VetSummer

Heather Garvie

My daughter enjoyed Vet Summer. She had a great time meeting new friends in not only her "camp" but another "cooking camp" that was also going on at the same time. I will say that there were a few things that I found disappointing: 1. The Vet Summer website shows beautiful dorm rooms. The dorm rooms at VetSummer were clean but very, very basic and outdated. The dorm rooms are absolutely nothing like what is advertised. 2. The VetSummer website also showed various pictures of healthy, well prepared food, noting that vegetarian options are provided. The reality is that the food was basic, college cafeteria food. I would like to note that I only bring up these two points because the cost of camp was $3,000.00 for 6 days. For that price, the facilities and food should fall in line with what was advertised. 3. While my daughter was happy interacting with the Vet Techs, there were no actual veterinarians at the camp. This would have been helpful so that the students could ask questions about education pathways and other questions that only veterinarians can answer. 4. A night out in DC was advertised. Examples provided included a trip to Georgetown or Dupont Circle. Instead, students were dropped off at the Wharf which is close to Vet Summer. The Wharf is a very high-end dining area. There were ZERO choices for affordable dinner for the children. There are no shops or anything else in this area other than dining venues. My daughter did not eat dinner that evening as she didn't bring enough money for a fine dining restaurant. I still can't wrap my head around why the kids would go to the Wharf. 5. Again, the camp cost $3,000.00 for 6 days. Last year it was $2,000.00 for 6 days. An increase of $1,000.00 in one year is significant and I am still unclear what additional "value added" was given.