What schools are 'nice' to OOSers?

[veggirl]

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I am on the waitlist at UGA, so hopefully I won't even have to worry about this but, just in case... I am trying to get a list together of where to apply next year and am just wondering if you guys know what schools are especially nice to OOSers. There are a lot of schools to look up, so if you guys know of any right off the bat, that would be really helpful. 🙂

 

[runnerDC]

I would say any school that accepts a relatively large proportion of OOS students: Penn, Tufts, Ohio, Kansas. I'm sure there are a few others, too.
See:
http://www.aavmc.org/vmcas/documents/AAVMCMemberSchoolChartupdated2007_000.pdf

I am on the waitlist at UGA, so hopefully I won't even have to worry about this but, just in case... I am trying to get a list together of where to apply next year and am just wondering if you guys know what schools are especially nice to OOSers. There are a lot of schools to look up, so if you guys know of any right off the bat, that would be really helpful. 🙂

 

[biobean]

i think a good amount of mississippi's class is usually OOS

 

[CalpardNY]

Illinois also is nice to OOS students. While they only claim to have spots for 20-30 or so people, they tend to offer acceptances to up to 2x the number of spots for those OOS students they interview. Or at least that is what they explained was their procedure for this year!

 

[veggirl]

RunnerDC-

Hey - that is exactly what I am looking for! Well I just feel like an idiot! I have been clicking on each school from the AAVMC website to find how many OOS students they take each year....didn't know there was one site that had all of that info! Thanks...you have saved me a lot of time! 😀

 

[veggirl]

Thanks for the added tidbit on MSU and Illinois too. 🙂

 

[Tiraka]

It's also good to look at the number of people applying for each out of state spot. Penn, for example, has many OOS spots but is still extremely competitive b/c so many people apply

 

[athenaparthenos]

Western is private, so there is no in-state or out-of-state in their admissions... I think about 50% of students are from California, but that leaves quite a lot of room for the rest of us! (Feel free to correct me if I'm pulling that number out of my *** though, haha!)

 

[mdnghtdnc]

Western does not have a set number of students from in state or out of state students. Everyone is treated equally no matter your state of residence. They base the final class on diversity instead.

 

[Pouches Rock]

If Western is a private school how does financial aid work?😕

 

[athenaparthenos]

"Private" doesn't mean no aid. I went to a private university and got a $50K scholarship from them and $65K in federal loans. Private just means that the school isn't funded by the state government so overall the cost of tuition tends to be higher, and they don't work like other schools in charging in-staters much less than out-of-staters -- everyone is charged equally. However you can certainly still get Stafford loans, etc., from the federal government and can get your full cost of attendance covered with loans and/or grants just like with any other school. You still fill out a FAFSA.

 

[Pouches Rock]

Thanks for the information. I am looking at applying again this comming year but I can't afford to apply to very many schools and Western seemed like a good option since it doesn't look at you in terms of residency.

 

[charismarl]

Minnesota was super nice to me as an OOSer. At the interview everyone made me feel very welcome and very comfortable and besides that they let in a high percentage of OOS students. If I were you, I would definitely consider checking out Minnesota next year if you re-apply.

 

[pupsforseeing]

If Western is a private school how does financial aid work?😕

Financial aid works pretty much just like it does at a public school. You can still fill out the FAFSA and be eligible for all the federal loans. Private just means that they don't receive state funding, not necessarily that they don't receive any federal funding. I happen to go to one of 2 accredited colleges in the nation that don't accept any federal funding, so that's a whole different can of beans (thankfully, it is one of the most affordable private schools in the country and they offer a TON of private aid), but to my knowledge there are no US vet schools that don't accept federal funding/loans. The private vet schools tend to be more pricey, though, since they're not being directly subsidized by taxpayers. Just something to think about...

 

[veggirl]

Thanks guys!

 

[cows93]

I would not recommend only applying to OS schools that accept a larger amount of OS students. This year I applyied to a large # of schools that accept 40-50 OS students and 2 schools that only take 20. I interviewed at a couple of places and got accepted at the school that takes the least amount of OS students. And feel confident about my last interview again at a school that only accepts limited amounts of OS students. The schools I thought I had the best chances at did not come through. I know money issues are a concern when applying and interviewing do not make #'s admitted your only deciding factor. U Tenn is extremely nice to OS Students, I am visiting Wisconsin this Weekend and am told by numerous people Wisconsin is very friendly. Hope this rambling helps!

