Estimated Costs of Veterinary School

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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In that sense, orcagirl, taking money out for emergencies, especially for those who are married, have two people to support, and establishing residency elsewhere, makes sense. What is a concern, is for those that take out extra to pay down their loan interest. That, and buying more upscale, entertainment on loan funds...sloppy budgeting because you know you have extra money in the bank. I've seen a lot of these cases this year at my school, and it's scary.
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One thing that would help is if schools had the ability to limit the amount they let students borrow. Right now the school has to allow the student to borrow the entire amount for which they qualify- even if it isn't a smart financial move for the individual student, as you note cases of, BulldogMS.
The alternatives are to let the feds set an arbitrary limit on what grad/prof students in general can borrow, or to leave it up to the student- in return for abolishing forgiveness and similar consumer protections.
 
hygebeorht said:
Out of curiosity, I took the excel data from the VIN map and added some columns to calculate average monthly repayment for each school's tuition and fees.

It's just a quick addition...if you take a look at it, please double-check my formulas. I decided to go with one scenario, the 10-year paydown, and only two types of loans, stafford and grad plus. If any of my assumptions are wrong, please correct me. I believe one can get $40,500/yr in unsubsidized stafford loans, and cover the rest with grad plus loans, yes?

I decided to only use these loans, because it's uncertain until you get an aid package how much you may get in health professions or other types of aid. I also decided to ignore cost of living, because each school calculates theirs a little differently, and it's very variable how much people actually spend to live. To keep it simple, I assumed the student paid interest off as it accrued during school, so that no interest was added to the principle upon graduation. I also assume that loan payments are made at the end of each period.

Helps put those big tuition numbers in a format I can relate to.

EDIT: Found two errors in line 2 for Auburn's numbers. Fixed the formulas and reuploaded the corrected version. Please check that the formulas in all the payment boxes are the same.

EDIT 2: Found an error in calculating GradPLUS debt. Also accounted for 4% GradPLUS origination fee.
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So is your spreadsheet assuming we pay back the interest accrued during school, before we graduate? Thank you so much for your document!!
 
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hygebeorht, yes, those are my numbers. I'm just surprised to see them. I left that group almost a year after giving them that data because they never did anything with it- and wanted to tell me what I could do with it, and what I could say in public when it came to student issues. Not a good fit for a born contrarian with a mouth on her and something to say :)
Absolutely second the thanks for sharing your spreadsheet! Those are mad skillz lol!
Can I embed that on my website, on my Should I go to Vet School page?
 
justavet said:
One thing that would help is if schools had the ability to limit the amount they let students borrow. Right now the school has to allow the student to borrow the entire amount for which they qualify- even if it isn't a smart financial move for the individual student, as you note cases of, BulldogMS.
The alternatives are to let the feds set an arbitrary limit on what grad/prof students in general can borrow, or to leave it up to the student- in return for abolishing forgiveness and similar consumer protections.
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Absolutely- without a doubt, students are able to shop loan amounts Bergdorf Goodman style on what should be a WalMart budget. Unfortunately, as most vet schools are State supported land grant universities and/or receive assistance from the government, they're not allowed to set limits - only the government can! :thumbdown: This is pretty much the very same gov't that for all intents and purposes allowed Sallie Mae and Freddie Mac and thousands of savings and loans to hand out mortgages to people that couldn't afford them from day 1. Not that I think vet students will foreclose on their properties, file bankruptcy or live way beyond their means - I don't. I think we're sharper than that and won't get into too much trouble spending money that isn't our own. However, it's scary to see the potentials for vet students to live cushy lives if they're to accept everything they're offered.

That said, MSU prepared us for 4 yrs of loan availability, abundance and tried to instill in us the reckless opportunities we face. Some students showed shock face, others seemed to have less interest in the discussion. No one can say we weren't forwarned. It's simple to understand thats it's absurd to pay for a latte 10 yrs from now and 10 times the amount of the cup of Joe. :idea:
 
