Minnesota vs Illinois? (both OOS)

[walnutboi]

Hey all!
I’ve recently been accepted to Minnesota and still waiting on Illinois. Just wanted to know what y’all think of each schools? I am an alumni from Illinois but also wanted to explore what Minnesota’s got to offer. I’m interested in small animal surgery/emergency, and would love to experience and learn about different things (like exotics/zoo animals etc).
Any input is appreciated!! ☺️

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[battie]

I'm a 2021 graduate from Illinois (OOS from Colorado). I was pretty involved in quite a few things and can give you my perception of you have specific questions

 

[supershorty]

I'm a 2021 graduate from Illinois (OOS from Colorado). I was pretty involved in quite a few things and can give you my perception of you have specific questions

Same except Minnesota and not graduated even though I started vet school before battie did

 

[battie]

Same except Minnesota and not graduated even though I started vet school before battie did

#doesthismakeusold

 

[supershorty]

#doesthismakeusold

Oh wait, maybe we started the same year?

 

[battie]

Oh wait, maybe we started the same year?

Well, I repeated first year, so maybe?

 

[supershorty]

Well, I repeated first year, so maybe?

... yes, then we did.

anyway.

@walnutboi both of us can give you the old fart perspective on each program if you have specific questions, though I'll add a caveat that the curriculum at UMN has changed since I went through the majority of it, so I'll rope in some of the current 1st/2nd? years who post on here occasionally if you have questions about courses during those years.

 

[BlackCatsRuleTheWorld]

I'm a first year at UMN and can answer questions if you'd like! I know our teaching hospital has a heavy case load, and being in the Twin Cities there are a handful of other specialty hospitals and ERs that you can work or shadow at. Our teaching hospital does NOT see exotics though. We have an exotics club and we have a Raptor Center on campus as well as a Wildlife Rehab Center close by that you can get involved in as a student. Couple of zoos nearby too So, there are definitely opportunities for what you are interested in.

I checked my spreadsheet when I applied and I believe Illinois is $20k cheaper overall OOS vs UMN and the COL is probably lower in Illinois as well. So while UMN could be a great fit for you I'm not sure there's a huge reason to pick it over Illinois!

Happy to answer other questions on here or via direct message. Congrats on your acceptances!!

 

[vetsquared]

Current UMN second year! Feel free to ask me any questions you have. I absolutely love the school and am so grateful to be here; I honestly can’t imagine doing vet school anywhere else. I am OOS, but maybe not the best person to ask about finance stuff because I do have veterans benefits that offset a lot of the (high) cost.

Also, supposedly, the whole first year curriculum is going to become P/F starting with the class of 2027. The goal is to eventually switch the entire program to P/F.

 

[walnutboi]

Thanks all! I know this is a super super late reply, but I ended up choosing UMN! Excited to be seeing and meeting you guys at the VMC even though I don't know your names and faces!

 

[supershorty]

Thanks all! I know this is a super super late reply, but I ended up choosing UMN! Excited to be seeing and meeting you guys at the VMC even though I don't know your names and faces!

I doxx myself with some regularity so I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out who I am 😂