It’s not an easy program. If you decide to come here live close. I mean... 10 min away tops! I made a really bad decision living 25 min from either campus and spent A LOT of money in gas and have had some trouble with time management.
It’s expensive. You will take out over 62k in loans. UF has online MS programs that are 10k and may be a better option.
Colloquial Principles of Life Science x2 (1)
Grad. Life Sci. Research Design & Analysis (3)
Microbiology/parasitology (3)
Research project OR Biochem (3)
I quoted this from a DO thread because it’s accurate. You will be taking RDA and Micro with DO MS students.
“These classes, while not hard sciences, they are not just given to you as A's either, you will have to put in the time and work. Although there is not really significant studying you will be doing for these 3 classes, they do take up your time in the form of papers and assignments. You have to know how to manage your time to plan ahead for these or you WILL struggle. In a nutshell, colloquial is small group classes (7-10 people) analyzing and critiquing scientific literature. It helps you really improve in reading scientific papers. Research design and analysis (RDA) is a standard class that is what the name tells you, learning how to design studies and use statistics for research.” Micro is difficult and will require some serious studying, buts it’s do-able. “You can get an A in all of these if you are professional, know how to manage your time, and put in the work, it's as simple as that.”
To elaborate a bit, RDA assignments will take you hours to complete, and if you haven’t taken excellent notes you will be driven insane (this was actually my favorite class and Dr. Nahar is amazing). It’s a stats class with an emphasis on learning how to use SPSS software.
Micro/parasit is actually a fun class, but your exams in micro are incredibly tedious. Dr.Hamilton is no joke and you need to be prepared for a 4+ hr exam and take it in 2hrs. These are “open book/notes”, but they are scenario based questions and 50 questions+, in that format, are daunting if you aren’t prepared. Dr. Faulkner is more straight forward and parasit isn’t “easier” it’s just presented in a way where you can get through the tests without freaking out.
So for research...you could get a simple project. Seriously, you could end up devoting the 35-50 hrs that is expected and have an decent semester. Or, you can get a serious researcher and get stuck with hundreds of hours and feeding animals at 7am everyday at the vet school. It’s a crap shoot. Which leads to...
Animal anatomy (5)
This course is taken with the DVM 1st years and it is the hardest class you will ever take. Seriously, it’s soooo hard. You will have to devote 50+hours a week in studying (unless you’re a memorization genius and there are definitely some of those here). You will need to maintain a 3.0 to get a chance at an interview. You need an A in anatomy to get in without worry (You also need to “play the part” and never. Ever. Complain). This leads back to research and time. Will you have the time to study? It’s a crap shoot. Will you be asked to skip lectures and labs for your project? Maybe.
One thing to note if you decide to come is that students who took the boot camp had a clear advantage over those of us who didn’t. They generally led the labs with more confidence and general knowledge. I would highly recommend going.
Your grades will be different. A vet student needs a 3.95 for an A. You will need a 90.5 for A’s in all of your courses.
Biochem
The students in this really struggled. I’m not positive, but I believe this is the reason for many students not walking for graduation. I know of 3 that W from it. I can edit this portion next semester.
I’ll edit as I think of more...
There ARE great people here and some pretty amazing professors. It’s not all bad, it just wasn’t presented honestly.
️
