Accepted to multiple schools...how to choose?

[HopefulAg]

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I don't think Glasgow could compete with California in cost of living. In California a 1,000 square foot house is like, $1.5 mil.


Oh and to answer the OP: I bought a dartboard.

Well, actually, I did this:

Go to your IS school and save money.

 

[breenie]

Attached is the list the program I'm in compiled a bit back - tuition rates are from 2010, I think, but the residency stuff is reasonably accurate. "Possible" generally just means that there are a pretty big amount of hoops to jump through, but you're not locked in as an OOS student from the get-go. As always, though, take everything with a grain of salt and contact the schools you're applying to!

(And yes, geographically Raleigh is pretty awesome. 😀)

Just wanted to chime in that Mizzou will give in state after one year if you jump through some little hoops (get a driver's license, make $2000, stay there for the summer). I saw it marked as no.

 

[sumstorm]

Starting over Vet, we had the same lecture from a Wachovia/Wells Fargo rep last year who specialized in vet loans. What amazed me was in ours he suggested all students should have life insurance to pay off their student loans in case they died. That is a fallacy, so that made me start questioning some of the other things he said. I asked if he could state that none of the vet med loans had been refused in the last year due to student loan debt. He told me he could not say that. At least one other speaker we have had (who specializes in vet business consulting and is a DVM) has said they have seen student loans impact business loans, and that the shortfalls in the first year tend to be crippling, that he can point to quite a few vets that have racked up credit card debt trying to cover those unpredicted shortfalls.

I guess I have trusted the consultant more, who doesn't have any investment in having me pursue a loan from him in the future. Then again, he also has helped me go over my resume, sent me some connections for externships, and reviewed my initial business plan (including utilizing the funds from my current business to set up a buffer for a future business.) So I might be biased to trusting him.

But, as always, milage may vary. I'm looking forward to someday putting my current business to bed and moving on to a veterinary practice. We're doing a west coast trip this summer to investigate potential future relocations, meet some folks that I might do externships with, and generally get a feel for the area.

 

[awaring1]

Is that taking into account room and board? Because that can easily be two or three times as expensive* overseas, never mind the costs of flights home ($600 round trip in off-season, $1500 in summer).

*as living in Wisconsin, which is cheap.

I have compared COL with some other schools I have a chance to get into in the US and Glasgow is about the same. At the presentation for Glasgow there was a figure casually mentioned for US students for COL and I think they said 20,000/year. That has to be wrong. I am assuming I misheard. From what I have seen with my own investigations it is surprisingly cheap for being such an urban area.

I have heard that Dublin is pretty expensive to live in so that could be an issue.

I also applied to Madison, but I do not expect to be accepted (meh stats and OOS). I would be like 😱 and then 😀 because it is so cheap (and from what I have heard Madison in an awesome city).

 

[Trilt]

Just wanted to chime in that Mizzou will give in state after one year if you jump through some little hoops (get a driver's license, make $2000, stay there for the summer). I saw it marked as no.

Will update it!

 

[sumstorm]

Glasgow seems cheaper overall, but does that extra year make a big difference? That would be another year of me not working (to pay off loans) and would interest rates be collected over that 5th year?

I didn't have to deal with this for vet school (NCSU is a great IS option) but I did have to deal with this for UG.

I made a chart out of the options I was considering, literally looking at the predicted costs for each year. Remember that some schools require a summer of attendance as well, which might up the cost. I used generic COL books (the web wasnt' quite so developed) but backed those numbers up by searching for rentals and looking at grocery flyers (was more of a pain then because we basicly ordered newspapers from the cities I was considering.) It really helped me figure out what the best option was for me, and what sacrifices I'd have to make for different options (ie a school farther away meant I had to fly instead of drive when I did come home, and working options were different in various places.)

I don't have an answer to the 5 year situation, but I'd think the fin aid department of the school should be able to answer that. My understanding is that you don't pay back while enrolled as a FT student.

If you know anyone into accounting, you might ask them to walk through it, because an additional year also represents a lost oppurtunity cost (ie you won't be earning money for that year) along with the additional housing costs. And don't forget to note the exchanges and be aware of the potential for exchange fluctuations.

 

[twelvetigers]

Also, trilt, OKSU is more like

IS - $13,010.62 (per year)

OOS - $31,149.68 (per year)

Just sayin'.

 

[projekt]

What amazed me was in ours he suggested all students should have life insurance to pay off their student loans in case they died.

You're right that federal student loans will be discharged, but that is not necessarily true for all student loans. Some student loans may be under the parents' name, some may be non-federal loans that become incumbent on the spouse.

