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cubs11

cubs11

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  1. Pre-Veterinary
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how long did it take you all to complete your prereqs? i'm looking at 1 1/2 to 2 years right now. i know some completed them under a year, but i'm running into scheduling problems (some of the courses are only offered in the fall, etc.)...so it looks impossible to complete under a year.

i know there have been threads talking about whether or not the type of school matters (comm. college - ivy league) for where you complete your prereqs. but...does it matter if you attend more than one school to complete your prereqs?

the reason i ask is i'm taking most of my prereqs at one school, but another school close to me offers some of them in the summer (whereas the one i'll be attending doesn't). so i was planning on taking some courses at the other school as well. otherwise, it would take me over 2 years to complete the prereqs.

the vet i shadow is a nontrad. and she completed some of her prereqs at a comm. college then went to a university and completed the rest.
 
It took me 4 years of full-time school because I didn't yet have my B.S. I really don't think it matters if you get it done at different schools so long as the schools are all accredited by a recognized body.
 
After I got my BA at one school in a completely unrelated field, I took my pre-reqs at two different schools over 3 summer sessions (1.5 summers), 3 part-time semesters and 2 full-time semesters. Hope this helps.
 
Took me five years almost, going part-time to school while working full-time.

I did one science at a time, and did two courses over two different summers.
 
It took me 2.5 years and 4 schools to get it done. 3 of those semesters I only took 2 classes + labs (mostly due to scheduling) which is why it took a little longer than I planned. The first change of schools was from a formal post-bacc program in a big, expensive city to moving home, living with the folks and taking classes at the best local univ. The third school happened because of a scheduling conflict during a summer term. The fourth school was needed because Animal Nutrition wasn't offered locally so I needed to take it online.

The best advice I ever got from a very prominant equine vet at a teaching hospital was "I don't care where you go, just get A's"...
 
It took me 1 year straight through the summer. I only worked/volunteered part time and could not imagine doing it with a full time work schedule. Scheduling was strangely flexible due to the quarter system at Ohio State. Also, I had only science classes to take (starting from intro bio). Every once in a while you may have to get a pre-req override so you can take two classes at the same time (for example, I was able to take my last general chem with the first organic chem class).
 
so far its taken me about 4 years, working full time. the reason is because i have a BA in art from the 90s, luckily graduated in the top 5, and then decided to do this much later in life. i started out taking gen chem and physics at an 'elite' university in the evenings, had every intention of getting done in 2 years, but ended up getting Cs because i had never had classes so intense. i kept on anyway, even though reading this board sometimes is upsetting because everyone stresses the A's so much, makes me feel pretty inadequate. regardless, i decided to put off applying until i felt ready, take more upper level bio classes and get an animal related job. now i'm working in surgical research with various species, got my science GPA up to a 3.3 and applying this year. if all goes well i'll be starting in Fall '08 at 36 years old. wooot.
 
awesome, pigsfoot! good for you! yes, the vet schools focus too much on A's, too. but it sounds like you've got yourself lined up for an acceptance. congrats!

Pigsfoot said:
so far its taken me about 4 years, working full time. the reason is because i have a BA in art from the 90s, luckily graduated in the top 5, and then decided to do this much later in life. i started out taking gen chem and physics at an 'elite' university in the evenings, had every intention of getting done in 2 years, but ended up getting Cs because i had never had classes so intense. i kept on anyway, even though reading this board sometimes is upsetting because everyone stresses the A's so much, makes me feel pretty inadequate. regardless, i decided to put off applying until i felt ready, take more upper level bio classes and get an animal related job. now i'm working in surgical research with various species, got my science GPA up to a 3.3 and applying this year. if all goes well i'll be starting in Fall '08 at 36 years old. wooot.
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thanks, twosoakers! makes me happy:biglove::biglove::biglove: to hear that....snif.!
it has been a really, surprisingly long road-but not one that i am going to give up on!
 
i think that's one of the things i really like about this forum -- talking with both traditional students and nontraditional students, and seeing how different the paths are.

as a nontrad. student, it's encouraging to see those of you who started this journey young as well as those starting in your 30's and 40's. my philosophy is, it doesn't matter how late you start, but as long as you are able to do what you love, it makes it worth it.

