Purdue vs. Florida

[mgp11001]

So I have been lucky enough to have gotten into both of these schools and everyday keep switching back and forth between the two schools! I am interested in Equine and I know both schools have great programs! In addition both schools are essentially the same cost (I am OOS at both) and in addition both schools seem to have similar housing prices (Florida may be slightly higher).

What I love about Purdue is the fact that they use PBL while it seems as though Florida has a more lecture based curriculum. Both schools do track so I was wondering to what extent you are able to individualize your track? In addition Purdue seems to have a large amount of hands on activity built into the curriculum where I am not sure as to whether or not Florida has the same amount so I would love some input on this. What I like about Florida is its diversity. I know for sure that I do not want to do food medicine but I have also always been interested in zoo medicine/ wildlife and I know Florida has that option where Purdue does not (from my understanding).

Some other things I would like to learn about either school include testing format (how often you are tested) and also how the semester is set up. Online Florida has a great schedule breakdown that shows that the classes are broken down by system so I would like to know about what a typical schedule is like at Purdue. Also I would love to learn about when surgical skills come into play at both schools.

I have already read through the Pro con list that has been created in the past but I was hoping I could get some input from current students just about some of these topics!

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[jmo1012]

Florida = no snow = minimal winter. Theres no contest for me

Sorry that's probably not helpful. You will get a good education at both schools. You will become a good vet from either school if you put the work into it. I've never understood the agonising, but I didn't have options (sort of).

 

[pinkpuppy9]

So I have been lucky enough to have gotten into both of these schools and everyday keep switching back and forth between the two schools! I am interested in Equine and I know both schools have great programs! In addition both schools are essentially the same cost (I am OOS at both) and in addition both schools seem to have similar housing prices (Florida may be slightly higher).

What I love about Purdue is the fact that they use PBL while it seems as though Florida has a more lecture based curriculum. Both schools do track so I was wondering to what extent you are able to individualize your track? In addition Purdue seems to have a large amount of hands on activity built into the curriculum where I am not sure as to whether or not Florida has the same amount so I would love some input on this. What I like about Florida is its diversity. I know for sure that I do not want to do food medicine but I have also always been interested in zoo medicine/ wildlife and I know Florida has that option where Purdue does not (from my understanding).

Some other things I would like to learn about either school include testing format (how often you are tested) and also how the semester is set up. Online Florida has a great schedule breakdown that shows that the classes are broken down by system so I would like to know about what a typical schedule is like at Purdue. Also I would love to learn about when surgical skills come into play at both schools.

I have already read through the Pro con list that has been created in the past but I was hoping I could get some input from current students just about some of these topics!

Florida fixes OOS tuition at your first year rate. I don't know how much Purdue would cost, but if it ends up being significant, that is a huge bonus IMO. Florida has one of the more popular zoo/wildlife programs, so that may benefit you (and the rest of your class who is there for the same reason, lol). Florida also has their brand new clinical skills center. Can't speak for Purdue on anything.

 

[Jota93]

Is class size something you worry about? I have a friend who chose Purdue due to the small class size. Idk if that's something that might be a make-or-break for you.

 

[Gwenevre]

A superficial benefit I see for FL is that Gainesville is so close to Ocala, a pretty huge equine-centric area. Purdue and Indiana is much more food-animal centric.

 

[CeiKay]

Following this thread just to hear more about UF as well !
I know absolutely nothing about Purdue, but I am also interested in Equine and that is one reason I am seriously considering Florida! What I know about UF is that they are in one of the most popular horse states in the country, and I have heard students get good hands-on experience from the first year (not exactly sure if that is equine experience at all - just what I have heard through the grapevine). A huge draw for me is the new clinical skills lab which I plan to take full advantage of if I choose UF. I have to say, even though the summers will be hotter and more humid than I like, I am drawn to the warmth Florida will have in it's winters - but again this may not be your preference!
Like you said, Florida does have the wildlife/aquatics side which I think is really exciting!
https://vetmed-education.sites.medinfo.ufl.edu/files/2016/01/Student-Handbook-012916.pdf <-- that is the link to Florida's student handbook and if you go down to page 12 you can get a pretty in depth description of the curriculum and how flexible it is.
Hope that helps even a little bit - and hey maybe we will end up classmates!

