<p>MoWC - Boy, this is the week to shout this from the rooftops. S has 2 very good friends he’s be in HS with all 4 years. One got a full ride to Vandy, the other was rejected. He is very familiar with their resumes and he said that there is very little difference between the two. No sure things…</p>
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<p>Back in the day, an old GF was a pre-vet major. That doesn’t make me a vet school admissions expert, but from what I remember, you should check with one to make sure your understanding of residency is correct. Texas A&M’s web site says, "[a]pplicants from other states who have outstanding credentials will also be considered for up to ten positions in each class. </p>
<p>Regarding residency, down the page it goes on to say, “*ndependent individuals 18 years of age or over who move into the state and who are gainfully employed within the state for a period of 12 months leading up to his or her enrollment in an institution of higher education may be classified as a resident for tuition purposes, regardless of dependency.” My take: merely attending an in-state school for undergrad does not make one a resident of the state for vet school admission purposes.</p>
<p>As to what is meant by “outstanding credentials,” there is a link on that page to admission statistics for the class of 2010. The average GPA of non-resident offered applicants was 3.93.</p>
<p>Again, I’d ask someone who knows more about this, but it seems to me that an undergrad that offers the opportunity to maximize statistics while minimizing debt would be the way to go.</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I can speak to many of the issues you raise. All are great schools and will serve her well in the future.</p>
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<li><p>If she is going to apply ED,she really should spend the night and attend a class at her chosen school first! Tours can be very different than actually hanging out with the students so she can get an accurate feel for the student body. This can also happen at accepted student weekends, but that is only if one does not apply ED, and is still choosing among a few schools.</p></li>
<li><p>My D visited and was accepted at Duke, Cornell, Vandy and some others. Duke was her #1 till she did her overnight visit. HATED it! Lots of drinking and chaos on a Tuesday night. On the other hand, loved Cornell. Liked the intellectual stimulation and the fun but with a lesser focus on alcohol.</p></li>
<li><p>Vet school is hard to get into and costs a lot of money. She may want to focus her undergrad choices on places that offer lots of merit aid AND have great programs to prepare her. A high GPA is key. that is not easy to come by at schools like Cornell and Duke–as they are filled with lots of smart kids who all want to get A’s.</p></li>
<li><p>I live in Colorado. CSU has a 7 year pre-vet to Vet program that is excellent. I hear that it is harder to get into vet school after completing your degree then applying. If she is really sure, the 7 year program may be worth looking at. CSU is a school where she could get an excellent GPA and would have lots of hands on opportunities. And Ft. Collins is a great college town.</p></li>
<li><p>Even though Cornell is really hard, my daughter loves all of the amazing people she has met. She is not getting straight As to be sure, but is enjoying the challenge of her classes and the excellent professors. </p></li>
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<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Three years ago a NMF at my son’s school was given a full 7 year ride to CSU’s vet program. She was accepted to Cornell, Duke and others, but CSU’s aid sealed the deal. By all acoounts she is thriving there.</p>
<p>I graduated from Duke 25 years ago and my son, currently a high school junior, is considering it. I have no worries about safety. I loved Durham and lived there for a couple of years after graduation. A few of my fellow students were afraid of Durham, as it did have a reputation as North Carolina’s crime center, but the perception of crime off-campus always seemed to me to be greater than the reality. Duke has a reputation for work-hard-party-hard students, and in my years there, I would say a Thursday night case of alcohol poisoning or date rape was a more likely safety concern than a Saturday night shooting off campus (which never happened). Also, I know from the alumni magazine that university administration has worked diligently at dampening the party atmosphere, and not all students participate in that scene anyway.</p>
<p>I have a little experience at Colorado, where my husband had a professional fellowship a few years ago. Boulder is a fabulous town and CU is a beautiful campus in a magnificent setting. It’s perhaps even more of a party school than Duke, and some of the undergrads don’t take their education very seriously, but it has superb faculty and intellectual conversation is not hard to find. If your daughter enjoys outdoor recreation at all, she would be delighted with Boulder. Students can even use their IDs for free transportation to the Eldora ski area! My understanding is that Colorado State, in nearby Fort Collins, has one of the best vet schools in the country. </p>
<p>We just visited Georgetown and I was surprised to learn that both its Med School and Law School significantly favor Georgetown undergrads. The admissions officer said Georgetown students can be admitted based on grades alone without having to take MCATs or LSATs and that the admission rate is many times higher than that of non-GT students. Perhaps it would be worthwhile for your daughter to check if any vet schools offer similar sweetheart deals as that could be a deciding factor.</p>
<p>Thank you all for you suggestions…there are indeed several vet schools that offer admisssion directly into the vet school (7 year program…and conditional on keeping theier grades up etc.) While my daughter is considering this, she really prefers to go to a different undergrad school and then vet school…(I can understand this…7 years at one school could be alot!) The idea of vet school is not a passing one…it is her ONLY choice (and believe me I have pushed for a “back-up” plan for years but as I posted before she is headstrong and won’t even consider other options… She finally agreed to a second option and says if she can not get into any vet school, she would apply overseas and if that still didn’t work she supposes she could lower herself to be an MD …(I have now told her to keep that tone and option to herself as both her father and grandfather are MDs and the way she said it was awful!!) Some days you just have to shake your head and wonder about these kids!
