Which foreign vet school do you recommend?

[Bigned]

I am a registered nurse interested in becoming a Vet. I assume I would stand a much greater chance of acceptance if I focused on a foreign school. I have NOT taken Organic chem or math based physics. Are these subjects REQUIRED for admission to foreign vet schools?
How difficult is it to get accepted into a foreign vet school? How long is it? Finally, how difficult/long does it take to be able to come back to the U.S.A. and practice? Any replies would be kindly appreciated. Thanks

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[WhtsThFrequency]

International schools are just as difficult to get into and take just as long to complete ( I assume if you are in the U.S. you are talking schools such as those in Canada, Scotland, etc). They aren't "easier". Nope,no loopholes in that respect, there is no fast-track or easy button, unfortunately. Requirements vary by school - most if not all will require things like O-Chem and physics

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

And please carefully consider this. Veterinary school is an enormous time commitment and financial commitment. You seem to have been jumping around from being set on being a dentists, nurse practitioner, etc all within the past few months. Take some time and really settle on what you want to do.

How much, if any, clinical experience do you have? Any large animal or specialty clinic work? Research, volunteer, shelter work, etc? Such things are also essential not only to truly gauge your interest and figure out if this is what you want to do, but is necessary (usually req'd around a minimum of a couple hundred hours logged, plus letters of recommendations from people in the veterinary field) for veterinary school application.

 

[Squiggy]

Seriously think before you make a commitment to vet med. It's not like dentistry and medicine where if you hate your job you have a cushy income to fall back on.

However, since you're talking about foreign vet schools (as in non AVMA-accredited foreign) you could look at Caribbean vet schools (very expensive), or at European vet schools (cheaper but they take 5-6 years). Either way if you go to a non AVMA-accredited school you're going to have to take the the ECFVG exams or PAVE it.

You really have to balance how much debt you're willing to take up, how much of your life you want to commit to school, and how well a shot you have of getting North American licensure. I think if you're commited and smart enough you might as well avoid the debt of going Caribbean and find someplace cheaper to study. You don't have any unreasonable barriers to entry blocking your way home.

 

[mochavet]

There are several foreign AVMA-accredited vet schools. There are 5 in Canada, 3 in Australia, 2 in Scotland, and one each in New Zealand, Ireland, England and The Netherlands. They are all listed on the AVMA website at http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/colleges_accredited/allcolleges.asp.

Some of these schools require less experience and pre-reqs than others. I am attending a school in Australia and my application was two pages long and it cost me nothing to apply. I did not have to have O-chem, Physics, nothing (although, I did have all those plus a degree). Students here gain access to veterinary school directly from high school so they will not list specific pre-req courses. For international students, they do like to see that you have taken a year of college level courses and have been successful at them. However, it depends on the school and you will need to do your homework. Also, foreign programs are generally 5-6 years in length, not the 4 years that it is in the states. You also need to consider exchange rates because some schools will end up costing you a fortune (England for example) and some will end up costing you a lot less depending on the exchange rate ($1USD will get you about $1.45AUD and tuition is in AUD at $40,000/year so it would cost you only $28,000 US).

Anyway, there are lots of things to consider when looking into foreign schools. One thing people forget is that the place might sound exotic and exciting but they don't take into consideration that they have to live there for 5-6 years. Australia was exotic and exciting for a while but it has now just become the place that I live. It is not like you are on permanent vacation. Plus, vet school is hard, stressful, tiring, and never ending no matter where you go. Well, hope this helps!

 

[PJlovin]

or at European vet schools (cheaper but they take 5-6 years).

I know students at both Glasgow and Edinburgh who were exempt from first year... making their program 4 years, just like the states. It's by NO means easy to do, but it does happen.

 

[PJlovin]

One thing people forget is that the place might sound exotic and exciting but they don't take into consideration that they have to live there for 5-6 years. Australia was exotic and exciting for a while but it has now just become the place that I live. It is not like you are on permanent vacation.

Well put!

 

[zpinkpanther]

One thing people forget is that the place might sound exotic and exciting but they don't take into consideration that they have to live there for 5-6 years. Australia was exotic and exciting for a while but it has now just become the place that I live. It is not like you are on permanent vacation. Plus, vet school is hard, stressful, tiring, and never ending no matter where you go. Well, hope this helps!

I completely agree. Everyone always tells me how jealous they are that I get to go to school on a Caribbean island and how it must be great to be on permanent vacation. Seriously, I've been to the beach once since I've been here, on my first day here. And while there are moments when I really love the beautiful scenery and weather, most of the time I feel pretty claustrophobic. Living on a 68 square-mile island is quite different when you come from a country that is about 3000 miles wide coast to coast. Most of the time I'm pretty sure I'd be happier if I were back in the states, closer to home. But, it'll be okay. Just 2 more years!

 

[aggiegolf]

Agreed! Grand Cayman is around 32 square miles and it really does feel isolating at times. I love the island, but it definitely doesn't feel exotic and exciting like it did initially. The one thing I like about my island is that it's really easy to get back to the states if you need to. It's an hour flight from Miami. That was one of my reasons for choosing St. Matthew's over one of the more established caribbean vet schools like St. George's or Ross.

P.S. - Hurricane Paloma didn't hurt us, but the sister islands have been hit quite hard. This is also another thing to consider when coming to the caribbean.

 

[zpinkpanther]

Agreed! Grand Cayman is around 32 square miles and it really does feel isolating at times. I love the island, but it definitely doesn't feel exotic and exciting like it did initially. The one thing I like about my island is that it's really easy to get back to the states if you need to. It's an hour flight from Miami. That was one of my reasons for choosing St. Matthew's over one of the more established caribbean vet schools like St. George's or Ross.

P.S. - Hurricane Paloma didn't hurt us, but the sister islands have been hit quite hard. This is also another thing to consider when coming to the caribbean.

One of my friends here has a friend who's in her last semester at St Matthew's, and he told me that she wasn't affected much. I'm glad to hear that you guys got through that okay. We had a similar situation in October- Hurricane Omar passed over us, but we didn't get the full force of it, so no one got hurt. We did get 2 days off from school, though!

 

[aggiegolf]

One of my friends here has a friend who's in her last semester at St Matthew's, and he told me that she wasn't affected much. I'm glad to hear that you guys got through that okay. We had a similar situation in October- Hurricane Omar passed over us, but we didn't get the full force of it, so no one got hurt. We did get 2 days off from school, though!

Yea we got really lucky! It turned to the east at the last minute. The winds seemed to die down almost instantly once it started turning away. I don't think I'm going to ride through another storm though. I'm flying home next time haha.

 

[zpinkpanther]

Yea we got really lucky! It turned to the east at the last minute. The winds seemed to die down almost instantly once it started turning away. I don't think I'm going to ride through another storm though. I'm flying home next time haha.

Definitely! Anything worse than what we got, I would just fly to Miami for the weekend or something.