Kansas State vs Edinburgh vs Dublin

[xladylilacx]

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Hi everyone!! I’m currently in a dilemma of choosing schools and was hoping to hear some insight from alumni and current students.

I’ve toured K-state recently and absolutely loved it. I also plan on attending an Edinburgh tour but that isn’t until next month. The following is a list of the things that I am factoring in for K-state, and I was hoping to hear how the other schools compare!

• the town the university is in is not nearly as nice as Edinburgh and Dublin (no offense Manhattan)
• cost of housing is very affordable and my partner would be coming with me so rent would be an almost negligible expense
• All facilities have been renovated recently, so lecture halls, labs, and the hospital is very modern.
• The teaching hospital is directly connected to classrooms and labs, and students are encouraged to visit for rounds and to watch surgeries (they even let students scrub in to watch occasionally!)
• They have a mobile surgery unit and mobile shelter unit used for rotations to travel around the community which interests me.
• Many different electives (exotics, large animal, er, etc) that are apparently not competitive according to students (or at least most professors are willing to squeeze you in)
• Very friendly and supportive staff, all students spoken to said their professors want them to succeed and often stay after class to help.
• Opportunities for employment in the ICU department of the hospital that are flexible with student schedules (I currently work at an er and I feel I remember and learn things well on the job).
• Lectures are recorded which is a huge upside for me, as in undergrad I would often relisten to lectures. Exams are weekly, which I almost prefer to midterms and finals, which seem to be common to UK schools, but I’m open to hear if students prefer that model of less frequent exams.
• Hands-on opportunities available early. Lots of practice with clinical skills in 1st year, including suturing.

Looking at the tuition for the UK schools and COL, it seems to be a tad more expensive than if I stayed in the US, but I would be willing to overlook that for the experience. I am also unsure what student housing or off-campus housing is suggested for research.

I really like the focus on all species in UK schools, as I am not sure of my preferred interest of study at the moment, but I do like ER. And I also like the concept of global awareness in healthcare (OneHealth) that UK schools seem to prioritize, as I have interest in entering the public policy sphere at some point.

Also, I am wondering if it is more difficult as a UK student to get a residency in the US if I opted to do so.
Thanks so much!!

 

[notliterally]

Hi! I studied abroad at UCD through their pre-vet study abroad program, and I also interviewed with them in New York for their vet school, but ended up withdrawing my application. For a lot of reasons, I think you should consider Kansas or Edinburgh over UCD.

First, the culture in Ireland is more relaxed than in the US, which is great in many ways, but also it means that classes felt less rigorous. I imagine that an Irish vet school will be less academically competitive than a US school, which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on your preferences. Personally, I'm used to a little more competition in the classroom than is common in Ireland. I also think that US vet schools provide a little more structure to clinical years - I think UCD expects you to find your own opportunities for extramural work, which if you're international seems not ideal. I don't remember the exact details of this though. Finally, I'm not sure if you know about this already, but I also wanted to point out UCD's recent handling of a sexual assault case (Image-based abuse left me 'shattered,' UCD medical student says). I had already withdrawn my application at this point, but the story just got worse and worse the more I looked into it. To me, this makes me doubt that the university would have my back as a female student.

All in all, based on my experiences with UCD and what I know about Kansas State, I do think that Kansas definitely has a better veterinary program - it's well established in the US and I think will prepare you well for a residency. I would be happy to answer any further questions you have about UCD or living in Ireland! Just send me a message.

Also, side note: Dublin is not in the UK! (Also, no part of Ireland should be part of the UK!)

 

[mw1356]

if you plan on practicing in the US, i would probably go for Kstate. there are different diseases and medication names in europe vs the us (ex: i believe the uk and ireland don’t have rabies) and i imagine it would be easier to transition into practice/residency in the us having learned american diseases and meds.

 

[xladylilacx]

Hi! I studied abroad at UCD through their pre-vet study abroad program, and I also interviewed with them in New York for their vet school, but ended up withdrawing my application. For a lot of reasons, I think you should consider Kansas or Edinburgh over UCD.

First, the culture in Ireland is more relaxed than in the US, which is great in many ways, but also it means that classes felt less rigorous. I imagine that an Irish vet school will be less academically competitive than a US school, which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on your preferences. Personally, I'm used to a little more competition in the classroom than is common in Ireland. I also think that US vet schools provide a little more structure to clinical years - I think UCD expects you to find your own opportunities for extramural work, which if you're international seems not ideal. I don't remember the exact details of this though. Finally, I'm not sure if you know about this already, but I also wanted to point out UCD's recent handling of a sexual assault case (Image-based abuse left me 'shattered,' UCD medical student says). I had already withdrawn my application at this point, but the story just got worse and worse the more I looked into it. To me, this makes me doubt that the university would have my back as a female student.

All in all, based on my experiences with UCD and what I know about Kansas State, I do think that Kansas definitely has a better veterinary program - it's well established in the US and I think will prepare you well for a residency. I would be happy to answer any further questions you have about UCD or living in Ireland! Just send me a message.

Also, side note: Dublin is not in the UK! (Also, no part of Ireland should be part of the UK!)

Thanks a lot for your reply! I did read recently about the UCD student…and agreed I will likely be declining my offer based on that alone, but was curious about other’s experience at the school. I traveled to Ireland a couple years ago and loved so hence mostly why I applied! 😁
When you withdrew did you mention that as part of your reasoning because I am considering saying that the treatment of that student is a factor as to why I would decline my seat.

 

[xladylilacx]

if you plan on practicing in the US, i would probably go for Kstate. there are different diseases and medication names in europe vs the us (ex: i believe the uk and ireland don’t have rabies) and i imagine it would be easier to transition into practice/residency in the us having learned american diseases and meds.

That’s a great point! I wanted to keep my options open, as I would consider practicing outside of the states but am not sure at this time.

 

[notliterally]

Thanks a lot for your reply! I did read recently about the UCD student…and agreed I will likely be declining my offer based on that alone, but was curious about other’s experience at the school. I traveled to Ireland a couple years ago and loved so hence mostly why I applied! 😁
When you withdrew did you mention that as part of your reasoning because I am considering saying that the treatment of that student is a factor as to why I would decline my seat.

Yeah Ireland is such a beautiful country! I applied for a similar reason. I did not mention the assault case when I withdrew my application because decisions hadn't come out yet, so I just logged onto the portal and clicked the withdraw button. If you reach out to them to decline your offer, I think you could definitely mention the case, as long as you come across professionally (which I'm sure you will). Personally, the email I have drafted is hostile and not professional. So I'm still working on that.