Vet School Towns

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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BlistexWorks

BlistexWorks

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How important is the town surrounding a particular vet school to making your decision about where to attend? For example, I absolutely loved Washington State University but I could not handle the tiny town of Pullman. I'm sure some feel the same about some vet schools in very crowded areas with lots of traffic!

I was wondering if there was a thread listing the pros and cons of the towns surrounding the vet schools. Personally, I loved Fort Collins and Columbia but was only there for no more than two days so maybe someone who actually lived there could tell us what life is like there!?

How's the weather? Nice people? Dog-friendly? Expensive housing? Traffic? Good/bad food? Nice off-campus places to study?
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Hahaha....:laugh:

For what it's worth, the WSU area isn't so bad.

I absolutely hated it when I first saw it. And I still don't like Pullman much.

BUT I live in the next town over, Moscow ID. It's a much, much cuter town with a different vibe. I enjoy it here. And this is coming from a girl who lived in belltown seattle and was used to normal ammenities.

(If you read the WSU thread, there is a discussion about how different Moscow is from Pullman).

The weather isn't bad, just takes some getting used to. It's a dry cold, which is much much better than a damp cold. Everyone I've met around town has been friendly. I feel really safe here. One night I was a genius and left my keys (all of them) in my door. They were still there the next morning.

There are dog friendly places. Cheap cheap housing. ZERO traffic. I have a 10 minute drive to school on a 4 lane road with absolutely no one around. I use the drive to eat breakfast and listen to music. Food, well, you're kind of at a loss there. But I work in a kitchen/bakery and I get some really good stuff. I don't study much off campus but there are some cute coffee shops. I live in a nice, well kept area.

The major cons I can think of: no restaurants of the quality I'm used to (which is hard to top, coming from a major city). Kind of cold. No good looking single men anywhere near the vet school. That's about it.
 
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I'd love to know what people at Kansas think of Manhattan. I just got into Kansas and I will probably go there depending on whether or not my last school rejects me. I am from Cleveland and I went to college in New Orleans. I feel kind of apprehensive about moving to such a small town in a rural area. I liked the area while I was there and I like the low cost of living and low crime rates.
 
K-State undergrad here and a Kansas native. I'm from Kansas City originally, so I'm not from the rural areas of KS. I love it in Manhattan! It can take some getting used to, but it's nice when it only takes you 5-7 minutes to get anywhere in town via car. Everyone's really friendly and just the general atmosphere of the city is nice to me.

Manhattan is a very quaint little town, but it's not so rural as to where you feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere. Most students (at least undergrads) hit up Aggieville which is our bar scene for entertainment. We've got a movie theater...a zoo...the campus tries to bring semi-newish movies to the Union for a buck or two every weekend. Lots of people walk their dogs on campus after hours, we've got the Konza Prairie about 5 miles away, and it is gorgeous. Uhmm...

But if you get bored -- the Kansas City Metro Area is only 2 hours away on I-70. There's TONS of stuff to do there (shopping, arts, everything), so it's not like you're very far away from something fun. Or civilization, if you look at it that way. :p

I can always answer more questions about the area if you want to PM me! :D
 
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I've heard that Manhattan and Stillwater are quite similar. I've never been to Manhattan, so I can't confirm this, but the size of the towns and the relative student load at KSU/OSU are really similar.

I know there aren't a whole lot of people interested in OKSU on this forum, but for anyone interested now or in the future, here is what I think of Stillwater.

Now, I grew up in a town even smaller than Stillwater, so I'm not from a big city. Therefore, there are things that some people would see as negative points that I probably will not.

First of all, Stillwater is a friendly place. Crime rates are low, and most crime that exists is petty theft, like someone breaks into your car to steal your purse. I would not be concerned parking my car outside my house at night. I would not walk around the lake alone at night, but college students in any sort of concentration seems to attract some negative attention. Rapes happen, but if you aren't out alone and don't open your door for strangers, I think you're like 99.99% safe.

The people here will nod and smile as you walk by them. Doors will generally be held open for you (not as a girl, but just a courtesy if someone is going out or coming in just ahead of you) and cashiers are typically very talkative. Everyone is basically just really... nice. It seems like, in larger towns, people are much more concerned with where they're going and what they're doing, but here, people stop to talk. Which can be annoying if you ARE in a hurry, lol.

