Dental School Loans: Best Options To Consider in 2024

You’ve always wanted to become a dentist, maybe one of your parents is a dentist, or you just want to help people, but you know you can’t afford to go to dental school. It can be expensive, costing upwards of $151,508 for in-state or public school, and even more for private school. To fund this dream of yours, you may need dental school loans. If you don’t qualify for a grant, or a student loan, or you missed the deadline, you may need to take out an unsecured loan to pay for dental school. Our team of financial experts reviewed and ranked more than 30 online lenders to help you get funded.

Best Dental School Loans for 2024 - Full Overview 

How to Choose the Best Dental School Loan?

You know you want to go to dental school and you need a dental school loan to pay for it. Before, you choose just any loan, do your research. Compare lenders, rates, loan terms, and know exactly how much the loan will cost you. Our experts used specific parameters to rank the best loans for dental school. 
Consider the following factors when choosing student loans for dental school: 

• Loan Features: Know the features, what they mean and how they work. Be familiar with loan terms, loan amounts, and loan use limitations. For example, can you use this particular loan to pay for dental school. Interest rates and fees - Considers different types of fees such as application fees, prepayment penalties, late fees, and the minimum and maximum interest rates. These will all affect how much the total loan costs you.
• Application process: Can you apply online, over-the-phone, or in-person? How invasive is the application process? Know what documents are required in order to apply such as yourincome, employment history, proof of undergraduate degree, G.P.A. requirements and so on. Find out if the lender does a hard-pull or soft-pull on your credit score. Once approved, how long will it take to fund the loan and how will you receive the funds? Will you have access to them or will they go straight to the dental school? 
• Qualification process:  Know what you need to do to qualify for dental school loans. What are the minimum credit score and income requirements? Will you need a co-signer and if so, is this allowed? If you’re getting an unsecured loan through a credit union, you may need to be a member in order to get approved. 
• Customer support: Consider accessibility to a live CSR rep, the degree of multi-channel support, and the availability of supplemental information and tools. Will there be someone available around the clock to answer your questions? 
• Online user reviews: Check out reviews on independent review sites like Trustpilot and see what borrowers are saying. Look for trends, such as bad customer service, hidden fees, or easy loan application process. Check out negative and positive reviews for potential lenders. 
• Perks and Bonuses: Consider specified service offerings like payment flexibility, advertising transparency, and advanced technology. When will you need to start repaying the loan? Does the lender offer any discounts for things like auto-pay or any other specific perks? 

Best Dental School Loans - Feature Comparison

What’s The Average Cost of Dental school?

The average cost of dental school is $151,508 for an in-state school or a public school. A private or out-of-state school will have an even higher price. When you’re considering dental school, you will want to look at all of the associated costs in addition to your tuition. Consider relocation costs, living expenses, books, lab fees, supplies, food, and travel expenses. Also, consider the cost of living in the area the school is located in. If you’re from rural Iowa, and goto dental school in Los Angeles, there will be a huge increase in your cost of living. 

How Do Dental School Loans Work?

A dental school loan is a loan that you borrow to pay for dental school once your four year undergraduate degree is completed. Dental school is typically for four years and there are different types of loans to help you afford the hefty cost. You would need to apply for these loans, usually online. Some loans require a cosigner such as a parent or guardian, and other loans you can get on your own. Each loan has different qualification criteria and application processes that we will get into below. 

Typically, once you’ve applied for a dental loan, the funds will be disbursed to the school and in some cases you will get the ‘leftover’ funds to pay additional school-related expenses. You can choose to make small payments during school, but most students defer their student loans until after they graduate and some lenders allow repayment to begin twelve months after graduation. This gives you some time to make some money as a dentist before repaying your loans.

Types of Dental School Loans

There are many different types of dental school loans. There are private loans for dental school, federal dental school loans, and dental school loans for international students. Additionally, you may get an unsecured personal loan to pay for dental school or may borrow the money from friends or family members.

Federal Student Loans

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans are student loans that have accruing interest from the time the loan is disbursed until it is paid in full. You can immediately start paying the interest in small payments, or the more popular option is to allow it to accrue and to pay it, along with the principal, after you graduate from dental school. Unsubsidized loans can be used in addition to subsidized loans and they generally offer several repayment options post-graduation.

Federal Direct PLUS Loans (Grad PLUS)

These types of loans are federal loans used to pay for graduate school such as dental or medical school. When the loan is made to a graduate or professional student it’s called a Grad PLUS loan, when it’s made to a parent, it’s called a Parent PLUS loan. To be eligible for these loans, you must meet some general eligibility requirements, not have adverse credit history, and must be enrolled in a graduate degree or certificate program at least half the time.

Private Student Loans

The best private loans for dental school offer the most competitive rates, the lowest fees, and flexible repayment terms, as well as deferment until after you graduate. You can get private student loans from online lenders, banks, credit unions, and other major financial institutions. 

Other Loan Types

Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) is a low-interest loan offered by the U.S. government to students pursuing specific degrees in the health industry such as a Bachelor or Doctor of Science in Pharmacy or a Doctor of Dentistry. They’re need based loans and can be used by full-time and part-time students.

Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS) are low-interest loans reserved for full-time students that come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are pursuing a medical degree. The students must meet certain eligibility requirements. The U.S. The Department of Health and Human Services offers these loans.

Institutional Loans are loans offered directly by the school or institution to the students. This is normally coordinated by The Financial Aid Office. These loans aren’t federal and need to be paid back, usually with interest. They’re usually offered to students who are accepted to the school but have a gap between their loan amounts and the money needed for tuition. For example, a student may receive $30,000 for the year in federal loans, but the total amount needed to attend is $38,000. The student may be able to get an institutional loan for the outstanding $8,000.

Dental School Loan Comparison Chart

Pros and Cons of Private Dental School Loans

Below are the pros and cons of private dental school loans.

Pros

Pros of private dental school loans include:

• Non U.S. citizen may be eligible with a cosigner
• Higher borrowing limits than public loans
• May get a lower variable interest rate than a higher fixed rate with a public loan

Cons of private dental school loans include:

Cons

• Large variance between lenders: Need to research and compare 
• Credit and income restrictions
• May be cost prohibitive to some borrowers

How to Apply for Private Dental School Loans

When applying for private dental school loans, you will want to do the following:

• First check out all possible grants, scholarships, and any paid internships or work-study programs that can reduce the amount of student loans you will need
• Next you can either apply for federal student loans and if you don’t get approved, or don’t get the amount of money you need, you can apply for a supplemental private loan. Or, if you know you won’t qualify, you can skip this step, and just go straight to applying for private dental school loans
• Check out a few different lenders such as Sallie Mae and your bank or credit union to see which offer the best private dental school loans. 
• Compare rates, terms, and fees. Keep in mind that private loan qualifications and costs will vary by lender. Another thing to note, is unlike public loans, private loans don’t usually offer debt forgiveness or other benefits like income-driven repayment plans.
• Choose the loan that best suits your needs and apply online. You may need a cosigner and will typically need proof of citizenship, identification, proof of undergraduate degree, bank statements, tax returns, and proof of employment. Most loans can only be used if you’re going to be a full time dental student so you will need to be registered as full-time to be eligible.
• Once approved, find out how much the loan amount is, double check all the fees, and see how the loan will be disbursed. Find out if you need to reapply each year or each semester and when you need to start paying back the loan. 
• Stop worrying about finances and focus on your studies and your dream of becoming a dentist!