LMU vs Instate

[ChildlessCatLady]

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hi all!! I have the lucky problem of being accepted to my IS school. Except one tiny problem - i already started at LMU this January 😗 my IS school has been my dream school for years, but I accepted LMU because I thought I would never get accepted to my IS. Now I’m having second thoughts!!!! Ugh I hate how entitled I sound writing this, I am just torn.

My IS is more expensive than LMU
I’m not sure if any credits would transfer -I would likely be starting over and deeply in debt
My IS would put my closer to my fam and support system
I actually work in the teaching hospital at my IS school and I could commute from home , so I would save some $ there

I’ve already started making a pros and cons list, but I would love to hear any input and perspectives

 

[supershorty]

My IS is more expensive than LMU

How? Isn't LMU one of the most expensive schools?

 

[ChildlessCatLady]

How? Isn't LMU one of the most expensive schools?

my IS is tufts which is $6k more a year 😔

 

[MMLJT3]

How? Isn't LMU one of the most expensive schools?

LMU is often cheaper than going to an OOS school.

 

[MMLJT3]

hi all!! I have the lucky problem of being accepted to my IS school. Except one tiny problem - i already started at LMU this January 😗 my IS school has been my dream school for years, but I accepted LMU because I thought I would never get accepted to my IS. Now I’m having second thoughts!!!! Ugh I hate how entitled I sound writing this, I am just torn.

My IS is more expensive than LMU
I’m not sure if any credits would transfer -I would likely be starting over and deeply in debt
My IS would put my closer to my fam and support system
I actually work in the teaching hospital at my IS school and I could commute from home , so I would save some $ there

I’ve already started making a pros and cons list, but I would love to hear any input and perspectives

Hello!
I personally wouldn’t change schools after already starting a veterinary program unless it was a pretty extreme circumstance, and I didn’t have a choice. You will have a year completed of school at the end of this year, and you have already had to pay tuition this semester for LMU. I am not sure if your credits would transfer, but I know most schools won’t take credits unless an entire year is completed and you are accepted as a transfer student. I definitely understand how important having a support system is and the importance of saving money. You can always try and do your clinical year closer to your home. You can also look at how much money you could make graduating 6 months earlier at LMU than your IS. I would consider the cost of this semester and what you can make graduating 6 months earlier.

 

[ChildlessCatLady]

Hello!
I personally wouldn’t change schools after already starting a veterinary program unless it was a pretty extreme circumstance, and I didn’t have a choice. You will have a year completed of school at the end of this year, and you have already had to pay tuition this semester for LMU. I am not sure if your credits would transfer, but I know most schools won’t take credits unless an entire year is completed and you are accepted as a transfer student. I definitely understand how important having a support system is and the importance of saving money. You can always try and do your clinical year closer to your home. You can also look at how much money you could make graduating 6 months earlier at LMU than your IS. I would consider the cost of this semester and what you can make graduating 6 months earlier.

Thank you!!! Everyone I’ve talked to (friends, family back home, etc) has been a bit biased so I appreciate your input

 

[supershorty]

my IS is tufts which is $6k more a year 😔

Ah. I don’t see much point in you changing programs, the finances of it don’t make any sense, especially when you also consider that you’d be losing 6 months of a DVM salary if you started over. I’d stay where you are.

 

[ChildlessCatLady]

Ah. I don’t see much point in you changing programs, the finances of it don’t make any sense, especially when you also consider that you’d be losing 6 months of a DVM salary if you started over. I’d stay where you are.

thank you!! That’s what I’m thinking. It’ll be tough letting go of my #1 school but I’ll be thanking myself 10 years from now. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it

 

[lianguine]

Hey Dana!! It's Lia from undergrad. Congrats on getting in both schools! I was accepted to Tufts too. We're gonna be vets!

I guess I don't have much to add about which school to choose, but TN will be a lot warmer during the winter 😭

 

[ChildlessCatLady]

Hey Dana!! It's Lia from undergrad. Congrats on getting in both schools! I was accepted to Tufts too. We're gonna be vets!

I guess I don't have much to add about which school to choose, but TN will be a lot warmer during the winter 😭

OMG HI LIA CONGRATS!!!! We did it!!!!🎊🎉🥳

 

[Khtws3]

Okay, I’m gonna play devils advocate and say go. You worked really hard to get where you are at now and you deserve to go your #1 choice. Tufts has an incredible program and good reputation for a reason and would give you excellent exposure to any specialty you wanted, plus they have a teaching hospital. I was in a similar boat and was accepted to LMUs January class. I eventually declined, and was accepted to my in-state school, but I toured LMU and was heavily considered going. In the end, I felt there was no comparison to my in-state school. You could sub-lease your current apartment and finish out the semester. You would be extra in debt but as a doctor, you could make that up. You would also be able to fly through the first semester at Tufts because you have already learned the material! When I was trying to decide if I should decline my seat for LMUs January class, I messaged people from LMU January class of 2027. Many of them told me that there are people who do drop out and go to a different school. It really isn’t the craziest thing! Yes your future self might thank you debt wise if you stayed, but your future self might also think you should have been a tufts graduate! Really in the end, only you can decide. If the extra debt doesn’t offset the opportunities at Tufts then stay! If you did leave however, people do it, and I would not call you crazy.

 

[battie]

First year tuition at Tufts is $65,782 whereas LMU is $52,432 according to the AAVMC public data. That's a massive amount of money in tuition alone. For perspective for the interest at ~7%, Tufts is $12.62 in interest per day whereas LMU is $10.06. Over four years, that's 18,425 vs 14,687, with a difference of 3738. The difference in tuition over 4 years 53,400. So between the two, you're paying a difference of over a year of tuition at LMU by switching to Tufts with a total difference of $57,738. That doesn't even take into account that your interest gets compounded once you graduate and so then you start paying interest on the interest you've already accrued.

I cannot describe to you how life changing it would be for me to have 58k less in student loans. And now that I'm a practicing doctor, there is nothing I can think of at any vet school that is worth an extra 58k in student loans to justify spending it.

ETA: my math is actually incorrect. I'm underestimating the amount of interest you will owe because I just accounted for the accrued interest for the loans for just first year; I didn't do the math for the 2nd-4th year loans. So the difference will actually be *larger* than 58k. So I even more strongly recommend staying at LMU.

 

[orcafin]

Yea I agree with battie, Tufts is already absurdly expensive as is, with LMU being one of the cheapest, and adding on an extra semester of loans to start over does not seem worth it at all. And since LMU doesn’t have a teaching hospital, your 4th year you could try and do your rotations in Mass anyways. The biggest issue/mental health ruining aspect of the field that really every Vet I’ve spoken with has is the debt they have

 

[supershorty]

You worked really hard to get where you are at now and you deserve to go your #1 choice.

Is the dream here to go to a particular vet school, or is it to be a veterinarian?

I'd encourage OP not to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Any of those trees will get them a DVM. The tree that is 50k+ cheaper is going to be the one that makes for a happier DVM once out.