Iowa vs. Mississippi

[ginger17317]

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I know I'm getting ahead of myself... I've been accepted to Iowa, and wait-listed at Miss. I expect to get off the wait-list at Miss. since I hear they go through it rather quickly.
Both schools impressed me for very different reasons... (2+2 at Miss., course load, caring atmosphere, etc. while at Iowa I loved the involvement, the community the school seemed to have and I generally fell in love with it) and both clearly have their cons (weather, facilities, caseload differences...).

Any opinion/suggestions/help?!?! lol

Thanks!

 

[deadvet]

Congrats on making it on both lists. You have a difficult decision ahead. You can do the proverbial PROS and CONS list for both schools but always keep in mind that this is 4 years of your life. Where do you see spending that time and being happiest? You can get a good education at either institution. Is one closer to home than the other? That alone might be the "deal breaker". At least you have until April 15 to decide. Do some further investigation and contact students at the two schools to talk more; especially any who are from your home state.

Good luck and again congrats!!!!!

 

[Morganator]

I know I'm getting ahead of myself... I've been accepted to Iowa, and wait-listed at Miss. I expect to get off the wait-list at Miss. since I hear they go through it rather quickly.
Both schools impressed me for very different reasons... (2+2 at Miss., course load, caring atmosphere, etc. while at Iowa I loved the involvement, the community the school seemed to have and I generally fell in love with it) and both clearly have their cons (weather, facilities, caseload differences...).

Any opinion/suggestions/help?!?! lol

Thanks!

Congrats and good luck with your decision. I am curious what you mean by 2+2? If it is referring to what I understand it to be, Iowa also has that type of curriculum...but we may be on different wavelengths.

All I can say about Iowa State is that it is a great school with great faculty. I know a lot of different graduates from the school that have great things to say about it, especially my wife who thinks she got an excellent education there. Ames is a great town and I love the midwest, but as you mentioned you just need to be prepared for some extremes in weather (up to 102 in the summer and down to -30 in the winter). If you ask me though, 9 months out of the year it's great, I'm just not very fond of August, January, and February.

Either way I'm sure you'll get a great education at both schools. I would probably be also weighing things like cost of education and logistics of living each place also to help make the decision.

 

[Sharpei5]

Why have you ruled UF out?

 

[eventualeventer]

Mississippi! Iowa's terrible! Let me take the burden of that seat off your hands! 😀 😛

Sorry, nothing useful to add since I don't know much about Mississippi.

 

[cowgirla]

Mississippi! Iowa's terrible! Let me take the burden of that seat off your hands! 😀 😛

👍

Either way, I'd put down a deposit at the school you were accepted to..what if you're at the very bottom of the waitlist and don't get called up?
As much as I'd like to see you turn down Iowa, I don't want to see you get stuck with no vet school at all next year.

I'm waitlisted at both, so I can't complain too much.

 

[that70sfan11]

My only beef with mississippi was the dress code (and perhaps I'm just bitter because I was waitlisted 😛)

While I understand their reasoning behind it, I am the laziest person ever when it comes to clothes. I wear a t-shirt and jeans everyday, and if I do dress up, its usually throwing a cardigan over my t-shirt 😀 I would literally have to buy a whole new wardrobe just to go to school (which is already expensive enough), plus I'd have the stress every single morning of making sure my hair was dry and my outfit matched.

PLUS I would like to bike to school, and biking in nice clothes is a no-no for me.

Anyway, it's not a huge thing for most people, but dressing up stresses me out and I don't want anymore stress than I will already have.

Other than that Miss St. was great, and I know nothing about Iowa

 

[ginger17317]

I'm so tired of Gainesville... I've had a bad experience here, and it wasn't the school so much, I guess, more personal experiences (although I don't really like the professors here... they, for the most part, don't really care)
I need to get a change of scenery... If I get an interview, I will... tuition is still a big factor, but right now I'm still waiting for an offer to interview...

I think they'll have to really wow me for me to take a seat here (although the zoo program is a big plus for me!)

So all in all, I don't know... the very fact that I've been accepted somewhere is still completely baffling to me... It hasn't sunk in yet 😀

 

[alonepear]

I definitely agree with the PROS and CONS list idea. That's what I did when I had to choose between Illinois & Mississippi, and while the latter won me over, one of my close friends ended up having the very same choice the next year, chose opposite of me, and we're both extremely happy where we ended up.

Picture yourself actually going to school each and every day, long hours, in both places, and see which feels more like a fit. The school curriculum here had a HUGE influence on my choice, whereas my friend felt more at home in the fab little college town that Illinois is located in (versus being out here in rural BFE =).

Trust your instincts!!