Missing class question

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scott1818

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Hey guys,

So I plan on applying this coming cycle and had a question. My fiancé and I are planning on getting married but it is likely to fall sometime during my first year of vet school (hopefully I get in first time around).

My question is if we can ended up having to pick a date that interferes with classes, would it be a big deal to miss 2-3 days? It would be something I could alert professors about way ahead of time so maybe they'd be more understanding? Just not sure how attendance and missing class is in vet school. Is it a big no no, or not a huge deal like undergrad (I assume probably the former)?

I appreciate any feedback.

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Could you get married the summer before vet school? Not sure how it would work to get married during vet school/missing classes as I'm not in it yet (starting this fall), but planning a wedding is stressful unless you have a ton of help. I'm getting married next month and it was a struggle to plan it during undergrad, I can only imagine the stress is multiplied in vet school.
 
Could you get married the summer before vet school? Not sure how it would work to get married during vet school/missing classes as I'm not in it yet (starting this fall), but planning a wedding is stressful unless you have a ton of help. I'm getting married next month and it was a struggle to plan it during undergrad, I can only imagine the stress is multiplied in vet school.
We were hoping not to do a summer wedding. I know it's hard to be so picky but you only get married once (hopefully!). We could possibly work it out sometime when I'm not in school but I'm also just curious about the hypothetical of this situation.
 
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We were hoping not to do a summer wedding. I know it's hard to be so picky but you only get married once (hopefully!). We could possibly work it out sometime when I'm not in school but I'm also just curious about the hypothetical of this situation.
It will depend on what is happening those days. Tests and quizzes are pretty constant throughout every week at most schools and getting married is not likely to be accepted as an excuse for missing them. You would be better off planning the wedding during a school break as missing 2-3 days can also lead to getting horribly behind. Vet school has the well used likeness to drinking from a firehose in terms of keeping up with the massive flow of info coming at you on a daily basis.
 
It will depend on what is happening those days. Tests and quizzes are pretty constant throughout every week at most schools and getting married is not likely to be accepted as an excuse for missing them. You would be better off planning the wedding during a school break as missing 2-3 days can also lead to getting horribly behind. Vet school has the well used likeness to drinking from a firehose in terms of keeping up with the massive flow of info coming at you on a daily basis.
I figured as much, but wanted to ask since I wasn't certain. Thanks for the response. I'm sure we will figure something out so I wouldn't have to miss any time.
 
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We were hoping not to do a summer wedding. I know it's hard to be so picky but you only get married once (hopefully!). We could possibly work it out sometime when I'm not in school but I'm also just curious about the hypothetical of this situation.
Haha I understand! I've always wanted to get married in May so it worked out for us to get married right after I graduated from undergrad. Maybe you could plan it for over winter break or spring break during vet school. :)

Hope you figure something out. Congrats and good luck!
 
Honestly, it really depends on the school, the test schedule, and your own study habits. If you aren't going to miss a test you might be able to make it work. The hard part is knowing if you're the kind of student who can miss classes and still stay on top of things. Believe me when I say there are people in my class who have missed way more than two or three days and still have done really well.
 
Honestly, it really depends on the school, the test schedule, and your own study habits. If you aren't going to miss a test you might be able to make it work. The hard part is knowing if you're the kind of student who can miss classes and still stay on top of things. Believe me when I say there are people in my class who have missed way more than two or three days and still have done really well.
Truth. However, this is seemingly during first semester of first year, so that would be my main concern here. Second or third year, a bit less of a problem for sure.

ETA: I am definitely one of those students who after first year, rarely attended class. lol
 
Yeah, it's hard to know what kind of student you are during the first semester. And the kind of student you were in undergrad is pretty meaningless at this point.
 
Depends on your school. Some schools it would be no problem, AS LONG AS THERE ARE NO EXAMS.
This would not be an excusable absence to retake an exam at most. Sad but true.
 
Since you need to set a date and plan before you even start school, I'd err on the side of assuming you can't miss out on anything, if I were in your shoes. Generally speaking, a wedding isn't really a "legitimate" excuse to miss class. When I got married, we had to do it on a Saturday so nothing would interfere with my husband's grad school classes, and we weren't able to go on a honeymoon at all. It sucks but it is what it is.
 
