pre-vet to pre-med?

[Valerie13]

I was always planning of applying to vet school but now I am sitting on the fence between human medicine and veterinary medicine. The problem is, all of my medical experience is related to veterinary medicine. I have volunteered at the humane society, at a wildlife rehabilitation centre, have volunteered/worked at two animal hospital, and volunteered at a a therapeutic horse riding centre for kids with cerebral palsy. Also, I am planning on asking vets to be two of my recommendations...

I don't know what my exact gpa is (I am canadian and my school doesn't use that scale) but my average is a low 90. I have yet to take the MCAT.

So, what do you think about my situation? Should I bother applying to med school considering my extra curriculars?

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[loo]

Have you applied to vet school? Were you rejected? Is med school your backup? Why the big switch?

 

[Valerie13]

I haven't applied to either yet.

The situation is, I am in Ontario, Canada and there is only one vet school in Canada that I can apply to because each province caters to their own residences. I can apply to vet schools in the states, but would not be able to go considering how expensive it would be for me in American dollars. So I am considering applying to med school while I apply to vet school, and then see what happens. Basically, human medicine would be an alternative to vet med, not necessairily a back-up. I am interested in specializing in veterinary pathology, and if I were to go through med school I would specialize in pathology as well. As well, in both cases I am interested in research. Since pathology has many applications that incorporate both human research and animal research, especially now with mad cow disease and west nile, I think both the med school and vet school route would bring me to the same end.

Any suggestions????

 

[maswe12]

I was in a very similar situation. I spent all my undergrad years doing veterinary stuff, then I graduated and decided to do med school. I just liked the medicine with people alot better. I was afraid with all of my activities, but I figure I will be a different sort of applicant. I did volunteer quite a bit in high school but I cant really put that in applications. I think if you explain your situation in your personal statement they will understand--as long as you have some sort of understanding of what human medicine is like.

 

[loo]

Valerie13,

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. I think you have great EC's that should be included and talked about in your personal statement. The fact that you have a lot of vet experience is great and it shows you have compassion, perseverence, and patience--three necessary attributes of either profession. I would be prepared to answer the inevitable question med schools will ask--why not vet school?

Good luck!