Taking a year off

[smilesoup]

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I'm a sophomore in college right now, and I'm thinking about taking a year off and applying to vet school during the round right after I graduate from undergrad. I've calculated that, if things go well, I'll have about 1,800 hours of experience IF I decide to apply "traditionally" next summer, which seems quite lacking when I look at the amazing applicants in this forum 🙂 (I will have a couple hundred more hours by the time decisions come out). I'm thinking about getting a lot more animal and vet experience under my belt if I decide to take a year off. My dream school is Davis (IS), and I've heard that they place less emphasis on GPA/GRE than most schools and look very closely at experience, so I'd like to take the chance to buff up my hours. Will taking a year off put me at a disadvantage against traditional students, or does this seem like a good idea? Thanks in advance!

 

[EqSci]

1800 hours?? I'd would LOVE to have that. I've got about 500 total (it will remain to be seen if I get accepted, but I've had 2 interviews so far so I'm obviously competitive at least!).

Maybe others will give you different advice, but in my opinion if the only reason you'd be taking a year off would be to get more experience, I say don't do it. Depending on the quality of the experience, 1800 hours is plenty to give you a good idea of what the profession is like, which is the whole point in the first place.

ETA: Maybe I haven't had enough sleep, but if you applied traditionally wouldn't you be applying not this summer but next summer? So you'd still have a year and a half to get hours.

 

[Skillet9886]

I'm no expert, but I'll at least offer my two cents. I don't think that taking a year off would put you at a disadvantage necessarily, but it will likely raise a few questions, and you'll have to either have a really solid reason for taking the year or show that you used your time wisely. If it were me, I would apply. If you don't have enough hours, they'll tell you. Then you can take a year to get more experience and re-apply. If you get in, then you won't have needed to take a year off anyway. I figure worst case scenario, you get application experience and an "insider's" view of what would improve your application if you get rejected. But I think 1800 hours, depending on where they're at, is pretty good.

 

[smilesoup]

1800 hours?? I'd would LOVE to have that. I've got about 500 total (it will remain to be seen if I get accepted, but I've had 2 interviews so far so I'm obviously competitive at least!).

Maybe others will give you different advice, but in my opinion if the only reason you'd be taking a year off would be to get more experience, I say don't do it. Depending on the quality of the experience, 1800 hours is plenty to give you a good idea of what the profession is like, which is the whole point in the first place.

ETA: Maybe I haven't had enough sleep, but if you applied traditionally wouldn't you be applying not this summer but next summer? So you'd still have a year and a half to get hours.

I have about 500 right now, but I'll have about 1800 by the time application time rolls around, hopefully! I'm reaaaaally counting on that year and a half for experience, as you can see, haha...

 

[cozycleo]

I wouldn't wait. I'd apply as soon as you can anyway. My thinking is that there may be other reasons you'd be rejected, and you wouldn't know about it for another year or so. Why waste time if you've got a chance to fix other problem spots on your application? Not saying you won't get in the first try, but if you don't, I doubt experience hours would be the only reason.

I think waiting could be shooting yourself in the foot for that very reason alone. There are a lot of us who won't have thousands of hours of experience on our applications. I won't! I'm going for variety vs. quantity because I'm a non-trad coming from a different background.

 

[Optimistic 13]

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[JulieB361]

This is just my opinion, but I think you will be fine either way. If the only reason that you want a year off is more experience then it is not worth it, but it is a chance to save some money. I am currently taking a year off because I decided I wanted to go to vet school my junior year and didn't have my pre-reqs done in time to apply traditionally. So far I have spent my time working at a SA practice, volunteering with horses and cows, and taking my GRE. The year off has been positive for me because I saved money, got different experiences, and spent alot more time with my family (I went to undergrad in another state.)

I don't think that the time off hurt me at all because I have 2 interviews so far. Good luck with everything.

 

[nyanko]

My dream school is Davis (IS), and I've heard that they place less emphasis on GPA/GRE than most schools and look very closely at experience, so I'd like to take the chance to buff up my hours. Will taking a year off put me at a disadvantage against traditional students, or does this seem like a good idea? Thanks in advance!

