Illinois vs. Cornell

[torbeans01]

I am deciding between attending UIUC (IS) and Cornell (OOS)- I am aware of the financial differences between the two schools, however I do plan to apply for the HPSP program scholarship to help offset costs.

I am wondering if anyone may be able to provide pros/cons for each school, or insight if they had to make this same decision! Thank you in advance!

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[gobears2022]

Following, making the same choice except I’m OOS for both 🙂

 

[JaynaAli]

I haven’t attended either so can’t say a lot for certain, and I really think cost should be your main determinant, but setting cost aside, I think the main things that need considered for these two schools specifically are that they both use slight nontraditional teaching or grading methods. I think I’ve seen that Cornell does more of a flipped classroom, problem based learning style rather than classic lectures. In contrast, I’ve heard Illinois does more traditional lectures, but they grade each semester as one big grade. If someone has no plans to pursue specialization, that may not matter at all. But it can make things weird/harder when it comes to internship/residency time since you didn’t have lots of little grades along the way to influence your GPA. I’m not saying either one of these is good or bad, just that it’s different than at other schools and might be worth factoring in.

But really, go to the cheapest school.

 

[pp9]

I went to UofI, as did @battie and @SkiOtter. @spiane is there now. Pros/cons is a little too open ended (and subjective) for me...do you have specific questions?

I don't know anything about Cornell and know very little about HPSP...but how certain are you on the HPSP? If you don't already have that scholarship offered and are just planning to apply, go to your IS.

Edit: Sorry, you did say you plan to apply. I'm sure you know this, but the HPSP is very competitive and they recommend you apply for it very early on in your cycle. IIRC, it also is a several-month long process of applying/working through the steps, so you may have to commit before you know if you got the scholarship. I'd worry you wouldn't get it and would end up saddled with OOS private school tuition if you went to Cornell. Not worth the risk imo. If you get it, great.

 

[torbeans01]

I went to UofI, as did @battie and @SkiOtter. @spiane is there now. Pros/cons is a little too open ended (and subjective) for me...do you have specific questions?

I don't know anything about Cornell and know very little about HPSP...but how certain are you on the HPSP? If you don't already have that scholarship offered and are just planning to apply, go to your IS.

Edit: Sorry, you did say you plan to apply. I'm sure you know this, but the HPSP is very competitive and they recommend you apply for it very early on in your cycle. IIRC, it also is a several-month long process of applying/working through the steps, so you may have to commit before you know if you got the scholarship. I'd worry you wouldn't get it and would end up saddled with OOS private school tuition if you went to Cornell. Not worth the risk imo. If you get it, great.

Specific questions:

• What is the teaching style like? I know Cornell is more PBL-based and some classes are just pass/fail but am unsure about what it looks like at UofI.
• Living situation wise, would you recommend looking in town, or surrounding areas like Mahomet, Rantoul, Savoy- etc? I'm from Bloomington so I know the commute would be a little too long to get to classes from my home, but also want to find something quieter yet affordable.
• What does the parking situation look like? Does the College of Veterinary Medicine have their own parking lot area or are you having to look for spots with undergraduate students?

Yes- I've already been in contact with a recruiter and am starting my application. I do know it helps a lot with who you get recommendations from, however there is always the uncertainty of whether or not I would actually receive a scholarship. I agree with you; I am leaning towards Illinois due to the about $60,000 a year difference, especially if I do not get into that program- I really appreciate the insight into this, as well as hearing other people's opinions! And if I get in with going to Illinois, I'd still be happy!

 

[pp9]

• What is the teaching style like? I know Cornell is more PBL-based and some classes are just pass/fail but am unsure about what it looks like at UofI.
  • Primarily traditional lecture with a sprinkling of PBL. There are mega courses as well, and UofI is on the quarter system. There are several pass/fail electives, but otherwise every quarter = one mega course = one grade on your transcript. There are 9 academic quarters.
• Living situation wise, would you recommend looking in town, or surrounding areas like Mahomet, Rantoul, Savoy- etc? I'm from Bloomington so I know the commute would be a little too long to get to classes from my home, but also want to find something quieter yet affordable.
  • It depends on how far you want to drive. Savoy is great because it's super close, but kind of away from the undergrad areas so is quieter. Only a small handful of people that I was aware of lived farther out. Living farther out is not as big of a deal during years 1-3 unless you take on a lot of extracurriculars/commitments, but once you start clinics (towards the end of your third year), you may want to be closer. I ended up in Savoy for my first year, and Urbana for the rest. Some parts of Urbana and Champaign are not particularly safe if you can avoid them.
• What does the parking situation look like? Does the College of Veterinary Medicine have their own parking lot area or are you having to look for spots with undergraduate students?
  • The vet school does have its own parking and I never had an issue getting a parking pass each year, a few people in my first year were on a wait list though. Parking passes are not free and like any university, the parking police are checking and ticketing. The vet school is not really near any other parking areas and is a bit separate from main campus.

