UofA vs Iowa

[alyssa22]

Hello All,

I was wondering if anyone had any comments or experiences they would like to share about Iowa state vs U of Both are OOS for me so both are expensive. I am interested in either surgical, oncology or wildlife/zoo.

U of A
Pros- driveable distance from family, 3 years, less expensive
Con- new school

Iowa
Pro- well established
Con-lack of wildlife/zoo curriculum

Thank you so much for any feedback.

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[TabbyCat2]

I got accepted into UofA this year and talked to several students! I ultimately decided on another school to attend. One big thing for you to think about when considering UofA, is the fact that they do not have ANY time for you to do internships during your years in vet school. There is one longer break that you can opt to do an internship, but keep in mind it is your only longer break during the entire 3 years. The program is VERY catered to producing GP vets. One student I talked to is also interested in surgery, and told me she actually spent her own time doing additional anatomy stuff because she felt like UofA didn’t cover anatomy well enough for her to be sufficient in it if she wanted to specialize in surgery. In addition to this, wildlife/zoo med is very competitive, and I know of a few current vet students at other schools who want to go into wildlife/zoo and have spent summers working in the field. I feel like it would be very hard to compete with these students for residencies/jobs without extensive internship experience. Last thing, UofA doesn’t graduate in May, so you can’t participate in match day. I talked to a current student and she is thinking she’ll have to work for a few months and then try to get placed in a residency/internship the May after graduation.

 

[genny]

I went to ISU. They still have a relationship with the veterinarians for the Blank Park Zoo, so the ability to network your way into zoo med is there. If you’re serious about zoo med, it’s all about who you know and setting up those externship opportunities, rather than specific classes you take. People who end up in wildlife or zoo med are usually driven self-starters, since jobs are few and far between and the pay tends to be lousy. You really have to want it to get there, so attending any school that doesn't emphasize exotics shouldn't be a barrier. You'd have to work extra hard no matter what.

I don't know how U of Az handles breaks or scheduling externships, but if you're really looking to specialize, I would recommend making sure you would be able to schedule externships ahead of match day. If you want to go GP, then go to the cheapest school. If you're the kind of person that really needs your support system close to you, then go to U of Az.

 

[alyssa22]

I got accepted into UofA this year and talked to several students! I ultimately decided on another school to attend. One big thing for you to think about when considering UofA, is the fact that they do not have ANY time for you to do internships during your years in vet school. There is one longer break that you can opt to do an internship, but keep in mind it is your only longer break during the entire 3 years. The program is VERY catered to producing GP vets. One student I talked to is also interested in surgery, and told me she actually spent her own time doing additional anatomy stuff because she felt like UofA didn’t cover anatomy well enough for her to be sufficient in it if she wanted to specialize in surgery. In addition to this, wildlife/zoo med is very competitive, and I know of a few current vet students at other schools who want to go into wildlife/zoo and have spent summers working in the field. I feel like it would be very hard to compete with these students for residencies/jobs without extensive internship experience. Last thing, UofA doesn’t graduate in May, so you can’t participate in match day. I talked to a current student and she is thinking she’ll have to work for a few months and then try to get placed in a residency/internship the May after graduation.

Thank you very much for your feedback. That is a good point about obtaining experience during school.

 

[EngrSC]

Because no one's said it yet ... I can't even fathom completing vet school in 3 years. We're down to our last few weeks of first year and I feel like I mentally need my summer break. I'm considering a specialty so I have a few externships set up for this summer in my field of interest to start networking, which I've been told is super important. I'm not sure when or if you'd have time to do that in a 3-year curriculum.

But maybe someone from U of A can chime in about the specifics of their curriculum