Factors when picking a school

[whyrightmeow]

So I am in my first year and there are a few things I wish I would have considered before I made my final decision. These are only my opinion, and I won't be offended if yours varies. I am only posting this because I wish I would have read something like it before I made my decision.

I am at The Ohio State University right now as an out of state student.

Positives:
Can apply for resident tuition next year
Great school, nice facilities
Curriculum includes Professional development - basically a 1 credit course on a variety of topics including stress, time managment, finances, etc
Parking is right outside the building
Parking pass is a hang tag, so carpoolers can share 1 tag between several cars
24 hr access to building
Nice recreational facility/wall climbing
Social worker available 24/7 (for when you finally have that meltdown)

Negatives:
Quarter system (not semesters) - this complicates everything. Plus you don't finish until June.
Can only leave for 3 weeks over the summer - so any externship must be in-state unless it is HIGHLY unusual.
Lockers are tiny; a normal bookbag will not fit into them. It is also very crowded when everyone is trying to get to their locker at the same time. (seems minor, I know, but its the little stresses that are the worst)

Things I wish I would have asked:
Is anatomy lab structured, or do you just get a dog and a book? (Our canine anatomy lab is, in my opinion, poorly structured)
Are tests returned to students, or is it against honor code to write down questions from the test? (At OSU vet school no tests are returned, EVER. This bothers me after every test, since I like to know what I got wrong and what the correct answer was - this may have been a deal-breaker for me)
How much (live) animal interaction is there for first year students?
Do you buy class notes or are they posted online so notes can be taken directly on a laptop? (I was amazed at needing to buy 80% of my notes, when I came from an undergrad school that I never once bought a course pack for)
Is the schedule set, or does it change from day to day? (Our schedule has a main theme, but basically changes a little each day)

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[twelvetigers]

I’m having a very hard time deciding if I should go to Purdue (OOS) or Cornell (OOS) Both are excellent schools, but the difference in cost would be $8000/year on tuition alone.
I definitely want to open up as many doors as possible because I would like to pursue an internship and a residency eventually. I feel like Cornell would provide an excellent opportunity for me to network (plus their much newer teaching hospital!!) However, in the case that I decide against a residency, Cornell’s starting salary as a fresh grad is also higher (from their website). What should I do?

Does where you graduate (on top of your grades) matter when it comes to getting an internship and residency?

Whatever advantages would be present for you by going to Cornell rather than Purdue will PALLOR in comparison to not owing that extra money when you are done and working. I promise promise promise promise promise. You make your opportunities wherever you go - I'm confident that you can pursue whatever internship/residency you desire if you do well in vet school at Purdue, just the same as anywhere else.

 

[KCgophervet]

I’m having a very hard time deciding if I should go to Purdue (OOS) or Cornell (OOS) Both are excellent schools, but the difference in cost would be $8000/year on tuition alone.
I definitely want to open up as many doors as possible because I would like to pursue an internship and a residency eventually. I feel like Cornell would provide an excellent opportunity for me to network (plus their much newer teaching hospital!!) However, in the case that I decide against a residency, Cornell’s starting salary as a fresh grad is also higher (from their website). What should I do?

Does where you graduate (on top of your grades) matter when it comes to getting an internship and residency?

Every vet school should provide an excellent opportunity to network. It's up to you to make those connections.

Cornell's starting salaries may be higher because 1) less people decided to do internships 2) more people decided to work on the east coast (and higher costs of living typically result in higher starting salaries). I doubt it has anything at all to do with them being "Cornell grads" vs. Purdue grads.

At my residency program, the school the applicant graduated from did not matter at all when decided who we were interviewing/ranking. I can't imagine it matters to anyone else either (other than if the people reading the applications graduated from the same school, but that's more of a "hey I went there too!" thing rather than a "oh that's a better school, lets hire her" thing). The only thing that mattered was that the school was accredited.

I'm with Ski on this one, go to the cheaper school.

