Western University c/o 2018 applicants!

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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repeets said:
(With how much the alternate list is known to move for Western, I doubt that will be an issue…)

I am not a Western student, but I am a parent of one. I've been following this thread, and I thought I'd add what I know. Two years ago, Western offered seats to 160 students up front for a class of 105. That I believe was also the pattern last year. Given that they over-accepted so much initially, it has been the usual situation that Western did NOT dip into its alternate pool very deeply (obviously varies by year). You can search threads in past years to see this for yourself. Since the admission calendar this year was moved up much earlier, things may have changed; I'm not sure. Also, the year my student was accepted, the acceptance letter said that the offered seat was available until the class 0f 105 was full. There was no pressure to accept the offer prior to the April 15 deadline, and they said they had never (to date) had more students accept the offer than they had seats, but they mentioned that it was a possibility. I do not know how they are handling it this year, or how acceptance letters were worded. You might want to check this out.
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Wait... So they accepted 55 more people than the class actually fits? What happens if those "extra" 55 people decide they want to attend?
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clairebear210 said:
Wait... So they accepted 55 more people than the class actually fits? What happens if those "extra" 55 people decide they want to attend?
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I believe, and I'm not sure, that when I applied it was basically a first come first serve for those 105. As in, they accept 160, and all 160 choose to come here, only the first 105 to accept their offer truly get in. Does that make sense?
 
Rwwilliams said:
I believe, and I'm not sure, that when I applied it was basically a first come first serve for those 105. As in, they accept 160, and all 160 choose to come here, only the first 105 to accept their offer truly get in. Does that make sense?
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What Rwwilliams said is exactly my understanding of the situation. Western emphasized that it was unlikely that an accepted student would be turned away because the class is full, but there have been years when virtually nobody came off the waitlist, so it must have been a close call. The admissions office at Western, as at all other schools, plays the statistics game when deciding how many offers to send out. They can't expand the class to 160, obviously, and they expect that 60 or more accepted students won't take them up on their offer. But there are no guarantees, and each year is different.
 
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I was also confused about the whole acceptance deadline last year since I was torn between schools. I spoke to Karen in admissions about it when I was accepted and she made it clear that if they were to accept admitted students on a first come first serve basis, they would be in violation of the AAVMC's policy of the April 15th deadline. Basically everyone that has been accepted is guaranteed a place in the class so long as they send in their deposit before the deadline. They cannot pressure you into sending your deposit early and making your final decision. If 160 students were to accept their offer of admission, then 160 students would be attending come Fall 2014 I guess, since she did mention that they did have a plan in place if this happened. Of course this is highly unlikely. I complained about the wording, but I guess they didn't change it. Anywho, good luck to everyone admitted and on the waitlist. WesternU is an amazing school and I am very happy with my decision to attend.
 
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From the 2017 thread:
"Afternoon, Future DVMs!

Please remember that AAVMC requires all participating institutions to not require a decision from accepted students prior to April 15th. AAVMC has a policy regarding the deadline and asks that students pressured to respond before the deadline to contact the Association. We will not cash your deposit until close of business on April 15, 2013. After 5:00 p.m. PDT the tuition deposit may no longer be returned to you should you chose to withdraw. As explained in our accept letter, "The CVM routinely issues invitations to more candidates than seats allotted. This is in response to the common practice of applicants applying to multiple institutions. In the unprecedented event that the number of acceptances significantly exceeds the College’s resources, confirmation of your seat will be provided after receipt of your written acceptance and deposit on a first come first served basis AFTER April 16, 2013 [emphasis is my own]. Therefore, you are encouraged to make your decision and secure your seat in the class as soon as possible." You are encouraged, not required. We have never in the history of the college seen the number of acceptances exceed the College's resources. The College is prepared to address that issue if it arises.