The town itself is fairly small - I could drive across it in 10-15 minutes with no traffic. However, there IS traffic, and it even gets a bit congested at lunchtime. Part of the reason for this is that it's not an especially bike-friendly town. There are large sections of roads without sidwalks and with tiny non-official bike lanes. As someone who has almost run over a cyclist (who swerved to the middle of the lane going up a hill in a 45MPH area, right in front of me, lol) I would sincerely hate to ride a bike for any distance. That said, people do, and it is MUCH easier to get around on a bike on and near campus. If you lived close to the school, you cold bike there with no problem. You just might want to get a ride to Walmart, the movie theater, etc.

Okay, so the town has... two Wal-Marts, a movie theater with 10 screens, a bowling alley, Lowe's, Belk, Ross, JCPenny, Big Lots, The Buckle, American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, Old Navy, Hobby Lobby... there isn't anything like a mall. There are rumors of a Target (yay!) and a Best Buy, but those remain to be seen.

For food, there are a number of restaurants, but I can guarantee that, if you eat out a lot, you WILL get tired of the food options here. Four years is a long time to eat all the same places. I won't list all the food places (though I could!) but if you want to know if we have a ______, just ask. I will say that... there is no good italian. :(

One thing to keep in consideration is that Oklahoma City is an hour one direction and has anything you could ever want, and Tulsa is an hour the other direction and has almost as much stuff as OKC. The drive isn't bad either way. So, there is a place for your big town needs.

Uhmmm... lets see. Demographics are good, there is a fair bit of variety because it's a college town. Racisim isn't an issue that I know of (white girl here, so can't say for sure, heh) and there are a variety of chuches and cultural centers as well.

Rent here can vary from $300/month for a dumpy place or something shared with roommates, to $800/month for a duplex or a mortgage on a house. You can get more expensive, but only if you're trying (like you bought a $200,000 house or something). You CAN buy a house for $80-$100k and it won't be a complete dump... it's a pretty affordable place to live overall.

I'm running out of ideas of what to tell you guys about, so if you want to know anything more (LOL) then you can just PM me or post here. Sorry for the length, I just like having something I can tell y'all about. :)
 
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I love Manhattan. I grew up in a rural area, wen to undergrad in a 150-200,000 population city, and manhattan is the perfect balance between that for me. Its a nice, friendly town, and Aggieville is decent enough for the few nights you do have to be out on the town. Plus, Kcity is a two hour drive away if you have a free weekend and want to shop, visit museums, amusement park, professional sports, etc.
 
haha was so confused here for a second. I live in THE Manhattan and I couldn't believe someone called it a "quaint little town" ! I think I'll stick to this Manhattan for now:rolleyes:
 
Well, Manhattan, Kansas IS "The Little Apple"...:laugh:

I forget that I should specify sometimes! :D I should really work on that.
 
I didn't think the town would matter much when applying to vet school. I was basing everything solely on program. But things change. I got engaged, so now I also have to think of my fiancee when picking location and where he may be able to find good jobs. Plus, when I actually went to go visit the vet schools, I found that I definitely enjoyed the small towns better. Living in big cities can be expensive, and sometimes finding parking is atrocious. I couldn't deal with all the noise of the traffic and honking either. But to each his own! So I think it might be relatively important, especially since you will be spending at LEAST four years there for school, and possibly making valuable connections that might lead to jobs in the area.
 
1. It's the South, so people are pretty much super friendly.
2. Small city, so there's plenty to do, but you don't get a lot of big city headaches (like bad traffic, etc.)
3. There's live music at most of the bars I go to on the weekend (downtown and Old City) and cover is pretty cheap (usually $5).
4. It's not far to get out to the country. There's a horse barn where one of my friends lives about 10 minutes from my house.
5. Real estate is pretty cheap and rent is pretty low. A lot of my friends either own or were able to find houses for rent with fenced yards if they have big dogs.
6. Most apartment complexes allow 2 pets, but you can easily find houses that allow more.
7. Most all apartment complexes have breed restrictions, but you can find houses for rent without them. (Or you could buy, since, see above, real estate is pretty cheap.)
8. Two major interstates (I-40 and I-75), so getting around the Eastern US is pretty easy.
9. The Smokies and associated hiking and outdoor activities.
10. Several dog parks.

I'll post more if I can think of it.
 