my mom makes me feel like a failure because i'm starting my prereqs at 24...she's not supportive of this at all. she wouldn't be happy unless i attended law school, but that's not what i want to do at all!!! i'm finally putting my foot down and going in the direction i want to go. i'm finally putting myself in a position to fully commit to this process!

i appreciate the advice on this forum...from those of you currently working on prereqs/finishing degrees to those of you who were recently accepted/currently in vet school.
 
cubs11 said:
how long did it take you all to complete your prereqs? i'm looking at 1 1/2 to 2 years right now.

i know there have been threads talking about whether or not the type of school matters (comm. college - ivy league) for where you complete your prereqs. but...does it matter if you attend more than one school to complete your prereqs?
Click to expand...

It took me about 3 1/2 years to do all of my prereqs. I took one or two classes per semester, mostly at night, while working fulltime in my current field. I took two classes at a community college and the other nine at a public university. I was a sociology major during undergrad and grad, so didn't have any of the science background going into this.

I didn't focus much on where to take these classes (i.e. public v private), because I was very constrained by work (I had to take classes that would work with my schedule). Money was also a factor: I could have taken the prereqs at the private univ where i got my BA and MA, but it would have cost me $1000+ per credit for the 45 credits I needed to take, and that didn't make any financial sense.

I have to believe it is fairly common for nontrads to have transcripts from more than one college/univ. I certainly did, and none of the schools seemed to bat an eye.
 
How this sounds so familiar.....I was 24 when leaving law school after 1.2 yrs, and my family was very concerned. Some people told me I was crazy. Although our mothers must have wisdom in their years, it is really up to us. This advice seems so simple but seriously, I've read your other posts and you seem completely motivated. This is what you will be doing for your LIFE and shouldnt be taken lightly. Trust me, after you get in the complete groove of things, everyone will slowly accept it. After I got in, (even while I was half-way through my pre-reqs)it seems like everyone in my family see me as a future vet and have completely distanced their minds from me being a lawyer. Regardless of the others thought, I'm going to vet school and am at peace with myself. You should constantly remind yourself that you will be living with your decisions for yourself, the rest will just fall in place. If you ever need to talk, I can pm my phone/email...trust me, I COMPLETELY understand what youre going through and only wish I had this site at that time.
 
How long it will take you depends entirely on you and how far you are in some of your sequential courses as well as what school you are interested in.

For instance assuming you have taken, or place into Chem 1 and don't have to take Intro to Chem you are looking towards at least 4 semesters.

Chem -> Chem 2 -> O Chem -> O Chem 2

Many times schools don't offer courses during the summer (or even every semester) so you could be looking at upwards of at least 2 years just to finish your chem sequence.

The math sequence is the other long sequence if you have to start from scratch and can't place higher up already into Trig/Calc level.

Then you have to keep in mind that you may not be able to take all your classes at the same time. Bio 2/Chem 2/Physics 2/Calc for example would kick most people's butt at a total of 16 credit hours (including lab...) So you may have to push back other requirements.

I'd say a reasonable estimate might be 2 years of full-time study including summers.
 
cubs11 said:
my mom makes me feel like a failure because i'm starting my prereqs at 24...she's not supportive of this at all. she wouldn't be happy unless i attended law school, but that's not what i want to do at all!!! i'm finally putting my foot down and going in the direction i want to go. i'm finally putting myself in a position to fully commit to this process!
Click to expand...

good for you!!! you are still a babe-in-arms compared to some of us (age-wise), so please don't feel like you are late to the game. a couple of words i hope are encouraging: (1) your mom doesn't have to live with you the same way you have to live with you - she honestly just doesn't have a say anymore. thank her for her past support, and express your hope that she can someday support you in your future endeavors, but after that, let it go.... on your dying bed it will make all the difference in the world that you lived your life with passion; (2) the law school route makes sense, but if you are unhappy doing it (and i am of the age where i have lawyer friends in this situation), you are just going to end up pursuing something else anyway, which may make the whole law school thing seem like a waste of time.

basically, you have plenty of years left before you are over the hill - i'm starting a 7-year program the day i turn 33!! - and you are at the prime age to be following your passions and goals! you can and will do it!!!

