Choosing a college--advice please!

[heyimhayley]

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Hi everyone! My name is Hayley and I'm a senior in high school, currently with 2 weeks to choose a college. I keep going back and forth, so I was hoping for some input. It's between Fordham or Villanova.

Let me just recap what I already know and hopefully some of you know more.

Fordham: They don't have specific advisors for pre-vet, but they have general pre-health advisors to make sure you take all the right classes, the usual stuff. There's only about 10 pre-vet students in the entire school (I think that's pretty universal though). I've heard there are plenty of opportunities to get animal care experience in: Bronx Zoo, specifically, and local vet offices for internships/volunteering. I haven't heard anything about a pre-vet club and how helpful that could be. (Side note, Fordham's only an hour away from home for me, so I could potentially continue to work for my family vet that I've been volunteering for for a year now).

Villanova: No pre-vet advisory program. The head of the pre-health department said for vet students, making sure your classes fit is really something you do on your own. Again, there's less than 20 pre-vet students. For animal care hours, there are local vet offices to volunteer at of course. I've heard very occasionally New Bolton lets Villanova kids volunteer. Pre-vet club is only 1 year old, so they wouldn't exactly be too helpful yet. My college consular voted this one because they have a stronger science program/academics overall. Proximity to UPenn could be a plus, but it's unlikely I could make connections at all as a Villanova student.

I feel like they both seem to be about the same. But the Pre-Vet and animal care opportunities is the number 1 most important thing to me picking a college. So any advice/input would be greatly appreciated in making this important decision.

Thanks!!
Hayley 🙂

 

[zoovet]

Are finances a concern? If you're pre-vet, you should probably make the more financially responsible choice, with some foresight in regard to the fact that veterinary school tuition is expensive and on the rise. Also, because many schools don't necessarily consider school name/reputation (check this, this was the case for my in-state... which was somewhat irritating for me, even though I ended up getting in...)

I was more pre-PhD when I started undergrad, and chose to go to one of the most expensive schools in the country. Granted, it's a research powerhouse and a top 20 university so I was able to publish as a junior in a good journal, I got a coveted spot in a really prestigious lab at NIH after graduation, etc. but sometimes I wonder if I really would have missed out on such opportunities had I accepted the full-ride to my state school.

 

[PetPony]

Making sure you take the right classes really isn't that hard. We have tons of pre-vets here, so our advisors know what they're doing, but I don't really depend on that. I pick my classes before going to advising and my advisor just signs a paper saying we picked classes. You just have to check requirements for the schools you are interested in.

About the pre-vet club. How do you know they won't be helpful? Maybe the members know a lot of people, have plans for meetings, etc. but just haven't started the club before then. They could still be a great resource.

One having a good science department also sounds great.

What type of medicine are you interested in?

 

[zoovet]

Also, the pre-vet pre-reqs are almost identical to pre-med pre-reqs in most cases.
You also have summers to get more meaningful experiences, AND don't forget that research experience is important/helpful, too. 🙂

 

[bbeventer]

I would defiantly pick the more financially feasible school and the one you feel most comfortable at. Really getting into vet school is not about where you go, its about how you preform. I never once saw my pre-health advisor at my school. I picked my own classes that I knew I had to take and that I was interested in.

 

[PetPony]

Also, the pre-vet pre-reqs are almost identical to pre-med pre-reqs in most cases.
You also have summers to get more meaningful experiences, AND don't forget that research experience is important/helpful, too. 🙂

That's why I was asking which path (small, large, etc.) she is interested in. I was thinking about the research, too.

 

[zoovet]

That's why I was asking which path (small, large, etc.) she is interested in. I was thinking about the research, too.

yeah, sorry, i didn't see your post before i added my second comment 🙂

 

[Emiloo4]

Please do not choose a school based on advisors. We have seen one too many times how discouraging, unhelpful, and straight up wrong some "pre-vet" advisors have been. I'm not saying all of them, but it is definitely not a reason to choose a school. You can easily find the classes you need to take in 20 seconds looking on a vet school's website. I've never been to an advisor in my life and I managed just fine.

