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Oh that's great that you are teching already! I am hoping that my "maturity" will not only help me get in, but help me succeed in school along the way!
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Severe Pre-Vet Stress*
Started by PinkLonghornDVM
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Oh LIS you are a guy? Well this is a nice perspective!! Very interesting. I give you a ton of credit for getting through vet school with 3 kids and a wife - very impressive!!! Would love to hear about your experiences on that front. Was it more challenging for you? So totally open to compromise. I would actually be open to taking a break after school to have kids before getting a job. I was just wondering if this would negatively impact my getting a job when I am ready. Would employers look at this badly because I will have been out of school for a couple years but have no work experience? I would consider having a kid in school... I can't see how anyone does that though - aren't you super busy in school without having a child to care for? I would love to hear input on this matter from anyone who has had a baby while In vet school and how it worked out. I think getting Bs instead of As would be a good compromise. I have started that this semester with Biochem which is pretty much my last prereq. Have a B right now since I've been spending more time with The bf and family. I figure that vet schools won't really factor this semesters grades into their decision making so it's probably fine if I get a B instead of an A - especially since it's just one preq - does anyone have any thoughts on that though?
Wtf - I haven't had luck with ldr either... Was ldr for 2 years with my ex who I met while studying aboard at university of St. Andrews. Pretty miserable.... I'm happy your current engagement is working out - you are fortunate that his job situation was such that he was inclined to move! Makes things much simpler.
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Personally, I have no CLUE how some women manage to have kids in school, and it would be very low on my list of good ideas. But they do. Heck, Lissarae is around SDN, she did it.
It may impact employment, realistically. That's arguably not fair, but it's life.
I'd avoid getting B's now - save the "less than A's" for in vet school when it no longer matters as much.
What type of medicine are you interested in? If it's equine you need to factor in the need to do an internship after school.
My experiences aren't as exciting because my wife is, for now, a stay at home mom and manages the kids. It's relatively low-impact, most days, to me. That said, they're always their worst on nights before exams.
I was LDR with the now husband for 1.5 years from the start of vet school. We were engaged at the time. It worked for us but we MADE it work. And I did try to apply near to where he was in order to make travel less onerous. Good luck!
No equine for me! Small animal. Oh man, you mean I have to start trying harder in biochem? 🙁 tear* it's so miserable.
If you don't mind my asking - how are you handling the finances of vet school if your wife is stay at home? You don't have to answer if you don't want... I was just curious.
Hehehe. No you can probably get a b on biochem. Especially if yer grades are otherwise good.
I had a 15-yr telecom career before this, so we're living on savings. Which blows. I'll be pretty much out by the end, other than retirement accounts.
Your story is inspiring! There may be hope just yet... I'm glad it worked out for you and your husband. thanks for sharing!
Hey! Remember when I was like "I'll never get in with a C on my transcript!"?
What? I'm not sayin' you can't get in with Cs or Bs.... I'm just sayin'.... the lower the GPA the more hurdle you have to jump, so it's probably better for her for now to keep crushing it GPA-wise, ya know? Once yer in vet school, meh, who cares.
And really, the last thing I want to do is encourage a pre-vet to slack off on the pre-reqs. Then I'd feel sorta bad when they're back here a year from now saying "I didn't get in and the admissions people said it was grades. LIS promised me it wouldn't matter."
And, she didn't really say what her GPA is. If she's sitting on a 4.0, then hell yes, blow it off and take the B. If she's sitting a 2.9 ... then no, that grade ought to be an A. 🙂
So pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft. Anyway. More important stuff, Abney: I heard from a little birdie yer letting Dy crash on your floor in Florida in January. Where am *I* going to stay??
sitting on a 4.0 lol. don't worry i will take full responsibility for my slacking if i don't get in LIS! 🙂
That was anecdotal. Not commentary silly. And you can sleep in the tub.
At my age I might not walk for days.
Long story short, I'm in an international (US to Canada) LD marriage. He would not come to Canada with me, and for good reason.
A couple things to note:
- He isn't being maliciously selfish by thinking about his future and your future together. Respect is an important element to a solid relationship - by making him the bad guy for being concerned, you're actually the bad guy. But ulitmatums aren't respectful, either; he needs to learn to communicate with you appropriately even if the end result is the same (like not coming with you).
