Lake Erie College?

[maudie]

I am a sophomore in HS and I'm starting to look into schools that have a Pre-vet Program as well as a good riding team. I'm very open to schools and I'm currently looking at Lake Erie College

I was jsut wondering if anyone here currently attends Lake Erie and could fill me in. Is the team difficult to make? I'm definatly more barn rat than hunter princess, is good horsemanship emphasized there or it mostly about ribbons and trophys? I'm not atheletic by normal standards, I can muck, scrub, and groom, but it takes me at least 30 minutes to complete a mile run on a good day.

I hope this is the correct place (sorry I'm still trying to find my way around). I couldn't find any websites with reviews on them, I assumed that there would be at least one person who attends (ed) Lake Erie. I appreciate help/opinions!

On a side note, what is your opinion of riding in college in general? Is it better to ride with the official program or should I try to find a barn in the area? Also, I'm from Cincinnati, it Lake Erie really THAT cold?

[bumknees]

Yes the lake area is that cold... Expect on any give winter ( from Oct 1-may1) day to wake up with a foot or so of partly cloudly on the sidewalk.

I was not lucky enough to go to LEC other than to show there as a JR. so I cant tell you anything about it.

[magnolia73]

Lake Erie is in Painesville- LOL, the snow belt. You have to deal with a lot of snow in the winter. Things seldom shut down. The lake is pretty and it is a really pretty area. The equestrian center's indoor - I always remember it being freezing cold. Stock up on winter riding gear! It's not much colder than Cincy (I went to college at UC, and grew up Painesville), but you get way more snow, and Painesville summers are really nice.

Lake Erie College has been around for a long time. It's a small school. My mom got her masters there. I used to go read horse magazines in the library while she studied.

I can;t comment on the quality of the equestrian program. But hey, its been around forever, and have never heard anything bad.

[dghunter]

My trainer graduated from there and really seems to have loved the program. Beyond that I can't really say anything (other than he's a great trainer :yes:) The facilities are okay but showing there in the winter can sometimes be a hassle because the warm up ring is super small. I haven't really heard anything bad about their program though.

[NeverEnd]

You first need to decide which is more important: riding on an established team, or your studies.

Some good/reputable east coast teams:
South Carolina
Hollins
St. Andrews
Lake Erie

Pre-vet:
NC State has excellent and large animal science programs.

[kateh]

From what I've heard, Lake Erie does have a good riding program.

There will be people who disagree with me, but I think for prevet it's better to pick a college with a really good overall science program, that happens to have a riding team (IHSA or NCAA, or even just a club). Yes, people get in from small liberal arts colleges all the time, but a stronger science university will give you more opportunities and be more academically rigorous (which will prepare you better for vet school). Vet schools aren't looking at who rides the best, they look at who can handle the coursework, in addition to having experience in a veterinary setting-not just being a barn rat. And for all that people say the college doesn't matter, you want something with some "oomph" behind its name. Vet schools have tiers for acceptance, and a college like Lake Erie would be below, say Penn State-so a B at Penn State might be equivalent to an A at Lake Erie.

I spent the summer working out by Erie, and have gone out that way for horse shows in the winter. Lake effects are real, and it's really cold. Also, there's really nothing to do out there, so I hope you liking drinking :winkgrin:.

[EquineRider]

Have you thought about Michigan State? Gorgeous campus and awesome veterinary program.

[SkipChange]

You first need to decide which is more important: riding on an established team, or your studies.

Some good/reputable east coast teams:
South Carolina
Hollins
St. Andrews
Lake Erie

Pre-vet:
NC State has excellent and large animal science programs.

Absolutely. IMO studies are far more important than a riding team. BUT that doesn't mean you should just ignore that factor. It's just one of the many factors in the college decision process.

(Coming from a current Sophomore at Auburn, good academics and I was dead set on the (very competitive) Equestrian team but it ended up not being what I was looking for, so I board my own horses at a facility less than 5 miles from campus.)

