Hello, I am a senior in high school, and I have been admitted to a few colleges. I was hoping I could get some advice on which of these shortlisted colleges is best for pre-vet studies? I will be entering in the biology major:
They are all out of state for me, so I don’t have any in state benefit
Reed
University of Massachusetts Amherst
College of Wooster
Ohio State University
Any help would be appreciated
First question: Can you afford these schools without taking on any debt at all for your bachelor’s degree? The process of becoming a veterinarian (bachelor’s degree plus DVM degree) is eight years and the last four are expensive. If you have to borrow a big chunk of the cost it will be VERY difficult to pay this off on a veterinarian’s income. On the other hand, if you can get through all eight years with no debt then being a veterinarian is a reasonably well paying career.
Have you also been admitted to your in-state public university? If so, does it have a significant financial advantage, and what university is it?
U.Mass Amherst has a very good animal science program, and is also very good for biology (and premed).
Ohio State has a very good DVM program. I do not know it as well, but my understanding is that it is also very good for animal science, and well as biology (and premed).
I do not know Wooster at all.
Your pre-vet classes will overlap with premed classes. There will be many strong students in the class who study very hard.
My older daughter will start in a very good DVM program in September. One thing that we noticed looking at the stats for the schools she applied to: Students get into DVM programs from a very wide range of undergraduate universities with a very wide range of majors. Having a lot of experience working in a veterinary / animal science type of situation can be very helpful in DVM admissions. Of course you can get this while you are an undergraduate student, and you can get more experience as a job after you get your bachelor’s degree.
It is possible to get your bachelor’s degree, get a job, and then get veterinary experience while establishing residence in the state and getting to the age of 25 (when you are considered independent from your parents). Then you can get in-state prices wherever you are living. If you are a Massachusetts resident, this does not help you much (Tufts gives a trivial discount for being in-state, and it is the only DVM program in New England). I do not know what sort of discount Ohio State gives for in-state DVM students, but it might be worth looking at.
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Unless your family can afford to pay a lot for college, plus another several hundred thousand dollars for vet school, I would advise you to follow this program:
Go to your flagship state U, or wherever you can get your undergrad degree cheaply, at a good school. Major in whatever you like best, but take all the pre-vet classes and work a part time job in veterinary care. Assuming you are in a state that doesn’t have a cheap in-state vet school, then move to a state that does, and get a job in veterinary care. Get your driver’s license there, register to vote there, rent an apartment there, PAY TAXES THERE. That is enough to establish in-state residency, after one year. Then apply to vet school there. Here is a list of cheap ones. Ranked: The Top 10 Cheapest Vet Schools | Student Loan Planner
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Definitely go with the cheapest option! Vet school as others have mentioned is VERY expensive. You have good advice above. One more thing I would mention is to go look at vet schools you may be applying to and look at their requirements. Some colleges do not cover the classes that you need. Medical terminology, nutrition, etc. Each vet school has different requirements. Large state universities usually have most of what you will need. Ohio State probably would for example. Go somewhere that you can get experience because you will need this. If you don’t get it in the school year you can get it in the summers. The key is to avoid, or at least minimize debt. Also go where you feel you can get a high GPA. That is a key getting into vet school (my son is a first year in vet school just so you know I have some clue as do the above posters).
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Can you give us each college’s net cost?
To calculate this, do
(Tuition fees room board) - (scholarships, grants) =$…
Do not count any loan.
Then we can discuss best value for your money. 
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My answer is none of them. Unless you have a big wad of cash to pay triple the tuition, there’s no benefit to going out of state. There’s really no such thing as “pre-vet.” It’s just a list of prerequisites included in a major of your choice. The vet schools are looking for applicants with top grades/scores. The best thing you can do for yourself is choose something affordable. If you choose vet school, you win, because of lower debt. If you decide against vet school, you win, because of lower debt.
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Yes, there really is a “thing” as pre-vet. Of course it’s list of classes. Specific ones that a few schools offer. And most schools don’t offer these specific pre-vet classes.
And with some pre-vet programs you actually work with, wait for it, animals.
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As you can see from the responses, the advice is to attend the school with the lowest COA. That is usually your state university unless you have received a financial aid and merit package from the schools on your list that will be close to the COA of your state school.
Does your state have an affiliated vet school or an articulation agreement with an OOS vet school? If so, look at the tuition and the course pre-requisites for that school. The reason for asking is not just financial but an instate vet school will accept the largest percent of it’s applicants from that state. This leads to the advice given by parentologist. Also look at the vet school’s NAVLE pass rate.
You also need to look at the colleges where you were accepted. Do they offer a pre-professional mentor? What are their statistics of students accepted into vet schools. Do they offer a LOR from a committee?
You can major in ANY subject and be accepted into vet school as long as you: have B’s or better in higher level science courses and have completed their pre-requisites. They may state C’s or better but you will be competing with at least a thousand applicants for about 125+ spaces.
Vet schools want: high GPA, (you don’t want to go to a school that is known for having weed out pre-professional courses). High GRE, although some vet schools are moving towards this not being a large factor in admission. Community and school leadership activities are very important, they look for well rounded leaders with good critical thinking and communication skills. They also vary in the number of direct animal care hours they want you to have under the direction of a vet. You can complete these hours by: attending a school where you major in animal science, work for a vet during the summer, etc.
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Read page 3 of the Pre-Vet guide at UT-Austin
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I’ll pass looking at one school in TX. Look up UC Davis, Cal Poly SLO and Cal Poly Pomona. All have undergraduate pre-vet programs here in CA. And of course there’s a list of classes. Just like a physics major.
