Choosing a good pre-vet school

[nessaf7]

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**SDN Moderator Note: These posts were moved from the "Class of 2010-- Your Thoughts" thread on the Vet Forum** --Deanna

- I wish I'd gone to an undergrad institution that would have better prepared me for vet school. My school was great, and I feel like I have a good solid foundation of biology... but not nearly enough as I should have had, as I see many classmates who went to good pre-vet schools who are doing a lot better than I am. Everyone in high school told me it didn't matter what school I went to and THAT IS A LIE.

Sorry to be off topic here, but right now I am considering where to do my undergrad (I'm from Canada, but I may have the opportunity to go to the States for school), what are some of the "good pre-vet schools" in the US?

Thanks! If you want to PM or email me to keep this on topic, that would be fine!

Nessa

 

[eaglemeag]

Sorry to be off topic here, but right now I am considering where to do my undergrad (I'm from Canada, but I may have the opportunity to go to the States for school), what are some of the "good pre-vet schools" in the US?

Thanks! If you want to PM or email me to keep this on topic, that would be fine!

Nessa

I'm the wrong person to ask. I'm sure there are a ton of good pre-vet schools in both the U.S. and Canada, including multiple ones per state/province. You might check with your high school advisor and/or a local veterinarian to see what schools nearby are "reputable" for churning out vet school acceptances. It's also highly regional, I'm sure... you might be far more interested in a school in your province, or in the northern U.S., than you would be in many of the schools I'm familiar with (as I'm from the southeast).

If you're more into doing the research yourself... well, obviously, research colleges that have pre-vet programs at all. Then talk to someone at that college to see what the program involves. (For example, my undergrad had a pre-vet "track", but there was absolutely nothing pre-vet about it. I was considered "pre-vet" but just did my bio degree with no real consideration for the fact that I wanted to go to vet school.) I would check on the vet schools you're interested in and see what undergrad pre-requisites they require, and then see if your pre-vet schools offer those classes and/or require them as part of their degree curriculum. You might also check the stats at your vet schools and see what schools their students come from; those schools are bound to have strong animal science and/or bio programs, or their students wouldn't be getting into vet school.

However... just because a school has a pre-vet program doesn't make it a good pre-vet school, and vice versa; just because a school doesn't have a pre-vet prgram doesn't mean you'll never get into vet school if you go there. So take it all with a grain of salt 🙂

 

[nessaf7]

Thanks for the information!

Right now, I have no idea where in the US I want to go, because that will depend on where, and if, I am offered any NCAA scholarships. Where would you have liked to have gone? In your opinion, are any the the better known schools (ie. Dartmouth, Cornell, etc) more reputable? You also mentioned that some of your current classmates seem more prepared, what universities did they come from?

Sorry for so many questions!
Thanks again,
Nessa

 

[Quaggi]

what are some of the "good pre-vet schools" in the US?
Nessa

I would recommend looking at any undergraduate school that has a veterinary school nearby or on campus, like cornell or penn or a lot of the midwest schools (MSU, UW, OSU etc). this way you can get exposed to the veterinary school in advance by working there or doing research projects etc. also look for schools with strong biology programs, youll be much better prepared for vet school if you've taken an intense biochem class, anatomy, histology, physiology etc, but a lot of schools dont even offer these advanced bio courses. if you're into large animal or just want to know a little (or a lot) about cows before vet school, go somewhere with an animal science program. i went to cornell and I am really glad I have some of those courses behind me before starting vet school

hope that helps

 

[nessaf7]

Thanks! It was very helpful!

So far, Cornell sounds like it would be wonderful, but I really don't know too much about the other schools. Did you do your undergrad in animal sciences there? Were you able to find clincs to volunteer/work at? Any rehabs in the area?

I couldn't resist putting a picture of one of our baby 'coons from where I work when I saw yours! Right now I am interested in more wildlife, zoo, PH, research or something along those lines rather then SA, but I've worked with sheep and a little bit with cows (but never in a medical situation) and I've really enjoyed that too... So I don't really know if I want to do animal sciences or regular sciences. So many decisions to make now!

Thanks again 🙂

 

[Quaggi]

Thanks! It was very helpful!

So far, Cornell sounds like it would be wonderful, but I really don't know too much about the other schools. Did you do your undergrad in animal sciences there? Were you able to find clincs to volunteer/work at? Any rehabs in the area?

