I guess what I didn't like the most was the curriculum. I realize that every vet school is going to be difficult, but every other school I've interviewed at has a curriculum that allows you to have some additional time during the quarter/semester to enjoy your time in clubs, shadowing at the clinic, etc since they only have a few midterms/finals. At Missouri, it just seems like you're constantly being hit with exams every other week just to squeeze in extra time for clinics. The lack of a decent amount of time off during the summer is also annoying considering that's when you should have time to go on an externship.
The curriculum set up has not inhibited me in any way from being involved in clubs or extracurricular activities. Ive done externships during both of my summers. I think most importantly, is that not only have I not been inhibited in any way, but I also get 7 MORE months in clinics than most other schools. Clinics is the Most important part of veterinary school. That is where you apply what you have learned in classes, clinics is where you become a Vet. To me, giving up some time in summer is 100% worth it. It might not be for you, but I believe in the way Mizzou does things.
Additionally, the facilities seemed extremely outdated. The lack of pretty much any exotic or wildlife experience is also a downside (I know that you have a raptor program, but our tour guide didn't really make it seem that great). After checking the caseloads of some schools, Missouri also had the lowest overall of the ones I'm interested in. There was also an article in the news recently about how Missouri had to transfer a patient all the way to OSU for treatment (I think it was a cat with kidney failure from eating lilies). I feel like every vet school should have the equipment and faculty to treat any animal that needs help.
The building itself is old, but we have the latest technology and gadgets in vet med. Not sure what else you could possibly need - we have a brand new MRI, CT, Pet scanner, Linear accelerator, endoscopy, ultrasound, digital rad, SA underwater treadmill, capability to keep pets on ventilators, peritoneal dialysis, surgeons, neurologists, internal med, oncology - both medical and radiation, radiologists, nutritionists, cardiologists, ophthalmologists, criticalists, pathologists and that is just in the small animal hospital! (ETA: not only do we have all of the specialists, but we offer residencies in every single one of the above specialties and have a joint ZOo residency with the STL Zoo... )
Honestly, I would be really interested to know more about the article you read about the case being sent to OSU, because we have treated lily toxicity before, so why it would be sent elsewhere makes no sense. In my short time in clinics Ive seen cases that have been previously seen by Illinois and Purdue that were sent to Mizzou for one thing or another.
And as far as exotics goes... Yea we dont have a dedicated department, but one of my classmates has not let that stop him. He has spent time at Zoos across the country in his free time. He has 3 published research articles and is on the fast track to getting a Zoo residency after graduation/internship.. He is currently in South Africa doing a rotation which counts for in clinics time.. He was just previously in Taiwan and we just started clinics in October! believe it or not, Mizzou has several Zoo vets that are alumni. If anything, Mizzou was an excellent choice for him because during clinics he has 20 off weeks to do with as he wants - THEN we get 10 weeks of electives that you can do on or Off campus... potentially 30 weeks off campus is Incredible - and a great way to pursue whatever you want!
Our "smaller" case load seems just fine to me. I dont have anything to compare it to, but Im learning just fine.. And our NAVLE pass rate proves that we are adequately prepared.