WAMC c/o2028 or 2029

[couchpeach423]

Hi guys! I’m a 2nd-year pharmacy student wishing to pursue veterinary school. After volunteering at an exotic clinic for about a month I definitely felt a calling that this is the job I wanna do for my life. I dont mind the sunken costs of pharmacy school.

Assume that any debt/finance will not be a concern; I’m on a full scholarship at pharmacy school and my parents are willing to pay for the tuition if I do get into vet school. I also understand the average pay of vets and have realistic expectations. It's not about the money it's the career that fascinates me



23 yr female, Asian, Canadian (not US resident, no green card)

Degrees:

BA in Arts history, t20 university

PharmD candidate (mediocre pharmacy school in Massachusetts), P2 (second year)



Cum GPA undergrad: 3.25

Science GPA undergrad: around 3.5-3.6

Grad school GPA: 3.44



All prereqs taken except for an upper-level bio class



Vet experiences:

Volunteer/shadowed at the exotic vet for about 100 hours
(what should be the next step? kennel tech? keep volunteering? volunteer for bigger hospitals? would love any suggestions...)


Animal experience:

100hr at an animal shelter

50hr at a dog rescue



Research: ~ 1200 hours in total

1 chronic disease medication management research at a large academic hospital

Most likely no publications :/ I work with MDs and do clinical research focusing on the medication errors and over-treatment

1 research at a pharmaceutical start-up, writing grants and literature reviews (about sepsis) (no publication)

these are all human-related, not animal



GRE: 315 can definitely take again



Work: ~1000 hours of pharmacy intern (specialty meds, inpatient at a large hospital)



I know my application looks very underprepared and I’m planning on applying 2-3 years later, perhaps when I finish pharmacy school or when I’m on my rotations. this is because I think I can get a 3.5+ gpa in my PharmD and be able to demonstrate my ability to handle academic rigor in vet school to make up for the meh gpa…

An alternative route I’m thinking of is to take a leave of absence (or quit!) in pharmacy school, go back to Canada, work full-time as a volunteer/vet assistant/kennel tech for a year or more and then apply (perhaps take some courses at the local university)?



I would love insights on what number of animal hours I should aim, for and if I should take any post-back/Masters after/instead of my PharmD. Any insight is welcomed!! I’m going to apply to pretty much all schools except for those in the Caribbean and California…

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[WonderingStudent]

Gaining more diverse veterinary experiences will definitely improve your application such as becoming a kennel tech and moving up toward assistant (Large animal, small animal, specialty). Applications for schools are also expensive so keep that in mind as it may not be worth it to apply to so many schools. some schools are more suited for different applications (ie more holistic vs more GPA focused) or don't have many seats for out of state students so may not be worth it to apply there. I would make a list of schools you have the prereqs for or hope to apply to and outline what classes you want to take.

Canada vet schools only allow you to apply to the school in that region but there are plenty of Canadian students that apply within the US since it can definitely very competitive depending on your region.