Undergrad Q's...

[Kara31191]

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Some of you have probably seen my rants about life on here.

I'm currently a senior in High School, and I was accepted to UNH in Durham, NH today. SO EXCITED.

Anyways- I have 3000+ hours working at an animal hospital as a Caretaker[1 year]/tech[1 1/2 yrs] and 30 hours at a petstore working with birds. The AH I where I work sees small animals, exotics, and wildlife. I know a lot of requirements call for experience in many different areas. Do I have to do a lot more for animal/vet experience?

I plan on getting large animal experience at college- hopefully. I've never been around horses or any large animals so that will be interesting!

Basically, is there any advice you would like to share with me? Do's and Don'ts? Things you wish you did? Things you wish you didn't do? Advice about how to go about setting up my courseload? Anything is appreciated.

I was planning on trying to take Biology at the local community college this summer. Will it be easy to transfer the credits?

Any ideas?

One step closer... =]

 

[twelvetigers]

First of all - yay! I'm glad you got in somewhere you'd like to go!

As for advice, you should continue to seek experience where you can, especially in areas that are lacking. But the NUMBER ONE THING to focus on is... you know what I'm going to say... grades. Do well in your classes. You know going into ugrad what you want to do and what's required to get there, so give it all you've got.

That said... don't forget to make some new friends and have fun! Don't become a shut-in, just try and do well in class. There's time for both things. 🙂

 

[bunnity]

Congratulations! I have to say, I am impressed by 3000 hours going into undergrad already.

On the Bio, I would say take it at your regular university for two reasons. One is that vet schools look more favorably on four year college courses. Not that one pre-req at community college is a big deal, but if you can take everything at your regular university it is probably better. The other reason is that since you will have to take Bio 2, it is probably better to take both halves at the same institution since they will probably be using the same book and have better continuity.

For advice, keep doing what you're doing, and start thinking early about where you want to apply so you can get all the classes you need (some vet schools have really weird requirements like public speaking), think about taking the GRE in the next couple years while high school math is still in your head, and try to not accumulate too much debt 🙂

 

[DocDVMD]

I agree with what the other two posters have said, and also would like to suggest getting a wide variety of veterinary and animal experiences. The admissions director at Cornell always emphasized "breadth and depth." Definitely get large animal experience, and try getting involved with research as well.

 

[THEOSU2012]

Hey,

So, I think its great that you have so much experience! Good for you!

I think you can do a lot of things and certainely getting more veterinary experience and animal experience is great. But I caution you not to forget about the other things.

In my mind, what matters most is that you are a well-rounded student. Not only do you have good grades, lots of experience, but you are involved with other things.

You don't have to just be doing veterinary stuff, but being involved in clubs, other organizations is also important.

My analogy is that say you have 100 hours to study for an upcoming test, some students will choose to spend all 100 hours studying for that test. I would say that I would spend 60-70 hours studying for that test, and the rest of the time doing club related activities. Of course, everyone makes their own choices, and this is yours. I'm not saying to get bad grades, but to be ever mindful of trying to become as well rounded as possible!

I think this helps diversify your portfolio and plus it forces you to interact with other students and teachers as well. This is great for another reason in that it forces you to interact in a professional manner and can help you make contacts for letters for applications as well as teaching you how to give a good impression when interviewing.

When I was in undergrad, I really believed strongly in helping to mentor other students in our school, and help them achieve veterinary school. This is what I told to many other students, and I encourage you to do the same.

And remember, your goal is to be well-rounded!

Good luck!

 

[nyanko]

Hey, glad to see you back here!

Congratulations on UNH, and don't forget to have fun too. 🙂

I'm probably a good example of what not to do in undergrad though, so you can ignore anything I say about that...

 

[Pandacinny]

If you have a professor you really like or who's doing cool research, get to know them! Go to their office hours or see about researching in their lab. You're going to need their recs when it comes time to apply for vet school or for any internships you want to do during/after college. SO much easier to get a letter from someone you were friends with than to go remind someone who has no idea who you are that you took their class three semesters ago and got a B. Plus you get a better letter from people who know you.

Also, studying abroad was super fun for me. If it's financially possible and you have any interest in traveling, you might look into it.

 

[sumstorm]

Learn from the very beginning where student resources are at your school. In other words, know where things are and how to use them:

writing/tutoring centers
infirmaries (or how to get medical care)
financial aid (even if you don't have fin aid)
housing office (if you are in campus housing)
study centers/computer labs/libraries
library research center/help desks

Grades are, of course, important, as is learning to balance your life between academics and other activities (work, social groups, etc.)

