Couple of questions concerning some experience "stuff"

[Led Zeppelin]

First post here so I'd like to introduce myself

I'm currently an undergraduate student at Ohio State. Just transferred from a small University in Puerto Rico. Going to start my sophomore year over at OSU

Anyways, I've been having these concerns for the past couple of days over some vet experience and whatnot. I'm currently volunteering at a vet clinic that is near my house. I'm only able to volunteer Fridays and Saturdays because I "apparently" the clinic is full of volunteers. I tried contacting other vet clinics but they had too much time in their hands to offer me a volunteer spot.

So I see these applications were people have over 500-1000 hours of vet experience and 1000+ animal experience. I have over 60+ of vet experience, which consists of shadowing the vet, preparing vaccines, attending clients, etc. Now when it comes to animal experience, I'm not sure if the hours I had while attending my lab course for "Intro to Ani Sci" should count, even though we would go to the University's farm and perform various practices with pigs, cows, chickens, etc. Aside from that, I can't recall anymore experience I've had that involves animals (aside from pet ownership and "pet-sitting", if those are even valuable).

Now onto the questions. Will I be able to amass that amount of experience when applications come? It just seems unrealistic to actually get that amount of experience when the only time I have to actually work is in the summer.

I also have some other questions. I may have the opportunity to go on a study-abroad program in Spring break 2013. It involves equines and it takes place in Europe. I also may have the opportunity to partake in a molecular and cell biology research in Summer 2013. I may need to check the dates but from what I've seen, most of the research programs span the entire months of June and July..which would leave me with about 2-3 weeks of actual summer vacation. Now I'm not sure whether to take advantage of these opportunities or just do it some other time, but this just makes me have less chances of gaining vet/animal work. I also haven't mentioned the fact that I plan on taking a summer course to "speed up" my pre-reqs since I fell behind on my first semester of freshman year (if anyone wants to know why, I'd be happy to say so).

So, any help? I'm just so stressed about the vet/animal hours compared to what I have and it seems like I'll be short when it comes to experience gained.

And sorry for the long post at this time of the night.

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[twelvetigers]

So wait...

Led Zeppelin wasn't taken as a username yet?

Wow!

Oh, uh... well, research can count as vet hours, so that definitely isn't a waste of time. Also, I worked full time one summer and got 640 hours out of it. So never underestimate summer work.

I think you have time - you'll just have to look hard for opportunities and try to get as many hours as you can. But you can get in with any variety of experiences, so focus less on the number of hours and more on making the experience unique - that might help you more in the long run anyway.

 

[mooshagen]

Seriously surprised Led Zeppelin wasn't taken...

I had zero hours when I started my sophomore year of college. I had 950 by the time I applied in the fall of my senior year. It's possible.

 

[Camelidcrazy]

I'm no expert but, honestly, I applied with THOUSANDS of vet hours across wildlife/research/equine vet fields and a lower GPA (3.3-3.4) and had to apply multiple times. You're still very early in the process so I think you should focus on your studies (GPA) and continue to get vet experience where you can find it (seriously- the hours do add up although it feels like they don't). I'm just saying that if I could do it again, I would have worked less and focused more on my grades. It just wasn't a possibility since I worked my way through school. But then again, every vet school has different criteria for selecting applicants. So I can only share my experience.

Personally, I believe research is a great opportunity for personal growth/developing serious critical thinking skills and improves your ap. So I strongly suggest it! As for needing to 'make up' for a semester. We have some undergrad techs in my lab that work full time during the summer while taking a class or two (or three). So that's always a possibility. Most PIs will work around undergrads' school schedules during summer research. Don't be afraid to ask- the worst anyone can ever do is tell you 'no'.

Good luck!

 

[Spinach Dip]

My observations:

"Vet hours" is often cited as a major deciding factor for getting into vet school. However, I know a couple people who got interviews/wait-listed/admitted with under 100 hours.

On the other hand, I knew a girl who had 5000+ hours and complained she couldn't get into vet school. Upon further questioning, she admitted she had a poor GRE, a lot of C's on her transcript, and hadn't even done OChem yet.

In short, doing your prereqs and maintaining a good GPA is far more important than amassing thousands of vet hours.

 

[OwlandPussycat]

Im kind of going to echo what others have said - from what I've heard/seen, your GPA will be what most schools place the most emphasis on. However, experience hours are also very important.
As a sophomore, you have PLENTY of time to amass more than enough hours. You will need to use this time effectively, though.
I see many people posting to this forum about having trouble getting hours, but this was never an issue for me. I don't know how other people do it, but I worked part time at a vet's office while in college. I specifically applied to a hospital that was open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that I could work around my school hours. My classes were scheduled mon-thurs, so I worked every fri-sun, and sometimes before/after classes if my schedule allowed it. I was also able to work full time every summer and winter break. This racked up TONS of experience hours, but I admit that it seriously sucked at times, and you have to do what works for you.
If you want to do this, you can apply as an entry level assistant/room runner to every hospital within traveling distance (whose hours fit your needs). It can be frustrating to hold down a job during the semesters, but it also means that you have an automatic full-time job during vacations. I honestly don't think it hurt my application that most of my experience was paid, rather than volunteering. However, I also had some volunteer time on my app, so who knows.
And I think that the study abroad and research opportunities you mentioned will be good on an application. It will give you some diversity of experience and indicate that you've gone beyond the minimum amount of work needed. Plus, word on the street is that schools like lab experience.

