Choosing between Ross and U of Minn.

[twelvetigers]

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Oh man (or liberated whatever woman) Look SS, you and I are NEVER going to agree on anything much less social policy, so I think it is time for you to get off your broom and just accept the fact the the two of us are simply not going to agree on anything. Stop worrying about me! I am sure that both of us will grow up to be competent practicioners, and will make enough money to keep us in the way we want, or used to want, to be accustomed to.

Whaaaaat? (Oh no you di'nt...)

 

[Caninerepro]

Whaaaaat? (Oh no you di'nt...)

Yes I did, but this is end of it, and also this is between SS and myself. I know this, and shall not make the rookie mistakes I did last time. No more legs comments. Sorry I just could not refuse.🙄 I am done now.

 

[chris03333]

(sorry couldn't resist)

Carry on...

 

[Caninerepro]

(sorry couldn't resist)

Carry on...

 

[Pandacinny]

If it's only between you and Sumstorm, why not stick it in a PM?

 

[hopefulvet21]

But, Caribbean vet schools are taught in third world countries whose locals have no concept of the fact that without us students they would be no better off than say Cuba.

Actually, when you state your opinions as facts and make outrageous comments like this, it's not just between you and Sumstorm anymore. Maybe you should go try explaining your novel theory to those locals, I bet they'd slap themselves on the forehead after you showed them how ignorant they've been!

 

[Caninerepro]

You are right. Allowing my personal battles and opinions to get in the way of what was otherwise a factual and valid argument has probably negated any positives I might have contributed to the conversation. 👎 Once again I lose, story of my life.

Nonetheless, what I said prior is true. I do have a personal history with someone who had a bad experience at a Carribbean school, although not the vet school in particular. It was not pretty and she is still getting over the trauma of the incident, as well as the local authority's response to the happening, and have been told that that is the general consensus of the natives. Also, I was involved marginally in the last military "visitation" to Grenada. So, when someone questions my position on my "patriotism", well I get a bit sensative about it.

 

[sumstorm]

Also, I was involved marginally in the last military "visitation" to Grenada. So, when someone questions my position on my "patriotism", well I get a bit sensative about it.

I didn't question your patriotism, I questioned your disparaging remark.

It's nice that you're patriotic, husband is too. He asked about your involvement in Grenada; he was a command officer involved in decisions about invasion vs. hostage rescue (I may not be saying that quite correctly, my service has been government research rather than military, so my 'translation' of his service may be slightly off.)

 

[Hopeful07]

Oh man (or liberated whatever woman) Look SS, you and I are NEVER going to agree on anything much less social policy, so I think it is time for you to get off your broom and just accept the fact the the two of us are simply not going to agree on anything. Stop worrying about me! I am sure that both of us will grow up to be competent practicioners, and will make enough money to keep us in the way we want, or used to want, to be accustomed to.

As to Pasquini's book, smile. 😍 He is pretty much considered the devil here at Colorado State. I am not sure what exactly transpired when he left, but while his book is in essence the underground bible, especially for the grad level courses, you do not dare mention his name, nor be seen with his not so little blue book in your hands if you know what is best for your future academic career here. Funny thing is, we still have a few of his posters hanging in the lab, and there are pictures of both he and Spurgeon drawing hanging beside the door to the lab. For those who do not know, Thomas Spurgeon taught here at CSU for more years than many care to remember, and Chris Pasquini got his PhD at least, and I believe his DVM as well at CSU. However there must have been a really ugly divorce, and Pasquini left to teach at Ross. Spurgeon must have followed a few years later after he retired. Apparently P now is an administrator at St. George. Beyond that I know nothing other than the fact that his name is Mudd here. You might want to ask him why, but also let him know that while he himself may be the antichrist at CSU, there are still plenty of students here who use his book on a daily basis.😎

Pasquini got his DVM at WSU, not CSU.

 

[Caninerepro]

You are right. Sorry my book is in my cubicle on campus.

