Transfering question; Advice please

[tsarasua]

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Hello all,
I haven't been to these forums in a while; actually I'm a dental student.
I was wondering if any vet schools would consider taking a dental student as a transfer into their first year classes. Or would requirements be the same as any undergrad application.

Not that I hate dentistry, it is something I enjoy doing. However, I've always wanted to become a doctor for the animals; to make a long story short- my family had a way of persuading me to go towards "human" health care so to speak.
Now that I'm in my 2nd year, I've been thinking more and more about the "what if."

I know you must enjoy what you do for your career; and I know I would be happy doing both, but more happy being a vet. 🙄

I'm just not sure if I have to go back and take all the undergrad pre reqs and etc. I don't know if I could survive doing that all over again; but if I had to, I would like to know.

And the hours of observation; I have none; would I have to do those too?

Sorry for this post, it may be out of place. Maybe I should have contacted the vet school I'm interested in- its just Ive always received much help from this forum and I really appreciate it.

Thank you for listening to me, it feels great to get this off my chest.
I've only told this to my 2 dogs and bird. 🙂

Much thanks,
T

 

[katryn]

I highly doubt any vet school would simply let you transfer in. The application process in general requires the completion of certain classes, experience, good GRE score and GPA, and an unknown and variable amount of spunk.

The pre-req classes required vary from school to school. And some schools have a limit on how long ago you can have taken certain classes. You can contact whichever schools you are interested in, or look at their website, to find a list of classes and if there are any time limits on them.

If you're considering switching professions, I highly recommend taking some time off to not only reconsider switching, but to shadow or work in the vet field to get some experience. By the time applications roll around most of us have at least 1000+ hours, most more.

Most schools also list required minimum GPA and GRE scores on their websites too. As well as any suggested amounts of experience.

It's a big change, but if you browse the Pre-Vet section, there are plenty or people who make the switch to vet from something else.

 

[parietal]

I agree that it definitely wouldn't be considered a transfer.

However, dentistry is a pretty big part of veterinary work, so I think you could make a nice case for yourself if you decide to apply as a first-year.

Do some shadowing before you make any decisions. Vet medicine doesn't pay nearly as well as dentistry and the working conditions can be an issue for some: our patients DO bite! And depending on your species of choice, you're going to be with sharp teeth and/or powerful jaws.

Get as much experience as you can, but it is possible to get in without 1000+ hours of experience, especially if your grades and GRE are strong.

Most of the vet prereqs should be similar to dentistry: gen chem, o-chem, biochem, gen bio, micro, genetics, physics, anatomy, etc. Check your school's requirements though: some require animal science and/or nutrition. (There are online versions of both.)

Good luck!

 

[Lieutenamyces]

The college descriptor pages on the VMCAS website are a great place to get condensed pre-req info. Here's a link:

http://www.aavmc.org/vmcas/College_Requirements.htm

I'm fairly certain you would just have to apply as part of the normal application process and hope for the best. I would definitely find a clinic that would let you shadow. Vet med isn't for everyone, so make sure you know what you're getting into before you decide to switch over.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[david594]

I know you must enjoy what you do for your career; and I know I would be happy doing both, but more happy being a vet. 🙄

And the hours of observation; I have none; would I have to do those too?

How do you know you would even be happy doing veterinary medicine? You've never been there to see it? Its like pulling teeth trying to get clients to do what you want(and is best for the animal) in most cases.

 

[tsarasua]

How do you know you would even be happy doing veterinary medicine? You've never been there to see it? Its like pulling teeth trying to get clients to do what you want(and is best for the animal) in most cases.

ah sorry to not have been more thorough with my first post; Ive had many pet companions with me during my years in gradeschool - college; I've had to take them to our vet for their annuals and what not- I've became acquainted with the staff and the vet there and would kind of loiter around talking to them about what they do. I guess they are not official hours but it is not like I have no clue what general things a small animal vet would do; maybe not the details, but it is enough to have me thinking twice about the path I choose.

So just to make things clear, I have thought about this for a while. This is not a spur of the moment thing; sorry for not making that apparent.

Thank you for your help =) Like many of you said, it's probably best if I consult the school.

Best wishes to all you vets and vets-to-be! 😀

 

[tsarasua]

our patients DO bite!

you'd be surprised that some people do bite too

 

[david594]

ah sorry to not have been more thorough with my first post; Ive had many pet companions with me during my years in gradeschool - college; I've had to take them to our vet for their annuals and what not- I've became acquainted with the staff and the vet there and would kind of loiter around talking to them about what they do. I guess they are not official hours but it is not like I have no clue what general things a small animal vet would do; maybe not the details, but it is enough to have me thinking twice about the path I choose.

So just to make things clear, I have thought about this for a while. This is not a spur of the moment thing; sorry for not making that apparent.

If you only just loitered around a vet clinic I highly doubt they told you what they really thought of their jobs and the field in general. All techs and vets will through on a big smile before walking into a room with a client no matter how bad their day is going. It would be bad for business to tell clients how you really felt.

The details are important. Not the details of interpreting the bloodwork. But the details of dealing with the clients; trying to explain to them why you can't just put their old dog on some pain meds without bloodwork. Or why their dogs bloodwork is $150 when they have never had to pay for their own bloodwork. Its very different than what they show on TV. 🙂

It sounds like you were a good client and always had a positive experience at the vet. So many of these less-than-ideal client issues are things you have never been exposed.

The reason many applicants have thousands of hours of experience is because there is really no substitute for getting to see this field. Showing up once a week is unlikely to get you on good terms with the vets for them to really even be honest with you about their take on the job. The days they think about quitting, when they are convinced a client is going to sue them or when they want to ring a clients neck.

 

[twelvetigers]

Another tidbit of food-for-thought: vet schools want three letters of recommendation, and one of them must be from a vet. Some want more than three, some want two from vets... So you must know at least one vet well enough to get an eLOR, and it would be best if the vet could speak about how you are with animals, with clients, etc.

Having an interesting background can definitely help you stand out among applicants, but you must be able to (clearly and convincingly) explain why you decided to change your path so far along (or why you didn't pursue vet med in the first place).

 

[sumstorm]

You need at least enough hours of experience to understand the negatives of the field, including what you personally will find unappealing. Also, it would give you some leads on what field of vet mes you might be interested in. And you need to be able to handle a big question; why go against your families influence now?

 

[Bill59]

Its like pulling teeth trying to get clients to do what you want(and is best for the animal) in most cases.

good one

 

[dpcdoc]

Another tidbit of food-for-thought: vet schools want three letters of recommendation, and one of them must be from a vet.

This is not true, I had 3 LORs from Physicians and was accepted to vet school first time. Not that it really helps your case much....

 

[AUgirl365]

I think it depends on where you apply as twelvetigers said. For example Auburn requires a LOR from a vet, a professor and an employer but Cornell requires a LOR from each vet for all of your veterinary experience to be counted. Other schools may not have any LOR requirements at all. Long story short - check the requirements of the school you are applying to and plan accordingly.

Good luck with transition from dental to vet med

 

[twelvetigers]

I wasn't aware that there were any schools that did not require at least one vet recommendation. So VMRCVM does not? I'll have to remember that.