 

[torbeans01]

• What is the teaching style like? I know Cornell is more PBL-based and some classes are just pass/fail but am unsure about what it looks like at UofI.
  • Primarily traditional lecture with a sprinkling of PBL. There are mega courses as well, and UofI is on the quarter system. There are several pass/fail electives, but otherwise every quarter = one mega course = one grade on your transcript. There are 9 academic quarters.
• Living situation wise, would you recommend looking in town, or surrounding areas like Mahomet, Rantoul, Savoy- etc? I'm from Bloomington so I know the commute would be a little too long to get to classes from my home, but also want to find something quieter yet affordable.
  • It depends on how far you want to drive. Savoy is great because it's super close, but kind of away from the undergrad areas so is quieter. Only a small handful of people that I was aware of lived farther out. Living farther out is not as big of a deal during years 1-3 unless you take on a lot of extracurriculars/commitments, but once you start clinics (towards the end of your third year), you may want to be closer. I ended up in Savoy for my first year, and Urbana for the rest. Some parts of Urbana and Champaign are not particularly safe if you can avoid them.
• What does the parking situation look like? Does the College of Veterinary Medicine have their own parking lot area or are you having to look for spots with undergraduate students?
  • The vet school does have its own parking and I never had an issue getting a parking pass each year, a few people in my first year were on a wait list though. Parking passes are not free and like any university, the parking police are checking and ticketing. The vet school is not really near any other parking areas and is a bit separate from main campus.

This is awesome! Thank you so much!!

One follow up question: Are classes year 1-3 normally on a 8am- mid afternoon schedule, daily?

Just want to consider that as I look at housing options/distance from campus!

 

[pp9]

This is awesome! Thank you so much!!

One follow up question: Are classes year 1-3 normally on a 8am- mid afternoon schedule, daily?

Just want to consider that as I look at housing options/distance from campus!

Yes, normally 8-12, 12-1 lunch, and then 1-4. Rarely we went to 5pm, rarely we got out much earlier than 4. Monday-Friday.

For junior surgery during third year, you will need to be at the school by 6am on surgery days.

 

[battie]

Living situation wise, would you recommend looking in town, or surrounding areas like Mahomet, Rantoul, Savoy- etc? I'm from Bloomington so I know the commute would be a little too long to get to classes from my home, but also want to find something quieter yet affordable.

I was someone who was arguably over involved in the extra curricular activities. I highly recommend living closer if possible. Especially with weather changes, it can absolutely suck to live more than 20 minutes from vet med in town.

 

[spiane]

Specific questions:

• What is the teaching style like? I know Cornell is more PBL-based and some classes are just pass/fail but am unsure about what it looks like at UofI.
• Living situation wise, would you recommend looking in town, or surrounding areas like Mahomet, Rantoul, Savoy- etc? I'm from Bloomington so I know the commute would be a little too long to get to classes from my home, but also want to find something quieter yet affordable.
• What does the parking situation look like? Does the College of Veterinary Medicine have their own parking lot area or are you having to look for spots with undergraduate students?

Yes- I've already been in contact with a recruiter and am starting my application. I do know it helps a lot with who you get recommendations from, however there is always the uncertainty of whether or not I would actually receive a scholarship. I agree with you; I am leaning towards Illinois due to the about $60,000 a year difference, especially if I do not get into that program- I really appreciate the insight into this, as well as hearing other people's opinions! And if I get in with going to Illinois, I'd still be happy!

Go wherever is cheaper.

I live in Savoy, and personally I love it. I don't live at The Village which is where a lot of vet students live, but I'm in a very nice, quiet apartment in a little neighborhood. It's small and mostly families and old people. There's a goodwill, Schnuck's, Walmart, Aldi (and others) very close by. It's only a 8-10 min commute to vet med, and I'm only 10 min south of Champaign. I don't mind driving to places downtown (although it would be nice to walk to places in town sometimes), and I think it's worth it to live somewhere calmer and quieter. I also feel like it's safer, but that's purely based off perception, not data (not including some parts of Chambana that are objectively less safe. It's sad). There's areas like this in Champaign and Urbana, too, you just have to look for it. Avoid the major landlords like Green Street and Smile Student Living- I toured a bunch of their places and they all suck and have a bad reputation. I'm with Royse and Brinkmeyer and I'm very satisfied with them. Also, utilities and taxes are cheaper in Savoy, so that's a nice bonus. It just depends on what you like. If you like the business and noise of living in town, then go for it. I lived in Chicago for long enough that I'm over it now lol. I also know people who commute from St. Joseph, Bloomington, and even Springfield and make it work, though I wouldn't recommend it.

