Welcome to SDN, OP. Good question about fourth year scheduling. It's a bit of a mystery and dark art.
NCSU actually gives us a lot of choice in scheduling our fourth year. A clinical block at NCSU = 2 weeks. Most focus areas (i.e. small animal, large animal, epidemiology, etc.) are granted 3 blocks (six weeks) of off-site externships for credit. Four vacation blocks (8 weeks) are also granted. Students are permitted to travel to externship sites during vacation blocks, but no credit is granted (also, the school's liability insurance doesn't cover you in such instances). I booked my fourth year externship sites (on the west coast) one year in advance (i.e. I picked dates, and the sites confirmed that there was room for me). When it came time to scheduling those opportunities with NCSU, I used 'priority scheduling' to secure those dates. When students schedule their fourth year, it's three step process. The first of these is called 'pick four,' where students can choose, in order of priority, their top four blocks (8 total weeks). For myself, I chose my externship blocks plus SA internal medicine (I wanted this block to be first in my clinical year sequence). Admin does a heroic job of attempting to give everyone there top four blocks. Following pick four, required rotations are scheduled. Admin gives students the option to comment on where they would like a particular block (i.e. radiology before NAVLE), but there's no guarantees that this 'wish list' will be fulfilled. Following required rotations, electives are scheduled. This is done on a first-come, first-serve basis via an online system.
Students choose to prioritize different aspects of their clinical year. Some folks use pick four to schedule their vacation blocks (i.e. they want Christmas off, or are getting married). Other students prioritize position of rotations in their overall fourth year schedule (i.e. medicine, surgery, etc. prior to the NAVLE/match deadline in late Nov/early Dec.). Other folks prioritize externships. Other folks don't care, let their schedule fall into place, and pick their externship sites following finalization of their clinical schedule.
Some disciplines are crazy competitive when it comes to scheduling externships. The zoo folks have it tough here. Most of the zoo folks I know scheduled their externships one full year in advance. Academic institutions (other vet schools) can also be hard to schedule, because those institutions need to have space for an extern while still accommodating their home students. Also, the academic schedules need to roughly match up. Some institutions won't take students at certain times of the year (one institution where I completed a summer fellowship wouldn't take fourth year externs from June-August so that faculty/residents could spend more time with the fellows).
I knew early in my vet school career what I wanted to do post-graduation. As I progressed through the curriculum, I made decisions as to where I thought I'd like to visit. For an individual gunning for internship/residency, I highly suggest that you visit places on your list. It's impossible to visit all of them, but hitting one or two is money well spent. Call these places in advance, and make every opportunity to visit them PRIOR to the match deadline. Also, don't forget your LORs. Make sure that you get face time with faculty who you'd like to write you an LOR PRIOR to the match deadline. The more they see you, the more they can comment on your clinical abilities and interpersonal skills.
That's how I planned my fourth year. I'm about 2/3 done at this stage, and things have worked out nicely so far. I got everything I asked for, with the exception of one elective (very fair, given the priorities of so many students that our admin folks need to juggle). I'm sure that other folks on here did things completely differently, and are/were just as happy with how things turned out. In total, I completed 8 weeks of externship- 6 of these were at academic institutions, 2 were at a company. To the best of your ability, SAVE MONEY for fourth year travel. Externships are not cheap- don't forget, you'll be paying for your living expenses at home and wherever you end up. Also, keep pet care in the back of your mind if that's an issue for you (it was for me). Make sure that you understand your institution's policy for 'time off.' Does your school give you a day in between blocks for travel? What about the NAVLE? Is taking time off to study for the NAVLE important to you, or will you do the majority of your prep in concert with other rotations?
Anyone else want to weigh in? Good luck, OP. Fourth year is a wild ride.
