Class of 2021 . . . how ya doin?

[Abnerrs]

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One of my biggest pieces of advice is, if you are struggling ask for help. Ask your class, ask your professors. And don't wait until it's too late. Most in your class, and the cvm people all want you to succeed.

Asking for help is a sign of a strong, brave person, not a weak one.

 

[Trilt]

There's a lot of things I'm excited about, but this one's kinda weird...

I'm really excited to finally be in the competition and see how I stack up against other vet students. My major has like 5% pre-vet people, so I'm really interested to see how well I can do in vet school. I'm a competitive person, academically, so I'm ready for some new competition hahaha.

Cut this out right now and you will be a happier person for four years.

 

[PigFarmer25]

Not everyone will like everyone. That's OK. As long as everyone treats each other with respect then it'll be fine.

You'll find your group that works for you. Whether it's 10 people or 1.

And sometimes, you may need to study different subjects with different people. But it'll all work out.

Yes that's more of what I meant! I have heard that about studying different subjects with different people! It'll be interesting to form my "group" at vet school.

 

[cdo96]

When you try to say something one way but it comes out completely wrong and people end up misinterpreting it...

 

[Caiter92]

Yes that's more of what I meant! I have heard that about studying different subjects with different people! It'll be interesting to form my "group" at vet school.

I literally only study with one person. We have really similar study styles and work well together. Other people study with like 10 people. You'll find what works best for you 🙂

 

[deleted806434]

Not gonna lie, I am pretty concerned about the (potentially) competitive nature of vet school. I hope my class ends up being supportive for the most part. There's nothing I hate more than comparing grades with people. Or comparing answers after exams. I will gladly run away after an exam to avoid this

 

[vetmedhead]

So what is everyone looking forward to the most when we start? I'm looking forward to being around like minded people and opportunities to see super cool things everyday!

I'm looking forward to the neverending excitement, which will end 8 seconds in to Day 1. Then I'm looking forward to the neverending public suffering, which I'm told never stops. 😛

 

[vetmedhead]

Not gonna lie, I am pretty concerned about the (potentially) competitive nature of vet school. I hope my class ends up being supportive for the most part. There's nothing I hate more than comparing grades with people. Or comparing answers after exams. I will gladly run away after an exam to avoid this

Just wear sunglasses everywhere. It's hard to have no chill when you're next to the epitome of chill. 😎

 

[DVMDream]

When you try to say something one way but it comes out completely wrong and people end up misinterpreting it...

Too late, you are now eggunner. 🙂

 

[vetmedhead]

Too late, you are now eggunner. 🙂

Instead of a runny egg she's a gunny egg 😉

 

[Caiter92]

I'm looking forward to the neverending excitement, which will end 8 seconds in to Day 1. Then I'm looking forward to the neverending public suffering, which I'm told never stops. 😛

The first hour of the first day was great. Then in our second lecture our anatomy professor said you learn something like 5000 words in your first year and I was internally panicking the rest of the day and called my mom on the way home crying that I wasn't smart enough to learn that many words. Don't be like me 😛

 

[cdo96]

Too late, you are now eggunner. 🙂

once upon a time I was a 9 year old. Then I was 6, then 4, then 6 months, then a fetus, then a quail egg, and finally eggunner. I've come a long way.

 

[Abnerrs]

You guys are all probably smarter than I am. Don't sweat it.

Just get used to feeling like an imposter that will totally mess up and you'll be fine!

 

[vetmedhead]

The first hour of the first day was great. Then in our second lecture our anatomy professor said you learn something like 5000 words in your first year and I was internally panicking the rest of the day and called my mom on the way home crying that I wasn't smart enough to learn that many words. Don't be like me 😛

Tbh my goal for vet school is to be like the creamy zen center of my class. Once everybody punches through the hard anxiety shell of all of the other students they'll find me, chilling, probably talking about my cat too much and trying to invite people to movies with me.

