Factors when picking a school

[whyrightmeow]

So I am in my first year and there are a few things I wish I would have considered before I made my final decision. These are only my opinion, and I won't be offended if yours varies. I am only posting this because I wish I would have read something like it before I made my decision.

I am at The Ohio State University right now as an out of state student.

Positives:
Can apply for resident tuition next year
Great school, nice facilities
Curriculum includes Professional development - basically a 1 credit course on a variety of topics including stress, time managment, finances, etc
Parking is right outside the building
Parking pass is a hang tag, so carpoolers can share 1 tag between several cars
24 hr access to building
Nice recreational facility/wall climbing
Social worker available 24/7 (for when you finally have that meltdown)

Negatives:
Quarter system (not semesters) - this complicates everything. Plus you don't finish until June.
Can only leave for 3 weeks over the summer - so any externship must be in-state unless it is HIGHLY unusual.
Lockers are tiny; a normal bookbag will not fit into them. It is also very crowded when everyone is trying to get to their locker at the same time. (seems minor, I know, but its the little stresses that are the worst)

Things I wish I would have asked:
Is anatomy lab structured, or do you just get a dog and a book? (Our canine anatomy lab is, in my opinion, poorly structured)
Are tests returned to students, or is it against honor code to write down questions from the test? (At OSU vet school no tests are returned, EVER. This bothers me after every test, since I like to know what I got wrong and what the correct answer was - this may have been a deal-breaker for me)
How much (live) animal interaction is there for first year students?
Do you buy class notes or are they posted online so notes can be taken directly on a laptop? (I was amazed at needing to buy 80% of my notes, when I came from an undergrad school that I never once bought a course pack for)
Is the schedule set, or does it change from day to day? (Our schedule has a main theme, but basically changes a little each day)

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[SkiOtter]

All the grass is brown

Also kinda yellow from where the dog urine burned it

 

[finnickthedog]

All the grass is brown

Idk man, my grass still has some green in it under all the mud.

 

[DVMDream]

Yes, yes it is winter, hopefully the grass grows back in the spring.

 

[WildZoo]

Idk man, my grass still has some green in it under all the mud.

Well see, that's because you're only in the second year of scorching.

I am hoping for rain in a few months. I hear things are a little better in the rainy season.

 

[WildZoo]

I may have lost control of my metaphor

 

[SkiOtter]

Well see, that's because you're only in the second year of scorching.

I am hoping for rain in a few months. I hear things are a little better in the rainy season.

@cdoconn said that in the rainy season in Texas they have to cut their grass once a week. Up here it’s not nearly as rainy and we go at least every other

 

[twelvetigers]

It’s dead grass colored, like the Chesapeake I saw last month.

(Y’all has a catty day up in here...)

 

[SkiOtter]

It’s dead grass colored, like the Chesapeake I saw last month.

(Y’all has a catty day up in here...)

So I read this as cheapskate and I was like wow that’s an interesting description of a client

 

[finnickthedog]

It’s dead grass colored, like the Chesapeake I saw last month.

(Y’all has a catty day up in here...)

Who decided dead grass was a good name for a dog color anyways?

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Yes, room and board. Food and shelter. In other words, pick the safer, more quiet apartment so you can study, sleep, and live in peace. Spend more on normal healthy foods to fuel your brain and body to be their best instead of hitting the drive-through all the time.

Some things are worth spending a little more on (haha, I said "more on") like your sanity and your safety and your health so that you can perform optimally and succeed in professional school.

But from what I gather, the cost differential isn't proportionate; i.e., by paying another $20k, $50k, $100k in principal towards tuition, you don't get $20k/50k/100k better quality education.

Completely agree. I probably spend much more than other people on here for food. Partially because I have dietary restrictions due to medical issues that inherently make my food more expensive. But it is important for not only my physical health, but also my mental health. Living conditions are important!

Going through vet school without incurring any debt at all is rare, and I don't know if there is anyone around here who can give that perspective.

I think you might be surprised how many people graduate without debt. I can't remember the number but I thought it was somewhere between 7-13% and it is increasing. I wouldn't call that rare necessarily.


