Very worried

[lite]

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im a freshman, undergrad bio major. its the second semester and im already failing my science pre-req classes... which is a problem because i really love working and being with animals and hope to become a veterinarian

BUUUUT! considering my grades (A's in gen ed classes, C's and D's in science classes) im very doubtful about vet schools.. i plan to take summer classes to get a better grade anyhow. if my grades drastically improve, will it improve my chances of getting accepted? what are other paths or careers similar to a vet's?

and i know these questions may sound very stupid, but please keep in mind i have absolutely NO ONE to go to for advice- the bio deparment advisors are basically useless (i already KNOW to plan ahead, take advantage of professor office hours, start on the application early, blahblah etc) and no one in my family are doctors. 🙁 HEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPPPPP!

 

[DrMattOglesby]

well...when i FIRST started college...my grades werent exactly stellar.
but then after i got settled into how things worked, i was performing to a quality level. why dont you chill out a bit--its youre freshman year!
take some time to adjust.
and as far as alternatives to veterinary medicine go; you could always apply to the caribbean vet schools. i know there are a few out there.

 

[fetch]

If you stay the course of pursuing vetmed, and do not drop the classes you are failing/doing poorly in, you will repeat these classes for a better grade in the hopes of minimizing the GPA damage.

If you are struggling carrying 12 or more credit hours, I would suggest you cut down to 12 or fewer hours (assuming you can drop below full time), until you get into your college groove. My undergrad freshman year, I only did 23 hours and some were "idiot" classes (G. Bio 101/102, Eng. 101/102, pre-algebra/Algebra I, Sociology 101). Didn't hurt me one bit to start out slow and build up to 16-19 hours/semester over time.

You have a lot of science classes ahead of you; if you apply yourself and study and attend study groups and counsel with professors and tutor and your grades do not come up, you may have to face the fact the biological sciences may not be for you. There's no shame in that, either. Me? I'll never be a chemist; I struggled and busted my hump and only squeaked by the chemistry requirements. My brain is simply not wired to make sense of the chemical sciences (IO. chem, O. chem, even biochem, especially P. chem).

This:

i really love working and being with animals and hope to become a veterinarian

is troublesome to me as you did not mention people as well. If you do not like working with people, veterinary medicine is not the best profession for you as every animal has a owner who makes all the decisions, every public health slot deals with the public and every R&D slot has co-workers, bosses, grant committees, and so on.

Most college degreed careers related to animals are going to be science-heavy - Animal Science, Zoology, Wildlife Biology, Marine biology, etc. Technical schools such as CVT/RVT, AI technician, palpation technician, laboratory technician, etc., tend to not be as much since they focus on technical skills versus the purely didactic.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck to you!

 

[168135]

Will vet school look down upon you if you don't do a full course load?

I'm finding 5 courses very overwhelming. I failed my math last semester and I am thinking of dropping statistics this semester because I am finding it difficult. The prof that I have now has a different teaching method than the other two profs and the number of students requesting tutors for this course is through the roof. I did poor on the first midterm and the only way I can get a good mark is to do well on my final... if I do well on my final, my two midterm marks will be omitted and my final will become my grade. I don't want to get a bad grade in this course and have to re-take it.

So far I am doing excellent in my other courses! I have an 85 in my English, have an 86 in Anthro/Soc, aced my first Biology midterm with a 98 and I am getting 100s on most of my labs, and I had my first chemistry midterm last night and I am sure I did well on it. Stats is just blah... and after each class I find myself more and more lost. I am looking into taking some summer courses... I am thinking of taking either Organic Chemistry or re-taking my first semester of General Chemistry, and starting my minor in business. The only reason I am taking summer courses is so I can stay in the city and volunteer... I can't get volunteer experience in my hometown.

Sorry to butt in... I thought my situation was somewhat related. I want to get my BSc before going to vet school and I was originally thinking of applying in my third and fourth year. Next year I am supposed to be taking my two biology electives, stats, physics, organic chemistry and humanity... would I still be able to apply in my third year if I take a couple of those courses and do them in my third year?

I LOVE biology courses and I do well in them!!! I could totally handle a full courseload of biology courses! Math is my weakness... kids from my highschool who went off to university are now doing horrible in their math courses. My high school math teachers furious. The IB (for those who know what IB is) are doing horrible and one IB student ended up dropping out of university.

