Please help! I’ve been accepted to both Purdue and Illinois. Illinois is my IS and I’d be paying roughly $31,000 vs. OOS $44,000 at Purdue. I really loved Purdue and the campus, everyone was so welcoming and having a class size of only 84, it really seemed like they all helped each other out. I did not get those vibes at Illinois at all and felt like the interview day was pretty unorganized/they didn’t put much thought into it or the students. However, my goal is zoological medicine and Purdue doesn’t seem to other any electives in that field vs. Illinois does and Illinois has a wildlife clinic as well. Any thoughts would be very helpful!
Purdue vs. Illinois
- Thread starter ZeusDVM13
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 70,580
- Reaction score
- 115,938
Seems like with Illinois having more available in the area you're interested in, plus significantly cheaper tuition (over $40k total plus interest if you're taking out loans), that would be the better choice.
@batsenecal @SportPonies @SkiOtter for more info about Illinois. I don't know any current students at Purdue off the top of my head.
@batsenecal @SportPonies @SkiOtter for more info about Illinois. I don't know any current students at Purdue off the top of my head.
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2017
- Messages
- 9,619
- Reaction score
- 16,463
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 70,580
- Reaction score
- 115,938
Oh goodHi mom
Zeus actually has PM’d me about housing hahaha. So I’ll answer this there.
I'm interested to see how these individual x vs y threads work out. I feel like we're going to end up answering the same questions over and over and over again lol
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 18,984
- Reaction score
- 29,046
@cheathac though i don't know how active she is?
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2015
- Messages
- 1,168
- Reaction score
- 1,278
Yes I'm pretty active still! I am a current second year at Purdue and I really enjoy it. It's a great school, the small class size is nice and due to that we get pretty good hands on opportunities. I also like how we can track second semester third year. Vet school is stressful for sure but I'm pretty happy at Purdue for the most part. That being said, I would still encourage you to go to the cheapest school. This was my number one when selecting where to apply. In the end you will still become a DVM and through networking and such can do what you want to do. I myself want to become a lab animal vet and Purdue is kinda lacking on that side. With that being said, I have still made connections, I have shadowed the lab animal vets, started a lab animal club, and have an internship this summer with a global pharma company. One of my good friends is into zoo med and has been able to get internships and shadow at places. We also have pretty good study abroad with exotics and a strong exotics club that goes to symposiums and has a variety of speakers. However, Illinois is known for zoo med so you would probably get some more opportunities at the school itself for exotics. So with that being said I would strongly look at your finances and choose the one that is cheaper.
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 18,984
- Reaction score
- 29,046
I couldn't remember when I last saw you around
I think it's because you have your dog as your profile picture now and I'm still not used to it
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2015
- Messages
- 1,168
- Reaction score
- 1,278
I couldn't remember when I last saw you around
I think it's because you have your dog as your profile picture now and I'm still not used to it
Yep! I think I like her better than my Purdue continuum one!
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2012
- Messages
- 14,629
- Reaction score
- 19,555
Good practice for clients.Oh good
And people ask them in the other threads all the time and you have to do the same over there, so at least this way, it is easier to do a quick search once enough have been filled out.
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 18,984
- Reaction score
- 29,046
Lol lupins got jokes
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2012
- Messages
- 14,629
- Reaction score
- 19,555
just gotta see the name of the school in the title. Search done!! I wasn't thinking about the actual search function. haha
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
- 6,625
- Reaction score
- 12,574
Hey @ZeusDVM13 ! I quoted what seemed to be the most important aspects to you and will answer them individually below!
So, I feel like my class specifically at Illinois does this well. I had a family emergency happen in September and I was gone from the 13 through the 30, and then I was pretty emotionally compromised up until about December (and some still on and off, really). I missed our first quarter midterm during that time. My class did not know why I was gone until the 19th or so. That very first day I was gone, people messaged me to make sure I knew I was missing participation points in class. Then once they realized why I was gone, I got messages/emails checking in on me from an easy couple dozen people. Likewise, people took the time out of their studying for midterms and emailed me their study guides cause they knew I wasn't studying and would be taking it ~2 weeks late (and with only 2 weeks before the final). My classmates are still checking in on me periodically and have stepped in on multiple occasions when I must of looked terrible. lol.
