Too late to switch from premed to prevet?

[Morgan23]

Hey everyone. In advanced, I really appreciate any and all advice concerning this as I am relatively new to the pre-vet process as a college senior.

Throughout high school I had dreamed of being a Vet which led me to apply to Cornell's undergrad animal science program. Ultimately, I did not get in early decision which resulted in me scrambling for schools my senior year of HS. The college where I ended up at lacked any sort of animal related program and I eventually became a Neuroscience major and set out on the pre-med path.

As a Neuroscience major, I completed a hundred of MD shadowing hours, several hundred hospital volunteering hours, and 4 hands on internships in medicine. I also have a year of clinical research with one publication in a neurology journal. (I am mentioning this not to be braggy, but, just to give everyone an idea of what I have been doing with my time). I am currently a senior (completely finished with general bio/physics/chemistry/organic courses) and have a 3.9 cumulative GPA. Although I have a lot of experience in medicine, over the past year I have started to really, really have second thoughts - wondering 'what if' I had continued down the pre-vet path.

Animals have been a huge part of my life growing up... but I know how outrageously competitive vet schools can be (especially compared to med schools) so I am hesitant to even try to apply since I lack really any formal animal experience (I was told this was even the reason I was rejected from Cornell's undergrad program actually and I have not done much else since then). Besides doting over my family dogs (my favorite activity... but not really an extracurricular), all I have is 15 years experience as an equestrian, including 3 years (coming on my 4th) on my college's IHSA equestrian show team.

My question is, if I take a year off after college and get additional animal experience (working for a small animal vet, shadowing, etc.) would I stand a chance being competitive? This is if I manage a decent GRE score (fyi I did okay but not fantastic on my MCAT). Also, I would be prepared to explain the switch in career tracks, but should I leave all my MD experience off my application? It may not be relevant, but, I have spent so much time (and lost income) that it might be worth mentioning so it does not seem like I did nothing my college career. As mentioned, I really appreciate any input. Thank you!

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[krist]

Apologies for the short answer, I'm in the middle of studying but wanted to respond really quickly. You have an awesome GPA, so with lots of veterinary experience and a good GRE score you could definitely be a competitive applicant especially if you have an IS school. but since you don't seem to have any veterinary experience, I would definitely do any shadowing you can at a practice or 2 to make sure it's what you really want before you totally change tracks. Veterinary medicine is not what a lot of people think and there's a heck of a lot more to it than loving animals and wanting to help animals. You also have to consider the financials of paying for vet school and not making a great salary. Do some research and really make sure you fully understand what it is to be a vet because there are huge huge differences between human and animal medicine, so make sure that's what you want to do. And if you go for it, I definitely would not leave off your human medicine experience, I also switched from human med to vet med and was asked why, and I said something along the lines of well I have lots of experience in both, and this is why I know I like vet med a lot more than human med, etc etc.

 

[Foxhunter]

You would absolutely be competitive! Posting from the grocery store so this is brief- but start getting animal hours immediately and try to shadow all summer. You should be able to put together 400 hours+ by the October deadline next year.

Just be aware that some committees may ask you to explain/defend why you switched from pre-med (it will be obvious when you list your human hours- which you should cause they're awesome!).

 

[jmo1012]

My question is, if I take a year off after college and get additional animal experience (working for a small animal vet, shadowing, etc.) would I stand a chance being competitive? This is if I manage a decent GRE score (fyi I did okay but not fantastic on my MCAT). Also, I would be prepared to explain the switch in career tracks, but should I leave all my MD experience off my application? It may not be relevant, but, I have spent so much time (and lost income) that it might be worth mentioning so it does not seem like I did nothing my college career. As mentioned, I really appreciate any input. Thank you!

the short answer to this question is that if you get a reasonable amount and variety of veterinary experience in a years time, then sure, you could absolutely be competitive.

however, you need to figure out what you are going to do with yourself during that time off. it is often hard to find a paying job in the veterinary field with no experience, so you could end with a job in something totally unrelated and squeezing in shadowing on the side. you need to be prepared to support yourself for 1-2+ years because not everyone gets in the first year (dont forget how expensive it can be to apply to multiple schools!)

