Pros & Cons of Schools

[mulletsarelove]

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So I've noticed a lot of '___ vs ___' threads popping up as people try to decide between schools and I thought it would just be nice to have current students kind of make a list of the pros/cons of their individual schools all in one thread to help us class of 2016-ers make a decision without having everyone make their own thread. I know I saw this done a few years back, but I thought it would be nice to have a more up-to-date list. Any current students up to listing out what they see as pros and cons of their schools?
🙂

 

[twelvetigers]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=580221

Howzzat?

 

[libster06]

The only problem with listing "pros" and "cons" is that what a pro might be for you may be a con for someone else. Or vice versa. And from all the threads like this or discussions in the vein of this that I have come across on here, it usually comes down to money. Occasionally people have an opinion based on something else (facilities, specialties, etc.) but the general consensus is to go to your IS. And given the increased number of discussions and arguments about tuition on here lately, I'd wager that people would really harp on that right now.

I also kind of feel like there are about a handful of schools that would honestly be given serious consideration as to what their current students deemed as good/bad about them, in the even that someone needed to decide. A school like LSU is not really highly regarded around here (or in society in general), and thus is generally seen as a school attended either because it's your IS or as a last resort (my personal reason). I'm not saying I hate LSU or think that it shouldn't be given more of a chance, but it's just not likely that someone would want to know about it because they were on the fence between it and another school.

For me, there were no pros and cons. My IS was my main goal and after that it was wherever I could get in, but schools based on the location from my hometown/family. I applied to schools I deemed an appropriate distance (although I did end up declining an interview and withdrawing an app because I decided I couldn't handle the distance apart from my family).

 

[libster06]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=580221

Howzzat?

Thank goodness for your diligence. I am much too lazy to bother with relevant thread digging.

 

[twelvetigers]

Remembering the thread helps... search -> title of thread -> "factors when picking" -> bam.

 

[Psorophoraferox]

A school like LSU is not really highly regarded around here (or in society in general), and thus is generally seen as a school attended either because it's your IS or as a last resort (my personal reason). I'm not saying I hate LSU or think that it shouldn't be given more of a chance, but it's just not likely that someone would want to know about it because they were on the fence between it and another school.

Hah, I've heard that too. One of my vets was like, "You're applying to LSU? Every job applicant I've interviewed from there knew *nothing*." But I feel like that's at least partially a what-you-put-in = what-you-get-out problem, and not a reflection on the school itself. I compared the curriculum to some of the other schools I applied/was considering applying to, and it's very similar, so I have a hard time believing the issue with those applicants is that they weren't taught the material.

Of course, I've heard the same from lots of other vets I've worked with, about pretty much every school that wasn't the one they went to. 🙄 And it's even worse in Texas, because they mix up the Aggie Kool-Aid pretty strong around here...

 

[libster06]

Hah, I've heard that too. One of my vets was like, "You're applying to LSU? Every job applicant I've interviewed from there knew *nothing*." But I feel like that's at least partially a what-you-put-in = what-you-get-out problem, and not a reflection on the school itself. I compared the curriculum to some of the other schools I applied/was considering applying to, and it's very similar, so I have a hard time believing the issue with those applicants is that they weren't taught the material.

Well, I am from Texas as well, and would've gone to A&M had I got in, again SOLELY because of IS tuition and that its 2-3 hrs from my home. But I have to say I think I fit in better at :LSU. I don't care for A&M much either.

LSU is a decent school as far as presentation of relevant curriculum is. My problem with the school is how outdated their stuff is. And the fact that I pay $40,000 a year and the school still looks like it did when they built it 30+ years ago annoys me. And that's also the general consensus from other students in my class. They don't have any updated technology for the classroom, or the computer labs, and I feel like if they invested in some of that, it might help students learn better.

 

[Psorophoraferox]

Well, I am from Texas as well, and would've gone to A&M had I got in, again SOLELY because of IS tuition and that its 2-3 hrs from my home. But I have to say I think I fit in better at :LSU. I don't care for A&M much either.