I suggest at least one internship while in college, as it will help open pathways. I did an internship at a zoo that lead me to a research topic for an international fellowship in conservation education.

Develop other areas of interest/skills as well. I left college with a solid knowledge of environmental history, environmental science, education, peer counseling, biology (animal behavior, pre-med general, toxicology), and prarie maintenance and restoration. It is really hard to know just where your career path will lead you or when you will pull skills from elsewhere.

Choose a school that is a good fit for you. If you get to campus and midway through the first semester realize that you aren't where you need to be to florish, complete the year and do your best, but take the time to apply to transfer.

Get to know your professors. Professors didn't end up where they are because they are boring people. Take the time to visit them, ask about thier backgrounds and where they see thier fields going, what they like and dislike about teaching. It is amazing how advantageous relationships with your professors will be for you. After establishing relationships with my professors, one found funding for me to complete a reseach semester over the summer, another put me in contact with a master's program PI to conduct my honors research under, another gave me tips and contacts for travel in Thailand. I also obtained a variety of campus jobs and jobs outside of school through professors.

Learn to write well. Even though I am not the best writer on forums, I can write full lab reports, technical reports, press releases, short stories, essays, defenses, business plans, etc because I embraced the writing classes at my school.

If your school offers seminars, sessions, speakers, etc, consider taking advantage of that. I learned a lot at an entrepreneur weekend seminar at my college; the skills I took from that seminar will help if I want to run a practice later on.

Help other people, if you can. I have found the more you can help other people, the more you help yourself.

Since your interested in birds, I would also suggest trying to find summer research programs involved with birds. Ecolog-L is a great list serve which often lists opportunities for bird field research .

 

[Kara31191]

Thank you all for the advice. It seems so far away... but four years really isn't a very long time.

I wasn't thinking about that with the biology course. I probably should stick to the university for everything.

 

[Kara31191]

Congratulations! I have to say, I am impressed by 3000 hours going into undergrad already.

On the Bio, I would say take it at your regular university for two reasons. One is that vet schools look more favorably on four year college courses. Not that one pre-req at community college is a big deal, but if you can take everything at your regular university it is probably better. The other reason is that since you will have to take Bio 2, it is probably better to take both halves at the same institution since they will probably be using the same book and have better continuity.

For advice, keep doing what you're doing, and start thinking early about where you want to apply so you can get all the classes you need (some vet schools have really weird requirements like public speaking), think about taking the GRE in the next couple years while high school math is still in your head, and try to not accumulate too much debt 🙂

I don't even know where to start when looking at vet school. So far Tufts and University of FL is on the list. But what should I do to learn more about them?

I agree with what the other two posters have said, and also would like to suggest getting a wide variety of veterinary and animal experiences. The admissions director at Cornell always emphasized "breadth and depth." Definitely get large animal experience, and try getting involved with research as well.

Definitely. I like the experience though. I love that I've been able to work with wildlife, exotics, avian, and companion animals, and though birds have been my favorite (Just drew from the jugular in a macaw the other day!), I love learning about all animals. Large animals sound intimidating though.

 

[Kara31191]

Since your interested in birds, I would also suggest trying to find summer research programs involved with birds. Ecolog-L is a great list serve which often lists opportunities for bird field research .

Thank you for all the advice! =]

 

[StillDreaming]

Transfering credits depends on your particular school (i have no idea about UNH), call the office at the school or email one of the students and ask.

As for the large animal experience, If you can get tech experience with LA then GREAT, but if not, don't leave out the option of just working at a stable to get some hands on experience on how to handle these animals. This basic skill of handling large animals will make your clinical rotations A LOT less intimidating (you would be surprised how many vet students i interact with that cannot handle their patients in LA, and are afraid to enter the stall to do a basic health check).

If you are interested in research, fo out and try find somerhting in your area (birds is what i am guessing based on this discussion and your avatar). Talk to professors about what is around, check out local wildlife clinics, etc.

I have been very lucky, but if i were to do my undergrad over, i wish i had the guts to get out their my freshman year (i pretty uch waited till junior year to get anything significant). Then I would have had the opportunity to learn and do so much more. I think youa re going in hte right direction by seeking advice now. Good luck!

 

[AlleyKat]

Congratulations on getting accepted!

