Applying to only one school

[MathewsMD]

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I'm a Canadian from Ontario who is planning to only apply to Guelph (namely for financial reasons). I've been speaking with a lot of folks recently and a point in the conversation that tends to come up is them asking about what I want to do when I graduate. They often seem surprised that I'm only applying to one school despite enjoying veterinary medicine.

It just seems a little strange to me that people are willing to take on such large debts when pursuing a car, house, and/or schooling. I can understand these are investments in either finances or even yourself; that you're pursuing something you want. And maybe it's my naïvete (or possibly lack of passion for the field, as some--but not me--would put it), but I feel a large debt would be limiting my freedom. My freedom to get more involved with rescues. My freedom to work on research projects. My freedom to be able to travel/work abroad without any particular commitments allowing me to help with different causes. A particular peace in mind perhaps--but one I may be giving a bit too much weight.

Now I'm confident vets graduating (that may have a large debt) are still excellent at their craft and as committed to helping as ever. But I don't know...staying in any kind of debt--even better, pursuing it--is just a strange concept to me. One that I've seen a lot of family and friends struggle with throughout their lives, and one I feel like I could do more good without.

And so this question keeps popping up of how committed I am to the field. I often hear that if you can imagine yourself working in another field, then don't go into vet med. For me at least, I see myself possibly working in variety of different fields (e.g. I'm finishing my BSc Physics and am applying to backup graduate programs in Astronomy/Physics, Mathematical Biology, and Nuclear Engineering). But with this in consideration, I do feel vet med would be the route I'd be most happy pursuing and would help me combine and utilize lot of my background interests in a productive way.

And so this question keeps coming up and I'm wondering if there are any of you who are in similar situations? Anyone that might be applying to only one school for their own reasons. Anyone that has vet med as their #1 choice but is still considering different paths that may not necessarily involve vet school. And even if you don't share the same views, I'd still be happy to hear your thoughts.

(My apologies if this is the wrong place to post this.)

 

[Lucy410]

I'm actually doing the same thing, also for financial reasons. I'm only applying to my in-state this cycle because a) the tuition would be much lower, and b) my husband, who will be our sole source of income during vet school, could keep his current job. It's also a great school I would be very happy to attend. I figure if I applied and was admitted to other vet schools this cycle, but was not admitted to my in-state, I could wind up in the position of wanting to turn down offers in order to reapply to my in-state, which is no bueno.

If I don't get in this cycle I'll reapply to a wider range of schools next year, and I'm pretty sure I would be admitted somewhere based on my stats. It wouldn't kill me to wait a year to start vet school and it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make in order to get two shots at having less debt down the road.

So, I definitely see where you're coming from and I don't think your decision diminishes your commitment to vet med. You're going into it with open eyes and good reasons - it's not the same as someone who naively believes they only could only be happy at their dream school and will definitely get in, and therefore refuses to apply anywhere else.

 

[cali_bear]

I am also applying to only my in-state, too. I am married, and my husband and I have some debt from undergrad and most importantly have a special little man (my husband's little boy) that we don't want to be too far from distance-wise. In another life we'd love to go somewhere besides the south. However, our situation is fairly unique and OOS tuition sounds so crippling.

I also agree with many here that a DVM is valid from any accredited school. I feel bad for those who, like Lucy420 mentioned, perhaps get only OOS offers and puts them in a financially scary situation. But for real, I applaud those who go OOS, get a DVM, and live comfortably when it's all said and done.

Having personal reasons for applying to one school does not in any way make you less passionate about vet med. I have never heard of anyone using that rhetoric before.



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[SocialStigma]

I'm from Ontario and also only applied to OVC. A lot of OVC grads I know also did the same. Financially it doesn't make sense for Canadians to apply internationally unless they have to. I was fortunate enough to be accepted on my first application, however if I had been rejected, I would've applied to OVC only for 3 more times (since OVC only allows you to apply 4 times max) prior to applying to any international schools. Even the extra 3 years of lost income would've been worth it when I'm looking at a ~$9000/year tuition at OVC vs. $50k/year anywhere else.

