US native to India Vet School?

[RuminantLove]

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I've tried searching for this but haven't been able to find anything...

Has anyone from the US gone to vet school in India? I'm half Indian and am thinking it could be a good experience to live in another country while going to Vet School. And it seems to be much cheaper....The whole being in $200,000++ debt and making no money after it all as a large animal vet is a little daunting...

Has anyone done this? Thoughts?

Another interest I have is that India has a huge potential for becoming more sustainable in the livestock sector, it would be cool to be able to work with and improve herd health and efficiency by implementing better preventative care programs and providing AI services to improve genetics.


Thanks!

 

[BlackDog17]

If you're planning on practicing in India it probably is not a terrible idea, but if you want to practice in the US keep in mind you'll need to take additional exams for licensing which cost several thousand. Plus your plane tickets back and forth to the U.S. (assuming you'll be coming back for breaks or visiting family or whatever) will be very expensive. Also keep in mind whatever differences there may be in cost of living. So if your primary reason for doing this is money, you should really sit down and work out the numbers before making any kind of decision. I don't know what vet school tuition is like in India, but there's a good chance you won't be saving as much money as you think once all is said and done.

Have you been to India before or would this be your first time? I've never been, but from what I've heard from those who have veterinary medicine is very different there. The way people keep and use animals is not the same as it is here. And - I admit I don't know for sure if this is true or not - I've been told that veterinarians are not regarded very highly. If you've never experienced vet med from the point of view of a very different culture, I would highly recommend finding a volunteer position with a vet there for a few weeks to get a feel for things before you apply. It's one thing to study abroad for a semester or a year, but you definitely don't want to commit yourself to four years in a foreign culture unless you're certain you're comfortable with it and can adapt to their ways of thinking about animals.

 

[RuminantLove]

I know about the NAVLE and PAVE (which costs $1,875, so not bad) in order to practice in the US. I have been to India before and have a lot of family there, so am aware of the socioeconomic situation as well. As I said I am wanting to work in agriculture, and India is currently doing TONS of livestock research, which really interests me and is another reason why I am looking at school there. I have also looked up the tuition, and I qualify for dual citizenship in India which would also help me with costs. Cost of living there is much cheaper than here (except maybe in Mumbai...) in general.

I really just don't know about the quality of the programs there I guess. If I get a veterinary degree from an institution there, would it be educationally equivalent enough for me to be successful in the PAVE, or would my education be lacking compared to AVMA accredited universities? Maharashtra Animal and Fisheries Science University is one that I'm looking into right now....

 

[epivetlove]

You may need to see if you'll be required to take the PAVE or the EVFG-whatever. I think you take one depending on what state you'll plan on practicing in? Might need to see if CPE will be required too.

If it's not AVMA-accredited, you'll likely have a lot of hurdles to pass through.

Then again, I could just be blowing smoke out of my butt since I no little to nothing about non-accredited schools.

Edit: jk, CPE is part of the equivalency exams.

 

[jmo1012]

you might try asking the veterinary forum about vet school in india and the hurdles veterinarians have/are faced with the licensing differences between the US and India. i don't know how commonly India grads frequent that forum, but in general, there are quite a few foreign people looking to form study groups for foreign exams and they might be able to better clue you in about the process.

as someone who attended 75% of vet school in a different country/different culture, yes it's a very different and worldly experience. i LOVED it though and wouldnt change my vet school path for anything. they treat animals very differently in grenada too. most animals are not pets. their love for their animals is very different from how we view love in the US.

basically, consider all of your options. do as much research as you can. figure out a tentative 5 and 10 year plan if you can and see where different schools will get you within that plan.


and just a heads up, not all states accept the PAVE so you might want to anticipate the ECFVG just in case life's little oddities crop up 🙂

 

[BlackDog17]

I don't know if you'll get much help on quality of education since the majority of users here are Americans/Canadians attending accredited schools. Generally speaking, attending an unaccredited school is very strongly discouraged unless you're really desperate. But if you were certain that you wanted to practice in India it might make sense.

PAVE is not accepted by all states, so depending on where you wanted to be licensed in the U.S. you may need to take the ECFVG instead. In either case, it is a lot of extra hoops you'll need to jump through. The school you mentioned is on the AVMA's list of veterinary colleges (https://www.avma.org/ProfessionalDe...eign/Pages/ECFVG-world-colleges-colleges.aspx) for the ECFVG, but that doesn't really say anything about the education they offer. A lot of foreign vet schools accept students straight out of high school, so that may say something about the level of education (and the maturity level of your future classmates!). Maybe contact the school's admissions office and ask if they could give you the list of courses you would be taking each year? That way you could compare it the accredited curriculum and see how close it is. You could also ask if they know of any graduates currently practicing in the US that you might be able to contact with questions.

 

[DVMDream]

I knew a vet who had to go through the PAVE and ECFVG exams, they are not easy. They test not only your clinical knowledge but your technical skills as well. The vet told me that the examiner stood over them as they did their required spay for part of the exam, when you were done with your suturing of the linea alba, he would come up and test it, if he thought it was not good enough for whatever reason, that was it, you failed. Then you had to retake the entire exam and pay the full money all over again. Also at any point during the spay, if they did not agree with how you did something they could fail you. He said the exams were very stressful, very difficult and most people do not pass them on a first try. They are also very expensive. I think he said when it was all over he spent somewhere around $10,000 for both exams, travel, etc.

