Purdue vs tOSU (Equine/Large Animal Interest)

[Bean Boots]

I've been lucky to have been accepted to a handful of schools this cycle (Purdue, tOSU, and Tufts) and I'm having difficulty narrowing down where I'd like to attend. I do not have an IS school, I'm OOS everywhere. My primary interest currently is equine/large animal medicine, so I'd really like any input regarding that if possible.

My top 2 schools currently are Purdue and tOSU. Relatively similar w/regards to cost of attendance (though I haven't received any official financial aid offers yet) and similar distance from my immediate family (both are rather far, a plane ride rather than a drive).
tOSU
Pros:
- 2 years didactic/1 year of primarily labs/1 year of clinicals structure (I also heard they moved to P/F? Not sure if that's correct though)
- Seemed to have a strong commitment to large animal and equine surgery + field service (and good case load)
- Emphasis on spectrum of care
Cons:
- I've not had the easiest time finding information from their website regarding certain aspects of the school (like a sample class schedule), but that might just be me being unable to use their website haha
- I haven't had the chance to visit their campus and depending on when their admitted student day is I may not be able to, so I don't have a feel for what the campus and surrounding area are like

Purdue
Pros:
- Had a really great interview day experience (of course, this was the only school I visited in person so that might be swaying my opinion), seemed like there was a good community of staff/faculty and students
- Again, seemed to have a strong commitment to large animal/equine surgery + field service
Cons:
- 3 years didactic/1 year clinicals
- I've heard that 4th year/clinicals can be particularly grueling, but I'm sure that's the case anywhere

Unfortunately, despite being the closest school to my immediate family, Tufts is rather expensive compared to the other programs. I've also heard that their large animal and equine opportunities are lacking.

Any thoughts/opinions/experiences with any of these schools would be much appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Stogs]

I was also accepted to tOSU and Tufts and am Equine focused! I’ve narrowed my choice to between tOSU and Penn based on cost, location, and equine opportunities. I also have found it hard to find information on tOSU which I am hoping accepted students day will fill some gaps. tOSU is my cheapest option but I’m unsure about committing since I feel like I know so little about the school and the equine program. I didn’t know that 3rd year was primarily labs- wish clinics started sooner. If you need a buddy to agonize over the decision with feel free to reach out lol

 

[battie]

Are Ohio State and Purdue still comparable cost wise when you factor in that you change residency after first year?

Clinical year sucks everywhere. Purdue is getting special recognition due to students being extremely vocal online. A similar situation happened at Iowa recently where students went to the university newspaper.

Equine will have the lowest case load no matter where you go with maybe some very few exceptions. But with Ohio being in the Midwest, you may get some higher case load there. Keep in mind that Purdue is not far from Ohio, so the demographics of the clients is going to be similar enough.