Turning down an acceptance to try for somewhere cheaper?

[stenodactylus]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hello all,

I got in to Edinburgh but am feeling overwhelmed by the cost. I'm considering turning it down because I just don't know how I'd be able to pay such a huge amount off with a typical vet salary.

I'm worried though that if I do turn it down I might not get in anywhere else. I'm already 26. I applied to Davis, Washington, and Wisconsin and all three rejected me.

Here's roughly my stats. If I do try again, what should I improve on?

Undergraduate GPA: 3.52
Last 45: 3.68
GRE (Old Format) 680 Verbal (97%) 670 Quant (49%) 5.5 writing (97%)

Experience:
2,080 Hours as an Animal Care Manager at a shelter, about 1/3 of this is shelter medicine
1,560 Hours Animal Shelter Attendant
40 Hours of Dermatology at a vet school
40 hours of Small Animal Surgery at a vet school
310 Hours of Zoo Keeper Internship
40 hours Wildlife Rehab
4 hours Equine Vet Shadowing
300 Hours as Vet Assistant at a shelter spay neuter facility
60 hours VIDA vet trip
25 Hours Private Practice obersvations

What would you do? Would you try for somewhere more affordable or just go with the offer you got?

 

[NStarz]

Will Edinburgh let you defer for a year? That way you can apply to some cheaper schools and still have a backup plan if you need it.

 

[TooLove]

Hello all,

I got in to Edinburgh but am feeling overwhelmed by the cost. I'm considering turning it down because I just don't know how I'd be able to pay such a huge amount off with a typical vet salary.

I'm worried though that if I do turn it down I might not get in anywhere else. I'm already 26. I applied to Davis, Washington, and Wisconsin and all three rejected me.

Here's roughly my stats. If I do try again, what should I improve on?

Undergraduate GPA: 3.52
Last 45: 3.68
GRE (Old Format) 680 Verbal (97%) 670 Quant (49%) 5.5 writing (97%)

Experience:
2,080 Hours as an Animal Care Manager at a shelter, about 1/3 of this is shelter medicine
1,560 Hours Animal Shelter Attendant
40 Hours of Dermatology at a vet school
40 hours of Small Animal Surgery at a vet school
310 Hours of Zoo Keeper Internship
40 hours Wildlife Rehab
4 hours Equine Vet Shadowing
300 Hours as Vet Assistant at a shelter spay neuter facility
60 hours VIDA vet trip
25 Hours Private Practice obersvations

What would you do? Would you try for somewhere more affordable or just go with the offer you got?

This is an incredibly personal decision. No one here can answer that for you.

Ask yourself if you would be okay with that kind of debt load. Also ask yourself if you would be okay with not getting any acceptances on round 2 (not saying that will happen but it's a possibility you should be willing to face).

I think there has been some previous discussion on this if you poke around a bit.

 

[pp9]

Also look into what schools accept transfers, and what the criteria for that may be. I hear transferring is rare and done on a case-by-case basis, but it is something to consider. If I were in your shoes, I would not risk throwing an acceptance away. Your GPA is average (as is mine) and you don't have TONS of vet experience. I'd suggest doing file reviews before deciding if the timing allows. That way, you can weigh your options better. Perhaps contact the schools and explain your situation and see if they will take a look at your file sooner.

 

[Escalla]

FWIW, I was faced with something similar. Accepted to KState OOS, it was my only acceptance and I was left wondering if I really wanted to take on $44k/yr in a different country. I decided that I would regret it and tearfully turned down vet school for a year and re-tried in Canada where tuition is $10k/yr.

It's a gamble and there's risk. Someone I worked with applied to both Canadian schools that we are eligible for quite a few years ago....got accepted to her second choice....decided she didn't want to uproot and turned it down to keep trying at the school in our city...many applications later, she still hasn't been accepted. Even reapplying to the original school years later didn't net anything. So it does not always work out, but it's not impossible. I don't regret my decision for a second and while I spent a year doubting everything and constantly thinking about how I could have been in vet school....I couldn't be happier now.

So it is very personal and not an easy decision to make. As corny as it is, you need to follow your heart on this one, not just your wallet. You need to be happy with your choice as 4 yrs of vet school is hard enough without piling anything else on your plate. 🙂

 

[that redhead]

What would you do? Would you try for somewhere more affordable or just go with the offer you got?

I was in a somewhat similar situation when I got my one acceptance. Long story short, I decided to take the offer and go and I am very glad I did. There is absolutely no guarantee that you will be accepted to a less expensive school on subsequent attempts. My situation was somewhat different in that my GPA was much lower and I likely wouldn't have been competitive at other schools without some serious rehauling of my academics but I think the idea holds: go where you have an acceptance. If I had turned down my offer, I might still be applying. Instead, I'm nearly done with my third year and that much closer to being a veterinarian. Tuition costs are constantly increasing, class sizes are increasing dramatically, new schools are being accredited and the job market isn't looking like it's going to make a surprise rebound anytime soon - I'll be glad to get out of school when I do..

