Illinois vs. Tufts

[meowgees]

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I'm very grateful to have acceptances to both UIUC and Tufts. I'm now considering the pros and cons of each school, and would greatly appreciate any insights from current students/alumni!

A bit about me:
- 21F, OOS for both, from California
- interested in small animal, and possibly pursuing residency in the future (not sure which one i'm interested in yet)
- interested in possibly doing stuff abroad such as an internship during the summer
- I unfortunately can't visit either school before April 15th, so it's hard to tell what the school is like based on just the website/pictures

I want to learn more about what you like about the curriculum, what opportunities students have to gain hands on experience, how the classes have been, how the teaching hospital is like, student life, living in the area, etc. Thanks in advance!

 

[supershorty]

Paging @soupshark for current UIUC student perspective, and @Fishy_Applicant for current Tufts student perspective, @max_wildlife is a recent Tufts grad too

 

[soupshark]

I'm very grateful to have acceptances to both UIUC and Tufts. I'm now considering the pros and cons of each school, and would greatly appreciate any insights from current students/alumni!

A bit about me:
- 21F, OOS for both, from California
- interested in small animal, and possibly pursuing residency in the future (not sure which one i'm interested in yet)
- interested in possibly doing stuff abroad such as an internship during the summer
- I unfortunately can't visit either school before April 15th, so it's hard to tell what the school is like based on just the website/pictures

I want to learn more about what you like about the curriculum, what opportunities students have to gain hands on experience, how the classes have been, how the teaching hospital is like, student life, living in the area, etc. Thanks in advance!

As you probably know, IL has a unique curriculum with 1st and 2nd year rotations. The general opinion on these is a mixed bag, but for me personally I find them to be 50 helpful/50 waste of my time. It's really nice having somewhat of a brain break for a quarter and no exams to worry about (except for milestone and OSCE second year) but I can't wait to get back to didactic learning (I'm on week 6/7 of rotations right now). I think the break is helpful first year, but you really don't know anything yet and so I felt like a lot of my experiences were a waste of time, but this year a lot of them have been adjusted and improved. Second year rotations are way better because you know more and are trusted more with hands-on stuff in the VTH. There's been things I've learned on rotations that I wouldn't have learned in didactic at this point/at all which I have found to be valuable.

The thing I like the most about the curriculum is the exam schedule. We are broken up into quarters, so for each quarter you have a midterm exam week 4 and a final exam week 8. It sounds intimidating, but I like it better than having multiple exams per week like at other schools. I feel like I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule that way so I have time for hobbies and taking care of myself (doctors appointments, haircuts, oil change, etc). We get a day or two off before the exams to study and relax.

The environment is generally supportive. Most of the faculty really care and want us to succeed which is really nice. The classes are ran by a single course coordinator assigned for each year, which means you don't have to deal with weird and/or unreasonable expectations from individual professors-- everything is standardized. Lecture attendance is never required unless stated otherwise, lab attendance is always required. You contact the course coordinator for any curriculum or attendance concerns/issues. I really like this because it eliminates a lot of variability and frustration by standardizing everything.

You have a lot more opportunities to get hands on in the curriculum during 2nd year than 1st, but clubs hold plenty of wet labs and other opportunities which have been fun. There's also many on-campus job opportunities to get experience (e.g. surgery tech) and off-campus places to work and do externships at.

I don't really know what to say about the teaching hospital because I don't know what other places are like and I assume they're all similar. I will say we are one of three (?) vet schools with a wildlife medical clinic (can start triaging your own patients during 1st year!) and we are also one of few schools to have our diagnostic lab attached so we can get experience on the necropsy floor, in virology/micro/parasitology, and cytology on campus. Our new oncology wing will be finished this summer, so there's lots of exciting stuff coming soon.

Champaign-Urbana is nice. They're cute, quaint cities as someone from Chicago lol so just take that with a grain of salt. For people from small towns, CU is like a big deal to them. To me, being from the 3rd largest city in the country, it's a teeny tiny place but I still like it. There's lots of stuff to do and we are only 2.5 hours drive from Chicago which makes a great weekend trip. We are in the middle of a corn desert tho so large bodies of water don't exist unless you drive the 2.5 hours up to Lake Michigan, and you have to go out of your way for some decent nature. We have a couple small spots in town but any state parks or larger preserves are 20-30 min drive out of town. I like it here and I'm never bored.

