Estimated Costs of Veterinary School

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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Okaaaaay . . . good for you?
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Mez said:
Hello everyone, I took a quick look at what everyone was talking about here but I can't seem to find anyone who did international studies. I am Canadian and planning to attend a US or off shore school since I could not get in here after SEVERAL attempts and I am wondering if anyone who does not have parents or someone paying for their school did international studies and are paying it back them-self? Is the debt crippling or is it ok as long as you are smart with ur $? Did anyone come across good scholarships for international students? And what school is cheapest for international students?

Note: I started my own thread too but still couldn't find anyone who did international studies and are paying the debt themselves.

Thnx all!
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I have been warned by many many vets that the debt is crippling. I myself am reconsidering entering the field with all the statistics out there. In terms of an international student, I think you may need a co-signer if you are international b/c you will not qualify for loans, but don't quote me on this. If they can't chase you down to get their money back, they won't lend you the money.
 
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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Do a little research on the internet about vet student debt and you will soon find out that this debt will put you near poverty level for a very long time. That is on top of the current market saturation, especially for new graduates. Loving animals is noble, but you can hit empty real fast when you are crushed by debt. First though, it sounds like you may need more science courses and more exposure to the field. Before all that , I would try to go and volunteer with a vet or shadow someone. Being a vet is very tough work and it involves a lot more than just dealing with animals. It can be heart wrenching, and frustrating sometimes. If you happen to like the experience and I am talking 100s of hours of volunteering not a just couple of times, then you need to look into taking pre-vet courses. In the mean time, save as much money as you possibly can.
 
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I haven't posted on this site in quite some time but I thought it might be valuable to share my personal experience. To make a long story short, I was fortunate enough to not have any undergraduate loans when I started vet school. I went to my IS school. The first year I didn't take out the full loan amount (instead took out about 37,000K) but the last 3 years I maxed out my loans at 40,500 as I needed the tuition plus living expenses. By the time I graduated and waited out my 6 month grace period while job-hunting, the debt had grown to almost $210,000. This is a staggering, frightening amount. Due to living in a very SA GP saturated area, I've had a very difficult time landing a clinical job in my area. I cannot relocate as my husband's job is here. I finally was able to land a PT job (non-clinical) that I love. I am very, very fortunate to have a husband who earns a relatively high salary that allows me to afford fixed 25 year payments. If I was single, there is no way that I would be able to pay my student loan debt. Many of my colleagues struggle with finding jobs and making payments. IBR/PAYE is no great deal- the monthly payments don't even come close to covering monthly accruing interest, and it's terrifying to watch that debt climb higher and higher each month despite making payments.

Every single day I wish I had gone into a different field. Like many other vets and vet hopefuls, I wanted to do this for as long as I can remember. I was so stubborn and fixated on becoming a veterinarian that I was blinded to the reality of student loan payments and the less desirable parts of the job. My priorities also changed as I became older. The things that seemed important to me 10 years ago are not as important now, and instead I have different values. I don't want to carry this high of student loan debt. I realize now that I could have been just as happy or even happier in a different career, working fewer hours, earning more money, which would allow me more free time and finances to spend time pursuing my hobbies and time with my family. I've committed 8 years of my life to getting a college education, and I honestly feel that we deserve to make a decent living, take yearly/biyearly vacations, and retire at a decent age without having to work 60+ hours a week just to get by.
 
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WhtsThFrequency said:
Hey turnandburn, I remember you. Nice to see you again, although sorry it seems things are tough :(
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Heh, things aren't that bad at all :) I definitely have regrets about vet school but it's too late to do anything about that. I really think that my early 20s when I was considering school I hadn't fully thought out the full implications of what that kind of debt load can mean (difficulty in getting a loan to buy a car/home, etc) so I wanted to show some actual numbers for others think think about. I also hadn't really calculated how much that debt would accrue while in school, greatly increasing the overall cost of the loan. The thought of paying well over $1400 per month every month for the next 25 years makes me a little sick... and many of my colleagues owe much more than I do!
 
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Hey, I remember you too! We were C&H avatar buddies for a while. Hang in there - I hope that you can eventually find a job you love that comes with a pay you love (and deserve) as well.
 
