Anyone else having a mild case of cold feet?

[Clover51]

Except 1000s haven't done it before you. I mean, literally they have just because of the last couple years, but putting it the way you did sorta implies it's always been this way, which isn't true. The debt:income ratio is the worst it has EVER been with no sign of improvement. Similarly, the cost:earning ratio for the degree is the worst it's ever been. It's not even remotely similar to what it was like for the people who have been practicing for a decade. And, the cost is set to continue climbing, so the problem is only going to get worse unless some pretty serious changes are made.

As a waitlister, (im)patiently watching my phone for a call from my prospective school while deciding where and IF I am applying next year, I have sought guidance from the mentors who have helped me get to this point in my career. All seasoned and well-respected doctors, they have given me the sobering advice that the prospects in the field are very grim right now with no proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

Several of them have advised me to study something else.

So I definitely don't know what to do from here.

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[hygebeorht]

Yeah. Debt is higher, rates are higher, and the salary/debt ratio is lower than ever. Without hyperbole, it is truly terrifying. I just hope against hope that it's worth it on the other end.

 

[Lab Rat83]

I'm so happy to have stumbled upon this thread. I'm absolutely terrified.

I'm scared I won't be able to handle the course load or despite my best studying I fail. I'm scared to move and leave my life, my boyfriend and my pets behind. I'm scared I won't like my classes and won't make any friends.

It's so comforting to know others are experiencing the same thing and these are all common fears. Thanks everyone.

 

[Chinchiller]

Has anyone else found themselves procrastinating on things like buying supplies for school or packing, etc? Starting school in the fall still doesn't feel real to me, so when I have to do something that makes it seem real, I get pretty anxious about the whole thing.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling this way. I'm so glad this forum exists.

 

[cs5910]

Has anyone else found themselves procrastinating on things like buying supplies for school or packing, etc? Starting school in the fall still doesn't feel real to me, so when I have to do something that makes it seem real, I get pretty anxious about the whole thing.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling this way. I'm so glad this forum exists.

Yep! Any time anyone in my family, or in my boyfriends, wants to discuss the move/school starting/loans, I get extremely anxious and usually end up crying lol I avoid those conversations like the plague. I really do need to start facing the fact that I'm moving in a couple weeks and start figuring things out though.

 

[BlackDog17]

Has anyone else found themselves procrastinating on things like buying supplies for school or packing, etc? Starting school in the fall still doesn't feel real to me, so when I have to do something that makes it seem real, I get pretty anxious about the whole thing.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling this way. I'm so glad this forum exists.

Yup. I don't move for another month and a half, but I still need to go through all the boxes from my old apartment, organize everything, and decide what's coming to Canada with me. Every time I'm in the basement I look at the pile of boxes and think "I should really get going on that." Then I immediately ignore any and all subsequent thoughts about actually doing it.

I guarantee I'll be panicking when August rolls around because I procrastinated for too long.

 

[Abnerrs]

I just brought three boxes in from my car so that I can hypothetically start packing. That's a step right?

 

[Kpowell14]

I just brought three boxes in from my car so that I can hypothetically start packing. That's a step right?

Progress!!! One step at a time

 

[Chinchiller]

Today I made a list of all the stuff I need to do/buy before I move and I was thinking " Look how productive I am!" Then, I realized I still haven't done anything on the list.

 

[CloudlessNights]

I still need to find a place to live..

 

[cs5910]

Today I made a list of all the stuff I need to do/buy before I move and I was thinking " Look how productive I am!" Then, I realized I still haven't done anything on the list.

I really need to make a list of things to buy for an apartment/to bring to school, but get stuck after putting like 5 things lol

 

[Chinchiller]

I really need to make a list of things to buy for an apartment/to bring to school, but get stuck after putting like 5 things lol

Yeah, I know the feeling! My list is mainly things like "kitchen stuff" and "school stuff." Any more specific than that and I get overwhelmed.

 

[Fledgling]

Please excuse the following panicking:

I'm not sure if I can even manage to attend a veterinary school because of financial constraints. How do people do it?

