Please advise me!

[amorecondannato]

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Well, as some of you already know I'm currently enrolled in a veterinary technician program. I have a very important question, though. Since my experience thus far is limited to technical school, or as Hyacinth Bucket (Pronounced Bouquet...I hope at least some of ya'll get that reference!) ''a polytechnic of university status!''...anyway, since my college career has been limited to that thus far, how flexible are University classes? I'd hate to work through this AAS degree then have to argue with admissions clerks and only get a few credits accepted, then go through four more years of school...and not be able to work as a veterinary technician due to time constraints on trying to get my BS out of the way for Vet School. I'm sure there's part-time employment in some vet offices, but I'd really like to work full-time and maybe attend night classes towards a four year degree. The only problem would come in with certain classes not being offered at night, and HAVING to work part-time or as needed...which wouldn't hash out very well since I think I've passed the thresh hold into being considered a non-traditional student. SO, my question is for everyone currently attending a University, are four-year schools of higher learning pretty flexible offering multiple times of various classes?😕

 

[lailanni]

I've just graduated from a large state school. Generally, it was fairly flexible for the intro classes. They had some evening sections and usually a few different class times for the larger classes. They also had some online classes. For the upper level classes, there were only a few sections at specific times, not usually in the evening.

I would suggest looking at a community college. They have great evening sections, are less expensive, and the smaller class size is nice. I know several people who have started at community college, then went to the university for the upper level classes not offered at CC.

You'll want to check with the vet schools you are interested in. Some are particular about getting credit from a 4 year vs a CC. If you're lucky, you can knock out a lot of classes at a CC in the evening - gen chem, o-chem, physics, math, some bio. You may have to go to a 4 year for biochem, micro-bio, genetics, etc.

In summary: usually more flexible the large intro classes, not so flexible for the upper level classes. At least where I'm from.

 

[twelvetigers]

Same here. Any of the upper division courses were fairly limited - biochem and orgo were only offered at one time, both morning or afternoon. You might have to try and work around some things, but I don't think it would be impossible. Research what the schools you'd like to apply for will need, and look at how many different times those classes are offered at nearby colleges you'd consider. I think that's about allyou can do besides looking into online or correspondence sourse possibilities. Again, though, check with the vet schools and make sure they'll take those types of credit.

I would just take it one step at a time, personally.

I did get the Hyacinth reference. Woo, PBS!

 

[mdnghtdnc]

I am also a licensed veterinary technician. I got my tech degree in order to pay my way through my pre-vet requirements which ended up being a BS degree. I worked part-time through the school term and full-time through the summer. My boss was very good about scheduling around my class times. You may want to consider trying to find a place like this. If you only take night classes it will double the amount of time you take to get your BS degree so that is also something to consider. Most schools do not offer a large variety of night schools, and usually offer the differnt classes at the same time. This was just my experience though......

 

[CanadianGolden]

My university is not flexible at all. Generally, each intro class is offered at one time (ie intro chem is always at 9 am, organic chem is always at 10, etc). However, the vet clinic where I worked had two shifts; 8-4 and 12-7. I would have been able to take classes in the morning and still work the afternoon shift, and since the classes were just 3 days a week my work schedule would still have been flexible.

 

[Steelmagghia]

It really depends on the university as to how flexible the classes are.
I live in a city with...three universities and one community college.
I go to one of the small private universities and my classes are not flexible at all. They really try to work with you on accepting credits, but some of my ani sci classes were offered at one time only every other year. (Like nutrition is only offered in spring of even years, and there is only one class time on those years.) Night classes are pretty much limited as well.
My sister, though, attends the large state funded university and her classes are fairly flexible, especially the intro ones.
So you kind of have to check your particular school.
That being said, many of the vet techs at the vet's office I worked at worked part time or full time between classes and attended classes full time.

 

[cateyes]

I currently work at a community college in sciences..we do offer classes both during the day/at night/on weekends....the only courses that we don't offer (that i can think of off of the top of my head) is (aside from any animal science specifics) biochem- and they're working to add that in within the next two semesters.
All of the other courses- are offered at night and on weekends...as well as in the summer.
It will probably take you longer if you go this route though- only because you can only take so many night/weekend classes.
Also, definitely check with the school as to their requirements. I took most of my prerequisites at a two year school as it was cost effective, and when it came to this application cycle a bunch of schools had a problem with them. Some of them were easily cleared up with course syllabi (Wisconsin and Cornell come to mind) while others flat out refused to take some of my courses (Illinois and Iowa). Of course, this happened with some of the courses from my four year school too, so it's definitely school dependent.
I'd just check with the schools that your interested in before you take the course to make sure that they'll accept it if you go this route.

