Spinoff: I've been on SDN for 3 years, starting vet school this fall. AMA!

[supershorty]

Spinoff thread from @I'm No Superman's med school AMA; I've been on these forums for a while and am starting a dual DVM/PhD program in August. I know I had a lot of questions about preparing for applying to vet school when I was just starting undergrad, and this site is such a good resource! I'd like to give back and answer questions that anyone has, so... ask me anything!

Editing to add for those just tuning in: This was originally in the hSDN forum because it was the spinoff of a thread for high school students who wanted to aim for med school eventually. The OP of that thread and I thought a vet school one wouldn't be a bad idea for the same forum. It's since been moved to pre-vet, so now I look pretty stupid. Enjoy!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Shouldn't this go into the Pre-Vet forum?

 

[Doktor Timo]

Finally, somebody who can answer questions about vet school!

 

[LetItSnow]

Finally, somebody who can answer questions about vet school!

Lol. I was just thinking "thank goodness, since there are no current vet students or vets around!"

 

[supershorty]

Shouldn't this go into the Pre-Vet forum?

The reason I'd put it there (hSDN) was because there was a thread aimed at high schoolers who thought they wanted to aim for med school, and the OP of that thread and I thought a vet school one might be good too.

Or, you know, the thread can get moved to pre-vet and I can look like an idiot. It's not the first time, sure it won't be the last.

 

[Coquette22]

ask me anything!

I feel like this is a challenge...

 

[Lupin21]

The reason I'd put it there (hSDN) was because there was a thread aimed at high schoolers who thought they wanted to aim for med school, and the OP of that thread and I thought a vet school one might be good too.

Or, you know, the thread can get moved to pre-vet and I can look like an idiot. It's not the first time, sure it won't be the last.

haha! Yup. This definitely had a better place in the high school forum since it is intimidating to come over to these forums. I was confused but went through and found out why you started it before jumping in the line as to what on earth you were thinking. Duallies gotta stick together!!

 

[Doktor Timo]

The reason I'd put it there (hSDN) was because there was a thread aimed at high schoolers who thought they wanted to aim for med school, and the OP of that thread and I thought a vet school one might be good too.

Or, you know, the thread can get moved to pre-vet and I can look like an idiot. It's not the first time, sure it won't be the last.

Yeah you're about to start vet school, so it definitely won't be the last. Maybe in a few years you can become a snarky ass like me!

 

[Winged Scapula]

The reason I'd put it there (hSDN) was because there was a thread aimed at high schoolers who thought they wanted to aim for med school, and the OP of that thread and I thought a vet school one might be good too.

Or, you know, the thread can get moved to pre-vet and I can look like an idiot. It's not the first time, sure it won't be the last.

LOL...I'm sorry, that was not my intent, honestly.

NO worries, I can move it back when I get home.

 

[Lupin21]

LOL...I'm sorry, that was not my intent, honestly.

NO worries, I can move it back when I get home.

You are loved @Winged Scapula !

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Spinoff: I've been on SDN for 3 years, starting vet school this fall. AMA!



3 years




3 years

 

[I'm No Superman]

Hi Supershorty! If I were an incoming freshman, and was dead set on becoming a vet, what would you recommend I do? What classes are required, tests do I have to take, and how can I differentiate myself from the standard vet applicant?

 

[Ashgirl]

Hi Supershorty! If I were an incoming freshman, and was dead set on becoming a vet, what would you recommend I do? What classes are required, tests do I have to take, and how can I differentiate myself from the standard vet applicant?

I'm not Supershorty, but in my opinion, the most crucial thing I can suggest (besides doing well academically), is to get vet experience by shadowing or working for a vet. Especially if the person can get quality diverse experience (small animal, large animal, equine, wildlife/exotic, research are all different categories to get experience in). It's not only required (some schools have up to 400 hrs minimum and one of your Letter of Recommendations have to come from a vet), but it's also a fantastic way of immersing yourself in vet med and really seeing if this is the career for you.

