Class of 2024... how you doin?

[Red147]

Ahh so excited this is finally happening! I also changed paths and popped over to vet med. so glad I did! I am wondering if people have good resources for budgets for vet school. I have made a General one but am a bit worried I’m not accounting for a few things.

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[ktseymour]

I'll be 26 with a 3 month old (my first). Oof. Pray for me, folks...

 

[ilovebirds]

I’m so pumped to be posting here!! Still waiting to see if my IS takes me off the waitlist (they must have found out I love limbo) but most likely attending VMCVM and so frickin excited!!! I did get hit with the OOS tuition reality this weekend at APVMA though so that’s, ya know, horrifying, but still so excited to pursue my dream at a school like VM!

 

[ilovebirds]

Does anyone have experience/advice moving from a large urban city (pop ~2.5 mill) to a college town like Blacksburg? I have lived in the city environment for all 22 years of my life. I’m already meeting with a therapist (adjustment planning is a must) but wanted to hear some first hand experience

 

[ajs513]

Does anyone have experience/advice moving from a large urban city (pop ~2.5 mill) to a college town like Blacksburg? I have lived in the city environment for all 22 years of my life. I’m already meeting with a therapist (adjustment planning is a must) but wanted to hear some first hand experience

I went the other way around. It’s honestly a nice adjustment. There’s no smack in the face with 50,000 things going on like there is when you move from the suburbs to a big city. Everything is quieter (unless you live on campus and it’s the weekend). Parking is easier. You can drive somewhere and do things like grocery shopping without worrying about finding a spot when you get back. If you live in a house rather than an apartment, you don’t have to worry about how much noise you make when you watch tv or have friends over. Something like going shopping takes an hour instead of all day because you can just drive, get there, and go right back instead of waiting on public transit and worrying about carrying everything back.

I’ve never lived in Blacksburg, but I imagine it’s similar to every other town with suburbs. I was house sitting in the suburbs over winter break and forgot how peaceful and low-stress it is. My undergrad town was a small-medium size city. Now I live in Philly. I forgot what it’s like to just exist without worrying about other people around you constantly.

 

[Meow2124]

I'll be 26 with a 3 month old (my first). Oof. Pray for me, folks...

In the same boat! Although my babe will be a little older, 6 months when I start in August. We got this

 

[ktseymour]

Does anyone have experience/advice moving from a large urban city (pop ~2.5 mill) to a college town like Blacksburg? I have lived in the city environment for all 22 years of my life. I’m already meeting with a therapist (adjustment planning is a must) but wanted to hear some first hand experience

I am actually currently living in Blacksburg as I finish up my Masters. I will say that Blacksburg is a stereotypical small college town. There's not a whole lot going on here if you compare it to living in a big city, however Roanoke (a decent small city) is a 45 min drive away if you need something to do. There's also tons of nature-type activities around here, like hiking, river tubing, etc. Like @ajs513 said, it is pretty quiet here but in a good way! Let me know if you have any questions about Blacksburg. I have certainly been here long enough (7 years) to be a decent resource!

 

[ktseymour]

In the same boat! Although my babe will be a little older, 6 months when I start in August. We got this

So you must have just had yours (if my math is correct)? If so, congrats!! I am about ready to issue mine his eviction notice!

 

[dogtor27]

I’m so pumped to be posting here!! Still waiting to see if my IS takes me off the waitlist (they must have found out I love limbo) but most likely attending VMCVM and so frickin excited!!! I did get hit with the OOS tuition reality this weekend at APVMA though so that’s, ya know, horrifying, but still so excited to pursue my dream at a school like VM!

If you don’t mind, can you tell me what they told you about the OOS tuition reality at the APVMA symposium?

 

[nontradstdnt]

I'll be 26 with a 3 month old (my first). Oof. Pray for me, folks...

Fellow incoming CSU student here...happy to help support you in any way I can as we embark on our first year!

