How did paying for vet school pan out/advice for a career-changer vet wannabe [:

[BenjisMomma]

Hi everyone,

Some really great info here.

I am 25 years old and basically am now deciding to go back to school to be a vet -- I already completed undergrad as a Journalism and English double-major, so of course there are classes I need to take before I can apply to vet school.

I'm exploring the options right now, and there seems to be Saturday classes at a nearby community college so I can start banging out the science/math pre-reqs (I didn't take math because I tested out/exempted during undergrad).

Then again, I may have so many to take that it might be wiser to just go back to school full time for a semester and take a bunch of the classes at once?

Not sure, still doing research.

That all said, I was recently reading posts on the immense cost of vet school and the comparatively little salary of beginning veterinarians.

I was looking and found a bunch of posts on people freaking out about it, but nothing really by people who have BTDT, as in how it actually worked out once they were in the working world. Did they find themselves heartbreakingly broke all the time? Can they afford a house? Did they have kids? Did they live in a shoebox to pay back the loans? (LOL)

I want to go back because I wanted to be a vet when I was very young, and then got discouraged when I realized you have to cut open animals. Now, I work as an editor full time, and make $42,500 a year, but it's not something I can see myself wanting to do for the rest of my life.

All of my free time is spent volunteering at animal shelters or more recently fostering and helping out with animal rescue volunteer-run organizations that pull from southern kill shelters.

So, I realized that it has now come full circle and I still want to be a vet, and am beyond the "ew gross" (lol) little kid stage of blood and guts and all that. I'd rather save lives, do emergency stuff if I can, or be an SPCA vet or something, maybe exotics.

So, any/all advice is welcome!!

Cheers,
Hannah

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[smilin1590]

1. If this is really what you want start taking classes asap if possible. I don't know how it works if you've tested out of a math class previously and now have to take math classes, because they build on one another a lower course is usually a pre-req for the next and so on and so forth. You also may not be able to get all your science pre-req's done at a Community College ( it's the unfortunate truth) so maybe if you don't want to move start looking for university near you that offer zoology or bio majors. If moving is an option look for a school that you obviously want to go to. Also I don't know how many science courses you have left to take but I don't think a full semester of courses would cover all your science pre-req's

2. Make sure to start shadowing under a vet right now so that he/she can write you a great LOR!

3. Again, if this is something you really want cost should be secondary. I don't know much financially so I may be way off base with this next statement but...I know cost means a lot to many people but I'm so willing to pay back those loans no matter what the cost because this is something I have an unending passion for and I'm indifferent about the salary I would make to pay back those loans.

Hopefully people add to this thread because I'm quite positive I've missed mentioning something. Also I hope a student who has graduated can give some insight on this. And foremost I hope you follow your passion and your dreams...Whatever they may be

 

[Whyevernot55]

You're not that far off from me - graduated in 2007 with an English major/Journalism minor and had realized that vet school was what I really wanted to do during my senior year, so I started working on my pre-reqs immediately and getting more experience.
I won't lie, it's been tough just getting through the rest of the undergrad prereqs. I eat a lot of pasta and don't go out much, but I'm quiet and prefer to stay home and read literature anyhow. Vet school is going to involve loans. Many many loans.
I know vets who are doing just fine a year, 6 years, and 10 years out. Our recent-grad new hire lives at home with her mother and I get the impression she's pretty broke, but she can afford to eat and is saving. Another vet who is about 5 or 6 years out of school (also went back to vet school after a career change) owns a house and two dogs and just bought a car to replace her dying one. So it's not all doom and gloom.
The best possible thing to do would be get more experience in different fields and start taking some classes, and figure out how long it's going to take you to get through classes. And budget budget budget!

 

[LivestockDoc]

Hi Hannah,

A lot of the people who were freaking out about the debt as pre-vets are now reachable via the veterinary (as opposed to the pre-veterinary) forum. I bet if you search the threads there you will find people discussing how they deal with the debt post-vet school.

As far as going back to school to get the pre-req's...I did the same thing, only I was a lot older than you when I first went back. I discovered a few things to keep in mind:

Community college is a great way to take care of the lower level pre-req's, however, the upper division classes should (and according to some vet schools, MUST) be taken at a 4 year college.

That said, the worst part for me was finding out that as an already-degreed student, I would never be allowed to register for the classes I needed until after the full-time undergrads had registered. Translation: I could never get into the classes I needed...EVER. After 4 YEARS of delays, an advisor told me to apply to her university as a 2nd Bachelor's candidate, even though I just wanted pre-req's and had no intention of actually completing another Bachelor's. At last, I am able to register ahead of most of the other undergrads b/c I was considered to have Senior status right from the get-go. So I will finally be able to apply to vet school in 2010 (and I started on this path in 2005).

Moral of the story, once you are ready for the upper division courses, get thee into a specific post-bacc program or into a 2nd Bachelor's program pronto! If you don't, you will waste years, as I did, trying...and failing...to convince a college to let you into an overbooked O Chem, Biochem, Genetics, etc. class.

Good luck! It is definitely do-able!

