Tufts vs UIUC (Both OOS)

[Cream Beans]

Hi!

So I got accepted into Tufts but also got an offer from UIUC, and I'm a bit torn between the two. Picking the cheapest option doesn't seem to be an issue as I received a grant from Tufts that essentially makes going to either school the same price, save for a thousand dollars annually in favor of Tufts.

In terms of what I want to do as a career, I'm very open minded, but I'd like to explore exotics, wildlife, and aquatics as options aside from small and large animal medicine. I'd also like to do some study abroad and engage in international opportunities.

I've been thinking about this a lot, so I'll put down my thoughts here--feel free to correct me on anything!

Tufts Pros:
Allegedly cooler exotics program and a better funded wildlife center
Prominent IVM program--not sure about UIUC's IVM
Newer curriculum in place that integrates everything that we're learning back to back--bit uncertain about this and was wondering if I could get input from V28s about this. Sounds cool though!
Close to Boston and Worcester, which I've heard nice things about as cities

Tufts Cons:
In the middle of nowhere; not sure if I wanna spend 4 years living in the suburbs but might be good for studying with less distractions
Housing is more expensive compared to UIUC
It's a MUCH further drive from my home to Tufts than UIUC, but I don't think this should be a factor since I plan on driving up for the beginnings of the school year and then down when school year ends for both schools

UIUC Pros:
You get to do electives from the get-go unlike Tufts which saves them all at the end of the year--I think this is probably the biggest reason I'm leaning towards UIUC in terms of curriculum, because in my mind I think having access to electives early on means I get to explore my interests and test what I like and don't like as a vet career
Graduate housing (again, not sure if this is a significant factor but it is a thing that exists)
Clinicals happen starting year one
College town, but it's still pretty small and I'll be mingling with people from the other schools as well
Closer to where I live so the drive won't be as long

UIUC Cons:
Colder winters because of wind chill
Quarter system learning and less exams so each one is worth more
Chicago is 2.5 hours away which is further from UIUC than Boston and Worcester are from Tufts
Wildlife center is not as well-run compared to Tufts

Finally, I have some questions that I'd like for people to answer if possible.

I also looked at another thread about UIUC talking about mega courses, and I was wondering what that was and if I could get some more details about them?

Thread 'Cornell vs UPenn vs UMN vs UIUC for public health or shelter med'

Jan 17, 2025

Hello! I am seeking advice on choosing from the above schools. I was blessed with an acceptance from Cornell, and interview offers at UMN, UIUC, and Penn in the next few weeks. Having grown up on the west coast, I don't know too much about these schools besides what I researched briefly during the admissions process. I understand that yearly costs are my biggest deciding factor but I'm seeking OTHER advice/thoughts related to campus curriculum focus, school culture, etc. Mainly:

1. Which would support opportunities in veterinary public health? What are the shelter med programs like at...

• skunker07
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Help Me Decide: Vet School X vs Y

Should I factor diversity as something significant? UIUC is half IS and half OOS whereas Tufts from what I gather is about 30% IS and 70% OOS.
Are groceries cheaper in Illinois?

Thanks to anyone who can help out!

---

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[_rae_]

Hello! I also got accepted to Tufts (as an IS), lived in Massachusetts for three years, and elected to go out of state. Some things to consider:

Rent in MA is atrocious, and housing is scarce. Prepare to have roommates or be willing to spend a minimum of $1800/mo on a one bed. Most places in MA you're responsible for gas/electric/internet/cable, and gas is expensive AF. There was one winter month we paid $272 just in gas. Also, application fees are illegal but broker's fees aren't. Move ins are usually first, last, security, and broker's (a non-refundable fee that goes to the realtor for doing..... nothing?), meaning you need up to four months of rent up front to move in. Traffic is awful, you're going to be at least an hour and a half to two hours from Boston depending on traffic, there is nothing to do in Grafton, and Worcester is going to be equally if not more expensive.

Tufts recently changed their curriculum. You should try to find someone from C/O 2028 who can speak to how their first year went. They also drastically increased their class size last year.

Do not be fooled by MA being a bit further south than Illinois; it's cold. Boston is a harbor city and we definitely got well into the negatives multiple winters while I was there. Snow is a bit less of an issue though.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Boston. The food scene is incredible, the shopping is great, the suburbs and neighborhoods are nice, and I'm a lifelong New Englander and Boston has the perfect "mind your business" attitude. Having said that, green space is hard to find, there is almost zero nightlife, no alcohol sales on Sundays, and I cannot stress how awful traffic is. Happy to offer up my favorite restaurant recs though!

Some pros about Boston and Mass in general because I feel like I've been a bit negative here and I really did love the area:

The Berkshires are incredible in the fall and you'll definitely be a day trip away. You'll be reasonable driving distance from almost anywhere in New England; anywhere on the Cape; Portland/Kittery, ME; Manchester/Portsmouth, NH; Newport/Providence, RI; literally anywhere in VT, and much of southern New York. I highly encourage you to explore the area, especially if you like camping, hiking, and historic small town charm.

Music, theatre, and art scene are great.

Museums and an area incredibly rich in history. Highlights for me were the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Science. Tons of historic areas and houses. Old schooners in the harbor on the regular.

I had some wonderful volunteer opportunities with the New England Aquarium and the Massachusetts Audubon, which might be something to help with your wildlife/exotics interest.