For those in the alternate pool, there is still a possibility that you may be offered a seat in the class. I can tell you that no offers will be sent out prior to the April 15th deadline. After the deadline has passed the College will assess how many seats, if any, are available. If there are seats available, the College will review the candidates in the alternate pool and select candidates to fill the open seats. This will continue until the Friday of orientation week (August 9th). "

Basically, if you get off the waitlist, you should make your decision quickly because those seats are made on a first come, first serve basis. And yes, they continue to go through the alternate pool to the very end. One of our classmates was accepted one week before orientation.
 
idigapony70 said:
Basically, if you get off the waitlist, you should make your decision quickly because those seats are made on a first come, first serve basis. And yes, they continue to go through the alternate pool to the very end. One of our classmates was accepted one week before orientation.
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Yeah, one of our classmates found out right beforehand and still accepted her offer and made it here. On the other hand, some guy also got accepted to Penn during orientation week, picked up, and left. So, definitely make sure you have your ducks in a row no matter which school you're waiting on.
Although the university is prepped to handle a class of 105, there are bigger classes here due to remediation and students failing -- or so I hear.
 
Rwwilliams said:
No idea how expensive it'll be since the other places near campus like the Helix and the Met are really expensive. Definitely shop around for where you want to live and determine what amenities you'll trade for increased/decreased rent. I got a great deal on my house where I pay $570 a month and share a 4 bd/3ba with three other girls but I really didn't want to live in a house with other people. Unfortunately, if I didn't go this route, my rent would most likely be at least $700 a month, and that's not including pet deposits or an increased monthly fee to keep my dog there.
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While The Helix seems to be a bit steep initially, it is not much more than the overall costs associated with living away from the immediate campus area. Rent here, for sharing a 2 bedroom apartment, is $800 or $780 per person depending on if you have a balcony included. Back home I would have cried over that but for the location and overall quality of the apartments compared to many around here, it could be much worse. This price includes cable TV (With Showtime), internet, parking pass for Helix spots, garbage disposal, and recycling. Also take in to account that there is no driving to campus to deal with so gas is not even a concern and neither is wear and tear on your vehicle so that alone should save a person over $100 a month. The apartments are well insulated and electric is usually around $20-30 a month total.

While there is the initial pet deposit, pets are permitted including many dog breeds on 'banned' lists. The landlord is very helpful and will bend over backwards to help with any problem you have and can be available at most times. The maintenance personnel is also amazing and any problem or concern is usually corrected within a couple hours (often immediately) and even includes the basics such as replacement of lightbulbs. Overall they have far exceeded my expectations and continue to do so often.

I guess now that my spiel is over...anyone looking to live near campus feel free to PM. I will be looking for a new roommate in a few months. Bonus: I will often be gone for rotations so it will be like living by yourself part time for half the price of a private apartment. lol
 
Congratulations to those who were accepted.

Has a 2018 Facebook bake been established yet?
 
LilWickedJester said:
While The Helix seems to be a bit steep initially, it is not much more than the overall costs associated with living away from the immediate campus area. Rent here, for sharing a 2 bedroom apartment, is $800 or $780 per person depending on if you have a balcony included. Back home I would have cried over that but for the location and overall quality of the apartments compared to many around here, it could be much worse. This price includes cable TV (With Showtime), internet, parking pass for Helix spots, garbage disposal, and recycling. Also take in to account that there is no driving to campus to deal with so gas is not even a concern and neither is wear and tear on your vehicle so that alone should save a person over $100 a month. The apartments are well insulated and electric is usually around $20-30 a month total.

While there is the initial pet deposit, pets are permitted including many dog breeds on 'banned' lists. The landlord is very helpful and will bend over backwards to help with any problem you have and can be available at most times. The maintenance personnel is also amazing and any problem or concern is usually corrected within a couple hours (often immediately) and even includes the basics such as replacement of lightbulbs. Overall they have far exceeded my expectations and continue to do so often.

I guess now that my spiel is over...anyone looking to live near campus feel free to PM. I will be looking for a new roommate in a few months. Bonus: I will often be gone for rotations so it will be like living by yourself part time for half the price of a private apartment. lol
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My main experience with the Helix is that it usually only houses first years (people generally move out after the first year for various reasons). I got a great deal with my house, so I'm a little biased and cheap ;) I pay the $570 a month and my utilities last month (water, gas, trash, electricity) were $30 and then internet was $12.50. Anyone looking for housing should definitely shop around, because I certainly had places try to gouge me and tell me that's just how it is in California.
 
