Dilemma concerning NYU's tuition - at what point is tuition too high?

[Namelessking]

Hello. I was recently accepted into NYU which was just a back up honestly. I thought that with my stats I would have gotten into more schools here in the northeast but I was left with the most expensive ones like Boston University and NYU.

DAT: 22AA 22TS 23 Bio 22GC 21OC 24PAT 22QR 24CR
GPA - 3.67 sgpa - 3.74

I'm probably doing the calculations wrong but NYU costs me (a NY resident) around 400k if I live at home with my parents and deal with an hour long commute. And if I live in the city ~ $500 - 540k. I won't join the army because I'm an absolute coward (unfortunately). Honestly, I'm just miffed that I didn't get my top picks like Stonybrook or Buffalo even though I had a lot of work experience, shadowing, and pretty decent stats. I thought dentistry was pretty cool for a large part of my life but I never knew the tuition would hike up this drastically. I recall a time when even NYU's tuition (w/o living expenses) was only 50k or so, now it's 72k and I don't see that number going down any time soon. I did apply to a back up master's program in a business program but I never thought I'd actually have to consider it.

Do dentists really live the life like everyone used to say? With all these dental networks blooming up out of nowhere it sounds like dentists took a pretty hard hit to their earning potential. I would have accepted offers to schools like Temple/Stony/Buffalo with glee but two of them instantly rejected me. Pretty bummed about this whole process and thought I would have had more options. Apologies for the long-winded post but any advice is much appreciated.

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[Bropofol*]

You have the stats. Can I ask how many and which specific schools you applied to in total? Also when did you complete your application?

 

[wengerout]

Hello. I was recently accepted into NYU which was just a back up honestly. I thought that with my stats I would have gotten into more schools here in the northeast but I was left with the most expensive ones like Boston University and NYU.

DAT: 22AA 22TS 23 Bio 22GC 21OC 24PAT 22QR 24CR
GPA - 3.67 sgpa - 3.74

I'm probably doing the calculations wrong but NYU costs me (a NY resident) around 400k if I live at home with my parents and deal with an hour long commute. And if I live in the city ~ $500 - 540k. I won't join the army because I'm an absolute coward (unfortunately). Honestly, I'm just miffed that I didn't get my top picks like Stonybrook or Buffalo even though I had a lot of work experience, shadowing, and pretty decent stats. I thought dentistry was pretty cool for a large part of my life but I never knew the tuition would hike up this drastically. I recall a time when even NYU's tuition (w/o living expenses) was only 50k or so, now it's 72k and I don't see that number going down any time soon. I did apply to a back up master's program in a business program but I never thought I'd actually have to consider it.

Do dentists really live the life like everyone used to say? With all these dental networks blooming up out of nowhere it sounds like dentists took a pretty hard hit to their earning potential. I would have accepted offers to schools like Temple/Stony/Buffalo with glee but two of them instantly rejected me. Pretty bummed about this whole process and thought I would have had more options. Apologies for the long-winded post but any advice is much appreciated.

At the end of the day until Sam stops handing out loans like candy schools will continue to raise their tuition, and people will continue to pay whatever they ask for.

What's the cost difference between BU and NYU? If you go to these schools you won't being living the "doctor" life style until at least 10 years after graduation. Still I personally would go as there are very few careers that have equal earning potential. I also would seriously consider the military scholarship. You say you are too scared yet it doesn't take much research to know you don't have to be deployed, and the army isn't sending Dentist to war zones. At worst you'll be in Japan/Germany but to my understanding as of now you get to choose if you want to leave the US or not.


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[Big Time Hoosier]

At the end of the day until Sam stops handing out loans like candy schools will continue to raise their tuition, and people will continue to pay whatever they ask for.

What's the cost difference between BU and NYU? If you go to these schools you won't being living the "doctor" life style until at least 10 years after graduation. Still I personally would go as there are very few careers that have equal earning potential. I also would seriously consider the military scholarship. You say you are too scared yet it doesn't take much research to know you don't have to be deployed, and the army isn't sending Dentist to war zones. At worst you'll be in Japan/Germany but to my understanding as of now you get to choose if you want to leave the US or not.


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If you're not prepared to deploy, don't join the military. It's not happening a lot right now, but tomorrow is always another day.

Big Hoss

 

[Likkriue]

Did you get waitlisted by those 2 schools or are you actually rejected? If you were waitlisted I would put a deposit on NYU and then wait to hear back.

