Missouri c/o 2019 Applicants

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Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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klmn87 said:
Another question regarding interviews... How many of you received the financial aid question (when they ask how you plan to finance your education) and how did you handle it? I do plan to use financial aids but haven't looked into anything concrete so I wouldn't be able to give them specifics. What answer do they expect to hear? Thanks
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I received that question in another interview. I spoke about my family's military history and how I've considered joining the military for a while now and i'm also considering government jobs (but I'm also interested in that and not so much private practice--I'm one of the few oddballs). I believe they're making sure that you have done your research and aren't going in blind. Are you interested in rural medicine at all? There are some scholarships/programs for vets working in "areas of need" as well.
 
klmn87 said:
Another question regarding interviews... How many of you received the financial aid question (when they ask how you plan to finance your education) and how did you handle it? I do plan to use financial aids but haven't looked into anything concrete so I wouldn't be able to give them specifics. What answer do they expect to hear? Thanks
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I did not get any questions about financial aid/paying for vet school at my Missouri interview.
 
Can anyone post a link or file showing the breakdown of the Mizzou curriculum over the 4 years? I'm wondering how many months total are spent in clinics vs classes. Thanks! 🙂
 
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GoldenGirl28 said:
Can anyone post a link or file showing the breakdown of the Mizzou curriculum over the 4 years? I'm wondering how many months total are spent in clinics vs classes. Thanks! 🙂
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Here's the curriculum for the pre-clinical years: http://calendar.cvm.missouri.edu/ .We have 11 8 week blocks, and then we start clinics October of third year. So... 22 months in academic and 19 months in clinics?
 
klmn87 said:
Another question regarding interviews... How many of you received the financial aid question (when they ask how you plan to finance your education) and how did you handle it? I do plan to use financial aids but haven't looked into anything concrete so I wouldn't be able to give them specifics. What answer do they expect to hear? Thanks
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I was not asked this question. But frankly, I think it is a bit inappropriate. If asked this, I would reply with a general, "I've done the research about the current income-to-debt ratio for new grads, and I have a viable financial plan in place for financing my education." I understand what they're getting at in asking this question, but personally I don't think it's necessary to go into specific details regarding the source of the money. Maybe you have rich parents, maybe you won the lottery, or maybe you'll be taking out student loans like most of us. I think as long as you demonstrate an understanding of the current financial situation of new veterinarians and assure them that you have a plan for the financial aspect of vet school, that's a perfectly acceptable answer.
 
klmn87 said:
Another question regarding interviews... How many of you received the financial aid question (when they ask how you plan to finance your education) and how did you handle it? I do plan to use financial aids but haven't looked into anything concrete so I wouldn't be able to give them specifics. What answer do they expect to hear? Thanks
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I received it. They seemed to like my answer a lot. I am a bit planner, so I was able to give breakdowns of cost of attendance, funds I have saved up, cost of living expenses, accounting for emergencies, had estimated debt before loans, amount of debt they would accrue with 10 year payback, total amount paid back with interest, and breakdown of payments by month (as compared to amount made each month) I am completely neurotic when it comes to finances though due to watching my sister have her debt stay exactly the same while doing payments each month.

For me this was done as a lead in to a financial thing that they have with faculty there. Did they use it to advertise a financial payback program to you, or something of the likes?
 
SummerTheLynx said:
I received it. They seemed to like my answer a lot. I am a bit planner, so I was able to give breakdowns of cost of attendance, funds I have saved up, cost of living expenses, accounting for emergencies, had estimated debt before loans, amount of debt they would accrue with 10 year payback, total amount paid back with interest, and breakdown of payments by month (as compared to amount made each month) I am completely neurotic when it comes to finances though due to watching my sister have her debt stay exactly the same while doing payments each month.

For me this was done as a lead in to a financial thing that they have with faculty there. Did they use it to advertise a financial payback program to you, or something of the likes?
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I agree that it would be good to demonstrate knowledge of the specific costs associated with earning a DVM. But I stand by my original assertion that they should not need to see your checking account balance! Also here is some information that might be helpful: http://www.aavmc.org/Students-Applicants-and-Advisors/Funding-Education.aspx.
 
