Hi everyone. I'm looking for some advice and feedback about my stats and chances. I have a bachelor's degree in Professional Writing and a minor in Psychology, so during my undergrad I didn't need to take much science. I took intro to Bio and a class about Dinosaurs and I received A's in both.
I had a lot going on during my undergrad...during the first few years I did some irreparable damage...so even though I graduated with honors and my last year or two of GPA's were 3.76...3.89...3.92...etc my cumulative is only 3.08
After that, I started a veterinary technician program...I did three semesters and received A's and B's (before realizing I needed to stop being scared and start applying to vet schools.) I hated to quit something, but it's a lot of money to finish out the program knowing that I will still need to complete more prerequisites for vet school. My cumulative there was a 3.41. Even though the classes only fill the requirements for science electives, I've had chemistry, intro to medicine, pharmacology & anesthesia, lab animal science, clinical chemistry/veterinary pathology, parasitology, and other helpful courses with labs.
Other than chemistry, I haven't taken my prerequisites yet. I plan to take them this year and apply by putting them in my "planned/in progress" section as some schools have advised me to do. I am also scheduled to take the GRE's on August 19th.
I've been working as a vet assistant since February in a small animal hospital...I work full-time and directly with vets and techs all day, and have first-hand experience in all areas there, i.e.: nursing rooms, filling meds, assisting in surgery, monitoring anesthesia, in-house fecals and urinalyses, certified to administer pro heart injection, etc.
As for large animal experience, my cousin is a tech and owns a farm with horses (and also chickens and roosters--not exactly large animal, I know). I have hands-on experience in basic care and maintenance of horses and their husbandry with a small amount of experience in horse venipuncture.
I volunteered at the University of Penn in the wards section of the small animal hospital for a semester, cleaning and doing laundry, stocking shelves, etc.
During my time in the tech program I had a lot of hands-on experience with lab animals. i.e.: beagles, rabbits, rats, hamsters, and mice. I learned venipuncture, restraint, gavaging, and had many hours of husbandry and cleaning assignments for different weeks as a requirement for certain courses.
I've also been watching a few of my neighbors dogs for years, since they travel often I'm usually with their pets for long periods of time.
My references are: a veterinarian who teaches at Harcum (the tech school I went to), a veterinarian from work, the program director from the tech school, and my practice manager. At this point I am looking for any and all feedback you guys may have. I'm in the process of applying for matriculation in fall of 2015. I'm hoping to confirm what schools will care the least about the years that I didn't do so hot during the beginning of my undergrad, but will pay attention to my science grades from the tech school, my experience, and the later semesters--or the trend--of my bachelor's where I graduated with honors.
I also held a position in my sorority where we did a good amount of community service and fundraisers.
Thank you, all! Hope to hear from you
And I'm not even zoo focused as a career path! I'm pretty sure you can become a zoo vet with a DVM from any of the accredited schools, just have to make sure to make the most of opportunities while in school (and get experience/make good contacts!).