BulldogMS said:
Wouldn't it be more cost effective overall to take only the amount you need, not that extra thousand here or 500 there, and forget creative financing, such as paying off interest accrued during school? It seems that for all too many, the temptation to squander loan money would be ripe for the spending. On the flipside, if you take only what you absolutely need, there's a good chance you'll fight to remain above water and within your budget, as there will be no other viable options to tap into. However, to have an extra thousand or two or or more of monies borrowed from the government, to 'play' with, or have as a false cushion, isn't as financially savvy as loan funds turned away. After all, you won't have to pay back anything you don't borrow. The days of taking a low interest loan, investing that money which materializes as a smart investment is long gone. Why not scrap the creative financing,take what you absolutely need, not a dollar more, and start paying it back 6 months after you graduate?
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I just put the formula together to cover a bare-bones approach for those who cannot independently fund a veterinary education - which is most of us. I certainly don't have $40k sitting around to pay my tuition and fees. :)

While the SO and I do have a savings cushion, we intend to use it as backup while we get started wherever we go. My SO works for himself, and he will probably be bringing in money soon after we land, but it may not be enough to cover all expenses for a few months.

So assuming people are not independently wealthy, this formula does cover only what most people absolutely need to pay tuition and fees, and no more. Also, it does not account for cost of living. For many people, this amount of loans won't come close to covering their total costs for vet school. Even if they work part-time and live like a pauper, they may need a little to help cover rent and food.

While I agree that one should only take out the debt that one absolutely needs, I think you might be confused as to the purpose of this debt calculator. It's not about finding out how high on the hog you can live during vet school, but rather how much you'll be paying even if you somehow cover all your meager living expenses for four years and pay down interest while you're a full-time student.

I mean, can you straight up pay for four years of school and living expenses right out of your pocket? 'Cause if so, this chart probably isn't meant for you...

lolobend86 said:
hygebeorht,

How did you learn to do such excel magic? ...your spreadsheet makes me want to enroll in an excel class at the community college :) Did you teach yourself everything? Also....what is this VIN thing everyones talking about
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Eh, it looks far more complicated than it actually is! Excel is pretty good about holding your hand while you fiddle with formulas. It only took me about an hour to figure out what I needed to do. And VIN is the Veterinary Information Network. It's like SDN for vets, mostly. I guess. I'm not a member.

orcagirl said:
It depends on your living situation. I took out cost of living loans this year because there was no guarantee the husband would find a job within the first year. We wouldn't be able to afford rent if he didn't have a job. That being said I'm glad I took out the extra now that he does have a job because we needed it for emergency money. I can't ask out of state family to help if I get into a tight spot because I'm working to get residency. Also you never know what supplies you're going to need and whether or not there will be something you need for school that wasn't accounted for. It doesn't work for everyone to take a little more, but I'm so glad I did. That being said, I'm hoping to not have to take any extra out over the next years because I have the extra from this year.
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If you don't mind my asking, OG, how much did you take out the first year? You don't have to answer on the forum (or at all, really :)) but if you'd prefer you can PM me?

And as a general announcement once more, my formula does not take cost of living into account whatsoever. Only tuition and fees, period. :)
 
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justavet said:
One thing that would help is if schools had the ability to limit the amount they let students borrow. Right now the school has to allow the student to borrow the entire amount for which they qualify- even if it isn't a smart financial move for the individual student, as you note cases of, BulldogMS.
The alternatives are to let the feds set an arbitrary limit on what grad/prof students in general can borrow, or to leave it up to the student- in return for abolishing forgiveness and similar consumer protections.
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Well, the funds aren't unlimited...you can't borrow more than what the school decides is your cost of living, at least, not from the feds. Do people actually need that much money to support themselves? Doubt it in most cases. Some schools seem to have more faith in their students' ability to scrimp, while others give students a pretty cushy budget.

Barring extraordinary circumstances, I am pretty sure it's not a great idea to borrow the maximum every year. The less you take, the less you owe. You will thank yourself once you graduate.

cs5910 said:
So is your spreadsheet assuming we pay back the interest accrued during school, before we graduate? Thank you so much for your document!!
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Yes, that is what it assumes. If I remember correctly, all the interest accrued during school is added to the principle once you graduate, so it's probably a good idea to pay it off as you go if you can. I could probably have accounted for accruing interest during school, but my eyes were crossing from looking at the formula already.