Also is that your dog in your avatar? I am also a Vizsla owner

 

[ktseymour]

Fellow incoming CSU student here...happy to help support you in any way I can as we embark on our first year!

Also is that your dog in your avatar? I am also a Vizsla owner

I have been meaning to DM you for months now to ask the same thing (you used to have a V as your avatar)! Yes, I have two! Glad to see another Vizsla lover, especially since we'll be classmates!

And I appreciate the support! I have been wondering if I'm a little insane to start as a vet student and new-mom at the same time!

 

[WonderingStudent]

I'm thinking about getting gifts for the professors that gave me recommendations. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to get them or any insight? Thanks in advance

 

[nontradstdnt]

I have been meaning to DM you for months now to ask the same thing (you used to have a V as your avatar)! Yes, I have two! Glad to see another Vizsla lover, especially since we'll be classmates!

And I appreciate the support! I have been wondering if I'm a little insane to start as a vet student and new-mom at the same time!

Yes my V was in my avatar for a while! I only have one, though now I’m getting crazy thoughts about getting a second dog before school starts...so he won’t be lonely of course haha

I have no experience as a mom but I’m sure it’s been done many times before and you will get through it! I also got the strong impression that there’s a lot of support available to students at CSU. Seems like a great environment.

Feel free to DM me any time! Looking forward to meeting you this fall!

 

[thedogtorisin2020]

I'm thinking about getting gifts for the professors that gave me recommendations. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to get them or any insight? Thanks in advance

Maybe some gift cards? To Starbucks or other food places?

 

[that redhead]

I'm thinking about getting gifts for the professors that gave me recommendations. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to get them or any insight? Thanks in advance

I think we discussed this earlier in this thread via @EngrSC

 

[EngrSC]

I'm thinking about getting gifts for the professors that gave me recommendations. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to get them or any insight? Thanks in advance

I had tumblers made for mine! They have the decal below on one side and their initial on the other. Sorry for the poor quality image.

This is what the initial side of the tumblers look like:

 

[sheltermed]

I had tumblers made for mine! They have the decal below on one side and their initial on the other. Sorry for the poor quality image.
View attachment 297320

This is neat as heck. I'd get that tattooed or something.

 

[ilovebirds]

If you don’t mind, can you tell me what they told you about the OOS tuition reality at the APVMA symposium?

I just realized I was facing at least 300k of loan debt during the session about handling student debt. Very humbling/terrifying. I know I’ll be fine and people have done it before me, but I would love it if my IS pulled me from the waitlist

 

[EngrSC]

First rabies vaccine done! Two more to go

(PM me if you’re a military spouse or have Tricare ... I found a loophole of sorts to get the pre-exposure series for free!)

 

[gianna1018]

Question about the rabies vaccine! I’m scheduled to get mine next week (I had to literally find a internal medicine specialist in order to get it because my PCP refused to order it for me) and they said insurance will cover it since it’s just an immunization. Now just in case insurance freaks out and doesn’t want to cover it should I say it’s for work instead of school? I think I saw somewhere that if you say it’s job related they’re more likely to cover it than if you say you’re getting it just for vet school. Thoughts?


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[ajs513]

Question about the rabies vaccine! I’m scheduled to get mine next week (I had to literally find a internal medicine specialist in order to get it because my PCP refused to order it for me) and they said insurance will cover it since it’s just an immunization. Now just in case insurance freaks out and doesn’t want to cover it should I say it’s for work instead of school? I think I saw somewhere that if you say it’s job related they’re more likely to cover it than if you say you’re getting it just for vet school. Thoughts?


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Insurance likely will NOT cover it. Go to Walgreen’s. It’s the only place I’ve heard of that does some weird voodoo and gets it covered. It was covered for me even though insurance said it wouldn’t be. The same has happened to other people. Otherwise it’s going to be anywhere from $750 to upwards of $1,000. As long as you’ve been accepted to vet school you should have no problem getting it prescribed, but insurance likely won’t cover it unless what happened to me happens to you.

