Is it too late?

[kjax]

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Hey everyone Sorry in advance for such a long post, I just need some help.

So, I wanted to be a vet from the time I was little. By high school though, when I was starting to look into colleges, money started to worry me a lot, and I was scared of getting myself in so much debt to become a vet. I also had to put my dog to sleep just before my senior year, and that really turned me off from it as well, I didn't think I could deal with that every day.

So I started looking into other careers, had some ideas that varied from small business owner to speech pathologist to journalist, but I went to college with my major as undecided. I ended up hating the school I had chosen, and it was way too expensive for the crappy quality of education there.

By the time I made up my mind to leave, it was past the deadline to apply for Spring semester transfer at any other school. So I went back home to go to community college, where I had a scholarship that covers tuition.

I hated community more than my first college. It wasn't challenging at all; it was as easy as high school. I took 21 credits and had a 4.0 with hardly any effort. All semester up until now I was thinking of dropping out and starting a business (or something 🙄 )

But after thinking about it more and more, I think I would be happy being a vet. I'm going to give this a few more weeks before I say my mind is really made up; I can go from deciding my life's dream is to be a doctor to thinking I'd be happiest as a teacher in one afternoon.

I'm still having some crises about the money, and thinking I'm not smart enough to make it through vet school, and not wanting to be in school for another 8+ years, but... like I said, I wanted to be a vet my entire life.

Here's the problem...

I had very good grades in high school and graduated valedictorian. My first semester of college though, I had um, a lot of fun, and I really didn't have anything motivating me. And my GPA ended up being a 2.8 I'm scared that will hurt my chances of getting accepted to vet school.

I could stick with community, but I'm worried that will hurt my chances of getting into vet school too. And again, it really sucks there. I thought I could deal with it, but it's so boring and easy.

Whether I stay with community for another year and then transfer to a 4 year school, or start applying to 4 years for Spring 2014 now, it's going to cost a lot more than it would have if I'd applied as a freshman since no schools give out substantial transfer scholarships. My family gets no financial aid and my parents can't help pay. *sigh* I wish I could erase this year of college and start over as a freshman...

This is a smaller problem, but I'm going to need to stay home for undergrad, since after moving back home I figured I may as well get some pets (I have to have animals around) 😛 And now I have two bunnies and a turtle that I can't leave (my parents are clueless about taking care of them) and that take up a lot of my time. But there aren't many good schools close to me. And still after 4 years it's likely (and I'm hoping) they'll all still be alive, so even if I stay home for undergrad I don't know what I'll do when I go to vet school. I'm in NJ, there are no vet schools here; I'm sort of close to UPenn, but that's very expensive and hard to get into.

I was thinking of being a vet tech (either go to school for it or find an animal hospital that will train me), so I can save up money and get some experience in a vet's office. But they don't make much money at all, hardly enough to live on.

So... I don't know. There are a lot of issues. I feel like I screwed myself so much this past year. Is it too late to change my mind and decide I want to be a vet? Will a bad semester and going to community college ruin my chances of getting into vet school?

 

[EngrSC]

A bad semester and going to community college will not ruin your chances of getting into vet school. If you're doing so well at the CC and saving a substantial amount of money in the meantime there's no reason for you to transfer before you need to. I think there's a school or two out that that require organic chemistry be taken at a 4-year so maybe research schools you're interested in to make sure you take your prereqs where needed.

Volunteering/shadowing/working in a veterinary setting is so much different than what you see as a client. You should try to get experience in the field to make sure you still enjoy it after you've dealt with some of the less-pleasant things - like euthanasia, angry/distraught clients, seeing animals suffer and having to work with a client that doesn't want to or can't afford to treat, etc.

Good luck!

 

[LetItSnow]

Let's see. I'm a vet student who failed out of a private college and a university ... and then ended up doing my pre-reqs all at a community college (granted, it was years later and after an undergrad degree at a private university) ...

So... I'm gonna go with "no, it won't destroy your chances of getting into vet school."

There's a ton of these threads. Spend a few minutes searching and you can get some great info! 🙂

 

[veterinarygirl]

I definitely agree working/volunteering/shadowing at a clinic should help you with making a decision on if this is the path you want to take. As for going to school to be a vet tech before going to vet school there are a few things to consider: 1) If you do decide to do this make sure beforehand that the vet school will accept the classes (for the application requirements) you take from the vet tech school because some vet colleges do not. Make sure to contact them and ask. 2) If you take out a loan for vet tech school, that adds more to the amount you have to pay back. 3) It would be a great experience and something you could add to the vet school application that could possibly give you an edge, but it is not necessary. Just working/volunteering at a vet clinic without going to to tech school will give you a good hands on experience that you can put onto your vet school application

I considered going to vet tech school beforehand but then decided against it. However, it is really up to you.

I agree with everyone else. You have a chance! I recommend checking with schools you are interested in to see if they will accept the classes you plan to take so that you are not wasting your time and money.

 

[that redhead]

I think if you can live at home, save money and get straight As at community college, it's the best possible scenario, actually. Have you already started your pre-reqs at the CC? Either way I would continue to get good grades there and transfer to a four year university (or apply directly to save yourself the money of paying for a four year degree) after that. Your first semester with a 2.8 won't hurt you so long as you continue to earn good grades in your pre-reqs and show that you know how to buckle down and work hard.

At vet school you usually live off-campus (I've not heard of anyone living in dorms as a vet student), so you can bring your pets with you to live in that area. NJ students can still get into school even if they aren't in-state. The trick is looking over schools requirements and comparing what your application has to what they want.

The next most important thing is vet experience because all schools are going to want that, even if you have a 4.0GPA. You will find out if you really do want to be a vet (or at least continue along that path) after spending some time working in the field. You don't need to be a technician to achieve that, either - you can call around and ask if vets will allow you to shadow or volunteer with them, or volunteer at the humane society or something similar.