Path to Dentist
The dental student loan blog
What the 2026 federal rules mean for dental students, residents and new dentists — with the numbers worked out, not just the headlines.
- ·7 min readPaying for school2026 rules
Incoming D1: your financial aid steps, in order
You filed the FAFSA. Now what? The order of operations for a first-year dental student in 2026, what replaced Grad PLUS, and why the Dental Loan Organizer and Calculator (DLOC) may not let you in yet.
Read it - ·6 min readTools2026 rules
The Dental Loan Organizer and Calculator (DLOC): what it shows, and what you still work out yourself
We ran a report through the AAMC/ADEA Dental Loan Organizer and Calculator (DLOC) and compared it line by line with our own engine. The monthly payments matched to the dollar. Three things the report did not answer are the ones that change decisions.
Read it - ·6 min readPaying for schoolIllinois
What UIC dental students will actually borrow under the 2026 federal caps
UIC publishes its DMD cost of attendance, so the arithmetic is straightforward: federal loans now cover about two thirds of an Illinois resident's tuition and fees, and under half a non-resident's.
Read it - ·7 min readPaying for school2026 rules
Grad PLUS is gone. Here's what paying for dental school looks like now.
For students starting on or after July 1, 2026, federal loans stop at $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total — while many dental schools cost $90,000 to $120,000 a year. The math, and what closes the gap.
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