Is veterinary medicine something I should look into?

[Aviator97]

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Hey guys. So I've loved animals all of my life and would REALLY like to become a veterinarian. The only thing scaring me away from it is how hard I've heard acceptance to a veterinary school is...I've heard so many stories of it being harder than even med school to be accepted into! The thing is, my high school grades aren't the best, mainly because I've been having personal issues and because most of the stuff such as history, english, spanish, math, and some chemistry (not all of chemistry, just some) really doesn't interest me much. The class that really gets my attention though is Biology and Animal Sciences. Do you guys think I should take a shot at it? I mean I'm starting to look at colleges for pre-veterinary (going to be either a biology or animal science major) and am hoping to get my grades up real high when there because I will actually ENJOY the class work and may have all my personal issues sorted out. And just as a side note, what other careers are there that are good in animal science or anything involving my love of animals? First choice is veterinary obviously, but just in case.

P.S. I used to post in the medicine section of this website, but those times are gone...that was when my dad was forcing me into medicine...he finally budged and is letting me do what I love.

 

[StartingoverVet]

1- Your high school grades will not matter.
2 - Your college grades will. but thinking that you are going to "care" about your classes is a long leap of faith. There are going to be many classes you don't care about (perhaps calculus, physics, o-chem) that you will have to be more mature and learn to study just as hard in.
3 - You need to spend some time shadowing a vet or working at a vet office to get into vet school or more importantly to learn about the profession and really see if it is for you.
4- Loving animals is not a reason to be a vet. Loving medicine and science and its overlay with animals is.
5- Getting into vet school is a long way from now... concentrate on getting into college first and then doing well and learning about the profession. Don't worry about getting into vet school.

 

[bbeventer]

1- Your high school grades will not matter.
2 - Your college grades will. but thinking that you are going to "care" about your classes is a long leap of faith. There are going to be many classes you don't care about (perhaps calculus, physics, o-chem) that you will have to be more mature and learn to study just as hard in.
3 - You need to spend some time shadowing a vet or working at a vet office to get into vet school or more importantly to learn about the profession and really see if it is for you.
4- Loving animals is not a reason to be a vet. Loving medicine and science and its overlay with animals is.
5- Getting into vet school is a long way from now... concentrate on getting into college first and then doing well and learning about the profession. Don't worry about getting into vet school.

👍

 

[cs5910]

You will be taking the same types of classes in college (english, math, arts, humanities, sciences, and a LOT of chemistry) as part of your first two years, regardless of what major you pick. So you will have to muster up the strength to "care". Or at least to care enough to get good grades. You'll need a good cummulative GPA, science GPA, and last 45 credit GPA if you want a chance at vet school, among other things!

 

[adams30]

I'm graduating this may with a degree in Animal Science.

What kind of animals are you interested in? Animal Science is the study of domestic animals (primarily farm animals) and how to improve their welfare and increase their productivity / efficiency. Most people in my major who aren't going to medical school are going into production/farm management or to graduate school for programs like reproductive physiology, nutrition, etc.

As others have said. high school grades don't matter for vet school. all your college grades will, even for classes that you don't like. we all have to take classes we don't like unfortunately.

Also loving animals is not enough to be happy as a vet. You must be able to work with people (ie clients) on a daily basis and love the hardcore medical sciences (which involves lots of cellular biology, biochem, chemistry, and some basic math (like for drug calculations)). Yes it's important to have a love for animals but it's good to like the other things too.

I suggest shadowing a vet to see if vet med is something you really enjoy. Spending time in a veterinary clinic for a while will give you the best sense about whether or not this is the field for you IMO. Plus you need diverse veterinary experiences to apply to vet school as well.

You are right veterinary medical school is really hard to get into and it takes a lot of dedication and patience. But if it's something you really want it can be done.

 

[equineconstant]

High school grades don't matter at all for vet school admission, so you'll have a better idea whether you have a chance once you see how you do in some college classes, particularly prereqs (including chemistry). You might also want to look into getting some veterinary experience--that's the best way of seeing whether veterinary medicine is for you. If you're not even in undergrad yet, you don't need to decide yet whether you want to do this (I decided that I was for sure going for vet med the summer after my freshman year in college, and there are a bunch of career changers here who decided significantly later). Basically, what I'm saying is that there's no reason you shouldn't at least look into it.

 

[Aviator97]

Okay cool thanks guys. I appreciate the information. If veterinary medicine isn't actually for the love of animals, then what careers are? If I was doing it just for the love of medicine, I would never even consider becoming a veterinarian!

 

[Emiloo4]

There are even classes IN vet school you'll hate. It never ends.

 

[shortnsweet]

Okay cool thanks guys. I appreciate the information. If veterinary medicine isn't actually for the love of animals, then what careers are? If I was doing it just for the love of medicine, I would never even consider becoming a veterinarian!