Overall, I think there are things that are worth paying a certain amount more for. For instance, I absolutely couldn't imagine myself in Pullman (sorry). Even if it was like 20k cheaper than OSU, I probably wouldn't go there. If it was 100k, then yeah I would. I don't think it is always as simple as "go to the cheapest school" because the cheapest school may be 2k, 20k, or 200k cheaper. I think it is worth considering schools that are "marginally" more expensive for certain reasons. And this is coming from someone who chose to go to the cheapest school.

 

[DVMDream]

It’s dead grass colored, like the Chesapeake I saw last month.

(Y’all has a catty day up in here...)

This makes me laugh because other reasons. I think I pissed someone off earlier saying dead grass is a stupid color name. Oops.

See. ..I'm the killer of hopes and dreams.

 

[WildZoo]

I think you might be surprised how many people graduate without debt. I can't remember the number but I thought it was somewhere between 7-13% and it is increasing. I wouldn't call that rare necessarily.

Eh, I'd still call that rare, and my point was it's not a perspective that I usually see anyone offering up around here, which is why I followed up with the quote about someone I know who will be graduating without debt.

 

[Lupin21]

Completely agree. I probably spend much more than other people on here for food. Partially because I have dietary restrictions due to medical issues that inherently make my food more expensive. But it is important for not only my physical health, but also my mental health. Living conditions are important!



I think you might be surprised how many people graduate without debt. I can't remember the number but I thought it was somewhere between 7-13% and it is increasing. I wouldn't call that rare necessarily.


Overall, I think there are things that are worth paying a certain amount more for. For instance, I absolutely couldn't imagine myself in Pullman (sorry). Even if it was like 20k cheaper than OSU, I probably wouldn't go there. If it was 100k, then yeah I would. I don't think it is always as simple as "go to the cheapest school" because the cheapest school may be 2k, 20k, or 200k cheaper. I think it is worth considering schools that are "marginally" more expensive for certain reasons. And this is coming from someone who chose to go to the cheapest school.

so says the person early in their school career... bahahahahaaaaaaa

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Eh, I'd still call that rare, and my point was it's not a perspective that I usually see anyone offering up around here, which is why I followed up with the quote about someone I know who will be graduating without debt.

Ehh even at the low end that would be 5 people of my 72 person class. Not what I would classify as rare, but I don't wanna argue semantics lol

 

[WildZoo]

Ehh even at the low end that would be 5 people of my 72 person class. Not what I would classify as rare, but I don't wanna argue semantics lol

Wasn't the point of the comment anyway Perhaps I should have said rare on SDN lol

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

so says the person early in their school career... bahahahahaaaaaaa

?????

K, guess I don't have any valuable opinions. Bye.

This site is honestly a **** show like 90%+ of the time.

 

[Lupin21]

?????

K, guess I don't have any valuable opinions. Bye.

This site is honestly a **** show like 90%+ of the time.

In other words, you missed my amusement that you just walked into a point I had made earlier. There was no hostility. If you haven't gotten that sense from my posts in this thread throughout this discussion, then I am a little disappointed.

The point I was making was that you say that now, but I would really like to see if you still have that opinion once graduated.

 

[WildZoo]

This site is honestly a **** show like 90%+ of the time.

Well, only if you include pre-med!

Take out them and WW (which is obvs nothing but a **** show) and I'd say we're at 25%, tops

 

[battie]

can't remember the number but I thought it was somewhere between 7-13% and it is increasing. I wouldn't call that rare necessarily.

The last number I saw was 17% from the AVMA.

 

[Lupin21]

The last number I saw was 17% from the AVMA.

A good number, think even close to 20%, graduate without debt IS here at OK. Most have spouses that provide good support and we are pretty cheap in general. North Carolina and Georgia are the other two that I know have a decent number of non-debt ridden students for cheap IS.

 

[deleted955608]

?????

K, guess I don't have any valuable opinions. Bye.

This site is honestly a **** show like 90%+ of the time.

Your opinions are valuable. The people on here just have real life experience and have graduated so know what is is like on the "other side". Its hard for us newer students because we still have our rosy glasses on when it comes to vet school. Please don't be discouraged by this conversation. This site can actually be very informative and accepting, although a bit weird.

 

[Trilt]

Grass is greener where you water it.

