WCVM/UCVM C/O 2021

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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Hey everyone!

I'm new here, so I just wanted to say hello. What an awesome site for those hoping to get into vet school! 🙂 I've been waitlisted for the WCVM, so I'm anxiously awaiting the acceptance deadline like some others lol.
 
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I am choosing WCVM for several reasons:
  • The program has been around for longer
  • Don't have to go between 2 campuses
  • Don't have to move around in 4th year to get experience
  • WCVM has a beautiful campus
  • I prefer smaller cities
 
Do you guys know when the deadlines for accepting a spot for either/both of the schools are?
 
peach312 said:
Considering sending in my acceptance to UCVM today but I am hesitant because I know that I am very high on the WCVM waitlist and there is a very good chance that I would get in ... are all you UCVM'ers happy with your choice/happy you got into UCVM? @SARdoghandler @awesomenessity @Squeaksmom @AussieBorderCollie
@CarinaBee and @Sally and Z I was wondering if you might share why you are leaning toward WCVM 🙂
I might just be psyching myself out because it is such a big decision 😕
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When I spoke to WCVM they said they usually have about 4 people a year decline to choose UCVM. Not sure where you sit on the list in comparison. If you are waiting, maybe you can call on Monday and ask how many declines they have this year? I'm not sure if they will tell you or not though...
 
peach312 said:
Considering sending in my acceptance to UCVM today but I am hesitant because I know that I am very high on the WCVM waitlist and there is a very good chance that I would get in ... are all you UCVM'ers happy with your choice/happy you got into UCVM? @SARdoghandler @awesomenessity @Squeaksmom @AussieBorderCollie
@CarinaBee and @Sally and Z I was wondering if you might share why you are leaning toward WCVM 🙂
I might just be psyching myself out because it is such a big decision 😕
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I am super happy at UCVM. The biggest benefit for me of UCVM is how hands-on it is. We get 1 day a week of Clinical Skills labs all throughout the program, so you aren't sitting in lecture every day wondering why it's all worth it 😛 We learn suture patterns, physical exams, injections, bandaging, gowning and gloving for surgery, and more in first year. We also get fun things like Professional Skills labs almost every week, which is more out-of-lecture time.

The program is also organized such that you learn the same kind of topic throughout all of your classes (not sure if WCVM is the same way), so for example when you're learning about the heart in physiology, you're covering it in anatomy, learning about heart arrhythmias in clinical presentations, and learning how to take a heart rate in clinical skills, all at the same time. So it really helps integrate the whole curriculum and bring everything together.

To be honest though, if you want to be a small animal veterinarian, WCVM is probably a better choice. UCVM is very rural/production focused, and we don't have an Area of Emphasis for small animal. Even though I think 80% of our grads are small animal vets. A lot of people who want to be small animal vets complain about our program bitterly, and don't feel like they get enough small animal time to be competent vets when they leave. They all seem to do just fine afterwards though 😛

I am definitely missing a lot of reasons why I love UCVM lol, but that'll hopefully get you started! If you have any questions about anything specific, let me know 🙂
 
peach312 said:
Considering sending in my acceptance to UCVM today but I am hesitant because I know that I am very high on the WCVM waitlist and there is a very good chance that I would get in ... are all you UCVM'ers happy with your choice/happy you got into UCVM? @SARdoghandler @awesomenessity @Squeaksmom @AussieBorderCollie
@CarinaBee and @Sally and Z I was wondering if you might share why you are leaning toward WCVM 🙂
I might just be psyching myself out because it is such a big decision 😕
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I agree with everything that @SARdoghandler and @awesomenessity said, and I'd like to add some additional stuff, too. Unlike them, I am interested in being a small animal vet and likely pursuing a residency, but I wouldn't say that UCVM's apparent large animal focus has bothered me in any way. The fact is, we have already gotten so much exposure to all these awesome small animal specialists after just one year that I feel very inspired and I also feel very well-equipped when it comes to using school connections to find people and places to shadow at to learn even more about what I'm interested in. We also have two great small animal emergency/referral hospitals in Calgary that are closely connected to our school (lots of staff overlap with our faculty plus several fourth year rotations are held there). As a friend of mine who recently graduated UCVM told me early on, UCVM still has to teach their students so that they can pass the fourth year certification exam (the NAVLE), which means that our small animal education is actually not allowed to be insufficient (nor do I think it is). Don't let that be the only reason for not choosing to attend the school!
 
