21 Financing Your
Dental
Education
The current financial aid crisis
Scholarships and loans
The total cost of a dental education depends on
a number of factors, such as: (1)
whether the dental school is a public or private
institution; (2) whether the student is a
state resident; (3) whether the student is
single or married; (4) the location of the school;
and (5) the student's lifestyle. Obviously,
there can be wide differences in total costs.
For most students, selecting a school involves
not only its reputation, location, and edu-
cational program, but, first and foremost, its
costs. A reliable estimate of costs for the
freshman year can be readily ascertained by
examining the last two columns of Table
23.1 in Chapter 23 and then multiplying by four
to get an estimate of the total costs for
all four years.
THE CURRENT FINANCIAL AID CRISIS
Most students applying to dental school can
expect to incur high educational costs.
Moreover, with the inflation rate slowly
continuing to escalate, these costs can be
expected to continue to rise. Unfortunately,
while costs are rising dramatically, federal
aid, which is the major source of scholarships
and loans awarded to students in the
health professions, is being cut back. This has
had a strong negative impact on prospec-
tive applicants and their families and may be
one of the most significant factors in the
decline in the applicant pool.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND LOANS
The major portion of financial support that is
made available to dental students is pro-
vided, either directly or indirectly, by the
federal government. These funds are chan-
neled through such programs as:
1. Scholarships for Health Professions Students
of Exceptional Financial Need
2. Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship
Programs
3. National Health Corps Scholarship
Program
These three scholarship programs and loan
programs are discussed in detail in
Chapter 10. Financial aid officers at the
dental schools should be consulted regarding
these and all other forms of
support.
There are also regional groups that provide
support for students living in certain states.
These are:
Western Interstate Commission for Higher
Education (WICHE)
Students who are residents of western states
that do not have dental schools (Alaska,
Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and
Wyoming) may apply to the WICHE
Student Exchange Programs. The home state
contributes a support fee to the dental
school to offset part of the educational costs
of its resident. The student then has to pay
resident's tuition at a public or reduced
tuition at a private school. For more information,
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