I think they can go wrong when a school will be $100k plus more than another for undergrad and they are talking about loans.
What exactly makes one college better for pre vet than another ?
Sure there are takings but here’s what Va Tech says about prep for vet school - and this can be done anywhere.
OP wants to do animal science undergrad - but at what cost ? Financial strangulation for life….
From Va Tech DVM
Regardless of an applicant’s chosen major, in preparation for studies in animal physiology, pharmacology and the biological basis of disease, applicants applying to veterinary school should obtain a solid foundation in the biological, chemical and physical sciences. Pre-veterinary coursework should include laboratory-based courses in which applicants learn to collect data, analyze it and draw scientifically rigorous conclusion.
How Assessed: Candidates may self-select courses to fulfill the scientific competency, but must have a minimum of 24 credit hours within this area. We will accept a maximum of 30 credit hours. Examples of some courses that meet this competency requirement are, but not limited to: physiology (animal or human), anatomy (comparative or human), immunology, nutrition (animal or human), reproduction (animal or human), cell biology, molecular genetics, ecology, environmental sciences, chemistry, biology, etc. A candidate may use up to 6 credit hours of math towards this competency requirement.
You are going to want to keep your debt as low as is reasonably possible.
There is no actual “pre-vet” major. A lot of students who think of themselves as pre-vet are majoring in either animal sciences or biology, but you can major in anything and complete the required classes to apply to DVM programs (majoring in engineering might not be a good idea just because both the engineering and pre-vet classes will be tough). The required pre-vet classes are the same as the required premed classes. Almost all universities offer these (assuming you avoid highly specialized schools such as music academies and maritime academies). One implication of this is that my daughter knew quite a few premed students when she was an undergraduate student, and has kept in touch with a small number of them.
My daughter did take some optional classes which were veterinary specific, such as “lameness in horses”, and participating in a “CREAM” program over the summer at some point (CREAM involves looking after dairy cows, and includes things like taking blood, giving injections, placing medicine inside cows, pulling a baby out of its mother, and a lot of cleaning up). These can be helpful but are definitely not needed.
One similarity between premed and pre-vet students is that both are looking for clinical opportunities, but the premed students want opportunities in a human medical environment and the pre-vet students want opportunities in a veterinary environment. Fortunately there are veterinarians all over the place so a student can get some experience in a veterinary situation pretty much regardless of where they are (this does not need to be on-campus and very often will not be on-campus).
A lot of the students in my daughter’s DVM program, probably most of them, attended universities that did not offer a DVM program. In all of the cases that I am aware of the schools that have DVM programs also have very good pre-vet programs, if they have undergraduate students at all. However, the inverse is not required. A lot of schools are very good for pre-vet students even if they do not have a DVM program. In my part of the country, U.Mass, UVM, UNH, and U.Maine are four examples of schools that are very good for pre-vet students but that do not have a DVM program.
There are a few schools such as I think Kansas State that have a program where a student can attend there for their bachelor’s degree and have a chance to get into their DVM program after only three years of undergraduate school. I suppose that this could potentially save one year of university.
What counts as a “pretty good salary” for someone with no debt and what counts as a “pretty good salary” for someone with $300,000 in debt are two very different things. For someone with no debt, then yes a DVM does do reasonably well.
I agree that the job market is pretty steady. There is a shortage of DVMs. Also, this is not a job that you can move offshore. If a cow is sick, it is likely to sit down wherever it is and refuse to move. Someone qualified is going to need to go where the cow is, and many animals are going to continue to be here in the USA. If there is a serious downturn in the economy, then the cows and the chickens still need to be looked after, people still need to eat and farmers will still have animals that help with this, and the person with a horse or dog or cat is still likely to be reluctant to part with their beloved pet (and my daughter has seen quite a few other types of animals as well).
This is compatible with what we have seen. Our daughter has been offered less than this straight out of school, but that would be expected for a soon-to-be brand new graduate. Again this is a good salary for someone living in a not-too-expensive area with no debt. This is not a great salary for someone with $200,000 or more in debt. Generally it is better if you can keep your debt to be no more than your annual starting salary straight out of school, and from what I have heard this is relatively rare among recent DVM recipients. At least keeping your debt relatively close to your likely starting salary is something to aim for.
Apparently Virginia does have an in-state public DVM program (joint with Maryland). When the time comes (a few years from now) this sounds like a program to consider and might be one way to keep costs down a bit. I do not know anything about it (we are not from Virginia) but what I just saw on-line looks very good (for example their NAVLE pass rate is very good). I would guess that there is probably someone studying in this program from pretty much any public university in Virginia and Maryland. It might be interesting to see whether any of us can find a list of which schools students got their bachelor’s degree from before starting this program (I did not find this in a very quick on-line search).