 

[cohen2000]

crud. that's not quite what I meant. I meant more of the lines of competing with myself. I'm really really supportive of my classmates. idk how to phrase it. agh.

I definitely think it's possible to be competitive but also be supportive of classmates. I'm always disappointed when I don't do as well as others on an exam, and I feel accomplished whenever I get the highest grade. Either way, I'm still talking to my classmates to help them and myself understand the material better, and I never let my competitive nature prevent me from helping and working with others. Perhaps this is what you meant @cdoconn ?

 

[WildZoo]

Tbh my goal for vet school is to be like the creamy zen center of my class. Once everybody punches through the hard anxiety shell of all of the other students they'll find me, chilling, probably talking about my cat too much and trying to invite people to movies with me.

It's a great role to have 🙂

 

[vetmedhead]

I definitely think it's possible to be competitive but also be supportive of classmates. I'm always disappointed when I don't do as well as others on an exam, and I feel accomplished whenever I get the highest grade. Either way, I'm still talking to my classmates to help them and myself understand the material better, and I never let my competitive nature prevent me from helping and working with others. Perhaps this is what you meant @cdoconn ?

No, cdo's definitely gonna shoulder check some of the weaker classmates day one to establish her street cred. 😉

 

[Bottle of Bear]

Being in a new place. Feeling like I'm actively working towards my future instead of running on a treadmill. Taking advantage of new opportunities to become the best person/vet I can be. Meeting new people (for the most part). All kinds of things, really.

As for before school starts, I'll be working on the items on my pre-vet bucket list (video games, books, travel, etc.)

 

[Caiter92]

Tbh my goal for vet school is to be like the creamy zen center of my class. Once everybody punches through the hard anxiety shell of all of the other students they'll find me, chilling, probably talking about my cat too much and trying to invite people to movies with me.

I'm way too chill about school. We have four exams and 9 quizzes over the next two weeks before break. Everyone is freaking and out and I'm over here like, "pshhhh, it'll be fine. I'll prepare by watching another four hours of The Office tonight." 😀

 

[cdo96]

I definitely think it's possible to be competitive but also be supportive of classmates. I'm always disappointed when I don't do as well as others on an exam, and I feel accomplished whenever I get the highest grade. Either way, I'm still talking to my classmates to help them and myself understand the material better, and I never let my competitive nature prevent me from helping and working with others. Perhaps this is what you meant @cdoconn ?

YES!

 

[cdo96]

No, cdo's definitely gonna shoulder check some of the weaker classmates day one to establish her street cred. 😉

Yo if you don't establish yourself as alpha, you're gonna end up beta. 😉

 

[Trilt]

Yo if you don't establish yourself as alpha, you're gonna end up beta. 😉

I've heard you have to not break eye contact

 

[SkiOtter]

As for before school starts, I'll be working on the items on my pre-vet bucket list (video games, books, travel, etc.)

Visiting Michigan, right???

 

[cdo96]

I've heard you have to not break eye contact

Well that's one way to do it. I just never blink. You retain more this way and intimidate the betas.

 

[DVMDream]

I definitely think it's possible to be competitive but also be supportive of classmates. I'm always disappointed when I don't do as well as others on an exam, and I feel accomplished whenever I get the highest grade. Either way, I'm still talking to my classmates to help them and myself understand the material better, and I never let my competitive nature prevent me from helping and working with others. Perhaps this is what you meant @cdoconn ?

My thing is how the hell do you know how your classmates did? Unless you ask them. And I didn't share my grades, even when I asked. It was a non-issue to me and drove me batty when people compared. I cared about two things: 1. I passed my tests and 2. My classmates also passed. If those were both met, I was happy. You also quickly learn that constantly comparing yourself to others leads to anxiety and burn out. I was on edge most of first year, in part, because I thought I was doing craptastic in comparison to me classmates once I adopted a different attitude, my grades improved. Don't seek out what your fellow classmates grades are... it may annoy some of them and I promise it doesn't help in the long term.

