Minors that look good on application?

[csequine]

Hey all,
I'm approaching the end of my first year of my undergrad, but I took 36 credits of college courses in high school, so I "could be" a full year ahead. However, since a lot of my science courses have to be taken consecutively, there's basically no way I'm going to be able to graduate with a bachelors in biology more than a semester early. That leaves me with a couple semesters with only 4-8 credits, and I need at least 12 to be a full time student and get my scholarships. So, I'm looking at a minor. What ones look good on vet school apps?
I was thinking possibly business, just because it might come in handy someday.
Then again, art comes really easy to me, and would be a fun minor. Struggling to justify that one, though.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

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[rockatiel]

Anything looks good, as long as you enjoy and do well in it.

There are some minors that can certainly help in the profession. business classes are always good to have, and if you think you can become fluent, a Spanish minor would be a good choice too. With that said, if you think you'd enjoy the art minor, I don't see how that would detract from your application. Vet schools aren't going to discriminate against you for your major or minor, as long as you fulfill the prereqs you also may find you need the creative outlet!

 

[KCgophervet]

Do something fun that you enjoy. Business classes will help you if you're planning to go into private practice, language classes always feel like a good idea, but honestly now is the time to enjoy yourself and your life.

I am biased however: I was a bio major art minor

 

[cdo96]

I'm a biochemistry and molecular biology major with minors in chemistry, zoology, and microbiology..

So... Any one of those might work. Lol. But in all honesty, do what you love- diversity is good.

 

[genny]

I know a vet student who majored in medieval studies, which really has zero relevance to vet med. But she got in anyway because she met the requirements otherwise. I don't think major or minor is much of a consideration. Something like art might actually make your application stand out more if you use it to present yourself as a well-rounded, confident person.

 

[Yasai]

I got a major in psych with minors in English and East Asian Studies with a focus on early and medieval Japanese poetry and drama. Really just pick minors that are fun. English might help in terms of being able to show you can write papers if you want to go a more academic route after vet school.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Hey all,
I'm approaching the end of my first year of my undergrad, but I took 36 credits of college courses in high school, so I "could be" a full year ahead. However, since a lot of my science courses have to be taken consecutively, there's basically no way I'm going to be able to graduate with a bachelors in biology more than a semester early. That leaves me with a couple semesters with only 4-8 credits, and I need at least 12 to be a full time student and get my scholarships. So, I'm looking at a minor. What ones look good on vet school apps?
I was thinking possibly business, just because it might come in handy someday.
Then again, art comes really easy to me, and would be a fun minor. Struggling to justify that one, though.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

I vote minoring in something you could see yourself using. If you want to pursue something art-related in addition to a science degree, do it. If it's just for fun, consider spending that tuition money differently.

 

[CeiKay]

I minored in psychology because I absolutely loved my AP psychology course in high school and was in a similar spot where I entered college with a lot of credit.s so I figured I would minor in something I was interested in outside of vet med! I would say just pick anything that is enjoyable so you don't stress too much about it. That being said, at almost every interview I had for vet schools one of the interviewers would bring it up and they all would agree that it was a great choice. I even had one interviewer tell me he thought every student should have a minor in psychology because of how much vets have to be able to deal with people. It was a great topic of discussion in my interviews and was super interesting to learn more about in undergrad so that's just my two cents

 

[Jess Monster]

In undergrad, I minored in zoology and public health. The former offered a lot of interesting course options like evolution, ecology, ethology, histology, comparative anatomy, etc. The latter offered an insight into the coursework I would see in my Master's of Public Health program and, incidentally, made me a more competitive applicant for that graduate program.

In grad school I picked up an entomology minor which I'm hoping will act as a stepping stone into public health/veterinary entomology internships and another Master's program in the near future.

Pick up a minor you're interested in and one that will help you academically and professionally.

 

[CatLover91]

I think Spanish or business would be good- but really anything that you're interested in!

Speaking of Spanish- does anyone know of a good way to study Spanish without taking classes at my university? I took Spanish classes from middle school through Spanish 4 in college, but stopped there (several years ago). I don't want to be in a graded class, but I want to learn more!

