The right path for me

[MBAtoDVM]

Hi All,

I have a slightly unique situation. I currently hold my B.S. in Finance and have my MBA as well, however after working for a major veterinary company and having pets of my own, I have decided to become a veterinarian. I know starting from scratch won't be easy, but I'm prepared to do whatever it takes.

I am estimating about a year of prerequisite course work and am currently studying to take the GRE soon, so it will be a while before I even apply to any schools.

I am looking for any help/recommendations as to what to look for in a school, what types of classes would be best for someone with a non-science background, and finding out if i'm on the right track.

I have tried contacting school admissions counselors for guidance, but no one ever gets back to me.

Thanks for all your help!

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[SkiOtter]

Have you shadowed at a veterinarian yet? I’d recommend spending a good amount of time shadowing before jumping into the prereqs.

 

[MBAtoDVM]

Have you shadowed at a veterinarian yet? I’d recommend spending a good amount of time shadowing before jumping into the prereqs.

Yes, thank you SkiOtter, I am also shadowing a veterinarian on the weekends for a few hours and volunteering at a local shelter.

 

[Caiter92]

I think you’re going to need more than a year for prerequisites. It’ll depend on the school what they require, but in general it’ll be intro bio series, intro chem series, ochem (sometimes only one semester, others the whole sequence), physics (again, amount will depend), bio chem, and usually some sort of math requirement. Plus some schools require animal nutrion, etc as well. I’d plan on two years for prerequisites, even going full time.

The first school you should look at is your instate school if you have one. That’s typically your cheapest option. There use to be a prerequisite chart for all the AVMA accredited Vet schools on their site somewhere. But you’ll need to check the individual schools websites to make sure it’s up to date.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Someone with finance and business degrees wants to chase after the monetary disaster that is veterinary medicine?

Ok, but on a serious aside.......are you comfortable with the debt/salary ratio of all of this, especially in light of the workload?

All prerequisites in one year for someone with no science background is.....daunting, if not impossible. How many credits were you envisioning taking at a time?

In terms of what classes to take, schools list prerequisites on their websites. I would start there.

I suggest continuing to shadow and up your hours if possible, because you start investing in going back to school. And even then , I wouldn't try to do all the prereqs in such a tight schedule. You would have to be taking 20+ credits per semester (minimum) of extremely difficult science coursework to which you have had no prior exposure, plus any additional humanities, social sciences, and general education classes that may not have been included in your finance degree ON TOP of that. That's a recipe for disaster, poor grades, and burnout.

Even two years (of course, including all of the shadowing and work you would need to do on the side to be a competitive applicant) would be quite a feat. Since you have no background in science, you don't even know if you will a)like and b)succeed in the sciences - could be a dead stop right there.

Slow down a bit and expose yourself to the profession more before jumping into spending more money on additional schooling - that's my advice. Then, and only then, if you decide you really want to do it, head down that path.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

I am estimating about a year of prerequisite course work and am currently studying to take the GRE soon, so it will be a while before I even apply to any schools.

I am looking for any help/recommendations as to what to look for in a school, what types of classes would be best for someone with a non-science background, and finding out if i'm on the right track.

I agree it will take you at least 2 years to get your pre-reqs done, particularly if you want to complete them with high enough marks to make you a competitive candidate for vet school. As for which vet school to go to......if you are in the US, go to the cheapest school you can. There's a cost of vet school map that can help you rank schools by cost (with or without living costs) around the world based on your state of residence.

I went to vet school after a B.A. and ten years working in a different industry, and it took me 3 years of undergrad courses before I was admitted -- I applied after my second year but didn't get in and so took another year to increase some grades and then got accepted.

 

[falco_borealis]

Unless they have general science credits from their original BA?

 

[MBAtoDVM]

I think you’re going to need more than a year for prerequisites. It’ll depend on the school what they require, but in general it’ll be intro bio series, intro chem series, ochem (sometimes only one semester, others the whole sequence), physics (again, amount will depend), bio chem, and usually some sort of math requirement. Plus some schools require animal nutrion, etc as well. I’d plan on two years for prerequisites, even going full time.

The first school you should look at is your instate school if you have one. That’s typically your cheapest option. There use to be a prerequisite chart for all the AVMA accredited Vet schools on their site somewhere. But you’ll need to check the individual schools websites to make sure it’s up to date.