The post-graduating debt isn't my concern. What is my concern is how am I going to pay for food, rent, travel, books, supplies and so on? I know my girlfriend will support me but what if we can't find employment fast enough? She's also going to school part-time (at least) starting next year. Will I even be able to work while attending? Unless I get accepted to Colorado (her family is in the area), I'm going to have to find a way to magically come up with up to 4 years of living expenses.

At least my chihuahua's bills are almost non-existent.

Also, why am I worrying about this now? I still have to attend CSU for my post-baccalaureate.

 

[cs5910]

Please excuse the following panicking:

I'm not sure if I can even manage to attend a veterinary school because of financial constraints. How do people do it?

The post-graduating debt isn't my concern. What is my concern is how am I going to pay for food, rent, travel, books, supplies and so on? I know my girlfriend will support me but what if we can't find employment fast enough? She's also going to school part-time (at least) starting next year. Will I even be able to work while attending? Unless I get accepted to Colorado (her family is in the area), I'm going to have to find a way to magically come up with up to 4 years of living expenses.

At least my chihuahua's bills are almost non-existent.

Also, why am I worrying about this now? I still have to attend CSU for my post-baccalaureate.

Ohio State guarantees you enough loans (either stafford, HPSP, or grad plus) to cover the cost of attendance as well as cost of living per year. Their financial aid department calculates the cost of living for the year, which I have heard they round up pretty high. I believe most schools guarantee tuition/cost of living as well. I would check with the more expensive schools however, I didn't apply to those so I am not too sure how they work.

Edit: OSU also allows you to become an in state resident after your first year as long as you follow a couple of guidelines (1. Establish financial independence and 2. only leave the state for 30 days max your first year).

There are ways to make vet med "cheaper", but this field is by no means cheap. Probably a poor investment in terms of the monetary gain we will have earned at the end of the road, but for some reason, we are all crazy and are still adamant to pursue it!

 

[Fledgling]

Making money is the last thing on my mind. I don't mind being a slave to IBR payments for all of eternity if it means doing something that makes me happy. I'm just worried about surviving.

I'll be an in-state resident by the time I apply to CSU. I'm just worried how I'm going to afford going elsewhere. I mean, if I rent a $1,000 studio that allows dogs, that's $3,000 first month's (first, last, deposit) and then $1,000 a month for 47 months. That's $50,000 for 4 years of renting, even though I get the deposit back after.

If it's like you seemed to explain, they'll give me financial aid that can be used outside the school? I've never had financial aid like that. Everything I received for undergraduate went straight into tuition and fees. Hopefully my dreams come true and I get to go to CSU though. The free housing I'd get there would be icing on the cake.

 

[Kpowell14]

Making money is the last thing on my mind. I don't mind being a slave to IBR payments for all of eternity if it means doing something that makes me happy. I'm just worried about surviving.

I'll be an in-state resident by the time I apply to CSU. I'm just worried how I'm going to afford going elsewhere. I mean, if I rent a $1,000 studio that allows dogs, that's $3,000 first month's (first, last, deposit) and then $1,000 a month for 47 months. That's $50,000 for 4 years of renting, even though I get the deposit back after.

If it's like you seemed to explain, they'll give me financial aid that can be used outside the school? I've never had financial aid like that. Everything I received for undergraduate went straight into tuition and fees. Hopefully my dreams come true and I get to go to CSU though. The free housing I'd get there would be icing on the cake.

This is not just an Ohio State thing... It is a Vet school thing... The Dept. of Ed. guarantees the full cost of attendance for anyone accepted to Vet school in the US... Maybe also to the caribbean schools too, but im not 100% sure on that... Each school has a set budget they use to determine their cost of attendance which includes tuition and living expenses.. Vet school and Undergrad are very different in this sense...

The thing to keep in mind is that you really should keep your costs down as much as possible.. Mizzou for example gives us about $20,000 in living expenses for the year... But by living with roommates my rent for the year will only be $3500 instead of $12000 if I didn't have roomies. That leaves me with $16,500 to spend on other living expenses which is way more than I will need...

