Imagine getting accepted to vet school the first time you apply! How exciting! But what if the school you were accepted to is out of state? If you are accepted to a few programs, how can you determine which school to choose? Would waiting a year to get in-state tuition really be worth it?
One of the best resources out there to help guide you in answering such questions is the VIN foundation which can be found here: https://vinfoundation.org/i-am/a-pre-veterinary-student/
It has several tools regarding how to apply smarter and how you can make wise decisions about the cost for your education.
Here's an example:
Let's say that the total cost of attending the school to which you were accepted which is out-of state would be $350,000. Your monthly loan repayment on this amount over a 10 year period would be $4,2081 per month, and you will have spent a total of $483, 337!
If you were to attend an in-state school (for Nebraska residents that would be UNL PPVM and Iowa state), your total cost of attending would be $132,033. Your monthly payments would be $1,519 and you will have spent a total of $182,332.
You be the judge; would it be worth waiting a year and re-applying to your in-state program? Consider this: no matter what DVM program you attend, you will need to earn your Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and pass the The North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) to be a licensed veterinarian. The outcome is the same regardless of how much a program costs. To use a metaphor, lets say you want to by a car. Would it make sense to pay 60,000 for the car if you can get the exact same car for half as much? Yet this is what you'd be doing if you attend the first program you get into instead of waiting a year to re-apply to the most cost-effective program. For more detailed information, check out the VIN Foundation's website, paying special attention to "Apply Smarter" and "Cost of Education Toolkit".