Help D24 select animal science program

Pre-Vet & Veterinary Medicine
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D24 will be majoring in animal science pre-vet focus. If vet school does not work out as we know how challenging and difficult that is she would want to pursue other career opportunities involving animals.

It’s been a roller coaster admissions cycle and I’m looking for some feedback from those with knowledge of animal science programs at the following schools as D is currently unsure what she should do. Those with knowledge what are the strengths and weaknesses you have found with the particular programs at the following schools? Here’s where we are at:

  1. UVM - was offered spring start, told could do a fall semester abroad program for credit or take CC classes at home and transfer those in, they have an advisor that will work with you on this(?)
  2. UMASS - waitlisted, told will find out if offered a spot sometime after May 1st
  3. UNH - was deferred from EA to RD and still awaiting a decision, told will hear by April 1st
  4. UMaine - accepted
  5. URI - accepted
  6. Delaware Valley University - accepted
  7. University of New England - accepted, they only offer Animal Behavior so a different major and no on campus barns to get hands on work with animals

We have toured all schools except Delaware Valley University. Obviously there are other considerations with each school we are looking at but really would like some honest feedback on the program of study at the schools listed from those with experience. Really appreciate anything you can share good or bad!

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Honestly, if your D24 has the drive / capability to be a viable candidate for veterinary school, she may want to look at another UG major instead of Animal Science in the event she wants move versatility / option besides Vet School.

Animal Science Majors aren’t inherently better routes into Veterinary School.

When it comes time to apply to vet school, her backups would likely be Masters/PhD programs - Undergrads with Biology, Chemistry, Bioengineering, Environmentals etc can certainly look at a large number MS / MPH/ PhD programs of study with career fields involving animals.

I have no direct knowledge of the Ani-Sci programs at the schools you’ve listed.

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Thanks. Yes understand one can major in anything really and go to vet school. However out of the anything and everything she could possibly major in she choose animal science. Has really been drawn to the hands on opportunities of the major.

So now given her major and what she has been given for admissions decisions we are trying to assess the programs a bit more and would like to hear from anyone who has majored in AS at these schools or their parents.

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So the choices are - for Fall start - Maine, URI, Delaware Valley, or U of NE.

Does she have one, if animal science didn’t work out, that she loved.

Given the rest of the list, hopefully she loved Maine or URI.

I think the other two are more - hmmmm - well U of New England is more a school but lots online. Delaware Valley is very small and if you don’t end up with animals…then what?

It seems like the flagships worked better for you.

If she wants to start in Fall, I’d go to URI or Maine - so I hope she loves one of them and they are affordable. Problem solved.

Spring starts could be tough but if they have an organized program, maybe you’d love it.

No experience - but from the outside looking in, based on what you wrote, it’s how I’d go.

If UNH comes, you could add to it.

A WL doesn’t mean it won’t come through but it’s a rejection but insurance policy for the school in case it falls short - and if it comes through, by then, hopefully you’ll be so comfortable with your choice, you’ll just ignore it. That said, UMASS does admit a lot off - but you still can’t count on it. Last year they admitted 1701 of 6628 on it - but you don’t know if they’ll be short in your major, etc.

Best of luck.

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@wondertwins do you want general ideas about these college options…or are you looking for information from those familiar with the animal science (or related majors) at these colleges?

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@DadTwoGirls and @momocarly have kids in vet schools.

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Just looking for feedback from those familiar with the animal science programs at these various schools and what they feel are strengths or weaknesses of the programs. Thanks!

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Keeping her goals in mind, only URI and UMaine are realistic options.
UMaine offers lots of hands on classes right from the start. Students work with cattle or horses, pets, etc.
URI is more theoretical but offers more “unusual” opportunities with zoos, aquariums, etc, as well as a combined program in Scotland (seniors can spend a year at a topnotch Glasgow vet school and if performance is satisfactory they can continue&get their Veterinary science degree.)

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What is the cost of each of these? Would any result in taking on debt? Would any leave college funds in the bank or in a 529 that can be used for a DVM program or other graduate program?

My daughter reports that most students in her DVM program are taking on too much debt, and that most of them do not want to talk about it. It is best to try to keep the first four years (through bachelor’s degree) as economical as is reasonably possible. It is possible to get a bachelor’s degree, then move to a state which has a good public DVM program (or move to a WICHE state), establish residence, work for a year (possibly in a veterinary related job) and then apply to in-state (or WICHE) DVM program(s). This does imply taking two years off between a bachelor’s degree and starting a DVM program.

