Factors when picking a school

whyrightmeow · Nov 18, 2008

So I am in my first year and there are a few things I wish I would have considered before I made my final decision. These are only my opinion, and I won't be offended if yours varies. I am only posting this because I wish I would have read something like it before I made my decision.

I am at The Ohio State University right now as an out of state student.

Positives:
Can apply for resident tuition next year
Great school, nice facilities
Curriculum includes Professional development - basically a 1 credit course on a variety of topics including stress, time managment, finances, etc
Parking is right outside the building
Parking pass is a hang tag, so carpoolers can share 1 tag between several cars
24 hr access to building
Nice recreational facility/wall climbing
Social worker available 24/7 (for when you finally have that meltdown)

Negatives:
Quarter system (not semesters) - this complicates everything. Plus you don't finish until June.
Can only leave for 3 weeks over the summer - so any externship must be in-state unless it is HIGHLY unusual.
Lockers are tiny; a normal bookbag will not fit into them. It is also very crowded when everyone is trying to get to their locker at the same time. (seems minor, I know, but its the little stresses that are the worst)

Things I wish I would have asked:
Is anatomy lab structured, or do you just get a dog and a book? (Our canine anatomy lab is, in my opinion, poorly structured)
Are tests returned to students, or is it against honor code to write down questions from the test? (At OSU vet school no tests are returned, EVER. This bothers me after every test, since I like to know what I got wrong and what the correct answer was - this may have been a deal-breaker for me)
How much (live) animal interaction is there for first year students?
Do you buy class notes or are they posted online so notes can be taken directly on a laptop? (I was amazed at needing to buy 80% of my notes, when I came from an undergrad school that I never once bought a course pack for)
Is the schedule set, or does it change from day to day? (Our schedule has a main theme, but basically changes a little each day)

Smileystar5 · Feb 17, 2010

Anyone on Illinois!?!? I'd love love LOVE a pro/con list!

Tco87 · Feb 17, 2010

Smileystar5 said:
Anyone on Illinois!?!? I'd love love LOVE a pro/con list!

Seconded!

twelvetigers · Feb 18, 2010

Minnerbelle said:
you should've totally put down your search skills down on your vmcas TT! if i had your skills i would've...

No mentions of SDN on my app, lol.

rileydog · Apr 13, 2010

Reviving old thread to see if anyone can post about Tuskegee and/or LSU? Going to be a tiger either way but need help deciding which one. Thank you

luplodw · Apr 13, 2010

Go with LSU. I talked to someone who works high up in one of the vet schools and he said that Tuskegee was having money issues and it may effect some things. Actually, that's a silly reason to pick LSU. Just go where you feel like you fit in and where you think you'd be most successful

twelvetigers · Apr 13, 2010

If, when you read, "go to LSU," your brain went, "but nooo!" then go to Tuskegee. If your brain went, "yeah, okay," then go to LSU.

rileydog · Apr 13, 2010

TT, have you looked into Tuskegee? They are not on VMCAS, and their website sucks, but I did like the program, and the people are nurturing and amazing. One concern for me is living in Auburn with the commute, as Tuskegee has limited acceptable housing and virtually no retail. I know this works for most, and many people also study at Auburn. just a thought.

moosenanny · Apr 13, 2010

What type of medicine are you interested in? I know LSU has a great wildlife program, which made it my second-choice school. When I visited I thought everyone was like one big loving family, but I have never been to Alabama, let alone Tuskegee, so I can't comment there at all.

rileydog · Apr 14, 2010

moosenanny said:
What type of medicine are you interested in? I know LSU has a great wildlife program

1 point for LSU

twelvetigers · Apr 14, 2010

Oh, it's on my list. I'm not 100% on where I'll apply besides Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, and Oklahoma, but it's bound to be a long list of places when I'm finished.

I'll be coming here for help when I can't figure out what to do, though!

HopefulAg · Apr 14, 2010

Doesn't one of the Eastern states accept large OOS numbers too? Can't remember which, but NCSU seems to ring a bell, or Penn maybe? Dunno, but I was reading their numbers after the fact of submission and thinking I should've applied there as well. Plus one of them has really low tuition and allows gaining of residency, though again, I don't really know which off hand...

wolfpack87 · Apr 14, 2010

HopefulAg, NCSU allows you to gain IS residency for tuition purposes. ($10,600 I believe as of last year for IS)However, they only have 18 OOS spots.

twelvetigers · Apr 14, 2010

NCSU requires a 3.4 for OOS applicants. So yeah, I'll apply there for sure. *cackles*

StartingoverVet · Apr 14, 2010

HopefulAg said:
Doesn't one of the Eastern states accept large OOS numbers too? Can't remember which, but NCSU seems to ring a bell, or Penn maybe? Dunno, but I was reading their numbers after the fact of submission and thinking I should've applied there as well. Plus one of them has really low tuition and allows gaining of residency, though again, I don't really know which off hand...

