Veterinary Schools strong in Exotic/Zoo/Wildlife and Infectious Diseases

[opossumfan]

Hi everyone! I applied to veterinary school this cycle, and while I'm waiting to interview and hear back from a few schools, I've been accepted into some and am trying to figure out how to make a decision when the time comes.

Since most of these schools are great and I like the teaching formats, I'm looking more specifically at opportunities in interests I have. While it's a bit vague right now and I'm sure ill narrow it down in time, I specifically am interested in exotics/wildlife, zoo, and pathology/infectious disease and public health. As such, which schools are particularly strong in this area that you know of? The schools I applied to that are my top choices are Cornell, UPenn, NC State, Georgia, Tufts, and Washington State (I did not apply to Florida or UC Davis). Any and all thoughts/advice are appreciated!

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[DVM2024]

NCSU has a very strong zoo/exotics/wildife program! You will have plenty of opportunities for unique hands on experience beginning your first year (Turtle Rescue Team, for example).

 

[JaynaAli]

Go to the cheapest school. You’ll have plenty of opportunities at nearly any school, especially if you have such varied interests. Some schools you may have to work harder to find experiences and do them on your breaks and offsite rotations, but sometimes those end up being the best experiences. Of the ones you listed (and without knowing your in-state), NCState and Washington State are probably the cheapest according to the VIN cost of education map so I’d choose one of those.

 

[WildZoo]

Hi everyone! I applied to veterinary school this cycle, and while I'm waiting to interview and hear back from a few schools, I've been accepted into some and am trying to figure out how to make a decision when the time comes.

Since most of these schools are great and I like the teaching formats, I'm looking more specifically at opportunities in interests I have. While it's a bit vague right now and I'm sure ill narrow it down in time, I specifically am interested in exotics/wildlife, zoo, and pathology/infectious disease and public health. As such, which schools are particularly strong in this area that you know of? The schools I applied to that are my top choices are Cornell, UPenn, NC State, Georgia, Tufts, and Washington State (I did not apply to Florida or UC Davis). Any and all thoughts/advice are appreciated!

I would honestly take Penn off your list. Stupid expensive (even if you're in state, really) and they don't do any exotics/wildlife/zoo anyway. Not sure about the pathology/infectious disease bit.

If you're interested in wildlife and zoo it's particularly important to spend as little money as possible on school. Know plenty of people who were interested in the field then stopped pursuing it because it was financially nonsensical.

Go to your cheapest option!

 

[max_wildlife]

If you haven’t done so yet - once you’ve considered costs and narrowed it down a little more - I found it helpful to reach out to professors in each school’s wildlife department and see if they’re willing to chat about their hospital or potential research projects that you might be able to get involved with. That way you can get a sense of the atmosphere in each wildlife department, and see if one place feels like a better fit than another. Also, you might want to look into local(ish) wildlife centers/hospitals in each school’s area to see if they accept vet student volunteers, or any volunteers in general just to vary potential experiences.

I’m a third-year wildlife focus student at Tufts, and while I’m fairly content with the experiences I’ve gotten so far - I spent a semester volunteering in the wildlife clinic, and a couple years working on a wildlife pathology project - most of my direct, hands-on wildlife experience has come from externship sites outside from school. The one is about an hour away from school, and I go about once a month, but the experience I get there is invaluable - so definitely keep those external opportunities in mind.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Hi everyone! I applied to veterinary school this cycle, and while I'm waiting to interview and hear back from a few schools, I've been accepted into some and am trying to figure out how to make a decision when the time comes.

Since most of these schools are great and I like the teaching formats, I'm looking more specifically at opportunities in interests I have. While it's a bit vague right now and I'm sure ill narrow it down in time, I specifically am interested in exotics/wildlife, zoo, and pathology/infectious disease and public health. As such, which schools are particularly strong in this area that you know of? The schools I applied to that are my top choices are Cornell, UPenn, NC State, Georgia, Tufts, and Washington State (I did not apply to Florida or UC Davis). Any and all thoughts/advice are appreciated!

As has been well said already, the more you save now, the better you will do in the long run. These days, zoo residencies are being pushed very hard. Some people end up doing a rotating and 2-3 years of zoo/wildlife/exotics internships before they end up in a residency. That's possibly 5-6 years of your loans basically sitting and collecting interest, and ultimately has deterred many of my peers from pursuing the field after graduation.

Now that I am lucky enough to be in the position of evaluating zoo externship and internship applicants, I can tell you that I don't care what school you went to. For externs, I care that you have a legit interest in the field, have good letters of rec, and aren't doing it for four weeks of fun in your clinical year (volunteer at relevant places during school breaks, shadow your local zoo/wildlife vets, etc). For an intern, I care that you have done relevant externships, have good letters of rec (at least one from a zoo and at least one from your rotating internship), have a decent knowledge base for where you are at in your career, and give a good interview and answer my red flag questions well (I do have to spend a year with you, after all).

Some of the above mentioned things might be a bit more accessible if you go to a school with a zoo/wildlife service. However, If you do the legwork, you can get those experiences regardless of what school you choose.

At the end of the day, you get paid crap at a zoo. At my first zoo job, I was making less than half of what I was making at an ER vet (without production). I'm still not breaking six figures at my new position. The less debt, the better.

 

[meghanperkins16]

Hi everyone! I'm a 1st year veterinary student and have always wanted to become a zoo veterinarian. Coincidentally, I have a veterinarian interview assignment that is due on February 25th and was hoping to get in touch with someone that is or has worked as a zoo vet. Please feel free to reach out to me and we can exchange emails!
Additionally, if anyone sees this and the deadline has come and gone, I would absolutely still want to talk to you about opportunities and your personal pathway. I know it's a complex road so I would appreciate any tips and tricks I can get.
Thank you!