Canadian Vet School Help Needed - OVC vs. AVC

[CanadianWesty]

So,

I am a 5th year in my undergrad (took the extra year as I need more volunteer/animal exp., and figured I could raise my marks anyways)

I am considering AVC and OVC - I am an Ontario resident. The reason for these two schools particularly is because I messed up my average in other semesters to retake courses I purposely failed and get a higher grade on for my last 2 semester GPA (effectively ending up to be beneficial - at least for these schools).


So, I am looking to get an opinion of some students who either attend or have attended these schools.

I am mainly interested in wildlife medicine, and possibly conservation (travelling the world, working with exotic species, etc.) But I do realize that eventually I will probably settle down in life and if I wanted to work with LA, SA, etc. I do not want to be restricted in any way.

Maybe I am just overthinking things , but I always hear people talk like - "If you want to do x, you should go to x." "Don't go to y, because they have crappy z."

Realistically, I feel like all I need is a solid foundation to veterinary education and then it is up to me to determine and choose where I go and what I learn. I have a very strong desire to do so, and I can't imagine this holding me back... or can it?

So it seems OVC is highly regarded. Also my parents live here so being close to family would be nice.
The thing is, I like seeing different places and I know I would love PEI (I've been to NS numerous times as a lot of my family is still there). I did my undergrad in BC and I love being near the ocean, and in less-populated areas.

My main concern is that maybe attending AVC will inhibit me in some way in terms of what kind of work I can be involved in once I graduate? Has anyone experienced this from any other school? I would really hate that.

Another thing 'going' for me might be that AVC I probably have a better chance of getting in.

Ontario is not my favourite place to reside so I will likely not stick around for 2-4 years and apply multiple times if I do not gain entry.

My predicted stats are going to be around:
last 2 full-time sem: 87ish
8 prereqs: 86ish

Of course, I will have a diverse experience with different types of veterinarians and different kinds of animals. I don't think that my application will be lacking in that regard. I will be focusing on this part for a solid year and a half.

What do you think? I know I would prefer the atmosphere of PEI maybe a little more and it would be new to me.
The reason for not considering any other schools at this moment is mainly due to tuition costs. I am self-supported and need to pay my own way, so going to a school with $50k/year tuition fees is not really reasonable to me.


Thanks in advance for your responses!

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[jmo1012]

can you explain why you think AVC would inhibit you in terms of working? your veterinary degree, license, and skill set will be the same regardless of which school you attend...

 

[CanadianWesty]

Hey Jmo,

I edited my post to more clearly describe my concern.

Just talking with other pre-vet students, some you will hear say "Don't go to x, if you want to do y, go to z." (Mainly people telling me that I should go to OVC). Sure, the school is great - but on the same token I would never go to UofT over UBC anyday, regardless of whatever Maclean's has to say about it.
That kind of talk.

I don't know if there are maybe jobs that more willingly accept people who attend certain colleges.
From what I can gather (ignorantly mind you, as I have no first person experience in any of this), it seems AVC might focus more on aquatic? And OVC is more 'well-balanced'?

I just think that maybe the type of curriculum, or the clinical rotations you have to do, maybe the clubs present on campus... these things might dictate what you can learn while you attend that school. I read a post from maybe a decade back about a few students concerned about the funding in the wildlife sector at AVC.

But really I guess I just don't know enough to know if attending any particular school is going to limit me in the types of work I can later get involved in.

I appreciate your response.

 

[jmo1012]

Realistically, I feel like all I need is a solid foundation to veterinary education and then it is up to me to determine and choose where I go and what I learn. I have a very strong desire to do so, and I can't imagine this holding me back... or can it?

this is the perfect attitude. truthfully, no school is going to prevent you from doing a certain path. every school has strengths and weaknesses, but ultimately, their graduates have to be able to practice any form of vet med and pass licensing exams, so you will get the exposure and information you need at a minimum. it might be more difficult and you might have to set up your own opportunities for some things (for example, if you wanted to be a marine vet, you'd have to set up those externships because very few schools have any on site access to that stuff, but it certainly doesn't stop you from getting that sort of education).

vet school amounts to what you make of it. if you work hard and participate in the good opportunities as they come up, you will be well rounded no matter where you go to school.

 

[kdonalds]

Do you have the residency requirement to even apply to AVC or are you planning on moving out there for a year before applying?

 

[CanadianWesty]

Right on jmo.
It sounds nicer when you hear it from someone else sometimes ha. Ill have to contact them and see if my courses line up with their prereqs.

Kdonalds,
No. I will actually move to PEI. I am taking a year to gain volunteer experience anyways so the additional year would give me time to save up for vet school anyways since i believe its 12 months before application date so i will effectively be having two years off.

 

[kdonalds]

Ooo ok. I'm a Canadian student as well so I wasn't sure if I was missing something, but that makes sense. I actually just started at OVC and I will say so far I'm loving this school. I love the environment, my classmates, the upper years are awesome and our profs are fantastic. I have heard great things about AVC as well although I haven't honestly looked into that school as much as I didn't meet the residency requirement. I don't think you could go wrong with either school.
If you can find a way to apply to both I would do that, as with the grades you mentioned you are actually below average for OVC entrance grades (you CAN get in with those definitely, especially if you ace your interview but you will probably need a higher interview score) the averages for the last couple years has continued to go up and up unfortunately. If your interested to look up the stats of the last few years I do believe they are on the website. I'm not sure if AVC has the same sort of stats that can be viewed, but not a bad idea to look them up and compare your chances that way. Whatever your choice good luck!

 

[Coquette22]

AVC is a great school and will not limit you, but I'd probably advise sticking with OVC, because I think it's cheaper. Also, look closely at AVC's admission requirements; they benefit some people and hinder others because they make it very difficult to replace bad grades with new ones.

 

[jmo1012]

Right on jmo.
It sounds nicer when you hear it from someone else sometimes ha. Ill have to contact them and see if my courses line up with their prereqs.

Kdonalds,
No. I will actually move to PEI. I am taking a year to gain volunteer experience anyways so the additional year would give me time to save up for vet school anyways since i believe its 12 months before application date so i will effectively be having two years off.

pre-vets will tell you whatever they think will intimidate and discourage you

 

[SocialStigma]

Both vet schools will give you a solid foundation, if you plan on pursuing wildlife then most of your experience will come from externships/external rotations anyway. If you have any OVC-specific questions, feel free to PM me, I'm a 2015 OVC grad .

 

[CalliopeDVM]

If you can find a way to apply to both I would do that, as with the grades you mentioned you are actually below average for OVC entrance grades (you CAN get in with those definitely, especially if you ace your interview but you will probably need a higher interview score) the averages for the last couple years has continued to go up and up unfortunately. If your interested to look up the stats of the last few years I do believe they are on the website. I'm not sure if AVC has the same sort of stats that can be viewed, but not a bad idea to look them up and compare your chances that way. Whatever your choice good luck!

You can only apply where you're a resident and you can only be a resident of one or the other location (Ontario or Maritimes), so the OP will have to only apply to one or the other but not both.

 

[kdonalds]

I honestly haven't looked into it calliopeDVM, as I was only applying to Ontario. I just wasn't sure if it was possible to move out east get residency and still apply to both as they had previous residency in the other province, of course typing that out now it kinda makes sense lol