Penn allows lots of oos as does Tufts. But neither is cheap (far from it). Tufts has no funding for IS tuition right now. Penn saves you $9k for IS but must be IS 1 year before matriculation and status cannot change after matriculation.

BlacKAT33 · Apr 14, 2010

StartingoverVet said:
Penn saves you $9k for IS but must be IS 1 year before matriculation and status cannot change after matriculation.

marycatherine · Apr 14, 2010

twelvetigers said:
NCSU requires a 3.4 for OOS applicants. So yeah, I'll apply there for sure. *cackles*

It is recognized that applicants may not meet the minimum academic standards. In certain cases, applicants who do not meet the minimum GPA requirements (in one, two, or all three GPA categories) may be considered for admission based on alternative evidence of academic qualification as determined by the Faculty Committee on Admissions. This classification helps identify applicants who may have had some impediment (medical issue, family illness, unrelated major) to meeting minimum academic standards.

All my NCSU eggs are in this basket. :laugh:

moosenanny · Apr 14, 2010

rileydog said:
1 point for LSU

Did you visit their wildlife clinic while you were there interviewing? I forget what it's called, but they get a pretty constant caseload of birds. I also met their zoo/wildlife vet Dr. Navarez, and he was really friendly

Jared Granier said that LSU is in the top 4 for wildlife medicine nationally, and are probably actually ranked 3. I was definitely going to attend LSU if I hadn't gotten into my state school . . .

Good luck with your decision!

crittergal · Apr 14, 2010

rileydog said:
Reviving old thread to see if anyone can post about Tuskegee and/or LSU? Going to be a tiger either way but need help deciding which one. Thank you

I can't give you any insight on LSU, but I can share my thoughts about TU.

I struggled between TU and OkSU. My deciding factors were:
1) proximity to my family. Hubby and I will be living apart 1st year and OkSU is much closer
2) Money. The tuition costs were close, but the cost of living was slightly (and I mean only a teensy bit slightly) more for TU. The fact I could drive back to TX from OkSU vs flying from TU made the money difference.
3) I look way better in orange than maroon

As far as programs, TU had some significant draws for me. They have a smaller class size, which I find very important. I do better in smaller classes vs getting lost in a crowd. Plus, the students said within the first week your instructors know you by name. The faculty seem to go above and beyond to make sure their students succeed, another plus.

As far as struggling for money- with all the budget cuts throughout the nation I suspect you'd be hard pressed to find any school that isn't short on cash. Yeah, the facilities are older and they are a less affluent private school. In reality, how often do vet students get to actually play with the fancy schmancy toys anyhow? I'm guessing once you fight through the interns, residents, et al it isn't often. My take is that you learn how to do more with less. Some people are probably frowning and thinking "well I'm only going to work at a state of the art clinic". Ok, good luck to ya. The vast majority of practices don't have all the cool toys. You'd better know how to get back to basics. A great wildlife program is one thing, but most wildlife work is done in a non-profit setting, frequently synonymous with 'do a heck of a lot more with less'. Just something to think about.

twelvetigers · Apr 14, 2010

Speaking of fancy toys...

Crittergal - it's a fluoroscopy machine.

crittergal · Apr 14, 2010

^^^LOL! I bet as much as that was bugging you, you asked the next day. :laugh:

twelvetigers · Apr 14, 2010

Nawh, it took a while. But I did ask!

lsucouple · Apr 14, 2010

LSU calls their wildlife program BEZM which if I remember correctly stands for birds, exotic, zoological medicine. Dr. Narvarez and Dr. Beaufrere handle most of the cases but there is one other Dr. They see cases 4 days a week (walk in wildlife as well as raptor rehab and client exotics) and they spend one day a week at the zoo.

LSU SVM · Jun 23, 2010

lsucouple said:
LSU calls their wildlife program BEZM which if I remember correctly stands for birds, exotic, zoological medicine. Dr. Narvarez and Dr. Beaufrere handle most of the cases but there is one other Dr. They see cases 4 days a week (walk in wildlife as well as raptor rehab and client exotics) and they spend one day a week at the zoo.

Dr. Javier Nevarez is the Director of the LSU SVM Wildlife Hospital and the other doctor to whom you are referring is Dr. Thomas Tully, Service Chief of Zoological Medicine and a widely renown avian specialist.

More information on the BZEM service can be found at www.vetmed.lsu.edu/vth&c/BZEM.htm

I hope this information is helpful!

UUprevet · Nov 16, 2010

Can we pretty please get some LSU students in here?

It would be great to hear pros and cons from a student's point of view. It would especially be great to get some first hand info on their wildlife program.

twelvetigers · Nov 17, 2010

This is a direct quote from a post in the "CLASS OF 2014...how ya doing?" thread. It is information about Tuskegee from IHeartGoldens. I thought it would be nice to have a copy in here too.