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hey everyone,
i think i'm about to ask a really stupid question right now - is that interest rate (6.8%) for federal loans yearly or monthly?? So I thought it was yearly, i mean it should be, right? But I read on yahoo answers that it is monthly! That can't be, right? :smack:That would be a ridiculous amount, I think, but I still wanted to make sure. Please tell me yahoo answers person didn't know what they were talking about.
 
Minnerbelle said:
It's bad, but it ain't thaaaat bad!
One thing you should know that the interest rates have gone down starting this year. The 6.8 is now 5.41% lucky for you
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I spend so much time looking at the charts and thinking how horrible it's gonna be that I was expecting the ultimate worst :laugh:
Oh yaaay! That's a drop, I wonder what made the government do that!
 
catnips said:
I spend so much time looking at the charts and thinking how horrible it's gonna be that I was expecting the ultimate worst :laugh:
Oh yaaay! That's a drop, I wonder what made the government do that!
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Well don't get too happy... you'll most certainly make up for it in the exorbitant tuition increases we see every single year. Whatever little you save in interest will easily be made up for in principal
 
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Minnerbelle said:
Well don't get too happy... you'll most certainly make up for it in the exorbitant tuition increases we see every single year. Whatever little you save in interest will easily be made up for in principal
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ah, of course, there is that too. :nailbiting:
 
Hi all! I am currently out of funds from federal loans, and I have bad credit so personal loans are hard to come by. Does any one share a similar situation that can give me some resources or places to contact?

thanks :)
 
Creidim.ngra said:
Hi all! I am currently out of funds from federal loans, and I have bad credit so personal loans are hard to come by. Does any one share a similar situation that can give me some resources or places to contact?

thanks :)
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Financial aid advisors at school can help you get an extension on your loans. I know classmates that have used this to help pay for flights and moving expenses. I was offered $70,000 in federal loans my first year -- how'd you run out of federal funds?
 
I have two bachelor degrees, you are capped out at 52k for undergrad. I'll have some for first year of vet school, but then I'll be capped out again since federally you're only allotted 150k (I think) for graduate.
 
Creidim.ngra said:
I have two bachelor degrees, you are capped out at 52k for undergrad. I'll have some for first year of vet school, but then I'll be capped out again since federally you're only allotted 150k (I think) for graduate.
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I do not think Federal loans for professional schools are capped at $150,000 like you think. I believe you are allowed to take out whatever the school estimates as the total of tuition and living expenses. There are vet students who owe $300,000 in Federal loans when they graduate - they wouldn't be able to do that if they were capped at $150,000.
 
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Creidim.ngra said:
I have two bachelor degrees, you are capped out at 52k for undergrad. I'll have some for first year of vet school, but then I'll be capped out again since federally you're only allotted 150k (I think) for graduate.
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I don't know a ton about loans, but are you sure you're looking at both of the federal loans that are available to you? There's a direct unsubsidized federal loan and then there's the Graduate PLUS loan which has a much higher cap - more than you probably need. I know for my tuition I took out the max I could on the direct unsubsidized loan and then had to take out the rest from the PLUS loan. The direct loan has a cap of something like $40K per year ($20K for international students, unfortunately) so if that's what you're having problems with you'll want to look into getting the PLUS loan as well for whatever else you'll need.

I'm assuming that you're in the U.S., of course. The loan process is different in other countries so I'm not sure if that is what you're referring to.

Since you mentioned personal loans, I'd just like to point out that using personal loans to cover your tuition costs is generally not recommended. You'll typically have much higher interest rates and you won't have access to the repayment programs or hardship deferrals that you get with federal loans. Obviously if you have no other choice then you do what you have to do, but it's best to avoid using personal loans if you can.
 
Just figured I'd share some info as I was looking into what loans I'd need to take out this year. I've been told to take the full amount of health professions loans if offered because they were the lowest interest rate. However now that federal loan interest went down, health professions are at 5%, direct unsubsidized is at 3.86%.
Despite the interest difference though, health professions don't accumulate interest during school or during grace period (1yr) or during deferment. Since they usually don't offer that much it would be an easier one to pay off sooner and not worry so much about the slightly higher interest rate.
I went looking for this info so I figured someone else might be interested too.