 

[Cyndia]

I'm out of state at Florida, and I love it here! I've had quite a bit of hands on experience already, some in class, but primarily through wet labs/extracurricular stuff like Operation Catnip. I did my first cat neuters first semester of second year (through the shelter med club), though there were several first years participating as well, and I just completed my first spay today (through surgery class, which we started several weeks ago). We have a surgery club that does quite a lot of wet labs, I know they recently had an enucleation lab and also a forelimb removal lab. They also do on call shifts where you sign up for a day or overnight and can go in and observe anything coming in then. We also have SCAEEP, the equine club, and they do quite a lot, it's a pretty popular club. They have colic team which is similar to surgery on call, where you sign up for a night shift and you're allowed to go in and help with treatments in the evening, and then get called in for any cases that come in. I'm unfortunately not a horse/large animal person myself, so I can't tell you a lot, but I know we have gotten quite a few opportunities for hands on stuff. Having Ocala nearby is a huge perk, some of my classmates have gone down there to do things with the vets, we get occasional emails asking for help.

As for tracking, we don't have to track till third year. One of the biggest draws about florida for me, was the fact that we start clinics in the May after second year. We return to the class for two semesters, then spend the last semester on clinics again. I've heard it really makes things click, and the third years seem to have grown so much after their time on clinics. Anyways, so we technically select a track which gives us certain minimum requirements in classes and clinics. We are also required to take some classes in both areas, but then we can choose whatever electives we want. I think its a decent amount of flexibility, though I havent had to set up my third year class schedule yet.

For testing, definitely check out the schedules online. First year isnt bad and we had fewer exams, second year has had a lot more, but you get used to it (I actually prefer it because i find the subjects more interesting). And third/fourth year classes are an easier load, its nice since you wont't be on clinics while you're studying for the NAVLE. We take our exams in the vet school on our ipads/laptops using Examsoft. It's easy to use and soooo convenient since we no longer have to trek over to the testing center. Also has some neat extra functions like crossing out answers which I love.

Aside from that, we do have some cool stuff like zoo med and operation catnip, which is a great way to get spay/neuter experience. The facilities are great too, our clin skills lab is brand new, and the small animal hospital is still fairly new and beautiful. And the weather is amazing!! Coming from growing up in Minnesota and undergrad in upstate New York, I can't get enough of it. It is a little too hot for me in summertime, but thanks to the beauty of air conditioning, it hasn't been an issue. There's a lot of fun outdoors stuff to do here, and we have a fairly active team vetmed which does a lot of fitness activities like runs and bike rides and stadium workouts. Also I've found the rent to be really reasonable. If you want to be right next to the school it'll be more expensive, but a lot of vet students live south of campus and its much cheaper if you're okay with living a 5-10 minute drive away. Also, if it matters to you, almost all of our lectures are recorded, and attendance is not mandated (other than in one class where we didnt have an exam so it was attendance based grades, and labs).

I'm sure I'm forgetting things, so feel free to ask more questions and I'll try to answer them.

 

[mgp11001]

I'm out of state at Florida, and I love it here! I've had quite a bit of hands on experience already, some in class, but primarily through wet labs/extracurricular stuff like Operation Catnip. I did my first cat neuters first semester of second year (through the shelter med club), though there were several first years participating as well, and I just completed my first spay today (through surgery class, which we started several weeks ago). We have a surgery club that does quite a lot of wet labs, I know they recently had an enucleation lab and also a forelimb removal lab. They also do on call shifts where you sign up for a day or overnight and can go in and observe anything coming in then. We also have SCAEEP, the equine club, and they do quite a lot, it's a pretty popular club. They have colic team which is similar to surgery on call, where you sign up for a night shift and you're allowed to go in and help with treatments in the evening, and then get called in for any cases that come in. I'm unfortunately not a horse/large animal person myself, so I can't tell you a lot, but I know we have gotten quite a few opportunities for hands on stuff. Having Ocala nearby is a huge perk, some of my classmates have gone down there to do things with the vets, we get occasional emails asking for help.

As for tracking, we don't have to track till third year. One of the biggest draws about florida for me, was the fact that we start clinics in the May after second year. We return to the class for two semesters, then spend the last semester on clinics again. I've heard it really makes things click, and the third years seem to have grown so much after their time on clinics. Anyways, so we technically select a track which gives us certain minimum requirements in classes and clinics. We are also required to take some classes in both areas, but then we can choose whatever electives we want. I think its a decent amount of flexibility, though I havent had to set up my third year class schedule yet.

