Iowa state vs Kansas state

[ocbpro]

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Hi everyone! I'm so excited to have the opportunity to decide between such good programs, but I am having a hard time choosing just one of them to attend this upcoming fall. Being an Arizona native, I am used to the warmer weather and know that either school is going to be an adjustment, but I have heard that Iowa has harsher winters and less seasonal variation than Kansas. I have also researched that Kansas has a more involved student life and less of a strictly academic feel, which helps with mental health—something that is definitely enticing. Other than student life and weather, I am comparing the programs and what they offer, and have also found that Kansas has a quicker introduction to hands-on learning than Iowa (with Iowa focusing on this later), which I feel could be beneficial.

I also know a surgery specialist vet who went to Iowa State, and she said she thinks it develops a good well-rounded veterinarian. However, another renowned surgery specialist vet I have known for some time, who is a mentor I have a closer relationship with, said that he would rank K-State over Iowa in terms of programs, and that Iowa State was ranked higher as a school primarily due to its research facilities. And with my main focus being to pursue a surgery specialty in small animal soft tissue and ortho, research facilities don't hold as much weight for me.

Overall, I'm just wondering what other people's thoughts are on both programs in terms of student life, adjusting to out-of-state conditions (any advice on this topic would also be really appreciated), and which program might be best in terms of getting the strongest hands-on experience structure, and if/how the caseload of the school would affect the hands-on experience and knowledge gained if wanting to pursue a specialty in surgery post-grad as well.

Also, cost for both programs is about the same, so that aspect isn't what would be the decision factor for me. It's mainly the difference in the programs that would allow me to get the most experience and closer to mentors for residency placement.

 

[supershorty]

Which one is going to be less expensive for you? That should be your ultimate deciding factor given the changes in student loan availability.

Either program is very solid. Some of the things you're factoring in, like weather, do not matter (weather is also going to be essentially the same at those two schools) in terms of the veterinarian they'll make you and you should not be considering them. That may come across harsh, but it's the reality and I would say the same thing if you were choosing between schools with actual different climates (like if you were looking at UF vs Michigan State). Rankings are meaningless, so I wouldn't factor that in. However, given that you currently think you want to pursue a very competitive specialty, you may find that you're more interested in research opportunities than you think in order to make yourself a more competitive applicant when the time comes 😉

 

[JaynaAli]

I agree with sporty, people don’t like hearing that cost should be the primary decision driver, but all the vet schools are way more alike than they are different, those small differences that seem so big are trivial once you’re on the other side of graduation, and a lot of that “early hands on” stuff is silly and time could be better spent napping or studying. The debt stays around much longer and essentially all of the accredited schools have similar outcomes.

You’ll be fine at either option!

 

[ocbpro]

Which one is going to be less expensive for you? That should be your ultimate deciding factor given the changes in student loan availability.

Either program is very solid. Some of the things you're factoring in, like weather, do not matter (weather is also going to be essentially the same at those two schools) in terms of the veterinarian they'll make you and you should not be considering them. That may come across harsh, but it's the reality and I would say the same thing if you were choosing between schools with actual different climates (like if you were looking at UF vs Michigan State). Rankings are meaningless, so I wouldn't factor that in. However, given that you currently think you want to pursue a very competitive specialty, you may find that you're more interested in research opportunities than you think in order to make yourself a more competitive applicant when the time comes 😉

Thank you for replying and your advice! I just updated my post to add the topic of cost and agree that this should be a big deciding factor, but in this case, both programs cost about the same for me so that's why I'm having such a hard time.

 

[ocbpro]

I agree with sporty, people don’t like hearing that cost should be the primary decision driver, but all the vet schools are way more alike than they are different, those small differences that seem so big are trivial once you’re on the other side of graduation, and a lot of that “early hands on” stuff is silly and time could be better spent napping or studying. The debt stays around much longer and essentially all of the accredited schools have similar outcomes.

You’ll be fine at either option!

Ok, thank you so much. Great to hear!

 

[mdan21]

I'm currently at Iowa State and would say that we have a very involved student life! There are multiple "just for fun" clubs that meet frequently as well as annual off-campus events. I would not describe the energy here as strictly academic. I'm from Colorado so also southwest (but certainly colder than AZ) and have a number of friends from CA and other warmer places - I think all of us are in the same boat that the weather kind of sucks, but frankly we stay busy enough (aka inside of the school building) that this isn't a big factor. I agree with shorty that the weather here and Kansas is pretty much the same. Iowa is known for handing out a lot of scholarships, and all of the student clubs put on frequent wet labs to help with hands-on experience and the school is working on adding more experiences into first and second year. From what I understand we get a lot more surgical experience than most schools with something like 6 or 7 spay/neuters under our belt by the time we get to clinics.
I can't speak to how any of this compares to KSU, just offering some insight! This was my only choice but I am definitely glad I wound up here.

 

[Polocrosse2017]

I graduated from K State and can't say enough good things about the program. I liked it so much I'm back for residency. Faculty really does care about their students and will help as long as you ask. I count many as friends now. COL is great and it is about as family an atmosphere as you will find! I chose KSU over Iowa State just for the feel of the faculty and the campus. Good luck!