Regret choosing the wrong school

[himynameissarah]

I picked one of the out of state schools over my top choice (right next to my state) due to cheaper cost of attendance.
Currently my school is around 280k and my top choice was 400k-ish. That’s huge. So Pretty much everyone is going to say that I should stay for cheaper tuition.

Today was our last orientation day and I feel so bummed now. I regret my decision. I’m belong to minority group and I feel like I stand out so much, yet I met nobody. I have a hijab on so I stand out so much and I don’t like the fact that I’m being looked at constantly!

People went to clubs and socialize last night and tonight but I just didn’t get a great feel about these people. People were very cliquish and gossipy already. It’s like back to high school. . I don’t like the atmosphere and feel extremely isolated and want to go back.. everyone is seriously extroverts while I’m so introverted person.

I actually want to turn down on everything and go back and do everything all over again. Reapply.
I’ll be in debt for moving (took out 35,000 and spent 11,000 on moving & buying stuffs) but tuition will be refunded if I stop moving forward.

Am I dumb that I want to cancel all this?
Any advice?

Thank you.

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[Minnerbelle]

Ugh I’m sorry. Is there a DEI administrator on your campus that you can speak to? Can they hook you up with a faculty mentor or big sib that is also from a similar underrepresented group and might be able to help advise you? Obviously finding a way to make this school work for you is going to be the best financial decision.

I’m usually in the just suck it up and deal with it camp when it comes to vet school “fit.” That being said you should not have to feel othered based on your racial/ethnic identity. There are most definitely vet schools that I would absolutely never choose to attend as a nonwhite person. And a school where someone is stared at for wearing a hijab would be one of them… so I get it. That sucks, and I’m sorry.

However, I would say one thing that may be something you might want to reflect upon. You make statements about “These people being cliquish and gossipy.” That is pretty common overall in a lot of vet school campuses. So… if that’s more your concern, I’m not sure switching schools will make that better.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I really sympathize. You need to talk to your student services dean immediately. People do drop out on the last day of orientation before the matriculation deadline.

If you really feel unsafe and isolated, it is your decision to leave if they cannot convince you otherwise.

 

[himynameissarah]

Ugh I’m sorry. Is there a DEI administrator on your campus that you can speak to? Can they hook you up with a faculty mentor or big sib that is also from a similar underrepresented group and might be able to help advise you? Obviously finding a way to make this school work for you is going to be the best financial decision.

I’m usually in the just suck it up and deal with it camp when it comes to vet school “fit.” That being said you should not have to feel othered based on your racial/ethnic identity. There are most definitely vet schools that I would absolutely never choose to attend as a nonwhite person. And a school where someone is stared at for wearing a hijab would be one of them… so I get it. That sucks, and I’m sorry.

However, I would say one thing that may be something you might want to reflect upon. You make statements about “These people being cliquish and gossipy.” That is pretty common overall in a lot of vet school campuses. So… if that’s more your concern, I’m not sure switching schools will make that better.

Thank you for the input. It might be too late, as orientation is finished. Upon talking to my parents for hours, I decided to stay for at least a year. Classes haven't started yet and hopefully, i will make some friends that i can rely on.
However, I can't help but feeling like a fish out of water for being.. different. So I decided to look into transfer option, hopefully back to my state or the one I hoped for. If I like my school, I will stay though

Thank you for your words and I really appreciate it!!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the input. It might be too late, as orientation is finished. Upon talking to my parents for hours, I decided to stay for at least a year. Classes haven't started yet and hopefully, i will make some friends that i can rely on.
However, I can't help but feeling like a fish out of water for being.. different. So I decided to look into transfer option, hopefully back to my state or the one I hoped for. If I like my school, I will stay though

Thank you for your words and I really appreciate it!!

Do it before classes start. You could see about deferral.

 

[himynameissarah]

Thank you everyone for your words! I’ll stick to it and see. I really want to study vet med but never thought about the environment.

Maybe things will settle because I’ll be too busy studying. Thanks!

 

[Ardently.cowenby]

While I don't totally understand where you're coming from as I am not a minority, I am a first year vet student as well and if you wanted a pen pal to talk to, I'm all ears!

 

[Drjc1977]

Ugh I’m sorry. Is there a DEI administrator on your campus that you can speak to? Can they hook you up with a faculty mentor or big sib that is also from a similar underrepresented group and might be able to help advise you? Obviously finding a way to make this school work for you is going to be the best financial decision.

I’m usually in the just suck it up and deal with it camp when it comes to vet school “fit.” That being said you should not have to feel othered based on your racial/ethnic identity. There are most definitely vet schools that I would absolutely never choose to attend as a nonwhite person. And a school where someone is stared at for wearing a hijab would be one of them… so I get it. That sucks, and I’m sorry.

However, I would say one thing that may be something you might want to reflect upon. You make statements about “These people being cliquish and gossipy.” That is pretty common overall in a lot of vet school campuses. So… if that’s more your concern, I’m not sure switching schools will make that better.

I am by nature a shy individual and have great trouble walking up to a stranger and introducing myself. If fact, I have been told several times in my life by several good friends that exclaimed that when they first met me, they thought I was stuck up!!! In my experience most, not all, people are uncomfortable at least initially when introduced to a situation or person/people who are different from them. Different does not mean better or worse, just different. Quite frankly, especially in todays social climate, most people do not want to do or say anything that could be considered insensitive or racist. Unfortunately there are exceptions. I think time may be the best medicine in this situation. However, if you do experience what is truly an offense due to your gender, skin color, ethnicity, etc. you should contact the school's DEI office. I wish you well.

 

[allycatsncows]

Hoping things get better!
Unfortunately as others said above vet school does seem like high school -- I think it's really because of the class sizes.
I'm about halfway through second year and only now feel like my class has really started to bond -- most people know each other now.
First year is hard, academically and socially but try to remind yourself that a lot of your classmates are in the same/similar boats as you when it comes to making new friends. I consider myself to be pretty introverted but I told myself starting vet school I needed to branch out more -- having that social aspect is important, you need to do more than just study all the time . Try not to be afraid to branch out I know it's scary. And try not to assume everyone already has their friends picked out/cliques already formed. I've seen many friend groups in my class grow and change - I'm sure you'll find your niche just give it a chance

 

[StartingoverVet]

I can’t speak to the diversity issue, but vet school was very cliquey and like high school. I am not sure that is different at any school. Really if you find one or two people you can socialize and study with, that is all you will need. Not minimizing your experience because a lot of schools can we quite homogenous, but I am not sure there is a perfect spot out there for you.