Preparing for college

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Hi all,

I am currently going into this year as a sophmore in HS. I have wanted to be a veterinarian for the past few years. As I get closer to college, I have a few questions. First of all, what should I major in? I plan to go in state, at LSU. From what I've reas, Animal Science or biology both seem to be good choices. Secondly, how hard is it to get into vet school at LSU for n in state student? Lastly, would i be a good idea to get a job at a vet some time within the next 3 years cleaning kennels and things like that? Thanks.

You can major in anything you want to major in (even if its not a science field) as long as you complete all the pre-requisites and do well in them. I personally majored in Biology because it was the most convenient major at my school for pre-requisites, and it left me a bit of room for more electives. However, we did have a pre-vet English major at my school, and I sometimes wish that I had at least minored in something else.

The VMCAS website says that LSU had 135 resident applicants, and 61 residents were admitted. So, that should give you some idea.

Yes, it would be a good job to get a job with a vet. First of all, it allows you to see if veterinary medicine is a good field for you. In addition, when you apply to vet schools, they want to know the number of hours you spent working with a veterinarian, and you also usually need a letter of recommendation from a veterinarian. So, if you get a leg up on that, its a good thing.

Thanks! So what are the pre requisites?

Hey Conn -

A good start for you would be for you to read LSU's DVM Admissions website. This covers the pre-requisites, what they look for in students, what the process is, and other information. If you have any more questions after looking through all of that, feel free to ask. (:

Also try using the search function on these forums if you think your question might have been asked before - we answer questions about grades, getting experience, majors, etc all the time and they're much more quickly accessible through a search than waiting for us to answer.

Trilt listed the website for you already, but here are previous class statistics so you have an idea, not only of how many were accepted from in-state, but what they looked like as an applicant (GRE, GPA, etc).

http://www1.vetmed.lsu.edu/Admission...item28209.html

Generally (no matter where you apply) prereqs include the following, usually requiring one year of each, and possibly labs depending on schools:

General Biology
General Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Biochemistry
Physics

Here is the link to LSU's specific prereq's
(http://www1.vetmed.lsu.edu/Admission...item26645.html)

This site from the AAVMC can help you with other colleges you may want to apply to (http://www.aavmc.org/College-Specifi...fications.aspx)

And yes, definitely get a job cleaning kennels. It's hard and dirty work, but it will benefit you when you apply to vet school. Most applicants have several hundred hours in animal and veterinary experiences. And if you start with cleaning kennels, maybe you can work your way up the food chain to a vet assistant type position.

Originally Posted by abbercadaver

And yes, definitely get a job cleaning kennels. It's hard and dirty work, but it will benefit you when you apply to vet school. Most applicants have several hundred hours in animal and veterinary experiences. And if you start with cleaning kennels, maybe you can work your way up the food chain to a vet assistant type position.

Agreed! Also look into volunteer opportunities -- they're a great way to get some varied animal experience without (generally) as much of a time commitment as a regularly scheduled job.

When you start getting experience, keep track of it in a spreadsheet: where you were, what you did, who you worked under, their contact info, how many hours you put in, starting and ending dates. You'll be applying several years from now, and it gets hard to remember details like that!

Originally Posted by Psorophoraferox

When you start getting experience, keep track of it in a spreadsheet: where you were, what you did, who you worked under, their contact info, how many hours you put in, starting and ending dates. You'll be applying several years from now, and it gets hard to remember details like that!

My spreadsheet has date, hours, vet name, clinic, and type of experience (small animal, equine, etc.) and I've been glad to have every line of it. Plus I have a SUM for running totals of each type of experience and all of them combined.

Thanks for all the great advice! For those of you that live in state, did you also get your undergrad at LSU, or did you get it from somewhere else? If so, where? Like I said, I plan to go to LSU, but if some thing happens and I'm not able to, Southeastern would probably be my second option.

Originally Posted by conn96

Thanks for all the great advice! For those of you that live in state, did you also get your undergrad at LSU, or did you get it from somewhere else? If so, where? Like I said, I plan to go to LSU, but if some thing happens and I'm not able to, Southeastern would probably be my second option.

I'm from north LA, so I did not go to LSU for undergrad. I went to LA Tech. You don't have any greater chance of getting into vet school if you do your undergrad at the place you plan on applying to.

We had almost 20 people get in to LSU's SVM from my undergrad this year.

As far as major is concerned, what people have seen previously is true. Your major doesn't matter as long as you get the pre-reqs done. Being a science major just makes your life a little bit easier and more accessible to science electives.

In my class, we currently have a finance, poli-sci, communications, history, sociology, chemical engineering, and geology majors that got into vet school with no problem. Hope that helps!

Again, thanks for the great replies! One last question and I'll stop bugging you all, lol. How common is it to get into vet school the first time you apply? Or does it take a few times to get admitted?

Originally Posted by conn96

Again, thanks for the great replies! One last question and I'll stop bugging you all, lol. How common is it to get into vet school the first time you apply? Or does it take a few times to get admitted?

It depends... on your application, your GRE, your GPA, your experience, your LORs. It depends on who else applies in that same cycle. Some people get in the first time, some people apply year after year. Veterinarians I've met casually at non-veterinary things will tell me to be prepared to apply 2-3 times (without knowing anything about me, so that's just general advice). It's a career field that requires a lot of patience and resilience. But with all of that said, I do hope it works out for you on your first try.

Originally Posted by hai1983

It depends... on your application, your GRE, your GPA, your experience, your LORs. It depends on who else applies in that same cycle. Some people get in the first time, some people apply year after year. Veterinarians I've met casually at non-veterinary things will tell me to be prepared to apply 2-3 times (without knowing anything about me, so that's just general advice). It's a career field that requires a lot of patience and resilience. But with all of that said, I do hope it works out for you on your first try.

It is really hard to say cuz it just depends on a lot of factors. Statistically, you will have a better chance at your IS school, but that's not to say don't go out and apply to OOS schools. So just be prepared for anything.

Good luck in school!