School? Money?

[Mangause]

So I heard from Massey that they accepted into Pre-vet semester, and that I have an interview awaiting for me in Feb from Glasgow.

Consider tuition at NZ is rougly $30000 CAD per year and that Glasgow is CAD $40000 per year, it really sounds like i should pick NZ. However, NZ is only a "pre"-vet semester, and Glasgow is like a actual vet program (not that I am accepted yet), I really don't know which one to decide. I dont want to go to NZ then fail the semester and didn't get in, and then didn't take Glasgow's interview or opportunity.

Any good suggestions?

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[Nexx]

If it were me, regardless of the $10k difference in price-per-year I would not take the chance of the pre-vet/competitive semester (year?) at Massey.

It is a big gamble to take IMO based on what has been said on SDN about the competitive nature of all the students during that semester. Basically everyone is on the top of their game in full-on sciences and you would be a bit set back (as would any international student) in living in a new place and trying to adapt to their testing/teaching methods. I had one former co-worker go off to NZ and she didn't make the cut, and ended up coming back to the US and gave up on Vet--she was just so bummed out.

Both schools are great schools obviously and you will end up getting a great education at either of them.

I'm sure one of the Massey folks will pop in, or you can try a quick search for info on massey here and see what people have said about that first semester.

 

[Mangause]

Hi Nexx,

Thanks for your reply. I was soo happy when I received the offer. Having heard that doesn't make me so happy anymore.

Any Massey current folks who went through pre-selection could give me a heads up? Also, when does the semester end? Like May or June?

 

[pixel]

first of all, congratulations on the acceptance and interview! i would love to attend either myself.

laurafinn is the massey go-to around here. this is a quote from her replying to one of my questions.

"I'm in the midst of final exams now, so can't get into this too much, but Massey's pre-selection semester (ie, the 5-year option for people without any/all the pre-reqs) has gotten more competitive every year. Nowadays I believe 1 in 4 international students who start the pre-selection semester are accepted. I think they may have capped the number of international students who make the attempt (that's the rumor, get the facts from Massey administration!)

It's a high-stakes gamble and thus very stressful. Plus, your grade is based largely on your final exams, so you don't really know where you stand until the bitter end

Email Massey to verify, though. It's been years since I did pre-selection."

IMO you should think about what school you'd rather attend based on other factors, forgetting about the $ and the pre-selection dilemma for the moment. both offer such different experiences, is there one that stands out to you or that you wouldn't want to miss out on?

also, you have to think about what kind of student you are. pre-selection sounds scary to me. have you been in a rigorous upper level science program lately and done extremely well, like top 5-10%? and have you lived overseas before and are positive you can deal with the stress/homesickness/new stimuli, etc.? if these are true, you have a better chance of getting into massey's regular program. or will you be distracted from competing by the cool new country you are living in? or are you a comfortable well rounded A/B with some Cs student? maybe you would feel better about the gamble on getting into glascow.

and one more thing about the 10k/year difference. that's in tuition alone, i think? if you factor in living expenses and plane tickets, is it more expensive to fly to and live in nz or the uk?

congrats again, you should be happy!!! and this is one of the best agonizing decisions you could be making

 

[Neoformans]

Hey Mangause,

Are you still in undergrad? Is that why you applied to the pre-selection instead of the direct entry program? I applied to Massey in 2005 after I finished my BSc and was admitted directly into the BVSc. If you're still in undergrad why don't you just finish your degree and then apply again? This way you'll save at least one semester's worth of tuition fees and you won't have to take the risk of spending all the money, attending the school and not getting in.

Oh, I should mention I didn't go. I also got accepted at Glasgow, but both schools were just too expensive for me to attend. But if I had the money and the choices again, I think I would choose Glasgow. The people conducting the Glasgow interview really impressed me, they were so helpful and the program sounded awesome! (though the Massey people were just as nice and helpful)

Well, goodluck!

 

[Mangause]

I m out of undergrad with a not good looking GPA.

I have lived overseas before but English was never my first language, so I had some trouble in university. I want to take the pre-selection b/c Massey was one of my first choice, but i am still very scared of getting failed.

Maye I'll continue with Glasgow appl while i try out in Massey, if I get bumped out of Massey, I'll see what Glasgow will say.

Thanks to all your help. We'll see what happens...