Los Angeles Community College Pre-Vet Programs

[choupinette]

Here goes my first post! Sorry if it's a bit all over the place - I need direction!

I've been looking into pre-vet programs at community colleges in the LA area and would like to hear about other people's experiences. Currently, I've been leaning the most towards Pierce College, but I believe this is because they provide the most information online and are good at promoting themselves. However, I'm not convinced this is the right place for me, especially after coming across this site (http://www.piercefarmwatch.org/) which documents the supposed poor conditions of their on-campus farm.

I've also been looking at Santa Monica, Pasadena, and El Camino but they have little information about pre-vet programs on their sites.

As for my background, I am 24, I graduated from UC Irvine in '07 with 2 bachelor degrees in the humanities. My desire to go to vet school is a new direction for me and I will need to start with the most basic science courses. I currently live in Torrance.

I would love to hear about anyone's experience with Pierce College and other LA community colleges. Also, is it a real advantage to go to a school that offers a structured pre-vet program (like Pierce) or is it just as good to take classes at any other community college and to develop my own curriculum, farm animal experience, etc.

Thank you! 🙂

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[Pomona2006]

I did pretty much all of my post-bac science courses at Pasadena. I only did my upper division courses elsewhere. Overall I have to say Pasadena has been great but I was never part of any formal pre-vet program. I simply figured out what courses I needed in order to apply and started taking them. I never met with an advisor or anything. I was fine with that because I pretty much figured out what I needed and didn't really need their help/advice. While I do believe that Pasadena has a pre-vet program, I am afraid I cannot comment on it because I was really involved.

I would also stress that I went to Pasadena primarily because it was a very short commute. I have heard highly educated people speak highly Pasadena as well, which made it my first choice for CC schools. of I didn't even look into Pierce or SM because they were so far away from me. So that might be something to take into account.

I have heard wonderful things about Pierce from jjohnston and hopefully she will be able to chime in about Pierce (and maybe address your concerns). I know she says their success rate for applicants is very high, which is promising!

 

[ckgilabert]

hey! i just wanted to say that you do not need to go into one of these programs to get into veterinary school. I know most people who just take their classes in junior college, transfer to university, and get in to vet school. I attended my junior college in santa clarita valley, and they don't even have a program there for vet students. I just joined MESA (math engineering science achievement) and the bio club. 🙂

 

[primatevetjess]

Hi there!

I'll tell you a little about my background and then address your questions about Pierce. I attended Virginia Tech right out of high school, but only completed 1.5 years there. The only pre-reqs that I did there were general bio and general chem. I dropped out, and returned to school at Pierce several years later. I'm now 27, and starting vet school at UC Davis. I did the remainder of my pre-reqs at Pierce, the only one that I didn't do there was genetics. Pierce has a setup with CSUN that allows you to take genetics there for $10.

Pierce is really fantastic. First let me say that you cannot believe that website. It is an animal rights propaganda website. If you go to their blog, there are hardly any posts about Pierce, it's all animal rights news and full of links to animal rights websites. Yes, several of the animal areas have been in disrepair for awhile. This is because there is currently tons of construction going on, including ripping down all of the current farm buildings and replacing them with new, modern facilities. Half of the buildings they complain about on that site aren't even there any more. And they never once mention the horses, because they were the first ones to get new facilities, and they're *amazing*. There's a large group of student volunteers that take care of the animals and the farm, and they do a great job. There are also several full time employees, including one who lives on site so that there is someone there for the animals 24-7. So yeah, the farm is great and the animals are incredibly well cared for.

Enough about that… it's true that you don't need a pre-vet program to get into vet school, but Pierce's is really great. The advisor, Dr. Shapiro, is incredibly supportive, and the pre-vet club will be of great benefit. There are frequent guest speakers, from all areas of vet med. Also, the UC Davis head of admissions comes and gives a talk and one-on-one advice, as well as representatives from Western and Ross. There are field trips, including an overnight trip to Davis to tour the facilities and the hospital and talk to the head of admissions again. There are also field trips to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, where you get a behind the scenes tour of their hospitals.