IHeartGoldens said:
... I decided to ... post a bit about Alabama life and Tuskegee U.

Sooo...the application process to TU is annoying, yes we know that. Does the personal statement need to be handwritten this year? I know last year when I applied I need to do that and it was a pain in the arse!
The website is disorganized as well but information can be had if you call the vet school's admission office.

So moving from a large metro city to Alabama wasn't a HUGE change for me for the following reasons
a) i'm always in school, no chance to complain about boredom
b) all the needed shopping is super close ie walmart (We have 2!), target, grocery ---at least 10 HUGE stores--kinda overkill actually..basically, all the conveniences of home so there is no stress about that
c) plenty of things to do when I do have a free moment (football is a religion in Auburn!)
d) my support system (ie significant other) moved with me so that's been a huge stress relief

All in all, its not bad at all and cost of living is relatively inexpensive plus the perks of living in a college town (bars etc)

Tuskegee
So the school is relatively small which depending on your personality, can work for or against you. The classes have 60-70 people so basically you get to know not only your classmates but upperclassmen as well.
Our class is lucky because we have awesome bigs (We have a big-little program with the class of 2013) and they look out for us, help us integrate into the school, hold study sessions and answer our questions/concerns. Shout out to GACowgrl!
Our professors really do care about our performance and learning, but make no mistake that the coursework is intense and keeps us busy. Couple that with school events, clubs etc..its makes for a busy semester that flies by--I can't believe finals are around the corner!

Gross anatomy lab occupies a big chunk of time as the school has a "teach yourself" theory--our professors are always around to answer questions (in class and after class) but independent thinking is encouraged.

A nice perk is every Friday we attend grand rounds, which means we get to see the 4th years do case presentations. It helps break up our schedule and we get to see "real medicine" in action.

As far as the curriculum, we have a 16 credit semester in the fall of 1st year and something similar to that second semester/1st year.
Second year is a ton of classes (22 credits I think?) with exams almost on a weekly basis--sometimes multiple exams.

We have "block" scheduling at Tuskegee which basically means we have all our exams in one week. Now, I know that sounds reallllllllllly scary but I actually like it. It helps me focus instead of being in panic mode all semester long.
That works out well for 1st years but for second years it gets a hectic balancing so many classes--I can't really comment much more but I'll let you know next year (g-d willing!)

Additionally, there is no "tracking" here which means each student is required to take both small animal and large animal rotations. 3rd year is when student take their jr surgery courses, classes and in addition to that start rotations in the clinics.

So far, I'm happy with my choice to attend TU and don't have many complaints. I think vet school, like undergrad--its what you make of it. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in and outside of the classroom but eventually, its is *your* choice on how to take
advantage (or not?) of those opportunities.

If anyone have any questions, please feel free to ask.. I promise I will get back to you as soon as I have a free moment.

To all the applicants for 2015, keep your chin up and good luck! I'm rooting for ya!!!!

twelvetigers · Nov 17, 2010

Maybe if some more post reviews for the schools we're missing, we can make a sticky of just the list? Just an idea.

starchaser109 · Nov 25, 2010

Hey guys! I'm a new member so go easy on me! I am also a first year at Michigan State and can (attempt) to write the long- awaited pros/cons list! I don't know too much about the upper level classes and clinics, but I did go to MSU for undergrad so I'm a Spartan girl through and through. Here goes, and feel free to throw any questions my way- hopefully I'll remember to answer them.

Pros:
- I think the #1 pro of the school and the college in general is the atmosphere. Everyone (students, faculty, clinicians, etc) is extremely welcoming and outgoing, and I've felt like I fit in right away.
-East Lansing is your typical "college town" and offers a nice mix of entertainment, cultural and sporting events, etc.
-Lansing is a five minute drive and is the capital of MI. It offers more entertainment options as well as being close to governmental type events and major conferences such as the MVMA conference.
- The vet school building itself is a bit outdated but everything is kept up decently well. There is talk of remodeling our largest classroom where the majority of our classes are held this summer.
-We get a full year of anatomy, gross (canine cadavers) and comparative (equine/bovine).
- We have an animal handling class first semester that kind of helps you put what you are learning in your lecture-based classes into practice.
-Lots of free food - this could be a con because your exercise levels in vet school decrease dramatically
-Big sib/little sib program- we are paired with a second year who provides a pal, class notes from previous years, encouragement, etc.
- 3 and a half years of book work, a year and a half of clinics. 'Nuff said.
-SA people: The small animal caseload is fantastic and there are lots of specialties represented. We are encouraged to go down to the clinics and look around, ask questions, shadow on rounds...
-Cow people: MSU contracts with Green Meadows Dairy and you can shadow there on weekends, etc. The large animal faculty is amazing- they are extremely nice, knowledgeable, and very approachable.
-Horse people: MSU just got an MRI that is large enough to fit equines in, and the faculty is pretty geeked about it. Also there is a very strong equine emergency department, and a special equine performance department. Lots of cool stuff for horsey people.
- Wildlife: There is wildlife ward shadowing/work and Potter Park Zoo is 5 min. away and MSU does a lot of work cooperatively with them.
-MSU has extensive teaching and research farms so we have our own animals to work on in our handling classes.
-Lots of clubs with varying interests, although I'm sure this is the case everywhere!
-depending on your views: The previous terminal surgeries have been replaced with cadaver surgeries.
-they are very good at making sure you stay in once you are in. There is free tutoring available if you don't do well on an exam, the upperclassmen are always giving review sessions, people send out study guides, etc.
-We get a mentor through the college/MVMA and there is also a mentorship program within the college for first year students. Basically a lot of people care about how you are doing.

