travis Hornsby November 14, 2018 at 1:54 PM
      Reply

      Agreed. I’ve heard many dentists say they’re concerned for the pressure it’s going to exert on dentists proposing treatment plans to patients with a half million in debt. It’s certainly something that has to be changed long term if you care about the profession. Sadly I think a lot of programs are taking the short term view right now and thinking, “hey if I can take advantage of the federal rules and get paid three times as much for the degree, why not?” In the long run, they could be killing their golden goose of students who want to enter the profession.

  8. Andy Simmons December 21, 2018 at 6:15 PM
    Reply

    Hey, here’s a perspective you need to consider: while the numbers you cite in your article are mind-boggling, don’t think this is “new” news.

    I attended dental school in the early 80’s, and even then the amount of money I had to continue borrowing was making me question my choice of career. To this day I thank god every day that I decided after my 2nd year of dental school that dentistry was not the career path for me.

    Yes, it was a gut-wrenching decision, and my sanity was questioned by pretty much everyone. But even now, 35 years later, I am so glad I left, took a year off to “find myself” and decided to pursue an MBA and CPA.

    I’ve worked in business for over 30 years (in finance and tech) and have never once regretted my decision. Even so, I was still saddled with dental school debt for almost 10 years after I left dental school, on top of the loans I had to take out for business school, but it was the wisest decision I ever made. But I have often shuddered thinking of what the total amount of my indebtedness would have been had I continued on in dental school. And remember, this was over 30 years ago!!

    My advice is that even if you “think” dentistry is the only career that will make you happy (which I find to be impossible to believe), you really need to think twice. No career is worth the amount of debt discussed in this article. Plus, everyone “hates” dentists. That’s definitely an intangible that is rarely discussed but definitely something to consider.

    • Travis Hornsby December 21, 2018 at 9:04 PM
      Reply

      The only thing I’d say is taking that path in the 80s had way less financial consequences than it would today. It’s hard to leave with 250k of debt and no degree. The only drop out scenarios I’ve seen and can defend have involved folks leaving after first semester for business / tech type career paths. I heard a story of a guy that did that at Univ of Washington’s dental school and I think he’s working at Amazon now as a programmer for example. Good wisdom.

      • Andy Simmons December 21, 2018 at 9:11 PM
        Reply

        Yes, the consequences were less in the absolute numbers, but it would be interesting to assess them in terms of relative numbers, taking into account inflation, salaries in the dental field and in other fields, etc. Not to mention the issue of lifelong happiness! I think there is the thought process of “sunk costs” going on here too with students maybe thinking, “Well, I’d like to drop out, but look at all I’ve spent already!”

        I find your column fascinating. So glad there’s someone out there to help these folks; I was pretty much along when I went through what I went through.

  9. Jack July 13, 2019 at 6:42 PM
    Reply

    Have you looked at Columbia Dental by chance? How does their cost and average debt compare?

    • Travis Hornsby July 16, 2019 at 3:09 PM
      Reply

      It’s lower than NYU. https://www.ps.columbia.edu/file/8041/download?token=aYYThV-t

      Only by about 150k though. I think you’d leave with about 450k after 4 years there

      • Jack July 16, 2019 at 3:17 PM
        Reply

        If you’re interested in specializing do you think it’s smart to attend a school like Columbia that has a 98% specialization rate but is a much higher cost than am in state school that doesn’t have the same specialization rate?

        • Truth August 8, 2019 at 5:45 AM
          Reply

          I would definitely advise against specializing now – this coming from a specialist with almost 30 years in the field. Referrals have decreased and continue to do so as more GPs keep procedures in-house to make up for decreasing business and by trying to be everything for everyone. I’ve also seen this backfire, though. Combination of pressure from huge school/practice debt and greed are driving this. I have maintained my practice by initially establishing myself in a working-class/lower middle class area which I surmised, correctly, to have more respectful, compliant patients. Would recommend that you become a well-versed GP and work for yourself in a small, low-overhead practice. Don’t have to do complex, fancy procedures that cause you stress and get you in trouble. Keep it simple. That’s just my advice.

