Q: (Initially posted July 1, 2004) FROM STUDENT MEMBER HOLLY Y. IN CA
Hi. Thank you to all the mentors who answered my question! It was quite helpful! That is why I am still looking at both sides. I have a list of universities that offer the special 7/8 medical program, which allow high school students to immediately go on to the colleges' medical school after their undergrad program as long as they take the required courses and maintain a certain GPA. I recently discovered that the University of Pacific offers a 7yr. dentistry program, which also ensures the high school student of a space in their dental school if they maintain a certain GPA and get a certain score on the DAT (thanks to all you mentors, I know what this is!!) Are there any other colleges/universities that offer a 7/8 dentistry program for high school students? I don't really mind if they are 7 or 8 years. Thank you!!

July 6, 2004
A: FROM MENTOR KATHY JEAN, DDS, IN IL
Holly,

Do not let the 7/8 year program for dental school at University of Pacific misguide you. YOU Do NOT need that many years to become a dentist. YOU only need two years of predental pre-requisites inorder to apply for dental school! YOU do not need to do three or four years of college inorder to get into dental school. Also, University of Pacific has one of the highest tuition fees compared to all other dental schools. BEWARE of your student loan costs with private schools. It will be difficult to pay about $120,000 dollars of educational loans by the time your graduate from dental school.

I had an interview with the president of the Educational Division of the American Dental Association, the late Dr. Abraham Kobren, and he told me that the best thing for me was to go to my public dental school, because all the dental schools are accredited by the ADA, and in the end we all become dentists. So, keep in mind that if you go to a public dental school, you will save alot more money in the long run. My loans were only about $60,000 dollars after I finished post graduate dental training, because I strictly attend only public dental schools. I just paid off my loan this year after 15 years of being in debt to student loans. It's alot of work, and you won't be so happy to be in debt for so long from school. I can direct my funds to the growth of my private dental office, rather than paying the bank for my degree 15 years ago.

I hope this helps to keep your mind clear about the financial end of the deal to become a dentist. I enjoy dentistry alot, and it was worth the time and money for me, but I enjoy it alot more now that I don't have such a huge student loan. My folks were not that rich, and I had to work (while in dental school), and I also applied for scholarships to go to dental school! There are ways to find loans and grants, but you have to be very active in your search.