I couldn't resist putting a picture of one of our baby 'coons from where I work when I saw yours! Right now I am interested in more wildlife, zoo, PH, research or something along those lines rather then SA, but I've worked with sheep and a little bit with cows (but never in a medical situation) and I've really enjoyed that too... So I don't really know if I want to do animal sciences or regular sciences. So many decisions to make now!

Thanks again 🙂

cornell was great, i really loved it. i was an animal sciences major, and i really enjoyed the major but i dont think its for everyone, just depends on your interests. bio at cornell is huge and very impersonal, where ansci is smaller and you can get to know the professors a little better. there are clinics around and of course the vet school, but getting jobs there isnt that easy. there is definitely a ton of opportunity to work with animals in a research setting though. Also, as an undergrad you can volunteer at the vet school's wildlife clinic which is really fun. i would recommend just getting good grades and doing some research during the year, and then get the bulk of your clinical experience during the summers. you can always get more experience after you graduate but its a lot harder to raise your GPA.

feel free to PM me if you have any questions 🙂

 

[birdvet2006]

what are some of the "good pre-vet schools" in the US?

Nessa

I felt quite prepared for vet school due to my undergrad courses. I really liked biomolecular science due to a lot of the courses I had taken previously. I went to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) where I majored in animal science, taking the pre-vet option within that major.

Class sizes were fairly small, and I really appreciate most of my classes there. I fondly remember all my nutrition classes, genetics, biochemistry, the chemistries, and animal science computer class. Those were some great times and I can't believe how important all those classes were.

 

[lazyjayn]

Also, for the odd person interested in LA, take a look at wyoming. It's cold, windy and empty, but it's big into the large animal stuff. It's also got the state vet lab right there- as part of the school. I don't know how much international students pay, but I think out of state rate is around 300$/credit right now. It's probably about the same.

Of course, if you ever had a chance of talking your way into residency, it's also got... 6? 8? seats in the colorado vet class each year.

www.uwyo.edu

j.

 

[nessaf7]

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[are_jay]

Cindy- What about the other Californian schools? The one you mentioned doesn't have NCAA Div I for my sport, so its probably not an option. Out of curioisty, did you find that your first few courses at Glasgow were mostly repetition of your undergrad? Would you have been comfortable skipping some of the first courses? Thanks!

One thing to try is schools associated with medical school or one with a strong pre-med program. The people in my class who did have great backgrounds, they just have to adapt to the difference in anatomic language, and they don't have much of the animal science background. In CA, UCLA comes to mind. USC also, but I don't know much about their science programs. Both have strong NCAA D-I sports. UC Berkeley ("Cal") fits both of those requirements as well. UC Davis is where the vet school is, but I don't think their sports are D-I (maybe I-AA?)

Just some ideas.

 

[birdvet2006]

Cindy- What about the other Californian schools? The one you mentioned doesn't have NCAA Div I for my sport, so its probably not an option. Out of curioisty, did you find that your first few courses at Glasgow were mostly repetition of your undergrad? Would you have been comfortable skipping some

I had a classmate who went to Cal Poly SLO, but it's probably another smaller school without a major sports team. I think someone at my school also went to UC San Diego (or something like that) - but I truly don't know what she thought of the classes there.

I could have skipped the basic science stuff like early genetics and "this is a protein", some husbandry and nutrition stuff in first year. Anatomy and physiology, on the other hand, I really needed. When it comes to husbandry, I certainly didn't know enough about sheep and I also didn't know the UK agricultural systems - so I needed that course.

 

[mtrl1]

. UC Davis is where the vet school is, but I don't think their sports are D-I (maybe I-AA?)

We've just become Division I in sports, FYI.

Any school with a good science program or a med/vet school attached should give you a great pre-vet background. I took my GE, calculus, bio, chem, o-chem and stats at a JC before transferring to Davis to finish my B.S. and I'm very happy with the preparation I received from my JC (one of the better ones in the state). Davis is awesome, and I'm loving my senior year!

mtrl1
UC Davis Class of 2007, Phamaceutical Chemistry

 

[lazyjayn]

Guess the question then would be- what sport?

 

[kate_g]

UC Berkeley ("Cal") fits both of those requirements as well.

