University of New England College of Dental Medicine Cost: The Full 4-Year Breakdown

The University of New England College of Dental Medicine, in Portland, Maine, is a private dental school and the only one in the state. Based on cost-of-attendance data from around 2021–2022, four years there ran about $400,680 before interest — which lands it at #16 cheapest of the 64 schools in our cost dataset, a bit below the median even though it is a private program. 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 (UNE is private, so there is no separate in-state tuition). 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 ~$469,000. Treat every number here as a planning estimate and confirm the current figure directly with the school and at ada.org.

University of New England dental school 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 is remarkably steady across all four years — it barely moves, which makes planning easier than at schools where the sticker jumps sharply after year one. Second, because UNE is private, this listed rate applies to every admitted student regardless of home state; there is no in-state discount to chase here, so the levers that lower your bill are scholarships, aid, and which school you ultimately choose.

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 UNE four-year total climbs to roughly $507,009 — 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 grows with every extra dollar you borrow. It is exactly why choosing a lower-cost seat — and borrowing less — compounds so heavily in your favor over a repayment term.

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 public programs in your home state and any school offering merit scholarships. Moving from a private or out-of-state seat to a cheaper in-state public seat can swing your total by $100,000 to $280,000 across four years. 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 UNE (or anywhere)

• Maximize your DAT to open scholarship and lower-cost in-state options before you ever apply — this is the biggest lever, especially since Maine has no public dental school of its own.
• Chase institutional and outside scholarships; at a private school like UNE, merit and need-based aid do more than residency ever could.
• 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.