 

[meadow36]

I've also been researching this topic, but I have the extra hurdle of older coursework and a mediocre GPA. So far I've come up with the following schools for next year: Florida (my IS), Minnesota, Mississippi, Illinois, and Tennesee. Kansas and Missouri were originally on my list but both have cutoffs for the age of coursework.

FWIW, I've been in contact with Barbara Coats at Mississippi and she's been so sweet and nice to me with answering my questions. She's even offered to review my transcripts before I apply to make sure everything is ok.

 

[dartfrog]

I've also been researching this topic, but I have the extra hurdle of older coursework and a mediocre GPA. So far I've come up with the following schools for next year: Florida (my IS), Minnesota, Mississippi, Illinois, and Tennesee. Kansas and Missouri were originally on my list but both have cutoffs for the age of coursework.

FWIW, I've been in contact with Barbara Coats at Mississippi and she's been so sweet and nice to me with answering my questions. She's even offered to review my transcripts before I apply to make sure everything is ok.

Before ruling out any schools based on the age of your pre-reqs, I would contact the program. Depending what experiences you have had since then, some schools may be willing to overlook the age of your coursework. In my case, several schools accepted pre-reqs that were more than 7 years old because I continued to work in a biology related field after graduation.
🙂

 

[meadow36]

Thanks dartfrog, I have done that with Mississippi (they have a 6 year cut off but are pretty lenient) and was thinking of doing that with Kansas and Missouri. I just feel like maybe they will tell me it's ok so I'll apply but in reality it will be counted against me when compared to other students with newer coursework. Maybe I'm just paranoid but this is what I was thinking.

 

[dartfrog]

My opinion is that they will not count it against you. Kansas was actually one of the schools that overlooked some of my older grades and they ended up accepting me to the program. Although I have decided to attend the University of Minnesota this coming year, I really liked Kansas State. They have a great exotics program and I found both the faculty and students to be very enthusiastic. I would also argue that they are one of, if not the most, OOS friendly schools. 😀

 

[meadow36]

Yes, they seem very OOS friendly. One of the docs I work with is a Kansas alumni (she will also be writing one of my LOR's this year) and she said she hated it (but that was 20 years ago). I'm sure it's changed a lot since then. I may contact them about my coursework and see what happens.

 

[rachroo]

Illinois also is nice to OOS students. While they only claim to have spots for 20-30 or so people, they tend to offer acceptances to up to 2x the number of spots for those OOS students they interview. Or at least that is what they explained was their procedure for this year!

Doesanyoneknowifthis isthenormw/OOSschools?

 

[rachroo]

Wow that was weird! What I meant to say was: Does anyone know if this is the norm w/OOS schools?

 

[ri23]

Wow that was weird! What I meant to say was: Does anyone know if this is the norm w/OOS schools?

That is probably because more OOS people decline than instate people. They probably are only have 20-30 matriculate. Most schools have a set maximum of OOS that can attend due to the fact that many are state schools supported by that state's taxes.

 

[RazorDoc2010]

Mizzou lets you gain residency so that you don't pay OOS for 4 years. That's pretty nice (they now accept 20 OOS as well)

 

[LVT2DVM]

Before ruling out any schools based on the age of your pre-reqs, I would contact the program. Depending what experiences you have had since then, some schools may be willing to overlook the age of your coursework. In my case, several schools accepted pre-reqs that were more than 7 years old because I continued to work in a biology related field after graduation.
🙂

Dartfrog...thank you so much for sharing this info. Did you have to fill out a waiver or did they just overlook the age of the courses? I was hoping this would apply to me as well being in the vet med field since '94. Im definately going to look into it.

 

[dartfrog]

Dartfrog...thank you so much for sharing this info. Did you have to fill out a waiver or did they just overlook the age of the courses? I was hoping this would apply to me as well being in the vet med field since '94. Im definately going to look into it.

I first spoke to each school to see if waiving the "age" cut-offs was a possibility. Most said yes, but that it would have to be approved by the admissions committee and that I should submit a formal letter (via email) stating my case. Also, it is helpful to include evidence that you have kept up with advances in the field. Good luck!
🙂