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I've been thinking about posting this for a while and since I don't want to study after my biochem exam today, so here it goes....
I have made a number of mistakes on my way to vet school, and now that I am here I would like to pass on some things for other non-traditional candidates to consider. Some will disagree, but so be it.
#1) Don't plan to attend vet school the minute you finish your pre-reqs. I was understandably in a rush to attend school given my "advanced" age. Everyone on SDN talks about majors not mattering and just get your pre-reqs done and that is the path I took (and it took 3 years). Unfortunately, at least here at Penn, I find that others who have only pre-req background have it much harder than those hard core bio and pre-vet students (or masters or phD experience). If vet school is the first time you are learning anatomical terms or histology or whatever it is just that much more of a load you will have to handle. It might seem frustrating, but I would advise (and would myself given a second chance) to take as many upper level classes as you can: histology, biochem, developmental biology, neurology, immunology, pathology, nutrition, etc. At some vet schools, you will be able to place out of classes and you will be happy for the extra time, or at worst be able to be on top of material.
#2) Don't underestimate the difficulty of being a full-time student. I was working full-time and taking 2 classes a time and figured if I could handle that, Vet school wouldn't be all that different. WRONG. Sitting in classes all day is a lot different than sitting in work all day. Your job is something you are used to and does not demand the same mental processing. If you have been away from school for a long time IT WILL be an adjustment. Not impossible, of course, but probably a lot harder than you might think. For me, studying every night makes it difficult to get to sleep when I want as I need to unwind, and that leads to a vicious loss of sleep cycle which is hard to break.
#3) Take some time off. I finished my pre-reqs, took a quick vacation, moved cross country, moved into a new house and started classes. I was tired before classes even began. I gained weight. I got out of shape quickly. It was a mess from the start. Think twice if you can't get a few months off before class. The change in your lifestyle is much larger than you can imagine. I would say, the older you are, the more difficult a major change in lifestyle will be. If you are moving far away..worse. I've moved many times, but this was definitely the worst for me with all the new changes in my life.
#4) The challenge of the material.. Well, conceptually there is NOTHING difficult in vet school. It is a ton of memorization. If you are good at memorization, great. If not, get used to it. I hate memorization but can do it with enough repetition. Unfortunately I never have enough time for the repetition so it is definitely tough for me. For reference, the lowest grades I got in my pre-reqs (thru UCLA) were 2 B+ and the rest were A. I got a 1530 GRE (6.0) analytical so I am definitely not academically challenged. Without going into details, let's just say I am not in the top 1/2 of my class right now, and all I care about is surviving and passing at this point (both of which are in doubt).
#5) Stress on personal life. Pretty much knew this one going in, but living through it is another story. It is very hard to turn from a stable, mature, rock of a personality to an unsure idiot in a short period of time. Also, your spouse/SO may not be as prepared for you to deal with your personality change initially. That will be one more distraction that you don't need.
Well, that is plenty long. If I were to do it again, I would take another year of classes, probably with an extremely heavy upper level bio load my last semester and then take 6 months off. I would be rested and healthy and prepared for the task.
Then again, things are never perfect, but they could be better than they are for me. I am sure others are doing just fine, but I see here anyway, that on balance non-science, non-trads are definitely bearing a larger burden than some others in many different ways.
Good luck. If you have any specific questions let me know here or PM, and of course listen to others who may have completely different advice.
Good Luck.
SOV
I have made a number of mistakes on my way to vet school, and now that I am here I would like to pass on some things for other non-traditional candidates to consider. Some will disagree, but so be it.
#1) Don't plan to attend vet school the minute you finish your pre-reqs. I was understandably in a rush to attend school given my "advanced" age. Everyone on SDN talks about majors not mattering and just get your pre-reqs done and that is the path I took (and it took 3 years). Unfortunately, at least here at Penn, I find that others who have only pre-req background have it much harder than those hard core bio and pre-vet students (or masters or phD experience). If vet school is the first time you are learning anatomical terms or histology or whatever it is just that much more of a load you will have to handle. It might seem frustrating, but I would advise (and would myself given a second chance) to take as many upper level classes as you can: histology, biochem, developmental biology, neurology, immunology, pathology, nutrition, etc. At some vet schools, you will be able to place out of classes and you will be happy for the extra time, or at worst be able to be on top of material.
#2) Don't underestimate the difficulty of being a full-time student. I was working full-time and taking 2 classes a time and figured if I could handle that, Vet school wouldn't be all that different. WRONG. Sitting in classes all day is a lot different than sitting in work all day. Your job is something you are used to and does not demand the same mental processing. If you have been away from school for a long time IT WILL be an adjustment. Not impossible, of course, but probably a lot harder than you might think. For me, studying every night makes it difficult to get to sleep when I want as I need to unwind, and that leads to a vicious loss of sleep cycle which is hard to break.
#3) Take some time off. I finished my pre-reqs, took a quick vacation, moved cross country, moved into a new house and started classes. I was tired before classes even began. I gained weight. I got out of shape quickly. It was a mess from the start. Think twice if you can't get a few months off before class. The change in your lifestyle is much larger than you can imagine. I would say, the older you are, the more difficult a major change in lifestyle will be. If you are moving far away..worse. I've moved many times, but this was definitely the worst for me with all the new changes in my life.
#4) The challenge of the material.. Well, conceptually there is NOTHING difficult in vet school. It is a ton of memorization. If you are good at memorization, great. If not, get used to it. I hate memorization but can do it with enough repetition. Unfortunately I never have enough time for the repetition so it is definitely tough for me. For reference, the lowest grades I got in my pre-reqs (thru UCLA) were 2 B+ and the rest were A. I got a 1530 GRE (6.0) analytical so I am definitely not academically challenged. Without going into details, let's just say I am not in the top 1/2 of my class right now, and all I care about is surviving and passing at this point (both of which are in doubt).
#5) Stress on personal life. Pretty much knew this one going in, but living through it is another story. It is very hard to turn from a stable, mature, rock of a personality to an unsure idiot in a short period of time. Also, your spouse/SO may not be as prepared for you to deal with your personality change initially. That will be one more distraction that you don't need.
Well, that is plenty long. If I were to do it again, I would take another year of classes, probably with an extremely heavy upper level bio load my last semester and then take 6 months off. I would be rested and healthy and prepared for the task.
Then again, things are never perfect, but they could be better than they are for me. I am sure others are doing just fine, but I see here anyway, that on balance non-science, non-trads are definitely bearing a larger burden than some others in many different ways.
Good luck. If you have any specific questions let me know here or PM, and of course listen to others who may have completely different advice.
Good Luck.
SOV