Slim Elective Options...is this normal?

[LoveMyHotDog]

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I'm a student at OSU and they recently gave us our elective options for next year. As a future small animal vet, I'm really disappointed in my options. There are only a few that are directly related to my area of interest and they all have VERY limited enrollment. Example: Canine Surgical Anatomy, 12 students.

Each class has 160 students, most of whom are interested in small animals, so I'm assuming my chances of getting into these electives are slim to none.

Just wondering if this is true at all schools and if so, how do you cope?!? Ugh...frustrated.

 

[Jamr0ckin]

Are you a first year?

I know at UTK, our first semester of elective choices are slim and the good ones have a small enrollment like 12-15. , I've heard that when we pick electives for third year,.we have soooo many choices.

Be patient, you'll get some cool ones. 🙂

 

[JaynaAli]

I know at my school the ones that are really hands on typically only take a few students, but they choose based on participation and background. If you want in equine orthopedics, you better be a member of the equine clubs, have equine experience, spend a lot of time in the equine clinic, etc so that the really dedicated and involved people get them. So if you know you want in a restricted class, you plan for it and work to get it. There are other electives that are good but maybe aren't as fun and sometimes you have to take those instead and just suck it up.

 

[that redhead]

At AVC we have two "small animal" electives - exotics and lab animal. The rest are all large animal.

Part of vet school is learning about stuff that doesn't necessarily interest you, unfortunately. Rest assured that you will still learn about the important stuff when rotations roll around. Until then, keep up your involvement in clubs and their wet labs.

 

[NStarz]

Which OSU are you referring to?

At Ohio State, the elective choices are super limited first year. They expand a bit more second year (as you go through more systems classes and have more knowledge). Third year, the elective choices are overwhelmingly awesome; that's where most of the small animal electives are. Unfortunately, some of the cooler classes in the earlier years are very limited enrollment because of their hands-on nature (which is unfortunate). I'm just super happy that we have any elective offerings at all; I know some schools don't have any electives until the clinical year. And I can't wait until third year, second semester when there are more electives than I know what to do with 😛

 

[jmo1012]

we dont really do electives at SGU. there are a few parasitology and other random ones offered occasionally, but other than that we have none. in 6th term we are required to take 2 selective classes that are limited enrollment. honestly, as much fun as it might have been to take some of the really cool elective classes i've heard about at other schools, i dont think it has harmed my education in any way, and i definitely appreciate the more regular schedule that we keep because of it. this term the class schedules are a little wonky because of selectives and it kind of gets on my nerves from time to time haha.

 

[equineconstant]

The options for first year electives at LSU are pretty good. One of the most hands-on electives, skin, didn't even have an enrollment limit (and wound up with like 60 people in it). AFAIK we don't have electives third year though, probably because we start clinics halfway through third year.