Cons:
-The "higher ups" are not always great about communicating with the students, but this is an area they are working on.
-The cafeteria is mauve. Everywhere.
-There is currently not enough space to house all three classes at once during the preclinical phase. Thus, we first years have classes in the medical school building next door for our first semester. This is really not such a bad thing: see next topic
-The main classroom is very outdated and the chairs are super uncomfy- but they are remodeling!!
-The parking situation on campus is atrocious. There is pretty much no where decently close to park affordably. However the transit system (buses) are usually pretty good and you can walk/bike everywhere.
-Not as large of a large animal caseload as you'd see out west
-The weather in East Lansing is not for the faint of heart; it is usually rain/sleet/snow and cold.

Hope this didn't repeat anything that has been said previously, and GO GREEN!!

StartingoverVet · Nov 25, 2010

tpad40 said:
Thought this thread deserved a bump! I am pasting below the pro/con list from the Tufts vs. Penn thread. A lot of repeat info, but still helpful!!!

Penn:

- Volunteers take comprehensive notes and they appear in your mailbox the next morning
-Students give test boxes w last year's exams.
-Big Sib program

I looked at this thread a lot last year (among others) and would like to comment on a couple now that I am at Penn.

1) I know nothing about the comprehensive note taking. I doubt it is still available, but honestly in most classes, the lecture slides/notes are on-line and note taking is so 20th century.

2) The test box seemed like a wonderful thing from the outside looking in. Unfortunately, if you are like me, you can get a crap test box that has little in it, and then you are either begging around to see other's box or (if like me) you end up not bothering b/c you just don't have the time. In addition, this year none of us get our exam questions back in any class so this will be of dubious value for c/o 2015 forward.

3) Big sib program is also pretty variable. If you are lucky enough to get someone who really cares then it is great, again, if you get stuck with a sib who doesn't even bother to meet you for almost a month and does nothing more than give you a crappy test box, then not much valuable here. There are a lot of good sibs but maybe equally as many 2nd years who are too busy to bother helping in any way. This was a big disappointment for me, I could have used some advice.

On the plus side, the audio files of classes is a life saver for me. Lets me use my time more efficiently.

And having every lecture presentation or notes on-line is really helpful.

bunnity · Nov 26, 2010

Yeah the note taking is a thing of the past.

SOV I have a great test box and I don't use it much. I just don't think it is a very efficient way to study and I don't have time. If you want any tests feel free to ask me and you can make copies of them.

I have a lot of thoughts about Penn but I'm not sure how many of them I want on the eternal internet. I'll think about it. If people have specific questions I would be happy to answer them though.

Caromax · Nov 26, 2010

Anyone give their pros/cons on RVC in London yet??

dier930 · Nov 26, 2010

Or Edinburgh? Or Glasgow?

all605 · Nov 26, 2010

or Illinois??

Coquette22 · Nov 26, 2010

starchaser109 said:
-The cafeteria is mauve. Everywhere.

Sorry, that just gave me a much needed laugh.

random23 · Nov 27, 2010

I'll try and do a brief list for Edinburgh...

Pros:
-Fixed tuition rate once you start (they won't increase it each year like many schools do)
-Brand new facilities nearly up and running (will be in full op this April I believe)
-Small animal hospital is really nice- has a really big, clean, organized feel to it
-Lots of great, approachable professors, very receptive to feedback on course
-AVMA accredited, good reputation, very high NAVLE pass rates in past few years (last year 36/36 students that took it passed)
-Free health insurance with NHS
-Living in Edinburgh (could be a con for some, but it's a really nice city with high standard of living, lots of culture, plenty to do)
-lots of opportunity to get involved in research (not my interest, but they're always sending out emails for students to get involved with projects)
-Lambing!! Lambing your first year in the UK is great fun, I think I lambed about 300 ewes in 2 weeks and did a couple calvings as well (experience I may never use again since the US isn't as big on sheep, but fun nonetheless!)
-I quite like the way the curriculum is organized, it is divided into species rather than systems...as follows:
1st yr: Anatomy, physio, histo, embryology (a tiny bit), immunology/bacteriology/virology/parasitology, some PBL/tutorials/etc
2nd yr: 1st semester is the Clinical foundation course: intro to Sx, principles of Radiology, Anesthesia, Intro to Oncology, Pharmacology
2nd semester is the Dog and Cat course: essentially all of small animal medicine
3rd yr: 1st semester is the Farm Animal course, 2nd semester is the Equine and also the Exotics courses
4th yr: rotations
(there's also Professional/Clinical Skills, Animal Food Safety, Epidemiology, etc courses thrown in along the way each year)

