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Today, the ratio of debt to income for the average new vet is roughly double that of M.D.’s, according to Malcolm Getz, an economist at Vanderbilt University. To practitioners in the field, such numbers are ominous, and they portend lean times for new graduates.
It really is a shame. Veterinarians provide as important a service as physicians, handicapped by having patients who can't speak to them. I don't believe most vets are money grubbers, as some people contend. They deserve better than this.
My friend graduated in 2011 and had a job before she was even done with school, in the city of her choice, with less than half the amount of debt mentioned in that article. She also had another job offer that paid more but would require relocating to an area she wasn't interested in. At least half of her class also had jobs already, and many of the others were planning on internships/externships to learn more specialized things instead of jumping into work.
For vets willing to work with livestock, there are also jobs out there. My friend was limited because she only wanted to treat dogs and cats, but many people are still willing to spend money to treat livestock even in the bad economy. It is true that business is slow depending on the time of year and people are not spending as much money on their pets but there are still jobs around.
I do agree that being a vet is hard due to the amount of debt you acquire vs. the amount of money you make; however the article chose to highlight someone with a very large debt and no job.
Dr. Schafer is reported as having a better-than-average salary in the article. Her debt is higher than it would have been if she'd been able to go to school in-state, but it's still an accurate representation of many new vets. I'm very happy for your friend and I know quite a few students who will be graduating with jobs already in hand. However, as someone who works in a vet school and deals with vet students every day, from my perspective the article highlights a very real and growing problem.
It really is a shame. Veterinarians provide as important a service as physicians, handicapped by having patients who can't speak to them. I don't believe most vets are money grubbers, as some people contend. They deserve better than this.
The individuals may not be but sometimes the clinic owners are.
Dr. Schafer is reported as having a better-than-average salary in the article. Her debt is higher than it would have been if she'd been able to go to school in-state, but it's still an accurate representation of many new vets. I'm very happy for your friend and I know quite a few students who will be graduating with jobs already in hand. However, as someone who works in a vet school and deals with vet students every day, from my perspective the article highlights a very real and growing problem.
She went to a for-profit vet school. That is why her tuition was so high. Out of state tuition is high, but not to the tune of $300k. If she had applied to other public vet schools, even out of state, tuition would be cheaper.
According to that article (from 2012), average vet school debt is around $125k. I looked up out of state tuition for UC Davis, and it is an additional 12k/year.
I know the economy is bad and plenty of people in all fields are having trouble finding work, but the original article chose a terrible person to highlight.
She went to a for-profit vet school. That is why her tuition was so high. Out of state tuition is high, but not to the tune of $300k. If she had applied to other public vet schools, even out of state, tuition would be cheaper.
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Most likely she did apply to several schools in the states but did not get accepted. Check out these stats for VT's vet school applicants and admitted: 1,038 qualified apps, 127 students admitted.
Most likely she did apply to several schools in the states but did not get accepted. Check out these stats for VT's vet school applicants and admitted: 1,038 qualified apps, 127 students admitted.
I believe that those ratios are similar for almost all the schools in the US.
Yes, plus there are only around 28 vet schools in the country. So vet schools don't want to accept students from states that have their own vet school unless the student is just so so brilliant and extraordinary.
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