Yeah - that was my plan while I was in college, too. I was thinking of going to vet school at some point but I had heard the same thing - expensive schooling and not a good ROI for a small animal vet unless you owned your own practice. Plus the fact that it was more difficult to get into than med school…..
I know my opinion is definitely not the popular one on this topic and I totally get that. I just think that forgoing a strong major in order to play SB isn’t a good idea for those who aren’t getting the majority of their schooling paid for by scholarship or athletic money, unless they have parents willing to foot the bill. Student loans saddle a young adult with a lot of debt.
Our dog's internal specialist (because, ya know, a 10lb poodle needs a TEAM of vets) said to tell my daughter to go to medical school because it'll cost the same and she'll make a lot more money. And I think there are only about 30 vet schools in the country, so as you said, tough to get into. Most people are rejected the first attempt.