To Live with Other Vet Students or Not?!?!?

[Chill1818]

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In the next month or so, I'll be beginning my search for housing/roomates out in Colorado and was wondering what advice current/past students have in regards to the best living situation for vet school.

Obviously I understand it's about personal preference, but I wanted to know if people found it best to room with other vet students or to try and live with people that currently are not in the field. For study purposes it would be great to live with someone going through the same coursework, but then again it might be nice to live with someone that does other things besides vet stuff in order to help keep one grounded and aware that the world does not revolve around vet school. Any thoughts? Stories?

 

[alliecat44]

I think you're absolutely on-target with what you're looking at regarding benefits of either position--except for the biggest benefit to living with a fellow vet student: lifestyle.

It is extremely rare IMHO to find someone outside of vet school who will be as devoted to study time as you are. Lots of people can't understand why a party on a Friday night isn't a good idea (exam on Monday!). One of my friends has a husband in a PhD biochem program and his schedule isn't even as rigorous as ours is...which makes sleep, etc difficult sometimes.

On the other hand, if you are a super-genius and in the top 5% of your class and don't really need to study--or you get 80-100% of your studying done outside of the apartment and can sleep through whatever--then you'd be fine with just about anyone. 🙂

 

[fargeese]

I think if you pick the non-vet school roommate carefully, they would be a better choice than a vet student. School takes up enough of your day, and having a non-vet school roommate gives you a chance to talk to "normal" people ha ha. My first roommate was a PhD student and worked on his dissertation all day so he was quiet, and I am not exactly sure what my current one does all day but he's quiet and is not a vet student so he has something to talk about besides how much that Pharmacology exam sucked, lol.

That being said, there are students here who are in the same class and study together at home too, but even they said that sometimes they will feel guilty if they see the other one studying and they're watching TV because they feel like they should be studying as well, even if they're fine (both of these girls get straight As I think). Still, this is an improvement over loud, partying types.

End motto: choose a quiet non-vet school roommate, IMHO

 

[BlacKAT33]

i asked a lot of current vet students this question during my interview process. For myself, i want to live alone, but i was worried that vet students living together would have an advantage if they study together. Everyone responded that students living together do not benefit more academically, and that even though they live together they never study together lol.

Here is the feedback I have gotten:

Vet students Living together:
pros
- last min Qs about exams (however, not a big deal because most people don't wait until the night before for vet exams)
-an extra person to look after their pets if needed (especially if they require medication or special needs)
-same study schedule/social schedule

cons
-you see vet students ALL day during class...then come home to a vet student
-"drama" (ive heard its similar, if not worse, than high school drama) 😱


For non vet student roomie, you could have similar pros and cons, it just depends. If you meet them ahead of time and honestly talk about what lifestyle you'd like in the apartment i'm sure you'd find someone good. In some locations there will be PhD students, Med students, Law, Dentistry etc etc Altho they wont have the exact same study schedule i feel like all of them would respect you and the quiet study time you need.

I personaly would rather not risk having "drama" in my place first year that can follow me to classes. at least if something goes wrong with a non-vet student you dont have to see them 8 hrs a day in class. and as for the crazy parties...it just doesnt seem like it could be that bad if you stick with older students. I know PhD doesnt have the same academic rigor but ive never met a PhD student whojust parties crazy all the time like and undergrad.

god this is long lol sryyy

my vote is non-vet student, meet/talk with them first. i'm sure they will be honest with you also because if they want to party a lot there is no way they would lie to live with an obsessive studier haha

 

[Willowhand]

-"drama" (ive heard its similar, if not worse, than high school drama) 😱

Oh I hope not...

 

[alliecat44]

I know PhD doesnt have the same academic rigor but ive never met a PhD student whojust parties crazy all the time like and undergrad.
my vote is non-vet student, meet/talk with them first. i'm sure they will be honest with you also because if they want to party a lot there is no way they would lie to live with an obsessive studier haha

Agreed with everything you said and my first choice would be a quiet non-vet student, too (last thing I want to talk about is vet school most of the time--although first year I wanted to talk about it ALL the time since it was so exciting, but it gets old after a while!).