 

[sosuperspam]

The other big factor to consider is the curriculum - Cornell does PBL, whereas Purdue has an applications class (so PBL style) to supplement lectures. Many people have told me that Cornell grads are more practice ready bc of PBL, do you guys have any thoughts?

On a side note, does the quality of the residency differ when you do it at a private practice vs a university? Why does private practice pay you so much more than a university?

 

[SkiOtter]

The other big factor to consider is the curriculum - Cornell does PBL, whereas Purdue has an applications class (so PBL style) to supplement lectures. Many people have told me that Cornell grads are more practice ready bc of PBL, do you guys have any thoughts?

Pls refer to my signature under all of my posts on here.

 

[Caiter92]

The other big factor to consider is the curriculum - Cornell does PBL, whereas Purdue has an applications class (so PBL style) to supplement lectures. Many people have told me that Cornell grads are more practice ready bc of PBL, do you guys have any thoughts?

On a side note, does the quality of the residency differ when you do it at a private practice vs a university? Why does private practice pay you so much more than a university?

Every AVMA accredited school will prepare you for practice. You can get a good residency if you attend any AVMA accredited school. I don’t think anyone’s advice of minimizing loans is going to change just because you want a residency.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

The other big factor to consider is the curriculum - Cornell does PBL, whereas Purdue has an applications class (so PBL style) to supplement lectures. Many people have told me that Cornell grads are more practice ready bc of PBL, do you guys have any thoughts?

On a side note, does the quality of the residency differ when you do it at a private practice vs a university? Why does private practice pay you so much more than a university?

How practice ready you are depends on your effort and your work in school regardless of teaching style. I would say the quality is pry the same but I'd refer to someone in a residency. As far as that pay goes it's because think of economics-universities run partially on government funds plus the whole goal of minimizing costs means that the pay gap will exist compared to a for profit private practice. Don't overthink your choice. Which one is cheapest. Go there.

 

[vetmedhead]

I don’t think the new grads starting salary is higher because they went to Cornell. It’s likely to do with where those students end up in practice, which if it’s in NY, I can see that being higher than someone staying in the Midwest.

Networking is up to you, and you’ll find opportunities no matter what school you go to. Look at the overall CoA, and then do what ski said. Even if you end up doing an internship, minimizing your loans as much as possible is going to be the best option.

I think it's also important to consider cost of living when looking at beginning salaries. It's not unreasonable to me that Cornell grads, who will likely be predominantly from NY and the east coast and will often return to work in those areas, will likely have a higher starting salary than Purdue grads who are probably somewhat more likely to work in Indiana and the midwest, where cost of living is much cheaper.

I live in TX and in the past few years we've had tons of influx of workers in the tech sector, who often take what appear at face value to be cuts in salary to move to TX for work. However, they ultimately take more money home than they did working in other places due to lower cost of living and no state income tax.

 

[Caiter92]

I think it's also important to consider cost of living when looking at beginning salaries. It's not unreasonable to me that Cornell grads, who will likely be predominantly from NY and the east coast and will often return to work in those areas, will likely have a higher starting salary than Purdue grads who are probably somewhat more likely to work in Indiana and the midwest, where cost of living is much cheaper.

I live in TX and in the past few years we've had tons of influx of workers in the tech sector, who often take what appear at face value to be cuts in salary to move to TX for work. However, they ultimately take more money home than they did working in other places due to lower cost of living and no state income tax.

I’m going to assume you’re explaining COL to them and not me hahah I was lazy and COL difference between the areas influencing salaries was implied to me

 

[vetmedhead]

I’m going to assume you’re explaining COL to them and not me hahah I was lazy and COL difference between the areas influencing salaries was implied to me

I think you know how COL works

 

[Caiter92]

I think you know how COL works

COL is a beautiful thing. It’s why my apartment in Pullman is bigger but half the cost of when I lived in Seattle.

 

[OP8]

College Station is very safe. I've lived here for about a year now. However, parts of Bryan can be sketchy.

Thank you.