It doesn't matter how cool the town is, you'll be spending most of your time studying for dear life :laugh:

Sorry, I have an atrocious head cold (nothing like putting 90 stressed out people in a room together for 8 hours a day to get a first hand epidemiology lesson) and I am not in the most positive mood :(

I like living in a medium small town, but it would not be cool if there weren't 40,000 undergrads about to draw bands and art exhibits and liberalism etc. I lived in a real small town before (with a paper mill, not a university) and it was soooooo boring.
 
Bumping this thread because I'd like to hear the opinions of more people about their respective vet school towns.
 
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Sure, I'll play.

Penn is based in Philly. That can either be awesome or a huge hassel depending on the person (and the particular moment).

Pros:

Lots of stuff to do
Lots of stuff within walking distance--no car required
Street vendors!!!!!! Not just cheesesteaks--you can get everything from gyros to locally grown raspberries.
Big population=lots of patients for the teaching hospital's ER
Plenty of very cool places to live in University City. Seriously, my house is awesome.

Cons:

Commuters beware
Invest in high-quality bike locks and don't let your laptop out of your sight
High cost of living
Cows aren't welcome in the middle of the city; our LA facility is an hour away in Kennet Square
The cool places to live tend to be old and may be in various states of disrepair. The ceiling to my otherwise awesome room collapsed a few weeks ago and the landlord is still trying to fix it.
 
I'm a PA resident, and seriously considering whether I'll apply to Penn based on location.

I live about an hour north of Philly, and spend almost zero time there, mostly due to an absolute hatred of the city. It's s*****, marginally unsafe, and the people are arbitrarily nasty. And I'm coming from South Boston, which isn't exactly an urban paradise.

When I toured Penn, I felt like the area would be an almost constant mental drain and completely non-conducive to successful academics.

That's totally on me, though. Thousands of students thrive there, I'm just pretty sure I wouldn't be one of them.

Do any of you current Penn students know people in your class who are able to live outside the city and still handle the commutes?

Also, thanks for the Oklahoma info, even if it is two years old. I'll be applying there this fall, and it's good to know what the area is like, given that a sightseeing trip isn't financially in the cards in the near future.
 
Penn's town sounds awesome pooter, but the high cost of living as you say coupled with the fact that I wouldn't be an in-state student would kill me financially :( Also, you say that you live in a house (assuming you meant that literally), are there not many low cost studio apartments in the area?
 
Dsmoody23 said:
Do any of you current Penn students know people in your class who are able to live outside the city and still handle the commutes?
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Yes, there are several in my class.

There were more first year though -- several found that they couldn't give up 1-2 hours of study time/day for a commute and still make the grades that they needed, and so moved into the city. Others have done just fine and have adapted their study methods -- I know one classmate posted on here that she started downloading lectures onto her ipod to listen to during her commute.

IMO, it would be hardest 1st semester of 1st year (when you're adjusting to school) and 4th year (when you have incredibly long hours on some rotations).

Validus, there are plenty of studio/1 bedroom/2 bedroom apartments. However, "low cost" is going to be much higher in Philadelphia than in any midwestern or southeastern city.

I am very, very glad that I've lived in Philadelphia for the last 2.5 years...but I'm also very excited to be moving out to Kennett Square this winter. :) (Most Large Animal/Food Animal/Equine majors move out to Kennett Square for 4th year)

ETA: I hate the city the most when I'm driving. As long as I'm on foot (like for my 8 minute walk to class), I'm actually quite happy...especially on beautiful fall days like today!
 
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I grew up in one vet school town and moved to another, soooo...

1. Madison, WI is pretty great, but it's also my hometown. It's not a large city, but many people there are from other places, so you get an interesting mix. It's significantly more liberal/hippie than the surrounding areas and is not as "midwestern" feeling. That being said, you can drive 15 minutes and be out in the country, which I love. Great great GREAT restaurants, and pretty good night life depending on what you're into. UW is all about football and the undergrads like to drink a lot, so during the year downtown can be overrun with drunk and belligerent 21-year-olds. If that's that's not your scene, there are alternatives. Housing near campus is a relatively expensive (for the Midwest), but you can live affordably in Madison.

There are lots of other UW students floating around, so I'm sure they can give you their perspectives. I did my undergrad there and had mixed feelings, but I attribute that to growing up there.

2. Columbia, MO reminds me of a smaller Madison. ;) It's a lot cheaper for me to live here, and is a pretty pet friendly area. I like it a lot. The restaurant selection and nightlife options aren't as great as what I'm used to, but there's stuff to do. I find it's a comfortable, and fun place to live so far, if you're into the Midwestern college town thing.