 

[Klhughes]

3. Again, if this is something you really want cost should be secondary. I don't know much financially so I may be way off base with this next statement but...I know cost means a lot to many people but I'm so willing to pay back those loans no matter what the cost because this is something I have an unending passion for and I'm indifferent about the salary I would make to pay back those loans.

I know everyone wants to believe cost doesn't matter (I said the same thing when I was applying) but when you are in school and taking out the loans, it starts to get scary. I'm an out of state student so my loans are really high. I don't even open the envelopes from the bank anymore because I don't want to see the numbers actually in print.
Don't get me wrong, I would never give up going along this path because of the money but you will find out that the money really does make a difference.
Many of our professors at school even tell us that your salary when you graduate should matter to you. They told us that vet's salaries have a tendency to be stagnant because a lot of us just say the money doesn't matter.

 

[david594]

3. Again, if this is something you really want cost should be secondary. I don't know much financially so I may be way off base with this next statement but...I know cost means a lot to many people but I'm so willing to pay back those loans no matter what the cost because this is something I have an unending passion for and I'm indifferent about the salary I would make to pay back those loans.

The cost issue has less to do with people being willing and more to do with people being able. If you have undergrad loans and attend one of the more expensive schools as an out of state student you could easily hit $300k in student loans. And with some of the salaries the way they are in certain fields of vet med, it doesn't necessarily work out to a very livable wage.

 

[frozen_canadian]

3. Again, if this is something you really want cost should be secondary. I don't know much financially so I may be way off base with this next statement but...I know cost means a lot to many people but I'm so willing to pay back those loans no matter what the cost because this is something I have an unending passion for and I'm indifferent about the salary I would make to pay back those loans.
QUOTE]

At the risk of ruffling some feathers, this is the most irresponsible statement I have ever heard. Look, I graduated vet school this year. I came out with some loans, but nowhere near the $300,000 level that is becoming increasingly common. I got a good paying job (70,000) in a cheap cost of living area. And I still have to budget and watch my paycheques. In my experience, anyone who takes out over about $200,000 to go to vet school is beyond irresponsible. Most of them will default, and end up broke and miserable. No amount of job satisfaction will make up for living in your car. Trust me, I have seen it happen to several classmates already. So to say cost is irrelevant is just plain stupid in my experienced opinoin. Rant over.

 

[CatVet2Be]

Let the games begin.....

 

[zeebra44]

3. Again, if this is something you really want cost should be secondary. I don't know much financially so I may be way off base with this next statement but...I know cost means a lot to many people but I'm so willing to pay back those loans no matter what the cost because this is something I have an unending passion for and I'm indifferent about the salary I would make to pay back those loans.
QUOTE]

At the risk of ruffling some feathers, this is the most irresponsible statement I have ever heard. Look, I graduated vet school this year. I came out with some loans, but nowhere near the $300,000 level that is becoming increasingly common. I got a good paying job (70,000) in a cheap cost of living area. And I still have to budget and watch my paycheques. In my experience, anyone who takes out over about $200,000 to go to vet school is beyond irresponsible. Most of them will default, and end up broke and miserable. No amount of job satisfaction will make up for living in your car. Trust me, I have seen it happen to several classmates already. So to say cost is irrelevant is just plain stupid in my experienced opinoin. Rant over.

Eek! Are you serious about several classmates living out of their cars? Why haven't they been able to find a job? That's beyond scary...

 

[StealthDog]

The job market is not good right now, even for vets...

 

[Whyevernot55]

Let the games begin.....

OOOH let me get my popcorn and a beer.

 

[smilin1590]

3. Again, if this is something you really want cost should be secondary. I don't know much financially so I may be way off base with this next statement but...I know cost means a lot to many people but I'm so willing to pay back those loans no matter what the cost because this is something I have an unending passion for and I'm indifferent about the salary I would make to pay back those loans.
QUOTE]

At the risk of ruffling some feathers, this is the most irresponsible statement I have ever heard. Look, I graduated vet school this year. I came out with some loans, but nowhere near the $300,000 level that is becoming increasingly common. I got a good paying job (70,000) in a cheap cost of living area. And I still have to budget and watch my paycheques. In my experience, anyone who takes out over about $200,000 to go to vet school is beyond irresponsible. Most of them will default, and end up broke and miserable. No amount of job satisfaction will make up for living in your car. Trust me, I have seen it happen to several classmates already. So to say cost is irrelevant is just plain stupid in my experienced opinoin. Rant over.

Well I didn't say I was an expert about loans or financial issues. LOL! I did say I may be way off base as well. But luckily for me cost does not scare me as much as maybe some others because I have a very large family who would help me out in rough times if I needed somewhere to stay...others unfortunately are not so lucky. I apologize for showing my naivety (19 years on this earth to be exact). Oh well thats what these boards are for is to get a wide variety of opinions and help from a large span of people

P.S. catvet you cracked me up with that post I hope nobody gets offended by my posts I try not to be offensive

 

[Minnerbelle]

Well I didn't say I was an expert about loans or financial issues. LOL! I did say I may be way off base as well. But luckily for me cost does not scare me as much as maybe some others because I have a very large family who would help me out in rough times if I needed somewhere to stay...others unfortunately are not so lucky. I apologize for showing my naivety (19 years on this earth to be exact). Oh well thats what these boards are for is to get a wide variety of opinions and help from a large span of people

That's a pretty mature way to respond to the start of a flame war (esp for someone with only 19 years of life on earth!). talk about professional development . nicely played smilin!