 

[WildZoo]

I majored in Bio and English Writing (fiction track), minored in chemistry and lit. I'd say do something you enjoy, find interesting, or think will be useful. As long as you do well and meet the admission requirements, the specifics of what you did likely won't be super important, though it could lead to interesting interview conversations.

 

[cdo96]

Speaking of Spanish- does anyone know of a good way to study Spanish without taking classes at my university?

You could try either taking class at a local community college, or other language learning programs like Rosetta Stone!


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[pinkpuppy9]

I think Spanish or business would be good- but really anything that you're interested in!

Speaking of Spanish- does anyone know of a good way to study Spanish without taking classes at my university? I took Spanish classes from middle school through Spanish 4 in college, but stopped there (several years ago). I don't want to be in a graded class, but I want to learn more!

There's a free app called DuoLingo that's decent for learning the basics of a language. I'm not sure how fluent you could become with it.

 

[Osudairy]

You could try either taking class at a local community college, or other language learning programs like Rosetta Stone!


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+1 for Rosetta Stone! I second the business minor if you are thinking private practice. I wish I would have done something like that in hindsight. I minored in chemistry and biology.

 

[chemawho]

I majored in Animal Sciences and minored in Biology and German. I chose German mostly because I took it all through HS and it was easy to me, but it turned out to be the best choice I made for my undergrad studies. I ended up getting a TA position in German which gave me a lot of confidence and communication skills that I could talk about in my vet school application. It also helped me stand out among the candidates.

You never know what opportunities/experiences a class or degree will bring, but maybe choose something that you think you can apply to a goal you want to achieve or a part of your ultimate career choice? I eventually used my German experiences (and other TA experience) in my personal statement and interviews to say that it gave me an interest in pursuing academia in the vet med field. Make sure you choose something you can speak passionately about

 

[Coquette22]

I didn't have a minor, but I started as a BA student in journalism before I figured out I wanted to be a vet, so I had a lot of media/public relations and writing experience. I am now the go to person in the clinic for social media, public relations, copy-editing, etc.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I know a vet student who majored in medieval studies, which really has zero relevance to vet med. But she got in anyway because she met the requirements otherwise. I don't think major or minor is much of a consideration. Something like art might actually make your application stand out more if you use it to present yourself as a well-rounded, confident person.

Ha! I minored in history and most of the involved classes were in medieval history and literature. I loved it because it was a break from the science (I was a Biochem major with a Chem minor already )

OP, if you want a minor, worry more about it being something you want to do rather than just something that "looks good" If it is useful, all the better. I would imagine that some facets of art would actually help with anatomy.

 

[Glammyre]

Where's the love for mathematics?

I majored in biology and minored in biochemistry (it required only one additional course above my biology and pre-vet requirements) and mathematics (I thought it was fun). I think both of those majors made me more competitive for the research/public health track I'm aiming for.

I'll second everyone else to go for what you would enjoy doing. You'll stand out as an applicant, and you'll get exposure to other possible career paths.

 

[rockatiel]

Where's the love for mathematics?

Nope. Bye. Math never showed me any love!

 

[dyachei]

Where's the love for mathematics?

I majored in biology and minored in biochemistry (it required only one additional course above my biology and pre-vet requirements) and mathematics (I thought it was fun). I think both of those majors made me more competitive for the research/public health track I'm aiming for.

I'll second everyone else to go for what you would enjoy doing. You'll stand out as an applicant, and you'll get exposure to other possible career paths.

I was an astronomy minor. Lots of love for math, here.

 

[vetmedhead]

I'm minoring in Biomedical Sciences. I thought the classes looked like loads of fun and it was a great introduction to a lot of physiology concepts for me. However, I also really seriously considered minoring in one of the following: Statistics, Chemistry, History, Microbiology and English (ranked in order of my interest in them - I get excited about a lot of things and am legitimately sad that I don't have more money/time to go to school and get ten million degrees). It took me a very long time to pick a minor, but I'm really satisfied with the one I chose because I found it challenging and engaging. You can't really hurt yourself with a minor, so pick something you thing will be a good fit for you (and maybe useful in your life down the road, even if it's not strictly speaking useful to veterinary medicine specifically).

 

[vetmedhead]

Where's the love for mathematics?

I was an astronomy minor. Lots of love for math, here.

Math