CSU vs UCD

[KK5820]

Hello everyone!

I am incredibly humbled to be offered a spot at both UCD and CSU, but I am torn on choosing which one. I was accepted into the regular UCD pool and the MPH/DVM program at CSU.

For some background-

I am an Army Reservist. I hope to compete for the HPSP and enter in as an active duty veterinarian after vet school. I have had mixed opinions on whether or not an MPH would allow me to promote faster within the military. I originally decided to apply for the dual program as I do have an interest in public health, and felt it would help me within my military career.

The MPH/DVM program is OOS tuition for the first year (masters), but allows me to have IS tuition afterwards. The Army will cover 3 years of vet school, but not the masters. I looked at the cost and I would be looking at around 80ish-95ishk for loans in those first two years if I chose CSU.

Conversely, UCD also offers me IS tuition, but no MPH. I would be looking at ~64k in loans.

I’ve thought about getting my GI bill and returning in the future for my masters, as then it would be truly free. However, I am thoroughly humbled by the acceptance to the dual program as there were only 5 admits (from my understanding) and I almost feel like I am passing up an opportunity. I also have connections here for housing which would allow me to have a lower COL in comparison to Davis.

I am also deeply concerned with supporting CSU due to the VPA ordeal. I currently attend CSU and I was shocked by the initial legislation, and I am thoroughly disappointed in our departmental leadership for pushing for it.

UCD seems to offer more hands-on opportunities as well, in comparison to CSU. CSU will also be undergoing a curriculum overhaul in my first year as a DVM student.

Clearly I’m torn and I would love some advice!

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[vampyrica]

you should totally come join me and our super amazing cohort at CSU 😚all jokes aside, both are incredible options and you should be very proud of your acceptance to 2/3 of the TOP THREE SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY!!

the situation regarding loans and money these next few years will continuously be up in the air, so i would tell you go where you feel you will be more financially secure and where you can pay your debts off the quickest. it also depends on your goals outside of vet med too! do you want to move to a different state/country? buy a house? would you like to get married or have children someday? as far away as all these scenarios seem, it's not a bad idea to take those sorts of things into consideration when it comes to accruing debt for your education.

regardless, i know you will thrive wherever you go!

 

[KK5820]

you should totally come join me and our super amazing cohort at CSU 😚all jokes aside, both are incredible options and you should be very proud of your acceptance to 2/3 of the TOP THREE SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY!!

the situation regarding loans and money these next few years will continuously be up in the air, so i would tell you go where you feel you will be more financially secure and where you can pay your debts off the quickest. it also depends on your goals outside of vet med too! do you want to move to a different state/country? buy a house? would you like to get married or have children someday? as far away as all these scenarios seem, it's not a bad idea to take those sorts of things into consideration when it comes to accruing debt for your education.

regardless, i know you will thrive wherever you go!

I’m literally having an existential crisis as you can see 💀💀💀💀

 

[vampyrica]

I’m literally having an existential crisis as you can see 💀💀💀💀

aaa ik im sorry ily pookie! i'm sure you'll get more solid advice soon!!! (literally love the DVMs in these threads, they're such a tremendous help!)

 

[JaynaAli]

Military vet med is such a niche field, I think you probably need to talk to actual military veterinarians or at minimum, a vet med army recruiter person (sorry I don’t know the proper terminology but we always had a super sweet army lady coming around at my school) and see what their take is on the extra degree and if it’s worth the financial and time investment. I’m a huge advocate for going to the cheapest school, but realistically, both 64k and 80-90k are balances that are reasonable to pay off fairly quickly. But I have no idea if the masters would be useful for military specifically or not.

 

[KK5820]

Military vet med is such a niche field, I think you probably need to talk to actual military veterinarians or at minimum, a vet med army recruiter person (sorry I don’t know the proper terminology but we always had a super sweet army lady coming around at my school) and see what their take is on the extra degree and if it’s worth the financial and time investment. I’m a huge advocate for going to the cheapest school, but realistically, both 64k and 80-90k are balances that are reasonable to pay off fairly quickly. But I have no idea if the masters would be useful for military specifically or not.

Thank you! What do you think about the VPA situation? And also being the first class to undergo the curriculum overhaul? That is another concern for me with attending CSU

 

[Shelea Caroeaetogae]

If you have concerns about departmental leadership at CSU, I can give you some insight on it. I just cannot voice them on here as I'm waiting for the cycle to end but feel free to DM if you're curious.

 

[KK5820]

If you have concerns about departmental leadership at CSU, I can give you some insight on it. I just cannot voice them on here as I'm waiting for the cycle to end but feel free to DM if you're curious.

PM sent!

 

[battie]

I am also deeply concerned with supporting CSU due to the VPA ordeal. I currently attend CSU and I was shocked by the initial legislation, and I am thoroughly disappointed in our departmental leadership for pushing for it.

I'm a Colorado native and practice in the Denver area and extremely disappointed.

If you elect to go to UCD, please send CSU a letter explicitly stating you chose UCD over CSU because in part of the CPA shenanigans.

 

[megadorkie]

Hi!

