Steps to becoming a veterinarian?

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x3anewdisaster

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I'm a rising sophomore in high school, (10th grade.) I've wanted to be a veterinarian since I was probably 5, and I am seriously considering it now. I would say that I'm rather intelligent in the math/science subjects and my GPA is a 4.0 as of now. I would like to have some detailed information/step-by-step tips to getting to where I really want to be in life, and my dream is to attend my in-state vet school, Virginia-Maryland Regional College. What should I do now and the years after to become a veterinarian? And can I use the hours of veterinary/animal experience that I may make now in the application for vet schools?

Please be extremely detailed (as I am a perfectionist)! Thank you so much for your time :):)

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Wow that actually helped alot! Thanks so much :) Well, I'm still volunteering at my local animal shelter this summer, but I'll definitely look into some other things too. When I'm 16, I am going to submit a resume to work at my veterinarian's clinic, and next summer, I have signed up to volunteer at the zoo. When you're an undergraduate, what's the best advice to balance time between school, studying, work/volunteering, and personal life (family and friends)?
 
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To answer your first post, you can use high school vet and animal experience for your application, so it's great that you are getting experience already!

And if you haven't checked it out already, look around the AAVMC website. They have a lot of good information about the different schools. Here is a link to their list of requirements for each school:

http://www.aavmc.org/vmcas/college_requirement.htm
 
Wow that actually helped alot! Thanks so much :) Well, I'm still volunteering at my local animal shelter this summer, but I'll definitely look into some other things too. When I'm 16, I am going to submit a resume to work at my veterinarian's clinic, and next summer, I have signed up to volunteer at the zoo. When you're an undergraduate, what's the best advice to balance time between school, studying, work/volunteering, and personal life (family and friends)?

Wow, StealthDog, that was a great post! I absolutely second what you said about not majoring "pre vet." To the OP, you might start thinking about whether you want to approach the pre-vet curriculum from a more science, ag, or other standpoint, and start researching colleges you're interested in.
In regard to balancing life as an undergrad, I definitely recommend starting early with vet (not just animal) experience -- I began volunteering at a vet clinic when I was fourteen, eventually became employed there, and managed to accumulate about 1000 vet hours before even starting college. This took alot of pressure off during my first few semesters so I could really focus on schoolwork rather than experience hours. You might also approach your local vet about shadowing over the summer or on weekends so they can get to know you before you apply for a job (hate to say it, but at least at my clinic high schoolers are regarded with alot of weariness). Also, keep in mind that you'll need a variety of veterinary experiences (large animal can be especially difficult to find if you live in an urban area).
You seem to be off to a great start! :thumbup:
 
I'm actually considering majoring in some sort of business class so that I will know what to do when I start my own practice. Btw, what does "OP" stand for? And the vet that I go to doesn't offer volunteer opportunities, just a job when you're 16. However, I can definitely ask some other vets if I could do some shadowing or volunteer work for them too. Should I start recording all my hours now, in like a spreadsheet or something? & when you record hours, does it have to be like on an official paper with signature, or do the veterinary schools take for granted that you would be honest? I know that when I was around 13, I volunteered with the adoptions at Petsmart. It was from 30-40 hours, I'm not really sure, but should I record that too?

Wow, sorry for so many questions! What can I say, I'm a real inquisitive person.
 
I would definitely start a spreadsheet, as it will just make your life so much easier when the time comes to apply. You have to enter all the information into an online application. For each experience that you are counting you need to give contact information to where it can be verified (make sure you get this info now and write it down in your spreadsheet - it's amazing how many names you can forget in 4 years!!). Unless there is a problem, they don't usually use this information - it will be clear enough in your interview whether you lied about doing something or not. You are expected to know what your experiences say you should know.

I wouldn't count the Petsmart thing as long as you keep working on gaining hours. It sounds like you'll have several thousand by the time you apply, so those 40 hours would be overkill.

P.S. Good luck and have fun at the vet's office!!
 
I'm actually considering majoring in some sort of business class so that I will know what to do when I start my own practice. Btw, what does "OP" stand for? And the vet that I go to doesn't offer volunteer opportunities, just a job when you're 16. However, I can definitely ask some other vets if I could do some shadowing or volunteer work for them too. Should I start recording all my hours now, in like a spreadsheet or something? & when you record hours, does it have to be like on an official paper with signature, or do the veterinary schools take for granted that you would be honest? I know that when I was around 13, I volunteered with the adoptions at Petsmart. It was from 30-40 hours, I'm not really sure, but should I record that too?

Wow, sorry for so many questions! What can I say, I'm a real inquisitive person.

Business seems like it would be a great major, you'll just have to take alot of science classes on the side (I think somebody posted a link for different schools' requirements already).
"OP" means "original poster."
YES, you should absolutely start recording all your experiences, both vet and animal. It will make your life SO much easier in five or six years. I'm filling out the application now, and it asks for the vet's name, clinic or hospital name, description of duties, period of time you worked, average hours per week, and cumulative number of hours. I've also wondered how they verify hours -- maybe they contact the vet or hospital you list if they think something's sketchy or things don't add up? :confused: Perhaps someone else knows if VMCAS or individual schools "audit" applications.
If you have the opportunity to shadow or volunteer at other clinics, I would definitely jump at it. Sometimes "shadowing" or "observing" can be the magic words versus "volunteering," as some clinics prohibit non-employees from working with the animals due to liability and insurance issues. On a personal note, when you approach someone about shadowing/volunteering/working/etc., bring a copy of your resume, dress and act professionally, and be super polite and friendly to the front desk staff :D.
 