So for those who accepted a seat in the 2018 class at Western, here is the link to our facebook group :) There are only 2 of us so far cuz the page is a little hard to find. Figured I would post it here and see if that helps! Can't wait to meet all of you

https://www.facebook.com/groups/456005811166816/
 
It was weird, on WesternU's main page (where I found the link to the group) it said you did need one but then it never asked me to enter it...maybe cuz I made a new fb profile with my western u email?? Not too sure
 
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Rwwilliams said:
Nope, just a FB page. I don't have my Facebook linked with my WesternU email and I joined just fine :)
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well I checked and it looks like you need one(western email) to join the WesternU community (which is a closed group) but the class of 2018 group is open, so if you are already signed into the WesternU community, you can join. Lol its probably for the best anyway.... I was gonna join, and get to know all you cool peeps and then bow out of the group if I didn't get pulled off the waitlist. But its probably better that I don't my hopes up and just wait to see how this all plays out haha
 
For current Western U students and those that were recently admitted:

How are you all handling the overwhelming cost of tuition at Western U? Calculating the costs and what my average debt/monthly payments would be upon completion of the program honestly paralyzes me. I talked to someone in financial aid and she said that the average debt of a DVM student from Western is $322,000. Using financial estimations our monthly payments could be upwards of $4000/month to pay this off in 10 years! With the small salary that vets make, I really don't know how this is feasible. Even with income based repayment programs you are expect to pay income tax on the forgiven amount which could cost you $125,000 in taxes at ONE time!

Financing this dream seems truly impossibly. I am really wanting to hear from others who have done this or who are planning on doing this. So stressful! :(
 
LoveBug2020 said:
For current Western U students and those that were recently admitted:

How are you all handling the overwhelming cost of tuition at Western U? Calculating the costs and what my average debt/monthly payments would be upon completion of the program honestly paralyzes me. I talked to someone in financial aid and she said that the average debt of a DVM student from Western is $322,000. Using financial estimations our monthly payments could be upwards of $4000/month to pay this off in 10 years! With the small salary that vets make, I really don't know how this is feasible. Even with income based repayment programs you are expect to pay income tax on the forgiven amount which could cost you $125,000 in taxes at ONE time!

Financing this dream seems truly impossibly. I am really wanting to hear from others who have done this or who are planning on doing this. So stressful! :(
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I will be doing PAYE, if I can qualify. I've looked into the HPSP scholarship, but that's just not me. WesternU offers scholarships, so apply for those. Do research over the summer and get a grant to help with costs. I'm hoping my boyfriend will become my spouse and help with costs. Don't forget that your interest doesn't capitalize while you're in school or if you do IBR/PAYE. You can also do PSLF, although that's not an option for me personally. I'm working over every break I get: Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, summer.
WesternU is not the most expensive school out there, when you factor in cost of living and everything else. I went to the pre-vet symposium at UF last year and some guy was giving out a great breakdown of all those costs and I was pleasantly surprised to not find WesternU at the top :)
The fact is that the loan to salary ratio is ridiculous no matter what school you go to and you have to ask yourself whether or not all the hassle is worth it. Part of the high debt they quote you for WesternU is because of your fourth year. Third and fourth year are your clinical years and you can go pretty much anywhere you want, except for some core rotations. Third year it's more strict, and they pay for housing and transport. Fourth year, it's up to you, if you can get it approved, and they don't pay for housing or transport. A lot of people use that time to travel everywhere, but I will be doing is rotating where I want to get a job and hopefully living with my parents or friends in the area to keep my costs down.
 
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Rwwilliams said:
I will be doing PAYE, if I can qualify. I've looked into the HPSP scholarship, but that's just not me. WesternU offers scholarships, so apply for those. Do research over the summer and get a grant to help with costs. I'm hoping my boyfriend will become my spouse and help with costs. Don't forget that your interest doesn't capitalize while you're in school or if you do IBR/PAYE. You can also do PSLF, although that's not an option for me personally. I'm working over every break I get: Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, summer.
WesternU is not the most expensive school out there, when you factor in cost of living and everything else. I went to the pre-vet symposium at UF last year and some guy was giving out a great breakdown of all those costs and I was pleasantly surprised to not find WesternU at the top :)
The fact is that the loan to salary ratio is ridiculous no matter what school you go to and you have to ask yourself whether or not all the hassle is worth it. Part of the high debt they quote you for WesternU is because of your fourth year. Third and fourth year are your clinical years and you can go pretty much anywhere you want, except for some core rotations. Third year it's more strict, and they pay for housing and transport. Fourth year, it's up to you, if you can get it approved, and they don't pay for housing or transport. A lot of people use that time to travel everywhere, but I will be doing is rotating where I want to get a job and hopefully living with my parents or friends in the area to keep my costs down.
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Thanks for your input! Isn't it true that graduate students only qualify for unsubsidized loans and therefore, interest accumulates while we're in school? If you do IBR I think they don't capitalize your interest but that's only post-graduation right? You must know something I don't know! Also, does Western pay for your fourth year housing/transport if you stay in the area? Or they just don't pay anything no matter what you do?

