Minnesota

[pika8]

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Hey WI girl,

I'm in Massachusetts. Mail refuses to enter Boston for some reason.

 

[wi girl]

That's funny. I don't know why they would tell you Larry is out until tomorrow. I had a meeting with him today at 2:00. Maybe he is busy with meetings.

He's either in meetings or had already gone home; I called at 4 or so central ... meh. I'll find out when I do.

pika: maybe the mail truck with both our letters is in a ditch somewhere. I'm KINDA on the way to boston --- maybe -- ish. 😀

 

[pika8]

[pika: maybe the mail truck with both our letters is in a ditch somewhere. I'm KINDA on the way to boston --- maybe -- ish. 😀[/QUOTE]

Haha! I wouldn't be surprised. Or maybe our postal service employee decided to leave his mail bag and go on a bender.

 

[AMB125]

i am in massachusetts as well, and I received my letter on Monday, so I would definately call today, maybe it got lost?

 

[wi girl]

Well, I got an email with my decision this morning ... although they have the correct address, so it'll get here eventually:

Waitlist, #11 out of 32 OOS.

I haven't decided whether I'm going to stay on or not -- depends on my tour at WI. Chances are high that I won't keep my place though.

I just thought it was interesting; they said repeatedly "we're sorry we can't offer you admission at this time" and I wanted to say: well, if we wait two months, you probably would be!! (I know 11 isn't terribly high, but didn't they call people they initially rejected last year? Isn't 32 a REALLY small number to keep on the waitlist? Or is that just me?)

 

[carrbear21]

Well, I got an email with my decision this morning ... although they have the correct address, so it'll get here eventually:

Waitlist, #11 out of 32 OOS.

I haven't decided whether I'm going to stay on or not -- depends on my tour at WI. Chances are high that I won't keep my place though.

I just thought it was interesting; they said repeatedly "we're sorry we can't offer you admission at this time" and I wanted to say: well, if we wait two months, you probably would be!! (I know 11 isn't terribly high, but didn't they call people they initially rejected last year? Isn't 32 a REALLY small number to keep on the waitlist? Or is that just me?)

I would think you have a great shot at #11! They interviewed what- 200 some people for 36 spots and ONLY keep 32 for alternates?! Congrats (though I know getting in is better)!

 

[wi girl]

I meant chances of me accepting my place on the waitlist -- I'm actually pretty sure that I would get in, as they kept so few for the waitlist -- isn't that not a lot at all? WI went through 85 recently ...

 

[VAgirl]

WI went through 85 recently ...

Recently as in this year? Or last year?

 

[wi girl]

Recently as in on the letter they say they've taken anywhere between 25 and 85 off the list. I was just thinking that WI ranks so many, and MN only does 32 -- kinda odd. Once again, I shouldn't be throwing estimates out there without checking. sorry!

 

[Hobiecat1642]

I am starting to look for an apartment in MN--I have no car, but am prepared to walk/bike or take the bus as long as the distance is reasonable. Any advice in regards to good neighborhoods would be much appreciated. Thank you!!

 

[VelcroSky]

I am starting to look for an apartment in MN--I have no car, but am prepared to walk/bike or take the bus as long as the distance is reasonable. Any advice in regards to good neighborhoods would be much appreciated. Thank you!!

I'm not currently a student there, nor do I live there so I can only give second hand advice. When I was there for the interviews the topic came up during the student panel. They said that they only knew one student that didn't have a car and they said that she had a tough time. They also mentioned that once you're doing stuff in the hospital you have to be able to be there within 30 minutes of a call so if you are not driving you should probably make sure you are pretty close to the campus. That being said, it might be worth considering taking out a little more in loans and getting a car (it's practically a drop in the bucket compared to MN's tuition).

 

[Hobiecat1642]

That's really good advice--I am definitely planning on getting one--just don't have one right now, and probably will not during the first semester there.

 

[VelcroSky]

That's really good advice--I am definitely planning on getting one--just don't have one right now, and probably will not during the first semester there.

While we're on the subject of getting a new car, it seems to me that it may make sense to get a decent new car that will last you a long time. Because otherwise you'll just end up having to get another one when you're fresh out of school, not making much and paying the student loans off.

 

[cinc0009]

I am starting to look for an apartment in MN--I have no car, but am prepared to walk/bike or take the bus as long as the distance is reasonable. Any advice in regards to good neighborhoods would be much appreciated. Thank you!!