 

[jglovicz]

bluesky11,
I would go to the U of M if I was in your boat. You can always travel and take overseas opportunities after school. Because you have the option it might be smart to play safe and go to the accredited US school...you never know what will happen with Ross accreditation. Also, I'm sure there are potential employers that would discriminate against a student that did not go to an accredited institution. Just my two cents. Good luck!

 

[soxbox]

O

As to Pasquini's book, smile. 😍 He is pretty much considered the devil here at Colorado State. I am not sure what exactly transpired when he left, but while his book is in essence the underground bible, especially for the grad level courses, you do not dare mention his name, nor be seen with his not so little blue book in your hands if you know what is best for your future academic career here. Funny thing is, we still have a few of his posters hanging in the lab, and there are pictures of both he and Spurgeon drawing hanging beside the door to the lab. For those who do not know, Thomas Spurgeon taught here at CSU for more years than many care to remember, and Chris Pasquini got his PhD at least, and I believe his DVM as well at CSU. However there must have been a really ugly divorce, and Pasquini left to teach at Ross. Spurgeon must have followed a few years later after he retired. Apparently P now is an administrator at St. George. Beyond that I know nothing other than the fact that his name is Mudd here. You might want to ask him why, but also let him know that while he himself may be the antichrist at CSU, there are still plenty of students here who use his book on a daily basis.😎

Unfortunately, Dr. Spurgeon did not retire from CSU. He apparently went to UC Davis for his degrees and this is from a UC Davis Class Notes Webpage (not sure of what year it was published): Thomas L. Spurgeon '73, M.S. '75, Ph.D. '83, died in January at the age of 46 following an automobile accident. Dr. Spurgeon was an associate professor of anatomy at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. His wife, Patricia Brooks, who did her residency at the UC Davis Medical Center, took her own life following her husband's death. She was 39. Dr. Brooks was an assistant professor of pathology at Colorado State University. Dr. Spurgeon is survived by two sons, Aaron and Kyle; his father, Leslie Spurgeon; his mother, Bonnie Goulding Elwood; and his brother, Galen. Dr. Brooks is survived by her mother, Helen, and her brother, Greg.

I think he died a few years ago. We have a memorial scholarship that I believe a freshman vet student gets every year and in the freshman "cubes" there is a plaque in dedication to him.

 

[Caninerepro]

Man I am just going to shut up now, and you are right. The bad part is that I actually took AY230 from Spurgeon more years ago than I care to think about. He was killed in a car crash in 1999 I believe (please I give up and am probably wrong on that too!) All these years I have walked by his photo and I had in my mind it was his predecessor who wrote the book with Pasquini even though it says Spurgeon right on the cover. What an idiot I am. Hello, we already knew that. I will shut up now. Frasier would be embarrassed for me. 😳

 

[bluesky11]

Thank you, everyone, for the responses! I just got back from a two-night visit to St. Kitts. I really loved the island, it was surprisingly cleaner then I had imagined (even in town). The whole time I was there I felt quite safe, locals said hi to me on the street and when I smiled and waved back they did not ask me for anything else. As a white female traveling alone I was not targeted by anyone asking for money nor was I the brunt of any harassment even while walking alone downtown… I know this was my first experience with the island so the odds are low that I would have something bad happen to me so soon. The locals who offered taxi rides to the tourists arriving on the cruse ships were much more outspoken then those we are used to in the US. They would yell from across the pavilion, but after a polite wave and ‘no thank you’ they stopped immediately and did not pressure, which I appreciated.

