So it looks like I will be visiting on a Monday, either January 24 or 31. Johanna in the Student Services Office is going to be giving me a tour. She also said that I could sit in on one or two classes, and that I could eat lunch with some of the students. I'm looking at airfare right now to figure out which of those dates would be more economical for me to visit.
Great! You can definitely tag along with me if you'd like, and I think going to a class or two will really give you a feel for the school.
Another question: when did you start looking for housing? Also, how did you do it? Did you kind of go out on your own, or use an apartment locating service/realtor? I planning on staying two days in Raleigh, one day to visit the school and the other day to check out housing/Raleigh in general. I know it's too early to be signing leases, but I wanted to make the most of my trip by learning as much as I can about Raleigh and the housing options while I'm there. Is there a good website where I can read more about housing? Or is there an area where most of the vet students live, or a place I should avoid?
Like I said, I got in off the OOS waitlist in late April and had only a weekend to make my decision between NCSU and another school. The way I approached it (since I would only be in town for about 36 hours) was to research apartments beforehand that got good reviews online, were less than $600 per month (I'm a cheap-o), and were within a 10-12 minute drive from the vet school. I got a list of about six places together, booked a solid afternoon of visits, and had one picked by the end of the day. You have a bit more time, so that mad rush definitely isn't necessary.
I don't think that a lot of people tend to live IN Raleigh. It's very much a commuter city without a whole lot of downtown residents. Also, I don't really think there is a certain area of town that you need to be sure to avoid because of safety reasons. While I'm sure there are certain pockets of the area that aren't great, I haven't really heard of any (unlike when I interviewed at Penn!). Your tours of apartments/homes/etc. will give you a good idea of if it's the right spot for you. My biggest warning is that I would definitely avoid living too close to the main campus because you might accidentally wind up in undergrad-central. Start at the vet school campus (we're slightly separate geographically), and draw a circle around it indicating the furthest distance you're willing to drive. Do the same for hubby's workplace and find some common ground to begin your search. Also, remember that if you don't want to move again in three years, you need to be within a 15-20 minute drive max for fourth year on-call duties at most schools.
Depending on where your hubby needs to be for work, I would personally focus on places in Cary (neighboring town) and near the Crabtree Mall (where I live!). A lot of students live in these two areas. Cary is about ten minutes from the school and is a quiet suburb where you can find plenty of homes and apartments/condos for rent. The area surrounding the Crabtree Mall has toooons of different apartment and condo complexes for all kinds of needs and budgets. I got a great deal on a 1 bedroom in a quiet, safe, convenient complex ($485/mo!) and there are plenty of other great places to live. You're about an 8-10 minute drive from school when here. Both places offer every convenience that you could want within arms reach and are good starting points.
I'm also trying to decide on the best time to come and see the school would be. Do they usually have their open house before april?
The Welcome Weekend will be held on April 1st and 2nd this year, so you do have time to decide afterward before the deadline.
Also are they good about financial aid and letting you know before you have to make a decision? I'm not sure if I will be able to try to get IS residency, because I have a great job at home that I work at every summer and would hate to not work there this coming summer before starting vet school.
Financial aid in the form of government educational loans is pretty much what all of us subsist on unless you're coming into this as a second career/have lots of savings/have parents footing the bill. You basically fill out the FAFSA and a few other school documents, and you will definitely have loans to pay for everything.
As far as residency goes, I'm currently going through the process myself, but everyone that follows the simple steps has been very successful in years past. I would say that no matter how great of a job you have over the summer, you NEED to seriously consider what you could be throwing away with putting residency off for even just a year. The difference between a year of OOS and IS tuition is somewhere in the area of $22,000. And if you add in interest on those loans...it will obviously add up quickly post-graduation. I had to leave the job that I'd worked at for some point every year since 10th grade to move here in early July, and for that amount of potential debt, it was worth it!!! You can move here in late July or so and still qualify for IS residency applications the next year if you rush to get everything completed. Plus, since orientation starts the first week of August, you're really only losing an additional two weeks at home.
DON'T underestimate the influence of those loans on your future lifestyle!!! I personally made my vet school app and acceptance decisions largely on potential debt load. Penn was my IS school and was going to cost me an arm and a leg, so I applied to other schools where cheap OOS tuition or a switch in residency could save me a bundle. After continuing to hear throughout the year about how much financial trouble this profession is in, I'm very glad that cost was my first thought during applications.