Vet School Choices

“I'm a senior biology major at the University of Portland in Oregon. I was recently admitted to 3 vet schools through the WICHE program: Washington State, Colorado State, and Oregon State. I decided not to accept my UC Davis interview because going to school there would be prohibitively expensive, but I wanted to see if you could make some generalizations about vet school for me.

I guess I want to know what you like about your school and what you think could be better. What makes your school special and what do you wish you had?

I visited CSU this past weekend, but I have no way to assess what I saw, since it was my first visit. What kinds of things should I be asking about when I am trying to make my decision?

I also want to ask specifically about class size. OSU has a class of 56 while CSU has a class of 140. If I am reading UC Davis' site correctly, it appears that you have about 130. Do you wish your class were smaller? It appears that you get enough time with your professors.

I am interested in zoological medicine. I respect your work with horses! Horses scare me a little because the only "large" animals I have ever been around are giraffes, but we're never allowed directly in with them. Hooves are frightening.”

First off, you pose some very good questions that I’m sure many people are wondering themselves. Second, congratulations on being admitted to three different veterinary schools! That is not an easy feat.

I understand your worry about UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine being so expensive, but frankly I wouldn’t have wanted to go to any other veterinary school. I have kind of a biased opinion on this, cause I was born and raised less than an hour away from UC Davis. Plus my family still lives close by and I am kind of in love with California. I'm also lucky to pay in state tuition. I don’t like the freezing cold, and I don’t think I could handle the amount of snow that other vet schools get. I love being near my family, the ocean, the mountains, San Francisco, LA, basically I’m a California girl, so that is my personal opinion. I also chose Davis though because of their program, although we rank 3^rd top veterinary school nationally, I still think we’re the best school! My experience at UC Davis as an undergrad was phenomenal. The university is very involved in research and has a wonderful veterinary program. Several of my classmates who are from out of state also say the same things about Davis, they love the program, and they love the location. I can only make some generalization about my school’s program and what I have researched about others. Many of the world’s top professors work at Davis and most of our professors are also clinicians. They are often at the top of their field of interest and have a passion for teaching.  

I would like to begin with telling you that when you select a school, it should be somewhere you really want to go (and live for the next four years). It should have the programs that you are interested in and allow you to gain the experiences you will need for your desired field. Honestly, it doesn’t matter where you get your D.V.M. from, once you graduate, you are a D.V.M. So having that said, I think it is vital to get the experiences and knowledge you want from your education. Get what you are paying for so to say.

My class has 135 students and from what I understand they plan on raising that figure to allow more out of state students and therefore make more money since they pay additional out of state tuition. I honestly don’t have a problem with such a large class size; I still have one on one contact with my professors and feel as though I benefit from having 135 colleagues and friends to get through vet school with. I don’t doubt that smaller class sizes allow for more individual time and learning, but on the other hand, I don’t at all think a large class size inhibits my ability to learn and get experience (at least from my experience at Davis).

In selecting a future school it is a great idea to ask questions and be able to assess what you see. I would suggest making a list of the pros and cons of each school you are interested in. I did this in the beginning, but quickly came up with the conclusion that Davis and only Davis was for me. For example, when you visited CSU what was your initial gut feeling? Did they make you feel welcome, did you like the location, and did you get a chance to see the campus and veterinary teaching hospital. I would do a little research on the professors that teach there and find out which ones might specialize in Zoo/Wildlife medicine and contact them through email asking their opinion on CSU’s program for this specialty field. See what kind of research they are involved in, what zoo’s they may have affiliations with. For example, I know UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine works closely with the San Diego Zoo, Sacramento Zoo, San Francisco/Oakland zoo’s and Sea World to offer veterinary students specialized training with Zoo/Wildlife animals. We also do research in other countries. For example, a second year, Ryan Sadler, shares his experience working with Gorillas in Uganda: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ip/students/experiences/summer_2010/sadler.cfm

He was able to do this research project by getting funding from our international program and STAR program (students in advance research). UC Davis is also on the lead of the emerging “One Health” idea of grouping Human, Animal medicine, and environmental conservation under the same umbrella. So find out what programs your prospective schools have to offer and what funding they have available.

Also, consider what your class schedule will be like. Typically at every vet school, your first two years is primarily learning the basics (the book work) and learning mostly about dogs and cats with some species comparisons. Ask if the school is more traditional or offers a more case-based learning approach. I know that I am the last of the old traditional curriculum at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Next year the incoming class of 2015 is starting the new curriculum. I am excited but not at all jealous of the new curriculum. It poses a more case-based learning curriculum and switches from the quarter system to the semester system. Subjects will be grouped in blocks rather than having individual classes, there will be more time for students to work in small groups solving cases that pertain to class material rather than just being lectured at. There will be more focus on specializing in a certain kind of medicine during their 3^rd and 4^th years (like small animal OR wildlife OR equine, ect.) rather than allowing students to be able to track multiple types of medicine. So as I believe the new curriculum will have its advantages, I know the old one works just fine and Davis students have a high passing rate for Veterinary Licensing Exams (or Boards). I am confident in my education although I think the opportunity to have more case-based learning would be advantageous. I just don’t think I would want to be one of the first students in the new curriculum as I assume it will have some bumps along the way.

What it really comes down to is your personal opinion. Personally I can only give you my opinion based on my experiences. I encourage you to learn as much as you can about the school’s programs you are pursuing and weigh out the pros and cons of each as you make your decision. I hope I answered your questions and let me know if I can help you any more and good luck!

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