The growing expenditure in attaining a dental education have resulted in some to examine the financial benefit of pursuing a dental degree. The possible uncertainties for recent graduates to attain professional opportunities needed to payoff the educational debt is a raising concern. The objective of this study was to look into the trends in educational costs to help in creating a detailed appraisal of the financial benefit of a dental education.
Results from the study demonstrated that over the last decade, the growing costs of dental education have surpassed that of the real net income of practicing dentists, which have resulted in the fall in return on investment in dental education. However, despite an applicant’s choice of public or private dental school, the positive economic return on students’ commitment of both financial resources and time to attain a dental education remains.
Most applicants of U.S. dental schools acknowledge that their education pursuit will be expensive. However, the true emphasis should be placed on the long-term value of education itself. This long-term value can be demonstrated by looking into the return on students’ financial investment in their education throughout their dental careers. These future economic forecasts from the practice of dentistry are essential to the decision for enrolling into dental school.
The increasing higher education expenses in the United States have led to student loan debt up to $1.2 trillion as of May 2013. This increasing costs and student loan debt are worrying for both students and their families. An outcome of this challenge is that those individuals who are interested in the pursuit of a postgraduate degree have turn out to be more discerning consumers when making their preferred educational and careers. Therefore, the need for more detailed information other than educational cost or approximates of indebtedness for those who are looking into dentistry as a career.
Participate in the upcoming QS Subject Focus Summit – Dentistry under the theme of “Changing Paradigm in Dental Education for Future Excellence” from 4-6 April 2019 in Seoul, South Korea.