I think I will see if I can continue to work at the Petsmart adoptions this summer so that I can add to what I already have, instead of just a measly 40. I don't want those to go to waste, took me 2/3 months to get that when I was 13. Hahaha!

And yeah, I will definitely ask around this summer and see if I can shadow or observe some local vets. That would be great. :)

But I have more questions too!!!!!! Sorry, lol.
What is the average schedule/day for an undergrad studying to become a vet like? What are your weekends like? I bet it's pretty busy.
 
My typical week is 30 hours of class a week, including about 6 hours in labs such as chemistry, bio, poultry management, cattle, swine, etc. Most of my classes are concentrated from 7am-7pm M-R. With work Fri, Sat and Sun. Basically, I didn't have a social life because I worked the whole weekend :p
 
Schedule wise, I was doing full time school and 20 hours a week at a non vet related job. With school it would depend on the semester. Some semesters I had class every day of the week and some I had them from say 12-9 Tues/Thurs and that would be it. Most of my experience I did in the summer.

A couple things that can make the balancing act easier:
-Get some internship credits or independent study credits for a volunteer job - so you can have a full schedule and gain experience without getting overwhelmed.
-If you apply for financial aid in college, look into work-study grants. Basically work-study has the federal government pay your wages, so somewhere that couldn't otherwise afford to hire you (like a nonprofit) can pay you. This would help if you have to work during the school year for financial reasons.

You sound like you're doing great with getting experience though, so as long as you keep it up you should be OK balancing experience with school since you won't be pressed for hours.
 
This is really exciting :) Because I know that this is what I really want to do with my life. So, I just found an animal hospital nearby that's offering a summer observation (shadowing) program, but the applications started in May! So hopefully I get a spot for some hours this summer. Apparently it's filled on a first-come, first-serve basis with only one person a day to shadow. How old were you guys when you started getting experience/hours? And by the time you applied for vet school, how much did you have?
 
I didn't start getting experience as part of a decision to go to vet school until partway through college. I did use animal experience that I'd had before that from other animal related volunteering and horse riding. It took me forever to figure out what to do with my life, but it worked out fine.

When I applied I had about 500 hours veterinary experience (some shelter, some wildlife rehab) and 900? animal experience. I forget. On that note another good thread to check out is the "Successful Applicants Thread." There is one for each year; the most recent one should be on the first few pages.

Here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=589279
 
Dang! People have like thousands and thousands of animal/vet work, but still get rejected by some colleges!? Yet some have about a thousand or a few hundreds yet get accepted (not that they didn't deserve it or anything!). But I mean, wow what are they seriously looking for? Plus, I read somewhere that the GRE average for those who matriculate to the VA-MD regional college is like 1800, but I've read plenty who had 1000-1500 and got in. Are the GRE's really difficult?
 
Well, I can't really tell you what schools are looking for other than GPA, GRE, and experiences (vet, animal, and life experiences). Remember that different schools have slightly different preferences and that which schools are in and out of state makes a huge difference.

I think your GRE confusion is that you can either score it out of 1600 or out of 2400. Normally you just take the math and verbal parts out of 1600, and the writing score is separate. You can also convert the writing score so that the whole thing is out of 2400. So VA-MD is referring to the second way of scoring it, while the convention on these forums is the first way of scoring it.

As to whether it's hard, I thought the verbal part was hard because a lot of the words are obscure. The math isn't hard (it's high school math) but it is tricky. That's the best way to describe it that I can think of. Once you get to that point just get a good GRE book (I used Barron's) and study up!
 
Oh okay! That makes a lot more sense. This forum has really cleared a ton of things up about being a veterinarian. Thanks to everyone who contributed:) It has really been helpful. I feel like I will have a real head start now that I know all of this at this age.
 
Dang! People have like thousands and thousands of animal/vet work, but still get rejected by some colleges!? Yet some have about a thousand or a few hundreds yet get accepted (not that they didn't deserve it or anything!). But I mean, wow what are they seriously looking for? Plus, I read somewhere that the GRE average for those who matriculate to the VA-MD regional college is like 1800, but I've read plenty who had 1000-1500 and got in. Are the GRE's really difficult?

They are looking for variety, since vets perform a lot of different functions. I was accepted with only a few hundred animal/vet hours - however, I had thousands of hours in biomedical research. There really isn't a set "get this and you will get in".

Focus on making yourself a UNIQUE applicant. That is the best advice I can offer. There will be thousands of people with thousands of vet hours and good grades - what makes you different? What makes you special? What will make the adcom remember you?

VMRCVM (I'm an alum) loves research experience in general, so if you have an ability to get some done in college, definitely take advantage of that.
 
what's with the zombie resurrections today?
Something doesn't add up. WTF wouldn't do that?

Somebody who was banned after 4 posts (all zombie posts) talking about marina veterinary hospital (?) brought the zombies... :eek:
 
what's with the zombie resurrections today?
Something doesn't add up. WTF wouldn't do that?

Whoa. How the.....I though this was for some reason on the front page? Maybe I clicked too far back....very confuzzled here. I wondered why StealthDog was posting, I was going to be all "Hey dude! Haven't seen you in forever"! :laugh:
 
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