 

[SkiOtter]

Insurance likely will NOT cover it. Go to Walgreen’s. It’s the only place I’ve heard of that does some weird voodoo and gets it covered. It was covered for me even though insurance said it wouldn’t be. The same has happened to other people. Otherwise it’s going to be anywhere from $750 to upwards of $1,000. As long as you’ve been accepted to vet school you should have no problem getting it prescribed, but insurance likely won’t cover it unless what happened to me happens to you.

Yeah Walgreens did some weird voodoo magic and got my insurance to cover it even though they literally pay for N O T H I N G until I meet my $3500 deductible. Even had called and asked about it previously once I HAD met my deductible close to the end of the year (but a full year prior to starting school and before I even got in) and they said they wouldn’t cover it even with my deductible being met. Idk what Walgreens did but they did magic.

 

[ajs513]

Yeah Walgreens did some weird voodoo magic and got my insurance to cover it even though they literally pay for N O T H I N G until I meet my $3500 deductible. Even had called and asked about it previously once I HAD met my deductible close to the end of the year (but a full year prior to starting school and before I even got in) and they said they wouldn’t cover it even with my deductible being met. Idk what Walgreens did but they did magic.

I still to this day have never found the answer for it. I called my insurance, they said it’s not covered. I went to Walgreens, they said it’s covered. I called insurance again to double check, they said it’s not covered. Got all three shots and was covered. Who knows. Don’t look a gift vaccine in the mouth I guess.

 

[amsweeney]

Insurance likely will NOT cover it. Go to Walgreen’s. It’s the only place I’ve heard of that does some weird voodoo and gets it covered. It was covered for me even though insurance said it wouldn’t be. The same has happened to other people. Otherwise it’s going to be anywhere from $750 to upwards of $1,000. As long as you’ve been accepted to vet school you should have no problem getting it prescribed, but insurance likely won’t cover it unless what happened to me happens to you.

So I guess I am super naive and clueless, but I thought that some vet schools provide the vaccine for free? Or the insurance through vet school provides it for free? Why do I think this...?

 

[gianna1018]

Insurance likely will NOT cover it. Go to Walgreen’s. It’s the only place I’ve heard of that does some weird voodoo and gets it covered. It was covered for me even though insurance said it wouldn’t be. The same has happened to other people. Otherwise it’s going to be anywhere from $750 to upwards of $1,000. As long as you’ve been accepted to vet school you should have no problem getting it prescribed, but insurance likely won’t cover it unless what happened to me happens to you.

I tried Walgreens first and none in my area (state?) offer it and my PCP told me to contact the health department and they told me they don’t do it anymore either because it’s expensive to order and sometimes people don’t show up. The only place that said they would do it besides the specialist I found are those clinics people go to prior to traveling for vaccines, but again they don’t take insurance so what’s the point lol. I went ahead and called my insurance company and they told me it shouldn’t be an issue but I’m just paranoid I guess. When I was booking my appointment I was very straightforward with the doctors office. I was like ARE YOU SURE ITS COVERED and they were like yes it is, it’s not a problem. I just wanted to know what to say in case they give me any issues. In which scenario are they more likely to cover it, school or work? Both? Do I have to bring my acceptance letter to the doctors office as proof?



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[EngrSC]

So I guess I am super naive and clueless, but I thought that some vet schools provide the vaccine for free? Or the insurance through vet school provides it for free? Why do I think this...?

I think it depends on the school. At the Penn financial aid talk they broke down the costs of everything. The rabies vaccine series was in there but you could opt out if you already had it (and wouldn't have to pay for it). So, at least at Penn, it's "included" in first year expenses though you're actually paying for it with loans or whatever. (Note: I believe this was at Penn but I could very well be confusing it with another school)

 

[ajs513]

So I guess I am super naive and clueless, but I thought that some vet schools provide the vaccine for free? Or the insurance through vet school provides it for free? Why do I think this...?