 

[Habibti]

To the OP: Perhaps one of your problems is that you're studying ineffectively. Have you tried different methods? Have you found a study group? Have you tried to get a tutor? (Our school has a tutoring program the university funds). As for taking advantage of office hours, have you asked the professor for advice on how to effectively study for the exam?

Scarcelyheard: I would advise you to take your math classes in the summer. Yes, it makes the summer suck a little more, but then you only have to concentrate on one thing, and have a fair bit of time to do it. I retook my second semester of O chem this way and did much better than I had originally (A instead of D), because I didn't have other exams etc getting the way.

 

[168135]

Scarcelyheard: I would advise you to take your math classes in the summer. Yes, it makes the summer suck a little more, but then you only have to concentrate on one thing, and have a fair bit of time to do it. I retook my second semester of O chem this way and did much better than I had originally (A instead of D), because I didn't have other exams etc getting the way.

They don't usually offer it during the summer. I went to see an advisor and he told me to contact the vet school that I want to apply to. He said that they might be concerned that I am not taking a full courseload in my first and second year even though I am still getting my required number of credits by taking courses in the summer. I emailed the vet school and I am waiting for a reply. Better safe than sorry. I was a little upset... the advisor says that I have to have a science or a math as my minor. If I minor in Psychology, it will be pretty easy to take those courses during the summer.

 

[lite]

since i am a bio major, my advisor said to take a bio class '213' and chem '211'.. i think as a freshman those classes were wayyy too overwhelming for me. i talked to some of my friends (which are also bio majors) and they all said they started out in bio 104, and moved up to bio 213.
(and even if i should have taken an 'easier' class, as fetch says, i just dont think im wired up to understand chemistry )

but anyhow, question about applying for vet school.. is the MCAT and the GRE both required?? if not, which test do vet schools prefer?

thanks for your input!! i really appreciate it!

 

[david594]

They don't usually offer it during the summer. I went to see an advisor and he told me to contact the vet school that I want to apply to. He said that they might be concerned that I am not taking a full courseload in my first and second year even though I am still getting my required number of credits by taking courses in the summer. I emailed the vet school and I am waiting for a reply. Better safe than sorry. I was a little upset... the advisor says that I have to have a science or a math as my minor. If I minor in Psychology, it will be pretty easy to take those courses during the summer.

PEI says right on their website that rigor of course load taken will be considered and that it is expected that all pre-reqs will be taken during a full time semester. Then they say some exceptions may be considered.

 

[168135]

PEI says right on their website that rigor of course load taken will be considered and that it is expected that all pre-reqs will be taken during a full time semester. Then they say some exceptions may be considered.

I should just give up. I'm already so screwed, lol. I'm really beginning to hate Atlantic Canada and its vet school. I need to take SOMETHING this summer so I can stay in the city and volunteer. I can re-take chem, but they don't offer the math course that I had failed first semester. So that is all I can take... chemistry... gah. Will human anatomy be any help to me?

I need genetics, two biology electives, organic chemistry, one open math, humanities and physics next year... I think I need microbiology too. Do I even have room for all of that?

Oh yeah, I got turned down by another vet clinic yesterday. The more frusterating it gets, the more I want to quit and do the vet tech program and come back to this... parents won't let me though... they keep saying that "Things will get better!" Uh huh.

 

[fetch]

"Rigors of courseload" may be taken into consideration, but if you don't have the Holy GPA to unlock the Ivory Gates leading to the Hallowed Halls of Veterinary Academia, even if you took 26 hours a semester it will not get you in... 😉

Not doing 18 hours a semester your freshman year will not make or break your chances of getting into a veterinary program. Demonstrating you can tolerate progressively heavier and heavier academic loads while maintaining an above average gpa, however, is an attribute they will notice and look upon favorably.

Do NOT try to do the "hard" req's in summer school; everyone knows SS is a trick to shorten the misery of a particular course. Good candidates for SS selection are the "soft" req's: public speaking, your PE req if there is one, any of the social sciences or humanities. If you're concerned; check with the school.

Too often, it seems everyone is in such a hurry to get their undergrad done and try to shove a square list of pre-req's into a round list of semester course offerings and end up taking classes out of order and making the course load harder in the process and stress and whatnot. Need to kill a couple semester hours left over because you really shouldn't be taking the 4000 level ZOOL embryology class offered only in the Spring before taking that 1000 level ANSCI Introduction to Reproduction class offered only in the Fall? Do a TA-ship, sign up for a problems: elective, do an "internship" with presentation, audit for P/F an interesting but not req'd class like parasitology, cell biology, histology. Take it or leave it but living by all the cliches you've heard about "slowing down, don't be in a rush, etc" will make you much happier and balanced when you reach your particular academic pursuits finish line. Lord knows I lost a good chunk of my second decade before I realized the trick.