Depends on how you are with living with your parents for another 4 years. If they are the type that would leave you alone most of the time and you guys get along , not an issue.

If they are the other type that nags and complains about every life decision you make(My parents), for your sanity I'll drop the extra 100k for living costs for an apartment just outside of NYC (Queens) and just commute from another place.

 

[DOC YANKEM]

This year's application cycle was truly unfortunate and competitive for NY state dental schools. I would start preparing your finances for the worst possibility. Start exploring your options outside of the military such as the NHSC. Sacrifices are part of life.

 

[toothdoctor123]

Admissions is not all about the stats, as you're learning. And it is certainly not as predictable as people like to pretend on SDN.

If you want to go to dental school to pursue a dream to practice dentistry, then I think you should bite the bullet and commit to one of the schools to which you were accepted. It would be too risky to wait and reapply next cycle, as you could lose the offers you already have. However, you should think very carefully before choosing NYU because it is so unique due to its size.

You can't expect to get rich with this amount of debt. You could spend most of your career paying it off, but you won't have a terrible life per se. If you work really hard and get lucky, it is still possible to become wealthy; but if you chose dentistry primarily for the "lifestyle" in the sense of financial freedom, then you have to rethink that.

Don't join the military if you wouldn't be proud to serve. Regardless of the relative safety of working in a military hospital, the uniform is a symbol of your willingness to sacrifice your life for other Americans. There is no honor in donning that uniform only for financial gain. But there is honor in knowing thyself (so to speak).

 

[Namelessking]

You have the stats. Can I ask how many and which specific schools you applied to in total? Also when did you complete your application?

I applied to:

New York: NYU, Columbia, Stonybrook, Buffalo

Mass: Boston U

New Jersey: Rutgers

Penn: UPenn, Temple

I sent in my app around June 17th, and my school took their time in sending the committee letter out, around August 1st.

 

[Namelessking]

Did you get waitlisted by those 2 schools or are you actually rejected? If you were waitlisted I would put a deposit on NYU and then wait to hear back.

Depends on how you are with living with your parents for another 4 years. If they are the type that would leave you alone most of the time and you guys get along , not an issue.

If they are the other type that nags and complains about every life decision you make(My parents), for your sanity I'll drop the extra 100k for living costs for an apartment just outside of NYC (Queens) and just commute from another place.

Temple has me waitlisted I guess, they interviewed me back in January 24th and haven't heard from them since. Stonybrook flat-out rejected me, Bufallo instantly put me on continuing review and then rejected me. My parents are pretty cool but I don't really know how the commute would be. I pulled it off in undergrad but not sure about how difficult dental school is. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty aggravated at this point but I guess that's life.

 

[Namelessking]

At the end of the day until Sam stops handing out loans like candy schools will continue to raise their tuition, and people will continue to pay whatever they ask for.

What's the cost difference between BU and NYU? If you go to these schools you won't being living the "doctor" life style until at least 10 years after graduation. Still I personally would go as there are very few careers that have equal earning potential. I also would seriously consider the military scholarship. You say you are too scared yet it doesn't take much research to know you don't have to be deployed, and the army isn't sending Dentist to war zones. At worst you'll be in Japan/Germany but to my understanding as of now you get to choose if you want to leave the US or not.


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Last I checked it was pretty much the same. Boston would come up at over 400k, living in a pretty cheap apartment. NYU would come up at around 400k with interest figured in living with my parents. And if I live in the city, ha, it's likely gonna go over 500k.

 

[O Gaúcho]

I'd pick the cheaper school and then start the process of applying for the 3 year HPSP scholarship. With your stats I would think you would have a great chance at getting it.

 

[Namelessking]

I'd pick the cheaper school and then start the process of applying for the 3 year HPSP scholarship. With your stats I would think you would have a great chance at getting it.

Unfortunately my only choice at the moment is NYU -_-

stonybrook: rejected
temple: interviewed/noresponse
columbia: interviewed/noresponse
NYU: accepted
Rutgers:waitlisted/I rejected them
Boston U: accepted/I rejected them since they cost the same as NYU in my case
Buffalo: rejected
Upenn: rejected

 

[Likkriue]

Why did you withdraw your app to Rutgers? You get instate tuition after a year.

 

[predental21250]

One order of humble pie coming up!

 

[deleted696582]

If I were you, I'd go to NYU knowing that you will not live like a baller dentist for a long time. At least you are aware of the massive amount of debt ahead of you.