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Hey guys,

So I plan on applying this coming cycle and had a question. My fiancé and I are planning on getting married but it is likely to fall sometime during my first year of vet school (hopefully I get in first time around).

My question is if we can ended up having to pick a date that interferes with classes, would it be a big deal to miss 2-3 days? It would be something I could alert professors about way ahead of time so maybe they'd be more understanding? Just not sure how attendance and missing class is in vet school. Is it a big no no, or not a huge deal like undergrad (I assume probably the former)?

I appreciate any feedback.
Truth. However, this is seemingly during first semester of first year, so that would be my main concern here. Second or third year, a bit less of a problem for sure.

ETA: I am definitely one of those students who after first year, rarely attended class. lol
It's the exact opposite at my school. Our first year course coordinator is far more forgiving, 2nd and 3rd not so much apparently. As first years, it's pretty common to come in with big commitments that you made before being accepted. Since we now have access to our exam schedules for the next 4 years, we're expected to ask our friends/family to schedule life events around us :rolleyes:. It's also highly school dependent. Illinois tends to be pretty flexible if you need to take an exam early/late (within reason, of course...it can't be because you are unprepared). We've had exams rescheduled for my classmates to stand up in weddings. If you have a commitment as serious as your own wedding or being part of another, and it's set prior to you even knowing your schedule, there is no reason a school shouldn't work with you on that. I find it absurd that other people don't have similar experiences at their schools. To me, a wedding is just as much important as the funeral of a family member/friend. They make make you a unique exam, and they may make you take it earlier than everyone else (to the point where you won't be as prepared), so that could happen,

I'd say regardless of where you end up, if you come in with a set date and make arrangements as soon as the semester starts, you are less likely to have a problem. You can't possibly know your exam schedule if you're already booking venues now. You haven't even applied yet. If you start school and decide to get married when you know there is an exam, that's just foolish and no one can help you there.

Again, it's only an issue if you have an exam. You could use someone's notes from missed class. My school also records every lecture, so people skip all the time for no reason. Not all schools take attendance (or actually care about it...). Again, I think your own wedding is very much a valid excuse to miss class or reschedule an exam if you had everything scheduled prior to starting school.
 
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It's the exact opposite at my school. Our first year course coordinator is far more forgiving, 2nd and 3rd not so much apparently. As first years, it's pretty common to come in with big commitments that you made before being accepted. Since we now have access to our exam schedules for the next 4 years, we're expected to ask our friends/family to schedule life events around us :rolleyes:. It's also highly school dependent. Illinois tends to be pretty flexible if you need to take an exam early/late (within reason, of course...it can't be because you are unprepared). We've had exams rescheduled for my classmates to stand up in weddings. If you have a commitment as serious as your own wedding or being part of another, and it's set prior to you even knowing your schedule, there is no reason a school shouldn't work with you on that. I find it absurd that other people don't have similar experiences at their schools. To me, a wedding is just as much important as the funeral of a family member/friend. They make make you a unique exam, and they may make you take it earlier than everyone else (to the point where you won't be as prepared), so that could happen,

I'd say regardless of where you end up, if you come in with a set date and make arrangements as soon as the semester starts, you are less likely to have a problem. You can't possibly know your exam schedule if you're already booking venues now. You haven't even applied yet. If you start school and decide to get married when you know there is an exam, that's just foolish and no one can help you there.

Again, it's only an issue if you have an exam. You could use someone's notes from missed class. My school also records every lecture, so people skip all the time for no reason. Not all schools take attendance (or actually care about it...). Again, I think your own wedding is very much a valid excuse to miss class or reschedule an exam if you had everything scheduled prior to starting school.
A wedding can be planned for anytime. A funeral, not so much, so I disagree on the validity of the excuse. There is no reason to plan it during school imo anyway. There are plenty of breaks so it can be enjoyed. Why take away from a wedding when in the midst of school? I would want to enjoy the day and all the friends and family involved without having to worry about making up those days.
 
