<p>I'm a party of one? You say you're looking at pre-vet.</p>
<p>To quote warblersrule86 at <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/408104-veterinary-medicine.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/408104-veterinary-medicine.html</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
Not usually. As long as you can get the required courses out of the way, you can major in pretty much anything. Of course, the list of required courses can be extensive (e.g. NC State's). There are a few feeder programs, though, like Cornell CALS.</p>
<p>One of the most important parts of the application is animal experience. Regardless of major, you'll need several hundred hours.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Notice he says "one of the most important parts of the application is animal experience".</p>
<p>To quote qbesg at <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/408104-veterinary-medicine.htmls%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/408104-veterinary-medicine.htmls</a>
[quote]
for what becomes of veterinary school applicants who never get in, the joke at my daughter's school is that they become doctors (M.D.'s). :-)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Pre-vet is very similar to pre-med...you can major in anything as long as you meet the requirements, and lots of animal experience (like medical experience for pre-meds) is required. Unless you think the tri-cities area around SVSU has no opportunities for animal experience (I live here, and assure you it does), then like I said before, "The college experience is what you make of it.".</p>
<p>Following the theme of the similarity between pre-med and pre-vet, here's a thread with more support for my view.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/202936-good-pre-med-schools.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/202936-good-pre-med-schools.html</a></p>
<p>Notice in particular
[quote]
Bigredmed:[Don't] look at prestige as a deciding factor - that name recognition... But there are plenty of other factors that undergraduate institutions provide that vary from school to school... These are probably hard to quantify in a really meaningful way. And the schools that really do well in these categories may or may not line up with the prestige rankings...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm assuming that by saying "the value of an MSU degree over an SVSU degree IS huge" you are referring, in the end, to an increased salary for MSU undergrads over SVSU grads. I can tell you this is really not the case, especially if the original poster intends on attending professional school for veterinary medicine. Even at Dow Corning where I co-op, a decent number of employees have B.S. degrees from MSU, SVSU, Purdue, UM, and I know they don't make different salaries because of their undergraduate institution. Even in engineering, a career field most start with only a bachelor's degree, a MIT graduate will not make much more than a SVSU grad starting out, and the difference can quickly be made up. (read this thread if interested, <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/434001-engineering-worst-all-best-careers-3.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/434001-engineering-worst-all-best-careers-3.html</a>)
In fact, my father works for delphi automotive where the chief engineer has a B.S. in mechanical engineering...from SVSU! Delphi is a very large company.</p>
<p>Just remember, college gets you your first job or into graduate/professional school. After that, what you do -at- your job is what gets you advancements. There ARE jobs in which prestige matters, i-banking law etc...but in the original poster's case, choose the college which is the best fit for you.</p>
<p>Also, assuming you'd get full tuition paid for at SVSU (sounds like you've got a very good shot), MSU would cost you $9877 per year. Over four years, that's $39,508...hardly "a few thousand dollars". Note that's without -any need-based aid at either institution.</p>