- Have you considered long distance? I miss my husband every day, but I'm simultaneously glad that he isn't here with me. School (class, studying, classmates, etc) consumes my life when I'm up here. My SO would be bored to tears and probably end up feeling neglected which would in turn make me feel awful and make me want to compromise and probably do worse in school. Is it really worth having him there just to make you both more tense about the relationship time struggle you're dealing with even now, before school has even begun?
- Like LIS said, consider some compromises. Maybe he comes with you...and you agree to consider starting a family at a certain time point. I understand it isn't an easy thing, but you're addressing it as though you're on your own; if he comes with you, is he willing to be supportive of your joint relationship goals?
It's not an easy decision, but try to think of it from other angles
A couple things to note:
- He isn't being maliciously selfish by thinking about his future and your future together. Respect is an important element to a solid relationship - by making him the bad guy for being concerned, you're actually the bad guy. But ulitmatums aren't respectful, either; he needs to learn to communicate with you appropriately even if the end result is the same (like not coming with you).
- Have you considered long distance? I miss my husband every day, but I'm simultaneously glad that he isn't here with me. School (class, studying, classmates, etc) consumes my life when I'm up here. My SO would be bored to tears and probably end up feeling neglected which would in turn make me feel awful and make me want to compromise and probably do worse in school. Is it really worth having him there just to make you both more tense about the relationship time struggle you're dealing with even now, before school has even begun?
- Like LIS said, consider some compromises. Maybe he comes with you...and you agree to consider starting a family at a certain time point. I understand it isn't an easy thing, but you're addressing it as though you're on your own; if he comes with you, is he willing to be supportive of your joint relationship goals?
It's not an easy decision, but try to think of it from other angles
We'll get a cot
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I'm also all over the LDR train. My boyfriend and I have been together for three years with me going to school five hours away and seeing each other once a month. Honestly, it can work, even if you see each other less often than that. It takes a lot of communication. I was completely prepared to have it continue into vet school as well. But my boyfriend will be graduating in May as well, and he does not have a job or anything that is solidly established to leave behind. He said he wanted to come with me, and i was the one arguing that he should stay closer to home.
It's all about what works for you guys.
It's all about what works for you guys.
I think I've moved from pre-vet stress to pre-vet depression. I am a non-traditional student, so I have spent the last two years taking all the prerequisites and getting vet hours. I was really proud of myself because I managed a 4.0 in all my prereqs while running my own business and getting my vet and animal experience hours. I have been waitlisted at WSU and CSU, plus I am still waiting to hear from Tufts. I've been accepted to Edinburgh and I know I should be pumped because I am going to be a veterinarian, but I'm not because the rest of my life is falling apart.
My boyfriend just dumped me because he couldn't handle the idea of a long distance relationship. We have actually been fighting, breaking up then getting back together for two months now, but this last time was for good. We worked together at a veterinary hospital and he just had his last day because we couldn't work together and stay broken up. I still had hope that we would work everything out before he put in his two weeks, but now it's hitting me that we're done for good. His roommate's girlfriend just started at Ross in January, so he is seeing firsthand the toll of LDRs. It doesn't even matter if I end up in the US, he isn't willing to give it a shot because he is sure we will both end up miserable and hurt.
On a certain level, I agree with him because the stress and sadness I am feeling now would not be conducive to tackling the first year of vet school. I am taking a couple of classes now and I just don't feel as engaged anymore. The only silver lining to this cloud is that I will be over it (hopefully) by the time school starts.
Also, my business has been really slow over the last few months, it's in real estate so winter is never a great time of year. So now I have money stress. I have been putting less effort into acquiring new clients since I am leaving in six months, but my existing clients are also sending me less work because they don't want to rely on me.
I can't even be happy at my veterinary job right now because it just reminds me of him and makes me miss him. I am starting to work for another vet in a month, so I may quit my current hospital.
I am just feeling a lot of rejection and impending-rejection from my life and the application process. The thought of Edinburgh is even stressing me out. I already lived in Scotland during my first undergrad, so the prospect of moving back is somewhat exciting, but also scares me. I was really unhappy my last two years in Scotland because I hated what I was studying and couldn't change it. I tried to drop out to go into pre-vet in the US, but my parents wouldn't let me. I worry that I will get into another Scottish slump, where I am really homesick and dealing with a mean case of seasonal affective disorder.
