Factors when picking a school

[whyrightmeow]

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)

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[twelvetigers]

That explains the like I got for a comment I made about men in Wranglers and cowboy boots circa 2008...

 

[k80rigs]

That explains the like I got for a comment I made about men in Wranglers and cowboy boots circa 2008...

Sorry about the like, but I feel like men with Wranglers and cowboy boots are relevant at ANY time.

 

[GretaBug3]

I would love feedback on Mississippi State and Auburn. Pros and cons for the schools!! Thanks for bumping this awesome thread.

 

[Shepherd Lover]

Can we get an update list for Purdue or Kansas? I think Kansas's entry was from 3 or more years ago...

Hey ES, could you do an update for Purdue?

 

[Gwenevre]

Purdue is awesome. I'll start a general list and @evilsquirrel or @Romoret can add on.

Pros:
Purdue and the Lafayette have a great bus system. It's free with your student ID.
Campus is beautiful all the time.
The Co-Rec is brand new for those who are fitness inclined, and it's included in your tuition costs. Only about a 15 minute walk from the school.
Everything you need is included in a fancy computer you buy before matriculation. See con below.
I personally think that the Application and Integration courses you take in the first couple of years are great. You start working and diagnosing cases in your first month, using knowledge you gain in your other courses.
The staff and faculty are more than willing to do as much as they can to help you succeed, and this is a University-wide thing. There's free counseling through CAPS, if you have a learning disability, arrangements can be made for exams and such through the Disability Resource Center.
Purdue has it's own Fire and Police Department. They're all really nice.
There's also a Safewalk program, if you're living on or near campus. It's a free service that'll send a trained student or students to walk home with you if you don't feel safe or just want some extra company.

Cons:
They like to polish the sidewalks with their weird snow brushes in the winter. Be aware of ice patches.
Parking is always a pain. There is a C lot a 10-15m walk from the school or if you time it right there is a bus that will take you from lot to school in 5m.
You have to buy a brand new computer from the school that costs ~$2400. It's a mandatory luxury, so doesn't really factor into your loans and you have to order it before loans come in out of pocket.
There are a few rental properties to watch out for, specifically Granite and BK Management.
The buses can be unreliable; there is a phone app you can use to track where a bus is immediately.

 

[evilsquirrel]

To add on to Gwlenevre's post...I love the fact that you get to work with animals almost immediately. Some schools that shall remain nameless don't let you touch an animal until third year. They introduce you to proper handling, restraint, husbandry, blood draws, etc. your first semester there. The practice is extremely useful, especially for people like me that had never even touched a cow until starting school there. Overall everyone is really nice and accommodating. I also love the fact that you can be in the building at all hours of the day practically. 11 pm study session? No problem!

I was also a huge fan of it being the least expensive of the schools I applied to (since I don't have an in state school and all)

Cons: PARKING!!!
A small number of courses seem to be very unorganized making it much more difficult to learn. Like, the order of courses you take should be rearranged. Luckily its just one or two of them (so far, anyway).
Probably not the best school for exotics. But for everything else it's fine. Ooh I like how they don't force you choose a track immediately so you can pick and choose as you go along. Which is awesome for undecided people.

 

[DVMDream]

To add on to Gwlenevre's post...I love the fact that you get to work with animals almost immediately. Some schools that shall remain nameless don't let you touch an animal until third year. They introduce you to proper handling, restraint, husbandry, blood draws, etc. your first semester there. The practice is extremely useful, especially for people like me that had never even touched a cow until starting school there. Overall everyone is really nice and accommodating. I also love the fact that you can be in the building at all hours of the day practically. 11 pm study session? No problem!

I was also a huge fan of it being the least expensive of the schools I applied to (since I don't have an in state school and all)

Cons: PARKING!!!
A small number of courses seem to be very unorganized making it much more difficult to learn. Like, the order of courses you take should be rearranged. Luckily its just one or two of them (so far, anyway).
Probably not the best school for exotics. But for everything else it's fine. Ooh I like how they don't force you choose a track immediately so you can pick and choose as you go along. Which is awesome for undecided people.

Just want to say... most schools are allowing for hands on experience with animals early on now.

Also, I don't think there are any schools that make you choose a track until it gets closer to your time to be on clinics. I might be wrong on that, but I am rather certain from what I have heard from others at schools that track, you choose your track a little bit before you go into clinics, not something that you have to pick your first year in.

 

[orca2011]

Just want to say... most schools are allowing for hands on experience with animals early on now.

Also, I don't think there are any schools that make you choose a track until it gets closer to your time to be on clinics. I might be wrong on that, but I am rather certain from what I have heard from others at schools that track, you choose your track a little bit before you go into clinics, not something that you have to pick your first year in.