I stayed with a lovely women who rented out rooms in her house about two miles from Ross. She told me about the security that she has for her house: burglar bars on the windows and two locks on the doors… she does not go out too often after dark and recommended that I call a taxi to go the bars on the beach (‘the strip’) at about 9 PM. She encouraged me to not be frightened but to be vigilant, the same thing you would do at a crowded bar in the US (pay attention to your money and don’t take any s***. The taxi driver she called for me was super courteous and was used to taking Ross students around the island. He said he takes students around during orientation and just attended the 7th semester’s party on the beach. Just like every local I met on the island he had a super positive attitude. The taxi was a bit pricey $15 US for a short ride. Although, I do wonder if this is standard for the Ross students and if he would charge less for a local…

The next day (during the day) I took the local busses which seem to mainly transport locals because I didn’t see any tourists or students on them. The bus was cheap, only the equivalent of $1 to ride from Ross into town, I felt very safe on the bus. The drivers drive really fast though so you have to be ready to read the license plate and flag one down on the side of the road, you can request to be let off anywhere along the main road between Ross and the town. Busses are boxy-looking small vans with four bench seats in them that become full of passengers by the time you arrive in town.

During my visit I wanted to assess if I would be able to get by without a car on the island and I found out that it would be no problem. I felt safe walking on the side of the road, some students use bikes, and now I know that the bus system is another great option during the day. There are apartments within walking distance to campus which was a relief to find out.

The school was great! The students were so welcoming, excited and friendly. I tend to judge the vet schools based on the students they attract and I found I already felt like a friend to everyone I met. The students all seemed happy with their experiences and the level of their education. The anatomy lab was not as extensive as Minn. (not surprising) but it was not disappointing. Three students shared a dog cadaver which was similar to Minn., but there were not as many specimens available to look at for comparison. The lecture hall was nicer then Minn because there were screens located about every six feet suspended from the ceiling so everyone got a great view on the slides being presented (the lecture hall doesn’t really matter, it was just something I noted).

Students each do one spay before they begin rounds in the US. It was nice to hear they get some surgical practice before clinics. The stats were good: the NAVLE pass rate for Ross was 90% last year (Uof M is 91%). Ross reported a pass rate of 85% for first time PAVE test takers (after the second or third test the pass rate goes up to 99.5%). I was told that the top 25% of Ross students pass the PAVE with a 95%. It really shows that those who do well in class also do well on the PAVE. These statistics got rid of any doubts I was clinging to.

If anyone has any specific questions about my experience please let me know! I loved Ross… and I am confident now that it is a perfect option for me. I felt extremely comfortable and welcomed both on the campus and in the town. I saw that the students were supportive of one another and were welcoming and encouraging towards me. The curriculum (2.3 years on the island 1 in the states) is very attractive to me. I also learned that the curriculum is flexible so I could take a semester off if I wanted to complete a research project or internship. The support available to the students for housing, academics, immigration and everything else one needs while living on the island was extensive to ease the transition to vet school on the island.

 

[VAgirl]

Sounds like you'll be going to Ross...

I know you listed the things you liked, but I'm curious what the specific things are that are attracting you there over MN. Very curious. 🙂

 

[david594]

Students each do one spay before they begin rounds in the US. It was nice to hear they get some surgical practice before clinics. The stats were good: the NAVLE pass rate for Ross was 90% last year (Uof M is 91%). Ross reported a pass rate of 85% for first time PAVE test takers (after the second or third test the pass rate goes up to 99.5%). I was told that the top 25% of Ross students pass the PAVE with a 95%. It really shows that those who do well in class also do well on the PAVE. These statistics got rid of any doubts I was clinging to.

Something to keep in mind when comparing those numbers to US schools are that those numbers do not reflect attrition rates. Where in US schools typically >90% of students successfully graduate, while at Ross its more like 50% of students who start actually successfully complete their program.

 

[redsteven]

Something to keep in mind when comparing those numbers to US schools are that those numbers do not reflect attrition rates. Where in US schools typically >90% of students successfully graduate, while at Ross its more like 50% of students who start actually successfully complete their program.

I know everyone keeps saying that and I'm not calling you a liar or anything lol but... what's the source?

And bluesky, thanks for the great insight to Ross 🙂

 

[david594]

I'll be honest, I have been looking for a good source to back up my statement and am having a heck of a time finding one. I've found a handful of posts from people both on here and valuemd talking about the attrition rate, but no solid references. Also found a comment from a recent student on VIN.