Cons:
-Administration dept. is slightly hopeless

-Animal husbandry EMS takes up all your breaks first year- although some of it is fun (lambing), other placements are kind of a waste of time and pointless...
-Can be expensive (depends on your spending habits and exchange rate)
-You will graduate after US vet schools have graduated their students (graduation is late June)- may interfere with jobs/internship start dates
-Some of the UK students can be very immature- depending on your personality it can be hard to integrate (however, there are lots of older UK students with degrees too, probably about 35%/65% ratio of mature:'school leavers')
-Far away from home, No Thanksgiving break
-Easter Bush campus is about 15-20 min bus ride from city center where most students live
-No neurology rotation in final year- although there is time during your externship block to go to another school/facility to do it if you want
-not a whole lot of surgery experience in my opinion- sort of up to you to get outside experience
-the oral exams one on one with a professor are terrifying!
-the food.

that's about all I can think of right now!

chii chan · Nov 27, 2010

random23 said:
I'll try and do a brief list for Edinburgh...

Pros:
-Fixed tuition rate once you start (they won't increase it each year like many schools do)
-Brand new facilities nearly up and running (will be in full op this April I believe)
-Small animal hospital is really nice- has a really big, clean, organized feel to it
-Lots of great, approachable professors, very receptive to feedback on course
-AVMA accredited, good reputation, very high NAVLE pass rates in past few years (last year 36/36 students that took it passed)
-Free health insurance with NHS
-Living in Edinburgh (could be a con for some, but it's a really nice city with high standard of living, lots of culture, plenty to do)
-lots of opportunity to get involved in research (not my interest, but they're always sending out emails for students to get involved with projects)
-Lambing!! Lambing your first year in the UK is great fun, I think I lambed about 300 ewes in 2 weeks and did a couple calvings as well (experience I may never use again since the US isn't as big on sheep, but fun nonetheless!)
-I quite like the way the curriculum is organized, it is divided into species rather than systems...as follows:
1st yr: Anatomy, physio, histo, embryology (a tiny bit), immunology/bacteriology/virology/parasitology, some PBL/tutorials/etc
2nd yr: 1st semester is the Clinical foundation course: intro to Sx, principles of Radiology, Anesthesia, Intro to Oncology, Pharmacology
2nd semester is the Dog and Cat course: essentially all of small animal medicine
3rd yr: 1st semester is the Farm Animal course, 2nd semester is the Equine and also the Exotics courses
4th yr: rotations
(there's also Professional/Clinical Skills, Animal Food Safety, Epidemiology, etc courses thrown in along the way each year)

Cons:
-Administration dept. is slightly hopeless
-Animal husbandry EMS takes up all your breaks first year- although some of it is fun (lambing), other placements are kind of a waste of time and pointless...
-Can be expensive (depends on your spending habits and exchange rate)
-You will graduate after US vet schools have graduated their students (graduation is late June)- may interfere with jobs/internship start dates
-Some of the UK students can be very immature- depending on your personality it can be hard to integrate (however, there are lots of older UK students with degrees too, probably about 35%/65% ratio of mature:'school leavers')
-Far away from home, No Thanksgiving break
-Easter Bush campus is about 15-20 min bus ride from city center where most students live
-No neurology rotation in final year- although there is time during your externship block to go to another school/facility to do it if you want
-not a whole lot of surgery experience in my opinion- sort of up to you to get outside experience
-the oral exams one on one with a professor are terrifying!
-the food.

that's about all I can think of right now!

I'm a 1st year GEP, but I have to add a few things to your list that I noticed. I personally don't think the food is that bad, but I cook a lot and Costco and the Chinese supermarkets have been my friends.

Pros:
-Christmas festival. Just started yesterday and it's AWESOME. Hogmanay looks fun too, but I'll be doing EMS that week
-There are only tests at the end of the module so you can have some fun at the beginning of it without stressing out too much
-They provide test questions from previous years so you can have an idea of the types of questions asked. VERY helpful so far for the Intro to Patho and Infectious Diseases module. We'll see how true that is after next week's tests on it.
-Professors are really helpful and hold revision sessions if you ask
-So far they've had specimens to look at that are left out during the day to revise the week before tests start
-Renew your library books online at your house!
-Student-staff liason allows you to help the next year get more out of the course. We got printed notes since a prior year suggested it.
-No required textbooks (so far), but for anatomy, a color atlas was essential for me. Most books suggested have been available from the library to borrow.