          • Travis Hornsby August 8, 2019 at 3:24 PM

            That sounds like pretty good advice to me

  10. E November 9, 2019 at 3:03 PM
    Reply

    Is there any way of fighting this ridiculous tuition? It’s so unbelievably brutal and unnecessary. My boyfriend is a third year and we may not be able to own a home or have children because this was the only dental school he got into and they gave him the shtick about being able to pay it off in 7 years.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner November 20, 2019 at 10:30 AM
      Reply

      Glad to hear that it’s not just a couple people who heard the 7 year comment. You’ll be ok you’ll just need to focus on your assets and being a practice owner and use a forgiveness program for the debt and youll still be able to accomplish what you want to. That’s what we specialize in is making sure folks loans dont get in the way of their lives.

      • Yane December 23, 2019 at 2:48 PM
        Reply

        I currently own a practice and I have around $300k in student loan debt. Is there an advantage of a forgiveness program vs repaying student loans in 10 years or earlier?

        • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 23, 2019 at 4:14 PM
          Reply

          If you’re making more than 200k of AGI, then I’d just refinance it to a 15 or 20 year term and pay down a bunch then refi again to a 5 or 7 year. https://www.studentloanplanner.com/refinance-student-loans

          Otherwise if your AGI was lower I’d look at a forgiveness strategy.

  11. naughty December 5, 2019 at 8:44 AM
    Reply

    Since NYU Dentistry focuses primarily on education and research, we are able to offer our services at lower fees than the cost of comparable procedures at most private practices in the area. Diagnosis and treatment is provided by dental students under the supervision of NYU College of Dentistry faculty.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 13, 2019 at 10:36 AM
      Reply

      NYU probably charges for services at cost. That doesn’t explain their tuition. All dental schools offer lower prices on procedures NYU isnt special in that regard.

  12. Anon December 20, 2019 at 6:26 PM
    Reply

    2017 Graduate of NYUCD here. The amount of debt I’m in is insane. I’m currently on REPAYE which makes my payments manageable, but isn’t even putting a dent into my principle. In fact, I don’t think my REPAYE payments are even covering the entirety of my interest. Probably going to have to declare bankruptcy in 25 years when my loans are forgiven as taxed income. My strategy now is to just pray that before that happens, the student loan crisis gets addressed and the politicians rescue me and others like me.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 21, 2019 at 12:04 PM
      Reply

      They will probably have to deal w the tax bomb for sure. I usually opt for PAYE for NYU grads bc of the 20 year forgiveness period instead of 25 and PAYE also allows you to file separately and exclude spousal income.

  13. Columbia Student December 21, 2019 at 12:55 AM
    Reply

    To the commenter asking about Columbia: you are confusing the rate of graduates pursuing residency with graduates specializing. Almost half of Columbia students are going into general dentistry. High residency rate is explained by licensing requirement in NY State plus inadequate clinical experience to practice immediately after graduation. (Interestingly though, our clinical graduation requirements are similar to those of NYU.)

    Also, cost of living for Columbia students in upper Manhattan is lower than for NYU students around Kips Bay. I live comfortably as a bachelor with roommates budgeting $25,000 for living & personal expenses.

    In response to Travis: I disagree that dental schools are profit centers for universities. We would see more dental schools opening if they made money for universities like law schools do. From what I’ve observed in financial reports, at least some dental schools run ‘paycheck to paycheck’ in the sense that all tuition revenue is spent annually on tech, facilities, research, etc.. Their annual expenses seem to be a function of what they charge, which as we know increases arbitrarily. Do we really need to spend millions of dollars on holographic teeth, robotic arm handpieces, 3D printers, etc. to learn how to practice dentistry in 2019? Of course not. Dental schools are in a race to out-spend each other on stupid technology in order to impress gullible applicants, university trustees, and government funding sources.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 21, 2019 at 12:08 PM
      Reply

      That’s a good comment about the tech spending race. I believe most schools have a tax on revenues that are sent up the chain, so from that perspective it contributes. But you’re probably right that law schools are bigger profit centers. It could be as well that barriers to entry for dental schools are higher than with law schools because accrediting bodies have slowed the growth more than would have otherwise happened. But I’m speculating.