Maybe its not that extreme, as I have only ever been working from second hand knowledge.

 

[bluesky11]

As for Ross attrition rates I have had a chance to ask two people about the stats…

My interviewer (in San Francisco) said attrition rates were from 12-20% for each class.
The Associate Dean of Ross who I spoke to on the island during my tour said they had a 12% attrition rate and that it varied for each class.

Both sources said that a large portion of that number (one even said half) was due to transfers to US schools. This was often because the students either did not like the island or wanted to be closer to home… the other half was due to various reasons, people dropping out, not enjoying vet school or the island, or being asked to leave because of poor performance.

 

[SmASurg]

I heard similar numbers from my interviewer. She said ~10% leave Ross and about half of that 10% transfer and the other half leave for the various reasons you listed.

 

[redsteven]

I'll be honest, I have been looking for a good source to back up my statement and am having a heck of a time finding one. I've found a handful of posts from people both on here and valuemd talking about the attrition rate, but no solid references. Also found a comment from a recent student on VIN.

Maybe its not that extreme, as I have only ever been working from second hand knowledge.

Alright. And sorry if I sounded harsh. I didn't mean to be.

I heard similar numbers from my interviewer. She said ~10% leave Ross and about half of that 10% transfer and the other half leave for the various reasons you listed.

Thank you very much for the confirmation.

As for Ross attrition rates I have had a chance to ask two people about the stats…

My interviewer (in San Francisco) said attrition rates were from 12-20% for each class.
The Associate Dean of Ross who I spoke to on the island during my tour said they had a 12% attrition rate and that it varied for each class.

Both sources said that a large portion of that number (one even said half) was due to transfers to US schools. This was often because the students either did not like the island or wanted to be closer to home… the other half was due to various reasons, people dropping out, not enjoying vet school or the island, or being asked to leave because of poor performance.

Since I may very well go to Ross next year, your thread here is a fantastic resource 🙂

thanks

 

[david594]

Alright. And sorry if I sounded harsh. I didn't mean to be.

I definitely didn't take it as harsh. No worries.

Just keep in mind the numbers provided by ross might be a little biased. They aren't going to tell you anything that would scare you off.

They are a for-profit business who makes more money off each student they can get to attend. They also have nothing to loose by overadmitting and then just "weeding out" as many students as necessary to get the class size down to the number of clinical spots they have secured. (A practice that doesn't fly with AVMA accredited schools)

Being blunt. Yes, I am opposed to their educational model and business model. But I do also think they graduate very competent veterinarians.

 

[feadog]

The current version of the VMSAR has tables in the back about this. Table 9 shows the number of students from each class (2007-2010) that left each school, and Table 10 breaks that down further by reason ("Low Grades" or "Other").

In the table it says ~150 students left U.S. schools (most were first or second year students). If there are ~2700 first year seats available in U.S. schools each year, that means there would be about 10,800 vet students enrolled at any given time. That makes for a nationwide attrition rate of about 1.4% if I'm doing the math right.

 

[zpinkpanther]

They are a for-profit business who makes more money off each student they can get to attend. They also have nothing to loose by overadmitting and then just "weeding out" as many students as necessary to get the class size down to the number of clinical spots they have secured. (A practice that doesn't fly with AVMA accredited schools)

I completely agree. Although I like the school for the most part and most of the profs are great, I don't like the politics. And hey, why wouldn't they admit lots of students and get their tuition money for a couple of semesters before sending them packing? Seems like a great money-making scheme to me. 🙄 Also, a lot of professors here will try to make things harder on a particular class if that class pissed them off somehow. I personally think that's BS.

My class started with 137 people. I'm afraid of what that number will be after this semester.

Sorry if I'm being a downer, but if you can't tell, I'm feeling a bit cynical about my school at the moment. 🙄

 

[david594]

My class started with 137 people. I'm afraid of what that number will be after this semester.