UVM is quite good for pre-vet programs, but so are most of the other schools on your list (I do not know the last two). UVM has a CREAM program that is worth looking at, and horses and cows relatively close to campus (a student could walk from main campus to the dairy barn). I am pretty sure that UNH has a similar program. I am not sure about the other schools but something similar may be available. The CREAM program is quite hands-on, and includes things such as taking blood, giving injections, and giving cows pills (apparently the cows cannot swallow the pills, so you instead place the pill inside the cow). Of course it also includes cleaning up after the cows.

https://www.uvm.edu/cals/asci/cream

It is valuable to have hands-on experience with animals, preferably including both large and small animals. It is also important to have experience in a veterinary situation. While we might never know quite why we get accepted or not at any particular program, my daughter and I both think that her extensive experience with animals (big ones and little ones) was a big part of what got her accepted to DVM programs.

When my daughter started her DVM program we got to listen to the welcome ceremony on-line. One thing that they mentioned was where each student had gotten their bachelor’s degree. It was rare to hear the same school mentioned twice. The students in at least my daughter’s DVM program have gotten their bachelor’s degrees at a very wide range of schools.

Pre-vet classes overlap a great deal with premed classes (I am pretty sure that the required classes are the same, there are some optional classes such as “lameness in horses” that might be either veterinary- or human-specific). Because of this my daughter knew quite a few premed students. These premed / pre-vet classes can be academically quite challenging, and will be challenging at pretty much any good university.

I do not know what impact the spring start would have. Our daughter started off as an environmental sciences major and did not switch to animal science until at least sophomore year (I am not quite sure when sophomore year), which suggests at least that course sequencing might not be too heavily over-constrained.

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The Cost of Attendance and Debt to Income ratios have become a HUGE problem for Veterinarians over the past two decades.

The number of available seats in Veterinary Schools has grown a ton during that time - but the largest portion by far has been adding seats at the increasing number of the so called “Not For Profit” private schools (both in the US and tangential to the US) as well as the OOS seats at the public schools - all of which are VERY expensive in comparison.

It could almost be categorized as economic / financial suicide to attend Veterinary School outside of a narrow path of instate/public undergraduate and instate/public Veterinary School as the differences can be upwards of and additional $ 300-500k over those 8 years.

I strongly encourage you parents to look over the efforts of the [VIN Foundation (Veterinary Information Network) and their Student Debt contribution as you counsel your kids on their Veterinary Dreams. Pay close attention to the cost of education /attendance maps - as you can configure them to your state of residence and understand that the tuition/fees for Veterinary Schools has outpaced even the general college COE rates so what you’ll see on those maps will only get worse the earlier your child is in this process.

It won’t let me post the links directly:

www . vinfoundation . org

www. vetschoolbound . org

(and go to the resources tab - drop down to “How much will it cost?”

MANY of the Veterinary Graduates of the last 10 years and today are unable to even meet the -interest- payments on their student loans and are watching their balances grow by tens of thousands of dollars a year - all while betting on additional government loan forgiveness above and beyond all of the iterations of PAYE / PSLF forgiveness in the 20-25 year mark where they will still be taxed on this forgiven loan amounts.

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Thanks for the input appreciate it! In visiting both schools we got the same impression that you mentioned with Maine offering more hands-on from the start and URI being more theoretical. Of the students we spoke to in the program that day the one who was pre-vet focused said she was taking time off after graduation because she wanted to get more hours working with animals, said she did not get enough during her undergrad experience. That made my daughter pause a bit on this school. Maine also has an agreement with one of the Scotland schools for senior year there and then if you do well can test into the vet med. school in Scotland.

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Thank you this is very helpful information! All her potential schools are coming in roughly around the same COA when factoring in merit and with our help, she should be able to graduate with a small amount in loans. We know vet school is a goal she has but also know that may not be attainable so we want to make sure she is at a good undergrad program that may help guide her to other career opportunities aligned with her desire to work with animals. So for now we are focused on the strengths/weaknesses in each of these programs.

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Just want to note that my daughter is at UNE, but for psychology/neurology, and she doesn’t do anything online? She LOVES it!

And my younger daughter happens to be looking at zoo science at DelVal so I’m curious what “more a school” in reference to UNE means? We are not too familiar with DelVal yet.

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Sorry, this was meant for one of the responses to the original post.

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Sure -

I just meant as a hybrid with multiple campuses(both on campus but a large on campus presence), it’s not as “traditional” or comprehensive in offerings as say a U Maine or Southern Maine…at least in my mind.

SNHU has a traditional campus but I’d say the same. To me, U Maine and URI are just deeper in offering - that’s all I meant. A school like U of NE offers majors like dental hygenist that you may not see elsewhere. I’m sure it’s a fine school and if it’s great for your student, then it’s a FANTASTIC school.

Delaware Valley is small but does have a great rep in animal sciences. It has few majors - albeit very interesting ones.