I'd live as cheap as possible in school, and I'd live with family like you said and deal with the commute. You could study on the commute too if it's public transportation.

 

[wengerout]

Unfortunately my only choice at the moment is NYU -_-

stonybrook: rejected
temple: interviewed/noresponse
columbia: interviewed/noresponse
NYU: accepted
Rutgers:waitlisted/I rejected them
Boston U: accepted/I rejected them since they cost the same as NYU in my case
Buffalo: rejected
Upenn: rejected

Columbia is still accepting people. You shouldn't have withdrawn from Rutgers. As for rejecting BU I personally would have gone to BU over NYU.


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[sgv]

Join the Air Force. I only know a handful of HPSP people who joined for patriotism alone. Vast majority are calling it quits after serving.

 

[Faux]

Why did you reject rutgers?

 

[Namelessking]

If I were you, I'd go to NYU knowing that you will not live like a baller dentist for a long time. At least you are aware of the massive amount of debt ahead of you.

I'd live as cheap as possible in school, and I'd live with family like you said and deal with the commute. You could study on the commute too if it's public transportation.

You think the commute would be too much for dental school? It would take about an hour but I heard even that might be overkill for dental. I pulled off a 1.5 - 2 hour commute as an undergrad but I realize that's not really comparable. And to likkirue, I rejected Rutgers because I hated the location of their school and one of the dentists I shadowed told me it really didn't compare to NYU clinically, or Temple for that matter.

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Personally, I only applied to 4 NY state schools (excluding Columbia for personal reasons). Why did you not consider applying to Touro? Other than being an accredited new dental school, Touro has new facilities and great faculty from NYU and Columbia. It's definitely cheaper than NYU and Boston.

You think the commute would be too much for dental school? It would take about an hour but I heard even that might be overkill for dental. I pulled off a 1.5 - 2 hour commute as an undergrad but I realize that's not really comparable. And to likkirue, I rejected Rutgers because I hated the location of their school and one of the dentists I shadowed told me it really didn't compare to NYU clinically, or Temple for that matter.

In my opinion, Rutgers has a good clinical experience just from hearing a few Rutgers graduates. They all easily found a match for their AEGD/GPR residencies in New York City. If you hated the location of the school, then just don't bother applying/interview because that is just a waste of time and money.

 

[Likkriue]

And to likkirue, I rejected Rutgers because I hated the location of their school and one of the dentists I shadowed told me it really didn't compare to NYU clinically, or Temple for that matter.

The part about the location I can get behind but even still it would have saved u 160k+ just to deal with the location.

The second part is complete bull crap.

 

[deleted696582]

You think the commute would be too much for dental school? It would take about an hour but I heard even that might be overkill for dental. I pulled off a 1.5 - 2 hour commute as an undergrad but I realize that's not really comparable.

I wouldn't want anything more than a 15 minute commute, but that's just my personal preference. If you save 100k living at home as you've calculated, it may be worth it.

 

[LFA20]

You think the commute would be too much for dental school? It would take about an hour but I heard even that might be overkill for dental. I pulled off a 1.5 - 2 hour commute as an undergrad but I realize that's not really comparable. And to likkirue, I rejected Rutgers because I hated the location of their school and one of the dentists I shadowed told me it really didn't compare to NYU clinically, or Temple for that matter.

I can't speak for temple but you are kidding yourself if you think NYU is better clinically than Rutgers. We see a lot more patients than NYU and we have no problems finding chairs. Our clinical requirements are WAY heavier than theirs. For example, we need to do 19 crowns to graduate, NYU need 4-5.
As far as location, yes newark isn't the best but I live 20 mins away and its surrounded by amazing restaurants, gym, shopping center, and there are many bus stops to NYC.

Also at Rutgers, you won't have to attend every single class. I skipped all my didactic science courses my entire first and second year and only attended the labs. Stay home, relax, and study on your own pace

 

[Likkriue]

Imagine this, you just finished your lab work at midnight. You just want to get home and sleep.

You hop on the train home. Uh oh, train is delayed!!!(haha what a suprise right). **** there's a hobo in the corner who just shat his pants. But the train is stuck midway and u have to endure his odor. So you finally get up and switch cars. And you get home later than usual and it's 2 am. You shower brush ur teeth and haul ass to sleep. But at the last minute u realize there's a quiz tomorrow. And mandatory anatomy class starts at 8.

Pick your poison lol.

 

[deleted696582]

Imagine this, you just finished your lab work at midnight. You just want to get home and sleep.

