When thinking about how to pay for dental school, the following are some important questions you should ask to help ensure you have access to the best financial aid possible, that you know how to borrow responsibly if you have to take out student loans and that you have access to trusted resources to help prepare you to repay your loans responsibly after you graduate.
- What is the total cost of attendance for not only my first year of dental school, but over the entire length of the program?
- How can I control my expenses for dental school?
- What kinds of financial aid are available to help me pay for dental school and how is my eligibility for financial aid determined?
- What kind of loans are available to pay for dental school and how do I choose the best ones if I need to borrow?
- How can I be sure I am not borrowing more than I really need?
- How much debt can I expect to have when I leave dental school?
- I will be an international dental student. Will I be able to find financial aid and are there grants, scholarships and student loans specifically for international students?
- How are dental school graduates handling their debt once they graduate? Are there lots of ways to repay?
- If I do have to borrow, are there some things I absolutely need to know before I do?
- Where can I go for help and what should I be doing now to prepare for starting dental school in strong financial shape?
We encourage you to run these questions (and others you may have) by your school’s financial aid office (FAO), as it is the best source of information regarding how to pay for dental school. The FAO can help ensure you don’t miss any important deadlines, especially for any gift assistance that may be available for dental students. Note: Some dental schools have a designated person in the dental school to handle financial aid, while financial aid for dental students at other schools may be handled by a main campus financial aid office. Regardless, find out who your contact person is, as they should be able to help.
About Paul Garrard, M.B.A.:
Paul S. Garrard, M.B.A.
Founder and President
PGPresents, LLC
Independent Student Loan Consulting
ADEA Senior Advisor for Student Financial Service
With more than 35 years of experience in higher education and student financial aid, Paul Garrard is one of the most well-known and in-demand educational debt management experts in the nation, especially in the health professions communities. Mr. Garrard currently serves as a consultant for the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) as their Senior Advisor for Student Financial Services.
He has extensive experience in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors of higher education. In 2008, he started his own consulting firm, PGPresents, LLC, designed to help promote responsible borrowing and responsible repayment.
His specialty is helping health professions graduates, including dental school graduates, manage their student loan portfolios by helping them develop repayment strategies that meet their career and financial goals. He also uses this expertise through ADEA to help inform incoming dental students about borrowing responsibly.
He is a nationally known speaker on financing a dental education and is a regular speaker at the ADEA GoDental Recruitment Event held prior to the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Samford University and an M.B.A. from the University of Georgia. Mr. Garrard works out of his home in Shepherdstown, WV.