Class of 2024... how you doin?

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SCML said:
Good luck!!! you will do great! We are almost done with our first week of 2 exams a week for 3 weeks lol. Parasitology and ethics this week, anatomy and genetics next, and histo and physio after that. ‍‍ trying to stay functioning lol (edit: removed weird emojis i didn’t add lol)
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thank you! I think it was ok! Oof 2 exams a week sounds intense! Good luck to you!
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Glad to hear everyone is settling in! I like getting the first tests out of the way, it makes it easier to know what to expect going forward with new material.
 
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The first few weeks were pretty tough for me in trying to figure out time management and life balance. Made it through our first set of exams and learning how to find time for the important stuff outside of school. That imposter syndrome is slipping away a bit as I’m starting to feel like a real vet student!
 
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Fall break y'all! Never been more excited for a 3-day weekend :banana:

That is all.
 
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CoffeeQuestionMark said:
Omg I was just saying how I need a 3 day weekend. We don't get a fall break here. I'd rather turn in the 3 day weekend the week after school starts (labor day) for an October weekend
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Meanwhile, down here at A&M, we don't get either option. No long weekends until Thanksgiving here - Aggies even labor on Labor Day.
 
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SardonicWit said:
Meanwhile, down here at A&M, we don't get either option. No long weekends until Thanksgiving here - Aggies even labor on Labor Day.
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At ISU it’s the same, 14 starlight weeks of class, no breaks, and some final exams on a Saturday, but we do get 8 weeks for Christmas break
 
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Oof. UW-Madison's week long break for first years in the fall got cancelled because of covid, so we have no breaks until Thanksgiving. Then we only get two weeks of winter break before the winter semester starts up and they already decided to cancel our spring break.
 
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Thankfully, we get off for Columbus Day plus we have a research presentation day next week so that's 2 days of no classes. Very excited to just straight up sleep in and not feel bad about it. Extra exciting that we just finished Biochem. :highfive:
 
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CoffeeQuestionMark said:
No veteran's day either? I've never heard of having school on a bank holiday
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Nope, no Veteran's Day. Our very first day off this semester is literally Thanksgiving Day.

We're really tired down here in Texas, people. So very tired.
 
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SardonicWit said:
Meanwhile, down here at A&M, we don't get either option. No long weekends until Thanksgiving here - Aggies even labor on Labor Day.
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Same at Purdue. No breaks to reduce the amount of people going home for a long weekend.
 
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Today, was the first time since starting school that I was actually proud of myself, and had that moment of "I really can do this!". I've been struggling with the disconnect of not meeting my classmates, being 100% online, and really struggled with comparing myself to other classmates. I stepped away from social media for this past course and my mental health has really thanked me. I started learning how to manage my time, took care of myself, spent time away from school and I feel like that effort resulted in me not only understanding the material better in this course, but I feel like I did better than I otherwise would have. Its taken about 7 weeks, but I'm starting to really get the hang of things, and I'm feeling more confident in my abilities!
 
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We don't really get time off until holiday break (though every 4th week is a lighter lecture load for additional studying). We get a month long spring break, but we also run until June. And most of our break time it's expected we're fulfilling extra-mural studies requirements.
 
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Parasitology has me like :bang::help: :dead:
My brain doesn't like it.
 
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EngrSC said:
Parasitology has me like :bang::help: :dead:
My brain doesn't like it.
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Basically everyone in vet school ever:

parasitology.jpg
 
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FutureAvianDVM said:
Today, was the first time since starting school that I was actually proud of myself, and had that moment of "I really can do this!". I've been struggling with the disconnect of not meeting my classmates, being 100% online, and really struggled with comparing myself to other classmates. I stepped away from social media for this past course and my mental health has really thanked me. I started learning how to manage my time, took care of myself, spent time away from school and I feel like that effort resulted in me not only understanding the material better in this course, but I feel like I did better than I otherwise would have. Its taken about 7 weeks, but I'm starting to really get the hang of things, and I'm feeling more confident in my abilities!
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Same here we finished the horrible behavior class we have ( the teacher has tenure and all the classes hate her because she takes her superiority complex out on vet students) but I realized after that class that I actually do better studying an hour or two a day for each subject and catching up on weekends before evening fun because UF usually only has 3 classes at a time which gives me time for self care ( working out/hikes with old man pupper/ etc). Its still a bit of a struggle with time management but I was able to balance 4 classes and full time research with self care and a farm job on weekends during grad school so I feel a bit better now actually. I also feel good when I go ok I haven't studied this class yet and half my class goes same bro. Overall I feel at least next semester I can start fresh and I know how to make a good routine now and start off right. Once anatomy is over this semester I should be better.