Pierce College is highly regarded, and one of the only community colleges where you can take physiology and biochemistry and have them count as upper-division. Someone on another thread said that was only because Pierce has a deal with UC Davis, but that's just not true because I was also accepted to Ohio State and Michigan, waitlisted at Wisconsin, and declined an interview at Minnesota. Just for comparison, I was rejected from Penn, Colorado, and Purdue. They also have a fantastic success rate, with 13 out of 15 students being accepted this year.

Check out these links, if you haven't already:
http://faculty.piercecollege.edu/shapirls/Drcowsindex.html
http://faculty.piercecollege.edu/shapirls/Prevetsuccess2005.html

You can also email Dr. Shapiro with any questions, he's very approachable and loves answering questions about the program. Tell him Jessica Johnston sent you 🙂 I know I probably sound like a late night infomercial, but I believe that I got a fantastic education at Pierce and that going there contributed greatly to my success. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me!

 

[choupinette]

Thanks all for your input! Definitely gives me a lot of food for thought.

I think I'm going to wait to start my pre-reqs in January, so that I can start getting some good animal/vet hours in, and then I can see if I want to make the move to the Pierce College area or stay more local and commute to El Camino or Santa Monica.

Considering that my undergrad gpa at UCI wasn't the best, I feel like Pierce could give me the edge for a well rounded application. However, on a personal level, I'm just not in love with the idea of uprooting myself and moving to the valley. I figure I need to be happy where I'm living or else I won't be able to perform well.

Anyway, thanks for the advice again. I'll probably PM you if I have anymore specifc questions about your respective experiences.

 

[kRiiS]

Just FYI, when I went to Western's info session and then interview, one of the admissions people really emphasized that they didn't want you to take your science pre-reqs, especially upper-division, at a community college. She said that being able to succeed in an advance science class from a competitive university was more indicative of how well you would do in vet school. I'm not sure how other universities feel about that, but just thought you should know what Western wants.

 

[chris03333]

Pierce has a great reputation. I grew up in Torrance. El Camino was like an extension from the South Bay areas high schools. You could take classes there (only the lower division classes) and pad your GPA because they are a frickin cake walk compared to University (now before anyone gets there panties in bunches I am not saying this about all CCs, just this one that I am very familiar). Now that said, I tutored many transfer students from there and they do not prepare you for the upper divisions very well....let alone vet school...***Disclaimer: This is about 6 years ago so they may have improved****

 

[choupinette]

Just to update, I've enrolled in Fall semester classes at Pierce! I met with Dr. Shapiro (director of the Pre-Vet program) and I can't wait to start!

Thanks everyone for your help

 

[Sweetcaroline14]

Good for you! I took classes at Pierce after finishing my BS and working towards my Master's at another college. I found the classes fun, and having a letter from Dr. Shapiro was good for me, I believe. For VMCAS, I sent in one letter from Dr. Shapiro, a letter from a specialty clinic I worked at as well as a letter from research I worked at. I was accepted at 5 schools, and am now starting my second year. The depth of most undergrad classes are not enough for vet school, but that's to be expected in a doctoral program. Vet school is a blast but is expected to be challenging and time consuming 🙂 . Pierce was a place for me to join the Pre Vet Club, get to work with farm animals, and also take some cool classes that aren't extremely difficult, but are good, in my opinion. Pierce was good for me because it gave me the opportunity to gain some experience in farm animals while also learning more in animal science. I loved working with Poultry and was able to talk about it at interviews, so I believe it was a bonus. I give Pierce two thumbs up and am truly thankful for Dr Shapiro's mentorship. He was a huge help in guiding me towards what school was best for me. Good Luck in your future goals. Sounds like you are on the right track!