I feel like I'm rambling a bit at this point. If the two schools are genuinely equivocal in cost, I would look hard at the cost of living in MA and decide for yourself if it's worth it, as that would be my biggest factor. If I can answer any other general questions about life in MA, let me know!

 

[mw1356]

Some thoughts as another MA resident going OOS:
1. Tufts is close enough to Worcester that you could live there and commute in if you wanted (~20 minute drive). Like rae said, rent will be terrible in MA no matter where you are. UIUC is definitely more of a college town (or at least that's the vibe I got when I visited back in 2021), and seems to be much cheaper.
2. It's about an hour from Boston on the commuter rail, ~40 minutes driving (without traffic). Definitely easier to get to than Chicago is from UIUC. I've lived in Boston for pretty much my whole life and absolutely love it here, especially the music and food scenes.
3. The Tufts V28 class was very overaccepted, but it seems like they are trying to get back to their regular class size this year (you may have already heard this if you went to the accepted students day).
4. I was told on my Tufts tour that positions in the wildlife clinic can be very competitive/hard to come by.

And some info on Illinois that my mentor vet shared with me: For didactics, students take individual classes but all the professors get together to write 1 midterm and 1 final that encompasses all of the subjects (I think this may be the mega course thing that was mentioned?). Pro is that this style of test really prepares you for the NAVLE, cons are that it can be really stressful with test anxiety and having so few exams to base GPA on can make it harder to be competitive for internships/residencies.

Were I in your situation, I would probably pick Tufts. However, being closer to home/closer to the city would be pretty major factors for me that may not apply to you (or might apply in the opposite direction).

 

[Cream Beans]

Thanks for the answers guys! Lots to consider. I'll probably post a few more questions here before I go to bed tonight.

 

[Cream Beans]

Hello! I also got accepted to Tufts (as an IS), lived in Massachusetts for three years, and elected to go out of state. Some things to consider:

Rent in MA is atrocious, and housing is scarce. Prepare to have roommates or be willing to spend a minimum of $1800/mo on a one bed. Most places in MA you're responsible for gas/electric/internet/cable, and gas is expensive AF. There was one winter month we paid $272 just in gas. Also, application fees are illegal but broker's fees aren't. Move ins are usually first, last, security, and broker's (a non-refundable fee that goes to the realtor for doing..... nothing?), meaning you need up to four months of rent up front to move in. Traffic is awful, you're going to be at least an hour and a half to two hours from Boston depending on traffic, there is nothing to do in Grafton, and Worcester is going to be equally if not more expensive.

Tufts recently changed their curriculum. You should try to find someone from C/O 2028 who can speak to how their first year went. They also drastically increased their class size last year.

Do not be fooled by MA being a bit further south than Illinois; it's cold. Boston is a harbor city and we definitely got well into the negatives multiple winters while I was there. Snow is a bit less of an issue though.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Boston. The food scene is incredible, the shopping is great, the suburbs and neighborhoods are nice, and I'm a lifelong New Englander and Boston has the perfect "mind your business" attitude. Having said that, green space is hard to find, there is almost zero nightlife, no alcohol sales on Sundays, and I cannot stress how awful traffic is. Happy to offer up my favorite restaurant recs though!

Some pros about Boston and Mass in general because I feel like I've been a bit negative here and I really did love the area:

The Berkshires are incredible in the fall and you'll definitely be a day trip away. You'll be reasonable driving distance from almost anywhere in New England; anywhere on the Cape; Portland/Kittery, ME; Manchester/Portsmouth, NH; Newport/Providence, RI; literally anywhere in VT, and much of southern New York. I highly encourage you to explore the area, especially if you like camping, hiking, and historic small town charm.

Music, theatre, and art scene are great.

Museums and an area incredibly rich in history. Highlights for me were the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Science. Tons of historic areas and houses. Old schooners in the harbor on the regular.

I had some wonderful volunteer opportunities with the New England Aquarium and the Massachusetts Audubon, which might be something to help with your wildlife/exotics interest.

I feel like I'm rambling a bit at this point. If the two schools are genuinely equivocal in cost, I would look hard at the cost of living in MA and decide for yourself if it's worth it, as that would be my biggest factor. If I can answer any other general questions about life in MA, let me know!

Hi! Thanks for the comprehensive list of things! I have secured some relatively cheap housing in the area were I to attend and not look back at UIUC, so hopefully that'll pan out well. Seems like location is a big emphasis in your opinion, would you say that Tufts's offerings from its programs aren't worth living in Grafton for 4 years? That's mainly what's keeping me on the fence and not straight towards UIUC--I feel like I'll be missing out on a lot with how reputable and outspoken some of the opportunities at Tufts are i.e. research, wildlife, international, etc

 

[Cream Beans]

Some thoughts as another MA resident going OOS:
1. Tufts is close enough to Worcester that you could live there and commute in if you wanted (~20 minute drive). Like rae said, rent will be terrible in MA no matter where you are. UIUC is definitely more of a college town (or at least that's the vibe I got when I visited back in 2021), and seems to be much cheaper.
2. It's about an hour from Boston on the commuter rail, ~40 minutes driving (without traffic). Definitely easier to get to than Chicago is from UIUC. I've lived in Boston for pretty much my whole life and absolutely love it here, especially the music and food scenes.
3. The Tufts V28 class was very overaccepted, but it seems like they are trying to get back to their regular class size this year (you may have already heard this if you went to the accepted students day).
4. I was told on my Tufts tour that positions in the wildlife clinic can be very competitive/hard to come by.