Edit: Just kidding. Ignore all this. I was looking at undergrad loan rates not professional. Ours are still higher than grad plus.
 
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wildcatj said:
Just figured I'd share some info as I was looking into what loans I'd need to take out this year. I've been told to take the full amount of health professions loans if offered because they were the lowest interest rate. However now that federal loan interest went down, health professions are at 5%, direct unsubsidized is at 3.86%.
Despite the interest difference though, health professions don't accumulate interest during school or during grace period (1yr) or during deferment. Since they usually don't offer that much it would be an easier one to pay off sooner and not worry so much about the slightly higher interest rate.
I went looking for this info so I figured someone else might be interested too.
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Where are you getting direct unsubsidized at 3.86%? I know the rate went down from 6.8%, but didn't think it went that far.
 
Trilt said:
Where are you getting direct unsubsidized at 3.86%? I know the rate went down from 6.8%, but didn't think it went that far.
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They have apparently changed it since I looked a few weeks ago. Loans dispersed between 7/1/13 and 7/1/14 are at 3.86%, the following year will be 4.66%. Here's where that comes from: https://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/interest-rates
The 4.66% is new though. That was not up there when I posted last time.
 
wildcatj said:
They have apparently changed it since I looked a few weeks ago. Loans dispersed between 7/1/13 and 7/1/14 are at 3.86%, the following year will be 4.66%. Here's where that comes from: https://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/interest-rates
The 4.66% is new though. That was not up there when I posted last time.
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Oh poop. Ignore everything I said. I was looking at undergrad. Never mind!
 
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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Everyone you ask is going to say it's too late, and you've already chosen a life path.
1 thing to remember. This is your only life. As crazy as it sounds, if you plan on working long enough to pay off the debt, you should go for your dream. Only you can say wether or not this is a good decision.
 
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So, according to this chart Ross costs more than SGU, but in other forums here I've heard that Ross is cheaper. Anyone have a good explanation for this?
 
NeonMountaineer said:
So, according to this chart Ross costs more than SGU, but in other forums here I've heard that Ross is cheaper. Anyone have a good explanation for this?
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It may not be up to date. Best source of tuition information is each individual school's website.
 
Jess Monster said:
Personally, I think from Day One our heads are filled with terrible financial advice, like discouragement from attending affordable community colleges, the huge push to build up 1000's of hours of what frequently become unpaid or poorly paid experiences, the inclination toward back-to-back schooling without taking time off to pay down loans and build up savings, etc.
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I can see this to a certain extent. But on the other hand, we are, in theory, adults when looking at what schools to look at. Just because we are told to do thing A, doesn't mean we are bound by law to do it. There are plenty of people throughout this forum and others (like the APVMA facebook page) that talk about the advantages of taking gen eds at community colleges to save money, or to go to other very affordable schools. I purposely chose the institution I went to over CSU's undergrad pre-vet program because I new when I was looking at undergrad institutions that vet school has a lot of debt and I wanted to minimize that. The average debt of a student at my school is between 12 and 15 thousand for four years of school. If you look for scholarships and work, it is very possible to graduate without loans, like I did. That's considerably better than the monetary situation I would have had if I had done my undergrad at CSU as an in state student.

Same thing with the experience situation. Some suck, others don't. It all depends on what you are able to find as a person. All the schools say we need are experience hours. My current vet experience is the best paid job I have ever had. But I also made the decision to not move out from my parent's house, so that's one reason why. I understand that not everyone has those advantages, but there are opportunities out there, depending on what each individual is willing to compromise on.