Seconding this. It might not exactly be first semester but you do get to touch cows/horses/dogs/cats etc in your first year as well as some of those technical skills. And if it's not full on written in the curriculum, there are SOOOO many outside ways to get the experience (at least in Philly) that to say you didn't get the chance to do any of it 1st year just sounds like you didn't take advantage of all the opportunities presented. Or maybe I was just kind of a gunner in regards to my hands on ECs.

 

[neocia]

This is a great thread! Still haven't seen any posts for Western though. I would be super grateful to any students who could shed some light on pros/cons of that school especially since they use PBL.

 

[DVMDream]

This is a great thread! Still haven't seen any posts for Western though. I would be super grateful to any students who could shed some light on pros/cons of that school especially since they use PBL.

@Rwwilliams could probably help with this, when they have time.

 

[deleted498041]

@Rwwilliams could probably help with this, when they have time.

Will definitely write a post in the next couple days outlining pros and cons! I took a week off of school to attend NAVLE and I'm currently in the middle of a big catch-up, but I'll post something by the end of next week!

 

[AcreWoods]

I think I've only seen one post on NCSU in the past, so if anyone wants to update on that, it would be quite helpful!!

 

[Kpowell14]

I think I've only seen one post on NCSU in the past, so if anyone wants to update on that, it would be quite helpful!!

@Trilt might be able to help with that.. But I know she is pretty darn busy, and she might have already done one.

 

[deleted498041]

Alright, Western University of Health Sciences!

Pros:

• We get hands on experience super, super early. I know someone stated that more schools are moving in this direction, but how many of them have you in a clinic on your second day of school doing physical exams and learning how to grab samples? We have the opportunity to do neuters from start to finish on dogs and cats as first years and we have the opportunity to participate in a spay as first years. I would say we can do the spay from start to finish, but none of us are fast or skilled enough, so the surgeon takes over at some point or gets you to a certain point in order for you to practice a certain skill.
• PBL is a pro and a con in my opinion, so I'll discuss it more in the cons. The pros? My study breaks turn into reading about something else that interests me a little bit more. Instead of watching TV for hours, I study some pathology or some pharmacology or something. I'm so much more productive with my "study breaks" than I was in undergrad. I find that the information sticks a lot better than some of my colleagues at other schools, and I'm much better, quicker, and more inclusive and specific when coming up with differential diagnoses and I can explain why that disease would cause one, some, or all of the clinical signs. Whenever I go to a new hospital, I'm complimented how great my knowledge base is for "just" a VM2 (or VM1 at the time). I also find that PBL really helps us foster a lifelong skill -- we all know vet med, or medicine in general, is a field of lifelong learning. By the end of my first block of vet school, I knew where to find 90% of the information I needed without straying too far from the original question that had me looking it up in the first place. I have over 100 textbooks on my computer and another 50 or so in my bookshelf and I know exactly which one to pick up for what I want. That being said, and not toot my own horn, I'm a good student and I study a lot. For a student that is less driven or more satisfied with the "C=DVM" mindset, this may not be true.
• Our MCB class is starting to have a stronger emphasis on primary literature and how to navigate databases and journals. While we all groan at this at the time, it is such an important skill that I absolutely love that I'm developing. I wrote my first grant proposal and I actually knew how to find the information I wanted! I knew how to use Boolean operators, and the wild card truncator, and how to amend search terms to narrow or expand my search. Other schools probably teach this too, I just never hear much about it from students at other schools.
• Our faculty is just so available. On any given day, I can find a professor in their office, knock on the door, and just pop in. This isn't just one faculty member, it's every single one of them. In addition to this, they're so willing to help. The amount of times I've set up a private or small group Q&A with a faculty member with 24-48 hours notice, or even shorter, is incredible.
• I love the WAVE program but this is another pro/con. All of our cadavers for anatomy are donated so we get to see some cool pathological stuff pretty early but it's definitely rough when we don't even know what normal is and just have to hope that's what we get. I love that animals are not euthanized just so we can study them, or sacrifice them for students to struggle through their first real surgery.