Similar. A&M is a great school for a lot of people, no doubt. But I didn't really feel like it would be a good fit for me, and there's no way I could've completed their pre-reqs in a timely manner (Animal Nutrition & Animal Science wouldn't have been too bad, but ANOTHER semester of biochem? No thanks!). And I like Texas well enough, but... kinda don't want to stay here another 4 years. I'm just so tired of the insane heat and droughts. But that IS tuition was really tempting!

Also today in particular I'm really missing living in Louisiana. 🙂

 

[LetItSnow]

My problem with the school is how outdated their stuff is. And the fact that I pay $40,000 a year and the school still looks like it did when they built it 30+ years ago annoys me. And that's also the general consensus from other students in my class. They don't have any updated technology for the classroom, or the computer labs, and I feel like if they invested in some of that, it might help students learn better.

Just out of curiosity, what sorts of things would you want them to update? What would you find most important?

Some of our stuff here at UMN is quite old (our anatomy lab is an awesome dungeon with surgical tables that probably outdate my parents - I actually miss that room already), but they have invested in some technology (lecture capture, video all over the place in our histo/neuro lab room).

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about more upgrades. On the one hand, the seats in next year's classroom really suck and it'd sure be nice if they'd fix up that room. On the other .... upgrades gotta get paid for, and tuition already bites.

 

[StartingoverVet]

For Penn:
Pros

​

​

Cons​

It is Vet school Yay!

OMG, this is vet school?​

​

​

It's in Philly

​

​

It's in Philly?​

Large, diverse class

​

​

Who are these people?​

Large case load.

​

​

When do I get a break?​

Great Classmates

​

​

But it's still me! ​

Amazing University

​

​

Can you spell B-U-R-E-A-U-C-R-A-C-Y​

Walk to class

​

​

Do they ever pave the roads here? ​

You get a VMD

​

​

Do we always have to explain this? ​

Anyway, hope you get my point.

 

[psilovethomas]

Hah, I've heard that too. One of my vets was like, "You're applying to LSU? Every job applicant I've interviewed from there knew *nothing*." But I feel like that's at least partially a what-you-put-in = what-you-get-out problem, and not a reflection on the school itself. I compared the curriculum to some of the other schools I applied/was considering applying to, and it's very similar, so I have a hard time believing the issue with those applicants is that they weren't taught the material.

Of course, I've heard the same from lots of other vets I've worked with, about pretty much every school that wasn't the one they went to. 🙄 And it's even worse in Texas, because they mix up the Aggie Kool-Aid pretty strong around here...

I shadowed a vet who went to LSU, and he was awesome! Very knowledgeable and all around just an awesome, fun vet. I've heard vets in my area say the same thing about my IS vet school. I do have to admit, it's one of the main reasons why I didn't apply and didn't really think twice about it.

To each his own, but I feel like I will receive a better education at MSU. I love my school and I am at home 600 miles away from home. I really wouldn't give it up for anything. If I thought more about med school, MSU COM would be one of my top choices.

 

[sunnex3]

For Penn:
Pros

​

​

Cons​

It is Vet school Yay!

OMG, this is vet school?​

​

​

It's in Philly

​

​

It's in Philly?​

Large, diverse class

​

​

Who are these people?​

Large case load.

​

​

When do I get a break?​

Great Classmates

​

​

But it's still me! ​

Amazing University

​

​

Can you spell B-U-R-E-A-U-C-R-A-C-Y​

Walk to class

​

​

Do they ever pave the roads here? ​

You get a VMD

​

​

Do we always have to explain this? ​

Anyway, hope you get my point.

Ahahaha love this

 

[LSU SVM]

For anyone wanting to learn more about the LSU SVM, you are more than welcome to visit the following site to learn more about the LSU SVM from our Associate Dean of Student and Academic Affairs, Dr. Joseph Taboada. (His presentation below was recorded using our lecture capture system.)

http://vmedweb.lsu.edu/CourseCast/Viewer/Default.aspx?id=3f94cb29-6957-4e8a-b3db-78f24597aad2

The presentation above was given during our Welcoming Reception for those out of state and Arkansas applicants who were interviewed for a seat in the Class of 2016. During the presentation, Dr. Taboada discussed the history of the LSU SVM, our DVM curriculum, educational financing, interview and selection criteria for applicants, and much, much more! (Please keep in mind that the presentation above is geared a bit more towards out of state applicants.)