You could probably do the math yourself and replace the original amount with the higher interest-not-paid amount in the cost-of-tuition-and-fees box. You'd divide the original amt by four, and subtract $40,500 if the amount is over $40,500 to get your GradPLUS amount for each year. Then multiply your Stafford amount by 6.8% and the GradPLUS by 7.9% to get interest accrued in one year. Add the two interest amounts together, multiply by four, and add to the original tuition and fees cost found in the spreadsheet to get your new interest-not-paid amount.

Having just talked through it, I could probably put it into the formula, but it does make a few assumptions:

1. That you take out the exact same dollar amount of loans every year for four years. IRL, this will not be the case for schools where you can change residency after your first year, so it won't give accurate amounts for them.

2. Also, many schools' tuition amounts change from year to year, which doesn't affect final tuition and fees numbers much, but might affect how interest accrues. (justavet, do your numbers account for this difference in tuition from year to year? I know some schools' 3rd and 4th year tuition rates differ from earlier years...)

TLDR: If you can, keep on top of your interest while you are in school, because you don't want more principle on the hind end.

justavet said:
hygebeorht, yes, those are my numbers. I'm just surprised to see them. I left that group almost a year after giving them that data because they never did anything with it- and wanted to tell me what I could do with it, and what I could say in public when it came to student issues. Not a good fit for a born contrarian with a mouth on her and something to say :)
Absolutely second the thanks for sharing your spreadsheet! Those are mad skillz lol!
Can I embed that on my website, on my Should I go to Vet School page?
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Absolutely use it - I couldn't have done it without your amazing data in the first place! However, you may want to wait a week or two so we can play with it and make sure the formula works. I've already edited it three or four times to fix problems, so there may still be a few lurking.

It may be worth adding another worksheet to the spreadsheet just for debt paydown calculations. We could add a few more columns and play with other ways to pay it down like IBR...but I'm not sure how useful that will be, since IBR is based on an income that will be different for everyone. We could also compare the total amount paid for different payment timelines. What are your thoughts?
 
Actually, my plan is to borrow the maximum the first year so I can figure out how much living out in Columbia is going to cost me. If I have a good amount left over, I am going to pay off some of my Sallie Mae private loans that I really want to get rid of. A few people have told me this is what they are doing as well.
 
hygebeorht said:
1. That you take out the exact same dollar amount of loans every year for four years. IRL, this will not be the case for schools where you can change residency after your first year, so it won't give accurate amounts for them.
...
2. Also, many schools' tuition amounts change from year to year, (justavet, do your numbers account for this difference in tuition from year to year?)
...
It may be worth adding another worksheet to the spreadsheet just for debt paydown calculations. We could add a few more columns and play with other ways to pay it down like IBR...but I'm not sure how useful that will be, since IBR is based on an income that will be different for everyone. We could also compare the total amount paid for different payment timelines. What are your thoughts?
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Yes, my numbers take into account differing tuitions in different years.

Something that might be worth looking at- do each year as a separate loan. That's how you actually incur them, and that way it allows for changing tuition in each year, allows for maxing out stafford loans before moving to GradPLUS loans, allows for calculating paying more on the higher interest rate loans when you get out...

I think a debt paydown sheet would be good. I'll PM you a couple I've played with. As far as IBR and various repayment programs- there are good calculators on the fed websites for those programs so I'm not sure it'd be worth the time? Whereas a SIMPLE calculator you can play with to see 'what if' with different schools, different years..that's pretty useful.

That was my original point to collecting all that data- make something to enable students to decide whether, where and when to go to vet school.
 
justavet said:
Yes, my numbers take into account differing tuitions in different years.

Something that might be worth looking at- do each year as a separate loan. That's how you actually incur them, and that way it allows for changing tuition in each year, allows for maxing out stafford loans before moving to GradPLUS loans, allows for calculating paying more on the higher interest rate loans when you get out...

I think a debt paydown sheet would be good. I'll PM you a couple I've played with. As far as IBR and various repayment programs- there are good calculators on the fed websites for those programs so I'm not sure it'd be worth the time? Whereas a SIMPLE calculator you can play with to see 'what if' with different schools, different years..that's pretty useful.

