I am so lost Prereqs

[kitkat2388]

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When Should I start to gain Vet exp? What should I be doing pre req wise? My CC doesn't have a few pre reqs so should I grad with A.S. and transfer to a college with a Vet Met school? We have a pretty big one here LSU. I am so lost.

 

[BlackDog17]

Start veterinary experience asap. The more hours you can acquire by the time you apply.

Research the vet schools you're interested in and find out what pre-reqs they require. If your college doesn't offer some of them you'll need to take them somewhere else, but you can take them at any college or university - it doesn't need to be a college with an associated vet school.

Whether or not you choose to complete your A.S. degree is entirely up to you. Most vet schools don't require you to have an undergraduate degree, you just need to complete the required pre-reqs. But again, you'll need to research the vet schools you're interested in to determine what their specific requirements are.

Every vet school has a website, and every vet school website will have an "Admissions" or similar page where you can learn more about the requirements for applying to veterinary school. Start looking at those first and you'll get a better idea of where you need to go from here.

 

[kitkat2388]

Thank you. I am starting my pre reqs this summer. I looked at a few Vet med schools and I have an idea. I think I have just killed my brain trying to find info lol.

 

[Gwenevre]

Maybe this website will help you determine what pre-reqs you should take, since each school is a teeny tiny different (i.e. one semester of physics vs. two, or you need an extra intensive writing course, etc.)

http://aavmc.org/College-Specific-R...ific-Requirements_College-Specifications.aspx

 

[Ashgirl]

Here's another place where you can look at what schools look for and usually leads to their websites:

EDIT: Just kidding it was the same as Gwen's. Try the pre-req chart instead: http://aavmc.org/data/files/vmcas/prereqchrt.pdf

I know it's overwhelming at first, but it might help to write things down or make a spreadsheet of pre-reqs or requirements for each school and start narrowing them down that way.

As for experience, I second BlackDog. The more the better, especially if you can get a broad span as well to increase diversity (Exotics, small animal, large animal, equine). Do you have any veterinary or animal experience at all, or will you be starting from scratch?

 

[equineconstant]

Hey kitkat, I just finished my first year at LSU's vet school, so if you have any specific questions about it feel free to PM me. I definitely agree with everyone above that you should start getting vet experience immediately. There are a few threads on here about how to approach vets and ask to shadow (highlights: go in person and dress professionally, call back to follow up, and you may want to consider asking to shadow for a day at first and then if it goes well you can ask to come back). You don't have to go to a university with a vet school to get your pre-reqs--I did all of mine at a small liberal arts school except for one speech class, although the state university would be way less expensive than my undergrad.

 

[Lightinthedark]

I would second what everyone is saying about checking the AAVMC for school-specific prerequisites. Also, if you are unsure whether or not the courses that you have taken will satisfy LSU's prerequisites, e-mail the admissions department with the courses in question and attach copies of your unofficial transcripts. Good luck!

 

[kitkat2388]

Hi all Thanks for the reply! I do have some personal farm exp just from my grandparents farm I was raised with farm animals since I was a child (including, dogs, cats, gerbils, horses, cows, chickens, ducks, pigs, goats, even had a Alpaca once). I am starting pre reqs this summer and just set up some volunteer work at a wild life sanctuary every Sat. I am not real worried about getting some Vet exp the, zoo is always looking for interns and volunteers. I want to practice LA but its new Orleans soooo not many large animals here I will have to go a little farther to find that. Again thanks for all the feed back.

 

[Ashgirl]

Hi all Thanks for the reply! I do have some personal farm exp just from my grandparents farm I was raised with farm animals since I was a child (including, dogs, cats, gerbils, horses, cows, chickens, ducks, pigs, goats, even had a Alpaca once). I am starting pre reqs this summer and just set up some volunteer work at a wild life sanctuary every Sat. I am not real worried about getting some Vet exp the, zoo is always looking for interns and volunteers. I want to practice LA but its new Orleans soooo not many large animals here I will have to go a little farther to find that. Again thanks for all the feed back.

Would you be working directly with a vet at the zoo though? Because if not, that would only count as animal experience, not vet experience.

 

[kitkat2388]

Would you be working directly with a vet at the zoo though? Because if not, that would only count as animal experience, not vet experience.

I didn't even think about that! I am asking now. How many hours is a decent amount to put in application?

 

[LetItSnow]

I didn't even think about that! I am asking now. How many hours is a decent amount to put in application?

There is no answer to that. "More" is the only true answer. People get in with very few if they have the right background for the right school.

A very typical applicant will have 500+ hours. But you can get in with less. And some people have thousands. *shrug*

 

[dovelover]

When Should I start to gain Vet exp? What should I be doing pre req wise? My CC doesn't have a few pre reqs so should I grad with A.S. and transfer to a college with a Vet Met school? We have a pretty big one here LSU. I am so lost.