peach312 said:
Considering sending in my acceptance to UCVM today but I am hesitant because I know that I am very high on the WCVM waitlist and there is a very good chance that I would get in ... are all you UCVM'ers happy with your choice/happy you got into UCVM? @SARdoghandler @awesomenessity @Squeaksmom @AussieBorderCollie
@CarinaBee and @Sally and Z I was wondering if you might share why you are leaning toward WCVM 🙂
I might just be psyching myself out because it is such a big decision 😕
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Peach312!! If you know you're in at UCVM you could lose that in the chance you get into WCVM! You won't regret it! There's so many wonderful things going for both schools and I know it's a big decision but go with the guarantee in such a competitive field! You may have to wait another year if things don't go your way
 
Thank you everyone, your advice really helped me! I've actually submitted my acceptance letter and deposit now! I want to work with large animals and think UCVM would be a great fit for me. It was just hard to get over my dream of going to WCVM, even if it was to achieve my dream of going to UCVM (I know that sounds crazy, part of me just wished I could go to both :laugh:). I was 1st on the WCVM waitlist, so I was thinking someone might decline their offer before the deadline, but now lucky #2 will get in!
 
peach312 said:
Thank you everyone, your advice really helped me! I've actually submitted my acceptance letter and deposit now! I want to work with large animals and think UCVM would be a great fit for me. It was just hard to get over my dream of going to WCVM, even if it was to achieve my dream of going to UCVM (I know that sounds crazy, part of me just wished I could go to both :laugh:). I was 1st on the WCVM waitlist, so I was thinking someone might decline their offer before the deadline, but now lucky #2 will get in!
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Yaaaaaaaas! :banana: So excited to meet you!
 
Can someone from WCVM weigh in on what they love about it?
 
peach312 said:
Considering sending in my acceptance to UCVM today but I am hesitant because I know that I am very high on the WCVM waitlist and there is a very good chance that I would get in ... are all you UCVM'ers happy with your choice/happy you got into UCVM? @SARdoghandler @awesomenessity @Squeaksmom @AussieBorderCollie
@CarinaBee and @Sally and Z I was wondering if you might share why you are leaning toward WCVM 🙂
I might just be psyching myself out because it is such a big decision 😕
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I see that I'm weighing in a little late, but @awesomenessity and @AussieBorderCollie covered my answer pretty well. 🙂 I've been very happy at UCVM. I also want to go small animal and likely specialize, and I don't feel like I'm at any disadvantage (or if I am, it's due to factors other than our education... 😛 ) The other thing I think is worth mentioning is our mentorship program. I don't know if WCVM has anything like it. Every student is matched up with a faculty member for help and support throughout the program. Most faculty members will have one student from each year, and in my experience the little group becomes a helpful support network especially in first year when you're feeling everything out.

Anyways, I could go on and on about why I love our school, but I see you've already made your decision. Welcome 😀
 
CarinaBee said:
Can someone from WCVM weigh in on what they love about it?
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I love the WCVM because the teaching hospital is right there. There are some excellent clubs and with the right involvement you can be doing stuff right in the clinic at lunches or at other times. The small animal club does rounds every wednesday at lunch as well as some shadowing shifts, there are large animal rounds every morning before classes(except Friday I believe), and WEAMS gives you chances to handle wildlife and shadow the exotics vets. There are also great opportunities for working there in the summer.
We are starting to get more practical stuff added into our curriculum as last year was the first year they added an OSCE/clinical skills exam and we got to be the guinea pigs. There's also a biomedical rounds course that gets you thinking about a case and working your way through it. It's definitely a lot of classroom learning, but it's worth it!

Congrats everyone who got in and looking forward to seeing those at WCVM this August!
 
Does the teaching hospital hire RVT's or is it all students who work there?