you are going to need to become close to at least one veterinarian before you apply because you will need at least 1 vet letter of recommendation for schools (and it needs to be a glowing recommendation, no mediocreness in this field of applications!).

i wouldn't leave med stuff off your application - yo'd be hiding a huge portion of who you are! you just need to be able to explain and justify your choices!

just make sure you've really thought through why you want to switch. there are many ways to be involved with animals that do not mean veterinary medicine as a career. find a place to shadow this fall if you can so that you really understand what it's all about. know that you will be going into a very large amount of debt for this career and will likely be taking 20-30 years to pay it off - drastically different from the MD field!

and last but not least know that loving animals does not necessarily (or usually) equate to loving veterinary medicine. there are a lot of times when these are practically mutually exclusive of each other. abuse and neglect cases, FINANCES, uninterested or ignorant clients, etc. i really urge you to figure out what veterinary medicine is on the front lines and then really have a heart to heart with yourself about whether it is really what you want. good luck!

 

[Morgan23]

Thanks for the (really quick!!!) responses. I really appreciate it. Like in human medicine, I definitely understand the need for shadowing/experience to know what I am getting into. I am aware of the significant salary difference (I was primarily interested in family medicine if I were to go to med school so I am probably not looking at the big bucks either way) but other factors make vet med more appealing to me. I think the turning point for me was attending vaious 'career seminars' featuring vets at my college and from their shared experiences in vet school and in practice I realized I would be much happier with the vet process. BUT obviously I need a lot more insight (particularly from people who may not love their career so much where they are driven to give enthusiastic lectures about it). It is a good point that loving animals and finding vetrinary medicine to be a good fit are not things which are mutually exclusive.

The only thing that concerns me is that I am thousands of miles away from home without any personal transportation or any vetrinarians within walking distance. Unless I can somehow bring my car here, I do not know if it is possible for me to get any additional experience before I graduate. I guess this would mean I would either need to jam pack my summer or take TWO gap years (which is something I really really don't want to do without applying first). If I don't investigate vetrinary medicine further, I really think this is something I will really regret. I have to figure out someway for me to get more experience while at school. Oh boy. I wish I had not given up so quickly the first time.

I've (admittably) stalked pre-allo forums on here so I know the numbers are always ballpark estimate.. but could someone give me an idea of how many vetrinary experience hours are typical for matriculated students? Also, I am a NYS resident....... so I don't think that really helps me sadly given how competitive Cornell is

 

[wildcatj]

I would say aim for 500 if you can but 300 would be acceptable. If you do well on your gre and then have your great GPA you'll still stand a fighting chance. There is an accepted students stats thread on here too. Should be able to find it with the search function.

 

[bbeventer]

I know of some people in my class that have only 100 hours of vet experience, given they do have research. I just glanced over this thread as I am between study notes right now, but if I were you, I would get enough hours until there was not doubt in your mind that vet med is what you want to do. Human med is the more financially feasible option.

 

[jmo1012]

If I were you, I would get enough hours until there was not doubt in your mind that vet med is what you want to do. Human med is the more financially feasible option.

Enough hours to be able to say without even the slightest doubt its what you want, enough connections to have 3 solid letters of recommendation, and enough experience (note that this is not the same thing as hours) to be able to justify and prove to an admissions committee that you deserve a spot and are going to follow through with your commitment with all the finances and resources that will be poured into your spot (we used to have an adviser that was very adamant that you needed to prove that you deserved a spot in school and that an admissions committee needed to be able to see that the spot would be used - i.e. diminished risk of a student dropping out because "it wasnt for them" after they got into it)

also, if you were thinking about going into family medicine, know that your quality of personal life beyond residency has a much greater chance of being substantial than in vet med (lots of on call jobs and weekend work)

i'm sorry, i dont mean to sound so negative or mean (?), i'm just wary when someone says i've always loved animals and ride horses so i think i'd love vet med! there is just so much more to it, and with the economy and state of affairs as they are today, i want someone to make a decision soundly based on knowledge of what they're getting into

 

[bbeventer]

i'm sorry, i dont mean to sound so negative or mean (?), i'm just wary when someone says i've always loved animals and ride horses so i think i'd love vet med! there is just so much more to it, and with the economy and state of affairs as they are today, i want someone to make a decision soundly based on knowledge of what they're getting into