 

[Shepherd Lover]

I’m having a very hard time deciding if I should go to Purdue (OOS) or Cornell (OOS) Both are excellent schools, but the difference in cost would be $8000/year on tuition alone.
I definitely want to open up as many doors as possible because I would like to pursue an internship and a residency eventually. I feel like Cornell would provide an excellent opportunity for me to network (plus their much newer teaching hospital!!) However, in the case that I decide against a residency, Cornell’s starting salary as a fresh grad is also higher (from their website). What should I do?

Does where you graduate (on top of your grades) matter when it comes to getting an internship and residency?

Here’s a COL calculator that can help you to compare salaries living on the east coast vs Midwest -> Cost of Living Calculator | NerdWallet - City and Salary Comparison Tool

I currently attend Purdue and I’m TOTALLY BIASED because I absolutely love it but please feel free to PM me any questions you have


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[FelineDVM]

Hi sorry to bother everyone I’m having a hard time choosing between two schools-Tufts and Cornell. I know everyone says to pick the cheaper school but tuition-wise they’re only about 250 dollars different and comparing cost of living and other fees it seems to balance out pretty evenly. Any advice?

 

[MOOSEygoosey]

Hi sorry to bother everyone I’m having a hard time choosing between two schools-Tufts and Cornell. I know everyone says to pick the cheaper school but tuition-wise they’re only about 250 dollars different and comparing cost of living and other fees it seems to balance out pretty evenly. Any advice?

Try the flip-a-coin trick. Assign each school a side of a coin, flip it and if you're upset or disappointed with the results, go to the other school
Keep in mind, you should use this trick when you consider all else to be equal with the schools, such as the program (what it has to offer), the location, COST (but you already said that wasn't that big of a difference), etc. Good luck!

 

[Ashgirl]

Hi sorry to bother everyone I’m having a hard time choosing between two schools-Tufts and Cornell. I know everyone says to pick the cheaper school but tuition-wise they’re only about 250 dollars different and comparing cost of living and other fees it seems to balance out pretty evenly. Any advice?

According to VIN (VIN Foundation Cost of Education Map), it looks like with total COA, Cornell would be ~40K cheaper? I would personally go with the cheaper school as you would get a wonderful education at either of these schools.

 

[FelineDVM]

According to VIN, it looks like with total COA, Cornell would be ~40K cheaper? I would personally go with the cheaper school as you would get a wonderful education at either of these

Thank you for that! I should have clarified in my original post but the costs are so similar due to scholarships and institutional aid that does not have to be repaid so even though the COA is different in VIN it ends up being the same for me. Thank you for the advice though!

 

[Vannandy]

Never been to Tufts campus but I feel like it would be more fun since it's closer to a major city. Ithaca gets a bit boring

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Never been to Tufts campus but I feel like it would be more fun since it's closer to a major city. Ithaca gets a bit boring

Idk about you, but I don't think I have enough free time/have ever had enough free time during vet school to warrant spending $40k solely on the idea that it would be more fun (honestly wouldn't really trade saving $40k for anything)

 

[SkiOtter]

Idk about you, but I don't think I have enough free time/have ever had enough free time during vet school to warrant spending $40k solely on the idea that it would be more fun (honestly wouldn't really trade saving $40k for anything)

(supposedly theyre getting scholarships of some sort and it makes it $250 difference according to their weird formatted quote of ash)

 

[Vannandy]

Idk about you, but I don't think I have enough free time/have ever had enough free time during vet school to warrant spending $40k solely on the idea that it would be more fun (honestly wouldn't really trade saving $40k for anything)

(supposedly theyre getting scholarships of some sort and it makes it $250 difference according to their weird formatted quote of ash)

 

[pinkpuppy9]

(supposedly theyre getting scholarships of some sort and it makes it $250 difference according to their weird formatted quote of ash)

Oh my b, I saw that post but thought someone had deleted what they said

 

[Thinkingvetschool]

To not answer your question at all, there are a few things that should be higher priority than what specialties they've got going on. You can join any veterinary specialty graduating from any vet school. I'd recommend focusing more on the cost, where you have better chances of getting in (what are they looking for and do you have it?), the cost, what pre-reqs do they require and have you taken them, and the cost to name a few. And then don't apply anywhere you don't intend to go should they be your only acceptance.