Of course, we acknowledge that there will be many different experiences had by our students so we encourage them to share their experiences, both good and bad. That being said, we also would like to make sure that we - as a school - give applicants as much information as possible so the best, most well-informed decisions are made. So if there are any questions about the curriculum, the facilities or anything else, applicants are encouraged to contact us and we will try to answer any questions.

 

[libster06]

Just out of curiosity, what sorts of things would you want them to update? What would you find most important?

Some of our stuff here at UMN is quite old (our anatomy lab is an awesome dungeon with surgical tables that probably outdate my parents - I actually miss that room already), but they have invested in some technology (lecture capture, video all over the place in our histo/neuro lab room).

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about more upgrades. On the one hand, the seats in next year's classroom really suck and it'd sure be nice if they'd fix up that room. On the other .... upgrades gotta get paid for, and tuition already bites.

Our anatomy lab is like that as well, but I don't mind it. We do have lecture capture which is really great. I am speaking about the video thing in other classrooms. Also, I heard about other schools having video for their anatomy class and the professor would go through the dissection process with them as the video was being broadcast, so that all the students could see. Our anatomy lab was always a sh*tshow, and I think that might help organize it and help people learn better. Just something other than a classroom projector and powerpoint slides as their main method of education.

It's also kind of weird to me how they get on here and chime in every time anyone mentions LSU.

 

[cowgirla]

. We do have lecture capture which is really great. .

I would die without lecture capture. It was one thing I never really considered when choosing a school, but oh em gee am I glad we have it. Especially weeks like this, when I'm battling sinusitis/bronchopneumonia and physically cannot sit in a classroom all day. I'm less than three hours behind, rather than 6 days behind, because all the lectures are right there for me by the afternoon. Life saver. Plus, I can stop and rewind every time I have a coughing fit

 

[Bisbee]

What is lecture capture? Is it just recording of the lectures or some special high-tech thing?

 

[cowgirla]

What is lecture capture? Is it just recording of the lectures or some special high-tech thing?

Ours is video/audio recording of the lectures. The audio plays along with the powerpoint, so you can see when the slide changes and all that, and if the prof uses the mouse to point to something on the slide, you can see that as well. And there's another camera thats supposed to focus on the professor (but our professors tend to wander, so that one's pretty useless). Love the powerpoint/audio though.

 

[bunnity]

I would love to have video!
We have audio which is a lifesaver if you miss class or you don't like to go to class. It would be nice to know for sure what slide they are on at all times though.

 

[libster06]

The pharmacology people would not allow us to record their lectures, however. On audio or video. Pretty much the dumbest thing ever.

It's pretty sweet, though. The only class I have found that it's not helpful enough to make up for missing class is with Cardiology. I tried to use it when I missed and I was still really confused, and decided I definitely had to physically attend that class.

 

[August West]

It's also kind of weird to me how they get on here and chime in every time anyone mentions LSU.

 

[libster06]

It's funny how none of the other school's admissions offices do that.

[cue response post from LSU]

 

[Bisbee]

Ours is video/audio recording of the lectures. The audio plays along with the powerpoint, so you can see when the slide changes and all that, and if the prof uses the mouse to point to something on the slide, you can see that as well. And there's another camera thats supposed to focus on the professor (but our professors tend to wander, so that one's pretty useless). Love the powerpoint/audio though.

Sounds great. I had one course like that in undergrad. Most people still attended the lectures, though. Are you allowed to skip class and just use the recording?

 

[LetItSnow]

Sounds great. I had one course like that in undergrad. Most people still attended the lectures, though. Are you allowed to skip class and just use the recording?

Up here teachers (no surprise) prefer if you attend. And it's teacher discretion whether they use the lecture capture system or not. Our system is set up so the camera tracks the teacher (which it does quite well, as long as the teacher stays within the camera's swivel range). When you watch the lecture, half your screen is the video of the teacher, and the other half is a direct capture of their slides.