 

[cohen2000]

My thing is how the hell do you know how your classmates did? Unless you ask them. And I didn't share my grades, even when I asked. It was a non-issue to me and drove me batty when people compared. I cared about two things: 1. I passed my tests and 2. My classmates also passed. If those were both met, I was happy. You also quickly learn that constantly comparing yourself to others leads to anxiety and burn out. I was on edge most of first year, in part, because I thought I was doing craptastic in comparison to me classmates once I adopted a different attitude, my grades improved. Don't seek out what your fellow classmates grades are... it may annoy some of them and I promise it doesn't help in the long term.

I'm talking about looking at the class average and grade distribution to assess how I do on a particular exam.

 

[SummerTheLynx]

I definitely think it's possible to be competitive but also be supportive of classmates. I'm always disappointed when I don't do as well as others on an exam, and I feel accomplished whenever I get the highest grade. Either way, I'm still talking to my classmates to help them and myself understand the material better, and I never let my competitive nature prevent me from helping and working with others. Perhaps this is what you meant @cdoconn ?

I am going to say that there are people in my class who do this, and my fiancé literally compares every test score to mine (such that I have stopped telling what I get). It leads directly to anxiety, and vet school gives you enough servings of that already. Your happiness in a grade should not be based on how other people performed. It should be based on how YOU perform. Did you get the grade that YOU wanted on the exam? Not, was my grade above the mean... Because quite honestly, it just doesn't matter.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I'm so excited to apply for grad school. I wish everything could happen now instead of having to wait for the next application cycle . . . but oh well. It is what it is. And it gives me a little extra time to make me application as awesome as I can.

I'm excited for school because I'm not done learning yet. That sounds crazy after 5 years of undergrad, but it's true. I've studied basic biology and biochemistry and microbiology, but I haven't gone into the depth or breadth I was excited to experience in vet school. I'm looking forward to being in classes and labs again. I'm also looking forward to moving out. I was going to live with my parents during vet school to save on living expenses (it was their idea, and I was really grateful they offered), but I am so ready to leave.

 

[vetmedhead]

Okay but also am I the only one reading this thread who was raised to have a majorly unhealthy conception of grades and my own self esteem? I recognize that I should care about how I do and compete against myself etc. but I feel like this loses me some valuable perspective and just reminds me of times I got told off for getting 99s%. Sure, there are times when I know I can do better on things and it stings to know I didn't do as well as I wanted, but for me my learning goals really had to shift to be oriented toward a conception of learning that was more healthy than just seeing straight %s.

I don't know, just a caution to tack on to the "only compete against yourself" advice. I tend to not be a competitive person in general and find that it helps my anxiety a lot to compete against the bottom line rather than myself or others.

 

[Trilt]

YES!

Here's the thing...

Go in like this, and what if, god forbid, you're in the lower half of the class? Or even lowest quarter? Remember that at this point, we've taken the top of the bell curve from high school, then the top of the bell curve from university, and everyone in vet school is all smart and motivated.

Even if you're top of your class, people generally don't appreciate you being competitive about grades... because - spoiler! - they don't really matter. Or, rather, they are poorly applicable to clinical practice in general. Definitely important if you want to specialize or something though.

Much better to go in chill, put your head down and work hard, and screw being competitive. Support people, don't stress about how others do, and enjoy yourself through vet school.

 

[nessie5876]

Okay but also am I the only one reading this thread who was raised to have a majorly unhealthy conception of grades and my own self esteem? I recognize that I should care about how I do and compete against myself etc. but I feel like this loses me some valuable perspective and just reminds me of times I got told off for getting 99s%. Sure, there are times when I know I can do better on things and it stings to know I didn't do as well as I wanted, but for me my learning goals really had to shift to be oriented toward a conception of learning that was more healthy than just seeing straight %s.

I don't know, just a caution to tack on to the "only compete against yourself" advice. I tend to not be a competitive person in general and find that it helps my anxiety a lot to compete against the bottom line rather than myself or others.