You hop on the train home. Uh oh, train is delayed!!!(haha what a suprise right). **** there's a hobo in the corner who just shat his pants. But the train is stuck midway and u have to endure his odor. So you finally get up and switch cars. And you get home later than usual and it's 2 am. You shower brush ur teeth and haul ass to sleep. But at the last minute u realize there's a quiz tomorrow. And mandatory anatomy class starts at 8.

Pick your poison lol.

Hmm would sleeping in the clinic be worth 100k?

 

[DC206R]

400k is hefty but isn't that bad. Still confused on why you pulled out at Rutgers and Boston. Anywho, go to NYU or forever hold your peace. That's my take on this. Good luck.

 

[Universitygeek]

And if I live in the city ~ $500 - 540k. I won't join the army because I'm an absolute coward (unfortunately).

Are you more scared of the military than half a million in debt? The way I see it is you'll either be a slave to your debt or a slave to the military. Personally I'd rather be a slave to the military for 3 years than a slave to Sallie Mae for decades.

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Why commute for 1 hour from class? I'm sure the library is open late so you can sleep there with your sleeping bag. Kappa

 

[Faux]

You think the commute would be too much for dental school? It would take about an hour but I heard even that might be overkill for dental. I pulled off a 1.5 - 2 hour commute as an undergrad but I realize that's not really comparable. And to likkirue, I rejected Rutgers because I hated the location of their school and one of the dentists I shadowed told me it really didn't compare to NYU clinically, or Temple for that matter.

From the schedule, Rutgers sees patients 5 days a week during their third year, not even UB has that. Huge population pool too. Out of all the interviews I had, Rutgers was the only school that had numerous D4 students ready to talk to us the moment we walked into the conference room.

I just think rejecting the waitlist was a huge mistake, based on one dentist opinion and your opinion on the area. You were a half hour away from NYC by train, and if my memory serves me right, theres a huge gated campus housing right across the street from the campus. And now you're contemplating 100k extra and a 1-2 hour commute during the most crucial/busiest academic years of your life.

Like damm man, didn't even give your self the chance to see if they would have even accepted you or not. Send an email of interest to Columbia and Temple. Give them an update on what you've been doing and express your interest in their program. Given your high stats too, apply for the air force scholarship next year, seems to be the most attractive branch.

 

[Namelessking]

The part about the location I can get behind but even still it would have saved u 160k+ just to deal with the location.

The second part is complete bull crap.

Well I just heard it from him, and when I heard both NYU and Columbia rail on Rutgers at my interviews I thought there had to be something wrong with the school.

 

[Namelessking]

From the schedule, Rutgers sees patients 5 days a week during their third year, not even UB has that. Huge population pool too. Out of all the interviews I had, Rutgers was the only school that had numerous D4 students ready to talk to us the moment we walked into the conference room.

I just think rejecting the waitlist was a huge mistake, based on one dentist opinion and your opinion on the area. You were a half hour away from NYC by train, and if my memory serves me right, theres a huge gated campus housing right across the street from the campus. And now you're contemplating 100k extra and a 1-2 hour commute during the most crucial/busiest academic years of your life.

Like damm man, didn't even give your self the chance to see if they would have even accepted you or not. Send an email of interest to Columbia and Temple. Give them an update on what you've been doing and express your interest in their program. Given your high stats too, apply for the air force scholarship next year, seems to be the most attractive branch.

Already sent an email of interest to Columbia and Temple a while back; I even sent temple some photos of my carvings ha. Hoping for the best. And I'm a creative person. I'd be willing to sleep in the libraries and shower/freshen up in the gym ha

 

[Likkriue]

Columbia will still run you 400k before interest. Temple is the cheapest option so far.

 

[Namelessking]

Columbia will still run you 400k before interest. Temple is the cheapest option so far.

Yep and I really hope they accept me; honestly one of my top choices after Stonybrook.

 

[schmoob]

Well I just heard it from him, and when I heard both NYU and Columbia rail on Rutgers at my interviews I thought there had to be something wrong with the school.

Why do you base your MAJOR life decisions on what other people tell you? You threw away Rutgers, you didn't apply to Touro, now you're worried that you're going to "have to" go to a school that you applied to and were accepted to. Either go to NYU or don't; but don't complain about tuition because you knew the cost when you applied. There are plenty of people who will gladly take your spot.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Why do you base your MAJOR life decisions on what other people tell you? You threw away Rutgers, you didn't apply to Touro, now you're worried that you're going to "have to" go to a school that you applied to and were accepted to. Either go to NYU or don't; but don't complain about tuition because you knew the cost when you applied. There are plenty of people who will gladly take your spot.