Cons:

• PBL, like I said, can be a con. The whole process is student-driven and a lot of people find themselves neglecting material they don't care too much about. It's kind of up to you how much you study species you're not interested in and it's a personal decision whether that's a pro or con for you. Our school apparently is known for turning out students that are bad at pharmacology, probably because so many of us neglect it on a basic sciences level.
• The WAVE program can make it hard to study normals or even study specimens for repro block. Because our animals are donated so many of them are spayed and neutered. We obviously have prosections available but it's hard when there's 50 people in lab and 4 intact female specimens. It also makes planning student labs difficult (but not impossible!). I planned a gastropexy/splenectomy wet lab with donated specimens a few weeks ago and it was fantastic. Tomorrow, the dental wet lab I've been helping orchestrate is taking place and we're using real horse heads.
• IPE. I'm sorry, I'm sure this class is great for the people studying human medicine but it's a complete waste of time for me. Interprofessional education is a course where we collaborate with students from the other colleges about a case and it's usually 99% about a human patient (suffering from a disease not even documented in domestic animals) and they throw us a bone (haha, get it?) by saying that the patient has a dog or something like that. The really embarrassing part is how much the CVM students know about human medicine and how little they know about us

This isn't really a pro or con but just a fact: people are super scared of the area and it's really not that bad! As long as you have a little bit of common sense and don't walk around at 3 AM with your headphones in and flashy diamonds hanging off of you, you'll likely be fine. Plus, there are security guards patrolling almost 24/7. I don't know their exact hours because they're always out there when I step outside.

I hope this helps! If anyone has any more questions or needs clarification on something shoot me a message or tag me in a post.

 

[neocia]

Alright, Western University of Health Sciences!
I hope this helps! If anyone has any more questions or needs clarification on something shoot me a message or tag me in a post.

Thank you & thanks for your past advice on Western. Your thoughts are very helpful. I forgot if I have asked this already, how do you feel about that area of LA? Is it safe?

 

[deleted498041]

Thank you & thanks for your past advice on Western. Your thoughts are very helpful. I forgot if I have asked this already, how do you feel about that area of LA? Is it safe?

No problem!
Do you mean LA or Pomona? LA has good and bad parts but I honestly don't go often enough to comment on that. I know South Central LA is supposed to be a little dodgy.
The area immediately surrounding the school is what I was describing in my second to last paragraph. I don't think I've ever heard of any horrific crime occurring that involved any of our students or faculty although criminal activity does happen. Theft happens but it's the same theft that would have happened when I went to undergrad at UCF. Usually people leave items of obvious value in their car, or sometimes don't even lock the car, and are shocked when they come back and stuff has been stolen.
I would recommend not being fooled when someone says one area is so much nicer than other. I lived in La Verne last year, which is supposed to be a nicer and safer area than Pomona. I live in Pomona this year, and will be here again next year and I feel much, much safer here. I walk my dog during dawn and dusk, which I never would have done where I lived before.
I think it all boils down to common sense and how comfortable you are in general. A lot of people carry pepper spray/bear spray/mace in order to feel safe. Some of the guys always have guns in their cars. I'm considering getting a taser since you apparently don't need a concealed carry permit to have one in this county and I am a small person and relatively defenseless if someone bigger than me were to decide to cause me trouble. I don't think this area is necessarily worse than some of the areas surrounding other vet schools.

 

[neocia]

No problem!
I don't think this area is necessarily worse than some of the areas surrounding other vet schools.

Thanks for the feedback - I live in Chicago so I guess I'm used to just being cautious but for some reason, when I was touring Western, some people kinda freaked me out stressing how rough the area was.

 

[deleted498041]

Thanks for the feedback - I live in Chicago so I guess I'm used to just being cautious but for some reason, when I was touring Western, some people kinda freaked me out stressing how rough the area was.

I think that people really like to talk up how scary Pomona is. I'm a super paranoid person, so if I feel comfortable living here, that says a lot!

 

[DVMDream]

Thanks for the feedback - I live in Chicago so I guess I'm used to just being cautious but for some reason, when I was touring Western, some people kinda freaked me out stressing how rough the area was.

You have to remember people come from various backgrounds. People in the Midwest tend to leave cars unlocked, homes unlocked, leave things of value in areas where it is easy to take and nobody bothers anything. I've heard many small towns can be the same. Where I'm from, you're insane to not secure your house/apartment/car. So, how scary an area is will depend on that person's living situation and background prior to moving there.

 

[Trilt]

I think I've only seen one post on NCSU in the past, so if anyone wants to update on that, it would be quite helpful!!

@Trilt might be able to help with that.. But I know she is pretty darn busy, and she might have already done one.

Honestly, these two posts are still pretty applicable in general.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/factors-when-picking-a-school.580221/page-5#post-10534431
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/factors-when-picking-a-school.580221/page-3#post-7753754

My class was the first class of 100 (and dear lord have we heard about that a lot), but they seem to have adapted most things pretty well to accommodate the extra students. Anatomy has one group out of lab, things are split into more sections, etc. My only thing I'd say is that I'm actually not a great source anymore because the first years have started on our new curriculum - supposedly has more PBL worked in, they moved our physical exam class around, cut fat out of anatomy, bunch of changes.

