I don’t honestly think you have a shot at Penn so I would drop that and keep Cornell on the list as a reach. I second the ^suggestion of UVM and UVH
I can only imagine that UPenn would be the most affordable option since it is in state. However, back in my day, Penn was one of the most expensive vet schools for in state students. I admit I am not familiar with the current landscape regarding tuition but my advice is simply this… do not underestimate the burden of debt if in fact you have to go into debt in order to obtain a DVM (or VMD if you go to UPenn).
My advice? If you want to work with livestock stay in Pennsylvania. Go to a fantastic LAC (or larger university outside of the city) that is affordable and possibly with merit since your stats are solid. Go to a school that is rural enough that you can find a veterinarian who practices in your area of potential interest. Work with him/her!
Vet schools LOVE students with undergrad experience outside of the sciences. Every pre-vet student has to take the same pre-reqs and those classes are enough to show whether or not the student can hold their own in the sciences etc. You do not need to be a science major to show your strength in science.
What the vet profession needs is people who can think on their feet and communicate (all animals come with humans, even food animals). Too many pre-vet students think they have to dedicate their undergrad to science. They don’t. They need to learn how to listen to people and to problem solve. THAT is why vet schools love kids from LACs and/or kids who have explored beyond the sciences in undergrad.
Find an affordable undergrad school that has the climate and undergrad curriculum you are interested in pursuing.
Thank you for this!! Emory and Rochester are both fits for me academically. I’m going to have to do research on all these…
I had been thinking of applying early decision to Cornell, as it is my #1 choice. Is this a good idea?
@lilgag711 It does sound like a good strategy. With your sister there, I assume you know the school at least somewhat and know if you could be happy there. The location sounds like it fits what you are looking for and the university’s academic strengths line up with your areas of interest. I assume it is an affordable option for you? And if you go to a school without merit aid, will you have resources for vet school?
@lr4550 Am I missing something? As a private school, does UPenn give a discount to PA residents? If so, I was not aware of it.
For vet school at UPenn? Yes, it is cheaper to be in state: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/education/financial-matters/tuition-fees as they give a $10K subsidy.
Cost is something I’m going to have to look at more seriously.
Well it looks like UPenn is still more $$ (even if you are in state) than Cornell is for out of state. Go figure. Back in my day- I am a DVM form Colorado State- we had some PA residents… I guess out of state in CO was still better than in state at PA!
McGill’s Department of Animal Science is housed in their MacDonald campus, in a quiet, rural, beautiful location. It’s about a 45 minute (free) shuttle ride from the main campus downtown.
MS State has a program for high stat kids wanting to go to vet school. DD’s HS classmate and another student we know went through this program. I believe 40 students get selected from incoming freshman applicants for pre-vet, guaranteed to be admitted to their vet school if they meet the requirements with their UG work at MS State. It is worth checking out.
MS State is a ‘rural’ campus, but if you really want to get into vet school, it is a place to be able to get to that goal.
I have talked with several people who say that if vet school is the goal, undergrad should be as low cost as possible. Typical vets are not making huge amounts of money. Vet schools are all expensive and there is no merit aid. So you pay for vet school with whatever cash you (and maybe your parents) have and loans. If you come out of undergrad with loans, you may well be buried with student loans as you start your career as a vet. Not sure if matters that much where you go to undergrad. But you need to do well in undergrad (high GPA) and on the GRE.
Michigan State has decent scholarships for high stat OOS students, and would be worth considering.
You don’t have to go to an undergrad school that has a vet school. There are a lot of undergrad schools with strong animal science/agriculture programs. And some of those provide good merit aid for high stat kids.
Not every state has a vet school. Some programs are even more competitive than some med schools. However if you go to a school with a merit program that guarantees getting into their vet school, certainly worth considering. I know from parents, maybe 1 in 10 applicants get into AU vet school - attending there or not. Friend’s DD did attend UG there and did get in and complete vet school there.
Penn only gives need based aid. Run the net price calculator to see if you qualify for aid.
https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/upenn
Penn State would be fine for instate undergrad program, if affordable. It would be plenty rigorous in the life sciences.
You don’t need prestige for pre-vet. Penn, Cornell, JHU would be too competitive an environment IMO.
https://findlay.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx
^Total degree cost calculator, showed that you might be able to get $23,000 in merit per year at Findlay.
URI might also be worth a look