But I didn’t mean anything other than to say - I think I read earlier to fallback onto other things - and I think the two state flagships OP mentioned might be better in that regard. That said, it sounds like vet school or not, OP wants to be involved with animals - so these schools might be perfect. There was a recent student on here who really appreciated Delaware Valley…I’ll find the thread for OP.

That’s all.

OP - take a look at this thread. It’s not a pre vet thread but it talks about a few of the schools you mentioned and other career jobs related to animals (which you noted might have to be an option in a recent post).

Looking for colleges with Equine/Equestrian Majors for my D24 [AK resident, 4.0, 33, 1380, <$40k] - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums

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Thank you and thanks for linking the other post it was interesting!

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Tagging @alaskajo who’s D is planning to attend Delaware Valley, I believe. Also tagging @bgbg4us who also has a kid who’s doing/done the veterinarian path and might have some additional insight.

Personally, I’m a big fan of starting college in the fall on-campus, so I’d be considering Main, Rhode Island, Delaware Valley, or UNE. If your D wants a Plan B in case she changes her mind or doesn’t get into vet schools then I’d do a deep dive to see what possibilities interest her at each of those colleges.

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I don’t know anything about these schools, but DO NOT TAKE ON DEBT for undergrad whatever you do! Do NOT take “small loans”. Go to the state school you can afford. If you value your daughter’s life just don’t do it. Vets have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession and part of this is due to debt on top of the emotionally wrenching nature of the work and the emotionally abusive clients. My oldest kid is working right now as a vet assistant and I hear a LOT of stories every day. It’s a super stressful job.

Check out NOMV.org for more info on mental health in veterinary careers and suicide prevention.

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Yes, my D24 is going to DelVal in the fall! She’ll be majoring in Equine Science/Pre-Vet. The link that @tsbna44 provided above gives a rundown of our campus tours. We toured UVM, Colorado State, and University of Kentucky. None of the schools came close to offering the amount of hands-on experience that DelVal offered, and certainly not as conveniently (the barns are definitely within walking distance). I had some concerns that the science courses might not prepare her for vet school (the larger schools just seemed to have more research and lab facilities) but when I looked thru the profiles of incoming vet classes at Colorado State, UC Davis, Iowa State and others that publish that info, they usually had students from DelVal. And DelVal provided some information about what vet schools their graduates attend, and it is an impressive list. So they obviously know how to prepare the students for vet school. (I do think my kid will have to advocate for herself some and do her own research as to the prereqs for the vet schools she is interested in. For example, physics is a pre-req at CSU and Iowa State but it isn’t a required course in DelVal’s pre-vet program.) It is a very small school, in a rural setting. But lots of animal science-type majors (her rommate-to-be, who she only met thru the school, is an animal sci major). I’m sure they don’t all go to vet school but I can’t say where they do get jobs. I bet the university can answer that though.

As I mentioned in our school tour recap, at CSU they told them that 80% of the kids that start in equine science do so with the intention of going to vet school, but only 20% end up doing so. It was my husband that was with her on the tour and I quizzed him about that–was that because it’s so hard to get into vet school? Do the kids drop out of the program?? He said it seemed to be that they stayed in the program but found a different career path that interested them (still equine related). At the University of Kentucky, they really empahsized the opportunities to go into research after graduation. So while she definitely heard and took note of the fact that vet med may not be where she ends up, she still chose DelVal because of the hands on opportunities she would be getting from the very start. (at UVM she was told it wouldn’t be until her sophomore year before she could start working with the horses–and they only had 6 horses whereas DelVal has 50+).

I don’t know that that answered many of your questions but it’s what I learned from going thru this process with my daughter. Hope it helps and keep us posted. I’d love to hear where she ends up–especially if it’s DelVal (same to you @Dadunleavy)

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My son in an animal science major at UMASS. We looked closely at UVM and UNH for Animal Science and seriously considered UMAINE (mostly for marine science but I also looked at their animal science program). I looked a little at URI but son was not interested in applying there.

It’s critical to get hands on experience with animals and it’s very important to look at an each school’s acceptance rate to vet school and how program decisions drive that number. For example, UMASS has a very high acceptance rate (like 90%). However, all students begin on an animal science track for about the first 2 years. You have to qualify to elect Pre-Vet at the end of year 2. If you do not qualify for Pre-Vet, remaining options are Animal Research/Bio-Tech, Animal Management or Equine Science Concentration. So there is a process to weed out students which leads to a stronger acceptance rate compared to a school that allows all to apply.

Most schools have an articulation agreement with one or more vet schools.

I cannot speak to Del Val. I think UNE is too expensive.

When we visited UVM last, our sense was that the program was in transition, I would see what accepted students day feels like there, but I might take a fall start at UNH if available over spring start at UVM.

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