Eventing in College

[RideASelle]

[QUOTE=IronwoodFarm;8347181]
Have you turned in your FAF yet? That’s what a school needs to determine your financial aid package.

I attended Grinnell, a small liberal arts school in Iowa. This is not where you want to go, but my point is, they have a monster endowment and 90%+ of their students get financial aid. There is a commitment by the Trustees that no student should graduate with more than $25K in loans. There are many other private schools that have similar policies. Mr IF works for the Dept. of Education (is the lead staff on the Digest of Higher Education) and he always says that the University of Richmond has terrific packages.

Good schools will try to get the best students, so definitely shop around. If you aren’t already using it, try the https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/. It is very useful tool for sorting through colleges.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I have! Thank you. I’ll check out Univ of Richmond also. I believe a friend of mine also suggested that school. I haven’t used the link before, thank you!

[RideASelle]

[QUOTE=Carolinadreamin’;8347201]
Have you looked at UGA?[/QUOTE]

I have! I recently sent in my application and am awaiting a response!

[Emily423]

I just graduated from a small liberal arts school in TN with a biology major and am now in vet school. I got a great scholarship to my school and that allowed me to have my horse with me for all 4 years. I kept him at the barn on campus and was so glad to have him there. I found plenty of time to focus on my grades and other activities while still riding, but that will be different for everybody.

[AKB]

Look at the vet school websites for the places you may want to apply. You will see what colleges feed into them. For example, if you want to go to Virginia Tech, the largest number of students usually come from VT and UMD. UMD often sends a lot of students to U Penn, and other vet schools throughout the country. The year my daughter graduated, 100% of the UMD Animal Science students who applied to vet schools were accepted to an American school.

If you are a stellar student with perfect grades and GRE scores, your undergrad school probably won’t matter. If you are borderline, it helps to have research experience, lots of Animal Science and Physiology classes, and a program that focuses on making you a strong applicant for vet schools.

[fooler]

Many good “smaller” colleges in Al. Southern Union, a 2 year college, has a great reputation and is a good, cost effective way to complete the core classes before transferring to a 4 year college. Plus So Union is near Auburn and within an hour of multiple top level event trainers-such as Poplar Place and Newnan, GA.

If you are thinking of GA schools, do what is necessary to be a GA citizen. That will make you eligible for the Hope Scholarship. Last I heard this covers full tuition at any GA college/university as long as you maintain a “B” average.

[faybe]

[QUOTE=RideASelle;8346773]
May I ask what school you went to? I’ve been considering a smaller, liberal arts school, but they can be hard to search for. I’ve found one or two that would be worth visiting, but like @pologirl27 said, they were fairly expensive. I really like the large, traditional college campus feel. But if I can’t find any larger schools (that offer a lot of financial aid), then I will look more into liberal arts schools![/QUOTE]

Of course- I went to Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. Incidentally, five other students (in my year and other years) at my vet school also went to W&L, which is a pretty high number considering what a small school it is.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

I guess my perception is a bit different. Coming out of high school…it’s nice that you think you want to go to med or vet school. So did many of my friends…Only one did. I’m very happy with where I ended up but honestly…had I taken some of the courses I did as a senior in college earlier I would have had a completely different major and life course.

Be brave use college to explore things you know nothing about. The BEST vets and Doctors (lawyers too) that I know had a liberal arts undergrad. It made them more well rounded. If if you are going to go on to graduate school, I personally recommend looking at smaller schools for undergrad.

I rode all through school. I’m not saying give that up…but don’t be so concerned about eventing during school. You can event during school breaks.

I moved thousands of miles from home. THAT was a huge learning experience about college. Live somewhere else…try new things…learn what else is out there besides being a vet or Doctor before you commit to that path.

[merrygoround]

You have a PM

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=AKB;8347605]
Look at the vet school websites for the places you may want to apply. You will see what colleges feed into them. For example, if you want to go to Virginia Tech, the largest number of students usually come from VT and UMD. UMD often sends a lot of students to U Penn, and other vet schools throughout the country. The year my daughter graduated, 100% of the UMD Animal Science students who applied to vet schools were accepted to an American school.[/QUOTE]

This is actually pretty important. Most schools may offer biology majors, but it’s a mistake to think that they’re equivalent in content or that the school you choose won’t matter. For some schools, biology is kind of an afterthought; for others, it is a core competency.