I like being able to drive to school, too, which is a very difficult thing to do in Madison. Possible, but logistically a huge pain in the rear.

Both schools are very affordable for OOS'ers. ;)
 
Dsmoody23 said:
Also, thanks for the Oklahoma info, even if it is two years old. I'll be applying there this fall, and it's good to know what the area is like, given that a sightseeing trip isn't financially in the cards in the near future.
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Several of us are all still here (obv) so if you have any other questions, you have some resources still. Plus, I still feel the same as I did above. If you want opinions from someone that didn't grow up here and might not love the place as much as I do, ask cowgirla for some feedback (or do a searchy searchy).
 
Dsmoody23 said:
I'm a PA resident, and seriously considering whether I'll apply to Penn based on location.

I live about an hour north of Philly, and spend almost zero time there, mostly due to an absolute hatred of the city. It's s*****, marginally unsafe, and the people are arbitrarily nasty. And I'm coming from South Boston, which isn't exactly an urban paradise.

When I toured Penn, I felt like the area would be an almost constant mental drain and completely non-conducive to successful academics.

That's totally on me, though. Thousands of students thrive there, I'm just pretty sure I wouldn't be one of them.

Do any of you current Penn students know people in your class who are able to live outside the city and still handle the commutes?

Also, thanks for the Oklahoma info, even if it is two years old. I'll be applying there this fall, and it's good to know what the area is like, given that a sightseeing trip isn't financially in the cards in the near future.
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As someone who grew up on the outskirts of Philly, it's definitely a commutable city. But I would recommend living on one of the train lines. Traffic is atrocious. It's doable, but you can study on the train ride if you don't go at rush hour (huge plus!). The R5 train goes from Philly (well, originates in NJ somewhere) through some great suburbs in the direction of Kennet Square. The trains are better headed to NJ from Philly, but you would have a huge commute to Kennet Square. Many working professionals commute so there's a ton of options into the city.

I'm not a huge fan of the city itself, but it has its good points. I am biased having grown up reading about all the bad stuff that goes on in the city, though. And if you stick to the nice parts (Uni city, rittenhouse square, etc) then you should be fine. And the food is AMAZING. I am a huge, huge fan of Joe's Peking Duck House on the edge of Chinatown. Cheap & delicious! Oh,and the Chinese groceries are amazing. Pod is a cool Japanese-fusion restaurant near Penn. Oh, and Reading Terminal is definitely worth a few visits. It's filled with small vendors who love their regulars :). Fantastic French food too, but it will be out of any student budget. And the pretzels!!! I LOVE PHILLY SOFT PRETZELS. Random dudes will try to sell you them in your car. And I've never died from eating one of those, but you can buy them from reputable places too. lol. And water ice. Yum! In all of my years living near the city, I've never actually eaten a cheesesteak... but I will be brave enough to try one sometime.
 
p.s. Philly & I have a love-hate relationship that changes all the time. Definitely not one of my top places to live, but Penn may be worth it!
 
As an East Coaster, I wanted to love Philly since there's so much for me to eat there (I'm vegan) and I love South St and all the cool shops. I visit there quite a bit. To me, it's like Baltimore, but with more stuff to do (or like NYC, with less stuff to do, but just as smelly :rolleyes:). However, I tend to prefer the flatter big cities like Boston, DC, and Chicago, and it's not the friendliest place for someone from DC who supports the 'Skins and Caps.

I got in there, but I also got into my IS and I have a 75-lb dog. With my experience living in DC and paying a crap-ton for rent and the associated urban pet fees and pet deposits, I had to go where it was cheapest and where there were lots of fields and parks.

Had I not gotten into my IS, I would have gone to Madison, WI. I loved visiting there. It's freakin' cold, but it's got a nice vibe that's in-between small town and urban center. Friendly Mid-Western charm and no Confederate flags in sight.
 
For anyone interested in College Station, let me know. I'm a local, I've literally lived in the Brazos Valley my entire life. I can tell you anything you want to know.
 
Dsmoody23 said:
I'm a PA resident, and seriously considering whether I'll apply to Penn based on location.