Parking is... interesting. Parking in Chambana is generally annoying, but not any worse than other cities (I'm comparing to Chicago, for reference, so take with that what you will). I'm sure it's comparable to Bloomington based off my visit there. The lot for 1st and some 2nd years is a half-mile walk to the vet school, but only $140-ish for a parking pass. It's shared with undergrads and university employees but there's ample spots available. You can get on a waitlist for street parking and the Japan house lot, which is more expensive (not sure of price) and difficult to get on. I've been on the waitlist for both since May 2024 and am in the 160s lol, so I'll be walking for a while. The main lot outside BSB is for 3rd and 4th years and is a whopping $800. It sure is convenient, though. There's meters all over by vetmed, so if I'm only staying for a short time I park close. Parking is also only enforced 8-5pm on weekdays including meters, so after that and on weekends you can park where ever you want. It's not ideal, but it could definitely be worse. Plus I love the exercise from the walk.

 

[spiane]

This is awesome! Thank you so much!!

One follow up question: Are classes year 1-3 normally on a 8am- mid afternoon schedule, daily?

Just want to consider that as I look at housing options/distance from campus!

All lectures aside for a select few do not require attendance and lectures are recorded. I do all my morning lectures at home and I don't bother to watch the videos, either, but that's personal preference. I'm much more efficient and less stressed this way, plus my grades have improved by an entire letter since starting this method! So, yes, the schedule is 8/9-12, lunch from 12-1, then some afternoon classes depending on the day (latest days are 4/5pm), but you don't necessarily have to be there all the time. It's also nice when life things come up, I had a lot of health stuff pop up this semester so I was able to fit in all my weekly appointments with the flexible attendance policy. If you want more specifics on this I can give you more detailed information.

 

[battie]

Go wherever is cheaper.

I live in Savoy, and personally I love it. I don't live at The Village which is where a lot of vet students live, but I'm in a very nice, quiet apartment in a little neighborhood. It's small and mostly families and old people. There's a goodwill, Schnuck's, Walmart, Aldi (and others) very close by. It's only a 8-10 min commute to vet med, and I'm only 10 min south of Champaign. I don't mind driving to places downtown (although it would be nice to walk to places in town sometimes), and I think it's worth it to live somewhere calmer and quieter. I also feel like it's safer, but that's purely based off perception, not data (not including some parts of Chambana that are objectively less safe. It's sad). There's areas like this in Champaign and Urbana, too, you just have to look for it. Avoid the major landlords like Green Street and Smile Student Living- I toured a bunch of their places and they all suck and have a bad reputation. I'm with Royse and Brinkmeyer and I'm very satisfied with them. Also, utilities and taxes are cheaper in Savoy, so that's a nice bonus. It just depends on what you like. If you like the business and noise of living in town, then go for it. I lived in Chicago for long enough that I'm over it now lol. I also know people who commute from St. Joseph, Bloomington, and even Springfield and make it work, though I wouldn't recommend it.

Parking is... interesting. Parking in Chambana is generally annoying, but not any worse than other cities (I'm comparing to Chicago, for reference, so take with that what you will). I'm sure it's comparable to Bloomington based off my visit there. The lot for 1st and some 2nd years is a half-mile walk to the vet school, but only $140-ish for a parking pass. It's shared with undergrads and university employees but there's ample spots available. You can get on a waitlist for street parking and the Japan house lot, which is more expensive (not sure of price) and difficult to get on. I've been on the waitlist for both since May 2024 and am in the 160s lol, so I'll be walking for a while. The main lot outside BSB is for 3rd and 4th years and is a whopping $800. It sure is convenient, though. There's meters all over by vetmed, so if I'm only staying for a short time I park close. Parking is also only enforced 8-5pm on weekdays including meters, so after that and on weekends you can park where ever you want. It's not ideal, but it could definitely be worse. Plus I love the exercise from the walk.

The parking situation is new, but y'all have much larger class sizes than we did. I was in the big bsb lot by the end of first year and had street parking on Lincoln the first week of school.