At Penn it’s free if you have the Penn insurance plan. Otherwise you pay for it. Definitely different at every school.

 

[ajs513]

I tried Walgreens first and none in my area (state?) offer it and my PCP told me to contact the health department and they told me they don’t do it anymore either because it’s expensive to order and sometimes people don’t show up. The only place that said they would do it besides the specialist I found are those clinics people go to prior to traveling for vaccines, but again they don’t take insurance so what’s the point lol. I went ahead and called my insurance company and they told me it shouldn’t be an issue but I’m just paranoid I guess. When I was booking my appointment I was very straightforward with the doctors office. I was like ARE YOU SURE ITS COVERED and they were like yes it is, it’s not a problem. I just wanted to know what to say in case they give me any issues. In which scenario are they more likely to cover it, school or work? Both? Do I have to bring my acceptance letter to the doctors office as proof?



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I don’t think it really matters. It’s for school which is for your career, but that’s still deemed as a optional since you don’t have to be a vet. It’s really annoying. If insurance says it’s covered then that’s great. But definitely do everything you can to make sure it’s a “yes, this is covered” rather than a “Yea I think you’ll be okay.” And document it! Get names, dates, and times.

 

[SkiOtter]

So I guess I am super naive and clueless, but I thought that some vet schools provide the vaccine for free? Or the insurance through vet school provides it for free? Why do I think this...?

Sadly not usually

 

[amsweeney]

I tried Walgreens first and none in my area (state?) offer it and my PCP told me to contact the health department and they told me they don’t do it anymore either because it’s expensive to order and sometimes people don’t show up. The only place that said they would do it besides the specialist I found are those clinics people go to prior to traveling for vaccines, but again they don’t take insurance so what’s the point lol. I went ahead and called my insurance company and they told me it shouldn’t be an issue but I’m just paranoid I guess. When I was booking my appointment I was very straightforward with the doctors office. I was like ARE YOU SURE ITS COVERED and they were like yes it is, it’s not a problem. I just wanted to know what to say in case they give me any issues. In which scenario are they more likely to cover it, school or work? Both? Do I have to bring my acceptance letter to the doctors office as proof?

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Sooo inside source: my boyfriend was a pharmacist at Walgreen's and NYS pharmacists are not approved to give rabies vaccines (if you're from NY like me)

 

[gianna1018]

Sooo inside source: my boyfriend was a pharmacist at Walgreen's and NYS pharmacists are not approved to give rabies vaccines (if you're from NY like me)

Yes I am! That’s probably why. I even checked CT and it’s not offered there either.


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[amsweeney]

Walgreen's probably also charges the "prescription insurance" instead of the "medical insurance" which is why those of you who got it covered by Walgreens and your insurance said they won't cover it, but there is a loophole with charging it as a "prescription." Goddamn NYS.

 

[KCgophervet]

So I guess I am super naive and clueless, but I thought that some vet schools provide the vaccine for free? Or the insurance through vet school provides it for free? Why do I think this...?

At UMN when I went it was covered by the health insurance you got through the school, and also offered on campus so we basically all got it done together.

 

[SkiOtter]

Walgreen's probably also charges the "prescription insurance" instead of the "medical insurance" which is why those of you who got it covered by Walgreens and your insurance said they won't cover it, but there is a loophole with charging it as a "prescription." Goddamn NYS.

My insurance still doesn’t pay for prescriptions except for the normal free ones like birth control

 

[amsweeney]

I have my own insurance and will lose it when I go to school so I need to switch to the school's insurance. I emailed Purdue and they said historically, the vaccine is covered by the school's insurance. Something else to consider.

 

[JJ Bittenbinder]

Insurance likely will NOT cover it. Go to Walgreen’s. It’s the only place I’ve heard of that does some weird voodoo and gets it covered. It was covered for me even though insurance said it wouldn’t be. The same has happened to other people. Otherwise it’s going to be anywhere from $750 to upwards of $1,000. As long as you’ve been accepted to vet school you should have no problem getting it prescribed, but insurance likely won’t cover it unless what happened to me happens to you.