  14. Midwestern2024 December 23, 2019 at 3:04 PM
    Reply

    What’s your recommendation for Midwestern Arizona? It’s just slightly less than NYU mainly due to cost of living being slightly lower. (Though I’d argue that Glendale is much higher than it should be , but’s that’s a story for another time) anywho, do you recommend REPAYE? I’m starting D1 in fall and would appreciate the input! I’m too far out from getting a full on consultation as of yet, but thinking of the future is always good to do.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner December 23, 2019 at 4:14 PM
      Reply

      You’d take out all federal loans, and you’d probably do PAYE filing separately depending on if you stay in a community property state because it allows you to pay less if you get married in some situations.

  15. Arnold December 31, 2019 at 10:08 PM
    Reply

    more sad is to think just how these incredible debts manifest themselves in production and, more so, diagnoses!!!

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner January 6, 2020 at 2:59 PM
      Reply

      That’s certainly a public health concern if there’s evidence dentists are more aggressive with treatment plans than they should be because of their debt.

  16. max January 13, 2020 at 3:13 PM
    Reply

    Graduated from NYUCD in 2012. Did a 2 year GPR where afterwards debt had ballooned to 550,000. I am currently debt free. Here is my advise. Live way below your means. No vacations/no eating out/bought a used car/strict monthly budget with the help of wife who was on board with all of this. As a general dentist learned how to do everything myself ie. implants/molar endo/impacted wisdom teeth. I do not own my own practice and love being an associate. On top of this I have contributed 50,000K to my 401k every year. Most of my friends care about living that ‘luxury’ lifestyle/ie. fancy cars, luxury apt, vacations, bottle service etc. If you are disciplined and focused for 5 years you can set yourself up nicely for the future.

    • Travis at Student Loan Planner January 14, 2020 at 12:23 AM
      Reply

      That’s a wonderful accomplishment. Assuming youre 1099 and doing a solo 401k w that high limit? A high savings rate, whether it goes into debt or investments, is really the key. For class of 2023 it will be 700k to 800k. I wonder if you would have made the same decision w that balance.

  17. fran February 10, 2020 at 5:59 PM
    Reply

    An option is attending a state school with state residency. Hence slashing ur costs reasonably.

    Lofty costly institutions have purpose if u have defined support systems, resources and a supporting social/business circle. Much like undergrad, many see pedigree and underestimate the financial burden that comes with it. Certain institutions r best for those with wealthly parents.

    Practicality must be the foremost question. And the commenters remove the cost of seducing or being seduced by educated big city ppl. Add several hundred a month atop non school fees.

    In this modern education system price is ur enemy. Policies of clearing loans will not remove the allure associated with the big city 1000 miles from home. Sadly many teens run and think of cost last.

  18. fran February 10, 2020 at 6:26 PM
    Reply

    To the good or bad we keep up with the jones and harbor impressions of status of living. As such many position themselves in costly locales and perpetuate costly lives.

    Plus loans.

  19. Rajit November 23, 2020 at 9:34 PM
    Reply

    You are doing such a vitally benevolent deed, Travis and co. Always rooting for ya, homie.

  20. Lilia February 12, 2021 at 7:04 PM
    Reply

    The PAYE program provides forgiveness after 20 years of paying the minimum payment. Is this forgiveness guaranteed after 20 years? Do you need to work in the public sector during this duration to receive forgiveness? Do you have tips on what one can do to lower the minimum payment? Thank you for the informative article.

    • Amy at Student Loan Planner February 13, 2021 at 10:36 AM
      Reply

      You don’t need to work for the public sector to qualify for forgiveness after 20 years on the PAYE program. There are strategies to lower your monthly payment amount. I suggest you set up an appointment with one of our consultants to analyze your loans and recommend the best option for your situation.

  21. Ben April 11, 2021 at 3:35 AM
    Reply

    What are your thoughts on taking out private loans for NYU dental if federal loans are not allowed?

    • Amy at Student Loan Planner April 17, 2021 at 11:44 AM
      Reply

      Sometimes private loans are necessary to fill the gap in cost, but make sure to max out federal loans first.

  22. sam June 22, 2021 at 11:03 AM
    Reply

    Hello, I recently accepted into a dental school that just provides private loans to all students based on their credit score which means there are no federal loans available for their program! Their estimated tuition for four years around 550k, I am kind of concern about the debt and repayment. Since I am around 40, how can I return the debt back? should I worry about these types of loan since there is probably no monthly income repayment options and also no forgiveness?
    If I want to live or maybe buy a house in the future, Is it possible with that much loan debt?

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