Time Off After Undergrad

[thelastwookie]

Does taking a couple of years off of school after undergrad before going to vet school decrease your chances of getting in? Even if you continue to get veterinary experience?

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[bbeventer]

Does taking a couple of years off of school after undergrad before going to vet school decrease your chances of getting in? Even if you continue to get veterinary experience?

It does if your pre-reqs expire.

 

[HorsesRLife]

Not sure if it does, but I got in my first try after taking 3 years off. I was able to say that I experienced the world outside of vet med as well as inside, I put money in savings, and had a realistic and mature attitude towards applying to vet school. I do believe it made me more determined to get in because I didn't have to question whether there was anything else I thought I could do with my life.

 

[Emiloo4]

I took three years off doing pharmaceuticals. I'd say the people who don't get in after taking time off, my have other issues in their application. The time off might not be the main issue. My class is full of non traditional students. Personally for me, it proves that even after taking time off, I was still dedicated to this profession and left my comfy cozy job to pursue something I love.
It has a lot to do with how you sell yourself in your application.

 

[FutureZooVet]

I can't imagine why taking time off between undergrad and vet school would be looked down upon. I plan to do it. Just be prepared to explain why. For me, there's a whole would out there I want to experience and after 4 years of vet school, an internship, a three year residence (hopefully ), and a 150K in debt, jumping a plane to go abroad may not be possible. Even if it is possible, I may be settled down with a family or in a job I don't want to leave.

Don't get me wrong I'm looking forward to becoming a vet, but after years of intense high school and college, I want a year or two just for me before I jump headlong into an amazing but sometimes intense and crazy career.
I'm not planning on focusing on veterinary experience either. I'm planning to volunteer with some conservation programs or become a research assistant abroad. If I can shadow a vet while I'm there, awesome, otherwise I'm not too concerned about experiences for my resume. That's what my summers are for, oh and making money so I can afford to go abroad .

I'd say, if you really want to take a break go for it. Maybe your just tired. No one recommends marathon after marathon and yet in school it's almost expected. Just make sure you don't get out of shape.

 

[thelastwookie]

These are helpful thoughts thanks, Emiloo, Did you find it hard to get back into the intense study environment and/or did you remember what you learned in undergrad? Did you even really need to remember most of what you learned in undergrad, or was the veterinary experiences you've had more important to getting back into the swing of things?

 

[that redhead]

Did you even really need to remember most of what you learned in undergrad, or was the veterinary experiences you've had more important to getting back into the swing of things?

I went straight from undergrad to vet school so I can't comment on getting back into the academic mindset. But I can say that the only things I've used from undergrad have been my animal handling skills and a bunch of the animal science courses I took on management, etc. Nothing from the heavy sciences, at least for me personally.

 

[EngrSC]

I was out of school for 2 years after I graduated undergrad. At the time I didn't know I would be pursuing vet med and was working full time in an unrelated field. Going back to school while working full time takes planning but I haven't found it to be difficult. I think, at least for me, if you are driven towards a reaching a goal you'll do what you need to do to make it happen. And honestly if you had good study skills to begin with I don't think they would vanish after a couple years.

I don't know how vet schools would view your time off - I imagine it would depend on how you used the time during that period.

Good luck!!

 

[KCgophervet]

These are helpful thoughts thanks, Emiloo, Did you find it hard to get back into the intense study environment and/or did you remember what you learned in undergrad? Did you even really need to remember most of what you learned in undergrad, or was the veterinary experiences you've had more important to getting back into the swing of things?

I graduated undergrad in 2009 and am starting vet school this upcoming fall (4 years off). After a year working in research I decided I definitely did want to pursue vet school and started taking some of the pre-reqs I'd missed out on in undergrad. At first it was tricky to get back into "student mode," especially while working full time, but I started slow with one online course. Now this semester I'm taking 8 credits while still working full time and it's been a big test of my time management skills but in all honesty, it was nice to be reminded what it's like to do homework and study and all that. It's kind of like riding a bike, you just have to remind your brain how to do it and you make it work.

 

[thelastwookie]

It's really cool to hear how you all still felt just as or more compelled to go back to school. My family always asks me if I could see myself doing anything else and all I can say is no I really don't think so. Not that I haven't thought about it though.

 

[shortnsweet]

Some days I'm so burnt out from school I wish I would have taken time off....

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[cloverbug]

I graduated from undergrad in 2011 and will hopefully be going to vet school in the fall (waitlisted) and I kind of enjoyed my time off. I graduated in 3 years by taking summer classes and worked full time to pay my bills so it's been nice having some down time to do whatever I wanted with, and I think I needed a little slow down. I've spent my time working at a clinic, getting to know the field a bit better, and reaffirmed that this is really what I wanted to do. I don't think taking time off should affect how they look at your application as long as you do something valuable with that time.

 

[pandaclaus]

I left undergrad 6 years ago and am starting vet school this fall. I took physics and chemistry back in 2003-2005, and those courses were accepted as prereqs to the schools I applied (not expired), though I took most prerequisites within the last 5 years while working full-time. It definitely does take time management (especially if you are working in a field unrelated to vet med) to work, take classes, and get the experience you need to apply. However, juggling all of those things and choosing to leave a comfortable job to go back to school, go into debt, and come out making less than my current salary were viewed (/portrayed!) as part of my commitment to becoming a veterinarian. So, it definitely depends how you spend your time off.

 

[sheepurtle]

As a non-trad, graduated undergrad in 2009, and now hopeful c/o 2018, I don't consider the time between undergrad and now to be "time-off". When I graduated, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go the PhD route or vet school route. So I went to graduate school, earned my MS, got a job in research, did some other side jobs and now I'm building up vet hours and taking classes in prep for my application. If you sit on the sofa, playing video games, I would consider that "time-off". But if you do normal things like work, travel, study or anything remotely enriching, I just consider that "life!" Enjoy it, stay focused on goals, but don't worry so much about being "on-track". I would have been totally burnt out if I went straight through vet school after undergrad. Now, I'm chomping at the bit to go back to school!

 

[goldengirl90]

For me, there's a whole would out there I want to experience and after 4 years of vet school, an internship, a three year residence (hopefully ), and a 150K in debt, jumping a plane to go abroad may not be possible.

This is exactly how I feel. I'm taking a gap year for that very reason, but I'm still worried that vet schools will think it looks bad that my gap year will not involve vet med at all. I'm also nervous about forgetting how to be a good student haha

 

[krzmo]

How many years after pre-requisites are taken are they considered expired?

 

[Frozenshades]

How many years after pre-requisites are taken are they considered expired?

Varies by school; they have different policies.

 

[WulfpackChica]

As Frozenshades said, it varies according the school. Some places my let you petition it, but you have to have some proof that you have been working in that current field and have been "keeping" up with the recent events.

Most of my pre-req's are "expired" and I unfortunately do not have the means to retake every single one. So, I am making a list of the schools that I am most interested in and then checking them.