<p>Just make sure that you have minimal debt coming out of vet school. Vets often don’t make a lot of money, especially soon after practice begins. </p>
<p>If you go to UCF, will your parents help you pay for vet school? </p>
<p>Why didn’t you consider Oklahoma or Bama for their big NMF scholarships? Just curious. </p>
<p>@brownparent: The 3.5 GPA is required to keep the scholarship. We asked the man in charge, so it must be right! (UCF knows I can help bring their rankings up…they won’t pay for me if I don’t)
@mom2collegekids: My parents will try to help me however they can, but of course they won’t be able to if they don’t have the money. I didn’t consider Oklahoma or Bama because I didn’t like the locations of either of them. I had my schools picked out from a whole list of criteria, and these schools didn’t fit. Also, the scholarships are not as great for either of them as compared to UCF (Oklahoma still has to pay $7,000/year, and Bama only gives a “full ride” for the first year- you have to pay for room and board the remaining three years).</p>
<p>Also, I just checked my financial aid statement for OSU (what little is posted thus far, anyway), and it says my EFC is about $25,000. Would my $18,000 apply to this? As for my financial need, would that include work study and loans? Is it possible that I could get a need based scholarship? </p>
<p>“Also, the scholarships are not as great for either of them as compared to UCF (Oklahoma still has to pay $7,000/year, and Bama only gives a “full ride” for the first year- you have to pay for room and board the remaining three years).”</p>
<p>I realize that neither would be a full ride. I don’t know what you’d still have to pay for Oklahoma, but at Bama, you would have your meal plan is essentially covered for all 4 years because you’re getting 3500 per year to pay for that. Not sure what your objections are about the “location” of Bama. lol It’s in a very nice city.</p>
<p>I was just wondering why you didn’t consider other big NMF schools even if they weren’t free rides. I was just wondering why the two choices are “free ride”…and not even free tuition. </p>
<p>“Also, I just checked my financial aid statement for OSU (what little is posted thus far, anyway), and it says my EFC is about $25,000. Would my $18,000 apply to this? As for my financial need, would that include work study and loans? Is it possible that I could get a need based scholarship?”</p>
<p>Yes, the $18k would be part of that $25k EFC. I don’t see how you could get need based free money since your merit scholarship seems to bring the costs down to about $25k doesn’t it?</p>
<p>25k EFC is what your family is expected to pay.
Furthermore, OSU (like all state universities with OOS students) does not meet need, so unless something unusual happened you probably wouldn’t get financial aid beyond your merit scholarship, the federal loans ($5,500, to which you’re entitled although you’re not obliged to take them all :p), and maybe work-study. </p>
<p>I still think OSU is a good deal, especially if your parents are willing to pay for it. Unlike Alabama, Oklahoma, or UCF, Ohio State is the state’s land grant school and as such gives outstanding opportunities to learn about agriculture, life science, possible careers involving animals beyond just veterinarian, etc. Should you decide you don’t want to work with animals, fine. OSU is excellent across a variety of fields and the level of discussion in many of those classes will probably be far higher than what you’d find at UCF.</p>
<p>So now your OSU costs are 100,000, not $40,000? (what is ‘my 18,000’?). You will have to see if loans are included. If not, then you can take out your Direct Loan each year to help defray the 25k EFC. Work study is only given to federally qualified students. If you filled out FAFSA and you are eligible it should be included if available. Nothing to stop you from getting a low hours part time job if you can find one though. </p>
<p>whenhen, I don’t think it is a matter of parents willing to pay, but to put those funds toward Vet or Pharm school. But the actual true not hidden items cost seems to be creeping up all the time.</p>
<p>Ok honeymelon, if it is 3.5 to keep the scholarship then fine, too bad not to have a little cushion, cause unexpected things happen. But the reason you give makes no sense. It does not keep bring their rankings up for you to do so. What brings the ranking up is the entering student gpa and sat and maybe having more NMF, so you are helping that just by accepting.</p>
<p>Florida, because where you go for grad school will be important and you want to be able to afford any option say there. Hopefully you will get a nice offer for grad school also.
School debt sucks. Our friends, a pharmacist and doctor had so much debt after graduating it totally affected their lives: when to have kids, where to accept their jobs, whether to do private school for the kids etc. they really felt like it was a burden. I would suggest anyone who has to consider debt to get their degree to keep it below $20,000 total. They were paying throughout their children’s entire childhood, and they definitely regretted it. </p>
<p>Hm, at this point I think you should wait and see until you have your DEFINITE financial aid offers from both. Then come back here to post them so that we can chime in based on financial facts.</p>
<p>Facts would be good…</p>
<p>Happy surprise- I’m a finalist for the Eminence Scholarship at Ohio State! However, from what I have read, only the 25 winners get a full ride- the 50 others don’t get anything extra (like full tuition). I hope I have a decent shot at this.</p>
<p>congratulations! 
That would totally change things, wouldn’t it? </p>
<p>congrats, honeymelon. It would make your decision-making easier, perhaps, if you won the Eminence.</p>
<p>This is very much a game changer! I would definitely go if I got the scholarship. Also, I have a question:
“Please reply to this message to verify that you have received it. When you are prepared to accept your place as a finalist, please RSVP for the Eminence Interview Weekend at <a href=“http://scarletandgray.osu.edu”>http://scarletandgray.osu.edu</a> by Monday, March 17, 2014 at 5pm. Use the code #*%^ to register.”
This was in the email they sent. Am I supposed to reply to the email, or just register for the event? Thank you for your input!</p>
<p>I can’t help you with this. I’d call them up and see what they say.</p>
<p>Edit your post to take off the access code. </p>