This could be said of the vast majority of high school students, or maybe all high school students.
And I do think that JMU is worth considering very seriously.
@gdawgda1 :
when you say “debt” wilk be involved for all colleges, how much exactly are you talking about for each university you’ve been admitted to, JMU included?
In any case you should not go over the federal loans (5.5k for Freshman year). If none of your choices allow you to attend for that level of debt, you need to apply to more places. You REALLY don’t want to graduate college with more than the federal loans if you’re aiming for Vet school.
But it’s not needed for Vet School - and it’s not on the list.
Bottom line - they are facing a mountain of debt - and Virginia has a ton of great publics - from JMU, CNU, UMW and so many more - that would be much better options than anything out of state - short of a NC Promise school, an Alabama or Ms State if their test score is strong - and yes, I know those won’t be diverse enough but with a strong SAT will be $20K or less.
MSU has an animal and dairy science program - whether that gives you the requirements for pre-vet I don’t know.
But you can always take the pre reqs outside a major.
The OP is hoping to attend the Ritz Carlton but can only afford the Fairfield Marriott.
the more i think about this - OP didn’t build their list right. Pure and simple.
OP built a list with desired schools instead of schools they can afford. I’m guessing the budget discussion didn’t happen up front or they were unaware about merit granting vs. non merit granting schools.
They can remedy this with a community college, JMU, apps to other VA schools still taking, or out of state schools like W Carolina or other NC Promise Schools (UNC Pembroke, Fayetteville State) or depending on stats other OOS schools still taking apps.
Given that OP has not really shared their budget, I think you’re jumping to conclusions. They said some loans. That could be 5.5k in loans or 60k in loans. Many families do take loans to pay for their children’s education. And that is OK. And they didn’t really ask for suggestions on where else to apply.
If OP comes back to ask for guidance on lower cost schools, then maybe your comments are warranted. I think we should focus on the questions they ARE asking.
Unless the OP returns with more information or questions, please keep the focus on the questions as asked. Also a reminder that CC is not a debate society. State your point once then move on.
Hi! So I’d be an Animal Science major which is what most pre-vet students do at colleges that offer Animal Science. UIUC has a veterinary school, but their track is only for food animal vets which isn’t the type of animal I’d most like to treat-- but I know UMass has a program with Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
I applied to Ohio State but was rejected. I’m currently deferred from UW-Madison so we’ll see how that goes. I’m also waiting on my decision from William & Mary, which doesn’t have Animal Science but is very strong academically-- and I qualify for in-state tuition.
How do-able do you think it is for me to possibly graduate a year early, saving about $45-50k in Cost of Attendance? I will have 15-19 credits for UIUC, 12 for UMass, and 3-6 for Penn State from AP exams.
I’m also considering taking 1 or 2 required courses over the summer at my local community college. It is $218.86 per credit.
One of my teachers double-majored and graduated college a year early, which is what gave me this idea.
It’s tough - my son started a sophomore and yet took four years - with a minor - and that was engineering.
My daughter also came in a 2nd year credit wise - but then you find out many credits are duplicative - they cover the same thing.
So I’d say unlikely.
Let’s start with college search 101 - forget anywhere you got into or even applied to.
Without loans, how much can your family afford to pay for a year…again, zero loans? You said every school required loans (up top) so if that includes JMU, then there’s no way you can afford any of the out of state schools you mentioned.
My fear is you didn’t build your list right from the get go - but - you still have time to correct it.
Also, have you taken a test - SAT/ACT and if so, what was the score?
I’ve looked at the specific credits my AP exams go to for all 3 schools, though I’m not 100% sure how the major requirements work (I’ll do more research). And I don’t plan on minoring if it will save me money.
I’m not exactly sure how much my family can afford because my grandma has a large amount of savings for me that my parents won’t tell me. I know it’s $25k+ but I don’t have an exact number.
As for the SAT, I applied test-optional to every school since I got an 1100. SAT wasn’t my thing and I prioritized grades, extracurriculars, and working over taking time to study for it.
Congratulations on some great acceptances. I would strongly suggest you have a “fit” discussion with your parents and any other person that knows you well.
Cost should be just one of several considerations when making your final decision. Only your parents have a complete sense of any financial limitations. The idea is to identify the best fit and given how far along you are in the process talk to your parents.
Your parents might not share the amount your grandma has funded but they will steer you to what is realistic and sensible. Strangers can’t possibly give you sound financial advice when they only have partial info.
To be clear you have done nothing wrong unless your parents are telling you that you have only unaffordable options. That doesn’t seem to be the case so congratulations.
Thank you! My parents are okay with me going to either of the three, as they went out-of-state for college themselves. If I get into William & Mary (in-state tuition) I will most likely go there though.