Foreign or Domestic???

[zachman01]

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After hearing from multiple DVMs about how miserable they are due to huge loans, I have come to the conclusion I don't want a huge loan! (Duh, right?) I was accepted to CSU's DVM program... as an out of state student. I would have to pay $54,000 a year just in tuition. Through lots of hard work (I worked 2 jobs simultaneously all through college so far) I have no debt at the moment. It sickens me to think I could have nearly $250,000 in just 4 years!
After doing some research, I applied to, and was accepted to a little veterinary school in the European country of Estonia, which is properly accredited in Europe and is on the list of foreign schools provided by the AVMA where, if I attend, I can practice here in the USA after jumping through those few extra hoops. I have thoroughly researched all aspects of getting licensed here in the USA, I have a source for a loan to go overseas, and I have visited the school and was happy with the town it is in and was happy with the educational institution and the clinic and everything. I do believe I would leave the school a competent DVM. My question is a very narrow one: if I attend this school in a country most Americans haven't even heard of, will I have a hard time finding a job in the US? Assuming I get licensed and am not an awful vet, would the stigma associated with going to a little foreign school like that be a career killer? My orientation at CSU starts in less than a week; the school in Europe starts in 2, so I need to decide pretty much right now. Again, I do understand the foreign vet licensing process, and have spent several months researching all other aspects of the plan I can think of. My only major remaining hangup is my job prospects upon returning home. Any feedback would be massively appreciated. Thank you all so much for reading!!! 🙂

 

[dyachei]

The extra hoops are very tedious, expensive and time consuming. I would make sure that it is worth it

 

[CalliopeDVM]

The extra hoops are very tedious, expensive and time consuming. I would make sure that it is worth it

I agree - I've met a few prospective vets who have done what you are planning, and they were very frustrated with the several years wait it was taking to complete the testing procedures in order to get licensed.....that was worse for them than the cost, because it also meant they weren't being a vet, or earning as a vet, in addition to having to pay those many thousands of dollars.

I am not in a hiring position, but I do hear through the grapevine some prejudice against non-AVMA accredited school grads. Certainly I have met (and know people who have met) lots of good grads from those schools, but that's not their first instinct when seeing the information. Given the competitive market in the US for new- and newish grad vets, and the increasing numbers of grads from accredited schools, I would be concerned -- especially when you are 2-3 years behind the pack because you had to jump through all those hoops.

 

[shortnsweet]

Oh man....go to CSU.

Going to a non-accredited school is not worth the headache or the risk....plus you would probably be spending more in Visas and living costs and extra testing.

 

[mysandiegovet]

Let me disagree.
After having graduated from University in Mexico it does not come near the debt convert to a quarter million dollars I would have to pay going to school in the United States.

That said, passing the test is and always will be a challenge but then again life happens doesn't it?

 

[shortnsweet]

Let me disagree.
After having graduated from University in Mexico it does not come near the debt convert to a quarter million dollars I would have to pay going to school in the United States.

That said, passing the test is and always will be a challenge but then again life happens doesn't it?

Mexico is accredited now, no?

I understand saving money, but a school that is not accredited, is not proven to have students pass the equivalency exams, and potentially limit your job offers because people have no idea about your program just doesn't sound worth the risk to me. To each their own I suppose.

Also, doing a quick interwebs search, that program is 6 years. Have you factored in two extra years of schooling and living costs? Or would your undergrad courses allow you to jump into the program in the middle?

 

[mysandiegovet]

Try UNAM

 

[stenodactylus]

You could always go to an accredited foreign school. If you're going to hemorrhage yourself into inescapable student loan debt, may as well live abroad. If the school is accredited then its simple to go back to practice in the states. RVC, Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh. Good options.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Y If you're going to hemorrhage yourself into inescapable student loan debt, may as well live abroad.

Great quote!