50-60% of the application decision is GPA/GRE so I think they put the same amount of or more emphasis on it than most other schools, not less. Experience is definitely important as well though!

As long as you do something productive during your year off (vet experience I'm sure counts!) I'm sure it won't be held against you. 🙂

 

[KittyRex]

I agree with the other posters that if the only reason you are compelled to take a year off is to gain more hours, it may not be worth it. (I believe that 1800 is more than enough to be competitive) Unless you think you would be able to gain valuable experiences that you would not have the opportunity to pursue while in undergrad (ex. going abroad, more varied experience in certain fields, full time research experience etc)

However, there are a LOT of other good reasons to take a year off before pursuing an intensely time-consuming and expensive venture such as veterinary school! Travel, spending time with family, working and saving money and becoming a more competitive applicant, to name a few.

I am an ex-premed and so I've taken a year off to take a few remaining vet school prereqs and gain more overall experience hours (decided late in undergrad to switch) and I don't think it has hurt me so far (1 acceptance under my belt!). My interviewers definitely asked me why I decided to take the year off and I believe they were satisfied with my answer. In fact, one of them said she wished all applicants took the time to do it that way! And for the record, when I filled out my VMCAS, I had less than 1000 clinical veterinary hours (but around 2500 total veterinary, research and animal exp. hours)

Good luck! The great thing is, you still have a year to think about it!

 

[sambone]

I've sort of taken 4+ years off (nontrad) so I'm biased, but I think taking a year or more off great idea. There are so many fascinating things going on in the world! Even if it wasn't necessarily veterinary related ie teaching english abroad, americorp, teach for america or just working in some different fields, you can learn SO much about people and the world around you. Also, once you start vet school and then your career, it might be a lot harder to explore your other interests in depth. Having broad interests and curiosity are good qualities - why would admissions committees punish you for that?

 

[Groominator]

You mentioned that you're comparing your hours with the hours of other members on the board. One thing you have to keep in mind is that this board is a relatively limited sample of applicants, both successful and not (in a particular round). It does not represent all the applicants out there by far. So don't look to get tons of hours just because pre-vets on SDN seem to have tons. Just try your best. Just because some successful applicants who happened to post their stats on SDN have thousands of hours doesn't mean that all successful applicants in the school do.

I try to remind myself about that. My stats are no where near as impressive as many applicants I've seen here. But it doesn't mean that these are the only people that get in.

Of course its still inspiration 😉

BTW I also think you should apply right away. And if you don't make it, you have that extra year to get all the experience you can.

 

[fargeese]

I took off 11 years and got in, so I think you'll be ok with one 🙂 I agree with a previous poster's interviewer who said everyone should take a year off. Vet school is hard, your brain will appreciate the rest for a year! I ran off and joined the Peace Corps after college, and never regretted it, even though I came back 2 years "behind" everyone else in careers, etc. Your experience away from academia will only make returning to school (I love not having a job!) that much sweeter!

 

[cerealrhapsody]

I don't think it would hurt you at all to take a year off, but I have to agree with everyone else and say that 1,800 hours seems plenty competitive, particularly if it is quality experience across more than one field.

 

[david594]

If UC Davis is your first choice and you are not really adverse to taking a year off then just apply to UC Davis and nowhere else.

Best case, you get in, your golden! Have a party.

Worst case, you don't get in. On the plus side though you will have some experience with the process and can get constructive feedback from the school to improve your application.

For second time around you will be better prepared, and it would then be a good time to start applying to alternative schools that you might also be interested in going to if UC Davis doesn't pan out for you a second time.

 

[JustCats]

If UC Davis is your first choice and you are not really adverse to taking a year off then just apply to UC Davis and nowhere else.

Best case, you get in, your golden! Have a party.

Worst case, you don't get in. On the plus side though you will have some experience with the process and can get constructive feedback from the school to improve your application.

For second time around you will be better prepared, and it would then be a good time to start applying to alternative schools that you might also be interested in going to if UC Davis doesn't pan out for you a second time.

