Any tips for a newbie?

[Defplucky]

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Hello all, i was wondering if any vets or pre-vets could give me advice about applying to vet school.

- 19 year old male Florida Resident (does being a male carry any advantages?)
- Currently attending Community College.
-3.64 gpa (probably go up after summer)
- Currently volunteer at the SPCA and going to apply to Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge.

I have only taken Chemistry 1 w/ lab so far but I recieved an A in it, finishing first year and planning on taking another year and a half to two years at my Community College.

I live in Orlando Florida and plan on attending UCF soon and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions about what I can do to make myself a more desirable candidate for when I apply to vet school in a few years.

 

[that redhead]

The search feature of the forum will be quite handy in finding a lot of this information. At this point the best advice is probably just to keep your grades up and keep accumulating good vet and animal experiences.

 

[racccjlm]

Hi there! Yes, the search function is definitely helpful. If you're curious about GRE/GPA/experience, there are many many threads on the subject. Look for experiences/opportunities that will make you stand out. You could ask professors about research positions, etc. My best advice is to make your summers count! I found my internships over the internet. Here are a few threads that might help you get started 🙂

Thoughts on the female:male ratio http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=827452

Some general advice (a bit biased towards Ohio, but good anyway): http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=831996

Stats/experience of this year's successful applicants (pay particular attention to the variety of experiences people have): http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=776924

Some chatter among applicants for 2016 - what they're doing, etc: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=787480

 

[RackingHorse]

If it were possible, you should probably try to start taking you're pre req science courses at a university. I have noticed on some CVM websites that they will think more highly of you're application if you take you're courses from a university. I attend MTSU and am planning on taking all my science and animal science classes there. But, I do still have a couple of general ed classes that I have to take and I am taking them online through a community college. I don't think a CVM will have any problem with that.

Also, you need to start getting as much veterinary experience as possible. Do whatever it takes to gain vet experience whether it is shadowing, volunteering, or whatever other option you may be presented with to be involved with a veterinarian.

 

[heylodeb]

If it were possible, you should probably try to start taking you're pre req science courses at a university. I have noticed on some CVM websites that they will think more highly of you're application if you take you're courses from a university. I attend MTSU and am planning on taking all my science and animal science classes there. But, I do still have a couple of general ed classes that I have to take and I am taking them online through a community college. I don't think a CVM will have any problem with that.

Can you be specific about which schools you are you referring to? Curious since previous conversations on this board and conversations with admins, I have seen the opposite of this statement. It is pretty common for people to do pre-reqs at a community college and then transfer to a 4 year to finish up with the upper division credits.

 

[nyanko]

Can you be specific about which schools you are you referring to? Curious since previous conversations on this board and conversations with admins, I have seen the opposite of this statement. It is pretty common for people to do pre-reqs at a community college and then transfer to a 4 year to finish up with the upper division credits.

Anecdotally we've had people here who were told by UPenn in post-mortem file review that they should take classes at a more challenging university and were accepted the following year after doing so.

 

[Lanith]

Anecdotally we've had people here who were told by UPenn in post-mortem file review that they should take classes at a more challenging university and were accepted the following year after doing so.

Hm, that seems like a pretty lame policy to me considering I am required to take General Biology, Chemistry, and Physics before transferring to a university for my desired major.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Hm, that seems like a pretty lame policy to me considering I am required to take General Biology, Chemistry, and Physics before transferring to a university for my desired major.

That probably doesn't apply to you as you WILL be taking classes at more challenging university (theoretically). It usually (but not always) applies to non-trads who only take pre-reqs and only take them at a CC. Once you have taken upper level classes at another school, you have probably satisfied their desire to prove you can handle a more competitive environment.

 

[bunnity]

Hm, that seems like a pretty lame policy to me considering I am required to take General Biology, Chemistry, and Physics before transferring to a university for my desired major.

You could have started at a 4 year (you weren't forced to go to CC), but some vet schools don't care if you go to CC and some do. It's best to ask specific schools that you're applying to if you're concerned about it.