Looking for Advice/Motivation

[dinoluna]

Hi everyone, looking for some insight, advice, motivation or reassurance at this point not sure

I applied this cycle to 13 schools, was only accepted to Ross vet prep. I considered going, but ultimately plan to reapply. I’m 25, turning 26, graduated undergrad in 2021, first time applicant, and the plan has always been vet school since I could remember. I’ve somehow become a non traditional student I guess you could say due to repeating classes etc.

Prior to applying to vet schools, my plan was to simultaneously apply to MPH programs and ABSN programs (accelerated bachelors science in nursing). I considered ABSN because i’d at least have a stable career and good income when I graduate. I was accepted to an 11 month ABSN program starting Fall, so I would become an RN by August 2025.

Since I haven’t been accepted to vet school (except Ross VP) , I thought it’s not a horrible idea to do the ABSN program. There was a time I considered nursing and I don’t mind human medicine (my interest in vetmed is one health motivated).

I do know deep down I would want to reapply to vet schools, whether it be after working as an RN for 1-2 years or even later on. Part of me feels like I’m giving up on my dream of being a vet when I could possibly go to Ross and be back in the states by 2028. But I could also be working as an RN during that time and plan to reapply to a school in the states.

My worries are basically:
1. being an older vet student
2 how vet schools would look at that I went into human nursing and then back to vet med
3. just dealing with friends and family who have known that I’ve been planning vet school since I was a kid, and explaining to them I’m now gonna be a nurse and start vet school later in my life!!!
4. When the time comes to reapply, I’d have to work with a vet to get more “recent” hours and more up to date LOR?

My personal statement was really centered on one health and connection between human medicine and vetmed, so I’m trying to see this as a “one up” of being diversified in both fields before starting vet school.

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[battie]

1. being an older vet student

This really doesn't matter on an external level, only on a personal one. I started vet school after 3 app cycles, and then repeated first year. So you could argue 4 "gap" years compared to my classmates that got in after 3 years of undergrad. The youngest person in our class turned 21 during the second week of class. Meanwhile, our oldest classmate was in her mid-40s when we graduated, and she had a solid group of friends. I would say the average age of our class was 25 or 26 first year. So as long as you put forth the effort to make friends, you'll be fine.

2 how vet schools would look at that I went into human nursing and then back to vet med

This can be tricky, especially depending on what kind of nursing you do when you graduate (more about that below). You would really need to keep one foot in the industry if at all possible. There would be questions on your level of commitment from two fronts: 1) why would you go down one professional route, just to switch gears a few years later, and 2) how committed can you be doing an accelerated nursing program as far as staying in the veterinary industry?

3. just dealing with friends and family who have known that I’ve been planning vet school since I was a kid, and explaining to them I’m now gonna be a nurse and start vet school later in my life!!!

This is rough. Everyone absolutely thought I'd be a shoe-in for vet school. But then I kept getting rejection after rejection. My grandpa tried calling our state senator and representative to have them call my IS school that denied me 3 times right out the gate (which is obviously not how that works). ANd so I ultimately told them I was only going to apply 3 times because I'm not going to waste my life trying to get in when there's more to life than veterinary medicine. It's an important boundary to establish. More about that below.

4. When the time comes to reapply, I’d have to work with a vet to get more “recent” hours and more up to date LOR?

Absolutely. This recently came up in another thread. But there are few people I'd be willing to write a letter of recommendation for if I haven't spoken to them for about 6 months or more. And the longer that timeline is, the less likely I'm willing to write them a letter. Moreover, even if I wrote them a glowing letter of recommendation, it was based on who they were potentially years ago. People change in their 20s, so the schools themselves may not consider that quite the same as a more recent letter.

I thought it’s not a horrible idea to do the ABSN program. There was a time I considered nursing and I don’t mind human medicine (my interest in vetmed is one health motivated).

So this will be my most in-depth area of discussion on a couple of levels:

1. You very well might not be involved in one health at all as a nurse. It's shocking how little human medical professionals of all levels know or understand zoonotic disease potential when they aren't infectious disease professionals themselves. So the connection between nursing, which in of itself is more of the physical care of patients, may have zero connection to one health. If you're going to use one health as part of your journey, nursing may not be your best path to follow. Instead, considering the MPH route or epidemiology labs or professions would actually more able you to connect the one health perspective.

2. If you would be happy in human medicine, do it. Do not, I repeat, do not go into veterinary medicine. While I love what I do, I wish I had been more exposed to other health professions. The ultrasonography techs in the hospital I go to make more as med techs than I did as a GP veterinarian, and I absolutely love ultrasound. If I didn't have the debt I have or my perfect unicorn job I love, I would strongly consider switching careers to ultrasonography. There's way less responsibility, less schooling, good pay, and way less responsibility. Likewise for nursing, I have plenty of undergrad classmates who went into nursing who were making 25-50% more out the gate of nursing school than I was making out the gate as a veterinarian.

And yeah, don't do it for the money, yada yada. But we got bills to pay and lives to live. I'm a vet 36-48 hours a week (13 shifts a month at 12 hours per shift); I'm an individual outside the hospital otherwise. So yeah, I also recommend choosing a career based, in part, on career earnings. There's nothing wrong with wanting to make money. So if you go into human medicine permanently and just volunteer with animals on the side, there's nothing wrong with that. Like I said, I was only going to apply 3 times, and I'd been wanting to be a vet since 4 or 5 years old. Switching paths is a valid life option; we're not stuck being our 5 year old selves forever.

 

[chacha1652]

I think you need to really decide if you want to be a vet. Being a human nurse is a COMPLETELY different career in more ways than one. Have you shadowed both careers? I think if you are considering human medicine you definitely should try to do some human health care shadowing. I had a very similar experience where I almost pivoted to human medicine and considered nursing school. I got my EMT certification and worked on a rig for 1.5 years. Safe to say NOT FOR ME! But I’m glad I got the experience to KNOW for SURE that vet school is what I want! No shame in deciding vet school is not for you but I definitely recommend exploring those options more deeply before diving into a ABSN program as they are incredibly rigorous (as will be vet school)

 

[FrogAndToad]

My experience of getting into vet school was admissions committees really drilling that being well rounded was far more important than being stuck to vet med. My interviews and essays all focused on my experiences outside of vet med and everyone seemed genuinely interested in what all those experiences brought me. I worked in the human sector for a few years and that was something that came up multiple times as a positive.

Here is a YouTube channel of a nurse who is now in vet school who parallels your story:

https://youtube.com/@chantal_riane?si=x2x5NHpzdbP7dhi9

Overall, I think it's completely reasonable to stop putting your life on hold and pursue financial stability. I waited until 30 to apply to vet school and I will be able to pay my expenses without loans (still need loans for tuition), use the equity in my house to offset costs, take advantage of the social networks I built, and most of all I am self-assured and trust my own judgment in a way I DID NOT in my 20's.

I have zero regrets waiting until later in life to apply and giving myself time to build myself up financially and as a person. I didn't even consider applying when I was younger for these reasons.