That was my original point to collecting all that data- make something to enable students to decide whether, where and when to go to vet school.
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I can't remember where but there is a debt pay down calculator for vet med already on the Internet. I'll look through my business notes later and see if I can't find it
 
dyachei said:
Found it!

http://www.finsim.umn.edu/
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Nice! What a helpful tool.

justavet said:
Something that might be worth looking at- do each year as a separate loan. That's how you actually incur them, and that way it allows for changing tuition in each year, allows for maxing out stafford loans before moving to GradPLUS loans, allows for calculating paying more on the higher interest rate loans when you get out...

I think a debt paydown sheet would be good. I'll PM you a couple I've played with. As far as IBR and various repayment programs- there are good calculators on the fed websites for those programs so I'm not sure it'd be worth the time? Whereas a SIMPLE calculator you can play with to see 'what if' with different schools, different years..that's pretty useful.

That was my original point to collecting all that data- make something to enable students to decide whether, where and when to go to vet school.
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Sounds great. Looking at the tuition tab of the worksheet, I see that you have already collected data for each year. Can you enlighten me on the 100k+ amount in the fourth year for Michigan and NCSU? Also, can you tweak it so that the 4-year OOS and 1-OOS-3-IS values are both present for the "special" schools? :) If you can pretty up the numbers, I can start a worksheet to compare the various paydown scenarios. I agree, it is useful to have them in one place to compare.
 
hygebeorht said:
Nice! What a helpful tool.



Sounds great. Looking at the tuition tab of the worksheet, I see that you have already collected data for each year. Can you enlighten me on the 100k+ amount in the fourth year for Michigan and NCSU? Also, can you tweak it so that the 4-year OOS and 1-OOS-3-IS values are both present for the "special" schools? :) If you can pretty up the numbers, I can start a worksheet to compare the various paydown scenarios. I agree, it is useful to have them in one place to compare.
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Yeah, MSU looks really expensive your last year, because they shift half of your third year to your fourth year for payment purposes. IOW, nonres pays $52k yr 1 and 2, $30k yr3 and $106k yr 4. http://www.finaid.msu.edu/read/budcvm.pdf

NCSU...??? Costs $20k your fourth year whether nonres or res. Are you saying the info you downloaded from VIN has NCSU at $100k yr 4 nonres? That'd be a big fat data entry oopsie :) I can let them know.

If by special schools, you mean the ones that switch your residency after your first year...I'm not sure what the point of having both sets of numbers is? Eh, no big deal, I've got the numbers. I can't tweak what you're downloading, but I can add them to the sheet you made- is that what you meant?
 
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Yeah, let's just work from the sheet we have...if we make awesome updates, we could send it over to the VIN folks, but I don't really care if we do or don't. (The weird thing about the data you can download from the VIN map is that on the map, everything looks like it's correct. So I don't know why the worksheet is off.)

I guess I just want to be thorough for the schools that let you change residency, but since in most cases >90% of the students who apply to change residency are successful, I suppose we could just ignore the all-OOS numbers if necessary.

Anyway, do you mind taking a look at the per-year worksheet in the file? As far as I can tell, on there, changing residency is not accounted for. For example, aside from the 100k blooper, NCSU shows as approx 40k for all 4 years.
 
Oh, yeah, I see what they did. Another disagreement I had with them- rather than reflect reality as I was able to determine it, they wanted to present the worst case scenario. So they put in nonres tuition all four years. I think they also excluded all the non US schools, didn't they?

I'll send you an updated version to work with.

I was thinking... we need a sheet that lets students compare the difference in debt, monthly payment and paydown schedule between schools (what't it going to cost me to go to school X vs school Y) and between years (what's it going to cost me to go this year vs next year). Then we can combine those and answer the real question I see on these threads all the time... (should I go nonres this year where I got accepted or decline becasue I got wait listed at my instate school and might get in next year).
 
justavet said:
I was thinking... we need a sheet that lets students compare the difference in debt, monthly payment and paydown schedule between schools (what't it going to cost me to go to school X vs school Y) and between years (what's it going to cost me to go this year vs next year). Then we can combine those and answer the real question I see on these threads all the time... (should I go nonres this year where I got accepted or decline becasue I got wait listed at my instate school and might get in next year).
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Oooh yes. I would be extremely grateful if you Excel wizards could make this happen!
 
I spent a couple hours adding in data to calculate monthly payments for c/o 2017 and 2018, on a 10-year or 25-year payment plan, and the totals paid on each. The new payments calculated have taken into account the varying costs of tuition from one year to the next, unlike the crude calculations I made earlier.