 

[hai1983]

Grades and GRE first, everything else after that. Keep in mind, too, that some of us with crazy experience hours (I have 11,000 or so between vet and animal) have been working full time for YEARS. No one expects you to get anywhere close to that while you're in school.

 

[asg02009]

When you count your hours, how far back do you go? I'm pretty sure I can include things from high school, but what about before then? (eg. animal camps, etc)

 

[PetPony]

I would count high school, but wouldn't go back any further than that..

 

[SnowyRox]

I included middle school. I worked with the horses in exchange for riding lessons since I was about 12. And that was not "kid work," it's real barn work with real consequences for messing up. I also included my cattle experience from a summer ranch camp as a freshman in high school. Not sure why anyone would really care that I can handle a cow from horseback, but figured it might benefit me.

I was definitely one of the high GPA/high GRE/low experience hours. And it worked out for me. Multiple acceptances and a decently huge scholarship for my grades. The scholarship is worth way more than I would have made working more hours during undergrad (calculated it out to be 46 hours/week, every week during undergrad at my wage). So, as long as you get enough hours for an acceptance (which isn't that many), having a higher gpa can benefit you.

Penn recommends 500 hours of vet experience. Which is only equivalent to one full-time summer spent at a vet clinic if you get pressed for time.

Abroad experience is really fun, but don't expect it to be valued any higher than domestic experience. Go because you want to travel and meet awesome people and maybe get some more hands-on work.

 

[david594]

In short, doing your prereqs and maintaining a good GPA is far more important than amassing thousands of vet hours.

Everyone talks like they are mutually exclusive, but they aren't. Do both! Get a job working some nights/weekends and doing a meager 16 hours per week for 2 years, and you will have >1500 hours.

Show you can pull off a high >3.7 GPA while 20+ hours a week, and it will be more impressive than the person who earned the same GPA not working at all. Its all about prioritizing your time. You might loose some sleep studying a few nights while you do it. But when you get to vet school you will have a lot more nights you loose a lot more sleep.

 

[OwlandPussycat]

Everyone talks like they are mutually exclusive, but they aren't. Do both! Get a job working some nights/weekends and doing a meager 16 hours per week for 2 years, and you will have >1500 hours.

Show you can pull off a high >3.7 GPA while 20+ hours a week, and it will be more impressive than the person who earned the same GPA not working at all. Its all about prioritizing your time. You might loose some sleep studying a few nights while you do it. But when you get to vet school you will have a lot more nights you loose a lot more sleep.

 

[LetItSnow]

Everyone talks like they are mutually exclusive, but they aren't. Do both! Get a job working some nights/weekends and doing a meager 16 hours per week for 2 years, and you will have >1500 hours.

Show you can pull off a high >3.7 GPA while 20+ hours a week, and it will be more impressive than the person who earned the same GPA not working at all. Its all about prioritizing your time. You might loose some sleep studying a few nights while you do it. But when you get to vet school you will have a lot more nights you loose a lot more sleep.

I agree: both are doable.

It's not THAT hard. I hear a lot of people talk about how busy they are and don't have time to get stuff done, and almost every time when I start asking about their time budget ... it always includes going out with friends 2-3 nights a week, spending most of their Saturday doing fun stuff, keeping up on half-a-dozen tv shows, etc. All totally optional stuff that most people (heh - me included alllll summer long) do way, way more than needed.

Priorities. Nobody "needs" to go out three nights a week. Do yourself a favor and cut back to once a week with your friends and spend the other hours getting experience - you'll save money, have a lot better GPA, and that much more experience to boot.

Just my grumpy advice.

 

[OH Bunny Girl]

Show you can pull off a high >3.7 GPA while 20+ hours a week, and it will be more impressive than the person who earned the same GPA not working at all.

This

Many schools rank applicants, and GPA/GRE is one of the first things they look at. So (this is what happened to me) if your GPA isn't high enough, then all that other stuff doesn't matter.

 

[nyanko]

This

Many schools rank applicants, and GPA/GRE is one of the first things they look at. So (this is what happened to me) if your GPA isn't high enough, then all that other stuff doesn't matter.

Or just destroy the GRE and apply to schools that weigh them evenly, and play hockey 4 nights a week instead of studying.