Could someone help me with VET SCHOOL DEBT? I am clueless

[Willotree]

Ok so I know vet school is super expensive and I hear horror stories everywhere of being in debt for the rest of your life. Lets say I go to vet school internationally and total it up with my undergraduate degree.. so lets say 300K. How long would it take to pay this off? I am really clueless.

Lets say I live at home and make 60K starting salary (Canada). Couldn't I pay off my debt in like 6-8 years if I lived at home? Of course it wouldn't be ideal but I wouldn't mind. I know there would be interest fee piling up from the loans.. but wouldn't I be able to pay off my debt in atleast like 12 years time? I really have no idea on the whole financial aspect of vet school so please inform me.

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[dyachei]

Ok so I know vet school is super expensive and I hear horror stories everywhere of being in debt for the rest of your life. Lets say I go to vet school internationally and total it up with my undergraduate degree.. so lets say 300K. How long would it take to pay this off? I am really clueless.

Lets say I live at home and make 60K starting salary (Canada). Couldn't I pay off my debt in like 6-8 years if I lived at home? Of course it wouldn't be ideal but I wouldn't mind. I know there would be interest fee piling up from the loans.. but wouldn't I be able to pay off my debt in atleast like 12 years time? I really have no idea on the whole financial aspect of vet school so please inform me.

Don't forget to factor in taxes and bills. There's a debt calculator somewhere from one of the schools. 6-8 years seems really unlikely

 

[JaynaAli]

You mention working in Canada, so are you Canadian? I'm not, but from reading this forum I've learned that Canadian student loans are very different than American ones and you won't get the full cost of attendance for an international school from the government. From what I've figured out, it can be tough for Canadians to fund international schooling on loans. Maybe a Canadian can chime in more about that.

I mean, technically, sure if you live at home, don't have a car, a fancy phone, expensive hobbies, bills etc and put all your income to your loan debt in theory yes. But practically, who wants to or would be able to restrict themselves that much. I need/want a phone, a decent car, etc etc etc and I certainly don't want to live with my parents 10 years past graduation from professional school, but to each their own I guess.

 

[WillowLeaf]

There's a loan repayment simulator which might be helpful. http://www.vinfoundation.org/AppUti...357&objecttypeid=10&redirectFromMiscDefault=1

 

[Coquette22]

Jayna is correct. My first, second and third piece of advice to Canadians is, for the love of your future bank account, find some way to make yourself a competitive applicant in Canada. Hell, even if you need to relocate to another province to establish residency, in the long run it's still going to be cheaper than an international school. You're worrying about paying back the $300,000, but first you need to find someone to give it to you, and that can be a challenge in Canada. Banks are reluctant to give you money if you're already collecting government student loans (regardless of your credit score and ability to pay back and including a co-signer), and I've yet to see a bank with a line of credit limit that high for veterinary students.

 

[Gwenevre]

There's a loan repayment simulator which might be helpful. http://www.vinfoundation.org/AppUti...357&objecttypeid=10&redirectFromMiscDefault=1

This thing is brilliant

 

[Willotree]

Thank you all for your help! I really appreciate it.

Jayna is correct. My first, second and third piece of advice to Canadians is, for the love of your future bank account, find some way to make yourself a competitive applicant in Canada. Hell, even if you need to relocate to another province to establish residency, in the long run it's still going to be cheaper than an international school. You're worrying about paying back the $300,000, but first you need to find someone to give it to you, and that can be a challenge in Canada. Banks are reluctant to give you money if you're already collecting government student loans (regardless of your credit score and ability to pay back and including a co-signer), and I've yet to see a bank with a line of credit limit that high for veterinary students.

Uh oh, so would it not be possible to get a loan of 200K-300K in Canada?

 

[Coquette22]

Federal/provincial loans top out at around $15,000 per year. For private loans, the most I've seen was $150,000 as a line of credit, and considering I couldn't get them to give me $10,000 for some extra expenses during fourth year (despite having really good credit, and a co-signer who also had really good credit) because I already had government student loans, I wouldn't count on being able to find that kind of cash.