Well, one of the best neighborhoods in the area is called "Falcon Heights". It's like a suburb of saint paul, and it's right by campus. I live in some apartments called "Lauderdale Hollows". They have a website and you can google them. Very reasonably priced and very easily walking distance (20 min. at most) AND right on the bus line. Rose Hill apartments are right by us too, but the manager is kind of crazy. And for a little more cost you can check out the City Gables. All these apartments are on the corner of Larpenteur and Eustis (right by 280).
I hope this helps!

 

[fargeese]

My plug for a cheap car--

I bought a 2006 hyundai elantra for 12,500 brand new (summer of '06) with the idea that with a 10 year/100,000mi warranty on the motor and 5/60,000 on everything else, I could drive the thing to death all through school, and then buy a nice new car when I graduated but before the loan payments start kicking in, ha ha. It was been totally hassle and worry free, and it is hard to find a car that cheap with that kind of warranty. I put 3 down (the 2500 plus taxes, etc) and even with a loan of 10,000 the car payment was only 201 a month.

I was not paid for this endorsement But I agree with Velcrosky on this one, a cheap used car is often more expensive after all the aggravation/repairs than a slightly more expensive new or almost new one would have been unless you get lucky.

Plus I get 36 mpg on the highway, 30 in town. I love telling that to people in SUVs putting 90$ of gas in their tanks!

 

[borofish]

A few tips on housing...

At some point during the summer, the Admissions department will send out a bulletin listing other upper class vet students who have homes or apartments and are looking for roommates. I'd highly recommend going that route. Not only do you not have to worry about finding a place, but you'll likely avoid living with another person in your class year (I never did that one, but from a lot of anecdotes it sounds like you just see too much of the same person and it can get a little stir crazy).

If you're set on living by yourself, when looking at craiglist the neighborhoods to search in that are closest to campus are Falcon Heights (means you will be pretty close), Como, and St Anthony roughly in that order. I'd stay away personally from Midway. If you are into trendy areas, look for Uptown (great area, but you'll deal with bad traffic every day), NE Minneapolis (almost as good as uptown, and you can get to school without having to use the highway), or Grand Ave in Saint Paul (similar description to NE Mpls).

One last thing, the Alpha Psi fraternity house will likely have a couple openings for next fall. You would be essentially as close as you could possibly get to campus, and the rents are all well under 300. If you want contact info for that one, send me a PM and i'll give you the house manager's email (he probably wouldn't want it on a public forum!)

Hope this helps!

 

[millie]

Does anyone currently attending U of Mn or living there know anything about on campus living, how much it cost and so on.. I looked on their website but only thing I found was the Minneosta campus.

 

[StealthDog]

There isn't any on-campus housing for students in graduate/professional programs, unless you are married and want to live in the family housing. Which, from what I've heard, you don't want to do if you can avoid it.

The closest thing to on-campus that you'll get is the Alpha Psi house that borofish mentioned.

 

[turnandburn]

There isn't any on-campus housing for students in graduate/professional programs, unless you are married and want to live in the family housing. Which, from what I've heard, you don't want to do if you can avoid it.

The closest thing to on-campus that you'll get is the Alpha Psi house that borofish mentioned.

Yeah, I've heard it's really hard to get into that family housing anyway, I wouldn't count on it.

 

[Stapos]

Hey guys! I am new at this site and hopefully using it correctly. I will be heading to the U of MN with the rest of you and I cannot wait to get to know you all. I was just wondering about housing as well. I was just there this weekend with my boyfriend looking to buy a house. I was just wondering for those of you that are already there, whether you know of the circle pines or blaine area. I know they are a little further off of campus, but for your money it really is the best you can get. I did talk to a man named Larry at the vet school and he said a lot of vet students will get houses 20 to 30 minutes away. Does this sound normal to people? Any thoughts?

 

[turnandburn]

I'm originally from Blaine. Good city! 😍 The commute during rush hour will suck for you though. Whether you take 35W or Highway 65 the traffic gets really backed up in some areas so even though it may only be 20 minutes to campus with no traffic during rush hour you would need to plan on at least 45 minutes to get to class. Just something to think about and one of the main reasons I moved closer to campus for the rest of my undergrad.

