@geldedgoat this is my interpretation of the original post:
Long story short, I am super bothered by applicants that are getting in with low veterinary experience hours.
Right off the bat it sounds like a pissed off applicant with tons of hours of experience who didn't get accepted and is mad that others with less experience did. This may not be what they meant, but that's what it reads as.
And listing 'Pet Ownership' as a experience? That is not something I think anyone should be placing on an application to medical school.
Reads to me as: all you *****s who put pets under animal experience are ridiculous and stupid. Everyone has pets and that doesn't matter at all (or, I forgot to list pet experience and so now my hours look low and I'm bitter about it).
Back to my point. I don't think anyone is doing themselves any favors by not working in a veterinary hospital/ veterinary setting before starting veterinary school.
Back to her/his point? What point? So far all this poster has done is seemingly insult people. It also goes right out and makes it sound like people who haven't had the opportunity to work in a vet clinic have basically screwed themselves over.
The sad, very real fact of the matter is that many graduate schools are choosing to admit veterinary students based of the fact that they will pass the program, gain the stats they need saying they had lots of graduates, and continue the cycle taking peoples money.
Which vet schools (not graduate schools, I get that it's like graduate level, but come on) exactly are doing this? And exactly what is wrong with selecting applicants who will pass the program? That actually seems pretty damn smart to me. This line again makes it sound like the poster didn't have great grades and was rejected.
They have no problem spitting you out into a field someone may be book smart about but not really have a real passion about.
How exactly is the poster deciding who does or does not have passion about vet med? And which schools are doing this? The OP hasn't been in vet school yet so has no real idea what they're talking about. It also sounds like they are claiming that those of us who haven't worked in a vet clinic (from previous lines) basically don't have passion for vet med, which is irksome to say the least.
I personally have worked in a veterinary hospital for the last 8 years of my life, accumulating thousands of hours of experience, working full time most of my undergraduate career. I know the good and the bad of veterinary medicine, I understand what I'm getting myself into, and I love what I do. I know no matter what I will love being a vet.
Well bloody good for you, OP. This is akin to saying well I know I have
real passion about vet med because look at all the time I've dedicated to it. And for the record, as others have said, no one
really knows they will love being a vet until they're in the field working as a vet.
At the hospital I'm currently working at as a technician, I have the pleasure of working with newly graduated veterinary students. Sadly, more then half of them regret there decisions DAILY choosing veterinary medicine. If schools were more keen on hiring those who have veterinary experience, MAYBE there wouldn't be such a high rate of those that switch into different jobs after graduating vet school.
This is just anecdotal evidence the OP is relaying from his/her own experience. And he/she doesn't even mention if these disillusioned vets had excessive vet experience coming into vet school or why they are disillusioned with vet med. It's a huge leap for the OP to make saying that the schools did a poor job selecting applicants, maybe the clinic she/he was working at just drove the vets there to ruin?
There are so many things to say regarding this topic, but long story short I am strongly against schools accepting applicants based mainly on grades.
Okay, that's nice, but what schools are actually doing this?
And to those who are reading this with low veterinary hours, you are really putting yourself at a disadvantage not only in school, but in your future as a vet.
Really? That is like coming at those of us with low vet hours (and he/she never defines what he/she considers low) with a swinging bat, saying we'll never be as good a vet as he/she obviously will. Maybe that's not how you read it, but it ruffled enough feathers around here to let me know I wasn't the only one.
On a side note, I am not a jaded applicant for this cycle, I was accepted into veterinary school and will be attending in the fall. However, I do want to hear/read everyone's thoughts on this. Please bite, chew, and scratch at what I have to say, or meow and purr; what ever you desire.
This was the most surprising part of this post. It really made me question why the OP even bothered bringing this up, other than seemingly to poke a stick at all the applicants who apply or are accepted with "low vet experience," whatever that means.
So there you have it. That is the context I read the post in (and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one) and why it lead to such a huge backlash on the OP. A little more tact and a lot less judgement would have carried this conversation in a much more pleasant direction, IF the OP truly meant it the way you read it.