But what if the dream school is Cornell where there are internship opportunities at Belmont Park and Westminister, the campus is considered one of the most beautiful university campuses, technology is embraced, political views lean to the left, terminal surgeries are not in the core curriculum, PBL teaching style prepares students for collaborating with colleagues and problem solving. The state school is Texas A&M where internships take you to the state penitentiary to work with "non-violent" criminals at the prison farm, College Station is one huge traffic jam- construction zone, profs fear the internets, people are a bit too conservative, terminal surgeries are required, and lecture and cram for the exam is the learning style. Yes, I realize I have made a lot of generalizations with the above statements.
Based on your responses, it really sounds like you've already made up your mind. And that's okay if you have. But, if you're actually looking for real feedback, I'll say that the ONLY thing that stands out to me on your list of issues above is the terminal surgeries.
- Externship opportunities are easily available outside of your school. I spent 6 weeks at my state Dept of Public Health and 4 weeks at the CDC, despite the fact that my school didn't offer any such official program. I became friendly with the most public-health-oriented professor at our school and he put me in touch with public health vets who ended up offering externships for one of my summers off - easy as that.
- Beauty of the campus may matter a bit, but ultimately will not be a big issue because you'll be indoors most of the time. It isn't like undergrad, where you get huge chunks of free time to sit outside and read, take long walks, etc. I have fond memories of enjoying my undergrad/DVM campus when I was in undergrad.... no such memories in vet school (despite being at the same campus) because I was either indoors or at home. We had back-to-back classes/labs from 8am-4:30ish pm (except for a 30 minute lunch), so there wasn't time to lay around in the courtyards and read or whatever.
- PBL learning may have its pros and cons, but any sort of vet school is going to involve some sort of collaborative study.
- You will find friends and people with political beliefs similar to yours regardless of which school you attend, even if you're in the minority.
Okay, so that leaves terminal surgeries. I can see how that would potentially be a significant issue, if you're a big-time animal welfare person. (Are you a vegeterian?) So, the real question is this... are you willing to take on an additional $100k in debt, knowing that will place significant limitations on your personal AND career options later in life, just to avoid terminal surgeries? I think everyone thinks "oh, it's no big deal - I just won't live in a fancy house or drive a fancy car." But you need to realize that your loans will also affect your professional life. As an example, when I graduated (almost 10 years ago) - I had a number of different job offers. One job would have paid $70k/yr, but heavily emphasized ear crops as a major part of their business. Another job only offered $45k/yr, but sounded like a much better position with fewer ethical compromises. I was able to afford to take the job that fit my ethics, because I wasn't tied to a huge loan payment.... and I'm glad that was the case. BUT, if terminal surgeries are a huge deal to you, maybe you're okay with making other career compromises later down the road in order to avoid being involved in the euthanasia of a couple of shelter pets during vet school. That's a decision that only you can make, but I would give it some serious consideration. Just realize that an extra $100k in debt isn't just "oh darn, I can't get a sports car or go out to dinner with friends" debt.... it's "I need to sell my soul to the highest-paying job that I can find, regardless of whether it's a decent fit for me" debt.
It's only four years and I can tell you that they go by incredibly quickly (at least this first year has flown by).