If you do decide to defer, you will have to provide a reason to the school and I seriously doubt that looking for a cheaper school is going to sit well with them - pretty much every veterinary student is dealing with some level of terrifying debt. Deferrals tend to be for health reasons, family reasons or finishing current degree programs. If you decline your offer outright, I believe you report that on VMCAS (could be wrong, so I'd double-check), which isn't going to look good to other schools you apply to. I did attempt to transfer but was declined (I'm sure my undergraduate grades played a role) - it's certainly possible but my understanding having looked at multiple schools to transfer in to is that it's usually reserved for things like family matters - having children/husband/ailing parent, dependents of some kind, etc (and I did have some family health issues, but not bad enough, apparently!) Not to mention you will have to re-acclimate to everything as most schools only accept transfers in their second and sometimes third year which will be challenging.

In a nutshell, I would take your acceptance and make the most of it.

 

[stenodactylus]

I was in a somewhat similar situation when I got my one acceptance. Long story short, I decided to take the offer and go and I am very glad I did. There is absolutely no guarantee that you will be accepted to a less expensive school on subsequent attempts. My situation was somewhat different in that my GPA was much lower and I likely wouldn't have been competitive at other schools without some serious rehauling of my academics but I think the idea holds: go where you have an acceptance. If I had turned down my offer, I might still be applying. Instead, I'm nearly done with my third year and that much closer to being a veterinarian. Tuition costs are constantly increasing, class sizes are increasing dramatically, new schools are being accredited and the job market isn't looking like it's going to make a surprise rebound anytime soon - I'll be glad to get out of school when I do..

If you do decide to defer, you will have to provide a reason to the school and I seriously doubt that looking for a cheaper school is going to sit well with them - pretty much every veterinary student is dealing with some level of terrifying debt. Deferrals tend to be for health reasons, family reasons or finishing current degree programs. If you decline your offer outright, I believe you report that on VMCAS (could be wrong, so I'd double-check), which isn't going to look good to other schools you apply to. I did attempt to transfer but was declined (I'm sure my undergraduate grades played a role) - it's certainly possible but my understanding having looked at multiple schools to transfer in to is that it's usually reserved for things like family matters - having children/husband/ailing parent, dependents of some kind, etc (and I did have some family health issues, but not bad enough, apparently!) Not to mention you will have to re-acclimate to everything as most schools only accept transfers in their second and sometimes third year which will be challenging.

In a nutshell, I would take your acceptance and make the most of it.

I already did defer, so a second time certainly is not allowed! I deferred but didn't apply again because I signed an agreement stating I wouldn't approach any other schools. It was due to family health. But given the change of the US $ and tuition increase, it costs $22k more this year than last year!

I guess I'm feeling so worried about the debt and the job outlook, I don't know if I should just do something else entirely. I could be an Animal Control Officer and make $58k a year with a badge and a gun and be running around capturing stray animals and escaped cows without any additional education and retirement at 55......If PAYE and the Public Service Forgiveness Thing are still around after I graduate, worst case scenario I just do that for 10 years and get my loans forgiven I suppose.

 

[shortnsweet]

22k more than last year? Are you sure? That seems like an awful steep tuition inflation for one year....

Glasgow usually increases the incoming year's set tuition by about 1500-2000 GBP at most....I can't imagine Dick Vet being much different...

 

[DVMDream]

I already did defer, so a second time certainly is not allowed! I deferred but didn't apply again because I signed an agreement stating I wouldn't approach any other schools. It was due to family health. But given the change of the US $ and tuition increase, it costs $22k more this year than last year!

.

I think you need to redo some math here. Last year's tuition was £27,900. This upcoming year is £28,450. A difference of £550. Even with the conversion to US dollars, which on average is a rate of ~1.6, that is around ~$950ish dollars, times 4 or 5 years and the total tuition increase you are looking at is $3800-4800, just a rough estimate. No where near a $22,000 increase between this year and next year.

 

[that redhead]

I already did defer, so a second time certainly is not allowed! I deferred but didn't apply again because I signed an agreement stating I wouldn't approach any other schools. It was due to family health. But given the change of the US $ and tuition increase, it costs $22k more this year than last year!

I guess I'm feeling so worried about the debt and the job outlook, I don't know if I should just do something else entirely. I could be an Animal Control Officer and make $58k a year with a badge and a gun and be running around capturing stray animals and escaped cows without any additional education and retirement at 55......If PAYE and the Public Service Forgiveness Thing are still around after I graduate, worst case scenario I just do that for 10 years and get my loans forgiven I suppose.

It may be best to re-evaluate if vet med is really what you want or if you'd be happy doing something else (that wouldn't accrue the debt). If you really do want to be a vet, is go for it now and not wait around any longer.

 

[DVMDream]

It may be best to re-evaluate if vet med is really what you want or if you'd be happy doing something else (that wouldn't accrue the debt). If you really do want to be a vet, is go for it now and not wait around any longer,

I agree with this.

