School estimates will be provided for resident and non-resident seats for each veterinary school in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean.

Estimates assume that the student is eligible for U.S. student loans and requires the estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) provided by each school. COA includes tuition, fees, and estimated living expenses. While many schools will increase tuition, fees, and living expense estimates during the program, these VIN Foundation loan estimations do not assume annual increases during school.

The estimates fund COA using federal and private student loans only. While many students may receive scholarships, grants, other loans (like Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL) or Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)), or have personal funds available to reduce student loan need, these sources of funding cannot be assumed to be available for all students each year. Thus, consider these estimates to be at the higher end of borrowing need for each school and seat type.

Interest rates for student loans will be estimated from the current 10-Year U.S. Treasury yield trend. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans are set using the 10-Year U.S. Treasury yield plus an add-on factor of 3.6 percentage points in May/June of the preceding academic year.

Any required private student loans will assume a rate 3 percentage points higher than the Direct Unsubsidized loan rates for professional program students. Private student loan interest rates are affected by numerous factors, including borrower creditworthiness, loan amount, terms, and macroeconomic conditions.

Your goal — should you choose to accept it — will be to borrow less than these estimates, utilizing as little (or no) private student loans as possible.

Private student loans are less flexible than federal student loans. The higher your estimated COA, the greater the likelihood that you will need loans beyond the annual $50,000 federal loan limits for professional school (ie, veterinary school) and the maximum program limit of $200,000.  The more private student loans you need, the higher your borrowing and repayment risk. 

Ask yourself, “Can I get the amount needed in private student loans to finish each year?” And if so, “How much will my total student loan payments be after graduation?”

The more you need in student loans, the more interest will accrue during school, too. One of the more striking numbers you’ll see in the estimations is the projected interest amounts for each program. The more interest accrues during school, the higher your monthly payment will be after graduation, particularly for your private student loans.