Can you at least give us a feel for what you think the attrition rate will be? 5%? 50%? Somewhere in between?

How many did you loose after the first semester?

 

[Mistoffeles]

Just keep in mind the numbers provided by ross might be a little biased. They aren't going to tell you anything that would scare you off.

They are a for-profit business who makes more money off each student they can get to attend. They also have nothing to loose by overadmitting and then just "weeding out" as many students as necessary to get the class size down to the number of clinical spots they have secured. (A practice that doesn't fly with AVMA accredited schools)

Being blunt. Yes, I am opposed to their educational model and business model. But I do also think they graduate very competent veterinarians.

Wow. I'm glad that you said it . . . I had almost exactly the same post on my screen, and then decided not to submit. but it wasn't nearly as well worded - mine was more advising people "follow the money." and some ranting about oligarchy (although, to be fair to myself, I did major in sociology undergrad, with focuses in criminology and organizational theory).

 

[hopefulvet21]

What exactly are the reasons they are not AVMA accredited? I keep hearing they will get accreditation soon. Do SGU and SMU run the same way?

 

[VeganChick]

I loved Ross…

Thank you, bluesky, for saying such nice things about Ross! Since Ross is the only school I was accepted to, I *have* to go there and sometimes it is a little hard to read all these posts on this thread about how everyone would choose a US school over a Caribbean one. I want to add one other positive about Ross (for me, anyway). I have lived all over the US and for some time in Europe. I have never lived on a Caribbean island - what a cool, new experience and new culture to see! I almost flipped when I saw a pic of Basseterre (the capital) where chickens were walking down the street! So, I am looking at it as a double-education - vet school and cultural experience!

During my visit I wanted to assess if I would be able to get by without a car on the island and I found out that it would be no problem.

This is a relief too, since I don't want to buy a car. Zpinkpanther - would you agree?

 

[Pandacinny]

VeganChick, when are you moving down? Are you getting excited? 🙂

 

[VeganChick]

VeganChick, when are you moving down? Are you getting excited?

Right now, I am soo stressed but soo excited! I am trying to get my house on the market in the next month and have to find foster homes for all my kids in the next 2 weeks, then get the place carpeted, painted and do all the other pre-selling things. Also starting to deal with the pre-Ross health, travel arrangements, etc. stuff. It's crazy! But I am soooo excited! Folding towels at work (I am an Assistant so I do lots of laundry) gets harder and more boring every day.

How about you? How are your preparations going? Have you found a place to live?

 

[flyhi]

Thank you, bluesky, for saying such nice things about Ross! Since Ross is the only school I was accepted to, I *have* to go there and sometimes it is a little hard to read all these posts on this thread about how everyone would choose a US school over a Caribbean one. I want to add one other positive about Ross (for me, anyway). I have lived all over the US and for some time in Europe. I have never lived on a Caribbean island - what a cool, new experience and new culture to see! I almost flipped when I saw a pic of Basseterre (the capital) where chickens were walking down the street! So, I am looking at it as a double-education - vet school and cultural experience!



This is a relief too, since I don't want to buy a car. Zpinkpanther - would you agree?

VeganChick - it is hard to read all of the negativity surrounding the Carib schools sometimes, but you know in your heart of hearts that you will be a vet and have a fabulous experience down there. Hopefully once you get there and get settled in quite a bit, you can shed some light on the what is accurate and what is not, so that others will have something to help them make a difficult decision in the future.

Zpinkpanther has been a great source of information, but unfortunately, there is not a large representative of Ross (or SGU and SMU) vet students on here. I wouldn't go on anything that is said on the Med side - totally different set of hurdles to get over.

Good Luck with getting there i'm in the same boat with SGU - and scurrying around. And i still have to take biochem in the summer 😱

 

[Tiempo]

Thank you, bluesky, for saying such nice things about Ross! Since Ross is the only school I was accepted to, I *have* to go there and sometimes it is a little hard to read all these posts on this thread about how everyone would choose a US school over a Caribbean one... So, I am looking at it as a double-education - vet school and cultural experience!

