Is Ross really more expensive? (no IS)

[BlueCats]

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I have been reviewing the cost of school when considering where to apply, and Ross seems on par with several OOS vet schools that are on the "cheaper end". I am looking at Wisconsin and Washington etc. It ends up being within an ~20k margin and that does not factor in the extra year of your life you get from graduating Ross earlier. I know island living is expensive but is it really that much more? I have found that the AAVMC cost comparison tool is not matching up with the tuition and fees listed on the various schools websites. I have no IS and live in New England. Thanks.

 

[WildZoo]

Try looking at the VIN cost of education map in addition to the AAVMC tool. I put in Maine as a proxy for New England and it shows total COA at Washington as over 100k cheaper than total COA at Ross, and that should factor in the earlier graduation time. Is it actually a full year less? In any case, you're still paying for those semesters, so it's not like it decreases your tuition cost, so I'm not sure how much of an impact that really has unless you're talking more about getting started on paying back loans a bit earlier.

I think there are a lot of things that might factor into increasing the cost of attendance even if tuition is about the same (cost of living, travel, where you end up for clinical year), but I'll leave that for someone who actually attended an island school, since my thoughts would be theoretical. And remember that the extra $20k is not just 20k if you're taking out loans, since you'll be adding interest on top of that and depending on how you plan to go about paying it off, it continues to grow over time after you graduate.

 

[WildZoo]

Here are some other threads you might peruse to give insight. The c/o 2025 thread might be particularly helpful for finding people who applied to Ross or are current students.

Ross University c/o 2025

Lets get this going :) Rossies '25!

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ROSS vs. WESTERN U

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Ross vs. SGU

Hello friends, I have been accepted to both Ross and SGU and don't know how to decide between the two. Can anyone share their experiences, positive and negative (curriculum, housing, living expenses, etc.)? Besides their websites, I can't really find updates information/pros and cons of each...

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[BlueCats]

Per Washington State University website the COA is 83k per year for 4 years (without room/board), while Ross is 21k per semester for 10 semesters (3 semesters per year).

Am I missing something?

 

[BlueCats]

Wisconsin is less expensive at around ~216k tuition but that's with an extra 0.75 years of time I could have been working.

 

[WildZoo]

Per Washington State University website the COA is 83k per year for 4 years (without room/board), while Ross is 21k per semester for 10 semesters (3 semesters per year).

Am I missing something?

That looks like full COA for WSU and just tuition for Ross. WSU also lets you change residency status after your first year (if you're at the Pullman campus and meet requirements).

https://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/finances/cost-of-attendance

 

[WildZoo]

WSU would be closer to ~335k COA without the tuition change

 

[WildZoo]

Is there a specific reason you're looking at Wisconsin btw? There are several schools that would be cheaper. NCSU, Purdue, Davis, Florida, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Auburn...and that's leaving out TAMU and Georgia which are known to have lower OOS acceptance rates.

 

[BlueCats]

Mainly location, it might seem trivial but I'm not really looking for a super warm climate (I know Ross would be a huge exception). NC wouldn't be bad at all but they require animal nutrition which would affect if I could apply this year or not. I still have to complete Biochem, Physics, and Genetics and I work 40+ hours weekly so I'm not interested in taking more than 1-2 courses a semester.

I like being outside, I love snow and rain, and would prefer to live near bodies of water. That said, I don't know much about what it's like living in most of the U.S. aside from NE and I'm open to more information.

 

[Trilt]

Mainly location, it might seem trivial but I'm not really looking for a super warm climate (I know Ross would be a huge exception). NC wouldn't be bad at all but they require animal nutrition which would affect if I could apply this year or not. I still have to complete Biochem, Physics, and Genetics and I work 40+ hours weekly so I'm not interested in taking more than 1-2 courses a semester.

I like being outside, I love snow and rain, and would prefer to live near bodies of water. That said, I don't know much about what it's like living in most of the U.S. aside from NE and I'm open to more information.

I'm biased having attended NCSU in state, but if you have a strong GPA (3.7-3.8+) and fairly diverse experiences I strongly recommend applying there. Being able to attain IS status after the first year and having fairly cheap tuition could save you sooooo much money in the long run, especially with not having an IS school.

Depending on your life situation, considering moving to a state that has a vet school and establishing residency is also not a horrible idea. It sounds dramatic, but you're talking literally 100-200k+ saved in tuition and fees.

 

[WildZoo]

Mainly location, it might seem trivial but I'm not really looking for a super warm climate (I know Ross would be a huge exception). NC wouldn't be bad at all but they require animal nutrition which would affect if I could apply this year or not. I still have to complete Biochem, Physics, and Genetics and I work 40+ hours weekly so I'm not interested in taking more than 1-2 courses a semester.