This may be especially useful to those of you who are trying to decide to take an OOS offer this year instead of an IS offer next year.
 

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hygebeorht said:
I spent a couple hours adding in data to calculate monthly payments for c/o 2017 and 2018, on a 10-year or 25-year payment plan, and the totals paid on each. The new payments calculated have taken into account the varying costs of tuition from one year to the next, unlike the crude calculations I made earlier.

This may be especially useful to those of you who are trying to decide to take an OOS offer this year instead of an IS offer next year.
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Thank you for those spreadsheets!!! They are daunting to look at, but essential to understand. This thread has definitely helped me choose between schools... While I loved one of the schools I got into, the "warm fuzzy feeling" I got when I was while visiting one of my acceptances isn't worth the huge amount of money I will owe....We definitely need to go with our cheapest option. Thank you everyone for being so helpful!
 
Hygebeorht, could you explain your 'living expenses' sheet? Are certain fields just not filled in for certain schools because the schools themselves don't supply that information?

Also, for IBR, once you sign up, are you stuck for the whole 25 yrs? Or could you switch to another plan if your salary increased enough that you felt it were feasible? I had to do the "exit counseling' for my undergrad loans, but I don't remember whether people ever did that.
 
hygebeorht said:
I spent a couple hours adding in data to calculate monthly payments for c/o 2017 and 2018, on a 10-year or 25-year payment plan, and the totals paid on each. The new payments calculated have taken into account the varying costs of tuition from one year to the next, unlike the crude calculations I made earlier.

This may be especially useful to those of you who are trying to decide to take an OOS offer this year instead of an IS offer next year.
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These spreadsheets are so helpful but also incredibly depressing. I'm glad you made them (!) but I think I need to stop looking at them for a bit because of the stress :laugh:. I feel like I am doing the best I can to keep my costs down for school (going instate, live cheaply, have my husband paying most of living expenses) but I still hyperventilate when I see those numbers. :oops:
 
Jinglemuffin said:
Hygebeorht, could you explain your 'living expenses' sheet? Are certain fields just not filled in for certain schools because the schools themselves don't supply that information?

Also, for IBR, once you sign up, are you stuck for the whole 25 yrs? Or could you switch to another plan if your salary increased enough that you felt it were feasible? I had to do the "exit counseling' for my undergrad loans, but I don't remember whether people ever did that.
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Well, I'm just working from justavet's original data. I haven't touched her living expenses sheet, so you may need to ask her. I believe that data is taken straight from what each school decides you can take out for cost of living.

I also haven't included IBR. Only the standard 10 year and extended 20 year payment plans. The monthly payment will be the same amount throughout.
 
Thanks- sorry for my confusion... Justavet, could you tell me about the living expenses? Is that sheet just based on information that is available from the school website?

I should have clarified- my question about IBR was just a general question for anyone who may know it! Does anyone know whether you're stuck doing IBR for 25 yrs once you sign up?
 
Jinglemuffin,
*caveat: I am speaking for my data as I provided it to VIN- I have not checked to see if the data you can download from VIN is exactly what I provided*
Yes, that is the way the schools provide it. A field being blank means the school included that category of expense in one of the other categories for which they did provide a figure. IOW, one school may split out transportation, the next school may put it in with personal or miscellaneous. The totals are comparable- that is what the school will tell the US Dept od Education you can borrow to cover costs.

IBR- you can switch into and out of IBR. That has its ins and outs, of course, but yes, you can do it.
 
Just wanted to say thanks to all who have contributed to this thread, especially justavet, hygebeorht, and anyone else who has compiled or organized data. It's nice to have extra resources available as I get down to the numbers-crunching phase of my final decision for next year.
 
You're welcome :)
They are daunting, but keep in mind this is the most you would expect to have to pay. It assumes living expenses go up 5% every year and tuition goes up almost 8% every year, and that you borrow every single cent at 7.9% with interest accruing from day one.
If you have some money saved up; can work summers, holidays, weekends, part time; get help from family or spouse; can get scholarships or grants; can get lower interest rate loans; can live on less than the school allows... these are all ways to keep your price down. Also consider moving to establish residency at the school you want (may also up your odds of getting in, in some states there are usually fewer resident applicants per resident seat than non-resident applicants for the non-resident seats) or attending school in another country.
This fall's update will include the AU/EU/NZ schools.
 