This is a lot of stuff to cover so I'm not sure what else you want to know about or what I can elaborate on so just let me know!

 

[Fishy_Applicant]

I'm very grateful to have acceptances to both UIUC and Tufts. I'm now considering the pros and cons of each school, and would greatly appreciate any insights from current students/alumni!

A bit about me:
- 21F, OOS for both, from California
- interested in small animal, and possibly pursuing residency in the future (not sure which one i'm interested in yet)
- interested in possibly doing stuff abroad such as an internship during the summer
- I unfortunately can't visit either school before April 15th, so it's hard to tell what the school is like based on just the website/pictures

I want to learn more about what you like about the curriculum, what opportunities students have to gain hands on experience, how the classes have been, how the teaching hospital is like, student life, living in the area, etc. Thanks in advance!

Hello there. I'm a Tufts student and I quite like it.

Experience: There is no shortage of opportunities for hands on experience. I myself came into vet school with practically no hands on small animal experience. The small animal hospital on campus is the busiest on the east coast if I remember correctly. They hire students as vet techs and VAs (no experience required). there are also electives you can take that will get you into the hospital under various Specialties. I have a friend who is a tech in the neurology wing, one who works in the pharmacy, and one in radiology. I myself am in the emergency wing for credit and not money sadly but I'm hoping to get it turned into a summer job. So if you want experience, you can get it pretty easily. You'll also get a lot of hands-on experience within your classes too. There is also a wildlife clinic on campus that you can work in, if you're into wildlife.

The corriculum: There is a bit of negativity around the corriculum currently but I think they fixed the problem personally. They recently rearranged how they taught things and when the V28s went through their first year, it was a bit rocky. They ended up having 2 major exams stacked on top of each other. But they fixed that problem. Our V29 exams are pretty well spread out. I also think the quality of what is being taught is pretty great and is kinda brought about in a logical manor. We consistently rank among the highest NAVLE pass rates in the country so. Essentially I have no major criticisms of the corriculum and I wouldn't expect there to really be any problems with the V30s either.

Life stuff: the area is pretty nice. It's between Worchester and Boston. You can easily go out into either if you want. Boston has a really robust metro system and the train has a stop right across the street of campus so students on the weekend will often take the train into Boston and run around the city.

Cons: Money. Money. Money. The school is on the expensive end. No way around that.

In summary, come on over! It's nice here!

 

[skyberspace]

As you probably know, IL has a unique curriculum with 1st and 2nd year rotations. The general opinion on these is a mixed bag, but for me personally I find them to be 50 helpful/50 waste of my time. It's really nice having somewhat of a brain break for a quarter and no exams to worry about (except for milestone and OSCE second year) but I can't wait to get back to didactic learning (I'm on week 6/7 of rotations right now). I think the break is helpful first year, but you really don't know anything yet and so I felt like a lot of my experiences were a waste of time, but this year a lot of them have been adjusted and improved. Second year rotations are way better because you know more and are trusted more with hands-on stuff in the VTH. There's been things I've learned on rotations that I wouldn't have learned in didactic at this point/at all which I have found to be valuable.

The thing I like the most about the curriculum is the exam schedule. We are broken up into quarters, so for each quarter you have a midterm exam week 4 and a final exam week 8. It sounds intimidating, but I like it better than having multiple exams per week like at other schools. I feel like I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule that way so I have time for hobbies and taking care of myself (doctors appointments, haircuts, oil change, etc). We get a day or two off before the exams to study and relax.

The environment is generally supportive. Most of the faculty really care and want us to succeed which is really nice. The classes are ran by a single course coordinator assigned for each year, which means you don't have to deal with weird and/or unreasonable expectations from individual professors-- everything is standardized. Lecture attendance is never required unless stated otherwise, lab attendance is always required. You contact the course coordinator for any curriculum or attendance concerns/issues. I really like this because it eliminates a lot of variability and frustration by standardizing everything.