Also, where is the best place to find a roommate/room for rent in Saskatoon?
 
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I also agree that the hands on stuff is a huge benefit of UCVM, and definitely something I'm jealous of. I can only speak for how the WCVM curriculum was when I was in first year, because as silvermoondragon said, the curriculum is getting changed around and students are getting more practical skills in the future than they used to (at least that's what I've heard). Overall though, I'd still say WCVM is more focused on "learn the theory behind what you're doing first, then practice it". Different types of learning work for different people, and some love this. Although I'd definitely say I would have benefited from having a bit more hands on experience earlier on, I get the logic behind why WCVM has done things the way they do. It's nice to feel like you have a really solid ground work to build your practical skills on (even if I've forgotten most of my first year groundwork :laugh:).

And as also previously mentioned, there are a TON of great clubs and opportunities to get more hands on experience at WCVM. So during the times where you're feeling a little bogged down by all the classes, and you reeeeally miss seeing an actual real live animal (this happened a lot in second year) there's always stuff going on with the clubs that you can participate in. I've had an awesome time being part of the WEAMS club and falconry, and the teaching hospital has amazing exotic animal specialists and interns who were great to learn from.

The teaching hospital at WCVM is also an amazing asset. There's a lot of variability among different clinics, and I think it's a huge plus that there is a hospital right on campus specifically there to make sure you learn the correct "gold standard" way to do things.

On a more subjective personal note, I just prefer the size and feel of Saskatoon compared to Calgary. I mean if you're from Calgary or another big city this isn't going to be a big deal for you, and Saskatoon obviously isn't "small" either, but for someone like me who's spent most of their life in a smaller city I found I felt more at home in Saskatoon. I did my undergrad in Calgary and it was just a bit too big and crowded for me.

WCVM does have a faculty advisor assigned to every student as well.
 
CarinaBee said:
Also, where is the best place to find a roommate/room for rent in Saskatoon?
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Once you get sent your welcome package you will also be sent a list of people/places looking to rent or find roommates compiled by the vet school, and I found this was a really good place to start looking.
 
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Hello! I am so happy I stumbled across this forum. Congrats to all WCVM/UCVMers!

I only applied to UCVM and was waitlisted which has my anxiety really high right now. Does anyone know how many students typically get off the waitlist at UCVM each year? How about WCVM?
 
monstar.xo said:
Hello! I am so happy I stumbled across this forum. Congrats to all WCVM/UCVMers!

I only applied to UCVM and was waitlisted which has my anxiety really high right now. Does anyone know how many students typically get off the waitlist at UCVM each year? How about WCVM?
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There are at least 5 people in our class that came off the waitlist. And they waitlist about 15. Source from @floatintruth
 
SunnyAntia said:
Once you get sent you're welcome package you will also be sent a list of people/places looking to rent or find roommates compiled by the vet school, and I found this was a really good place to start looking.
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That's good to know I'll have to look into that.

I may actually be buying a house in Saskatoon and would likely be looking for someone to rent a room/suite! Not sure if anyone on here would be interested in that but it might be an option. It would be near the uni and pet-friendly as well, seeing as my St. Bernard is coming with me! 🙂
 
SARdoghandler said:
There are at least 5 people in our class that came off the waitlist. And they waitlist about 15. Source from @floatintruth
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Thank you for providing that! Really appreciate it 🙂 Hmm... that's not an awful lot of movement. Definitely scared to set myself up for disappointment.
 
monstar.xo said:
Hello! I am so happy I stumbled across this forum. Congrats to all WCVM/UCVMers!

I only applied to UCVM and was waitlisted which has my anxiety really high right now. Does anyone know how many students typically get off the waitlist at UCVM each year? How about WCVM?
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Welcome to SDN! Good luck on the waitlist 🙂
 
CarinaBee said:
Does the teaching hospital hire RVT's or is it all students who work there?

Also, where is the best place to find a roommate/room for rent in Saskatoon?
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Yes, they have RVTs working there year round, and they are excellent teachers! During the school year I believe it's mostly the fourth year students "working" in the clinics, but in the summer they hire students from all years, even those finishing up 1st year so it's a great chance to hone those practical skills.

