Mississippi State vs Illinois (Exotic Interest)

[mofree]

Hello! I have been lucky to obtain a few acceptances for my cycle. With that being said, I have just received a decision from my final school that I applied to, and now I need help deciding where to go!

My interest at the moment currently rests with more of companion exotics, such as the birds, rabbits, pocket pets, reptiles, rodents, etc. Seeing that I will be coming back to WV in the future, wildlife/rehab would also be of interest. Other interests include animal nutrition and feline medicine! My career goal would be to see exotics, however, as there seems to be a lack of this practice in WV. My parents will be helping me with living expenses, in which I am very grateful. My two choices that I have narrowed down to are Mississippi State and Illinois.

Mississippi State

• Contract seat, in-state tuition ($29,170), qualify for the Bardsley scholarship (25k) but the committee is still choosing
• 2+2 program, lots of surgery and clinical experience
• Small town, gives similar vibes to being at home (PRO)
• 10-12 hours away from home, depending on which route I take
• Very few exotic cases according to several current students
• The only lecture class that I am able to see that deals with exotics would be "Special Species". They do have a club, however.
• Marine Mammal Rotation
• Well-rounded education, no tracking
• Low cost of living

University of Illinois

• Out of state tuition ($58,286)
• Clinical experience for 8 weeks first and second year, then starting back up at the end of 3rd year --> quarter system
• Many exotic elective opportunities and caseloads
• Approximately 7 hours away from home
• No tracking, but you choose your own electives of what interests you
• Low cost of living
• Have not visited the campus/town, so unsure what it is like in that aspect

I would love to hear any input that I could use in helping me make my decision. Thank you so much!

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[JaynaAli]

Take the in-state seat at Mississippi. It’s literally half the price of tuition at Illinois. You’re in a good position if your parents are paying your living expenses, but you’re in a GREAT position if they do that and you only owe 115k (or less if you get a scholarship!) from in-state tuition. Even if there you’re not seeing formal exotics classes in a list, if there is no tracking they’ll have to cover exotics topics within other courses since exotics material is on NAVLE. And even if you have to find exotics externships yourself for rotations, you’ll be far ahead financially taking out less loans. It’s not worth paying literally double the cost to end up with the same DVM degree after 4 years.

 

[battie]

Clinical experience for 8 weeks first and second year, then starting back up at the end of 3rd year --> quarter system

2+2 program, lots of surgery and clinical experience

As an Illinois alumna 2.5 years out in practice, the 8 weeks of rotations in 1st and 2nd year are cool in the moment, but are not useful in the long run. They're referred to as "rotation vacation" for a reason. I now strongly feel that if schools are going to have a "non-traditional" curriculum, the 2+2 program is the way to go. For reference, the vast majority of human medical schools are 2+2 and I hope to se that change for all vet schools in the future.

As far as the rest of it, you can definitely get the exotics experience you need/want by going to Miss via externships. And since Miss has 2 years worth of clinics, that's even more time. You can even go to Illinois for rotations without paying the Illinois cost. One of my exotics professors at Illinois went to Ross, which arguably has the fewest resources when it comes to additional species.

I could do the math to tell you how much you'll save by going to Miss as well if you really want. But it's an obnoxious amount of money that could be life changing for you post-graduation.

 

[mofree]

Thank you all so much! The money part was definitely concerning for me. I think just not having a great understanding of what occurs during rotations really made this decision more difficult than it truly needed to be. Mississippi it is!