I like being outside, I love snow and rain, and would prefer to live near bodies of water. That said, I don't know much about what it's like living in most of the U.S. aside from NE and I'm open to more information.

If you're going to compromise on the location/weather aspect, I would strongly recommend doing it for a school or two with a lower cost of attendance, lower attrition rate, and higher NAVLE pass rate than Ross, unless there is some reason your app would be disqualified.

 

[BlueCats]

I'm biased having attended NCSU in state, but if you have a strong GPA (3.7-3.8+) and fairly diverse experiences I strongly recommend applying there. Being able to attain IS status after the first year and having fairly cheap tuition could save you sooooo much money in the long run, especially with not having an IS school.

Depending on your life situation, considering moving to a state that has a vet school and establishing residency is also not a horrible idea. It sounds dramatic, but you're talking literally 100-200k+ saved in tuition and fees.

Thank you for the feedback. Unfortunately my GPA is not super competitive ~3.5, I do have many thousands of hours of experience but not super diverse pretty much only small animal. Although I have worked with a variety of specialists. I am older 29, so the idea of moving to establish residency does not appeal to me since my goal is to move back when school is finished.

 

[Trilt]

Thank you for the feedback. Unfortunately my GPA is not super competitive ~3.5, I do have many thousands of hours of experience but not super diverse pretty much only small animal. Although I have worked with a variety of specialists. I am older 29, so the idea of moving to establish residency does not appeal to me since my goal is to move back when school is finished.

Likely not worth the extra class, then.

Just spend time with a repayment simulator like VIN's (Student Debt Center - VIN) and really think about the best way to optimize your student loans. 250-300k of loans just makes an insanely huge impact on your life. People don't realize until they have the numbers staring down at them and see their thousand dollar payments basically just going to interest.

At a certain point with OOS/Island school level of cost it makes sense to just use a loan forgiveness program, and then you're talking about paying a not insignificant portion of your cheque to repayment every single month for 20-25 years on top of a decent tax bomb at the end.

We harp on this a lot here, and I'm sorry if you've gotten it before. But as someone with no OOS school, you absolutely should be looking to go to the cheapest option available (no matter the weather lol) or ideally making a cheaper option for yourself. Unless you're independently wealthy, I promise that you in ten years will absolutely thank yourself for it.

 

[Georgethecat]

Thank you for the feedback. Unfortunately my GPA is not super competitive ~3.5, I do have many thousands of hours of experience but not super diverse pretty much only small animal. Although I have worked with a variety of specialists. I am older 29, so the idea of moving to establish residency does not appeal to me since my goal is to move back when school is finished.

If you go to a school that allows in state residency after a year, you are not obligated to remain in that state after graduation.

 

[battie]

I like being outside, I love snow and rain, and would prefer to live near bodies of water. That said, I don't know much about what it's like living in most of the U.S. aside from NE and I'm open to more information.

Being from Nebraska, your best shot would honestly be the UNL-Iowa State 2+2 program. There's at least one alum from that program on here. I attended undergrad in NE (go Huskers!) and know three other alumni from the program that are all thankful they went with that program. Much less competition to get in and much cheaper than going OOS.

 

[WildZoo]

Being from Nebraska, your best shot would honestly be the UNL-Iowa State 2+2 program. There's at least one alum from that program on here. I attended undergrad in NE (go Huskers!) and know three other alumni from the program that are all thankful they went with that program. Much less competition to get in and much cheaper than going OOS.

I think NE in this case was New England

 

[battie]

I think NE in this case was New England

Nebraska is better lol

 

[Minnerbelle]

That looks like full COA for WSU and just tuition for Ross. WSU also lets you change residency status after your first year (if you're at the Pullman campus and meet requirements).

https://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/finances/cost-of-attendance

This.

 

[Ariel-Li]

Thank you for the feedback. Unfortunately my GPA is not super competitive ~3.5, I do have many thousands of hours of experience but not super diverse pretty much only small animal. Although I have worked with a variety of specialists. I am older 29, so the idea of moving to establish residency does not appeal to me since my goal is to move back when school is finished.

Non-trad here too. I think the appeal of switching to in-state residency is just to save you a lot of money. I took it and you should at least consider it too. We don't have to remain in that state after graduation.

 

[khep242]

I attend an AVMA listed school in Trinidad and Tobago. My tuition as an international student is 29K a year. I opt to attend this school because vet schools in the US and elsewhere are unnecessarily expensive in my opinion and after graduating you still have just about the same amount of exams to take so why pay all of that extra money?

You can go to sta.uwi.edu and check out the information.

 

[SnowJ]

I attend an AVMA listed school in Trinidad and Tobago. My tuition as an international student is 29K a year. I opt to attend this school because vet schools in the US and elsewhere are unnecessarily expensive in my opinion and after graduating you still have just about the same amount of exams to take so why pay all of that extra money?

