tOSU (OOS) vs. UF (IS)

[prevetstudent22]

Hello everyone,

I am so extremely grateful to be offered two acceptances, especially after applying to ten schools and receiving 7 rejections at the start of this cycle. I am currently trying to decide between attending UF as an in state student or Ohio as an out of state student.

UF tuition will average about 115k over four years and Ohio will come to about 190k or so. I realize most people’s advice is to attend the cheaper school, but I’m also under the impression most vet students take out loans up to the COL to pay for rent and groceries. I am fortunate enough to have a partner who will be working full-time while I’m in school and will be supporting me and covering everything in my life except for tuition.

He will be working in the tech industry, and believes that Columbus will have better opportunities for higher salary and growth. A bit about my background is that I have lived in Florida my entire life, and will likely not practice in Florida post-graduation. We are planning to visit Columbus in March to look for housing and see the city. Ohio has recently developed a new curriculum and is also ranked higher than UF. I am just wondering how much I should weigh the location/how many things there is to do in Gainesville vs. Columbus? I am also curious if there are more externships available in a larger city.

Has anyone ever been in a similar situation to this, and if so, what is your advice? Is 75k more in loans worth attending an OOS college when we’ll be making dual income with my partner (200k+ combined likely)? Is it worth it to pay 75,000 more plus interest when we should be able to pay it off together quickly to live in a city with more things to do and potentially more opportunities for externships?

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[JaynaAli]

I am always a huge advocate for going to the cheapest school, but I do also believe that a spouse’s income and job opportunities needs to be taken into consideration as part of that “cost”. Actually put pencil to paper and see how much your spouse might be ahead in Columbus, and don’t forget to factor in that there’s no income tax in Florida and there is in Ohio and stuff. Is his earning potential in Ohio going to be more than 75k greater than in Florida over those four years? Could y’all just move to Ohio after school and take advantage of both the cheaper tuition but also the better earning potential area both? I’d draw up hypothetical scenarios and actually run numbers and see what differences are.

I’m curious what you all do for fun that is impossible in Gainesville? I lived there and there was plenty to do. I can’t imagine spending an extra 75k just “to live in a city with more things to do”. Is it feasible to pay off an extra 75k with a spouse to support you? Very possibly, yeah. But 75k is a dang good down payment on a house or new cars for you both or some bomb vacations or a good nest egg for retirement or kids or whatever life has in store for y’all. If you’re a DVM in four years in both locations, what would you have rather spent that money on? I’d personally choose to “sacrifice” four years at the cheaper school and come out 75k ahead and have more freedom down the road. If someone came up to me and said, “here’s an apple or over here, there’s another variety of apple and it comes with an additional 75k to keep…choose one”, I know which I’m taking. But when you factor in a spouse it does change things to some extent.

Also rankings don’t mean anything significant. You’ll get a good education at either school.

 

[BigCats]

I was in a very similar boat to you where I was accepted to Ohio (which I loved and thought had better opportunities for what I want to do) and UF (my instate where I’d done my undergrad at). I was (and am!) tired of living in Florida, lol, but for me it was worth it to stay at UF for another 4 years and save over $50k that could instead be used on externships, conferences, etc. that would benefit my career far more, as well as giving me more freedom to go wherever I want (ish) after graduation. And honestly, I have really liked my time at UFCVM! Gainesville is a pretty typical college town, but honestly you probably aren’t going to have enough free time at either school to exhaust the fun activities available in either city. I would say save some money by going to UF and go on a few vacations!

Edit to add something that wasn’t on my radar when I was applying to schools but now certainly is as a current fourth year is the school’s NAVLE pass rate. Last year, Ohio’s pass rate was 84%, while UF’s was 98%. That would honestly make a big difference for me!