I live about an hour north of Philly, and spend almost zero time there, mostly due to an absolute hatred of the city. It's s*****, marginally unsafe, and the people are arbitrarily nasty. And I'm coming from South Boston, which isn't exactly an urban paradise.
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Bahahaha! This made me smile. My husband and I are Pittsburgh natives and he threatened to divorce me if I applied to Penn. (I had no desire to go there for various reasons so that was fine with me!)
 
I agree with Pooter's assessment of Philly. I am definitely a city person and I appreciate the fact that I can order cookies for delivery at 2AM or walk to get indian, thai, italian, ethiopian, vietnamese, or mexican food. I like living in a diverse city and being somewhere that I can walk around holding hands with my girlfriend without anyone caring.
There are lots of studios and apartment buildings. If you shop around and use craigslist you can get a place that isn't insanely expensive. Right now I pay $1400 (with my girlfriend) for a 3 story, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom beautiful house with a yard which is not bad at all.
 
Ithaca, NY, home of Cornell University is a great place. I did my undergrad at Cornell and still live nearby in the Finger Lakes area. Right now we're in the middle of the beautiful fall foliage. Ithaca is kind of a hippie, artsy place with lots of hills and beautiful old homes. There are restaurants representing foods from all over the world. The Cornell community is very diverse and accepting of all people. Cayuga Lake is one of the Finger Lakes where you can do all kinds of boating and outdoor activities. Ithaca is also known for the beautiful gorges.
 
breenie said:
I grew up in one vet school town and moved to another, soooo...

1. Madison, WI is pretty great, but it's also my hometown. It's not a large city, but many people there are from other places, so you get an interesting mix. It's significantly more liberal/hippie than the surrounding areas and is not as "midwestern" feeling. That being said, you can drive 15 minutes and be out in the country, which I love. Great great GREAT restaurants, and pretty good night life depending on what you're into. UW is all about football and the undergrads like to drink a lot, so during the year downtown can be overrun with drunk and belligerent 21-year-olds. If that's that's not your scene, there are alternatives. Housing near campus is a relatively expensive (for the Midwest), but you can live affordably in Madison.

There are lots of other UW students floating around, so I'm sure they can give you their perspectives. I did my undergrad there and had mixed feelings, but I attribute that to growing up there.

2. Columbia, MO reminds me of a smaller Madison. ;) It's a lot cheaper for me to live here, and is a pretty pet friendly area. I like it a lot. The restaurant selection and nightlife options aren't as great as what I'm used to, but there's stuff to do. I find it's a comfortable, and fun place to live so far, if you're into the Midwestern college town thing.

I like being able to drive to school, too, which is a very difficult thing to do in Madison. Possible, but logistically a huge pain in the rear.

Both schools are very affordable for OOS'ers. ;)[/QUOTE

Your post gives me hope! Affordability + comfort + possibility of fun = a less stressful 4 years. Granted, the fun part totally depends on what little downtime a student will have...just knowing that the opportunity to get out and have some kind of fun is there puts my mind at ease. Ironically enough, both of those schools are among the five I plan to apply to. :D

Anybody out there with an opinion on Oregon and NC states towns?
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Validus said:
Your post gives me hope! Affordability + comfort + possibility of fun = a less stressful 4 years. Granted, the fun part totally depends on what little downtime a student will have...just knowing that the opportunity to get out and have some kind of fun is there puts my mind at ease. Ironically enough, both of those schools are among the five I plan to apply to. :D

Anybody out there with an opinion on Oregon and NC states towns?
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Good! There is hope, I promise. ;)

Also sidebar, but I noticed your location. I was born in Lafayette, IN, which is right NEXT to a vet school town, but isn't actually one. Darn. I realized I almost had the trifecta. Both of my parents are Purdue alums, though, and I was accepted to Purdue. I loved the campus and have a soft spot for Indiana, obviously! You probably already know all about Purdue though.
 
I know Breenie already said a bit about Madison, but I'll give an outsider's perspective, since she grew up here.

I grew up in a small town in southeastern WI. When I came to Madison for undergrad it was quite a change. I was not used to the noise, the people, the crime. For the record, Madison is a pretty safe city. I'm just a really neurotic person and I tend to freak myself out on a regular basis. :D Anyway, I've grown to really enjoy the city. I love love love the nightlife: Restaurants, awesome microbrews, the lakes, etc. Lots of quirky little shops, and quirky people to go with them. Farmer's market is huge and a great way to spend Saturday morning. The city is very bike friendly--which is helpful, since there is NO parking on campus. If you want a space, you have to prove you do not live on a bus line, and it costs about $700/yr. Rent is a bit expensive. Currently I pay 1015/mo for a 2 bed with my fiance. It's right near the capitol building, and that's a choice we made. We're also kind of stuck because we have 2 large dogs and 2 cats and no one else will take us. Rent is definitely more affordable outside of the downtown area. Oh, and when it comes to dogs, there are a bunch of dog parks which is really awesome.

