UGA vs Texas A&M vs UPenn

[polo vet]

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hey yall,
I am lucky enough to have multiple options. I have kind of narrowed it down to three. UGA (SC contract so IS tuition), Texas A&M (scholarship so IS tuition), and UPenn (my true first choice if money was not an issue, OOS tuition). I graduating this june, my family is not helping with tuition (so all loans), and i'm definitely not geting married anytime soon. so i am on my own for paying for vet school...

Things I am most interested in comparing:
1) relative strength of small animal program
2) matching rates for small animal internships/residencies in internal medicine and/or theriogenology
3) social life and oportunities to meet other graduate students
4) electronic notes ?
5) how much time didactic learning vs clinical
6) vet business programs
7)special programs unique to each school
8) how many weeks for externships
9) relative small animal case loads and variety
10) hands on experience/clinical- how early in curriculum?

any other advice/insights would be apprecaited at well. Thanks everyone!`

 

[Pouches Rock]

So, I actually graduated from here and am currently a phd student here as well. Its in my best interest if you don't choose A&M as I am on the wait list but my personal philosophy is the least you can do for someone else is be kind and helpful so here is what I know...

I don't have personal experience with the program so I can't answer your questions in depth for those topics. The website has a great deal of information about the curriculum, externships, and the DVM/MBA option.

I can tell you about the social life for graduate students though. It really depends on what you consider a social life. There is a very active bar strip, pool halls and a few alternative coffee/hang out places if you are less into conventional entertainment. There are a few places that you are more likely to run into graduate students and there are also many graduate student organizations that put on events.

If you are looking for culture and a great deal of variety in your outings its not really found in College Station but my friends and I will often go into Houston or Austin for the day to see a concert or an exhibit. I don't know where you are from but in Texas most places are 1 to 3 hours away and we don't conisider that a long drive. Some of my friends are from states that can be driven across in that amount of time so it is a little weird for them.

A&M is very very into school spirit and tradition and is very much like small town. This has made some of my fellow graduate students uncomfortable but for the most part as a graduate student you can just ignore it. I have had a good experience here and think that its a friendly place that strives for a feeling of family. I am not sure how much of this applies to veterinary students but I hope that it is somewhat helpful.

 

[polo vet]

thanks i appreciate you sharing your insights pouches rock. are you out of state as well? i like a college town feel and i am from south carolina so college station does not sound to bad. plus i like that there is so much school spirit. i hope you get in off the waitlist and maybe we'll be classmates

 

[HopefulAg]

Well you already know which one I voted for but here's the answers best as I can do them:

1) relative strength of small animal program

I would think pretty good. We have an entire hospital dedicated to small animal (large animal as well) and people are satisfied when they come out of it (maybe not with the price though, it's damn expensive).

2) matching rates for small animal internships/residencies in internal medicine and/or theriogenology

Couldn't even begin to tell you.

3) social life and oportunities to meet other graduate students

Other person already covered this pretty well. Only thing I'd add is that Austin is about 1 1/2 hour away and Houston/Woodlands (for concerts) is about the same. Pretty convenient place to be in terms of entertainment without the bustle of a large city (though traffic here isn't too great at times...)

Also it really depends on your interests. There are a ton of organizations for pretty much anything you want to do. Like paintballing? Got that. Motorcycles? Covered. Sailing? Yah. Frisbee golf? There. Ultimate Frisbee? Sure. Pretty much any sport you can think of they got a club for. I think they even have one for slack rope walking...

4) electronic notes ?

I'd assume so. I've had a lot of vet profs for my undergrad and they've had online notes. But that's not to say that all the notes are online, there's still a fair bit of note taking on your end.

5) how much time didactic learning vs clinical

No idea.

6) vet business programs

There's an MBA option between your 2nd and 3rd year. You start your clinical rotations in 3rd year so it's a good break between your book knowledge vs your hands on work.

How it is, I don't know. It's relatively new but I'm planning on doing it if I get accepted here next time around.

7)special programs unique to each school

Cloning is a big thing here. Cloned Dewey and CopyCat. Other than than that I'm not sure. I think the MBA thing I talked about earlier is unique but vet related unique programs I'm not so sure on.

10) hands on experience/clinical- how early in curriculum?

I think you can get it as early as first year if you really want to in the way of electives. 2nd year definitely via electives. But the actual rotations start 3rd year and get really heavy 4th year as I believe that's all you do with 2 week rotations between various fields.

Good luck with whichever one you choose.


Edit: Oh and football, HS or college, is a huge thing in Texas. So if you like that, then we've got plenty of it. Basketball is pretty big here too (men's at least) and baseball has a pretty good following as well. Soccer I believe has a large crowd too but I've not been to many of the A&M soccer games, never really liked soccer myself.

 

[Steelmagghia]

I can't really participate in the poll because I really only know about A&M of those three.
I read that you like college towns.
When I went to College Station for my interview, it really really reminded me of the town I currently live in (Lubbock...Texas Tech town, though it also has two other universities and a couple of small colleges).
The "things to do" are- go out to eat, go to the movies, go to the bar/club, "hang out" at a few coffee shops/parks, shop/window shop
I don't really have a problem with any of that. I'm not a huge party animal anyway and cultural stuff is easy to find if you don't mind travelling occasionally.
And yeah, the school spirit is definitely a huge part of the town.

 

[clawsbeatskin]

Hey polovet, I maintain the position that you can't beat the IS tuition offer from A&M. College Station has a great feel to it. Tons of comaraderie, a gazillion and a half restaurants, enough places to shop. Tons of little hidden parks perfect for walks and dogs. Football games are huge. Houston is only an hour away if you need a change of scenery, Austin only 2 hours away. Housing is good, a perfect place to invest in a duplex (live in one side, rent the other out to pay the mortgage) or even a small house. Some of the cutest starter houses I've ever seen are in College Station. There are also a ton of furnished apartment complexes that offer roommate matching and let you sign an individual lease.

I was really warming to the idea of moving to College Station, until I found out I was rejected 😳. Oh well. Good luck to you. I would definitely visit and spend some time around campus to get a feel for the town. Aggieland truly is a world of it's own!

 

[pressmom]

3) social life and oportunities to meet other graduate students

I know back when my ex-boyfriend was in law school at UGA, they'd have law school/vet school mixers. Sorry I didn't apply to any of those schools, but I thought I'd add this.

 

[Pouches Rock]

I am IS. I am hopeful but realistic about my chances of getting off the waitlist. I have an early teens number and a few people I have spoken with said that people with higher numbers have gotten in other years. I know that each year is different so I will just keep on working and apply again if necessary.

 

[LVT2DVM]

Hey Polovet, I dont know if you've made your decision yet, but Ive been thinking about your "great decision" and I have a question for you. If you decide to go to a school other than UPENN, would you always wonder if you made the right choice? If so, then I think you have your answer. Listen to your inner voice..if you are drawn to UPENN then go for it. You will never regret not compromising. Tuition cost is important but if you can establish residency after the first year then I think one semester OSS isnt a bad compromise to attend your first choice. Additionally I was thinking about the people out there hoping to get off waiting list to attend the other 2 schools. Wow! what a wonderful gift to give them a chance at their first or only choice school. Just some thoughts...Ultimately you make the decision..so choose what is best for you and dont look back!