I mean, if they have accreditation (or in LMU's case, provisional accreditation), they are essentially viewed as equal in terms of education and the program's ability to churn out prepared grads. LMU just has to have their 2018 class do well on the NAVLE and graduate. Like WTF said, some people might have their own biases, but that's a personal problem.
How is Illinois? Illinois is my in-state and aside from the cost being less I don't exactly have the best impression of their school...
Welp, you're asking one of the right people! You can message me if you want to be more specific/direct with your questions...but I'll admit the school has had problems since I started last year. No school is perfect, but the students/staff/faculty here have been put through some frustrations for sure. In defense of the school, a good chunk of it is completely out of their hands due to lack of the state budget. However, many of us have our own thoughts about how they chose to handle that hurdle, especially when it comes to the class of 2020. We also lost our radiologist, which was another blow, but there are other schools that function without a boarded radiologist in the hospital. So far, the main office has been pretty quiet about what's going on lately other than the fact our accreditation is now under review due to the "accidental" massive 2020 class. AVMA is visiting us at some point in the near future. The first years don't seem to feel they're lacking in their education, though. We have a school-wide meeting with the dean coming up to get updates, but he usually evades every single question he's asked so...lol.
Thanks! I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future. Sounds stressful there right now. I toured the school this past summer and the whole vibe of the school seemed really stressed so that explains why!
Can I ask when you toured?
I toured in July this year. Not too much going on at that time because of summer vacation. Which probably didn't help either. I guess touring when a lot is under construction isn't going to help with my school impression also. I am not ruling my in-state out by any means, I just wish they are more responsive when it comes to answering questions, emails, and letting us know what is going on with our applications. I know they are under-staffed but if they want people to go to their school it would be nice if they can at least answer an email/phone call.
This is me probably being under a rock, but what's the reasoning behind your school's accreditation going under review?
I am not ruling Illinois out at all! I just was curious if rank and newness (which I can see as separate topics too) affect opinions of school choice upon graduation. I really appreciate your honest feedback!
The other thing with rank is you have to think of your source. One of them pretty much has the schools rank each other. I remember Kansas State making a big deal about it when I interviewed there, they mentioned that they refuse to even get involved in that ranking system, and hence always get ranked last or close to last.
Our class of 2020 "accidentally" has 160 students instead of the 'planned' 130. AVMA is making sure that the class of 2020 is receiving the level of education AVMA expects the school to offer. As of now, we haven't had accreditation suspended or anything like that. The first years seem to feel like they're being taken care of, so I'm not expecting anything crazy to happen, but you never know. Facilities are being looked at during the review, and they may have the some suggestions to make.
Just FYI, our main office is at less than half capacity. They have like 3 people dealing with 1000 of you. I wouldn't take that as a reason to push your IS school down your list, but that's my opinion! As for touring during July...maybe you were picking up on 4th year stress. Idk.
And also potentially because your profs may know local vets or vice versa when it come to getting recommendations or references -- as you said, a minor factor.
100%, for both of your posts. One of the internships I'm applying to has a little session where externs get to sit down with the intern coordinator and hear about the program and ask some questions. She graduated from the IS school, where the internship is located. One of the externs was currently attending that school. She spent part of the session advising the extern on professors to consider asking for letters from because she knew those clinicians because she had attended that school. It's not a huge bump when it comes to your application, but it's a little minor boost that could be nice to have in your back pocket.
Frankly, sometimes the academic experience in teaching hospitals sucks, and far, far more is learned on external placements. My final year in the teaching hospital varied from excellent to horrible, depending on which service, and which doctors, I was working with.
Yup.
Totally off topic - but haven't seen you around in a long while! Hope life is treating you kindly.
For what it's worth, I prefer dedication, knowledge, potential and depth ... over names and letterhead logos. But that's just my practice and protocol.
You're totally right, and I absolutely agree with you! Also, I just want to reiterate that despite coming from a school without a teaching hospital, I would prefer that schools had teaching hospitals. I would prefer that I came from a school with a teaching hospital. I wouldn't say I regret the path I chose or where I've ended up but you are absolutely right with regards to the consistency of the education and I can personally attest to the inconsistency within my own class and our experiences.