I'll also say that they've fixed (or at least supplemented) a lot of the small complaints. For example - we bought more microwaves for food, we have a small exercise room on our campus, they set up a system where main campus will send prescriptions over to our pharmacy, etc. They're constantly changing and improving things, which I really appreciate.

One big point I'd disagree with, though, is the statement that we don't get a lot of exotics in curriculum - we have multiple required classes on them (including physical exam and handling ones), then tons and TONS of selectives. You have to take two selectives every semester, so I'm calling that "part of the curriculum." I'm exotics focused and just with those, I've done classes on raptors, companion birds, poultry, ferrets (you can take them home after...), herptiles, lab animals and primates - and I haven't done all of them by any means!

Extracurricularly, we're also within easy reach of NAVC (which has several exotics tracks), the TN exotics conference, Penn special species and a bunch of smaller conferences. There are opportunities to spend time in our exotics service, with the turtle rescue team, carnivore team (we have red wolves - one's getting a root canal next week!) and a pretty active general exotics/wildlife/zoo club. Fourth year, we have rotations with the sea turtle hospital on the coast, carolina raptor center, the lemur center, and the nc zoo/aquariums/rehab center... all in all, lots of opportunity here for exotics imo.

 

[epivetlove]

Thought I'd update for A&M since it hasn't been done since 2008 (that I saw, anyways). I'm only one semester in, so I plan on updating this as I go. Overall, very happy to be here. It's an amazing school with amazing faculty and amazing opportunities.

Pros:

- TONS of clubs (somewhere near 30), wetlabs, activities, class events, organized parties, intramural teams. There is always something going on and honestly, you'll probably be overwhelmed. In a good way. There is ALWAYS opportunities. You'll probably get 5 e-mails a week about a wetlab, palpation opportunity, research study, etc. Most, if not all, clubs organize a field trip once a semester. Sometimes it's in town, much of the time it's about ~1-2 hours from C-Stat.

- Parking is right next to the school. There's Lot 36, Lot 37, and Lot 71. Lot 71 currently accepts any pass, so if you don't get one of the these 3 specific passes, you can still be within short walking distance. However, these lots are available to everyone, so you may have to wait a bit to get the lot you want.

- You get a little key fob thing that lets you have 24-hour access into the school.

- There are infinite possibilities for mentors, even outside of the Mentor/Mentee program and the assigned faculty mentors. Granted, you have to find these people on your own time, but it's not that difficult. I've found a lab animal, food animal, wildlife, exotics (avian), and public health mentor so far. As for the Mentor/Mentee program, it's mostly great (see negative). There's the opportunity to get back old quizzes, tests, notes, and so forth. The assigned faculty mentors can also be mostly great. You get treated to a nice meal 3-4 times a semester.

-We have some amazing professors and clinicians. I've had clinicians that will consult with me on my pets for no fee, which has been super helpful. Same goes for professors. Most professors will move mountains to make sure you succeed. We also have people who literally wrote the book on certain subjects. Pretty awesome.

- Any kind of field within the profession that you are interested in--A&M has it. I've yet to find someone who wanted to pursue a certain path that couldn't find guidance or a professor/clinician that was happy to take them under their wing.

-Hands on experience pretty much starting week one, thanks to clinical correlates. You learn to place catheters, draw blood, do full physical exams, give vaccines, and practice basic suturing patterns.

-We have shared network where students add old material, course outlines, externship experiences, course material, etc. I love it. Also, most professors record their lectures via Camtasia. It's nice.

-Free counseling. I haven't used her, but I've heard good things from other classmates.

- We haven't been that lucky with our exam schedule this year, but it's usually no problem to go attend conferences/lectures/etc. during class time. We have the TVMA that holds a conference every year and is free to students (we're actually considered TVMA members right off the bat!) and is hosted in Arlington or College Station. .

- Weather is mostly fantastic (except when it rains and parts of campus flood).

- 2 hours from Austin, 1 hr from Houston, 3 hours from Dallas--so there's always a chance to "escape," if needed.

- Rent is low if you live with one or more people. I'll be living in a 2b/2ba apartment that's 2 mins. from the vet school next year for $500/mo ALL utilities included. Many classmates I know pay less than that.

- Plenty of places to board your horse. I can give you the names of places I'd recommend if you're interested.

-Building a BRAND NEW school that'll be complete May 2016 (boo, we only get to use it for one year). It's supposed to have a gym and food court, which'll be pretty sweet. It'll be right next to the Large Animal Hospital.

-On-site diagnostic laboratory (TVMDL) which is subsidized by the state, which = very affordable lab work. And it's right next to the school, though they are going to be building a new facility here soon...but it'll be just down the street.

Cons:

- We're transitioning over to take most everything (exams, assignments, quizzes) on ExamSoft. This is a con for me and not others. I just like traditional paper exams that won't glitch on me or break or whatever.

