Change in career to veterinary medicine

[Nicole Patterso]

Hello. I graduated from UC Berkeley majoring in History. My original goal all up until college was to attend veterinary school however, the sciences scared me a LOT and I wasn't so great at them. Now however, I realize I need to face my fears. Animal welfare/health is my life and passion and I realize that I most likely cannot make a difference within the lives of animals by being a lawyer. So, I'm beginning to research vet school pre-reqs.

From what I have seen so far it seems as if I can take general science pre-reqs such as chem 1A,B,C and Bio 1A,B,C etc all from a community college and then after that I would need to transfer to a state university to complete some upper division courses, is this correct? I do not have any college science under my belt. And all of this should take about two years?

If anyone could give me advice as to how to begin this search I'd really appreciate it. I have also been seeing that many different vet schools require different pre-reqs, so what is the best way to go about chosing classes? Since vet school is so competitive I would like to apply to most of them however, since there are so many different requirements from all the schools it seems I can only chose a few that coincide with each other. Is that correct?

I appreciate any advice...May my research continue =)

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[teatime]

hey there!

I was almost exactly in your position two years ago. Non-science major, trying to wrap my head around everything I needed to get done. Basically, I took all my lower division reqs through community colleges nearby, and then the few upper divisions either through distance learning from other universities or as a non-degree seeking student. Most schools actually have many of the same requirements, a few here and there require a lil' extra, like nutrition or microbiology. It definitely wouldn't hurt to check out schools you'd be interested in applying to and tailor what courses you take based on that. I wanted to be able to apply to a broad range of schools so I've taken (or will take this fall) almost every pre-req under the sun. That's the expensive route I suppose. In the end it will have taken me about 2.5 years to finish it all, although I'm applying this year with a few courses in progress.

Hope that helps!

 

[parietal]

Hello. I graduated from UC Berkeley majoring in History. My original goal all up until college was to attend veterinary school however, the sciences scared me a LOT and I wasn't so great at them. Now however, I realize I need to face my fears. Animal welfare/health is my life and passion and I realize that I most likely cannot make a difference within the lives of animals by being a lawyer. So, I'm beginning to research vet school pre-reqs.

From what I have seen so far it seems as if I can take general science pre-reqs such as chem 1A,B,C and Bio 1A,B,C etc all from a community college and then after that I would need to transfer to a state university to complete some upper division courses, is this correct? I do not have any college science under my belt. And all of this should take about two years?

If anyone could give me advice as to how to begin this search I'd really appreciate it. I have also been seeing that many different vet schools require different pre-reqs, so what is the best way to go about chosing classes? Since vet school is so competitive I would like to apply to most of them however, since there are so many different requirements from all the schools it seems I can only chose a few that coincide with each other. Is that correct?

I appreciate any advice...May my research continue =)

Most U.S. schools require at least general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, general biology, genetics, microbiology, physics and some sort of college algebra/pre-calc/calc/stats.

You'll need many of those before you can take the upper-division biology classes required by some vet schools like physiology, anatomy, etc. You can take some prereqs like speech, animal science and animal nutrition sooner (and if your college doesn't offer animal sciences, you can take them online).

The chemistry sequence generally takes 2.5 to 3 years, unless you can take a full year's worth of chemistry in the summer, which I wouldn't necessarily recommend if you aren't comfortable with the sciences and haven't had much previous exposure.

Start by taking the intro courses (general chemistry and general biology) and see how it goes. I thought I wasn't great at the sciences my first time through college, but it was mostly because I didn't know how to study. Now, I love them. If you're willing to apply yourself, you can do well. But it won't be easy. And you should expect prereqs to take at least three years.

And applying to every U.S. vet school would cost a ton of money. Figure out a few schools where you really want to attend and make sure you meet the prereqs for those schools. If you decide to expand your list at some point, that's fine, but trying to take every prereq for every school isn't really necessary.

 

[VeganSoprano]

There is actually a lot you can do for animals as a lawyer! Many public policy oriented nonprofits employ attorneys.

There are also other graduate level degree options. An MPH would leave you well prepared for a leadership role in a municipal animal care/control and/or shelter. Tufts has an MS program in animals and public policy that would prepare you for a career in the nonprofit world, among other things.

You know that animals are your passion. That's a start. What else do you love? If you love science and medicine, then vet school is for you. If there are other things you would prefer to study, then you should consider other options.