 

[Jakesmom]

I found myself in a similar situation after deciding to forego a career in teaching to become a Veterinarian. Things I have discovered about going back for those pre-req's:
1) Check with someone in the admissions office at the Vet schools you are interested in applying to. I am planning on applying to Ohio State and emailed someone in admissions as to what exact courses they would consider equivalent pre-req's at the school I planned on taking them at.
2) In regards to taking classes at community college: The admissions lady told me that, while they understand students trying to save money, if you really want your application to be competitive, you are better off taking all of the courses at a 4-year institution.
3) Once you decide where you are going to take your pre-req's, you need to speak with someone in their financial aid office. The university I am attending only allows us post-undergrad students (working on pre-req's for admissions into grad/professional school) to receive aid for one year. Each university has their own rules. I think you can get around it by saying you are going back to school for another bachelors.
4) There are generally about 10+ separate science courses that a person will need to take if they never took science courses in their original undergrad. That will take more than just one school year, even if you go during the summer. Most programs require some combination of Chem 1 &/or 2, OChem 1 &/or 2, Physics 1 &/or 2, Micro biology, Bio Chem, Basic biology, and Genetics.

These are just some things that I wish I had known before going back to school. Hope some of this helps!

 

[DickVetPlease]

Totally off topic but...

My name is Jake, so when I first glanced at the username "Jakesmom," I had the feeling that someone was playing the ultimate "your mom" joke on me.

Then I realized Jake is one of the most common names in the states

 

[flyhi]

That's a pretty mature way to respond to the start of a flame war (esp for someone with only 19 years of life on earth!). talk about professional development . nicely played smilin!

i was thinking the exact same thing....handled that very well.

 

[BlacKAT33]

Totally off topic but...

My name is Jake, so when I first glanced at the username "Jakesmom," I had the feeling that someone was playing the ultimate "your mom" joke on me.

Then I realized Jake is one of the most common names in the states

now that i know your name, i will definitely keep my ears open at the vmcrvm interviews

 

[BlacKAT33]

i was thinking the exact same thing....handled that very well.

I have been lookin at your avatar FOREVER and could not figure it out. i guess too far away from my comp screen and i just saw this thing sticking up. I FINALLY see it is something hiding under the blanket!!! hahaha im so dumb. but now im wondering (cant tell if i see an ear or not) is that a guinea pig or a terrier ?? lol


Don't worry, i wont hijack this thread too So back to the debt thing. Wouldnt most people who go to out of state schools (or private schools) end up with close to 200k in debt when you add in tuition/room and board/books/medical supplies and everything?? It seems like if it were that hard to find a job, and lots of vets were living in their car or really bad off, wouldnt there be articles about that somewhere?? at least on the AVMA site? i just feel like lots of students will have 200k of debt. My dream school is UPenn but since tuition has always been high there and half the class is OOS and the other half that is IS still pays 32k tuition it seems like people are ok or else every graduate from there would be in trouble

 

[DickVetPlease]

now that i know your name, i will definitely keep my ears open at the vmcrvm interviews

Hahah, well being a guy makes it pretty easy to identify me in the first place..but now I REALLY have no way to hide.

 

[HopefulAg]

Hahah, well being a guy makes it pretty easy to identify me in the first place

There were probably 2 other guys at the Iowa interviews that were actually applicants. The rest were boyfriends/brothers lol.

I knew males were under-represented in vet school but it just hits me every time I go to interview and see just how few of us there really are.

 

[flyhi]

I have been lookin at your avatar FOREVER and could not figure it out. im wondering (cant tell if i see an ear or not) is that a guinea pig or a terrier ?? lol

LOL...now THAT is funny. i've been wondering what the heck yours is too....looks like something out of a scary sci fi movie. I get the heebie jeebies every time i look at it.

Mine is a picture of one of my 'terrors'. We were lying on the couch and he was asleep on me. I was on the phone with someone and just started twirling his hair. It ended up in a cone on his head and i was laughing so hard, my friend asked me to take a picture .

Back to the regularly scheduled program......

 

[jpeterman13]

I knew males were under-represented in vet school but it just hits me every time I go to interview and see just how few of us there really are.

we're a dying breed.

 

[BlacKAT33]

I get the heebie jeebies every time i look at it.

 

[parietal]

I am 25 years old and basically am now deciding to go back to school to be a vet -- I already completed undergrad as a Journalism and English double-major, so of course there are classes I need to take before I can apply to vet school. ... Now, I work as an editor full time...

That all said, I was recently reading posts on the immense cost of vet school and the comparatively little salary of beginning veterinarians.

Hi, Hannah. I'm a former journalist too. The debt load was -- and remains -- my top concern, especially since I was making more at my metro paper than I likely will in my first year as a vet. But while there are parts of journalism that I will always love, I was utterly miserable at my old job.

For me, the career change so far has been the best thing I have ever done, but I have done it very carefully and while working full time so I can save up and minimize my long-term debt.

