1. Don’t compare yourself to others.
I've been in your boat and what I'm about to say is much easier said than done- try your hardest not to compare yourself to your classmates! You're obviously good enough to be there. Everyone learns in different ways and at different paces, the important thing is to find what works for you and be willing to adapt your approach. In all honesty it probably took me close to a month my first year to really get into a good pattern, and I couldn't tell you how many times I've changed things around since then!
I know it's already been said, but it bears repeating. Everyone feels this way. Or, nearly everyone. Remember you only see what people present to you. In reality, everyone struggles somewhere. At the end of the day you are a human first and a vet student somewhere below that. You have to take care of yourself to be able to do any of this.
I feel like I used a million different methods throughout vet school depending on the class and what I had time for. The "best" (i.e. most scientifically proven) methods are always going to be those that involve active recall. Whether that means Quizlet, or notecards/Anki, quizzing each other, or even just seeing how much of the material you can remember after reviewing. I did a lot of whiteboard work for that - would review a particular section and then write out what I could remember, in whatever form made most sense for that material. Sometimes that meant flow charts, or drawings, sometimes just bullets. And then I'd compare back to my notes. But sometimes I didn't have time for all that and just had to read through stuff and hope for the best. I did always find that talking things through with my friends the night before an exam helped a lot. We would take turns explaining some portion of the material, and quizzing each other.
My study group and I would put the UMN anatomy videos on, but muted, and take turns doing the explanation for whichever dissection we were looking at. Worked really well (but obviously only for anatomy lol).
I did this too with the videos our anatomy instructor made. Found it super helpful.
This is a really great idea!!!
I also enjoy talking through concepts with a group of people. I also find that teaching something to someone else helps me retain. I’m deciding whether or not to cave in and buy a big whiteboard… problem is my group of friends don’t always want to group study so that can be hard. Also I would try to teach anthony but he understands nothing about vet med lol
I teach concepts to my dogs on the regular 😆
loving so much of it. trying to keep my head above water with exams for sure; survived my first physio/histo exam. dreading my first biochem exam in a couple days 😬
Are there no formal opportunities, or are you literally not permitted to go?
Do you have an account with VIN? They have rounds … never participated but may be worth checking out. I get emails about it all the time
I'm on every one of them. I guess I just want some real-life rounds so I can meet more people who share the interest. I'm starting to feel very lonely in vet school.
Are y'all not in person? Can first years get involved in clubs?
We are completely in person, and have small group activities too. I just don't easily connect with people on a meaningful level I guess. And I live alone with my dogs, not a fan of club activities, or social events in general. I have only myself to blame🤣
This is such a mood 😂
I gave myself half the day off to go for a group trail ride, but I'm not sure if I feel like I have things under control 😂
My best advice is to try to take a little bit of that pressure off of yourself, and make sure you're taking care of yourself as a person.
That’s awesome! Can I ask what your study schedule is like?
hey I'm right there with ya; it sucks for sure. I'm a tactile learner which has me suffering in biochem in particular and still below average in the other courses. I'll be lucky if I get through it.
Well I’ll start by clarifying that when I say “under control,” by no means am I saying it’s easy! I study a looooot and am just happy that for now my methods are working for me, but I should prioritize sleep more. Right now I get like five hours of sleep a night- don’t recommend lol.
www.bonfire.com
www.bonfire.com
Hi everyone! The K-State class of 2025 student representatives are selling T-shirts as a class fundraiser. I wanted to tell all of you about it because these shirts can be ordered for parents and supporters of any vet students, as KSU is not listed anywhere on the shirt. There is a variety of different shirt and sweatshirt options, along with a wide variety of color options. The shirts will ship directly to you. If you'd like, please share these links with family and friends so we can raise funds to support a variety of class activities (mental health events, cleaning supplies for our lounge, social events, etc). I appreciate the support!
Proud Parent of a Vet Med student | Bonfire
Fundraiser for the class of 2025 CVM. Proceeds will allow us to have fun events for our students to give them a break in between studying and learning. All purchases ...
SUPPORTDVM | Bonfire
Fundraising for the class of 2025 veterinary students. Proceeds from your purchase will go towards funding academic, social, and well-being events for the class of 2025...
I talked to the fundraising chair and he said that the supporters shirt will start shipping on 10/12 and the parent shirt on 10/29!
We all have something we struggle with! You got this
Oh god I haven't hopped on here in a bit, far too much going on 😵 *spends hours catching up on SDN instead of preparing for Anatomy lab tomorrow*
That’s awesome!! Glad you’ve been able to keep busy 🙂 I’ve also joined sooo many clubs hahaha, and I’ve gotten to do some cool wetlabs through them, especially with large animals which has been great! I’ve been able to volunteer a bit at the zoo med ward through one of the clubs too, which I’ve really enjoyed. Currently trying to get involved in research and line things up for the summer- I’ve already blocked off a good chunk of time to go back to a place that I interned at during undergrad, so now I’m applying for other programs to get some extra experience in. I think a lot of people at my school are also looking into the summer research programs or those paid internships, but it’s still early! And yes, it’s so crazy to think that last year I was right in their shoes constantly refreshing my email! I’m definitely liking vet school a lot better than that waiting game so far!
My bestie in the class above me did the BI summer research program at the vet school Utrecht. She was paid and every weekend went and explored Europe. She was even listed as an author on the paper.
We took our anatomy finals last week, definitely glad to have it out of the way but we haven't gotten grades back yet. Not that it really matters so long as I (hopefully) passed
Oooh good to know, I'll check that out! Thank you 🙂
Not doing much during your summer is not a bad thing. I did minimal my two summers of vet school. I did a bit of volunteering at my local shelter, had 1 2-week externship that allowed me after first year, and shadowed a couple days in shelter med.
Why do you think people play WW while in vet school