Yeah Walgreens did some weird voodoo magic and got my insurance to cover it even though they literally pay for N O T H I N G until I meet my $3500 deductible. Even had called and asked about it previously once I HAD met my deductible close to the end of the year (but a full year prior to starting school and before I even got in) and they said they wouldn’t cover it even with my deductible being met. Idk what Walgreens did but they did magic.

THIS HAPPENED TO ME TOO! I went there and wasn’t asked to pay anything so I said nothing. I’m waiting to get a bill in the mail or something but so far haven’t gotten anything yet!

 

[JaynaAli]

In general, I feel like the expectation should be that it won’t be covered and you should budget the ~$1,000 for it, then you can be pleasantly surprised if your insurance does cover it. Definitely worth asking though.

When I was a first year vet student like 9 years ago (wtf how did I get so old?!) my school paid for half and my insurance covered the other half. They took us into the school’s medical center in groups and vaccinated us one after another basically like cattle going through a chute, lol. But the school I went to stopped paying for the vaccine after my year.

 

[Coopah]

Davis insurance paid for it my year, after the reps told us it would only cover part of it and we wall waited for a few months on pins and needles for the bill to come in. It never did. Don't forget if you need a booster in your third year because I had to pay $300 to get my booster and I was very sad.

 

[sheltermed]

this is probably a broad question with a lot of answers/explanations, but why are veterinary interns paid so little (like, recently graduated vets hoping to go into specialty medicine)?

 

[ajs513]

this is probably a broad question with a lot of answers/explanations, but why are veterinary interns paid so little (like, recently graduated vets hoping to go into specialty medicine)?

My take on it is supply and demand. There are a lot of vets who want to specialize. They NEED to do an internship and a residency to do that. They need to learn how to be specialists. It's then a tradeoff of spending four years of your life making around $30,000 a year to then be able to make much more in the long run. Sort of like how we're willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to learn the things we need to know to then go somewhere to be paid a small amount of money to learn more things we need to know to then go somewhere ELSE to learn things we need to know to be specialists and make real money.

 

[amsweeney]

this is probably a broad question with a lot of answers/explanations, but why are veterinary interns paid so little (like, recently graduated vets hoping to go into specialty medicine)?

It's like that across all residencies (pharmacy, medicine, dental, etc)

 

[sheltermed]

It's like that across all residencies (pharmacy, medicine, dental, etc)

sure, but I still want to know why lol

 

[Coopah]

this is probably a broad question with a lot of answers/explanations, but why are veterinary interns paid so little (like, recently graduated vets hoping to go into specialty medicine)?

they justify it by telling us that were still learning so most of the value we're getting is out of the teaching so they don't need to pay a real salary. It's like we're still sort of paying for school.

 

[sheltermed]

My take on it is supply and demand. There are a lot of vets who want to specialize. They NEED to do an internship and a residency to do that. They need to learn how to be specialists. It's then a tradeoff of spending four years of your life making around $30,000 a year to then be able to make much more in the long run. Sort of like how we're willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to learn the things we need to know to then go somewhere to be paid a small amount of money to learn more things we need to know to then go somewhere ELSE to learn things we need to know to be specialists and make real money.

they justify it by telling us that were still learning so most of the value we're getting is out of the teaching so they don't need to pay a real salary. It's like we're still sort of paying for school.

I get these things, but it still seems a bit inhumane? I made almost double that just with a bachelor's, and it was a fellowship so I was still "learning"....and debt load aside, it's kind of hard to live on a 30k salary in general? At least around my neck of the woods...

 

[ajs513]

I get these things, but it still seems a bit inhumane? I made almost double that just with a bachelor's, and it was a fellowship so I was still "learning"....and debt load aside, it's kind of hard to live on a 30k salary in general? At least around my neck of the woods...

