Couple questions about colleges/LA vets/courses...

[nohika]

Would it be annoying to the colleges if I emailed them to check what classes from a university would be correct/transferrable? I'm going to (hopefully) a college that has the vet school, but I do plan to apply to others. However...I'm not exactly sure how to guarantee "transferrable" material? I know my IS (WSU) only requires like one semester of o-chem and only one semester of physics, but I know most schools require two semesters of both. Is it safe to assume that if it's upper-level, taken at a college with a vet school, that it'd be fairly transferrable to others?

Also...I've heard that each school has like specialized programs kind of? Like they're more well-known for LA, Equine, SA, whatever. Is there anywhere that has a list, or should I dig around on the program's websites for that kind of information?

Does anyone have any tips for locating LA vets? SA clinics are easy to find, but I have no idea where to look for large-animal ones.

Finally...does anyone know any good sites to make a resume? I've not made a new one in 5+ years and can't locate my old one, but have no idea where to start. I've googled some sites, but they tend to be commercially-driven, etc. Thanks very much in advance!

Ahh, I sound silly...I'm sorry for all my rambling.

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[rileyroo]

nohika,

if you're questioning whether a course or courses are going to fulfill a requirement then the best thing for you to do is contact the school you're wishing to transfer to.

secondly, there's a very useful option for sdn that allows you to search through all the old posts/topics/threads for questions that maybe have been answered before and would probably provide very useful information (like for what programs/areas different schools specialize/excel in). i know that for a fact has been brought up before. if you aren't finding any luck when searching, you would probably receive more information if you listed a couple of schools you're interested in (to find out what they are known for) or a particular area you're interested in (to find out what schools have top programs).

the question seeking tips for locating LA vets has definitely been brought up before, and one of the top recommendations is to ask around - small animal vets can usually recommend a LA vet or two, and LA owners should be able to point you in a direction.

as far as making resumes, have you checked your computer's template? i use a mac and have great templates to work with. not sure of any websites offhand that are beneficial. hope this information helps.

Links:

here is a thread about getting cattle experience
applying w/o large animal experience
how others obtained experience

School Info - Equine Programs
"best equine schools"


i just thought this link would be helpful for you - pros and cons of different schools

 

[CorporateFatCat]

I know for CA schools we have a really useful site called assist.org. I don't know if they have another for your state, but I used this for when I was transferring.

 

[ADM1220]

Resume website: http://www.canisius.edu/careercenter/resguide.asp
They give list example resumes too.

http://www.aaep.org/shadow_a_vet.htm#SEARCHA
Let's you search by state for a vet. Even if those vets only do equine, I'm sure they can refer to other LA vets.

Good luck

 

[twelvetigers]

Links:

here is a thread about getting cattle experience
applying w/o large animal experience
how others obtained experience

School Info - Equine Programs
"best equine schools"

You learn well, young grasshopper.

 

[rileyroo]

You learn well, young grasshopper.

thank you thank you. if it weren't finals, i wouldn't have as much interest in so many distractions lol.

 

[nohika]

I'll definitely look at those links! I'd searched around before, but apparently I'm really bad at it since I wasn't able to find anything.

As for the courses...I meant would it sound rude for me to email the vet schools to confirm that the courses I'm taking/will take at the four-year will definitely apply to them?

 

[gilch]

I'd recommend looking up a large animal vet in the phone book or calling a small animal clinic and asking them where they send people looking for LA vets.

On your other question, it seems unclear if you are asking about credit transfers in undergrad or what classes are required as prereqs for vet school. If it's the latter, I suggest going to the aavmc site of college specific requirements and choosing a few schools you might be interested in a few years down the road. Don't take these requirements as certainties--they may be a few years out dated. Check the websites for accurate info, but the pdf files are a good way to check out lots of schools at once. Some schools prefer all prereqs at a 4 year university, others do not care and you would have to email/call the specific schools you are interested in.

Either way, a full year of OChem and Physics could only help you even at Washington and it is required at most other schools. Almost no applicants get in with just the prereqs, so keep that in mind too.