And some info on Illinois that my mentor vet shared with me: For didactics, students take individual classes but all the professors get together to write 1 midterm and 1 final that encompasses all of the subjects (I think this may be the mega course thing that was mentioned?). Pro is that this style of test really prepares you for the NAVLE, cons are that it can be really stressful with test anxiety and having so few exams to base GPA on can make it harder to be competitive for internships/residencies.

Were I in your situation, I would probably pick Tufts. However, being closer to home/closer to the city would be pretty major factors for me that may not apply to you (or might apply in the opposite direction).

Thanks for the response! I've been to Boston a few times before, it is beautiful haha. I'd probably choose Tufts with much less hesitation if Cummings was in Boston. For what your mentor vet said about UIUC's test structure, could you elaborate on the connection between the test style and the NAVLE? Also the connection between GPA and internships/residencies. Thank you!

 

[mw1356]

For what your mentor vet said about UIUC's test structure, could you elaborate on the connection between the test style and the NAVLE? Also the connection between GPA and internships/residencies. Thank you!

Basically since each test is testing you on everything, it's more similar in structure (and presumably length) to the NAVLE than individual course exams would be. I would bet this also helps you learn to study for the NAVLE because you have to study everything together. The issue with GPA is that, since it's only based on those like 8 exams, doing poorly on one/having one bad day will impact your GPA much more than one poor test grade at a school that does smaller, more frequent exams. While this doesn't really matter if you go straight into practice after graduation, internship programs still take GPA/class rank into consideration for their match process, so if you do end up struggling on one test, that might make it harder to match down the road. I feel like I've seen similar sentiments from the UIUC grads on SDN in some other threads.

 

[Cream Beans]

Basically since each test is testing you on everything, it's more similar in structure (and presumably length) to the NAVLE than individual course exams would be. I would bet this also helps you learn to study for the NAVLE because you have to study everything together. The issue with GPA is that, since it's only based on those like 8 exams, doing poorly on one/having one bad day will impact your GPA much more than one poor test grade at a school that does smaller, more frequent exams. While this doesn't really matter if you go straight into practice after graduation, internship programs still take GPA/class rank into consideration for their match process, so if you do end up struggling on one test, that might make it harder to match down the road. I feel like I've seen similar sentiments from the UIUC grads on SDN in some other threads.

I see, thanks for the clarification. I guess I'll have to take that into consideration.

 

[_rae_]

Hi! Thanks for the comprehensive list of things! I have secured some relatively cheap housing in the area were I to attend and not look back at UIUC, so hopefully that'll pan out well. Seems like location is a big emphasis in your opinion, would you say that Tufts's offerings from its programs aren't worth living in Grafton for 4 years? That's mainly what's keeping me on the fence and not straight towards UIUC--I feel like I'll be missing out on a lot with how reputable and outspoken some of the opportunities at Tufts are i.e. research, wildlife, international, etc

Location definitely mattered to me, but I also was lucky enough to be a bit picky. I didn't want to be miserable while I was in vet school and I wanted the opportunity to travel and see things I haven't before. Ultimately, only you can decide what you can tolerate. My opinion is that anyone can tolerate living anywhere for a short period of time, so if you like what Tufts has to offer and have cheap housing, go there. If I only had gotten into Tufts, I would have sucked it up. Like I said, there was plenty I loved about Boston and plenty that I haven't missed. Have you visited either place yet? I strongly recommend (if you have the time and the finances) to go there in person. I recognize it's a bit privileged to say, but I genuinely feel like visiting all the schools I was accepted to made the choice significantly easier.

 

[pp9]

UIUC Pros:
You get to do electives from the get-go unlike Tufts which saves them all at the end of the year--I think this is probably the biggest reason I'm leaning towards UIUC in terms of curriculum, because in my mind I think having access to electives early on means I get to explore my interests and test what I like and don't like as a vet career
Graduate housing (again, not sure if this is a significant factor but it is a thing that exists)
Clinicals happen starting year one
College town, but it's still pretty small and I'll be mingling with people from the other schools as well
Closer to where I live so the drive won't be as long

UIUC Cons:
Colder winters because of wind chill
Quarter system learning and less exams so each one is worth more
Chicago is 2.5 hours away which is further from UIUC than Boston and Worcester are from Tufts
Wildlife center is not as well-run compared to Tufts

Finally, I have some questions that I'd like for people to answer if possible.

I also looked at another thread about UIUC talking about mega courses, and I was wondering what that was and if I could get some more details about them?

Thread 'Cornell vs UPenn vs UMN vs UIUC for public health or shelter med'

Jan 17, 2025

Hello! I am seeking advice on choosing from the above schools. I was blessed with an acceptance from Cornell, and interview offers at UMN, UIUC, and Penn in the next few weeks. Having grown up on the west coast, I don't know too much about these schools besides what I researched briefly during the admissions process. I understand that yearly costs are my biggest deciding factor but I'm seeking OTHER advice/thoughts related to campus curriculum focus, school culture, etc. Mainly:

1. Which would support opportunities in veterinary public health? What are the shelter med programs like at...

• skunker07
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Help Me Decide: Vet School X vs Y

Should I factor diversity as something significant? UIUC is half IS and half OOS whereas Tufts from what I gather is about 30% IS and 70% OOS.
Are groceries cheaper in Illinois?

I'll comment on UIUC as an alumni. C/o 2019, so not the freshest info.