Y

Yes, I've been on a lot of school's websites to figure out which classes to take and what the requirements are. I guess I can take more than a year, I'm in no rush. I know it's important to do well, so that's my bottom line goal for all the prerequisites. Thank you for all your advice!

 

[MBAtoDVM]

Someone with finance and business degrees wants to chase after the monetary disaster that is veterinary medicine?

Ok, but on a serious aside.......are you comfortable with the debt/salary ratio of all of this, especially in light of the workload?

All prerequisites in one year for someone with no science background is.....daunting, if not impossible. How many credits were you envisioning taking at a time?

In terms of what classes to take, schools list prerequisites on their websites. I would start there.

I suggest continuing to shadow and up your hours if possible, because you start investing in going back to school. And even then , I wouldn't try to do all the prereqs in such a tight schedule. You would have to be taking 20+ credits per semester (minimum) of extremely difficult science coursework to which you have had no prior exposure, plus any additional humanities, social sciences, and general education classes that may not have been included in your finance degree ON TOP of that. That's a recipe for disaster, poor grades, and burnout.

Even two years (of course, including all of the shadowing and work you would need to do on the side to be a competitive applicant) would be quite a feat. Since you have no background in science, you don't even know if you will a)like and b)succeed in the sciences - could be a dead stop right there.

Slow down a bit and expose yourself to the profession more before jumping into spending more money on additional schooling - that's my advice. Then, and only then, if you decide you really want to do it, head down that path.

Yeah I think 1 year might be too ambitious, so i'll take as long as I have to as long as I do well in all the classes. I have been doing a lot of research on each of the vet schools to figure out their prerequisite requirements, and also looking at different locations, cost of living and all.

I would hate to lose interest and give up just because the prerequisites were too much. I did take General Biology already with my finance degree and did well, but I'm worried about Physics and OChem.

 

[SkiOtter]

I would hate to lose interest and give up just because the prerequisites were too much. I did take General Biology already with my finance degree and did well, but I'm worried about Physics and OChem

The prereq classes are probably not going to be as difficult as actual vet school classes. Especially in terms of volume of information.

 

[Caiter92]

Y

Yes, I've been on a lot of school's websites to figure out which classes to take and what the requirements are. I guess I can take more than a year, I'm in no rush. I know it's important to do well, so that's my bottom line goal for all the prerequisites. Thank you for all your advice!

I would also look in to if a nearby university has a post-back program. For some classes it can be really hard to get into them if you’re a non-degree seeking student. A friend went back for pre-reqs and that was the only way for her to get into some classes.

You may be able to complete them all, or most of them, at a community college as well.

 

[DVMDream]

Y

Yes, I've been on a lot of school's websites to figure out which classes to take and what the requirements are. I guess I can take more than a year, I'm in no rush. I know it's important to do well, so that's my bottom line goal for all the prerequisites. Thank you for all your advice!

It will likely take more than a year, simply because a lot of the higher level pre-reqs require the lower level courses as pre-reqs and a semester of chemistry, physics, biology and math all at one time will make you want to jump off a cliff. Possible you could get them all done if you did the lower level ones at a cc during the summer semester and did courses during a winter semester, but then you would be going the entire year with no breaks. I think when you break it down realistically, it takes a good two years to complete all the pre-reqs just based on class spacing, timing, pre-reqs you have to take to take upper level courses, etc.

 

[MBAtoDVM]

I would also look in to if a nearby university has a post-back program. For some classes it can be really hard to get into them if you’re a non-degree seeking student. A friend went back for pre-reqs and that was the only way for her to get into some classes.

You may be able to complete them all, or most of them, at a community college as well.

Oh I never thought of that or knew it was an option. I'll have to check it out more. I was looking at some local community colleges as well to get a few classes done while working, but my work schedule is really crazy and I end up working overtime a lot.

 

[MBAtoDVM]

It will likely take more than a year, simply because a lot of the higher level pre-reqs require the lower level courses as pre-reqs and a semester of chemistry, physics, biology and math all at one time will make you want to jump off a cliff. Possible you could get them all done if you did the lower level ones at a cc during the summer semester and did courses during a winter semester, but then you would be going the entire year with no breaks. I think when you break it down realistically, it takes a good two years to complete all the pre-reqs just based on class spacing, timing, pre-reqs you have to take to take upper level courses, etc.

Yes, you have a good point. I think I will allow for 2 years and see how it goes. I was watching some YouTube videos and some vet students said they wished they took more upper level science classes before going to vet school. Maybe I'll end up getting another undergraduate degree.