It's best to check out everything a financial salesman has to say.

 

[Trilt]

Also, trilt, OKSU is more like

IS - $13,010.62 (per year)

OOS - $31,149.68 (per year)

Just sayin'.

Haha, that one's someone else's fault - I'm only responsible for the residency stuff. But updated, and I'll stop completely derailing this thread now...

 

[Pelagia]

Thanks, Breenie! NCSU, eh? Mountains AND beaches? Yes, please! I think you can commiserate with my desire to get out of Dairyland ;O)

Here's the text straight from an email I got from NCSU last week:

"Class of 2011: 18 non-residents accepted, 18 obtained NC residency

Class of 2012: 18 non-residents accepted, 16 obtained NC residency; 2 students haven’t applied to change residency status

Class of 2013: 18 non-residents accepted, 17 obtained NC residency; 1 student hasn’t applied to change residency status

Class of 2014: 18 non-residents accepted, not eligible to apply for residency until 06/01/2011"

As the numbers show, pretty much everyone who applies for residency gets it. They will walk us through the whole thing, and even provide a lawyer to help us out. As an OOS member of the c/o 2015, this makes me very, very happy. 🙂

And check out the tuition:

http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/studentservices/money.html

~35K OOS, and then ~12K for IS. Pretty sweet for vet school.

 

[awaring1]

Here's the text straight from an email I got from NCSU last week:

"Class of 2011: 18 non-residents accepted, 18 obtained NC residency

Class of 2012: 18 non-residents accepted, 16 obtained NC residency; 2 students haven’t applied to change residency status

Class of 2013: 18 non-residents accepted, 17 obtained NC residency; 1 student hasn’t applied to change residency status

Class of 2014: 18 non-residents accepted, not eligible to apply for residency until 06/01/2011"

As the numbers show, pretty much everyone who applies for residency gets it. They will walk us through the whole thing, and even provide a lawyer to help us out. As an OOS member of the c/o 2015, this makes me very, very happy. 🙂

And check out the tuition:

http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/studentservices/money.html

~35K OOS, and then ~12K for IS. Pretty sweet for vet school.

That is so cool that they are so willing to help you! Sometimes I feel like vet schools specifically deter you from it so they can get more money. I am proved wrong! 👍

 

[sumstorm]

You're right that federal student loans will be discharged, but that is not necessarily true for all student loans. Some student loans may be under the parents' name, some may be non-federal loans that become incumbent on the spouse.

It's best to check out everything a financial salesman has to say.

I should have clarified that we did ask if he was referring to federal loans (particularly Directs).

 

[jl123]

hi everyone!
from reading this thread it seems like cost was the #1 motivation to choose a specific school for many people.

i just want to see if there's anyone out there who had to make a decision about which school to attend where money wasn't the issue. i'm not IS anywhere, so it looks like my yearly debt is going to be ~65-70k no matter what. i know i'm lucky to even have this predicament of choosing schools but i really want to hear how others in a similar situation made their final school decisions and what were the main factors that influenced them!


i'd appreciate anything you might like to share, thanks!

 

[Minnerbelle]

hi everyone!
from reading this thread it seems like cost was the #1 motivation to choose a specific school for many people.

i just want to see if there's anyone out there who had to make a decision about which school to attend where money wasn't the issue. i'm not IS anywhere, so it looks like my yearly debt is going to be ~65-70k no matter what. i know i'm lucky to even have this predicament of choosing schools but i really want to hear how others in a similar situation made their final school decisions and what were the main factors that influenced them!

thar be me (thanks so much MA for forsaking me!). i figured that the quality of education would be similar in all the schools, so i looked into things that were personal to me. one school was near my boyfriend. one school was near my parrots in foster care (this was the biggest contributor). one school was in a city that really sucked, and i knew people in the school/city that i despised. a couple schools had good shelter med opportunities, whereas one had a really crappy one. one had a great research group i wanted to join. a couple of the schools had a more relaxing atmosphere, etc...

overall, i ended up choosing based on where i thought i'd be "happiest" and have the most opportunities in the particular fields i was interested in.

 

[StartingoverVet]

thar be me (thanks so much MA for forsaking me!). i figured that the quality of education would be similar in all the schools, so i looked into things that were personal to me. one school was near my boyfriend. one school was near my parrots in foster care (this was the biggest contributor). one school was in a city that really sucked, and i knew people in the school/city that i despised. a couple schools had good shelter med opportunities, whereas one had a really crappy one. one had a great research group i wanted to join. a couple of the schools had a more relaxing atmosphere, etc...

overall, i ended up choosing based on where i thought i'd be "happiest" and have the most opportunities in the particular fields i was interested in.

