Hi! We’re trying to help DD decide between animal science at UVM vs UNH vs UMass and would love to great how it’s going. Also waitlisted at Carnegie and Case but will consider if accepted, as well as Pitt Honors all as general pre health. Having a hard time choosing over here!
I’ve been researching all of them. I think it is tough to beat UNH and UVM, each with CREAM programs & 90% plus acceptance rates, I don’t think UMASS acceptance rate is as high.
UNH, and I think UVM have veterinary diagnostic laboratories- UNH’s might be new. Not sure UMASS has.
UMASS likely more diverse student body and among the Five Schools Consortium. UVM in Burlington which is a great town with other colleges.
Qualified UVM and UMASS students can apply early to Tufts Veterinary school; UVM and UMASS also appear to be well regarded by Edinburgh & Glasgow, as they claim set-asides/articulation agreements. I imagine UNH must have similar relationships, but none are publicized that I can tell.
My S is s junior so when we go visit UNH and others I hope to learn more. I think it is tough to choose between them. Would love to hear others’ thoughts.
Good luck!!
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@user_643238 and @randommom1 I posted this thread originally and just recently started a new thread to get insights into which school my daughter should pick.
We are in a similar situation. She got accepted at (and is trying to decide between) UVM, UMass Amherst, UCONN and U of Maryland, all with strong animal science programs (she didn’t apply to UNH). She is a little torn as they each have their pros/cons. Other schools she got into (Brandeis, Rochester, etc.) are great schools for science but do not have the animal science major she really wants.
If you want to read the other thread, search for “UVM vs UConn vs UMass vs UMD for animal science” and you can read others’ comments.
I don’t know which she will pick (and I myself am very torn), but my gut tells me that UVM offers some great things the others on her list don’t—the CREAM program, Burlington, skiing (which she loves) and Lake Champlain. And, not a small school, but not huge like the others.
But, we shall see…
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If it were me, I’d pick UVM, although someone on Reddit was talking about changing major and complaining that a long-serving faculty member teaching exotics and companion animal classes had left and the replacement was not as good.
There is a new faculty member this year, a CVT with ample experience teaching at Becker, a small college in Mass known for good vet tech classes (that is closing), so she seems quite qualified, but maybe whoever left was a student favorite and that’s why this person was bummed out.
Please let us know what you decide and how it goes!
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Will do!
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It’s official…she is UCONN bound and is going to be a Husky (I guess fitting for an aspiring vet lol)! Thanks everyone for all of your input and advice. She attended the admitted student days for UVM, UMass, UMD and the UCONN one just this past Saturday. It really was an amazing day and is the perfect fit for her in terms of animal science program, farm (on campus, beautiful and the largest and most comprehensive of all of them), beautiful campus (and a brand new state-of-the-art science wing coming fall 2022), research opportunities, location (we live in NY so not too close but not too far), extracurriculars, and school spirit (the most by far!) and everyone we spoke with was just so happy to be there. We are thrilled for her, and happy it’s over! If anyone wants input on any of the other schools, let me know and best of luck with everyone’s decisions.
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Was there one particular aspect of UCONN that sealed the deal? Which school turned out to be her second choice?
@cliffordstower the short answer is no. She narrowed it down to the 4 (UVM, UConn, UMass and UMD). She ruled out UMD for several reasons. From the application process (it was a debacle and they never processed hers and she almost got shut out of consideration although her application was complete) to subsequent correspondence, to our visit (also not great) to the farm (by far the smallest and just sad compared to the others), to the campus which was just too huge and overwhelming, this was ruled out first.
At UVM, she loved the CREAM program and the location/Burlingon for sure. But the farm is not on campus and after a lot of info gathering and feedback, we had our doubts whether it was the right fit for her. This left UMass and UConn. She really liked UMass but the farm is not on campus and a whole set of animals is not even on the farm a mile away but rather much further, making accessibility that much more difficult. But nothing really bad to say about the school; she really liked it.
When it came to UConn, I think it was a combination of “checked every box” and a gut feeling that she could just picture herself there.
Of most importance of course was the animal science program and academics, which is solid there. Of second most importance to her was the farm, which was not only right on the campus, but also the most expansive (by far) of all schools. We didn’t even see it all; it seemed to go on and on. I think they said that the farm took up 15% of all acreage on the campus. Third was research opportunities, and UConn is an R1 school with ample opportunities. We were able to go to the science research “fair” they were having where the kids were displaying their research and talk with a number of students, all of whom were impressive. The last girl we spoke with was an animal science major. She had originally considered all of the same schools. She got into every vet school she applied to (we realize this is not realistic for all!) and is going to UPenn vet school next year. It was a bonus to be able to speak with her and get her perspective. In her words, she is “going to cry” when she has to leave.
Fourth was the student body and everyone we approached and spoke with was friendly, helpful, happy, grateful to be there, excited. The size (18,000 undergrads) is not too big but not too small. Next, the campus, which in our opinion is beautiful. So many new, state-of-the-art buildings (the fitness center is off the charts) but overall, a very pretty, accessible campus. Other than that, she got to speak with kids from all different organizations (of which there are something like 700) and literally everything she is interested in (for example, animal-related clubs–I think there are over 10) is there. It also doesn’t hurt that the school had the most school spirit of any school we visited, so it made it fun as well.
It was a long and winding road, but at the end of the day, all of the puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place with UConn. Hope this helps.
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Thank you very much; this is very helpful!! We are visiting UVM next month and I will have her look into UCONN now. Glad your daughter is so happy with her decision!
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@cliffordstower glad this was helpful. Best of luck to your daughter; she will end up where she belongs!
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Thank you, this is very helpful.
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What happened with Cornell and how does she like Uconn?
Sorry for the delay. She went to Cornell-applied RD - majored in Animal Science
She didn’t get into Cornell regular decision and she loves it at UConn! Lives in the dorm closest to the farm and was hands on with the animals since day one. Definitely the right choice for her, for many reasons.
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My son is glad he chose not to apply to Cornell undergrad. He went to a state school and is in this third year of vet school now. He knows some students in vet school that went to undergrad at Cornell and they are so burned out!
Recently he chose to apply for an externship at Cornell that they had on the page of externships. Well, that did not turn out well. He spent 4 hours filling out the form and doing everything they asked for and hit submit. Within 10 minutes he got a reply that due to COVID they were not accepting externships. Why wasn’t this noted on their page before he spend 4 hours he could have used to apply other places? He called to make sure it wasn’t a mistake and the lady was just rude and said “In case you don’t know COVID is still a thing.” He had been very polite and was stunned. Of course it is a thing. That is why he is vaccinated with all the shots he can get. No where else has been like this so he is now writing off Cornell for externships, internships and residencies! He has other options!
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This is precisely why she chose, in the end, not to apply ED to Cornell. She had spoken to many past students and current students, including an officer in the Cornell pre-vet club who was an animal science major on the pre-vet track. She asked him to “give it to me straight”. So he did. He was so burnt out he said that he would need to take a year off before considering going to vet school. Everything she heard was consistent and while great for some, was not ideal for her. She’s still working her butt off, but is enjoying the balance (although she puts more emphasis on studying, less emphasis on fun).
I’m so sorry your son wasted all that time filling out the application and then had to deal with rudeness. Like you said, many other options.
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Exactly! He is working his tail off but so glad he started vet school with energy. Now he has time to be SAVMA chapter president, work a little and plan his wedding for next year along with getting some papers published!
I’m sure Cornell is great for some but he is much happier where he is and has had terrific opportunities!
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