Schools have quite different opportunities for research, for jobs on campus in your field, for lab work, and then also for networking into the kind of job you want eventually. Many schools are very regional - meaning that most of their graduates end up having local careers - and some are more widespread.

Vet schools and med schools will care about your test scores, but different colleges are better at preparing pre-vet and pre-med students, both in terms of learning and in terms of giving you the right credentials to be admitted (those two things are not the same by far). If this is what you really want to do, make sure your school is successful at sending students on to those programs.

[RideASelle]

[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;8348009]
I guess my perception is a bit different. Coming out of high school…it’s nice that you think you want to go to med or vet school. So did many of my friends…Only one did. I’m very happy with where I ended up but honestly…had I taken some of the courses I did as a senior in college earlier I would have had a completely different major and life course.

Be brave use college to explore things you know nothing about. The BEST vets and Doctors (lawyers too) that I know had a liberal arts undergrad. It made them more well rounded. If if you are going to go on to graduate school, I personally recommend looking at smaller schools for undergrad.

I rode all through school. I’m not saying give that up…but don’t be so concerned about eventing during school. You can event during school breaks.

I moved thousands of miles from home. THAT was a huge learning experience about college. Live somewhere else…try new things…learn what else is out there besides being a vet or Doctor before you commit to that path.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I’ve been doing many, many internships at both vet places and hospitals and really enjoy both of them. It’s entirely possible that I will change my major several times, or that I end up in a field I hadn’t anticipated. For right now, I want to head into the health/vet field and see where it takes me. I hadn’t realized liberal arts schools were just as good as, if not better, larger state schools. I’ve just always followed the stereotype that smaller schools aren’t as good.

I would love to continue eventing through school. However, I’m not naive enough to believe I will be able to ride as much as I currently do. I understand that I may have to give up riding altogether and sell my horse so that I can focus on school work. I very much want to move far away, just not the other side of the country. I’m quite happy with living a few states over.

[RideASelle]

[QUOTE=poltroon;8348351]
This is actually pretty important. Most schools may offer biology majors, but it’s a mistake to think that they’re equivalent in content or that the school you choose won’t matter. For some schools, biology is kind of an afterthought; for others, it is a core competency.

Schools have quite different opportunities for research, for jobs on campus in your field, for lab work, and then also for networking into the kind of job you want eventually. Many schools are very regional - meaning that most of their graduates end up having local careers - and some are more widespread.

Vet schools and med schools will care about your test scores, but different colleges are better at preparing pre-vet and pre-med students, both in terms of learning and in terms of giving you the right credentials to be admitted (those two things are not the same by far). If this is what you really want to do, make sure your school is successful at sending students on to those programs.[/QUOTE]

Thank you! Yes, I plan to intern or shadow during the breaks and on some of the weekends. I’ve been told that you could have any degree, even musical theater, but as long as you score well on the MCAT, most medical schools will accept you. I always thought that was interesting. I always look at the number of students accepted into med/vet school when looking at potential colleges. I’ve passed on quite a few that had very few students accepted compared to the number applying.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

[QUOTE=RideASelle;8348830]
Thanks! I’ve been doing many, many internships at both vet places and hospitals and really enjoy both of them. It’s entirely possible that I will change my major several times, or that I end up in a field I hadn’t anticipated. For right now, I want to head into the health/vet field and see where it takes me. I hadn’t realized liberal arts schools were just as good as, if not better, larger state schools. I’ve just always followed the stereotype that smaller schools aren’t as good.

I would love to continue eventing through school. However, I’m not naive enough to believe I will be able to ride as much as I currently do. I understand that I may have to give up riding altogether and sell my horse so that I can focus on school work. I very much want to move far away, just not the other side of the country. I’m quite happy with living a few states over.[/QUOTE]

Liberal Arts schools are some of the best colleges out there with some of the most successful Alumni. Very good degrees that can prepare you extremely well for success. Does your current school have any sort of decent college guidance?

