bachelors first?

[flyinglady31]

Hi...I'm all done with my degree...40 more units left to go... but feel my time might be better spent doing conservation work/research abroad etc. during at least part of the time I have before vet school (all of my pre-reqs for vet school are done ) SO, do you feel it's important to have a BA before vet school? Can you complete it once in vet school? Anyone out there regret not having one if they were accepted before getting a degree? Thanks

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[dpcdoc]

From the incoming class statistical profiles I have looked at, there are very few people accepted that do not have their Bachelors. Best of luck to you.

 

[rexosaurus]

First of all, I have a question. Are you actually DONE, or do you have 40 units left to go? (Because from what I understand, 40 units is still quite a bit of work). And as far as your question, I purposely got my B.S. before I would have been admitted to Vet School. (I had one semester to go when I first applied, therefore I had graduated before matriculation would have begun, but unfortunately I was not admitted). I think it is important to get the breadth of education that people receive by the time they get a 4 year degree, before applying to vet school, whether or not you actually receive the degree. (Does that make sense?) My point being, if you take classes (assuming full time) for 3-4 years then apply to vet school, you are going to have a very well rounded education, whatever your major may be. That quality is what the adcoms are looking for. You will not only have completed all the pre-reqs, but also have had the opportunity to take several upper-divisions in your major as well as biology courses. It states on several vet school websites that it is "not required" but looked highly upon that applicants take other courses such as embryology, phsyiology, bacteriology, histology, etc. These are the courses that you will take in your 3rd and 4th years as an undergrad. That being said, I think it is very valuable to invest your time in the education. I completely understand your want to go out into the field and do conservation work (I think that is what you stated), but you will have time to do that; whether it be when you're done with college and waiting to get into school, or when you're actually a vet and practicing. Don't get me wrong, experience is just as much a part of the application process as education, but when you look at the statistics of who gets in without a degree, the numbers are astonishing.

 

[StealthDog]

There are a handful of people in my class who entered without having their B.S. first. After one year of vet school, they were granted their B.S., so they will graduate with two degrees.

So, it can be done. You can check with the vet schools that you're trying to apply to and see if they have that sort of program.

 

[fargeese]

I would do the extra year in college if you can afford it. You will never have the chance to be so irresponsible again. I would totally go back and take fewer classes (I double majored) and have more fun if I could. Working sucks, and I am guessing vet school is a lot of work too.

 

[PiddlingFish]

I'm going to base this response on the assumption that you have 40 credits left before you're actually done with your degree because your wording is a little confusing.

I would finish your degree. Most people in my class have at the least one degree, many have masters, doctorates, or like myself, have two BSs. Not having a degree would put you in the minority, but it's not unheard of.

Now would be a good time to take higher level science courses to get ready for vet school. You mentioned a BA instead of a BS, so extra science may not hurt.

Good luck!

 

[Electrophile]

I posted on the other thread, but yes, definitely finish it off. You have a lot of time to be super serious student in vet school. It's been 2 months and I am dyyyyyyyying for Thanksgiving break!!! Take it easy and enjoy the last time you'll be able to take a for fun political science, history, religious studies, etc sort of class as there will be none of it in vet school. Do the interesting study abroad stuff and whatnot during the summers or especially the summer before vet school.

PiddlingFish, I've got two BAs (biology and religious studies) and a masters in biology, but I think I'm the only one in my class with a masters. A few folks went to grad school, but didn't or haven't formally finished. I kinda wondered what other schools were like about that. I think grad school helped me become a much better critical thinker about science.

 

[PiddlingFish]

I went through our class notes and tried to count how many degrees we have. I didn't count double undergrad degrees, just the completed advanced degrees.

13 Masters
2 PhDs

So, not a huge amount, but quite a few people in the class have further education.

 

[Electrophile]

Wow, that is a much higher percentage than Mizzou. Then again, they've been trying to draw in large animal folks, where graduate education (even in animal science) isn't really necessary so much. I had thought about finishing a PhD before going to vet school, but was rather tired of research. So what do I do 2 weeks into vet school? Go get a job in a research lab. At least this time, all I'm doing is some light mouse work and very little lab work, so it's all good. Still, it would have been cool to be called Doctor before graduating with everyone else.