So what a lot of people might not know about vet school classes
is that for our first two years, we don't get to choose any of
them! We have so many core classes that we all need as foundation
for our later learning, that your schedule is planned for you. Now
don't get me wrong, all of our classes are really critical for
learning how to be the best vets possible, but there is something
very cool about getting to choose your own classes for the first
time. Well for the Class of 2014, our time has come!
Several weeks ago, we were passed out a list of around 60
elective courses that we could choose from. By an elective, I mean
a class that we get to choose to take from a list of options. Each
elective is typically worth 1 class credit (a few are 2 or 3), and
they only meet for a couple of weeks during the year. Each third
year student has to take a minimum of 14 credits worth of
electives, but there isn't technically a maximum (just the maximum
number your sanity and schedule will allow you!). Elective topics
run the gamut from small animal to large animal, ruminant to
reptiles. There are exotic electives, and electives on pathology,
cardiology, and cytology, just to name a few.
Once you narrow down the list to the electives you want to take,
you have to rank them in order of how much you want to take them.
Some electives are very popular, and only have a small number of
spots. Others are large enough that our whole class can take it if
they want to. After we all turned in our elective selections, we
got assigned our electives for next year! It's super exciting to
get to see all of your electives that you were assigned, and know
that you'll be in those classes within the next 12 months. I'll be
taking 15 credits worth of electives, all small animal/exotic.
There are so many to look forward to, and it will also be fun to
talk to my friends in other electives to hear about their
experiences too!
So that's the big news from the Class of 2014...we only have a
couple of weeks of school left and then finals, so it's going to be
nose to the grindstone pretty soon! Can't wait for summer!