When I was in undergrad, my pre-vet club was brand new as well, and we had some really awesome meetings, guest speakers, and necropsy opportunities. Don't let the fact it's only a year old deter you. It may even give you a better chance to get a leadership role in the club! 👍

I agree with the cheaper option as well.
Getting into vet school is about what YOU are able to make of the experience of undergrad. Get good grades wherever you go, get vet experience, leadership experience, etc, and rock your GRE. Find things that will set you apart from the thousands of other applicants. Mine was music and bowhunting lol, anything! Be well rounded!

 

[PetPony]

yeah, sorry, i didn't see your post before i added my second comment 🙂

I didn't specifically say it, so it's fine.

I never even thought about the reasons why I'd choose one school over the other. The only thing that made me decide was money.

I'm pretty lucky it ended up being a school with good resources for pretty much everything. Hahaha

 

[wildcatj]

I would absolutely pick the less expensive option. That's something I wish someone told me when I was picking undergrad. If you are planing on doing any further education you should pick your cheapest choice. I lucked out in that I chose to go to my state school, but even now I wish that I had done some classes at CC to save money. A lot of vet schools don't care where you did your undergrad and it's becoming more acceptable to take some pre reqs at CC. So if you'd be happier at either school, pick the cheaper of the two. You'll thank yourself later when you're crying about vet school tuition 🙂

And I second the bit about not picking based on advising. We have a good sized pre-vet program at my school (probably 50 kids), but the department is TERRIBLE. I'm not a pre-vet student, so I don't have to meet with the one advisor, but I did go see him once to ask about applying to vet school and all he did was hand me the curriculum for the pre-vet program. So useless I can't even tell you. Has no idea what it actually takes to get into a program and that's reflected in what the pre-vet students think is important in applications.

 

[zoovet]

When I was in undergrad, my pre-vet club was brand new as well, and we had some really awesome meetings, guest speakers, and necropsy opportunities. Don't let the fact it's only a year old deter you. It may even give you a better chance to get a leadership role in the club! 👍

could you start a pre-vet club at the other school? that would also force you to pursue novel experiences, form relationships with speakers from organizations that you'd have speak/visit, etc.

also, my school didn't have a pre-vet club, and my advisor was like a 'health professional' advisor that advised MAYBE one pre-vet every other year MAX.

I would absolutely pick the less expensive option. That's something I wish someone told me when I was picking undergrad. If you are planing on doing any further education you should pick your cheapest choice. I lucked out in that I chose to go to my state school, but even now I wish that I had done some classes at CC to save money. A lot of vet schools don't care where you did your undergrad and it's becoming more acceptable to take some pre reqs at CC. So if you'd be happier at either school, pick the cheaper of the two. You'll thank yourself later when you're crying about vet school tuition 🙂

also, i just remembered, one vet school actually said to me verbatim, "we'd rather have an applicant not even have a bachelor's degree and get straight A's in the pre-reqs at a community college than go to Harvard and get B's" ...just a thought.

 

[OH Bunny Girl]

I agree with Emiloo. 👍

My pre-health advisor was ZERO help, and only told me things I wanted to hear, not constructive criticism. Undergrad is what you make of it, but you could maybe look into what upper level science courses are offered? Those might give you an extra leg up if you have the option to take embryology, parasitology, nutrition, etc.

 

[RadRadTerp]

If one school has more opportunities for you to do some cool research and can fund students in those labs because they're doing good research, then that might help you out in the long run. Because I went a big state school with a big science and engineering foundation, I was able to land a laboratory job and internship that helped me get Howard Hughes funding and travel to national meetings (+ a trip to Montreal for an ASV meeting) without paying a dime. Every vet school interview I went on made a point to ask me about my research experiences.

