Junior in High School, what to do?!

[66Mustang]

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Hello everyone, I'm a junior in high school and I want to go into the vet field. I really want to go to Mizzou, I know they have a scholars program but right now I have a 28 on the ACT and I don't really wnat to do the AgScholar, I'd rather do the Pre-vet scholar, so I'm going for a 30 on the ACT. Anyway if that doesn't work out... I was thinking I should just do a traditional application. How many shadow hours should I have by now? (I have none). I do well in school I have a 3.94 GPA, I'm an active member in NHS and I have been on varsity athletics for 2 years (Track/Field). What does everyone think I should do, please any suggestions welcome! Thank you so much!

-66Mustang

 

[Minnerbelle]

Anyway if that doesn't work out... I was thinking I should just do a traditional application. How many shadow hours should I have by now? (I have none).

whoa there, hold your horses! plenty of people get in just fine without starting to shadow until they're a couple years into college or even later. look over the successful applicants thread and get an idea of how many hours people have when they get accepted, and shoot to get about that much by the time you apply to vet school!

the best think you can do now is get in the habit of continuing to do well in school and be on the lookout for experience opportunities that come along. I swear, if you keep your eyes open, things will come along! work on balancing your life, esp as you move on into college and kick ass in your classes. don't make the mistake of getting involved with extracurriculars too much at the expense of your grades.

just the fact that you're thinking about this, and keeping things in mind now puts you at a huge advantage. stick around on this forum, contribute, and learn! after a while, you'll get really good at discerning bad info from good, and come interview time, you'll likely have a good grasp of discussing veterinary matters eloquently. at the very least, a lot of different animal/veterinary issues are discussed on this forum, and you'll have the opportunity to form a good solid opinion for yourself.

 

[scb44f]

whoa there, hold your horses! plenty of people get in just fine without starting to shadow until they're a couple years into college or even later. look over the successful applicants thread and get an idea of how many hours people have when they get accepted, and shoot to get about that much by the time you apply to vet school!

I think the pre-vet scholars program is great, because you can major in whatever you want (i.e. have a solid backup in case you decide not to apply to vet school), but then you have a major advantage if you do decide to apply to their program.

Whether you decide to do that program or not, the comment above is absolutely true! I will be posting my stats/experiences in the successful applicants' stats thread soon, but I can tell you I just got into Mizzou as a traditional applicant and I only started getting vet experience a year and a half ago. You certainly don't need to fret!

One suggestion I have would be to attend Mizzou's vet school open house on April 9th. You can find more info here: http://cvm.missouri.edu/news/OpenHouse2011.htm

If you can make it, definitely go to the Admissions Sessions. I went last year and got soooo much great information that really helped me when I applied! They go over the scholars programs in that session as well.

 

[that redhead]

I started accumulating my hours as a sophomore in high school. I rode with an equine vet over the summer and got about 250 hours out of it. It was a great experience and although I would probably get more out of it NOW with my education and other experiences behind me, it was still a valuable experience 🙂 As a senior in high school I interned at a small animal hospital as part of a senior class requirement (to either intern somewhere of interest or take CC college classes) and got a lot of experience there. I think it's never too late to get yourself out there and start experiencing the profession first hand. However, as mentioned above, you do have plenty of time to gain experiences throughout college so I wouldn't be -too- worried.

 

[nuevaburra]

I have no useful advice to offer as far as academics, other than continue to do well, yadda yadda. But on a personal note I would recommend trying not to worry too much about the future. You are still young and on the right track, so taking some time to develop as a person and experience things outside of school would not only be good for you, but wouldn't hurt your application. Taking time to travel, etc. or study abroad, or whatever interests you. And while planning ahead is good, make sure you don't burn out.

Sorry this probably sounds condescending, but it makes me sad to see young people so focused on a future goal that they hesitate to take advantage of what they can do right now, before a bunch of adult responsibilities start to accumulate.

Anyway good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[Whyevernot55]

Good lord, I had NO idea what I wanted to do when I was in high school!

Get into a good college, take classes you enjoy, and do well in them. Spend some time shadowing vets. Enjoy yourself. 😀

 

[Dsmoody23]

Hello everyone, I'm a junior in high school and I want to go into the vet field. I really want to go to Mizzou, I know they have a scholars program but right now I have a 28 on the ACT and I don't really wnat to do the AgScholar, I'd rather do the Pre-vet scholar, so I'm going for a 30 on the ACT. Anyway if that doesn't work out... I was thinking I should just do a traditional application. How many shadow hours should I have by now? (I have none). I do well in school I have a 3.94 GPA, I'm an active member in NHS and I have been on varsity athletics for 2 years (Track/Field). What does everyone think I should do, please any suggestions welcome! Thank you so much!

-66Mustang

Jesus.

Tell me you're having some fun, at least?

I entirely applaud your focus, and your achievements.

