Hello! Last year I graduated with a degree with Business Management. I worked after graduation as a barn manager and riding instructor and I quit my job for a job change, and due to COVID-19 those plans changed. I'm currently unemployed and have been considering going back to school. I have been seriously considering looking into vet school. As a business major, I took only the minimum science courses required so I would plan to take the necessary requirements to get into vet school, as well as shadowing a local veterinarian. I have been an equestrian since the age of 9, and I have been with a horse rescue for 8 years helping with rescue cases and I have seen and helped treat a variety of illnesses and tough cases. I currently serve as their head trainer. I always wanted to be a vet as a little girl, but I ultimately decided against it when starting college, and now I am starting to regret it. My work in rescue has really inspired me to become a veterinarian. I am writing this post in hopes of connecting with someone who may have been in a similar situation as me (not majoring in science and wanting to go to vet school). I've also considered the vet tech route.
I would love to hear anyone's advice who may have gone the non-traditional route and how you went about doing so. Thank you so much in advance!
OH HEY, you sound exactly like me! I graduated in 2011 with an International Relations degree, but haven't actually used it at all in my career. I had a brief stint working in politics/advocacy right after graduation, but it didn't work out for a variety of reasons. I found myself falling back into the animal industry as a dog trainer & volunteering at a Thoroughbred rehab farm in my free time, and decided to jump into a veterinary career after about 4 years of all that. I took zero science classes in college, only politics/history/econ/language. I applied last year to 8 schools and was waitlisted at 1, rejected at the other 7, and I am applying again this year. So, here are my big takeaways from my experience:
1) The ABSOLUTE first thing you should do (which I did not do) is take some time to shadow a vet. There's no right amount of time for you to know for sure if this is the right career move, but you should understand the industry a bit before jumping in. Ask if you can shadow the vet that works with your rescue, and (if you can) try to do a bit of shadowing in a small animal practice, even if it isn't your first choice of specialty. Getting lots of varied exposure to different practice environments will help you get to know it all. This will also help you figure out if you like the doctor side or the vet tech side - they have verrrry different roles! A vet tech certification is a much more financially attainable goal & much shorter schooling, but it does of course have a lower payout in salary. Doctors spend much more time talking to clients & problem-solving disease, while techs spend more direct time with the patients. There are benefits & drawbacks to each type of position.
2) If you decide you want to go for this, take a look at what vet schools are available in your area. I cannot recommend the VIN Cost of Education map enough:
VIN Foundation Cost of Education Map This tool allows you to see what kind of cost getting a vet school degree will entail. If you have an in-state vet school that offers significantly lower tuition for in-state students, tailor your choices to that. If you don't have an in-state, is there anywhere you could conceivably move to establish residency? If not, look at your cheapest out-of-state option, and look at their requirements. This forum is also a godsend for information on what schools like which applicant traits - that can help you figure out early on that certain schools may be out of reach for you.
3) If you've looked at the cost of education for your likely options and haven't run away screaming, NOW you can look and see what your class options are. Some vet schools don't accept community college credit, or frown upon it, or only accept lower level/non science classes from CCs. Same with online classes. So bear that in mind when you go to pick your institutions. Community colleges are absolutely the cheapest places to start your science classes, but they can be harder to navigate on your own without an advisor. A structured post-bacc program (where I started) is helpful in its specific design for people like you, complete with all the support machinery, but they are MUCH more expensive. I don't even want to think about how much I paid for mine. I would tend to suggest them only if you have a very large chunk of money saved up to start it, or if you have significant financial help from your family/spouse. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT go into a crazy amount of debt for your pre-reqs - you do NOT need a second Bachelor's degree!
4) Once you start school and get your bearings in science classes - which can take a WHILE, let me tell you! - then you can start looking for ways to add veterinary experience into your time. BE SURE you can devote the appropriate attention to your studies BEFORE you sign on for shadowing and other jobs. Cautionary tale: I way overextended myself my first two years back in school, and paid for it with my grades, which have been the biggest barrier so far to getting into vet school. You can always get more experience, but you can't always outrun a bad GPA. Develop your study skills and schedule!
5) If you do all of this and decide you STILL haven't gotten enough and you still want to go to vet school, when you do apply, do your best to maximize your application fees & apply strategically. As I said, your in-state school should be your primary goal, but there are plenty of OOS schools that have decent pricetags. Evaluate which schools would favor your particular application - some schools are very particular about grades or experiences or test scores or diversity. Only apply when you have put forth your absolute BEST application (I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH). If your GPA is poor and you know you'll have an additional good year of grades to add if you wait a year to apply, wait a year! If you aren't able to find enough varied experience, wait a year! If you haven't developed relationships with professors or vets for good letters of recommendation, wait a year! You can do a MASSIVE amount to improve your application over the course of a year, and vet school will be there waiting for you when you do. Minimize application costs by only having to ideally apply once!
Please feel free to DM, I feel like the resident non-traditional student cautionary tale here, I'm happy to help talk through some of my mistakes & what I've learned.