Also, Edinburgh put a condition on my offer that I had to obtain my BS to enter their four year program and I wasn't planning on finishing my second bachelors. I am still waiting to hear from the admissions committee and I worry they will stick me into the five year program. If this happens, I could just take a year off and find out what is lacking from my US applications and reapply. But I don't really want to go through the application and interview process a second time.
Everything is just so unsettled right now. I have been talking a lot with the vet I work with. He has basically said that if being a vet is my dream than it shouldn't matter where I am and I shouldn't let anyone hold me back. He doesn't know that I was dating another employee, although he was always hinting we would be a good couple. Who knows, maybe he did know.
Sorry for the rant, but getting it out feels better. My friends are starting to tired of the saga and they don't get the vet school disappointment and stress. Most of them are super excited I might be moving back to Scotland, so I can't express that I am not 100% happy with the prospect of moving back. Now I need to get to studying for a physics quiz I have in the morning. Joy!
My boyfriend just dumped me because he couldn't handle the idea of a long distance relationship. We have actually been fighting, breaking up then getting back together for two months now, but this last time was for good. We worked together at a veterinary hospital and he just had his last day because we couldn't work together and stay broken up. I still had hope that we would work everything out before he put in his two weeks, but now it's hitting me that we're done for good. His roommate's girlfriend just started at Ross in January, so he is seeing firsthand the toll of LDRs. It doesn't even matter if I end up in the US, he isn't willing to give it a shot because he is sure we will both end up miserable and hurt.
On a certain level, I agree with him because the stress and sadness I am feeling now would not be conducive to tackling the first year of vet school. I am taking a couple of classes now and I just don't feel as engaged anymore. The only silver lining to this cloud is that I will be over it (hopefully) by the time school starts.
Also, my business has been really slow over the last few months, it's in real estate so winter is never a great time of year. So now I have money stress. I have been putting less effort into acquiring new clients since I am leaving in six months, but my existing clients are also sending me less work because they don't want to rely on me.
I can't even be happy at my veterinary job right now because it just reminds me of him and makes me miss him. I am starting to work for another vet in a month, so I may quit my current hospital.
I am just feeling a lot of rejection and impending-rejection from my life and the application process. The thought of Edinburgh is even stressing me out. I already lived in Scotland during my first undergrad, so the prospect of moving back is somewhat exciting, but also scares me. I was really unhappy my last two years in Scotland because I hated what I was studying and couldn't change it. I tried to drop out to go into pre-vet in the US, but my parents wouldn't let me. I worry that I will get into another Scottish slump, where I am really homesick and dealing with a mean case of seasonal affective disorder.
Also, Edinburgh put a condition on my offer that I had to obtain my BS to enter their four year program and I wasn't planning on finishing my second bachelors. I am still waiting to hear from the admissions committee and I worry they will stick me into the five year program. If this happens, I could just take a year off and find out what is lacking from my US applications and reapply. But I don't really want to go through the application and interview process a second time.
Everything is just so unsettled right now. I have been talking a lot with the vet I work with. He has basically said that if being a vet is my dream than it shouldn't matter where I am and I shouldn't let anyone hold me back. He doesn't know that I was dating another employee, although he was always hinting we would be a good couple. Who knows, maybe he did know.
Sorry for the rant, but getting it out feels better. My friends are starting to tired of the saga and they don't get the vet school disappointment and stress. Most of them are super excited I might be moving back to Scotland, so I can't express that I am not 100% happy with the prospect of moving back. Now I need to get to studying for a physics quiz I have in the morning. Joy!
Breakups are NEVER easy. Your boss is right...that you shouldn't let anyone hold you back. If that someone is the right someone for you, I believe he would insist on you going to whatever vet school accepts you so you can live the life you've dreamed of. I disagree that location shouldn't be a factor, however. Currently, I know I'd be MISERABLE just across the country, not to mention across the globe. It's all about how well you can handle it. I know I'm not ready to pack up and move to Scotland right now.