Hi VeganChick - I know what you're saying about it being a little tough to read sometimes, since I'm in the same boat as you (applied to US schools and rejected but accepted at Ross so that's where I'm going (well, unless I get admitted to SGU and I decide to go there instead for some reason but that's another story)). Even though you might not like reading what people have to say about the school, I think it is important that even in these discussions people mention that they think the grads coming out of the school are "very competent", so don't take the comments about the school itself personally!

The way I look at it is that these discussions provide some additional information (and a lot of opinion sometimes 😉) and any additional information is a good thing. I can recognize that Ross is a for-profit business entity, and yep, I would imagine they do admit many more students than they expect will complete the course of study. You probably do get tossed into classes and expected to sink-or-swim with limited hand-holding along the way. But you know what? I know all that about the school thanks (in part) to information on this board, and I'm still planning on going. Just think that you're heading into this with your eyes open, knowing a little more about what to expect than perhaps many students do when they start classes. Acknowledging some less-than-golden facts about the school doesn't mean you're a crappy person for going there! It just means you know what's going on, you can acknowledge it and accept it, and still say "Right, knowing that, I know I have to be prepared for x, y, and z" and then be prepared. Obviously, not being on the island or attending classes makes this all a lot of conjecture, but I'm expecting this to be a little more like grad school than an undergrad situation - I know I have material that I have to learn and I'm not going into this expecting it to be spoon-fed to me. If I'm wrong, well, I'll learn that soon enough! 🙂

I almost chimed in on this thread earlier, to say that if I would have been accepted to a US school, then yes, I would have attended a US school. Not because I think I won't succeed at Ross, but because of all the extra steps. Personally, going to a non-AVMA accredited school is just an extra step I'd rather not have to deal with, but that's just me. The OP realizes that there are additional steps to going to Ross, and accepts that, and that is great for her!

Anywho. Don't feel bad about the school, they can't be all bad since they let us in!

 

[VAgirl]

I almost chimed in on this thread earlier, to say that if I would have been accepted to a US school, then yes, I would have attended a US school. Not because I think I won't succeed at Ross, but because of all the extra steps. Personally, going to a non-AVMA accredited school is just an extra step I'd rather not have to deal with, but that's just me.

This was my only point in this whole discussion. I find it hard to believe anyone would specifically chose the likely harder route if they had the option. But obviously the OP has proved me wrong on this, at least for some.

 

[zpinkpanther]

VeganChick, I'm really sorry if I made you feel bad about Ross. My feelings about the school are definitely skewed right now, since I'm in the middle of 2 weeks of finals and one of our professors has done several things that are against the school handbook, so I'm feeling a bit down about it at the moment. Don't feel bad about coming to Ross at all! You'll have fun, make great friends, work your ass off, and, although you have more hoops to jump through, you will become a vet. I was in the same boat as you- I came here because it was my only option (besides waiting a year and reapplying, which isn't a guarantee, and let's face it, I was getting impatient). If I could have gone somewhere else, I would have, but only because 1) I don't like this island and 2) it would be easier not to have to go through the PAVE or ECFVG. Has nothing to do with the quality of the school, which I think is great for the most part.

david- I'm not sure about attrition rates, but we lost probably about 10 people from last semester. We also gained some from the class above us that were repeating 2nd. I do know that my class was one of the biggest incoming classes they've had in a while, for one reason or another.

About getting around the island without a car... it's possible, but for me personally it wouldn't be a comfortable situation. First of all, there are plenty of place to live near campus (I can think of 8 of my classmates off the top of my head that walk/bike ride to school every day). If you do live that close, you'll also need a way to get to the store. There are taxis (about $7 US for a round trip) and buses (about $1 US to hop on), but personally I wouldn't take the buses, because they creep me out. When I lived on campus 1st semester, I took a taxi to the grocery store every weekend. Another option is asking to hitch a ride to the grocery store with friends when they go. The big reason all of these options bother me is that I don't like depending on other people for my transportation, but that's just my issue, so if you don't mind it, then you should be fine.