 

[Tco87]

I support what everyone else said about picking the more financially reasonable school. I, unfortunately, went to a private university for undergrad and wouldn't advise doing the same if you can avoid it.

I also second that you can start a pre-vet club at the school that doesn't have one. And if you don't like the one that currently exists at the other school, try joining, getting a leadership role, and making it better.

And regarding New Bolten - I volunteered there as a foal sitter for two seasons. Unless something has changed, it doesn't matter where you go to school or what you do if you want to volunteer. You just fill out a simple application, go to an orientation, sign some waivers and begin.

 

[cowgirla]

I know a lot of people in various science programs who have gone through Fordham and gotten a good, quality education.
I only know a handful of lib arts/english majors who chose villanova.

I also know a few veterinarrians who went to FU.

If FU is close to home, and affrodable for you, I'd prob consider that one. But a lot of it might come down to the feel of the school for you. Like others said, consider the debt loads as well.

 

[TigerWillow]

Just to let you know, you definitely don't need an advisor. The pre health department at my school totally revamped itself my final year there (yay for me. NOT). I never went in to ask them how to become a vet. I used online sources and SDN!

Also, I was practically the only pre vet at my school of THOUSANDS of people and tons of pre meds, yet I got all my prereqs and everything I needed to do just fine to be competitive (maybe id make a great advisor lol). Definitely agree on choosing the cheaper choice. I loved my school but boy was it expensive. And really, there might be many opportunities at larger schools but sometimes you don't have time for them or are in competition with all the other premeds. College is what you make of it, no matter where you go! Just be unique in whatever you do 🙂

 

[SnowyRox]

You can definitely volunteer at new bolton doing foal watch if you want to. Foals like to pop out at crazy hours, but I have heard good things about how interesting it can be.

I think that Villanova has a better national reputation, but it definitely has a great regional reputation. I know several students who go there and loved the school. I took a few summer classes there and thought the professors were decent. The jocks drove me crazy, but that is what you get during summer classes at any D1 school.

There are two train stations on the villanova campus so you get the philly experience without the pain of living in philly.

It is easy enough to get to Penn and with some initiative you can get some great experience.

 

[bipolarbear123]

I say go wherever you want! Like you said, they sound about the same to you. As long as you perform well in your undergrad (get good grades, be involved), you should be fine. You can get vet experience at either school, and the majority of your experience will probably come from summer work, anyway. Good luck making a decision!

 

[hopefulinva]

Please do not choose a school based on advisors.

I second this absolutely. I came in to Virginia Tech doing pre-vet (not the major; I majored in Biology), and you would think, being that it shares a campus with VMRCVM, we'd have a pretty strong pre-vet advisor.

Not so.

The only help I got was a printout from the AVMC website of the things VMRCVM looks for in a student - a printout I had found on my own months prior. And I had gone to him asking about Illinois, so there that is.

could you start a pre-vet club at the other school? that would also force you to pursue novel experiences, form relationships with speakers from organizations that you'd have speak/visit, etc.

This is a grand idea, too. =) Leadership capabilities, networking, etc etc. It can be a frustrating journey to begin a club, but it'll help you develop some key characteristics.


And as Emiloo also stated - be well-rounded! VT has an awesome pre-vet club that I have never been a member of, simply because I've opted to do other things with my time. More and more these days it seems like schools are looking for people who yeah, are dedicated to the field, but they're also well-versed in other skills and hobbies, as well. 👍


SO all of this to say - whichever has the better football team. Obviously! 😉

 

[Emiloo4]

SO all of this to say - whichever has the better football team. Obviously! 😉

👍👍👍😀

 

[kernel]

Make sure you like the location. Not just the region (granted, V and F are both in the NE), but the surrounding city/town as well as the accompanying weather. I am NOT a cold weather person and I spend most of my time being miserable in cold, dry air.