For one thing, I never took a vet assistant job because the pay is so low that I would have had to cut into my savings rather than contribute to them. Instead, I spent as much spare time as possible shadowing vets in a variety of fields and volunteering to assist with surgeries and exams at my local humane society. Although I don't have the thousands of hours of vet experience that some of the others on this forum have, I have well over 300 plus a lot more animal experience.

I made more than my share of mistakes along the way, but if everything goes according to plan, my debt load when I come out should be fairly reasonable.

So yes, I think it can be done in a financially reasonable manner. Just be sure this is really what you want to do. Know that you'll essentially be living a double life as a professional and as a student, which can be stressful, but I like to think it prepares you well for the long and stressful hours of vet school itself.

I'd be happy to share more details privately, if you're interested.

Whatever you decide, good luck! Let me know if I can do anything to help.

P.S. Also have to give props to smilin1590 for a professional, diplomatic reply. The world needs more people like you!

 

[BenjisMomma]

Wow thanks so much for the great info and keep it comin! As I had started looking at the classes I began to realize that 1) You can't get ALL of them (or even most) and reg colleges, but the intro classes I think I can get two of.

2) You're right, it'd still take me more than a year. LOL.

3) smilin: True, but the thing is if it's gonna near $200 K then that's a mortgage payment... something to really weigh/consider. One of the possibly most thought-provoking comments I read was that a vet had told a pre-vet student, I was poor before, I'm poor now, not much changed except now he's doing veterinary work.

4) I live in Mass, so the only in-state is Tufts. And from what I've read Tufts doesn't really give in-state a break.... :/

5) I'm possibly considering Army Vet Corps? Is that hard to get into? Could be cool to be a vet for army animals.

6) ..opinion time! What would you guys do? Right now I've been working for the same company that I interned with during undergrad since graduation, surviving a pretty deep layoff so that was good (as in, they kept me!) But, it's not a career I see myself in years down the road, like I said. I make a decent living, and in a few years I would be debt free, and could start looking to buy a condo or something.

Is it worth it, in your opinion, to do the vet thing? Or should I just stay on volunteer level with rescues/shelters and have it be my hobby/passion instead of my career?

I'm beginning to think that as much as I like the idea of going back to school, and as much as I would love to be a vet, maybe it's really not the smartest thing (At all) financially. I'd be doing it entirely on my own, so... there IS such a thing as cost being prohibitive, which is sad but a fact of life.?

7) One of my friends suggested just going for a master's in bio or chem, since it would probably cost the same as taking my classes at a 4-year and i'd have a master's to show for it. Haven't looked into this. Thoughts?

Again, thanks for chiming in!!!

 

[jpeterman13]

At the risk of ruffling some feathers, this is the most irresponsible statement I have ever heard. Look, I graduated vet school this year. I came out with some loans, but nowhere near the $300,000 level that is becoming increasingly common. I got a good paying job (70,000) in a cheap cost of living area. And I still have to budget and watch my paycheques. In my experience, anyone who takes out over about $200,000 to go to vet school is beyond irresponsible. Most of them will default, and end up broke and miserable. No amount of job satisfaction will make up for living in your car. Trust me, I have seen it happen to several classmates already. So to say cost is irrelevant is just plain stupid in my experienced opinoin. Rant over.

So yea, that pretty much scares the crap out of me

 

[frozen_canadian]

Wouldnt most people who go to out of state schools (or private schools) end up with close to 200k in debt when you add in tuition/room and board/books/medical supplies and everything?? It seems like if it were that hard to find a job, and lots of vets were living in their car or really bad off, wouldnt there be articles about that somewhere??

You'd think. The problem is that tuition has been going up exponentially over the past few years. We have it better in Canada but I have many American friends who are vets or in vet school in the States. Students graduating with >200,000 in debt is only a very recent (in the past few years) phenomenon. So there are vets out there living out of their cars - just not very many of them. Yet. However, the economy sucks right now. Jobs are hard to find. Well paying jobs very hard to find. Jobs that allow you to service $200,000 and rent a place without outside support - next to impossible. So expect articles to start appearing over the next few years. I don't mean to come across as negative and cynical, but this is the reality. For those of you on VIN, look up student debt on the message boards and spend an evening reading through some of the threads. Very eye opening.

 

[BenjisMomma]

Hey, parietal, thanks so much for this. I'd love to hear more. It's good to hear that despite the hefty pricetag you are still very happy with your decision. That's what I'm going back and forth about, really. I know that then my passion would BE my job, so... I've always heard that if you can merge your passion with a paying job then you've got it set. I don't really need a mansion to go along with it. Just a few pets around in a cute little house and maybe a decently nice car to drive me to and from work.

 

[BenjisMomma]

btw, love the name frozencanadian.

I understand the economy right now, but I think looking realistically 5-6 years out it may be a different landscape. Although, vets living out of their cars is definitely scary. What is VIN? Can you direct me to some of the most poignant posts or post them here?

-Hannah

 

[frozen_canadian]

VIN is the Veterinary Information Network, a website/forum that many veterinarians and veterinary students are a part of. It is an awesome place to gather information and work your way through cases...and to talke about other issues like student debt. Its free for veterinary students. I'm not sure about prevet students though.

