i'm a sophomore and my major is biology (pre-vet). i want to be a veterinarian, but if my gpa isn't too competitive to be accepted, i thought about being a vet tech. do i have to have a degree before joining the 2 year vet tech program? since i will be getting my bachelors in biology, do you think i will have a better chance on getting in vet tech school?
Can I give you some advice? Feel free to stop reading if you said no
I had a handful of friends were were very passionate about getting into a professional program (a couple vet, a med and a dental), but found they were on the wrong side of the bell curve, test after test. They were lucky to get C's in the sciences. By sophomore year they would be planning a new direction because they know pre-whatever was basically hopeless. But here's the deal, even though they wanted to be successful really badly, they didn't know how to study for the sciences. They weren't any less smart than I was! They all shared a common trait in that the classes would just become too overwhelming for them to know were to start.
For example on a botany exam, other pre-vet friend and I have NO botany background, so this is going to require a lot of studying. I start studying a week out, no less than 6-8 hours a day (while still working, caring for my horse's and going to class, doing homework, and i tried to sleep 4 hours a night). I studied each section in the book until I could write an essay about it without looking up details (a great study tip!) we take the test and scores come back. I barely squeezed out an A somehow while friend got a score under 50%
I ask her how long she studied and she said she spent 5 hours rewriting all her class notes. 5 hours of hard core studying should be enough to get a B- since she was an active listener in class, but she didn't study in way that allowed her to remember anything from those 5 hours. She just rewrote her notes word for word. Add some test anxiety and confusing herself in the test and a really poor grade resulted.
I felt most horrible for her in that she felt this test was just another example of her inability, but in reality it was just showing her she needs to do a 180 on her approach to test based science classes.
I truly believe ANYBODY can be a 3.5gpa student with the right support system and enough effort. A person can make all the excuses they want about not having time, not having the money for a tutor and that's fine if you don't want to go to vet school. But, if you set vet school as your life goal and strive to break through those barriers, there is no reason why you cant make it to and through vet school!
Have you seen the the movie The Blind Side (a true story)? That kid couldn't even read the test questions in his senior year classes because his reading level was so low. And yet he managed to graduate and then graduated with honors from college 4 years later while playing division 1 football (taking 4-8 hours out of his day). That's INSANE! but he had a tutor and I can only imagine the amount of will power he had!
So maybe you have to take out a loan because next year you'll need 5,000 bucks worth of tutoring to knock out a 3.8 year. You will make that back ten fold as a vet instead of a $10 an hour tech!! Not to mention the priceless value of career satisfaction.
But most importantly, I think you should consider spending significant time this summer learning about learning. Take tests to determine your learning type. Read books about study systems (they even have systems were you dont need to study before a test). Learn about how the brain learns and remembers. Practice memory tricks. Get your self ready for next semester with a plan in place from the start on how you will kick butt one week at a time for 16 weeks!!
Good luck! If it's not worth it to you then don't feel bad doing something else, but seeing that your back up is in the same field, that says more to giving up rather than having found a better direction for your life! I've seen enough people take the step down drom their real passion and none have been happy for the long term!
