Dilemma

[MaChien]

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For starters, I'm not yet in college. I'm a high school senior on my last semester. (yay!) I live in anchorage Alaska. We have no vet school, animal sciences, no WICHE, nothing.

My dream undergrad school would be Montana State University in Bozeman. I lived in Montana for five years, a lot of relatives live there, and I heard the pre-vet is great!

However, I don't like out of state tuition😡 (who does?). So I thought I'd move down there and establish my residency before going to school. Unfortunately though, I have no money. no car. and a giant Newfoundland that will be coming with me. The only + is I could stay with my grandma for a while, while I try and find a place to live.

I would really love to buy a car drive the 2500 miles to get there and what not, but I don't see it happening this year.

My most recent ideas on how to overcome my less than perfect circumstances, would be to stay up here for 1 more year, save up my money and then go down. I could start with some of the boring classes (math, english, etc.) and then transfer. The + are free room and board, and I have a scholarship for the college up here, they pay 1,500 dollars a semester to me. The - stuff, I have a very... needy mom. And I'm worried she might stress me out a lot. However, I'm sure not having any money and living in a box in Montana would also stress me out.

So, my question is. What do you think is the smartest thing to do? Just go for it and move this summer, or stay another year and get some classes out of the way?

 

[HopefulAg]

Well first off welcome to SDN (even though this isn't your first post...I'm a bit slow). It's a great resource and frankly I'd be lost without it.


Any way you could live on campus? I know you said you have a dog but maybe it could stay home 🙂scared: <-- I know...) or at your grandma's. Reason I suggest living in the dorms is you said you also don't have a car, and that would make it doable.

Other alternative would be doing as you said and living with your grandmother until you could afford a place, but will you be completely on your own or will parents be supplementing income (tuition, food, gas, anything?)?

Also staying there for a year while you do the basic core classes is a good idea too, but just remember you'll be a year behind in establishing residency.


But I do think that moving to establish residency would be your best bet. No WICHE and completely OOS would not be odds I'd want to try and face.

 

[david594]

First off, lack of a pre-vet program of all the factors you listed, will probably have the least affect on your vet school goals in the long run.

It sounds like your expecting to take a year off somewhere in the mix. Assuming your home life is livable enough, I would personally stay there for undergrad (low cost schooling being a huge plus) and get a degree in something you enjoy while finishing up your pre-reqs. After your third year I would apply to any vet school that allows you to get in state tuition as a resident(this part is pretty optional). And if that doesn't pan out, move to the state you want to go to vet school in after graduation to gain residency while you apply.

That year of life to gain residency will be a whole lot easier if you have a college degree as opposed to being a poor high school graduate.

 

[MaChien]

Any way you could live on campus? I know you said you have a dog but maybe it could stay home 🙂scared: <-- I know...) or at your grandma's. Reason

but will you be completely on your own or will parents be supplementing income (tuition, food, gas, anything?)?

Unfortunatly leaving Beatrix behind is not an option for me, and not just because i love my big fur baby😍 My mom likes her, but dosn't like the endless shedding, and my siblings don't care for her at all. And my grandmother would take her in...if it wasn't for my grandpa, he is not a fan of animals.

As for any financial support from my family? Nope, none at all. They are not the supportive type. My mom has been making me buy my own clothes/shoes/toothbrushes etc. since I got my first steady babysitting job at 12. Which is why I only have $2,000 dollars saved.🙁

 

[HopefulAg]

Well be sure to apply for FAFSA then.

 

[Allthingsequine]

First off, all of the options you listed certainly seem viable, and I think at this point whatever you choose will not necessarily have a negative impact on your chances of getting into vet school eventually. That said, I am graduating this spring from MSU-Bozeman with a degree in Animal Science in the pre-vet concentration, so I can offer you some information about the program which may help you with your decision.

Out-of-state tuition at MSU is definitely a challenge (I'm not a Montana resident either). However, I think it is something that can be dealt with due to the massive quantities of scholarships available to OOS students at MSU. Have you looked into the WUE program at all? It allows students from participating western states (AK included) to pay a reduced tuition rate at any participating school in the region. At MSU, this works out to 150% of IS tuition, or about $8500/year, much better than the $16000 OOS tuition. You do have to have certain HS stats in order to apply, the details can be found on the website.

As you know, establishing residency in MT is also an option. You can even take up to 6 credits per semester while doing so, so you could use that to get a jump start on your core classes, and I believe as a PT student you are not required to live in the residence halls. Housing in Bozeman can be a little spendy though, and it may be difficult to find a rental that allows a Newfy (I have one myself, but I've been fortunate to be able to leave him with my parents while at school).

Be aware that FT students are required to live in the residence halls for the first year, and pets are not allowed. It is possible to get an exemption to live off campus, but the conditions are pretty strict and usually require you be living with family or a spouse.

MSU is a great school, and I really feel the pre-vet program has left me well-prepared for vet school. If you have any specific questions about MSU or the prevet program here I'd be happy to answer them, feel free to PM me.

Best of luck with your decision! I was definitely in a similar position not so long ago, and I know how difficult it can be.