In my friend's PhD hubby's case, it's more like he stays up til 2-4am playing video games--not partying hardcore, but enough to disrupt her sleep (some days he doesn't have to get up). It does depend highly on the individual--and you're right; there have been major drama issues, too.

Good luck to the OP! 🙂

 

[Angelo84]

My vote is another vet student in a class ahead of yours. That way its not someone you have seen all day already and you can ask for help when you are confused.

Note: I am biased as this is what I did and it worked out great!

Also if anyone is coming to Tufts and sees this please PM me!

 

[Chill1818]

Thank you everyone for you input so far, it's definitely given me a few more things to think about. I know I definitely want a roomie since 1) it helps with cost and 2) I'm a bit of a home body and I have found it's really helpful if I have someone around to encourage to get out once in a while. If I could, I think I would love to live with 1 older vet student and 1 non-vet student and get the best of both worlds, haha. Thanks again!!!!

 

[dottoressa]

My vote is another vet student in a class ahead of yours. That way its not someone you have seen all day already and you can ask for help when you are confused.

Note: I am biased as this is what I did and it worked out great!

Also if anyone is coming to Tufts and sees this please PM me!

AND you get to inherit a lot of their textbooks$$$$ 😉

 

[jtom]

I personally prefer to live alone. I find even if I live with classmates who are in the same classes, studying together is not beneficial to me. I just do much better studying alone. Obviously though you have to pay more in rent if you have a one bedroom.

I also would not necessarily say living with other vet students is an advantage studying wise- you can also simply drive over to where they are studying if you want that and then can go home alone and concentrate. I think to me if money is not an issue, you should factor in how you best study.

 

[sumstorm]

A fellow classmate may be moving it, but we don't expect to study together any more than the occasional session now. Both our personalities lend towards studying by ourselves, and the only space we need to share is the kitchen (otherwise she is in the upstairs bedrooms of the house + living room and I am in the downstairs bedrooms + living room), kitchen is on the split level in between. Otherwise, I was looking for a 2014 to move in. There is a lot to be said for shared experience, in my opinion. If I had a serious individual who I knew would keep it quiet, I would have looked outside of school, but since I am 'new' to the area, I didn't want to trust application/interview processes for finding someone who wouldn't drag unanticipated drama into the house.

I never thought I would room with someone from my class, and there are very few people I would actually consider living with from my class; I have a few close friends that are here alot anyways that would be fine, and then some 'say hi' now and again, but not close but share priorities. In this case, the move is good for both of us since we both have spouses and pets and the mix works well. I can't justify the greater debt of not renting out the other half of the house.

 

[Tiktaalik]

My vote is another vet student in a class ahead of yours. That way its not someone you have seen all day already and you can ask for help when you are confused.

Note: I am biased as this is what I did and it worked out great!

This is my plan - I'm moving into the vet fraternity house at UMN w/ 7 upperclassmen/women. Talk about vet student overload.

 

[sunshinevet]

I have lived both with vet students and non-vet students.

My first year, I lived with 4 guys in on-campus accomodation. I was the only girl - they were all atleast 5 years older than me. It was fantastic! I loved being on campus, all the guys were SO CLEAN (far cleaner than any girl ive lived with!) and super quiet - even though it was on campus, 1 was a pharmacist who was doing a PhD at the uni, one was a graduated accounted, and the other two were doing random post-grad stuff. The pharmacist was the most useful person ever to live with in first year - he knew his physiology WAY better than any doctor or vet ive ever met! And I could go out to the kitchen at dinner time, after studying all day, and talk about something that had nothing to do with vet! And I think thats super important!