(oh yeah, i started my pre-reqs fall of 2000, but i tacked on a second major while working two-three jobs and doing my own research on the side)
 
cubs11 said:
my mom makes me feel like a failure because i'm starting my prereqs at 24...she's not supportive of this at all. she wouldn't be happy unless i attended law school, but that's not what i want to do at all!!! i'm finally putting my foot down and going in the direction i want to go. i'm finally putting myself in a position to fully commit to this process!
Click to expand...

I don't want to be a mom-basher, but, my mom was never supportive of my dream to be a vet either. It wasn't her total fault that it took me so long to pursue this path, but she certainly didn't help nor make it any easier. In fact, it was a fight and argument the whole way, up until the day I got my acceptance letter.

So, for any non-trads who are NOT supported by parents (or family for that matter), hey, you're not alone, and don't give up on your dream.
 
I can't even imagine how hard it must be to have parents who don't support you. I'm so sorry. My parents wanted me to go so bad that they wouldn't stop harassing me about it. So when I finally got up the guts to reapply this year (I'd last applied 9 & 10yrs ago), I didn't tell them because I knew I couldn't handle telling them I'd been rejected again.
That meant that when I DID tell them I got in this year, they just about hit the floor! My mom flew back to Iowa a couple of weeks ago to look at houses for me (and she found one, we just bought it yesterday!), and she surprised me with this picture
http://render2.snapfish.com/render2...?*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXPlJ|Rup6lQQ|/of=50,590,442
god I love my mom.
So if ya'll want to share a supportive mom, give mine a ring : )
 
I thought I knew how to post pictures.... sorry gang
 
this is why i love vet med... people are in this field b/c they love it (for the most part).
to those of you who are older and just now following your dream- good for you! you all make me smile. i just feel lucky that i knew what i wanted to do when i was a kid.
to those of you who have unsupportive/unenthusiastic family members- just let them down gently that you don't really care what they think and you are following your calling (even though you do really care what they think 😳). it takes a lot of balls to follow this path without every person you love supporting you. my parents cried (happy tears) when i told them i was accepted this year. and my awesome hubby is halting his career to come with me to vet school.
as for the answer to this post (even though i'm not a nontrad)- i graduated high school in 2003 and spent 4 years getting a BS and getting all my pre reqs. i chose to get a degree just in case it took me a while to get into vet school, even though i technically could have applied earlier if i planned it that way. ok- enough of that. good luck to everyone.... soon you'll be done with pre-reqs and getting your acceptance call!!!
 
for those non trads that worked full-time and took classes part time, if you could go back, would you do it again? right now i'm debating quitting my job, taking out a loan and going to classes full time at the community college. i've already signed up for a summer course, and have some planned for the fall. but i've got so many to do after this one that i'm afraid i'll lose my momentum doing classes part time for a long time....
 
i would do it again, definitely-even though working full time and taking classes part time was (and still is!) really difficult, exhausting and patience taxing, i think the momentum is good and will carry over into the full time vet program. I also have gotten a lot out of my job experience the last few years, and nothing beats working at a university where you can get a large discount off tuition. i probably wouldnt want to take out loans for prereqs knowing i'm going to have some mongo loans to pay off from vet school also.
the thing i WOULDN'T do again is take chemistry and physics first after about, 7 years of not being in school, and not taking algebra beforehand. i was poorly advised.
 
I am with pigsfoot... I worked a full time and part time job this year and took 4 pre-reqs (orgo 1&2, biochem, and genetics)... It definitely sucked and I never had any nights free (labs, lectures, studying) and 2 of the classes I had to take at a school 1.5 hours from my house since that is the only place I could find them offered at night... but I think it was great training for vet school 🙂 I am hoping next year will not come as such a shock to the system! I also took orgo concurrently with biochem which was a little rough (and those were the first classes I had taken in over 4 years... and last chemistry class I took was 8 years ago!!) But I was able to pull it off..lowest grade was an A- :hardy:

My advice, if you can, start off with something a little easier to wean yourself back into the whole school thing 🙂 Unfortunately I did have to take out some loans as the classes totaled around $5000 which I didnt have... so I took out $2500 in loans... but much better than having to take out a lot of loans if I had quit my job...