To help with your actual question I was in Fort Collins once for a day and it felt very nice/safe. No idea about the rest of the places.

I'm doing a veterinary technician externship at the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital and it has been nice and quite and I feel very safe.

 

[LyraGardenia]

I'm doing a veterinary technician externship at the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital and it has been nice and quite and I feel very safe.

I think you meant to reply to @OP8!

 

[RedLauren]

Is it just me or does the most recent list of factors when picking a school not exist anymore?

 

[SkiOtter]

Is it just me or does the most recent list of factors when picking a school not exist anymore?

@Elkhart i think had set up a google doc, idk if there’s a problem with it or not tho...

 

[deleted676737]

Is it just me or does the most recent list of factors when picking a school not exist anymore?

@Elkhart i think had set up a google doc, idk if there’s a problem with it or not tho...

Well, that's problematic.

I hosted that document using my vet school Google account/gmail, which appears to no longer exist (I honestly haven't logged into it for months, so this is news to me ugggghhhh). I think that I have a backup hanging out on one of my spare HDDs that I can throw up onto either my personal website or another Google account. Give me about an hour and I'll report back.

 

[deleted676737]

Factors When Picking A School.docx

Obviously, this is not the most current version of the document since it came from a backup taken at the end of 2017, unfortunately, but it should do for now. It is completely open for anyone to edit and contribute however they'd like. My one request is that, if you do add or delete bullet points, eg. if they're outdated/no longer relevant, please don't tamper with the formatting of the actual headers. I originally constructed the document this way so that it would be easy to navigate by just clicking the appropriate school in the outline panel (left-hand side if you're on desktop) rather than scrolling through all 70 or whatever pages to find what's wanted.

 

[RedLauren]

Factors When Picking A School.docx

Obviously, this is not the most current version of the document since it came from a backup taken at the end of 2017, unfortunately, but it should do for now. It is completely open for anyone to edit and contribute however they'd like. My one request is that, if you do add or delete bullet points, eg. if they're outdated/no longer relevant, please don't tamper with the formatting of the actual headers. I originally constructed the document this way so that it would be easy to navigate by just clicking the appropriate school in the outline panel (left-hand side if you're on desktop) rather than scrolling through all 70 or whatever pages to find what's wanted.

You da real MVP

 

[deleted676737]

Random, but I didn't want to create an entirely new thread just to ask this question.

To current and future applicants: if I were to write a script for a questionnaire/survey-type deal that would take your user input for GPA, experience, location, residency, cost, etc. all into account and provide a detailed, ranked list of schools that would best fit your particular stats and needs... would that be helpful at all? I know that I've already got the factors google doc back up, but I think that such a program might be useful to at least have a starting point and narrow down the options a bit more for those who don't even know where to start looking (because, let's be honest, that document is over 70 pages long and might be a bit overwhelming). And we still field a lot of questions here regarding which schools focus on last 45 GPA or allow for switch to IS or don't use GRE, etc. It would be pretty easy to code and it would give me a small project to work on and host on my website for public access. Of course, I'd post a link to it here on SDN.

Yay or nay? Stupid idea?

 

[RedLauren]

Random, but I didn't want to create an entirely new thread just to ask this question.

To current and future applicants: if I were to write a script for a questionnaire/survey-type deal that would take your user input for GPA, experience, location, residency, cost, etc. all into account and provide a detailed, ranked list of schools that would best fit your particular stats and needs... would that be helpful at all? I know that I've already got the factors google doc back up, but I think that such a program might be useful to at least have a starting point and narrow down the options a bit more for those who don't even know where to start looking (because, let's be honest, that document is over 70 pages long and might be a bit overwhelming). And we still field a lot of questions here regarding which schools focus on last 45 GPA or allow for switch to IS or don't use GRE, etc. It would be pretty easy to code and it would give me a small project to work on and host on my website for public access. Of course, I'd post a link to it here on SDN.

