Touring Schools- What to ask/look for

[bluenose]

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I'm not sure if there is a recent thread that discusses things like this but I am trying to make the best decision choosing between veterinary schools. I was hoping to get some advice on what to ask or look for while I am touring schools. I'm afraid I will go all the way out to a school and realize later that I should have asked about some aspect of their program that I will kick myself for later. Plus I get a bit overwhelmed in these situations and get distracted by all of the things they are already showing me and how nice the people are. They will be like oh everything is wonderful here and I will be like oh ok! And totally space out

What do you guys think are important things to ask about to be able to properly compare schools?

Ps. Any current vets or vet students who want to chime in with "what they wished they would have asked or known etc" would be awesome!

 

[Minnerbelle]

Structure of their clinical rotations. How long is it, how many elective weeks do you have? How many weeks of externships can you have?

 

[Coquette22]

Any current vets or vet students who want to chime in with "what they wished they would have asked or known etc" would be awesome!

If you have a student guide, this is a good question to ask them. Other questions: Opportunities in particular areas (ie if you're really into cows, do they have a student AABP club and how active are they?), landlords or particular areas to watch out for, weather year round if you're not from there (oh lord how I wish someone would have told me that PEI gets buried under a snow bank every year...)

 

[pp9]

The tough thing about asking students questions is that you won't always get to hear from those who really are unhappy with their choice of school or the curriculum. Hearing answers from both viewpoints is important to me, but yeah, you won't always get to hear the downside on tours/student panels.

What you asks depends on what you consider valuable. You can ask about the availability of specific rotations, how easy it is to get a job in the hospital, and more. Ask about clubs in the field you're currently interested in, opportunities for hands-on experience before clinics, etc. Sit down and decide what you want out of a school, then ask about it. Not all schools are the same, especially when it comes to narrow interests and exotics.

I also second asking about landlords/parts of town to avoid. Asking what rent seems to be in the area is a good question, too. Two schools with relatively comparable tuition can have significantly different rent costs, and that can be a huge factor for some people.

 

[bluenose]

Structure of their clinical rotations. How long is it, how many elective weeks do you have? How many weeks of externships can you have?

Thanks for the advice! Do you personally feel like the longer it is for both the better?

 

[Sheepforever1]

Ask about aspects of the curriculum that are beyond student control:
Are terminal surgeries performed? Are they mandatory?
What options are offered for tracking?
What type of elective rotations do you get?
What about vacation blocks during 4th year?
Are external rotations mandatory?
What kinds of support services are offered to DVM students (counseling, health insurance, tutoring, mentor programs)?
How much PBL is in the curriculum?
What are the student:cadaver ratios for anatomy?
Do you like the organization of your schedule (blocks/semesters/quarters/etc/)?
Are there good opportunities for jobs/scholarships/grants?
How are exams schedules (dispersed throughout the semester, in blocks)?
Who supplies the animals used to practice techniques - students, the university, a local shelter?
How much communication/cohesion is there among different classes? Are there Big Sib/Little Sib or Peer Mentor programs?
How many people does each class lose each year, on average - and why (if known)?
Where are all of the courses, relative to one another? Are any of the facilities remote? (If you don't have a car or don't plan on driving, this can become a BIG deal)
Does the Teaching Hospital (if there is one) provide discounts on services for students?
Are you given grades? Rankings? Both? Neither?
Does your school foster a competitive, or a collaborative atmosphere?
Are you provided with areas that are reserved for DVM students - lockers, study rooms, etc?
What are the lecture halls like - desk space, power outlets, video recording?
Are there opportunities for social events - not through clubs - that are offered through the school? Running groups, game nights, knitting groups, whatever....
Does the school provide financial advice? If so, in what form? Do you get a talk once or twice a year, is there am financial adviser available, or are you on your own?
What sort of things are in the area to do when or if you have a free weekend - can you get to the beach/mountains/museums/concerts/rodeos/whatever easily, or do you basically have to wait until winter or summer break to get out of town?
Are there good opportunities for people who may not want to pursue traditional clinical practice? Research, public health, etc.
At what point in the curriculum do you get to first put hands on a live animal, and in what context?
Are there opportunities for employment, and does the schedule allow having a job?

These are just things that came to mind as topics that come up either as praise or complaint at my school. So whatever your stance may be on some of these, if it's important to you, you're better off factoring it into your decision to apply, rather than end up there and learn about it the hard way and be unhappy. I love my school, and some of the questions I listed are about aspects of my school that I love. Some of them are about aspects that people complain about, but they could have known if they had looked it up before applying. Obviously if you're with a student recruiter, they may be biased somewhat, but they should be able to answer your questions honestly.

