tOSU vs Mizzou vs Mississippi

[es223]

Hello everyone,
I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to a handful of veterinary schools this cycle and have narrowed it down to my top three. I am really struggling to decide. I apologize in advance for the long post.

A little about me:
I am a non-traditional (29 years old this year), 2nd time applicant with preferred focus in general large animal and equine. I am from northeast Ohio, and I am married. I was able to get through undergrad with zero student loan debt and will have a small amount of savings upon matriculation. Since I am married, my husband and I will likely not be looking for a roommate during my time in vet school, therefore, cost of living in the area we move to is very important to us. My husband has an established career, and travels for work so he can continue from virtually anywhere in the US. This means we will have some kind of income aside from my student loans. I will also be bringing my two horses along with me, so an area where I will be able to find adequate board for them is a must.

Let's starts with tOSU.

Pros:
- My in-state school, currently I live only about an hour and 40 minutes from campus. I am very familiar with Columbus.
- IS tuition
- I know many people in the area, and even some current vet students
- Will be the easiest to relocate to
- My veterinarians all went to tOSU, and of course I think very highly of them
- Good large animal/equine caseload
- Pass/fail curriculum (so I've heard)
- Lots to do, decent COL and there's a great sense of school pride that comes with THE Ohio State University

Cons:
- Since COVID, it seems like the school has been pretty locked down. Interviews were online, there have not been any "meet the faculty"/ "tour days" and I feel like despite being so close, I know NOTHING about the CVM aside from what they have on their website. I know they will have an accepted student's day, but I have yet to hear any information on it or if it will even be before the acceptance deadline.
- New curriculum (not sure if pro or con really)
- large class size
- IS tuition is still quite high
- City living (I grew up, and still live, in an isolated rural area. I have been in Columbus many times, and it can be a pretty rough place. I have real anxiety about living there)

Mizzou

Pros:
- 2+2 program
- resident tuition after first year. This alone makes Mizzou cheaper than tOSU for me. It's a small amount, but still cheaper.
- Very affordable housing and COL
- Don't have to buy books, and no tech requirements
- Good large animal/equine caseload
- heavy emphasis on building surgical skills
- lots of open blocks for rotations 3rd and 4th year
- MU has an equine boarding facility on campus for student and faculty owned horses and it is VERY affordable
- I left my interview feeling a strong sense of camaraderie with classmates and faculty, everyone genuinely seems happy to be there.
- both SA and LA hospitals seem well appointed
- Area is dog friendly, with lots of places to hike/kayak/fish
- Lots of student clubs and organizations
- Smaller city/town

Cons:
- I don't know anyone in the area, or even the state, really.
- Closest airport is an hour and a half away
- Heavy and demanding courseload first and second year
- Nine hours from home/family

Finally, Mississippi

Pros:
- 2+2 program
- heavy emphasis on building surgical skills
- EVERYONE is so nice, and I have never felt more welcome than I did during my interview, especially by faculty.
- Small town, rural area
- Campus is really nice, everything you need.
- Low COL, but housing options dwindle quickly, as it is super limited and in demand.
- There seems to be a high level of respect for CVM students and faculty in the area
- decent LA caseload
- small airport close by
- I really love the setup of the Wise Center
- Still researching horse boarding options, but there appears to be a few good ones.
- I have family on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. My sister lives there, along with an aunt and uncle. My mom is also from there, and my parents JUST (like two days ago) bought a house on the coast where they will stay during the winter. It's about 4 hours from campus, but I could see them quite frequently. Mississippi almost feels like a second home. I was married there, and I visit the gulf coast a few times a year.
- I have never felt more wanted, warm, and welcomed than when I visited State.

Cons:

-The most expensive of the three. Not by an astronomical amount, but not a negligible amount either.
- Professional dress code (I am a farmer and will literally have to buy a whole new wardrobe)
- Very long and tedious first and second year
- starts in JUNE, leaving very little time to find accommodations and move
- harder to find housing, high demand
- Ten hours from my home and most of my family.



I would love to hear from anyone and everyone about their opinions. All three are amazing schools and I don't think there's a wrong choice to be made, I just want what's right for me. Give me ALL your pros and cons, no matter how minor. Please help me decide!

