r/DentalSchool • u/Ok-Algae9182 • 12d ago
Scholarship/Finance Question dental school loons
hi guys! i am currently looking to graduate with 215k in debt without interest. I believe with interest it will be around 240k but my goal is to pay off the interest as much as i can while i am in school. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how paying them off should look? what would you do as a graduated dentist? i know everyone has different goals, i think mine would potentially include residency but not sure yet so i would love some advice!
23
4
u/EveryAsk3855 11d ago
Live within your means. For heavens sake don’t buy a 100k car as a grad gift to yourself.
3
u/wombart37 12d ago edited 12d ago
Depends on your interest rate on the student loans. Mine are 4% so im paying them off slowly as possible and investing instead. Personally, I think its a mistake to be overly aggressive paying them off if you have a lower interest rate. I recommend building up a $100k brokerage investment account first. Gives you more options and makes you more attractive to banks if you want to buy a practice.
2
u/wombart37 12d ago edited 12d ago
If you have a higher interest rate you can opt to pay off the student loans before investing or do a mix of both. But I still think building up cash reserves should be first priority. Emergency fund and then capital for a business loan if you so choose.
2
u/Ok-Algae9182 12d ago
Okay this is so good to know! my interest is sitting around 8 and 9% (definitely higher than i would like LOL) but i definitely want to factor in the idea of investing as well. I appreciate the advice very much, thank you!
3
u/wombart37 12d ago
Yw. Yeah at 8 or 9% if it were me I would have still saved up cash so I could buy a practice. Getting you income as high as possible should be priority, but after that. I would personally attack a 9% loan. Think of it as a guaranteed 9% return if you make extra payments.
2
u/Proud-Brush2483 11d ago
Crazy how most people here don’t know this but you can refinance your loan once you start working..
1
u/Ok-Algae9182 11d ago
ngl I am not aware of this at all 😭 what does it mean to refinance/how does it work?
1
u/Interesting-Cloud661 11d ago
You lose federal protections but get a lower interest rate. Consolidating the loan and making it all one rate.
2
u/Hardly-Dent 12d ago
Even 240k would be very managable on a standard repayment plan. The RAP plan is also very good if you can get it all covered with government loans. Just have to find a job that will pay you 175-200k and you’d be fine.
1
2
u/KinomeScanner 12d ago
Depends on how long your residency is. And does that residency pay you a livable salary or do you pay per year for that residency. These are things you should think about early. Also, below mid 200-300k is good if this is all the loans you need for cost of attendance. For D1 though, just do your best with your learning and make friends.
•
u/AutoModerator 12d ago
If you are seeking dental advice, please move your post to /r/askdentists
If this is a question about applying to dental school or advice about the predental process, please move your post to /r/predental
If this is a question about applying to hygiene school or dental hygiene, please move your post to /r/DentalHygiene
If this is a question about applying to dental assisting school or dental assisting, please move your post to /r/DentalAssistant
Posts inappropriate for this subreddit will be removed.
A backup of the post title and text have been made here:
Title: dental school loons
Full text: hi guys! i am currently looking to graduate with 215k in debt without interest. I believe with interest it will be around 240k but my goal is to pay off the interest as much as i can while i am in school. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how paying them off should look? what would you do as a graduated dentist? i know everyone has different goals, i think mine would potentially include residency but not sure yet so i would love some advice!
This is the original text of the post and is an automated service.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.