 

[MathewsMD]

I am also applying to only my in-state, too. I am married, and my husband and I have some debt from undergrad and most importantly have a special little man (my husband's little boy) that we don't want to be too far from distance-wise. In another life we'd love to go somewhere besides the south. However, our situation is fairly unique and OOS tuition sounds so crippling.

I also agree with many here that a DVM is valid from any accredited school. I feel bad for those who, like Lucy420 mentioned, perhaps get only OOS offers and puts them in a financially scary situation. But for real, I applaud those who go OOS, get a DVM, and live comfortably when it's all said and done.

Having personal reasons for applying to one school does not in any way make you less passionate about vet med. I have never heard of anyone using that rhetoric before.



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Thank you to everyone for all of your input.

Yea, it's more so along the lines of: if this is a career you're passionate about, then you'd try to do it through whatever means possible. Although I understand the sentiment, I just don't necessarily agree with it wholly in practice. Albeit these were not from people in vet med themselves.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

And so this question keeps popping up of how committed I am to the field. I often hear that if you can imagine yourself working in another field, then don't go into vet med.

I also hear that -- and have said that -- but it's for those who are undertaking several hundred thousand dollars in debt. If you can imagine yourself doing anything else, don't take on $200,000 in debt. It's very different if your expected debt is $25,000 or even $50,000.

I am an OVC grad (2000), and I only applied to one school. I think it's preposterous for any Ontario resident to not try to take advantage of the opportunity for subsidized education (especially in such an excellent vet school)......and I think it's pretty preposterous for anyone to take on $200K plus in debt - even educational debt (a mortgage would be my only exception). I'm amazed that there are as many vet student applicants in the US as there are, frankly.

 

[rockatiel]

If you have a school that is truly $9000 a year in tuition, yes please just apply there. Because costs of living are rising with the tuition, if students dont budget, they can end up 200k in debt attending their home state school. My IS had a cost of attendance of $53k per year!

***And what's more, according to the VMSAR book this year, that's actually my IS schools resident tuition, 😵 but I think that's a misprint because I've seen the 53k IS and 83k OOS elsewhere as a COA figure. I need to email the AAVMC... Unless that actually happens to be correct, which is terrifying.

 

[Coquette22]

I love vet med and it was my first choice. But I'm also a pragmatist. If I hadn't gotten into AVC, I would have been looking for other career options (med school, probably). Even AVC (my 'in state') left me with more debt then I'd like and I wouldn't want more. So no, I don't think you or anyone else should question their dedication to or love of the field if the money is just too big a hurdle.

 

[cbarne01]

Also an OVC student... I think if the only way to become a vet was $50K a year, I would probably have done it and applied broadly. Canada is just different 😉 since you can only apply to your "in-state" school, I'm not sure that we've explained it very well to those south of the border. Considering their system, it doesn't make sense to apply to only 1 school but here it does. I was prepared to apply for 3 cycles. After that, I probably would have had to end my current relationship if I wanted to apply again (not sure what I would have decided), and probably would have applied to schools in the UK and a couple in the US.
The possibility of a mortgage for school is scary, especially since you'll still need a place to live but everyone has their own comfort level with risk. Be sure that you know what you're getting into - how much you'll probably need, who its coming from and what conditions there are on paying it back. A big thing for me was that I'm not comfortable asking my parents to co-sign and that would have made out of state much more difficult.

My best (unsolicited) advice is that if you can imagine doing anything else - try it! Be sure that you've experienced enough to know that other options (and vet med) are a place you will be happy, which again means different things to different people. To me, after experience in other fields, that meant being stimulated intellectually on a regular basis but still having an opportunity to practice and improve (I didn't like that I was always figuring out how to do a few past jobs and never got better at them). Figure out what you want and where you might find it, then try out different things.

 

[VetMedVetMed]

I'm a Canadian from Ontario who is planning to only apply to Guelph (namely for financial reasons). I've been speaking with a lot of folks recently and a point in the conversation that tends to come up is them asking about what I want to do when I graduate. They often seem surprised that I'm only applying to one school despite enjoying veterinary medicine.

