Vet School is easy to get in

[cyrille104]

I knew it was community college.

A Texas A&M Biomedical Science major wouldn't dare say vet school is easy to get into. There would be bloodshed.


With that said, Infinivet has proven a point that I have tried to make in the past. People who go to community colleges and get good grades simply have a better chance of getting accepted than those of us who went to a major university for all their classes. That's the problem I have with the quantitative nature of veterinary schools. An A in Physics at Cornell is not the same as an A in Physics at a community college. But a computer does not know this.


If you are a pre-vet student determined to get accepted into a US veterinary school, do NOT make the "mistake" that I did. Avoid biology, chemistry, biomedical science, engineering, and other extremely difficult degree plans.

Major in something easier, take the prereqs along the way, and I promise you'll have a better chance of getting accepted. A lot of the biomedical science students are going to the caribbean because we were naive and thought that we were doing the right thing by taking lots of challenging courses in undergrad.


To prove that quality doesn't matter as much, one of my recommendation letters was from the assistant dean (she's now the dean of Tufts). And they couldn't have cared less.

I disagree. I went to a major university, took tons of science classes, got mostly Bs, and got into 3 of the 4 schools I applied to. My GRE was on the high side, but I didn't have an extreme number of experience hours or anything...

P.S. I was about to celebrate my post #, but I ruined it by posting again

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[kate_g]

Avoid biology, chemistry, biomedical science, engineering, and other extremely difficult degree plans.

Major in something easier, take the prereqs along the way, and I promise you'll have a better chance of getting accepted.

Well... You could always take the hard major... *and* get good grades. I guarantee that somewhere out there in the pool of applicants is someone who took harder classes than you, and did better at them. It's one of those unpleasant facts of life: Whether it's true or not, no adcom wants to hear about how you had it so much harder than "everyone else."

 

[thomphea]

tension breaker...
A doctor I work with has a fantastic bumper sticker....
"Even God got a C in OChem"

Ha!!!

 

[kate_g]

"Even God got a C in OChem"

Dude... I got a C+! Does that make me, like... GOD-PLUS?!?

 

[aggiegolf]

That's great if you can be in a hard major and get good grades. But is it seriously worth the risk if you're set on attending a US school? The more practical approach would be to major in something not as difficult. The pre-reqs alone are hard enough.

Kate_g wrote:

Whether it's true or not, no adcom wants to hear about how you had it so much harder than "everyone else."


Most veterinary schools specifically ask if you feel you were disadvantaged in some way. If they don't want to hear about it, then why ask in the first place?



P.S. - I had a 3.4 on my first application attempt. That's pretty high for this major. But it wasn't high enough.



Sincerely,

A student with a hard major *and* good grades

 

[anc84]

why dont more schools in the US just open up vet schools? Its been boggling my mind since I started the application process and I have this fantasy about starting a vet school now.

Vet schools can't just be opened- that's why there aren't more. In order to be accredited in the US, you have to have a well-established teaching hospital attached to the vet school. They go through different phases to get accredited- being constantly checked up upon by the AVMA. It's very different circumstances than med school.

Good luck starting your vet school: http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/coe_pp.pdf

 

[aggiegolf]

Pshhh, the AVMA can't stop us. Muaha.

Well-established teaching hospital? Western University has some explaining to do then.

 

[anc84]

Western has "provisional accreditation" not "full accreditation"

Provisional Accreditation—A United States or Canadian college granted Reasonable Assurance which is still in effect, will be granted Provisional Accreditation status on the date the initial class is admitted. The college must provide evidence to assure future compliance with each Standard. The semiannual reports must provide that evidence, and the Council may request additional information and documentation. Additional evidence is collected and evaluated through site visits. Provisional Accreditation status may be granted for no more than five years. If a developing program has been assigned Provisional Accreditation but does not provide continuing evidence that its program will comply with the Standards and its plan, or if it has been on Provisional Accreditation status for five years, it may be placed on Terminal Accreditation and be required to follow the procedures outlined for that accreditation status, thereby protecting the interests of enrolled students.

 

[FriskyPony]

What if um *cough, cough* the committee who has to approve accredidation can't be bothered to come look at the school until a year after they could (and said they would) make the decision? Then whose fault is it when 5 years have passed and the school is still under Provisional Accreditation?

I really kinda feel like when someone starts a vet school (I think the first in about 20 years, right?), it's probably important enough that perhaps the committee should find a way to get together?! I mean, not only does it affect all of the applicants and current students, but who knows how it might affect the graduates this year?!?!?!

