Out of state success

[cheit20]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I’m an undergrad student from CT, which doesn’t have a vet school, and as I’m looking at my options for vet schools, I’m getting very discouraged with these acceptance rates and prices for out of state students. I don’t have an incredibly strong GPA (3.7) and I will only have a couple summers of clinical experience before applying, however I have many years of general animal experience.
I’m worried that I won’t be competitive enough for all of these schools, and I’m finding it frustrating that it’s so much harder for OOS students. Not sure if anyone has any advice on how to stand out as an applicant, and what I could do to manage costs.

 

[vampyrica]

I did not get into my state school or an interview 2 years in a row, but i DID get into my dream school which is OOS with a low GPA (3.1). i think your GPA is quite strong and about/above some of the OOS averages so you have quite a high chance of AT LEAST an interview. it's easy to get discouraged, but if you head over to this thread:

Successful Applicants c/o 2029

you will see just how many people got accepted OOS with similar stats to you. dont use this thread to compare, but rather to keep you motiviated and inspired!

 

[_rae_]

My in state was Tufts, so essentially OOS costs. I had a 3.64 all around GPA, and three years straight of full time employment in vet med from my gap years. I ended up going OOS because it was genuinely cheaper.

I know it can feel discouraging because you simply don't have a cheaper option, but I would say a good chunk of vet students go out of state. UMN is 50/50 with their class and quite a few vet schools fall more into that range with some exceptions like Texas Tech. Apply smart meaning tailor the school's requirements to your strengths. Also check because Connecticut USED to have contract seats with a vet school and it sounds like they put some legislature into place last year to start something like that up again. My home state was Vermont and I purposefully didn't stay there and gained residency elsewhere because there is no in-state and their only reciprocity is with Tufts and it's only like 2-5 seats.

 

[JaynaAli]

It definitely stinks for people who don’t have an in-state school. One option that does take time and effort would be to try to move somewhere that does have an in-state option. But that does often require a gap year and employment and such to qualify as a bona fide resident of a new state. But it may be worth that effort for the tuition savings.

 

[pp9]

I’m an undergrad student from CT, which doesn’t have a vet school, and as I’m looking at my options for vet schools, I’m getting very discouraged with these acceptance rates and prices for out of state students. I don’t have an incredibly strong GPA (3.7) and I will only have a couple summers of clinical experience before applying, however I have many years of general animal experience.
I’m worried that I won’t be competitive enough for all of these schools, and I’m finding it frustrating that it’s so much harder for OOS students. Not sure if anyone has any advice on how to stand out as an applicant, and what I could do to manage costs.

I did not get into my IS school (twice) and ended up OOS. Thousands of students get OOS offers every single year, thousands of IS students get rejected every year.

Cost is a very real concern to have, but you don't have a way around that in your situation unless you change your state of residency, or only apply to schools that let you change residency after the first year. Changing your state of residency before applying does not guarantee you'd get into that state's school, though.

You might consider posting in here: What are my Chances? WAMC Veterinary with the requested format so we can get more detail on your application and make suggestions from there.

 

[catsandsnakes]

My in-state school was Michigan State and they rejected me. I sobbed for a good hour after I got the email, because I was convinced I would get rejected from every other school I applied to. Michigan State's in-state pool is less than 300 applicants. I thought, if I couldn't even get to the interview stage at my in-state, why would I ever get into an OOS school with 1,500+ applicants? In the end, Michigan State was my only rejection. Four OOS schools accepted me and I was waitlisted at two others.

Personally, I applied to schools that accepted 40+ OOS students. Most schools will list on their website or in their class statistics how many OOS students they take! Look into applying to schools that will grant you in-state tuition after the first year. Also, really research the tuition and COL at every school you apply to. The last thing you want to have sticker shock when you're accepted to a school and suddenly faced with the cost. Apply smart and do your homework with each school you're interested in!

 

[juggling-zebra0831]

I feel this entirely. I knew even well before time ever put forward my first application that my in-state was not going to be an option. It's private, one of the most expensive COA in the country, is actually almost 2x COA of the out of state school I will be attending this fall. It frustrated me to no end knowing that to set myself up for financial success that meant applying as a nonresident where it would be even more difficult to be accepted. You def want to be mindful of costs for sure; VIN Cost of Education Toolkit can help you with this. As far making yourself competitive, sometimes it's just like others pointed out a matter of tailoring your application to the schools you choose. Every school has varying admission formulas with some placing more weight on GPA vs. others and others choosing more "holistic" review of your application. Don't forget to look at school's mission statement too and weave what you can into your essays. You got this! Rooting for you!