social life?

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vethopeful124

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Hey guys, I know there are a few posts out there on this topic but they’re from years ago so I was hoping to get some updated opinions. Is it possible to go out and have a social life in vet school? How many time a week do people go out? Do vet students only hang with other vet students? Would love to hear some experiences!

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Hey guys, I know there are a few posts out there on this topic but they’re from years ago so I was hoping to get some updated opinions. Is it possible to go out and have a social life in vet school? How many time a week do people go out? Do vet students only hang with other vet students? Would love to hear some experiences!
It all depends on you. Everyone is different. Each class has a different dynamic. It will vary from month to month even depending on how things are going. If you make it a point to go out a certain amount, then it will happen. If you find you are getting too far behind, then cut it down. Your study habits and ability to keep up with the work load will dictate a lot of this as well. No matter what, everyone needs an outlet. Sometimes that involves other people and going out, and for others it is popping a beer and binging tele to leave it all behind. You won't know until you're in the thick of it what amount you need to keep you sane.
 
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Hey guys, I know there are a few posts out there on this topic but they’re from years ago so I was hoping to get some updated opinions. Is it possible to go out and have a social life in vet school? How many time a week do people go out? Do vet students only hang with other vet students? Would love to hear some experiences!
Full disclosure I've been told by all the upperclassmen that my class is extra social-I think there's basically a weekly standing bar or trivia gathering with classmates. Sometimes add in a weekend event, or going out after an exam, it just depends. At WSU each class has a social chair and their job is to plan outings that people can attend if they want. Some people don't like hanging out with classmates after hours if they can help it so they hang out with other grad students through our graduate association or some have SOs that are still in undergrad so they go to undergrad events they find suitable. Like Lupin said it all depends on you. I'm not much to go to the bar scene, but me and my best friends (they are classmates) get together with our SOs and do weekly dinner and games. I go to most outings that are planned like bowling, ice skating, hiking, skiing, etc. I also know classmates that never go out to social events, instead they just do their own thing and that's fine too. Most vet schools are in a college town so there's always social opportunities for people to go to outside of the vet med world, but still in the college scene. If you have an SO there's social opportunities there as well depending on the company they work for-ie xmas parties etc.
 
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Hey guys, I know there are a few posts out there on this topic but they’re from years ago so I was hoping to get some updated opinions. Is it possible to go out and have a social life in vet school? How many time a week do people go out? Do vet students only hang with other vet students? Would love to hear some experiences!
I go out waaaay less than I did in undergrad. in undergrad, especially first and second year I would go out twice a week. in vet school, I'm lucky to "go out" as in actually drinking, like once a month. I've become much more of a home body and simultaneously have a lot more studying and more responsibility (in terms of pets). I would feel bad leaving my animals home all weekend as I see them a lot less during the week now. However, I know of classmates that still go out once a week or so and manage. it really just depends what your priorities are in terms of social outlets. But I havent seen a lot of friends, who live only an hour away, very frequently at all. a bit sad, I know. I do like going to brew pubs and the like just to get a drink or two. this has replaced going to "ragers" and getting tanked, which I have most definitely grown out of :p (with the exception of our beer olympics lol)
 
With decent time management skills, you can make time for anything you want. You just can't over extend yourself. My class is pretty social and go out frequently. I hang out with a ton of vet med people, but I love my law school roommate and spending time with her is amazing. Gives a good separation from too much vet med.
 
I went out maybe once a weekend, but never with vet students. Tended to go to music shows by myself or with the more artsy crowd. Vetties tend to do nothing but "talk shop" when they're out and just go to get hammered rather than actually having an activity (billiards, darts, music, hiking, etc). Could have just been my class, and I'm not very social at baseline, so YMMV. But I found time to do things for me outside of school, even when working on top of classes.
 
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If its important to you, you'll have time. Maybe it'll mean not going to all the wet labs or club events, and maybe you won't be able to during an especially rough exam week...but vet school doesn't mean complete isolation by any means. You just have to see how you manage and do your best to plan accordingly...if you know you want to go out one night, spend an extra hour studying the day before or after kind of thing. I'm a very not social person in terms of hanging out with classmates, but when I was having a really particularly horrible day my fiancé drove out to surprise me and took me out to dinner. I had an exam the next day and as much as I worried about going out and not studying as much the night before an exam, it was one of the best grades I got for the semester. Taking care of your mental health and life outside of school is so important.
 
I don’t really “go out” in the traditional sense but after first year, I decided that making time for friends/hobbies was a priority. So much better off for it. So whether “going out” means drinking or something else entirely, yes, doable and recommended IMO.
 
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I usually do something at least a few times a week. Not always getting hammered, but either dinner, going out, dancing, watching movie, hanging with friends, sports, etc. Or hanging out at the teaching hospital. Almost all of my “outside” time is spent with other vet students and I am perfectly okay with that (love my classmates).

These are lifesavers for me; I lose a lot of study time but the study time I get is more productive than it would be if I was miserable.

Definitely party way harder than in undergrad, but I feel like I’ll be cutting that back this year. It’s a little rough on you and I like having a functional liver lol.
 
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Gotta make time for your priorities, school/life balance is important. I had almost enough time for my family last year and they were usually pretty understanding when I needed to study hard. That being said, if I had to pick between studying or fixing a relationship problem, I picked the relationship problem and still did fine. I really try to maximize my daytime studying so that my evenings can be family time - dinner, bath, story time when able. This means I don't sleep-in even when class is later in the day. 8-5 is school whether I'm in class or not.
 
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Echoing everyone else: you can make time for basically anything in vet school, you just need to figure out priorities and plan accordingly.

We had a pretty social class who were frequently "going out" in the traditional sense, but also plenty of groups like my own who went out in the traditional sense but also had fun social time together not at the bar - game nights, potluck dinners, house parties, etc. Especially with loans, it made more sense to have less expensive activities versus going to bars all the time.
 
I thought I wasn't alone in my lack of social life but apparently I am. That's fun to know :p
 
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I spent every weekend away from school with my SO, and at least 24 hrs of that timespan without doing any schoolwork. I tended to study with classmate friends or take study breaks with them during the week. I’m not someone who necessarily enjoys spending time with people I don’t know well, so that was social enough for me. If I wanted to spend that same time partying, finding people to go to social outings with, there were plenty of people doing that at any given time other than the night before exams. Totally doable. You stop being efficient studying if that is literally all you do.
 
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