I'm somewhat of a non-trad (B.A in psychology '08) and I'll be starting my prereq's this summer if all goes well. I'm from New Hampshire so there's a good chance I'll be taking at least some of them at UNH. Maybe we'll run into each other in class! lol. The school has a lot of research and internship opportunities for undergrads, which would be helpful to get involved in at some point. My advice would be to wait until at least second semester to start anything like that though. Use the first semester to adjust, figure out study habits, and have a good time! Just remember that you have four years to get everything done, and while it does go by sooo fast, you don't have to cram it all into one semester/year.

From what I've heard, I believe UNH has really good agricultural programs and you shouldn't have much trouble finding food animal/large animal experience there.

My best friend is graduating from UNH this semester and I know several others who went there as well, so feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the campus,social life, places to go, etc!

 

[Kara31191]

Congratulations on getting accepted!

I'm somewhat of a non-trad (B.A in psychology '08) and I'll be starting my prereq's this summer if all goes well. I'm from New Hampshire so there's a good chance I'll be taking at least some of them at UNH. Maybe we'll run into each other in class! lol. The school has a lot of research and internship opportunities for undergrads, which would be helpful to get involved in at some point. My advice would be to wait until at least second semester to start anything like that though. Use the first semester to adjust, figure out study habits, and have a good time! Just remember that you have four years to get everything done, and while it does go by sooo fast, you don't have to cram it all into one semester/year.

From what I've heard, I believe UNH has really good agricultural programs and you shouldn't have much trouble finding food animal/large animal experience there.

My best friend is graduating from UNH this semester and I know several others who went there as well, so feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the campus,social life, places to go, etc!

Thank you.

I might take you up on that later. 🙂

 

[ckgilabert]

my advice:

dont have gaps between classes that are of the same subject. like dont take physics fall 09 and wait till spring '10 to take the second physics.


take biochem right after ochem.

take labs with the class....even if it's not a co-requisite.

ask EVERYONE which classes are the hardest....and then plan to take your GEs with those classes.

dont take all your GEs your first couple of years...and get stuck with hard classes your last two years.

befriend older classmen....they have better registration dates, they could add a class for you, then late at night that person could drop that class and you could add it. 🙂

 

[cuitlamiztli]

befriend older classmen....they have better registration dates, they could add a class for you, then late at night that person could drop that class and you could add it. 🙂

Um... every school I've dealt with (directly or indirectly) has policies against that. Sometimes you've just got to cut your losses and take the class at a different time or during a different term.

Anyway, to add to everyone else's advice...

Don't:
-Be afraid to take non-required courses if they interest you.
-Be afraid to take experimental courses (i.e. new courses that the department is trying to get into the system).
-Be afraid to argue for points--if you missed something that you think you answered correctly on a test/quiz/homework, talk to your instructor/TA. If you got it right... you should get the point(s) back. If you got it wrong... you can learn why.
-Feel obligated to buy the textbooks from the bookstore. Getting them online or through other students can save you a lot of money!
-Get discouraged if you happen to get a bad instructor. They happen.

Do:
-Try to set up a good study system early on (if you don't already have one).
-Take a travel course during summer or other breaks if you get the chance... they are definitely worth it if you can find one (or a few) that match your learning and travel interests.
-Make sure to spend time doing other things that you enjoy.

And like everyone else has said, try to keep your grades up but don't make yourself miserable doing so. Good luck!

 

[GeeQued]

Once again I didnt read all the posts leading up to this but sorry if this was already mentioned, but since your thinking of this so early on I think you'd be an excellent candidate for some of the early admissions programs. U of Mn has the VetFast, I think cornell has something similar. But basically you apply as a Freshman and they give a yes or no and your able to complete things a lot faster. Look into them, most schools have a similar program and you already have a lot of experience to go with.

 

[twelvetigers]

That's a nice idea, but I don't like it. What's the big rush? Take your time in undergrad. Don't hurry along. Figure out a few things about yourself before you apply. Have a relationship, make some new friends, get into an argument with someone other than your parents! Go get drunk when you turn legal drinking age if you want to! Rushing through undergrad seems to much like hurrying towards being an adult and the rest of you life. I kinda like being a college student... enough so that I'm glad I never rushed myself.

Not to diss geequed's suggestion, of course - and remember, it's all your choice - but don't feel like you need to hurry. Where's the fire?

 

[Kara31191]

You're all so helpful! Thank you!