As far as staff goes, I have also been shown an amazing amount of compassion over the last almost six months. When my dad came to get me, I emailed the counselor at ~6:30 pm to tell her I was leaving for an unknown period of time. She emailed me back at about 7 pm to tell me that I definitely should go and if she had permission to start working with the faculty on what I would be missing, mainly the fact I'd definitely would be missing the midterm. She and our 2nd year faculty coordinator worked together for the first several days until I had a time line. Then when I realized I would be gone for 2ish weeks, I offered to fly back to Chicago and down to Champaign to take my midterm. The faculty coordinator legit told me that was way too much of an expectation of me and I would be taking it late when I got back, no problem.
The counselor hooked me up with a therapist that takes school insurance off campus (which I asked for). I took the midterm the week I got back (did terrible, but not nearly as bad as expected), the counselor and I made a plan of attack. I was offered a mental health deferral, to which I declined as I have already repeated first year, so I didn't want to be in vet school for another "extra" year. I missed the entirety of an elective, so ASA helped me to get it changed to a W on my transcript with a note of why it was a W, in case I ever apply somewhere for internship or residency that cares. Many faculty and staff have since checked in on me multiple times a piece when seeing me in class/the hallways.
I ended up beating my goal for the quarter, and improved further during 4th quarter. My final last quarter is actually the best test I have ever had in vet school, and part of it was due to the support I received.
I can totally see how interview day can give you the impression of disorganization. From my perspective, it is a day of organized chaos because I'm heavily involved in the day as a whole. lol. However, I can definitely say we get a lot of support if we reach out for it. Remember, interview day is a day where we 1) still have classes and services going on and 2) have an additional 600 people on campus because we interview everyone in one day. So it's just craziness. lol.
Illinois definitely also does this strongly. I'll touch on the WMC below, but our Wildlife and Exotics Animal Medicine and Surgery (WEAMS) service is spot on, with two boarded faculty heading it, an amazingly knowledgeable technician, and great residents. We have a pretty decent case service, and we work with two zoos and one aquarium regularly, as well as several wildlife rehab services in the area. Students are strongly welcomed to hang out on the service. We also have a strong residency program (so way into the future), that includes a year at the zoo, a year here, and a year at the aquarium (not necessarily in that order, though). I know at least 2 people who aim to do wildlife/zoo/exotics medicine who matched to their top internships this year. We have a ton of research opportunities through the department and the Epi Zoo lab headed by Dr. Allendar.
Straight up my favorite part of vet school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I live for the clinic. Our third years are going into clinics here in 2.5 weeks, so I'm going to step up and be a pseudo-team leader starting March 22ish. I have every intention of being a team leader next year. We get to make nearly every decision for our patients up to surgery, and then the clinicians have to approve because its, well, surgery. lol. But it's a great experience. Since we don't have mandatory attendance, I spend a ton of time in the clinic for pager triage and extra procedures we do. It's the best decision I've ever made in vet school and it's definitely made me want to work harder to possibly consider zoo med or wildlife in the future (even if it's on a volunteer basis).
Let me know if you have any other questions!!
So, I feel like my class specifically at Illinois does this well. I had a family emergency happen in September and I was gone from the 13 through the 30, and then I was pretty emotionally compromised up until about December (and some still on and off, really). I missed our first quarter midterm during that time. My class did not know why I was gone until the 19th or so. That very first day I was gone, people messaged me to make sure I knew I was missing participation points in class. Then once they realized why I was gone, I got messages/emails checking in on me from an easy couple dozen people. Likewise, people took the time out of their studying for midterms and emailed me their study guides cause they knew I wasn't studying and would be taking it ~2 weeks late (and with only 2 weeks before the final). My classmates are still checking in on me periodically and have stepped in on multiple occasions when I must of looked terrible. lol.