Well put. I just made a donation to SDN because David594's advice alone is worth it. (Lots of other people give good advice also, but David594 has been on a roll lately.)

 

[pupsforseeing]

I agree with a previous poster's interviewer who said everyone should take a year off. Vet school is hard, your brain will appreciate the rest for a year! I ran off and joined the Peace Corps after college, and never regretted it, even though I came back 2 years "behind" everyone else in careers, etc. Your experience away from academia will only make returning to school (I love not having a job!) that much sweeter!

amen to that. i applied last year during my senior year of college and was accepted. i ended up declining my first choice school (davis) and deferring my second choice (penn) to take a year off. i am spending it teaching at a school for the deaf in mexico. although what i am doing is QUITE outside the realm of veterinary medicine, i am absolutely confident that i am gaining skills and qualities that will make me a much better doctor (the girl who can hardly boil water cooked a hot breakfast this morning for 75 people--learning under pressure, anyone?). i am so incredibly happy that i took a chance and went with my gut to not go straight to vet school, despite other people telling me it would be the biggest mistake of my life.

as long as you do something productive and worthwhile during that year (whether it be gaining vet experience or pursuing other passions), i say go for it 🙂 you won't regret it.

if you're only doing it, though, because you're worried you don't have enough experience, why don't you just apply anyway? if you don't get in, just work on bettering your application and re-apply. but, if you do get in, problem solved!

 

[twelvetigers]

Well put. I just made a donation to SDN because David594's advice alone is worth it. (Lots of other people give good advice also, but David594 has been on a roll lately.)

Don't give him a big head, he might get carried away! *jabjab* 🙂

 

[DVMorBust]

If UC Davis is your first choice and you are not really adverse to taking a year off then just apply to UC Davis and nowhere else.

Best case, you get in, your golden! Have a party.

Worst case, you don't get in. On the plus side though you will have some experience with the process and can get constructive feedback from the school to improve your application.

For second time around you will be better prepared, and it would then be a good time to start applying to alternative schools that you might also be interested in going to if UC Davis doesn't pan out for you a second time.

I'm also going to throw in with David's advice. It is very good - applying to one school (and is UC Davis your IS?) isn't that expensive, and if you don't get in, you can ask a real-live admissions committee why that was. Of course, the party if you do get in 🙂

 

[smilesoup]

amen to that. i applied last year during my senior year of college and was accepted. i ended up declining my first choice school (davis) and deferring my second choice (penn) to take a year off. i am spending it teaching at a school for the deaf in mexico. although what i am doing is QUITE outside the realm of veterinary medicine, i am absolutely confident that i am gaining skills and qualities that will make me a much better doctor (the girl who can hardly boil water cooked a hot breakfast this morning for 75 people--learning under pressure, anyone?). i am so incredibly happy that i took a chance and went with my gut to not go straight to vet school, despite other people telling me it would be the biggest mistake of my life.

as long as you do something productive and worthwhile during that year (whether it be gaining vet experience or pursuing other passions), i say go for it 🙂 you won't regret it.

if you're only doing it, though, because you're worried you don't have enough experience, why don't you just apply anyway? if you don't get in, just work on bettering your application and re-apply. but, if you do get in, problem solved!

That's so amazing! That must've been such an invaluable experience 🙂

Thanks for all the advice, guys! I do want more time to gain a wider perspective on veterinary medicine and take the time to save up some money for school, but it doesn't seem like applying early will hurt 🙂

 

[smilesoup]

I've sort of taken 4+ years off (nontrad) so I'm biased, but I think taking a year or more off great idea. There are so many fascinating things going on in the world! Even if it wasn't necessarily veterinary related ie teaching english abroad, americorp, teach for america or just working in some different fields, you can learn SO much about people and the world around you. Also, once you start vet school and then your career, it might be a lot harder to explore your other interests in depth. Having broad interests and curiosity are good qualities - why would admissions committees punish you for that?

I definitely agree; there's so much other stuff I would love to do during a year off that wouldn't exactly be career-related... and vet school doesn't exactly give you a lot of free time to pursue other interests