Tufts vs. Minnesota

[ebutton97]

I’m stuck between these two schools at the moment. I was accepted to both, and am OOS everywhere. I am mostly interested in wildlife/exotics/zoo but love small animal as well. I know tufts does a lot with wildlife, and shelter medicine. UofM has the nearby wildlife center, zoos, and raptor center. Does UofM do any kind of shelter med? Right now, both schools are approximately the same OOS tuition, but because my family is moving too, there is a very likely chance I can get instate at UofM after the first year, saving ~$15k/year. I am from New England and have lived here my whole life (but I also kind of want to experience something new). I loved UofM and Tufts and seriously need help

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[supershorty]

We have a shelter med club and have some partnerships with shelters in the area for rotations and things like that.

 

[ebutton97]

One of the draws to UofM are the two zoos nearby. How in depth are the classes that work with these zoos?

Could you talk a little about the social aspects of the class? Besides GOALE, are there any social events or fun things classes do together?

Do you like the class size at UofM? Is it still pretty easy to get to know everyone?

 

[supershorty]

I’m 100% not an exotics person so don’t know the answer to your first question, hopefully one of the other U of M people on here chimes in to answer that.

The social aspects depends a little on the class itself. I think the current first years and second years do a lot more fun stuff together than my class, although my class has a pretty big intramural sport presence and we like to do bar trivia and things like that. I’m an introvert by nature and didn’t feel like I had a hard time getting to to know my class and finding my people .

A lot of people go to vet prom every year and love that. I’ve never gone; prom isn’t really my thing, but people I’m friends with really enjoy it.

 

[ebutton97]

Thank you! I too am an introvert but it sounds like there are a lot of opportunities to make friends! My last question is about tracking. Are there required rotations for everyone, before you focus on one track? I just want to make sure if I choose a specific track, that I'll have at least a little bit of experience in other areas too. Thanks again for your help!

 

[SnowJ]

One of the draws to UofM are the two zoos nearby. How in depth are the classes that work with these zoos?

The first class available (unless they make some changes next year( is more introductory for non-domestic career paths in general; guest speakers and professors from all kinds of different fields come in and discuss what they do and how they got to where they are. It's mostly to help you figure out if any of it is something you're interested in, and how you may get yourself on that path (there are a LOT of paths to exotics/wildlife/zoo medicine). It's a good time to introduce yourself to professors, ask questions, and begin making connections. It's run by Dr. Trent, the vet for the como zoo, and she has us run through example cases for an idea of what you may deal with/need to consider as a zoo vet.

There are two courses available in spring; a "Topics in Zoo Medicine" course which goes on trips to the (I think como) zoo. You have to apply to be in that one and really interested in zoo medicine for it. I'm not in that class because I want to work with exotic pets more than zoo animals, but I can ask my friends who are in it and get back to you about it. The other course available (which is available to all years) is "Zoo and Wildlife rounds" which meets once a month. It's very cool because it's actually just rounds with clinicians/residents! You learn about really cool/interesting cases from places like the Raptor center. Students make presentations about the general topic so we have background information before the case is presented. For example, our first class (and the only one this semester so far) covered two Raptor center cases; the first was a bird with an insanely heavy liver fluke infection (and west nile virus). The second was less of a "case" and more of an introduction of coagulation in birds/raptors, and the research the raptor center is doing to improve our diagnostic tests for coagulation (mostly in the context of rodenticide exposure).

I don't know what is available for second years and beyond, but we have lots of other lectures as part of our Zoo, Exotics, Avian, and Wildlife club as well; they vary in depth. We've had lectures on behavior and enrichment, and we recently had a lecture on Avian and Reptile hematology.

Could you talk a little about the social aspects of the class? Besides GOALE, are there any social events or fun things classes do together?

Do you like the class size at UofM? Is it still pretty easy to get to know everyone?

There are lots of wellness and social events, especially early on to help you get to know people. You will be in groups for Microanatomy and Physiology lab, rotating groups for Gross anatomy lab. Of course the more you engage the easier it is to meet people, but there is plenty of opportunity!
I wouldn't say I know everyone in my class, but I do know quite a lot of my class members and I feel comfortable approaching a lot of them. I like the class size because there's such a variety of experiences and interests, and plenty of chances to find someone with a shared interest.

Are there required rotations for everyone, before you focus on one track? I just want to make sure if I choose a specific track, that I'll have at least a little bit of experience in other areas too. Thanks again for your help!

I know bits and pieces about tracking, but it doesn't happen first year. The closest we get is elective choices. You can take as many or as few electives as you like, so you can do whatever interests you.

 

[supershorty]

We don’t track until second semester of 3rd year, so you get a solid base in everything first. There are required core rotations during 4th year for all the tracks too.