- School is shared with undergrads.

-Small Animal Hospital is still old and dungeon-like. No idea what the plans are for revamping or building a new hospital. I've heard that the Dean is working on a new facility, but who knows. There's some very expensive and sensitive equipment in the bowels of the hospital that can't be moved, so not sure how it'll all play out.

-The Mentor/Mentee program can be hit or miss. So mentors are amazing, while others haven't even met their mentee in person. It's kind of luck of the draw, I guess. I hope to be an awesome mentor to someone!

-Traffic for such a tiny town can be HORRENDOUS. Seriously. Too many people with too many cars for the amount of space. Expect lots of accidents.

 

[WildZoo]

ferrets (you can take them home after...)

I'm really hoping I get into NCSU. It's the only school I came across that has something like tracking, with the focus areas, and actually has one for zoo med.

 

[AcreWoods]

I'll also say that they've fixed (or at least supplemented) a lot of the small complaints. For example - we bought more microwaves for food, we have a small exercise room on our campus, they set up a system where main campus will send prescriptions over to our pharmacy, etc. They're constantly changing and improving things, which I really appreciate.

This is really good to know! My undergrad campus is super bad at fixing stuff up, so that's totally awesome. Seems like they really do care about their student body and all! Thanks!

 

[pinkpuppy9]

It looks like either I missed the post, or Michigan hasn't been talked about in a while. Anyone care to chime in?

Illinois

Pros:

• Integrated curriculum from day 1
• 8 weeks of Rotation/clinical experience 1st year, 7 weeks of Rotations second year
• Wide selection of elective courses (that are available starting the second "quarter" of first year)
  
• For 4th year 2 block systems are offered "small" and "large" the "large" animal block gives you a lot of off campus time which many students utilize for externships in wildlife med, exotics, equine, etc.
• Very active clubs with a constant stream of interesting wetlabs and scrumptious food.
• Great discount programs (food, vaccines, flea/tick, other products)
• Plenty of parking around campus
• All notes are provided prior to class via powerpoint pdf format ready to be downloaded to onenote
• All lectures are captured on itunes (unless it breaks)
• Mostly free printing (we don't think its supposed to be free, but it never charges us to print)
• Great exotic/wildlife medicine program that you can be involved with beginning day 1 of first year
• Great professors, with the normal few exceptions
• All the core classes are under one roof
• The Hospital is a 5 second walk from the Basic Science Building (where classes are held 1st/2nd year)
• Our clinical skills lab allows hands on practice of skills on models, and there is instruction time dedicated in the skills lab 1st/2nd/3rd year (from suturing, to scrubbing and quartering a patient for surgery)
• Courses are blocked together in 8 week sections like quarters, limiting the amount of exams to only a Midterm and Final! All subjects are on one exam so you only have 1 exam to study for at an time. No more 8 exams in 1 week.
• There is a cafe on the vet med campus that provides decent food and coffee
• The vet med campus is located away from main campus by a few blocks, far enough away to avoid the traffic, but close enough to use the gym.

Cons:

• Small town in the middle of a corn field, and its flat
• Its always windy here
• A parking pass is $660 bucks!!!
• The library is extremely outdated
• Very limited caseload in some departments
• The 3rd year lecture hall is not conducive to learning
• The cafe is kinda expensive

any updates to this?? Thanks!

 

[Trilt]

I'm really hoping I get into NCSU. It's the only school I came across that has something like tracking, with the focus areas, and actually has one for zoo med.

If you do, I'm happy to answer any other questions! I'm actually zoo focused (although I want to do companion exotics), so know a lot of the people and whatnot.

 

[k80rigs]

Okay I went through this whole thread and I couldn't find one on OK State! Would someone mind writing a pros/cons list for them, especially because OOS doesn't interview/get to view the campus?t
Thaaaaanks.

 

[futurehealervet]

Once upon a time someone made a thread with links to the lists for each individual school.....not sure where it went/does anyone know where/what the thread name is? That would be pretty handy at this point as this thread is getting sorta long...

 

[Klminner11]

Okay I went through this whole thread and I couldn't find one on OK State! Would someone mind writing a pros/cons list for them, especially because OOS doesn't interview/get to view the campus?t
Thaaaaanks.

On this years thread there are a couple current Ok active students who could help you.

 

[twelvetigers]

Once upon a time someone made a thread with links to the lists for each individual school.....not sure where it went/does anyone know where/what the thread name is? That would be pretty handy at this point as this thread is getting sorta long...

Oh, that was me.

On this years thread there are a couple current Ok active students who could help you.

Oh, that would also be me. Arg.

