Personally, though it definitely has challenging elements, I'm
really enjoying vet school. I've found the material itself a lot more interesting as a whole, and far easier to get into since I can actually see a purpose for a good amount of it in the real world. As we've progressed though the material, it's also been cool to start having moments where you can actually apply the material you've learned to a case you come across in the real world. I also find that, because the curriculum is carefully designed to fit together, it creates a much more cohesive learning experience that builds on itself (i.e., as compared to undergrad, which can sometimes be more of a mish mash of subjects). The atmosphere and people are also
beyond amazing; it's great to be surrounded by people who are so passionate about what they are doing, and willing to help each other learn. From playing hockey with profs and classmates, to people actively helping each other with the material and studying, to the multitude of different clubs and activities, there's
far more of a sense of a close community than I ever found with undergrad. I also find all the clubs and activities have made it much easier to get actively involved, as there are so many different, interesting experiences, and the profs and staff are very generous with sharing their time with the clubs. Another big difference I found is that many of the profs and staff make a
sincere effort to get to know the students, seem to actually care about what they are teaching, and try to make sure the students
truly understand the material.
The most difficult part overall is probably just the sheer amount of time required of us as students, which is
far beyond that of undergrad, including a lot of long days of solid classes and labs, club activities in the evenings, and a lot more time required for studying at home. I'm also really not a morning person, so I personally have never been a fan of all our 8:30 a.m. classes and exams. If you want a better idea of the in-class time requirements, the class schedules for DVM students are posted on the OVC web site:
Phase 1,
Phase 2,
Phase 3. The amount and depth of the material itself is also far beyond that of undergrad, though (to me at least) this isn't too bad just because most of it is generally at least a little interesting or kind of applicable in some way to real life. We're also pretty much constantly being tested, with usually about an exam a week in different courses, so you need to make sure you actually stay on top of things more than was necessary in undergrad. Also, the final exams are usually worth the majority of the course mark (e.g., ~50%-80%), so that takes a bit of adjusting to for some people; they are also cumulative for the
entire year (i.e.,
all 8-months), meaning there's a
lot more material to study come April. Something else I think some people have difficulty with is, due to the large volume of material, getting used to
not being able to know everything. Honestly, in the time available you
can't learn
all the material out there while
still maintaining at least
some degree of an outside life, so you need to just accept this, while also becoming better at focusing on the the material and core concepts that really
do matter. Most of these things are really not that bad though, and, as time goes by, you definitely get used to it and adapt to the lifestyle. Plus, between the people in your own class, upper-years passing down their knowledge and experiences, and the profs and staff who are generally more than happy to help and put in some extra time, there are
excellent support systems in place.
I spent a fairly long time bouncing around undergrad, and never really found what I was looking for. By comparison, I've found the vet school experience as a whole to be a lot of fun, very interesting, and an engaging experience; it's truly one of the only times I've actually
looked forward to going back to school in the fall. ;D