Yay or nay? Stupid idea?

I think you’d be a saint for doing this. I spent DAYS compiling that info when I applied. I think we should all just try our best to keep it updated.

 

[deleted676737]

I think you’d be a saint for doing this. I spent DAYS compiling that info when I applied. I think we should all just try our best to keep it updated.

Good to hear, because I've already started working on it.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Good to hear, because I've already started working on it.
View attachment 235871

Design a better product to replace VMCAS and make bank.
BTW this is awesome.

 

[WildZoo]

You rock @Elkhart

 

[SkiOtter]

Kinda want to see where it says I should’ve applied and if where I got in ends up being closeish to the top or not...

 

[battie]

Design a better product to replace VMCAS and make bank.
BTW this is awesome.

But like...... that's only like 2% a joke, 98% serious.

Kinda want to see where it says I should’ve applied and if where I got in ends up being closeish to the top or not...

I'm going to run my stat through it, just to see. Also, it would be super interesting to see how accurate the thing is by using accepted student data. Obviously it won't be super accurate because of the subjective factors. But for the poops and giggles of it.

 

[Faffy]

1. Quality of the teacher, means their way to teach, their way to explain things, their way to know their students
2. Cost of education
3. Equipment, utility of the school

 

[SkiOtter]

1. Quality of the teacher, means their way to teach, their way to explain things, their way to know their students

This is veeeeeeeery subjective though. If you ask two people, their opinions could differ greatly. This one would be extremely difficult to rank, ESPECIALLY since most people will not have gone to multiple schools to be able to compare them.

 

[deleted676737]

Yeah, I definitely don't intend it to be the end-all, be-all of choosing where someone should apply. It's meant to act as a bit of a starting point for those who don't even know where to start in terms of narrowing down schools. I don't think that I'm going to include any questions about experience or more subjective factors for that reason (plus that would be super difficult to incorporate); it's it's more to evaluate the more "objective" measures and match you up with schools that best match that profile. So if you were to input, say, that you've got a much higher last 45 GPA than cumulative GPA, the list of schools that you're offered should reflect that. I'm also trying to find a way to rank the given results by CoA in accordance with the state of residence that the user inputs.

I've got a 5-day weekend starting on Sunday, so I'm hoping to get things mostly done during that time. I'll post a link here first to have you guys play with and try to break it before "officially" moving it out of my Testing directory and onto my public website.

 

[battie]

It's a nifty idea for sure. I wonder why someone else hasn't done it yet.

 

[SkiOtter]

It's a nifty idea for sure. I wonder why someone else hasn't done it yet.

Tony’s kicking himself I’m sure.

 

[RedLauren]

Tony’s kicking himself I’m sure.

Interesting comment

 

[deleted676737]

So. I've hit a bit of a snag. My current web hosting provider doesn't support Python, which is the language that I am most familiar with and wrote the backend script for this thing in. I hadn't attempted to host any .py files using this hosting before. I also know a little Perl; inquired via email whether Perl is supported. Nope. Ruby? Nope. In fact, they don't even support PHP at this point, apparently; a phpinfo.php file that I quickly wrote and threw on there isn't handled correctly. Basically, no server-side scripting languages are supported at all. The browser just tries to download the raw file when submitting the form rather than actually display the results/output.

UGH.

Basically, what this means is that I am going to have switch to a new web host that actually has Python support. I also would really prefer to be able to keep my current domain name, which requires that I get all of that information transferred over... and, annoyingly, that process can take up to a week. So we'll see if I can still have this thing finished and at least in a state where I can have you guys test it before my weekend ends. Thankfully, I only work Friday and Saturday, so if nothing else, I will have another weekend after that to finish tying loose ends together.

On that note, if there are other web designers/developers here... do you have suggestions for Python-friendly hosting that also supports FTP? I'm most likely going to end up going with GoDaddy VPS at this point since they allow for complete control and domain transfers but if you've got any input, I am more than happy to hear it.

