Where to live?

Most likely for the past four years you have been living in whatever city your undergraduate college was located in. You've probably lived primarily in the dorms or apartments with multiple roommates. In the coming months before you enter into veterinary school you are probably going to need to find a new place to live with new people in a new city. This can seem like a daunting task and it definitely is, but as long as you start planning early and plan smart then  you will find the perfect place to live.

There are four primary housing options for a student in your position. You can live in the graduate/professional student dorms on campus, rent an apartment, rent a house, or buy a home. When determining which option is right for you a lot of different factors need to be taken into consideration. The following are some of the main questions to ask yourself.

- Do you want to live alone or with roommates?
- What is your monthly budget for rent/mortgage?
- How far away from campus do you want to be?
- What quality of housing are you accustomed to or need?
- Do you have pets?

I have personally spent the last four years with at least three to five other roommates living in dorms/apartments and therefore I absolutely do not want to live with anyone else besides my soon to be husband. My situation is a little bit on the unique side because I will be going into veterinary school with a significant other and we plan on buying a home because we have the funds and overall it is much cheaper than renting.

I highly recommend looking at this option, especially in the Lansing area, if you have means (funds and a partner that you can share the responsibility and work with) because you can get a pretty nice house for relatively cheap. Generally buying a house can save you a lot of money over renting because a house is like an investment. However, there are a lot of hidden fees, work, and unexpected costs.

If you are in debt and on your own then it would probably be smarter to use your money for renting. When renting, the problems that you encounter (leaky roof, broken heater....etc) is going to be the responsibility of the landlord. There is going to take a lot of stress off of you. Renting is also great because it provides you with a community, many places come with amenities (pool, fitness center, covered parking...etc).

As most of you probably have pets as aspiring veterinarians, it can make the process much more difficult and a little bit more expensive. Some places don't allow pets (or certain breeds/sizes) and almost all apartments/houses require a pet deposit and monthly fee.

My biggest advice is to start your search early, do a lot of research, know what you want, and know who you want to live with. Veterinary school is going to be stressful enough without you having to worry about your living situation or terrible roommates. A quick tip is that in many cases you can find good housing or even houses for sale from veterinary students at the college you are attending through facebook or other means of communication. As students are graduating, there are going to be rooms opening up each year. Before you jump into a new group of roommates, make sure to visit the location first and get to know the other people before you commit! Good luck!!!

MSU Welcome Day!

This past Friday over Spring Break, I attended the Welcome Day program at Michigan State University for students admitted into the veterinary program. I highly recommend going to this program if you are considering MSU for veterinary school because it provides a great overview of the program, details about paying for veterinary school, a tour of the facilities, and a chance to meet your future professor and classmates. 

It is a totally free event and they provide a pretty nice lunch, but it is quite a long day (10am to 5pm) and you are going to have a lot of information thrown at you. The day begins with a welcome introduction of everyone in the room and then moves on into a presentation of the MSU veterinary curriculum. They do a good job of touching on the basics of the courses, but I would have liked to have gotten a bit more in-depth. Next you hear about different student programs and services, then about financial aid opportunities, and finally a team building activity. A large part of the Welcome Day was about emphasizing the fact that we are a competitive group of people, but to get through veterinary school successfully we are going to need to work as a team. Throughout the day there were three fun team building exercises that allowed us all to get to know each other a little bit better. After a very yummy lunch, we had a Q and A session with two veterinary students, following by a presentation on the technology requirements, followed by a tour of the hospital and college, and the last point of the day was a discussion about scholarship opportunities. 

As you can see it was a long day, but it was filled with lots of great information. A great thing about this program is that family is welcome and encouraged. My fiance went with me and found it very informative as well. It is a great chance for your family/significant other to get an idea of what you are going to be doing with your life for the next four years and help them understand exactly how challenging it is going to be. 

Many schools put on very similar programs to the MSU Welcome Day, so no matter where you are going try to attend these very informative programs or at the very least get a tour of the college before you commit to going.