 

[Fledgling]

That's a huge relief. Thank you so much.

 

[Easnadh]

All schools, international included, will allow for cost of attendance, even if you have to do Grad PLUS loans to make up the difference. Cost of attendance includes books, tuition, living expenses as determined by the school annually, and any fees/extra costs they deem necessary.

 

[cs5910]

This is not just an Ohio State thing... It is a Vet school thing... The Dept. of Ed. guarantees the full cost of attendance for anyone accepted to Vet school in the US... Maybe also to the caribbean schools too, but im not 100% sure on that... Each school has a set budget they use to determine their cost of attendance which includes tuition and living expenses.. Vet school and Undergrad are very different in this sense...

The thing to keep in mind is that you really should keep your costs down as much as possible.. Mizzou for example gives us about $20,000 in living expenses for the year... But by living with roommates my rent for the year will only be $3500 instead of $12000 if I didn't have roomies. That leaves me with $16,500 to spend on other living expenses which is way more than I will need...

Thanks for verifying! I wasn't sure, I could only speak for the schools I applied to. That's great to hear!

 

[felinelvr44]

This is not just an Ohio State thing... It is a Vet school thing... The Dept. of Ed. guarantees the full cost of attendance for anyone accepted to Vet school in the US... Maybe also to the caribbean schools too, but im not 100% sure on that... Each school has a set budget they use to determine their cost of attendance which includes tuition and living expenses.. Vet school and Undergrad are very different in this sense...

The thing to keep in mind is that you really should keep your costs down as much as possible.. Mizzou for example gives us about $20,000 in living expenses for the year... But by living with roommates my rent for the year will only be $3500 instead of $12000 if I didn't have roomies. That leaves me with $16,500 to spend on other living expenses which is way more than I will need...

Not to derail the thread but Missouri really gives $20,000 for living expenses? That's insane! Cornell budgets $17,000ish (room and board is $8,600 of that) and a quick glance through craigslist makes it seem like rent in Ithaca is way higher than Colombia.

 

[Rainheart]

Not to derail the thread but Missouri really gives $20,000 for living expenses? That's insane! Cornell budgets $17,000ish (room and board is $8,600 of that) and a quick glance through craigslist makes it seem like rent in Ithaca is way higher than Colombia.

In this book I have, they budget a bit over 10k I think, not 20k

 

[hygebeorht]

...a quick glance through craigslist makes it seem like rent in Ithaca is way higher than Colombia.

lol, I expect so. Coffee and illicit drugs might be cheaper, though...

 

[felinelvr44]

lol, I expect so. Coffee and illicit drugs might be cheaper, though...

 

[hygebeorht]

Argh, it's late and I should head to bed. Car needs a new clutch I think, so this month's living expenses are going to be a bit higher than initially anticipated. GradPLUS, here I come...

 

[Kpowell14]

Not to derail the thread but Missouri really gives $20,000 for living expenses? That's insane! Cornell budgets $17,000ish (room and board is $8,600 of that) and a quick glance through craigslist makes it seem like rent in Ithaca is way higher than Colombia.

In this book I have, they budget a bit over 10k I think, not 20k

Let me clarify- that is room, board, books, and travel/ personal expenses as calculated by the school... I just bunch that together as living expenses... Bc it is everything excluding tuition/ fees.

Just added it all up from my school account-

Total for all of the above listed is $19,238

ETA: My rent is only $3300 for the entire year, so I will not be taking out the full amount offered to me. My big sib also has most of my books to borrow for the year ( ill buy maybe one or two that ill keep forever) so that's a huge savings as well. I'm a very frugal person so my budget is much less than what the school is offering.

 

[Rainheart]

Let me clarify- that is room, board, books, and travel/ personal expenses as calculated by the school... I just bunch that together as living expenses... Bc it is everything excluding tuition/ fees.

Just added it all up from my school account-

Total for all of the above listed is $19,238

ETA: My rent is only $3300 for the entire year, so I will not be taking out the full amount offered to me. My big sib also has most of my books to borrow for the year ( ill buy maybe one or two that ill keep forever) so that's a huge savings as well. I'm a very frugal person so my budget is much less than what the school is offering.

