Applying to Veterinary & Medical School at same time?

[YankeesfanZF5]

Is it looked down upon to apply to medical school and veterinary school at the same time? I would be very content being either or!

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[that redhead]

Is it looked down upon to apply to medical school and veterinary school at the same time? I would be very content being either or!

Not necessarily, but if you don't care either way just go human med where the money is good and the exorbitant loans are able to be paid back faster.

 

[YankeesfanZF5]

Not necessarily, but if you don't care either way just go human med where the money is good and the exorbitant loans are able to be paid back faster.

Thanks but I have put a lot of time in shadowing vets and working with animals and taking the courses needed. I plan to apply to vet school and med school at different places. Just wondering if they see that as a bad thing. I'm not sure why because they are extremely similar IMO but vets seem to need to know more!

 

[battie]

Would you have the appropriate extra curriculars for each? I hang out over in pre-med occasionally and the ECs, applications, and process are different enough that it's not a simple switch between the two.

 

[that redhead]

Thanks but I have put a lot of time in shadowing vets and working with animals and taking the courses needed. I plan to apply to vet school and med school at different places. Just wondering if they see that as a bad thing. I'm not sure why because they are extremely similar IMO but vets seem to need to know more!

You would need to be able to explain why one over the other. If your medical school admission committee sees a lot of veterinary experience, they're going to ask you why you're applying to human med programs. Just be prepared to demonstrate that you understand the differences between the fields.

 

[YankeesfanZF5]

Would you have the appropriate extra curriculars for each? I hang out over in pre-med occasionally and the ECs, applications, and process are different enough that it's not a simple switch between the two.

I actually have more veterinary ECs. I worked for a Vet Clinic all through college, help at a therapeutic horseback riding center and volunteer at the local humane society. I had the vets are worked for tell me I should apply to both and one vet told me how he should have going to med school instead. So just was wondering what would be the differences when applying.

 

[YankeesfanZF5]

You would need to be able to explain why one over the other. If your medical school admission committee sees a lot of veterinary experience, they're going to ask you why you're applying to human med programs. Just be prepared to demonstrate that you understand the differences between the fields.

Agreed. Thank you! I believe they are both awesome careers. I am just having trouble picking one.

 

[that redhead]

I actually have more veterinary ECs. I worked for a Vet Clinic all through college, help at a therapeutic horseback riding center and volunteer at the local humane society. I had the vets are worked for tell me I should apply to both and one vet told me how he should have going to med school instead. So just was wondering what would be the differences when applying.

Medical schools want you to have clinical experience with human patients, some shadowing of a physician...oh, and the MCAT. Your volunteer experiences will "count" for medical school but it's going to be pretty clear (at least from what you describe your application as currently) your leaning. If you're serious in applying to both, mosey over to the pre-med forums and read around there.

And yes, they are both great careers, just very different in their application.

 

[YankeesfanZF5]

Medical schools want you to have clinical experience with human patients, some shadowing of a physician...oh, and the MCAT. Your volunteer experiences will "count" for medical school but it's going to be pretty clear (at least from what you describe your application as currently) your leaning. If you're serious in applying to both, mosey over to the pre-med forums and read around there.

And yes, they are both great careers, just very different in their application.

I have done all that stuff too! Yup taking the MCAT and GRE soon. Thanks for the replies!

 

[that redhead]

I have done all that stuff too! Yup taking the MCAT and GRE soon. Thanks for the replies!

Good luck, then

 

[Doctor-S]

Agreed. Thank you! I believe they are both awesome careers. I am just having trouble picking one.

If you're still undecided between human medicine and veterinary medicine, it might be advisable to discuss your thoughts, desires and career goals with more MDs and DVMs before you begin submitting multiple apps. Ask questions and listen closely. Which career do you imagine yourself doing for the next 40, 50 or 60 years?

 

[LyraGardenia]

I don't think it would be necessarily frowned upon, but I feel like it would be very difficult to keep up with all the applications unless you're only applying to one or two schools of each type. Just applying to vet school is expensive, and I imagine applying to med school isn't any better. In addition to VMCAS/AMCAS fees you've got supplemental application fees, the costs to take the GRE and MCAT, and the costs of traveling to interviews. You might have multiple interviews on the same date and have to choose one or the other if you can't reschedule one. As TRH mentioned, you would need to be able to explain in interviews that you're considering both, and why. And say you get accepted to both vet school and med school, which would you choose?

I agree with Dr. S that I would really do some soul-searching and choose one or the other rather than spending the time and money on both application processes. And TRH makes a good point that it's much easier to pay back the debt in human med. As an OOS vet student I'll have close to $300k in debt including interest by the time I graduate, whereas average starting salary for vets is around $70k. That's not something to take on lightly.

Have you started your VMCAS yet? If not, you're cutting it pretty close to the deadline to get everything done, and especially ask people for LORs. I'd also be a little concerned about taking the GRE this late, as most schools require scores by the September 15th deadline. You'll probably have your scores in time if you're taking it within the next week or two, but you won't have time to retake it if you're not satisfied with your scores.

 

[battie]

They're cutting it close for human med as well. Their application process is different from the get go in that it matters when you turn in the app. The earlier the better.