Just 2 more...

Another 2 finals on Monday and Tuesday and then I am done with examinations for the rest of my life (hopefully!). I still am going to take the boards but that is still some time away so I shall not think about that yet!

Exams today were tough (small animal surgery vs large animal surgery). I know it sounds like since they were both surgery, they should be pretty much the same but it's not. Each species has its differences and sometimes it can be really minute differences that had to go into my already overpacked brain. I think I will pass both and so that's what counts.

Now that I am almost to the end of my 3 years in vet school, I think it's time to write about what I think about studying in vet school in America.

What I like...

• The vast number of choices of specialties here. It's easy for me to arrange external rotations in any area of interest as the US is just so huge. I am going to visit one of the most renowned animal hospitals in Boston next year and I am super excited about that. (Although, I heard that this year they were quite affected by the downturn too.)
• That almost all my fellow classmates are very serious about vet school. We all worked hard to get in so if there's anything that requires team work or project work, everyone puts in their best effort and there is seldom any slacking around. It was nice that most of my classmates were older too (the average age of students entering vet school in my year was 25) and so it was easier to fit in.
• The teachers were mostly pretty good. Much better than teachers in my undergraduate institution. Vet school costs a lot more though so maybe good teaching is to be expected.

What I wasn't expecting...

• The amount of studying I have to do. I have had to do copious amount of studying in first year just to catch up with all the "know it all" animal science majors. I still have to put in extra effort in my third year but feel that it's more of an equal playing field.
• The competitiveness of my classmates. It's amazing how competitive students get here about a point or a question. I have heard that some of my peers can argue for an hour just to get a point.

What I did not like...

• The cold. It's cold from Nov all the way to April. That's me complaining for a good part of half of the year.
• The cornfields. There is nothing but flat land here. The food here is also just bad and I certainly wasn't expecting this. It has certainly improved my cooking but I miss the conveniences of eating whatever I feel like eating.
• The lack of diversity. It's hard going to vet school being the only international student. There's a lot of barriers and a lot of my classmates still think Singapore is part of China. In fact, some of them think I am from Chicago!!!! It also took a long long long time for me to get my student work visa approved last vacation. It was horrid.