If I did go I would also plan on living at home but I'd have to drive almost an hour every day to school. Boo. Trying to figure out every way to limit the amount of loans I take out.
 
LoveBug2020 said:
Thanks for your input! Isn't it true that graduate students only qualify for unsubsidized loans and therefore, interest accumulates while we're in school? If you do IBR I think they don't capitalize your interest but that's only post-graduation right? You must know something I don't know! Also, does Western pay for your fourth year housing/transport if you stay in the area? Or they just don't pay anything no matter what you do?

If I did go I would also plan on living at home but I'd have to drive almost an hour every day to school. Boo. Trying to figure out every way to limit the amount of loans I take out.
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Graduate students only qualify for unsubsidized loans and interest will accumulate while you're in school. I have about $1000 in interest after my first semester. So, what I recently learned is that it doesn't capitalize while you're in school or if you're doing IBR or PAYE. I don't know how true that is, I heard it from another student and I'm working on verifying it. WesternU, as far as I know, will not pay for anything for fourth year, regardless.
A couple people drive from Norco or farther for school since they live at home, so it's doable!
 
Hey guys! Anyone make any final decisions on Western yet? It's been a little quiet here:sleep:
 
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In regards to alternates, how serious is the 24 hour deadline after being offered admission to send in immunization docs, etc.? How likely are they to rescind their offer if documents aren't immediately sent in?
 
Hey it would be nice if those of you who decided to confirm your attendance would post in the Official attendance decisions thread, as a waitlister it would be cool to see who plans on attending western :)
 
Cuabbo said:
In regards to alternates, how serious is the 24 hour deadline after being offered admission to send in immunization docs, etc.? How likely are they to rescind their offer if documents aren't immediately sent in?
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I was wondering the same thing...where did you get the 24 hour part from? Did they mention that in that email they just sent out or something?
 
I plan on giving up my seat, as I got into Penn, so hopefully it goes to one of you guys on here! Good luck to everyone still waiting! And congrats to those who have been accepted! :)
 
hello! in response to the immunization docs: accepted students have until june 1st to send in everything. i would therefore assume that if you are an alternate and offered a spot prior to june 1st, you should have until june 1st to submit everything, just like the accepted students. however, i guess if you are offered a spot after june 1st, you must submit everything within 24hrs????? just my 2 cents here :idea:
 
DoctorToby said:
I was wondering the same thing...where did you get the 24 hour part from? Did they mention that in that email they just sent out or something?
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The admissions counselors should be able to answer these questions if you email them. The deadline for the medical documents wasn't clear to me in the email they sent out, and I couldn't find info in that booklet we got during interviews... I think they talked about it in one of the presentations, but I didn't write down any dates or anything.
 
Anyone know if there's a FB group created yet for the Class of 2018? If not, this is me volunteering to create one! Let me know!
 
Thanks! Wasn't popping up for me when I searched earlier. See you there!

Edit: I didn't know this before but for anyone looking to join the group, you have to first join Western U's group using your WesternU email, then find the DVM Class of 2018 page...or just use the link in the post above!
 
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Still crossing fingers for Western. >< April 15th can't come fast enough!
 
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I just spoke with Jay Rosa regarding the alternate pool. This year was really competitive and 90 out of 105 seats have been filled. According to the email sent in February, they won't be offering the available seats until April 21st.
 
Thank you for making that difficult call!
 
southernred said:
I just spoke with Jay Rosa regarding the alternate pool. This year was really competitive and 90 out of 105 seats have been filled. According to the email sent in February, they won't be offering the available seats until April 21st.
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Keep your hopes up! I know some people are waiting to get off the alt list at other schools! If that happens there's a few more seats!
 
southernred said:
I just spoke with Jay Rosa regarding the alternate pool. This year was really competitive and 90 out of 105 seats have been filled. According to the email sent in February, they won't be offering the available seats until April 21st.
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Thanks for the info. I wanted to add that when I emailed him a couple months ago, Jay said there were ~180 people on their alternates list.
 