Cons:
-No one told me there would be snow. It started snowing last night, which was fantastic since I'm from California and never see it. However, I'm afraid to go outside right now because I will probably slip and break my neck since I only own converses.
-There are only tests at the end of the module, which means integration and a lot of material. You get the week prior to revise, but it's extremely stressful and overwhelming.
-Grading system and modifying your standards
-Learning curve of food names without getting looked at like you have 6 heads. Cornmeal = polenta. Molasses = treacle. Pants = trousers. Underwear = pants. etc, etc....
-Parasites you don't learn about because you're in the UK, not the US. Matthews was so awesome for nematodes, but I was irritated when she said the North Americans needed to read up on D. immitis (heartworm) in our own time.
-Books are very expensive (bring your own and buy Pasquini and bring it before your get here since they don't sell it here in book stores)
-Pedestrians don't have the right of way so you WILL get hit if you're not careful. No car will hit a bicyclist from what I've heard, but cycling looks dangerous...

bbeventer · Nov 27, 2010

This is a great thread!! Love everyones input

EllieGirl89 · Nov 28, 2010

chii chan said:
-Learning curve of food names without getting looked at like you have 6 heads. Cornmeal = polenta. Molasses = treacle. Pants = trousers. Underwear = pants.

*tries to think back to the last time I ate underwear...*

gracietiger · Nov 28, 2010

Hi Bunnity, I would be interested in your thoughts on Penn, but totally understand the concern about posting on an online forum. Overall, I am just curious if you are hesitant to post b/c there are many things you dislike? Without specifics, are you glad you chose to attend Penn? Was it your in-state? Do you feel like Penn is a good learning environment?

bunnity · Nov 28, 2010

gracietiger said:
Hi Bunnity, I would be interested in your thoughts on Penn, but totally understand the concern about posting on an online forum. Overall, I am just curious if you are hesitant to post b/c there are many things you dislike? Without specifics, are you glad you chose to attend Penn? Was it your in-state? Do you feel like Penn is a good learning environment?

-Yes
-I only applied here so I didn't really have a choice...
-Yes
-Not really, but I have no other vet school to compare it to so they could all be like this.

chii chan · Nov 28, 2010

EllieGirl89 said:
*tries to think back to the last time I ate underwear...*

LOL. Well it started with food and then my mind went to all the times I've been embarrassed by calling "trousers" pants here and later realizing they thought I was talking about underwear.

Ugh. Looking forward to 11:31am on Thursday morning.

squibby · Jan 29, 2011

Hey guys. I've started to see a lot of talk comparing different aspects of all of schools in other threads, so I thought I would bump this thread so maybe we can put all the helpful info I've been reading in one place.

The info in TT's links for each school midway down in this thread contain some outdated info, so it would be nice to get updates seeing as there are curriculum changes, etc.

I like the format where current students posted a list of pros and cons, seems to be a good way to keep the info organized.

NittanyKitty · Jan 29, 2011

I would definitely choose NCSU again if I had to make the decision! It's an awesome school and I know I will think of tons more pros after I click submit!

Pros for NCSU:
-Class size isn't too big or too small (80 students)
-Didactic learning - can be a pro or a con depending on you
-Library is bright and sunny and there are different kinds of study spaces in there
-TONS of ways to get involved no matter what your interests or personality
-BRAND NEW companion animal hospital!!! It'll be finished this year and is practically doubling the size of our school!!!
-Great small animal and equine caseload
-While there isn't a ton of built-in exotics stuff, I gather that you can easily connect with the right people to get it when here
-Hands-on animal contact starting the first semester (large and small)
-Great professors overall - you get one here or there that are boring or can't teach so great but mostly an awesome group
-Selectives at the end of each semester (no exams for two weeks!) and finals are done before Thanksgiving/Easter
-Getting IS residency after a year is easy and over 90% of OOS students in the past few years have done it
-CHEAP IS tuition ~ $11,000 per year
-Cafeteria is pretty good and pretty cheap
-Lunch meetings! Usually 3 to 5 per week with FREE food and awesome speakers at most of them.
-Parking garage only costs about $300 for an annual parking pass
-Separate from main campus - no undergrad craziness
-Housing is widely available for all tastes and price-ranges
-State Fair and the Farmer's Market are awesome!
-Southern food! Biscuits, fried chicken, sweet tea, BBQ, etc. And if you've never had a Cookout milkshake...ooof.
-RDU is close by and is a decent airport to use
-Raleigh is midway between the mountains and the beach
-UNC and Duke are each within 30 minutes of the vet school if you have a SO who is also looking at grad/professional schools
-Pretty safe area with everything you could ever want in driving distance

