Who knew that applying to dental school would be so expensive, time consuming, stressful and expensive, did I mention that already! Well it is!!!! So far I've spent $4500-$5000 in this entire process. This includes applications fees, prep course for the DAT, registration for the DAT, flights, car rental, applications fee, etc, etc, etc. I'm super glad is almost over....almost...
I applied to 11 schools, got interviewed at 7 and got accepted into all of them. When applying I was considered a Utah resident (Utah doesn't have a dental school). That means that it doesn't matter where I go I'll be paying out state tuition which is usually $20,000 more per year . People made fun of me for applying to Baylor and Houston since they don't take a lot of people out of state. In fact, Houston only took 2 out of state students last year and Baylor only 5. I thought it was worth the change since tuition + living expenses is so much less for both schools, and it was only $170 more to apply.
Here is a list of the dental schools I interviewed at and the TOTAL cost for 4 years.
1) Baylor $165,776 (incl. scholarship for $50000, because I'll be paying in state)
2) Houston $233,044
3) Iowa $247,336 (includes a $60000 scholarship)
4) Oklahoma $360,000
5) Louisville $319,304
6) Maryland $372,856
7) Nova $389,376
I don't know why I keep going back and forward between Baylor and Houston!! I really like Houston and their new building, everything is going to be new!! I really liked the atmosphere there and how friendly students and faculty were. It is though $67,268 more expensive than Baylor.
Baylor is an amazing school as well, the only thing that bothers me a little is that they do all their LAB work (pretty much all of it), and that is really time consuming. I don't know if it's worth it to do all your lab work since dentist always send everything(crowns, bridges, etc) to a lab. Having Emily and Luke is a huge blessing to me, and I want to make sure I have enough time for them.
Seriously I don't know!!! It really boils to do I want to pay $67,268 for someone to do my lab work so that I can spend more time with family, or do I suck it up and endure 2 years of brutal lab work (That's why their labs are open 24/7 for no reason). Also the facilities are going to be way nicer at Houston. Baylor does all their lab work in the basement (no windows), Houston does them on the 3rd floor (with windows!) in their NEW building.
Wherever we end up going, I just want to say that I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father for this blessing, my wife for her support and my little Luke for the inspiration, motivation he gives me.
I really don't know where to go, I will sure appreciate your comments about the schools, the city, whatever you know about Dallas or Houston.
School web sites.
http://www.db.uth.tmc.edu/ (Houston)
http://bcd.tamhsc.edu/ (Baylor in Dallas)
6 comments:
I am so very proud of you, Francisco. (Yes, there are tears in my eyes.) I am happy that you want to make the right decisions for the right reasons. Like I said on Em's Facebook post, I think you'll need to make a list of the pro's and con's of each school and the areas and then make a decision and pray about it. I suggest you go to the temple if you can. The peace and stillness there can really help you to focus while you serve at the same time! Have you checked the prices of rentals and housing in both areas? I think Dallas is probably more affluent but I am just guessing! I think you're smart to consider that just because something costs less doesn't mean it's the way to go. You have to consider so many things and your happiness, the happiness of your family and peace of mind are big considerations! I will pray for you!!! I love you!
Another thought: Would it be helpful to understand/know about how all the labwork stuff is made and how it works? Would it be an advantage in any way?
Thanks Karen! I should add that I am grateful for your support as well as Tim's.
Thank you guys!
I'm voting Dallas.
I can't believe how much $$$$ all of those schools cost! I guess I'm just naive. I didn't realize how expensive it is. They say time is money, but I kind of think time is priceless, so if you think the lab work would really take away that much family time maybe it's not worth the cost difference? I don't know, those are just my thoughts, but they're both in Texas, so according to Shaun you can't go wrong ;) And he particularly likes Houston. Keep us posted on what you're thinking and what you decide!
After sleeping on it, praying and much talking we decided we are going to Dallas!!!!
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