For testing, definitely check out the schedules online. First year isnt bad and we had fewer exams, second year has had a lot more, but you get used to it (I actually prefer it because i find the subjects more interesting). And third/fourth year classes are an easier load, its nice since you wont't be on clinics while you're studying for the NAVLE. We take our exams in the vet school on our ipads/laptops using Examsoft. It's easy to use and soooo convenient since we no longer have to trek over to the testing center. Also has some neat extra functions like crossing out answers which I love.

Aside from that, we do have some cool stuff like zoo med and operation catnip, which is a great way to get spay/neuter experience. The facilities are great too, our clin skills lab is brand new, and the small animal hospital is still fairly new and beautiful. And the weather is amazing!! Coming from growing up in Minnesota and undergrad in upstate New York, I can't get enough of it. It is a little too hot for me in summertime, but thanks to the beauty of air conditioning, it hasn't been an issue. There's a lot of fun outdoors stuff to do here, and we have a fairly active team vetmed which does a lot of fitness activities like runs and bike rides and stadium workouts. Also I've found the rent to be really reasonable. If you want to be right next to the school it'll be more expensive, but a lot of vet students live south of campus and its much cheaper if you're okay with living a 5-10 minute drive away. Also, if it matters to you, almost all of our lectures are recorded, and attendance is not mandated (other than in one class where we didnt have an exam so it was attendance based grades, and labs).

I'm sure I'm forgetting things, so feel free to ask more questions and I'll try to answer them.

Does Florida use problem based learning or is it generally more lecture based?

 

[Cyndia]

Does Florida use problem based learning or is it generally more lecture based?

Mainly lecture based. I prefer it personally, my masters had a lot of pbl and it didnt suit me lol.

 

[last_rnd]

Purdue actually has little for food animal as well. My tour said the large animal hospital was maybe less than 10% food animal (and those were mostly small ruminants). I thought that was interesting for an agricultural state. Most of the cases are equine. I would think there will be more variety of the type of horses in Florida as opposed to Purdue though since most people winter over in Florida. (Stb, tb, Hunter/jumper, dressage, park) Snowbirds are the people with money to spend on procedures. Not that there isn't people with money showing up at Purdue but I think there would be considerably better quality horses in Florida.
To me experience observing actual cases rather than pretend ones on paper have more value. But that's my opinion
I also have to choose schools. It's good to have options but tough to know which way to go.

 

[Lab Vet]

Just so folks understand....PBL does not equal 'hands-on' or 'real' cases.

PBL is the approach to teaching...problem-based learning. Veterinary school will teach you a structured method to go about working up a case. In your early years (at least at my school), you won't be putting your hands on real animals during the PBL process. You won't even be looking at them (unless they're featured in a photo as an aside). Rather, your facilitator will provide you with data in the form of clin path/necropsy results and PE findings (or whatever other details facilitators find relevant to solving the problem). Looking at an animal when you have no idea how to go about interpreting the data isn't helpful- it doesn't do anything for you in terms of teaching you how to interpret hematology, chemistry, or sensitivity data. There are other opportunities to gain hands-on experience during your pre-clinical years, but PBL (at least at NCSU) is not it. PBL is all about data and process.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Purdue actually has little for food animal as well. My tour said the large animal hospital was maybe less than 10% food animal (and those were mostly small ruminants). I thought that was interesting for an agricultural state. Most of the cases are equine. I would think there will be more variety of the type of horses in Florida as opposed to Purdue though since most people winter over in Florida. (Stb, tb, Hunter/jumper, dressage, park) Snowbirds are the people with money to spend on procedures. Not that there isn't people with money showing up at Purdue but I think there would be considerably better quality horses in Florida.
To me experience observing actual cases rather than pretend ones on paper have more value. But that's my opinion
I also have to choose schools. It's good to have options but tough to know which way to go.

Just to clarify, there are more equine opportunities because of Ocala...not because of snowbirds. The people with money are the breeders, racehorse owners, etc. IMO, food animal isn't always that hoppin' in a lot of schools. Teaching hospitals either see the really complex cases or the emergencies it seems. I've been told that food animal appointments are very much seasonal as well, and depend on what the problem is (and if the profit from the animal outweighs the cost). My school also does 24/7 field service for food animal (and I think equine?), so that makes a difference.

I attend a school where first and second years have clinical rotations for 8 weeks each year. Yes, observing cases is great, but until you can actually get your hands-on stuff, you can only take it so far. It's kind of like watching 1000 blood draws as a shadow, but finally getting to do one yourself and still missing the vein. You think you're sufficiently prepped, but you're not. Yes, I think my rotations are great. No, they are not the level/intensity that they will be as a fourth year. You can't assume being able to stare at a patient for 2 hours will prep you, because it won't do that. You don't have the textbook foundation for 99% of what you'd be watching as a first year.

