Accepted students: what are your summer plans?

[stealthoscope]

Hi everyone!

I know it's still early to have heard back, but I know a number of schools have already sent out acceptances. For those of you that will be starting in the fall, what are your plans for this summer? Something animal-related? Or just taking things easy since you don't have to worry about getting more hours and such?

I've spent the past two summers doing research in my lab, so I don't really know what I want to do with this free summer. I'm sort of torn between trying to get some horse experience, just because I've never had any, or doing something that isn't animal-related / trying to take things easy, since I'll probably be eating, sleeping, and breathing vet school every summer after this.

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[swiniazycie]

I'm going to be reducing my hours at my SA clinic (job) because I don't really enjoy it. But I still want a little money.

Then I'll probably still visit my avian clinic and my rural Vet because I love them dearly and I have so much fun volunteering there. They're amazing mentors and wonderful people.

Then I'm going to play a million video games. Maybe two million. Maybe just the new Alien game.

Also I think getting horse experience won't be the worse thing in the world. So far it sounds like most vet school horse experience (please correct me if I'm wrong) is a "safer" environment and more controlled in padded rooms and I've seen some schools where they do surgeries on tables. The horse practices I've worked at aren't like that. They're outside, it's hot, it's raining, the horses are crazy, the people are in the way, it's a mess. It definitely increased my reflexes and stuff. It was neat. I'm not a horse person (I'm more pigs and chickens) but I also had fun being in a new environment.

Also, congratulations!

 

[futurehealervet]

I have been planning internships and counting hours for YEARS!!!!!!!!!! I think I'll have to hire someone to break me out of a beachgoers coma once vet school starts.

 

[Shepherd Lover]

I'm going to work two jobs saving money and spend every other hour at my favorite college bars with my friends!

 

[Meurks]

Probably go on a backpacking excursion

 

[themajor]

I'm going to continue working fulltime at my clinic, become a pokemon master, and work on my costumes for Comic-Con.

 

[Skimble]

I'm going to continue working at the same vet hospital, so I can pay off my credit cards and hopefully start saving some money. If I stay instate I'll probably also try to go on a few mini vacations with my son.

 

[stealthoscope]

I'm going to be reducing my hours at my SA clinic (job) because I don't really enjoy it. But I still want a little money.

Then I'll probably still visit my avian clinic and my rural Vet because I love them dearly and I have so much fun volunteering there. They're amazing mentors and wonderful people.

Then I'm going to play a million video games. Maybe two million. Maybe just the new Alien game.

Also I think getting horse experience won't be the worse thing in the world. So far it sounds like most vet school horse experience (please correct me if I'm wrong) is a "safer" environment and more controlled in padded rooms and I've seen some schools where they do surgeries on tables. The horse practices I've worked at aren't like that. They're outside, it's hot, it's raining, the horses are crazy, the people are in the way, it's a mess. It definitely increased my reflexes and stuff. It was neat. I'm not a horse person (I'm more pigs and chickens) but I also had fun being in a new environment.

Also, congratulations!

Videogames are definitely on the table for me, but I've been kind of doing that all winter break, haha. One of my friends back home has horses and her mom said she'd be happy to help me out, just getting comfortable around them and stuff - I think I need that even before I do anything with a horse practice.

But I've also been thinking of going to New Zealand and trying to get a paid position at a clinic where I did a volunteer internship at a few summers ago, it would be so cool to go there again and I feel like it's my last chance in a while!

I'm going to continue working fulltime at my clinic, become a pokemon master, and work on my costumes for Comic-Con.

I hope you're not joking about becoming a pokemon master.

 

[LetItSnow]

I'm going to continue working at the same vet hospital, so I can pay off my credit cards and hopefully start saving some money. If I stay instate I'll probably also try to go on a few mini vacations with my son.

Seriously, do the mini-vacations now. You will not regret it. You may regret it if you don't. You'll probably have some time in the first two summers of vet school (if you're going somewhere you get summers off), but even those can get pretty busy.

 

[mcm5892]

Does anyone suggest some light studying? i finished in the fall and have the spring semester off, so I was thinking of trying to get a head start and do some studying?

I'm also going to continue working at the SA hospital I've been at, and getting some hours with a large animal/equine ambulatory vet in my area.

 

[DVMDream]

Does anyone suggest some light studying? i finished in the fall and have the spring semester off, so I was thinking of trying to get a head start and do some studying?

I am really hoping this is sarcasm.

