I would think that with the Minnesota/Wisconsin tuition reciprocity agreement, UWRF would have its share of kids from the nearby Twin Cities. And obviously plenty of kids from Wisconsin. So those fairly “local” kids with vehicles would be able to go home now and then; whether they do, I’ve no idea. Probably some do, especially those who are laundry-challenged.
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Thank you! This is encouraging. And it’s so interesting to see what other states require for graduation!
Good to hear! I may be in touch! We are really hoping CSU clicks for her.
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I would also contact admissions of colleges that she is interested. I bet there is a workaround (not sure about CA, but who knows). If her school does not have a visual/art requirement, her HS counselor should put it in the letter/recomendation explaining it. What counselor can add is …but “such and such participated in … festivals, school music theater production, dance club… or some outside visual /art activity.” I strongly doubt that your daughter can be denied admission with 4.0 GPA if she satisfies all her HS graduation requirements and the college is interested in her. She is not applying for an art major, and this is not a “science” or “foreign language” academic requirement.
Another thought. Since you are from Alaska, your daughter probably will be a geographical diversity at many schools. I bet they will close their eyes in such situations for sure…
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Thanks so much for all the info and insight!! Univ of Delaware and Kansas State might warrant looking into. I’ve heard great things about Kanas State’s vet med program here on CC. I think the other schools you’ve just mentioned are too small for her. I realize she has similarly sized small schools on her list (Del Valley, Findlay), but it they have well-known equestrian programs.
So her list is: Univ of Findlay, Delaware Valley Univ, University of Vermont, (we’ll be visiting those 2 campuses next month), Colorado State, University of Kentucky (need to research the art requirement), Utah State (the merit aid looks really good but worried about the high percentage of Mormon students. Another positive is they just matriculated their first vet med class), and the UK school(s?). I think she took UNH off the list. They used to have a stand alone Equine Science major that they dropped and now it is a concentration under animal science. It was dropped due to a lack of interest and that concerned her.
So I think we have a good list unless someone has specific experience or knowledge to share—if so, I’d love to hear it! She’s starting an internship at a vet clinic this week so we’ll see what that does to her interest in vet school! I’ll keep you posted.
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I hope you’re right! And we plan to play the Alaska card. You know, by the time she gets the dog team unharnessed, fed, and all the poop scooped, there just isn’t much time left for art classes before darkness sets in and the igloo gets too cold to do anything 
!
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“Doesn’t have the fine arts classes to apply to CA schools.”
It’s possible to use the “personal insight questions” to seek an admission by exception. However, there are long odds for admission even for students that meet the A-G requirements and there isn’t need based institutional aid for out of state students.
“Each UC campus can offer admission to a few students who do not meet all of the A-G course requirements or minimum GPA requirements. You may use the personal insight questions or additional comments section of the admission application to explain your unique story.”
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Johnson and Wales in RI might be worth looking into.
A classmate of my son’s is going to University of Liverpool in the UK- not sure how their program is set up, but she’s doing a degree in Equine Science/ pre-vet. We’re in KY and the University of KY will be a good option, and they have a high acceptance rate. Lots of internships and jobs in the equine industry are available for students here in Lexington. Also, Transylvania University is a small liberal arts school in downtown Lexington, and they have an equestrian team (just a bio major, though) U of Louisville has an Equine Business degree- lots of flexibility if you go that path. Have your kiddo really research what she’d like to do with an Equine Science degree- I have several friends whose kids have pursued this (we’re in KY, after all) and didn’t have as much success finding well-paid jobs after graduation as they’d hoped. I know as least a couple said a more general degree in Bio or Equine Business provides more flexibility / options, and they wished they’d gone that route.
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We were told over and over again that college admissions won’t “punish” you for not taking classes that weren’t offered. So if it’s an issue of those classes not being offered at your school, or some major scheduling issue (it would prevent her from taking X), the GC can mention it in their letter.
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Thanks for the good info!! I agree that she needs to give a lot of thought to how much she’s going to earn with the degree. We’ve had lots of conversations about whether it would be better to make a living in some other high paying field so she can afford horses as a hobby as opposed to not making much money and not having time or money for her own horses!
Good news! D23 heard back from the University of Kentucky and they said as long as she meets her high school’s requirements for graduation, they will honor that (so no art required!) I didn’t realize she had even sent them an email asking the question! 