It's definitely not right. That's why human med made a big push to give residents a higher salary. Now many resident salaries are in the range of $60,000 I believe. They say vet med is 20 years behind human med, so maybe in another 20 years we'll have what would have been a fair salary 20 years prior......

 

[amsweeney]

I get these things, but it still seems a bit inhumane? I made almost double that just with a bachelor's, and it was a fellowship so I was still "learning"....and debt load aside, it's kind of hard to live on a 30k salary in general? At least around my neck of the woods...

100%. Our education system is obviously lacking. PhD students have to live on a average stipend of 30k/year as well. Albeit, they dont have any graduate debt...

 

[Coopah]

I get these things, but it still seems a bit inhumane? I made almost double that just with a bachelor's, and it was a fellowship so I was still "learning"....and debt load aside, it's kind of hard to live on a 30k salary in general? At least around my neck of the woods...

Yes 100%. Vet med doesn't have the protections of human med. It's wrong, but people will still go so there's not much we can do about it.

 

[JaynaAli]

It's definitely not right. That's why human med made a big push to give residents a higher salary. Now many resident salaries are in the range of $60,000 I believe. They say vet med is 20 years behind human med, so maybe in another 20 years we'll have what would have been a fair salary 20 years prior......

I think human med resident salaries are partly (maybe up to completely?) subsidized by Medicare and other governmental programs so I doubt vet trainee salaries will ever approach anywhere close to what human trainee salaries are unless Medicare for all includes Medicare for dogs, haha. Someone tag a physician to clarify how physician residents are funded lol.

Why do they pay vet interns and residents so little? Because they can and people will accept that. It’s like how schools charge so much for tuition...because they can and there is a pretty much unending supply of applicants to do it.

There has been some improvement in salaries as a whole lately but they still need work. In my internship my take home pay was 1800/month (28k/year salary) and my rent alone was 1150/month. The year after me they increased salary to 30k...my internmates and I jokingly complained to the intern director, and they replied “it’s not that big of a increase.” But that was like 10% increase which would have made a big impact in my monthly budget! And if it’s not that big of an increase why don’t we increase more. My residency school increased salaries from 31k to 36k during my time there and is now one of the better paid academia residencies even without considering pretty affordable cost of living in the area.

A faculty member and I were taking about salaries and she was not for increasing them (which I disagree with) because as like someone said above, the “education” you get is supposed to be part of it. She asked how we would feel if they paid us 75-80k/year then demanded we pay back 35-40k/yr in education costs/access to cases just like vet school. That would suck to have to hand your money back over. But it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the intangible benefit of knowledge you get as a resident is “worth”.

 

[SkiOtter]

Wait I need more information about this. My deductible is also $2500 and my insurance company said Rabies vaccines will usually not be considered by immunization so I have to meet my deductible first if I want to be covered.

Do you think the Walgreen billed it under prescription insurance like amsweeney said?

I have no clue. But they worked some kind of magic and I didn’t have to pay anything.

 

[ajs513]

A faculty member and I were taking about salaries and she was not for increasing them (which I disagree with) because as like someone said above, the “education” you get is supposed to be part of it. She asked how we would feel if they paid us 75-80k/year then demanded we pay back 35-40k/yr in education costs/access to cases just like vet school. That would suck to have to hand your money back over. But it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the intangible benefit of knowledge you get as a resident is “worth”.

To me, though, that’s such a BS excuse. Think about the revenue brought in by interns and residents. It’s obviously less in an academic hospital where they’re getting more guidance from attendings which means more people working in a case. But still, you’re doctors doing a ton of work that a single doctor could never do. In most cases (correct me if I’m wrong), the resident is doing almost all of the work and the attending just sort of checks to make sure nothing really major is wrong, or gives some guidance as needed. But the amount you bring in in revenue is more than enough to not pay for the education you’re getting. I’m sure if you calculated production then that would be pretty apparent, right?