Working full time can also help you get into vet school... some, like CSU, specifically ask you to fill out if you worked while in school and how many hours you worked and what your courseload was... I worked full time all through undergrad, grad school, and the pre-reqs I had to take and I think that was a huge reason why I got into CSU...

good luck!!
 
I would've quit my job and done the school thing full-time, but I really didn't want to risk losing my career, not having money to help pay my mortgage, and possibly NOT get into vet school.

I kept the momentum going for nearly five years, through two application cycles. I had to remind myself of the goal many, many times. I had a check list of pre-req's, and I just kept going down the list, one at a time.

CSU was the only school that really took the time to ask about the balance of work and school on their application. I didn't get into CSU, but I believe it's because my GRE, and possibly GPA too, weren't competitive enough for them.

The other replies are correct in that, if you rack up undergrad debt, it will just add to your total debt load later. Because I did my courses one at a time, while working, I was able to swing the tuition that much better.
 
when you're in the groove of a semester it seems normal. work...school...homework, school...work....school...lab, school....work...homework. i worked almost full time 30-35 hr/week and went to school 14-16 credit hr/week. i wouldn't have changed it. i never had to take out a loan b/c i worked so hard and got vet experience all in one. now that it is summer and all i do is work and bum out, i don't know how i did it 😉
 
You should be careful though. You probably want to take that chemistry class when you first get in because most schools won't let you take biochem and orgo concurrently. Chemistry classes make up your longest chain of prereqs. You have to take 2 semester of gen chem before you take 2 semesters of orgo before you take 1 or 2 semesters of biochem.
 
sofficat said:
when you're in the groove of a semester it seems normal. work...school...homework, school...work....school...lab, school....work...homework. i worked almost full time 30-35 hr/week and went to school 14-16 credit hr/week. i wouldn't have changed it. i never had to take out a loan b/c i worked so hard and got vet experience all in one. now that it is summer and all i do is work and bum out, i don't know how i did it 😉
Click to expand...

This sounds like my life - except that I am 19 years into a career as I embark on this dream (yep - I'm likely to be the most chronologically gifted in my class when I start vet school - hopefully in 2008). My weekly schedule during the fall and spring has been: working 40-45 hours, shadowing/volunteering 8-10 hrs, classes (9-10 semester hrs), labs, homework, etc. (And my husband, dogs, sheep, cats and llama haven't even left me 🙂) This summer I am not taking any classes and I can't believe how "easy" it is at work now!
 
I needed to work to keep my 3 kids in the afterschool program, so leaving work for school was not an option for me.
I scheduled, scheduled, scheduled, and took my books everywhere. I made sure I knew what I was doing, and where I was supposed to be months in advance.
At one point, I had two jobs, three kids, a husband, a large, allergy ridden dog, and 15hrs for the semester. 🙄
It worked out fine, for me.
 
Put me in the camp of worked full time (32-37hrs/week) and school full-time. Heck, my last year and a half saw me doing full-time work still and a staggering 18-32 credit hours of classes (and two schools who didn't know I was taking that many classes at once). Thank god for online classes, but talk about hating life!

If you think about it, there is a lot of wasted time for those who don't work and simply attend classes. I guess as I've become a bit older time management has gotten a bit easier and I'm not as interested in wandering around campus all day hanging out with people, that's what weekends and work are for! 😛~

Besides, I'm really looking forward to the 'downtime' of vet school, I figure that since I am already used to a minimum amount of sleep I should be good to go. It's just that darn living on student loan thing I'm worried about. I haven't done that, well... ever.
 
the thing i like most about this board is that the enthusiasm and stamina i find here...i just have to get the thought in my mind, that if i really want it, i'll make it happen...i really don't want to go into any more debt, so i guess the best idea is to just start and do my best along the way...

another question for those out there who work while taking classes...where are you working? are you all working as a vet tech or assistant, or are squeezing in animal experience anywhere you can?

thanks so much for all this advice! similar to the above string, my dad doesn't seem to support my decision. i'm sure it's because he fears the debt i'll accrue, and the fact acceptance isn't a sure thing. i know it's something i want to do, hands down. it's just really hard for me to figure out what's the best way to do it...
 