As for cons, I am not a political person, so the seemingly constant protests/whiny hippie drum circles, etc can get pretty old. There's also a pretty big community of my-family-only-eats-european-organic-vegan-gluten-free-progressive-fantasy-cupcakes types. I'm not a fan of their condescending diatribe, but they're great for the restaurant options haha. Snow removal is a mess. Parking sucks.

It's a really nice city. Not too big, not too small. Like breenie said, if you like the country/outdoors you can get there pretty quick. I may even stay in the area after graduation, though that depends on where the jobs are. Definitely happy with where I am right now, though.
 
Oh, man, I was just wondering today how much vet students get into the football scene at their schools and this seems like a good place to ask. I went to a small liberal arts school and really want a college football team to cheer for.
So, do many vet students tend to get excited for the football team (or basketball, I guess...) or is it, as I would guess, very dependent on each student?
 
Bacci said:
As for cons, I am not a political person, so the seemingly constant protests/whiny hippie drum circles, etc can get pretty old. There's also a pretty big community of my-family-only-eats-european-organic-vegan-gluten-free-progressive-fantasy-cupcakes types. I'm not a fan of their condescending diatribe, but they're great for the restaurant options haha. Snow removal is a mess. Parking sucks.
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Bahahahaha, you said it SO WELL. Also thanks for saying it so I didn't have to. ;)

Add on about the crime: lock up your bike and windows downtown, and you're golden. This is something students new to a "city" struggle with, but normal people shouldn't have a problem preventing. (Example: my sophomore year small town roommates didn't understand how a drunk, pantsless bro-king slept on our couch one night. Maybe it had something to do with the front door they left unlocked?)
 
I am a Raleigh native, so I guess I can say a bit about it as well :)

It's a suburban area -- lots of strip shopping malls. One out of towner commented that "all the restaurants are in shopping centers," which I've begun to notice is true. :) People are polite and friendly, for the most part, although the city (and surrounding towns of Apex and Cary) is growing pretty rapidly due to its strong economy (education, state govt and healthcare) so some areas aren't very "Southern" anymore. Traffic seems to get worse every time I go home, but is still nothing like Philadelphia, DC, or any other NE city.

Plenty of variety in restaurants and good summer concerts. I wouldn't say it has a ton of tourist attractions though -- I'm always sort of at a loss of what to do with out of town visitors. ;)

Lots of grad students around since you've got NC State, UNC and Duke within 30-45 minutes of each other.

Weather is nice -- winter tends to be wet/rainy, and 1" of snow is enough to cause schools to shut down and clean grocery store shelves out of bread and milk. Summers are pretty hot and humid, but not really any worse than anywhere on the east coast.

Located near a few major interstates (I-40, I-95 and I-85) so it's pretty easy to drive lots of places. Great airport w/ brand new terminal and lots of flights from all the major airlines.

2 hours to the beach, ~4 hours to the mountains.
 
kakurubird said:
Oh, man, I was just wondering today how much vet students get into the football scene at their schools and this seems like a good place to ask. I went to a small liberal arts school and really want a college football team to cheer for.
So, do many vet students tend to get excited for the football team (or basketball, I guess...) or is it, as I would guess, very dependent on each student?
Click to expand...

My SO is a huuuge football fan (played D2 for 5 years, so now that we're at Mizzou, where college ball is actually supported*, it's awesome). We have season tickets this year. I know I have classmates who go, and there is a section that vet students can sign up to sit in so they can be next to each other, but I was already signed up for the the med student seats before I found out about our section. Some of our professors have their own tailgate and invite students, but again, I've pretty much stayed with the med students... :laugh:

*not knocking D2, just our old school's athletic director who didn't use the resources available to advertise our athletic programs.

ETA: I agree with what Breenie said. It's about 2 hours to downtown St. Louis or Kansas City, so if you want to get away to a city-city without going too far, it's certainly possible. This city is a nice intermediate for me (grew up in the suburbs of a city, went to a town of 15,000 for undergrad).
 
