Congrats to all accepted!!
I figured I'd post my "pros and cons" of MSU list here for people to see while I'm procrastinating on studying for parasitology. If any of you have any other questions about the school, please shoot me an email...my address is
[email protected] and I'd be happy to answer. I might even be one of your big sibs!!
I'm an out of stater myself so some of these pros and cons may not apply to Michiganders...
+++++ Only 2.5 years of classroom and 1.5 years of clinics!! Lots of clinic rotations available
+ Cheaper housing then you will find on the two coasts ($300-600 per month)
+ On campus large and small animal hospital which allow you to attend rounds and walk around freely (great large animal doctors)
+ Contracts with a large dairy close to campus where you can shadow on the weekends- Green Meadows Dairy
+ Lots of clubs and free lunches
+ Full size anatomy and histology lab where you dissect dogs, horses and cows with specimens from sheep and pigs
++ One FULL YEAR of anatomy as opposed to one semester...trust me, it makes things stick more
+ On campus farms including beef, sheep, horses, poultry and swine where you have a first semester animal handling class
+ Largeeee undergrad campus so lots and lots of nearby shopping
+ Public transport available (buses) and close to campus parking
+ Lots of bars and things to do in East Lansing and Lansing (which is the capital)
+ Detroit 1- 1.5 hours away if you need to get to an airport etc.
+ On campus Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health (DCPAH) that has a HUGE necropsy floor for those interested in pathology
+ Wildlife ward and nearby Potter Park zoo
+ Collaboration with medical and law schools for social events
+ Lots of scholarships available for in and out of state students
+ Lots of summer research PAID opportunities, some externships and study abroad to India/Egypt etc.
- Cannot establish in state residency unless you marry
- Some of the arrangements not ideal (sometimes you have lecture in the cafeteria, but not often, and your entire first semester takes place in the medical school except for labs)
- Not many alpacas!
😛
- Cold and rainy often, not much sunlight
- Expensive out of state tuition
- Economy in MI is suffering right now, so there are budget cuts being considered (although this is probably happening to some degree everywhere...)
- Large animal case load is not as big as it may be in Texas, Missouri, Kansas, etc...
Hope that helps! Good luck to everyone else!!