masters program or work experience?

[BigDreams]

Hey everyone! so I'm a bit stuck and not quite sure what to do. I'm currently a senior and my original plan was to take a year off to gain some experience since I haven't been able to volunteer/work at a clinic but now I'm not so sure if I want to do that. I have a 2.9 overall GPA so I'm thinking about doing a masters program so I can boost that up. I'm stuck between going to do my masters or just work to gain experience. Also if I do my masters,would a masters of arts in biomedical science look good for vet schools. Thanks to anyone who writes! I'm starting to panic a little about life and not quite sure which path is better.

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[kernel]

Hey everyone! so I'm a bit stuck and not quite sure what to do. I'm currently a senior and my original plan was to take a year off to gain some experience since I haven't been able to volunteer/work at a clinic but now I'm not so sure if I want to do that. I have a 2.9 overall GPA so I'm thinking about doing a masters program so I can boost that up. I'm stuck between going to do my masters or just work to gain experience. Also if I do my masters,would a masters of arts in biomedical science look good for vet schools. Thanks to anyone who writes! I'm starting to panic a little about life and not quite sure which path is better.

While you are correct in that you should work towards bringing your GPA up, you definitely cannot apply without experience. Just... No. My recommendation would be to take upper division science courses as a post-bac while you volunteer or shadow. You need to do your time.

 

[hygebeorht]

You have no vet experience? How about animal experience?

You may wish to take a look at the thread on this forum about the New York Times article. Read that, too. I think if you mean to get into a US school, you're going to want to boost that GPA, but you may have a hard time doing that while getting vet experience.

Honestly, if you aren't rock-solid sure that vet med is for you, I'd take a few years and figure it out. I vote for not more school right now. You need some real world time under your belt.

 

[Siomai]

I say do both simultaneously since you need BOTH to be a competitive applicant. Many juggled volunteer, academics and work to prove to adcomm that they can handle the load of vet school which is a big factor. Moreover, most interview are based on experience and you need minimum hours in mosts chools to be considered. So, you need to do BOTH!

 

[ellsworth]

Hi BigDreams,

I also had a bad undergrad GPA 2.73 but even then i had a lot of animal and some vet experience. If you really want to get into Vet school I would take some time off from school. Go get a job, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, TeachforAmerica, etc... and build up some time getting vet and animal experience. Then go back do a masters or postbac classes (but be really careful about debt) and start applying to vet schools. This is essentially the path I took (Work, PeaceCorps, Master's) and I got watilisted last year and three offers this year. This is the path that worked for me but I think those of us with sub 3.0 GPAs have to show something extra. It also allowed me to build up experience and opportunities in case I never did make it into vet school.

 

[epivetlove]

I'm going to echo what most people have said here and say that you need to really get vet experience. It's easy to say that you want to be a veterinarian, but you won't be certain until you get some exposure. Get depth and breadth. I'd recommend at least 50-100 hours in different fields--exotic, large animal, food animal, emergency, wildlife, equine, etc. Also, as a current Master's student, please do not go into another degree if you're not really invested in what you're studying. Graduate school is not like undergrad, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's easier either. Also, try and find out why your undergrad GPA took such a hit. I had some lousy undergrad grades, but I figured out why and what I could do to make sure I could succeed in another program and because of that, I am doing extremely well in my graduate program while working full-time and volunteering on the weekends. It can be done, but it's not going to be easy! Decide what you can handle and go from there.

 

[Simpona]

Based on my own experience, it very doable to get a Masters degree AND work in a vet clinic at the same time. I took two years to get my Masters, worked 15-20 hour weeks at a vet clinic, and then spent my summers getting some concentrated animal experience. If you have the money, it could be worth your time to look into some animal-related field schools - spending a month trekking around a rainforest after some intrepid primates is A) good exotic animal experience and B) really good essay fodder. Spending the next couple of years focusing on showing schools that you're academically qualified from both a grade and interest (i.e. experience) perspective is probably your best shot. Just my two cents.

 

[wildowl]

Just echoing all the awesome advice from everyone above. Another thing to consider are M.S. programs that allow you to TA-- this lifts some of the financial burden and it gives you great experience in public speaking and really being able to interact with many different people--a skill you will need regardless of whether you enter vet medicine or not. I took this route and basically am getting my M.S. for free. I also work in a mouse lab for my thesis and it counted toward my veterinary hours. It's also feasible to volunteer on weekends, which I did at a spay and neuter clinic and humane society. You need to kick butt in the M.S. program and show them that undergrad is not indicative of your potential as a vet student and get veterinary experience to be the most competitive applicant you can be.

 

[BigDreams]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Yeah I'm currently volunteering with a vet at local shelter so it's not that I don't have ANY hours but I know I could use some more.

 

[BigDreams]

Thanks! yeah that sounds like a good way to go about it! congrats on getting accepted!

 

[Rattitude]

I would definitely say both. I earned a Master's degree part-time while employed full-time as a research assistant. This was extremely beneficial for me, as my paid work duties and my classroom work coincided. It did take a little bit longer (about 3.5-4 years), but some of my greatest experiences came from this period in my life. It is also a great way to network and build solid relationships with people in the field that you will eventually want to ask for recommendations. I used the weekends/holidays/personal/vacation days for volunteering and studying. Also, if you can find a full-time position at the school you want to get your Master's degree from, they may offer tuition remission (which saved me thousands of dollars). I also took a few extra years to work at several different companies, and I was finally accepted this year (I'm 30 btw). Best of luck whichever path you decide to take