CSU vs WSU vs OSU vs Midwestern

[cqs]

I can't decide! I have in-state tuition to all schools (WICHE), and I am in a financial situation where the difference between price doesn't matter much. I don't know if I want to specialize down the line (but definitely like the small animal stuff)

1. CSU
- pro: has an amazing reputation, only 8 hours away from home (where my boyfriend and family live), fort collins is nice. - - con: I am worried about the large class size and I have heard that it can feel pretty competitive. They also have not put any effort into recruitment (no tours, etc) which makes me feel like they don't care about students as much since they know many people want to go there? And it feels like they don't emphasize hands-on experience in the first couple years as much.
2. WSU
- pro: good program, I like that it is P/F. I feel like they have put a lot of effort into recruiting, so i get the sense they care about their students.
- con: pullman sounds rough to live in for me personally (I've never lived in a very small town) and it is far away from home
3. OSU
- pro: Corvallis sounds great, And they've put lots of effort into recruiting, I feel like they really want me!
- con: not as good of reputation as CSU or WSU (or so I've heard), far from home
4. Midwestern
- pro: lots of hands on experience, location seems good
- con: okay program, I am worried that they are newer. They also seem very GP focused, which may be okay but I'm not sure if that will do me a disservice if I do want to specialize later

Anyone from these schools have any input? Especially regarding quality of life (location, competitiveness) and resources (ie having specialties in teaching hospital, academic support, etc)

Any advice/ideas are welcome!! I have decision paralysis!!

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[skiidude22]

i’m curious to what you have heard about OSU’s reputation? They have one of the smallest class sizes (73) and their students get some of the most surgical experience. They have a partnership with the humane society where a vet student is on a rotation and does most of the surgeries that come in which can be like 30-40 so you get great practice. Plus they just expanded their hospital. Everyone I met who graduated from or works at OSU loved it. Good luck with your choice!

 

[MixedAnimals77]

I would encourage you to not put too much steak into "reputations" keep in mind that those reputations are from different individuals with different experiences and other factors that don't matter like research $ brought in. If $ truly doesn't matter then figure out your other criteria you want out of school. If you can visit the schools I would encourage that first and foremost. Each of the schools will equally prepare you to match as it's more about your grades, understanding, and networking. Think of things in a program that matter to you. For example CSU grads can graduate without ever doing a spay. WSU grads will have graduated having done at least 1 spay assuming you don't take a shelter med rotation at either school. Consider how often you may truly go home and how much that matters to you. 8hrs may not seem like much, but in vet school 8 hours is far. I'd rather be far like WSU or OSU and hop on a plane and be back in 2 hrs than drive 8 so just things like that. I'm a 4th year at WSU so while things have changed since I started I can help answer specific questions you may have. I suggest checking out some of the older comparison threads too as they have some good info for comparison like OSU vs WSU and I think theres a CSU one as well.

 

[battie]

Not a student at any of these schools, just some general thoughts like Mixy:

1. A while back, a group of us did a comparison of the sizes of the different vet school cities and Corvallis is the smallest vet school city (as of spring 2020). So if a small city is an issue, Corvallis is likely still smaller than Pullman.

2. I went to a school a 16 hour drive/10-12 hour bus/plane ride from home. That's *such* a time suck and meant I couldn't go home for breaks any shorter than 3 or 4 days. And you definitely don't want to study that whole time due to the constant stop and go.

3. As said, reputation is subjective and should have a grain of salt. I really liked my vet school, but know plenty of people who actively tell people not to even apply. Keep in mind that you know a few people of thousands of graduates. And school rankings have 0 to do with student outcomes/satisfaction.

4. Competitiveness of a class is very class culture dependent. Our 2019 was "work hard, play hard", 2020 was competitive, 2021 was more laid back, and 2022 was stressed.

5. Recruitment varies and is hard. I was the student ambassador coordinator at my school and student engagement is hard. Also don't forget that the main university controls whether or not individual colleges can do tours. My school didn't do tours starting in March 2020 until September 2021 because of COVID. So it's hard to say if schools have the infrastructure to do them right.