Are You Putting Down Multiple Deposits?

[russellang]

I have narrowed down my schools to two and both are great programs. However, one is 10k more a year than the other and I am just very torn which to choose. If I had to choose which program to go to, I would definetly choose the more expensive program but it does cost more so I am unsure. I already put down one deposit and am considering putting down a second one for the other school before the deadline. Is anyone else doing this? I really do not want to have the question of where I am going for school to linger much longer but I really am not sure which to choose.

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[nyanko]

I mean you should probably just make a decision before the deadline instead...why put it off?

 

[moosenanny]

I mean you should probably just make a decision before the deadline instead...why put it off?

I agree - putting off the decision just prolongs the "agony" plus makes you spend money potentially unnecessarily. It sounds like your heart wants the more expensive school, but your brain is telling you the extra money may not be worth it. Only you can make that decision, but it sounds like you will regret not going to the school of your dreams.

 

[Bismarck]

I was faced with a similar choice as an OOSer. I picked the school I felt offered me the best curriculum/experience, etc (in other words, the school that will make me the best veterinarian.)

I'm not saying to disregard cost entirely, but if you are consistently second guessing your decision (to the point where it is a distraction for you) you might not be getting your money's worth at school #2.

 

[New Foundland]

Take the cheaper option (you said yourself they are both great programs)

If it helps, think of it this way :
First, pretend that all tuition is the same no matter what school you go to, and you got accepted into two...
Obviously you prefer your top choice at this point..

But then ask yourself, would you pay $60,000 (est. cost with interest) straight up to go to this one great school over the other great school?

Well, would you?

 

[elefante7]

Which school you pick is a decision you need to make for yourself, but I know a lot of people on waitlists will really appreciate it if you don't take up two spots while they are stuck in limbo land. Make your pro/con lists or whatever you need to do, but do your very best to do it before the deadline.

 

[cowgirla]

Take the cheaper option (you said yourself they are both great programs)

If it helps, think of it this way :
First, pretend that all tuition is the same no matter what school you go to, and you got accepted into two...
Obviously you prefer your top choice at this point..

But then ask yourself, would you pay $60,000 (est. cost with interest) straight up to go to this one great school over the other great school?

Well, would you?

What I did was make a list of things that I liked BETTER about one school over the other. (the more expensive school and the less expensive school)
It came down to little things - the expensive school would mean having my own desk area, more windows in the classroom building, not having to walk outside to get to clinics.

Is having your own desk area really worth paying an extra 10K per year? I didn't think so.. Is not having to brave the rain worth an extra 10K? Nah. Is seeing daylight through a window worth an extra 10K? I wish.

Once I broke it down into the little things and looked at that "one little thing" vs the additional price tag, my decision was a lot easier

 

[ORvetgirl]

As someone who is finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel (and is therefore also starting to really feel the stress of all the debt that I'm accumulating and will soon have to pay back), I say go with the cheaper school. ~$10,000/yr extra may seem worth it when you're 4 years from having to pay it back, but when you get your loan statement every year and see how much you're up to, believe me you're going to want that number as low as possible. Unless the expensive school has a great department in your field of interest (eg. wildlife) and the other school doesn't, most of the differences just aren't worth it. They can all make you a good vet if you put the effort in.

Obviously, you are the one who has to make the decision, but those are my 2 cents. (and as someone who came off a waitlist, I know the people in limbo would love to know sooner rather than later.)

 

[CanHardlyWait]

Which school you pick is a decision you need to make for yourself, but I know a lot of people on waitlists will really appreciate it if you don't take up two spots while they are stuck in limbo land. Make your pro/con lists or whatever you need to do, but do your very best to do it before the deadline.

 

[2CatMatt]

Don't be pressured by the people urging you to make a decision as soon as possible so that people on the waitlist can get off it. That's not fair and you deserve to take all the time you need to make the decision that is right for you. It's a big one, so if you need more time, take it.

Having said that though, I agree with nyanko in that it probably doesn't make much sense to wait beyond the April 15th deadline and put down multiple deposits. What new information do you think you'll get beyond that point that will influence your choice?

 

[sumstorm]

What are the real differences between the schools? Is the curriculem different (PBL vs traditional, intensive short courses vs semester long, etc?) is the access to a particular field vastly different (has a wildlife program vs not? guarantees research in a particular field?) Is the region/environments outside of the school vastly different and going to impact your daily life (ie for me being able to be outside hiking, biking, etc regularly is very important, and might be worth extra money if my other option is being frozen inside half the year.)

Remember that $10k a year will add up fast, particularly with percentage tuition increases and a 30 year repay. Having said that, a cheaper cost of living could offset that very quickly...so don't just look at tuition.

While I don't think you should be pressured by folks on waitlists, I would suggest an inability to commit by the standard deadline might be viewed as a lack of professionalism at the schools, along with poor economic responsibility in paying two deposits. It DOES put extra stress on the administrative staff of the vet schools at a time when they are already very busy to have someone make a decision late just because they didn't want to commit by the expected deadline, particularly when you push the decision off until close to the start dates; remember, it takes time to find housing, transfer banking, etc. for folks that need to relocate; that is stuff you will also want to be able to start on.

 

[docs4dogs]

I am a current Vet student and long-time lurker on this forum (I am doing research for my school's admissions committee). I finally felt compelled to add my 2 cents to a thread.

I think you should push yourself to make the decision by the deadline for 2 reasons.

1) Indecision is a very ugly word in this field. It is the trait that most of the students who have not been able to cut it share- either in the clinical setting, exam setting or usually both.

