Ohio vs. Purdue

[Siomai]

Hello guys,

I have been mulling over my decision between Ohio and Purdue. I got multiple offers and narrowed my choices to the two based on which schools will I have least debt load at the end of four years. Thanks to the scholarship they offered me, these two are even and I cannot make a decision. I would like you two cents to help me out.

Purdue: comfort/ smaller class size/ does not have restriction of max 30 days outside compared to Ohio allowing em to get internship outside of state, cheaper cost of living

Ohio; Higher ranking and better recognition; more affiliation to other health programs ( medicine. etc), in urban area offering more activities, newer and bigger facilities, has more than 2oo years of history.

Bottom line; I felt more comfortable at Purdue but Ohio may offer more wide opportunities

Any advise or additional information you may throw my way will be greatly appreciated to help me decide.

Thanks in advance guys

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[Jamr0ckin]

I offered some advice is the CSU vs U Tenn thread. It pretty much can apply to any school choices.

 

[kernel]

Unless you're convinced that not having those "wide opportunities" that Ohio offers will hurt you, I would side with Purdue. Also, rankings really aren't that big a deal, at least in my opinion and from what I've heard. Both are fine schools. In fact, all vet schools are fine schools, and no matter where you go you will be respected as a veterinary medical professional.

I felt more comfortable at Purdue

That screams "go there!" to me.

 

[skysong13]

Hey, so I'm an undergrad at Purdue, and I can definitely vouch for the cheap living here. I am definitely not in the cheapest apartment and I'm paying 5k a year at most for rent and utilities (not including food). And that includes the summer months that I won't be living there. Don't know anything about living in Columbus, OH, but I promise you you won't need the 10k they give you for living unless you plan on living in the dorms. But you can easily find dorms for under 400 a month near the vet school and even cheaper if you're willing to drive to campus.

I definitely agree with kernel though on comfort, if you really feel like you were more comfortable at Purdue, then that's something I would weigh a lot in your decision. The only other thing though is you can get instate at Ohio after your first year. I also agree with kernel on your going to be respected wherever you go for being a vet. They are all accredited and held to the same standards in the end (I believe...) so unless you know who you're going to work for and they only hire grads from one school, then I wouldn't necessarily take rankings into consideration. And even though it probably goes for ohio too, I've been all over the US, and on an international trip, and when I said I go to Purdue, I always got the googly eyes and they were totally in awe. Some people in texas and california even thought it was an ivy league school (they were probably confusing it for the Big Ten). So it's not just ohio state that gets recognized 🙂

Another thing, do you like the city? Cause west lafayette/lafayette is a "city" by means it has enough population to be a city, but there's not much here entertainment wise. We get some pretty cool performers in like B.o.B., wiz kalifa, dierks brently, macklemore, (sorry i'm sure I butchered those names) in at Elliot Hall and there's chicago and indy really close to attract other people. There's plenty of bars too, but otherwise you have to go to Indy or Chicago for other forms of entertainment. We have a small zoo, wolf park, big cat place etc nearby but it depends on how much you like going out. It's enough for me, but I don't enjoy being in big cities (yet I'm going to live in Los Angeles after I graduate...we'll see how that works out).

oh and there's a facebook page for our class, so if you want feel free to join it, ask questions. a few of the current students have joined to answer questions for us.

oh one last thing: i think they're also pretty lenient on letting you do rotations at other locations. Like said you want to go to a specialty clinic for cardiology or something. If you can present to them why this place would be better for you, I think they'll let you go there instead. If this is true, it would be pretty neat. Granted, other schools probably have something similar in place. And I think they even let you take a vacation rotation.

(oh and we get a month for winter break next year! woot)

 

[Siomai]

Thank you guys for your input! Much appreciated

 

[boilermaker713]

I was going to respond to this thread, but I completely forgot about it until just now when it was bumped! I am an undergrad at Purdue, but I will be attending Ohio State this fall. I was waitlisted at Purdue, but I don't think that really influenced my decision to go OOS. All of my professors are quite confident that I will get off the waitlist, but even if I did get taken off that list, I know that this is my time to go and explore somewhere new while I don't really have any obligations to keep me in one place.

I know that doesn't really help, but I just wanted to give you a background as to why I did not choose Purdue. It's not that I didn't like it because there are plenty of pros. The professors are extremely nice (I shadowed Dr. Hilton on a farm call - he's awesome. And I worked for Dr. Ferguson, the mobile shelter clinician, for 3 years. I learned SO much from her and she is such an amazing person). The class size is smaller, the surrounding area has enough to do, but it still isn't a super city-like atmosphere (I'm a farm girl and want to work with food animals), there is a sense of closeness and family, and much more. I have loved my time at Purdue and I would not trade it for the world!

However, I felt that I would have all this and more at Ohio State. Granted they have a larger class size and definitely more of a city setting than West Lafayette, but when I went for my second visit, I met with Dr. Niehaus and Dr. Welker and they made me feel much more comfortable about the situation. Ohio State has one of the largest caseloads of food animals, so the city does not deter the food animal clients. As for the class size, the 2nd year that talked to my fiance and I said she really didn't feel that their large class size was a hindrance. Everyone gets as much attention as they want - professors are more than willing to meet with you and answer questions. OSU was not my favorite when I first visited, but after my second visit, I was very confident that it was where I wanted to receive my veterinary education 🙂

I hope this was at least a little bit helpful. Sorry it was so lengthy. If you have any questions about either school, I would be more than happy to answer them! Good luck in your decision!