Sometimes you just need to stop, reassess, re-evaluate, and maybe even restart at a later date. The reasons are numerous and yours alone. Sure, you'll have to explain why you did this to any academic-related pursuit until the next highest degree is obtained (i.e., no one gives a rat's hinny what my undergrad gpa was). But if your reasons are sound and the direction your academic endeavors go in after the pause support the decision was the right one, no one can fault you. If one does; F-em, you don't want to be affiliated with them anyways.

As for not finding work in a veterinary clinic? I'll let you in on a little secret; your "veterinary experience" does not have to come from a veterinary clinic as the only way I could have ever afforded to "volunteer" to get my foot in the door would've been to not eat. I never worked for a veterinary clinic until after I graduated. I worked in the state veterinary diagnostic lab and rotated through several departments; animal care, necropsy, bac-t, cell culture, etc. My boss was a veterinary pathologist. I worked in research labs - both as a bench-bitch and animal care on the farm. I worked as a milker. I worked as a stable groom. I worked on a dude ranch. I worked as a hot-walker on a racetrack. I worked in a meat lab. All credited as "experience".

 

[168135]

Thanks Fetch. I've been having a difficult time because I am already behind compared to the pre-vetters that I know and every time I think I have something figured out, something else goes wrong. Last night I went to study my biology and I found out that I misplaced three weeks of my biology notes. I am hoping that they are in my room somewhere, but I could have left them in the library. Eek!

AVC hasn't emailed me back yet and tomorrow is the final day to drop a course. A friend of mine agreed to help me with my final in Statistics. He pulled an 80 on our first midterm.

I'm going to overcome my allergies and think about volunteering at the SPCA. I couldn't clean cat cages when I volunteered before, but I could handle cleaning the playpen, walking the dogs and socializing with the cats.

 

[VAgirl]

A friend of mine agreed to help me with my final in Statistics. He pulled an 80 on our first midterm.

Maybe you should find someone to help you study who got more than a B-. Don't get me wrong, I got my fair share of B-s (and lower), but I also wouldn't have thought that, at that given time, I was any sort of appropriate tutor in those subjects. I know the Canadian system is a little different, but still...I think you'd do well to find someone who is getting really high grades (or a grad student, even) to tutor you.

 

[aretoo]

I've been having a difficult time because I am already behind compared to the pre-vetters that I know

I always get so discouraged trying to compare myself to other people!! There will always be people who seem better and those who seem worse than you. Try to relax and enjoy undergrad!! It's a lot of fun - really!! (though I probably wouldn't have said that last night right before my cell bio midterm, lol).

 

[lailanni]

im a freshman, undergrad bio major. its the second semester and im already failing my science pre-req classes... which is a problem because i really love working and being with animals and hope to become a veterinarian

BUUUUT! considering my grades (A's in gen ed classes, C's and D's in science classes) im very doubtful about vet schools.. i plan to take summer classes to get a better grade anyhow. if my grades drastically improve, will it improve my chances of getting accepted? what are other paths or careers similar to a vet's?

and i know these questions may sound very stupid, but please keep in mind i have absolutely NO ONE to go to for advice- the bio deparment advisors are basically useless (i already KNOW to plan ahead, take advantage of professor office hours, start on the application early, blahblah etc) and no one in my family are doctors. 🙁 HEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPPPPP!

Just my 2 cents.... you mentioned that you jumped into 200 level bio courses. Start at the beginning, study hard, and get tutors if you need them. That should really help.

Schools seem to be forgiving of low freshmen grades. They understand it's a big change. If after a while you're still struggling and making poor grades you still have some options. You can apply to a Caribbean vet school, they do take lower GPAs.

what are other paths or careers similar to a vet's?

Something that may be great for you is Vet Tech school -- to become a veterinary technician. They are really hands on with animals, in some cases I would say they work more hands on with animals than the vets. Vets in the clinic can have a lot of client/owner interaction, and not always a lot of time with animals. Techs spend more time with animals, and less time with clients. A simple analogy is that vet techs are like the nurses of the vet hospital.

Tech school can be done online, or at a local college. Usually it takes around 2 years to complete. It requires much less of the hard sciences, though you may need some.

Just because it's less schooling to become a vet tech, it doesn't mean it's any less of a job. Techs are crucial to the hosptial. Vets couldn't get by without them!