Yikes. Odds are not good :( Fingers crossed and thanks for the updates.
 
Per Jay Rosa, the 2014 entering class is full. No alternates were needed to fill the class :(
 
Ahh I'm so sad :(

I know some spots may become available as the accepted students move from waiting lists of other schools, but I don't want to get my hopes up :(

For those on the waiting list, are you guys willing to go through with the health clearance procedures in the case you get accepted? It doesn't seem to be cheap nor a quick process.
 
Eh I thought about it but I think I'd rather spend my efforts on getting ready and preparing for the next cycle. Even if I do all the health clearance stuff, I'd have to do them all again next year if I were to get in.
 
jixwonxee said:
Ahh I'm so sad :(

I know some spots may become available as the accepted students move from waiting lists of other schools, but I don't want to get my hopes up :(
.
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I know how you feel, this was the one that really stung to be put on the waitlist. Although I was disappointed that they did not send out a mass email and let all the waitlisters know a status update..... a few other schools sent out periodic updates for waitlisters. They could have at least let everyone know the class was full. -_- I had to squeeze that question into an email concerning something else, hoping they would give me answers, and thats how i found out.
 
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hmmm, if you check out the western u dvm admissions facebook page, it says they are currently going through the alternate list to fill available seats! :)
 
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Currently in the Alternate Pool?

Alternates are currently being considered for available seats in the class. There is no need to contact the Admissions Office as we cannot provide your chances of gaining an offer or where you are at in the pool (remember it is not ranked or numbered). We wish everyone remaining in the alternate pool the best of luck.

Your Admissions Team
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This is from the Western University of Health Sciences DVM Admissions Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/DVMAdmissionsWesternU

I'm confused with the mixed messages. Do they actually have open seats? Or are they "selecting" alternates in the likely event that some people will give up seats. :( Stop playing with my heart Western!
 
jixwonxee said:
This is from the Western University of Health Sciences DVM Admissions Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/DVMAdmissionsWesternU

I'm confused with the mixed messages. Do they actually have open seats? Or are they "selecting" alternates in the likely event that some people will give up seats. :( Stop playing with my heart Western!
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I don't think there's a mixed message... Sounds like there are available seats and they're re-evaluating people in the alternate pool to fill them... Since it's not ranked, they can't just go down a list. If I recall, someone on here said that they try to find a replacement with similar characteristics as the student giving up a seat... Good luck! I'm sure the wait is agonizing! :-/
 
Seriously Western, stop playing with us! I swear when I spoke to Jay, it sounded like a done deal. Ah I just don't know!
 
Lol I had my file review right before that post was made on their facebook page lol I wish I could have seen that before so I could ask questions about how many seats are vacant
 
LoveBug2020 said:
For current Western U students and those that were recently admitted:

How are you all handling the overwhelming cost of tuition at Western U? Calculating the costs and what my average debt/monthly payments would be upon completion of the program honestly paralyzes me. I talked to someone in financial aid and she said that the average debt of a DVM student from Western is $322,000. Using financial estimations our monthly payments could be upwards of $4000/month to pay this off in 10 years! With the small salary that vets make, I really don't know how this is feasible. Even with income based repayment programs you are expect to pay income tax on the forgiven amount which could cost you $125,000 in taxes at ONE time!

Financing this dream seems truly impossibly. I am really wanting to hear from others who have done this or who are planning on doing this. So stressful! :(
Click to expand...

ARMY!
 
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Just wanted to update and say I received my acceptance off the waitlist today :) keep the faith!! I think it just took them forever to select people because their list isn't ranked...
 
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I'm so happy for you stormhawk27!! Were you contacted via email?
 
jixwonxee said:
I'm so happy for you stormhawk27!! Were you contacted via email?
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Yep, they sent it via e-mail. The header was "Western U DVM Application Status". Hopefully this means more people will be getting e-mails in the next few days!
 
I received my acceptance off the waitlist via email yesterday :) for those of you who are on the waitlist, have hope! The list is still moving!
 
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It's been pretty quiet over here for a while. I wonder if they're going to accept any more alternates.
 
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