I am 46 and live in Chicago. I have always wanted to become a DVM and I was researching the cost of tuition. I have an undergrad in Finance (did what my parents wanted) & currently an executive in the finance industry. I love animals and figured this might be my last chance to do what I really want to do. However, given these numbers I don't know if I could ever get out debt on a vets salary in the midwest. I would like to hear from others to see if i'm out of my mind.

Thank You
 
jhs1120 said:
I am 46 and live in Chicago. I have always wanted to become a DVM and I was researching the cost of tuition. I have an undergrad in Finance (did what my parents wanted) & currently an executive in the finance industry. I love animals and figured this might be my last chance to do what I really want to do. However, given these numbers I don't know if I could ever get out debt on a vets salary in the midwest. I would like to hear from others to see if i'm out of my mind.

Thank You
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yes, you are out of your mind. Don't do it!
 
You sound like you might make good money. If you can cut your current costs and sock away some money, it may be more feasible. However, you have a few years of prereqs ahead of you.
 
Learning something new is not age dependent. However, learning is expensive and will affect yours and your family's quality of life. Veterinary school is one of the most expensive, debt laden degree to obtain outside of the difficulty to be admitted. Read up on the trends and the discussed NY times article to get perspective. I am a career changer from HR. Started the vet school plan in Fall 2009, quit my job last Fall 2011 and starting vet school this fall 2013. 4 years of prep and I am 33 years old expecting to be a vet by 38.

you are in finance so you will figure if you can overcome the loans that will surely come your way----unless you are able to save sufficient with your current income and not get loans. COnsidering pre-reqs, getting sufficient hours of experience plus vet school proper, expect about 7-8 years. That will make you mid 50's by then giving you about 10 years of practice IDEALLY speaking.
IMHO, you you are better off staying at your well established job and work with animals on the side. When you haave a big old nest egg, you can work with animals as much as you can in a different yet equally rewarding capacity( volunteer all over the world, local shelter, animal trainer, etc). Good luck
 
Hey guys, I was over in the Financial Aid forum and saw this thread.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1001855

Number 4 talks about what happens if you just don't have enough to pay the tax on the remaining "income" after 25 years of IBR. It sounds as though the amount of loan eligible to be taxed cannot be greater than your net worth. So that would greatly reduce the amount you'd have to pay at the end of that 25 years in most cases.
They were specifically talking about med students, not vet students, but I would think the same rule would apply? I'll be honest, I clicked the PDF supplied in the thread and didn't really understand how you would draw this conclusion from that, but I'm interested to see other people's take on this. I'm very sorry if this has been mentioned before!
 
Jinglemuffin said:
Hey guys, I was over in the Financial Aid forum and saw this thread.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1001855

Number 4 talks about what happens if you just don't have enough to pay the tax on the remaining "income" after 25 years of IBR. It sounds as though the amount of loan eligible to be taxed cannot be greater than your net worth. So that would greatly reduce the amount you'd have to pay at the end of that 25 years in most cases.
They were specifically talking about med students, not vet students, but I would think the same rule would apply? I'll be honest, I clicked the PDF supplied in the thread and didn't really understand how you would draw this conclusion from that, but I'm interested to see other people's take on this. I'm very sorry if this has been mentioned before!
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As someone mentioned in that thread, I really don't see this exemption being a huge deal for doctors or vets. I didn't click on the IRS PDF and I'm not going to pretend I would understand it if I did but if this guy is right and there is an exemption where you're only taxed up to your net worth, you have to think realistically about what your net worth will be in twenty five years. The OP of the other post threw out a net worth of $350,000 which I think is low. If you're on IBR for 25 years, you're only paying 10% of your income so hypothetically you'd have money to buy a house and contribute to a 401k. This is obviously going to be different for everyone and this is a huge generalization but if you contribute the max amount to your 401k every year (assuming the max doesn't go up, which it will), after 25 years you'd have about $750,000 assuming a measly 4% interest rate. And that doesn't even touch on the equity you'd have from a home or other investments.
 
I saw that, felinelvr. Sure would be. And also went back to the financial aid thread and saw the post you mentioned. It all sucks!
 
