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- Jun 27, 2009
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As some of you may know, I graduated with a BS in biology 12/2008. I have met all the pre-reqs except microbio, biochem and depending on the schools I might take an animal science and nutrition class (most likley these will be online courses). I have taken the GRE and while my scores are not extremely extremely bad (1110), I will probably retake the GRE. I have 80 hours of research involving animals but no other experience.
I will obviously not apply this year but was planning on applying next year. I had a plan in place where I would find volunteer work, take the last pre-reqs, and possibly retake the GRE before the October 2011 deadline. While I have a decent gpa, I have no veterinary influence and my main goal was to get as many hours of experience as I can.
The last few weeks I have called 48 vet hospitals etc and two of them said I could shadow but not volunteer and all the rest said no to shadowing and volunteering. However, I later got calls from the two who said I could shadow and they said they could not do that anymore. It seems that shadowing/volunteering is a very uncomfortable issue when I call and no one is willing to do it.
So I began thinking about what to do. I had an idea and am not sure if it would be beneficial or not. I thought I could enroll in a vet tech program and become certified. I have looked at a few programs and they are around 70 credits, with my bachelors I could knock off at least 25 or more credits (the programs are four semesters). I thought with the various courses I could gain those experience hours and would not have to worry about them allowing me to participate. I also thought while I am in the program I could take my pre-reqs (microbio is required for the tech program). I also thought that since they would have some facilities on site or have agreements with local hospitals that it would be much easier to find volunteer hours.
I guess with the fact that I cannot apply this year that it might be more of a good idea. I have looked at past threads and it appears there is a definite bias against doing this and that vet schools would look down on this but i thought I would run it by you guys. With the vet tech program I thought I could take my pre-reqs, gain the hours in courses and outside facitlities using the vet tech program connections, and also have certification necessary to obtain a position as a tech if I dont get in vet school the first round and have at least something to fall back on.
My main issue is that I feel I need to gain experience hours ASAP and I cant afford to wait indefinetly until I find a vet clinic that will allow me to volunteer.
I had one other question: I got my bachelors from the University of South Florida but am only interested in applying to northern schools. My parents feel that there is a strong bias towards southern education and that the only places I stand a chance are in the south and I should never consider northern schools. Is this true?
Thanks!
I will obviously not apply this year but was planning on applying next year. I had a plan in place where I would find volunteer work, take the last pre-reqs, and possibly retake the GRE before the October 2011 deadline. While I have a decent gpa, I have no veterinary influence and my main goal was to get as many hours of experience as I can.
The last few weeks I have called 48 vet hospitals etc and two of them said I could shadow but not volunteer and all the rest said no to shadowing and volunteering. However, I later got calls from the two who said I could shadow and they said they could not do that anymore. It seems that shadowing/volunteering is a very uncomfortable issue when I call and no one is willing to do it.
So I began thinking about what to do. I had an idea and am not sure if it would be beneficial or not. I thought I could enroll in a vet tech program and become certified. I have looked at a few programs and they are around 70 credits, with my bachelors I could knock off at least 25 or more credits (the programs are four semesters). I thought with the various courses I could gain those experience hours and would not have to worry about them allowing me to participate. I also thought while I am in the program I could take my pre-reqs (microbio is required for the tech program). I also thought that since they would have some facilities on site or have agreements with local hospitals that it would be much easier to find volunteer hours.
I guess with the fact that I cannot apply this year that it might be more of a good idea. I have looked at past threads and it appears there is a definite bias against doing this and that vet schools would look down on this but i thought I would run it by you guys. With the vet tech program I thought I could take my pre-reqs, gain the hours in courses and outside facitlities using the vet tech program connections, and also have certification necessary to obtain a position as a tech if I dont get in vet school the first round and have at least something to fall back on.
My main issue is that I feel I need to gain experience hours ASAP and I cant afford to wait indefinetly until I find a vet clinic that will allow me to volunteer.
I had one other question: I got my bachelors from the University of South Florida but am only interested in applying to northern schools. My parents feel that there is a strong bias towards southern education and that the only places I stand a chance are in the south and I should never consider northern schools. Is this true?
Thanks!
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