How do I chose between Vet schools?

[roxyturbo]

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I got "the" call today notifying me that I was accepted into Ross for the january semester. I applied to a couple other schools that won't be notifying me of acceptance status until after January. What should I do? I know that I can defer my admission for a maximum of 2 months. I spent time and money on 4 other applications and I don't want to rule them out completely. On the other hand, I have been applying to vet school for 3 years and It would be KRAZY if I said no to Ross. I'm going to call my interviewer tomorrow and talk to him more about deferring my enrollment. Maybe I can just defer for a semester and wait for the other schools to get back to me. Any advice, experience?!

 

[Pomona2006]

Considering that this is your third round of apps I wouldn't say no to Ross. If I were in your situation, I would defer and hope to get some news from the other 4 schools before that time is up. Tough situation! Good luck!

 

[Catnapper]

--Yeah, I'd defer as long as I could & then take Ross. Congrats and good luck!

 

[tastrophe]

--Yeah, I'd defer as long as I could & then take Ross. Congrats and good luck!

I agree, try to defer, and if for whatever reason they don't allow the deferral, just accept at Ross - no one says you have to stay there if you get accepted somewhere else, and who knows, maybe a class or two will transfer and you'll have a lighter load.

 

[nyanko]

accept at Ross - no one says you have to stay there if you get accepted somewhere else, and who knows, maybe a class or two will transfer and you'll have a lighter load.

I would definitely check with the other schools you're applying to in order to make sure that they would let you do this before you plan this kind of thing!

 

[VeganChick]

I would give Ross a call. I am sure this is not the first time they have had this question asked.

 

[LVT2DVM]

Be VERY careful about how you tread with Ross...I have no experience with them, but I was accepted to St. Matthews last year (I ended up not going) but they were very put off that I asked to defer. They expected that if I applied for a certain semester, that I was ready to attend that semester and I guess I can sort of see their point. If you want to discuss/get information about deferral, I would definately NOT mention its bc you want to see if you get into another school (but I bet you already assumed that) SMU only allowed me to defer bc I was caring for my ailing grandfather who had no other caretaker but me, and I had to pre-pay my $500 seat deposit and $1000 housing deposit before they would agree to do it. Unfortunately I ended up losing my seat and my deposit bc they do not offer Stafford loans and the private loan market was (still is) not taking anymore private applicants without a co-signer which I didnt have. Perhaps Ross will be more gracious. But knowing what I know (a 7th time applicant) unless you've made some MAJOR improvements to your application this cycle you have a low chance of being accepted. Believe me, I hate saying that bc I have as much hope for a long shot as anyone (check out my avatar), but Im just giving you realistic advice. If you have nothing stopping you other than waiting for application "what-ifs", then I would go for January. If you get an offer from another school, you can cross that bridge if and when. Keep in mind too, if you start in January, your that much closer to graduation, than waiting to start in August. Good luck and Congratulations Roxy...I'll be rooting for ya, either way!

 

[tastrophe]

I would definitely check with the other schools you're applying to in order to make sure that they would let you do this before you plan this kind of thing!

I didn't mean to plan on it - would you (not you in particular!) really call up a school you applied to and say "Hi, I applied to your school, but I got accepted somewhere else already, so I'm going to go there. But, if you guys decide to accept me too, I'll switch and go to your school instead. So, if you do accept me, would you take these other classes as transfers?" That's a question for after acceptance IMO, which would also mean after starting at Ross.

I meant more that if you get into another school, one that you'd much rather go to, but you already accepted (and started) at Ross, in the worst case scenario you've lost a semester's worth of $, and in the best case scenario, you have fewer classes to take. Either way, you have an extra semester of studying the material, so even if you can't substitute courses you should still have somewhat of a leg up.

This is, of course, all under the asumption that the OP isn't granted the deferral. If s/he is, this is all moot😀

 

[VAgirl]

I didn't mean to plan on it - would you (not you in particular!) really call up a school you applied to and say "Hi, I applied to your school, but I got accepted somewhere else already, so I'm going to go there. But, if you guys decide to accept me too, I'll switch and go to your school instead. So, if you do accept me, would you take these other classes as transfers?" That's a question for after acceptance IMO, which would also mean after starting at Ross.

I meant more that if you get into another school, one that you'd much rather go to, but you already accepted (and started) at Ross, in the worst case scenario you've lost a semester's worth of $, and in the best case scenario, you have fewer classes to take. Either way, you have an extra semester of studying the material, so even if you can't substitute courses you should still have somewhat of a leg up.

This is, of course, all under the asumption that the OP isn't granted the deferral. If s/he is, this is all moot😀

I think nyanko meant to check and make sure that accepting another offer and starting at another school (Ross) wouldn't disqualify her from consideration at a US school. If a Ross student wanted into a US school, they'd have to transfer. So maybe becoming a Ross student mid-application cycle for US schools would automatically disqualify her as an applicant. Not something I would have thought of, but definitely something to think about. Though I also agree with you, tastrophe, that I have no idea as to the right way to get this information. Maybe an anonymous phone call to the office of admissions at the US schools? You certainly don't have to give them your name when calling...

 

[nyanko]

I think nyanko meant to check and make sure that accepting another offer and starting at another school (Ross) wouldn't disqualify her from consideration at a US school. If a Ross student wanted into a US school, they'd have to transfer. So maybe becoming a Ross student mid-application cycle for US schools would automatically disqualify her as an applicant.

Yeah, this is what I meant. Transfer admissions and regular admissions are separate and her VMCAS would say that she would be a first-time matriculant. I'm just saying to approach this with caution, and tastrophe is absolutely right that it's a tough question to work around, but I'd agree with VAgirl, an anonymous phone call might be okay for that. 🙂

edit: And there is also a logistical issue with going off to Ross in January before being notified about interview status at other schools (if the other schools she applied to are US schools that interview, anyway) - she'd have to leave the island and take off of school, possibly up to four times, if she were offered interviews at those schools. That could get very expensive (I assume moreso than flying within the Continental US) and hurt your grades at Ross as well 😱

Just something else I thought of to consider in that situation. Congrats on your acceptance to Ross and good luck, OP!

 

[tastrophe]

Yeah, this is what I meant. Transfer admissions and regular admissions are separate and her VMCAS would say that she would be a first-time matriculant. I'm just saying to approach this with caution, and tastrophe is absolutely right that it's a tough question to work around, but I'd agree with VAgirl, an anonymous phone call might be okay for that. 🙂

Hadn't thought about the first-time matriculant part of it, but VMCAS also asks if you've ever been accepted to vet school too. Since both were true at the time of application, I wouldn't think that it would disqualify you now. That would actually give a disadvantage to anyone applying to a school with rolling admissions.

I also didn't mean to officially transfer from Ross (and thus be up an entire semester on everyone; I don't think you can transfer into a US school that way without a full year of coursework anyway), just to try to transfer a couple courses from Ross, same as you'd do if you've already taken comparable graduate or medical school courses. In general most schools don't allow it, but they might be more accomodating if they came from another vet school.

No easy answer on this one! OP, did Ross get back to you about the deferral issue? Hopefully they'll solve this for you by granting it, then there will be no need for plans within plans within plans...