 

[KCgophervet]

So. I've hit a bit of a snag. My current web hosting provider doesn't support Python, which is the language that I am most familiar with and wrote the backend script for this thing in. I hadn't attempted to host any .py files using this hosting before. I also know a little Perl; inquired via email whether Perl is supported. Nope. Ruby? Nope. In fact, they don't even support PHP at this point, apparently; a phpinfo.php file isn't handled correctly. Basically, no server-side scripting languages are supported at all. The browser just tries to download the raw file when submitting the form rather than actually display the results/output.

UGH.

Basically, what this means is that I am going to have switch to a new web host that actually has Python support. I'm looking at a few right now and am trying to decide which would suit my needs best. I also would really prefer to be able to keep my current domain name, which requires that I get all of that information transferred over... and, annoyingly, that process can take up to a week. So we'll see if I can still have this thing finished and at least in a state where I can have you guys test it before my weekend ends. Thankfully, I only work Friday and Saturday, so if nothing else, I will have another weekend after that to finish tying loose ends together.

On that note, if there are other web designers/developers here... do you have suggestions for Python-friendly hosting that also supports FTP?

(this post just reminded me of when my husband's friends would get together for game night, speaking in tongues ) but really I have no idea

 

[SkiOtter]

(this post just reminded me of when my husband's friends would get together for game night, speaking in tongues ) but really I have no idea

Thanks for posting this for me

 

[vetmedhead]

So. I've hit a bit of a snag. My current web hosting provider doesn't support Python, which is the language that I am most familiar with and wrote the backend script for this thing in. I hadn't attempted to host any .py files using this hosting before. I also know a little Perl; inquired via email whether Perl is supported. Nope. Ruby? Nope. In fact, they don't even support PHP at this point, apparently; a phpinfo.php file that I quickly wrote and threw on there isn't handled correctly. Basically, no server-side scripting languages are supported at all. The browser just tries to download the raw file when submitting the form rather than actually display the results/output.

UGH.

Basically, what this means is that I am going to have switch to a new web host that actually has Python support. I also would really prefer to be able to keep my current domain name, which requires that I get all of that information transferred over... and, annoyingly, that process can take up to a week. So we'll see if I can still have this thing finished and at least in a state where I can have you guys test it before my weekend ends. Thankfully, I only work Friday and Saturday, so if nothing else, I will have another weekend after that to finish tying loose ends together.

On that note, if there are other web designers/developers here... do you have suggestions for Python-friendly hosting that also supports FTP? I'm most likely going to end up going with GoDaddy VPS at this point since they allow for complete control and domain transfers but if you've got any input, I am more than happy to hear it.

I feel like @Stroganoff would have some good suggestions for this

 

[deleted676737]

I feel like @Stroganoff would have some good suggestions for this

Thanks for that, but I've actually just found a new host that should be able to provide what I need! I was simultaneously venting and posting to let you guys know that it might be a week or so before things are ready to go, haha.

 

[Stroganoff]

So. I've hit a bit of a snag. My current web hosting provider doesn't support Python, which is the language that I am most familiar with and wrote the backend script for this thing in. I hadn't attempted to host any .py files using this hosting before. I also know a little Perl; inquired via email whether Perl is supported. Nope. Ruby? Nope. In fact, they don't even support PHP at this point, apparently; a phpinfo.php file that I quickly wrote and threw on there isn't handled correctly. Basically, no server-side scripting languages are supported at all. The browser just tries to download the raw file when submitting the form rather than actually display the results/output.

UGH.

Basically, what this means is that I am going to have switch to a new web host that actually has Python support. I also would really prefer to be able to keep my current domain name, which requires that I get all of that information transferred over... and, annoyingly, that process can take up to a week. So we'll see if I can still have this thing finished and at least in a state where I can have you guys test it before my weekend ends. Thankfully, I only work Friday and Saturday, so if nothing else, I will have another weekend after that to finish tying loose ends together.