Basically TL/DR I found out that vet school besides anatomy is not a study every hour you can for hours and not have a life. Its keep up with the work and don't get behind. Break up your studying into managable goals and not try and learn everything at once. We are lucky at UF we have in person anatomy but that also means that we are sometimes in lab with no sense of time at all hours of the night. I can say the week before an anatomy exam my butt is in the lab at least 5 straight nights going over everything and on VIN using their 3D dog because CSU's program isn't working for non-students.

UF has good mental health help, Bigs are a huge help. I look forward to 2nd year and having absolutely no life whatsoever ( hello Pharma)
 
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Old-Country-Vet-Tech said:
... and on VIN using their 3D dog because CSU's program isn't working for non-students.
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CSU is up for us through our anatomy canvas module. If you're still not having any luck and prefer it over VIN, I can pass along the downloadable version. Just shoot me a PM.
 
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Officially done with first semester and I did really well!! But I am definitely not one of those people that loves vet school :cautious:
 
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I love some of it. I do not love that I'm trying to figure out how to escape Thanksgiving dinner early to study for an anatomy final.
 
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Congrats to all who are done!!! We have our finals over the next two weeks (our hardest classes - anatomy, physio, histo) and I’m having a ROUGH time trying to study at home during the break. Let’s hope I can find the motivation to get through it lol
 
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We still have 2.5 weeks of classes left but at least we are done with anatomy wooooo. Just have to survive physiology/histo :clap:
 
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Lot's o' love to you all for having finished or in the near future finishing up your very first semester. I can't imagine what you all are having to go through as everything changes moment by moment. It only makes your journey that more applicable. Adaptation is a part of what makes veterinarians in particular special, so treat yo selves nice on this road trip through pandemic vet school!
hopa.gif
 
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EngrSC said:
For sure! It's a love-hate relationship.
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I feel this. I have loved several aspects of vet school, but I've never hated school more. Going toe-to-toe with my undergraduate experience, I liked undergrad better.
 
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I prefer vet school 1000x to undergrad. I do love vet school, but obviously there are specific times and classes I'm not so enamored with (I always have my mental health tank during the finals cramming hell). If you had asked me this at this time last year my answer might have been different, because I was finishing up the known worst semester of the program lol.

Overall, the material is way more interesting than undergrad, it feels more relevant to life than undergrad, and I've found there are more opportunities easily accessible. The prof-student relationships are a lot more friendly and casual, and the social network at the vet college is much more like a family. I'm a very social person so that aspect alone has made me significantly happier in general than I was during undergrad, no matter what is happening academically.

I was just talking with my best friend about this the other day, and we were both thinking we would really miss vet school once we graduate.
 
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The material definitely gets better as you get into higher years. I didn't really take many undergrad courses related to phys/biochem/etc so even the "basic" info was mostly new to me. The idea of repeating first year material at this point makes me want to vomit, but at the time it really wasn't that bad (probably because I didn't realize how awesome 3rd year courses were).

I can't imagine doing first year if you've already taken phys/anatomy/etc classes. That would be brutal if it was mostly review.
 
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TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo said:
I prefer vet school 1000x to undergrad. I do love vet school, but obviously there are specific times and classes I'm not so enamored with (I always have my mental health tank during the finals cramming hell). If you had asked me this at this time last year my answer might have been different, because I was finishing up the known worst semester of the program lol.

Overall, the material is way more interesting than undergrad, it feels more relevant to life than undergrad, and I've found there are more opportunities easily accessible. The prof-student relationships are a lot more friendly and casual, and the social network at the vet college is much more like a family. I'm a very social person so that aspect alone has made me significantly happier in general than I was during undergrad, no matter what is happening academically.

