Want to be a Vet.. .But hate Biology?

[polkadotti]

I love my chemistry and physics classes - but I HATE biology. I would rather spend 10 hours studying chemistry than 5 hours studying biology. Not just cellular, but anatomy and physiology... learning about body systems. Just everything, it's so boring and uninteresting and confusing >.<
But on the other hand I love animals and wanted to be a vet... but is it feasible at all?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Doktor Timo]

Nah, you won't be expected to learn much A&P to be a vet....

But seriously, that's probably not a good thing. You're saying that the two foundational disciplines of medicine are extremely boring to you. And in vet school you're going to learn 10 times as much detail. I'm not gonna say it's impossible, but you need to really realign your interests if you're going to make it.

 

[1doggeek]

You are going to be using a lot of knowledge of physiology, anatomy, and other biology topics as a vet... have you shadowed a vet much to see what their career is like?

 

[WildZoo]

I love my chemistry and physics classes - but I HATE biology. I would rather spend 10 hours studying chemistry than 5 hours studying biology. Not just cellular, but anatomy and physiology... learning about body systems. Just everything, it's so boring and uninteresting and confusing >.<
But on the other hand I love animals and wanted to be a vet... but is it feasible at all?

I think you would have a really tough time getting through vet school and even enjoying medicine if you hate learning about body systems and basically all the subjects that are at the core of the field. A love for animals isn't really enough. Why not do something in chemistry or physics and volunteer at a shelter or something in your free time?

 

[thecatastrophist]

I guess the question to answer for yourself is why you find these classes uninteresting and confusing. The fact that you absolutely can't stand it at all is certainly a red flag and cause for concern. You're going to need to learn anatomy and physiology, virology, histology, and a lot of other biologically-based disciplines at a much deeper level than you're getting now. If you can't stand it that much, do you think that you'll be able to even tolerate veterinary school? Moreover, are you going to actually enjoy medicine, where you have to put to work your biological knowledge?

It's hard to tell from what you provided how far along in your academic career you are. It might be time to do some soul searching. If it's uninteresting to you BECAUSE it's confusing, now might be the time to figure out what's confusing about your classes, get tutoring, and fix that. Maybe that'll help. If you want to continue onward and apply for veterinary school, I'd caution that you better be sure that you understand what veterinary medicine, as a career, entails a know that you aren't going to hate it just like you do biology.

 

[Cephal0pod]

Must agree that is probably not a great sign Is there anything about the subject as a whole you find interesting? Is it the way it is taught that makes the content unappealing?

I think it's important to remember too that there are a LOT of different avenues for working with animals. I have quite a few friends who started college gunning for vet med, assuming that was the career they should pursue if they love animals, and have since found other animal fields they are more passionate about. Explore some other avenues. You could even consider volunteering with a wildlife rehabber or animal shelter as a hobby and pursuing entirely different interests for a career.

 

[polkadotti]

I am in my first year of a Zoology and Animal Science degree as a pre-vet undergrad. It's hard to tell if I just have a really boring lecturer... although my chemistry lecturer is super boring too but I still love studying for it :/

 

[Doktor Timo]

Well since you're just a Freshman don't be in a hurry to give up. Things change over four years of undergrad. I didn't love my undergrad A&P class (although I certainly didn't hate it), but my veterinary physiology class was one of my favorites. Still, I would definitely consider this a possible warning sign.

 

[thecatastrophist]

I definitely wasn't crazy about some of my lower-division biology classes, especially when I had to talk about plants, but I made it through my undergraduate degree just fine and was just shy of a master's degree in biology before I was accepted to vet school. And, over that time there was nearly two separate major switches to computer science and chemistry.

Not saying it'll be the same for you, but thankfully you've got some time before all your pre-requisites are complete to figure out whether it's just the first year classes or if biology really isn't your thing. Spend some time shadowing veterinarians and give your biology coursework and chance. That'll help figure out if biology really isn't for you, as well as a idea of whether or not veterinary medicine is for you.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Hmm..I usually hear it the other way around, that physics/chemistry are the hated courses and biology is the favored. It is certainly that way with me! Like everyone has said, you need to determine why you don't like bio. Is it actually because you really love math (hence your love for physics/chemistry) and biology doesn't involve as much math? Is it because you need better study habits in order to perform better in bio? When it came to a class, chances are that if I wasn't understanding the material and doing well, I was going to hate it and be frustrated with it all the time. It's always possible you and biology are not meant to be, like history and I aren't. I just flat out cannot stand the subject, and it spreads to non-science museums and art as well. Everyone has a favorite and least favorite subject.

The most important thing for you to do is to decide why you hate this course. You simply cannot avoid any biology-based courses in veterinary school. If the subject is torture to you, your very expensive veterinary school courses will be as well. Do some shadowing and thinking, and decide if this is right for you or not. Even if shadowing points you back towards veterinary medicine, you still need to do well in the courses you might not enjoy too much.

 

[DVMDream]

I love my chemistry and physics classes - but I HATE biology. I would rather spend 10 hours studying chemistry than 5 hours studying biology. Not just cellular, but anatomy and physiology... learning about body systems. Just everything, it's so boring and uninteresting and confusing >.<
But on the other hand I love animals and wanted to be a vet... but is it feasible at all?