👍 Mostly this!

I would add that the curriculum structure is quite different at many schools and if you have an opinion on what is best for you, that can be a factor.

Location and lifestyle are definitely worth thinking about. You do have time outside of school and you want to see how hard it is to do the things you like whether they are fishing, drinking, knitting, going to see opera, or tipping sheep!

Also, considered weather a little. <Sorry Tufts! >

Also considered reputation (and a ton of people will say reputation doesn't matter, all schools make good vets... blah blah blah. Whatever. I considered it, just didn't make it the top consideration).

Ultimately, I too considered a lot of factors and went where i thought i'd be "happiest". In the end it came down to a better feeling from the place from my interview and the location that had a better more convenient opportunity for my wife as well.

 

[Pelagia]

hi everyone!
from reading this thread it seems like cost was the #1 motivation to choose a specific school for many people.

i just want to see if there's anyone out there who had to make a decision about which school to attend where money wasn't the issue. i'm not IS anywhere, so it looks like my yearly debt is going to be ~65-70k no matter what. i know i'm lucky to even have this predicament of choosing schools but i really want to hear how others in a similar situation made their final school decisions and what were the main factors that influenced them!


i'd appreciate anything you might like to share, thanks!

So, yes, I was also OOS for all of my schools (I chose not to apply to my IS school), and so when I was considering schools that were roughly the same price (and all of which allow you to apply for residency after the first year), I used a few things to decide. The number one thing was how comfortable I felt at the school, and what the sense of community was like. You're gonna spend a tooon of time in school, so you've got to make sure you feel like you can belong in that community. I thought the three schools actually tied in that respect. The students and staff at all of them were quite supportive, warm and friendly. So the next thing I considered was the program. Mizzou has that really cool 2+2 program, which was definitely a unique factor. I knew, though, that I wanted a school that had avians/exotics courses offered there at the school since that's something I'm really interested in. Not all of the schools I was considering had that, but NCSU did. I really liked the idea of selectives at NCSU. Another thing I thought about was the class size. At the schools I was considering, the class sizes were 140, 100, and 80. This is not to knock the larger class sizes (after all, I was strongly considering going to those schools!), but I personally wanted a smaller class size, having come from a very large undergrad institution and wanting something different.

I also considered the location of the school itself. I've always lived in big cities, and while I'm definitely ready for a little more greenery in my life, I tried envisioning myself in a very tiny town for 4 years, and the thought wasn't making me happy. Plus, I'm married, so I wanted to pick somewhere large enough where my hubby would have good job prospects.

Obviously, I visited each school, and each visit was invaluable in helping me get a more clear idea of what it would be like to attend each school. In the end, I was still in love with all three schools, but I chose NCSU because I loved it the most, and it amazingly satisfied all of my criteria (cost, residency, program features, class size, city), whereas the other schools did not. I'm very happy with my choice, and I am absolutely confident that I made the right decision for me.

 

[NittanyKitty]

one school was near my boyfriend. one school was near my parrots in foster care (this was the biggest contributor).

Only in this company could you say this order of importance and have no one bat an eye. Love it! 😀

 

[sumstorm]

i just want to see if there's anyone out there who had to make a decision about which school to attend where money wasn't the issue. i'm not IS anywhere, so it looks like my yearly debt is going to be ~65-70k no matter what. i know i'm lucky to even have this predicament of choosing schools but i really want to hear how others in a similar situation made their final school decisions and what were the main factors that influenced them!

Even if every school is OOS, cost can be a huge consideration. Going to a school that allows IS after Y1 and has a very cheap IS cost + a low cost of living can have a huge impact. And cost =/= quality, since the cheapest IS vet school is in the top 5 rank wise (I personally don't think an extra couple of ranks is worth 4x the tuition, or a single rank is worth 5.5x tuition, but I've always been cost sensitive.)

If price was no obstacle (ie someone said "I am gifting you the cost of 4 years of vet education in the US, all expenses paid" and none of it would come out of my pocket, not just that we had ample funds to cover it) I would look at the methods used in teaching.

I would go for a PBL first, and with a well integrated program where professors aren't teaching over each other (ie embryology is taught in conjunction with anatomy or as a part of anatomy, but not half-baked in anatomy as well as later, in embryology). That way I could learn less material per class, but have a greater focus on the material presented. I'd also go for professors that are technologically competent, but don't read off PPT slides at a rate set to = death by PPT. I'd also look for more hands on learning. However, all of those decisions are based on how I learn.