 

[bluenose]

If you have a student guide, this is a good question to ask them. Other questions: Opportunities in particular areas (ie if you're really into cows, do they have a student AABP club and how active are they?), landlords or particular areas to watch out for, weather year round if you're not from there (oh lord how I wish someone would have told me that PEI gets buried under a snow bank every year...)

The tough thing about asking students questions is that you won't always get to hear from those who really are unhappy with their choice of school or the curriculum. Hearing answers from both viewpoints is important to me, but yeah, you won't always get to hear the downside on tours/student panels.

What you asks depends on what you consider valuable. You can ask about the availability of specific rotations, how easy it is to get a job in the hospital, and more. Ask about clubs in the field you're currently interested in, opportunities for hands-on experience before clinics, etc. Sit down and decide what you want out of a school, then ask about it. Not all schools are the same, especially when it comes to narrow interests and exotics.

I also second asking about landlords/parts of town to avoid. Asking what rent seems to be in the area is a good question, too. Two schools with relatively comparable tuition can have significantly different rent costs, and that can be a huge factor for some people.

Thank you both! I now have a written list so I don't forget some of these things because I hadn't thought of some like getting a job in the hospital thats a great one! But I agree its hard because I expect to only hear from very positive students which is nice but I wish I could kind of hear some honest negatives as well! I feel like I won't have a way of really judging the traditional school's differences in curriculum overall unless current or graduated students sort of tell me how they think it flowed together? Unless there are more obvious differences that I just don't really understand

 

[bluenose]

Ask about aspects of the curriculum that are beyond student control:
Are terminal surgeries performed? Are they mandatory?
What options are offered for tracking?
What type of elective rotations do you get?
What about vacation blocks during 4th year?
Are external rotations mandatory?
What kinds of support services are offered to DVM students (counseling, health insurance, tutoring, mentor programs)?
How much PBL is in the curriculum?
What are the student:cadaver ratios for anatomy?
Do you like the organization of your schedule (blocks/semesters/quarters/etc/)?
Are there good opportunities for jobs/scholarships/grants?
How are exams schedules (dispersed throughout the semester, in blocks)?
Who supplies the animals used to practice techniques - students, the university, a local shelter?
How much communication/cohesion is there among different classes? Are there Big Sib/Little Sib or Peer Mentor programs?
How many people does each class lose each year, on average - and why (if known)?
Where are all of the courses, relative to one another? Are any of the facilities remote? (If you don't have a car or don't plan on driving, this can become a BIG deal)
Does the Teaching Hospital (if there is one) provide discounts on services for students?
Are you given grades? Rankings? Both? Neither?
Does your school foster a competitive, or a collaborative atmosphere?
Are you provided with areas that are reserved for DVM students - lockers, study rooms, etc?
What are the lecture halls like - desk space, power outlets, video recording?
Are there opportunities for social events - not through clubs - that are offered through the school? Running groups, game nights, knitting groups, whatever....
Does the school provide financial advice? If so, in what form? Do you get a talk once or twice a year, is there am financial adviser available, or are you on your own?
What sort of things are in the area to do when or if you have a free weekend - can you get to the beach/mountains/museums/concerts/rodeos/whatever easily, or do you basically have to wait until winter or summer break to get out of town?
Are there good opportunities for people who may not want to pursue traditional clinical practice? Research, public health, etc.
At what point in the curriculum do you get to first put hands on a live animal, and in what context?
Are there opportunities for employment, and does the schedule allow having a job?

These are just things that came to mind as topics that come up either as praise or complaint at my school. So whatever your stance may be on some of these, if it's important to you, you're better off factoring it into your decision to apply, rather than end up there and learn about it the hard way and be unhappy. I love my school, and some of the questions I listed are about aspects of my school that I love. Some of them are about aspects that people complain about, but they could have known if they had looked it up before applying. Obviously if you're with a student recruiter, they may be biased somewhat, but they should be able to answer your questions honestly.

Oh my goodness thank you for this amazing list! There are so many great things that you pointed out that I hadn't thought of! Out of curiosity where do you go to school? Also for your external rotations question would you personally consider that a benefit or disadvantage ? I don't think I know enough to have an opinion.

 

[Sheepforever1]

Well and unless your tour guide happened to be a transfer student, no one will have experience being a student in more than one school and curriculum. So go into it with eyes open, and know how your learning style works. Then they can explain how they do things, and you can decide for yourself whether or not their curriculum will work for you.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Well and unless your tour guide happened to be a transfer student, no one will have experience being a student in more than one school and curriculum. So go into it with eyes open, and know how your learning style works. Then they can explain how they do things, and you can decide for yourself whether or not their curriculum will work for you.

That and for many schools, most vet students involved in admissions giving tours are like first and second years who know nothing about their surgical training or clinics or anything of that nature.