The curriculum is as follows (more or less):
We have 11 8-week blocks of pre-clinicals, which means we have 5 blocks a year (Aug-end of June), and then one block Aug-Oct your third year. We only get 6-8 weeks of summer and 2-3 weeks of Christmas, which can be a bummer. We do still get 1 week off for Thanksgiving and 1 for spring break as well.
Honestly, as far as pre-clinicals go, I really like the block system, and I love the school as a whole. The benefits of blocks are you only focus on 4-5 classes at once, and if you don't enjoy a class it's over with in 8 weeks. Plus, the first two blocks first year run just like a semester, so they "ease" you into it. The disadvantages (in general) are exams and burn-out. We have A TON of exams all the time it seems since most classes are 8 weeks long. However, last week we had 4 exams and I significantly had less stress than in the past exam weeks. It might have been apathy... but you do get somewhat adjusted (depending on the person of course). A lot of people also get burned out from the exam/school schedule, but I think you will get a chance of burn-out wherever you go, and since we can't directly compare schools I couldn't tell you if I would feel less burned out if I went somewhere else
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We then start clinics in Oct, which goes until May of your 4th year. I don't know the specifics yet, though I know you have required clinics that is 2-6 weeks long depending on rotations (Equine, Path, Anestisia, Radiology, Farm Animal, Small Animal Internal Med, Optho, ECC, etc etc). You can also pick electives (Some here, others where you want), and then you have "free blocks," which can be used for prectorships, studying for boards, weddings, etc. I've heard some great things about the free blocks, since you get a bunch of time (I think up to 14-16 weeks or something like that?) to go pursue whatever interest you have (whether that be exotics, surgery, shelter med, etc.) Maybe some 3rd or 4th years can comment more about clinics and if they like the set-up or not.