I was just talking with my best friend about this the other day, and we were both thinking we would really miss vet school once we graduate.
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This is how I feel. 1st year was fairly dry with regards to classes but what was awesome was being surrounded by so many like-minded people. 2nd year, despite being online, is pretty fun because we are actually learning doctory things and there is nothing I'd rather be doing.

It is over-whelming sometimes, and other times you just wanna pull your hair out over things the professors or hospital staff do or say.. But it's worth it
 
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TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo said:
The prof-student relationships are a lot more friendly and casual, and the social network at the vet college is much more like a family. I'm a very social person so that aspect alone has made me significantly happier in general than I was during undergrad, no matter what is happening academically.
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My undergrad was in a 3 square mile town with a single stoplight and fewer than 1000 students. So it had that small town, cozy togetherness, and I established my social butterfly self during that time. Vet school has certainly been similar in regards to that; I did all the things and know most of the people and I have had a strong love for the social aspects of vet school.

My mental health was just significantly better during undergrad than vet school. That's certainly not vet school's fault entirely, either. But if you told me I had to repeat undergrad vs vet school, I would pick undergrad every time. I dont necessarily regret staying in vet school or repeating first year. But now I'm drifting away from clinical medicine, and a DVM curriculum/degree is obviously clinically orientated. In hindsight, I probably would have been better served going onto a master's/PhD/something else with what I want to do.
 
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batsenecal said:
My mental health was just significantly better during undergrad than vet school.
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The inverse of this is true for me and I feel like it's why I slightly prefer vet school to undergrad. I had some seriously bad episodes in vet school but I've also managed to get diagnosed and put on medication and it has completely changed my life. The level of stability and control I've felt in the last year is more than I've felt in almost fifteen years.

My undergrad career was marred by crippling anxiety, OCD flares, depressive episodes that lasted months at a time, and a lot of navigation to even begin to comprehend a lot of traumatic things about my life that I hadn't understood before. Vet school sucks but I have also figured out a lot more things about myself while here and I feel so much better because of it
 
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One week of reviews and then finals (both all online). So far so good but a little stressed about finals. I know it will be fine but I will be glad when they are over. Cancelled one of my externships over Christmas because of COVID concerns (well, delayed it). Just felt that it was a bit risky at this point. The other is still on since I can drive to it and not much interaction with lots of people. I am so ready for next fall when I hope we can be back to in person classes. The profs have been great but I am a social person and do better with all in person. Other than that the material hasn't been too bad just not my favorite topics (cell bio and chemistry). Have really enjoyed anatomy. Physio not as much.
 
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EngrSC said:
Too bad we can't tag team it! I prefer physiology to anatomy :D
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Yes! I love physiology, but anatomy tends to be the source of all misery in my life. Conceptually, it's fascinating, but dang it's a lot to memorize really quickly.
 
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3 weeks left and a good break. Almost 1/8 done! Good luck to everyone for finals
 
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As someone who also battled a lot of untreated mental health and self esteem issues in undergrad which has since long been resolved, I absolutely love vet school and imagine that if I was in a healthier place back then, I would have enjoyed undergrad a lot more, so I think that's why I'm enjoying vet school so much. I love lots of things about vet school and the things I "dislike" are more things that I'm annoyed with than actively loathing. That said, I also think I got really really lucky with having aa really great cohort and professors/admins who go above and beyond to take care of us.
 
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WildZoo said:
Haven't seen too many of you c/o 2024 peeps in our WW games. If you have any interest in playing, I have posted sign ups for this year's game specifically designed for and catered towards new players! More info here!
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I always see the threads for WW games and have absolutely no idea what they are! Thanks for the info :)
 
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I’m a weirdo who loves vet school, but I think it’s a combination of a lot of factors. I hated undergrad and was dealing with untreated depression up until my senior year. So having that under control along with being closer to home and finally learning about topics that interest me have made school way better. Plus I was homeschooled my whole life so I’m low key enjoying doing lectures from home (although I’m completely over the virtual format otherwise).
 
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Just checked on the c/o 2025 thread for my school, & it’s getting me in my feels. I was totallyyyy obsessing over my applications and interviews this time last year. Can’t believe that I made it through my first semester.... and that I passed 😂
 
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