 

[Willotree]

Federal/provincial loans top out at around $15,000 per year. For private loans, the most I've seen was $150,000 as a line of credit, and considering I couldn't get them to give me $10,000 for some extra expenses during fourth year (despite having really good credit, and a co-signer who also had really good credit) because I already had government student loans, I wouldn't count on being able to find that kind of cash.

Couldn't I get loans from multiple banks? Thank you for informing me though, I wasn't aware that it was this difficult for Canadians to receive loans.

 

[Coquette22]

Er maybe? Assuming you lie and don't tell them you have loans with multiple banks? But I'm pretty sure that's illegal....

 

[Willotree]

Er maybe? Assuming you lie and don't tell them you have loans with multiple banks? But I'm pretty sure that's illegal....

LOOOOOOL. Thank you haha.

 

[Willotree]

Er maybe? Assuming you lie and don't tell them you have loans with multiple banks? But I'm pretty sure that's illegal....

Hey Coquette, so for a Canadian student to study internationally federal and bank loans won't suffice right? They would need (a) financial support from their family or (b) money they had saved up?

 

[Coquette22]

Hey Coquette, so for a Canadian student to study internationally federal and bank loans won't suffice right? They would need (a) financial support from their family or (b) money they had saved up?

Indeed. You're certainly welcome to go to banks to see what you can get, but I wouldn't be putting all the proverbial eggs in that one basket. You will likely need a supplement from somewhere else, whether that's family or yourself.

 

[frozen_canadian]

Just don't do it. My personal opinion - make yourself as competitive as possible in Canada. Move provinces. Apply 5x if this is truly what you want to do. Just don't go in to massive debt to then come back and work in Canada as a vet. It is financial suicide and anyway who says otherwise is not being realistic!! (caveat: unless you have a trust fund or sugar daddy)

 

[Willotree]

Just don't do it. My personal opinion - make yourself as competitive as possible in Canada. Move provinces. Apply 5x if this is truly what you want to do. Just don't go in to massive debt to then come back and work in Canada as a vet. It is financial suicide and anyway who says otherwise is not being realistic!! (caveat: unless you have a trust fund or sugar daddy)

Omg "sugar daddy" that killed me. Anyway, my vet graduated from Australia and seems to be doing just fine.

 

[onisteverina]

There's a loan repayment simulator which might be helpful. http://www.vinfoundation.org/AppUtil/document/default.aspx?pid=0&catid=&objectid=24357&objecttypeid=10&redirectFromMiscDefault=1

This is awesome!

 

[Dat Ass]

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[DVMDream]

After a year at some international schools the tuition jumps down from international student level ($$$) to non-international($) ... since you suddenly qualify for residency requirements or whatever. I don't know any of the top of my head or how true/stringent it is... but you can look into those...

Imo it's still worth it to do whatever you can to get into vet school in Canada.

I have never heard of this.

Some of the US schools will allow OOS students drop down to IS tuition after the first year. But I have never heard of any international school dropping tuition to a non-international rate...

 

[Escalla]

After a year at some international schools the tuition jumps down from international student level ($$$) to non-international($) ... since you suddenly qualify for residency requirements or whatever. I don't know any of the top of my head or how true/stringent it is... but you can look into those...

Imo it's still worth it to do whatever you can to get into vet school in Canada.

Do you have an example? I'm curious.

 

[frozen_canadian]

After a year at some international schools the tuition jumps down from international student level ($$$) to non-international($) ... since you suddenly qualify for residency requirements or whatever. I don't know any of the top of my head or how true/stringent it is... but you can look into those...

Imo it's still worth it to do whatever you can to get into vet school in Canada.

Yeah...don't think this is possible at any of the avma accredited schools at least.

 

[SV88]

Ok I know all of the tools and research available for the financial side of things, but when you get in/before you get in/at what point do they sit down and really talk to you about the nitty gritty of the finances? (Or do they at all?)