-UIUC electives were good, but idk if there was enough variety/if they would exposure you to different niches enough to actually help you with career choices.
-Graduate/campus housing is usually suboptimal (regardless of school) for a lot of reasons, don't utilize it.
-Year 1/2 clinics are fun and lecture-free, but in hindsight were not the greatest use of time. You might get some experience, but it's not significant. For the most part you are confused, watching, and helping a fourth year with random stuff.
-Do you have enough experience in either wildlife center to say which one is run better? Tufts' wildlife center is probably more well known, but at least when I was at the UIUC wildlife clinic (and on the board), it was a very busy clinic and was managed pretty well. I guess you'd have to define why UIUC is not as 'well run' and what that means to you, and whether or not it actually matters in the grand scheme of things.
-Does Massachusetts not get cold?
-UIUC is not really a small environment. It's a big 10 university and as college town sizes go, is pretty standard.

The mega courses are basically every subject area being under once course/grade on your transcript. Each quarter = one mega course = one grade. You will graduate with 9 graded courses on your transcript, clinical quarters are pass/fail.

I don't think IS/OOS combination matters at all. I would guess COL is much cheaper in central Illinois compared to Massachusetts, but I haven't ventured out East to have personal experience. Chambana was probably the cheapest place I've ever lived, though.

Paging @battie @SkiOtter

 

[battie]

UIUC Pros:
You get to do electives from the get-go unlike Tufts which saves them all at the end of the year--I think this is probably the biggest reason I'm leaning towards UIUC in terms of curriculum, because in my mind I think having access to electives early on means I get to explore my interests and test what I like and don't like as a vet career
Graduate housing (again, not sure if this is a significant factor but it is a thing that exists)
Clinicals happen starting year one
College town, but it's still pretty small and I'll be mingling with people from the other schools as well
Closer to where I live so the drive won't be as long

1. The electives are cool. I took essentially the max you could physically fit into the schedule. If you fell in *love* with one thing, it might change your course of professional development. But otherwise just cool to do since they were pass fail when I took them.

2. Don't use graduate housing. It's more expensive if I remember correctly.

3. The clinicals were cool in the moment, but a waste of time in hindsight. Would rather schools do two years of didactics and two years of true clinics like Mississippi and Missouri do.

4. It's not small tbh. It's Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy all together. My undergrad town was 5,000 people, 1000 people on campus, and 3square miles, but I'm from and live in Denver. So it's about perspective.

5. Travel does matter. I did a mix of driving and bus/flying. Either caused a long day when trying to get to and from home.

UIUC Cons:
Colder winters because of wind chill
Quarter system learning and less exams so each one is worth more
Chicago is 2.5 hours away which is further from UIUC than Boston and Worcester are from Tufts
Wildlife center is not as well-run compared to Tufts

1. Yeah, winters weren't great. Less snow than CO or NE (where I did undergrad). But cold.

2. The quarter system isn't why there are fewer exams. It's just how the timing happens. I like the quarter system to be honest.

3. Now the mega courses (which is what causes the fewer exams), those were gnarly from the sense of there's not much wiggle room.

4. How much time you spend in a big city really depends on you as a person. I went to Chicago twice in the five years I lived in Illinois. It wasn't because of a 2.5 hour drive. It's because there's really nothing in Chicago that mattered enough for me to go do. If you want to go to a big city, you'll make it happen no matter where you live.

5. That's a big assumption there for the WMC. I thought it was pretty well run tbh. And unlike a lot of other vet school wildlife clinics, there was no gatekeeping. Anyone could join, and the more, the better.

I also looked at another thread about UIUC talking about mega courses, and I was wondering what that was and if I could get some more details about them?

So this is actually I think the biggest pro-con for Illinois besides cost. This matters way more than location or the clinical weeks. The mega courses are probably why I ended up repeating first year. I missed passing by 0.5%, which comes down to 4 exam questions *for the year*. Our clinical coordinator went through our last exam with me question by question to see if there was a miss read or something I was that close.

Had I been in a traditional curriculum, my bane would have been solely anatomy and I would have likely had to remediate a single class over the summer (depending on the school obviously).

Ultimately I'm the one that didn't pass, absolutely. There were definitely other factors at play. But having the massive integration is a huge factor.

Should I factor diversity as something significant? UIUC is half IS and half OOS whereas Tufts from what I gather is about 30% IS and 70% OOS.

I mean. Why would IS vs OOS affect diversity enough to matter for much? Both states superficially have diversity within their own populations that even if it was 90% IS at both, they'd be able to make diverse classes at both schools.

Are groceries cheaper in Illinois?

Probs

 

[Cream Beans]

Location definitely mattered to me, but I also was lucky enough to be a bit picky. I didn't want to be miserable while I was in vet school and I wanted the opportunity to travel and see things I haven't before. Ultimately, only you can decide what you can tolerate. My opinion is that anyone can tolerate living anywhere for a short period of time, so if you like what Tufts has to offer and have cheap housing, go there. If I only had gotten into Tufts, I would have sucked it up. Like I said, there was plenty I loved about Boston and plenty that I haven't missed. Have you visited either place yet? I strongly recommend (if you have the time and the finances) to go there in person. I recognize it's a bit privileged to say, but I genuinely feel like visiting all the schools I was accepted to made the choice significantly easier.

I got an official tour from UIUC but just kinda walked around Cummings campus myself and didn't enter any of the buildings save for the wildlife one. What takeaways from your visits helped you decide?