 

[Whirr]

Larry, the director of admissions at U of MN? Or another Larry? 😉

Anyway, I'd agree that traffic should be a concern for you. If I get into the U of MN next year I'll be facing a similar problem, since I currently live in St. Cloud with my husband (it's about an hour to an hour and a half north of the Cities), and he has a job he loves here, so... intermediate housing? One thing to keep in mind for the future is that they're *hopefully* going to have the Northstar Line (train) built sometime late next year, which will open up some commute possibilities from northern cities as far as Big Lake, which is a lot farther than Blaine. You'd have to hop a couple of forms of public transport, but once it's up and running you might be able to at least predict how long it will take you to get to class rather than playing traffic roulette. I wouldn't plan on this right now if I were you, but it might mean you may want to widen your search if you don't mind driving in traffic in the meantime.

Plan B is tape/get recordings of your lectures so you can study in the car, I guess... I hate driving in the Twin Cities at rush hour. 🙁

 

[Stapos]

Yeah, it was Larry from the vet school. Thanks everyone for their feedback. I am finding, I might not have a huge choice in the matter. My boyfriend is moving with me and his job is about 20 minutes north from the Circle pines/ Anoka area. The idea of listening to lectures during the drive is great, thanks so much.

 

[Whirr]

Let me know where you end up and how the commute is! Hope to see you at the U of MN in a year or two.

 

[charismarl]

Hey all! I'll be going to UMN in the fall and I know it's early and everything but I haven't had much luck finding places close to the vet school that allow big dogs. I've focused my search in falcon heights just because I'd like to be close enough to walk to school but I'd be open to farther away if necessary. Anybody know of any apt complexes that are close to the school that allow danes or have any good ideas on the subject in general? I'm thinking about just hiring a company to line up a few apts for me to fly out from va and look at one weekend but I don't know if such companies even exist...is this a pipe dream and am I freaking out about housing too early?

 

[VelcroSky]

So does anybody here have some real numbers with costs going to MN? Besides tuition and fees I'm trying to figure out how much the cost of living there is and how much we can expect from financial aid.

 

[Hobiecat1642]

I'm trying to figure out the same thing, as far of cost of living goes, it looks like 600/ month is ave for rent, but I'm not sure.

 

[StealthDog]

Here's what I got this year from financial aid- my Expected Family Contribution through FAFSA was $0 (yay for being poor?), so I got the maximum amount of financial aid available. I'm not including tuition and fees, since that will vary depending on if you're an instater or OOS.

Personal and misc. expenses: $2000
Transportation: $750
Books and Supplies: $1588
Room and Board: $9158

They base the room/board amount on the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the Twin Cities, which was something like $725 last year.

 

[VelcroSky]

Here's what I got this year from financial aid- my Expected Family Contribution through FAFSA was $0 (yay for being poor?), so I got the maximum amount of financial aid available. I'm not including tuition and fees, since that will vary depending on if you're an instater or OOS.

Personal and misc. expenses: $2000
Transportation: $750
Books and Supplies: $1588
Room and Board: $9158

They base the room/board amount on the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the Twin Cities, which was something like $725 last year.

Thanks, I've got a few more questions if you don't mind.

So you got that money, plus the full tuition amount in aid?

Do you know about how much the tuition goes up every year?

 

[StealthDog]

So you got that money, plus the full tuition amount in aid?

Yup, the above numbers are above and beyond tuition. So, my full package was all that plus $23,022 for tuition and fees, making it about $36,000.

Last year, I paid $8972 per semester just for tuition, and this year it was $9599 per semester.

Hope that helps!

 

[borofish]

Is anyone here coming to the In-state welcome night this friday? I'll be there doing the Q/A panels, come with good questions!!!

 

[Wolf Vet]

Hello everyone, I'm very new to this site as a member, but have read posts for a while. I'm on 3 alternate lists (blah) UofMN, MSU and WSU, though I am hoping for MN. I am just terrified that all the housing will be gone by the time I find out for sure and am able to start looking. Thoughts?

 

[borofish]

I wouldn't worry that much about housing. Keep in mind that Minneapolis/Saint Paul and surrounding suburbs hosts a population of over 3 million people, so finding a decent place to live even last minute isn't that big of a deal. The best place I ever lived here (in terms of area/cost/quality) I found two days before I moved in. Good places to start are the housing sheet that is sent out over the summer (lists upperclassmen with open rooms, and other incoming students looking for roommates) and the rental ads at minneapolis.craigslist.com.

Good luck on getting off the waitlist!!