indiegirl said:
Can you tell me if you've taken any pre-requisite science courses through distance learning; if yes, where and what courses did you take? was it accepted by vet schools? how was the course? how long did it take for you to finish the course? thanks!
Hi Indiegirl,
I looked into this very thing, because my current work prevents me from doing a regular school schedule.
What I found is that there are VERY few distance learning programs that have the pre-recs that you need for most vet schools, and NONE that have them all. I have yet to find a distance learning program that has any sort of acceptable chemistry or physics classwork.
I couldn't find anyone that had any classwork done through distance learning accepted for anything (not that it hasn't been done) other than the OK state animal nutrition class.
The University of Minnesota has the most complete distance learning catalog (that I have found), and some even have the "lab" component. They don't have chemistry or physics, but do have biology, genetics and biochem classwork. Their department of distance learning was VERY helpful, but they would not guarantee that their classwork would be acceptable, even to the U of MN vet school.
I tried emailing several vet school admissions departments. I didn't get a single response. Nice "customer service" there
😡 . I contrast this with several law schools, who bent over backwards to help, gave me several contact points locally, and were EXTREMELY pro-active about recruitment.
<RANT MODE=ON>
But, I guess when you only pick 120 or so students a year, you don't have to be nice. The "grouch on the holy throne" thing might work on a 21 year old, but that reaction to someone thats been around the block just makes them look silly. But it's their game, and you have to play it their way if you want to get anywhere
🙄 .
I got the same from several students. While I got some helpful responses here, many responses from others were not so nice and most were along the lines of "if you won't/can't/don't do it this way, you're sunk, and if you were really dedicated, you would find a way to go a regular school".
I also went to a local U. Not a big name, but not a community college, either. I couldn't find anyone who was willing to make any sort of non-traditional program work. Everyone wants to offer up a "criminal science" or "Compuer Networking" degree, but no one wants take the time to make a traditional program available to anyone who just can't work a regular schedule.
<RANT MODE=OFF>
In the end, I decided that it was not to my advantage to do it this way. As a non-traditional student anyway, I'm starting behind the pack. I am going to save my money, and when the time comes, go on a leave of absence to go to school full time.
I wish you luck, however...
Best,
Oldie