 

[bannanababy146]

Hi! I just wanted to post because I was somewhat in your shoes about a year ago. I decided to switch into vet med last October and FREAKED OUT about what I was going to do...if I would have time to apply...etc. LIke everyone else said experience is a must, and a variety of experience! You said you don't have a car at school, what about breaks? Try to contact a vet at home and see if you can shadow them on thanksgiving break, twice a week on Christmas break, Spring break, and over the summer. Make sure you try to shadow a small animal vet and large animal vet or at least get some experience with all types of animals (small, wildlife/exotic, food production). My IS school really stresses having this variety, and I'm sure no matter where you apply it will be good to diversify.

Also, exploring other fields is not a bad thing. I talked to a dean at my vet school on campus and he said making the decision to apply to vet school an adult would make my "adult decision" to come to vet school very clear. I explained thoroughly in my PS how I explored other fields and didn't feel the passion for them as I do for animal health care.

To top it all off you have a great GPA (Far better than mine!), so just focus on getting an ok GRE score, experience, and finishing any prereqs. If you have any other question feel free to PM me! I was thinking about taking two years off but decided to apply this cycle and try to get in...you can do it too!

 

[485501]

Regarding not being able to get experience this year: Who is the vet for the horses on the equestrian team? Can you arrange to shadow them whenever they come? It may not be too many hours but it would show that you started as soon as you decided you were interested, and it will give you an idea of what equine med is like. Who is the vet who cares for the lab animals at your school? Can you shadow with them? How about the vet advisor for the ethics review board for the research at your school? If you're in neuro, you brobably have had to deal with IACUC or a similar board.

Also, if you can't get any (or only very little) vet experience this year, get some formal animal experience if you can. Is there an animal shelter or a TNR program for feral cats nearby? Is there a groomer or a dog-walking business? Can you pet-sit for anyone? These hours aren't nearly as valuable as vet hours, but they can help you figure out if you want to work with other people's animals for a career, and they can help you find vet experience because it shows the vets that you have some animal experience.


On a related note, I'm about to go into my second gap year (I'm applying this cycle after a gap year) and I am SO glad I decided to do that. This past year has been VERY eye-opening and rewarding, and I don't think my application would be nearly so strong (even discounting the extra hours I got) without the experiences I had this year. If it's financially possible for you, I would say you should consider it.

Them's my 2 cents, I hope they help!

 

[krist]

I did the same thing (changed paths my senior year of college) and played college tennis so I got no vet experience during school. I went home for winter break and shadowed a small animal GP almost everyday, then that summer after I started shadowing at a mixed practice almost everyday. Those hours helped me get my job as a tech at a very large small animal/emergency practice because I had some experience (like someone else said). I did apply the first october I was out of school but I didn't get in (but my grades weren't nearly as good as yours!) so I ended up taking 2 gap years, too, which wasn't the plan, but it helped me get soo much experience that I am very grateful for now that I'm in school. Some of my classmates have very little practice experience compared to me, and I truly think some of them don't have a great grasp on what being a vet is really like, which I can't imagine after already going through all of this. So even if you have to take a year or two off, if you have the right job/shadowing experience during that time, you will learn so much which will help you confirm your decision to be a vet among learning the day to day stuff that a vet does which is really crucial, IMO.

 

[Spinach Dip]

Sorry for the short post, but I'm tired and will try to keep this simple.

Definitely get some vet experience--and a variety of it, also.

I know people who got in with less than 100 hours. On the other hand, I know people who were rejected multiple years in a row with 5000+ hours.

Vet hours are not the final word in getting into vet school (although some people act like it is). The majority of schools place a higher value on GPA and GRE scores. (And your 15 years of equestrian activities and all your med experience certainly counts for something!)

 

[whalegirl]

Hi! I'm sorry for the super short message, but I definitely think you should go for it! I was in the same boat about November of my senior year, and I'm so glad that I did. I started volunteering for vets during the last semester of school and did an internship over the summer and got over 700 hours before applying to vet school this cycle. So it's definitely do-able even within a summer .

As far as showing the med hours, one of my friends in vet school right now actually (Auburn) put her med shadowing hours as vet hours (because technically on the VMCAS it says health professional) and they accepted them...