 

[BlacKAT33]

thanks for the post frozencanadian, guess this is one bad mark against penn ! i also posted in the vet forum so i hope you arent offended. its not that i dont believe you, i just want to know more about how many people are struggling with this before i pick an OOS school.
and yes, what is VIN?

 

[frozen_canadian]

Hey I'm a veterinarian. It takes a lot to offend me I'm all for getting info from as many sources as you can and then making an informed decision.

 

[david594]

All of my free time is spent volunteering at animal shelters or more recently fostering and helping out with animal rescue volunteer-run organizations that pull from southern kill shelters.

From your posts you have yet to indicate you really actually know what a vet does. Dreams as a kid and volunteering at a shelter may not give you the most accurate picture of what a vet does.

And all those "kill" shelters? A lot of them have vets who work there, and they make the decision to euthanize because its in the best interest of all the animals in the shelter.

So go and get tons of experience working with with vets. Not just in shelters, but with any of aspect of the field you can.

(FYI, you'll make a lot more friends at those "kill shelters" if you simply refer to them as open admission shelters)

 

[sumstorm]

3) smilin: True, but the thing is if it's gonna near $200 K then that's a mortgage payment... something to really weigh/consider. One of the possibly most thought-provoking comments I read was that a vet had told a pre-vet student, I was poor before, I'm poor now, not much changed except now he's doing veterinary work.

4) I live in Mass, so the only in-state is Tufts. And from what I've read Tufts doesn't really give in-state a break.... :/

One option that alot of people never consider is moving and establishing residency in a state with a vet school. This is part of how I ended up in vet school: we relocated to the state with the cheapest IS tuition for other reasons, and that was the stimulus that I needed to apply (I could justify cost vs benefit.) The cost is a reality that you will have to deal with and decide how/if you can deal with. However, if this is the field that keeps drawing you back, you are better off giving in to the attraction earlier than later. I resisted for nearly a decade, and that is lost income, completly different education/life experience than the majority of fellow students, and dealing with school along with a mortgage and marriage.

5) I'm possibly considering Army Vet Corps? Is that hard to get into? Could be cool to be a vet for army animals.

Very competitive. Don't consider this route unless you want to be a military vet or in the military in general. Do not do it just to cover costs. See the military doctor board, it is similar. And the commitments may end up being longer. Several of our Vet Corp people already spent time in the military as well.

6) ..opinion time! What would you guys do? Right now I've been working for the same company that I interned with during undergrad since graduation, surviving a pretty deep layoff so that was good (as in, they kept me!) But, it's not a career I see myself in years down the road, like I said. I make a decent living, and in a few years I would be debt free, and could start looking to buy a condo or something.

Is it worth it, in your opinion, to do the vet thing? Or should I just stay on volunteer level with rescues/shelters and have it be my hobby/passion instead of my career?

you have to figure out what is most imporant for you; a paid off condo or work you enjoy. But make certain it is work that you enjoy, even after you get tired of clients, budgets, routine work, and drudgery. Every job has it, so make sure you aren't just trading one form for another, but for one that is still enjoyable for you. I resisted for a longtime, but now feel I have no other option, and since figuring that out, I still have some major doubts, but I KNOW deep inside, I am on the right path for me...and that gets me through the hardest days, the living cheaply with few luxuries, and the challenges to my relationship.

Best wishes on figuring it out!

As for living in one's car; I have done that before. Not good. However, there are jobs available for vets; it may require major relocation and huge sacrifice, but there are jobs available, even now. In a lot of disciplines. Just as I have taken factory and waitressing jobs that I hated to manage bills, new graduates may have to take jobs in places they dislike or in fields that aren't ideal to handle life in the moment. However, we will recover from the recession; hopefully while we are in school. And some areas of vet med will always be needed, even in deep recession, such as public health and food animal industry.

 

[BenjisMomma]

From your posts you have yet to indicate you really actually know what a vet does. Dreams as a kid and volunteering at a shelter may not give you the most accurate picture of what a vet does.

And all those "kill" shelters? A lot of them have vets who work there, and they make the decision to euthanize because its in the best interest of all the animals in the shelter.

So go and get tons of experience working with with vets. Not just in shelters, but with any of aspect of the field you can.

(FYI, you'll make a lot more friends at those "kill shelters" if you simply refer to them as open admission shelters)

Hi David,

Ok, so right, from the posts perhaps not. But my reason for starting this thread was to find out about how people dealt with the cost, and also to get more info on how to do it if I am going to hit the "restart" button on my career. To be honest I thought your reply this time was a bit condescending. On another note, yes of course I would/will go find ways to shadow if I decide to actually take the plunge.

That said, you are correct, I may not know everything a vet does -- after all it's not like I've pursued this as a career before. Then again, who does before they actually start learning about it all? I am clearly in the information gathering stage so I can decide whether I truly want to take the plunge.

Secondly, the kill shelters I was referring to euthanize by gas chamber or heartstick, which I think is unnecessary when sodium pentobarbital is an option and available. Furthermore, at these shelters it's not vets who do the work, it's local inmates or animal control officers. Now of course that's not every shelter, but it does happen and it is out there.

