US or Scotland

[Catdreamer]

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Ok so I have a dilemma I originally planned on going to a school in scotland because I did not get accepted to the two schools I applied to in the US. Well I guess I did get accepted to one in the US from the alternate list.

So now I am torn about what I should do... I want to go to Scotland but I feel like it would be easier to just to to the US school (closer to family, no cultural difference, won't miss major family/friend things etc..).

I am also worried that if I go to a foreign vet school when I try to get a job in the US specifically in my home state, I would be overlooked and not reguarded as a competitive applicant, because my state school is well known along with the US OOS school I got accepted too..

Money is not the issue because both would be about the same and the US might be a little but more...

I am just hoping for some insight on what everyone thinks because I don't know what to do. I don't want to regret my decision in the end!!

😕

 

[PetPony]

You posted all the reasons why you should go in the US. What are the reasons you want to go to Scotland? Maybe making lists about pros and cons can help. 🙂

 

[bandierose]

I did a semester abroad in Scotland and it was the single best experience of my life. I thought about applying to vet school in Scotland, but I know that the hardest part of studying abroad was being away from my family. I am really close with them and went home from college once a month. Doing 4 yrs in Scotland seemed like I would be too homesick. If you aren't that close to your family then I definitely would do it! Scotland is fantastic and beautiful. The people are great, transportation is fabulous, It is easy to travel to anywhere in Europe from Edinburgh or Glasgow. PM me if you have any questions about Scotland....

 

[Armymutt25A]

My baby sister goes to Glasgow. I can't speak to the rigors of the program, but I do not like the testing situation. As far as I can figure it out, they 2 exams a year for each class. One set is just after Christmas break and the other is just before summer. If you fail, you can re-sit the exams at a later date. The exams seem to be cumulative over the years. She has an exam coming up that covers material from the first year. I prefer several exams over a semester, which gives me some idea of how well I'm learning the material.

Other than the school side, Scotland is awesome. I'd just rather go to school in the US and visit Scotland on vacation.

 

[bigkittinteef]

Which school in Scotland? I just visited both and I'd be happy to tell you my thoughts. I'm going to Edinburgh, my top choice this year. 🙂 there are also an Edinburgh thread and a UK threadif you want to read though them great info to help you decide.

 

[shortnsweet]

I feel like I shouldn't answer this, as I am slightly bias. But please feel free to PM me with questions??

 

[Catdreamer]

Which school in Scotland? I just visited both and I'd be happy to tell you my thoughts. I'm going to Edinburgh, my top choice this year. 🙂 there are also an Edinburgh thread and a UK threadif you want to read though them great info to help you decide.

I got into Edinburgh too 🙂


What is people thoughts on finding jobs in the US when one has graduated from Edinburgh??

 

[RadRadTerp]

With all the travel, immigration, and cost-of-living differences (+ inability to work in a foreign country), it's hard for me to imagine how OOS in the US can be more expensive than most foreign schools, unless the tuition is that much lower or you have dual-citizenship? I remember wanting to study overseas back when I was applying, but I couldn't see any savings in my calculation. However, maybe that's because I only applied to OOS schools that weren't terribly expensive.

 

[shortnsweet]

With all the travel, immigration, and cost-of-living differences (+ inability to work in a foreign country), it's hard for me to imagine how OOS in the US can be more expensive than most foreign schools, unless the tuition is that much lower or you have dual-citizenship? I remember wanting to study overseas back when I was applying, but I couldn't see any savings in my calculation. However, maybe that's because I only applied to OOS schools that weren't terribly expensive.

Well...technically you can work part time on your student visa. Plus, tuition is cheaper than some OOS, even with the ever changing exchange rate. My tuition is set around $30k for all 5 years, no inflation. The OOS I looked at when I was applying were like 45k+ per year, but those weren't set numbers? I think they all sort of equal out when all is said and done. The visa is a one time deal of like $300. And depends on how often you come home, but at least east coast to Glasgow for me is comparable to flying east coast to west coast in price? 🙂

 

[SnowyRox]

I got into Edinburgh too 🙂


What is people thoughts on finding jobs in the US when one has graduated from Edinburgh??

I talked to several alumni at the Royal Vet presentation and they said that they had no problem finding jobs. They did recommend doing externships and creating relationships with clinics that may have openings during your vet school years, but that it was about as difficult to find a job from London in the USA as it would be to find a job in a different area of the USA than your vet school.

My lingering concern with going to the UK (ultimately the deciding factor) was the issue of finding internships/residencies from over there. I'm potentially interested in equine private practice, where your success is based on who you know, and I thought it would be tough to meet enough people from the UK. People I talked to at the university assured me that it wouldn't be a problem, but it was enough for me to go USA.

... I am sad not to be living in London or Edinburgh though 🙁.

Maybe once I graduate... and then do a residency and become in such high demand that they have to recruit me from across the ocean 👍😍

 

[bigkittinteef]

I suppose it really depends on where you want to work after graduation and what you want to do. My teacher was a RVC grad and only a few years out of vet school, he was running a large vet hospital. A few years later and he's running his own department at Cal Poly Pomona. He really felt that his education was more forward thinking and modernized, enabling him to find great employment where ever he went. He did not do internships or residencies because he felt prepared enough for the necessary day 1 skills. Not all US grads come out feeling that way.