I'm working as a tech. Granted I didn't start out getting paid great. The pay in Florida, let alone college town with a vet school is ridiculous. I think the starting pay (For a non-licensed tech) around town for most is only in the $7-$8/hr range. While it isn't bad, you can make a lot more money doing other things.

There are tons of ways to make the 'dream' happen without worrying about the debt. In the end it will come down to the choices you make. You could start a family in vet school, or right after... or you could wait until you have your finances in order. You could work at Banfield right out of school and make $100k/year or you could stick to the "Moral high ground" and not "sell out" to corporate medicine (or you could try to make a difference by actually working from within the system.. *shrug* that's another debate). You have the choice to adopt a dozen animals that you will need to spend money and time on or you could leave the cute puppy in the animal control cage because someone else -will- adopt it.

Basically it's not all about the money and the classes needed to survive through vet school it really is a life that you need to plan out or at least look at as you make choices in life.
 
so this is my idea on taking out loans for vet school...

right now my husband and i live fine on about 20-25K a year. if i end up taking out 100K in loans and start at 50K a year as a vet, then my husband and i can continue to live on 25K a year and get our loans paid off in 4 years. makes sense, right?
i guess you just have to prioritize what you think is important. i won't be able to buy a house or a car or do anything elaborate for 4 years, but then i won't have to pay off loans for 20 years.
 
Nexx said:
If you think about it, there is a lot of wasted time for those who don't work and simply attend classes.
Click to expand...

...or a lot of time for volunteering/shadowing to gain experience (that's not wasted time). 😀😉
 
"Ditto" on the "it can be done" thots,... and the "using of time for shadowing/experience." Probably the real take home message is that old adage - "Where there is a will there is a way." Time management is critical and is a skill that can and will most definitely be honed by circumstances like those we non-trads are facing - albeit unique for each of us.

The really cool thing about being a non-trad is that you have so much focus (on most days anyway), and you are able to see it thru the pre-req's (even those that you don't particularly care for 🙄). And, as stated before, this has gotta help to put us in pretty good shape for handling the rigors of vet school - right?!? 😉

I wish for each of you the best as you see your dreams realized! (Trad and non-trad alike!)
 
sofficat said:
so this is my idea on taking out loans for vet school...

right now my husband and i live fine on about 20-25K a year. if i end up taking out 100K in loans and start at 50K a year as a vet, then my husband and i can continue to live on 25K a year and get our loans paid off in 4 years. makes sense, right?
Click to expand...

Don't forget the government's cut of that 50k before you start counting!
 
cubs11 said:
how long did it take you all to complete your prereqs? i'm looking at 1 1/2 to 2 years right now. i know some completed them under a year, but i'm running into scheduling problems (some of the courses are only offered in the fall, etc.)...so it looks impossible to complete under a year.
Click to expand...

Hiya Cubs!

I have a BSME, so I didn't have ANY Bio pre-reqs, and since UF was my #1 choice, I had a pile of very specific prerecs to get, and a bit of "damage control" to do.

I had orginally figured on about a year and a half. As I got into it, I found that I enjoyed school, got involved with some research, so I decided to strech it out a bit. I'm at the 1 1/2 year point now, and I figure I will be done in December, for a total of 2 years. I might take a class or two afterwards for more "damage control", but it depends.

But personally, I decided I didn't want to stress and do things in a panic, so I dialed back my schedule to take the extra time to enjoy the work and life a little bit.

I haven't done any shadowing or volunteer work. Those opportunities are plentiful where I live, and grades, to me, are far, far more important. The plan is to finish school, and then hit that requirement as full time as I can make it.

I managed to make enough cash in a previous life to go to school full time and not work (well, I do TA, but thats a bit different). Coughing up for vet school will be another matter entirely. I'm not keen to go into a pile of debt at 39, so I am targeting my instate school (UF).

Good luck to you!

Best,
Oldie
 
thank you! and good luck to you as you start your final semester. 🙂
 
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