 

[BuckleyGirl]

To the OP - since you have your bachelor's already, you can start with some of your science classes right away (which I suggest you do, maybe Shapiro already told you that??). Dr. Shapiro kinda makes you think you have to take his courses before you do anything else, but in reality you can start right away on getting those pre-reqs done. The Animal Science classes at Pierce are great, but most aren't required for vet schools (except nutrition maybe). They are fantastic GPA boosters, though, and you do learn a little. Shapiro is great, but be sure and look into school requirements on your own, and take what he says with a grain of salt. I had to postpone my application cycle a year because I took the 500 series classes first because he told me I had to, and couldn't get my sciences done on time - I already had my BA but was "starting over" like you 🙂

Anyway, you've made a great choice and there are TONS of fantastic opportunities at Pierce!! Good luck!

 

[Septangel]

Hey there,
I actually just graduated from UCI myself this last year. Im also going to be starting at Pierce in the Fall, and am super excited!

I think its great that there's going to be a fellow anteater there, and I think you made the right choice with going with Pierce. I went to Pierce before I transferred to UCI, and even though the science courses (general though, I cant speak about how challenging the animal science courses are) are not as tough as UC classes, Pierce is pretty good. Im interested in seeing what it will be like to have a schedule full of Dr. Shapiro and straight animal courses, things Im definitely not used to having at UCI.

Anyways, hope we get to run into each other sometime in the fall!

 

[choupinette]

Hey there,
I actually just graduated from UCI myself this last year. Im also going to be starting at Pierce in the Fall, and am super excited!

I think its great that there's going to be a fellow anteater there, and I think you made the right choice with going with Pierce. I went to Pierce before I transferred to UCI, and even though the science courses (general though, I cant speak about how challenging the animal science courses are) are not as tough as UC classes, Pierce is pretty good. Im interested in seeing what it will be like to have a schedule full of Dr. Shapiro and straight animal courses, things Im definitely not used to having at UCI.

Anyways, hope we get to run into each other sometime in the fall!

Awesome! I'm excited to have another anteater with me! ZOT ZOT!!!

 

[SFvethopeful]

Hi:

I just also sign up to start Pierce Fall 09. But I am having some questions and reservation. I graduated with a BS in science three years ago, and now is interested in pursuing Vet School after volunteering at the local SPCA and had the opportunity to shadow a vet. I know vet school is super competitive so I will need a lot more of animal experience hence Pierce sounds really appealing, but in regards to padding my GPA-how does that work? I already took the basic science course like Gen Chem and O Chem, will I need to take it again? The sched. for Pierce this coming fall is full of Animal Science Courses-which I know will be a lot of fun but when applying to vet school will grades from these classes be counted toward the Science GPA or will it not? I am so confused....please advise!! Thank you!!

 

[BuckleyGirl]

Grades from Shapiro's classes (except possibly anatomy) will NOT count for science GPA at most schools. Those Animal sciences classes are great for overall GPA boosting, but most schools just calculate chems, bios, math etc as science GPA. No, it doesn't hurt your GPA to take Shapiro's classes, but again you need to take what he says with a huge grain of salt. Get your pre-reqs done and sprinkle in those classes along the way. You don't even have to take what Shapiro says you do if you already have your Bachelors!

Make sure you look at each schools website to see what they want, and I really urge you to not be afraid of going against what Shapiro says if the vet school web site don't say you have to take Animal Ethics, and get those "real" science pre-reqs under your belt.

Also, as long as your chem and o-chem hasn't expired (some schools 5 years, others more or less) then you don't have to retake them.

good luck! 👍

 

[SFvethopeful]

Thanks for the advice BuckleyGirl. Any suggestions on how to boost my science GPA? b/c isn't that what the admission for the vet school look for even before they decide to take a look at all your experiences, and give you an opportunity for an interview? Thanks.

 

[BuckleyGirl]

You can take all the pre-reqs (besides Genetics) at Pierce, so I'd obviously take the ones you still need - I think you said you have chem and o-chem, but what about the Biologys? Bio 1 & 2, physiology and Micro, and Biochem are definitely do-able for at least a B or an A at Pierce, and since the bios are at least 4-5 credits that will help a lot. If you have time, I'd look into more science classes you can take through UCLA Extension or at Northridge (where you can take classes there if you are enrolled at Pierce for a reduced price).