 

[Shepherd Lover]

Purdue has quite a bit of horses in the teaching hospital and they recently broke ground on a new equine hospital in Shelbyville near a horse track ( https://www.vet.purdue.edu/equine/index.php ). Not sure when that will finish, though. Also there is a popular equine club here and there is a club called Large Animal Emergency Team where 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year students can volunteer to be called in to help when large animal emergencies come to the hospital. A month into my first semester I was called in to assist with a colic surgery. We also have horses we work with in husbandry where we learn physical skills by working hands-on with many species (including horses) and do things like physical exam, neurological exam, ect.


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[last_rnd]

Just to clarify, there are more equine opportunities because of Ocala...not because of snowbirds. The people with money are the breeders, racehorse owners, etc. IMO, food animal isn't always that hoppin' in a lot of schools. Teaching hospitals either see the really complex cases or the emergencies it seems...

What I meant was...I was thinking there is more variety because of the snowbirds.
By "snowbirds" I mean stables that move to Florida for the winter, not grandma & her trail horse (although I guess she counts too) It takes quite a bit of money to move your operation back n forth. The common folk stay north and freeze.
I don't foresee that many different types of horses flocking to northern Indiana like I do south Florida. I would think that's a great advantage to see so many disciplines roll through as the clientele varies in its approach slightly. Whereas I would suspect a pretty steady stream of Standardbreds at Purdue and a park horse to be rare.

Good points on the food animal stuff. I guess I never really considered how self sufficient producers are. It would be much easier to go to them.

 

[cheathac]

I shadowed at Purdue's Large Animal Hospital for a year and I can say it was mostly equine patients that come through. From my experience much of the clientele were trainers bringing in race horses (thoroughbreds), standardbreds, wagon horses (percherons), as well as people with their trail riding horses/show horses. I got to see some cool surgeries like a mule spay. But I can see how Florida would have diverse set of clientele as well. In the end, it's your decision. Purdue is an awesome school but so is Florida. Good luck!

 

[pinkpuppy9]

What I meant was...I was thinking there is more variety because of the snowbirds.
By "snowbirds" I mean stables that move to Florida for the winter, not grandma & her trail horse (although I guess she counts too) It takes quite a bit of money to move your operation back n forth. The common folk stay north and freeze.
I don't foresee that many different types of horses flocking to northern Indiana like I do south Florida. I would think that's a great advantage to see so many disciplines roll through as the clientele varies in its approach slightly. Whereas I would suspect a pretty steady stream of Standardbreds at Purdue and a park horse to be rare.

Good points on the food animal stuff. I guess I never really considered how self sufficient producers are. It would be much easier to go to them.

My point still stands. Ocala is one of the biggest 'horse capitols' in the world. You're gonna get horsey experience all year, not just November-February.

 

[that redhead]

I shadowed at Purdue's Large Animal Hospital for a year and I can say it was mostly equine patients that come through.

Although I haven't worked in every vet school's teaching hospital, I expect this is the case school-wide. People don't generally want to shell out vet-school-level money for cows, pigs or small ruminants. Sure, there are always exceptions (I had an extremely expensive cow in my fourth year, there were a handful of calves and a few small ruminants sprinkled in) but by and large, horses are going to make up the bulk of case loads.

 

[last_rnd]

My point still stands. Ocala is one of the biggest 'horse capitols' in the world. You're gonna get horsey experience all year, not just November-February.

Yes but I didn't say there weren't horses there the rest of the year. Im not disputing that. I'm saying there's a bigger variety than Indiana because of the migration is all.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Yes but I didn't say there weren't horses there the rest of the year. Im not disputing that. I'm saying there's a bigger variety than Indiana because of the migration is all.

lol

 

[ktjc216]