You can go to sta.uwi.edu and check out the information.

Looking at this school's website it looks like to practice in the United States you have to take additional exams/go through the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) or Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE) certification before you can take the NAVLE and become a licensed veterinarian in the united states; this requires a lot more steps than it does to attend an AVMA accredited college in the US, especially if you already live in the US. Being AVMA listed is not the same as being AVMA accredited.

Non-accredited foreign schools can be an important consideration, but they are not for everyone and people really need to know that there is a different process if they chose to go that route. While the tuition may be much lower, this doesn't address the costs associated with travel and cost of living, as well as the fact that you are not guaranteed to be able to practice in the united states. It's definitely a route to consider, but you really need to know what you are getting into.

 

[SkiOtter]

Looking at this school's website it looks like to practice in the United States you have to take additional exams/go through the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) or Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE) certification before you can take the NAVLE and become a licensed veterinarian in the united states; this requires a lot more steps than it does to attend an AVMA accredited college in the US, especially if you already live in the US. Being AVMA listed is not the same as being AVMA accredited.

Non-accredited foreign schools can be an important consideration, but they are not for everyone and people really need to know that there is a different process if they chose to go that route. While the tuition may be much lower, this doesn't address the costs associated with travel and cost of living, as well as the fact that you are not guaranteed to be able to practice in the united states. It's definitely a route to consider, but you really need to know what you are getting into.

I’ve also heard that these exams are notoriously difficult to pass as well, so that’s a huge hurdle that someone from the US wanting to come back and practice in the US should not take lightly.

 

[EngrSC]

Quoting myself from another thread regarding the ECFVG:

I worked for a vet that went to vet school in India (where she was born and raised). I’ve asked her about what was entailed in transferring her license to the US and she just shudders and doesn’t like to talk a whole lot about it. What she has told me is that the exam was ~$4000 (at least 10 years ago) and it was a multi-day exam. She said it was extremely stressful because if you failed one section you had to take it again. Many people don’t pass.

At the same clinic the head tech is from some South American country. He went to vet school and practiced as a vet there but openly says his education wasn’t great and he won’t bother taking the exam to practice here because he knows he will fail.

Edited to add: I believe the vet from India took the ECFVG ... which entails an English proficiency exam, a 225-question computer-based assessment of basic and clinical veterinary sciences knowledge, then a clinical proficiency exam. The clinical proficiency exam is a multi-day evaluation of clinical skills in large and small animal species, as well as laboratory and other diagnostic practices. The diagram on the AVMA website is a little confusing but it looks like you may have to take the NAVLE after all that??

And here's link with more info:
Educational commission for foreign veterinary graduates

 

[BlueCats]

If you go to a school that allows in state residency after a year, you are not obligated to remain in that state after graduation.

Are there other schools that do this besides Washington?

 

[SkiOtter]

Are there other schools that do this besides Washington?

Washington State, NC State, Missouri, and Ohio state all do and are easier to be able to switch residency. They are also generally harder to get into because they have so many more applicants due to this.

 

[Ariel-Li]

Are there other schools that do this besides Washington?

Washington State, NC State, Missouri, and Ohio state all do and are easier to be able to switch residency. They are also generally harder to get into because they have so many more applicants due to this.

And UC Davis.

 

[SkiOtter]

And UC Davis.

I knew I was forgetting at least one that did. I think it’s possible at Minnesota too but isn’t as easy iirc?

 

[Ariel-Li]

I knew I was forgetting at least one that did. I think it’s possible at Minnesota too but isn’t as easy iirc?

It was not. I heard that it was possible but was refuted by residence office.

 

[SnowJ]

I knew I was forgetting at least one that did. I think it’s possible at Minnesota too but isn’t as easy iirc?

It was not. I heard that it was possible but was refuted by residence office.

I believe it is possible, but the residency office changed a lot a couple years ago so it's very difficult nowadays. I haven't heard of them eliminating the possibility anyway. I tend to tell people not to count on it though

 

[SkiOtter]

I believe it is possible, but the residency office changed a lot a couple years ago so it's very difficult nowadays. I haven't heard of them eliminating the possibility anyway. I tend to tell people not to count on it though

Yeah I recalled it being super difficult to start with. Illinois *technically* also allows you to change residency but you either need to have an income of more than the difference between in state and out of state tuition or you need to be married to a resident that does. So pretty difficult here too and definitely not something that people generally are able to do😅

 

[WildZoo]

You can in Tennessee too, just have to marry a TN resident 😉

 

[Viscernable]

You can in Tennessee too, just have to marry a TN resident 😉

Careful now, someone might read this as an offer and I’m not sure how Hubz would feel about that proposition

 

[WildZoo]

Careful now, someone might read this as an offer and I’m not sure how Hubz would feel about that proposition

You never know, he might be into it