TL;DR --> We are adults who can do our research and know the market and are also responsible to an extent for our educational decisions. Yeah, the schools are responsible for the current monetary issues in vet med, but there are little things we can do as students to lighten the load too.
 
batsenecal said:
I can see this to a certain extent. But on the other hand, we are, in theory, adults when looking at what schools to look at. Just because we are told to do thing A, doesn't mean we are bound by law to do it. There are plenty of people throughout this forum and others (like the APVMA facebook page) that talk about the advantages of taking gen eds at community colleges to save money, or to go to other very affordable schools. I purposely chose the institution I went to over CSU's undergrad pre-vet program because I new when I was looking at undergrad institutions that vet school has a lot of debt and I wanted to minimize that. The average debt of a student at my school is between 12 and 15 thousand for four years of school. If you look for scholarships and work, it is very possible to graduate without loans, like I did. That's considerably better than the monetary situation I would have had if I had done my undergrad at CSU as an in state student.

Same thing with the experience situation. Some suck, others don't. It all depends on what you are able to find as a person. All the schools say we need are experience hours. My current vet experience is the best paid job I have ever had. But I also made the decision to not move out from my parent's house, so that's one reason why. I understand that not everyone has those advantages, but there are opportunities out there, depending on what each individual is willing to compromise on.

TL;DR --> We are adults who can do our research and know the market and are also responsible to an extent for our educational decisions. Yeah, the schools are responsible for the current monetary issues in vet med, but there are little things we can do as students to lighten the load too.
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Thank you for sharing this. I think a lot of people coming out of high school think they need to go to the undergrad that is really fancy/ expensive to get anywhere afterwards, but a lot of it has to do with how hard you work and the connections you seek. There are a lot of decisions that people need to make regarding their fiances, and no-one can tell you exactly what is right for you,but you can do things that make the debt of vet school better.

One thing our financial adviser recommended recently is contacting corporations for scholarships. i know that can feel super awkward, but they have a set amount that they have to donate each year and you could ask to be part of that.
 
NeonMountaineer said:
Everyone you ask is going to say it's too late, and you've already chosen a life path.
1 thing to remember. This is your only life. As crazy as it sounds, if you plan on working long enough to pay off the debt, you should go for your dream. Only you can say wether or not this is a good decision.
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No. I can guarantee it is a bad decision to switch that late in your career unless the person has a ton of money to back it up, a lot of luck, is willing to work wherever the money is and not just in the midwest, a family willing to put up with moving and you going back to school full time and not being a breadwinner, possibly having to live long distance from said family, years to dedidcate to fulfilling prereqs and gaining experience (probably entering vet school at ~48-50 yrs old in this case) and a ton of other things that most people do not have.

All this "go for your dream" **** is utter bull****. We all want a dream job. Tough ****, sometimes you can't have it. Sometimes you can't afford it, you're not smart enough, there aren't enough positions, it's too late to go back to school etc...tough ****.

This attitude of "you can be whatever you want to be!" has crippled my generation with exorbitant student debt and a job market where PhDs are being relegated to washing dishes in the lab. No - you CAN'T be whatever you want to be. You have to make smart decisions with your life.
 
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Hey guys. I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the forum pile but I can't seem to find it. What all do you know about the schools hat let you change residency after the first year of school? I'm guessing this would drop tuition from out of state to in state
 
lionking101 said:
Hey guys. I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the forum pile but I can't seem to find it. What all do you know about the schools hat let you change residency after the first year of school? I'm guessing this would drop tuition from out of state to in state
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These states may charge more for tuition anyway, so consider that as well.

Ohio and Missouri let you switch if you follow their guidelines.

North Carolina charges the same for IS and OOS, but is fairly competitive.

For all the other schools, gaining residency in the state before applying would probably be the smart choice.
 
Hey guys! FAFSA question. Since I'm feeling more positive about my chances this go around (knock on wood), I'm looking into the loan process. My IS has this on their website: "It is recommended that you submit your FAFSA form between January and March each year."

So, if I want to be best prepared for a possible admission offer, should I apply do the FAFSA this January for a Fall 2015 matriculation? Or am I misinterpreting that?
 
You've got it right. You submit in January (to March) for the 2015-2016 academic year.
 
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I have never submitted before June/July and I've been okay and gotten more than enough loans to cover everything all four years of vet school. So even if you don't get it done (which is the better option) you aren't usually screwed.
 
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Last year, I submitted it two days after school started.

I don't get any grants or anything, but yeah. It was fine. Probably not ideal, but fine.
 
