Hi, I am in the exact same situation as you, I just got pulled off of the Mizzou waitlist but got accepted normally through LSU. I have a week to decide whether it is worth paying the deposit on my seat for Mizzou. I was able to visit the LSU campus during the admitted students day but I obviously have not had that opportunity for Mizzou so I don't have much to base my decision on besides cost. Can I ask what helped you make your decision?
So for starters, I was married to LSU just when I learned of my acceptance (I was accepted normally as well to both schools no waitlist for me thank god). I went to the accepted students day, and saw a few friends that got accepted w me as well so I already had a community of incoming students at LSU. However, I had to really look at how I felt in the school.
LSU:
- I did NOT like how distant the faculty and school admins felt from the student body. So it was heavily relying on your student community to help you out (mostly). They do have psychologists, and student body councils or whatever to help communicate with admin w curriculum matters, but I did not feel that connection at first glance with faculty.
- I did not like how they NEVER even mentioned financial aid stuff especially with our class who is coming in with such uncertainty with the new Bill starting as law in July 2026. They just gave us a little bag with a single paper describing financial aid but of the aid that applies to last year's class, not us with the new laws. It honestly felt as if you were just a number in the class, and you're just like there. I learned that the financial aid person assigned to vet students at LSU was in main campus, so you would have to go over there to get help and there is only one person assigned for all. To me, that was very disappointing.
- Obviously, the curriculum has changed over the years so our class will be the first one with the new changes so they have no idea how we will do in the end. So that is something to consider. This is a pro/con because it is good that they are actively changing and seeing areas of improvement, but also I did not feel like they really had a strong support system to help students out.
- Housing all around the school but VERY expensive even with roomies (did not go down from 800), but there are options.
- Nice facilities, modern and up to date ( I felt like the large animal and equine areas were like pretty small and not as complete at they did on Mizzou. (NOTE: I feel like they didn't really show me everything there was to see at LSU in the touring sections, so take this with a grain of salt).
- Other than that, LSU is pretty fine. I liked everything else about it.
Given the facts of the community, I was really dreading my visit to Mizzou because I did not like the idea of moving so far away without anyone to have as support.
Mizzou:
- The city of Columbia is so nice compared to St Louis in my opinion, I liked the college town. Everything is 15 mins away.
- Lots of housing and if you really research on it you can find a lot more cheaper options than LSU. I found a townhome w 4 other roomies and I will pay 650/month.
- The hospital and facilities have an older feel than LSU but they look solid. I loved the hospital and their large animal and equine areas looked a lot more complete (Im also interested only in small animal but hey, anything can happen) so I felt like the tours were very thorough.
- They are actively building a new hospital or building for something (maybe something related to pathology) someone can help on this? I forgot what it was for but to me that's great because they are actively improving and I believe were getting a bang for our buck iykwim.
- The faculty and admins really felt a lot more connected with the students. I felt that in the culture and environment, there wasn't anything that felt pressured or forced.
- They brought the financial aid person to talk with us specifically and gave a presentation on what the new bill means, and how they can help us navigate the uncertainty. The person even gave us her phone number... so to me that was like wow. they DO care about us, and they want us to finish the program not just enter and deal with it. The person is also situated IN THE SCHOOL, so you don't need to go anywhere else to get help. Shows the commitment the school has to us, you're not just a number.
- the student panel that they brought in really solidified it for me, because I got to see how comfortable they felt, and they talked about how ready and confident they feel to step out and practice as vets. One of them even expressed how they made more than 80 surgeries before grad??? Fact check this but still amazing compared to other schools (Ive heard that other schools only do like 6 surgeries completely alone before graduating so...).
- NAVLE pass rate over 95% vs LSU 85% so something to consider.
- I even had a professor sit by my side to talk to me about my interests, not to pressure anything in terms of my decision, but to introduce himself... LSU was so distant honestly so this was awesome.
- Strong support system that I could sense from faculty & student body.
- One con I did not like tho: The clinical skills lab in the first 2 years is not as strong as I hoped? In LSU you are evaluated by a professor or someone like a test to see if what you are doing is correct and up to the standard. So I like that pressure, to make sure im doing well and I know what im doing. But at Mizzou, they only require you to do a few hours per week or something of clinical skills but are not really evaluated on it... so how will I know im doing anything right? But on hindsight, this gets corrected in 3rd year before clinics so you're going to be fine. that is only the real con I can remember.. other than climate for me lol
- another con: no exotics.but if you don't really see an inherent need for yourself to be an exotics vet (like me), then this should not deter you. There is also a raptor program that you can join to gain more hands-on w those species.
- obviously, in state tuition after year 1 so if you do the numbers, the choice is clear.
Literally after my visit to Mizzou I knew my choice was clear: Mizzou was the better choice. And I don't say this lightly because, as I said, I already had a community that tied me to LSU so Im voluntarily choosing against it to be completely alone, but because I know I will be happy in the end of my decision. Financially speaking, it is the cheaper option, and Academically, it is also the best option to graduate as a well-rounded vet. Since Mizzou doesn't do tracking, you are trained equally as well in all species, so you will be better prepared for the NAVLE and for practice.
I created a spreadsheet to divide my cost of attendance per semester, and literally I will save THOUSANDS by choosing Mizzou... TO give you an idea, this will translate in the future of having to pay 2k-3k MONTHLY as a doctor to pay your debt, vs Mizzou which will be a LOT LESS because your borrowing will be globally reduced with in state tuition. The school offers a lot of ways that you can complete reqs for the residency, so it was an easy choice after my visit. really. I believe that without my visit, I would have probably chosen LSU and would have regretted it in the long run. Honestly, it all comes down to, how do I want to be in the future? DO I want to live paycheck to paycheck bc I have huge amounts of debt, or do I want to feel a little more financial freedom? I want to specialize, so I will have to really decrease the amount of debt I pay monthly in order to complete my training and not feel like im drowning.
I was just like you, literally stressed because I did not know what to choose and in such an important part of your career. I sometimes think back to my choice and wonder if I made a mistake by withdrawing my acceptance to LSU... but Im so sure it was the right choice, that my discomfort is only temporary. Im very happy with my decision
and the student community is very friendly, very welcoming and hey, you will have me as a friend as well!
feel free to ask any more questions!
