3 or 4 Years of Undergrad?

[maxride14]

Hello everyone! I'm still going back and forth on this, but I realized this would be a way to get some great opinions on this. I'm about to be a undergrad sophomore, and I am fortunate to be an early acceptance program so I will be attending the veterinary school at the university I currently attend. Right now, I'm debating about whether graduating early or staying for four years before vet school. I already asked, I cannot take a gap year if I graduate a year before matriculating, and only a few are approved for graduating a semester early to earn more money or gain more experience. I have the credits to graduate early; however, it would limit my time to take classes outside of my major that interest me, such as business. It seems doable despite being slightly more of a grind. However, what I'm most concerned about is losing out on a year I wouldn't be able to go back to. I enjoy the life that undergrad has brought me, and I'm worried that I'll regret deciding to miss out even if it means I'm saving some money in the long run. For context, I expect to be in about 160k in debt after vet school, and one year of undergrad is about 21k. Everyone always says these are the 4 best years you never get back and I have the rest of my life to work, but it also would be nice to start working as a veterinarian one year earlier. I've been really paranoid about debt from the getgo, but now I'm really torn on what to do. Luckily, I have at least another semester to decide, and I might just stay on the 3 year track as long as possible until I figure out what I want to do. I would really appreciate hearing any input you all might have! Thank you so much! I hope I put this in the right section of the forum, if not please let me know what I can do to make it right

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[JaynaAli]

If you’re paying for undergrad (or your parents or someone else footing the bill), I’d skip your “senior” year and just move on to vet school in order to save money in the long run. 21k is a down payment in a house or a new car in the future. If your undergrad is paid for by scholarships and waiting a year won’t cost you a dime, I think waiting is fine if you want another year to live it up as an undergrad. But I don’t think adding to your debt is wise.

I was in an early admit program and personally did undergrad in three years. I technically met (or could have met) requirements to graduate after my junior year, but my school had a 3+1 program where your first year of vet school “covered” requirements for your senior year of an animal science degree. because I was technically a concurrent AnSci undergrad and a vet student, I was still eligible to receive an animal science department scholarship my “4th yr of undergrad” aka first year of vet school. A couple thousand dollars here and there helps. Also, I had received a 4 year tuition waiver based upon my ACT score and was also able to talk to the regents for higher education and because I had a four year scholarship and was in that 3+1 program, the scholarship paid part of my vet school tuition because of this scholarship. Undergrad courses are cheaper than vet school courses, but it paid like 75% if my tuition that year. Obviously this may not apply to everyone’s situation if your school doesn’t do this 3+1 thing, but I’m giving this as an example of why I chose to start vet school after 3 years…it made financial sense. Set yourself up for success if you can.

 

[lis1127]

I think in the end it's really going to come down to your own preferences.

I was fortunate enough to have my entire undergrad covered, so I didn't have to worry about costs and actually took on a second degree. However, if I had to go back in time and was given the choice to choose between 3 years and 4 years, I would always choose to take 4 years. Having an extra year allowed me to pursue more of my passions and interests. I was able to pursue research with a vet school (lol it was quite the drive to make almost everyday though), which actually turned into my senior thesis, which in turn actually helped me rediscover my love for research but in veterinary medicine specifically (I had done human medicine research before and wasn't very excited by it) and helped me discover a potential career path. I became president of a club that I absolutely loved and was extremely invested in. It also gave me an opportunity to take classes that I was hugely interested in, gain more experience in clinics (since I worked full-time and went to school full time), and spend more time with lots of my friends. And some people might not see this as an incredibly important aspect, but I also was able to participate in all of the fun and traditional grad things with my friends (i.e. attending degree ceremonies and commencement with friends, taking grad photos with friends, celebrating, etc.) because all of my friends also chose to take the more traditional 4-year route.

Obviously, your situation is different than mine because there is the financial concern, but one thing that I have always been told ever since I was little is that you will be presented with a lot of times in life when time will be more valuable than money. Take this into consideration when you're deciding what to do and just consider that if you do choose to graduate in 3 years instead of 4, then you will never be able to go back and take that 4th year.

Again, this decision is going to be extremely personal. It all depends on how worried you are about loans, how much you've been enjoying undergrad so far, what classes you still want to take, what opportunities you still want to pursue, what your friends will be doing, and etc. Best of luck in making your decision!

 

[Georgethecat]

Is the 160k debt just for vet school or does it include undergrad? Agree with JaynaAli that saving 21k is saving "real" money. Saving 21k + earning 100k or more a year earlier adds up. You'd still be at the same school/city and will still be able to see your undergrad friends etc.

The exception for me would be if the extra course load jeopardizes your grades and puts you in jeopardy of losing your early acceptance to vet school.

 

[maxride14]

Is the 160k debt just for vet school or does it include undergrad? Agree with JaynaAli that saving 21k is saving "real" money. Saving 21k + earning 100k or more a year earlier adds up. You'd still be at the same school/city and will still be able to see your undergrad friends etc.

The exception for me would be if the extra course load jeopardizes your grades and puts you in jeopardy of losing your early acceptance to vet school.

It includes both vet and undergrad. I don't anticipate those extra courses losing my spot, but I definitely like the idea of potentially leaving myself open to taking courses that I enjoy even if they aren't requirements to my major.

Thank you all for your advice! If it adds any more clarity, I basically have a college savings fund meant for both undergrad and vet school; when it runs out, whatever debt I have is what I'll have to deal with. It's part of the reason why I picked the undergrad school I did, since I have scholarships that will leave me to cover a little of vet school, but ultimately not enough to graduate fully debt free as a veterinarian. Again, thank you for your advice so far, I'll be taking it into consideration for the next couple of months as I figure out what'll be best for my situation

 

[SocialStigma]

I got into vet school after 3 years of undergrad and have no regrets. I knew I wanted to specialize though and that I would have at least another 4 years of internship/residency afterwards, so I just wanted to expedite the process as much as possible.

 

[Polocrosse2017]

I was early admit and did it in three years. Didn't see a downside for me. Since I plan on doing internship and residency I'm glad for the one year shorter and my parents were happy for one year less tuition. I'm in my 4th year of vet school now and have never regretted my decision. By the end of my third year undergrad I was ready to move on!

 

[maxride14]

I got into vet school after 3 years of undergrad and have no regrets. I knew I wanted to specialize though and that I would have at least another 4 years of internship/residency afterwards, so I just wanted to expedite the process as much as possible.

I was early admit and did it in three years. Didn't see a downside for me. Since I plan on doing internship and residency I'm glad for the one year shorter and my parents were happy for one year less tuition. I'm in my 4th year of vet school now and have never regretted my decision. By the end of my third year undergrad I was ready to move on!

Thank you both! I'm currently undecided about residency. My dream is to own a clinic or dabble in the business administration side, although I have a hard time envisioning it happening with the amount of debt I'll inevitably have in the way. If that weren't to happen, then I'd definitely want to specialize in something, and either way I'd be better off saving money and time. Right now it seems like a waste if I don't use the credits I brought into college for an advantage just to extend my undergrad time. I'd probably be kicking myself everyday for it anyways lol.