I hit my low in my sophomore year (Fall 2011). I honestly just hated myself and everything in my life at that point. I was getting my first panic attacks, never sleeping, and constantly studying till I was in tears. No one understood the shame I felt when I didn't 4.0 orgo (I wish I knew about SDN back then!) and thought I was being ridiculous. I am just now starting to feel comfortable with myself, which is ironic since I'm 4/5 with rejections right now. Anyways...the point of that was to tell you that you are NOT alone. I think pre-vet/pre-anything severe anxiety and depression is extremely common. It needs to be discussed more. A lot of pressure is put on us by profs, the schools, and mostly ourselves. Heck, didn't a girl at Penn State just commit suicide over a 3.5 her first semester? This is scary stuff that some of us sometimes experience.
I could talk your ear off about this stuff. We go through a LOT being pre-vetters. We love our dream. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now. is it feasible for you to close your business now, since you will be in 6 months anyways?
I'm not the best at giving advice, but I am a great listener. I also just ended a 6 year relationship, so I would love to help you with what you're going through! PM me anytime. Don't hesitate to seek professional advice either. You've worked so hard, you deserve a break 🙂
First off, amazing jobs on your pre-reqs, that is truly outstanding! 🙂 In terms of the relationship situation, I had that exact same thing just happen to me within the past week (officially broken up, multiple break ups/get back together right before that). Same reasons to. Its not fun, at all. Add that in with the declining health of my grandmother very fast, and I have gone back and forth during this week into bouts of depression followed by times of just bad decisions. My advice, talk to someone that knows you as well as yourself. For me, that is my sister. My friends were all there for me the first couple of days, but it really took seeing my parents and my sister, and them talking to me, knowing my thoughts and how I am thinking, for me to get to a state where I am okay (not good, not happy, just okay.) So, just sit down and vent, tell someone really close to you as much as possible, and just talk it out.
Also, distract yourself. Do as much as you can with family and friends for a few days. Don't isolate yourself (as I always love to try and do), as it just makes you more depressed.
With regards to the business, I think now may be an appropriate time to start wrapping it up. It would be too much to handle during vet school, and if it is slow anyway, now may be the ideal time to just end the business and focus on the two vet jobs. Granted, I do not know your money situation, so this may not be the best advice, but that is something that you may need to think about.
In terms of quitting the current hospital your at, I would be hesitant to do so. The association that you will make to your ex would be temporary, but once you cut the ties to the place, it would be difficult to get your foot in the door again. Once you get more towards a place where you are over him more, you will be more in a place where the work experience will be much more positive.
With regards to location, I would say that is very important. What I am thinking about with vet schools is several things, but my FIRST weed out is "Can I picture myself living in the area of the vet school, and is the vet school a school that I can picture myself being in?" To me, the school and area combined is my first criteria. This will be different for every person, but for many people, I think it is important. So don't simply discount location as being unimportant in your decision.
Feel free to send a pm over if you want to vent/talk. I am not sure how helpful I can be, but I can at least be a sounding board if nothing else.
I figured I'd come on here to vent a little bit....for the past few weeks I've been really stressing this whole vet school thing. The prospect of moving so far from home, leaving my family (and boyfriend) behind, and incurring a pretty much insurmountable debt scares the crap out of me. Every night I've been having really bad nightmares, my hair's been falling out to the point where I think I may reach complete baldness before my boyfriend does, and every time I think about vet school, I feel like a morbidly obese person decided to plop down and chill on my chest. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Sometimes for a split second, I think about throwing in the towel and doing something else with my life. I won't do that though because this has been my lifelong dream and I know it's just the anxiety getting to me.
@las777 Vet school can be pretty frightening if you ask me. I'm still trying to get through my last semester of undergrad. I'm learning to take it one day at a time. However the stress I get can be suffocating. My hair falls out AND I'm known to pull it out as well, I get so anxious.
