When I was going through the application process for veterinary school, the only thing I could think about was that little letter arriving in the mail telling me that I had been accepted into a program. I could not imagine being able to look forward to anything more than that! Well, it turns out that there is at least one thing that has kept me on pins and needles since finding out that I get to go to veterinary school: the welcome and information packet.
I got my acceptance in March and then finalized my decision is early April. It was only then that I found out I would have to wait until June for more information about class schedules, book and lab requirements, my school’s Buddy program, and our orientation week! How was I ever going to wait that long? I had so many questions!
Luckily, I somehow made it through the two months of torment and it’s now in my inbox full of exciting information that I can’t wait to share!
One of the things I liked most about the packet is that it has each week of the fall semester listed out with my schedule for each hour of classes. It goes from 8 am to 5 pm every weekday. It looks like I will have several physiology and anatomy lectures and labs throughout the week, as well as histology lecture and lab. I am most excited about histology as this is a course I did not get to take in undergrad. I am sure that will make it more challenging, but I also love learning new information!
The information packet also has the required book and supply kit. There are a lot of books on the list, but most of the second and third-year students I have talked to did not buy very many (if any) textbooks. I am going to wait until closer to the semester starting before I decide which textbooks to buy or rent. Some of the second-year students have pre-made anatomy kits with all the required items that they are selling as a fundraiser for one of their clubs. I went ahead and bought one of their kits so that I don’t have to worry about trying to find each item individually.
The last thing that I’m really excited for that was in the welcome packet was information about our Orientation and Leadership Experience (OLE). This is taking place the week before classes start. The schedule for it has lots of group activities and something called the Sorting Party. The Sorting Party is supposed to be similar to the Hogwarts’ Houses. We get split up into our houses based on our personality. The neat thing about this is that each house is not just made up of students but of the vet school faculty and hospital staff. This will help me meet not just fellow classmates, but professors that I will have in the next few years!
I’m eagerly anticipating orientation now! With all of this arriving in the mail, the fact that I’m soon going to be in veterinary school and be a vet in just four short years is starting to feel very real!
