I feel as though colleges where Greek life is less than 20-25% of the student population is a very doable amount where it is easily ignored and does not have a pervasive effect on non-Greek life. Where I went to college, I think it may have been about 27% Greek, and I barely knew Greek life existed on campus.
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Ohio does have reciprocal agreements with other states as detailed here. @cliffordstower do you reside in any of the specified counties for which there is a specific agreement? Apart from West Virginia which includes residents from the entire state of Ohio, it appears as though the agreements with Kentucky, Michigan, and Indiana are county-specific.
Based on that reciprocity agreement, West Virginia University would definitely qualify as extremely likely, but it is a bit larger of an institution at about 19,000 students. Itās the only public WV university that came up when the animal sciences, veterinary sciences, or zoology majors were pulled up, which means that this is the agricultural college for West Virginia. In-state tuition, room & board would run about $23k here. The university is in close proximity to a state forest, a couple of wildlife management areas, trails, caves, etc.
With that GPA University of Delaware would be about $35,000. They have animals on campus. Pre-Veterinary Medicine | University of Delaware
About a quarter of students are in Greek life, there are several coed service fraternities. There is plenty to do outside of Greek life.
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Thank you very much for the info! I reviewed the link you sent. We are not in a county that qualifies for Indiana, Michigan or Kentucky but WV looks like it might be a good option to explore further.
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Iām going to throw out the names of some other institutions to consider that Iāve seen recommended for veterinary studies or for students interested in animals. Some of these are smaller than the 5,000 minimum in the original post or are in Ohio and your daughter wants to go OOS or might have lower graduation rates than the ones I included in my original recommendations. But depending on what your daughterās interests are in veterinary medicine, I thought it was at least worth mentioning these.
- Delaware Valley University (PA ): There are about 1700 students at this university that seems to have a strong interest in its pre-vet program. The merit scholarships offered are from $14-25k, and I expect that your daughter would be on the higher end. Delaware Valley has a sticker price of about $54k. Itās near a state park and another fairly large park and has some nature preserves nearby as well.
- Tarleton State University in TX has about 12,000 students and a sticker of $28k. Thereās a heavy focus on animal/agricultural studies with the Animal Sciences major and the Wildlife, Sustainability, and Ecosystem Sciences major with opportunities for hands-on experience as the collegeās farm and other areas. Likely to get at least $2-4k in merit aid. The coolly-named Dinosaur Valley State Park is nearby (along with other parks), as is a wildlife and animal center.
- Delaware State: Appears to have a number of hands-on experiences through its demonstration farm, extension programs, and various research initiatives, and requirements include a senior capstone project for its ag majors (whether pre-vet or animal & poultry science). Your daughter would appear eligible for the top scholarship (full ride). Sticker of around $33k and around 4100 undergrads.
Ohio options: I realize your D wants to go OOS, but in case she changes her mind, here are some in OH that you may want to consider.
- University of Findlay: It appears as though your D would receive an automatic $21,000 merit scholarship with her GPA, there seems to be a robust pre-vet program, and it appears as though thereās also an early admission program for vet school which would also help reduce the long-term costs of becoming a veterinarian. This is in OH and only has about 2200 undergrads. About a $47k sticker, but would be about $26k after the automatic scholarship. In close proximity to several nature preserves and a state park.
- Malone University: Has its own zoo and a number of its students placing with internships. There appears to be a strongly Christian orientation at this OH university and there is just over 1,000 students. Your D would qualify for an automatic $18k in scholarship money meaning that the $43k sticker would be more like $25k.
- Otterbein: There is a Zoo & Conservation Science major and an Equine Pre-Vet major. First-years include a research project at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, practicum experience at the Ohio Wildlife Center in sophomore year, and practicums at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium and at the equine facility in the junior year. Since Otterbein (2200 undergrads) is just outside of Columbus and your daughter hopes to attend OSU for veterinary school, she may not want to be in the area for 8 years. But it does seem like a very interesting program. $45k sticker, and seems as though sheād likely be eligible for the Presidentās Scholarship of $17-18k, bringing the price down to about $27-28k.
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Thank you again! Good to see so many options we hadnāt considered.
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My son did his pre-vet at Kansas State and got great scholarships (OOS TX). He loved it there and there was actually a lot of hiking in the area. (It isnāt flat). There are a lot of good choices. He liked this school because of the friendly atmosphere, the close ties between faculty and students, research opportunities, study abroad programs, sports, etc. He was academically challenged, well prepared for vet school, and was able to start vet school after just three years undergrad (thanks to their early admit program). We found it very positive. Wherever you go make sure of a couple of things. 1) As you know is cost. Make sure wherever you go you know about all costs, and have a plan to afford it. 2) Think about burn out. Sometimes going to an extreme pressure cooker undergrad makes it hard to go straight to vet school and thrive. Many seem to burn out or get through exhausted. My son is so glad he was able to have enough time to have fun and study undergrad. He went into vet school much more relaxed and able to thrive in the pressure cooker. First year wasnāt bad. Second year has been hard but he is doing great, just not much time for things outside school.
Good luck!
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Thanks for the info. Just looked at Kansas State website and looks like they have a tuition exchange program with OH which would be a huge savings. Can I ask what your sonās major was?
He was Animal Science and in their early admit to vet school program. You can apply while in high school. That way he knew he would have an acceptance to vet school. He took a lot of biology courses as well and almost had a major in that. His fiancƩe was a chemistry pre-med. Both were very challenged, did research, made great contacts with professors and alumni and had great experiences and great grades. You need to visit to really get a feel for the atmosphere. We met with animal science, study abroad, honors college and vet school faculty when we visited.
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I second CMA. Land grant schools like Colorado State, Iowa State, MSU, OSU, WI-Madison, etc. with strong veterinary programs likely have feeder undergrad programs. I know your daughter wants to go OOS for undergrad, but you might want to explore whether OSU has a combined BS/DVS program where she might be able to save a year of classes and a pile of money.
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I would suggest Iowa State. My son is an OOS (MA) Sophomore there and loves it. Itās a large school but doesnāt feel like it and the campus is beautiful. Itās in a great college town and has fantastic school spirit. It also has a highly regarded vet school. It was a safety for my son but he chose it over Purdue and Miami of Ohio. Their admissions process is pretty much instantaneous- students apply online and get an answer email within minutes. They use a formula based on GPA and test scores. It was nice having an acceptance in his pocket in late October.
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