I’ve already been admitted to University of Tennessee, Auburn University, and Clemson University and am having a very hard time choosing where I would like to go. I am out of state and UTK and AU have both given me very similar amounts of scholarship money , and Clemson has given me half as much as them. What’s more important to me though is the education I will receive. My major is animal science and hope to be a veterinarian so getting accepted into vet school is very important to me. Which school should i attend?
You will get a good education at any of them. They key is which do you feel you can get the highest grades in with the least debt. Those are the most important factors for getting into vet school along with animal experience, experience working with a vet and the GRE. If all those factors are the same I would choose a college with a veterinary college (many give undergrads jobs and have extra opportunities for animal science majors). That would be University of Tennessee and Auburn. Auburn’s veterinary school is quite a bit higher ranked than Tennessee so I would choose Auburn (my son applied and was accepted there for pre-vet but chose an option with a better deal - early admit to vet school). The other factor would be are any of these school’s in-state for you. If one is that would make it easier for you to get into your state veterinary college. Just things to think about.
Universities with vet schools tend to have strong animal science programs and better opportunities to work with vets. This would suggest UT and AU, rather than Clemson.
If you are out of state for all of these, then what state are you from? Most vet schools are state-run and have highly competitive admissions; they tend to strongly favor state residents in admissions, or residents of other states that have cooperative agreements. For example, Auburn vet school gives preference to residents of Alabama and Kentucky. Does your home state have a cooperative agreement with UT or AU vet schools? If not, what vet school do people from your state normally attend? What undergraduate programs are the biggest feeders to that vet school?
I’m out of state for both of them- I’m from New Jersey which unfortunately does not have a vet school so I’m trying to just see what my best choice would be and which would give me the best chance of admission to a vet school
According to the Rutgers catalog, NJ used to have contractual arrangements with several out-of-state vet schools, but the funding was eliminated in 2010. So as an NJ resident, you will be handicapped in vet school admissions everywhere (except at private universities, like Tufts or Penn, but they are especially competitive). You will probably also have to pay high out-of-state vet school tuition everywhere (again, except at private universities, but they charge high tuition to everyone).
You might check to see if it is possible to attend one of these out-of-state schools and qualify for state residency. If, for example, you studied at Auburn and were able to qualify as an Alabama resident, you would be in a much stronger position to be admitted to Auburn vet school than as an NJ resident, and you would also pay much lower in-state tuition.
I don’t know how feasible this is, though. In some states (like California), it is virtually impossible for out-of-staters to qualify as residents for tuition purposes, but in other states it is easier.
It’s actually not that difficult to get in-state residency in California after attending school for a year; most OOS graduate students are expected to do so. The main thing that handicaps undergraduates is that they’re not considered financially independent.
@collegeq8642 I recommend attending UTK or Auburn and then working for a year after graduation in Tennessee or Alabama. This not only lets you save up some money for vet school but also lets you establish in-state residency before applying to vet school. Being in-state gives you a much better shot at getting in (vet schools primarily accept in-state students) and also makes tuition cheaper.
There is a bill under consideration in the NJ state legislature that would restore state funding for veterinary education. If it passes, then NJ residents would get reserved slots and in-state tuition at out-of-state vet schools, as they did in the past. In return, they would be required to practice in NJ after graduation (18 months of practice for every 12 months of educational support).
There is no guarantee whatsoever that the bill will pass, but it might be something to keep an eye on.
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp?BillNumber=S737
@warblersrule, the main thing that keeps undergrads from getting in state tuition in CA is not financial independence. It is intent. You have to have clearly documented evidence that you moved to CA at least one year PRIOR to deciding to attend college in CA. Once that glass is broken, it can never be fixed, hence the reason virtually no one can switch their status in CA, even if they do become independent.
http://www.sjsu.edu/registrar/students/Residency/10_things_you_need_to_know_ca_residency/
Agree with the above. I would look into the rules for getting residency in AL and TN. We did go with an OOS option but S is guaranteed admission to vet school when he gets the prerequisites and takes the GRE as long as he keeps a 3.3 in his sciences, plus they gave us good undergrad $ and he can start vet school after 3 years undergrad (saves $$). We are able to pay the OOS tuition so a guarantee for us was the right answer. Otherwise we would have done the same thing (or look at or in-state school which he does not like).