Oh ok, I see, you put everything else in under that besides tuition, lol.

 

[Abnerrs]

I just had a thought. I know all of us are trying to keep our loans down, and rightfully so. But I have a friend who is a first year(oh gosh! Second year now) and she is so stressed about money and never has ANYTHING for emergencies because she only takes the bare minimum. Like, to the penny. Like I said, I totally, completely understand wanting to keep the number down, but guys, I promised myself I would not put myself through that.

 

[felinelvr44]

I just had a thought. I know all of us are trying to keep our loans down, and rightfully so. But I have a friend who is a first year(oh gosh! Second year now) and she is so stressed about money and never has ANYTHING for emergencies because she only takes the bare minimum. Like, to the penny. Like I said, I totally, completely understand wanting to keep the number down, but guys, I promised myself I would not put myself through that.

Yeah, that's nuts (to me). I know others have done the same but I took the max living allowance this year. I might not need it all but until I get there and figure out exactly what my expenses will be, I didn't want to be constantly stressed about money. If I have any left over, I'll put it into a savings account for emergencies. I figure vet school will be enough stress by itself.

 

[Kpowell14]

I just had a thought. I know all of us are trying to keep our loans down, and rightfully so. But I have a friend who is a first year(oh gosh! Second year now) and she is so stressed about money and never has ANYTHING for emergencies because she only takes the bare minimum. Like, to the penny. Like I said, I totally, completely understand wanting to keep the number down, but guys, I promised myself I would not put myself through that.

Yeah, that's nuts (to me). I know others have done the same but I took the max living allowance this year. I might not need it all but until I get there and figure out exactly what my expenses will be, I didn't want to be constantly stressed about money. If I have any left over, I'll put it into a savings account for emergencies. I figure vet school will be enough stress by itself.

I totally agree, I want a little cushion for when emergencies happen- bc they Always happen lol..... the thing that bothers me is that if I take out the full amount, but I dont use it all... the entire time it sits in an account waiting to be used, it is gaining interest... and its not the type of interest you want lol Mizzou provided us with 2 different budgets- the standard budget, and the frugal budget.. I plan on being pretty much in the middle of the two.

 

[wildcatj]

I totally agree, I want a little cushion for when emergencies happen- bc they Always happen lol..... the thing that bothers me is that if I take out the full amount, but I dont use it all... the entire time it sits in an account waiting to be used, it is gaining interest... and its not the type of interest you want lol Mizzou provided us with 2 different budgets- the standard budget, and the frugal budget.. I plan on being pretty much in the middle of the two.

I went through and made myself a budget and gave myself some wiggle room, plus I built in $1000 for emergencies. I'll be about in the middle of the frugal and standard budget for Mizzou. I figure if I have any left over, I can use it to pay off undergrad loans. Even though the new loans that I'll be using are accumulating interest, I'm taking away from the old loans accumulating interest. I expect that if I am really good and don't have anything unexpected come up I'll have a good 2 or 3k left over. I'm ok with that kind of cushion. I'd rather have a little extra this year so I can set everything up and figure out how much I'm spending each month.

 

[kernel]

I just had a thought. I know all of us are trying to keep our loans down, and rightfully so. But I have a friend who is a first year(oh gosh! Second year now) and she is so stressed about money and never has ANYTHING for emergencies because she only takes the bare minimum. Like, to the penny. Like I said, I totally, completely understand wanting to keep the number down, but guys, I promised myself I would not put myself through that.

Yeah, that's nuts (to me). I know others have done the same but I took the max living allowance this year. I might not need it all but until I get there and figure out exactly what my expenses will be, I didn't want to be constantly stressed about money. If I have any left over, I'll put it into a savings account for emergencies. I figure vet school will be enough stress by itself.