 

[Cream Beans]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply!

I'll comment on UIUC as an alumni. C/o 2019, so not the freshest info.

-UIUC electives were good, but idk if there was enough variety/if they would exposure you to different niches enough to actually help you with career choices.

I've talked to a few other UIUC people about the electives since posting and yeah that's a similar sentiment being thrown around; would you agree that clubs and internships have more of a sway with career choices compared to the electives?

-Graduate/campus housing is usually suboptimal (regardless of school) for a lot of reasons, don't utilize it.

I've heard the village isn't too bad though! I've talked to a few first-years (I guess now second years) who say they lived there. But I'll keep this in mind.

-Do you have enough experience in either wildlife center to say which one is run better? Tufts' wildlife center is probably more well known, but at least when I was at the UIUC wildlife clinic (and on the board), it was a very busy clinic and was managed pretty well. I guess you'd have to define why UIUC is not as 'well run' and what that means to you, and whether or not it actually matters in the grand scheme of things.

The only experience I have is just what I've heard from others. From what I understand, there's a lot more revenue going into the wildlife center at Tufts, and that the school is overrepresented when it comes to the wildlife aspect of the school. I guess I'm worried that if I decide to pursue wildlife as a full-blown career, that having experience from one wildlife center will be better for me than the other when it comes to finding opportunities post-grad.

-Does Massachusetts not get cold?

It does, but I've just heard that Illinois gets colder.

The mega courses are basically every subject area being under once course/grade on your transcript. Each quarter = one mega course = one grade. You will graduate with 9 graded courses on your transcript, clinical quarters are pass/fail.
I don't think IS/OOS combination matters at all. I would guess COL is much cheaper in central Illinois compared to Massachusetts, but I haven't ventured out East to have personal experience. Chambana was probably the cheapest place I've ever lived, though.

Gotcha!

 

[Cream Beans]

Thanks for the reply and corrections!

1. The electives are cool. I took essentially the max you could physically fit into the schedule. If you fell in *love* with one thing, it might change your course of professional development. But otherwise just cool to do since they were pass fail when I took them.

Sounds good--did the clubs and internships have more of a sway on your course of professional development than the electives did?

2. Don't use graduate housing. It's more expensive if I remember correctly.

I talked to a few first years and they said they housed at the village? Is that one of the grad housings that's bad or are you referring to the one closer to campus?

3. The clinicals were cool in the moment, but a waste of time in hindsight. Would rather schools do two years of didactics and two years of true clinics like Mississippi and Missouri do.

Ah, I see. Would it have been more productive if it was more hands on?

4. It's not small tbh. It's Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy all together. My undergrad town was 5,000 people, 1000 people on campus, and 3square miles, but I'm from and live in Denver. So it's about perspective.

Gotcha, not small at all then.

5. Travel does matter. I did a mix of driving and bus/flying. Either caused a long day when trying to get to and from home.

It's still pretty far from home in my case (8 hours), but I'm wondering how much weight I should put on this since I'm really only planning on driving up when the year starts and heading back down when it ends, so really just two trips per year. Planning to just fly back for breaks. Should I still put a heavy emphasis on travel as consideration?

2. The quarter system isn't why there are fewer exams. It's just how the timing happens. I like the quarter system to be honest.

Okay! I'm a bit nervous about potentially going through a quarter system just because I've only ever done semester system, so not sure what to expect.

3. Now the mega courses (which is what causes the fewer exams), those were gnarly from the sense of there's not much wiggle room.

That's just the courses labelled VM601-VM608 right?

4. How much time you spend in a big city really depends on you as a person. I went to Chicago twice in the five years I lived in Illinois. It wasn't because of a 2.5 hour drive. It's because there's really nothing in Chicago that mattered enough for me to go do. If you want to go to a big city, you'll make it happen no matter where you live.

Makes sense. I guess the same applies to Tufts and going to Boston if I feel like it.

5. That's a big assumption there for the WMC. I thought it was pretty well run tbh. And unlike a lot of other vet school wildlife clinics, there was no gatekeeping. Anyone could join, and the more, the better.

Thanks for the clarification. I hastily came to that conclusion because of what the admission counselors at Tufts said about their wildlife center's relatively copious amounts of funding and some UIUC student's negative comments on Reddit about the clinic there.

So this is actually I think the biggest pro-con for Illinois besides cost. This matters way more than location or the clinical weeks. The mega courses are probably why I ended up repeating first year. I missed passing by 0.5%, which comes down to 4 exam questions *for the year*. Our clinical coordinator went through our last exam with me question by question to see if there was a miss read or something I was that close.

Had I been in a traditional curriculum, my bane would have been solely anatomy and I would have likely had to remediate a single class over the summer (depending on the school obviously).

Ultimately I'm the one that didn't pass, absolutely. There were definitely other factors at play. But having the massive integration is a huge factor.

Gotcha, I'll definitely take this into consideration!

I mean. Why would IS vs OOS affect diversity enough to matter for much? Both states superficially have diversity within their own populations that even if it was 90% IS at both, they'd be able to make diverse classes at both schools.

This is a good way of looking at it. Thanks!

 

[battie]

Sounds good--did the clubs and internships have more of a sway on your course of professional development than the electives did?

Clubs had even less effect for me 🤣 I did most on campus, but I did them for the fun of it. Externships during fourth year were helpful in the sense I spent time in clinics where I was moving back to. They were basically interviews at that point.