Just keep that in mind. If you want to practice in India, then probably would be fine to just go to vet school over there, but if you have any desire to come back to the US, it may not be the best idea. And you will have a difficult and expensive road ahead of getting licensed in the US.

Also, keep in mind about how you are going to pay for vet school. I am rather certain (not 100%) but pretty positive that you can not get US student loans to attend an unaccredited university. So, you will have to pay out of pocket or find private loans to cover the cost.

 

[BlackDog17]

I knew a vet who had to go through the PAVE and ECFVG exams, they are not easy. They test not only your clinical knowledge but your technical skills as well. The vet told me that the examiner stood over them as they did their required spay for part of the exam, when you were done with your suturing of the linea alba, he would come up and test it, if he thought it was not good enough for whatever reason, that was it, you failed. Then you had to retake the entire exam and pay the full money all over again. Also at any point during the spay, if they did not agree with how you did something they could fail you. He said the exams were very stressful, very difficult and most people do not pass them on a first try. They are also very expensive. I think he said when it was all over he spent somewhere around $10,000 for both exams, travel, etc.

This makes more sense, OP's estimate seemed incredibly low to me. I was told to expect about $7,000 for PAVE/ECFVG, back in the days before SGU and Ross were accredited.

According to the ECFVG website it takes a minimum of 4-6 months to get through the whole program, and that's for the best qualified candidates. About half the candidates take 2-2.5 years! That's definitely something to consider, because that's time you'll be spending racking up interest on your student loans (if you can get them) and being legally unable to work as a veterinarian. The BCSE portion of the exam also has only a 45% pass rate and first-time takers of the CPE portion have only a 25% pass rate, so it's quite possible that you could find out the hard way that your education wasn't up to snuff, and then you'll be paying more to retake the exam. I personally don't think I would risk it just for the sake of saving some tuition money.

 

[TooLove]

Weighing in as I am currently working with vet students from Asia. Yes their tuition is much cheaper - students in the Philippines pay around $800 a year!!! However, they said that the quality of their programs is not comparable to those of AVMA accredited schools in North America and they have limited to no access to advanced diagnostics. While we were touring the teaching hospital in Bangkok, many of the Asian students were taking pictures of their ultrasound as they had never seen it before. Also, like BlackDog said, the programs here are usually 6 years, taking students straight from high school. I'm guessing it would be unlikely that you would be able to skip the earlier years since their curriculum is designed differently than western vet schools, which would mean that you went to undergrad essentially for funsies. Additionally, even if you were able to work your way through school and all the equivalency exams, you may have trouble adjusting to practicing in the US since they have different protocols and drug names and mainly focus on diseases that you would be unlikely to see unless you were to stay and practice in that area.

 

[Animalis]

I did substantial research on the PAVE and ECFVG while considering veterinary colleges in Europe (the Czech Republic/Hungary specifically). My reasons for this were similar to the OP, both cultural exposure and financial responsibility. The ECFVG has more steps, a longer waiting list, and higher price tag. You may be waiting for upwards of a year to get scheduled for step four the CPE, or clinical skills assessment. It results in no restrictions to practice in the United States or Canada (NEB reciprocity). The PAVE is slightly faster and cheaper, but is not accepted by every state. PAVE also bars you from military or government positions, which require the ECFVG. Also, keep in mind that attending a foreign institution may limit your career options. Many residencies specifically state graduation from an AVMA accredited college as a requirement. Employers may be more likely to choose, or even require, an AVMA accredited graduate.

The prices for these programs are much higher than the $1,875 listed earlier, and are rising every year. It is $1,000 for initial registration for the ECFVG alone, step 4 is priced at $6,200 for 2014. As a previous poster mentioned, you should also factor airline tickets, hotels, and other expenses to travel back to the States to complete these steps.

To be eligible for either the ECFVG, you must be a graduate of an AVMA listed veterinary college (https://www.avma.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/Education/Foreign/Documents/ecfvg12.pdf). According to this list, there are two options in India, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University and Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University. I believe that graduates of any other Indian university are ineligible for the ECFVG. I'm not sure about the institutional requirements for the PAVE. The ECFVG is the preferred credential, and was primarily what I investigated.

I don't think anyone can speak to the academic quality of a foreign college unless they have personally studied there. Attending an unaccredited college does not necessarily mean you will receive an inferior education - although it can! Keep in mind, however, that others will have a negative opinion on the quality of your education, and potentially, your competence as a veterinarian simply because you studied in another country. The primary goal of foreign institutions is to educate citizens of their country. They must actively seek AVMA accreditation, and it does not come free, so it may not be financially feasible to seek AVMA accreditation. I think you should expect to study for the PAVE or ECFVG regardless of the rigor of your college. As you mentioned, Indian colleges may place a greater emphasis on food animal medicine. If the PAVE or ECFVG exams are heavily small animal based, this would put you at a disadvantage.

 

[that redhead]

My understanding is that the education is not nearly equivalent to an accredited program. There is plenty of agricultural research that you could be a part of here in the US, so unless you want to practice in India for here majority of your career, I'd strongly advise you to stick to the accredited schools.