 

[twelvetigers]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/factors-when-picking-a-school.580221/page-5#post-10313662

Here are the links. Maybe I'll be bored and update it/ make a new one later tonight.

And maybe I'll try a pro/con for OKSU and try not to be bitter.

 

[thecatastrophist]

It looks like either I missed the post, or Michigan hasn't been talked about in a while. Anyone care to chime in?


any updates to this?? Thanks!

I can actually comment on something that has changed. When I was up at UIUC for the open house a student told me they voted recently to move the first clinical experience from the first eight weeks to the second with weeks. That change will take place starting next year. They still capture lectures and have block exams, per the students I talked to. I'm sure a current student can give a better synopsis though if anything else changed.

 

[futurehealervet]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/factors-when-picking-a-school.580221/page-5#post-10313662

Here are the links. Maybe I'll be bored and update it/ make a new one later tonight.

And maybe I'll try a pro/con for OKSU and try not to be bitter.

BTWS, thanks a ton for that, I love that post and was super sad when I couldnt find it again.

 

[orca2011]

Not that anyone has asked about this, but I was just skimming some of the old Penn ones so I think most of what people said earlier still holds true since I think it was like last year but I can take a better look and comment later if needed.

However there was one thing I did want to say that we are trying desperately change. I think Bunnity had mentioned earlier that CAPS (the counseling service for all of Penn) is a royal PITA to deal with if you're a vet student since you have to basically skip classes if you want to talk to anyone. Beginning last year, a classmate of mine has made a real push to have a designated person to improve this with the increased awareness of suicide/depression in the field. They're in the process of creating drop-in group sessions as well as increasing accessibility for vet students for individual sessions --although I'm not sure if that is just designating certain hours for us that work with classes or having someone available on the vet school campus. Everything is still in the works, but I just wanted to say that it is being addressed.

We also now have a Mindfullness group as well that meets weekly (I think)for meditation and offers some de-stressing techniques and whatnot.

 

[Lupin21]

OKState

Pros:
- smaller class size
- excellent all around education/ no tracking but still plenty of opportunities for all interests including active ZEW club
- Lots of labs for clubs, but can be more competitive to get into for equine/FA. Like anything, will equals a way if you really want to go
- Everything is in one corner of university campus, Lecture hall right beside animals hospital. Interaction with undergrad is only if you want to go to that side of campus.
- 24 hour access to school
- All lectures (except occasional clinicians/ 1 first year teacher who may or may not retire soon) recorded
- Hands on experience starts first year first semester with basic animal science/behavior class including doing goat castrations
- Access to hospital is also always open to all students, so invites to attend rounds and shadowing is worth taking advantage of early
- Exceptional office staff takes care of you. Anna, Joyce and Robin are simply marvelous. Everyone is always willing to lend an ear or a hand. Example: I was frantically looking for my clipboard without success to take an anatomy test, and one of our office people, (Judy to be specific) grabbed one of hers and gave it to me without hesitation.
- Access to the Colvin Center is free for students with tons of free classes and events for health and fitness as well as some cheap ones for the more adventurous as well as IM sports
- Research opportunities are available for those interested. NIH/Merial summer research program is a good way just to explore what it is like for those who never had any experience with it. It is a paid summer job and is open to anyone to try it out for three months. I am currently a dual candidate for DVM/PhD, which is available after second year should anyone feel like it is a career path. (feel free to direct specific Q's to me if you want more info)
- If you like parasitology, we have an excellent program with one of the premier professors in Dr. Little
- Good FA and equine opportunities
- Cheap living
- Small city (con for people looking for citified excitement, although ~1 hr to either OKC or Tulsa for some relief)

Cons:
- Older classroom for 1st year. Uncomfy seats and a little too cozy for my liking
- No food options on vet side of campus. You have to bring food or venture a ways off ****UPDATE: Food truck is now available, alleviating some of this problem.********
- rough transition from what I've heard getting third year and fourth year rotations and information set up (other's can chime in here for clarification)
- Not that much diversity in culture if that is something you value. We have clubs supporting this, but it is mostly OK and surrounding state demographics here. (This also includes food options. Ethnic food stuffs is better sought out in OKC)
- We had a high failure rate for first years, but this is being addressed through hiring students as tutors as soon as trouble is spotted and was fairly successful this past semester.
- I'm sure TT can fill more in here. I don't do enough outside my own niche to have much more to add, and I haven't completed the number of years she has.

 

[chicablue42]

Could someone post an update for CSU please?

 

[WelshCob]

Florida Update:

Parking now BLOWS.
Buy a scooter and hope it doesn't pour.

 

[Lupin21]

I've always had a spot at OK, so that is another positive. Course, I pick and choose what time I show up, so a regular attendance person might be slightly different. Still, during first couple weeks it's a little hectic, but not after because class times are different between years. Lot is also right next to McElroy and street parking for a slightly longer walk.