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A wedding can be planned for anytime. A funeral, not so much, so I disagree on the validity of the excuse. There is no reason to plan it during school imo anyway. There are plenty of breaks so it can be enjoyed. Why take away from a wedding when in the midst of school? I would want to enjoy the day and all the friends and family involved without having to worry about making up those days.
Assuming she doesn't miss a week for a honeymoon and just postpones that, I don't see how missing what could be Thursday/Friday and being back for class the next Monday can possibly be such a huge problem for any school to deal with. Ideally, you wouldn't have to deal with it, but then you'd have to be flexible on your wedding season. It would be much easier to not be sitting in class the week of your wedding because you will have a lot to do. I'm not saying she shouldn't reschedule her wedding, I'm just saying I think she absolutely can have her fall wedding if she is proactive with informing the school. You do risk them refusing to allow rescheduling of the potential exam, though.

Also, yes, your wedding can be planned to your schedule. It's rather ludicrous to expect a friend/family to schedule their wedding around yours, though. Some schools won't let you reschedule days for that, and I feel that's absolutely unnecessary.
 
Assuming she doesn't miss a week for a honeymoon and just postpones that, I don't see how missing what could be Thursday/Friday and being back for class the next Monday can possibly be such a huge problem for any school to deal with. Ideally, you wouldn't have to deal with it, but then you'd have to be flexible on your wedding season. It would be much easier to not be sitting in class the week of your wedding because you will have a lot to do. I'm not saying she shouldn't reschedule her wedding, I'm just saying I think she absolutely can have her fall wedding if she is proactive with informing the school. You do risk them refusing to allow rescheduling of the potential exam, though.

Also, yes, your wedding can be planned to your schedule. It's rather ludicrous to expect a friend/family to schedule their wedding around yours, though. Some schools won't let you reschedule days for that, and I feel that's absolutely unnecessary.
Scott's a dude. ;)

Here is the thing. Can it be done? Yes. Will it be an excused absence? No. Will it matter? In some cases yes, in others no. Would I personally recommend it? No. Like I said, I'd rather not have school brain so I could pay attention to my mate and making sure the day is glorious.

It's all theory based anyway, and he has plenty of time to figure it out. He will have to decide how important having a wedding on an exact date is and then even getting to if he gets into vet school, the likelihood of the date being an issue. Plenty of people get married while in vet school, just most the folk I know saved it for between semesters.
 
Scott's a dude. ;)

Here is the thing. Can it be done? Yes. Will it be an excused absence? No. Will it matter? In some cases yes, in others no. Would I personally recommend it? No. Like I said, I'd rather not have school brain so I could pay attention to my mate and making sure the day is glorious.

It's all theory based anyway, and he has plenty of time to figure it out. He will have to decide how important having a wedding on an exact date is and then even getting to if he gets into vet school, the likelihood of the date being an issue. Plenty of people get married while in vet school, just most the folk I know saved it for between semesters.
Sorry Scott :p
 
Assuming she doesn't miss a week for a honeymoon and just postpones that, I don't see how missing what could be Thursday/Friday and being back for class the next Monday can possibly be such a huge problem for any school to deal with. Ideally, you wouldn't have to deal with it, but then you'd have to be flexible on your wedding season. It would be much easier to not be sitting in class the week of your wedding because you will have a lot to do. I'm not saying she shouldn't reschedule her wedding, I'm just saying I think she absolutely can have her fall wedding if she is proactive with informing the school. You do risk them refusing to allow rescheduling of the potential exam, though.

Also, yes, your wedding can be planned to your schedule. It's rather ludicrous to expect a friend/family to schedule their wedding around yours, though. Some schools won't let you reschedule days for that, and I feel that's absolutely unnecessary.
Scott's a dude. ;)

Here is the thing. Can it be done? Yes. Will it be an excused absence? No. Will it matter? In some cases yes, in others no. Would I personally recommend it? No. Like I said, I'd rather not have school brain so I could pay attention to my mate and making sure the day is glorious.

It's all theory based anyway, and he has plenty of time to figure it out. He will have to decide how important having a wedding on an exact date is and then even getting to if he gets into vet school, the likelihood of the date being an issue. Plenty of people get married while in vet school, just most the folk I know saved it for between semesters.
Sorry Scott :p
Thank you both for your thoughts.

