I just feel absolutely defeated. This is my 4th time applying and I'm just burnt out. After applying to 13 schools, I've had nothing but straight up rejections from every school. Despite taking the advice of previous file reviews verbatim (retaking pre-requisites, getting a whole masters degree, getting more unique experience, and learning a new language), I have not even received an interview. At this point, now that I have a masters in microbiology more career choices have opened up for me which pay rather well, and my current job as a veterinary technician is just not paying the bills. My current living situation is toxic, I graduated undergrad in 2020 and moved home with parents while I applied to veterinary school, here we are 5 years later with no success.
On top of this, I am not delusional and am acutely aware of the direction this field is heading. We may not like to talk about this, but there is still a mass exodus of veterinary support staff permanently abandoning the field. The VPA positions will surely further to complicate matters as well. Many new veterinarians might potentially be forced to perform the tasks needed to see patients as there may not be a technician available to do that work. This is also before we acknowledge the vast amount of changes coming to veterinary academia with these 10 new schools opening in the next few years meaning that class sizes are going to be continuously stretched thin with few instructors to teach them. The costs of attending veterinary school is also outrageously expensive, this is a lot of debt to accrue for a field facing such concerning issues. Many people will point out that I could always apply down the road, but if these are the tough realities we have to face as a field I can't justify being buried in potentially a few hundred thousand dollars in debt
If you all were in my position, what would you do? Being a veterinarian is a dream, I know I would be an incredible vet, but this application process is decimating my mental health and working as a technician is not sustainable financially. I know I am not alone in feeling this way, I've seen similar sentiments on here and facebook. I also work with other people who applied and they feel equally crushed. Any kind words or advice for directions to take from here would be great, because feeling this inadequate and unwanted hurts a lot.
On top of this, I am not delusional and am acutely aware of the direction this field is heading. We may not like to talk about this, but there is still a mass exodus of veterinary support staff permanently abandoning the field. The VPA positions will surely further to complicate matters as well. Many new veterinarians might potentially be forced to perform the tasks needed to see patients as there may not be a technician available to do that work. This is also before we acknowledge the vast amount of changes coming to veterinary academia with these 10 new schools opening in the next few years meaning that class sizes are going to be continuously stretched thin with few instructors to teach them. The costs of attending veterinary school is also outrageously expensive, this is a lot of debt to accrue for a field facing such concerning issues. Many people will point out that I could always apply down the road, but if these are the tough realities we have to face as a field I can't justify being buried in potentially a few hundred thousand dollars in debt
If you all were in my position, what would you do? Being a veterinarian is a dream, I know I would be an incredible vet, but this application process is decimating my mental health and working as a technician is not sustainable financially. I know I am not alone in feeling this way, I've seen similar sentiments on here and facebook. I also work with other people who applied and they feel equally crushed. Any kind words or advice for directions to take from here would be great, because feeling this inadequate and unwanted hurts a lot.
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