European applicant.

[Lycaonpictus]

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I have an interview looming for a place to study veterinary medicine at University in the U.K.. Veterinary/ medicine courses are organised differently in the U.K. and Ireland and becauyse of the situation I'm in I thought it would be benificial to get feedback from an American prospective. Here you gain attmitance to study veterinary straight from secondary school (highschool), at the age of seventeen/eighteen and the course last five or six years depending on the University. I have taken another root, I've already completed an honours degree and am studying for a research masters/Ph.D in mammal ecology. Because of the free fees available to me and the funding I've secured for postgraduate studies I have no debts to date. If I do get accepted I will have to pay fees for the duration of the course (5-6 years) and take out loans for accomadation and living expenses. It would mean I wouldn't be qualified til i'm thirty! What age are average veterinary graduates in the U.S. and Canada? What is the average debt on completion of Veterinary medicine in U.S.. My worries are that I'm too old to be changing direction and that I won't be able to afford the loan I'd need to complete the studies ($100,000). Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Angelo84]

I'm not sure what the average age is but if people go straight to vet school after graduating from undergrad they'll be about 26 when they graduate. Having said that many people don't go straight throught so the average age is likely much higher. The average debt when graduating is 85 to 100 thousand--it was an interview question at OSU! Good luck!

 

[mistifical]

if you go to http://aavmc.org/students_admissions/vet_schools.htm there is a list of all of the american (and several foreign) vet schools, each linking to the home page of the school. if you search around enough on each school website you can find information on what tuition is annually and also admissions stats, which tend to include information about the age of the students entering the program (such as age range and average age).

I hope this helps! Many American applicants are not fresh out of college either, and it is so competetive that many of us who do apply straight from college do not get in the first time around.

Tuition ranges from relatively reasonable costs (if you are a state resident at the right school) to close to $45 k per year, for private schools or certain state schools (for non residents).

I hope all this helps! The AAVMC website should be able to better answer all of your questions.

 

[silverelf]

i know edinburgh and glasgow are putting 4yr programs into place as well as the traditional 5-6 yr program....this is to attract US applicants who complete an undergrad degree and then expect only 4 yrs of grad school. However, since you already hold advance degrees, it might be worthwhile to contact the schools and see if you would be elligible to enter the 4yr program