 

[neocia]

Considering people are starting to hear back from a bunch of schools this month, going to bump this thread I am def interested in hearing more about Illinois and Iowa!

 

[wolfpackprevet]

I think I've only seen one post on NCSU in the past, so if anyone wants to update on that, it would be quite helpful!!

Hey! I can help on NCSU. I'm in the middle of studying respiratory phys and can't do an overall right now but if you have any specific questions ask away. Otherwise, I'll post once I'm done!

 

[apizfoshizz]

Would love to hear more about Illinois and Michigan!

 

[chickenlittle]

Florida Update:

Parking now BLOWS.
Buy a scooter and hope it doesn't pour.

On the plus side, Gainesville is super bike-friendly. 2006 UF CVM grad here and the only semesters that I even purchased a parking permit were when we were on clinics, otherwise I biked to class. (First year I lived in some apartments off Archer, then moved up to a house off of 13th St just north of Books-a-Million.) Yes, it meant I had to run home and get my car before coming back for evening meetings and stuff, but I'd have had to do that anyway so that I could let my dogs out.

 

[supervet]

Trying to decide between Mizzou and Purdue...any advice???

I'm from Indiana and am currently finishing undergrad at Purdue as well.

 

[Gwenevre]

Trying to decide between Mizzou and Purdue...any advice???

I'm from Indiana and am currently finishing undergrad at Purdue as well.

@Ashgirl

 

[AcreWoods]

Hey! I can help on NCSU. I'm in the middle of studying respiratory phys and can't do an overall right now but if you have any specific questions ask away. Otherwise, I'll post once I'm done!

Nothing but general info and stuff! Take your time posting

 

[battie]

So all y'all know, I am going through this list for myself (deciding on schools to apply for next year) and I have been putting it in a word document so I have it easily available to look at whenever. I was planning on copying and pasting it here, organized like how the "Where are you applying" threads. That way it will be easy to post information under each school and people can easily correct things that are no longer true.

Give me a day or so and it should be up!

 

[wolfpackprevet]

Nothing but general info and stuff! Take your time posting

Alright, here we go. We have an amazing class and an awesome faculty in my experience so my cons list will be short. Here's my background so you can put my run down into perspective. I'm an equine/mixed large focus first year student who grew up in the area and went to NCSU for undergrad.

PROS:

- they're redoing the curriculum so we get more hands on throughout the four years. We are doing a clinical skills class our first year.

- amazing anatomy faculty who come in after hours and on weekends to help

- a BRAND new anatomy lab that will be built for next year's first years to better accommodate the 100 person class (the class size will not increase again in the foreseeable future -- out lecture halls only hold 100).

- case based learning courses for those who learn that way and separate more traditional lecture courses for those who learn that way.

- TAU (teaching animal unit) is a working farm on campus so we can just walk down and work with large animals (which we do, starting first semester).

- second year surgeries, starting fall of 2nd year.

- an AMAZING camaraderie. Our classes are close and our faculty is responsive. We have an amazingly strong SCAVMA presence that brings together the school. Our clubs have so many wet labs and lunch meetings it'll make your head spin.

- selectives & electives: we have two week minimesters after we end each semester (which we do early). They're highly flexible and super interesting. Electives go throughout the whole semester and they're cool too.

- Raleigh. It's a really cool little city. 20 minutes either way, you're in the country, but you're also right out by RTP and downtown Raleigh. Very unique place. 2 hours to the beach, 3 to the mountains.

- tracking. It allows you to focus in the areas you want progressively throughout your four years, while exposing you to a bit of everything. It's more of a guideline than a rule, because if you really have a good reason for wanting to do something differently, they'll usually work with you. You don't have to declare until your third year.

- our wellness centers allow fourth years to have some experience in GP for exotics, small animal, and large animal. We also have behavior rotations in the wellness clinic.

- discounts for students. We get awesome discounts through the school for like almost everything. I'm getting my dog's mass biopsied under general anesthesia, lab work done, and two PEs for 150ish. Hills and purina discounts on food. Product discounts too.

There's more. I love literally everything about our program except the things below:

CONS:
- curriculum changes. We're the guinea pigs and they haven't totally figured it out, but it's making a bit more busy work in things like communications and problem solving courses. The kinks haven't all worked out.

- honestly, this will sound super petty, but we're fighting with the licensing office and can't put our logo on shirts without paying royalties, which is a pain.

- the large animal hospital isn't new, but it's getting target renovations and expansions.

- the food animal case load is painfully low. Our other case loads are solid though.

Hope that helps!