As for classes, it is similar to the requirements for med school, though each school can require slightly different things. A lot of the pre-reqs I can think of are things such as general biology I & II, gen chem I & II, Organic chem I & II, general physics I & II, biochemistry, humanities, microbiology, cell bio, communication and/or composition, etc.

Most schools require the GRE exam, which focuses on writing (not always evaluated), math, and English/vocabulary.

 

[supershorty]

Hi Supershorty! If I were an incoming freshman, and was dead set on becoming a vet, what would you recommend I do? What classes are required, tests do I have to take, and how can I differentiate myself from the standard vet applicant?

@Ashgirl got to it before I did, so there's not much for me to say. The coursework for pre-vets pretty much is the same as that for pre-meds, although some vet schools require an animal nutrition course in addition to the other typical hard sciences. I will say that taking some unusual classes that sound interesting makes undergrad a lot more fun than just slogging through pre-reqs (I took some upper division sciences that I didn't need for any graduation requirements, but they sounded cool and were my favorite classes/springboards into my current work).

GRE is required, I think maybe one or two schools will accept the MCAT, but GRE is more commonly used.

And as Ashgirl said, having a lot of diverse veterinary experience is really, really important. I don't think the hours of shadowing to be competitive for med school are as high as for vet school (just going off what I've read on the SDN pre-allo forum, so that might be totally off base). The average applicant for vet school has hundreds, if not thousands of hours in the industry, and that's important, not just for admissions but also for knowing what the career really entails.

 

[DVMDream]

Spinoff: I've been on SDN for 3 years, starting vet school this fall. AMA!



3 years




3 years

I just got my 7 year trophy the other day....

 

[Fatalis]

my g/f is a vet, just graduated and now practicing, she wouldn't mind if you guys ask questions and I relay it to her and reply with her answer

 

[Dream7Catcher]

I don't think there's anything wrong with starting a Pre-Vet thread on hSDN. Others start Pre-Medical threads here. This is an opportunity to answer questions to our future generation... Who cares where those questions are answered?

 

[pre-vet]

Hey Supershorty, I am an International student who moved to Canada from India to do her B.Sc. I have volunteered at a veterinary clinic for 3 years and have shadowed the doctor for the last one year. The procedure to become a veterinarian is very different in India as in they don't require volunteering hours and thus I didn't keep track of my hours.How can I verify them? Also, I didn't do the best academically the first year. I mostly have C's in my science courses (12 credit hours) owing to the responsibility of finding myself a job, an apartment and everything that comes with settling in a completely different country. Although, my grades have been improving and I am doing very well. A lot of vet schools focus more on first-year science courses: Chem 1 and Chem 2, Biol 1 & 2 and require very few advanced life sciences courses while applying. Is there a way I could use second-year biology courses with similar course content for the application instead of first year courses that deal with the basics? eg: animal biology and ecology instead of Organismal and Ecological Biology?

 

[Ashgirl]

Hey Supershorty, I am an International student who moved to Canada from India to do her B.Sc. I have volunteered at a veterinary clinic for 3 years and have shadowed the doctor for the last one year. The procedure to become a veterinarian is very different in India as in they don't require volunteering hours and thus I didn't keep track of my hours.How can I verify them? Also, I didn't do the best academically the first year. I mostly have C's in my science courses (12 credit hours) owing to the responsibility of finding myself a job, an apartment and everything that comes with settling in a completely different country. Although, my grades have been improving and I am doing very well. A lot of vet schools focus more on first-year science courses: Chem 1 and Chem 2, Biol 1 & 2 and require very few advanced life sciences courses while applying. Is there a way I could use second-year biology courses with similar course content for the application instead of first year courses that deal with the basics? eg: animal biology and ecology instead of Organismal and Ecological Biology?

Not supershorty, but my two cents:

-You have to have an estimation of your volunteer hours as best as you can. I suggest making a document/excel sheet and seeing how much you come up with for the past 3 years. You can keep this sheet up-to-date as you move forward and get more (hopefully diverse!) vet experiences.