I'm pretty sure I had the financial question and all I can recall muttering was... 'Um... loans?' Lol But honestly I think as long as you don't go in thinking there is not an issue with the debt:salary ratio or thinking you will make a ton of money in this field... you'll be fine 🙂
 
Wow leaving my IS interview feeling completely stupid! I think it went okay enough, anyone else feel mind zapped after that crossfire? I was reading how the OOS wait list can move through pretty quickly, and I was wondering if anyone knew how "quickly" wait list moves for IS people? I'm obviously not on the wait list since I just interviewed today, but just a thought I had. Thanks!
 
Sorry for the slow reply, it's finals around here and we have been busy getting it handed to us. Generally speaking I think the IS waitlist moves slower than OOS at all schools, but I am not really sure. I know Mizzou handles it's waitlist a little differently (students aren't ranked), but that's all I got.
 
mtfrisbee said:
Wow leaving my IS interview feeling completely stupid! I think it went okay enough, anyone else feel mind zapped after that crossfire? I was reading how the OOS wait list can move through pretty quickly, and I was wondering if anyone knew how "quickly" wait list moves for IS people? I'm obviously not on the wait list since I just interviewed today, but just a thought I had. Thanks!
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As it happens, I just asked Kathy about this! Her response:

"After an interview students will be either accepted, wait listed or not accepted. Those on the wait list are placed there by their scores from the academic and nonacademic points assigned. But from the wait list it is the Committees decision who to accept when a seat opens. They look at the points earned, but they don't always accept by them. At that time its subjective and the entire application evaluated in who to admit."

It sounds like once you hit the wait list, things become subjective and they take your entire application into consideration - are you from a small town? do you want to go into an area of need? I think they try and make a diverse class rather than a bunch of kids with good grades from the suburbs who want to go into small animal private practice.

I interview on Monday afternoon, and I've heard that things got kind of intense with one of the interviewers! Kathy also said that next week, interviews are held on MWF, Saturday, and the last day is Monday the 9th. Previously, she told me they will try to send out letters the Friday before spring break, which I think starts March 21st.
 
Yes I interviewed the same day and I agree one of the interviewers (I know exactly who you mean) was very assertive and I personally got a little rattled by that. I just hope that many of other applicants feel the same way as I did leaving! Left feeling okay, not great... but trying to remain optimistic!

Good to know about the wait list process. Thanks!
 
Good luck everyone with in state interviews!! As it was said before, it is finals week for us, so if you had your interview this week, sorry in advance if we seem a little out of it 😛
 
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mtfrisbee said:
So they basically know if we were accepted or rejected as we walk out the door? Yikes! haha
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I wonder! I know that they receive our applications two weeks before interviewing, and pre-grade us. Then they independently give a final grade following the interview, with no conferring between interviewers. I assume this is our "overall impression" score. I don't know if acceptances are based 100% off of our numerical score, or if there's some subjectivity involved in order to diversify the class.

Just asked Kathy. I know she's busy right now, but I couldn't help myself!

Our scores are "40% academic 60% nonacademic, ranking students in order for acceptance. But the Admissions Committee presents their scores to the Dean who has final say in the admission of any applicant. He could make the decision to admit someone outside the scoring, if he wanted to."
 
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I would recommend staying away from anything that looks like it caters to undergrads... Especially things with 'Tiger' or starting with The. Don't know anything about those places, but just as a general rule of thumb.
 
I was accepted into Mizzou, and it's the school I'm leaning towards. Right now surgery is what I want to do, so what do people know about the school's surgery program?
 
Gooser2019 said:
I was accepted into Mizzou, and it's the school I'm leaning towards. Right now surgery is what I want to do, so what do people know about the school's surgery program?
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What exactly do you mean about the surgery program? Like the courses we are taking? Clinics? Internship? Residency?
 
Rainheart said:
What exactly do you mean about the surgery program? Like the courses we are taking? Clinics? Internship? Residency?
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All of that I guess, without trying to be too annoying. I just want to make sure this is the school I want to attend and want to get as much information as possible, not just from sources provided by the school, but also from students.
 
Can anyone give me a rough idea of the holiday breaks at Mizzou? How long do we get for Thanksgiving break? Christmas break? I checked the calendar and only saw something definite for spring break, so I just wanted to know a little bit more about the breaks that tend to fall during the fall/winter time of year.
 
pirateyoho said:
Can anyone give me a rough idea of the holiday breaks at Mizzou? How long do we get for Thanksgiving break? Christmas break? I checked the calendar and only saw something definite for spring break, so I just wanted to know a little bit more about the breaks that tend to fall during the fall/winter time of year.
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We have one week for Thanksgiving, one for Spring break, a day off for Memorial and Martin Luther King day, two weeks for Christmas, and about 6-8 weeks for summer depending on the year.
 
