How much does it cost to apply…..A lot…
If you read my earlier entries regarding applications, school choices and where to apply I often mention application costs. In the big scheme of things when dental schools can cost up to $600k, a few $K might be a drop in the bucket. My wife and were recently married, I had left active duty, serving in the reserves and taking prerequisite classes. Our income had been drastically reduced and honestly we didn’t have the perfect plan to make it all work. I did the worst thing possible and sold my 2012 custom made Mirage G4 with Pilot 188 skydiving parachute. It hurt but it gave me about $6K in the pocket which could cover most if not all of my dental school apps and fees. The Army reserve gave me an income of about $800/mo, most importantly maintaining life insurance through the process.
I’ll give you a breakdown of what it ACTUALLY cost for me from from day starting the dental school process to the first day of dental school. This is extremely variable based on your current degree, location, number of schools and if you’re moving or not.
TOTAL COST: $15,775.00
Prerequisite Classes
I needed needed the following classes, I paid for these out of my own pocket. GI bill had much more bang for the buck in dental school than community college and prerequisites. I was easily able to cover the costs of these classes.
Biology 1 & 2: $1,250 (community college)
Organic Chemistry 1 & 2: $1400 (community college)
Microbiology 1: $625 (community college)
Sociology 101: $450 (community college online- took this for the school I got accepted to)
Biochemistry 1: $1400 (4 year university)
Prerequisite Total: $5,125
DAT- Dental Admissions Test
I mentioned this in one of my other pages, but this is a bear that everybody has to wrestle. More info on the DAT check out this page.
DAT Non refundable fee: $475 (includes sending your official scores to your desired dental schools)
Kaplan DAT prep Course: $1,199 (I took the in person class in Nashville and wasn’t 100% happy with it) - It was valuable in teaching me PAT, reading and certain chemistry tricks but not sure I would do it again. Email me if you have specific questions.
DAT Total: $1,674
Applications
Ok, here is where the biggest scam is. The good news is that dental schools all run their applications through the ADEA AADSAS Website which is a centralized application system and allows you to submit all your essays, scores, grades etc in for each school. The bad news is that they charge you for each school you apply to which is no surprise. The bad news is that the schools ALSO charge you for applications. So be prepared to commit the ADSASS Application + the Schools Application Fee in order to get your application seen.
ADEA AADSAS Application Fee: $251 (first school) + $108 (each additional school) = $1,439 for 12 schools
School Application Fee: $75-$100/school = $1,200
Application Total: $2,639
Interviews
I submitted all of my applications in early July in an effort to get near the top of the application cycle. I received 3 interviews from my schools. I attended 2 and decided to not attend my last one after I felt solid on my first 2. They give you a date and you show up, some schools give you an option of dates, mine did not. So bottom line, you pay the cost of what it’s gonna cost to get you to that town on that Friday. One of mine was a 2 day interview schedule so tac on a few extra hundred for the double nights. This is super variable, a great way to cut costs is to drive, stay with friends etc. I was a little older than the typical applicant and working a solid job at the time so I wasn’t super concerned about a tight budget. Plus after I crushed both of my interviews, I walked to the nearest whiskey bar and had a few pours of Rip Van Winkle 10 @ about $40/pour to celebrate my day.
Flight + Hotel + Dry Cleaning + everything else: $2,200 (best guess, this is super variable)
Interview Total: $2,200
Networking Trips:
I drove and flew to meet with deans, admissions departments, faculty and administrators to tour schools, meet with students and get my name out there. Obviously not necessary for the normal student, but being non traditional, with a low undergrad GPA I had to take chances to get noticed. They were generally chill about meeting with potential students. Overall, all 3 schools that I really reached out to I received interviews at.
3 networking Trips (flights+ Gas + hotels): $1,800
School Supplies:
Computer: $1,800 (MacBook Pro with touch pad, you can go cheaper, I chose not to)
Scrubs: $280 (3 basic pairs, don’t buy 100 pairs up front, you will see what is comfortable if you school doesn’t provide them for you)
Random Supplies: $300
School Supplies: $2,380