I personally like how UF's lectures are set up. You'll have basic histology, molec cell, and immunology first semester, but then classes are separated into individual systems. So rather than having a general physiology class, you'll have a class that covers the anatomy, physiology, histology, and embryology of a particular system such as renal, ophthalmology, digestion, etc. Each class will also have clinical correlate lectures which will tie in clinical cases to the system you are learning. For example when we covered the forelimb in anatomy we were presented with a case and had to run through the initial observations, diagnosing nerve damage, possible treatment options, and then finally going through a forelimb amputation step by step. First semester is basically general anatomy/physiology of what is "normal" and then second year is what is abnormal, and other clinically relevant subjects that will prepare you for clinics at the end of second year. I really love the fact that UF starts clinics a year early and staggers it between your third a fourth year. So you'll start in May at the end of second year and continue till December of third year. Then you'll be in classes until December of fourth year but you'll have the summer for externships and take your electives at this time. I've only heard good things about being in classes during the fall while studying for the NAVLE. You are already in the studying mindset and don't have to worry about having busy clinical rotations or being on call while you try to study for your boards. Then you'll be on clinics again for your last semester until graduation in May.
Another aspect about the curriculum that I like is the fact that you have the option to complete different specialty certificates at no additional tuition cost (some laboratory based classes will have extra lab fees but its not much). I personally have an interest in exotics/wildlife/aquatics as well as business so I will be applying for the Aquatic animal certificate and business certificate. Other certificates are shelter medicine and food animal medicine and they have been working on the addition of a One Health certificate but I don't when that will be in effect if its in the near future. UF is excellent at providing hands on experiences to first and second year students through all of the different clubs on campus and their associated wetlabs and volunteer programs. I do colic team where you are on call for any large animal emergency that comes through the hospital and are allowed to treatments on current hospital patients during your shift and I volunteer in Zoo med where vet students are allowed to do treatments on the wildlife patients and observe any other treatments being done on wildlife or client owned patients. The amount of wetlabs throughout the year are extensive, I've repelled down the football stadium, participated in a mock horse rescue, and a mock disaster vet field hospital for the public health club. I've done a darting wetlab for the zoo med club and will be doing a fish necropsy wetlab for aquatics. Many of my classmates have been able to do dairy palpations, their first cat neuters, amputation wet lab, enucleation, ultra sound, and learning suturing techniques through different wetlabs. In addition our clinical skills class will teach you basic procedures to prepare you for clinics in both small and large animal using models and real animals. Students then complete one shift a semester in both the large animal hospital and small animal hospital. If you are interested in horses or exotics, UF in my opinion is one of the best schools to be. Because of its location UF has a lot of diversity from zoo/wildlife, equine, small animal, aquatics, lab animal, food animal, pathology and all of the different specialties within each field. I don't feel like I'm limited in my options, I'm actually a little concerned by all of the different specialties because I enjoy each one I'm exposed to so I feel like I'll be the person to change their mind on what they want to be 5 million times

 

[CeiKay]

I personally like how UF's lectures are set up. You'll have basic histology, molec cell, and immunology first semester, but then classes are separated into individual systems. So rather than having a general physiology class, you'll have a class that covers the anatomy, physiology, histology, and embryology of a particular system such as renal, ophthalmology, digestion, etc. Each class will also have clinical correlate lectures which will tie in clinical cases to the system you are learning. For example when we covered the forelimb in anatomy we were presented with a case and had to run through the initial observations, diagnosing nerve damage, possible treatment options, and then finally going through a forelimb amputation step by step. First semester is basically general anatomy/physiology of what is "normal" and then second year is what is abnormal, and other clinically relevant subjects that will prepare you for clinics at the end of second year. I really love the fact that UF starts clinics a year early and staggers it between your third a fourth year. So you'll start in May at the end of second year and continue till December of third year. Then you'll be in classes until December of fourth year but you'll have the summer for externships and take your electives at this time. I've only heard good things about being in classes during the fall while studying for the NAVLE. You are already in the studying mindset and don't have to worry about having busy clinical rotations or being on call while you try to study for your boards. Then you'll be on clinics again for your last semester until graduation in May.
Another aspect about the curriculum that I like is the fact that you have the option to complete different specialty certificates at no additional tuition cost (some laboratory based classes will have extra lab fees but its not much). I personally have an interest in exotics/wildlife/aquatics as well as business so I will be applying for the Aquatic animal certificate and business certificate. Other certificates are shelter medicine and food animal medicine and they have been working on the addition of a One Health certificate but I don't when that will be in effect if its in the near future. UF is excellent at providing hands on experiences to first and second year students through all of the different clubs on campus and their associated wetlabs and volunteer programs. I do colic team where you are on call for any large animal emergency that comes through the hospital and are allowed to treatments on current hospital patients during your shift and I volunteer in Zoo med where vet students are allowed to do treatments on the wildlife patients and observe any other treatments being done on wildlife or client owned patients. The amount of wetlabs throughout the year are extensive, I've repelled down the football stadium, participated in a mock horse rescue, and a mock disaster vet field hospital for the public health club. I've done a darting wetlab for the zoo med club and will be doing a fish necropsy wetlab for aquatics. Many of my classmates have been able to do dairy palpations, their first cat neuters, amputation wet lab, enucleation, ultra sound, and learning suturing techniques through different wetlabs. In addition our clinical skills class will teach you basic procedures to prepare you for clinics in both small and large animal using models and real animals. Students then complete one shift a semester in both the large animal hospital and small animal hospital. If you are interested in horses or exotics, UF in my opinion is one of the best schools to be. Because of its location UF has a lot of diversity from zoo/wildlife, equine, small animal, aquatics, lab animal, food animal, pathology and all of the different specialties within each field. I don't feel like I'm limited in my options, I'm actually a little concerned by all of the different specialties because I enjoy each one I'm exposed to so I feel like I'll be the person to change their mind on what they want to be 5 million times