Go to the cheapest school.

People throw around "an extra 10-20k" like that's a small number. It's not. That's my new car. That's a year to two years of paying a grand a month on loans (with interest). That's 20k - prob like, 23, 24k with interest - that could be saved for retirement or spent on living.

I mean, I would just love to have 20k less in loans. That's my last two years of payments!

 

[Stroganoff]

All the grass is brown

And the sky is grey
I've been for a walk
On a winter's day
I'd be safe and warm
If I was in food animal

People throw around "an extra 10-20k" like that's a small number. It's not.

Hear hear! Principal can literally double in 7-12 years, then double again. Some of my private loans have more than doubled. So that extra $20K principal could be the same as a $60K house down payment.

 

[staff_wielder]

Well, only if you include pre-med!

Take out them and WW (which is obvs nothing but a **** show) and I'd say we're at 25%, tops

The last number I saw was 17% from the AVMA.

Hahaha I thought the 17% was for the **** show factor

 

[battie]

A good number, think even close to 20%, graduate without debt IS here at OK. Most have spouses that provide good support and we are pretty cheap in general. North Carolina and Georgia are the other two that I know have a decent number of non-debt ridden students for cheap IS.

I could even see it for some at UIUC. IS peeps that had savings and a spouse with a decent job might manage it. Throw in the part time jobs and some of our scholarships, and I would be willing to bet that a few people per class are debt free.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

This makes me laugh because other reasons. I think I pissed someone off earlier saying dead grass is a stupid color name. Oops.

See. ..I'm the killer of hopes and dreams.

I saw that exchange

 

[prevetkid]

Here are some updated pros and cons for Kansas State!

Pro:
• Students are highly encouraged to go hang out in the teaching hospital.
• We’re only two hours from Kansas City or Wichita, if you’re needing something we don’t have in Manhattan or just want to get away for a day. There is an airport in Manhattan, but apparently it’s way cheaper to fly out of KC.
• Our class size is around 115, which I think is a good number. It’s large enough that you don’t get sick of seeing the same people all the time, but not so large that you can’t get to know everyone at least in passing.
• Manhattan is located in the Flint Hills, which is the one non-flat area of Kansas!
• There are some good hiking destinations in/around town.
• We have quite a few active clubs. Dues are pretty cheap (typically $5/semester), and most meetings include food (you will get sick of free pizza very quickly).
• Each first year is assigned both a second and fourth year buddy. Your second year will hopefully pass down old tests/assignments to study from (SUPER helpful! If you don’t get any you can borrow some from a friend) and also maybe gift you with some school supplies, candy, etc. Mine gave me his dissection guide and dissection kit, which saved me a good chunk of money! And of course your second and fourth years are available if you have any questions about classes, how to study, things to do in Manhattan, etc., and you can go shadow your fourth year in the hospital.
• Also first years are split into groups based on our career interests and assigned a couple of faculty mentors, and we have lunch with them once a month. Some mentors plan speakers or topics to discuss, which mine haven’t, but the intent is nice.
• We have two psychologists on staff just for vet students, and it’s free to go talk to them.
• We’re all provided the same tablet PC (well, you pay for it in your student fees), and all of our notes are either pre-loaded on OneNote, or available online to download. No printing or purchasing huge stacks of notes, unless you just REALLY want to. We’re also provided a 2 TB external hard drive to back things up. Sometimes I wish I had a nicer computer, but it was nice to not have to go through the process of picking out, buying and setting up one on my own. If something goes wrong with my computer I can just pop downstairs to IT, and they know these computers really well, and we don’t have to deal with any annoying compatibility issues.
• Our library was just remodeled a year or two ago, so it’s really nice! The library on main campus (and main campus in general) is really pretty too, if you want a change of scenery.
• Our classroom building is right next door to the teaching hospital, and there’s even an enclosed breezeway in case the weather sucks.
• Access to the rec center and all of the group classes there is included in your student fees. The rec center is right across the street from the vet school.
• Parking passes are $180/year, which apparently is really cheap compared to some schools. If you’re coming to campus after about 8:45 in the morning you might have to hunt for a spot, but there are a few other lots within reasonable walking distance of the vet school.
• Pretty much nothing in Manhattan is more than 15 minutes away, and traffic is never really bad.
• We have a mobile spay/neuter unit, so if you do the shelter med rotation fourth year you can perform a ton of surgeries then.
• First year most of our tests are on Fridays, and we don’t have classes on Fridays other than electives. It’s nice to be able to take Friday afternoon to relax, catch up on sleep/errands/cleaning, go hang out in the hospital, whatever. We typically just have one exam a week, but there are exceptions.
• All of our lectures (other than maybe electives) are in the same room, which makes life easy.
• We don’t do any PBL that I know of (that’s a pro for me, it sounds kind of terrible), but most professors try to add some clinical correlations in their lectures.
• This is a great place to come if you like cows, of course, but I think around half of our class is SA-focused, and we have a great exotics program too! One of our faculty members, Dr. Carpenter, literally wrote the book on exotics, and he takes students to the local zoo sometimes.
• We get I think a 20% discount on most things at the hospital, and there are discounts available on several brands of pet food. You can buy Purina 60% off at the hospital if your pet has been seen there, or there are separate feeding programs through Hill’s, Purina, Royal Canin, Oxbow, and possibly others.
• We have 24-hour access to labs and classrooms. The library closes, but it’s open until 10 or 11 pm during the week.
• At least this semester most lectures were recorded except for physiology. I haven’t watched them because I don’t want to make a habit out of skipping class, but it’s nice to have the option available. Theoretically you’re required to attend all lectures and labs, but most professors don’t take attendance.
• The labs and locker rooms/restrooms look rather outdated right now, but they’re going to start renovating the first year lab and locker rooms over summer 2017, and the rest of the labs to follow. They’re also going to be adding a student lounge area with a fridge and comfy places to sit and relax or study, and they’ll be putting windows in the labs! Right now the library is the only place in the whole building with windows.

