Pre-Vet schools

[phoenixtears91]

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Hey everyone, I am going to be a senior in a high school where I graduate with my AA degree. I’m going to be entering the school I choose to transfer into as a junior, so once I get there transferring is not going to happen.

I love animals and I am currently volunteering at a Wildlife center. I plan on volunteering more when I turn 18 in 2 months.
My question is about schools. I live in Florida so I would have to go to UF’s vet school. I know they accept 40 students from UF and the other 40 from other state schools. I heard I would have a better chance of getting into the vet school if I went to UF for my undergraduate degree. Is that true?
The thing is, I fell in love with UCF. At UCF I wouldn’t be able to major in Animal Sciences like I would at UF, but I would still take as many animal classes as I can. Would I still have a good chance of getting into UF Vet School if I don’t go to UF?

 

[bunnity]

Living in Florida doesn't mean you HAVE to go to UF for vet school. You would have the best chance of getting in there, but you are allowed to go to other schools too.

I think going to UF for college might give you a small advantage just because you would be able to meet people that worked in the vet school, volunteer at the vet school, or get letters of recommendation from people that knew admissions committee members. On the other hand, towns with vet schools tend to be pretty saturated with vet and pre-vet students so you might have better opportunities to get cool experience at UCF since you wouldn't be competing with all the other vet hopefuls. I think it would be worth calling up UF Vet and asking how much your undergrad school would affect your application.

 

[nyanko]

If UF is anything like out here at UCD, the only reason that more people from that school get into vet school there is that more people from that school apply to vet school there than from anywhere else. Simply going to the school likely won't help your application much, assuming you get the same grades and take the (ballpark) same classes as you would at UCF.

However as bunnity said, going there would give you one advantage - networking. Obviously at a university with a vet school there are more opportunities to work in veterinary medicine in general, and in particular to work with and get to know professors and advisers that will be able to help you out more than somewhere like UCF. That is where the advantage lies.

Ultimately you need to go wherever you think you'll be able to excel, though. Your institution in general isn't as important as what you do there. If you can truly stand out at UCF, that's probably better than just being one of 200 average pre-vet students at UF. Just my opinion, though.

Oh, and go Knights! (I'm a UCF alum! )

 

[spikey]

I can't speak for UF, but as far as Penn goes, being an instater is what can make the difference. Not really the school you come from, but if you're from PA, you have a much higher chance of being accepted than if you are an out-of-stater.

Anybody currently in UF have advice to share on this?

 

[hipxtobesquare]

Hey I'm new here but I am a student in Florida and I have a word of advice. UCF is not the best place for you to get an education in Florida. I'm an FSU student, and even I recommend UF well over UCF for any major. UF has a wealth of resources available to you that UCF does not, especially for vet med. If you go to UF, you'll be able to take the animal science courses you need (and some you may just be interested in). FSU also offers animal science courses through its coopoerative program with FAMU. If you'll be starting college as a junior, you'll need to be more focused and dedicated than your roommates and friends. Your classes will be more difficult than theirs will be. You will more likely find students in similar situations to yourself in the honors dorms of UF and FSU, where the admissions are more competitive.
On a more personal note, I know about 5 people who loved UCF when they went to check it out, my boyfriend included, and ended up transferring out after freshman year utterly disappointed. The little things you swear won't matter to you sometimes do. UCF is a HUGE school (5th largest in the nation I think) and you'll see large class sizes even in upper-level courses. This is even more of a problem in larger majors like biology.
If you're dead set on going to UCF, find a friend who goes there, or see if admissions will let you sit in on a lecture you will be taking as a student, that way you can make a more informed decision.

EDIT: I don't by any means mean that UCF is a bad school, but it has definitely gotten bigger in the past few years. With budget cuts already happening and good professors leaving the state, you'll be better off somewhere where that will be less of a problem. UCF lets more people in, it's a bigger sea to swim in.

 

[twelvetigers]

I think an education is what you make of it, though. I go to a big 12 school and the class sizes are pretty large, but I've never found that to be too prohibitive. Roommates could be a problem even as a freshman - it depends on who you get and whether you get along or not.

It is good to know, however, that some schools in Florida have more resources available for pre-vet students. 🙂

 

[sofficat]

GO WHEREVER YOU WANT TO GO!!!!

I'm from Florida, I went to USF (loved it), applied to 5 vet schools, got in at Auburn and not Florida. Sure, knowing a few people at the UF vet school may help, but don't go there JUST because you MIGHT have a better chance of getting in there. If you love UF, if you love Gainesville, if you want to be there for 6 + years (if you get in), then pick UF. If you want to live in Orlando and go to UCF and get a few more life experiences by living someplace different- do it.
Or look at it this way- if you DON'T get into UF- will it be worth it to do your undergrad there if will you have always wanted to go to UCF. I like UCF. I think they are a fine school.
Do what you want to do. Consider what will make you happy, where you want to live, what you want to do when you are not studying. No one will be able to tell you what is right or wrong for you. Go with your gut.