On that note, if there are other web designers/developers here... do you have suggestions for Python-friendly hosting that also supports FTP? I'm most likely going to end up going with GoDaddy VPS at this point since they allow for complete control and domain transfers but if you've got any input, I am more than happy to hear it.

Disclaimer: I don't have all the answers, just a few opinions and general leanings. Also, the web hosting industry is full of affiliate $$$ so even review sites may be biased to recommend web hosting providers because it gets them a commission. I have zero affiliate relationships with any web hosting provider, so any opinions in this post are just random ideas and are unbiased based on a conflict of interests. That said, I'm not the most experienced with shopping around with web hosting so please don't consider any recommendations as gospel.



I think a lot of this depends on your budget, your current and future needs/wants, and what kind of websites or services you wish to host. Who are you currently with that isn't meeting your needs?

From what I gather, this conversation is about hosting a web service that provides pre-vets a dynamic front end UI to a Python back end script... something about admissions guidance. I don't know your intentions with whether this is temporary or permanent. Maybe that's irrelevant.

I was with 1&1 Internet for both domains and hosting for several years but switched off some projects and have moved away from 1&1 just for monetary reasons. I transferred the domains to Domain.com for their new customer promo, but no hosting provider for said domains. From several hours of basic research (for myself), I really liked a lot of what I read about SiteGround. I wanted enough control over even shared hosting (not VPS pricing) that I could at least offer my visitors a 100% HTTPS experience, and these folks offer both free HTTPS certificates through the free Let's Encrypt project as well as Cloudflare reverse proxy package, right out of the box. I liked some of their promotional pricing, and it's cool that all their storage is 100% SSD.

I recently ran across this blog article and discovered that a conglomerate called EIG Hosting has bought up DOZENS of web hosting providers, and every time they do, quality drops. Worth a read if only to become aware of what subsidiaries they own (see the picture in the blog article): Why So Many Bloggers Recommend Bluehost or Hostgator Hosting (And Why I Don’t)


I truly haven't looked into what providers offer Python interpreters running on their web servers -- I imagine many do, but maybe not in their cheapest shared hosting packages. PHP is another story: PHP is ubiquitous on the web, and 100% of hosting providers I've looked at support PHP, even for their cheapest packages.

You could theoretically get a free/cheap Dynamic DNS provider and use a computer in your own apartment/home to serve your project to SDNers to test out, temporarily. Although this does expose your real public IP address to the world and opens you up to a malicious SDNer (or anyone in the world, more likely) to hacking you as you'd be 100% responsible for the security, availability (uptime), and infrastructure. You could mitigate this with a reverse DNS proxy such as Cloudflare (and others) where even the free packages don't expose your "real" IP address to the world and also protect you from very rudimentary DDoS attacks.

Another option for temporary, cheap providers is to go with a cloud provider that offers Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) such as the infamous Amazon Web Services (AWS), including their Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) infrastructure. They have lightweight 1-year free trials, and beyond that, they offer 100% free packages for very light demands. You could host your vet school admissions Python thingy (technical term ) there. What's really cool is you can pay by the second, so you can spin up or spin down new instances as needed and only pay for what you use.

Note: I haven't researched what providers offer Python, so apologies that I can't directly answer your main question.

Regarding FTP: FTP is not secure by default since it sends usernames, passwords, and all data in the clear (no encryption) and should "never" be used in 2018. Any hosting provider worth their salt should offer Secure FTP (SFTP) as a complete replacement to FTP and requires no additional steps or technical expertise to use. It just automatically handles secure authentication and encryption for you. Even if a provider still offers both FTP and SFTP, always go with the Secure option just as a best practice and to protect yourself. It's likely you already know all this, but just trying to be sure since you mentioned only "FTP" in your post. Sorry if I'm mansplaining or nerd-splaining, but I'm a stickler for security, and there's zero reason not to always be secure these days especially if it's exactly the same process and amount of effort.