I talked to a few first years and they said they housed at the village? Is that one of the grad housings that's bad or are you referring to the one closer to campus?

The Village is off campus housing open to anyone. It just so happens it's a ton of students, and a ton of vet students do live there. But my 82 grandpa could technically move there.

Grad housing is specifically housing on campus run by the university specifically for post-bachelor folks. I only knew two people to live in them at UIUC and it was *regrets*.

Ah, I see. Would it have been more productive if it was more hands on?

It was very hands on from the sense of interacting with patients. But you aren't the student on clinics taking care of that patient from start to finish.

It's still pretty far from home in my case (8 hours), but I'm wondering how much weight I should put on this since I'm really only planning on driving up when the year starts and heading back down when it ends, so really just two trips per year. Planning to just fly back for breaks. Should I still put a heavy emphasis on travel as consideration?

I was a 16hr drive for me. My undergrad was 5. 8 is definitely that sweet spot for a lot of people though. It really depends on how accessible flying is. Cause even taking the bus to Midway and then flying home was still a 10-12 hour adventure.

Okay! I'm a bit nervous about potentially going through a quarter system just because I've only ever done semester system, so not sure what to expect.

It's not anything special. It's not the same quarter system used by true quarter system universities. It's just 2 8 week quarters.

That's just the courses labelled VM601-VM608 right?

The mega courses are the didactic quarters of years 1-3. I wouldn't know their numbers any more cause that might have changed.

admission counselors at Tufts said about their wildlife center's relatively copious amounts of funding and some UIUC student's negative comments on Reddit about the clinic there.

Yeah, bragging about funding is what it is. I was the head of student tours while at Illinois (literally the first student in the position), and had to get a lot of information for myself because admissions doesn't run the tours program at UIUC.

Keep in mind that a lot of people complain about **** online cause it's easy. And remember there are 100+ students in the WMC every year. So if every year, 5 students complain, then 95% of students aren't complaining online.

 

[max_wildlife]

@Cream Beans
Hi! I just graduated from Tufts. In case you wanted another person to chat with lol in general I feel overall fairly neutral toward my school lol. I was and still am wildlife and exotics focused. I was able to volunteer at the wildlife clinic first year and did work study on the loon project throughout all four years of vet school. I'm still going back to my initial wildlife center back in my hometown because jobs post-grad are scarce out here - but I've had some cool opportunities in New England that I'm happy to chat about. Also, I'm not from Illinois, but I am from a major Lake Effect city and agree that Lake Effect winters are worse - especially with wind chill. Otherwise I found them fairly comparable temperature-wise. I'd say snowy road infrastructure is a little worse in New England too. Can also ask my V28 friends some questions if you have any specific ones as well.

Also you can do electives earlier in clinical year as well -- it just depends on what schedule you end up with and how you rank them; many of my classmates did some elective time/externships in the first summer of clinical year.

As for cities; I am a fairly restless person so I spent many of my weekends going into Boston and visiting other New England cities. My grades might've suffered a bit but I had a good time and made some good memories, and that matters too.

Good luck with deciding!! It'll be okay either way.

 

[Cream Beans]

@Cream Beans
Hi! I just graduated from Tufts. In case you wanted another person to chat with lol in general I feel overall fairly neutral toward my school lol. I was and still am wildlife and exotics focused. I was able to volunteer at the wildlife clinic first year and did work study on the loon project throughout all four years of vet school. I'm still going back to my initial wildlife center back in my hometown because jobs post-grad are scarce out here - but I've had some cool opportunities in New England that I'm happy to chat about. Also, I'm not from Illinois, but I am from a major Lake Effect city and agree that Lake Effect winters are worse - especially with wind chill. Otherwise I found them fairly comparable temperature-wise. I'd say snowy road infrastructure is a little worse in New England too. Can also ask my V28 friends some questions if you have any specific ones as well.

Also you can do electives earlier in clinical year as well -- it just depends on what schedule you end up with and how you rank them; many of my classmates did some elective time/externships in the first summer of clinical year.

As for cities; I am a fairly restless person so I spent many of my weekends going into Boston and visiting other New England cities. My grades might've suffered a bit but I had a good time and made some good memories, and that matters too.

Good luck with deciding!! It'll be okay either way.

Hi, thanks for reaching out! I was curious about how Tufts goes about quizzes, tests, exams, etc.
What's the schedule and frequency of the test-taking, and are the tests focused more on individual class subjects rather than multiple subjects on one test?
Also, how do selectives work? Is there a selection of classes or opportunities that I can choose that the school has laid out for that time slot or will I have to actively search around the community and 'create' my selective from scratch?
Also, not sure if this was on the old curriculum, but since electives were at the end of spring semester rather than throughout the quarter like UIUC does it, how much of an impact does it have on your academic experience, and does it help with career development or career inspiration in any way compared to clubs and internships/externships?
What do students do at the wildlife center? I remember reading somewhere that the students who get the opportunity to work there are mainly relegated to making food and cleaning the exhibits of the animals.
Could you tell me what some of those cool opportunities in New England were?
I'd love to hear a V28's thoughts on all that I listed above, in case the new curriculum gives different answers to my questions compared to the legacy curriculum. I might have more questions in the morning, but I'm really tired for now and I'll leave you with these questions for now. Thank you again for taking the time to answer!

 

[pp9]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply!

I've talked to a few other UIUC people about the electives since posting and yeah that's a similar sentiment being thrown around; would you agree that clubs and internships have more of a sway with career choices compared to the electives?