It sounds like this might be an issue for you and its probably a good time to start challenging yourself on it. Especially with your own savings on the line. There are so many parallels coming in your next four years. Choice A or C? Specific vs. broad-spectrum antibiotic? More imaging or no? etc. Your teachers are going to be looking for someone who can step up and make the difficult choice.

2) It DOES matter that people are on waiting lists. These people are going to be your classmmates and colleagues. Medicine is a community and currently all schools are promoting collaboration. Why should you hoard two spots while that future colleague stands in the cold? And waste money to do it?

Not to be rude but your question sounds pretty ugly.

 

[hopefulinva]

This thread looks like it's spiraling a little out of control, so I'm just gonna go back to the original question.

No, I didn't put down multiple deposits, because the decision to attend my IS versus an OOS school was a relatively easy one for me - and money wasn't hugely a factor, tbh. Despite the fact that I've been in love with Illinois for a very long time, I'm already attending undergrad at Virginia Tech, I'm well-established in the Blacksburg area, I'm equally smitten with VMRCVM and its curriculum, and my fiance made it very clear that he did not want to move halfway across the country if we could help it (and his opinion matters, too).

There's a lot of good advice in this thread, even though it sounds to me like your decision has been made. You've put down a deposit. So go with it! Rarely is your gut instinct wrong!

You still have some time to make the final decision. I'd say it's perfectly fine to "hog" both spots (they are yours, after all; you've earned them) for now; but come April 15th, common courtesy says it's time to let others have a chance at one school or another.

 

[SnowyRox]

What is going to change after April 15 that will make your decision easier? If the answer is nothing, then I would not put down multiple deposits. The only situation where I would consider that would be if I couldn't visit one of the schools before April 15, but had a definite ticket to visit soon after the deadline. Otherwise, just decide!

As a fellow c/o 2016er, I chose my more expensive option. Tuition is slightly cheaper after a scholarship, but cost of living is substantially more. I feel like the program fits me much better and I would have been disappointed to choose the other school. Will I regret this decision in 4 years? Possibly. But I knew that if I chose the cheaper school, I would always wonder about the opportunities available at the more expensive school.

Why don't you post a thread asking SDNers to compare the 2 schools? I know, I know, privacy. But you can't be the only one considering these 2 schools, and unless you're rude on threads... there's nothing wrong with the possibility of certain people figuring out who you are, imo.

Moral of the story: Make a decision.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Like others have said, I'd think really hard about what will matter to you in the long term. Does it have to do with non-school factors? Or does it just come down to differences between two programs? Will it really make a difference which school you go to? Is it a better "fit" you're worried about? Better opportunities in a particular department? A particular program you like? Or is it more of a nebulous, "that is my dream school" feeling?

True, you might always wonder "what if" in the event you end up miserable in the cheaper school. But it's just as likely to feel stupid ending up miserable in the more expensive school! It's really hard to predict how you'll like vet school beforehand, and quite honestly, I truly truly believe that no matter where you go, vet school will be what you make of it in all aspects of your vet student life. This even goes with opportunities that you think you're likely to find in a particular school. Maybe school A is known to have the strongest ophthamology department, and school B doesn't even have an ophthamologist on staff. That doesn't mean you can't find opportunities for yourself that will be just as amazing. And sometimes, even greater opportunities come when you make it for yourself and you can mold your own experiences rather than taking part of an established program. I'm not trying to push you either way. I mean, I personally picked a school that ended up being about the same amount over another for personal reasons. But in terms of how happy I would have been with the program itself had I attended the cheaper option, I don't think it would have made a difference. There's plenty to love and plenty to B**** about in aaaaany program. And trust me, the grass will always seem greener.

And as creepy as this is, I distinctly remembered there being a thread similar to this from my cycle... so I just spent like 20 min searching and fished it out. This first thread was of one applicant who really wanted to go to her oos, but felt financially obligated to go to her is (and was initially really really bummed out about it). Here's the followup from after she started her first-year. She hasn't been around here as of late, but maybe you can PM her and ask her how she feels with almost 2 years down?

But yeah... I'm not sure what waiting past April 16th will do for you. Maybe wait until that date for an epiphany, but if you haven't been compelled to put down a new deposit and burn the old by then, take it as a sign?

 

[CanHardlyWait]

Sorry russellang, I in no way wanted my thumbs up of the waitlist consideration comment to be considered as pressuring you or making you feel like you are hoarding spots. They are your well deserved spots. I was just trying to say that while you are struggling with this huge decision, other people are struggling with putting off their dreams for another year. The deadline is in place to make that wait less painful, as well as give those called off waitlists enough time to transfer their lives to a new city. Just saying.....

 

[light10]

Isn't accepting offers (i.e. putting down deposits) from two schools a HUGE no-no from admissions? I have a friend who put down two deposits a few cycles ago - she was waiting for a residency application approval for her new-IS and put a deposit at her former-IS as well in case her residency wasn't approved. She got a very sharp phone call from one of the schools. Along the lines of 'fix this in the next 24hrs or we are rescinding your offer'.

No one should have to make a decision before April 15th (and a lot of schools don't even call waitlisters until after 4/15), but April 15th is THE deadline. I don't think you can wait past that. And of course, you can put down a second deposit pre-April 15th...but come April 15, you have to have one and only one accepted offer.

I totally hear you on the indecision - I said no to my OOS dream school at about 10 minutes prior to their deadline on April 15. I almost cried. But you know, it all worked out (and for me, not even in the way I thought it had! but that is another story entirely!). There are a lot of ways and a lot of places to have a (relatively) happy, productive vet school career. I'm sure you'll make the best choice for you, and do go with your gut instinct.