Well, I had a lot of time off this past weekend to think a lot about vet school. I LOVED Missouri when I was out there. The people were SO friendly and welcoming. One of the first people I met was my taxi driver and he was super nice and talked to me about his business he is starting up (with electric taxis). He offered to drive me to and from my interview and back to the airport as well, he was so great and I was really happy to not have to worry about that. Once I got to my interview, the students who were there and calming us down were most welcome at the time. They knew we were all so stressed. The committee during my interview was also really kind as well and of course, how can I forget the admissions staff, they were wonderful! The interview, or at least how I remember it, went really smoothly and I didn't stumble at all. I felt confident in all my answers and it seemed to go really well. It was just a traditional 15 minute interview.

Anyway, what I am getting at is that I just really loved Mizzou and their program and school. The best thing I love about the school is 2+2 program they have- 2 years of classroom and then 2 years of clinical. Most schools only have 1 year of clinicals, so that extra year is going to be super helpful. Something that I am also liking, which I originally didn't like, are the periods they have. Instead of 2 semesters, they have 4 periods a year. You still get the usual breaks, which is nice (though summer break is only 6 weeks long... ugh). You have fewer classes at once but it is crammed into a shorter time.

Another awesome thing is that you can get in-state tuition after the first year of school and it is apparently really easy to get. The open house is sometime in April, which I will be going to if I am attending Mizzou. I'll meet some of my future classmates and hopefully find some friends and a place to live.

Plus, all these signs I am seeing are pointing me to Mizzou. Everywhere I look, all I see is Missouri. The most noted being a license plate that I saw on a car saying M1zzouuu or something along those lines. I saw that car not once but twice! AND, their mascot is a tiger, which has been my favorite animal since I was young...

Now with VMRCVM, it is the school I had always dreamed of going. Almost every vet I worked for went there. I attended undergad at Virginia Tech and VMRCVM admissions always came to talk to us about school.

The interview I had was a mess- the multiple mini interview. I hated every second of it. From the nerve-wracking 2 minutes to write things down  about the scenario to the 6 minutes of having to talk to someone. I was basically always talking to the interviewer and I ran out of time during each of the 8 scenarios. I just did not and still really don't feel confident about how I did at all. The whole day was a mess, really, with the snowy weather making it worse. The waiting for the interview wasn't too bad and some students came and talked to us. The waiting was a bit excessive as we got started late in our group. By the time that we got done with the interview, I just left and didn't even stay for a tour (which I did want to go on). The weather was just getting so bad that I wanted to get home. At this point, we either get in or get waitlisted. So, as of now, I am still in the waiting game. March 1st had better get here soon so I know.

VMRCVM's program only has the 1 clinical year with 3 years of classroom and has the basic schedule just like undergrad with semesters. When I was down for the interview, I just didn't get that same great feeling I got when I was at Mizzou. I don't know if it was that interview, the weather, or what that made me feel that way. But, whenever I think about Tech, I just don't feel good about it. Maybe I won't have an issue deciding between these two schools because I'll get waitlisted at Tech, or maybe I will if I get accepted.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Blacksburg and that area. It is my in-state school and will be cheaper to go there. I'll only be 3 hours from home and that is something that I really need. I am really close to my friends and family and when I am at school, I talk to my mom about once a day. So, if I got to Mizzou, being 14 hours away from home is going to be really hard.

So as of now, I am still waiting on Tech, but that is how I am feeling at the moment. I might have a really hard choice to make in a few weeks.