At a local shelter I volunteered at that was "no kill" they still euthanize if an animal is going down a bad path (either health wise or has started acting out against volunteers/handlers from kennel stress). I don't have a problem with euthanasia, there are too many dogs/cats to people who want pets because of a spay/neuter issue; and in other cases you have to weigh quality of life, lifespan and so on; sometimes it's just that whatever procedure would be necessary is too much for what you would spend on a pet or CAN spend on a pet; it's just that I do have a big problem with throwing multiple animals at once into a gas chamber, killing them, adding more on top, and doing it again, when some of the animals aren't even gassed enough to die so they're just severely damaged.

Cheers,
H

Oh PS: the Animal Control officers at the "kill shelters" generally love the people who pull the animals off of death row. Sometimes they put down animals that had adopters because of the lack of communication/organization within the shelter, actually that tends to happen about 15% of the time in my experience. It's not like they enjoy mass euthanasia on a weekly basis for the primary reason of clearing out space! And I'm not some angry protester lol, although I do think some laws have to change.

 

[Minnerbelle]

7) One of my friends suggested just going for a master's in bio or chem, since it would probably cost the same as taking my classes at a 4-year and i'd have a master's to show for it. Haven't looked into this. Thoughts?

are you actually thinking about a career change in the sciences, cause unless you know what you're getting yourself into... you're going to be MISERABLE. i mean yeah, you'll have a degree to "show for it" but what are you planning to do with it?

i don't mean to come off as rude or anything, but i personally don't think a science masters degree is something you want to pursue unless you're really passionate about science/research.

that being said, people do go into non-thesis, course-based masters programs (sometimes referred to as "plan-B masters") that's just there to boost your gpa with graduate level science work in order to increase your odds of getting into vet/med school. i don't know too much about the pre-reqs, but i'm pretty sure that the masters programs aren't there to necessarily cover pre-reqs... the purpose of it is to have graduate level work. what's the point of giving someone a master's (a graduate degree) when they haven't even done the undergraduate work in the field, right?

 

[david594]

I still think it's important for you to get vet experience before you go giving up the job and heading back to school full time.

And what shelters in Massachusetts are using gas chambers? I'm genunely curious? And if they don't have a vet on site then barbiturates are not an option as Mass doesn't issue DEA licenses to shelters.

Umass Boston offers the classes you need as a post-bac but there are some serious flAws with the program.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I still think it's important for you to get vet experience before you go giving up the job and heading back to school full time.

And what shelters in Massachusetts are using gas chambers? I'm genunely curious? And if they don't have a vet on site then barbiturates are not an option as Mass doesn't issue DEA licenses to shelters.

Umass Boston offers the classes you need as a post-bac but there are some serious flAws with the program.

i think she meant in the south... MA doesn't have many big shelters to begin with. mostly small no-kill rescues

 

[david594]

i think she meant in the south... MA doesn't have many big shelters to begin with. mostly small no-kill rescues

We have a hand full of 5000+ animal a year shelters in the state. I want to know which ones she is talking about because I've worked with a few of them.

 

[BenjisMomma]

Hey,

No not in Mass, I did say the south.

I've worked at Quincy and BayPath in Mass; I also volunteer for organizations in the North that do transports/pull from shelters in GA, NC, TN, TX, etc as a foster or for website design/maintenance. Obviously that's not really relevant to being a vet, but it's part of what has peaked my interest, since we see a lot of animals with horrific cases of demodectic mange; there was one who was sprayed with blue paint used to mark horses I believe and pretty deep saw marks on his neck (his owner had tried to saw off the dog's head); I've fostered puppy after puppy in a "bad" litter who had parvovirus and coccidia.

Actually the vet I am going to ask if I can spend hours learning from her one who I took the worst case coccidia/parvo puppy too, this little girl was SO cute, and she actually wanted to adopt it after she helped get the puppy back to health. But even with aggressive care the puppy didn't make it and I had to give the OK to euthanize.

Speaking of, parvo is the most heartbreaking thing I've ever seen. It hits like a truck. One day you have rolly polly happy puppies being normal, the next day they are lethargic and the life has literally been knocked out of them.

The opportunity to help partake in the care and diagnosis of animals like that is why I want to be a vet. I'd like to have the know-how and knowledge to analyze and prescribe and help make sick animals healthy. I do see how many of these rescue orgs take on animals with missing limbs or eyes and so on, so I've seen that end of it; now I'm more interested in being the one who actually creates a turning point in an animal's life back to health, if I can.

 

[BenjisMomma]

Hey, thanks for this feedback!

Yes, I agree with what you're saying. I was doing some more research this AM and found a mention of post-bacc certificate programs that some places have. I may look into that more.

David, you are obviously from Mass (or at least have lived here) -- what would you suggest? You say UMB has the classes but it's a flawed program. Anywhere else in the greater Boston area you would recommend? I'm thinking right now that my best bet is to reapply to a 4 year as a second bachelor's, and knock out the classes that way. I wouldn't be paying rent since I am a part-time childcare giver in exchange for free rent/utilities in their first floor apt. so I could keep the loans somewhat down.

I'm actually excited about the possibility of going back to school, and starting on a career path I would really enjoy. Oddly enough, i had to get a new bank card this morning and the man who issued me the temp. card asked me if there's anything else he could help me with, and I jokingly said, "Well yes, I am trying to decide if I should restart my career and go to vet school" and he said, "Actually, my sister is a vet."

