I'm really new here although I've been stalking the forums long before actually making this account. Anyways, I feel a bit at odds with myself. I'm 21 and currently attending Ok State for Pre-vet, going on my second year here. I'm about 2 years out from graduating with my BS in Animal Science and I'm starting to have some doubts where vet school is concerned. My gpa is pretty deplorable. Went from a 3.0 to a 2.8 in the time I've been here. Chemistry and math have been kicking me up and down the court. I don't want to quit since this has always been my passion but I also want to be realistic. At this rate, vet school is getting further away. My sister believes I should attend the Bel-Rea Institute next year and become a licensed technician. Would this be detrimental to my hopes of ever getting into vet school? I realize that I would have to take two years off from the university to achieve this. But others are optimistic that with my license I could get paid work experience and go to school part time to finish off my requirements before applying to vet school. Any advice?
I went to tech school before getting my bachelors and finishing my pre-reqs. I think it is a good way to see if you really want to be in the field. I do not believe it will hurt your chances of getting into vet school I know a few vets that used to be technicians.
Veterinary technicians are not very well paid, although this depends on where you work and tend to be under appreciated. That said, I do like the work, although its a meager living. Depending on which veterinary school you want to go to you may be able to continue taking your pre-reqs while attending tech school, some of the classes are the same. Like micro, anatomy, chemistry, and physics should be offered there too. Another thing to consider is that not all schools require you to even have a bachelors degree, so you could do tech school and then just finish your pre-reqs, while working, and then apply.
You will need to bring your grades up. Most vet schools require at least a C, a few are ok with a C minus for required classes, but (and correct me if Im wrong ) I dont think vet schools will accept an overal GPA below 3.0. Vet schools will forgive bad grades if you make big improvements. So aim for an excellent last 45 credit hour GPA, and bring your overall GPA up.
If you are really struggling and doubting where you want to go I am a firm believer in a gap year. I wasnt ready for college out of high school and did a year overseas first. The break for the brain, and the ability to get out there and discover myself and the world really made a big difference for me being able to give my all at school. I took a break later too inbetween my associates and bachelors so youre not too old. Dont do it if you dont think you'd ever finish school if you stopped though.
Best of Luck!!!