Con:
• Manhattan is very small to me (around 50k people) and it’s definitely a college town. It has most of the essentials, and it’s big enough that everybody doesn’t know everybody, but there’s not a whole lot to do in town.
• As a consequence of being a college town, housing costs in Manhattan are a bit inflated. It’s still cheap compared to some areas, but my 1-bedroom apartment is $750/a month, which seems to be about average. Of course, living with a roommate would save money.
• We have a dress code for lectures. It’s not super strict (jeans are okay as long as they’re not faded/ripped, guys don’t have to wear a tie), but T-shirts, sweatpants, yoga pants, shorts and tennis shoes are all a no-go. You can dress down if you’re on campus after hours, but from 8-5 we’re expected to dress professionally (although you can wear scrubs for anatomy lab).
• Our computers are a weird off-brand (Fujitsu) and are kind of clunky and ugly. I’ve never used any other tablet for school, so I can’t really say how it compares, but I curse it sometimes when it doesn’t do what I want it to. That may just be part of the learning curve, though.
• Our classrooms, and especially the lab are always FREEZING.
• We don’t track, which may be a pro or a con depending on your preferences. There are electives available, but everyone learns both SA and LA. We’re also required to do three 40 hour “mentorships” before fourth year; one SA, one food animal, and one other (equine, exotics, zoo, etc.).
• We don’t really have any clinical skills classes or opportunities for in-class hands-on experience before third year; we’re expected to learn a lot of that during our mentorships. But that being said, there are plenty of ways to get experience on your own time – wet labs, volunteering at the local shelter through the shelter med club, joining one of the ICU teams, etc. They're also planning to add more hands-on experience into first and second year within the next couple of years.
• There isn’t really anywhere to go for lunch within walking distance of the vet school (even the main campus student union is a bit of a jaunt), so most people bring their lunch and stay on campus unless they have a dog to let out. There is a café in the basement, but they don’t have a ton of options and it’s a bit pricy.
• You’re required to join SCAVMA to join clubs, and it was I believe $47 for the year. It sounds like this is fairly standard and there are other benefits to joining it anyway, but it was a little annoying that clubs/faculty/SCAVMA themselves didn’t really explain this up front.

Hello, it is 2019. Are the classrooms still freezing?

 

[LyraGardenia]

Hello, it is 2019. Are the classrooms still freezing?

