I need help deciding

[tbird9396]

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So, i know that you can major in basically anything if you want to go to vet school, i just wanted to know if this makes sense.

At Ohio State, i was thinking of majoring in Medical technology and wither double major or minor in Animal Science so i can get my vet school reqs. I plan on doing the certification route for medical technology so i can have a decent job if i don't make it into vet school on the first try. i also thought it would be good because I plan on doing veterinery research. And also to get more vet experience i was going to try to get a job or something at the Veterinary Medicine Hospital. I even thought about doing the Vet Tech progam but i heard that vet tech creds don;t roll over for vet school (is that true?)

At Penn State i have an issue. I really like their Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences major and their Biotechnology major with the clinical option. I cant decide. I even thought of maybe killing myself by trying to do both. Would it make sense to do the Vet and Bio Sci major or do the Biotech major with like a minor in Animal Science?

Any help wpuld be useful. I just have a lot of thoughts in my head and I need help straightneing them out.

 

[Minnerbelle]

where are you in your educational career? and what are your associations currently with penn state and osu?

you are correct that most tech courses do not transfer over to 4-year, so it's probably not the best route to go if you know already that you want to become a vet.

 

[that redhead]

I don't think it matters which you choose - you'll be taking largely the same courses. And if there's something you really desperately want to take, it's very likely you can add it in as an elective in your later semesters. The majors are all similar enough that your qualifications (if you don't get in) will be pretty damn similar - not as though you're choosing between English and Biology, you know?

 

[tbird9396]

Thanks for the input. Im a high school junior. I'm trying to get top colleges together so I can start doing college visits.

 

[goldnretrivrgrl]

I graduated from Penn State's Veterinary and Biomedical Science major in May of this year. For what it's worth, I think the program prepared me very well for vet school at Penn. There are other 2011 VB SC grads at Ohio State, Purdue, VMRCVM (and those are just the few I know of). Pm me with any specific questions🙂

 

[deleted387118]

I graduated from Penn State's Veterinary and Biomedical Science major in May of this year. For what it's worth, I think the program prepared me very well for vet school at Penn. There are other 2011 VB SC grads at Ohio State, Purdue, VMRCVM (and those are just the few I know of). Pm me with any specific questions🙂

Agreed. This is the program I went through and I found Dr. Griel and Dr. Van Saun to both be very knowledgeable about classes at PSU, applying to Vet school, and what is expected of you in vet school. I was a 2011 grad that applied a year early to vet school, got in, and then transfered my KSU credits back to finish my PSU degree. I know some 2010 grads that went to Cornell, Missou, Ohio State, VMRCVM, and KSU. There are also 2011 grads at Wisconsin, and Georgia.

I don't think I saw if you mentioned which (if any) is your in-state. But due to the debt load you get from Vet school, I'd highly recommend going to a good Pre-Vet program in your IS. I believe there are enough good pre-vet programs out there that the extra debt is probably not worth going out of state for undergrad.

 

[goldnretrivrgrl]

I don't think I saw if you mentioned which (if any) is your in-state. But due to the debt load you get from Vet school, I'd highly recommend going to a good Pre-Vet program in your IS. I believe there are enough good pre-vet programs out there that the extra debt is probably not worth going out of state for undergrad.

👍

 

[EllieGirl89]

I did my undergrad at Ohio State (Animal Science major) so if you have any questions about OSU let me know =)

 

[tbird9396]

i live in maryland. do you know any good programs in maryland, besides Univ of MD?

 

[jmo1012]

i live in maryland. do you know any good programs in maryland, besides Univ of MD?

a current 4th year VMRCVM student i know did biology or microbiology at St. Mary's (did well, got in on her first try, did well in vet school)

 

[breenie]

a current 4th year VMRCVM student i know did biology or microbiology at St. Mary's (did well, got in on her first try, did well in vet school)

We have one of those here. Student appears to be doing well.