 

[BulldogMS]

You feel more comfortable at Purdue, your conscience might be telling you something important about yourself, something you might not be aware of. That, alone, is reason to chose Purdue over Ohio.

I am biased, as I wanted so much to love Ohio. My family wanted me to attend Ohio, my undergrad profs and advisor thought Ohio was wonderful. However, as much as I wanted to send my deposit to Ohio, I couldn't do it. I had such a ridiculously negative feel for Ohio. From stoic adcoms, to admins that seemed cold and matter-of-fact, the huge class size and lacklustre attitude towards a vet student explosion, an OH grad vet with the personality of a wet dishrag...there was something about the place that threw any semblance of a comfort level out the window.

I don't go to Purdue, but I have a vet friend who graduated from there in 2011 and my grandparents are friends with a retired Purdue Dean. As a previous poster said, there are lots of people in different parts of the US and Europe who think Purdue is an Ivy school - not that perception matters, it doesn't. I just think it's best to listen to your conscience. That's what I did, and I couldn't be happier!

 

[NStarz]

I am biased, as I wanted so much to love Ohio. My family wanted me to attend Ohio, my undergrad profs and advisor thought Ohio was wonderful. However, as much as I wanted to send my deposit to Ohio, I couldn't do it. I had such a ridiculously negative feel for Ohio. From stoic adcoms, to admins that seemed cold and matter-of-fact, the huge class size and lacklustre attitude towards a vet student explosion, an OH grad vet with the personality of a wet dishrag...there was something about the place that threw any semblance of a comfort level out the window.

You are more than welcome to your own opinion, but I really disagree with everything you've said here. The administration is absolutely amazing, they are very receptive to our concerns, and we are having a town hall meeting tonight to talk about the state and issues in the profession. And I would caution anyone to base their opinions of a school based on one graduate. There are bad seeds in every bunch 😉

 

[BulldogMS]

You are more than welcome to your own opinion, but I really disagree with everything you've said here. The administration is absolutely amazing, they are very receptive to our concerns, and we are having a town hall meeting tonight to talk about the state and issues in the profession. And I would caution anyone to base their opinions of a school based on one graduate. There are bad seeds in every bunch 😉

I actually didn't base my decison on any one factor. FWIW, I wasn't comfortable with what Ohio had to offer, which was strictly personal. There was nothing that stood out negatively except it wasn't the place for me. When the original poster said she had a better feel for Purdue over Ohio, I thought there might be something more to that. All said, I think it's wonderful that you're as happy at Ohio as I am at MSU. 😍

That's what is great about the 28 US vet schools - there's different styles for those blessed to have been able to chose from more than one. There are just as many applicants who will run for the hills from my school (MSU), while on the flipside, absolutely love Ohio or Purdue. I just wasn't comfortable with Ohio, whereas, the person who took my spot likely remains overjoyed that the alternate list moved to let her/him in.

 

[Siomai]

Thank you for the additional input and taking the time to respond and help me out guys. Every info helps...even the minute seems insignificant ones do. Thank you. I will decide by Friday..its so hard

 

[Cypress]

Thank you for the additional input and taking the time to respond and help me out guys. Every info helps...even the minute seems insignificant ones do. Thank you. I will decide by Friday..its so hard

I'm a current first year student at Purdue - and its wonderful! There are tons of opportunities here as well - if you felt comfortable while you were here then I would go with that - vet school is going to be what you make of it in the long run - and what I have found has been one of the most important pieces is having a support system around me to help survive the stress. We are very family oriented and having the smaller class sizes creates a great atmosphere to grow your Purdue family. Our faculty are amazing and if if there is something you want to do - they will make it happen for you!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[psilovethomas]

I visited Purdue in 2010 for symposium. I don't know if its changed, but the building and campus as a whole was kind of drab. However, the professors and faculty were very friendly and nice. The anatomy lab was a bit small, but that may have changed it because I think they have increased their class size by now. The main lecture hall is very nice and there were a lot of nice open spaces to study (something I find lacking at my school) throughout the school. I really liked that they had an entire area dedicated to large animal teaching with bleachers in front of stocks for livestock--this is something I wish my school had!
I have never been to OSU, but they are both great schools. If you feel comfortable at Purdue, I would for sure go to Purdue.

 

[Siomai]

After clarifying all financials, Ohio will reduce my debt load more than Purdue and thus, eliminating my confusion making Ohio the obvious choice due to their in-state conversion.

I am a non-trad living on her supposed 401 K retirement so loan was a big deal for me. Thank you guys for being kind and supportive during my elevated unnecessary anxious phase of indecisiveness.

Good luck future colleagues!

 

[boilermaker713]

After clarifying all financials, Ohio will reduce my debt load more than Purdue and thus, eliminating my confusion making Ohio the obvious choice due to their in-state conversion.

I am a non-trad living on her supposed 401 K retirement so loan was a big deal for me. Thank you guys for being kind and supportive during my elevated unnecessary anxious phase of indecisiveness.

Good luck future colleagues!

Congrats Siomai! Excited to have you as a classmate! 🙂 I'm so sorry I didn't see your PM sooner. I'm glad you were finally able to make your decision though! I bet you can breathe a little easier now.