It's filled with awesome. You can do things like skip straight to particular slides if you just want to catch what the teacher was saying about that point. Or you can speed it up ... it takes a bit of getting used to, but I found that I could rewatch lectures at 1.6x (1.8x for some teachers) without difficulty - so I could squeak in a 50 minute lecture in 40 minutes or so.

I've been putting on *every single class eval* form that the school needs to make it mandatory for teachers to use. I love that if I'm sick I can stay home, not infect my classmates, and catch up. Or that I can rewatch a lecture I didn't get. Or, like today, I can skip my morning classes to keep studying for a tough exam, and then catch up on the morning classes later in the day. It gives students so much value that I think it's a bummer that some teachers go with the "I don't want to encourage students to skip" attitude and dismiss it. (And frankly, I can't see any attendance difference between classes that use it and classes that don't.)

 

[StartingoverVet]

I would love to have video!
We have audio which is a lifesaver if you miss class or you don't like to go to class. It would be nice to know for sure what slide they are on at all times though.

👍
Also those few that use the blackboard....kind of hard to guess what they are writing with audio. 😕

Some of you younguns' may not know what a (non-electric) blackboard is. you write on it with chalk.

 

[Bisbee]

👍
Also those few that use the blackboard....kind of hard to guess what they are writing with audio. 😕

Some of you younguns' may not know what a (non-electric) blackboard is. you write on it with chalk.

When I went "back to school" to finish my B.S. it had been many years. In the time when I was gone, Powerpoint was invented. So, it was so different not having a professor write on the blackboard with chalk. In fact, as much as the powerpoint presentations/lectures have more of a wow factor, I found them harder to keep up with. The professor would just put up a slide for 5 seconds and then onto the next with no time for students to possibly write down everything that was on that slide. In the old days when the prof was writing on the board with chalk, he/she couldn't write any faster than we could, so we'd always keep up. The amount of knowledge/information that could be presented in a 50-minute period was far less than it is now because the limiting factor was how fast the prof could write (and writing on the board is much slower than writing in your notebook). So, we couldn't be responsible for knowing as much material. Additionally, I find taking notes from the board into my notebook to be a tremendous part of the learning process. Somehow the information going from your eyes to your brain and out your fingers onto the paper really reinforces the material. Now, with the powerpoints...I guess I just have to readjust and not be so old school.

 

[bunnity]

👍
Also those few that use the blackboard....kind of hard to guess what they are writing with audio. 😕

Some of you younguns' may not know what a (non-electric) blackboard is. you write on it with chalk.

I wish everyone used the blackboard. It forces them to interact, to put things in their own words, to have all the information explained. You can cram a ridiculous amount of information into a powerpoint versus writing it out yourself.

 

[libster06]

👍
Also those few that use the blackboard....kind of hard to guess what they are writing with audio. 😕

Some of you younguns' may not know what a (non-electric) blackboard is. you write on it with chalk.

Ahyuk! Ahyuk!

I wish someone wrote notes on the board with chalk. There would be infinitely less of them.

 

[cowgirla]

Sounds great. I had one course like that in undergrad. Most people still attended the lectures, though. Are you allowed to skip class and just use the recording?

Depends on the professor. Some don't care and have even told us that.. Some definitely notice if you arent there, and others have been known to take attendance if there's a large chunk of people missing.
It's definitely a lifesaver for things like illness, excused absences, etc. Beyond that, on a day to day basis, I tend to skip Epidemiology (he doesn't care), go to infectious (love the prof), go to the classes that require attendance. Some classes like Oncology or Pharm are hit or miss depending on my mood and what other classes I have that day lol

 

[StartingoverVet]

The other thing about the blackboard:
Since you can't cram in as much info, it forces most profs to rely more on textbooks, and with all their flaws, they are usually presented better than most powerpoints.

I prefer blackboard + textbook over powerpoint + fast talk, cram it all in, info overload.