-There are a few schools that focus on your last 45 GPA, so if your last 45 credits are strong, you can apply smartly (as you should be doing regardless), and apply to those schools that play to your application's strengths.

-You would have to contact those schools, but if they ask for Bio I with lab, then I somewhat doubt they will accept something else for that pre-req GPA (and if you get below a C/C- you must retake these). However, there are one or two schools that take replacement grades instead of averaging so if you need to you can always consider retaking those and knocking them out of the park the second time.

 

[i love dogs]

I have a question about experiences. I'm assuming mostly anyone is able to get some type of general practice experience before applying (whether it's shadowing, volunteering, or officially employed). In terms of experiences what makes you stand out ? I would assume working in some specialty would look more competitive than someone in GP? Am I wrong to assume that? I always hear admissions saying that they really want to know you and what you can bring to the table since spots are limited. I'm currently working full-time at an animal rehab place and LOVE it but I'm also part-time finishing up 2 pre-reqs before I apply for 2019. I don't see myself being able to find time to gain side experience. I am planning on looking for opportunities during the summer but for the most part my main experiences will come from the rehab place. I don't want to quit a job that I love but I also don't want to lose an opportunity to attend vet school especially because my GPA is extremely low (2.86)

 

[Ashgirl]

I have a question about experiences. I'm assuming mostly anyone is able to get some type of general practice experience before applying (whether it's shadowing, volunteering, or officially employed). In terms of experiences what makes you stand out ? I would assume working in some specialty would look more competitive than someone in GP? Am I wrong to assume that? I always hear admissions saying that they really want to know you and what you can bring to the table since spots are limited. I'm currently working full-time at an animal rehab place and LOVE it but I'm also part-time finishing up 2 pre-reqs before I apply for 2019. I don't see myself being able to find time to gain side experience. I am planning on looking for opportunities during the summer but for the most part my main experiences will come from the rehab place. I don't want to quit a job that I love but I also don't want to lose an opportunity to attend vet school especially because my GPA is extremely low (2.86)

In my experience (YMMV), diversity of vet experience far out weighs just one experience, regardless of whether it is in a GP setting or not. Ideally, you will want to get food animal experience, equine, small animal, exotic/wildlife, and research.

Is there a vet there that you are interacting with at the rehab place, or it is just animal experience?

You'll want to make your application as well rounded as possible and apply as smartly as you can. There are quite a few schools with 3.0 cut-offs, though there are others that only focus on last 45 credit GPAs, pre-req GPA, replace repeat classes instead of average, etc. Along that line, if you get below a C/C- for a pre-req (depending on the school), you'll have to take that over.

 

[i love dogs]

In my experience (YMMV), diversity of vet experience far out weighs just one experience, regardless of whether it is in a GP setting or not. Ideally, you will want to get food animal experience, equine, small animal, exotic/wildlife, and research.

Is there a vet there that you are interacting with at the rehab place, or it is just animal experience?

You'll want to make your application as well rounded as possible and apply as smartly as you can. There are quite a few schools with 3.0 cut-offs, though there are others that only focus on last 45 credit GPAs, pre-req GPA, replace repeat classes instead of average, etc. Along that line, if you get below a C/C- for a pre-req (depending on the school), you'll have to take that over.

Yes I interact with all five vets that are in the clinic. They all know me well and we both work together to do the rehab. Since I am working full-time here, I will be focusing on taking one pre-req for Spring 2018 and another in Fall 2018. I wanted to apply to vet school in the Fall 2018 deadline to hopefully attend Fall 2019. With my current plan, I was hoping on using the summer of 2018 to find some extra experiences like shadowing a GP vet or volunteering somewhere with horses/ maybe marine mammals. I know I have a low GPA and I've narrowed down the schools that Will at least look at my app because I meet their minimum. I am also hoping to apply to the carribean schools and I hope I have a shot there