Hi everybody. I am currently a junior in high school who really wants to become a veterinarian. I have lived on a farm my whole life and am the main caretaker for our animals, especially when it comes to injuries/diseases. I also do really well academically (32 ACT and 4.14 GPA), I am quite active in FFA and sports, and I'm going to hopefully start an internship with two different vets this summer. With all of this, does applying to an early-acceptance vet school sound like a good idea/would be successful next year? I am especially looking at Mississippi State because it is already my dream vet school as is. It is a ways away from where I live, but the program there seems really great, and if it helps me skip out on some undergrad/applying, I feel like it could be a good idea. I'm really just looking for some advise or insights in this program and whether or not I would be a good fit for it. Thank you!
Early Entry Advice
- Thread starter Caviar4
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I'm a big fan of the early entry programs and wish I had known about them! Multiple schools do them, so you could contact the admissions departments at each school to see which ones do the early entry and broaden your options a little bit from a financial point of view.
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I did an early admit program many years ago (freshman/accepted into early admit in 2008ish, started vet school in 2011 and graduated in 2015). In my opinion, there’s no harm in applying. I don’t know about Mississippi’s program specifically, but where I went to school/participated, it was still extremely competitive to be chosen. A person in admissions I became close to during school actually said the early admit interviews were more difficult/choosy because we were young and they wanted to make sure we were worth investing time into. When I participated, if you kept meeting the requirements and doing what they needed, you were automatically in when the time came. If for some reason you dropped out of the program, you could still apply the “regular” way…that happened to my close friend/roommate. She was on a competitive undergrad sports team and couldn’t maintain the 3.5 per semester (not average) GPA minimum one semester so she was ‘kicked out’ of early admit. But she got in the normal way after she graduated undergrad. So if Mississippi is like the program I experienced and you’re still allowed to apply like normal should something happen, I’d say go for it because there’s not really a downside. My main concern would be whether you’re sure you want to do vet med since it sounds like you don’t have a lot of practical experience working in vet med, but should you decide down the road during undergrad to pursue something else, I assume they’d let you drop out of early admit no harm and no foul.
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There are positives to an Early Admit program, but I highly recommend crunching the numbers for the total cost for undergrad + vet school especially if you have to pay OOS prices for both undergrad and vet school. Do you have an IS vet school?
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I was very glad I did an early admit program! I chose Kansas State over Mississippi State. This was 6 years ago so the programs are different now. I loved that I was able to skip some courses I wasn't interested in and concentrate on the pre requisites then go into vet school after 3 years of undergrad. I think that 3 or 4 of the top students in our class were early admit students so it has worked out well. It is very competitive and you need to have some good experience prior to applying.
Technically no, but I do live in SD, so there is the SDSU 2+2 program and reciprocity with MN. However, by my figuring, if I improve my ACT score by one point, I would qualify for some pretty big scholarships MSU offers. With that, it would be significantly cheaper to attend MSU from what I found.
I'm currently in an early entry program and I'm an incoming undergrad sophomore. I applied to the ones at Mississippi State, Purdue, Kansas State, and Mizzou. If you have any specific questions about any of them l can try to give you more advice, but I would say go for it! The relief in undergrad about having a secured position feels like a huge burden off my shoulders.
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Just curious. Sorry I’m not familiar with these programs. It looks like you have to do your undergrad at your vet school? Is that correct?
If that’s the case and it’s your in state that might be a good option. However if you’re oos it might add a lot of expenses to the undergrad years?
If that’s the case and it’s your in state that might be a good option. However if you’re oos it might add a lot of expenses to the undergrad years?
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In my case with scholarships and COL my undergrad was cheaper or equal to my in state and one less year.
Yep, I'm currently in an undergrad program at the same university where I'll go to vet school. Including scholarships and the potential of costs for in state vet schools, the OOS program I currently attend is cheaper than if I stayed in state.
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You'd definitely have to do the math. However, some of these schools may offer a switch to in state as well.
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Hi there! I was an Early Entry student at Mississippi State!
I ended up actually applying and getting in the traditional route - long story - but I am happy to share my experiences with you!
I ended up actually applying and getting in the traditional route - long story - but I am happy to share my experiences with you!