These days the default is: if you didn't cover it in class, don't test it. Therefore MUST cram as much info into 50 minutes as possible. That is not teaching. But I am tired of complaining about this stuff. Makes me feel old.

All the professors in vet school are great, they love teaching, and I love learning. And undergrad is just as wonderful. Cramming is FUN!

If only.

 

[K9DANE]

Or you have the "smart" board, which is so "smart" that the prof spends half the class getting the stupid thing to work correctly. What a waste of money, and time....

I miss chalk boards, heck I'll take dry-erase boards as long as they're writing on them. I agree with Bisbee, I learn/retain so much more if I write it myself.

 

[libster06]

Or you have the "smart" board, which is so "smart" that the prof spends half the class getting the stupid thing to work correctly. What a waste of money, and time....

That's how I feel about teachers and power point. There are a TON of teachers who act like power point was invented yesterday. There are also teachers who act like the computer was invented yesterday. I know I'm young, but its also 2012. If you as a teacher know that you have to work with this stuff frequently, then familiarize yourself with the technology... if only for the sole purpose that it's moving along whether you like it or not. Then at least less time will be wasted fiddling around with it (and perhaps money if the technology is being used efficiently).

 

[Bisbee]

One day, when we rule the world, it's back to the blackboard!

 

[libster06]

One day, when we rule the world, it's back to the blackboard!

I'm down.

 

[Trilt]

Can I amend that to a dry erase board? Blackboards hurt my ears. 👎 But totally agree about the ease of info overload with powerpoints.

 

[twelvetigers]

One day, when we rule the world, it's back to the blackboard!

I'mma sit y'all in my phys class and see if you can make sense of half of what this guy scrawls on the blackboard. The sort of stuff where you copy it down and then go back to look at it later and can't really make sense of it at all. Maybe my notes suck?

What's that, SOV? A textbook? No, he makes his own textbook and has it printed and bound, and then you go buy it. It makes /marginally/ more sense than the chalkboard stuff, and it's not really easy to find what material you're looking for - lots of leafing. I want a table of contents, or an online searchable version! Lol.

Thank goodness for study guides or there's no way I would pass. Even so, I'm wondering how my exam is gonna go in an hour...

Oh, but to supplement the blackboard, he does have another way to present material. No, no, silly, not a powerpoint... an overhead projector!

 

[StartingoverVet]

I'mma sit y'all in my phys class and see if you can make sense of half of what this guy scrawls on the blackboard. The sort of stuff where you copy it down and then go back to look at it later and can't really make sense of it at all. Maybe my notes suck?

What's that, SOV? A textbook? No, he makes his own textbook and has it printed and bound, and then you go buy it. It makes /marginally/ more sense than the chalkboard stuff, and it's not really easy to find what material you're looking for - lots of leafing. I want a table of contents, or an online searchable version! Lol.

Thank goodness for study guides or there's no way I would pass. Even so, I'm wondering how my exam is gonna go in an hour...

Oh, but to supplement the blackboard, he does have another way to present material. No, no, silly, not a powerpoint... an overhead projector!

Point taken. Teachers can find a way to Suck with any technology (or lack thereof)!

 

[twelvetigers]

Suck? You can use the word suck. It's allowed.

 

[Bisbee]

Can I amend that to a dry erase board? Blackboards hurt my ears. 👎 But totally agree about the ease of info overload with powerpoints.

I don't know...those dry erase markers on the white board can be kind of squeaky to the ears, too.

 

[LSU SVM]

It's funny how none of the other school's admissions offices do that.

[cue response post from LSU]

We like to think that it is a good thing to keep current and potential applicants as well informed as possible. One could argue that more admissions offices should be trying to make the same efforts. ;-)

 

[Foxhunter]

We like to think that it is a good thing to keep current and potential applicants as well informed as possible. One could argue that more admissions offices should be trying to make the same efforts. ;-)

ooooh... winky face from lsu... what's next? 😍

 

[karmapple]

I would die without lecture capture.

Maybe that explains why I feel like I've been dying the last two and a half years! I would give my left kidney for this. But considering that OSU just stopped considering missing lecture as an "honor code violation," I doubt it will happen.