differences in pre-reqs between schools

[canis13]

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I've started to notice a general trend in the differences in pre-reqs for vet schools. Some schools (Penn, Tufts, Colorado State, Cornell) will want you to have 1 or 2 math classes, physics, bio, inorganic chem, organic chem, and possibly biochemistry and/or microbiology (and of course the humanities and writing/English requirements). Then a bunch of other schools (basically everywhere else I've looked) will want all of the above, plus courses in animal nutrition, genetics, and/or courses such as physiology, eukaryotic cell biology, zoology, etc.
I happen to be most interested in Penn, Tufts, Colorado State, and Cornell, so I'll most likely be fine without all of these extra courses.
But with that said, I'm frustrated at the differences in pre-reqs across institutions, and that I can't throw a couple more schools onto my potential list (I would probably look at Oregon State, Michigan State, Minnesota, and UW-Madison) without going way out of my way to take zoology and genetics and animal nutrition, etc. I'm not a biology major, and even if I were, my undergrad institution doesn't even offer all of the weird and random upper level bio courses that some vet schools require.


So I guess my question is – have other people, especially people who weren’t some sort of hard science major, felt that they were limited in where they could apply based on their pre-reqs? Or have people gone the extra mile to take all of these extra courses in order to apply to more places?

Also, just a random question about applying to schools abroad - does anyone know what the general ages that people start vet school in Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand? I've gotten the impression that in the other English speaking countries in the world, people are able to start vet school when they are 18 and have finished high school. I'd be more interested in going abroad for vet school, but the idea of going to professional school with a bunch of teenagers has really put me off.

 

[Angelo84]

I understand your frustration. It would be nice if all the vet schools agreed on prereq's but they don't. A fair number of people have taken genetics online but you should double check with the school if they will accept that. If you really want to apply to a certain school check and see if they will allow you to take a course in the spring semester or during the summer before matriculation. That way you can still apply and then only take the course if you get an interview or are accepted.

Regarding overseas schools yes a chunk of the class will be 18 or 19 year old but there are also other US students and older "local" students.

Good luck!

I've started to notice a general trend in the differences in pre-reqs for vet schools. Some schools (Penn, Tufts, Colorado State, Cornell) will want you to have 1 or 2 math classes, physics, bio, inorganic chem, organic chem, and possibly biochemistry and/or microbiology (and of course the humanities and writing/English requirements). Then a bunch of other schools (basically everywhere else I've looked) will want all of the above, plus courses in animal nutrition, genetics, and/or courses such as physiology, eukaryotic cell biology, zoology, etc.
I happen to be most interested in Penn, Tufts, Colorado State, and Cornell, so I'll most likely be fine without all of these extra courses.
But with that said, I'm frustrated at the differences in pre-reqs across institutions, and that I can't throw a couple more schools onto my potential list (I would probably look at Oregon State, Michigan State, Minnesota, and UW-Madison) without going way out of my way to take zoology and genetics and animal nutrition, etc. I'm not a biology major, and even if I were, my undergrad institution doesn't even offer all of the weird and random upper level bio courses that some vet schools require.


So I guess my question is – have other people, especially people who weren’t some sort of hard science major, felt that they were limited in where they could apply based on their pre-reqs? Or have people gone the extra mile to take all of these extra courses in order to apply to more places?

Also, just a random question about applying to schools abroad - does anyone know what the general ages that people start vet school in Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand? I've gotten the impression that in the other English speaking countries in the world, people are able to start vet school when they are 18 and have finished high school. I'd be more interested in going abroad for vet school, but the idea of going to professional school with a bunch of teenagers has really put me off.

 

[BR549]

Yeah, it is a little frustrating. I already have my B.S. in Latin and Bio, but I never took public speaking and my small CLA didn't offer animal nutrition. I am now taking a public speaking class at a small technical college up the road, and I am going to enroll in Purdue's animal nutrition course online. I'm pushing it a little bit for a couple of schools I applied for. It does limit the schools to which you can apply to if you don't have the pre-reqs.

Good luck! I would suggest taking a summer course or two, to fill your pre-reqs. A lot of my friends that went to Med school would take Organic over the summer at another school because it was easier than if they took it at my undergrad.

 

[hopefulvet21]

yes, I had a limited range of schools I could apply to as well. I only applied to Tufts and UPenn in the US. I would have applied to CSU, but one of my recommenders absolutely could not, under no circumstance, make her letter electronic (I know I didn't get it either) - and CSU wouldn't allow non-electronic recommendations. I didn't want to go out of my way to take extra pre-reqs, spending more money and taking more time, and I didn't want to live where most of the US vet schools are located anyway.

I have an interview with Tufts so far, but I am pretty sure I will decide to go abroad even if I'm accepted there. I'm only 21, so going to school with 18 and 19 year olds isn't that weird for me. Plus, most of the abroad schools have accelerated programs for graduates- which generally means you start at year 2 (i.e. Melbourne, and Massey w/ semester 2) or spend year 1 with other graduates in a specialized program and then enter into your year 2 (others' year 3) the following year (i.e. RVC, Edinburgh). As confusing as I made that sound, it means your 'traditional' classmates would be around 20-21 yrs. old. And anyways, there is a large portion of international students at RVC, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Sydney and Massey. For example, RVC generally has 60/200 international students.

 

[jop21]

The difference in pre-req is a strange and frustrating, especially for non-science majors. However, I do know that these schools do not just require these extra classes to make life for applicants even for difficult.

I know at my school some of the professors are pushing to make physiology a pre-req because they have noticed how many students struggle with that material in vet school. So even though it seems to just be more hoops to jump through, these addition pre-reqs are thier to be sure that students are better prepared and will be successful in vet school.

 

[canis13]

Thanks for the feedback. Between not deciding on vet med until my sophomore year, going abroad for a semester, and going to a school that has a ridiculously large number of graduation requirements, I don't have room in my schedule to take physics, o-chem, biochemistry, and microbio. So I will be taking physics this summer (I'm a junior so I only have one undergraduate summer left), o-chem/biochem and microbio after I graduate. So I'm already gonna be taking classes after I graduate, when I want to be spending more time working and/or doing fun stuff before settling down for 4 more years of school, and I guess that's why I'm not looking forward to adding more bio courses on my "to-do" list.

Good point about not necessarily having to finish ALL of the pre-reqs before applying. I kind of forgot about that, and it makes sense that if there's just one bio class left, I can do it the spring or summer before starting wherever I may get accepted.

jop21: I'm not so much of a cynic that I'm assuming that these extra classes are just to dick us around - zoology and animal nutrition and physiology are probably really helpful to take. I just don't get why some schools want them and others don't. For instance, if I haven't taken zoology, why would I be more significantly unprepared for Minnesota's curriculum than Penn's curriculum?

hopefulvet: Thanks for the feedback on foreign schools. I'll be taking possibly one, but most likely two years off before applying, so I'm guessing I'll be 23 or 24 when I start. I guess I really don't like the idea of sitting in the same classes as an 18 year old (or even a 20 year old), even if I will finish first. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.