Congratulations on your accomplishments! Both of those schools are fantastic choices and you will not make a wrong decision, no matter which school you ultimately choose.

I know that both CSU and UCD are successful in research, and they both have impressive accomplishments. Cost of living in both is equally high. UCD is located in a rural area rich in farmland, where it can get pretty hot in summers and snow is rare during its moderate winters. There a small college town nearby that has good socialization opportunities, and Sacramento is only 25 minutes away. Sacramento is the capital of California, and there is tons of things to do there if you'd like to have a big city nearby. Travis AFB is also only ~40 minutes away. Living in California offers you proximity to a wide range of highly desirable places to visit, like San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley, and more. There are so many cultures infused everywhere in California, as the state prides itself on diversity. It would definitely be an unforgettable experience and you would be near many external opportunities if you were to attend UCD, both personally and professionally. I grew up only an hour from UCD and considered applying there when I was younger, but ultimately decided not to, but I know most of the California area well, and I've taken horses to UC Davis emergency care if you have any questions pertaining to either!

CSU on the other hand, I did apply for (received a rejection, so I genuinely commend you for being accepted to CSU!) and thus I did research into that school and visited the area last year. My personal draw to CSU is its influential role in many national health matters and research, and their equine program. I'm a big horse girly, and CSU seems to be one of the best options for equine medicine thanks to its well-refined program and the connections it provides. The demand for equine veterinarians is high in the area, and in nearby Wyoming, especially Cheyenne. When I did a vet school tour, they focused on their extremely modern facilities, including their brand new equine hospital, and their oncology department where they are discovering new treatments and technologies for the field of veterinary medicine. Fort Collins is a wonderful college town, larger than Davis, so no need to drive as far for essentials that Davis might not have. It is beautiful in the surrounding area, but it does get cold during winters with snow, so you could take the climate differences into consideration there. There are tons of hikes into mountains, forests, etc. just overall tons of scenery and outdoorsy things. People are genuinely very nice there, but I don't think the diversity is higher than California. There are a lot of smaller towns around Fort Collins, where I spent most of my time, and Wyoming is the least populated state, so I think the sense of community is higher in FoCo area. Denver is nearby which is a big city and the capital of Colorado, so it also can provide big city amenities at about an hour away from campus. There are a lot of military bases nearby as well.

Hopefully some of that is helpful, and if you have more questions let me know.

On another note, I am also pursuing the HPSP! I've been in the Air NG for a few years now, and I've been in contact with an Army medical recruiter for a bit over a year(one of the Army medical recruiting stations is located in Sacramento), so if you have more questions about the HPSP feel free to DM me and I can share with you what I've learned! For just a brief overview, the Army will cover 3 years of school and your service obligation afterwards is 3 years, but they also require an extra year for Army-specific public health training. The role of a 64A is primarily food and water inspections of military bases, with animals/clinical medicine taking a secondary role. So, I'm not sure how far ahead a MPH would put you in their eyes, because the Army already trains every vet in public health when they graduate so that they can satisfy the specific needs of the Army. I was initially interested in MPH as well, but I ultimately decided that I would let the Army provide the (paid) schooling for me, and then if I wanted, I could transfer the credits to the college of my choice in the future and complete the remaining credits a civilian degree required at that point. It would take way less time and money, but you may not need the degree anyways if accepted to the Army HPSP (if you are concerned about job security/connections).

As far as promotions, as soon as you graduate veterinary school you are an O3. It seems to me that most Army veterinarians get up to O4 in their first contract and take a managerial role in the clinic they are assigned to. I'm not sure about promotions beyond that though, but I can tell you that upon graduating vet school you will be making guaranteed 6 figures thanks to your prior enlisted service plus BAH.

I concur that it would be best to speak with current Army veterinarians about their experiences, likes and dislikes. I think there are a lot of general public misconceptions about Army veterinary practice, and I learned a lot when I started talking to those in the field. Also, with your acceptance, get in contact with an Army Medical Recruiter ASAP! I can help you with that if you need. I was also accepted this cycle, and my recruiter wants me to formally start my application process in June before I matriculate this August. Because you and I have prior military service, our packets will be huge lol but luckily our security clearances are already done!

I can see that the Master's is important to you. I haven't done research into the Master's program at CSU, but is it possible to apply to their MPH separately in the future? I would imagine it would be less competitive than applying for the dual program, and then the option would still be available for you whenever you chose to pursue it. Plus the GI Bill will be nice to have and use in the future for a free Master's if you do receive acceptance to the HPSP. If not, having a GI Bill is a great back-up plan for vet school, since it will cover vet school tuition as well.

Please feel free to DM me if you'd like, and congratulations again!

 

[pp9]

And also being the first class to undergo the curriculum overhaul?

I wasn't even in the first class to undergo UIUC's curriculum overhaul and we were still dealing with oversights and gaps by the the time we started. With that said, UIUC's overhaul was very extreme, idk what CSU is doing. I think Michigan State has had a much more recent overhaul, so you might be able to find more SDNers who can shed light on how that went.

I wouldn't tell you to avoid a school because of this, but there is a possibility of speedbumps/confusion you/your class would have to work through.