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kakurubird said:
Oh, man, I was just wondering today how much vet students get into the football scene at their schools and this seems like a good place to ask. I went to a small liberal arts school and really want a college football team to cheer for.
So, do many vet students tend to get excited for the football team (or basketball, I guess...) or is it, as I would guess, very dependent on each student?
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Haha. I've been missing out on that as well, so I'm glad you asked that question. I also went to a liberal arts school that didn't have a football team, so I'm glad I applied to a few schools that are into football even if I end up not being able to go to games all that often.
 
Validus said:
Penn's town sounds awesome pooter, but the high cost of living as you say coupled with the fact that I wouldn't be an in-state student would kill me financially :( Also, you say that you live in a house (assuming you meant that literally), are there not many low cost studio apartments in the area?
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There are plenty of studios, but you tend to pay about $150-$200 more for them than you would for a house or shared apartment. There are all kinds of options. I wanted to be around people and have plenty of space for my crap, so I went in on a huge 10 bedroom house with 8 other first years. There are smaller houses and apartments of every size, but it's less financially painful if you have at least one apartment mate to split the rent with.

(sorry for the late reply; histology owns me)
 
I'm just gonna be honest here and say that proximity to my hometown was my #1 factor in choosing a school... I spent four year of undergrad 10+ hours away and it really sucked. That said, Baton Rouge is alright. It's pretty shady though. It's one of those things where I know my hometown has shady areas, but I never had to live in them, and unfortunately in the case of Baton Rouge, there is no safe area, the whole town is like that. I'm not afraid necessarily, but I have an alarm system and 2 dogs and I am getting a gun for Christmas. It's a bit scarier now that I've moved into my own house and live on my own... woke up to 2 high school kids "casing" my house at 12 pm on a Saturday afternoon a couple weeks after I moved in, and that was really disconcerting and unsettling... as far as the town goes it's fun. I don't get to do much bc of school but there are some cool places. Overall I like it better than where I was, and the people are much cooler but I could do without the widespread crime and shady activity.
 
breenie said:
Good! There is hope, I promise. ;)

Also sidebar, but I noticed your location. I was born in Lafayette, IN, which is right NEXT to a vet school town, but isn't actually one. Darn. I realized I almost had the trifecta. Both of my parents are Purdue alums, though, and I was accepted to Purdue. I loved the campus and have a soft spot for Indiana, obviously! You probably already know all about Purdue though.
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Well, while I do like Purdue for its nice campus and affordability (due to it being my in-state), I really haven't decided if I want to reside in Indiana for another 4 years. Although I know going to an OOS school wouldn't be the best fiscal decision I could make, I feel a change in scenery is in order. But then again, the sad truth is that it'll probably come down to me going to wherever I get accepted haha..

And pooter, I hadn't even considered the idea of rooming with other vet students to cut costs, but it sounds like a sweet deal. If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you go about gathering 8 other students?
 
Anyone with any questions about Columbus, feel free to PM me =) I used to live in a scary area of Cbus during undergrad and now live in a much nicer area, so I have both perspectives.
 
I'm attending UF and honestly, I really dislike Gainesville. I lived here before and absolutely hated it, so I've warmed up a touch to it. I'll try to put my personal feelings aside to give you a list of pros and cons

Pros:
-It's always hot, so for those of you who like warm weather, you'd like it here.
-Football season is ridiculous! Tailgating is fun and the vet students here have a block in the stadium so you can sit with your classmates, other classes, professors, etc during the game.
-There are 383729863750938458923.6 places to eat. A lot of everything, you're never going to think "man I really wish Gainesville had (insert type of restaurant here)" because they have everything.
-It's not far from some really fun places. Orlando and Tampa are ~2 hours away, Jacksonville is ~1.5 hours away.
-Downtown is close to the school, so day drinking after exams is pretty much a given. There are some really good happy hour drink specials during the week.