Also, many schools look at your last 45 credits/hours, so you can really shine in that area. My Science GPA was about 3.4, but my last 45 hours was around 3.8 - that showed the adcoms I was serious and ready to work my butt off 🙂 I suggest that you take a Shapiro class to raise that last 45 hours and boost your overall GPA if you have the time to fit it in your schedule.

I took algebra and trig at Pierce and those were also good classes that you can get an A in - some schools may calculate them in your science/pre-req GPA.

 

[david594]

Every school is different in their criteria for admissions and how they go through the list. Does your science GPA really need that much help? If its at least respectable, it might be worth your time to focus more on other aspects of the application(experience, GRE) and applying earlier.

 

[Sweetcaroline14]

Thanks for the advice BuckleyGirl. Any suggestions on how to boost my science GPA? b/c isn't that what the admission for the vet school look for even before they decide to take a look at all your experiences, and give you an opportunity for an interview? Thanks.

I believe vet schools do look at the quality of education(two thumbs up to you MIT graduates), for sure, but you've got to have the grades to get through the door, so however you get that is up to you. I think its a personal decision. I'll share how I did it and hope this helps you. 🙂 When I applied in 2008, I found that there wasn't anything that they looked at more than grades and the GRE first. Actually, most of my interviews were because of my high GRE, which is a little sad, seeing that I wasn't 100% sure it showed how I would do in vet school, but none the less... I had a misconception that they would be so excited about my experience that my flaws wouldn't be seen . Boost that GPA however you can from whatever source works for you. If the schools will take CC credits, than by all means do what works for you! I took most of my classes at my undergrad(GO BUCS), then did some higher level science classes in graduate work to show that I was capable of handling vet school, which now that I'm in it, I'm glad I did. From my own perspective, I think taking good, quality classes that give you knowledge that you can use in vet school is worthwhile. There are some awesome CC classes, such as Pierce that I think were really helpful. I found in my first year of vet school that I was seriously lacking in topics such as microbiology and parasitology. I don't think I was able to get too much more from undergrad stuff, but if I could, I would have! 🙂 I haven't used much Ochem in vet school but I use a ton of biochemistry so taking a class that will be really beneficial is a plus. I highly recommend taking a good biochemistry course just to get yourself in the game! In hind sight, I would have spent more time on things like immunology, endocrinology etc. that would have been awesome to have under my belt, but you get it in vet school, so no worries, just a bonus! Take classes at this point from the source that will help your GPA if you need help, then focus on getting the extra stuff you feel you need to make yourself prepared to start. You are absolutely right that a GPA and GRE are the only things that will get you looked at, so you've got to tackle that first. I felt like I was lacking in some academic areas when I started and wished I would have not gone for an easy A. Thats just me. But I know all of you will rock vet school, so Good luck to you!

 

[charleyp]

I'm really interested in the Pierce pre-veterinary programme. However, looking at the alumni page it seems that everyone has gone in to large animal practice.
Can anyone tell me how much of the content is focused on companion animals?

 

[devyn]

I'm really interested in the Pierce pre-veterinary programme. However, looking at the alumni page it seems that everyone has gone in to large animal practice.
Can anyone tell me how much of the content is focused on companion animals?

I looked into it a little bit, but then decided to do pre-reqs on my own, but I already had a bachelors degree. So I was a different case....

Your best bet is to email the head professor... can't remember his name off the top of my head, but he was super helpful when I had questions and responded quite quickly. I know he will also write of letter of rec when the time comes.

 

[Hollista]

Hi fellow Piercees!! Already met jjohnson but didn't know so many were here!
Funny, the person who said the Western really emphasized a University as opposed to a community college because Western just did a talk 2 nights ago at Pierce pre-vet meeting raving about how much they support the program and they even have a freaking chart of pre-reqs of specifically pierce classes!! Soooo not really sure how true it is that they didn't like community colleges. But you have to also understand Pierce's reputation....it's not exactly on the same level as most community colleges. Other Piercees you can PM me if you have ?s, or see me at school!!
Please excuse my typing and short sentences...soooo hard to type on my iPad!! Lol!!