Have you considered taking school breaks as opportunities to tour vet schools? It could be a fun road trip. I've never done it myself, but it sounds like it might be a good idea to expose yourself and see what it's all about. Maybe it won't be so scary after all, and you can report back with your findings 🙂
Have you considered taking school breaks as opportunities to tour vet schools? It could be a fun road trip. I've never done it myself, but it sounds like it might be a good idea to expose yourself and see what it's all about. Maybe it won't be so scary after all, and you can report back with your findings 🙂
I am very familiar with anxiety, especially when it comes to school and the stress that brings. I am currently 2,000 miles away from home and my boyfriend. It was definitely scary and stressful at first, but I felt like I adapted quickly. I think it's important to remember that once you get settled in and begin school, you'll be so busy that you won't really have time to think about how scared/homesick you might be. Of course, making new friends and not isolating yourself is always a big help. I've also been experiencing some negative thoughts about vet school, but I know that that is just anxiety and it will eventually pass. You can't let negative thinking make you turn away from your dreams and cause you regret later in life! If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always willing to lend an ear 🙂
Alright guys, so I thought I had some schools narrowed down but then I'm now reconsidering. How do you decide to apply to certain schools? (I know GPA, weighted aspects, GRE, location, price, pre reqs, etc) But like I'm at the stage where I'm considering Ohio, FL, Missouri, VA-MD, WA, etc. But what about the reach schools, like Colorado? Do you give one of the reach schools a shot in hope you get in? Do you be a realist? What's everyone's thoughts on this.
Here's how I applied:
-Do I meet their prerequisites?
-Have people with similar stats gotten in?
-Do I like their curriculum?
-How much surgical/clinical experience would I get there?
-What has their NAVLE passing rate been for the past 5 years?
-What percentage of grads receive job offers within first year?
-Would I want to live there for 4 years?
-Could I afford, not only tuition & area's cost of living, but traveling to and from there?
-And finally...Are they in a BSL area? (This fact weeded out some schools I otherwise really liked).
Eta: And yes, I did include "reach schools". Gotta try, right?
Can I be horrible and ask what BSL is? 🙂 Thank you thank you for the response!!! How would I go about checking into how much surgical/clinical exp they have? (Curriculum sections on the website would list this?) And the percentage of grads/jobs as well...
BSL = breed specific legislation; aka - we don't like your breed of dog, so you don't get to have it. Usually pitties but sometimes other things get lumped in there too.
BSL = breed specific legislation. Its when towns/cities/provinces/countries ban certain breeds of dog, namely Pit Bull type dogs. I have a special needs Pittie girl, so Ontario, the UK, and a few other places were automatically out for me.
As for surgical/clinical, ask graduates and/or students on SDN or ask the school directly. Same for employment rates, but I believe AVMA may have some data somewhere.
Not in specifics. If you want to know about specific schools, I'd track down some students here on SDN.
Thank you both 🙂 much appreciated. Time is closing in (not really.... Applying in 2015) so I'm figuring whether to add in nutrition or stats or whatnot and I may have had my first panic moment of OMG wtf am I doing how do I choose where to apply why do I suck at this lol
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I didn't take nutrition or genetics, which narrowed down where I could apply a lot--I wound up with I think 7 schools where I met the requirements (US only, I didn't look at the UK or island schools). I did the pre-reqs necessary for my IS and then figured it out from there. I'm certainly not saying it's the best way, but it's my experience, and I am currently at my IS and not too fussed about not spending hours outside of class time checking on fruit flies.
Thanks EC 🙂 I think I'm gonna pack in Nutrition at least and/or genetics, but another concern I have is the schools that require the higher level math courses. Math is my weak point so I'm concerned there.
Does anyone else have/had that moment where you feel like you'll never make it in? I think that's what this is. A minor panic attack. Oh well.. Guess it's just gonna be one of many in the future 🙂
I also only took Calc I in college. Dropped Calc II as soon as I was accepted to schools that didn't require it. Oh, and I did take stats, but that was for my psych major and not through the math department. (Typing this it sounds like I was lazy, but I really wasn't!)
And I'm pretty sure everyone has a moment of feeling like you'll never make it. But we believe in you!
Thank you thank you 🙂 I so appreciate it. I've got one awesome friend in MysteryCat from here but otherwise I don't know any other pre-vets other than this awesome forum. I have a couple great friends in vet school but it's like they've almost forgotten the stressful application process so I don't have a lot of people to talk about it with. Love SDN <3I also only took Calc I in college. Dropped Calc II as soon as I was accepted to schools that didn't require it. Oh, and I did take stats, but that was for my psych major and not through the math department. (Typing this it sounds like I was lazy, but I really wasn't!)
And I'm pretty sure everyone has a moment of feeling like you'll never make it. But we believe in you!
Thank you both for your replies...it really does help knowing I'm not the only one who feels this way! Wishing you the best of luck 🙂
