Paying for vet school??

[Max Power]

I'm trying to figure out a budget. I know schools offer scholarships and i'm getting loans...isn't there a grant/loan type thing offered by the US gov't?? I remember reading about pres bush endorcing something of the sort in order to help vet students with debt load.

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[AuburnPreVet]

Along these same lines, does anyone know what type of scholarships/grants schools typically give out? Are they common? Need based or merit based? If merit based, are we talking about undergrad grades, vet school grades, or both?

I'm planning my budget assuming I'm getting no assistance...and 100% loans. Eww.

 

[Vet2be2012]

I would love to hear about some grants or scholarships! I am going overseas, but AVMA accredited. I found that for starters, most scholarships are not available for vet students to start. For second, if they are available to vet students, they are not available to vet students who are going overseas but taking US government loans. I too am planning everything based on the fact that I won't get anything, just loans!

It would be nice if there was more government aid for vet students since vet students don't come out making the same as medical doctors or other proffesionals but still have the same amount of debt, if not more!

 

[seaturtlegirl]

*sigh* I have been suffering with this dilemma myself.

I have heard that, depending on where you go to school, if you stay in the area for a while (about 5 years or so), many states will forgive some of your loans. There is also the health science scholarship through the armed services (discussed at length on another thread) - if accepted to this, the service will pay for the last 3 years of schooling, in exchange for a time of active duty...

In general, I think that most scholarships and grants are hard to come by, which is a darn shame. On the other hand, once done with the DVM, government jobs are often far more lucrative. (some with starting salaries of 70K+ a year with little or no experience)

All I know for sure is, I've gotta do something - I'm looking at debt upwards of 275,000!!! So, if anyone comes across anything beyond what has already been posted, this may help cure my sleepless nights...

 

[kate_g]

Along these same lines, does anyone know what type of scholarships/grants schools typically give out? Are they common? Need based or merit based? If merit based, are we talking about undergrad grades, vet school grades, or both?

This strikes me as a really good question to ask your school. Seriously, Davis for instance has somebody in the grad financial aid department who works specifically with vet students. She answered a whole lot of questions for me along these lines.

The type, number, and amount of scholarships given by the schools varies widely. Web sites typically give some of this info, or else you may have to call and ask. Most schools seem to have a certain amount of "general fund" scholarship money that they give out based on their own criteria - usually mostly performance in your vet school classes though sometimes partially based on need. Most schools also typically have some named/endowed scholarships where the donor specified additional criteria like "needy student" or "equine interest" or "grew up in the same hometown as me." I think pretty much everywhere I asked had the same system: in the fall you'll fill out a single application that will get you considered for every scholarship they offer. Awards are then made at a spring awards ceremony, and the scholarship applies for the next year. The obvious implication here is that it's generally impossible to get a scholarship from the school as a first-year (if you weren't already offered a recruitment scholarship as part of your acceptance package). Most schools seem to offer a whole bunch of little scholarships, from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars, and to try to spread the money pretty widely (rather than one really great student getting a full ride and everyone else getting zip).

 

[AuburnPreVet]

They are having a "Freshman meeting/Financial Aid seminar" at Open House (which is this Saturday, at AU)... so, I really didn't want to contact them with financial aid questions - a week before the financial aid seminar.