You have a lot more opportunities to get hands on in the curriculum during 2nd year than 1st, but clubs hold plenty of wet labs and other opportunities which have been fun. There's also many on-campus job opportunities to get experience (e.g. surgery tech) and off-campus places to work and do externships at.

I don't really know what to say about the teaching hospital because I don't know what other places are like and I assume they're all similar. I will say we are one of three (?) vet schools with a wildlife medical clinic (can start triaging your own patients during 1st year!) and we are also one of few schools to have our diagnostic lab attached so we can get experience on the necropsy floor, in virology/micro/parasitology, and cytology on campus. Our new oncology wing will be finished this summer, so there's lots of exciting stuff coming soon.

Champaign-Urbana is nice. They're cute, quaint cities as someone from Chicago lol so just take that with a grain of salt. For people from small towns, CU is like a big deal to them. To me, being from the 3rd largest city in the country, it's a teeny tiny place but I still like it. There's lots of stuff to do and we are only 2.5 hours drive from Chicago which makes a great weekend trip. We are in the middle of a corn desert tho so large bodies of water don't exist unless you drive the 2.5 hours up to Lake Michigan, and you have to go out of your way for some decent nature. We have a couple small spots in town but any state parks or larger preserves are 20-30 min drive out of town. I like it here and I'm never bored.

This is a lot of stuff to cover so I'm not sure what else you want to know about or what I can elaborate on so just let me know!

Regarding the curriculum, do you have one midterm and one final for all of your classes combined? Or is it a midterm and final in each course? And do you happen to know how much of your grade the midterm and finals make up? Are there opportunities to boost your grade with projects and homework (etc.) if you didn’t do as well on the exam? Thank you!!

 

[skyberspace]

Hello there. I'm a Tufts student and I quite like it.

Experience: There is no shortage of opportunities for hands on experience. I myself came into vet school with practically no hands on small animal experience. The small animal hospital on campus is the busiest on the east coast if I remember correctly. They hire students as vet techs and VAs (no experience required). there are also electives you can take that will get you into the hospital under various Specialties. I have a friend who is a tech in the neurology wing, one who works in the pharmacy, and one in radiology. I myself am in the emergency wing for credit and not money sadly but I'm hoping to get it turned into a summer job. So if you want experience, you can get it pretty easily. You'll also get a lot of hands-on experience within your classes too. There is also a wildlife clinic on campus that you can work in, if you're into wildlife.

The corriculum: There is a bit of negativity around the corriculum currently but I think they fixed the problem personally. They recently rearranged how they taught things and when the V28s went through their first year, it was a bit rocky. They ended up having 2 major exams stacked on top of each other. But they fixed that problem. Our V29 exams are pretty well spread out. I also think the quality of what is being taught is pretty great and is kinda brought about in a logical manor. We consistently rank among the highest NAVLE pass rates in the country so. Essentially I have no major criticisms of the corriculum and I wouldn't expect there to really be any problems with the V30s either.

Life stuff: the area is pretty nice. It's between Worchester and Boston. You can easily go out into either if you want. Boston has a really robust metro system and the train has a stop right across the street of campus so students on the weekend will often take the train into Boston and run around the city.

Cons: Money. Money. Money. The school is on the expensive end. No way around that.

In summary, come on over! It's nice here!

Hi there! How often would you say your exams are? I’ve heard the exams are not cumulative in the sense that you are only tested on material taught after the previous exam. Is this true? Also, regarding experience, are you referring to the selectives you do in years 1 and 2? Thank you!!

 

[Fishy_Applicant]

Hi there! How often would you say your exams are? I’ve heard the exams are not cumulative in the sense that you are only tested on material taught after the previous exam. Is this true? Also, regarding experience, are you referring to the selectives you do in years 1 and 2? Thank you!!

Exams are almost always on Fridays and you might have 2 Fridays in a row with one and then a week off. then the next 2 weeks you'll have another. Something roughly like that.

You're correct on exams usually being on only new content.

Yes, the selectives I mentioned you do in years 1 and 2. As well as people with paid positions. You can get those in your first year as well.