I rode all through school…I didn’t start eventing until after college. I did event in law school (at a top tier school) and brought more than one horse up from scratch to Prelim. I’m just advising to be open at a lot more schools.

[HiJumpGrrl]

[QUOTE=RideASelle;8346811]
Did WF offer you more scholarships before or after you were accepted? [/QUOTE]

Fill out your FAFSA. They will give you financial aid based on need. You can also seek out independent need-based and academic scholarships in your local area. I got one from the cable company, for example. I also got one from the Philadelphia Phillies. Just talk to your guidance counselor or google for available applications.

I also picked up performance-based scholarships as I went along because I did well.

[RideASelle]

[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;8348856]
Liberal Arts schools are some of the best colleges out there with some of the most successful Alumni. Very good degrees that can prepare you extremely well for success. Does your current school have any sort of decent college guidance?

I rode all through school…I didn’t start eventing until after college. I did event in law school (at a top tier school) and brought more than one horse up from scratch to Prelim. I’m just advising to be open at a lot more schools.[/QUOTE]

Our college guidance is pretty awful. The two women who run it are very nice, but they don’t know much. Even if you ask a pretty general question, they just look it up online. They are helpful with knowing dates to apply for in-state colleges, but anything else is up to you to find out.
Wow! That’s pretty amazing that you were able to balance law school with competing!

[RideASelle]

[QUOTE=HiJumpGrrl;8349093]
Fill out your FAFSA. They will give you financial aid based on need. You can also seek out independent need-based and academic scholarships in your local area. I got one from the cable company, for example. I also got one from the Philadelphia Phillies. Just talk to your guidance counselor or google for available applications.

I also picked up performance-based scholarships as I went along because I did well.[/QUOTE]

I filled out the FAFSA a few months ago. Unfortunately, I’m not eligible for much aid even though I plan to pay for most of college myself. I didn’t realize you could receive scholarships from local businesses and teams! Thanks!

[AKB]

Some colleges have merit based scholarships and scholarships related to an industry. My older daughter received a poultry industry scholarship through the Ag college at UMD. The scholarship required her to help a faculty member with poultry research. The scholarship helped her develop an interest in poultry. I think she is the only vet in her county who treats back yard poultry.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

[QUOTE=RideASelle;8349219]
I filled out the FAFSA a few months ago. Unfortunately, I’m not eligible for much aid even though I plan to pay for most of college myself. I didn’t realize you could receive scholarships from local businesses and teams! Thanks![/QUOTE]

Keep looking for whatever grants you can find. Also, if you are looking for a cost effective way to get your degree, look at more affordable community colleges to start. Knock out a lot of your initial classes for the first year or two there and then transfer into the larger college or University afterwards.

Some schools are known for providing better financial packages. Princeton is one that I know of if your grades and scores are strong enough.

[faybe]

[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;8349549]
Keep looking for whatever grants you can find. Also, if you are looking for a cost effective way to get your degree, look at more affordable community colleges to start. Knock out a lot of your initial classes for the first year or two there and then transfer into the larger college or University afterwards.

Some schools are known for providing better financial packages. Princeton is one that I know of if your grades and scores are strong enough.[/QUOTE]

:yes:

I went to a 4 year school tuition-free (and with discounted room and board) on a need-blind scholarship- the monies were awarded solely on my academic performance and scholarship application and interview. I had to maintain a certain GPA throughout college but other than that there were no requirements, financial or otherwise, to keeping the money all 4 years. I applied for the scholarship at the same time I applied for admission, but I think I found out I got in before I interviewed for the scholarship. I did find out that I got the scholarship before the final acceptance deadlines for all the schools I applied to, because I remember waiting to see where I might get the most money before making a decision (all the schools I applied to were liberal arts with strong science programs in areas I could ride).

[HiJumpGrrl]

If your parents make less than a certain amount, almost all the Ivies and some other high-cost schools lower their costs to a more affordable percentage of income. Duke is 10% of parents’ income for families earning less than $100k, for example. See where you get in and what you get for financial aid.