As far as staff goes, I have also been shown an amazing amount of compassion over the last almost six months. When my dad came to get me, I emailed the counselor at ~6:30 pm to tell her I was leaving for an unknown period of time. She emailed me back at about 7 pm to tell me that I definitely should go and if she had permission to start working with the faculty on what I would be missing, mainly the fact I'd definitely would be missing the midterm. She and our 2nd year faculty coordinator worked together for the first several days until I had a time line. Then when I realized I would be gone for 2ish weeks, I offered to fly back to Chicago and down to Champaign to take my midterm. The faculty coordinator legit told me that was way too much of an expectation of me and I would be taking it late when I got back, no problem.
The counselor hooked me up with a therapist that takes school insurance off campus (which I asked for). I took the midterm the week I got back (did terrible, but not nearly as bad as expected), the counselor and I made a plan of attack. I was offered a mental health deferral, to which I declined as I have already repeated first year, so I didn't want to be in vet school for another "extra" year. I missed the entirety of an elective, so ASA helped me to get it changed to a W on my transcript with a note of why it was a W, in case I ever apply somewhere for internship or residency that cares. Many faculty and staff have since checked in on me multiple times a piece when seeing me in class/the hallways.
I ended up beating my goal for the quarter, and improved further during 4th quarter. My final last quarter is actually the best test I have ever had in vet school, and part of it was due to the support I received.
I can totally see how interview day can give you the impression of disorganization. From my perspective, it is a day of organized chaos because I'm heavily involved in the day as a whole. lol. However, I can definitely say we get a lot of support if we reach out for it. Remember, interview day is a day where we 1) still have classes and services going on and 2) have an additional 600 people on campus because we interview everyone in one day. So it's just craziness. lol.
Illinois definitely also does this strongly. I'll touch on the WMC below, but our Wildlife and Exotics Animal Medicine and Surgery (WEAMS) service is spot on, with two boarded faculty heading it, an amazingly knowledgeable technician, and great residents. We have a pretty decent case service, and we work with two zoos and one aquarium regularly, as well as several wildlife rehab services in the area. Students are strongly welcomed to hang out on the service. We also have a strong residency program (so way into the future), that includes a year at the zoo, a year here, and a year at the aquarium (not necessarily in that order, though). I know at least 2 people who aim to do wildlife/zoo/exotics medicine who matched to their top internships this year. We have a ton of research opportunities through the department and the Epi Zoo lab headed by Dr. Allendar.
Straight up my favorite part of vet school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I live for the clinic. Our third years are going into clinics here in 2.5 weeks, so I'm going to step up and be a pseudo-team leader starting March 22ish. I have every intention of being a team leader next year. We get to make nearly every decision for our patients up to surgery, and then the clinicians have to approve because its, well, surgery. lol. But it's a great experience. Since we don't have mandatory attendance, I spend a ton of time in the clinic for pager triage and extra procedures we do. It's the best decision I've ever made in vet school and it's definitely made me want to work harder to possibly consider zoo med or wildlife in the future (even if it's on a volunteer basis).
Let me know if you have any other questions!!
@cheathac wow that’s awesome. Thank you for sharing. I’m really struggling, but the money does make sense to me. I’m just trying to wait till I get both financial aid letters and really break down the costs. Is it possible for you to connect me to your friend in zoo med? I would love to pick his/her brain. You can privately DM too if that helps. Thanks again for your insight!
@batsenecal WOW! Can’t give enough thanks for all that info! I really appreciate it. It sounds like you went through a really tough time and I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you’re doing better and things have gotten a little easier for you. But seriously props! School is hard enough without having extra things pop up. Thank you again for all your thoughts and sharing your experiences. It’s extremely helpful. Do you mind if I message you for a few additional questions?
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 70,580
- Reaction score
- 115,938
Just had to say...he is one of my idols
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
- 6,625
- Reaction score
- 12,574
Just had to say...he is one of my idols
I can see why. He's middle of the road for me, to be honest. He did move up a couple notches though on Monday when we did an ethics panel with profs, including him.
It's weird to personally know someone who is someone else's idol.
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 70,580
- Reaction score
- 115,938
I've just seen him speak at a couple conferences. One of those people who is living a version of the life I want to live one day lol
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
- 6,625
- Reaction score
- 12,574
Message away!
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
- 6,625
- Reaction score
- 12,574
Not wrong though! Taught me thoracic and GI anatomy!
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 18,984
- Reaction score
- 29,046
Kinda sad we don’t have him for it