If not, NO! Enjoy your summer you will have enough studying in the next 4 years to last you a lifetime.

 

[LetItSnow]

Does anyone suggest some light studying? i finished in the fall and have the spring semester off, so I was thinking of trying to get a head start and do some studying?

Study the insides of your eyelids.

If you absolutely insist, study basic anatomy - learn directional terms, major muscle groups, whatever. Review your biochem notes; it should get you through about the first biochem exam (our entire undergrad biochem class was covered in the first of 5 or 6 vet school biochem exams or something like that).

But really, I don't recommend anything other than enjoy your time off. Exercise. Put everything you can on auto-pay. Essentially: Get yourself in a healthy place and put your life on autopilot as much as possible. Any studying you do won't be a great return on the time invested.

 

[RainN]

Does anyone suggest some light studying? i finished in the fall and have the spring semester off, so I was thinking of trying to get a head start and do some studying?

Depends on the type of person you are. If you burnout pretty easily, take the time to relax. I've heard some people say that they did just fine in fall after spending the whole summer relaxing.

However, I have also talked to people who were told relentlessly not to study over summer, but bought the physiology/anatomy texts over summer and studied anyways and found it enormously helpful when fall came. Even if you don't retain 100% of what you learned over summer, knowing terms/names can be quite useful when they come up again in class.

I'm planning on studying over summer simply because its what I enjoy doing, I don't burnout easily, and the people who I know that took that route highly recommend it.

 

[RainN]

Also, if you want a challenge and are off of school for the spring:

https://www.coursera.org/course/medicalneuro

Free medical neuroscience course. It is human, but it seems to be a great introduction to general neuro if you feel like your undergrad career lacked it. It just started this past week so there is still time to join.

 

[Skimble]

Seriously, do the mini-vacations now. You will not regret it. You may regret it if you don't. You'll probably have some time in the first two summers of vet school (if you're going somewhere you get summers off), but even those can get pretty busy.

Four years ago we started going on vacation every simmer. We've been to Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and Honduras. I'd love to do a trip like that this summer, but I just don't have the funds. I think everyone should travel if they can!

 

[DVMDream]

Depends on the type of person you are. If you burnout pretty easily, take the time to relax. I've heard some people say that they did just fine in fall after spending the whole summer relaxing.

However, I have also talked to people who were told relentlessly not to study over summer, but bought the physiology/anatomy texts over summer and studied anyways and found it enormously helpful when fall came. Even if you don't retain 100% of what you learned over summer, knowing terms/names can be quite useful when they come up again in class.

I'm planning on studying over summer simply because its what I enjoy doing, I don't burnout easily, and the people who I know that took that route highly recommend it.

The problem with this is that these people don't know how they would have done had they NOT studied. And I am rather confident in saying that they would have been fine. Yes, you can familiarize yourself with terms, not a bad idea, especially the directional terms (distal, proximal, rostral, cranial, caudal, etc) but when it really comes down to it... if you don't learn these you will in school and you will be no worse off than those that did learn them. I knew them beforehand and to be honest, I still had to really think about them for the first few weeks of vet school before they really stuck, just like all the people in my class who had never been exposed to them.

But really there is no point into diving deep into anatomy or physiology... at best a word is familiar to you and at worse you learn it completely incorrectly and now have to relearn things, which makes it more complicating.

I would really suggest enjoying the summer, and if you have some crazy odd itch to study... do the directional terms, don't get super deep into any anatomy or physiology.

 

[LetItSnow]

Four years ago we started going on vacation every simmer. We've been to Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and Honduras. I'd love to do a trip like that this summer, but I just don't have the funds. I think everyone should travel if they can!

Doesn't have to be a big expensive trip.

 

[LetItSnow]

The problem with this is that these people don't know how they would have done had they NOT studied. And I am rather confident in saying that they would have been fine.

I agree. The pace is vet school is just so much faster than undergrad that you could spend your summer studying and whatever you cover will be gone in about 3 weeks of vet school. And I'm always suspicious when people said their studying made a big difference for pretty much the same reason you mentioned: What are they comparing it against?

That said, some people study because they've got time on their hands and are just excited to start learning. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I studied a little anatomy my summer before vet school. It didn't make one bit of difference in terms of being 'ahead' or anything, but it was fun to sit at the beach with my kids and read while they were playing.

 

[DVMDream]

I agree. The pace is vet school is just so much faster than undergrad that you could spend your summer studying and whatever you cover will be gone in about 3 weeks of vet school. And I'm always suspicious when people said their studying made a big difference for pretty much the same reason you mentioned: What are they comparing it against?