I think this is a good way to look at it. Ive spoken to current vet students and most of them say theres a tradeoff to good grades and who will be a better clinician coming out of vet school. I want to be the best vet I can be and that may mean not doing as well in my classes as others. But the tradeoff is that instead, for example, I was out and doing more and taking on more learning opportunities rather than studying for class exams. Getting hands on experience while others werent.

I think someone said something like the researchers/people who go into academia get As in vet school, people who specialize get Bs, while the best clinicians will be the people in the class who get Cs.

 

[vetmedhead]

I think this is a good way to look at it. Ive spoken to current vet students and most of them say theres a tradeoff to good grades and who will be a better clinician coming out of vet school. I want to be the best vet I can be and that may mean not doing as well in my classes as others. But the tradeoff is that instead, for example, I was out and doing more and taking on more learning opportunities rather than studying for class exams. Getting hands on experience while others werent.

I think someone said something like the researchers/people who go into academia get As in vet school, people who specialize get Bs, while the best clinicians will be the people in the class who get Cs.

Yeah. I mean, grades are important and simultaneously I don't know if it's worth it to worry about your own or someone else's. No point in saying everyone who gets A's only does it by skipping out on extracurriculars or that everyone who gets C's only does it because they're hyper focused on practical skill cultivation. I think there's a spectrum for everything and sometimes certain subjects are your bag and sometimes others aren't and that doesn't hinder your ability as a practitioner in any meaningful way I think. I dunno, my goal for next year is to try to bring a lot of positivity and encouragement to my class and hope they'll appreciate having a crazy person cheering them on incessantly for the next four years. 😛

 

[cdo96]

Also, I'm really excited to get some traveling in this summer! I have to have jaw surgery which is super sad, but I'm planning to spend a week or so with my family in Chicago, maybe some further traveling! I'd like to shadow an ECC or a DACVS vet this summer during my recovery time! And definitely taking some time to relax.

 

[vetmedhead]

Also, I'm really excited to get some traveling in this summer! I have to have jaw surgery which is super sad, but I'm planning to spend a week or so with my family in Chicago, maybe some further traveling! I'd like to shadow an ECC or a DACVS vet this summer during my recovery time! And definitely taking some time to relax.

I should figure out what I'm doing this summer. My only definitive plans were:

• Help parents move into new house
• Nothing

This seems like a complete list to me though.

 

[cdo96]

I should figure out what I'm doing this summer. My only definitive plans were:

• Help parents move into new house
• Nothing

This seems like a complete list to me though.

Ahh see my nothingness is planned out during the six weeks where I won't be allowed to work/ will be on my liquid/ soft foods diet. So yeahhhh.

 

[vetmedhead]

Ahh see my nothingness is planned out during the six weeks where I won't be allowed to work/ will be on my liquid/ soft foods diet. So yeahhhh.

I would plan to watch lots of Grey's Anatomy and drink a lot of ice cream, but that's personal preference lol

 

[cdo96]

I would plan to watch lots of Grey's Anatomy and drink a lot of ice cream, but that's personal preference lol

See the problem is I've seen the series 3 times already. There might be a point where I won't be as sad anymore!

(Definite yes on the ice cream- my cousin lost 25 pounds post surgery, but nah. I love ice cream too much.)

 

[Jebb]

I'm just looking forward to Spring break and finishing out the semester strong. I'm going to APVMA symposium this weekend at NC State, then going to Florida to see my grandparents over Spring break. Working hard to at least gets A's and B's. Then I'll be looking for a full time job to earn some cash this summer. Definitely looking forward to vet school, but hearing how tough it is has me a little nervous with keeping up with the amount of material.

My plans before vet school are pretty similar to this. I'm also trying hard not to slack this semester. I just started working at my old job to save some money and I'll switch to full time once my classes end. I'm extremely nervous too, now that I'm accepted for sure it all seems very daunting, but I'm still excited to get started.