Since the docs are all excel, would it be possible to make them available on Google Drive? This way you can send a link to the doc, the receiver could make a copy to edit and compare their actual values and send it back or keep for themselves? Just a thought!

I'm an undergrad, 4th semester, looking into beginning my prereqs to end up in equine repro/therio. I'm 26, SAHM of a 2yo and a 4yo. I'm looking at vet school as a full-time job. My husband makes enough to support us financially, but with only some to spare after savings. Is it reasonable to attend at my age and be able to pay off my loans in a decent amount of time? I'm in central OK, and salary range will be between $60-75k, which your chart says OkSU has a tuition estimate of around $65k. I'm just wondering if the expense is coming too late due to my age?
 
wnosma said:
Since the docs are all excel, would it be possible to make them available on Google Drive? This way you can send a link to the doc, the receiver could make a copy to edit and compare their actual values and send it back or keep for themselves? Just a thought!

I'm an undergrad, 4th semester, looking into beginning my prereqs to end up in equine repro/therio. I'm 26, SAHM of a 2yo and a 4yo. I'm looking at vet school as a full-time job. My husband makes enough to support us financially, but with only some to spare after savings. Is it reasonable to attend at my age and be able to pay off my loans in a decent amount of time? I'm in central OK, and salary range will be between $60-75k, which your chart says OkSU has a tuition estimate of around $65k. I'm just wondering if the expense is coming too late due to my age?
Click to expand...

I'm 26 and starting this fall... I also know there are many people older than me starting or still applying.
 
I don't mean to be nosy, but how far can your husband support the family? Can he pay living expenses, daycare costs, and chip in on tuition? Or only some of the above?

I start this fall and I am older than you. However, I do not have kids so my expenses are fewer.
 
wnosma said:
Since the docs are all excel, would it be possible to make them available on Google Drive? This way you can send a link to the doc, the receiver could make a copy to edit and compare their actual values and send it back or keep for themselves? Just a thought!

I'm an undergrad, 4th semester, looking into beginning my prereqs to end up in equine repro/therio. I'm 26, SAHM of a 2yo and a 4yo. I'm looking at vet school as a full-time job. My husband makes enough to support us financially, but with only some to spare after savings. Is it reasonable to attend at my age and be able to pay off my loans in a decent amount of time? I'm in central OK, and salary range will be between $60-75k, which your chart says OkSU has a tuition estimate of around $65k. I'm just wondering if the expense is coming too late due to my age?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't plan on starting at a salary near that right out of school. I think the national average for equine starting salaries is in the 40s and my understanding is that OK tends to be on the lower side of averages.

Also, if you plan on specializing, bear in mind the time commitment for internship/residency and the accumulating interest on loans during those years.
OK has a pretty awesome therio department so you are at least in the right place. Decent caseload, lots of ranch mares available for teaching, nice studs, adorable foals :thumbup: Just finishing up my therio rotation! :D

And there are plenty of students at OKState alone that are in their thirties or forties.
 
Does anyone know where I can find the actual graduating student debt load by year. I thought I saw it somewhere but I can't find it now. It said what percent of graduates had no debt and what percent had debt figures in all the different number categories. I will be forever grateful if anyone knows where that was...
 
Orion12 said:
Does anyone know where I can find the actual graduating student debt load by year. I thought I saw it somewhere but I can't find it now. It said what percent of graduates had no debt and what percent had debt figures in all the different number categories. I will be forever grateful if anyone knows where that was...
Click to expand...

I think that was from justvetdata.com
She's the one that posts all the excellent stuff on here and that's her website.
 
I too am a career changer from engineering. I am 36 going for next fall so I will be around 41 when I get out. Hey, you are gonna be 40 something one day, so why not go for it ?:)
Anyhow, I read this thread and I thought some of you might find this info helpful:

http://oregonstate.edu/financialaid/sites/default/files/loaninteresttables.pdf

It basically shows you how much your monthly payment is going to be based on the number of years and the amount of loan you pull out. I think for most of us, 150-160K would be normal for in-state tuition. That would put the payment at around 1800/month for 12 year-payment and around 1100 for 25-year payment. That is a lot of cheddar ,considering vets don't make as much. Depressing but what other choice is there?:confused:
 
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