Abroad trips? Worthwhile experience or overpriced?

[neocia]

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I'm the co-president of the pre-veterinary club at my university and we're seriously considering planning a veterinary abroad trip this year.... go to Guatamala or Thailand on a tour program, help local animals under a vet's supervision, the whole nine yards.

However, as many of you know, these trips are (including airfare) around $2000+ per person for just a week -- and during this week, I believe the first and last day(s) are spent enroute to your work site 😱 So my question is, in your opinions, are these sort of vet abroad trips "worth it" or is it more of a pricey vacation? I've seen mixed reviews.. some people claim they had very little hands-on experience and the tour group gave them too much sight-seeing time instead of animal time. Others say it inspired them to do this sort of work when they get their DVM....

Thoughts? Thank you!! 🙂

 

[cs5910]

Personally, I think you could find areas in the US that are under-representated in veterinary care, rather than traveling half way around the world to do the same thing. I have heard from my med school friends that med school admissions committees look at it kind of the same way- help people/animals in your own backyard in order to show commitment, don't just go abroad because it seems like a checklist item to check off. I feel like AdComs would find it a little ingenuine that someone's "whole life changed" during a trip that lasted a couple days which mostly consisted of touring the sights. Unless you were to show a commitment to that country and return multiple times, I could see it hurting you, rather than helping you from an admissions point-of-view. I am not sure how vet med admission committees look at those trips, but it could potentially be very similar. Plus, it would save you thousands of dollars if you found somewhere in your state to help out and learn. (I.e. Thousands of dollars that you could potentially use for your applications/interview trips).

Just my two cents!

 

[crazycatlady]

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[crazycatlady]

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[Frozenshades]

Personally, I think you could find areas in the US that are under-representated in veterinary care, rather than traveling half way around the world to do the same thing. I have heard from my med school friends that med school admissions committees look at it kind of the same way- help people/animals in your own backyard in order to show commitment, don't just go abroad because it seems like a checklist item to check off. I feel like AdComs would find it a little ingenuine that someone's "whole life changed" during a trip that lasted a couple days which mostly consisted of touring the sights. Unless you were to show a commitment to that country and return multiple times, I could see it hurting you, rather than helping you from an admissions point-of-view. I am not sure how vet med admission committees look at those trips, but it could potentially be very similar. Plus, it would save you thousands of dollars if you found somewhere in your state to help out and learn. (I.e. Thousands of dollars that you could potentially use for your applications/interview trips).

Just my two cents!

I don't think it would hurt, but it may not help either. You might gain some interesting experiences, but I agree with cs that claiming it as a life changing event seems a bit much. Not trying to devalue international experiences, but it seems to be a pretty common thing these days for students.

That said, I think international interests and experiences can be of interest to adcoms, if you're truly genuine about it and have a special interest. For all 3 years in undergrad I had a big focus on international work, helped start a university student group for it, the group contacted the national chapter and became affiliated, over the previous years we sent several groups of students (including myself) to volunteer at an exotic animal rehabilitation place in Ecuador, made a lot of contacts at various vet schools who do international work and research, etc. It was all my interviewers wanted to talk about.

What I would say is to do it if you want, but do it for you, not for another thing to put on your application. And if you just go on one trip, take it for what it is and accept that it really may not add very much substance to your app, but as long as you enjoy it that's what matters.

As for exactly what experience you'll get while abroad, that really depends on your trip.

 

[dalmatiandoc17]

I'm a little nervous about my upcoming VIDA trip to Guatemala because it includes so much "package tour" stuff like ziplining, a swimming/beach day, soccer, and salsa dancing lessons. I hope I love it, but I'm worried I'm going to come away from the experience annoyed that I paid ~$2500 (plus food, supplies, and the required donations) for only 6 days of actual clinical volunteering (on a 2 week trip), for a max of about 48 hours of vet experience

I hope you don't regret it!

I loved my VIDA trips (liked it so much the first time I coordinated one😍)! Honestly you will be EXHAUSTED from your clinic days, they will be long and hard (and amazing!) so you will appreciate the time off doing other things. Also you probably will get more than 48 hours, the clinics can go long easily and you can count your orientation day which is taught by the lead Vet.

And to the OP: I have to say I thought it was worth it. I found a reasonably priced one (VIDA) compared to others advertised at my school. I was also able to do things on the trip I couldn't get from the US (surgery, and other trips do species like tigers that are hard to really work with here). I think it does help admissions because it's diverse and alerts you to veterinary medicine in other cultures. While I think it helps it is certainly not a golden ticket to get you admitted. And obviously this would not make up for poor awareness of vet med in your home country or lack of volunteering at home.

 

[twelvetigers]

I loved my VIDA trip too, no regrets. I think you will have fun and learn a lot too.

 

[Escalla]

I loved my trip to Peru with World Vets. If you have the funds, do it! It was a great chance to travel and gain experience. Gaining exposure to vet med in a different country was an easy topic to discuss in my interview as well.

 

[thenuttyclub]

I went to Costa Rica for a month with ISV. Not veterinary experience, but animal related all the same. 2 weeks were volunteering on a conservation project, and 2 weeks were spent traveling the country. In my opinion, it was definitely worth the experience. All other things aside, it was supremely character building, allowed me to reflect on my current path and goals, and also expand my horizons. If you haven't done much traveling, volunteering abroad is a great way to hit two birds with one stone. Plus, you can always fund-raise. 🙂

 

[equineconstant]

If you haven't done much traveling, volunteering abroad is a great way to hit two birds with one stone.

I didn't do anything like VIDA, but I did spend a summer in Ireland at an equine veterinary practice. For me, pre-vet requirements prevented a semester abroad so this was my way of getting that experience anyway. I am 100% glad I did it; however, it was a totally different experience from what you are talking about (months rather than weeks, a developed nation rather than a developing one). Just another perspective.

 

[ChittyBang]

Also, I should add that many Native American/First Nations reservations are essentially accessible third world countries, so consider those locations as well. (I once lived in a rural rez town with no vet, and the situation for animals was horrifying-- not because the people were "bad," but because they were just so poor.) I'd love to go on a RAVS trip (west/midwest/plains), but the first year I was waitlisted, and then none of their trips worked with my schedule this summer. Someone on this forum recently suggested another such program on the east coast, NAVS: http://www.pavetfoundation.org/navsparticipation.aspx

👍 👍 👍

 

[bookworm1204]

I did a VIDA trip last summer, and the pre-vet organization at my school gave me some money to help cover it. You may want to see if something like that is available for you if you're worried about the expense.

My trip was a wonderful experience, and I definitely learned a lot. If you have the opportunity to do volunteer work in a disadvantaged area, I would encourage you to take it. It could be in a developing country, or as others have said, there are plenty of places right in our own backyard that could use some volunteers. They would love to give their animals better care, but they don't have the means to do it. They are very grateful for the help. I think it's important for us (and everyone else) to get some understanding of the situation that poor people are in. These trips are a good way to do that.