From a quick web search, I found this site: Python Hosting: Which Host Is Best For You? and apparently SiteGround does offer Python support for $3.95/month, among many other providers. I personally have a warm fuzzy towards SiteGround and will likely give them my business in 2018 as a new customer and I'm moving away from any EIG owned subsidiaries like the ever popular Bluehost or HostGator.

tl;dr: Maybe look at a cloud hosting provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and play with their free packages and maybe grow with them if you need their paid packages.

 

[Stroganoff]

Thanks for that, but I've actually just found a new host that should be able to provide what I need! I was simultaneously venting and posting to let you guys know that it might be a week or so before things are ready to go, haha.

OH WELL I GUESS I'LL JUST DELETE MY POST.

*stomps away immaturely*
*needs more coffee*
*paged for nothing*
*at least pre-vets and vetties are super chill and awesome*

Can you at least share who you were with and who you're considering going to? Just for my own curiosity.

 

[deleted676737]

OH WELL I GUESS I'LL JUST DELETE MY POST.

*stomps away immaturely*
*needs more coffee*
*paged for nothing*
*at least pre-vets and vetties are super chill and awesome*

Can you at least share who you were with and who you're considering going to? Just for my own curiosity.

Noooooo, don't delete your post! It's super informative and I'm sure others might find it useful!

I was previously using webs.com. I know, I know. This wasn't an issue up until now because my website was entirely static and all it was really there to do was to host some school stuff and my resume in HTML format, haha. I hadn't played around with any server side stuff on there up until now, so you can imagine my disappointment when I found out that it didn't support Python or Perl or PHP or, well, anything. I checked out the higher tiered packages but I couldn't find any information regarding whether or not they actually supported those languages/packages. Literally, all the advertisements focus on is email and storage space and domain names, which, while important, aren't what I was really interested in. I could have contacted a representative to discuss it, but honestly I'd been considering jumping ship to another hosting service for a while. This just acted as more of a catalyst to bit the bullet and do it.

I'm in the process of moving things over to GoDaddy VPS with Linux (CentOS, specifically). I'm fairly comfortable with Linux since I run it on my main computer, anyway, so the initial setup and configuration hasn't been too difficult. The nice thing with it being a VPS is that I can install whatever I want on it, so you can bet I'll be throwing Python 3 on that baby once it's up and running. The more annoying bit is waiting for the domain name and DNS info transfer to complete, which GoDaddy has said can take anywhere from one to two weeks. I could have just purchased a new domain from their registar but... nah. I like having myname.com in my own possession and having it be the first result when I google myself.

 

[deleted676737]

Design a better product to replace VMCAS and make bank.
BTW this is awesome.

So I was thinking about this while cleaning today. Honestly, I'm surprised that no one has tried to develop an alternative yet; VMCAS really is very expensive, especially when you consider the quality of the product. I don't know if things have improved in recent years, but the year that I applied (2015), there were so many little bugs and broken features that it honestly felt to me like a beta build. I realize that they were just starting to roll out VMCAS 3.0 at the time and, yes, they'd had a testing period... but that testing period should have gone on for much longer than it did. Most of those bugs were appearing in features that had worked flawlessly in previous versions of VMCAS, too, like the chronological ordering for experiences and phone number entry. That's not even touching upon the disaster that was Professional Transcript Entry... thankfully, I don't think that that one has come back. So there's that, at least. I think that these hiccups would be much easier to swallow if we did not have to pay upwards of hundreds or even thousands of dollars for the service.

There's no reason to have to shell out $150 minimum for a broken mess of an application with mediocre customer service. That's way too much money to pay for that "experience", frankly, and vet school applications are expensive enough even when we just consider the leadup costs (ordering transcripts, GRE, etc.), supplementals, and interview expenses. VMCAS is one of the most costly parts of the process and it doesn't have to be.

Eh, I'm just rambling. I don't know, maybe I could team up with some other people to brainstorm the details of how a low-cost (or perhaps even free?) alternative application service might work and help develop one in the future? I don't know what method we'd use to send applications off to the schools once they're complete, or even really how we'd go about getting the schools on board with accepting applications from a new service. But I think that we can all agree that some competition would be good and, yanno... It's fun to think about, anyway.