OOS tOSU vs UMN vs UIUC (possibly) for exotics

[catsandsnakes]

I know there are a few other threads looking for advice on tOSU versus UMN, but I wanted to ask in terms of their exotics programs! I've been accepted to both UMN and tOSU. I have an upcoming interview with UIUC, but I may be interested in attending if accepted.

I had a professor in undergrad who graduated from tOSU CVM in 2018. He mentioned a couple of times that, if we were interested in exotics medicine, that tOSU was not the best school for exotics. Out of all three schools, tOSU is by far my cheapest option. However, I don't want to spend 200k+ on my education and not have a decent opportunity to have experience with the field I hope to practice in (I'm keeping in mind my interests might change once I'm in vet school,,, and that purposefully choosing a higher OOS tuition isn't something to sneeze at).

Does anyone have any insight as to whether all three of these schools would be similar in their level of exotics opportunities?

Also, if anyone has any insight on tOSU's curriculum I would love to hear about it. I've heard through the grapevine that some current students (specifically 2nd and 3rd years) are not enjoying the curriculum and that there is a tonnnn of asynchronous work. Perhaps this is normal and the majority of students enjoy the way things are taught, but I do want to get some other opinions if possible!

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[JaynaAli]

I don’t know about those three programs specifically, but in my opinion as someone who has been at different schools with vastly different levels of exotics opportunities, I don’t think it matters a whole lot in the end if you’re truly dedicated to the field and willing to work for it. A school with a robust exotics department often has more easily accessible opportunities, but there’s also significantly more competition for those experiences. On the other hand, if you go to a school without as strong of an exotics presence, you may be first or one of just a handful in line and not have as much competition for those rotations and labs and such. I think just about every school offers at least a few offsite rotations, so if you’re a hustler and really pursue those opportunities, you can still fill your schedule with exotics-focused activities. Summers too. The opportunities may not be as obvious as some developed by a school, but they’re out there and some may even be vastly superior and help you build a broader network of acquaintances in the field. All schools have to have at least some baseline exotics coursework because exotics are on NAVLE.

Exotics medicine is a lower paying field, especially in the world of zoo medicine. I personally think you’d be setting yourself up better to go to the cheaper school and pursue your own exotics experiences. But tagging people like @WildZoo and @pp9 who may also have insight.

 

[pp9]

Basically everything Jayna said. I would also suggest you go to the cheapest school. I'd guess that out of those three, U of I would give you the most exposure, but imo still isn't worth OOS tuition. Just do externships at exotics clinics.

 

[WildZoo]

I know there are a few other threads looking for advice on tOSU versus UMN, but I wanted to ask in terms of their exotics programs! I've been accepted to both UMN and tOSU. I have an upcoming interview with UIUC, but I may be interested in attending if accepted.

I had a professor in undergrad who graduated from tOSU CVM in 2018. He mentioned a couple of times that, if we were interested in exotics medicine, that tOSU was not the best school for exotics. Out of all three schools, tOSU is by far my cheapest option. However, I don't want to spend 200k+ on my education and not have a decent opportunity to have experience with the field I hope to practice in (I'm keeping in mind my interests might change once I'm in vet school,,, and that purposefully choosing a higher OOS tuition isn't something to sneeze at).

Does anyone have any insight as to whether all three of these schools would be similar in their level of exotics opportunities?

Also, if anyone has any insight on tOSU's curriculum I would love to hear about it. I've heard through the grapevine that some current students (specifically 2nd and 3rd years) are not enjoying the curriculum and that there is a tonnnn of asynchronous work. Perhaps this is normal and the majority of students enjoy the way things are taught, but I do want to get some other opinions if possible!

Neither UMN or tOSU see exotics in the hospital setting at this time, but there is exotics material in their didactic curriculum. Illinois of course has a lot of opportunities built in for exotics exposure.

But I will also echo what Jayna and pp9 said. Go to your cheapest option. Even going to a program that has more exotics exposure doesn't mean you won't need to do externships, learn more once you're out of school, have some form of mentorship, etc. No program is going to teach you everything you need to know to be day 1 competent in exotics medicine without support, and if you're looking to specialize, those programs are looking for evidence of strong commitment to the field, which means you're going to be doing extra legwork either way. Save in COA so you can better afford to do externships and such, and like Jayna mentioned, so you can better afford the lower salary during specialty training years (and possibly after, depending on where you end up) if you go that route.

Plus, as you said, plenty of people change their mind during school about what they want to do, or life changes their minds for them (unfortunately this is not infrequently a financial choice). Most of the zoo and exotics interested people from my class are not primarily working in those fields at this time, and that was at a school that does have a good amount of exotics exposure.

From the tOSU perspective - there are clinics in the area that see exotics (though I'm unsure if they have established rotations), and if you're zoo-interested the Columbus Zoo does take didactic students as shadows, and both the zoo and The Wilds take clinical year students for rotations. When I was on my exotics rotation at my school I also had a couple tOSU students that were externing with us, and both of them work with exotics in some capacity now.

 

[catsandsnakes]

I really appreciate the insight from you three! Your points about externships are things I hadn't considered, so that's good for me to keep in mind. It sounds like tOSU may be the way to go with it being the least expensive!

 

[spellcheck09]

I live very close to Ohio and have worked under several graduates, from recent years and decades ago. I've heard mostly that tOSU isn't the best for exotics. Their LA clinical options also seem a bit light in their curriculum (only one for equine and one for LA field services). I've also heard that their clinic years can be a bit old fashioned and intense in terms of workload and hours required of students, although this may have changed in recent years. That said, their curriculum othwise seems very good and they begin integrating clinical work early.

 

[supershorty]

Neither UMN or tOSU see exotics in the hospital setting at this time, but there is exotics material in their didactic curriculum. Illinois of course has a lot of opportunities built in for exotics exposure.

But I will also echo what Jayna and pp9 said. Go to your cheapest option. Even going to a program that has more exotics exposure doesn't mean you won't need to do externships, learn more once you're out of school, have some form of mentorship, etc. No program is going to teach you everything you need to know to be day 1 competent in exotics medicine without support, and if you're looking to specialize, those programs are looking for evidence of strong commitment to the field, which means you're going to be doing extra legwork either way. Save in COA so you can better afford to do externships and such, and like Jayna mentioned, so you can better afford the lower salary during specialty training years (and possibly after, depending on where you end up) if you go that route.

Plus, as you said, plenty of people change their mind during school about what they want to do, or life changes their minds for them (unfortunately this is not infrequently a financial choice). Most of the zoo and exotics interested people from my class are not primarily working in those fields at this time, and that was at a school that does have a good amount of exotics exposure.

From the tOSU perspective - there are clinics in the area that see exotics (though I'm unsure if they have established rotations), and if you're zoo-interested the Columbus Zoo does take didactic students as shadows, and both the zoo and The Wilds take clinical year students for rotations. When I was on my exotics rotation at my school I also had a couple tOSU students that were externing with us, and both of them work with exotics in some capacity now.

I’m just here to echo this excellent post.