 

[SNTech]

It didn't even occcur to me to make plans other than continuing to work full time this summer.

I like routine and my routine will be shaken up soon enough so I will cling to my little bit of normalcy as long as I possibly can.

 

[emacc]

My plans for the summer involve moving into an apartment in Ithaca today and winging the rest. Maybe find a job somewhere if I can. Husband thinks I should just do nothing for once and hike and do photography all spring/summer with my dogs.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[mmmdreamerz]

I'm excited to graduate in May, work at the job I love all summer, travel a little, and mostly just chill (read some good books, watch some good movies, hike a lot). I want to spend a couple months catching my breathe...I'm not in any crazy hurry for classes to start. It'll come soon enough (though I am looking forward to moving to a new city)!

 

[deleted676737]

I'm talking about looking at the class average and grade distribution to assess how I do on a particular exam.

Just be careful with this. If your class is particularly studious/competitive (like mine is), then you may find yourself consistently at or even below the average for most tests. And that is okay. Really, truly, it is. As long as you pass. Don't get too caught up in comparing yourself to others or even the curve too much or you will start feeling miserable about yourself.

Let me put it this way. We had a path exam a couple of weeks ago that has historically had an average in the 70-85 range. I was absolutely stoked to see that I made a 90... until the professor said that our class average was---get this---a 97. Most of our tests have gone that way, and sometime I've been SIGNIFICANTLY below average. There was another test at the start of this semester where I made a 65 and the average was 91 (and I wasn't even the lowest score, either). It is upsetting and it makes me feel completely incompetent, but I'm trying to shift my attitude about tests to a more positive one of "Eh. I'll do what I can, but I'm not sacrificing my mental or even physical health to try to break into the upper part of that distribution." And, if anything, my grades have actually improved a lot since I just stopped worrying about it as much. Seriously, last semester I was an anxiety-ridden mess because I was so afraid of being below average that I did nothing but study. I wound up burning out and crashing halfway through and finished with a GPA just barely high enough to avoid probation. I wouldn't be surprised if I was bottom of the class right now.

Man, I really do love most people in my class but there is a small but vocal minority that really ruins it for everybody. There's been several occurances of cheating and yesterday, upon it being announced that class ranks are available, a lot of them started asking other what their current GPA and class rank are. That isn't okay. I have one friend who has been told that she can't study with a certain group of people because she wasn't in the top X% of the class... things like that. Heck, I won't even mention my specific grade to people when asked---I'll usually simply say something along the lines of "I feel that I did well/not well" and leave it at that, so the fact that people are discussing and comparing specific metrics like class rank and whatnot astounds me. I am just desperately, desperately hoping that they start chilling out a bit after this year. The c/o 2018 and 2019 seem more relaxed in comparison, so maybe there is a chance?

Anyway, sorry that I went on a bit of a tirade there. Haha. My main point is that while you certainly can look at your average scores and use it as a guide to figure out whether you should be working harder or maybe even a little bit less towards preparing for tests, you shouldn't look at them as metrics of self-worth or ability to be a good doctor. Don't define yourself by your grades... right now you will probably say that you won't but is scarily easy to fall into that trap in vet school and it will send you spiraling down into a unhealthy mindset very quickly.

 

[cheathac]

Yeah the competitiveness worries me too. Especially since I want to specialize in lab animal/pathology so I know my grades have to be good. Others have told me it's a lot on who you know? Thankfully Purdue has both a lab animal and pathology residency program, so I hope to start making connections in hopes of one day doing a residency here. Do any current students have advice when it comes to wanting to specialize/grades? I like setting grade goals for myself each semester but maybe that isn't the best way to do it in vet school. I plan on having a daily routine to sift through all the material, study with others, as well as include some me time and exercising.

 

[LetItSnow]

It was a non-issue to me and drove me batty when people compared. .