When you say CC do you mean community college? Because I believe some vet schools require certain prerequisites to be taken at a 4 year college. You don't actually have to get the degree, just take the classes there. So I'd make sure you check into that.

 

[kitkat2388]

When you say CC do you mean community college? Because I believe some vet schools require certain prerequisites to be taken at a 4 year college. You don't actually have to get the degree, just take the classes there. So I'd make sure you check into that.

I have looked into pre regs and requirements and I haven't seen any yet, LSU, MSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. CC has a transfer list of what is transferable and what is not but some courses I will have to take at a university(biochemistry is one that is not offered)

 

[Ashgirl]

I didn't even think about that! I am asking now. How many hours is a decent amount to put in application?

LIS is right- it's hard to gauge what the "magic" number of hours it would take to get accepted. Some applicants have thousands of hours in both animal and vet experience, while some only have a few hundred, but have a fantastic application in other areas. One thing to consider is that some schools have a minimum requirement for hours, so that might be worth looking into if you don't think you will be able to require a lot of hours. If anything, I would recommend volunteering or shadowing with a vet somewhere, as some schools require one of your Letters of Recommendation to be from a vet.

 

[epivetlove]

I have looked into pre regs and requirements and I haven't seen any yet, LSU, MSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. CC has a transfer list of what is transferable and what is not but some courses I will have to take at a university(biochemistry is one that is not offered)

I believe A&M has at least 3 courses that must be taken at a 4-year university: Biochem, Genetics, and Statistics. The animal nutrition course is also unlikely to be found at a community college, but I think it'd be possible to take it correspondence. However, the school will only accept certain correspondence courses that are pre-reqs, so be sure to check with Admissions first.

 

[Gwenevre]

I believe A&M has at least 3 courses that must be taken at a 4-year university: Biochem, Genetics, and Statistics. The animal nutrition course is also unlikely to be found at a community college, but I think it'd be possible to take it correspondence. However, the school will only accept certain correspondence courses that are pre-reqs, so be sure to check with Admissions first.

An aside, I know that Purdue University offers it's basic animal nutrition course online

 

[allygator13]

An aside, I know that Purdue University offers it's basic animal nutrition course online

NC State as well

 

[epivetlove]

Just dug a little more and it looks like you can take Animal Science through correspondence for Texas A&M, but only at OK State, KSU, and U of Kentucky.

 

[kitkat2388]

I believe A&M has at least 3 courses that must be taken at a 4-year university: Biochem, Genetics, and Statistics. The animal nutrition course is also unlikely to be found at a community college, but I think it'd be possible to take it correspondence. However, the school will only accept certain correspondence courses that are pre-reqs, so be sure to check with Admissions first.

My CC doesn't have Bio, Genetics or animal nutrition so I know I will have to take those at a 4 year

 

[kitkat2388]

I made this Doc yesterday for pre reqs that I would take at the CC how does this look?

 

[CanHardlyWait]

I have looked into pre regs and requirements and I haven't seen any yet, LSU, MSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. CC has a transfer list of what is transferable and what is not but some courses I will have to take at a university(biochemistry is one that is not offered)

Be careful with this, this list is usually specific to the nearest university(s) that are most commonly transferred to by their students. It doesn't mean specific vet schools will take these credits., doesn't mean they won't either. Just means more checking out of vet school admission webpages plus some phone calls. I went to CC before transferring to a university, then vet school. Most places my credits transferred. I remember some weirdness about needing a certain amount of upper level bio classes, so ones with course numbers above 300. CC only have 200 level courses, so check into this as well.

 

[equineconstant]

If you're talking about Audubon zoo, you probably won't be able to work directly with the vets--I tried over a winter break, and they said they only let vet students do that, not pre-vets. You may have better luck than I did, though, and either way it's animal experience. Really cool animal experience, too. 🙂

 

[kitkat2388]

Thanks guys. I have received so much info, I don't feel as lost. I did get a Matrix that my CC had and it shows what classes are accepted/transferred over. Which makes me much happier lol. I was on the right track just got a little lost hehe.
I will at least have animal exp! I will have to just go around and ask vets to shadow or something to find my Vet Exp

 

[kitkat2388]

If you're talking about Audubon zoo, you probably won't be able to work directly with the vets--I tried over a winter break, and they said they only let vet students do that, not pre-vets. You may have better luck than I did, though, and either way it's animal experience. Really cool animal experience, too. 🙂

I do want to add I found a Vet who specializes in racehorses and is willing to let me assist him from Nov to March. I am really excited about that!!