That said, some people study because they've got time on their hands and are just excited to start learning. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I studied a little anatomy my summer before vet school. It didn't make one bit of difference in terms of being 'ahead' or anything, but it was fun to sit at the beach with my kids and read while they were playing.

I don't think there is anything wrong with it, just don't have some expectation that you will be ahead of the game. I took 2 anatomy courses in undergrad and still was not anywhere near "ahead" of the game... terms were more familiar to me, but outside of that, I was about on par with everyone else. And I would really caution against studying physiology before school starts as you don't want to mix something up in your head and then have to relearn the info because you thought you had the info correct, but really did not.

 

[LetItSnow]

I don't think there is anything wrong with it, just don't have some expectation that you will be ahead of the game.

Truth.

 

[ameropean_chelsea]

I think everybody who gets in should throw him/herself a massive celebratory party... or two... or three...

 

[LetItSnow]

I think everybody who gets in should throw him/herself a massive celebratory party... or two... or three...

Long as I'm invited, it's all good.

 

[neocia]

I'm graduating in March, so I'm doing a VIDA trip from April 18th to May 2nd (never been out of the country, have been smh at these trips for years due to their price but oh well!), then looking for ideas on how to spend my time until August!

 

[ameropean_chelsea]

Long as I'm invited, it's all good.

I'll make sure to send you a personalized boomerang-shaped invitation

 

[LetItSnow]

I'm graduating in March, so I'm doing a VIDA trip from April 18th to May 2nd (never been out of the country, have been smh at these trips for years due to their price but oh well!), then looking for ideas on how to spend my time until August!

They are ridiculously expensive, but most people who go sound like they've enjoyed their trip.. So I bet you'll have a great time.

 

[stealthoscope]

I'm graduating in March, so I'm doing a VIDA trip from April 18th to May 2nd (never been out of the country, have been smh at these trips for years due to their price but oh well!), then looking for ideas on how to spend my time until August!

If you have the funds to go, it sounds like such a great experience!

 

[Njnealon]

As soon as I got accepted to veterinary school last year, I left my clinic job to work at a park raising turtles. Also taught a college class on psychedelic rock of the 1960s. I also baked a ton of things, and painted my bedroom walls under a black light. All in all, I tried to have as much random fun as possible before buckling down at school!

In all seriousness, I studied immunology a little too (as in poolside with an iced drink in my hand!) but it did make me feel a little better about taking that class.

 

[FLhorsegirl]

I'm resigning from my full time job in mid May, so after that i plan to.....
1. Keep working part time at the emergency clinic I'm also at.
2. Take several mini trips consisting of jointed, one way plane tickets and a lot of couch crashing with friends and family. Hello Utah, Omaha, New England and Minnesota.
3. Hike a short portion of the Appalachian Trail with my brother... Utah has some excellent spots too.
4. Plan my wedding

Congrats everyone so far, looking forward to seeing so many more of you getting in!

 

[stahla2]

Hoping to get a part time job to save some money, but mostly in planning on riding my horse A LOT and doing a lot of vegging out!

 

[neocia]

Have also been looking at trips to Europe on Groupon. They have some really affordable stuff right now if anyone else was thinking about going abroad for a week or so. Some of the trips even have airfare included

 

[pinkpuppy9]

If you're going to review anatomy, review it with your cat/dog. That way it's fun and you're applying your knowledge. And dogs/cats.

 

[Kpowell14]

I'm going to continue working fulltime at my clinic, become a pokemon master, and work on my costumes for Comic-Con.

You should become friends with @Rainheart ... This sounds like a post she would've wrote...

 

[Rainheart]

You should become friends with @Rainheart ... This sounds like a post she would've wrote...

Ahh!! Thanks KPow!
@themajor Are you attending SDCC this year? This will be year 3 in a row for me, and I'm SO pumped!! I LOVE flying down there. It is the best part of my summer. Still in the works of become a pokemon master in my sapphire game (which has kind of taken a backburner now that school has started). But I am focusing on hunting down dragons and saving the world in Dragon Age: Inquisition

 

[themajor]

Ahh!! Thanks KPow!
@themajor Are you attending SDCC this year? This will be year 3 in a row for me, and I'm SO pumped!! I LOVE flying down there. It is the best part of my summer. Still in the works of become a pokemon master in my sapphire game (which has kind of taken a backburner now that school has started). But I am focusing on hunting down dragons and saving the world in Dragon Age: Inquisition

I am, I'll see you there!! It's my 11th year, but I'm local. Which panels/shows do you go for?? Do you cosplay? I just got omega ruby, so it's definitely on

 

[stealthoscope]

Have also been looking at trips to Europe on Groupon. They have some really affordable stuff right now if anyone else was thinking about going abroad for a week or so. Some of the trips even have airfare included

Where in Europe?

