OK, now the hard part. How do I pay for all this?
Unfortunately dental education tuition is escalating. A student
could pay as little as $40,000 to over $200,000 for four years and
that does not include living expenses! Most schools have
financial
aid counselors that will advise and help you with your grim situation.
Basically you have to pay back all the loans! (How do you like $2000 monthly payments) All the good loans
(where you do not accrue interest until you graduate) are need/merit
based. This probably excludes most which means we are eligible for
loans that accrue interest.
(NAVY, ARMY or AIR FORCE) as a health professional. They offer numerous packages, the best being the Health Profession Scholarship, which pays for tuition, books and even gives you a stipend (about $900). This scholarship is competitive therefore you need to score around 19 and have around a 3.4 GPA. The benefits of this program besides paying for your tuition/books/equipment are: job stability, a steady salary ($50,000), experience and excellent training. Please note that the military requires ALL scholarship applicants to complete a thorough physical exam. If you're diseased, overweight or have any physical problems (chronic back, hip replacement) you could be eliminated from contention. Your total committment will be 1 yr. of support for one year of service, with a minimum of 3 years, plus inactive reserve years (one for one obligation + reserve = 8 years). So if you receive a four year scholarship you will owe four years active duty plus four years inactive reserve). Definitely apply because there is no obligation until you sign your contract.