so sort of what your typical day is like, how people in the class get along for the most part, what the facilities are like, what the professors are like (overall) etc.
I cannot say enough how much I love my class. It's so non-competitive, everyone's helpful, and it's really like a big family. The faculty are for the most part fantastic, and there's a lot of socialization between classes as well. Everyone so far has been amazing, open, and I really can't say enough good things about the atmosphere at WI.
Typical day for first semester is classes pretty much all day. You're allowed down in the teaching hospital whenever you want, and part of the first year is an 'intro to the teaching hospital' where you have to observe a set number of different procedures (but you're welcome to hang out down there and see stuff literally any time). Any given day will usually be 3-4 lectures and a lab, or 2 lectures and 2 labs for those histo/anatomy double days. We were in class starting at 8:50 most days, 7:45 one day, and 11:00 one day (although there are a couple classes - like physical exam and history taking - that take place on a less set schedule so that late start day isn't there every week). 2nd semester is more lectures and fewer labs - so less time in classes (we're out at 2:00 2 days a week, 12:00 1 day a week, and 5:00 2 days a week this semester, although if you don't want to take LA Radiographic and you fanagle your anatomy lab to the right section some people actually have one whole day off a week...lucky.)
more specifically (and i guess questions that could wait until the open house but i'm impatient for info) when do clinics start, and if you know what the graduation rate is and NAVLE pass percentage.
Clinics start may after your 3rd year. First year we've had exposure to animals in Small Animal Restraint/Physical Exam/history taking - we worked with dogs, cats, and spent some time in the pig building on campus. 2nd semester is large animal PE and history taking - thus far we've done hands-on basics for cows and horses, and will be doing things like field trips to farms to learn more about the production side of medicine. It's not a ton of exposure to animals, but it is some.
Let's see what I can think up for now:
Curriculum related:
-Structure of anatomy lab?
SA anatomy is in Fall, LA in spring. SA is really 'fundamentals of veterinary anatomy' and is a more intensive course. We had I think 2 lectures and 3 labs a week. Groups are 3 people to a cadaver (dog), and we use a dissection guide (instructors circulate to help with any questions or issues). Exams were 50/50 lecture and lab - you do one first and then the other right after (they split the class in half for it). LA is much more open-ended - we have a list of things to find and we...go find them. Groups are 4-5 students per horse or cow (you can choose) and we have lab 1 day a week and lecture 1 day a week.
-Do you feel you get enough time to "feel out" different tracking options via electives before actually having to chooose one?
WI doesn't track until 4th year, and even then it doesn't seem mandatory to track a ton (you can design your own 'track' if you want something other than the current options - which I don't remember at the moment...SA, LA, Mixed, and something else...maybe) but there seems to be a lot of flexibility there to make it as focused or as broad as you want.
Don't know on the graduation/NAVLE rates.
Other-category related:
-Is there a neighborhood/part of town where graduate/professional students tend to live as opposed to lots of undergrads? I know this is the case in Minneapolis where I am now. I'd like to live near campus but don't want to accidentally end up on frat row.
The nice thing is that we're pretty isolated from the UG part of campus. We're waaay over on the west side of campus right by the UW hospital and med school, so it doesn't really feel like an undergrad campus. Most places around school are fine - the frat row neighborhoods are more downtown/not right next to the vet school.
-Is there a mandatory laptop purchase?
No. Tech speaking - we have lecture capture for all classes, and most classes provide their own notes (hard copy) - I've bought 1 textbook and 1 dissection guide total. Some professors have better notes than others, but it's nice to have the info they think is relevant there and not have to use a ton of textbooks (our GI phys notes for our test this monday are 70 pages long for the unit - so they can be pretty thorough depending on the professor).
-Is there any sort of work study available?
Don't know. There are a lot of opportunities for jobs in the school, though.