And, it's a two-way street. It's great for Cohen that s/he feels "accomplished" when s/he does better ... but in order to know that you did better you have to talk to someone else about their grade. Which either leads to awkwardness when they tell you how they did and you don't tell them how you did, or it leads to them feeling bad when you're like "Yeah, hey, way to go with your 80%! I got 90%!"

It's avoidable if the teacher is publishing class performance numbers, but otherwise .... no thanks. I found it healthier to just not talk about it. Either I felt bad for not doing as well as my friends, or they felt bad because I did better. It was way healthier to just celebrate being done with a major exam and having passed it. Comparing grades was never worthwhile in the end. There's nothing healthy about making it any more competitive than it inherently is.

 

[mht2k3]

My plans for the summer are to continue working my fulltime job probably until august. Also need to find someone to rent out our house here in Maine, and my wife is due with our 2nd daughter early April so I'll be pretty busy!

I have 3 weeks of vacation left that I need to use before I quit my job, although I'm trying to save as much money as possible so it will probably be some form of staycation and/or hiking in the white mountains (although hiking with a 2 year old and a 2-4 month old is not the easiest thing).

 

[mht2k3]

also I am so over being competitive in terms of grades. I kind of needed to be hyper-vigilant to maintain straight A's in my postbac since my original bachelors degree GPA wasn't the best to say the least, although now that I'm accepted I just want to learn the material and not worry about the grade I actually get (as long as I pass, since I think I'll lose my scholarship if I fail a course).

 

[SkiOtter]

my wife is due with our 2nd daughter early April so I'll be pretty busy!

Congratulations to you guys!!!

 

[Great Butts]

I went to a really competitive high school (graduating class was 1,321) and the difference in GPA rankings was literally to the thousandths place. Even back then, everyone was super boastful about their anxiety, how little sleep they got, and how they were so upset they only had a 95 in so-and-so class. It's just really off-putting when the conversation and culture around you constantly focuses on competition, grades, and the need to validate yourself above others. I understand it, I really do, I have severe imposter's syndrome and tons of self-esteem issues so I can see how this strange self-deprecation can sometimes be motivational.

But damn, it's made me beyond apathetic now, almost kind of worried about how I'm going to even care about my grades in vet school. I'm a student mentor for my school's pre-health office and I can't count how many freshmen have approached me, ready to break down into tears, because they got a B in intro bio and now their dreams of going to med school have been crushed. I am probably the least competitive person possible now, but that's from years of stress that culminated into a depressive breakdown where I suddenly just stopped caring about myself midway through uni.

Somehow, I'm in a better place because of it! I stopped worrying about how I compared with others (though the only exception is my boyfriend for some odd reason), didn't expect anything from applying this cycle, and have been pleasantly surprised that I was accepted and with how this apathy has actually increased my undergrad GPA. Life's a lot more free when you just stop caring.

 

[Coopah]

There's a lot of things I'm excited about, but this one's kinda weird...

I'm really excited to finally be in the competition and see how I stack up against other vet students. My major has like 5% pre-vet people, so I'm really interested to see how well I can do in vet school. I'm a competitive person, academically, so I'm ready for some new competition hahaha.

I feel where you're coming from, for me it's more of an internal drive to do well. I grew up as the youngest of 7 children and you had to act fast to get the food off the table. I had to be super competitive to survive. Clearly @cdoconn isn't suggesting stalking people outside the classroom to see what others got. I totally understand how that can give people anxiety. For me being competitive in a class means really understanding the material, not necessarily the grades. I love being able to explain things to others, it fills me with a sense of pride that they feel I can help them.

 

[Ashgirl]

I think one of the important thing to realize is that everyone deals with anxiety and exams a little bit differently, so it is crucial to keep in mind that while some people don't care about sharing grades, some avoid it all together.

As well, the first year really feels like a pressure cooker and can bring out the worst in people, so try not to worry if people seem really snarky or drama oriented, especially around exam time. You might find your class will become more supportive, wayyyyy more mellow and less competitive the longer they are in vet school and the more it squashes their soul 🙂.