What he means is....if you think it's just about playing with puppies and kittens all day, then it will be the wrong path for you. You have to be able to appreciate the fact that you can't save all of them, that you will be faced with ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, and you still have to deal with people too. Yes, you should love animals...but that shouldn't be the main reason you start down the path of vetmed.

Try to go shadow a vet now while you are still in high school, maybe talk to the one your family brings your pets to---ask if you can follow them around, or start working in the kennels...or look into a program like Adventures in Veterinary Medicine at Tufts. They will show you every side of the profession, and you can figure out of it is right for you.

It is a great profession, and if your experiences now help stimulate your interest, then go for it. You are young, take the time you need to decide what you want to do 🙂

 

[equineconstant]

Try to go shadow a vet now while you are still in high school, maybe talk to the one your family brings your pets to---ask if you can follow them around, or start working in the kennels...or look into a program like Adventures in Veterinary Medicine at Tufts. They will show you every side of the profession, and you can figure out of it is right for you.

👍 Since you're apparently in Philly, OP, I'll go ahead and mention UPenn's summer VETS (veterinary exploration through science) program. I did it the summer after freshman year of college (which also happened to be its first year), but I think they have a high school version too. I can only speak to the college one, but it's basically a week-long day camp where you have lab demonstrations, talks about animal/vet-related topics, and a lot of admissions talk.

 

[bbeventer]

Okay cool thanks guys. I appreciate the information. If veterinary medicine isn't actually for the love of animals, then what careers are? If I was doing it just for the love of medicine, I would never even consider becoming a veterinarian!

Animal groomer, animal trainer, animal investigator, dog walker, vet tech, wildlife rehabilitator, zoo keeper, etc.

 

[felinelvr44]

👍 Since you're apparently in Philly, OP, I'll go ahead and mention UPenn's summer VETS (veterinary exploration through science) program. I did it the summer after freshman year of college (which also happened to be its first year), but I think they have a high school version too. I can only speak to the college one, but it's basically a week-long day camp where you have lab demonstrations, talks about animal/vet-related topics, and a lot of admissions talk.

Tufts AVM is a very similiar program, and its a week long. I know they have sessions for high school students where they house you. I did it a few years ago and it was really fun 😀

 

[BlackDog17]

Keep in mind that you can go into college as an animal science/pre-vet major and still change your mind later. It's not set in stone. College is all about exploring new fields and deciding what you want to do with your life. I've definitely discovered new interests in college, but in the end I always knew that I wanted to be a vet. I have plenty of friends who were pre-vet and decided vet school wasn't for them, and switched majors or pursued other careers. I have one friend who was accepted to both Ohio State and Penn, and turned them both down because she decided at the last minute that she wasn't ready for the commitment of vet school. She's working towards getting her LPN now instead.

Basically what I'm saying is: don't feel like you have to make a decision right this minute. It's great that you're interested in vet med, but you don't have to rush into it. Shadow a vet, take a few animal science classes, and get a feel for things before you make your decision. You have plenty of time.

I highly recommend the book "Careers for Animal Lovers & Other Zoological Types" by Louise Miller. It details a TON of different animal-related careers, what they involve, what kind of education and training you need, what sort of salary you can expect in each one, etc, etc. It's really helpful if you know you want to work with animals but aren't sure if vet med is right for you.

My undergrad also has a course called "Careers in Animal Science" which all animal science/zoology/pre-vet majors were required to take. I thought it was going to be a total waste of time, but it was actually an excellent class! The professor brought in guest lecturers from all different animal-related fields, and I learned about all the different things I could do with my animal science degree if vet school didn't work out for me. It definitely gave me some good ideas for what my "Plan B" would be if I didn't end up going into vet med. I'd recommend checking the colleges in your area to see if any of them offer a similar course - I think it would really be helpful for you!

 

[bold text]

No.

 

[Aviator97]

Cool thanks guys. I'll certainly shadow a veterinarian and look into some of those summer programs around me. I mean I do like science, its just that I like working with animals, learning about animals, learning how they work and their body systems, and just being around them. Don't get me wrong, I do like many aspects of science, but there are some that I really just don't enjoy, and those that I don't enjoy usually don't involve animals. For example, we are in the ecology/evolution unit right now in Biology class, and man I love this unit! Its really interesting!

 

[StartingoverVet]

No.

BT is an honorary pre-vet now?
Welcome. I guess.

 

[cbarne01]

If you're still in high school (you don't state that you've graduated), consider a coop placement in a veterinary clinic. Its a good way to knock off one of your general credits without having to take another history or geography course if it fits, and lets you see the every day activities in a clinic, as well as learning some of the basic skills (making up surgical packs, using the autoclave, watching/helping with proceedures, and lots of chances to ask questions of the vets and techs.
I should have done a coop rather than my 2 credit musical theatre course... would have been way more useful!

 

[nyanko]

BT is an honorary pre-vet now?
Welcome. I guess.

lol I was wondering about that tool