Pre-vet School..

[siker11]

Hey guys. I just decided that i am going back to school at the lovely age of 23, to get my general requirements to apply for vet school. I know its going to be hard, because i hate classes that dont pertain to what i need. I was going to school for athletic training and passed all those classes with flying colors, but the stupid art and history stuff that they required, i hated, and kinda did really bad in those classes...

Sooo with going back now, should i re take all the classes from my other school to boost my GPA? Im gonna be in summer classes too so that way im not wasting too much time. i could take those classes that i failed in to get those up.

Im also working in a clinic now, i know thats not saying much, but i get Free CE (up to a certain amount) Do you think that i take a few of CE, that would look good on an application?

What about volunteering at a shelter? Is there anything else that i could do to help my chances. Other than the good grades?

What do others do to stand out?

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[Hopeful_DVM]

You could use the search function to see if there are any threads similar to this posted already(there are tons). Depending on how many classes you took before and how poorly you performed in them will determine the action that you need to take to raise your gpa. It is basically impossible to get into veterinary school without animal or veterinary experience. So, any experience with either that you can gain will be to your advantage.

 

[neocia]

A lot people find it's easiest to start off volunteering at a shelter to get your foot in the door. Shelters often have a clinic attached or at least work closely with a local vet - they may be able to hook you up with shadowing the vet or working in the clinic once you become trusted at the shelter

 

[siker11]

Im already working in a clinic.

 

[siker11]

What about the CE Even though im not a tech or a vet... I can still take the CE but will it be looked at?

 

[simplyjean]

I don't know if it made a difference, but I attended many of our state conferences and took a bunch of CE courses and I did add them to my application. So if they're free and you have the time - might as well!

 

[Tortaspie]

I'm 23 and kind of in the same boat but I'm a senior and will graduate in about a year. My gpa sucks (2.72) because of some bad grades I got in generals and other classes. I'm hoping in this final year I'll be able to get good grades and pull up my gpa a little. I'll probably have to take some more upper division courses after I graduate. Plus, I am yet to get a job in a vet clinic because no places are ever hiring here.

 

[battie]

You could use the search function to see if there are any threads similar to this posted already(there are tons). Depending on how many classes you took before and how poorly you performed in them will determine the action that you need to take to raise your gpa. It is basically impossible to get into veterinary school without animal or veterinary experience. So, any experience with either that you can gain will be to your advantage.

I came here just to see if the search function was mentioned by anyone. lol.

 

[Gemgrrrl]

So you have two big hurdles to cross - the GPA thing, and the fact that you blew classes that you thought were pointless. If I were you, I would look at grad school versus retaking a bunch of undergrad classes. The only ones you should retake are pre-requisite classes, because most schools require a C or better for all pre-requisites.

The reason I say this is because you aren't guaranteed to get into vet school, even if you retake all those classes and ace them. Or if you ace your graduate classes. Or if you had aced your undergrad. So you might as well do something that will have some value if you end up not getting into vet school. Retaking a bunch of undergrad classes will just cost you more time and money to possibly end up the same place as you are now. If you take the grad level classes and don't get in the first time you apply, you could have your masters by the time you apply a second time. Graduate classes will also give you the opportunity to be involved in research, which is something vet schools are looking for.

As far as blowing classes you didn't think were important - there are going to be classes like that in vet school, and you need to have the maturity to get through them even though you hate them. Retaking some undergrad courses because now you want to be a vet isn't going to solve that problem. Getting your masters will go a lot further, since you'll have to take some classes you don't like for that as well.

The CE credits won't count as CE because they're not. But they do count as experience. I think probably classroom experience on the VMCAS, but not sure.