Here is the link: http://aavmc.org/vmcas/college_requirement.htm

As for would it be annoying--if you can, you might want to wait til the application rush is over for a faster response, but different schools have different schedules. No one should be annoyed by a legitimate concern from an prospective applicant!

Good luck!

 

[rileyroo]

i don't think it would be rude to contact them at all. this happens a lot when application cycles start -- to make sure courses count, etc. i wouldn't contact them with a list of all the courses i had taken in the past 2 years, but if there are questionable ones then it's probably a good idea. most schools have a pretty good explanation for what they require and what counts (like 1 semester of biochem vs. 2 semesters, physiology courses, etc). So if you haven't looked into that information (by school) already, I'd suggest to do that first before emailing all of the schools. They are super busy right now, processing applications, but I'm sure if you needed to contact them soon, there would be someone available to answer your questions. But to minimize their work, I'd recommend researching on your own to see if you can answer any questions about those courses prior to emailing them.


ETA: gilch brought up a very important point...prereq requirements don't always stay the same. My instate school has changed their requirements twice since I first decided to pursue veterinary medicine and I had to scramble to add a prereq or two this last year when I wasn't expecting it. So the prereq lists aren't final for future application cycles.

 

[flyhi]

Nohika -

i am impressed. You have come a long way since your first post and it's really cool to see you taking the bull by the horns!

it will be fun to follow your progress, especially once you start applying to vet schools.

good job!

 

[nohika]

Nohika -

i am impressed. You have come a long way since your first post and it's really cool to see you taking the bull by the horns!

it will be fun to follow your progress, especially once you start applying to vet schools.

good job!

Thanks very much. It's hard somedays, and I'm nervous as hell most of the time...but I do have a few good people around that are helping out, even if it's only making me stop procrastinating, haha!

I'll browse around the websites you guys have provided - somewhere on another thread someone posted an excel doc that was absolutely amazing! It basically had all the info, etc. I was more worried about hearing that from some people their classes didn't count for some colleges, etc, and was wondering if there was a way I could prevent that.

One of my friends works with horses a lot, and she said she'll try to get me a list of the equine vets she knows that are willing to have shadows, so that's an option - I hadn't thought of asking some SA vets.

Thanks all of you guys so much for your opinions/advice!

 

[Ben and Me]

I contacted several vet schools over a year before I turned in my application. I actually received positive feedback from many of them - complimenting me on my organization in not waiting until the last minute! It's never a bad idea to get all your ducks in a row early

 

[rileyroo]

somewhere on another thread someone posted an excel doc that was absolutely amazing! It basically had all the info, etc.

on one of the spreadsheets (not sure if there was more than one) that was recently posted on a thread, there were some errors regarding some of the information, so just compare the info with the aavmc requirements for each school to make sure!

 

[nohika]

on one of the spreadsheets (not sure if there was more than one) that was recently posted on a thread, there were some errors regarding some of the information, so just compare the info with the aavmc requirements for each school to make sure!

I remember you commenting on that! I'll definitely double-check, and I plan to make my own set of documents with all the information anyways, because having it in my own style is easier for me. Though I do remember that some schools aren't on AAVMC...like Tufts, right? Are there any other schools?

 

[Ben and Me]

It's probably best to use each school's website for definitive pre-req requirements. I found the AAVMC helpful for initially narrowing down my choices based on pre-reqs, but each school's website had much more information regarding the pre-reqs and what they wanted for each class. For example, the AAVMC website might just list that school X requires biochemistry - but if you go to that school's website, you'll see that they require biochemistry that has organic as a pre-req.

I'm amazed by the number of people who post on here each year about applications getting thrown out b/c they didn't have the pre-reqs. There are only 28 vet schools--it's not too hard (if you start far enough in advance) to look at each and every school's website! Do your homework ahead of time (relying on the schools' websites and email if you have any questions) and you won't have this problem. It'll save you a lot of $$, time and heartache.