It just seems a little strange to me that people are willing to take on such large debts when pursuing a car, house, and/or schooling. I can understand these are investments in either finances or even yourself; that you're pursuing something you want. And maybe it's my naïvete (or possibly lack of passion for the field, as some--but not me--would put it), but I feel a large debt would be limiting my freedom. My freedom to get more involved with rescues. My freedom to work on research projects. My freedom to be able to travel/work abroad without any particular commitments allowing me to help with different causes. A particular peace in mind perhaps--but one I may be giving a bit too much weight.

Now I'm confident vets graduating (that may have a large debt) are still excellent at their craft and as committed to helping as ever. But I don't know...staying in any kind of debt--even better, pursuing it--is just a strange concept to me. One that I've seen a lot of family and friends struggle with throughout their lives, and one I feel like I could do more good without.

And so this question keeps popping up of how committed I am to the field. I often hear that if you can imagine yourself working in another field, then don't go into vet med. For me at least, I see myself possibly working in variety of different fields (e.g. I'm finishing my BSc Physics and am applying to backup graduate programs in Astronomy/Physics, Mathematical Biology, and Nuclear Engineering). But with this in consideration, I do feel vet med would be the route I'd be most happy pursuing and would help me combine and utilize lot of my background interests in a productive way.

And so this question keeps coming up and I'm wondering if there are any of you who are in similar situations? Anyone that might be applying to only one school for their own reasons. Anyone that has vet med as their #1 choice but is still considering different paths that may not necessarily involve vet school. And even if you don't share the same views, I'd still be happy to hear your thoughts.

(My apologies if this is the wrong place to post this.)

If you are wanting to absolutely definitely 100% start vet school next August no matter what, then apply to a bunch of schools you could see yourself going to. If you are ok with waiting another year just in case you don't get in this year to Guelph, then just apply there! The reason is, is because if you apply to a couple for instance, don't get into Guelph, but get into another one and turn that down since you don't want to go there, then you've wasted your time and money, and wasted the school's time (but not their money haha).

I applied to only two schools last year as a "test run", and my #1 choice I didn't get to interview to for a stupid reason. The other school I got an interview for. I did not get in, but I am SO glad because now I get the opportunity to apply again to a LOT of schools including my #1 again. It is much better than getting accepted somewhere and then turning it down... I only wanted to apply to my #1 last year, but others told me to include this other school so I did (even though it was not on my radar).

 

[BIOMMMM]

I think you've already got some great advice but I thought I'd add my own 2¢!

I'm also an OVC student from Ontario and only applied to one school. I didn't get in the first time and had I not gotten in on my second application I was willing to consider going to other schools, but I had very serious doubts about going anywhere else, mainly d/t finances (I probably would have went b/c I've never wanted to do anything else with my life, but it would have been soooooo stressful). However, as painful as it was to be refused admission the first time, I was able to take the year off, work and add some great experiences to my application. With that year off I was able to save up enough money to have very little debt when I graduate.

On the other hand I have a few friends who didn't get into OVC after 2-3 tries and they spent thousands of dollars applying and traveling to other vet schools (for interviews) and ultimately they ended up going the international route. They've accepted their debt level when they graduate or have the resources already to help pay for school with little-no debt.

I think as long as your willing to accept the fact that you're putting all your eggs into the OVC basket and it may take you multiple tries (years) to get in, I don't think you'd be making the wrong choice by only applying here. You mentioned in your post that finances would limit your opportunities to go after research/rescue experience/etc. If you don't get in on your first try, it will allow you to pursue some of those ideas and potentially make some money in the process. With the information you've given I can't see any downside for you to only apply to OVC.

TL;DR If your not willing to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars to become a vet, don't. There are other ways, and don't let anyone tell you that you don't want it badly enough if your not willing to do that.

Also Guelph has a 1 year masters program that you can do on your year off, with the option to apply for transfer into the full masters program, perfect if you happen to be refused admission the first/second time (I thought I'd mention this since you mentioned your interest in research).