Haha, sadly yes! My class has been struggling with facilities to keep our current lecture hall at a reasonable temperature, but jackets and blankets are still necessary most days. They will be building a new third year lecture hall soon, for what it's worth!

 

[sheltermed]

Hello, it is 2019. Are the classrooms still freezing?

FWIW, with all the new construction and revamping I think it's a great time to go to K-State. I liked it a lot when I visited this past week.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

 

[prevetkid]

FWIW, with all the new construction and revamping I think it's a great time to go to K-State. I liked it a lot when I visited this past week.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

Me too, and I would love to go! But being cold while trying to pay attention is a huge turn off

 

[LyraGardenia]

Some other K-State updates while I'm here:
• Like I mentioned previously in case you didn't see it, there's now a clinical skills class in first and second year, so no more mentorships (although they can still do those optionally for elective credit!). I've heard mixed things about how helpful clinical skills is, I think they're still working out the kinks, but Dr. Englar who's in charge of it is super nice!
• First years don't have Friday afternoons free anymore, they've been changing schedules up quite a bit with clinical skills. But you do generally still get at least a little free time during the week, you're not stuck in class 8-5 every single weekday.
• The library is now open 24/7 to students! It's not staffed 24/7, but if you just want to go sit and study after hours you just have to scan your badge to get in.
• In addition to the new anatomy lab, microanatomy/radiology lab, and student success center (i.e. student lounge, but they don't like us to call it that ) on the third floor completed last year, there's now another SSC and a clinical skills lab on the first floor!
• The newer model of computers that c/o 2022 has are definitely less clunky and ugly than mine, lol. And they may or may not be switching from Fujitsu to Dell or Lenovo laptop/tablets within the coming years, we were getting applicant input on which brand they liked best during the interview days.

And along the lines of recent discussion, the OOS tuition rate is definitely a major con, and there's no way to switch to IS after first year. K-State was my only acceptance and I've been reasonably happy here, but I can't ignore that I'll be close to $300k in debt by the time I'm done. If you get accepted somewhere cheaper, GO THERE. The shiny new labs won't be paying my bills in the future, unfortunately.

 

[shee-p]

Me too, and I would love to go! But being cold while trying to pay attention is a huge turn off

I feel you. My joints start hurting when it’s too cold in a room. I also can’t concentrate.

 

[LyraGardenia]

Me too, and I would love to go! But being cold while trying to pay attention is a huge turn off

Well from what I've heard we're not the only school with that issue, lol. I hope I'm not making it sound worse than it is, I'd recommend having a jacket or hoodie on hand, but most days it's manageable. The old anatomy lab was the worst for being an ice box at times, but that was largely on purpose to keep the formalin smell at bay. I haven't spent much time in the new lab, so not sure how it is as far as temperature, they have downdraft tables to pull the fumes away so they may not have to keep it quite as cold? Anyway, I certainly wouldn't make it a major factor in your school decision!

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Me too, and I would love to go! But being cold while trying to pay attention is a huge turn off

I feel you. My joints start hurting when it’s too cold in a room. I also can’t concentrate.

Seriously heated blankets are your friend. I'm not kidding. Many people in my class bring one.

 

[vetmedhead]

Seriously heated blankets are your friend. I'm not kidding. Many people in my class bring one.

I live under a regular blanket in class haha. I keep one in my locker at school. I would bring a heated blanket but I'm afraid I might get stabbed for the electrical socket real estate

 

[LyraGardenia]

Seriously heated blankets are your friend. I'm not kidding. Many people in my class bring one.

My friend from Texas brings a heated blanket to class! For me that would be a little excessive, but she did inspire me to buy my own for home use lol. Each of our lecture halls has two outlets at each seat, so that's not an issue haha. There's also a girl who brings a small space heater, she's from Massachusetts so doesn't have the excuse of not being used to cold, she just tends to be a bit extra.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

My friend from Texas brings a heated blanket to class! For me that would be a little excessive, but she did inspire me to buy my own for home use lol. Each of our lecture halls has two outlets at each seat, so that's not an issue haha. There's also a girl who brings a small space heater, she's from Massachusetts so doesn't have the excuse of not being used to cold, she just tends to be a bit extra.

