2004 applicants?

[K.Astro]

Hi, I just finished appling a couple of months ago, and I was wondering if anyone else on this forum is applying this year? Where are you all applying? I applied to all the western schools (go WICHE!), except for Western itself (too many pre-reqs that i didn't have), and the 'private' ones. Anyone else from a state with no vet school of their own?

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[bettypix]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the forum scene. My name is Kristen, I'm 21 years old, and I go to UC Irvine in SoCal; I'm graduating this Spring with a BS in Neurobiology. I also just applied to vet school this past summer, to UC Davis only. UCD is perfect for me; I absolutely fell in love with it when I visited, and their vet program sounds really impressive. I decided not to apply to the other CA school, Western, because I wasn't as impressed with their program and I didn't agree with some of their philosophies. I really want to stay in CA for now, although it's not where I'm from originally, because most of my family is here at the moment.

My GPA isn't quite as high as some of you who've posted your stats, but my GRE scores were good and I have excellent extracurriculars and animal experiences, so I'm really hoping to get into UCD on my first try. However, I have an in-the-meantime plan if I don't, and I plan to apply as many times as I need to to be admitted. I'm never giving up, because I've always wanted to be a vet and I can't imagine spending my life doing anything else.

I'm very interested in hearing from those of you who are currently attending vet school. I'd appreciate any information you can provide me with about your application process, the interview process (including the questions they asked you), and your experiences while in vet school. Does your school meet your original expectations? Do you like it as much as you thought you would? Congratulations to you all for getting accepted and successfully attending vet school!

 

[southerncomfort]

herpeto--
Did you encounter any "trouble" applying to both vet and med schools? Did anyone advise against it? Did schools "know" you were applying to both? I've been considering doing the same, but I'm afraid I won't be considered *serious* if I apply to both. Even though to me, it's putting more lines out there hoping to get something! Any advice is appreciated!

 

[shocker682]

You Americans are lucky--You are able to apply to any vet school that you want (With some limitations as is my understanding). Up here in Canada, due to residency restrictions and the fact that there are only 3 english speaking vet schools, I'm pretty much only able to apply to one school--talk about all my eggs in one basket. I'm dreading rejection, and will prob. apply overseas to Australia if I'm rejected. What are your backups, should any of you not gain admittance?

 

[bettypix]

southerncomfort --

I've talked to some pre-meds and a couple admissions counselors, and they've all told me that applying to two different types of professional schools is not a very good idea. I'm sure that's not what you want to hear. While you are trying to keep your options open because you probably would be happy in either place, some of the admissions committees might see you as a person who doesn't really know what he/she wants to do in life, and who is not passionate enough about whatever professional school they represent to do as well as people who are. I don't know whether the admissions committees can see where else you applied, but they will ask you that in the interview if you're one of the lucky few who get an interview.

In my opinion, if you are equally passionate about both professions and have the necessary experience in both arenas, apply to both and hope for the best. During the interviews, maybe you can say that you're really interested in cardiology, for example, and you would be equally happy treating animals or humans because you believe they are both very important.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck to you!

 

[shocker682]

These two professions are quite different--What motivates you to apply to both? They are both medical disciplines, but are completely different in terms of patients treated (duh--That sounded rather obvious). How are you going to decide between the two?

At one point in my life I did want to be a medical doctor, however as I gained insight into the Veterinary field I fell in love. The adcomms might see this indecision as a lack of true understanding of the veterinary field.

 

[southerncomfort]

Regarding applying to both med and vet schools, here's how I look at it. They're both medical professions, each with unique pros and cons, and challenges. What attracts me to both medical fields is the thought process behind medicine--putting together the symptoms in front of you, the history, together with your knowledge to make a diagnosis and treatment plan. And of course, they're both "helper" professions--either way you can truly make a difference in the quality of life of people.
The pros of vet--I think school would be a lot of fun with well-rounded, caring students, great variety in practice options, the wonderful clients; cons--financial, challenging to diagnose (your patients can't verbally tell you where/when/how it hurts, etc.), the not-so-wonderful clients, treatment options often financially constrained by client, hard to get residency positions.
The pros of med--the wonderful patients, usually lots of diagnostic and treatment options, financial, residency pretty much required; the cons--the not-so-wonderful patients, dealing with insurance hassles, the gunner med students (really--the biggest con to me going to med school is dealing with gunners who are just there to put an intellectual/social notch in their belt!).
Personally, I think applying to more than one professional program is more a sign of being open to career possibilities than being "tracked". Is it really any different than applying to a prof program AND a grad program, or law and MBA?
Right now, I have gobs of veterinary experience--I've seen most sides of the profession (sa, la, emerg, research), so I have a really good idea of what to expect and how I'd want to practice. I'll be doing an intensive medical experience starting this winter--with hospital rounds, history taking, psychosocial, etc., to see if I really want to do that. I really feel I'm at the point where I need to do *something*--I'm giving myself two app. cycles to make it happen, then on to something else (probably nursing). Not giving up, just being realistic.
And the thing is, none of us will ever *really* know if our chosen profession is the right one for us until we're out there doing it! There are gobs of people changing careers mid-life, including LOTS of doctors--MDs and DVMs.

 

[dvm n 06]

And you don't think there are gunners in vet school? I can think of at least 1 in my class alone.

 

[cudvm2005]

I can second that. Gunners about in my class, and in my school. So annoying... I bet it's worse than med school.

The students are not neccessarily more caring, or well rounded than students in other programs. There are plenty of people here who are doing it for the wrong reasons. I even question some people's love for animals at times.

And the residency positions are actually easier to get than med school ones, because not nearly as many people go for them. In face very few people go into residencies after graduation because they aren't mandatory and for a lot of other reasons. Internships might be different, but again since they aren't mandatory, it's not really an issue. For example, it's not unusual for pathology or anesthesia resdencies go unmatched!

 

[southerncomfort]

Yes, I realize there are going to be gunners *everywhere*, but I really do think they're more abundant in the pre-meds than vet. People who wouldn't even consider anything else than medicine, not because they felt any sort of calling to do it, they just thought that nothing else was good enough for them--had enough prestige and intellectual oomph. I'm basing that on my own undergrad experience--maybe it was just at my school, but I wouldn't want a lot of those treating me if I were sick!
As far as it being easier to get a vet residency, it was my understanding the opposite was true--because of far fewer intern/residency positions available each year in vet than med--so the competition was much stiffer.