Wisconsin questions - Sample curriculum, Milwaukee commute

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lilbearman

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Hi all,

I am preparing my application for this cycle for the DVM program at UW and I had some questions from current students regarding the 1st and second year curriculum. My main goal in asking is to determine the feasibility of commuting to Madison from Milwaukee during the first two years.

To explain further, my wife is a 1st year intern in a family medicine residency program in Milwaukee, and as such, we will be here for 3 full years.

1) What is the daily schedule like for the V1 curriculum?

In my wife's medical school program for the majority of 1st and 2nd year, there were courses from 8-12 everyday, with afternoons generally free. The coursework basically went in blocks. For 3 weeks they would have nothing but lectures on one particular subject (Biochemistry, for example), followed by an exam, rinse, wash repeat. The only exceptions being the 6 weeks or so that she was in anatomy, when the afternoons would be taken up by lab. Other friends at different schools had coursework similar to an undergrad schedule where everyday you would have multiple 1 hour blocks of courses in different subjects which would run simultaneously... also, the courses would run from 8AM to 5PM. I am curious as to which type of schedule is more similar to the way the UW coursework is laid out.

2) Is going to class mandatory or are there successful non-class-goers?

In my wife's med-school class it was divided about 50/50 between class goers and non-class goers. The lectures were generally posted online, and many people chose to stay home to study instead of going to class.

3) Does anyone commute between MKE and Madison that you know of?

I know the drive is about 1-1.5 hours one-way, which is not too dissimilar to longer commutes that I have made in big cities. That way I could do my studying during my commute, assuming I do a rideshare or badger bus or something, so that when I get home, I can enjoy a little more free time with my wife and menagerie.

4) When do serious clinical rotations and obligations start in the curriculum?

Are the obligations of coursework, labs, and clinical work in the first 2 years setup in a way that is roughly based on a 9-5, M-F workday? (i.e. could I use a rideshare, or the badger bus).

5) How likely are the admissions folks to grant a deferment, and what things do you think they take into consideration?

Thanks in advance for your answers, guys. I look forward to hearing your insights and experiences.

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1) What is the daily schedule like for the V1 curriculum?

When I was a first year, our first semester day was 8:50am to 5:30pm Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri, and 7:45am to 5:30pm on Tuesday. Often, the days really didn't last all the way till 5:30 because many afternoons were labs and had the possibility of getting out early. Things have changed some since then, but I would bet that the start times would be quite similar.


2) Is going to class mandatory or are there successful non-class-goers?

Most class is not mandatory, but almost everyone went at least during first semester. During second and third, some regular non-class-goers emerged and they have been successful. With that said, labs are mandatory and a huge chunk of first semester includes anatomy and histology labs.

3) Does anyone commute between MKE and Madison that you know of?

I don't know anyone specifically coming from Milwaukee. A girl in my class commutes from a small town half way to Milwaukee (about an hour each way). She has done very well, and she falls into the class-goer category. I have heard of others coming from farther though some commute for the week and commute home on weekends.

4) When do serious clinical rotations and obligations start in the curriculum?

The only obligations of first and second year are class and lab. Classes that start as early as 7:45am on many days (most days of second and third year) would likely make ridesharing harder. While the schedule seems pretty regular during first semester, it becomes less so. One day you might be in class from 7:45 to 3:15 and another day you might be in class from 7:45-8:35 have a long morning break and then have one early afternoon class. They try not to have weird breaks in the day, but they can happen. In third year, you have the added responsibility of taking care of your junior surgery patients with a group of you and two other students. That will factor into your planning for a total of 6 weeks out of the year. Fourth year starts in May shortly after third year ends. Fourth year is all clinical rotations. Attendance is most definitely mandatory and being closer to the school is also required for whenever you are on call (some people still live farther away and bunk with someone for on calls).


5) How likely are the admissions folks to grant a deferment, and what things do you think they take into consideration?

