No, veterinary medicine is not a growing field at this point; with the economy in a slide for so long, it is actually a shrinking field – fewer people can afford to pay for care for their animals, and you have fewer people having large animals as pets (e.g., horses). Thus the need for her to soberly consider the realities of the situation and give herself options. Hard to plan your whole life at 16/17 years old … which is why we are talking to her about trying to keep doors open for as long as possible. She’s in the enviable position of pretty much being able to do whatever she wants … and she doesn’t have to decide now; but she needs to make decisions that keep as many options as possible open while she grows/matures/gains experience/decides.
The reality is that vets do not have the income potential doctors do; so they can’t realistically afford to take the same kind of debt load that med students might. If they do, they will never get out from under it. But some do, paying whatever it costs to go to vet school wherever they can get in … they graduate with $300K+ of debt, and then find themselves maybe earning $60k per year. Unsustainable. Article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/business/high-debt-and-falling-demand-trap-new-veterinarians.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 So yes, if vet school remains the goal, then UG needs to be debt free … and the more inexpensive it is, the less debt she’ll incur for vet school because we’ll be able to help.
She has no interest in being a doctor for people. She does have interest in engineering. That’s why that’s one of the UG paths she’s investigating. I don’t want to discourage her from following her passion, but she also needs to recognize that she can enjoy and love and work with animals even if she doesn’t become a vet. In fact, she might better be able to afford that horse she’s always longed for if her career is in something else.
UMCP is certainly a good option, and she may well end up there. But it is very, very competitive; she’ll be competitive for Banneker/Key, but there’s also a high probability she doesn’t get it. Oh, I’m sure she’ll get some $. But I will be very surprised if it is a full tuition scholarship. And room/board at UMCP is very expensive; certainly she could live at home, but going away is something she’d like to be able to do. So, we’re looking at schools where she might actually get that full ride … even with travel costs, it could be more affordable than UMCP.