Some other transportation options to think about: a scooter or ATV (there are a few on the island), or a bike. Once in a while someone's selling a bike, and I think there may be a bike shop somewhere, but I'm not sure if it sells them or just repairs them. One of my good friends brought her bike from the states down here with her- she took it apart, put it in its box, paid $100 to take it on the plane, and put it back together when she got down here.

Whew, I'm long-winded! Okay, back to physio I go... 😎

 

[VeganChick]

I'm really sorry if I made you feel bad about Ross

Oh, no, it has nothing to do with you, zpink 🙂. All of my insecurities stem from a conversation I had with my own vet a few years ago when I told her I was going to start the process of applying to vet school. She had a colleague that had just graduated from UPEI and was telling me about how incompetent the colleague was. So, she then segued into how I definitely need to go to a US school and avoid international ones. Since she is also a good friend of mine, it has felt like she gave me an "honest" viewpoint from someone in the industry.

It's funny how these things stick with you. When I was eight years old, I overheard my pediatrician say to my mom, "she's a little husky, isn't she?" and almost twenty years later, after battling anorexia for eight years, I can still picture that scale in the hall and hear the doctor's furtive whisper and think I am just one meal away from being that "husky" girl again.

Thank you all for functioning as my therapists in this post 🙂. Can you tell I am also a little OCD?

 

[Pandacinny]

How about you? How are your preparations going? Have you found a place to live?

I haven't found a place to live yet, but I'm working on it and hope to pretty soon. I'm NOT looking forward to moving. Packing is the worst. I bet it's even less fun for you, though!

 

[VeganChick]

Packing is the worst. I bet it's even less fun for you, though!

It is so weird! I am 38 and until I moved here, I haven't lived anywhere (as an adult) more than a year-and-a-half. As a result, I have all this stuff from all these places that I have been moving around from place to place for years. So now, going through all this stuff, it is half nostalgic and bittersweet, and half "why did I keep dragging this around?"

I am dividing all my stuff between 1) keep to take, 2) keep to store, 3) donate and 4) toss. And my poor little house has all four piles in every room!

So, where in Baltimore are you? I want to get up there to visit before I leave. I used to work on Pier V at the McCormick & Schmick's.

 

[Pandacinny]

I'm in the county right now, actually, sort of the halethorpe/arbutus area. When you come up, you should go get a crepe at Soffi's Crepes. I love them!

 

[sumstorm]

VeganChick, if it makes you feel any better, one of the vets I work with insists on telling me during every shift I work with her, how incompetent vets that graduate from NCSU are. On and on and on. She told me they haven't ever even stitched up a dog when they graduate, they can't do any surgery, are horrible diagnosticians, etc.

So, it happens with domestic schools as well.

 

[zpinkpanther]

VeganChick, if it makes you feel any better, one of the vets I work with insists on telling me during every shift I work with her, how incompetent vets that graduate from NCSU are. On and on and on. She told me they haven't ever even stitched up a dog when they graduate, they can't do any surgery, are horrible diagnosticians, etc.

So, it happens with domestic schools as well.

Don't believe that for a second, sumstorm! I have a friend who's about to graduate from NCSU and she's done lots of surgeries- not only on dogs/cats, but also quite a few on exotics as well, since that's her main interest. I don't think anyone should be putting down a school that they never attended.

 

[sumstorm]

LOL! I don't believe what the doc says about NCSU! I actually asked lots of questions when touring the school and feel very confident of the education I will obtain.

I have to agree about professionals comparing schools...how can anyone do that if they haven't attended both schools relatively recently?

I think she is struggling with her debt and with some unhappiness with where her career is going, and having a hard time seeing another excited about vet school.