This kid’s maturity is amazing me on a daily basis. Mind you, two years ago (maybe even one), she was saying she didn’t want to go to college. 
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This cannot be emphasized enough!!!
There are virtually NO, let me repeat that, NO well paid jobs in the horse business. None
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So then something to think about perhaps is - what else tangentially can one do.?
If you major in history or poli sci, you can do not everything but many things, as an example. English, journalism, etc. there are roles.
If one has an equine major, which is very narrow, then what - besides vet school? Can it be transitioned into other jobs? I don’t know - but there’s always grad school if needed.
I totally understand a student wanting to pursue their passion - so they can chase the dream. It’s hard to tell someone at 17, to go to college, but to study something you’re not interested in. As a parent, it would be hard to recommend. Practical but you still want people to fulfill their desires.
But if there are no well paid jobs - then yeah, it’s a concern.
OP - you might ask each school for career outcomes in the major and go over them with your student - placement rates + types of jobs / salaries. I imagine UK especially will have a robust program given its location.
Yes, that’s an interesting undertaking to look at related fields and the employment prospects.
I am extraordinarily sympathetic because for a while I considered a double major with vocal performance, which I loved dearly, but I knew I good, but not that good. Not good enough to do substantially more than be a choir director at a really small college or something. I was not as gifted at singing as I was at taking tests, so I excelled at law school and went to BigLaw. I studied voice through law school and sing on the side even now at church and community events, and it’s a great creative outlet for me.
I suppose an analogy would be considering something like livestock veterinarian, which I suppose is mostly … not horses, but that depending on where you are, there is usually some population where you could do what you find most fulfilling. Livestock vets can earn a good living, but you’re on call like a doctor.
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There are equine veterinarians, no need to branch out if your passion is horses. You have to follow an almost premed like undergrad course though, not equine studies. And, actually equine vets often have a lot of debt and the starting pay is low.
Truly, guys, horses are phenomenal. But because they are so wonderful and so many people want to work with them, that’s why the pay verges on poverty level. A typical entry level assistant barn manager position is 6 days a week with housing included (which is often a shared apartment over the barn) – and poverty level wages. These jobs are physically demanding and can leave one with physical disability/impairment later in life.
You could do things like work for an insurance brokerage that handles horse related clients, but then you are working in insurance, and not directly with horses (and no equine studies degree is needed).
It’s also not like voice in the example above. If one is super talented It’s not enough. You have to ride super talented horses, and those cost upwards of $1 million each. There’s a reason some of the top riders in this country are named Bloomberg and Springsteen.
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Didn’t realize that equine vet salaries started so low…particularly when compounded with the costs of vet school.
What kind of horse involvement does your daughter want, @alaskajo? Is she wanting horse racing or something requiring an uber-expensive horse? Or would she be happy working at a ranch where there are trail rides (with, I’m assuming, non-million-dollar horses)? Or…?
Learned a lot of new stuff from your post…especially this!
I will say that I am a lover of going to college to study your passions and interests, but I was also raised with the expectation that once I graduated from college, I needed to be self-sufficient. My mom always described how she was an honors history major and ended up getting a job as a secretary (who later when on to get a degree in tax so she could be more employable). Due to a bit of cajoling, I got my teacher’s license in addition to my foreign language major (having explored and rejected business & tech fields). So long as your D knows the expectations for once she graduates from college, then I think her maturing brain will help her to make mature decisions. After all, how many first-year students are convinced they’re going to study one thing and then end up studying another (in addition to or instead of)?
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I often think people with a passion that seldom results in a well-paying career could benefit from a double major in business/entrepreneurship.
Someone with a passion for horses could establish their own tack business or horse transport business, eventually pull together enough money/investors to maybe establish a stable and offer lessons or an equine therapy program. That kind of thing.
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salary.com says that the average salary for an equine DVM is “$68,219 as of August 27, 2023”. To me this seems compatible with a starting salary of $58,000 from 5 years ago.
IF you can graduate with a DVM and no debt, living in a rural area this may be an entirely adequate salary. It is not a generous salary after 4 years of undergrad and 4 more (very demanding) years of a DVM program.
And that is a very big “IF”.
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