Berkeley is a great school at which to be a grad student. Undergrad, not so much. It's *huge* (30K or so undergrads), the lower-division classes are in immense lecture halls and still typically overcrowded, the profs are in general more interested in research than lecturing (which is what makes it great for grad school...). Of course, there are world-class faculty in just about any discipline you can think of, so there are some really great opportunities available if you're a very self-motivated and self-reliant person, and seek out those opportunities. But nobody is going to hold your hand, and it's really easy to get lost in the crowd. FWIW I believe Penn State has the same reputation (huge, impersonal, easy to get lost). My undergrad was at a smaller state school (Delaware) that has a real focus on undergrad teaching (at the price of not having so many famous faculty members or so much research funding), even the "big" classes were 150-200 people and the Honors program had really small class sizes. But, they were nothing special in sports...

I'm pretty sure there's no "animal science" major at Cal, simply because there are no cows/pigs/chickens on campus, but there are about a dozen different variants of biology majors (molecular, integrative, nutrition, public health, etc.) that would provide a strong foundation and all the prereqs.

 

[zufuss]

Goto a very easy school. Get a 4.0.

Easiest Way to get in.

 

[HorseyVet]

Berkeley is a great school at which to be a grad student. Undergrad, not so much. It's *huge* (30K or so undergrads), the lower-division classes are in immense lecture halls and still typically overcrowded, the profs are in general more interested in research than lecturing (which is what makes it great for grad school...).

Sorry I realize this is OT but I had to say it....A buddy of mine got into Berkeley for undergrad out-of-state and they didn't have housing for him and he had to live out of a hotel for the first couple of months...We made a lot of jokes about where he was going to plug in his laptop in his carboard box.

 

[nessaf7]

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[JIKJen124]

Just taking a glancing look, Ohio State, Penn State, UPenn, and Cornell seem good. 3 of 4 have vet schools with very established pre-vet advising and whatnot. OSU, PSU, and Cornelll have a variety of animal related majors that can help you get your goal. But as previously mentioned, any major will do if you do the pre-reqs.

 

[Azawakh]

Going to a school that has a good academic reputation should take precedence over schools with pre-vet programs. You need to do well in your pre-reqs which are offered at any college whether they have a pre-vet program or not. While a high percentage of my class are animal science majors there are definitely more biology majors in addition to students who majored in completely unrelated subjects.

 

[HorseyVet]

Going to a school that has a good academic reputation should take precedence over schools with pre-vet programs.

However... just because a school has a pre-vet program doesn't make it a good pre-vet school, and vice versa; just because a school doesn't have a pre-vet prgram doesn't mean you'll never get into vet school if you go there. So take it all with a grain of salt 🙂

Personally I think your undergrad (and if it does or doesn't have an offical pre-vet program) doesn't really matter that much at all. I really think what matters more is that you really take the extra effort to take the classes that will really apply to you later and/or prepare you for science in general. Yes, every school will have some classes that are not-so great b/c the prof. stinks or w/e, but in general I think it's possible to get a pretty good education.

I'm going to sound like I'm tooting my own horn here, but....I really took a ton of upper level bio classes (most which were cross-listed as graduate level classes) and they really did prepare me well for vet school. I know many people that took the "minimum" pre-reqs at the minimum levels and several of them have really struggled in vet school. For example taking the non-bio major microbio or the non-biochem/chem major biochem......

Some undergrads are pretty known for grade inflation. I know the school I transfered from was like that. They'd teach and then curve everyone at the end so almost no one would be below a B....either that or they'd add excessive "effort points" to bring a student's grade up. I think rewarding effort is good...but they'd seriously move people from C's to A's if they "tried hard" and/or royally sucked up. At that undergrad, they make a huge deal out of the fact that they get such a high percentage of students into med/dent/vet/pharm schools.....after being there I realized how they were accomplishing that.....

In a similar line...I knew a girl who started at larger university and apparently after getting one B-, transferred immediately to very very small private school, where she got straight A’s. This had to be a grade inflation deal b/c she seriously couldn’t tell a dog from a cat and probably could have gotten into any school she pleased. I remember talking to her about my animal physio class and she remarked that that class was too hard….I really didn’t get it.

Some will tell you to play the game. That’s your choice and based upon it you can decide what university to go to and/or what classes to take.

A lot of people don’t have much of a choice in where they go to undergrad. I don’t think people should feel bad or worry if they are or will be attending a school without a super pre-vet “program” or a school that’s not ivy. Just do well in the pre-reqs and your GRE and you’ll get into vet school.

Aside from that, how well you actually “prepare” yourself for vet school will depend on you and how much effort you want to put in now or later b/c you’re going to have to know it at some point. If you take the hard classes now and blow your GPA and never get into vet school…well that’s not good…but IMO if you’re not able to get A’s in classes like animal phys, upper-level micro & biochem….maybe you shouldn’t be going to vet school anyway.