I like the ideas about scheduling. I will have to plan how I take my classes carefully.

I'm looking into buying my computer right now, and I'm super excited that college is 5 months away. I feel like I've been waiting forever. But the four years until (hopefully) vet school doesn't seem like a real long time. I plan on getting large animal experience on campus, and hopefully work as a tech for a large animal vet. I don't know of too many large animal vets so I will have to see.

We have a lot of specialists coming through the clinic. I was thinking about trying to shadow them in the future. I don't know how open they'll be to it though. I'll have to see... They kind of intimidate me. lol... 😳

I will have to look into early acceptance to vet school if it will speed it up at all. I'm very worried about accumulating a large debt just from undergrad and then vet school is going to be a different story. I'm looking into many scholarships, but my family doesn't have a ton of money, so I will be in debt anyways.

Are you talking about something like the program the one Tufts has where as long as you complete the prereqs Tufts will accept you after three years? (If I got that right..?).

Thank you!

 

[bunnity]

Kara, I believe the above posters were talking about certain vet schools that have programs set up so that you are accepted as an undergrad freshman, put onto a "fast track" undergrad toward vet school, and then given a guaranteed seat in that school's vet school after a couple years of undergrad provided you keep your grades up. I know my undergrad school does this for med students: exceptional students can get accepted into the pre-med program right out of high school and are guaranteed a seat in the med school as long as their grades are above a certain GPA. They are, however, "locked in" to the med school here and have to go here pretty much.

However, what you were talking about - getting accepted into vet school during your junior year of undergrad - is also possible, at least at some schools (Penn and Ohio State are two of them). If you had really good stats and had all your pre-req's set up to be completed by the end of junior year, then it would be possible to be accepted. Even if you didn't get in, it would be a nice practice run for the application process. I know someone on this forum was accepted to Ohio State as a junior; it's in the early pages of the successful applicants thread I think.

Like twelvetigers said, there are a lot of good experiences to be had in undergrad - I think it would be up to you personally whether you would benefit from trying to skip the year or not. Another thing is that if something in vet school didn't pan out you would have that bachelor's degree as a fallback if you did the four years of undergrad. On the other hand, skipping a year of school is of course cheaper. Just some factors to consider🙂

 

[Kara31191]

Kara, I believe the above posters were talking about certain vet schools that have programs set up so that you are accepted as an undergrad freshman, put onto a "fast track" undergrad toward vet school, and then given a guaranteed seat in that school's vet school after a couple years of undergrad provided you keep your grades up. I know my undergrad school does this for med students: exceptional students can get accepted into the pre-med program right out of high school and are guaranteed a seat in the med school as long as their grades are above a certain GPA. They are, however, "locked in" to the med school here and have to go here pretty much.

However, what you were talking about - getting accepted into vet school during your junior year of undergrad - is also possible, at least at some schools (Penn and Ohio State are two of them). If you had really good stats and had all your pre-req's set up to be completed by the end of junior year, then it would be possible to be accepted. Even if you didn't get in, it would be a nice practice run for the application process. I know someone on this forum was accepted to Ohio State as a junior; it's in the early pages of the successful applicants thread I think.

Like twelvetigers said, there are a lot of good experiences to be had in undergrad - I think it would be up to you personally whether you would benefit from trying to skip the year or not. Another thing is that if something in vet school didn't pan out you would have that bachelor's degree as a fallback if you did the four years of undergrad. On the other hand, skipping a year of school is of course cheaper. Just some factors to consider🙂

I just looked it up and I was confusing the two ideas. I read it's supposed to be only if you go to certain schools for undergrad you can get into these programs, and as far as I know UNH doesn't participate in any of these.

I was thinking of getting the pre reqs done asap so that it will be cheaper... But if I feel like I'm rushing myself, then I won't do so. I don't want to try to take too many classes at once.

I don't know. I just can't wait to get started! 🙂

 

[twelvetigers]

As long as you finish the pre-reqs and have all your other ducks in a row (GPA, GRE, experience, letters of rec.), you can apply to any vet school you meet the requirements for. If you have this by junior year, you can certainly apply then. Unless you have a lot of AP credit or college credit earned in high school, I can't imagine NOT feeling rushed when trying to finish pre-reqs within 3 years. But, people do it.

You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders, so just start out at univeristy with a normal set of freshman classes and see how it feels. You can base your future decisions on that.

Don't worry about all of it too much now - just get excited about college!