What is it like being a vet student in your respective cities? For instance, I applied to UPenn, and I am getting nervous there may be too many distractions living in such a large city (noise, etc). I'd love to here the pros and cons of where your school is situated from the perspective of a vet student...especially from students at UPenn, CSU, Michigan State, and Cornell (where I applied).
Speaking strictly about Cornell's location and not the DVM program itself...
Pros:
- cost of living is relatively cheap (at least compared to UPenn and probably CSU too), especially if you are willing to have roommates (incidentally I do not have roommates, but living is still MUCH cheaper than when I lived with and without roommates in Philly and the Philly burbs)
- lots of fun outdoorsy stuff to do! Cayuga Lake is beautiful and there is plenty to do on it (kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, swimming, etc). The gorges are in fact beautiful, and they make for some great hiking (and snowshoeing in the winter, so I'm told). There is a ski resort about 30 mins away, although I haven't been there yet so I can't speak to size, quality, etc. I've heard good things, though. Basically if you like the outdoors, Ithaca is a great place
- if you happen to have a horse (as I do), there are lots of reasonably priced barns to choose from
- there is a LOT of great food in Ithaca, from awesome restaurants downtown to a really great local farmers market. For its size, the number of restaurants (and quality restaurants, at that) is really impressive
- public transportation in and around Ithaca seems to be good, although I have a car so I haven't used it as much as others do. As a new-to-Cornell student you get a free bus pass for your first year, and the buses in Ithaca can get you just about anywhere you need to go
- there is an airport in Ithaca, about 10 minutes away from Cornell (
see cons)
- the summer and fall in Ithaca are beautiful. It doesn't often get excruciatingly hot (maybe 1 week out of the summer), and it's always nice and cool in the evening/at night which I love. I would choose Ithaca's summer and fall over NYC's or Philly's any day
- lots of fun events downtown throughout the year, including an Apple Festival, Ice Sculpture Competition, Chowder Cookoff, etc.
- not as many things to do as a larger town or city, which can make it easier to study at times (i miss being able to go to MLB games!)
- if you like ice hockey, Cornell rocks!
Cons:
- it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. You can drive an hour to Syracuse, which is a decently sized city, but honestly other than the mall and a few good restaurants there isn't much there either. It takes about 45 minutes to even get to an interstate... easy to feel isolated, even though Ithaca is a decently sized mini city itself
- it's effing cold, and it snows a lot. I haven't lived through an entire Ithaca winter yet so my understanding of just HOW cold and snowy it gets is limited, but based on what I've seen so far... it's effing cold and it kinda sucks. You will go many many days on end without actually seeing the sun.
- since the airport in Ithaca is very small, flights in and out of it are limited and
expensive (Syracuse airport is a bit more reasonable, but 1 hour away)
- if you like to shop regularly/have access to stores that many would consider to be staples (Macys, Nordstrom, etc), I hope you're okay with online shopping or driving an hour to Syracuse. There's a mall in Ithaca, but depending on where you're coming from and what you're used to, there's a good chance it will disappoint you profoundly
- if you're a professional sports fan, I hope you're content with merely watching them on TV
(having lived in/outside of NYC and Philly, this was an adjustment for me!) Along the same lines, with the exception of men's ice hockey, Cornell isn't too much of an exciting college sports school if you happen to be into that
- it's a small town (this could also be a pro, depending on how you look at it). After awhile, everyone you see starts to look familiar even if you don't actually know them, because you probably saw them in Wegmans yesterday and once last week too. You'll probably see your professors in Dunkin Donuts and the supermarket, your dean of students in the ice cream shop, and the dean of admissions at the gym (speaking from just a few months of experience)
that's all I can think of for now... if I think of more I'll add! PM me with any questions.
EDIT:
another con... although public transportation is decent, i can't imagine not having a car in ithaca. people do it, but from what i can tell it's not all that easy... and you will definitely need a car for clinics starting third year
). On the other hand, our second biochem test was killer with almost half the class getting a D or an F. And our developmental anatomy test had a lot of bad grades too. I think it is really easy to get behind and before you know it, it snowballs out of control and it is very hard, if not impossible, to get caught up again. We lost one student to stress and came close to losing at least 2 more due to grades. They did try to ease us into it and there are plenty of resources; a counselor, administration and the professors themselves, but you have to seek them out. I don't think they are purposely trying to weed us out like some classes in undergrad. They know how much time, effort and money we have spent trying to get here. The interviews are for weeding out the wannabees and if you can survive the application process and the interview, I think LSU really does want you to succeed.