It's also sort of scary when a seventeen year old has already decided what the next 20 years of their life will look like.

I guess, aside from the other advice you'll get, I'd suggest really trying to keep your eyes open for the other opportunities you're going to come in contact with. Make sure you have exposure to the many, many other things you could do with yourself before you commit to a career track.

You've got several years before you have to make a concrete decision. By all means, keep doing what you're doing, but explore your options and have some fun in the meantime.

 

[Mizzou2014]

Jesus.


It's also sort of scary when a seventeen year old has already decided what the next 20 years of their life will look like.

.

Scary? Maybe but I don't think it's uncommon for the super motivated/driven people drawn to careers like this. I did a project in first grade detailing how I was going to be a vet including the years I would start undergrad and vet school and where I would go.....turns out that's exactly the path I ended up following down to the dates! My parents have it on display somewhere in their house and it makes me laugh every time I see it.

To the OP: Mizzou's a great school and I really enjoy their vet program here. Several classmates did the prevet and ag scholar program and they all speak very highly of it but I wouldn't worry too much if you decide not to go that route. As others have said you should get a degree you'll be happy with because you don't know what the future may hold. You can take the prereqs with any degree so feel free to explore and get some good life experiences during undergrad.

 

[that redhead]

Scary? Maybe but I don't think it's uncommon for the super motivated/driven people drawn to careers like this. I did a project in first grade detailing how I was going to be a vet including the years I would start undergrad and vet school and where I would go.....turns out that's exactly the path I ended up following down to the dates! My parents have it on display somewhere in their house and it makes me laugh every time I see it.

I think this forum is a mixture of people like you (and myself) who have known they wanted to pursue vet med for a LONG time and some more non-traditional folks who either started in something else entirely or perhaps questioned their decision. One of the things I talked about at my interview was how I did have an "Oh ****" moment recently (in regards to the actual school part of vet school) but how I resolved it in my mind, etc. I think it's healthy to explore other opportunities even if you're set on something, just in case 🙂

 

[Whyevernot55]

I think this forum is a mixture of people like you (and myself) who have known they wanted to pursue vet med for a LONG time and some more non-traditional folks who either started in something else entirely or perhaps questioned their decision. One of the things I talked about at my interview was how I did have an "Oh ****" moment recently (in regards to the actual school part of vet school) but how I resolved it in my mind, etc. I think it's healthy to explore other opportunities even if you're set on something, just in case 🙂

This! I was one who had no idea until I was basically a senior in college, let alone high school. My best friend, however, thought she new exactly what she wanted. Graduated college in 3.5 years, went straight into law school with top marks, and got a job with a large firm. She hates it. She wants to go back to grad school for english now.

 

[Dsmoody23]

I don't know. I think one of the component parts of any kind of personal or professional success is having a variety of experience to draw from.

And it seems like that would be impossible if you're locked into an A to B career trajectory as a teen, with few extraneous, non-specialty experiences.

 

[66Mustang]

Thank you so much for all your advice and help. I was so worried that I was supposed to have hundreds of shadowing hours by now, but I guess not, thank the lord. I do tend to over analyze my future, it can be both a good and bad trait, haha. I promise I am having fun, high school has been great. When I graduate high school I will have somewhere between 30-35 college credit hour so I might be able to finish my undergrad in 2-3 years! Thanks again!

 

[mmb103]

im a senior in hs and i seriously considered doing the pre-vet scholars program at Mizzou...i applied to mizzou and everything. but i ended up choosing a smaller liberal arts college because i think its a much better fit for me and it will give me a college experience that suited me better as a person. it was soo hard to pass up such a great opportunity tho, so id definetly consider it/apply if u want!
as far as hours go, ive always known i want to be a vet too and only have about 100 hrs small animal and about 100 food animal (i spent alot of my childhood on a cattle farm). so i definitely wouldnt worry about not having a ton of hours yet...we have time🙂 im planning on spending each summer getting different kinds of experience. this summer im planning on getting more small animal experience, then next summer equine, the next large animal, etc.

 

[mas185]

Thank you so much for all your advice and help. I was so worried that I was supposed to have hundreds of shadowing hours by now, but I guess not, thank the lord. I do tend to over analyze my future, it can be both a good and bad trait, haha. I promise I am having fun, high school has been great. When I graduate high school I will have somewhere between 30-35 college credit hour so I might be able to finish my undergrad in 2-3 years! Thanks again!

Better yet (if your parents will let you) apply to the EU/UK vet schools and be a vet in only 5 years 🙂 It sounds like your grades/exams are good enough to get in! I was like you in high school and wish I had known that the international vet schools were undergrad programs ... and you save a few years of tuition!

M.A.

www.atlanticbridge.com for University College Dublin in Ireland
http://www.ucas.com/students/wheretostart/nonukstudents/ for the UK schools like Royal (Dick) School of Vet Med in Edinburgh and University of Glasgow