I totally agree, I want a little cushion for when emergencies happen- bc they Always happen lol..... the thing that bothers me is that if I take out the full amount, but I dont use it all... the entire time it sits in an account waiting to be used, it is gaining interest... and its not the type of interest you want lol Mizzou provided us with 2 different budgets- the standard budget, and the frugal budget.. I plan on being pretty much in the middle of the two.

I went through and made myself a budget and gave myself some wiggle room, plus I built in $1000 for emergencies. I'll be about in the middle of the frugal and standard budget for Mizzou. I figure if I have any left over, I can use it to pay off undergrad loans. Even though the new loans that I'll be using are accumulating interest, I'm taking away from the old loans accumulating interest. I expect that if I am really good and don't have anything unexpected come up I'll have a good 2 or 3k left over. I'm ok with that kind of cushion. I'd rather have a little extra this year so I can set everything up and figure out how much I'm spending each month.

I completely agree. It makes me sick to not have any kind of safety net (especially given the fact that my pooch is prone to medical issues and clumsiness ). I'm still going to try to err on the conservative side this year though. Basically, all the money I'm making at work this summer is going to be put toward moving costs and an emergency savings account for next year. As Kpowell pointed out, the surplus loan money that's just sitting in an account accrues interest. To avoid any potential nightmares, I'm gonna plan it close this year by *not* taking out the full amount, and then reevaluate before I take out loans next year. Sigh. Then again, I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[Kpowell14]

I went through and made myself a budget and gave myself some wiggle room, plus I built in $1000 for emergencies. I'll be about in the middle of the frugal and standard budget for Mizzou. I figure if I have any left over, I can use it to pay off undergrad loans. Even though the new loans that I'll be using are accumulating interest, I'm taking away from the old loans accumulating interest. I expect that if I am really good and don't have anything unexpected come up I'll have a good 2 or 3k left over. I'm ok with that kind of cushion. I'd rather have a little extra this year so I can set everything up and figure out how much I'm spending each month.

Yup, that's where I'm gonna be- between the standard and the frugal budget. Definitely will save me about $5000, and that over the four years is a nice chunk of change.

 

[Fledgling]

How much debt from undergraduate do you guys have, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Kpowell14]

How much debt from undergraduate do you guys have, if you don't mind me asking?

I'm very lucky and don't have any undergrad debt.

 

[Abnerrs]

I'm very lucky and don't have any undergrad debt.

Same. I worked a lot, especially over summers, to not have debt.

 

[scb44f]

Just so you guys know, if you take out only part of the federal unsub loans, and you need more mid-year, you just have to sign a paper and wait a few weeks for it to be deposited. It is very easy to get more in case you under-budget (but it still would not be good for emergencies since it takes time). I had to do that first year since I wasn't sure what my husband and I were going to spend, and it was all very easy to do.

 

[Abnerrs]

Just so you guys know, if you take out only part of the federal unsub loans, and you need more mid-year, you just have to sign a paper and wait a few weeks for it to be deposited. It is very easy to get more in case you under-budget (but it still would not be good for emergencies since it takes time). I had to do that first year since I wasn't sure what my husband and I were going to spend, and it was all very easy to do.

Thanks!

 

[wildcatj]

How much debt from undergraduate do you guys have, if you don't mind me asking?

I have around 16k at the moment, but of course it's accumulating interest so it grows, and grows...

 

[Fledgling]

Same. I worked a lot, especially over summers, to not have debt.

Sometimes I wish I didn't get so involved in things. I would have been better off going part-time and working all 4 years. Yikes. Anybody here actually with undergraduate debt? I'm sitting on $30,000 right now without my post-baccalaureate. Looking at the average cost per credit, I'll probably be upwards of $50,000 after finishing prerequisites.

 

[equineconstant]

I have a ton of undergrad debt, but my parents are helping me out more with vet school, so I'm sort of the reverse of the people who are posting here with no undergrad debt who will have to take out a lot of loans for vet school.

 

[Abnerrs]

Sometimes I wish I didn't get so involved in things. I would have been better off going part-time and working all 4 years. Yikes. Anybody here actually with undergraduate debt? I'm sitting on $30,000 right now without my post-baccalaureate. Looking at the average cost per credit, I'll probably be upwards of $50,000 after finishing prerequisites.

