Student maturity, dedication & interaction

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I have a question for vet students...did you find a change (for the better) with fellow students maturity, dedication & interaction from undergrad to vet school? I know that is a very vague statement/question.

Here is why I ask.
I have been working as a un-credentialed vet tech for 8 years, and have "flip-flopped" between going to school for veterinary technology or veterinary medicine. My current situation made veterinary technology the easier path since there is a local tech school. I am getting ready to start my 3rd semester and so far have been disappointed with the program. I was hoping first off to learn much more than what I already know. I am a "self-learner" and research the hell out of anything that interests me, and absorb information. I did learn the hows and whys behind anesthesia and pharmacology, and more about ruminant and equine A&P (I have a strong A&P back round already). However, I found myself often frustrated because the instructors frequently told me "you will learn more next semester" or "you don't need to know that much in depth, we are training techs not vets". I also become very irritated by the end of this past semester, because the other students stopped studying, complained about tests, complained about assignments, complained about EVERYTHING. Even after one instructor gave 15 additional points on tests throughout the semester, and the other gave 3 take home tests, dropped the lowest test grade in *BOTH* his classes (anesthesia and pharmacology) AND curved the anesthesia final by 5-6 points because most of the class FAILED it! They then had the nerve to ask for a “take home” pharmacology final, and tried to pass around a “petition” to be able to take their pharmacology tests home to study. I find this all VERY annoying, I worked my butt off to not only get into the program, but to maintain a 4.0 GPA these past 2 semesters. I feel as though this is a slap in the face to not only me, as a hard working student, but to all the LVT’s that busted their a** to earn that title. It seems like the instructors are most interested in meeting a “graduation quota” vs producing efficient and knowledgeable technicians.

One of the vets I work with now has given up on the subtle hints, and directly told me to just get through the program, finish my Associate in Science which will fulfill my requirements for most vet schools, and become a vet instead. I plan to finish the program, because I can at least work as an LVT while I finish my other degree. I feel that way the program won't be a total loss, and it really is ingraining in me that vet school would be a better choice for me.


I am just frustrated and burnt out, I am happy to have 3 weeks off before the drama begins again. I am currently researching all vet school requirements and how quickly I can finish my other degree!


Sorry for the rant! I guess I would love some input and advice. I am wondering if anyone else had this issue in school, or something similar.

Yes, there is drama in vet school. It's a bunch of young people under immense stress so of course there will be drama.
As far as academics it is pretty much the polar opposite of what you are describing. It is very hard and there is no curve and you have no say in anything.

Your plan sounds good to me, but I am not sure if the associates in science is your vet tech program or a different program. Vet tech classes may not count toward pre-req's for the reasons you are describing - they may not be considered rigorous enough. I can't say for sure either way though, but you should check with the vet schools you would apply to see if your classes will meet their requirements.

Originally Posted by bunnity

Yes, there is drama in vet school. It's a bunch of young people under immense stress so of course there will be drama.
As far as academics it is pretty much the polar opposite of what you are describing. It is very hard and there is no curve and you have no say in anything.

Agree with the first part. So. Much. Drama. And since I go to an "undergraduate" vet school that also takes mature aged international students, its an interesting comparasion - the students aged 25-30 have just as much, if not more, drama and backstabbing than the 18yo's. I put that down to they tend to have more riding on doing well than the younger ones, but its still a bit funny...

Things are more rigourous academically - the idea that we could influence our assessment processes is laughable - profs wouldn't even give you the time of day. The idea of having a take home exam is ridiculous. That said, people will find something to complain about and they constantly do - they complain that slides were put up in pdf, not powerpoint, that they were put up the morning of the lecture, not the day before, that that is missing from our notes, that the notes are bad, that you give awesome notes and lecture recordings but HOW DARE YOU not put up the powerpoints... see what i mean? lol.

That said, we're all dedicated to the cause, I don't think student dedication is something to worry about. Interaction can be a bit funny - there are some crazy gunners that aren't the most pleasant and a few big egos. Maturity... well... pretty sure we all still laugh at penis jokes!

Originally Posted by sunshinevet

Maturity... well... pretty sure we all still laugh at penis jokes!

Guilty.....

The general consensus is that most professional school programs are high school 2.0. You are stuck in the same classroom with the same X number of people day in and day out. Then you put every person there under an immense amount of stress. There will be cliques, there will be people who complain about the tiniest imperfection in the program (because don't you know, paying for your education means it must be perfect....), here students will swamp the teacher's office in droves if there was a test/quiz that was deemed unfair or poorly written until it gets "fixed" (or cry when it doesn't), and there are people who vote to move a test to a different day because it happens to fall on the Monday after a party throwing holiday and they want to be able to get drunk without taking a test hungover.

That being said, a decent majority of the class is dedicated to doing what needs to be done to make it to graduation. And most of us know that it's going to be a bumpy ride getting there. Complaining, raising cain, and occasionally doing stupid immature things are just some of the many coping mechanisms people tend to develop frequently.

Originally Posted by katryn

and there are people who vote to move a test to a different day because it happens to fall on the Monday after a party throwing holiday and they want to be able to get drunk without taking a test hungover.

aka "Football Season." See especially: Thursday night game.



The things you've mentioned, OP, are the things that have bugged me most about my trek through my undergraduate program. I like where I am, I've identified a goal and I enjoy the challenge of working towards it. It's unfortunate - and a bit terrifying - that a program offering licensed positions to people in charge of lives is taking the education so haphazardly.

Sorry I don't have much to say beyond that. Good luck with everything!

I agree with the above. Vet students are generally very dedicated. VAST MAJORITY of people try the best they can to learn as much as they can so that they can become the best doctor that they can for their future patients.