 

[JaynaAli]

Ok I know all of the tools and research available for the financial side of things, but when you get in/before you get in/at what point do they sit down and really talk to you about the nitty gritty of the finances? (Or do they at all?)

In my experience, they really don't. I graduate in May, and I don't feel like my school has ever really addressed it. I feel like any time debt/income ratios, our student loan amounts, or declining number of jobs come up, the school just assures us that such-and-such% of their graduates (that filled out the survey) had jobs lined up at graduation last year and how affordable our school is compared to some others. I'm told by others that we get exit counseling about our loans and stuff the week of graduation, but at that point there's nothing you can really do about your debt except choose the repayment plan that is best for you. They really just leave us to figure it out for ourselves. Maybe if I'd actively been seeking out advice I could say something different, but as far as sitting you down and addressing it...no one has done that for me and I'm going to have to start making payments on my debt in 10 months.

 

[Willotree]

In my experience, they really don't. I graduate in May, and I don't feel like my school has ever really addressed it. I feel like any time debt/income ratios, our student loan amounts, or declining number of jobs come up, the school just assures us that such-and-such% of their graduates (that filled out the survey) had jobs lined up at graduation last year and how affordable our school is compared to some others. I'm told by others that we get exit counseling about our loans and stuff the week of graduation, but at that point there's nothing you can really do about your debt except choose the repayment plan that is best for you. They really just leave us to figure it out for ourselves. Maybe if I'd actively been seeking out advice I could say something different, but as far as sitting you down and addressing it...no one has done that for me and I'm going to have to start making payments on my debt in 10 months.

Jayna what school do you attend if you don't mind me asking.

 

[JaynaAli]

Jayna what school do you attend if you don't mind me asking.

I try and remain anonymous here and would rather not say. Nothing personal...I just don't want things I say online to come back and bite me in the future.

 

[Willotree]

I try and remain anonymous here and would rather not say. Nothing personal...I just don't want things I say online to come back and bite me in the future.

No problem I understand.

 

[SV88]

In my experience, they really don't. I graduate in May, and I don't feel like my school has ever really addressed it. I feel like any time debt/income ratios, our student loan amounts, or declining number of jobs come up, the school just assures us that such-and-such% of their graduates (that filled out the survey) had jobs lined up at graduation last year and how affordable our school is compared to some others. I'm told by others that we get exit counseling about our loans and stuff the week of graduation, but at that point there's nothing you can really do about your debt except choose the repayment plan that is best for you. They really just leave us to figure it out for ourselves. Maybe if I'd actively been seeking out advice I could say something different, but as far as sitting you down and addressing it...no one has done that for me and I'm going to have to start making payments on my debt in 10 months.

Thank you jayna. I had sort of thought they would try to address it at least during first year or something because the debt load is so massive and few of us / you probably have undergrad finance degrees I just want to be as prepared as I can. Thank you for replying.

 

[StartingoverVet]

At Penn there is the VBMA program where they discuss it a little.

Also there is an exit interview when you graduate that basically just tells you how much and when your payments start. They don't discuss options I believe.

So basically, you are on your own.

 

[allieh8607]

When you get to vet school, I would strongly encourage joining your school's VBMA chapter. A lot of people don't join because they assume it's all about owning a business but I have learned sooooo much about loan management and the financial situation in vet med. None of it is taught in the curriculum and and if you don't do your own research, you really will be clueless. I can't promise that your school's VBMA will have as many loan and financial talks as we do at Ross (since those topics are obviously a large concern here) but it's a start.

We also have an amazing financial aid department here and while they are not allowed to tell you which loans to take out or how much to take out, they have many tips for managing your finances and creating realistic budgets, which is a big component of loan management. I encourage you to perhaps make an appointment with your financial aid officer if you are worried about things- mine here has made a gloomy situation at least a tiny bit more bearable.