And it's ok, I realize I'm in the minority here being a male.

I think her and I will just have to discuss and think about our options and what makes the most sense. If we can make it work when there's no school, that would obviously be the best option.
 
Also, just because one school does things a certain way does not mean that all schools can or will. It really depends upon the school curriculum and how they do things at the specific school you are planning on attending. Some schools have mandatory labs that you have to be in (especially during first year) that you can not miss and the only excused absence is illness or death in the family. And often times these labs are every day or at a minimum multiple days a week, it would be impossible to get away for 2 to 3 days, you might be able to work out getting away for 1 day, but definitely not 2 or 3.

The other thing to keep in mind is how you will do with being away from school. Planning a wedding is incredibly time consuming and will be difficult but not impossible to do with vet school. Missing 2-3 days of vet school can really put you behind and depending upon when you schedule the wedding for if you are already drowning in course work you could get yourself really far behind. Again, it wouldn't be impossible, just difficult. Personally, I would rather enjoy my wedding without that constant worry/concern for being away from and missing school and the need to get back immediately after the wedding events are over.

I think you will be a lot less stressed if you can have the time to plan out your wedding and enjoy it without school hovering over your head. Then you can also plan some good time alone with your new wife afterwards also away from school and stress-free... :naughty:
 
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Well my fiancé and I discussed it more and have decided that we will just do it the summer after my first year. Thanks again guys!
 
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Guess I'm there only person who would have told you to just do it, miss the classes and make up the exams if you happen to miss them. It's just school, and you can't put your entire life on hold for school.
I skipped class all the time... Missed tests, labs, etc. And I'm graduating in 2 weeks and have an awesome job.

Live your life... It's just school.
 
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Guess I'm there only person who would have told you to just do it, miss the classes and make up the exams if you happen to miss them. It's just school, and you can't put your entire life on hold for school.
I skipped class all the time... Missed tests, labs, etc. And I'm graduating in 2 weeks and have an awesome job.

Live your life... It's just school.
Lol...this is what I suggested too, and I'm not one to skip class myself. It's your wedding.
 
Well my fiancé and I discussed it more and have decided that we will just do it the summer after my first year. Thanks again guys!

Issue of missing class aside (which alone would really stress me out!), this is probably a good decision. I jut had a small, very relatively low-key wedding in January, and it was so. freaking. stressful. Especially so, say , the week prior up until the moment the ceremony started. I'm glad I didn't have anything else going on (other than school acceptance purgatory) at the time.
 
Lol...this is what I suggested too, and I'm not one to skip class myself. It's your wedding.
which you can schedule around your school schedule. I'm not sure why you think someone should get special treatment because they planned poorly?
 
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which you can schedule around your school schedule. I'm not sure why you think someone should get special treatment because they planned poorly?

I don't think of it as planning poorly. If my dream wedding has always occurred on September 10th in my mind, I will make it happen even if I should have to miss school. Your wedding will only happen once (hopefully)! I personally wouldn't miss school and I agree with what most people on here have been saying. Thankfully, I want a summer wedding so school conflicts shouldn't be an issue, but I totally see where pinkpuppy and jam are coming from!
 
I don't think of it as planning poorly. If my dream wedding has always occurred on September 10th in my mind, I will make it happen even if I should have to miss school. Your wedding will only happen once (hopefully)! I personally wouldn't miss school and I agree with what most people on here have been saying. Thankfully, I want a summer wedding so school conflicts shouldn't be an issue, but I totally see where pinkpuppy and jam are coming from!
Then do it before vet school or after vet school.

Seriously. It's poor planning if it has to be during school. The thing about weddings (although they are great celebrations) are they are not emergencies unless you're about to be deported.
 
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Guess I'm there only person who would have told you to just do it, miss the classes and make up the exams if you happen to miss them. It's just school, and you can't put your entire life on hold for school.
I skipped class all the time... Missed tests, labs, etc. And I'm graduating in 2 weeks and have an awesome job.

Live your life... It's just school.
I've missed you around. I feel like we're somewhat twinsies at different school.