Gooser2019 said:
All of that I guess, without trying to be too annoying. I just want to make sure this is the school I want to attend and want to get as much information as possible, not just from sources provided by the school, but also from students.
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I cannot answer a *ton* about what all you want to know... @Kpowell14 may be able to input some, too. Both of us are just now starting our Small Animal surgery class. We just picked up our suture kits, got fitted for our surgical gowns and glove size yesterday. My understanding is that the class we are in this block is to prep us for the actual surgeries we will be performing next block. We do cadaver surgeries and terminal surgeries on pigs (there IS an option opt out of the terminal surgery part if it bothers you that much, but it is recommended you do it).
As far as clinics go, you have A LOT of free time to focus on electives you want to take plus off blocks. We get five 2-week long electives, plus 2 free 'thirds' (which are essentially two free two week periods), PLUS two entire 6 week blocks off... all things you can do of your choosing with, essentially. (I know clinics sounds a bit confusing, sorry if I am not the best at explaining it).
For our required surgical rotations- it is a full 6 week block (2 weeks on soft tissue, 2 weeks on orthopedics, and 2 weeks on neuro). You also do (I believe) 3 weeks at the shelter during your community practice block to get more practice with general just spay and neuter procedures.
I am not very familiar with the internships or the surgical residencies, but do know we have surgical residents... Hopefully that helps! I love the fact that with our clinic schedules, we have so much freedom to pick and choose what we want to do. And a good part of that is from just having more time in clinics (our 2+2 schedule).
 
Gooser2019 said:
I was accepted into Mizzou, and it's the school I'm leaning towards. Right now surgery is what I want to do, so what do people know about the school's surgery program?
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I think @Rainheart covered everything pretty well. The only thing I would add is that during the last block before we go into clinics there is an elective surgery class you can apply to take which is 8 weeks long. During that class I have heard that one the first day of lab the instructor basically asks the students what surgeries they want to learn and he will try and make it happen.. (Types of surgeries you would do in a GP, not so much back surgeries or complicated stuff like that.) The only down side to this class is that you have to apply for it and they only take about 12-15 students. Other than that, the best Perk about Mizzou is the extra free time we get in clinics that you can schedule in what ever way you want. You can use that time to go to places your interested in doing internships / residencies / go to conferences etc. When it comes time to plan clinics, our preceptorship coordinator has 100s - if not 1000+ clinics listed with descriptions etc to help you find places to go that fit your interests.

I have spoke to several interns / residents here at the school and from what I have been told, Its pretty uncommon to get a rotating internship here at Mizzou if you went to vet school here (only speaking of small animal).. but that if you want a residency, Mizzou likes to bring back their own people after you have graduated and gone out to do an internship - Assuming you have networked well and were good on clinics etc. - but its by no means a guarantee!!

I think you will definitely be happy here at Mizzou! If you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want!
 
I know that Mizzou only has 1 elective class in zoological medicine. From what I've learned about the program from visiting and from what was just posted above, there seems to be a lot of opportunities during your 2 clinical years to pursue specific interests like exotic/wildlife/zoo medicine. Right?
 
gerrybear said:
I know that Mizzou only has 1 elective class in zoological medicine. From what I've learned about the program from visiting and from what was just posted above, there seems to be a lot of opportunities during your 2 clinical years to pursue specific interests like exotic/wildlife/zoo medicine. Right?
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You are absolutely correct!! We also have a very active ZEW club (Zoo.exotics.wildlife), and raptor rehab club. If you are interested in that field there are definitely opportunities for you here! Surprisingly, even though mizzou is lacking in Zooish classes, we have a pretty good number of alumni which are in the zoo field! We also have a program that takes 2nd years to South Africa for 3 weeks to do conservation work. And like I previously posted- clinical years are full of time to schedule preceptorships in what ever field you wish- the sky is the limit !!
 
Can the Veterinary Research Scholars Program stipend count towards the $2000 taxable income for those applying for IS residency?
 
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Surgery: basically echoing what the others said, you'll get to see cool surgeries at the VMTH, you'll get to perform spays/neuters on shelter (but it's only 2 weeks of the community practice rotation that you do that, and even then I only did 1 cat spay and 2 cat neuters), but you can and should definitely use the large amount of free time to go elsewhere where you can actually do more procedures yourself.