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twelvetigers said:
North Carolina charges the same for IS and OOS, but is fairly competitive.
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? Not sure what you mean by this - I've not personally experienced it, but I'm about 98% certain that the OOS students at our school pay OOS tuition the first year, then apply for (and generally receive) IS status for the next three.
 
Trilt said:
? Not sure what you mean by this - I've not personally experienced it, but I'm about 98% certain that the OOS students at our school pay OOS tuition the first year, then apply for (and generally receive) IS status for the next three.
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Oh. Nevermind, that sounds more right. Haha.
 
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I'll echo WZ, private loans are typically something students stay away from, because of the interest rates and their tendency to change.
 
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JaynaAli said:
I have never submitted before June/July and I've been okay and gotten more than enough loans to cover everything all four years of vet school. So even if you don't get it done (which is the better option) you aren't usually screwed.
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If you're only looking to get the standard federal loans it usually doesn't matter when you apply so long as you get it done in time to pay tuition.

But some schools provide institutional aid, and that tends to have an earlier deadline since the school has to split what they have between all the students who apply. Some require parental info on the fafsa, so not only does the fafsa need to be completed sooner, you and your parents' taxes need to be filed
possibly sooner than the IRS deadline (pretty sure that was the case with Tufts at least. They made a big point of that during their financial aid talk on interview day).
 
Meurks said:
Does anyone have any experience with private Discover card student loans? http://student-loans-review.toptenreviews.com/discover-student-loans-review.html
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Are you looking for private loans because you don't qualify for federal loans? Or are you looking because you feel like the terms are better than the federal loans?

If the latter, make sure to consider that with federal loans there are many repayment programs that will minimize monthly payments based on your income if need be. It provides you with a much better safety net should anything happen to you (low income, underemployment, unemployment, etc...).
 
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Meurks said:
Does anyone have any experience with private Discover card student loans? http://student-loans-review.toptenreviews.com/discover-student-loans-review.html
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Having experience with both private and federal loans, I would encourage anyone to avoid private loans as much as possible. Simply because the federal loans are much more forgiving of various circumstances (as Minnerbelle already stated) whereas the private loan companies (I don't have any specific experience with discover but have heard many private loans are similar) are not very forgiving... so if you are out of a job they don't care and just keep adding on late fees and will not work with you at all.
 
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Meurks said:
Does anyone have any experience with private Discover card student loans? http://student-loans-review.toptenreviews.com/discover-student-loans-review.html
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Did you get that flyer in the mail the other day too? Lol. My dad's pretty good when it comes to the financial stuff (FDIC bank examiner for a dad). I was going to talk to him about that. I can post what he says, but definitely do your own research and decide for yourself.

Like mentioned above, the federal loans work with you. Private loans seem to have the goal of making profit off of you. Don't get me wrong, you repay more than you borrow with federal loans too, but there are many ways in which they don't suffocate you.

Does anyone receive title VII funding? On paper it looks pretty good compared to some other federal loans out there. Anyone with personal experience?
 
Meurks said:
Does anyone have any experience with private Discover card student loans? http://student-loans-review.toptenreviews.com/discover-student-loans-review.html
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I guess I would be most concerned about variable rate loans over fixed rate loans. A lot of the really low ones will be variable and therefore subject to change and may end up costing you more than you expect. It looks like discover offers both so if this is something you need, I would make sure that you stick with a fixed rate.
 
Thanks everyone for your input, it really helped. I've never had to deal with loans before so this is all very overwhelmingly new :{
 
Does anyone have any perspective on how difficult it is paying off loans as a SA specialist rather than SA GP? I know there is the difficulty of getting paid next to nothing as an intern/resident, but what about the increase in salary as a specialist?
 
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AcreWoods said:
Does anyone have any perspective on how difficult it is paying off loans as a SA specialist rather than SA GP? I know there is the difficulty of getting paid next to nothing as an intern/resident, but what about the increase in salary as a specialist?
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I'm wondering about this too. If my grades permit, I really want to specialize and hope that it will make paying loans off easier. Anyone has an experience with this?
 
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