This post honestly just made me so excited

 

[ktjc216]

This post honestly just made me so excited

I'm glad! I personally was on the fence between UF and Tufts when I was going through the application process. I feel in love with Tufts and it was my top choice when I applied. I was accepted to both and after visiting and getting to know UF's program it made choosing between the two extremely difficult. I ultimately chose UF because of tuition but I don't regret the decision one bit. I am very grateful that I chose UF and absolutely love it here

 

[mgp11001]

I personally like how UF's lectures are set up. You'll have basic histology, molec cell, and immunology first semester, but then classes are separated into individual systems. So rather than having a general physiology class, you'll have a class that covers the anatomy, physiology, histology, and embryology of a particular system such as renal, ophthalmology, digestion, etc. Each class will also have clinical correlate lectures which will tie in clinical cases to the system you are learning. For example when we covered the forelimb in anatomy we were presented with a case and had to run through the initial observations, diagnosing nerve damage, possible treatment options, and then finally going through a forelimb amputation step by step. First semester is basically general anatomy/physiology of what is "normal" and then second year is what is abnormal, and other clinically relevant subjects that will prepare you for clinics at the end of second year. I really love the fact that UF starts clinics a year early and staggers it between your third a fourth year. So you'll start in May at the end of second year and continue till December of third year. Then you'll be in classes until December of fourth year but you'll have the summer for externships and take your electives at this time. I've only heard good things about being in classes during the fall while studying for the NAVLE. You are already in the studying mindset and don't have to worry about having busy clinical rotations or being on call while you try to study for your boards. Then you'll be on clinics again for your last semester until graduation in May.
Another aspect about the curriculum that I like is the fact that you have the option to complete different specialty certificates at no additional tuition cost (some laboratory based classes will have extra lab fees but its not much). I personally have an interest in exotics/wildlife/aquatics as well as business so I will be applying for the Aquatic animal certificate and business certificate. Other certificates are shelter medicine and food animal medicine and they have been working on the addition of a One Health certificate but I don't when that will be in effect if its in the near future. UF is excellent at providing hands on experiences to first and second year students through all of the different clubs on campus and their associated wetlabs and volunteer programs. I do colic team where you are on call for any large animal emergency that comes through the hospital and are allowed to treatments on current hospital patients during your shift and I volunteer in Zoo med where vet students are allowed to do treatments on the wildlife patients and observe any other treatments being done on wildlife or client owned patients. The amount of wetlabs throughout the year are extensive, I've repelled down the football stadium, participated in a mock horse rescue, and a mock disaster vet field hospital for the public health club. I've done a darting wetlab for the zoo med club and will be doing a fish necropsy wetlab for aquatics. Many of my classmates have been able to do dairy palpations, their first cat neuters, amputation wet lab, enucleation, ultra sound, and learning suturing techniques through different wetlabs. In addition our clinical skills class will teach you basic procedures to prepare you for clinics in both small and large animal using models and real animals. Students then complete one shift a semester in both the large animal hospital and small animal hospital. If you are interested in horses or exotics, UF in my opinion is one of the best schools to be. Because of its location UF has a lot of diversity from zoo/wildlife, equine, small animal, aquatics, lab animal, food animal, pathology and all of the different specialties within each field. I don't feel like I'm limited in my options, I'm actually a little concerned by all of the different specialties because I enjoy each one I'm exposed to so I feel like I'll be the person to change their mind on what they want to be 5 million times

This post honestly just made me so excited

That really just helped me as well!!! Thank you for the detailed explanation! I really like the idea of problem based learning (I had tried it at cornells accepted student day and loved it!)

I know more about the curriculum and opportunities at Purdue so that definitely helps me, ultimately I'll be happy wherever I end up but it is still tough to make a choice!