Also, I recommend volunteering/shadowing at a vet clinic. It will help you decide if that's what you really want to do. You get to see the docs and vet techs in action! Good luck!

 

[168135]

Maybe you should find someone to help you study who got more than a B-. Don't get me wrong, I got my fair share of B-s (and lower), but I also wouldn't have thought that, at that given time, I was any sort of appropriate tutor in those subjects. I know the Canadian system is a little different, but still...I think you'd do well to find someone who is getting really high grades (or a grad student, even) to tutor you.

The Students Union is overwhelmed with the number of people who are requesting tutors for this subject. Nobody got higher than an 85 on this midterm... he understands all of the concepts... I understand the big picture. He is trying to maintain a scholarship and he helps me in Chemistry.

 

[168135]

I got an email from AVC and they said that as long as I have 9 credit hours a semester and that it doesn't show it as a repeated course, then I'm good. I don't know what that all means, but I'll ask hehe.

 

[frozen_canadian]

Maybe you should find someone to help you study who got more than a B-. Don't get me wrong, I got my fair share of B-s (and lower), but I also wouldn't have thought that, at that given time, I was any sort of appropriate tutor in those subjects. I know the Canadian system is a little different, but still...I think you'd do well to find someone who is getting really high grades (or a grad student, even) to tutor you.

Actually, an 80% at many Canadian universities is the cut off for an A. At my undergrad 80-100 was an A, 75-80 a B+ etc. So an 80% is indeed a very good grade in Canada.

 

[VAgirl]

Actually, an 80% at many Canadian universities is the cut off for an A. At my undergrad 80-100 was an A, 75-80 a B+ etc. So an 80% is indeed a very good grade in Canada.

Do you guys have extremely hard testing? There must be something I'm missing. I mean, I knew the grading system was different (and fairly different from the US in Australia, too, I think). But that seems quite different. Can you explain it a bit more for my clarification? Thanks!

 

[168135]

We have the same grading system... 80-100 is an A, 70-80 is a B, ect. I don't know if the Canadian vet schools use this system or the other system.

I lived in Houston for two years, and schooling in Houston was way better than schooling in Nova Scotia. When I moved back to Nova Scotia, I had the option to skip ahead a grade but I was behind on my french. I don't know how rest of Canada is, but I've gone to four schools in two different school boards and I hated it more or less.

 

[projekt]

You could learn French, and that'd open U de M up for you 🙂

Do you think your problem with science classes is "structural", i.e., you aren't scientifically minded? If so, then you will probably struggle through it all, and it won't be very impressive to the schools.

Other careers can be interesting. There is laboratory animal science, in which managers can make upwards of USD 60k/year and vet techs do pretty well. Specialist animal technicians, such as those who work in biocontainment labs, are in demand.

Cytotechnology, histotechnology and microbiology are skills that are needed by laboratory services used by vets.

Many animal shelters, humane societies, animal hospitals, and large rescue organizations need business people, especially those with not-for-profit management education. Equine science can be a lot of fun. Agricultural science as well. And then there's the Masters of Public Health route, but that'd require the hard sciences.

Good luck! What matters most right now is that you get the best grades, whatever you do. So if you think it's a maturity problem that isn't letting you "get" science, perhaps you should do some math and easier things like astronomy until you "get" it, and then do your pre-reqs in your post-bacc. There are lots of options.

 

[Foofur]

I should just give up. I'm already so screwed, lol. I'm really beginning to hate Atlantic Canada and its vet school. I need to take SOMETHING this summer so I can stay in the city and volunteer. I can re-take chem, but they don't offer the math course that I had failed first semester. So that is all I can take... chemistry... gah. Will human anatomy be any help to me?

I need genetics, two biology electives, organic chemistry, one open math, humanities and physics next year... I think I need microbiology too. Do I even have room for all of that?

Oh yeah, I got turned down by another vet clinic yesterday. The more frusterating it gets, the more I want to quit and do the vet tech program and come back to this... parents won't let me though... they keep saying that "Things will get better!" Uh huh.

Hey if you want to talk to someone about your hatred towards AVC/Atlantic Canada.. feel free to PM me! 🙂

 

[lite]

wow thanks you guys! for all the advice and stuff.. and i get really really discouraged too, especially when im writing up my chemistry lab report due every week. like five minutes into it, i start looking at other majors to switch into because i just want to give up everything/anything related to bio. hahaha sighh.. not something to really laugh about