Hmmm... no idea. I know deferral is on a case by case basis. Your best bet would be to talk to someone like Lynn Maki in admissions. She probably couldn't give you a definitive answer either (again because it is on such a case by case basis as these things arise), but she is super nice and could probably give you a better answer than me.

Hope this helps!
 
Hey elefante7,

Thanks so much for the response. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions thoroughly and thoughtfully. You have kind of confirmed what I already thought... i.e. that it would be possible, albeit inconvenient, to commute, at least the first two years. Even if I were to be accepted this cycle, I would only be needing to commute for those first two years anyway.

I have one other question for you, if you don't mind. It's hard to tell from the website listed curriculum, but I'm curious as to how the subjects of study are broken up. Do you have multiple courses in different subjects running simultaneously throughout the year (more like undergrad), or is it broken up into intensive blocks like I was describing for my wife's med school curriculum?
 
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More like undergrad. Multiple courses running at once throughout a semester.
 
I'm not at UW (I'm UMN, but I hear nothing but good things about our neighbors in WI) ... but I think "possible, but inconvenient" might be de-emphasizing the "inconvenient" more than it ought to.

It's possible - lowercase - but INCONVENIENT - super uppercase. At least out here at UMN I had to be at school generally 8-5. Some days not all the way until 5, but 3:30 at least. And any number of nights I came back to study in the anatomy lab, look at slides for histo, whatever.

And I was *TIRED* all year. Maybe you could make the transit time useful and/or restful, but I'd make sure you think that part through. I do know one student here that lives more than an hour away, but she rents a room at a nearby house and stays there most nights during the week.
 
Hey I know this thread is a little old, but I thought I may have some info to share as I'm familiar with the UW Madison campus as well as a Milwaukee commute (went to UW for undergrad and had a job in the Milwaukee area on the weekends for a year of it).

You basically have three options for commuting, as you already stated:

1.) Drive yourself and park on campus or near campus and bus in:
This would obviously not allow you to get much done in terms of studying in the car or anything. And I think you also need to take into consideration that the UW Vet school is not really easy access from any major highway. I think you'd probably be looking at at least a 1.5-2 hour commute (also dependent on where in Milwaukee you're coming from) to actually get to the veterinary school, park, etc. It would be even longer if you chose not to buy a parking pass (or couldn't get one...I don't have experience buying UW parking permits myself) and drive to a bus station on the east side of Madison and then bus in (Madison metro is included in vet students tuition I believe). I'm not a vet student yet, but I think giving up up to 4 hours a day in commuting time would be really tough.

2.) Badger bus would be direct from the Milwaukee to the memorial union at UW. It would take about 1.5 hours from around State Fairgrounds in Milwaukee. You'd want to give yourself an extra 15-20 min to get to the vet school though, as it's on the other side of campus (and the free campus shuttle bus is ok, but you don't really want to depend on it for timing, etc). This option would allow you to study during the commute, the major problem with this is that the earliest Milwaukee to Madison commute arrives at the union in Madison at 8:30ish, which wouldn't allow you to get to early classes. Cheapest rates are also around $12.50 for a one way trip last I checked....so depending on if money's an issue....

3.) Ride share. If you can find someone whose hours and places match yours, I'd say it's your best option. However it may be difficult to find someone. And it may be inconvenient if you don't know what time you'll get out on certain days and things like that. I'd say it's at least worth a try to try to find someone though.

Hmmmm....this is tough. I guess if I were you I'd try to find some place where I could stay in Madison on weeknights when it just won't work to go back to Milwaukee. Going back on the weekends (and probably some weeknights) is easily doable. Another option depending on your specific situation could be to look into housing halfway between Milwaukee and Madison (oconomowoc???) But you'd have to weigh the pros and cons with your wife obviously.

Hope this helps, sorry if it sounded rather pessimistic but i do think the commute would be hard. Let me know if I can answer any more questions for you.
 
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