UMN vs Oregon (equine/LA)

[purpleeventer]

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Hi everyone! I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple schools, but as of now these are my top choices and I would love to hear y'all's thoughts!

I've always been an equine girly through and through, but I’ve recently become very interested in specializing in LA internal medicine. UMN has done a great job of selling their LA/equine stuff and it seems like there are lots of opportunities to be involved outside of classes. I get the impression that it would be easily to build relationships with the doctors there, which would be very helpful when I’m applying to internships and residencies.

I feel like I just don't know as much about OSU so it's hard to be as excited about it. I don't love that they don't have an explicit equine track vs general LA, but maybe that's for the better if I'm gearing towards LAIM now. Can anyone speak to equine opportunities there, and/or give any info about the curriculum in general?

I would probably Corvallis more than St. Paul (I am not a city girl) but St. Paul is exactly 24 hours closer to home for me which feels significant. I do think I would be happy in either location.

I've been following other help me decide posts and saw the comments that UMN feels very small animal heavy. Do you think OSU would be any better in that regard? I've accepted that I’m going to be learning a lot about cats and dogs no matter where I go, but I do want to maximize that time I spend on the species I intend to work with.

Cost is not a factor.

Thank you!!

 

[Dovetailequine]

Not a vet student at OSU, but as an Oregon resident and fellow equine girl, I do think the equine opportunities there are sufficient. It has been a historically small program class wise (they have expanded the class size in recent years) and students say it's pretty easy to connect with faculty. There is a foal team/club you can join. My understanding is 3rd year you can start to choose some electives geared towards interest. They have a rural vet elective and usually go to a reservation and perform castrations. Thumbing through the Facebook might be helpful for you to see other opportunities. South of Corvallis there are some equine hospitals but nothing huge so most larger cases that require hospitalization or surgery get referred there. The caseload is decent from what I have been told. I've also heard you can pop into the hospital anytime and shadow, but you might want to confirm that.

You may also consider the area and boarding costs if you are bringing a horse with you.

 

[purpleeventer]

Not a vet student at OSU, but as an Oregon resident and fellow equine girl, I do think the equine opportunities there are sufficient. It has been a historically small program class wise (they have expanded the class size in recent years) and students say it's pretty easy to connect with faculty. There is a foal team/club you can join. My understanding is 3rd year you can start to choose some electives geared towards interest. They have a rural vet elective and usually go to a reservation and perform castrations. Thumbing through the Facebook might be helpful for you to see other opportunities. South of Corvallis there are some equine hospitals but nothing huge so most larger cases that require hospitalization or surgery get referred there. The caseload is decent from what I have been told. I've also heard you can pop into the hospital anytime and shadow, but you might want to confirm that.

You may also consider the area and boarding costs if you are bringing a horse with you.

Thank you so much! That makes me feel a lot better. I'm planning on leaving my horse at home (he's old and did not like it when I made him move for undergrad) but I'm still hoping to get some time in the tack, so will certainly be looking into what barns are around that might let me ride something.

 

[Dovetailequine]

Thank you so much! That makes me feel a lot better. I'm planning on leaving my horse at home (he's old and did not like it when I made him move for undergrad) but I'm still hoping to get some time in the tack, so will certainly be looking into what barns are around that might let me ride something.

You are welcome. I also recall that there are student ambassadors listed somewhere on the CVM website that you can reach out to. There were a couple equine focused ambassadors so you might also reach out to them for their perspective. They would have more insight than me 🙂 Congrats on the acceptance!

 

[_rae_]

I would probably Corvallis more than St. Paul (I am not a city girl) but St. Paul is exactly 24 hours closer to home for me which feels significant. I do think I would be happy in either location.

I would actually say that where campus is in St. Paul is very not city; it's certainly not a rural area but the campus is pretty far from downtown. The neighborhood we live in now is quite nice and with all of the green space around, the city feels... less city like? I don't think I'm explaining it well. Some of my classmates live 20-30 minutes away in much smaller towns. I live in a neighborhood that while technically in Saint Paul feels a lot more like the suburb I lived 25 minutes outside of Boston. If you're concerned about the city aspect, I would highly recommend trying to come visit during accepted students day. Both my spouse and I were very over Boston and the city vibe and both of us have things about Minnesota that we love. Happy to answer any questions you have about the area!

 

[purpleeventer]

I would actually say that where campus is in St. Paul is very not city; it's certainly not a rural area but the campus is pretty far from downtown. The neighborhood we live in now is quite nice and with all of the green space around, the city feels... less city like? I don't think I'm explaining it well. Some of my classmates live 20-30 minutes away in much smaller towns. I live in a neighborhood that while technically in Saint Paul feels a lot more like the suburb I lived 25 minutes outside of Boston. If you're concerned about the city aspect, I would highly recommend trying to come visit during accepted students day. Both my spouse and I were very over Boston and the city vibe and both of us have things about Minnesota that we love. Happy to answer any questions you have about the area!

That is great to hear, thank you!! I lived in DC for three years and was very very over it, but that does sound much more manageable. I will definitely be attending the accepted students days. I'm hoping to drive around and scope out some potential places do live, so do you have any recommendations of what areas/neighborhoods students typically live in? I just want to have an idea of what my options actually feel like so that I can make a more informed decision when they send out housing info in June.

 

[_rae_]

I'm hoping to drive around and scope out some potential places do live, so do you have any recommendations of what areas/neighborhoods students typically live in? I just want to have an idea of what my options actually feel like so that I can make a more informed decision when they send out housing info in June.

I feel like people commonly live in Falcon Heights (the neighborhood the school is in), Roseville, Hamline-Midway, Summit-Hill, Summit-University, Merriam Park, MacAlaster-Groveland, Saint Anthony Park, and then the Comos (Como, Como Park, and South Como). I lived in Como Park for a little bit and it's gorgeous but it's very single family home oriented and it can be hard to find an apartment. Minneapolis is going to have much more city vibes and I know people live in North Loop (spendy) and Northeast (very block by block but the Arts District looks cool). Avoid Marcy-Holmes and Dinkytown; that's where the undergrads are.

 

[purpleeventer]

I feel like people commonly live in Falcon Heights (the neighborhood the school is in), Roseville, Hamline-Midway, Summit-Hill, Summit-University, Merriam Park, MacAlaster-Groveland, Saint Anthony Park, and then the Comos (Como, Como Park, and South Como). I lived in Como Park for a little bit and it's gorgeous but it's very single family home oriented and it can be hard to find an apartment. Minneapolis is going to have much more city vibes and I know people live in North Loop (spendy) and Northeast (very block by block but the Arts District looks cool). Avoid Marcy-Holmes and Dinkytown; that's where the undergrads are.

That’s super helpful, thank you!!

 

[supershorty]

The Twin Cities also has a thriving horse community. I know less about the eventing community bc I wasn't an eventer, but there's no shortage of barns out there that are reasonable accessible for a vet student.