Stenodactylus, it might be worthwhile for you to sit down and really think everything through as to what you want to do. Vet med is a huge commitment and the debt burden/job prospects are definitely scary. Think of all the pros and cons for the different options that you have. Write them out and discuss them, only you can ultimately decide what is going to be best for you. I know you are thinking of trying for somewhere cheaper, but without knowing where you are from, I can't know how much cheaper your IS is. Edinburgh tuition at 28,450/year for 4 years is really not much different than going OOS to any of the US vet schools. 28,450 pounds = ~$45,500/year. Most of the OOS tuition at the US vet schools is $50,000+ for each year. So unless you have an IS school that you feel you could get accepted into or an OOS that allows you to get IS tuition for your last 3 years; Edinburgh is not going to be much more expensive and might actually be cheaper than some OOS US schools. So, ultimately, your cheapest options are a cheap IS school or an OOS school that allows you to get IS tuition after 1 year.

I suggest that you take some time to think everything through. You have until April 15th (if I remember correctly, might even be May for Edinburgh) to really think out all of your options and decide what is best for you.

 

[EngrSC]

I already did defer, so a second time certainly is not allowed! I deferred but didn't apply again because I signed an agreement stating I wouldn't approach any other schools. It was due to family health. But given the change of the US $ and tuition increase, it costs $22k more this year than last year!

I guess I'm feeling so worried about the debt and the job outlook, I don't know if I should just do something else entirely. I could be an Animal Control Officer and make $58k a year with a badge and a gun and be running around capturing stray animals and escaped cows without any additional education and retirement at 55......If PAYE and the Public Service Forgiveness Thing are still around after I graduate, worst case scenario I just do that for 10 years and get my loans forgiven I suppose.

Animal Control has it's own unique challenges. One of my good friends worked as an Animal Control Officer for 2 1/2 years (with a gun and bullet proof vest) and her hours were insane. They would rotate who was on call and pretty much every time she was called into work in the middle of the night and still had to be at work at 7 am the next morning. She saw some horrific cases of animal neglect and abuse and it really wears on a person. In my city it is not a career for someone who wants a healthy work- life balance or wants to have a family. It's very demanding and burnout is high.

I'm just pointing this out because no career is without its challenges. If you're seriously considering a career as an Animal Control Officer you should speak with someone who's done it and/or see if you can tag along for a shift or two.

 

[TooLove]

If you're really as unsure as you sound, you need to do some serious reflecting the next month or two before you make a decision. This isn't something I would do unless I was 110% sure that nothing else would make me happy. It would really stink to be a year or two in (and 50-100k in debt) and realize that you aren't happy. Have you been involved in vet med during this time you deferred? What are you doing now?

 

[Elasmobranchiiphile]

I rejected my one and only acceptance last year. I knew going in the price was high and thought it would be my dream school. When I got there for the interview, I was underwhelmed and their financial aid packet was basically non-existent. Since I was waitlisted at three school last year, I took the chance and turned them down. Well jokes on me because I wound up waiting around for 6 months hoping to get in elsewhere and it didn't happen. I applied again this year and got waitlisted by two schools again but at least this year I don't have much hope for making it off either waitlist. It's a bit frustrating feeling like I'm wasting all this time, effort, and money, but I still in general feel like it was the best decision for me to turn down the pricey school. I actually met a vet that graduated from there who's paying $700/month for the next 30 years, and she was saying what a low interest rate she got it locked into. As much as I want to be a vet, I have other dreams too (like having a family, choosing a job based more on personal fulfillment rather than salary, etc.), so really didn't want to place myself that far into debt. I'm thinking of ways to make this year more fun too since if I'm not going to be throwing all the money I've saved up at vet school this year, I might as well use a little bit of it to go do something more outrageous while I don't have such major commitments and try to make the added time a little more worthwhile 🙂

 

[TooLove]

700 a month? I'd be ecstatic...

 

[farmerk]

700 a month? I'd be ecstatic...

From talking to most of the vets I know who are somewhat recent grads, 700$/mo just about covers interest. =)

 

[farmerk]

I was also in a somewhat similar situation last year, I had applied to my in-state school, NCSU, and also RVC. I got an offer from RVC and had yet to hear from my in-state school, although I was fairly confident that I was not going to get accepted. (eventually got the rejection letter) There were things that I knew the school to be looking for, that I simply didn't offer with my application, such as Large animal experience, Research/lab experience, and I had yet to complete my Bachelor Degree. So I decided, since I had a fairly confident idea of what I needed to accomplish over the interim year, to refuse my overseas offer in lieu of hopefully cheaper tuition rates the next year. For me this turned out to be a worthwhile decision. While I'm not currently finishing off my first year in vet school, I am sitting on 3/4 OOS acceptances ( all cheaper than RVC's original offer) and still waiting on my in state decision letter. It all boils down to what you want, realistically, and committing yourself to making that dream come true. I basically had to work my... butt... off over this past year, but I don't for one second regret turning that offer down, regardless of how much I know I would have enjoyed the opportunities it would have brought about for me.

 

[Elasmobranchiiphile]

From talking to most of the vets I know who are somewhat recent grads, 700$/mo just about covers interest. =)

Lol, I guess that's certainly sadly becoming true at this point, but I can also say that based on total price, the three schools I was waitlisted at would have been 1/2 or less the cost.