Cons:
-It's always hot. Those of you, like me, who can't stand the heat are pretty much SOL. I mean, it IS a swamp, afterall.
-Football season is ridiculous! Driving and parking is a nightmare during the weekend when there's a home game. Tickets are expensive and college football isn't my thing, so...eh
-There's not a lot to do. There are a few movie theaters, a mediocre mall, some lakes and springs to do outdoor stuff, but past that it's pretty boring. Not that you have a ton of time to do things outside of school.
-The school is very close to some bad areas, and I never feel safe when I'm downtown. I've heard gunshots on multiple occasions and there are lot of break ins and robberies in these areas.
-It's kind of difficult to escape the undergrads when you want to go out and relax with your friends and/or classmates

Anyway, that's what I can think of right now
 
kakurubird said:
Oh, man, I was just wondering today how much vet students get into the football scene at their schools and this seems like a good place to ask. I went to a small liberal arts school and really want a college football team to cheer for.
So, do many vet students tend to get excited for the football team (or basketball, I guess...) or is it, as I would guess, very dependent on each student?
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I'm huge into sports. Luckily, I go to a school that boasts the #4 football team in the country. In fact, a lot of vet schools have ranked football teams right now.

scb44f- are you going to the game on Saturday? You guys make me nervous :scared:!
 
I figured I might as well chime in for Auburn in case anyone is considering it. Auburn itself is definitely a college town and caters to college students, which is a good thing. The downtown is absolutely beautiful with a lot of restaurants and shops near main campus. Opelika, the next town over, basically runs into Auburn and has almost all of the chains like Target, Home Depot, Kohl's, etc. so pretty much anything you need is within a 15 minute drive. There are a few farmer's markets and some nice grocery stores including an Earth Fare so trying to eat healthy isn't too difficult. Worse case, we're only 45 minutes from Montgomery and 2 hours from Atlanta so if you want city life, it's a reasonable drive.

The cost of living in Auburn is very low, but then this is the first time I've lived outside of a large city. There are apartments that take pets near the vet school and a lot of us live in trailers. There are a lot of great parks to take the dogs to and Lake Martin is 30 minutes away.

As far as the weather, it's hot and humid during the summer like the rest of the gulf coast but from what I've been told, the winters are also decent with maybe a few days of real cold weather.

I've only been here almost 3 months but if anyone wants to know more about living in Auburn, feel free to PM me. I have friends who did their undergrad here and classmates who are from the area so if it's something I don't know, I can find out for you!
 
bunnity said:
I agree with Pooter's assessment of Philly. I am definitely a city person and I appreciate the fact that I can order cookies for delivery at 2AM or walk to get indian, thai, italian, ethiopian, vietnamese, or mexican food. I like living in a diverse city and being somewhere that I can walk around holding hands with my girlfriend without anyone caring.
There are lots of studios and apartment buildings. If you shop around and use craigslist you can get a place that isn't insanely expensive. Right now I pay $1400 (with my girlfriend) for a 3 story, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom beautiful house with a yard which is not bad at all.
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This is why I'm crossing my fingers *very* tightly that I get into Penn! Like DSMoody, I live in the Lehigh Valley area but, unlike DSMoody, I HATE it and cannot wait to move to the city. Bunnity, is your house within walking distance to campus? I've been peeking at craigslist and have seen some acceptable places, but so many of them are way, WAY out of my budget...please give me hope that I can find a place where I can still keep all my stuff, my kitties, and my husband!

To add something valuable to the thread, I lived in Columbus, OH for almost 6 years while my husband went to grad school at OSU. If I weren't tied to this area due to hubby's career, I would definitely have applied to OSU. Columbus is a progressive, interesting, "young" city. There are so many cool little areas in which to live and visit near campus (The short north, german village, italian village, clintonville), there are some great, beautiful but probably not affordable suburbs (upper arlington, dublin), and it's FLAT. In Columbus we would regularly do 50 or 60 mile weekend bike rides. Here in PA I'm lucky if I can muscle through 20 with all of the hills.

Plus, you can be out in the middle of nowhere in no time, if that's your thing. The Hocking Hills, which has great hiking and amazing scenery, is a little over an hour away, and there are lots of cool farms that hold open houses almost every weekend if you're into that sort of thing.

Also, Jeni's Ice Cream. And Ohio State football! :love:

Okay, so I'm biased and I love, love, love Columbus. The bad things about Columbus are that unless you're close to campus, the public transportation is pretty terrible for such a large city. Downtown is a ghost town after 9pm, and most campus joints are full of silly drunken kids.

Also, if you're looking to live in a really nice 3 bedroom condo in a cute little suburb with a garage and a finished basement and lots of nice amenities, let me know...unfortunately, the housing market in Columbus sucks just as much as it does everywhere else, so I've been trying to sell my house for two years! :thumbdown:
 
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