So we chatted a bit. He said that to her, the loans are a lot yes but she is single, has a place and is looking to buy a house soon, and pays back her loans even though her parents helped her out and still saves a lot every month. So, as someone else on here said it may not be all doom and gloom. And then he told me that when you apply for a mortgage the officers don't factor in post-grad medical loans the same way they do other types of loans, so it doesn't hurt you, even though it factors in to how much you can afford. So that was cool news.

He also said that she said it was extremely hard (vet school), and that she got into vet school by relocating to the state of the school she wanted to get into, and once she was an "in-state" applicant she got in. It took her three years to get accepted.

The bottom line, was, though, that she *loves* what she does, and would tell anyone to go for it. She's in small animals though so mainly does checkups, spays and neuters surgeries are Tuesdays.

Anyway I got his card so I could follow up and potentially learn more (or perhaps shadow!) from her.

 

[BenjisMomma]

One option that alot of people never consider is moving and establishing residency in a state with a vet school. This is part of how I ended up in vet school: we relocated to the state with the cheapest IS tuition for other reasons, and that was the stimulus that I needed to apply (I could justify cost vs benefit.) The cost is a reality that you will have to deal with and decide how/if you can deal with. However, if this is the field that keeps drawing you back, you are better off giving in to the attraction earlier than later. I resisted for nearly a decade, and that is lost income, completly different education/life experience than the majority of fellow students, and dealing with school along with a mortgage and marriage.

Best wishes on figuring it out!

Thank you for this feedback. I think that may be a way I go once I am at the point where I can apply to veterinary school. I think you are right, better to get in now then ponder it for a few more years and then start.

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to write and give me feedback. thanks everyone! (and definitely keep chiming in if you want to/think of something!)

 

[Robdude]

I think you need to find a balance between things you enjoy doing and things that will pay you enough to live a life you are comfortable with.

Anyway, a very general rule of thumb I've heard (that ended up being true for me) is for every 20k you barrow, you can expect to pay $150 a month on it. I ended up 20k in debt from my undergraduate education and I'm paying ~150 dollars a month on it. If someone is 100k in debt, that is $750 dollars a month. At 200k - $1500 dollars a month.

According to Wikipedia - the average cost of a year of Vet School is ~15k for in-state and ~30k. While that is a whole crap-ton of money; for a lot of students a very large percentage of their debt comes from the extra money they get to pay their living expenses. So, you have a lot of control over how much it costs.

When it comes to jobs, everyone talks salary. Your salary and what you take home are awfully different - and the more you make - the more you pay in taxes. I make 3x more than my girlfriend in our salaries - but my take home pay is only 2x as much. If you get a job making '60k' as a vet - your take home pay is likely to be around 45k. 45k a month works out to a pay check of $3,750 dollars a month.

If you end up with 200k in loans and a job paying 60k, as a very, very rough estimate, you'll be spending 40% of your income on repaying your student loans, for the foreseeable future. A take home pay of $2,250 a month. That ends up being the equivalent of something like 35-40k salary, if you subtract the student loans from your pay.

Really though, if you can get in-state tuition somewhere, I don't see any reason why you'd end up 100k in debt. 80k would seem reasonable to me. 80k is something like $600 dollars a month. If you make 60k - you'd still have $3,150 dollars or so to spend.

 

[luvgoldens482]

Also, someone posted this website on a different thread and I thought that it was really cool: http://www.finsim.umn.edu/#

It is a financial simulator in case you were wondering.

 

[BenjisMomma]

I think you need to find a balance between things you enjoy doing and things that will pay you enough to live a life you are comfortable with.

Anyway, a very general rule of thumb I've heard (that ended up being true for me) is for every 20k you barrow, you can expect to pay $150 a month on it. I ended up 20k in debt from my undergraduate education and I'm paying ~150 dollars a month on it. If someone is 100k in debt, that is $750 dollars a month. At 200k - $1500 dollars a month.

According to Wikipedia - the average cost of a year of Vet School is ~15k for in-state and ~30k. While that is a whole crap-ton of money; for a lot of students a very large percentage of their debt comes from the extra money they get to pay their living expenses. So, you have a lot of control over how much it costs.

When it comes to jobs, everyone talks salary. Your salary and what you take home are awfully different - and the more you make - the more you pay in taxes. I make 3x more than my girlfriend in our salaries - but my take home pay is only 2x as much. If you get a job making '60k' as a vet - your take home pay is likely to be around 45k. 45k a month works out to a pay check of $3,750 dollars a month.

If you end up with 200k in loans and a job paying 60k, as a very, very rough estimate, you'll be spending 40% of your income on repaying your student loans, for the foreseeable future. A take home pay of $2,250 a month. That ends up being the equivalent of something like 35-40k salary, if you subtract the student loans from your pay.

Really though, if you can get in-state tuition somewhere, I don't see any reason why you'd end up 100k in debt. 80k would seem reasonable to me. 80k is something like $600 dollars a month. If you make 60k - you'd still have $3,150 dollars or so to spend.