I definitely am not discouraging you from pursuing vet school, just pointing out other degree options that may prepare you for a similar career path. A DVM is only one possible path.

 

[that redhead]

From what I have seen so far it seems as if I can take general science pre-reqs such as chem 1A,B,C and Bio 1A,B,C etc all from a community college and then after that I would need to transfer to a state university to complete some upper division courses, is this correct? I do not have any college science under my belt. And all of this should take about two years?

If anyone could give me advice as to how to begin this search I'd really appreciate it. I have also been seeing that many different vet schools require different pre-reqs, so what is the best way to go about chosing classes? Since vet school is so competitive I would like to apply to most of them however, since there are so many different requirements from all the schools it seems I can only chose a few that coincide with each other. Is that correct?

I appreciate any advice...May my research continue =)

To be honest, schools will value pre-reqs taken at a four year university and not community college, if you can help it. I'd say two years or even three is a reasonable time to get these courses completed.

I've actually found that a lot of the vet school pre-reqs are the same, and the more sciences you get done, the more schools you can apply to. I thank my undergrad for requiring so darn many science classes (gen chem I and II, orgo I and II, physics I and II and biochem) because although different schools want different combinations, I've covered all of my bases. I've also seen that many schools value or require communications and composition courses, so I've got those done too.

My best advice is to be patient with yourself. Give yourself plenty of time to complete the pre-reqs and do well on them. Also make sure to accumulate some diverse experiences along the way. Remember, once you get into vet school, it isn't playing with puppies all day. There are going to be more science courses that are a lot more difficult than the ones you will be taking as pre-requisites. Just because you love animals doesn't mean you have to be a vet! There are a lot of other fulfilling careers out there that you might enjoy. It's worth it to do some research on other animal-related careers, as well

 

[StartingoverVet]

You don't mention where you are currently located, but that could help provide some info.

If you are still in CA, then there are pretty good extension programs at many of the UC schools, especially Berkeley and UCLA (and to a lesser degree SD).

What I did was check UC Davis requirements, and just take the courses they required. There is a lot of variation and I got away with a lot fewer classes than many others at the schools I applied to. UC has that assist program to show you equivalents at other UC schools.

Anyway, I would say focus on 1 school, hopefully in-state, and get started from there.

If you are in CA, PM me with questions as I took EVERY pre-req (except stat) here post-bac.

 

[david594]

If anyone could give me advice as to how to begin this search I'd really appreciate it.

Start getting veterinary experience. Before you get too deep into the pre-reqs make sure the vet med in your head is the reality and not the As See On TV version.

You know that animals are your passion. That's a start. What else do you love? If you love science and medicine, and dealing with people then vet school is for you.

The people aspect is an important part of the field that cannot be ignored. The worst parts of the field have to do with the clients and not the patients.

(and I know there are plenty of jobs in vet med that don't deal with people, but people who aren't already familiar with the field aren't looking to become a vet to get into one of those)

 

[VeganSoprano]

That was actually a deliberate omission. Someone who is passionate about animals, science, and medicine but isn't crazy about working with people may still be someone who should pursue a DVM. It's not a deal-breaker. Disliking science and/or medicine is a deal-breaker.

 

[squibby]

To be honest, schools will value pre-reqs taken at a four year university and not community college, if you can help it.

Where did you get this information? Please don't generalize when giving advice on this forum, you might unnecessarily stress somebody out.

Sorry, but at the community college where I took O-Chem, not only did we score better on the ACS than UC Berkeley O-chem students, all of my former classmates and I agree that science courses at the UC's we transferred to are a cakewalk compared to those we took at the community college.

In my file review none of the schools mentioned the community college issue. UC Davis has a policy that they will not compare reputations of schools because it is impossible to do so when you have applicants from all over the country. No matter what kind of school it is, if it is "easier" and you can keep a higher GPA, you can get past the adcomms' computers. That's a huge advantage.

I graduated from UC Berkeley as a Mass Communications major, after switching from Biology due to personal reasons requiring a reduced stress-load. I did exactly what you mentioned, Nicole, starting at a community college and transferring to a four-year. I would have been done after two-and-a-half years but I only needed a handful more classes to get a B.S., which will open more doors for me if I don't get in and decide to go to grad school before I apply again.