Becoming a veterinarian...

[YokoKisaragi]

Okay... so this is my story/goal.

I plan on going to the University of Minnesota for pre-vet and then my DVM classes as well. Has anyone been there? If so, what is the difficulty level? I wanted to try really hard to graduate summa cum laude (3.75 GPA w/ honors classes) for personal reasons. Is this hopeless enough that I may as well jump off a cliff, or can one pull it off? To top it all off, I plan to move to Japan after I graduate and was wondering if foreigners can be successful veterinarians in Japan if their Japanese is okay but know no "vet" terms in Japanese so to speak. On average, how long does it take to graduate and pay off? Thanks, Simone

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[nyanko]

Your first question is pretty much impossible to answer as your capacity to get a certain GPA or perform a certain way in classes is pretty much completely dependent on you and how much work you are willing to put into it. Obviously it is possible to attain those goals because people do it.

However, I'd definitely advise you that if you're considering practicing in a foreign country, you should give some thought to visiting that foreign country beforehand. Maybe you should try a study abroad program as an undergraduate for a year or so to immerse yourself more in the language and culture. And if you're really serious about it you could even consider just going to school there in the first place.

 

[YokoKisaragi]

Yeah... I suppose that makes sense. I'm not the party type at all, so I guess that will give me more time to study . Of course I'll probably work with that time also to pay for schooling... I am definitely planning on visiting Japan and talking to them about it. However, I'm guessing you have to be fluent to get into a school there, which I'm not. All of the vet school websites are in Japanese (and there aren't that many). It's kind of a complex situation to describe, at least as far as why I'm in it...

 

[VetMed555]

We had a Japanese vet. once. (She came from Japan and was preparing for her boards in the US, although she already had a vet. degree in Japan). She had a really difficult time because Japanese medical terms are not (obviously) Latin based. She basically had to re-learn everything from scratch. If you are SURE you want to practice in Japan, wouldn't it be better to check out their schools? Is that a possibility for you? As far as GPA goes, I don't think your goal is impossible. I didn't go to U of MN, but I just graduated Summa Cum Laude with my bachelor's in Chemistry. It's not impossible, but I had to give up a lot of my free time, and I can honestly say, I studied my butt off (5-6 hours a night during my senior year). Good Luck!

 

[bunnies]

i agree with vetmed..maybe try to go to vet school in japan? i know schools in japan take international students... usually most students can understand japanese after a year of study over there... b/c of how everything is in japan, i think it's relatively easy to catch the language...

i know the system in geting into vet school in japan is a little different than here in the U.S... maybe finish your undergrad here in the U.S. and then go? of just do a two-years college degree in japan, and then apply to vet school? i really don't know your situation, so my answer is kindda vague,..sorry.

and for gpa..i also agree.. that it's really determined by how much you invest your time in your studies... that being said, just do your best.. that's all you can do, and everything else will fall into place.. good luck with everything.

bunnies

 

[theunraveler]

Okay... so this is my story/goal.

I plan on going to the University of Minnesota for pre-vet and then my DVM classes as well. Has anyone been there? If so, what is the difficulty level? I wanted to try really hard to graduate summa cum laude (3.75 GPA w/ honors classes) for personal reasons. Is this hopeless enough that I may as well jump off a cliff, or can one pull it off? To top it all off, I plan to move to Japan after I graduate and was wondering if foreigners can be successful veterinarians in Japan if their Japanese is okay but know no "vet" terms in Japanese so to speak. On average, how long does it take to graduate and pay off? Thanks, Simone

u need to pass the vet exam in japan if u want to practice and its tough even for native japanese speakers.

the exam test everything from anatomical terms to disease name in japanese and drug names...

 

[projekt]

Waseda offers a very good 1-year study abroad program in English/Japanese and I assume their intensive Japanese program is quite good too. That's, obviously, in Tokyo. My friend who went there was very happy with it. They place you with a host family. I hear the native students at Waseda are less than serious, but the professors are good.

Tokyo University offers an advanced academic Japanese program.

Ritsumeikan offers a culture-based intensive Japanese program. I have heard it is not for the meek.

Japanese is probably the second hardest language for what you want to do, Chinese being the hardest. This is, of course, because you may know how to say a word, but not how to write it, and vice versa. When natives forget a word, it's okay, happens all the time, but when foreigners do it, they may act like you're incompetent. You will need a thick skin!

Also, you are probably aware that Japanese-Americans are generally treated as foreigners and may never assimilate. This has been known to take its toll on people, emotionally, as well. I say all this as someone who really loves Japan!