Wow, this was the best "math" explanation of what it could be like. It's sounding more and more like my best bet would be to take the required courses somewhere and take advantage of the fact that I'm living in a work-trade deal right now (probably for the next 2 and a half years, which is long enough to take the pre reqs), then relocate somewhere and hope to get in as an in-state applicant, and keep my living expenses really low the best that I can. I'm just not sure how to do that since from what I hear / read vet school is pretty intensive and I'd want to spend all my time studying to pull good grades. (I worked three jobs with a honors school six course double major for two semesters, I think I've done enough working with school.)

After thinking about $200K, $80K is a lot more palatable.

 

[BlacKAT33]

Thanks Robdude!!

 

[BenjisMomma]

Also, someone posted this website on a different thread and I thought that it was really cool: http://www.finsim.umn.edu/#

It is a financial simulator in case you were wondering.

Very cool

 

[rugbychick16]

I think you need to find a balance between things you enjoy doing and things that will pay you enough to live a life you are comfortable with.


According to Wikipedia - the average cost of a year of Vet School is ~15k for in-state and ~30k. While that is a whole crap-ton of money; for a lot of students a very large percentage of their debt comes from the extra money they get to pay their living expenses. So, you have a lot of control over how much it costs.

Really though, if you can get in-state tuition somewhere, I don't see any reason why you'd end up 100k in debt. 80k would seem reasonable to me. 80k is something like $600 dollars a month. If you make 60k - you'd still have $3,150 dollars or so to spend.

You neglect to mention that many vet schools, even in-state, are over 15k per year and can be closer to 20-30k per year, and out-of-state is often over 40k. Add in living expenses, other vet school expenses, travel expenses, and it is very very easy to be over 100k. Find better info sites, not wikipedia.

I have very little debt from my instate undergrad, and am a contract student at vet school so in-state tuition, and I will still be over 100K in debt when I graduate.

 

[BlacKAT33]

You neglect to mention that many vet schools, even in-state, are over 15k per year and can be closer to 20-30k per year, and out-of-state is often over 40k. Add in living expenses, other vet school expenses, travel expenses, and it is very very easy to be over 100k. Find better info sites, not wikipedia.

I have very little debt from my instate undergrad, and am a contract student at vet school so in-state tuition, and I will still be over 100K in debt when I graduate.

eek this calculator is scaring me.

and you're right rugbychick, those calculations werent adding in all of the money you will need to live through vet school. I'm beginning to think that its IS school or no school. I don't know how I could possibly be paying over 2,000$ per month ONLY on loans. the rent in my area is around 1300. thats already 3300$/month!! not even including food or any other bills. ahhhh

 

[Robdude]

You neglect to mention that many vet schools, even in-state, are over 15k per year and can be closer to 20-30k per year, and out-of-state is often over 40k. Add in living expenses, other vet school expenses, travel expenses, and it is very very easy to be over 100k. Find better info sites, not wikipedia.

I have very little debt from my instate undergrad, and am a contract student at vet school so in-state tuition, and I will still be over 100K in debt when I graduate.

The information on Wikipedia isn't *created* at Wikipedia. It's just displayed.....like this chart....

It says 'AAVMC Comparative Data Report'. It also says 'Average' - which let's us know that some will be higher and an equal number should be lower. So, it's the AAVMC's data that you are saying isn't a good source? Can you give me a better source?

I'm not trying to be argumentative - but I'd venture to guess you and I just have different expectations of what is reasonable and what isn't reasonable for a vet student to do. And that's fine. But I haven't seen anything that would suggest finishing Vet School with under 100k in debt is impossible. Particularly for someone who makes that a primary goal in their education.

Tuition information is all publicly available. If your goal is to finish without a lot of debt - go to a school that costs less than average. But don't just look at tuition, consider cost of living too.

I'm in Fort Collins, CO - near CSU. Around here, you can get a place to stay for $300 dollars a month. A few years back, when I was in DeKalb, Il - I had a place where I paid $225 a month. I'd imagine areas around certain schools (UC Davis jumps to mind, but I haven't researched it) would be significantly higher.

I'm not saying people who end up with more than 100k did something wrong. I'm just saying that it's possible.

I'm also assuming certain things that I'd imagine anyone who is trying to minimize their debt would assume as well. At the schools I've looked at, Vet Students follow the same schedule as the rest of the University for the most part. College isn't exactly a full-time gig. A Fall/Spring semester - at most schools totals 32 weeks. That leaves 20 weeks to be filled with full-time employment.

CSU's schedule, from what I understand, expects a Fall/Spring/Summer in your 4th year - so, a student could expect to work 20 weeks a year the first three years and maybe the winter break the 4th year. Still - just say 60 weeks. That's easily 15k, and considering that most students are college graduates, it's not unfathonable to think they could make more than minimum wage for those hours.

Anyway, bottom line....according to the AVMA (http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dv...ergency/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/525880)

The association's most recent survey shows last year's mean educational indebtedness totaled $106,969

That's mean, so yes - there are people who owe more and an equal number of people that owe less. If your goal is to owe very little, and you plan your education with that goal in mind, there is no reason why someone can't finish with less than 100k.

But yeah - for a lot of people, for a lot of reasons, it's understandable that it might be more. Sorry if I made it sound otherwise. Anyway, at this point, I'd be happy if someone vet school would take my money