 

[soupshark]

Regarding the curriculum, do you have one midterm and one final for all of your classes combined? Or is it a midterm and final in each course? And do you happen to know how much of your grade the midterm and finals make up? Are there opportunities to boost your grade with projects and homework (etc.) if you didn’t do as well on the exam? Thank you!!

We only register for one course per semester. The course is filled with "modules" which are just the classes.

Example: VM602 is the first course you take. It's 19 credits or something and consists of anatomy, physiology, histology, imaging, etc. but all of these subjects are on the one exam.

So it's one massive midterm and final. They're worth the majority of your grade but it's not as scary as it seems! There's a lot of wiggle room since each exam is worth about 150 points. So you'd have to get 75 questions wrong to fail an exam. You can fail an exam and still pass by the way, since each quarter is averaged and your average determines if you pass. You need a 70%. So you can fail a midterm or two and still get a 70% average for the year.

 

[max_wildlife]

I'm very grateful to have acceptances to both UIUC and Tufts. I'm now considering the pros and cons of each school, and would greatly appreciate any insights from current students/alumni!

A bit about me:
- 21F, OOS for both, from California
- interested in small animal, and possibly pursuing residency in the future (not sure which one i'm interested in yet)
- interested in possibly doing stuff abroad such as an internship during the summer
- I unfortunately can't visit either school before April 15th, so it's hard to tell what the school is like based on just the website/pictures

I want to learn more about what you like about the curriculum, what opportunities students have to gain hands on experience, how the classes have been, how the teaching hospital is like, student life, living in the area, etc. Thanks in advance!

hi! congrats on your acceptances! recent grad life has sort of wiped my brain of school experiences lol but i'll do my best to offer additional insights into tufts; they launched a new curriculum with the v28s as someone above mentioned, so i don’t have much to add to that; as far as hands-on things go, we did a spay week and an anesthesia week during 3rd year, where you are the primary surgeon for 2 dog spays, and anesthetist for your partner's dog spays — as far as i know, they were planning on keeping this in the new curriculum.

there were many on-campus job and volunteer opportunities, work study options, etc. i worked in a wildlife research lab and volunteered in the wildlife clinic, and made some solid connections and friends. some of my friends worked in the er, others in the wildlife hospital, and others. schedule was hit or miss for folks — many lectures were recorded when i was there, and I often watched them later.
location meant a lot to me. it was a little less than an hour commute to the boston, which opened up cool externship opportunities; you could also reasonably escape to southern maine, new hampshire, rhode island etc for a day trip if you needed a break from school. the hiking was nice, too. many of my peers did international work during clinical year, and were happy with their experiences too.

cost of attendance is definitely a con. it's so expensive. i was navigating complex family situations prior to and throughout vet school that made me prioritize tufts due to proximity to home. i would not have been able to attend tufts with the new caps on student loans. school was hit or miss when it came to helping accommodate aforementioned family health troubles.

hm. the rest is kind of a blur. boston driving trickles into all of massachusetts. i drive a ton - typically love driving - and honestly it's just the worst out there. things are also a little pricy in massachusetts, even in central mass.

navle was stressful; i’m sure didactics helped me prep, but i did most of my studying via vetprep. otherwise i'm not always sure how much my didactic education really prepared me for reality; the things that come up out in practice are just so different than school - in both my wildlife and gp worlds. i would’ve loved more required hands-on surgical experience.

if you're planning on specializing, most if not all of the classmates that i know of that went through the match placed in internships.

that’s all i can think of for now, but let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[skyberspace]

Exams are almost always on Fridays and you might have 2 Fridays in a row with one and then a week off. then the next 2 weeks you'll have another. Something roughly like that.

You're correct on exams usually being on only new content.

Yes, the selectives I mentioned you do in years 1 and 2. As well as people with paid positions. You can get those in your first year as well.

Thank you so much!! Do you also have cumulative midterms and final exams?

 

[Fishy_Applicant]

Thank you so much!! Do you also have cumulative midterms and final exams?

I wouldn't call them midterms or finals. Most classes your graded on 2-3 exams spread out throughout the semester. (And maybe some quizzes too). There is no final exam it's basically just a regular exam at the end of the class.