International pre-vet student

[Palomam]

Hey,

i'm starting my studies in fall 2013. I'm from Bolivia. I was planning to major in animal science. I have to start in a 2 year college and was thinking on Blinn college and then transfer to a 4 year institution. I wanted to know if it is possible to transfer from texas to an out- of -state institution?

Alsoo as an international student I have less spots in vet school, does anyone know which vets schools accept more international students?
Thankssss

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[Escalla]

I was an international student applying to US schools last year (from Canada). You're simply applying as out-of-state everywhere. Some schools just don't accept any international applications (Missouri), but other than that, just go off OOS numbers.

 

[Minnerbelle]

And basically same thing as for 4 yr undergrad schools. You can apply anywhere and go as long as you get admitted and have the means of paying for tuition (out of state tuition if a public school) without a federal loan.

I'm not sure if this is the case with all schools, but I've had family friends who were told that they had to show proof that they can pay for tuition by having 4 years worth of tuition in a bank account prior to matriculating! For many private schools, that's like $150,000+ in liquid cash at one time!

 

[orca2011]

And basically same thing as for 4 yr undergrad schools. You can apply anywhere and go as long as you get admitted and have the means of paying for tuition (out of state tuition if a public school) without a federal loan.

I'm not sure if this is the case with all schools, but I've had family friends who were told that they had to show proof that they can pay for tuition by having 4 years worth of tuition in a bank account prior to matriculating! For many private schools, that's like $150,000+ in liquid cash at one time!

I had to do that for when I went abroad and applied for a Master's program in the UK. They won't give you your student visa otherwise, so I'm sure what your family friends said is true.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I had to do that for when I went abroad and applied for a Master's program in the UK. They won't give you your student visa otherwise, so I'm sure what your family friends said is true.

Oh I have no doubt it was true, I just didn't know if it was true for every single college out there. (Side note: these people had like 3 girls who were all going to be in college at the same time, and they didn't find this out until the oldest got accepted... ouch)

 

[orca2011]

Oh I have no doubt it was true, I just didn't know if it was true for every single college out there. (Side note: these people had like 3 girls who were all going to be in college at the same time, and they didn't find this out until the oldest got accepted... ouch)

Oh yikes. That's super rough. I would think it's more a visa thing vs a school determined thing.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Oh yikes. That's super rough. I would think it's more a visa thing vs a school determined thing.

Huh, never thought of it that way. The kids already had non-student visa's to be in the states so I dunno if it was strictly visa related or not. But I think dependent visas end when you're 21, so maybe you're right. I'll have to ask my mom.

 

[PetPony]

I didn't count as an instate student until I had my green card if I remember correctly. But we didn't have to do that. But I might be wrong. Maybe because my mom had a good job here and we were dependents, that wasn't necessary.

 

[Minnerbelle]

But we didn't have to do that. But I might be wrong. Maybe because my mom had a good job here and we were dependents, that wasn't necessary.

If you didn't, maybe it was a school specific thing. Or being in the process of getting a green card might have been a part of it. It might have had something to do with the specific visa that you're admitted under, but I highly doubt it had anything to do with the occupation of the parent since the father was an executive at a large hi-tech company in silicon valley in its boomin' days. They had no trouble affording it, the problem was having that much unexpected liquid cash in a short amount of time.

I did a quick search, and it looks like the need to have all tuition and living expenses upfront is a necessity for an M1 student visa (non-academic/vocational), but not for an F1 visa (more relevant for pre-professional students). But to get the F1 visa, apparently you need to show that you have the amount you need for the first year in the bank ready to go, and proof that you will have steady enough income to pay for the rest of the years. So I would guess it's an individual school thing to require all 4 years up front.

But regardless, and sorry for the random confusing tangent, this is serious craps! If I recall, there was a student last year (?) who came to this forum freaking out that he had gotten into vet school as an international student and just realized that he can't get loans or something. It's not that hard especially in undergrad to find a university to go to as an international student, but there's definitely some extra sticky tape that most people don't think about. So before you embark on it, I would talk to any schools you're interested in (both undergrad and vet school) and ask about everything you need to do differently in terms of application and paying tuition as an international student. It might also be good to ask about what happens with your visa if you were to transfer schools. Here's a reliable source from the trusty dept of homeland security about what is involved. Whatever you do though, remember to thoroughly research this stuff and stay one step ahead. As a foreign student, the gov't sees you as someone they're allowing oh so generously to be here to study. So if you mess up, they're not going to be all that sympathetic.