I've heard the village isn't too bad though! I've talked to a few first-years (I guess now second years) who say they lived there. But I'll keep this in mind.

The only experience I have is just what I've heard from others. From what I understand, there's a lot more revenue going into the wildlife center at Tufts, and that the school is overrepresented when it comes to the wildlife aspect of the school. I guess I'm worried that if I decide to pursue wildlife as a full-blown career, that having experience from one wildlife center will be better for me than the other when it comes to finding opportunities post-grad.

It does, but I've just heard that Illinois gets colder.

Gotcha!

Clubs are fun, some do give hands-on opportunities. In my time (and off the top of my head), the ECC, production med and equine med had the opportunities, the rest were more social.

I did not live at the village, but just a quick look at the website tells me it will be undergrad heavy. I lived at Sterling on First (used to be The Place) my first year and it was basically the same thing - fully furnished, bus service, pool/gym, etc. That doesn't mean you shouldn't consider it, but undergrad-heavy housing is typically louder and less well-kept. The furnished apartments are a huge plus, though.

UIUC is one of the top schools in the country for producing zoo/exotics/wildlife vets. There is an entire elective chain (which does give good practical info), clinic year rotations, and then the wildlife clinic that is entirely student-run. That doesn't mean Tufts wouldn't be a fine choice, because you can get into zoo/wildlife/exotics by going to any school. I don't know a ton about Tufts in general, but honestly it slips my mind all the time that they have wildlife stuff . One person's opinion, and it's not to make you feel like Tufts would be a bad choice, but UIUC truly is one of the top 5 schools for ZEW stuff in my book. What do you mean by 'overrepresented?'

The midwest is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. How cold the winter is will vary from year to year. Off memory, we had 2-3 brutally cold/windy days in my 3rd year winter and 2-3 days of dangerously cold weather my fourth year that closed the entire university down.

It seems you have preconceived notions about both schools and as a UIUC grad, I'm getting the feeling that you have a more negative impression about Illinois. If Tufts gives you better feels, go for Tufts! I'm not trying to argue for UIUC necessarily, I just don't know that you have enough info to make the judgments you've made?

Yeah, bragging about funding is what it is. I was the head of student tours while at Illinois (literally the first student in the position), and had to get a lot of information for myself because admissions doesn't run the tours program at UIUC.

Keep in mind that a lot of people complain about **** online cause it's easy. And remember there are 100+ students in the WMC every year. So if every year, 5 students complain, then 95% of students aren't complaining online.

Thanks for the clarification. I hastily came to that conclusion because of what the admission counselors at Tufts said about their wildlife center's relatively copious amounts of funding and some UIUC student's negative comments on Reddit about the clinic there.

1. Wait, so another school's counselor said they saw comments on Reddit, so used that as a reason for their school being better? Can you provide the link to these comments? Because without even looking, I can tell you that there are most likely negative comments about Tufts either on Reddit or here on SDN. No school is safe from anonymous internet users. I'd be willing to guess that it was 1-2 salty students complaining about something in a very one-sided way. Like I said earlier, I was on the board, and we had issues with a select handful of students every single year.
2. The WMC is a big deal for UIUC - in my day, the associate dean (at the time) wasn't the biggest supporter, but he was equine and didn't love that it was a big time suck for some students. Beyond that, it's a huge draw for a lot of applicants and isn't 'underfunded' by any means. Like any wildlife clinic, donations matter as do volunteers (students).

 

[Cream Beans]

UIUC is one of the top schools in the country for producing zoo/exotics/wildlife vets. There is an entire elective chain (which does give good practical info), clinic year rotations, and then the wildlife clinic that is entirely student-run. That doesn't mean Tufts wouldn't be a fine choice, because you can get into zoo/wildlife/exotics by going to any school. I don't know a ton about Tufts in general, but honestly it slips my mind all the time that they have wildlife stuff . One person's opinion, and it's not to make you feel like Tufts would be a bad choice, but UIUC truly is one of the top 5 schools for ZEW stuff in my book. What do you mean by 'overrepresented?'

I paraphrased what the admissions counselor said about Tufts's wildlife program--they told me that due to its location, reputation and hard-to-get-into program it's a pretty prominent part of the school's identity and something a lot of people compete for--that's really about it.

It seems you have preconceived notions about both schools and as a UIUC grad, I'm getting the feeling that you have a more negative impression about Illinois. If Tufts gives you better feels, go for Tufts! I'm not trying to argue for UIUC necessarily, I just don't know that you have enough info to make the judgments you've made?

Honestly the initial forum post I made was a drop of water in the bucket of mulling I've made over both schools haha. I've thankfully gotten a lot more positivity for UIUC since posting my ramblings everywhere.

1. Wait, so another school's counselor said they saw comments on Reddit, so used that as a reason for their school being better? Can you provide the link to these comments? Because without even looking, I can tell you that there are most likely negative comments about Tufts either on Reddit or here on SDN. No school is safe from anonymous internet users. I'd be willing to guess that it was 1-2 salty students complaining about something in a very one-sided way. Like I said earlier, I was on the board, and we had issues with a select handful of students every single year.

Sorry, I miscommunicated there--the counselor doesn't have any connection with the Reddit complainer, they were just using the funding as a reason for how good their wildlife clinic was. UIUC complainer was a separate thing, but it did give me some notions about the wildlife center there is all. Hope that clears things up!