No one has brought a space heater yet...better not say anything to the AZ people. Our whole classroom is cold I just sit in a jacket because CO but yeah it is a bit excessive like can we please get a decent temp for this room???

 

[battie]

Well from what I've heard we're not the only school with that issue, lol.

I keep an electric blanket at my seat for when I'm actually at the school. I have no shame in taking it to the library, either.

No one has brought a space heater yet...better not say anything to the AZ people. Our whole classroom is cold I just sit in a jacket because CO but yeah it is a bit excessive like can we please get a decent temp for this room???

I'm tempted to do this when we get back in the classroom in March.

 

[Teepster87]

There's probably going to be alot of cool potential for things at KSU soon too once the NBAF starts getting closer to fully operational

 

[prevetkid]

I live under a regular blanket in class haha. I keep one in my locker at school. I would bring a heated blanket but I'm afraid I might get stabbed for the electrical socket real estate

Okay so maybe I'm just being bratty since this seems to be a trend lol it's just mind boggling since my undergrad likes to jack the classroom heat up...guess it's time to accept I won't be spoiled anymore

 

[vetmedhead]

Okay so maybe I'm just being bratty since this seems to be a trend lol it's just mind boggling since my undergrad likes to jack the classroom heat up...guess it's time to accept I won't be spoiled anymore

To be fair, our collective body heat normally keeps the room habitable and 98% of my classmates don't have any problems

I'm just always cold

 

[battie]

I'm just always cold

I wish I had applied to more schools below the Mason-Dixon line.

 

[Stroganoff]

I wish I had applied to more schools below the Mason-Dixon line.

The heat is insane. It's January, and my windows are wide open, and I'm wearing as little as possible to cool down. I haven't seen snow in years.

This is a grass is greener thing, innit? 'Cause I miss living somewhere with four seasons and a legitimate winter. I might apply to programs in PA or MA in the future just to remind myself what real winter is.

 

[battie]

The heat is insane. It's January, and my windows are wide open, and I'm wearing as little as possible to cool down. I haven't seen snow in years.

This is a grass is greener thing, innit? 'Cause I miss living somewhere with four seasons and a legitimate winter. I might apply to programs in PA or MA in the future just to remind myself what real winter is.

Born in January and raised in CO. Undergrad plus more in NE. Now in IL. If I never see snow again in my life, I could die happy. I hate the ambient temp being less than 75. I've stayed with my parents in TX for about 2 weeks total since they've moved, and the fact they keep their house at 77* is beautiful to me.

 

[WildZoo]

The heat is insane. It's January, and my windows are wide open, and I'm wearing as little as possible to cool down. I haven't seen snow in years.

This is a grass is greener thing, innit? 'Cause I miss living somewhere with four seasons and a legitimate winter. I might apply to programs in PA or MA in the future just to remind myself what real winter is.

I like real winter. We get close in TN but...i dunno, if I'm gonna be cold I want a little snow. I miss Pittsburgh all the time.

 

[WildZoo]

Also +1 to the cold classrooms, though here it's mostly the third year room, the others aren't as bad. Jacket +/- blanket is usually enough, though sometimes my hands get a little frozen depending on the day.

 

[Trilt]

I brought a heated blanket a couple times. Plus a power strip so nobody could complain about monopoly on the outlets.

 

[JaynaAli]

I wish I had applied to more schools below the Mason-Dixon line.

The place I’m doing my residency at is definitely in the south and it is always freezing too. People are shocked when I tell them I wear a fleece jacket year round. They basically run the AC at 68-70 in all the buildings every day of the year. I can remember maybe two or three days so far when they’ve had the heat on...it’s been those rare days when temps hover in the 30s. I’m told it’s kept cold partly to combat the mold from the moisture/humidity? The students have cubbies at the back that are stuffed with blankets so cold classrooms seems like a universal problem!

 

[SkiOtter]

They basically run the AC at 68-70 in all the buildings every day of the year.

That sounds beautiful tho

 

[JaynaAli]

That sounds beautiful tho

It’s cold! My happy temperature is 76ish. This morning it’s 46 out, my apartment is at 63 degrees because I don’t have the heat on, I’m sitting in bed under two blankets, and have a space heater running to heat this little corner of my room.