That's the problem with SDN. 99% of us are naive pre-dents, myself included. We all act like we can give out advice, talk down or up about certain schools, scold people on their school decisions, or laugh at them for being stuck with only expensive private school acceptances. Poor OP potentially missed out on a great school with a good price tag just because of some internet idiot wasting time by posting nonsense on SDN while waiting in line to checkout at Walmart. This is why everyone on the forum needs to take the information here with a grain of salt

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Grain of Salt

 

[toofdoc22]

You think the commute would be too much for dental school? It would take about an hour but I heard even that might be overkill for dental. I pulled off a 1.5 - 2 hour commute as an undergrad but I realize that's not really comparable. And to likkirue, I rejected Rutgers because I hated the location of their school and one of the dentists I shadowed told me it really didn't compare to NYU clinically, or Temple for that matter.

I commuted to Rutgers (NJDS at the time) an hour w/o traffic. Some days it sucked but it was doable. It was worth it for me not to spend an additional $15-20,000 on rent per year. You can also live right outside of Newark 10-15 minutes and be in a great area.

I am an attending at Rutgers and it is hands down one of the more clinically focused schools in the area. The minimum requirements for graduation far surpass what is expected at NYU. My father also sits on the acceptance committee for a local residency program. He always tells me how shocked he is to see how little some of the applicants from the area are required to do. He has seen many that have only completed 1-2 crowns and 1-2 dentures. He often feels the students from RSDM have a leg up.

Unfortunately, if you want to be a dentist, your choice is clear. Just live as minimally as possible, put your head down, and work.

 

[toothdoctor123]

Well I just heard it from him, and when I heard both NYU and Columbia rail on Rutgers at my interviews I thought there had to be something wrong with the school.

I'm a little surprised that you heard negative things about Rutgers at your Columbia interview. We're not exactly competing for the same applicant pool, since Columbia is superior for specialization and Rutgers offers more rigorous clinical training for general practice. I mean, anyone you ask will tell you that downtown Newark is objectively a dump compared to the areas surrounding the other local dental schools, but you can't knock the clinical education at Rutgers.

As for commuting to NYU, maybe you should consider getting an apartment for your first year, when you have didactics plus preclinic 5 days/week, and then decide what you want to do for your subsequent years. Like, if you're only in clinic 3 days/week as a D4 (I think that's what they do there...someone correct me if I'm wrong), it would make more sense to commute from home then. And think about your social life. How will you get to know your classmates if you're not around the city in the evenings? How will you get a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse if you live with your parents? Don't be that guy who sleeps in classrooms and showers at the gym...that's no way to live. Self-care is important; and in dentistry it is critical to have a reputation for being a put-together professional in the presence of your faculty, colleagues, and patients.

 

[deleted632307]

This might come off as harsh but I think you should be thankful that you even got in at all.

A ton of people would kill to have just 1 acceptance, let alone 2 (and the possibility for more).

I have to ask: if you couldn't stomach the debt for going to NYU if it were your only acceptance, why did you apply there? I'm not even gonna go into why you withdrew from the waitlist at Rutgers lol

 

[periopocket]

Unfortunately my only choice at the moment is NYU -_-

stonybrook: rejected
temple: interviewed/noresponse
columbia: interviewed/noresponse
NYU: accepted
Rutgers:waitlisted/I rejected them
Boston U: accepted/I rejected them since they cost the same as NYU in my case
Buffalo: rejected
Upenn: rejected

You are roughly looking at the same price no matter what at this point. Temple OOS is also 400k. I would contact Columbia and let them know you are very interested, I believe they will run you 50k or so cheaper. I would definitely live at home and do NYU. Also, believe it or not Buffalo and Stony Brooks prices are rising every year as well. I would take what you got now. 400k is pretty much the average cost of dental school these days. Even Buffalo ran around 280k or so....I would not have rejected rutgers, I would have been begging them until the last day before classes started, that was your only cheap deal.

 

[predental21250]

Don't be that guy who sleeps in classrooms and showers at the gym...that's no way to live. Self-care is important; and in dentistry it is critical to have a reputation for being a put-together professional in the presence of your faculty, colleagues, and patients.

Is this really a thing at Columbia??

 

[toothdoctor123]

Is this really a thing at Columbia??

Haha no, but I actually know an undergrad NYU student who did that.