 

[haley120892]

So I don't know where else to really post this but this seems to be the best place!

I am currently on the wait list at both Iowa and Illinois and I am accepted at LMU. I really liked LMU and was rather set on attending after hearing from my other schools however, after I met with my advisers and teachers today I am really lost on whether or not it is the best idea. One of them really seemed leery about the school being new and having no name so to speak and I am curious to hear others opinions on the school. My teachers said to remain on the wait lists and see how it plays out, but honestly LMU's deposit is 1250 and if I pay that I am most certainly not willing to lose it

So I guess I am curious to hear more updated opinions on LMU and how graduating from the school will impact job opportunities and what not! Any opinions would be great!

 

[MouseWrangler]

So I don't know where else to really post this but this seems to be the best place!

I am currently on the wait list at both Iowa and Illinois and I am accepted at LMU. I really liked LMU and was rather set on attending after hearing from my other schools however, after I met with my advisers and teachers today I am really lost on whether or not it is the best idea. One of them really seemed leery about the school being new and having no name so to speak and I am curious to hear others opinions on the school. My teachers said to remain on the wait lists and see how it plays out, but honestly LMU's deposit is 1250 and if I pay that I am most certainly not willing to lose it

So I guess I am curious to hear more updated opinions on LMU and how graduating from the school will impact job opportunities and what not! Any opinions would be great!

It's 100% your decision what you decide to do. And by the way, congrats on your acceptance and 2 waitlist spots!

I was a student at a non-vet school (I will not name the school or anything to identify it) a while ago that was going through the accreditation process for a different profession. It was a miserable place during the process even though I wasn't a part of the new program and I truly believe that ALL of the students suffered because of it. Looking back on it, I honestly think it was the culture of the school itself and not the accreditation process, but it still scares me. I purposely did not apply to LMU because the idea of attending a new school brought back terrible memories and I felt like I would be setting myself up for failure.

My best advice is to wait it out and see if you get into Iowa or Illinois. And please talk to some current students to see if they validate your concerns or if they have a different opinion about the new program. I think all of the schools give you until April 15th to decide so you have plenty of time still! Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[haley120892]

It's 100% your decision what you decide to do. And by the way, congrats on your acceptance and 2 waitlist spots!

I was a student at a non-vet school (I will not name the school or anything to identify it) a while ago that was going through the accreditation process for a different profession. It was a miserable place during the process even though I wasn't a part of the new program and I truly believe that ALL of the students suffered because of it. Looking back on it, I honestly think it was the culture of the school itself and not the accreditation process, but it still scares me. I purposely did not apply to LMU because the idea of attending a new school brought back terrible memories and I felt like I would be setting myself up for failure.

My best advice is to wait it out and see if you get into Iowa or Illinois. And please talk to some current students to see if they validate your concerns or if they have a different opinion about the new program. I think all of the schools give you until April 15th to decide so you have plenty of time still! Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

Thanks so much for your input! I am definitely going to hold onto my wait list spots, but I do not want to lose my place by not paying the deposit and sadly it is overly expensive ($1250). I have talked to a few students and all of them speak very highly of the both the school and their experiences, which sadly is making my decision harder! (I almost wish someone would give some honest negative feedback about the school lol!) I attended a smaller undergraduate school that recently had issues with one of the program in general. Long story short they were put under probation and it is still under some stress. This program has been around for a long time, which just goes to show that even the oldest programs can have issues and it makes me wonder if I am just being neurotic!

 

[GoldenGirl28]

Thanks so much for your input! I am definitely going to hold onto my wait list spots, but I do not want to lose my place by not paying the deposit and sadly it is overly expensive ($1250). I have talked to a few students and all of them speak very highly of the both the school and their experiences, which sadly is making my decision harder! (I almost wish someone would give some honest negative feedback about the school lol!) I attended a smaller undergraduate school that recently had issues with one of the program in general. Long story short they were put under probation and it is still under some stress. This program has been around for a long time, which just goes to show that even the oldest programs can have issues and it makes me wonder if I am just being neurotic!

Congratulations on getting into LMU and making the waitlist at Iowa and Illinois! I am in the same spot you are right now, so take my advice and personal experience with a grain of salt. But when I was deciding which schools to apply to, I spoke with several veterinarians that I knew and trusted. I was thinking about adding LMU to the list of schools I was applying to, and was advised against it. One equine practitioner said if that was the only school I got into, I should spend a year beefing up my application and apply again. The owner of the veterinary clinic I work for said he does not regard grads from new schools very highly. I'm sorry that perspective is not more bright. But that being said, it is your decision. If you like at the school and think it's a good fit for you then you should absolutely go there! Regardless of which that school you attend you will become a vet and that's what really matters in the end. Best of luck!