Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University Cost: The Full 4-Year Breakdown

The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University, in Augusta, is the state's only dental school — and even at the out-of-state rate it lands at #12 cheapest of the 64 schools in our cost dataset, firmly in the more affordable half. Based on cost-of-attendance data from around 2021–2022, four years there ran about $395,291 before interest. Below is the year-by-year breakdown, what it really costs once student-loan interest is counted, and why your DAT score is the single biggest lever on this number.

On these figures: the dollar amounts come from published cost-of-attendance data from roughly 2021–2022, and reflect the out-of-state rate. Tuition and living costs rise about 3–5% a year, so the current 2026 total is likely 15–20% higher — our inflation-adjusted estimate is ~$462,000. Treat every number here as a planning estimate, and confirm the current figure directly with the school and at ada.org.

Dental College of Georgia cost, year by year

Cost of attendance combines tuition & fees with the school-published cost of living (housing, food, transportation, supplies). Here is how the four years broke down in the source data:

Two things stand out. First, tuition drops sharply in the later years — the fourth-year figure is nearly $24,000 below the first — so the front two years carry most of the load. Second, this is the out-of-state figure; Georgia residents pay substantially less, which makes the Dental College of Georgia one of the best in-state values in the Southeast.

The number nobody shows you: cost with loan interest

Sticker cost of attendance is not what you repay. Most dental students finance with federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans that accrue interest while you are still in school. Once you fold that in, the Dental College of Georgia four-year total climbs to roughly $501,304 — about $106,000 more than the sticker figure, before you have made a single payment. That interest gap is the quietest, largest line item in dental education, and it is exactly why picking a lower-cost seat — or qualifying for the in-state rate here — compounds in your favor for years after graduation.

How your DAT score changes this number

Here is the connection students miss: the DAT is the cheapest lever on the most expensive purchase of your life. A stronger DAT score widens the set of schools that will admit you — including your in-state public school and any school offering merit scholarships. Moving from an out-of-state or private seat to an in-state public seat can swing your total by $100,000 to $280,000. The exam that unlocks that difference costs a few hundred dollars. No other single decision in your pre-dental years has that kind of return.

That is the entire premise of DATPractice: be the highest-ROI, lowest-cost part of your journey. Do every practice test, understand every question, and walk in with a score that gives you the choice of the cheapest, best-fit school — instead of taking the only seat you can get.

How to pay less at the Dental College of Georgia (or anywhere)

• Establish Georgia residency if you can — the in-state tuition rate is the biggest single discount available at a state school like this one.
• Maximize your DAT to open scholarship and in-state options before you ever apply.
• Apply early through ADEA AADSAS; later applicants compete for fewer seats and less aid.
• Borrow only cost-of-attendance, and understand Grad PLUS interest accrues immediately.
• Compare total cost with interest, not sticker tuition, when you weigh acceptances.