 

[SV88]

When you get to vet school, I would strongly encourage joining your school's VBMA chapter. A lot of people don't join because they assume it's all about owning a business but I have learned sooooo much about loan management and the financial situation in vet med. None of it is taught in the curriculum and and if you don't do your own research, you really will be clueless. I can't promise that your school's VBMA will have as many loan and financial talks as we do at Ross (since those topics are obviously a large concern here) but it's a start.

We also have an amazing financial aid department here and while they are not allowed to tell you which loans to take out or how much to take out, they have many tips for managing your finances and creating realistic budgets, which is a big component of loan management. I encourage you to perhaps make an appointment with your financial aid officer if you are worried about things- mine here has made a gloomy situation at least a tiny bit more bearable.

I will certainly be joining VBMA now! Thanks to both of you for the tip. I also was probably going to talk to a financial planner, there is one my family knows of, who can advise me solidly without being tied to a school. I literally know nothing about the actual borrowing process (how many loans, how it works) so I need to research that which I will be doing this coming fall. I am not applying until next year but I want to be prepared. Thanks all

 

[allieh8607]

I will certainly be joining VBMA now! Thanks to both of you for the tip. I also was probably going to talk to a financial planner, there is one my family knows of, who can advise me solidly without being tied to a school. I literally know nothing about the actual borrowing process (how many loans, how it works) so I need to research that which I will be doing this coming fall. I am not applying until next year but I want to be prepared. Thanks all

Just be careful with a financial planner who isn't tied to vet med or familiar with the profession and where it is sitting economically. I'm sure they will still have very good advice. I sat down with my parents and a financial advisor before accepting my vet school offer and at the end of the meeting I was feeling extremely disheartened and my parents basically told me I was nuts for wanting to go through with it. Many things were said by the financial planner like "why would you willingly do this to yourself", "swimming in debt for the rest of your life", "terrible idea", etc etc and the frustrating thing was that that particular financial planner could just not comprehend that I didn't really care about not being rich. It was like they had tunnel vision and money = happiness was the end all, be all. Of course I'm aware that's probably how it is for many people that they advise, but as we all know that's not how it is for many vets. The financial planner here on campus had a wayyyyy different approach. No, it still is generally not a happy conversation when I go in. But instead of "this is a terrible idea, do not do it", I got "I understand this is where your heart is, let's look at all the options you have and figure out the smartest way to go about it."

There are also some financial planners that are specifically there for professional students who have student loans. The first one that comes to mind is GL Advisor- they've done many webinars for us here at Ross and have had some helpful information. You should check out their website.

 

[SV88]

Just be careful with a financial planner who isn't tied to vet med or familiar with the profession and where it is sitting economically. I'm sure they will still have very good advice. I sat down with my parents and a financial advisor before accepting my vet school offer and at the end of the meeting I was feeling extremely disheartened and my parents basically told me I was nuts for wanting to go through with it. Many things were said by the financial planner like "why would you willingly do this to yourself", "swimming in debt for the rest of your life", "terrible idea", etc etc and the frustrating thing was that that particular financial planner could just not comprehend that I didn't really care about not being rich. It was like they had tunnel vision and money = happiness was the end all, be all. Of course I'm aware that's probably how it is for many people that they advise, but as we all know that's not how it is for many vets. The financial planner here on campus had a wayyyyy different approach. No, it still is generally not a happy conversation when I go in. But instead of "this is a terrible idea, do not do it", I got "I understand this is where your heart is, let's look at all the options you have and figure out the smartest way to go about it."

There are also some financial planners that are specifically there for professional students who have student loans. The first one that comes to mind is GL Advisor- they've done many webinars for us here at Ross and have had some helpful information. You should check out their website.

That is perfect, thank you. I do realize that yes our futures seem dismal in comparison to other careers but at the end of the day if I was 80k in debt doing a desk job and 200k in debt as a DVM I would be more inclined to go to work and remain happy as a DVM than a soul sucking career That's what motivates me. Thanks allieh!