Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine

This has nothing to do with my internship, except in the sense that I was granted three days off to go to ISU to interview for admission into their College of Veterinary Medicine. Except that isn't actually why I was given three days off... I had already been scheduled to have those three days off, so I guess things work out really well like that sometimes.

I left early Saturday morning for Des Moines and arrived on time with no plane delays. My first view of Iowa from the plane window was surprising. The plane broke through the thick layer of white clouds to reveal sheets of snow arranged in neat squares between the black roads. To someone who has not yet been disillusioned to the horrors of snow, it was beautiful. I made it through the airport and had some horrible complications with the rental car. My dear parents graciously tried to help me resolve the issues, but in the end I ended up hitching a ride with a girl named Kara who, like me, was also interviewing at ISU. At this point, I'm starting to think it was more than just luck that got me to Ames.

Kara and I snuck in late with this other kid and caught the last half of the welcome presentation. She left to go on a tour and I stayed behind and watched the financial aid presentation. I learned a TON at this. First of all, I need to turn in my FAFSA by March 1st to be eligible for loans. Because I am a professional student, I have to file independently. This is good for two reasons: 1) I officially can't burden my parents with that financial responsibility, and 2) it increases my financial need, which makes me eligible for certain loans (financial need = tuition - expected family contribution; so maybe there is a slight benefit to the high out-of-state tuition). My expected family contribution will probably be zero if I can't get a part-time job in the hospital. There are two great loans with very low interest rates that are need-based, and there are two others that are not need-based. Plus, there's always scholarships! So. Since I have a lot of free time, I'm going to look for free money. :)

After the financial aid presentation, I had my picture taken for the class composite (it felt like elementary school picture day) and had my lab coat sized. Then I waited in another room for my interview. They had an informative magazine thing that told the history of the school. ISU has the oldest vet school in the country. It was founded in 1879. The black and white photos from that time were pretty fascinating. I don't know when the lab coat was invented, but all the vet students in this old pictures were dressed in 1870s garb, watching their prof float the teeth of this anesthetized horse that was lying on a huge wooden table. They have a very rich history, but they're also on the cutting edge of teaching. There are tons of learning resources available to their students, and one of my interviewers said that they continue to provide those resources even after graduation (i.e., one of his former professors agreed to do a difficult surgery on a cow that no one else could perform, but only if he would observe the surgery and thus learn how to do it himself).

I finally got called in for my interview. My interview committee consisted of three veterinarians. Two were practicing large animal vets (a man from Iowa and a woman practicing in Southwest Wisconsin), and the third used to be a professor at the university, but is now an administrator. I had prepared beforehand by finding previously asked questions on the internet... but they asked me a couple that I hadn't seen before and the rest of them were worded kind of differently. I think I managed to answer them all fairly well. The one that I hadn't seen before was whether I had ever seen anyone cheating before, and I told them I hadn't because I choose study partners who are just as dedicated to studying as I am. The dairy vet asked me about Proposition 2, which is a law passed last year in California that restricted certain agricultural practices. It was not supported by the American Veterinary Medicine Association and is widely accepted as the final nail in the coffin for California agriculture. I told them why I didn't support it, but if it turned out to do good things for California agriculture, then maybe we should look into expanding animal welfare programs. And now I'm thinking of other things I could have said... but anyway. That was a knowledge-based question, and the interview was supposed to be more behavioral-based. I don't know whether that really counted, but hopefully I gave them a good impression.

After the interview, I went on a tour of the school and the teaching hospital. ISU has just expanded their large animal treatment facilities and will soon be breaking ground on an expansion of their small animal facilities. The new large animal area is "open," but they're not using it yet. The first-year tour guide told us she hoped that she would be able to use the new small animal facility when she begins her clinical rotations in two years. It's kind of nice that everything is accessible indoors. It wasn't unbearably cold this weekend, but it was twenty below last week. It's nice that they have seasons, I think.

The office staff were kind enough to find me a cab to get me to my hotel. I spent much of the night on the phone with my friend Alyssa, who is currently studying at UGA's vet school, but applied to Michigan State last year as well. We fantastized about living in the midwest and the inconveniences of living in the cold and talked about Obama's inauguration and other random things. I got up early and took the same cab back to the airport. I waited in the airport for several hours because I couldn't get on an earlier flight (which is probably a good thing because it would've cost me $50). When I finally did get on the plane, I had a window seat. It was surprisingly sad to leave, but not because I was going back to the only state I might dislike more than California. I really like Iowa, and Ames is a charming town.

Unfortunately, I developed a sinus infection over the weekend (it started before I left--I can't blame it on the Iowa cold...). The plane ride was kind of agonizing, and I'm almost deaf in my right ear now. But I'm on steroids and antibiotics so hopefully it'll clear up soon!