Zoo med: the vet at the Kansas City zoo is a Mizzou grad and he loves having students there. He's a big proponent of letting externs do things on their own after the first week or two, which means he generally won't take people who can't spend 3+ weeks there. He also teaches the zoo med elective but since he drives from KC, he requires a minimum number of students to take it.

VRSP: counts for income to change residency status for sure
 
Had my interview today, and I think it went okay! It felt more confrontational than last year about the weak points on my app, but Dr. Berent said I handled their questions well as she was leading me out. The lunch was a nice addition for the IS-ers this year! @Rainheart, I'm pretty sure I talked to you there, unless there's another girl from Virginia with purple hair. 😉 I was with my dad and wearing a polka dot shirt.
 
LyraGardenia said:
Had my interview today, and I think it went okay! It felt more confrontational than last year about the weak points on my app, but Dr. Berent said I handled their questions well as she was leading me out. The lunch was a nice addition for the IS-ers this year! @Rainheart, I'm pretty sure I talked to you there, unless there's another girl from Virginia with purple hair. 😉 I was with my dad and wearing a polka dot shirt.
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-Waves- That was me 😀 It was super awesome to talk with you and your dad. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! As always, feel free to shoot me any questions you may have. I thoroughly enjoyed helping out today and meeting some applicants.
Also whoever asked about VRSP, I did the program last summer. If you have any specific questions, again, I'm always open. Send me a message!
 
Re: surgery:

There are actually two surgery electives you can take during your last didactic block. The small animal one is very competitive to get into, and does mostly cadaver surgeries if I remember correctly. I took the large animal surgery class, and competition to get in varies from year to year. I LOVED the LA surgery class - it was a small enough class size that 3 or 4 people worked on one animal each week, we did procedures that would be common in a large/mixed animal practice (DAs, PUs, C-section, epidurals, etc), and all the surgeries were live. So in addition to practicing surgical skills and more work handling live tissue, we got lots of practice with anesthesia, both injectable and gas.

Everyone else is correct about the 3 2-week surgery blocks plus the shelter med block. Students get to do the "elective" procedures during soft tissue sx (ie, spays and neuters), but your mileage may vary as far as how many you get to do. My soft tissue rotation was over thanksgiving, so we had no elective surgeries, but the clinicians and residents were very understanding, so they hunted down some cadavers for us to practice other procedures on. You always have the option to take more surgery rotations as part of your clinical electives. And if surgery is something you're really interested in, track down some off-campus electives or preceptorships - I told one of our clinicians that I was really interested in orthopedics and he suggested a few clinics to look into.

And more than one doctor I've shadowed said to find a shelter/humane society type situation to get surgical practice at during your preceptorships. You'll get to practice the basic spays/neuters and anesthesia, plus you may get to handle some of the other surgeries that come through.
 
equinerider26 said:
Re: surgery:

There are actually two surgery electives you can take during your last didactic block. The small animal one is very competitive to get into, and does mostly cadaver surgeries if I remember correctly. I took the large animal surgery class, and competition to get in varies from year to year. I LOVED the LA surgery class - it was a small enough class size that 3 or 4 people worked on one animal each week, we did procedures that would be common in a large/mixed animal practice (DAs, PUs, C-section, epidurals, etc), and all the surgeries were live. So in addition to practicing surgical skills and more work handling live tissue, we got lots of practice with anesthesia, both injectable and gas.
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Ah Yes, totally forgot about the LA one! I forget there are LA people sometimes 😉
 
I had my interview today as well....some questions I was asked was how I would handle getting C's or D's in vet school, how I cope with stress, and how I expect to cope with the tough academic schedule. Also the difference between animal rights and animal welfare, how I felt about animals being used in research and where I saw myself in 10 years. Also, one of the interviewers (Dr. Reilly I think) was very interested in my undergrad research project and grilled me about that a bit, so if anyone has put undergrad research on their application expect some questions! Other than that my interview felt very conversational like everyone said! Also, I loved lunch and the student ambassadors were so helpful in calming my nerves and answering questions about the school in life at CVM in general! Thanks so much!!
 