After that, I'd go for being in an environment (outside of school) that I really like and can still keep my fingers into the hobbies I love. And that it is a city my husband could either live in, or visit often (both our careers required a lot of travel, so living together was never much better than visiting frequently.)

 

[arcturus1167]

I've been fortunate enough to have been accepted to a few programs this year, and I know that choosing a vet school is ultimately a personal decision, but I wanted some sdner input. Top in the running now are Purdue and Ohio.

My pros and cons:
Purdue Pros: much smaller class size/problem based learning course
Cons: old facilities/more money

Ohio Pros: newer facilities/gain residency for tuition
Cons: huge class size

input from anyone in this year's applicant pool trying to make the same decision or current students at either of these schools that could add some pros and cons would be greatly appreciated!

 

[moosenanny]

Cons: huge class size

I'm not sure what "huge" means, but at Davis our class size is 133. I personally think class size doesn't matter much (and if anything is better when larger). We are broken into different smaller groups for labs, and our professors get to know us well despite the larger size (just today a professor called everyone by name as she answered their questions during lecture -- at the beginning of the quarter they look at all our pictures and try to learn who we are). I know my fellow classmates SO well . . . a class size any smaller might drive people crazy for seeing so few people all the time!

 

[twelvetigers]

My pros and cons:
Purdue Pros: much smaller class size/problem based learning course
Cons: old facilities/more money

Ohio Pros: newer facilities/gain residency for tuition
Cons: huge class size

This would weigh very heavily for me. Calculate the anticipated difference in overall attendance costs, and look at some load repayment plans - determine how much you would owe per month in each case, and decide if the difference is worth it for you.

If it's actually pretty close (no idea) then you should further consider the other factors. What about weather, cost of living? Distance from family?

 

[arcturus1167]

Thanks for the thoughts. I guess I just need to look more into how, and if, they break apart the class during labs at the OSU. As far as "huge" class size goes, I meant Purdue's ~70 relative to the OSU's new 160 class size.

 

[AngSchmange]

Someone at Western said to me (and this really hit me), "Choose the school that will make you the best doctor."

for instance, my two choices are both about 8-10 hours flying away (expensive), around similar price of attendance, are in expensive cities, are both in GREAT cities, and some other similarities. However, one offers many more opportunities in exotics than the other, and since this is my main interest, this would be my deciding factor. Price isn't an issue for me because I'll be in a LOT of debt in either school. Another factor too is that I can't (don't want to deal with huge cost) bring my cat over to the UK. Too stressful for him and would cost a lot to fly him over. This isn't a deciding factor at all, as I would find him a good home, but just another thing to add to my pros cons list 🙂

The choice that makes you the best doctor....and which school offers more opportunities for you and your interests. You don't have to track...but if you're interested in one area you may not stray...then again you may! So this can be interpreted differently as well lol

Best advice EVER! Of course...unless you gain residency and your tuition price drops lol this is not a factor in either of my choices.

 

[trk2012]

so, yes, i was also oos for all of my schools (i chose not to apply to my is school), and so when i was considering schools that were roughly the same price (and all of which allow you to apply for residency after the first year), i used a few things to decide. The number one thing was how comfortable i felt at the school, and what the sense of community was like. You're gonna spend a tooon of time in school, so you've got to make sure you feel like you can belong in that community. I thought the three schools actually tied in that respect. The students and staff at all of them were quite supportive, warm and friendly. So the next thing i considered was the program. Mizzou has that really cool 2+2 program, which was definitely a unique factor. I knew, though, that i wanted a school that had avians/exotics courses offered there at the school since that's something i'm really interested in. Not all of the schools i was considering had that, but ncsu did. I really liked the idea of selectives at ncsu. Another thing i thought about was the class size. At the schools i was considering, the class sizes were 140, 100, and 80. This is not to knock the larger class sizes (after all, i was strongly considering going to those schools!), but i personally wanted a smaller class size, having come from a very large undergrad institution and wanting something different.

I also considered the location of the school itself. I've always lived in big cities, and while i'm definitely ready for a little more greenery in my life, i tried envisioning myself in a very tiny town for 4 years, and the thought wasn't making me happy. Plus, i'm married, so i wanted to pick somewhere large enough where my hubby would have good job prospects.

Obviously, i visited each school, and each visit was invaluable in helping me get a more clear idea of what it would be like to attend each school. In the end, i was still in love with all three schools, but i chose ncsu because i loved it the most, and it amazingly satisfied all of my criteria (cost, residency, program features, class size, city), whereas the other schools did not. I'm very happy with my choice, and i am absolutely confident that i made the right decision for me.

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