Can’t decide between Penn State Honors College where I would be on pre-vet track
OR
Amherst College where I would be a bio major and then be able to take classes at UMASS
My thinking right now is that Amherst has better academics in general and better teaching, and so I would basically be able to take all the pre-vet bio, chem, physics, etc. requirements at Amherst but then I could take animal-geared electives at UMASS
However, I would like to hear what people on this thread think.
It seems like you are leaning towards Amherst. What are the percentage of students accepted into vet schools from each school. What school will be the lowest cost of attending? Are the science courses at either considered “weed out courses?” Take some time to read the answers above as the posters explain what is required to increase your chances for acceptance into vet schools.
Are you SURE you want to go to vet school - if there is a possibility you might change your mind then maybe go for the school with a better overall reputation and more options for a future non-vet career. If you are absolutely certain vet school is what you’ll want to do then go where you have the best chance at a high GPA and opportunity to get in animal hours (including with research) - DD just started vet school and in the application process learned that while going to an Ivy undergrad seemed like a good idea at the time no one at vet school cared - all that mattered were grades, courses and experience hours.
New here, and several months have passed, but I wanted to share some info and ask a question. First, if you are from PA, the honors college sounds like a great way to develop a community in a large university with a great reputation and keep costs low. Secondly, UMASS students in a particular major can apply to Tufts Veterinary school in Sophomore Year and if accepted, by guaranteed admission provided they maintain the required GPA.
And a question to the group: Given the expense of a US Undergrad Degree + 4 years of veterinary school, has anyone explored an accelerated program oversees, like University of Edinburgh 5 year program leading to a BVM&S? It is accredited by the AAVM. I believe graduates are eligible to take the licensing exam and are considered a DVM. I’m sure it is quite rigorous so I’m looking for anyone who has considered it.
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There are direct entry programs in the US as well as a number of veterinary schools that will grant sophomore year undergrads admission provided pre-requisites are complete. These are highly competitive programs.
The tuition for Royal School of Veterinary studies for US applicants is $46,000 per year plus housing/food, travel. It is AVMA accredited, you can apply for US Federal student loans and sit for the NAVLE in the state where you seek licensure. Graduates from this program who work in the US will in most cases be called Doctor in the clinic, but they must sign their proper degree title after their name, they cannot use DVM.
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Hi, thanks for answering and thanks for clarifying. I guess I’m wondering what the practical difference is in terms of opportunities within the field. I am aware that accelerated programs exist in the states and can result in a DVM in 6 or 7 years if all goes well. I’m certainly interested in hearing from anyone who has done that as well. In both cases I’m concerned the intensity may be too great or if DS changes his mind he will be in a school with limited appeal to other interests.
@momocarly perhaps you contribute some info regarding the direct admit programs. TY
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Colorado State University, Wyoming, Kansas State.
I know a student at CSU who looked at schools all over the US (and money wasn’t an issue). She felt CSU gave her better opportunities than the others, including Tufts.
And she got to bring her horse to CSU, has had a lot of animal related jobs (working at the vet hospital, working at the barns, etc.
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For the overseas programs I don’t know as much. I know that after you have your BS you can attend the AVMA accredited schools and should have the same opportunities as in state. As far as their accelerated programs I am not sure. The AVMA website has lots of information on these items.
For in state accelerated programs other than being hard to get into they have the exact same degree of difficulty and the same opportunities as anyone else attending the school in a pre-vet track as well as in veterinary school. My son chose to go to K-State. He looked at several other programs including Mississippi State, Colorado State, TX A&M, Auburn, Iowa State and Texas Tech. Only K-State and Mississippi State had early admit programs at the time. He was accepted in the program and could have finished his pre-requisites after 2 years but chose to go 3 years undergraduate to do a travel abroad, be president of his Fraternity, do some research and take some other courses he felt would be valuable in vet school. He is now in his second year of vet school and is at the top of his class. He feels his experiences helped him quite a bit and has had no trouble finding summer and short-term internships from Idaho to West Virginia. He really has enjoyed his experienced, worked a summer as a research scholar and will be doing a mini-term study abroad this summer and working for his cardiology mentor.
The rigor of the early admit program is very doable. At a large school there are also many other good majors to transfer into (or to start with) if you aren’t sure about being a vet.
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I think for that program at Edinburgh you’d have to take A levels to be accepted. It is quite a different high school system in the UK since kids can go straight into vet school from HS. So yes it is a 5 year program for them. The UK vet schools usually take some Americans after they’ve received a bachelor’s degree, and the American students fund themselves vs the UK students who are heavily subsidized. For Americans it is still a 5 year program, so it ends up being a total of 9 years not 8.
As for vet school, it does take a quite a bit of maturity and life experience definitely helps. My class was older on average with a number of second career vets, a 1-2 accelerated students, and many taking the traditional route. I would encourage anyone not to rush through undergrad in to a professional program. It is kind of like rushing into a marriage.
Vet med is very much a lifetime relationship. It is romanticised by many aspiring vets but the reality is often a disappointment that comes with an enormous debt. So make sure to examine the good and the bad and especially the negative economic risk vs. benefit profile of vet med. I was just speaking with a vet 12 years out of school, completely burnt out, with $270k of debt. He wished he had kept his undergrad debt load to zero, and went to the least expensive instead of the most expensive vet school. A debt burden like this can tie you forever to vet med. A condensed program may save money if they’ve made the right career choice. If not it might be back to square one.
It was an serendipitous for me to be an English major and then go to vet school. And so I found It is not a bad plan to have an undergraduate major in something not related to pre vet or science. You learn everything you need to know in vet school. You do not have to spend your undergraduate years trying to prepare for that other than the prerequisite science classes and work experience.
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