 

[spiane]

The parking situation is new, but y'all have much larger class sizes than we did. I was in the big bsb lot by the end of first year and had street parking on Lincoln the first week of school.

That's so nice! 🤣 My class has been very vocal about how bad the parking situation is so maybe in the coming years they'll do something. All their problems would be solved with a garage. They're adding more parking because of the new Onco wing, but it'll be filled up by faculty I assume.

 

[battie]

That's so nice! 🤣 My class has been very vocal about how bad the parking situation is so maybe in the coming years they'll do something. All their problems would be solved with a garage. They're adding more parking because of the new Onco wing, but it'll be filled up by faculty I assume.

Foreman fought the university on increasing cost of parking by us the whole time I was there since we were required to be on campus to a certain extent every year at all hours of the day and night. But then there were only 130 students per class except 2020.

 

[spiane]

Foreman fought the university on increasing cost of parking by us the whole time I was there since we were required to be on campus to a certain extent every year at all hours of the day and night. But then there were only 130 students per class except 2020.

I could see him doing that- he really cares about the students. The new assistant dean hasn't been elected yet, but I believe our class rep has brought up the parking situation to Dean Constable, so we'll see if he's able to assert any influence. I'm sure it's hard to convince the university of much, considering it's size and the amount of people you have to go through.

 

[battie]

I could see him doing that- he really cares about the students. The new assistant dean hasn't been elected yet, but I believe our class rep has brought up the parking situation to Dean Constable, so we'll see if he's able to assert any influence. I'm sure it's hard to convince the university of much, considering it's size and the amount of people you have to go through.

If it wasn't for Foreman, I wouldn't be a doctor. Full stop. I was sad to learn he has stepped down and/or retired. But I don't think anyone should die in their office chair either. And homeboy was getting up there. Time to spend time with his kids and grandkids

 

[pp9]

The parking situation is new, but y'all have much larger class sizes than we did. I was in the big bsb lot by the end of first year and had street parking on Lincoln the first week of school.

Same - I was in the little lot across the street first year, then the big lot 2-4. Paid $700-something each year, though.

That's so nice! 🤣 My class has been very vocal about how bad the parking situation is so maybe in the coming years they'll do something. All their problems would be solved with a garage. They're adding more parking because of the new Onco wing, but it'll be filled up by faculty I assume.

I'd be willing to guess that UofI is one of the few schools that allows students to park right outside the building. We didn't have great bus service to the school imo though, so if you can't walk/bike, driving in is your only option. I'm comparing to Michigan State (where I did my undergrad), where you could take a bus to anywhere on campus at almost any time, and not have to wait that long for the bus to show up. And residential areas were serviced pretty well, so off-campus people didn't bother buying a parking pass. If I were to rely on buses in Chambana, I would have never made it to class.

A garage is smart, maybe they'll put one in 20 years from now lol. You are enjoying some of the renovated areas in the hospital now that had been in the works for years, while us old people were trapped in storage closets for rounds back in the day

And you have classrooms.

 

[spiane]

If it wasn't for Foreman, I wouldn't be a doctor. Full stop. I was sad to learn he has stepped down and/or retired. But I don't think anyone should die in their office chair either. And homeboy was getting up there. Time to spend time with his kids and grandkids

He is still teaching, thankfully! I have him for my equine electives and he teaches some equine cardio and GI lectures. I really like him, so I'm glad he's still around. But I agree that he probably shouldn't die in his office chair, I'm pretty sure his schedule is a little lighter than before at least. I love how he always talks about his kids and grandkids during class. His dry humor is unbeatable too lol

A garage is smart, maybe they'll put one in 20 years from now lol. You are enjoying some of the renovated areas in the hospital now that had been in the works for years, while us old people were trapped in storage closets for rounds back in the day

And you have classrooms.

Oh there's still some storage closet round rooms haha. There were a couple rotations where I was crammed in a corner because there wasn't enough space for everyone lol. But I've heard stories about how it was worse, so I'll take it. What do you mean we have classrooms 😭 Did you not?!?

 

[torbeans01]

You guys are so helpful!! I love hearing how the college has changed over the years as well

There has been some mention of clubs- what clubs are available, if you don’t mind me asking? I know that could be an extensive question- my main interest is equine 🙂

 

[pp9]

He is still teaching, thankfully! I have him for my equine electives and he teaches some equine cardio and GI lectures. I really like him, so I'm glad he's still around. But I agree that he probably shouldn't die in his office chair, I'm pretty sure his schedule is a little lighter than before at least. I love how he always talks about his kids and grandkids during class. His dry humor is unbeatable too lol


Oh there's still some storage closet round rooms haha. There were a couple rotations where I was crammed in a corner because there wasn't enough space for everyone lol. But I've heard stories about how it was worse, so I'll take it. What do you mean we have classrooms 😭 Did you not?!?

