Help with best path to vet school

Okay, so I need some help trying to figure out the best and most efficient path to vet school. I am currently active duty army deployed to Afghanistan and I come back after a long 12 month tour later this month (sooooo happy!). I am currently enrolled in Central Texas College under a general studies major because being in active duty it is extremely difficult with my job to go to school and sit in a classroom, so my major options are extremely limited. I will have my associates degree by September/October 2012 (a few months away yay!). It took a lot of sacrifice, but I managed to crank that out in a less than 2 years...This fall I plan on applying to Texas A&M (for a summer 2013/fall 2013 enrollment) and I want to know what is the best way to set myself up so that I can apply for vet school when I am finished my bachelors degree. It seems like certain majors you have to apply to even be accepted into them, but at the same time I dont think you need a certain major in order to be accepted into vet school. Please let me know if I am wrong. I dont want to set myself up for just getting in by a certain major and then not making it. I am already 27 years old and I really want to get the ball rolling
While at school I plan on enrolling into ROTC because my goal is to not only become a vet, but to become a vet in the United States Army. I would love to be able to do something that I truly love in a great institution. After I complete the ROTC program I am able to put in for an educational delay that would allow me to attend vet school, but I have to get into a vet school in order to get the delay first.
Before I joined the Army, I worked for 5 years grooming animals and working with a rescue called Ace of Hearts in LA....but I have spent the last two years with the Army and I realized that I miss working with animals and I am trying to get ASAP. Please help me with any advice you can give, it would be greatly appreciated!!!

Have you shadowed a vet? If you haven't you should start on it cause i believe all the Vet school require you to. Vet schools don't require a specific major, as long you complete their pre reqs requirement,

Originally Posted by ilovelasun

I will have my associates degree by September/October 2012 (a few months away yay!). It took a lot of sacrifice, but I managed to crank that out in a less than 2 years...

Wow, how on earth did you complete a 2 year degree while deployed for a year in LESS than 2 years? That's crazy!

Originally Posted by ilovelasun

This fall I plan on applying to Texas A&M (for a summer 2013/fall 2013 enrollment) and I want to know what is the best way to set myself up so that I can apply for vet school when I am finished my bachelors degree.

I'm not sure how much you've looked into this, but you don't necessarily HAVE to complete a bachelor's to apply to vet school. You just have to complete the prerequisites for whichever school you're applying to.

On that note, what is your GPA for your associate's so far? Again, depending on where you apply, your associate's and bachelor's classes may be rolled into one GPA...and you need to know just how competitive you'll be.

Originally Posted by ilovelasun

I dont think you need a certain major in order to be accepted into vet school. Please let me know if I am wrong. I dont want to set myself up for just getting in by a certain major and then not making it. I am already 27 years old and I really want to get the ball rolling

You don't have to be in a certain major, just complete the prerequisites for entrance into vet school. However, that being said, typically a Biology degree or an Animal Science degree can accomplish many (if not all) of the prereqs.

Originally Posted by ilovelasun

While at school I plan on enrolling into ROTC because my goal is to not only become a vet, but to become a vet in the United States Army. I would love to be able to do something that I truly love in a great institution.

You do know that most of the 'veterinarian' jobs in the army are food inspection and not actual hands-on clinical-type work, right?

Originally Posted by ilovelasun

Before I joined the Army, I worked for 5 years grooming animals and working with a rescue called Ace of Hearts in LA....but I have spent the last two years with the Army and I realized that I miss working with animals and I am trying to get ASAP. Please help me with any advice you can give, it would be greatly appreciated!!!

Definitely shadow a vet. Several, if you can manage it. Large animal, equine, small animal, exotics...whatever you can get your hands on. Most (if not all) schools require veterinary hours (i.e. hours of work completed directly working for/with/under a veterinarian). If you can get 500 that would be very good. However, the more you have, the better!

On the note of competitiveness....I don't know how familiar you are with the process so far, but it is INCREDIBLY competitive. There are 4.0 GPAs in the trash pile every year because they did not have enough/varied enough veterinary experience. The GRE is incredibly important if you have a less-than-perfect GPA. 1200 is average (although they have a new scoring scale this year...so this is a little dated), but the higher you score, the better chance you have.

Good luck and fire away with more questions if you have any more!

Originally Posted by abbercadaver

You do know that most of the 'veterinarian' jobs in the army are food inspection and not actual hands-on clinical-type work, right?

I second this... I have looked deeply into the program and spoken with recruiters. I am most likely still applying for the scholarship, but succumbing to public health and food inspection for 4 years. If it means debt free, it's alright with me. Unfortunately the scholarship is 2,000 times more impossible to get than getting into vet school
I know you are interested in more than 4 years, and it is a great opportunity if food inspection interests you. Just keep in mind (which you may already know), the Army is actually trying to do away with veterinarians on base and having them strictly as public health positions. Look into it, but don't believe the first person you talk to. Again, I'm sure you're aware being military and all
And then once you apply, you get to "hurry up and wait" some more!

Can't you do this?

http://www.aavmc.org/Careers-in-Vete...ss-Pierce.aspx

Originally Posted by bipolarbear123

Can't you do this?

http://www.aavmc.org/Careers-in-Vete...ss-Pierce.aspx

Dr Pierce is awesome! She teaches some of our courses and we have a lot military folks around the college given the epidemiology and public/corporate bent. One of my classmates just got the scholarship for the Army Veterinary Corps and will be an officer once she graduates.

Originally Posted by bipolarbear123

Can't you do this?

http://www.aavmc.org/Careers-in-Vete...ss-Pierce.aspx

She could, theoretically. However, the Army doesn't just 'give' you a job with Military Working Dogs, just because you want it. You're stuck where they put you. And Dr. Pierce is a Colonel. Doubt you'd get to do it as a lowly 2nd Lt. Maybe eventually, she could end up in that position, but not right out of the gate, I'd wager.

I second variety of veterinary experience, although I am writing from Canada. Most schools require qualitative veterinary hours, so not just quantitative. Try to make the most of the time spent shadowing.

If the army is where you want to be, see if you can shadow an army vet.

I believe you will need at least one vet to write a LOR for you, and sometimes it is who you know, not what you know that gets you ahead.