Hello! I am currently a second year at AVC. Originally I was not planning on applying outside of the US, but I had a roommate and a coach from Canada and they suggested I give applying to there a try. I looked into them and decided to just apply to AVC (I didn't have one of the LOR requirements met for one of the others). I do not really remember what originally drew me to it besides the small class size, but after my interview I had fallen in love with it. I also got a good vibe I got from the faculty and students. I was accepted elsewhere, but I still ended up picking AVC.
I love my class. We are very close-knit and very supportive of each other- always sharing resources, study guides, lecture recordings, planning outside fun time together, etc. For the most part, the faculty is great as well... I had one professor tutor me for extra help for an hour every Friday. Many that have labs to accompany their class will hold extra review times. Attendance is not mandatory, except for labs and some tutorials, but mostly everyone goes to class regardless unless there's an exam later in the day. I find the teaching style very similar what I had as an undergad but with occasional PBL; however, I can't compare teaching styles to other vet schools. They do try to get you to have hands on experience starting second semester of your first year with clinical skills classes that you'll have throughout your pre-clinical years, and you can always hang around and help out at the teaching hospital during down time. Many clinicians also routinely hold lunch rounds in the hospital for students to attend.
As far as some drawbacks, I think one of them is slightly outdated facilities (not the hospital, but other parts of the school). There isn't much room for the school to grow, and while there are changes the faculty would love to have, there is a lack of space and money for large projects. Another I can think of off the top of my head is that lab groups for clinical skills are made up of 4-5 people, and sometimes there just is not enough time for every person to get through what needs to be done.
I am sure I could come up with more things to say for your questions, but I need to get back to studying for my last midterm. If you have any questions about the school, feel free to message me.
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