[quicksilverponies]

My daughter went to Lake Erie College and graduated at the top of her class. She went on to get her MBA and is now a pharma rep with Eli Lilly. She did not ride on the equestrian team. It is a small school, but the instructors were great and she loved the small class sizes. The equestrian program is fairly strong and active. I have interviewed potential riders/barn help from there over the years and some are good and some are not. Over the summer, I had an intern work for me that is a Sr. in equine studies. She was fairly knowledgeable and a hard worker - not the best rider, but ok. I recently hired a graduate of the equine studies program to work for me as an assistant trainer. She is a very nice rider and was very active on the team. So far, she has been an excellent addition to our staff. I also just last week hired another recent graduate and she is also very good. It is true that winters are cold and snowy, but nothing slows down really and we have a very active "A" hunter circuit as well as many open shows that continue all winter. It is not true that there is nothing to do in the area - neighboring towns are quite busy and offer a good bit of shopping, dining, movies and clubs. I would say LEC is definitely worth checking out.

[rockfordbuckeye]

What about Ohio State? Their vet school is ranked 5th in the country and it's not as cold there and only a 2hr drive from "home" for you. I thought their equestrian team was OK. There are also some really nice private barns in the area if you decide not to ride with a school team.

[Ponyclubrocks]

If you really want to be a vet and have the grades to qualify, go for OSU. Better to study now and have a career that will finance your future riding, then ride through college and be too poor to afford horses afterward....JMO

[acottongim]

I can't really comment on the current riding team/academics etc as I went there (eeek) about 20 years ago - 1987 - 1991.

It is FREEZING cold, yes, really. Granted I'm from FL, but I've lived overseas and like to ski etc so I've been in cold places... the Cleveland area takes the cake for the coldest place I've been. I always joke that you will get snow by Halloween and there is always snow around graduation (in May). Wait five mins and the weather will change though LOL. I have friends (from LEC) that are from the Lebanon OH and Columbus OH area and THEY say that Cleveland/Lake Erie area is COLD.

I actually looked at several colleges both for academics and for riding but chose LEC. The reason? The riding program was excellent - we had Betsy Steiner and other "greats" come in to give clinics on a regular basis. The instrutors were by and large awesome. The school horses were also by and large great and of all different levels.

Academically - while it isn't a large university, I thought that LEC was pretty good. You get lots of one on one as the classes are small. The professors were very good - some of them have left, but one of the best professors or teachers I EVER had was Rob Citino at that school (he has since gone on to Michigan I believe). The other thing that appealed was the Academic Program Abroad (APA). You went to a foreign university for at least a semester... I went to Germany for a year. BEST.THING.EVER!

College (esp undergrad) to me is not only about picking the right school for academics/future plans but also about picking the right school that you "fit" in at. You can get accepted to an Ivy League school but if you don't "fit" there or connect with the other students/lifestyle/environment you won't get as much out of it as you could at a smaller school. (if the smaller school is a better fit for you of course).

[maudie]

Thanks! All this info is really helpful :) Lake Erie is appealing because I ***might*** get a schlorship there through the Equestrian Talent Search, which would be great. For now I'm thinking Erie for pre-vet and Auburn, Purdue, or Ohio State. I think my best bet is Ohio state, since most schools give preference to students in state, plus Purdue has an iffy-at-best equestrian team.

I don't know if I'm looking at Erie because I think it is going to be a sound academic chouce or because I really want to chase the dream of being on a good team. Right now my barn is nice, but we don't travel, and I'm not going to lie, I love being infront of crowd and galloping around a big course (probably bucket list material)

So I'm looking for a school with a good program and a very good team.

[rockfordbuckeye]

Yeah for Ohio State :) I went their and loved it, loved it, loved it. Soooo many great memories and wonderful people there. I did not do Vet but had a lot of friends in the Vet program and they really liked it. I've been in the college and facilities and they were top notch. The tuition is pretty competitive compared to Purdue (I had looked at them too) and their Vet and Equestrian Team are both better. Not that I'm biased or anything...

[magnolia73]

LEC always struck me as having a very multi-disciplined riding program- lots of dressage, eventing and jumpers.
Ohio State is more like a typical HJ/Western IHSA team.

Can you take another route to vet school other than Pre-Vet? Chemistry? Biology?

[maudie]

I just realized that the school in my backyard (less than a mile away) has a good riding team, they couldn't get "too the top" because they don't have enough riders. Downside is that the barn is about an hour away. I guess I'd even out my savings from living at home by driving an hour to practice.

edit: School is Xavier

[SRPhotography]

You might also want to think about Delware Valley College, in PA. They've got a decent riding team, but more importantly a really good pre-vet program. It's a bit further away, but it's a really nice school (yes, I'm an alum). They also give scholarships!

And having been through more years of school now than I'd like to admit, I have to agree that finding a place where you can be happy and successful in your classes is *really* important. There will always be places to ride. :)