However, that does not cut down on the complaints department one bit. Vet students are a very very whiny bunch. If it's not one thing, it's another. It's kind of a coping mechanism. Sometimes it gets absurd what people complain about, but I can't really judge. I do my own fair share of b****ing.

Drama comes with the territory as well. Generally, there's an outspoken minority that tends to cause a good amount of the class-wide drama. And everyone else just tends to gossip around the absurdity of the situation. Overall though, the student body is made up of good people you can trust. Some people are just high strung and/or drama-prone, but I think for the most part it's just that under pressure, people crack. And we all tend to lose social skills as we find ourselves in this weird artificial environment isolated from the rest of civilization... I hope those social skills come back after graduation... otherwise i might need occupational therapy.

In vet school we whine and we b!tch and then we sit down and study any way. And when the W&B session gets back to the professors they either roll their eyes or cackle maniaclly and then test us just like they planned to in the first place.

Originally Posted by Minnerbelle

I agree with the above. Vet students are generally very dedicated. VAST MAJORITY of people try the best they can to learn as much as they can so that they can become the best doctor that they can for their future patients.

However, that does not cut down on the complaints department one bit. Vet students are a very very whiny bunch. If it's not one thing, it's another. It's kind of a coping mechanism. Sometimes it gets absurd what people complain about, but I can't really judge. I do my own fair share of b****ing.

Drama comes with the territory as well. Generally, there's an outspoken minority that tends to cause a good amount of the class-wide drama. And everyone else just tends to gossip around the absurdity of the situation. Overall though, the student body is made up of good people you can trust. Some people are just high strung and/or drama-prone, but I think for the most part it's just that under pressure, people crack. And we all tend to lose social skills as we find ourselves in this weird artificial environment isolated from the rest of civilization... I hope those social skills come back after graduation... otherwise i might need occupational therapy.

+1. Couldn't agree more!

I think you guys are missing the OP's main concern....although vet students bitch a lot ( as do all grad students it seems), they are mostly hard working and more concerned with learning than what the OP is experiencing. Maybe it is just Penn, but I just don't see people influencing the running down of a course, changing exam dates etc, in any way, shape, or form.

Originally Posted by StartingoverVet

Maybe it is just Penn, but I just don't see people influencing the running down of a course, changing exam dates etc, in any way, shape, or form.

you'd be surprised... (though def not nearly to the extent of the OP's concerns)

Originally Posted by Minnerbelle

you'd be surprised... (though def not nearly to the extent of the OP's concerns)

Agreed. Here, we are definitely allowed to vote on changing test schedules (assuming the professor is willing) for any and all reasons no matter how stupid, and there have been a number of smaller quizzes and such that have become take home or optional/extra credit due to an excess of whining. Definitely nothing on the scale that the OP is talking about, but crap like it does still happen to a lesser extent.

Originally Posted by katryn

for any and all reasons no matter how stupid

I have definitely thought this several times throughout vet school....sometimes I wonder about our class...

I've never seen as many whiny, entitled people as I have in vet school. There are a lot of people who don't like to not be perfect at something so if they miss a problem it's not their own damn fault for not knowing the material, it's the professor's fault for testing over something not explicitly spoon fed to them. That said, the vast (less vocal) majority of students are good, hard-working people who generally put their noses to the grindstone and do the best they can.

Originally Posted by quantized

There are a lot of people who don't like to not be perfect at something so if they miss a problem it's not their own damn fault for not knowing the material, it's the professor's fault for testing over something not explicitly spoon fed to them.

Seriously! I swear in every class there's always at least 1 person who thinks the criteria for an "unfair test question" is a question that he/she couldn't answer. The open b****ing and moaning, and the emails to the profs about them get pretty ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Minnerbelle

Seriously! I swear in every class there's always at least 1 person who thinks the criteria for an "unfair test question" is a question that he/she couldn't answer. The open b****ing and moaning, and the emails to the profs about them get pretty ridiculous.

Our running theme seems to be protesting questions that rely on information from a previous semester. Ie. you've already had ANATOMY, so the professor's in class information was "diagnosed displacement via rectal palpation", and on the test the choices are "a. you feel X on rectal, b. you feel Y on rectal....etc". Definitely had people whining that she didn't cover that in class. Makes me want to bang my head against a wall sometimes.

LOL at "no curves". I've heard so many instructors and administrators claim that they don't exist, but given how low some exam scores for certain classes can get in vet school, I sincerely doubt those claims.

Originally Posted by quantized

I've never seen as many whiny, entitled people as I have in vet school. There are a lot of people who don't like to not be perfect at something so if they miss a problem it's not their own damn fault for not knowing the material, it's the professor's fault for testing over something not explicitly spoon fed to them. That said, the vast (less vocal) majority of students are good, hard-working people who generally put their noses to the grindstone and do the best they can.

Yeah, this is really become more of an issue for our class this year (2nd year), but has been around to varying degrees the whole time we've been here. During first year, it was somewhat annoying to hear isolated incidents where people complained about one thing or another, but this year a handful of people seem to be taking it to a whole new level and it is absurd.

I honestly think that there was a bit too much coddling first year here so perhaps that's why Penn might have less of an issue with this kind of thing, SOV. If this kind of thing where I end up embarrassed to be associated with some of these complaints is the result or our anatomy class being less of a hardcore bloodbath, I think I would gladly make the trade off of having that crap beaten out of us early on like that.

Originally Posted by nyanko

If this kind of thing where I end up embarrassed to be associated with some of these complaints is the result or our anatomy class being less of a hardcore bloodbath, I think I would gladly make the trade off of having that crap beaten out of us early on like that.

You sure about that, nyanko?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yenmpNNW_jI