How to prove you can handle the workload

[LivestockDoc]

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What extra classes have you taken to augment your pre-vet education? These would be classes that aren't required pre-req's, but that look good on a transcript. Were they especially difficult? Were they really time consuming? Did you enjoy them? Any ones you would not recommend taking concurrently?

I want to show the committee that I can handle a vet school courseload, but I don't want to sign up for so many really super tough classes in one semester that I end up shooting myself in the foot by getting overwhelmed and not doing as well.

 

[twelvetigers]

A lot of schools will list some "recommended but not required" courses in the course requirements section. That's a good place to start - try to choose things that you think would be interesting. Some sort of animal anatomy course is always helpful, since you learn that in so much detail in vet school. I'm sure having a grasp on the basics is helpful. 🙂

 

[No Imagination]

I think a very good GPA and a physical science major is good enough.

If you are majoring in a soft science or a social science, then I'd say take some adv. chem or biochem or physiology courses.

But if you have a very good GPA, and a full course load, then I don't think you should risk stretching yourself too thin.

If everything else is good, and your looking for that little bit extra, instead of an extra course, why not do a semester or 2 of research. I will give you a bit to talk about on your PS, and you can work it in better then "I took Adv. O-chem my junior year".

 

[Electrophile]

I took an endocrinology class in grad school, that was very helpful for endocrinology in vet school. I *really* wish I would have taken an animal anatomy, physiology, or histology class too for first year. 🙁

 

[catlover]

I took several extra upper-division bio-type courses, because my undergrad (from long ago) didn't include *any* biology. I thought Immunology in particular was *very* helpful - it made Immunology in the 1st year at CSU much easier. Cell Biology was fairly boring, but a few things have come in handy in vet school. Micro was helpful also. I also took human anatomy - that was very helpful also.

 

[sumstorm]

A & P, Immunology, Developmental Biology, Neurobiology were all good courses.

Suprisingly, I like Animal Nutrition.

I loved medical microbiology, ethology, and behavior psychology.

 

[Ninnerfish]

Comparative Anatomy was very interesting, if not particularly useful yet. I'm in Parasitology now and it's fantastic! Cell Biology was incredibly boring, but has been useful to me in other classes.

 

[Skillet9886]

I've taken a few really good zoology classes. Animal Behavior was by far my favorite, but I've also taken a research-based seminar, vertebrate zoology, and now I'm in avian biology. I have heard functional vertebrate anatomy is good for first year vet school.

 

[LivestockDoc]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm going to pick out 3 or 4 of them to add to the biochem that I have to take. Should make for a challenging (and possibly miserable ) semester, but if I can do well it should eliminate any concerns about my ability to do the work!

 

[Aivuq]

BMS 500-Mammalian Physiology I-Excellent course. Offered in the Fall. An A in this class would be awesome for you. You spend the entire semester studying action potentials, cardiac and smooth muscle action potentials, ion channelopathies. Probably more in depth than we will see in vet school, but when you get to vet school you will really rock! You must study this course EVERY DAY, though.

BMS 430-Endocrinology. Offered in the Fall. Dr. Graham is awesome.

BMS 501-Mammalian Physiology II. Offered in the spring. Covers digestive, renal and respiratory physiology.

ANSI 346-A low pressure equine diseases course. An excellent course if you are an equine person.

BMS 531-Domestic Animal Dissection. One of the best courses offered in the department. By far one of the most valuable courses. It has served me well on the job as well, as I do wildlife necropsies for a living. Offered in the spring.

MIP 342-Immunology. Offered fall and spring semesters. One of the best classes I have ever taken at CSU. I absolutely loved it! The professor told me that I will be able to test out of vet school immunology this fall because this course was so thorough.

If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me. Vet school is a second career for me and I am 41 years old and the mother of a 10 year old and 9 year old twin boys. You can do it!

 

[Groominator]

I haven't taken any extra classes yet, but I will be taking immunology and probably endocrinology. And also a research seminar class. I'm taking them to fulfil my bio major but I'm looking forward to them, hopefully they'll be interesting and helpful.

 

[Electrophile]

BMS 500-Mammalian Physiology I-Excellent course. Offered in the Fall. An A in this class would be awesome for you. You spend the entire semester studying action potentials, cardiac and smooth muscle action potentials, ion channelopathies. Probably more in depth than we will see in vet school, but when you get to vet school you will really rock! You must study this course EVERY DAY, though.

Ummm, yeah...I'm gonna have to kind of disagree with you on that. You study physiology of the entire body the entire first year of vet school. And then second year, before you start on a section for pathology, you review the physiology yet again. And then for just about anything internal medicine related (endocrine, repro, GI, neuro, renal, cardio, etc, etc), you review it yet again. In a LOT of detail.

People tend to get really fixated on the importance of anatomy for first year. Honestly, I think physiology is probably even more important. You can always look it up quick in your anatomy book. Physiology is something you have to understand.

 

[Aivuq]

Sorry guys, did not mean that physiology is not important!

What I should have said that is if you take BMS 500 at CSU, you often find yourself thinking why is Dr. Tamkun making us memorize so much detail, and will I ever see this material presented at this level again? There are many PHD neurobiology and neuroanatomy students that take the class as well, in addition to graduate students and undergraduates from many different programs/backgrounds. I have had first year students tell me that the neuro section of physiology is far less complicated, however, this course has saved me many times in other cardiopulmonary, respiratory physiology and disease mechanisms classes. It was especially beneficial when I and several other graduate students took VS 580 this past fall, a post-graduate medicine class. The majority of the students were residents in small animal, equine medicine and anesthesiology. When we got to the cardiology section, those of us that had taken BMS 500 were very grateful to Dr. Tamkun for covering the cardiac action potential so thoroughly-we were very well prepared thanks to him. One of the residents also commented that BMS 500 and 501 were some of the most beneficial classes he had ever had over the course of his academic career. So, if you are at CSU I strongly recommend these 2 courses and you do not need to be a Plan B master's student to take them. I already had a master's degree with a thesis, so I just opted to take pretty much all of the Plan B coursework without being an actual Plan B person.I saved myself a lot of money in the long run! Again, sorry for the misunderstanding.