P.A. or Vet School and Post-Bac Programs

Started by Rubia2029
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
R

Rubia2029

New Member
10+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I'm trying to decide between going to vet school or applying for a Physician Asst. program. I was a Spanish major at Georgetown with a solid GPA and almost no science experience, so I'm definitely going to need a post-bac program (a formal and not a DIY program is better for someone like me), but I'm not sure what program would be the best fit for either of these paths. The disadvantages of vet school for me are length of time and lack of schools (there's a vet school in my state, GA, but I really, really don't want to be in GA), and my main disadvantage of applying to PA school is my nontraditional major/undergrad path and no paid job experience as an EMT, nurse's aide, etc. I do have over 900 hours of patient experience and shadowing in an orthodontist office, 6 months volunteering as a bilingual customer service rep in a children's hospital, and hundreds of hours in an animal shelter and intake clinic (including giving vaccines). Can any of you please provide me with some advice on either career path, including post-bac program recommendations, my chances of getting in with my background, etc.? Thanks so much!
 
As far as I know, clinical experience doesn't need to be paid. Sounds like you have plenty of it! That's how it generally goes for med school, at least. I'd recommend posting in one of the pre-vet forums (I think there's one here) to get more info about a post-bac for vet school specifically. Georgetown does have a well-known formal post-bac program, but it's super expensive and definitely specific for pre-med students rather than pre-vet.

And before you go any further, you should probably figure out whether you want to work with humans or animals, haha.
 
Last edited:
And before you go any further, you should probably figure out whether you want to work with humans or animals, haha.
Click to expand...

Yes, I would say that is probably the most important step right now... you need lots of veterinary and animal experience to get into vet school (shadowing vets, working at a clinic, working with a large variety of animals). Also expect to explain "why vet" to the adcomm, given you're only just starting to pursue it now. So maybe start off in your basic science courses (org chem, physics etc) and get some vet shadowing experience while you make up your mind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.