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[JaynaAli]

I’d vote to take Mississippi off your list. It’s a good school, but if it’s the most expensive option, I’d go with cheaper options. Minimizing loans is important for everyone, but I firmly believe especially if if you’re planning to work in equine/rural medicine where salaries are significantly lower than small animal or specialty medicine. While I do want to say go to Missouri because of cost, I do think distance to the airport needs to be a big consideration if your husband travels for work. If he travels regularly, an hour and a half drive to the airport each way is a significant time investment. It may be worth paying slightly more at Ohio if that is significantly closer to an airport. Your pro and con lists are good, but I think those two factors (cost and ease of travel for the spouse) would probably be most important in my mind.

 

[es223]

I’d vote to take Mississippi off your list. It’s a good school, but if it’s the most expensive option, I’d go with cheaper options. Minimizing loans is important for everyone, but I firmly believe especially if if you’re planning to work in equine/rural medicine where salaries are significantly lower than small animal or specialty medicine. While I do want to say go to Missouri because of cost, I do think distance to the airport needs to be a big consideration if your husband travels for work. If he travels regularly, an hour and a half drive to the airport each way is a significant time investment. It may be worth paying slightly more at Ohio if that is significantly closer to an airport. Your pro and con lists are good, but I think those two factors (cost and ease of travel for the spouse) would probably be most important in my mind.

Great point! Thank you so much for the advice! I should've been more specific, as my husband rarely, if ever, travels by plane. Sparing you the boring details, he works in commercial construction. He carries quite a bit of tools and material, so it makes sense for him to drive his own vehicle to the jobsite, even if it is states away. So the airport thing really only affects my ability to visit family, and them to visit me.

 

[honeypot999]

While reading this, I felt like your heart was pulling you to Mizzou. Like yes being away from family really sucks, but you have your husband which gives you some type of support system.
Agree that Mississippi is quite expensive, but it comes down to wanting to be near family or not. For me that was important, but for others it may not be.

 

[JaynaAli]

Great point! Thank you so much for the advice! I should've been more specific, as my husband rarely, if ever, travels by plane. Sparing you the boring details, he works in commercial construction. He carries quite a bit of tools and material, so it makes sense for him to drive his own vehicle to the jobsite, even if it is states away. So the airport thing really only affects my ability to visit family, and them to visit me.

Ah got it, since you’d mentioned distance from an airport in your pros and cons lists and said he travels, I made an obviously incorrect assumption! I see what you mean now.

I’d go wherever is cheapest then. I really believe you’ll get a great education at any of them. The minor differences seem big right now, but in hindsight they really don’t mean a ton. You’ll be a DVM in four years and that’s what matters.

 

[Alicat9152]

I'll briefly add in here that there is actually an airport in Columbia for Mizzou! So you don't have to fly out of STL if you don't want to. We also have amtrack which I use whenever I go home. So depending where home is for you amtrack could be a cheaper option than flying. But overall Columbia does have an airport 😊

Feel free to PM if you have any questions about Mizzou and congratulations on your success this year!

 

[es223]

I'll briefly add in here that there is actually an airport in Columbia for Mizzou! So you don't have to fly out of STL if you don't want to. We also have amtrack which I use whenever I go home. So depending where home is for you amtrack could be a cheaper option than flying. But overall Columbia does have an airport

Feel free to PM if you have any questions about Mizzou and congratulations on your success this year!

Thank you so much! I did not know this! I appreciate the information! Do you know if any major airlines have hubs there?

 

[maxride14]

Thank you so much! I did not know this! I appreciate the information! Do you know if any major airlines have hubs there?

I'm a current undergrad at Mizzou and OOS so I can speak on this a little bit. I use American Airlines a lot and most flights go to Chicago and DFW, which I use to connect to when I fly home for breaks. It was very useful my first year, and now I typically switch between using the Columbia airport or catching a ride with a friend to Kansas City for a cheaper flight when they're driving home. It is a really small airport, but they just created a new terminal and it's definitely a useful option!

 

[Alicat9152]

I was just about to say I am sure American flies out of there cause if I would fly that's what I would take out of Madison where I'm from in WI and it would be a direct flight!