You can look on kijiji and other housing sites, but I would definitely recommend waiting for the housing list they will send out once everything is finalized. I know it seems like forever to wait, but it will come! That's how I found my place last year and it's been great living with other vet students because they can help you out with things.
 
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CarinaBee said:
Should we start a Facebook Group WCVM class of 2021?
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I think that upper years make it for you? I could be remembering that wrong, but that's how UCVM does it and I seem to recall WCVM doing it too.

And for those of you that got into UCVM, don't worry if you aren't added to the facebook group for a while. Most of us last year were added in July.
 
Man I'm driving myself crazy from overthinking being on the waitlist 😵 Anyone else feeling the same?
 
Sangel said:
Man I'm driving myself crazy from overthinking being on the waitlist 😵 Anyone else feeling the same?
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It should start moving soon and the wait will finally be over! There are at least 2 spots opening up and possibly more so fingers crossed for you!

It's already a somewhat short amount of time to arrange everything and move so hopefully you hear soon!
 
peach312 said:
The WCVM waitlist started moving this morning, so hopefully that means UCVM's will start moving today as well
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Oh gosh really? I sure hope so! I have a friend waiting on the list for WCVM so I'm crossing my fingers for her. Thanks for the heads up 🙂
 
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Sangel said:
Oh gosh really? I sure hope so! I also have a friend waiting on the list for WCVM so I'm crossing my fingers for her too. Thanks for the heads up 🙂
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My stomach is doing flip flops :'( Good luck everyone!
 
Squishes said:
UCVM's waitlist is moving, just got an offer this morning that I had to awkwardly decline :wacky: (he couldn't tell me what number I was) Good luck to those waitlisted!!!
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Ahh thanks for the update! Still haven't heard anything yet but here is to hoping!
 
monstar.xo said:
UCVM waitlist offers started going out today. I got a call this morning... I am speechless. I am pretty positive I am accepting and so I am really really looking forward to meeting everyone next year!

Good luck everyone... I am wishing you all the very best!
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Super congrats!!!! Can't wait to meet you 🙂


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
monstar.xo said:
UCVM waitlist offers started going out today. I got a call this morning... I am speechless. I am pretty positive I am accepting and so I am really really looking forward to meeting everyone next year!

Good luck everyone... I am wishing you all the very best!
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Congrats monstar.xo! Super excited to meet you
 
monstar.xo said:
UCVM waitlist offers started going out today. I got a call this morning... I am speechless. I am pretty positive I am accepting and so I am really really looking forward to meeting everyone next year!

Good luck everyone... I am wishing you all the very best!
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Congrats monstar.xo! Super excited to meet you
 
SARdoghandler said:
Heads up! Just talked to the admissions dean again. Half the UCVM waitlist calls have gone out (5 of them!). Still 5 more calls to go for him this afternoon. So a total of 10 waitlist spots moving today!
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Wow that's quite a few! Is that more than in previous years?
 
monstar.xo said:
UCVM waitlist offers started going out today. I got a call this morning... I am speechless. I am pretty positive I am accepting and so I am really really looking forward to meeting everyone next year!

Good luck everyone... I am wishing you all the very best!
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Congratulations!!!
 
peach312 said:
Wow that's quite a few! Is that more than in previous years?
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Apparently not! According to the dean, 9-11 spots moving is not uncommon. This time around a lot of people chose to go to WCVM, a couple declined to finish their undergrad, and a few just never replied to the offer.
 
SARdoghandler said:
Apparently not! According to the dean, 9-11 spots moving is not uncommon. This time around a lot of people chose to go to WCVM, a couple declined to finish their undergrad, and a few just never replied to the offer.
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Wow I never thought it would be that many! I figured like maybe 5-7 on a good day.
 
To those currently attending WCVM: I am an RVT and debating working 1 day a week for a little bit of income, and to keep up my skills working in a clinic. Do most people in school not have a job? Does anyone work part time?
Also, do we get any sort of discount at the on site clinic for our pets?
 
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