Minus your weird enjoyment of horses. :p
 
Guess I'm there only person who would have told you to just do it, miss the classes and make up the exams if you happen to miss them. It's just school, and you can't put your entire life on hold for school.
I skipped class all the time... Missed tests, labs, etc. And I'm graduating in 2 weeks and have an awesome job.

Live your life... It's just school.

I don't disagree with this. However, there's a caveat to this. Do whatever you want BUT don't bitch about the consequences.

If you need to take a couple exams early (even before the last lecture's been taught), and you need to hand in **** early, don't bitch and moan about it. If you piss off groupmates, that's how it's going to be. Do as much as you can to not burden your group mates. There's always a price to pay when you're inconveniencing others because you're doing whatever the hell you want. If you're okay with that, then by all means.

It annoyed the crap out of me when people would miss x,y,z, because of some totally elective life things, and would get all pissy about how "unfair" it was when they didn't like the terms of how the professor decided to deal with it.


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Then do it before vet school or after vet school.

Seriously. It's poor planning if it has to be during school. The thing about weddings (although they are great celebrations) are they are not emergencies unless you're about to be deported.

I have to agree with this. It is poor planning, not only that, it isn't a "simple" 3-day miss of school and done. Weddings are a lot of work and it is going to take a lot away from your studying/schooling than just the 3 days you are gone for the event.

Also, some schools are going to re-arrange exams and things for you for a wedding. Other schools are not. So just because you have experienced a school that will reschedule all of your exams/labs/etc for missing days, does not mean that will be found at every school. Not only that, but I do think it is kind of inappropriate to ask of others to rearrange their schedules in order to accommodate your schedule for something that is not an emergency.

It would have been impossible to leave for 2 days or 3 days during first year where I was at school. Because we had labs every day and you could not miss them. And a wedding was not a proper excuse.

You can schedule a wedding for before vet school or after or during breaks. There is no absolute need to have a wedding on x date during x year.... there just isn't. And if you want it on x date that happens to be during the school year, wait until school is over.


And people saying that you can't demand friends/family to have weddings around your schedule, that is correct. However if you have a friend or family member who really wants you to be present at their wedding and they know you are busy and can't really just up and leave school, they will ask and plan around times that are better for you. It may still be during the school year, but it will be a week where you can break free and miss Friday to be there for the weekend, or it will be during a break, or whatever.
 
My wedding was a little over a month after finals ended 2nd year during the summer. There was so much planning and little things to do the month before - I can't imagine doing all of that during the semester. I barely passed cardio as it is. Getting the stuff planned that needed done ahead of time was hard enough during school!
 
Well I appreciate all the detailed responses and opinions. I believe my question has been more than sufficiently answered. I am positive we will have our wedding in the summer in between 1st and 2nd year. There will be no missed classes, labs, lectures, or exams. No groups being left short a person, and most certainly no bitching or being pissy.

Next step is getting into school in the first place.
 
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Well I appreciate all the detailed responses and opinions. I believe my question has been more than sufficiently answered. I am positive we will have our wedding in the summer in between 1st and 2nd year. There will be no missed classes, labs, lectures, or exams. No groups being left short a person, and most certainly no bitching or being pissy.

Next step is getting into school in the first place.
hope you stick around and let us follow your journey! Always exciting for us to root you guys on! :)
 
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hope you stick around and let us follow your journey! Always exciting for us to root you guys on! :)
Thanks for the support and I most certainly will keep you all updated. The application opens in just a few weeks!
 
Good luck with everything, scott1818!

I don't think of it as planning poorly. If my dream wedding has always occurred on September 10th in my mind, I will make it happen even if I should have to miss school.

If there's one thing you quickly learn while trying to plan, it's that no wedding is ever a dream wedding (except maybe for multimillionaires), and hardly anything turns out exactly like you want it to or how you previously imagined it. It really helps cut down on the stress and pressure if you let go of the "dream" kind of ideas because there will inevitably be some of those that actually make your life a lot more difficult than it really has to be. Scheduling it during school would be one of those things, and I agree with those who'd consider it poor planning. Weddings are important, but I think we tend to overestimate just how important they are and underestimate how much work and stress is involved in planning one and going through with it. After it's over with, it really doesn't feel like it matters exactly when you got married.
 
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