Hi, I had my interview today and think it went pretty well. I have been fortunate to have been accepted to a few other OOS schools, but Mizzou (IS) is my first choice. Does anyone know of anybody (in years past) that is from Missouri that got into other OOS schools, but not Mizzou? I ask because I am a bit worried that my academic score will cause me not to get into Mizzou because its several points below the average score of those accepted. I'm not sure if Mizzou scores academic background higher than other schools. Thoughts?
 
zeke320 said:
Hi, I had my interview today and think it went pretty well. I have been fortunate to have been accepted to a few other OOS schools, but Mizzou (IS) is my first choice. Does anyone know of anybody (in years past) that is from Missouri that got into other OOS schools, but not Mizzou? I ask because I am a bit worried that my academic score will cause me not to get into Mizzou because its several points below the average score of those accepted. I'm not sure if Mizzou scores academic background higher than other schools. Thoughts?
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I wouldn't stress about your academic score being a few points below average. "Average" means that half the people admitted had scores below that number! 😉 I can't remember what the average is, but Dr. Berent told me in my file review last year that people with academic scores in the 15-20 range do get admitted (my score is around 18, definitely nothing spectacular). Plus as mentioned above, their admissions decisions aren't solely score-based, the Dean gets the final say.
 
What was it Kathy said at the interview lunch for you in-state people... 40% academic and 60% interview/everything else (experiences, etc?) right? I wasn't paying that much attention, to be honest 😛 I agree, not to worry so much about it. Hope you all do hear soon, though... Can't imagine having to wait this long.
 
I believe the in state interviews are completed as of today? I wonder how many total IS applicants interviewed and if it's okay to ask Kathy that? Lol
 
klmn87 said:
I believe the in state interviews are completed as of today? I wonder how many total IS applicants interviewed and if it's okay to ask Kathy that? Lol
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I remember her mentioning it last year at the interview, so you can definitely ask her!
 
klmn87 said:
I believe the in state interviews are completed as of today? I wonder how many total IS applicants interviewed and if it's okay to ask Kathy that? Lol
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I *think* she said 108 at interviews Saturday. And yes today was the last day!
At the lunch Saturday, she said she will try to have acceptances out as soon as she can. She hopes by the end of March but makes no promises...
 
LyraGardenia said:
I wouldn't stress about your academic score being a few points below average. "Average" means that half the people admitted had scores below that number! 😉 I can't remember what the average is, but Dr. Berent told me in my file review last year that people with academic scores in the 15-20 range do get admitted (my score is around 18, definitely nothing spectacular). Plus as mentioned above, their admissions decisions aren't solely score-based, the Dean gets the final say.
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I don't think academic score matters that much. Mine was pretty low (18 or 19?) and I got in. My academic score was actually lowered quite a bit because my graduate classes lowered my average number of hours taken. Anyway, I definitely don't think that's all they care about.
 
klmn87 said:
I believe the in state interviews are completed as of today? I wonder how many total IS applicants interviewed and if it's okay to ask Kathy that? Lol
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I emailed Kathy earlier today and she said there were 107 IS interviews, and there are 48 seats available. 12 of the 60 IS seats are taken by early admission students, which apparently is pretty typical. Decisions will be sent snail mail to the same address as our interview invites. She said not to expect them until after April 1st, but definitely before the 15th. Last year people started getting their letters March 24th.

It's times like these I'm really kicking myself for not going to Mizzou for undergrad and doing the Pre-Vet Scholars Program (one of the early admission programs, along with AgScholars). At the time I was naive and didn't think getting into vet school could possibly be THAT hard. :smack: The program requirements are pretty strict, but it would have still made life a lot easier. But on the other hand, I had my reasons for choosing my undergrad school and I loved my time there.
 
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Were the 12 early admissions students included in the 107 interviews or did they bypass that step? Not that it matters. Well I agree with Lyra it would have been nice to have that forethought, but surely there are people accepted who later in time decided to go to vet school.
 
klmn87 said:
Were the 12 early admissions students included in the 107 interviews or did they bypass that step? Not that it matters. Well I agree with Lyra it would have been nice to have that forethought, but surely there are people accepted who later in time decided to go to vet school.
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I'm pretty sure they did not have to interview. If I'm reading it correctly, as long as you are admitted to the program and complete the requirements, you're in. There's more info here: http://cvm.missouri.edu/pre-vet-scholars.htm
 
We still have our room open, so feel free to send me a message! Even if you haven't been accepted yet (IS people) you are welcome to message me.
 
For those that have already accepted their seat, is there some sort of confirmation that the school received your money and paperwork? I'm just curious since I'm officially mailing the letters out tomorrow morning! 😀
 
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