For my first year, our lectures were in the anatomy lab, path lab, and sometimes the third year lecture hall when it was available. But mostly anatomy lab which was about as uncomfortable as you can imagine.

They were renovating the classrooms just before I started, there was a state budget freeze and the school didn't have enough money to finish. Was dumb. There's more lukewarm tea behind it but not gonna put it on here lol

 

[spiane]

For my first year, our lectures were in the anatomy lab, path lab, and sometimes the third year lecture hall when it was available. But mostly anatomy lab which was about as uncomfortable as you can imagine.

They were renovating the classrooms just before I started, there was a state budget freeze and the school didn't have enough money to finish. Was dumb. There's more lukewarm tea behind it but not gonna put it on here lol

That's crazy! I would absolutely hate that

 

[spiane]

You guys are so helpful!! I love hearing how the college has changed over the years as well

There has been some mention of clubs- what clubs are available, if you don’t mind me asking? I know that could be an extensive question- my main interest is equine 🙂

Oh god there's a ton of clubs! I don't even know what all of them are. I'm in ISCAAEP which is the student chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and Production Medicine Club (PMC). I'm interested in equine sports medicine so AAEP is really awesome for that. There's multiple programs within the club like the emergency team and resident equine program (REP). I'm a team leader in REP and we meet once a week to groom the university's teaching horses. It's an opportunity to spend time around horses and/or learn about them if you don't have a ton of experience. I love it. The lunch lectures and wet labs in AAEP are great, for example, we had a lunch lecture on racetrack medicine (my interest) which was an awesome opportunity considering racetrack medicine is pretty closed off and tough to get connections in. This week I went to a wet lab where we practiced joint injections on cadaver legs and learned how to draw up drugs with an open glove technique. There's also opportunities for externship funding and attending the AAEP conference.

PMC is similar, just with a focus on large animals. Cool lunch lectures and wet labs (my favorite so far was the dystocia wet lab, where we practiced delivering calves and foals using cadavers. It was absolutely disgusting but in the best way haha), and also funding opportunities and conferences etc. They do some cool off-site wet labs that are multiple hour/all-day excursions. I know they have a day where students can go castrate calves someplace, which looks really fun. I went to an off-site one where we collected blood samples from 100 goats at a local farm- that was super cool!

You are able to go to any club's lunch lectures even if you don't formally join and pay dues, so I go to a bunch of lectures that interest me. The benefit of joining is getting free lunches and being able to participate in labs and other programs. The dues aren't bad, though. There's also corporate lunch lectures from places like CityVet and Hills that give free lunch to anyone who signs up, dues aren't required. I just went to one of those yesterday and got a Panera box lunch and some merch. Basically, free food is always being given out lol. We get bagels, donuts, cookies- all sorts of stuff, all the time. It's great 😆

 

[battie]

What do you mean we have classrooms 😭 Did you not?!?

The construction times were an adventure. Add to it the COVID times and it was a recipe for disaster (that the school wouldn't have much control over). My pod for COVID times was actually pretty good.

You guys are so helpful!! I love hearing how the college has changed over the years as well

There has been some mention of clubs- what clubs are available, if you don’t mind me asking? I know that could be an extensive question- my main interest is equine 🙂

I was a part of so many clubs, but the highlights:
1. Wildlife medical clinic. Arguably spent too much time there 🤣 But well worth it and zero regrets. Case management and experience for wildlife species that carries over even now.

2. Animal welfare club. It was kinda dying off when I went into clinics. But the highlight was the animal welfare assessment contest at various school evaluating welfare in different settings. Loved it!

3. AAEP. I was on equine emergency team, which was great.

4. OTS. I did way too much with the fraternity. Loved it.

5. SAVMA, just cause tbh

a lunch lecture on racetrack medicine (my interest) which was an awesome opportunity considering racetrack medicine is pretty closed off and tough to get connections in

Was the speaker an alumna from 2020? If so, she's a super cool person in real life. One of the nicest people in her class.

 

[spiane]

Was the speaker an alumna from 2020? If so, she's a super cool person in real life. One of the nicest people in her class.

Yes! I could totally see that.

 

[battie]

Yes! I could totally see that.

10/10 if you can get an externship with her, do it!

 

[spiane]

10/10 if you can get an externship with her, do it!

I definitely plan on it!