Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona Cost: The Full 4-Year Breakdown

Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona, in Glendale, is one of the most expensive paths to a DMD in the country — it lands at #63 of the 64 schools in our cost dataset, meaning only one school in the country costs more. Based on cost-of-attendance data from around 2021–2022, four years there ran about $549,402 before interest. Because it is a private program, there is no in-state discount to fall back on: nearly everyone pays this same listed rate. 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 school's listed 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 ~$643,000. Treat every number here as a planning estimate and confirm the current figure directly with the school and at ada.org.

Midwestern University Arizona dental 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 steps up after year one and then holds steady above $101,000 a year — there is no cheaper track here. Second, this is a private, listed figure, so Arizona residency does not lower it; Midwestern's Arizona program and A.T. Still's Mesa program are both private, which is why in-state applicants often look out of state for a cheaper public seat.

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 Midwestern Arizona four-year total climbs to roughly $699,444 — about $150,000 more than the sticker figure, before you have made a single payment. That interest gap alone is larger than the entire four-year sticker cost at the cheapest schools in our dataset. It is the quietest, largest line item in dental education, and it is exactly why starting from a lower-cost school compounds in your favor.

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 lower-cost in-state public schools and any school offering merit scholarships. Moving from a near-top-of-the-market private seat like Midwestern Arizona 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 Midwestern Arizona (or anywhere)

• Maximize your DAT to open scholarship and lower-cost options before you ever apply — this matters even more at a private school with no in-state rate.
• Look at in-state public schools in your home state; because Arizona's two dental programs are both private, out-of-state public seats can be dramatically cheaper.
• 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 — at this price the interest alone tops $150,000.