 

[jmo1012]

i think the take home message is this: it doesn't really matter where you go or what you do because you're going to have to do all of the veterinary stuff in vet school. you can't cover it all in undergrad because then it would be called vet school and you wouldn't need to go to vet school again 😛 so do something that you like at a place that financially makes sense for you.

and for what it's worth, all of my classmates has a different mix of strengths based on previous exposure, but no one already knows it all. even those with extensive backgrounds in a subject are still learning the material now because it's taught differently and required back in a different way.

 

[pooter]

I'm from Maryland. I toured St. Mary's when I was in high school. It's a good school but offers a very different environment than you'd find at Penn State or Ohio State; it has the feel of a small private liberal arts college and a price tag that's somewhere between the typical state school and the typical private school. I ended up going to an even smaller private liberal arts college and loved it, but it's not for everyone; course selection can be limited, scheduling can be a headache, and it just doesn't offer the same variety of experiences as a big school.

Unfortunately, since I only toured the small schools I don't know much about the larger schools in Maryland. I think that we have a Towson student or two here at Penn, so their programs might be worth checking out.

 

[Trying2GetIn]

You can't really go wrong with an engineering degree. Although it may be tough while taking the vet school prerequisites, if you can manage to keep a high GPA you will definitely stand out from the standard bio majors. It will also give you a backup plan should you for some reason not make it into vet school or end up changing your mind down the road.

 

[that redhead]

Is there a reason you don't like UMD? I felt like they had some good courses in their pre-veterinary program, and I believe their pre-vets to vet school ratio is pretty good. If you have questions about the program, shoot me a PM 🙂

 

[kakurubird]

that redhead, I take it you did some classes at UMD? Did you only do normal daytime classes or did you ever take any evening courses? Mind answering a few questions by PM if you did do some evening classes?

 

[RadRadTerp]

If you can get into the Honors program at UMD, I'd consider them as good value for the education. I did my undergrad there majoring in Cellular, Molecular Biology & Genetics. After first year, the Honors program allows you to take classes with fewer than 30 people and the seminar program is great. I did research on-campus in virology and I feel like I was well-prepared for vet school. It's also easy to build connections at NIH, FDA, & the USDA since they're a short drive away. I did a year of Post-Bac study at the NIH (IRTA program) to earn some extra money and to strengthen my research background.

Since vet school is very heavy on tough stuff like biochemistry and cell biology, it's not a bad idea to take upper-level courses in those areas (beyond vet school requirements) so that Pharm, Bact, and Medical Biochem don't kill your faith in your abilities. I feel like my major/background has been more useful than I thought it would be, though I do find that the animal sciences-type stuff is my weakest area.

(However, I gotta say that when I visited PSU I liked State College, the town, much more than College Park.)

 

[that redhead]

that redhead, I take it you did some classes at UMD? Did you only do normal daytime classes or did you ever take any evening courses? Mind answering a few questions by PM if you did do some evening classes?

Yep, I got my BS there. I took one summer class that was an evening class and I had a good friend take an evening class during the regular semester. Feel free to PM me with any questions 🙂

 

[chickenlittle]

Another vote for St. Mary's College of Maryland.

I did my first 1.5 years of undergrad there, then transferred to University of Florida because I was homesick (I'm from Florida). Big mistake.... St. Mary's was an awesome school and I never should have left 🙂 Can't say enough great things about that place!!

 

[NittanyKitty]

I can speak to Penn State a little bit as well. I would definitely lean toward a degree in the College of Ag Sciences (Vet and BMS). The majors can be much more veterinary specific, there is great leadership and mentorship specific to both research and vet med, and there are many more scholarship dollars per student there than in the College of Science. If PSU is on your list, also consider applying to the Schreyer Honors College - more scholarship money, first pick for class registration, and you write a thesis and take honors courses. BUT if you are taking on your undergrad loans and debt yourself, you should definitely be considering your most frugal options (IS state schools). Vet school is expensive, so adding more money to that load is not wise.