Cons for NCSU:
-Soon expanding the class to 100 students...and some of our classrooms are cramped enough as it is (anatomy lab!!!)
-Food animal (especially in-house) cases can be low. Not great for dairy medicine especially.
-Aside from the library (which can get crowded) there aren't any great study spaces in school
-Temperature fluctuation in the classrooms is slightly ridiculous
-You have to fight or wait a long time to snag a microwave at lunch time
-Didactic learning - can be a pro or a con depending on you
-No university gym close to the vet school
-Very full schedules due to selectives weeks at the end of the semesters - you cram a LOT into a shorter time period than other schools
-Separate from main campus. Kind of a pain when you need to see doctors and get prescriptions from the health center.
-HOT nasty summers - doing anything physical outdoors after about 8 am is grounds for heat exhaustion
-People can't drive here when it rains/snows/ices/clouds/is dark/turn lanes are involved/etc. Grrrrr.

hunterjumper12 · Jan 29, 2011

NittanyKitty said:
-Southern food! Biscuits, fried chicken, sweet tea, BBQ, etc. And if you've never had a Cookout milkshake...ooof.

Cookout milkshakes are to die for...and they come in every flavor imaginable (banana pudding milkshake = best thing ever created)

Shadow23 · Jan 30, 2011

Thanks for bumping this thread. I would love to know how technologically advanced MSU, Cornell, and UPenn are. I read the updates in the Class of 2014 thread concerning OneNote/Tablets, but think this thread would be a good place to go into more detail about the overall use of technology at these schools. Anyone care to share?

StartingoverVet · Jan 30, 2011

Shadow23 said:
Thanks for bumping this thread. I would love to know how technologically advanced MSU, Cornell, and UPenn are. I read the updates in the Class of 2014 thread concerning OneNote/Tablets, but think this thread would be a good place to go into more detail about the overall use of technology at these schools. Anyone care to share?

UPenn:
* Almost all the classes are taped (audio). There is no video so if there were any demonstrations (rare) or writing on the board (occasional) then it is a problem. I live by the on-line audio tapes and have no problem. There are just a couple of professors who have opted out of the taping program for some bizarre reasons. Usually the files are available within a day or two.

* Almost all the presentations are on-line ahead of class. There are occasional snafus like everything in life, but by and large it works pretty well.

* There are on-line resources available in Anatomy, Histology and Neurology so far. They are sometimes very useful and sometimes not so much.

* Printing... you get 500 pages free printing a year. Pay for the rest.

* IT help: I have found them to be pretty helpful.

Shadow23 · Jan 30, 2011

StartingoverVet said:
UPenn:
* Almost all the classes are taped (audio). There is no video so if there were any demonstrations (rare) or writing on the board (occasional) then it is a problem. I live by the on-line audio tapes and have no problem. There are just a couple of professors who have opted out of the taping program for some bizarre reasons. Usually the files are available within a day or two.

* Almost all the presentations are on-line ahead of class. There are occasional snafus like everything in life, but by and large it works pretty well.

* There are on-line resources available in Anatomy, Histology and Neurology so far. They are sometimes very useful and sometimes not so much.

* Printing... you get 500 pages free printing a year. Pay for the rest.

* IT help: I have found them to be pretty helpful.

Thanks! Very helpful.

rosyreef · Jan 31, 2011

twelvetigers said:
Ohio
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7386138&postcount=1
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7391059&postcount=20

Just wanted to point out that OSU is increasing their class size to 160 this upcoming year (Class of 2015) and will be switching from the quarter to semester system beginning in summer 2012 (2nd year for Class of 2015). Could be pros for some of ya'll

turnbackhelly · Feb 1, 2011

Shadow23 said:
Thanks for bumping this thread. I would love to know how technologically advanced MSU, Cornell, and UPenn are. I read the updates in the Class of 2014 thread concerning OneNote/Tablets, but think this thread would be a good place to go into more detail about the overall use of technology at these schools. Anyone care to share?

Cornell...

* in addition to pretty standard equipment in the lecture halls, every tutor room (used for PBL instruction) has an overhead projector and pull-down screen. Useful for collective (and large) viewing of histology images and other images that often accompaniy the cases studied (endoscopy videos, CT or MRI images, etc). One of my favorite uses for the tutor room projectors is for projecting jpeg dog skeletons (provided on the school's website) onto the room's whiteboards and then using it to draw muscles at their attachments, the course of arteries/veins/nerves, etc. tutor rooms also have light boxes for viewing radiographs that accompany the cases (a set of which is in each room permanently). students have free access to tutor rooms 24/7

* many laptops available for check-out from the library, both macs and PCs. also many desktops (20+, macs and PCs), printers, and scanners available for use in the library

* no real need for printing. color printed notes are provided by the school and left in our mailboxes at least 1 day before the scheduled lecture

* digital radiographs, ultrasound, CT, and MRI images presented in radiology labs available online, including capability to adjust contrast, flip images, etc

* all histology slides available through the online Aperio system, which means NO MICROSCOPES (although they are available in the lab for any who might prefer to use them or want to practice microscope skills). since the slides are online you can view them anytime, from anywhere with the ability to adjust magnification. there's also a little picture of the whole slide in the corner of the screen so you can keep track of exactly where on the slide you are while scrolling around (sounds silly but actually very useful).

