Canadian in America

[littlehooves]

I'm just looking in to incomes and such, and with all the talk of debt- I was just thinking. I've done a bit of research on average vet incomes, and American graduates make alot more then Canadian graduates...is it possible to get my DVM from an AVMA accredited vet school, write the NAVLE, then write a state exam for say....California (just an example- not really being specific here) but still be Canadian citizen- and get the job while working on American citizenship (assuming you have to be a citizen to work- or can this be done on a visa??)? Or even better- if anyone can direct me to a place where I can find this stuff out...I'm a bit clueless when it comes to stuff like this....so excuse the ignorance Thanks!!

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[Starbuck815]

...But if you do your DVM in Canada, you won't have the debt problem at all (well, barely)! Our tuition here is vastly, vastly cheaper (like, 6-7000, each year). You could graduate basically debt-free. Why on earth you would choose 200 000+ of debt in the US, that you will be repaying for up to 30 years over that, for what is a very marginal difference in salary opportunity (if any) is beyond me.

(I applied to vet med as well as human last year, so I definitely looked into it).

You are LUCKY you can go to a Canadian school.

 

[david594]

Hooves,

Yes you can. I work with a vet who is a canadian citizen and graduated from a canadian vet school, who then came to the US to work. With a professional job like a DVM you would have no real issues getting a green card(green card=work visa) to come and work in the USA.

So you end up with your canadian debt level and making a US salary...

But you have the process right, NAVLE => state exam => good to go. And the US doesn't required that you pass the NAVLE in your first 2 attempts unlike canada, where after 2 failed attempts you need to write the foreign licensure exam.

 

[Starbuck815]

Whoops, I think I misunderstood... I thought you wanted to do your DVM in the US in order to work there.

But yea, definitely a workable plan, just get the DVM in Canada if you can!

 

[Kylana]

I'm from Canada and was thinking about doing something like that too. I figured it wouldn't be too hard because when I looked at the job postings for veterinarians on the British Columbia Veterinary Medical Association website there were postings for jobs in Washington state.

I didn't know about having to pass the NAVLE on the first two tries in Canada. Although...I have no idea what it is like but I imagine it is not something that anyone wants to do 3 or 4 times!

 

[littlehooves]

Thanks alot David, great info.Starbuck, I realize that going abroad and coming back to North America will coast a bazillion dollars- I see that you're from Ontario- so am I. As you know, we can only apply to OVC (I dont' have residency status in any other province), so rather then putting all my eggs in one basket (OVC is very competitive- as you know) I'm looking into other options. As for med school, its a small possibility, but I've already screwed myself out of alot of Ontario med schools so I'd most likely have to go abroad for that and it would cost me just as much. Of course OVC is my first choice, I'm well aware of the cost difference- but if OVC doesn't work out in my favour, I'd rather spend $200 000 on an education and DVM degree in the UK/Oz/NZ, then work a desk or lab job.

 

[Starbuck815]

As you know, we can only apply to OVC (I dont' have residency status in any other province), so rather then putting all my eggs in one basket (OVC is very competitive- as you know) I'm looking into other options.

Yeah, its a shame that there are so few options here in Canada. OVC's average grades for the admitted students are around 85% (for your last year and your 8 pre-reqs) and I think the mcat average is around 26 or so. If you get that, you'll probably be good to go for an interview. If vet med is really what you want, its a good idea not to have it all riding on one school. I know someone who is going to Ireland to start vet med next year, so its very doable if you're okay with the debt. Good luck!

 

[littlehooves]

I can assure you that I'm very well aware of what I need to do to get in- I've been on top of OVC and researching it for approximately 6 years (since high school). Because of my situation and my shrinking patience for undergrad, I don't want to hang around for another year to try for OVC if it does not work the first time. Only recently I've started looking at opportunities abroad- and as I said before- I'm not willing to settle for something less (in my mind). Whether it will cost me $200 000 or $32 000, I'm still going in the Veterinary medicine direction regardless.

I'm pretty sure that although American pre-vets have more vet schools then we do, they still have to pay a huge amount if they have to/choose to go out of state. Unfortunately for us, our government would prefer that we leave the country .

 

[pressmom]

As far as working here, my mentor is Canadian at practicing here at UT. (I believe she went to OVC.) I'm pretty sure all she had to do was write the NAVLE and whatever state exam is required to practice in TN, if there is one. That's one of the benefits of having the same test for both countries!! She has been working under a green card, but recently has decided to get American citizenship. But she has worked here for several years under the green card.

If you're willing to take on the debt load, I would carefully research which American schools take international applicants because not all do. It should be available on the web or in the VMSAR. Since there is a shortage of vets in America, and since so many schools receive state funding, options MAY be limited.