I am having second thoughts and I have no idea why...

[Backwoods Boy]

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Well, I haven't been around the boards for a few weeks (months?) now and I have spent time thinking.

I have decided to transfer schools and change my degree after the transfer. The school I am at right now is just not working out for me and I have little to no interest in my major anymore. I will be going from a school of 30k to less than 3k (a private liberal arts school). My degree will take longer but it could lead to one of my passions in teaching.

However, with all of my recent problems, GPA wise, I have had second thoughts at whether vet school is a feasible option for myself. I greatly enjoy working at the local clinic. That's not it. I think it has more to do with the fact that my current GPA is killing me and I know it will carry on.

I also realize that I should buckle down and study harder. However, I have been doing this as much as I can. Hopefully transferring to a smaller school and into a major I have interest in will make me feel better about my options.

Anyone here ever feel the same way? How did you get past it?













P.S. Sorry for the long post. Also, this makes me feel better about everything:

😀

 

[sumstorm]

You have some time to figure it out and decide. All I can tell you is that this career path draws some of us back to it kicking and clawing every inch of the way. I never wanted to take 4 years out of my career to change what I was doing, but sometimes when you hit the ceiling of your current career or that career doesn't fullfill you anymore, you have to figure out another pathway. And sometimes that pathway was the long-ago dream, even if you don't like the hurdles and ditches in the path!

Keep it as a possibility, explore yourself and your abilities, take some time to relax and dream. The vet schools won't disappear...and there isn't any application anywhere that is limited to under 35 (like some other positions!)

 

[Backwoods Boy]

I'm still going to keep the faith and take the classes I need (or at least plan to at the moment). I also still plan to apply when that time comes around.

I guess what I am saying is that I am questioning why. If I was asked why I want to be a vet, I couldn't give a complete answer at the moment. It's just one of those things that I can't explain. I HATE things I can't explain.

 

[nyanko]

You didn't really talk much about the reasons behind your GPA difficulties or wanting to change your focus. If it's that you're trying really hard and just not understanding the material, that's one thing, and it could just mean that whatever your major is just isn't for you. If you feel like you understand it, though, and just aren't doing well with the way it's presented and assessed, there are things you can do about that.

Have you worked with a tutor or some sort of academic counselor? I know what it's like to feel like you're spinning your wheels really fast but don't have much to show for it gradewise despite understanding the topic, but I think that it's different if you are putting all that effort in and just not "getting it." I'd recommend speaking to a counselor or tutor either way though...

 

[Backwoods Boy]

You didn't really talk much about the reasons behind your GPA difficulties or wanting to change your focus. If it's that you're trying really hard and just not understanding the material, that's one thing, and it could just mean that whatever your major is just isn't for you. If you feel like you understand it, though, and just aren't doing well with the way it's presented and assessed, there are things you can do about that.

Have you worked with a tutor or some sort of academic counselor? I know what it's like to feel like you're spinning your wheels really fast but don't have much to show for it gradewise despite understanding the topic, but I think that it's different if you are putting all that effort in and just not "getting it." I'd recommend speaking to a counselor or tutor either way though...

I know what you are saying. I usually see things as a whole. I can understand the whole without problem. However, the breaking down of it at times gets me. What really drug down my GPA has been Chem which drives me insane. I memorize the formulas and then I blank on the exams for some reason.

I have talked to counselors about this and unfortunately, I haven't received much help. As I work and live a long way from campus, it's extremely hard to find a tutor that can match hours.

 

[sumstorm]

I understand not having an answer to the 'why.' I still don't have a great answer to the why.....it is just the right path. The closest I can get is it addresses some of my strongest needs in a single package. I don't believe there is only 1 correct career for everyone (otherwise we had a lot of miserable computer programmers a century ago!) but I do believe this is a career that makes sense for me. Why do I want to be a vet? Because I have spent a ton of time doing other things, and keep getting drawn back to working with and around vets, like an electric magnet. I loved my other jobs, but at some point, I quit fighting what felt like the inevitable, took the rest of the pre-reqs, and applied. Someone on the ad com agreed that it was the next part of my pathway. Not a great reason....but the honest one. As I noted before, I didn't really want to sacrifice these years to education, but it is a step on the pathway.

 

[Armymutt25A]

All I can tell you is that this career path draws some of us back to it kicking and clawing every inch of the way...
Keep it as a possibility, explore yourself and your abilities, take some time to relax and dream. The vet schools won't disappear...and there isn't any application anywhere that is limited to under 35 (like some other positions!)

I have to agree with this one. I've taken a very odd path getting back to this point..and judging by the past couple days, it's going to get more weird before it gets normal. I now find myself making up reasons to go down to the clinic. It's work that my Paratroopers could do, but I do it myself just to visit. I'm getting a few hours out of it as well.

While the application isn't limited to under 35 (good thing), there are schools that set a 5 year max for course work. Thankfully, there are 16 schools in the US that don't have time limits, but it is a planning factor to keep in mind.

 

[nyanko]

I know what you are saying. I usually see things as a whole. I can understand the whole without problem. However, the breaking down of it at times gets me. What really drug down my GPA has been Chem which drives me insane. I memorize the formulas and then I blank on the exams for some reason.

That's all too familiar to me. Despite the fact that I love and "get" a lot of complex mathematical and logical concepts, I can't really demonstrate it in a stepwise manner at all. So in courses where "showing work" and such things were important, I never did very well despite being able to conceptualize and often arrive at the right answer through a different method. Of course, this meant that it took me a lot longer to finish exams in those courses and I wouldn't finish them on time either. Drawing out mechanisms in organic chem was absolute hell to me, even though I was totally fascinated by them and always understood what was going on and why. And don't get me started on writing timed essays. 🙄

I wish I had a good, easily implemented answer for you. Personally, I just squeaked by in those kinds of classes without realizing what my underlying problem was and now I am spending a lot of time and effort trying to atone for it. One thing that I have found that helps is making an attempt at rationalizing every single small detail that I need to know through trying to integrate them into my already existing understanding of the end concept. This is a bit backwards, and is an extremely time consuming and inefficient way of studying to most people, but for me it's really the only way I can do it. I can't do memorization, mnemonics, logically building up from easier concepts, or anything like those.

Anyway good luck! I hope you find what you're looking for, no matter where it ends up being. 🙂

 

[BlacKAT33]

P.S. Sorry for the long post. Also, this makes me feel better about everything:

😀

I LOVE CYANIDE AND HAPPINESS!! Kris is my fav!! his characters are so cute lol

http://www.splitreason.com/Product_Images/111d1c5364ac-xl.jpg

oman i messed with that image a billion times cuz the link didnt work or the size was insanely huge... sryyyy resorted to the link lol

 

[Backwoods Boy]

I LOVE CYANIDE AND HAPPINESS!! Kris is my fav!! his characters are so cute lol

http://www.splitreason.com/Product_Images/111d1c5364ac-xl.jpg

oman i messed with that image a billion times cuz the link didnt work or the size was insanely huge... sryyyy resorted to the link lol

I need to buy the new book that they put out...

 

[dottoressa]

While the application isn't limited to under 35 (good thing), there are schools that set a 5 year max for course work. Thankfully, there are 16 schools in the US that don't have time limits, but it is a planning factor to keep in mind.

Armymutt, if you wouldn't mind sharing, which are those 16 schools?