 

[bunnity]

My very good friend went to UCF and liked it.
Personally I loved my huge undergrad and don't like small classes. I like to just sit back and absorb the material... and not have to have discussions.

Different schools are good for different people; that's why there are 20,000 of them in this country alone.

 

[nyanko]

Hey I'm new here but I am a student in Florida and I have a word of advice. UCF is not the best place for you to get an education in Florida. I'm an FSU student, and even I recommend UF well over UCF for any major. UF has a wealth of resources available to you that UCF does not, especially for vet med. If you go to UF, you'll be able to take the animal science courses you need (and some you may just be interested in). FSU also offers animal science courses through its coopoerative program with FAMU.

How do you know what the best place for an individual who is not you is to get an education? There are disadvantages to going to a school with a vet school too, such as more competition for local veterinary jobs for experience. UCF has Disney World, Sea World Orlando, and other nearby opportunities that UF doesn't, for people who may be interested in something outside of small/large animal medicine. You just have to be motivated to find these opportunities yourself rather than having them fed to you through the curriculum. This is not a bad thing.

If you'll be starting college as a junior, you'll need to be more focused and dedicated than your roommates and friends. Your classes will be more difficult than theirs will be. You will more likely find students in similar situations to yourself in the honors dorms of UF and FSU, where the admissions are more competitive.

🙄 I started at UCF as a second bachelors degree student, enrolled in the Honors in the Major program, and had no difficulty meeting and making friends with people who were "focused and dedicated." You'll find people who are like that everywhere, as well as people who just want to go out and drink every night. That is not in the least bit exclusive to UF.

UCF is a HUGE school (5th largest in the nation I think) and you'll see large class sizes even in upper-level courses. This is even more of a problem in larger majors like biology.

UCF is up to 3rd in the country I think as of Fall 2009. But guess what? UF isn't really that far behind, and probably has just as many (if not more!) biology majors and adds on animal science majors to boot. At UCF, in my upper division biology/molecular biology and microbiology courses I never had a problem with "large class sizes," or at least the downfalls typically associated with them. Even in the lower division courses that were huge, I knew my professors, they knew who I was, I felt like if I needed anything I could approach them. Again, it's all in what you make of it.

If you're dead set on going to UCF, find a friend who goes there, or see if admissions will let you sit in on a lecture you will be taking as a student, that way you can make a more informed decision.

You can certainly do this if you want, but judging a school by one lecture is pretty poor IMO.

EDIT: I don't by any means mean that UCF is a bad school

 

[troublemaker]

I think each of the big 3 in FL have specific programs that are the best. I don't think it's fair to look at UF, FSU, and UCF and say one is the best overall. I went to UCF to be a technical writer because it had the best program. A friend of mine went to FSU because it had the best film program. I also chose UCF over UF because of internship/work opportunities. I interned at Disney, Publix, 3 hospitals, Sun Microsystems, and Siemens and had a FT position offered to me before I had a diploma. You can't get that at UF. UCF has a VERY competent internship department and even posts internships attained through the school on your transcript.

The only downside to UCF is the majority of students live off-campus, so there's not the community setting that UF or FSU have. I would also agree that networking within UF is important in order to get into the DVM program. The 3 people I know who went into the DVM program at UF went to UF for their undergrad in either animal sciences or biology, however I went to school there 10 years ago, and a lot has changed. If I still lived in FL and knowing I want to get into a Vet program, I would attend UF. I always felt sorry for the under grads who dormed there, as some of the dorms don't have A/C, but that's the price you sometimes pay! The Honors dorms, however, are very nice!

 

[JuniorJumper]

I'll put my 2 cents in for UF. This is my 4th year here as an animal science major & I have loved the program. The hands-on you get in some of the classes is something that I have really enjoyed. I've had the chance to sit in on graduate level seminars for class credit, do research for a vet school professor, and of course if you come here you get to be part of the Gator Nation with the #1 football team in the country 🙂 Our pre-vet club is also a great opportunity to network and gain hands-on animal experience. We have Operation Catnip once a month which is a TNR program. If you are rabies vaccinated, this is a good opportunity to get hands-on experience but even if you are non-vaccinated, there are good networking opportunities by volunteering at some of the clinics. The vet school is currently re-doing the small animal hospital and a big parking garage was just built across the street to make parking for medical students a little easier.

There are drawbacks to going to any large school though. For UF, advising is really lacking. It has improved since I was a freshman, but it's still not great. The classes are big; even the animal science classes have 60+ people in them at a time. Getting a paying job at a hospital is definitely hard if 1) you have no previous experience and 2) you don't know anyone that currently works there and can put a word in for you. It is very much about networking and working your way up because jobs in hospitals are high demand. On the other hand, Gainesville has SO many clinics for the size of the town, so persistence will eventually pay off 🙂