North American Students: How Do You Afford Studying Abroad?

[Mexi]

I come from a typical middle class family. Parents are divorced, both make mid-high mid five figures. Mom probably makes a little more than dad, but her line of work isn't as reliable (movies). I'm getting through school by working full time in summers and part time during the school year, with a healthy dose of student loans. No personal savings apart from an emergency vet fund (which, even then, isn't huge). Parents are capable of contributing a few grand here and there, but nothing as drastic as internation tuition fees.

All that being said, I am completely aware that it is very unlikely that I will study abroad. Truthfully, it isn't a serious contender, and I will be happy to go to any vet school... though, if I allowed myself to dream, I would certainly enjoy studying in a country other than my own.

I'm more or less just curious on this one, if you internation students don't mind divulging your financial situation - Are your parents large contributors? Have you had the opportunity to work at such a salary that allows you to save? Spouse? Scholarships? Student loans/lines of credit? Is it even possible to get student loans/lines of credit to encompass the heightened tuition and living expenses?

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[awaring1]

I will be studying in Dublin next year and my parents will not be paying for any of it. They helped me out some with undergrad, but I am now supposed to be an "adult" and pay for my own education. Thankfully, there are loans avalible to cover cost of living and other fees besides tuition. I will be taking out >$70,000/year in loans to go to vet school abroad. But it's worth it to become a vet.

 

[Mexi]

Thanks! It's nice to know that there are people out there slugging it out on their own.

Do you have a regular "student loan" to cover all of this? I could be wrong, but it's my understanding that Canada doesn't give out as much financial aid through student loans as the United States does... however, that's just what I've been told.

 

[devyn]

I am attending UCD in Dublin this Fall as well and taking out US govt loans for the full cost of attendance (tuition and living expenses) as well! My parents are not helping me at all (they helped with undergrad) plus I am a non-trad student so I am a bit older. I am doing it all on my own, but I am extremely excited to be going to vet school in Dublin and think it will be totally worth it in the end!

I am not completely sure about how Canadian student loans work, but this is the info I found on the Atlantic Bridge page regarding them -
http://www.atlanticbridge.com/vet/financial_aid/facanada.htm

 

[Robdude]

At least in the US - it's pretty easy to get plenty of student loans.

The downside is that my vet school expenses will cost me more than my house does, and it'll be at a higher interest rate

 

[shortnsweet]

For me, studying at Glasgow worked out to be cheaper than some of the OOS schools' tuition alone...

Many Canadians are in my class too, and I believe their loan system is similar to the US students

 

[Lissarae06]

A guy I'm working with this summer attends Glasgow. He told me that he pays around $30,000 for school. I think that was only tuition and fees, but it's pretty comparable to a lot of US OOS schools. He did mention that healthcare there is free (takes awhile to get in to see someone), and he liked that. A guy in his class is taking advantage of that and having a baby while he and his wife are there so they can have it for free.

 

[shortnsweet]

A guy I'm working with this summer attends Glasgow. He told me that he pays around $30,000 for school. I think that was only tuition and fees, but it's pretty comparable to a lot of US OOS schools. He did mention that healthcare there is free (takes awhile to get in to see someone), and he liked that. A guy in his class is taking advantage of that and having a baby while he and his wife are there so they can have it for free.

Um i'm not sure what OOS you are looking at, but most of them were close to $40k + / year when I applied according to VMSAR . Factor in living costs with Glasgow's tuition, and it will probably be between $40-45K/ yr total.

The way our tuition works is that it is set for all 5 yrs. The class above me pays 17.5K (GBP) per year, and each class that comes in typically pays 1-2K more than the class before them, if that makes sense. You can also find super reasonable living costs--- hence why I said, for me, Glasgow worked out to be cheaper than OOS, even with the extra year. But it can be different for everyone


Click on the general info chart for the tuition comparisons.:
http://www.aavmc.org/Students-Appli...nary-Medical-College-Application-Service.aspx

 

[heylodeb]

I think she was actually trying to agree with you....

 

[Coquette22]

Many Canadians are in my class too, and I believe their loan system is similar to the US students

Just from what I've read on SDN, the systems seem to be very different, actually. It's one of the reasons why I'm not considering school in the UK or USA. As a Nova Scotian, I can get up to about $10,000 (give or take a little) in federal grants/loans and about $6000 in provincial grants/loans. Beyond that, you have to get a line of credit. TD says up to $200,000 for veterinary students, I don't know about other banks. I personally couldn't fathom that much debt. From what I've seen though, it seems like Americans have more access to subsidized loans. We don't have that, because we're just not expected to need that much in subsidized loans, but I could be wrong (and happy to be corrected).

 

[Lissarae06]

I think she was actually trying to agree with you....

I was trying to agree with you. Oklahoma State is in the $30,000 dollar range for tuition fyi. You pretty much just said the same thing I did. Once you factor in living expenses, Glasgow is comparable to attending many US schools as an OOS student.

 

[shortnsweet]

I was trying to agree with you. Oklahoma State is in the $30,000 dollar range for tuition fyi. You pretty much just said the same thing I did. Once you factor in living expenses, Glasgow is comparable to attending many US schools as an OOS student.

Oh...sorry if I misread your comment! My brain went more to schools like Ohio and Colorado where tuition is above 40 or 50K without even thinking about living costs, so I was confused! (And Ok State is on the lower range of OOS cost huh?--I didn't realize). Sheesh, tuition really is getting out of control....

Sorry again!

 

[shortnsweet]

Just from what I've read on SDN, the systems seem to be very different, actually. It's one of the reasons why I'm not considering school in the UK or USA. As a Nova Scotian, I can get up to about $10,000 (give or take a little) in federal grants/loans and about $6000 in provincial grants/loans. Beyond that, you have to get a line of credit. TD says up to $200,000 for veterinary students, I don't know about other banks. I personally couldn't fathom that much debt. From what I've seen though, it seems like Americans have more access to subsidized loans. We don't have that, because we're just not expected to need that much in subsidized loans, but I could be wrong (and happy to be corrected).

Touche.

 

[flyhi]

I was stroking a check for it after working in another career for 15 years. That being said, other than the actual move, travel expenses and exchange rate to live abroad, it can be less expensive than a US school. One girl at Edinburgh actually turned down Tufts because she figured Edinburgh was cheaper in the long run.