1. Creating Your Vet School List
Manisha Lakhotia
Assistant Director of Health Professions Advising

2. I CAN’T LEAVE CALIFORNIA!!!

3. There are MANY factors to consider when picking schools.
Choosing schools is a strategic process.
Location
Exposure to Tracks
Philosophy
Curriculum Model
Class Sizes
Clinical Setting
Early Clinical Experiences
Board Pass Rates
Cost

4. Metric Averages Some schools have a metric cut-off.
For schools that do not, averages are not the minimum requirement.
Safety vs Reach Schools

5. Tie who you are with what the school offers!
Cultural Match
Tie who you are with what the school offers!
Student Life websites, YouTube, Facebook, Website Photos, Mission Statement, Talking to Students/Faculty
Are there people like me there?
Can I connect with anyone?

7. Philosophy Research, Community Service, Public Health
This should align with your past experiences and goals.

8. Location Suburban, Urban, Rural Do you want a car?
Are you ok with public transportation?
Access to underserved populations?

9. Curriculum Model PBL, SDL, CBL, Traditional (Lecture), Hybrid
Interprofessional Education
Class Sizes

10. Clinical Experiences Location of sites.
What are the clinics/hospitals like?
Will you have exposure to the area you want to pursue?
Location of sites.

11. PBL-Problem Based Learning
An active, student-centered process where they are responsible for the learning in their groups
Some schools have PBL groups consisting of 5-6 students and a facilitator (sometimes no facilitator)
Facilitator are guides not lecturers or resources.
Groups meet for a couple hours every week for x amount of sessions to work through special designed cases
Most veterinary schools are moving towards PBL to avoid mechanical memorization of material found in traditional lecture

13. SDL-Self Directed Learning
The individual takes initiative with or without the help of others in
Problem-based learning
Case-based learning
Team-based learning
Small-group learning
One of the more appropriate learning method for health care professions to keep up-to-date with current medical advances
Adopted by UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2016

14. CBL-Case Based Learning
Students are presented with case studies that focus on diagnosis and management of a patient
Clinical cases are selected to provoke deep student learning by making them use basic scientific and clinical knowledge for the case as well as build upon:
Problem-solving
Team-building
Self-directed learning
Communication
Self- and peer-assessment skills

15. Example Case ATM Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

16. Traditional (Lecture)
Most undergraduate courses
Material is taught didactically
A professor will lecture on material and the student will be assessed via exams or quizzes throughout the course

17. Hybrid
Some sort of combination between traditional lecture and Problem Based Learning
Students will attend lecture and right after or the following day, are presented with a case that utilizes information they just learned
Depending on the school the balance is more lecture or more cases or more discussion

18. Tracking vs. Non-tracking
Tracking: allows you to take more classes/rotations in your desired specialization
Example tracks at UCD: Small Animal or Large Animal (Equine, Livestock, Zoologic)
Tracking at Colorado State University: Small, Large, or Mixed
Non-tracking: learn about all animals more generally
Good if you don’t know what you want to specialize in yet
Even if you do know, having knowledge of all animals is useful! The small animals you treat may live in a household with large animals, etc.
Generally do better on the NAVLE since it contains questions on all major domestic species (but keep in mind the NAVLE pass rate is pretty high everywhere)

19. Rotations, Externships and Residency
What are rotations?
Typically 2-4 week rotations in different services
Usually there will be several required rotations, and some that you choose
Look for schools that offer rotations your interested in
But also keep in mind many schools allow you to do externships
What are externships?
Opportunity to study an interest somewhere other than the university
Examples: Wildlife conservation in Africa, lab animal medicine at Stanford Medicine, study pathology at the UF Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, Leader Dogs for the Blind, Marine Mammal Center, etc.
Optional Residency (Cornell)
Provides the resident with a high level of clinical proficiency in a specific clinical discipline
Allows you to meet the postgraduate education requirements of the specialty board related to that discipline
Get experience in professional veterinary medical education and in teaching
Minimum of 2-3 years depending on the program

20. Comparing Curricula: UC Davis *Look at website for list of rotations

21. Comparing Curricula: University of Illinois. Poke around the website
Comparing Curricula: University of Illinois *Poke around the website! Not mentioned in this chart are elective streams in Business, Equine, Food Animal, Small Animal, Wildlife/Zoo/Ecology
TIME OF YEAR
YEAR 1 COURSES
YEAR 2 COURSES
YEAR 3 COURSES
YEAR 4 COURSES
FALL SEMESTER FIRST HALF
VM602 Structure & Function I
VM605 Pathobiology I
VM609 Medicine & Surgery I
VM614 Clinical Practice V
FALL SEMESTER SECOND HALF
VM601 Clinical Practice I
VM607 Pathobiology II
VM610 Medicine & Surgery II
VM615 Clinical Practice VI
SPRING SEMESTER FIRST HALF
VM603 Structure & Function II
VM606 Clinical Practice II Milestone Exam I
VM611 Medicine & Surgery III
VM616 Clinical Practice VII
SPRING SEMESTER SECOND HALF
VM604 Structure & Function III
VM608 Pathobiology III
VM612 Milestone Exam II Clinical Practice III
VM617 Professional Development Graduation
SUMMER
Vacation
VM613 Clinical Practice IV
Employment

22. Cost of Attendance Factors to consider
In state/out-of-state tuition
Can you establish residency?
Living expenses
Transportation costs to visit home
A great resource: VIN Foundation (vin.com)

23. Start Researching (Websites) Track Your Questions Along Columns
Create Excel Sheet
Determine Your Budget
Start Researching (Websites)
Track Your Questions Along Columns
Collect Same Info for All Schools
School Name
LOR Requirement
Outstanding Prereqs
Secondary Cost
Location
Curriculum
Clinical Training Sites
Out of state acceptance rate
Western
2 Science, 1 non-sci
None
$75
Pomona: Suburbuanish
PBL, Interprofessional
On campus & 3 miles away
50%
Cornell
4 max from anyone
Sociology
$125
Rural
Traditional
All around campus
30%

24. Practice:
Pick a school.