 

[banditalfi]

Well, as some of you already know I'm currently enrolled in a veterinary technician program. I have a very important question, though. Since my experience thus far is limited to technical school, or as Hyacinth Bucket (Pronounced Bouquet...I hope at least some of ya'll get that reference!) ''a polytechnic of university status!''...anyway, since my college career has been limited to that thus far, how flexible are University classes? I'd hate to work through this AAS degree then have to argue with admissions clerks and only get a few credits accepted, then go through four more years of school...and not be able to work as a veterinary technician due to time constraints on trying to get my BS out of the way for Vet School. I'm sure there's part-time employment in some vet offices, but I'd really like to work full-time and maybe attend night classes towards a four year degree. The only problem would come in with certain classes not being offered at night, and HAVING to work part-time or as needed...which wouldn't hash out very well since I think I've passed the thresh hold into being considered a non-traditional student. SO, my question is for everyone currently attending a University, are four-year schools of higher learning pretty flexible offering multiple times of various classes?😕

First things first - I AM SO HAPPY YOU KNOW KEEPING UP APPEARANCES!!! When I know my mom is calling I answer my phone, "______ residence, lady of the house speaking!" man... I could go on forever...

Secondly, I have no answer to your question 🙁

 

[Rebeki]

First things first - I AM SO HAPPY YOU KNOW KEEPING UP APPEARANCES!!! When I know my mom is calling I answer my phone, "______ residence, lady of the house speaking!"...

I didn't know there were so many fans of the show...I do the same thing to my husband, it cracks us up

As for the OP....I'm not sure where you are located, but I worked at an emergency clinic where I worked three 12 hour shifts/week and was considered full-time. You may be able to find something similar. In general I think that 24 hour clinics would be something to look into as they would be more likely to be able to give you evening and weekend hours and be flexible enough that you would be able to take classes.

 

[pupsforseeing]

As Rebeki mentioned, you might have the best luck finding a 24 hour clinic if you need flexibility with hours. This will allow you to work evenings/nights and weekends as your school schedule allows. I've been working at a 24 hour specialty/emergency hospital for the last year and it has been a great experience. I been exposed to a whole different caliber of medicine, and the scheduling aspect of it has been great, too (despite working Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day 🙂).

 

[twelvetigers]

For clarity, I said my lower division classes were flexible, and they are. However, I attend Oklahoma State University, one of the Big 12. So, it's not small by any means, and any classes I take for credit won't be argued about.

 

[cateyes]

For clarity, I said my lower division classes were flexible, and they are. However, I attend Oklahoma State University, one of the Big 12. So, it's not small by any means, and any classes I take for credit won't be argued about.

I never meant your courses were debatable...it was more that you had a good point when you mentioned checking with individual schools about requirements, because I had run into trouble 🙄 Sorry about that!

 

[david594]

I am at a 20k student university and honestly... its not very flexible at all. Even for courses as basic as bio 100. Most of our lab based science courses have 1 or 2 lecture options which will have upwards of 300 students in them. Then there will be 15-20 lab sections with a variety of time options.

I work two jobs to put me at 40 ish hours a week. During the week I am part time at a medium size clinic(4 doctors, 20 ish employees) and they are really great about accommodating my student schedule. As such though I do also end up going in for a bunch of little 3-4 hour shifts to close at night,or cover mornings when someone else calls out. With careful planning its also possible to free up a couple full days a week which then opens up much more time for work.

My second job is (no suprise here) working at a 24 hour emergency clinic. They are actually very college student friendly. The place is so big and they have so many people that they can accommodate crazy student schedules fairly nicely. For the longest time they had a listing on their website saying they are always hiring techs and that it can be great experience for pre-vet students.

 

[twelvetigers]

I never meant your courses were debatable...it was more that you had a good point when you mentioned checking with individual schools about requirements, because I had run into trouble 🙄 Sorry about that!

No, no! I just was pointing out that I probably had more flexibility with class times based on the school I attended. I wasn't arguing with anything you said. 🙂

 

[Steelmagghia]

I've noticed a lot of people saying their large schools are not as flexible, and I had pointed out earlier that in my town, the large university has larger classes.
I just wanted to add that, if the larger school didn't have more flexible classes, my small private school is definitely better at working with you. I did independent studies for a couple of my vet school required classes and just replaced some of my requirements with other classes. When I switched to a Bio major from an Ani Sci major, it was very simple to replace the bio classes required with my ani sci classes.