* from a more clinical perspective... one of our small animal criticalists was an engineer in his past life/career and has built a robotic dog and a robotic cat. both have heart and lung sounds, the quality and rate of which can be controlled - the chests even rise and fall as they breathe! they can be programmed/controlled to achieve simulated altered physiological states, and when they inevitably crash, they are used for CPR practice (their primary use). according to the doctor who built them, cornell is currently the only school with this kind of thing. for the sake of clarity, these simulators are NOT used in place of experience with real live animals - they are used for practice before students enter clinical rotations

that's all I can think of for now...

Shadow23 · Feb 4, 2011

turnbackhelly said:
Cornell...

* in addition to pretty standard equipment in the lecture halls, every tutor room (used for PBL instruction) has an overhead projector and pull-down screen. Useful for collective (and large) viewing of histology images and other images that often accompaniy the cases studied (endoscopy videos, CT or MRI images, etc). One of my favorite uses for the tutor room projectors is for projecting jpeg dog skeletons (provided on the school's website) onto the room's whiteboards and then using it to draw muscles at their attachments, the course of arteries/veins/nerves, etc. tutor rooms also have light boxes for viewing radiographs that accompany the cases (a set of which is in each room permanently). students have free access to tutor rooms 24/7

* many laptops available for check-out from the library, both macs and PCs. also many desktops (20+, macs and PCs), printers, and scanners available for use in the library

* no real need for printing. color printed notes are provided by the school and left in our mailboxes at least 1 day before the scheduled lecture

* digital radiographs, ultrasound, CT, and MRI images presented in radiology labs available online, including capability to adjust contrast, flip images, etc

* all histology slides available through the online Aperio system, which means NO MICROSCOPES (although they are available in the lab for any who might prefer to use them or want to practice microscope skills). since the slides are online you can view them anytime, from anywhere with the ability to adjust magnification. there's also a little picture of the whole slide in the corner of the screen so you can keep track of exactly where on the slide you are while scrolling around (sounds silly but actually very useful).

* from a more clinical perspective... one of our small animal criticalists was an engineer in his past life/career and has built a robotic dog and a robotic cat. both have heart and lung sounds, the quality and rate of which can be controlled - the chests even rise and fall as they breathe! they can be programmed/controlled to achieve simulated altered physiological states, and when they inevitably crash, they are used for CPR practice (their primary use). according to the doctor who built them, cornell is currently the only school with this kind of thing. for the sake of clarity, these simulators are NOT used in place of experience with real live animals - they are used for practice before students enter clinical rotations

that's all I can think of for now...

Thank you for this! Wow, histology without microscopes? I know you mentioned that microscopes are available for use, but do you think this teaching style could be a con since most vets use plain ol' microscopes in practice, and thus having less experience with one would be an obstacle?

StartingoverVet · Feb 5, 2011

Shadow23 said:
Thank you for this! Wow, histology without microscopes? I know you mentioned that microscopes are available for use, but do you think this teaching style could be a con since most vets use plain ol' microscopes in practice, and thus having less experience with one would be an obstacle?

From our discussion of Histo in the c/o 2014 thread it seems most schools do most of histo away from the microscope. Penn was one of the few that remained on the microscope, but next year they are also moving on.

I think it is a matter of efficiency. Unless you are going to specialize you just aren't going to be looking at a lot of random tissue samples under the microscope.

Factors when picking a school

OSU c/o 2012

Full Member

Illinois 2016

stabby cat

LSU SVM Class of 2014 :)

Mississippi c/o 2014!!

stabby cat

LSU SVM Class of 2014 :)

UC DAVIS class of 2014!!!

LSU SVM Class of 2014 :)

stabby cat

Texas A&M CVM c/o 2014!

AU CVM c/o 2014

stabby cat

Flight Instructor for hire

UPenn c/o 2014!! :)

working on the pre-reqs

UC DAVIS class of 2014!!!

OkSU c/o 2014

stabby cat

OkSU c/o 2014

stabby cat

Full Member

LSU SVM

New Member

stabby cat

stabby cat

New Member

Flight Instructor for hire

Penn 2014

Full Member

Full Member

Full Member

Shinigami

Full Member

Full Member

Illinois 2016

Ohio State CVM c/o 2015!

Full Member

Penn 2014

Full Member

Illinois CVM c/o 2015

NCSU CVM c/o 2014

NCSU c/o 2015!

Cornell CVM C/O 2015!!!

Flight Instructor for hire

Cornell CVM C/O 2015!!!

Cornell CVM c/o 2015

Cornell CVM c/o 2014

Cornell CVM C/O 2015!!!

Flight Instructor for hire

Similar threads