This year, I actually live in a vet clinic. Sounds weird, not sure they do it in the US, but I live in a flat attached to the clinic and check on the animals before i go to bed in exchange for free rent/bills. They hardly ever have anything critical requiring a lot of care in, and I have a roomie who does every second night. We are definately winning in this situation!
The girl i live with is in my year, and we get along really, really well. We were already good friends - but not too good friends - and we click well as housemates. We do some study together, but mostly, we unwind together. Which is really, really nice. That said - I would not want to live with the majority of people in my year, and I picked living with her really, really carefully.

So theres pros and cons to both. Personally, I think for the sake of your work-life balance, you should live with non-vets. Its WAY too easy to get sucked into making vet school your whole life - and theres no need for it to be!

 

[HandD42]

-"drama" (ive heard its similar, if not worse, than high school drama) 😱

Gah, I've been getting a lot of hints about this too and it is seriously scaring the crap out of me. As an older non trad I shudder thinking about dealing with a ton of cliquey drama.

I think in theory it would be great to room with another vet student as you are on the same schedule but I would hate for it to turn sour😱

 

[alliecat44]

Gah, I've been getting a lot of hints about this too and it is seriously scaring the crap out of me. As an older non trad I shudder thinking about dealing with a ton of cliquey drama.

My personal advice: DO NOT run for class president; keep your head down; keep your mouth shut.

Unfortunately, I didn't do any of those things, and it's really negatively affected my vet school experience.

Ah, well--on to clinics! 🙂

and back to the topic. 🙂

 

[sumstorm]

Worse than HS, in my opinion. And I went to a HS with 94 students in my class at a science and math, we had a lot of drama then, and I swear my fellow students were less spoilt, entitled, and dramatic than what I see in vet school. It isn't everyone...but it only takes a few when you are in such a close environment. And I am very tired of hearing how a single B is crushing someone's aspirations to be a boarded surgeon.

 

[ShelterGirl]

As an older non trad I shudder thinking about dealing with a ton of cliquey drama.

I worried about that too, but you don't have to be a part of the drama if you don't want to. I think it's pretty darn funny most of the time, actually.

 

[Ben and Me]

And I am very tired of hearing how a single B is crushing someone's aspirations to be a boarded surgeon.

I'm very ready for summer break. 🙄

Edited because I was venting. Not very professional. Sorry.

 

[aretoo]

Really, it's super easy to stay out of the drama, so don't worry about that at all, especially if you are a non-trad and don't want to get involved in it. It's generally the same (few) people, and they are generally the people who go to *all* the class events, so you can pick and choose what you get involved in to avoid it.

 

[DVMhopeful]

I suggest living with vet students who are not in your year. They understand your schedule, but you won't have to deal with them 24-7....especially bc vet school seems to evoke a lot of drama

 

[dgm]

<Deleted my comment, as it no longer made sense without the post I was responding to>

 

[Shanomong]

.

 

[BlacKAT33]

deleted because misinterpreted another deleted post lol

 

[Ben and Me]

Ben and Me, dgm, Shanomong-- i missed all of the deleted posts. i guess this means there is a lot of drama where i will be headed. not looking forward to this. everyone seemed so drama free at happy hr!!

No, there isn't.

 

[lyndaelyzoo]

-"drama" (ive heard its similar, if not worse, than high school drama) 😱

OMG, say it ain't so, BlacKAT, after teaching high school for ten years, didn't think I was signing up for another four years! 😀

 

[Shanomong]

.

 

[CookieBear]

This year, between my roommates and I, we are representin' all three years (of classes) and I think it's working out really, really well.

-They get to borrow my textbooks (and, I'm a book hoarder) 😉
-I can ask anatomy questions of the 1st year (and anatomy is fresh on her mind!)
-I can ask pathology questions of the 2nd year (since that's fresh on HER mind!)

And they can ask me stuff, which I can give random, sometimes only half-right answers to!

We're able to keep perspective on what each class is going thru/what tests are which week - and I think that's nice ... and we understand what each of us is going thru, but, we aren't together 24/7 at the same time. It's definitely a nice mix. 👍