Looking at this situation presented here, there is a lot of pitfalls that you should put into consideration. First, you have to check the study design so that you don’t discover any missing points and make sure everything is clear enough to start the project. Then you have to consider any delays caused by the distance to the lab or the time spent by the supplier to supply the animals. Just the fact that the university is 1000 mi away, that is a sign to prepare for any delay caused by commuting there and back. To make yourself more prepared, you can contact more than one animal supplier just in case one of them runs out of animals. The last thing is to be sure that there is enough money to cover the expenses.