Lol. I didn't go part time. I have two BS I got in 3.5 years. I just never, ever had a life or time off. I'm old had to get that shiz done.

 

[Fledgling]

Lol. I didn't go part time. I have two BS I got in 3.5 years. I just never, ever had a life or time off. I'm old had to get that shiz done.

Nice.

I didn't have much of a life during undergraduate either. Only got one degree though since we weren't really allowed to double-major. Too much interference with the curriculum.

 

[Kpowell14]

Lol. I didn't go part time. I have two BS I got in 3.5 years. I just never, ever had a life or time off. I'm old had to get that shiz done.

Bahahaha me either- took 18 credits a semester while working full time.. Thankfully my tuition was covered by scholarships so all of my work money went to summer school / books and living expenses.

 

[SV88]

Bahahaha me either- took 18 credits a semester while working full time.. Thankfully my tuition was covered by scholarships so all of my work money went to summer school / books and living expenses.

how did you manage that? no really.. the biggest issuei have right now to get my pre reqs done is interfering with my job.. i don't want to leave but if i had to i could try to get a job a referal hospital and work 3 12 hour shifts and that leaves more time for school.. but if i can keep my job and do night/online AMAP that would be better

 

[DVMDream]

Sometimes I wish I didn't get so involved in things. I would have been better off going part-time and working all 4 years. Yikes. Anybody here actually with undergraduate debt? I'm sitting on $30,000 right now without my post-baccalaureate. Looking at the average cost per credit, I'll probably be upwards of $50,000 after finishing prerequisites.

About 40,000 from undergrad.

 

[orca2011]

Sometimes I wish I didn't get so involved in things. I would have been better off going part-time and working all 4 years. Yikes. Anybody here actually with undergraduate debt? I'm sitting on $30,000 right now without my post-baccalaureate. Looking at the average cost per credit, I'll probably be upwards of $50,000 after finishing prerequisites.

I have about $30,000 from undergrad. Would have been way more if I didn't get a nice grant from my undergrad. My parents helped a bit then too by taking one of the loans in their name but I'm on my own for vet school. I ended up taking the full amount out the first year and had like close to $6000 left over ( I didn't eat out as much as many of my friends/classmates). Probably won't take the full amount out this year and I really want to set down a monthly budget that I try to stick to so that hopefully I can stay under the full amount this year too.

 

[Kpowell14]

how did you manage that? no really.. the biggest issuei have right now to get my pre reqs done is interfering with my job.. i don't want to leave but if i had to i could try to get a job a referal hospital and work 3 12 hour shifts and that leaves more time for school.. but if i can keep my job and do night/online AMAP that would be better

I worked for a clinic that was open 7 days a week. I worked 12 hrs every Saturday, and 10hrs every Sunday. Then I scheduled my classes so that I could work either in the morning before class or after class. My university had alot of class time options so I could cram all my classes in back to back starting at 8am so that I could work in the afternoon. It also helped that we were open until 7, and didn't leave till close to 8 every night. My job was very flexible with my schedule every semester.... It wasn't easy. I didn't have a day off, ever. And I didn't have much of a social life... But I made it work.

 

[Rainheart]

About 40,000 from undergrad.

Same :/

 

[SV88]

I worked for a clinic that was open 7 days a week. I worked 12 hrs every Saturday, and 10hrs every Sunday. Then I scheduled my classes so that I could work either in the morning before class or after class. My university had alot of class time options so I could cram all my classes in back to back starting at 8am so that I could work in the afternoon. It also helped that we were open until 7, and didn't leave till close to 8 every night. My job was very flexible with my schedule every semester.... It wasn't easy. I didn't have a day off, ever. And I didn't have much of a social life... But I made it work.

sounds like something i'm gonna have to do.. at least i know it's possible, that's the important thing

 

[Emiloo4]

I would've had no debt, and then my ex stole my full ride scholarship money and snorted it up his nose. Now I have about 28K I think
**cker