2. The WMC is a big deal for UIUC - in my day, the associate dean (at the time) wasn't the biggest supporter, but he was equine and didn't love that it was a big time suck for some students. Beyond that, it's a huge draw for a lot of applicants and isn't 'underfunded' by any means. Like any wildlife clinic, donations matter as do volunteers (students).

Noted!

 

[JaynaAli]

I don’t have anything significant to add about the pros and cons of either school and it’s obvious OP has put a lot of thought and research into it. I’m not trying to downplay all that work, but I do think that at the end of the day, four years from now, you’ll be fine after having attended either school. The differences seem pretty trivial to me as someone on the other side for several years now; so much of vet school is what you make it and student driven, especially in regards to opportunities in a specialty.

Flip a coin. If you’re sad about the outcome, go to the other school. Four years flies by. I truly believe things will be fine at either school.

 

[Cream Beans]

This is a bit late, but could I ask you guys for some insight on both UIUC and Tufts's international program offerings? I know UIUC has the Greece trip but that's really about it. Thank you!

 

[Cream Beans]

I don’t have anything significant to add about the pros and cons of either school and it’s obvious OP has put a lot of thought and research into it. I’m not trying to downplay all that work, but I do think that at the end of the day, four years from now, you’ll be fine after having attended either school. The differences seem pretty trivial to me as someone on the other side for several years now; so much of vet school is what you make it and student driven, especially in regards to opportunities in a specialty.

Flip a coin. If you’re sad about the outcome, go to the other school. Four years flies by. I truly believe things will be fine at either school.

Thank you, this really helps to hear.

 

[pp9]

This is a bit late, but could I ask you guys for some insight on both UIUC and Tufts's international program offerings? I know UIUC has the Greece trip but that's really about it. Thank you!

Several students in my class went on one, if not more, mission-type trips during vet school. I am not recalling how they went about it, I think it was via a club? There are also plenty of opportunities outside of school offerings if you look for them, and it doesn't matter what school you go to for those.

UIUC's WMC is not competitive - if you want to volunteer, you get to do it. That's a plus in my book. There are leadership opportunities that are competitive, if that is your jam.

At the end of the day, the cheapest school will be your best option and like Jayna said, most of the concerns you have won't matter at the end of the day. Tuition might be pretty comparable, but I think people forget to take COL/travel into account. You may very well save a lot more by going to UIUC, you'd have to do some investigation into the numbers.

For what it's worth, UF was my 'dream school.' I got accepted into UIUC and took that acceptance, but got off the UF waitlist shortly after and didn't end up taking that offer. I was in the same boat that tuition between the two was nearly identical at the time, so I made my own pros/cons list. I don't regret going to UIUC, but also the cons of UIUC no longer mattered while I was going there. I still left with my degree. I would probably be saying the same thing if I had chosen UF, because UF had cons for me too.

 

[max_wildlife]

Hi, thanks for reaching out! I was curious about how Tufts goes about quizzes, tests, exams, etc.
What's the schedule and frequency of the test-taking, and are the tests focused more on individual class subjects rather than multiple subjects on one test?
Also, how do selectives work? Is there a selection of classes or opportunities that I can choose that the school has laid out for that time slot or will I have to actively search around the community and 'create' my selective from scratch?

The tests are individual class subject based, and the test taking schedule has changed a bit; we used to have one exam every Friday, with occasional Fridays off. For example it would be like, Skeletal Anatomy on one Friday, Respiratory Pathophysiology the next Friday, and so on. I think it still roughly follows this framework, but I'll ask my V28 roommate. She said that they were initially doing two exams in one Friday, but I don't think the school decided to stick with it.

Selectives vary; for example, there are offerings through the school - like you can do a selective in the wildlife hospital, or in ER, or whatever offerings are available on campus. If you're not interested in those, you can go outside of the campus environment. Selectives were lottery based when I did them, and I ended up with a cruddy number the first time, so I built my own selective and did loon work. But for the next one, I ended up taking a selective offered through school.

Also, not sure if this was on the old curriculum, but since electives were at the end of spring semester rather than throughout the quarter like UIUC does it, how much of an impact does it have on your academic experience, and does it help with career development or career inspiration in any way compared to clubs and internships/externships?

So are you talking about clinical year, or during didactics? If didactics, we have selectives rather than electives; I think it depends a lot on the person. I came in with an idea of what I already wanted to do, and joined a lab that fit my professional interests, run by a professor that I got along with. I think some people were inspired by their selective choices, but some people were just like 'okay, not for me' and moved on.

If you're talking about clinical year, it's true that we have 8 weeks of elective time from March-May of fourth year, but we're required to take 15 weeks of electives overall. So we have elective weeks dispersed throughout clinical year, which starts in March of third year. We have selectives first and second year, and I think the number of required credits has actually decreased. My class had no allotted elective time in terms of classwork. That all said, I chose to skip classes to go volunteer and shadow at a local exotics/wildlife hospital to develop some hands-on skills.

If it's something else entirely, I'll ask my V28 roommate lol

What do students do at the wildlife center? I remember reading somewhere that the students who get the opportunity to work there are mainly relegated to making food and cleaning the exhibits of the animals.

It's a lot of making food and cleaning, yeah. As a volunteer I had some opportunities to assist with treatments and observe procedures.

Could you tell me what some of those cool opportunities in New England were?

I'm happy to; I'll DM you rather than post on main just to keep a lil bit of my anonymity.