Taking a leave of absence

[onehandedred]

Hello,

I am currently a junior at UCLA where I major in History. After volunteering at a vet clinic for some time at my home town, I decided to pursue the veterinary field, though unfortunately I had this change of heart a bit late. Anyways, I want to start doing my prereqs but I feel that I think it would be better for me do my lower divs at a community college which I feel is a better environment to learn. The problem is I am a transfer student already and taking some time off to return to my old community college after I had already transferred seems like something that may hurt my chances in the future. Do any of you folks have any advice? Readmission process is quite simple according to my counselor so I would have no problem returning to UCLA, but would this be a bad move for my future?

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[StartingoverVet]

I don't think anyone can answer this question definitively. You can talk to UC Davis (if that is your IS school) and see if they will answer for you.

To me, this will look like something that will be a red flag and you will have to explain it in your "explanation" section on the app. Switching back and forth between community college and a UC school is not every day. The problem is that your explanation here is not going to reassure any admissions personnel. If you "learn better" in a community college environment, what makes you think you can learn well at vet school? This is a legitimate concern, and you will need a much better answer in the future to improve your chances I would think.

Still, I would check with UCD and see what they think.

 

[onisteverina]

So my situation was kiiiinnnnddd of similar, but different. Originally went to a UC... dropped out (but in good academin standings) .. took classes at CC for a while.. and then went back to UC as a continuing student. I was a psych major so when I decided to pursue vet med later on I did a post bacc. I wrote in the explanation statement that my switch was due to personal reasons. . Very vague but it didn't seem to ruin my chances. I did get an interview at Davis but didn't do well with the MMI .. I don't know what you grades look like.. but throughout all of this my cum GPA was around a 3.5 so my grades were decent which may have been why it wasn't an issue

 

[EngrSC]

Why can't you continue to take your history major classes at UCLA and take 1 or 2 science prereqs at the community college simultaneously? Why does it have to be one or the other?

 

[that redhead]

Anyways, I want to start doing my prereqs but I feel that I think it would be better for me do my lower divs at a community college which I feel is a better environment to learn.

In what way do you feel that community college would be a better learning environment? Not a rhetorical question. You've presumably survived just fine in your other courses at a four year institution - why not the prereqs?

There are a few things to consider before making this change. First, it probably won't look very good to be hopping between a four year institution that offers prerequisite courses to a community college and back again. Maybe if you'd finished your degree and were going back to take prereqs, or if you were just taking prereqs, or really any other combination. But your plan doesn't make one appear to be very mature (whether or not that's true); adcoms will wonder why you made those decisions and the argument of "a better learning environment" isn't going to hold much water when you've already taken and succeeded in courses at your current university.

Another thing to consider is that certain courses may not be accepted from a CC by vet schools - something to ask them directly.

 

[onehandedred]

Thanks all for the replies.

I have talked an academic counselor I the honors college department and she feels that I should finish my degree then do some post-bacc work. Unfortunately I think that means I will be unable to meet the upper div class requirements for uc Davis.

I, at least for the time being, don't believe I have the means to juggle classes between UCLA and Santa monica college. The reason why I thought about taking a leave of absence was more about money reasons than anything; I do plan on finishing the year first so I will continue thinking about what is ultimately the right move for me.

I can begin to do the prerequisite coursework at UCLA but I am uncertain if I will be able to finish it within the credit limit. I will look into this further. For some reason in my mind I equated "learn better" to the real reason why I thought about taking a leave of absence: well it's cheaper and I can finish the course work in a year if I get lucky with my course selection which I found through assist.org. But even then I feel that it would not be a good explanation since it looks like I'm purposely taking "easier" courses. I just really don't want to take out loans, though it seems less and less likely for that to be realized.

Thank you for the advice. I have asked the uc Davis admissions for the vet school and I will see what they say.

 

[onehandedred]

And yes, I have maintained a 4.0 gpa at UCLA and my old cc; I think I can take on the coursework but it's the time constraints and money that worry me.

 

[EngrSC]

Food for thought - I'm a CA resident and got my degree through the CSU/UC system. I'm a 'post-bacc' now working on my prereqs and it's not easy. Through the community college system I am last to register and getting classes takes planning and some fighting. Very few CSU and UC schools take 2nd degree students so for upper division courses I pay an arm and a leg as an open enrollment student and its up to the professor if he/she wants to let me in. If you're serious about vet school then I highly recommend getting your prereqs in before you graduate so you have priority enrollment and a better tuition rate. Plus, you have to be an enrolled degree-seeking student to qualify for student loans (personally I pay for my classes out of pocket because I don't have any other option).

 

[StartingoverVet]

Thanks for the added info...

I have a strong recommendation:

Finish your degree at UCLA, don't worry about the pre-reqs for now EXCEPT for chemistry labs and comparative animal physiology. Take those classes as a full time student if you can.

EVERY OTHER pre-req is available through UCLA extension which is available post-bacc. The fees are pretty reasonable (more than santa monica college but much less than UCLA) and UC Davis is fine with extension classes.

All the classes are easy to get into and you will be mainly with other post-bacs so for the most part it is a bit more laid back atmosphere.

This is absolutely the best thing to do.

You can still get into comp animal physiology and chem labs through UCLA extension but you lose priority to regular students and it is more expensive because it is not offered through extension, so try to get those out of the way.

 

[EngrSC]

In this moment I wish I lived in LA!

 

[onehandedred]

Just one last note as I discover my own path to becoming a vet:

I talked to a person in the UCLA Pre-vet society group who linked me to the group's google drive. One of the documents in the group was a kind of "how-to" on getting the courses needed for vet school requirements at UCLA. Apparently, PHYSCI 166, the animal physiology class, is offered only around the summer, and while it is expensive, it is also fairly easy for walk-on students not enrolled in the regular year to get into. So, I plan to finish up Calculus and Chemistry with the labs while I'm here, which should take approximately year since it is a combination of general and organic chemistry. My question is if UCD will accept the 2 years of chemistry requirement as fulfilled in the one year coursework of the 14 series, but that's something I'll take to the admissions.

Thank you very much for your help everyone, and good luck to your endeavors as well.