 

[dvm'08]

Some undergrads are pretty known for grade inflation. I know the school I transfered from was like that. They'd teach and then curve everyone at the end so almost no one would be below a B....either that or they'd add excessive "effort points" to bring a student's grade up. I think rewarding effort is good...but they'd seriously move people from C's to A's if they "tried hard" and/or royally sucked up. At that undergrad, they make a huge deal out of the fact that they get such a high percentage of students into med/dent/vet/pharm schools.....after being there I realized how they were accomplishing that.....

a person would be smart to go to this school... the major battle is to actually get into vet school - once you're there, its prety easy.

 

[PAThbrd]

a person would be smart to go to this school... the major battle is to actually get into vet school - once you're there, its prety easy.

I would agree, to an extent. Vet school (so far) has not been any harder than undergrad. Its not the difficultly, its the quantity of information, so why hammer yourself with an insanely difficult undergrad school?

You have to beat the system to play the game. When you come down to it, GPA is far more important in the admissions game than difficulty of academic program. Whether that is right or not, who's to say, but its the way its done...

 

[2quick]

Hey, I went to Penn State for undergrad and loved the school. The Animal Bioscience program is directed toward people who are interested in pursuing either vet school or a grad degree in the animal sciences. The pre-vet club had probably around 100+ members, and I believe my class had something like 17 people get into vet school (I go to Ohio State CVM- there are 5 of us in my class). Many of the professors who are involved with the program are veterinarians and will teach some of your upper level courses (I took veterinary parasitology, veterinary mechanisms of disease, etc...). And of course you've got to love the Nittany Lions!

Andrew

 

[beatla19]

I had a classmate who went to Cal Poly SLO, but it's probably another smaller school without a major sports team. I think someone at my school also went to UC San Diego (or something like that) - but I truly don't know what she thought of the classes there.

I could have skipped the basic science stuff like early genetics and "this is a protein", some husbandry and nutrition stuff in first year. Anatomy and physiology, on the other hand, I really needed. When it comes to husbandry, I certainly didn't know enough about sheep and I also didn't know the UK agricultural systems - so I needed that course.

Cal Poly SLO does indeed have Div. I sports. Their animal science program is also excellent. Check out their website, www.calpoly.edu, to see if they have your sport.

 

[nessaf7]

Wow, thanks everyone for all this advice!

Unfortunatly Cal Poly only looks like it has recreational training for my sport, but it does look like their Animal Sciences program is great! I'm just looking at their faculty now, and there are a few DVM's there... Is that normal for a Animal Sciences programs? Would that be something different from a BSc program?

 

[are_jay]

Wow, thanks everyone for all this advice!

Unfortunatly Cal Poly only looks like it has recreational training for my sport, but it does look like their Animal Sciences program is great! I'm just looking at their faculty now, and there are a few DVM's there... Is that normal for a Animal Sciences programs? Would that be something different from a BSc program?

I think you will find that most DVMs in an Animal Science department also have PhDs. The Animal Science dept I was in had few if any DVMs, the DVMs and DVM/PhDs were part of the college of vet med and helped teach some of the an-sci courses. But it varies by school.

not sure what you mean by 'different from a BSc program,' most people get a Bachelors degree in an animal science dept.

 

[nessaf7]

Oh, ok. In Canada, Animal Sciences is in the Agriculture department, and is different from a Bachelor of Sciences. I guess its different in the US?

 

[are_jay]

Oh, ok. In Canada, Animal Sciences is in the Agriculture department, and is different from a Bachelor of Sciences. I guess its different in the US?

Ah, yeah, ok, I am not really familiar with the Canadian system. In the US, it is a Bachelors degree no matter what department. Most science degrees are Bachelor of Science, and everything else Bachelor of Arts (also Bachelor of Fine Arts for actual creative art).

When I was an undergrad, one of my friends had come from Canada and really struggled with trying to get into vet school here. I never heard what she ended up doing.

 

[nessaf7]

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[are_jay]

I know in the US you can get a Masters in Ag-- MAgr. Anyway, my friend was Canadian, and if I remember correctly, she had applied to US and Canadian schools. Last year she had taken a break from applying, so I don't know what she did after getting her BS this past spring. Never kept up with her, I'm sorry to say.

I think it would be a Bachelor of Agriculture, or a B.Agr., or something along those lines. I think it also depends on the school you go to.

Was your friend Canadian and trying to get into an American school? Did she try going to vet school in Canada?