@themajor @Rainheart I got omega ruby when it came out and didn't have a chance to play it all semester ;-;

 

[Rainheart]

@stealthoscope I totally understand... I think I just got the 5th badge? And that was mostly over Thanksgiving break...

@themajor Awesome!! I /wish/ I was a local, I'd LOVE that. Last year, I focused a lot on Legend of Korra things... the year before- Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Oh also the Mass Effect panel this past year was great! I wish I could cosplay but I cannot sew to save my life. I want to cosplay really bad, though! What about you, do you cosplay and what panels do you like to see?

 

[WillowLeaf]

If you're going to review anatomy, review it with your cat/dog.

I can confirm this is a good idea. My cats are so well-educated after all our review sessions, I highly recommend it!

 

[SummerTheLynx]

I can confirm this is a good idea. My cats are so well-educated after all our review sessions, I highly recommend it!

Are they just educated on cats, or all species that you learned?

 

[WillowLeaf]

Are they just educated on cats, or all species that you learned?

Just cats. I tried to include others, but the cats kept making comments about only wanting to study the "cool species". I guess cats think no one is as cool as them or something, who knows.

 

[DVMDream]

Just cats. I tried to include others, but the cats kept making comments about only wanting to study the "cool species". I guess cats think no one is as cool as them or something, who knows.

My cat only would study pharmacology...... she is probably trying to figure out how to take over the world via the use of drugs...

 

[themajor]

@stealthoscope I totally understand... I think I just got the 5th badge? And that was mostly over Thanksgiving break...

@themajor Awesome!! I /wish/ I was a local, I'd LOVE that. Last year, I focused a lot on Legend of Korra things... the year before- Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Oh also the Mass Effect panel this past year was great! I wish I could cosplay but I cannot sew to save my life. I want to cosplay really bad, though! What about you, do you cosplay and what panels do you like to see?

You should! Last year was pretty much all about Hannibal for me. I got 2nd row in the panel and got to meet the cast minus Mads! I used to go to the Supernatural panel and sit through all of the Sunday stuff, but Supernatural has been really bad lately so I stopped going... I went to the Community and Archer panels too. I've been cosplaying for awhile. I went as Zatanna from DC and Cheryl/Carol from Archer last year, because Comic-Con's not the best cosplay con. I also had a group of Sailor Scouts for Anime Expo. I actually put an award I won at Comic-Con's masquerade on my VMCAS app

 

[LetItSnow]

I dare one of you pre-vets to shave down your cat, draw all the muscles in correct placement, take a picture, and post it here. You could do muscles on one side and bones on the contralateral side. I will award a real life prize to the first person to do it and prove to me they didn't just steal a pic off the Internet.

 

[DVMDream]

a real life prize

Nobody wants your old, white panel van....

 

[WildZoo]

I dare one of you pre-vets to shave down your cat, draw all the muscles in correct placement, take a picture, and post it here. You could do muscles on one side and bones on the contralateral side. I will award a real life prize to the first person to do it and prove to me they didn't just steal a pic off the Internet.

 

[DVMDream]

and prove to me they didn't just steal a pic off the Internet.

A very quick google search brings up no such images of a real cat with the muscles and bones drawn on...

 

[DVMDream]

You just want the van...

 

[WildZoo]

You just want the van...

It would be a perfect role reversal! I'll paint "Free Canes" on the side and go out trolling for old guys!

 

[Jamr0ckin]

I recommend you all have lots of fun and don't do what I did: get a puppy. You won't have enough time and they will turn into monsters when you start school and can't spend time with them.

 

[stealthoscope]

I dare one of you pre-vets to shave down your cat, draw all the muscles in correct placement, take a picture, and post it here. You could do muscles on one side and bones on the contralateral side. I will award a real life prize to the first person to do it and prove to me they didn't just steal a pic off the Internet.

Will volunteer to chip in for this real life prize.

 

[WillowLeaf]

A very quick google search brings up no such images of a real cat with the muscles and bones drawn on...

If this has ever been attempted, I somehow doubt any humans survived to post internet proof.