If you hate learning about body systems, anatomy and physiology then you will hate vet school and no vet school wouldn't be a feasible option for you. Not because you couldn't just suck it up and deal with it, but because you would hate every day of your job, which involves a crap ton of anatomy, physiology and knowledge of body systems and how they work. Loving animals means jack crap in the path to becoming a vet.

 

[shortnsweet]

I hated chem and physics, and to a certain extent still do (especially physics..ugh it's awful). Is this class your first real experience in Biology (I don't count high school)? If so, give it a chance. Sometimes you just need to find a better prof. Anatomy and Physiology though....those courses will come back and bite you in the butt. Even from first year vet school to final year I forgot a bunch, and I needed it.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I love my chemistry and physics classes - but I HATE biology. I would rather spend 10 hours studying chemistry than 5 hours studying biology. Not just cellular, but anatomy and physiology... learning about body systems. Just everything, it's so boring and uninteresting and confusing >.<
But on the other hand I love animals and wanted to be a vet... but is it feasible at all?

What is it about biology that you hate? Is it the actual subject matter itself, or the way it it being taught?

I personally also like chemistry more than biology (I was a biochemistry major in college). Trying to figure out how to get from point A in a reaction to point G was a ton of fun, whereas stuff like Zoology bored me intensely other than the occasional gee whizzer factoid. Since you are only a freshman, I think part of it may just be due to the way a lot of the huge first-year undergraduate biology classes are taught (i.e. poorly and catered to the masses). The fact that you like chemistry is actually a plus, since that indicates you are comfortable early on with problem-solving skills. I would give it some time.

 

[shortnsweet]

What is it about biology that you hate? Is it the actual subject matter itself, or the way it it being taught?

I personally also like chemistry more than biology (I was a biochemistry major in college). Trying to figure out how to get from point A in a reaction to point G was a ton of fun, whereas stuff like Zoology bored me intensely other than the occasional gee whizzer factoid. Since you are only a freshman, I think part of it may just be due to the way a lot of the huge first-year undergraduate biology classes are taught (i.e. poorly and catered to the masses). The fact that you like chemistry is actually a plus, since that indicates you are comfortable early on with problem-solving skills. I would give it some time.

Let me guess...you loved pharmacology while the rest of us rode the struggle bus?

 

[dyachei]

Let me guess...you loved pharmacology while the rest of us rode the struggle bus?

I *loved* pharmacology. Hated chemistry (at least the way it was taught where I was). Loved biology though. I saw it as problem solving in the natural world @WhtsThFrequency . If you could figure that out you could make some accurate predictions.

 

[shortnsweet]

I *loved* pharmacology. Hated chemistry (at least the way it was taught where I was). Loved biology though. I saw it as problem solving in the natural world @WhtsThFrequency . If you could figure that out you could make some accurate predictions.

It reminded me of orgo too much. Loved my orgo prof, hated orgo.

Biology is where it's at, esp infectious disease and neuro and cardio....squeeeee

 

[allygator13]

I love it all

My question would really be though, if you hate biology so much, why do you want to be a doctor and practice medicine? That doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I *loved* pharmacology. Hated chemistry (at least the way it was taught where I was). Loved biology though. I saw it as problem solving in the natural world @WhtsThFrequency . If you could figure that out you could make some accurate predictions.

It likely really depends on the environment and difficulty/scope of the class. My early bio classes and labs in undergrad were laughable. Rote memorization and spoon feeding. It wasn't until upper-level classes that true problem-solving (and interesting topics) started coming along. I think we are being a little hard on a freshman here who is likely (?) in drool-inducing frosh Intro to Bio type of stuff.

 

[dyachei]

It likely really depends on the environment and difficulty/scope of the class. My early bio classes and labs in undergrad were laughable. Rote memorization and spoon feeding. It wasn't until upper-level classes that true problem-solving (and interesting topics) started coming along. I think we are being a little hard on a freshman here who is likely (?) in drool-inducing frosh Intro to Bio type of stuff.

oh I wasn't commenting on their situation at all. just responding to your comment. Either give it more time or decide you want to pursue a different field.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Let me guess...you loved pharmacology while the rest of us rode the struggle bus?

Surprisingly, I also hated pharm because it wasn't problem solving to me. It was memorize which drug to give for which disease and what are the random characteristics of each drug. I always wanted to know more about the how and why diseases worked rather than how to treat them. I leave that to people with more patience than me

 

[that redhead]

I love my chemistry and physics classes - but I HATE biology. I would rather spend 10 hours studying chemistry than 5 hours studying biology. Not just cellular, but anatomy and physiology... learning about body systems. Just everything, it's so boring and uninteresting and confusing >.<
But on the other hand I love animals and wanted to be a vet... but is it feasible at all?

Why do you want to be a vet? If it's just because you love animals and want to help them, there are other ways to accomplish that goal.

 

[LetItSnow]

Meh. I didn't care much for my ug biology classes either.