I will insisit on another visit with me to any school she applies ED to…
Colorado was high on her list as well…(and she loves to ski…so great location) but several friends have said the same about the partying and laid back attitude and her Dad really doesn’t like that idea so is pushing against it…
The real issue with vet school admisssion is great grades/great test scores/lots of animal work/shadowing etc. hours and finally the strange “in-state” advantage…all schools allot almost all of their spots to instate applicants…that is why we need an undergrad school in the same state as the vet school so we can establish her as a resident of that state during the undergrad years…
Although she currently loves Duke…I think SMU or a lesser tier school like that might allow her to have some fun while still getting a 4.0…?
It is all so very overhwhelming to make such huge decisions,and hope you are making the right ones!!</p>
<p>Just chiming in that Cornell is indeed big, but has a wonderful Animal Science program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). She would find her own community within that major; most An Sci majors are also pre-vet. The vet school is on campus so I would guess there are plenty of opportunities to get involved during her undergrad years. That said, it is a insanely competitive to get into vet school (worse than med school) from anywhere.
It is cold and remote, as you suggest, but a wonderful education with enormous diversity of interests, backgrounds, etc. And Ithaca is actually a great college town. It would be worth a visit before you cross it off the list.</p>
<p>We took d for a campus tour of Colorado state. Over the summer we had done a 6 collegen tour backeast. She loved all schools backeast accept for the SUNY’S we visited. That being said she just didn’t care for Colorado State. To her it just didn’t have the feel she was looking for. lacking a college spirit feeling ~ felt a bit “hick” ish…We liked it, loved the fresh air and gorgeous mountains. But it was not for her.</p>
<p>OP – It’s OK if your daughter doesn’t like Vanderbilt. It’s OK if she actually and truly prefers what some would consider a “lesser” school.
Really and truly.</p>
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<p>Maybe next year will not be as brutal as this year, but our Val and Sal - outstanding students with good ECs from a competitive HS - have been Waitlisted by these schools, together with Rice, Wash U and Chicago.</p>
<p>I think kids looking at Vanderbilt should consider a school like SMU as more of a match or likely school.</p>
<p>Keep them all on her list. The chances of getting into Duke and Vandy are a reach for everyone. There are lots of “super kids” with the same stats applying --no one can take an acceptance for granted. But, since my family has Duke alum going back to 1933, I say Duke!</p>
<p>I have to admit some of the Vanderbilt campus looks very Soviet Era Architecture. I was disappointed. I can’t comment on Duke. I have been to the SMU campus, and I was blown away. I live in Palo Alto, and it was more beautiful than Stanford. I was shocked.</p>
<p>I know a lot of Southerners think highly of SMU and Vanderbilt, but both reputations are very limited elsewhere. I would say in the business community is somewhat aware of the strong business programs at SMU , much more so than Vanderbilt. I am aware of Duke, and that school does have a national reputation in several different fields.</p>
<p>I would just do an ROI. What is the total cost of education, plus graduate school?? And see who comes on top. How much more would I pay for a Duke degree vs. Vanderbilt vs SMU??</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>If the OP’s daughter is hoping to get into TAMU’s vet school (with an incredible reputation in the world of Veterinary medicine), the fact that SMU and Vanderbilt have limited reputations “elsewhere” probably won’t be a factor. If she prefers a vet school in the northeast, maybe so.</p>
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<p>PLEASE investigate carefully whether this is possible. Many states will not allow a student to establish in-state residency if they are full time students.</p>
<p>You don’t have to answer, but how the finances look like for your family? From my limited knowledge, vets don’t earn the kind of money that physicians do. Duke, for example, carries a price tag of a quarter million dollars for undergrad education. So, if you have to pay out of your pocket, that’d be stiff. Now, speaking from personal experience, if a kid who is good enough to get admitted to Duke would probably snag about 1/2 tuition (merit) scholarship at SMU fairly realistically. It could be more.</p>
<p>Also, agree with others about residency. I’d looked at (and have lived) over six states. You can’t establish residency by the mere fact of being a full time student in their state for four years.</p>
<p>Oh goodness, my experience is vastly different. Vanderbilt is a nationally known top 20 school, SMU is a Dallas regional school that is much less strong.</p>