Edinburgh has brand new top of the line facilties. That was a huge deciding factor for me. They also have world renowned vets like Paddy Dixon. Letters of rec for and internship/residency from one of these names will open doors for you everywhere. There weren't many grads that felt they needed/wanted to pursue internships/residencies but everyone that wanted one got one. No one got left out in the cold or anything. As far as the cost, I found that ultimately, it was more cost efficient to go abroad. The cost and exchange rate will never increase throughout my education. That can not be said for UC Davis, my IS. The cost goes up about a couple thousand every year, with increasing budget cuts limiting research money and improvements on faculty, equipment, facilities, etc. They also had hidden costs like a required summer semester, an additional 8,000 or so (as of right now...). As for OOS, many of them range upwards of 55,000 and in places I have no interest in spending 4 years of my life in.

My teachers felt that Edinburgh was my best option for many reasons: it has a great reputation worldwide (look up alumni and research, it's amazing! This is where Dolly the sheep was made!!!), they have ridiculous funding for research, about one hundred million pounds a year (holy bujeezus!), a brand new teaching building and facilities (46 million pounds spent on it-it's beautiful), it's own oncology center, top notch large and small animal hospitals, amazing specialists in their fields, and best of all it's in a beautiful city in the UK! You can travel easily and cheaply on breaks to places like France, England, Ireland, Spain, Italy, you name it.

Anyways, this is what convinced me! If being away from family and everyone you know would be hard, then maybe it would be difficult. If traveling is not a big deal to you and you have a cheaper OOS/IS option, I can understand turning them down. If you're still unsure, you should contact students at the schools you are unsure about. Ask them about what matters most to you. Good luck with your decision. 🙂

 

[devyn]

All I can add to this conversation right now is.... men in kilts are very good craic! 😀


That is all....

 

[Sheepdogpsu]

I have never worn a kilt, so if you decide on Edinburgh you can point and laugh at me when/if I decide to wear one for the first time.😀

Basically what they said at the info session is that it is not about the school that makes you a good job prospect, you will get a very comparable education in the UK as at any US school, it is about what you make of it and how you present yourself and what you learned. Also a state of the art teaching center will be a huge help since new technology is invading the clinical veterinary world.

 

[shortnsweet]

All I can add to this conversation right now is.... men in kilts are very good craic! 😀


That is all....

😍 this comment.

 

[RadRadTerp]

I suppose it really depends on where you want to work after graduation and what you want to do. My teacher was a RVC grad and only a few years out of vet school, he was running a large vet hospital. A few years later and he's running his own department at Cal Poly Pomona. He really felt that his education was more forward thinking and modernized, enabling him to find great employment where ever he went. He did not do internships or residencies because he felt prepared enough for the necessary day 1 skills. Not all US grads come out feeling that way.

To be fair, I doubt if most grads out of any veterinary school feel fully prepared the day after graduation and it would be tough to compare one's own education as being "more forward thinking and modernized" in relation to other programs since most vets usually only attend veterinary school once. Not trying to sound too defensive, just keeping things in perspective.

 

[bigkittinteef]

This is true. There are many schools in the US making it silly to generalize so broadly. I apologize if this seemed offensive to you. I didn't mean it that way.

The comment regarding the forward thinking/modernized approach of the UK schools was based on my perceptions of the differences upon my visiting the schools and the thoughts of my aforementioned teacher. He went to Cornell and UC Davis on some exchange program for a few classes. These schools' lectures, lecturers, and general set up, he felt were archaic and traditional in comparison to the RVC's methods. Granted those are two specific US schools (not necessarily a good sample of all US schools) so the rest could be completely different or things may have changed since then.

Regarding the comment about feeling more prepared for day 1 skills, I said this because the UK schools have installed hands on clinical skills classes right off the bat starting in the first year. There are large requirements of hands on experience in the UK for both Animal Husbandry and Clinical Skills in addition to what is learned in the class room.
I need to do things to learn them; lecture only based teaching up to my rotations would do nothing for me. This is why I personally feel I will be more prepared leaving from a UK schools. Maybe some US schools are starting to do this soon or already have similar requirements? I didn't feel this approach was the norm in the US when I was deciding where to apply.

Anyways, this was the reasoning behind my statements! I really hope I haven't offended anyone. I really didn't mean to come off that way.

 

[RadRadTerp]

Oh, I wasn't really offended. I've got a pretty thick skin. I just call things as I see them and I picked up a slightly elitist vibe from some statements, but it's no biggie. Don't know how other schools operate, but I know that even though my school isn't a 2+2 school, they've implemented occasional rotations in different parts of the hospital with different departments starting first year to get students more actively familiar with things other than book learning. Maybe it's not quite as extensive as what you've experienced, but I'd be willing to bet it's not altogether rare across all the other schools. I could be mistaken 😳

We cool.