Okay, to be fair, I heard that the committee couldn't all get together until next year to look at Western on these forums, so I guess there could be other reasons for post-poning the review (maybe it's even actually going to work out better for Western this way, so the committee just made stuff up so as to have an excuse to wait).

However...given my experience with "the powers that be" at a university, I really feel like perhaps it's one of those deadlines that keeps getting pushed back again and again and again...


On another note, I think the reason universities don't start vet schools is because they are so expensive!!!! It's not like you just have a state-of-the-art veterinary (teaching) hospital laying around, and then you have to deal with the accredidation crap, and maybe no one will come because it's new and there are no guarantees. Also, you have to worry about location too, because while there are people and internet and whatever else you might need to learn for most other professions just about everywhere (at least in the US), if there are not enough animals around, your students will have a hard time learning, and maybe they won't want to come if you don't have a super high case load, etc. Hmmm, can you tell I've thought about this a bit?

I say kudos to Western, and I hope other universities will see that it is possible (at least I hope it works out for Western!!!!) and follow Western's lead (plus, they can learn from Western's experiences)!!!

I sure could tell any university that there are enough of us applying, and "If [they] build it, [we] will come."

 

[JumptheMoon]

On another note, I think the reason universities don't start vet schools is because they are so expensive!!!! It's not like you just have a state-of-the-art veterinary (teaching) hospital laying around, and then you have to deal with the accredidation crap, and maybe no one will come because it's new and there are no guarantees. Also, you have to worry about location too, because while there are people and internet and whatever else you might need to learn for most other professions just about everywhere (at least in the US), if there are not enough animals around, your students will have a hard time learning, and maybe they won't want to come if you don't have a super high case load, etc. Hmmm, can you tell I've thought about this a bit?

You took the words out of my mouth! I've been told that a lot of teaching hospitals actually LOSE money, especially in large animal. Small animal oncology seems to be what keeps everything else afloat financially.

I did read a newspaper article a while ago about UConn wanting to start one in about 10 years, however. SO's grandmother lives in CT and clipped it for me...I didn't have the heart to tell her that I wasn't going to wait ten years to apply!

 

[wivet2011]

Kate_g wrote:

Whether it's true or not, no adcom wants to hear about how you had it so much harder than "everyone else."


Most veterinary schools specifically ask if you feel you were disadvantaged in some way. If they don't want to hear about it, then why ask in the first place?

Not so sure having taken hard classes is what they mean by 'disadvantaged'...

 

[Hollycozza]

wivet2011, who is this mesmerising cat of yours? please post on the avatar thread!

and everyone else too!!!

 

[texlaevis]

P.S. I was about to celebrate my post #, but I ruined it by posting again

ha ha. big sdn dorks.

 

[Habibti]

That's great if you can be in a hard major and get good grades. But is it seriously worth the risk if you're set on attending a US school? The more practical approach would be to major in something not as difficult. The pre-reqs alone are hard enough.

Kate_g wrote:

Whether it's true or not, no adcom wants to hear about how you had it so much harder than "everyone else."


Most veterinary schools specifically ask if you feel you were disadvantaged in some way. If they don't want to hear about it, then why ask in the first place?



P.S. - I had a 3.4 on my first application attempt. That's pretty high for this major. But it wasn't high enough.



Sincerely,

A student with a hard major *and* good grades

Advocating that all pre-veterinary students attend a community college to get 'awesome' grades is ludicrous. Perhaps we should advocate that they also become ag-journalism majors and take no other science courses besides the pre-reqs. Given your theory, their cumulative GPA would be through the roof (easier courses) and they would be more likely to get into vet school. To say this is to say that getting into vet school is entirely dependent on your grades, which it is not. I was a genetics major at a large university. I had a 3.23 cumulative with something a little worse than that for my pre-reqs (3.17?). My GPA was not stellar by any means and was, in fact, below average. Getting into vet school is not entirely dependent on your grades. Yes, your grades or your scores may get you beyond the initial cut-off points (if the schools you are applying to have these cut offs). However, it is the entire package that matters. Do you have the experience to know that this is, in fact, the career for you? If your GPA isn't that great, have you improved your grades recently?
Also, I believe the point of the original post by infinivet is only that you don't need to be perfect to get into vet school. You can screw up, sometimes big time. You can have subjects that you won't for the life of you understand (physics for me). You can have a bad semester or two. You can go out and party one weekend instead of studying for a test and it won't be the end of the world. You can decide that this is the career for you later in life and still have a shot at it. I think the point was to say 'Don't give up. You DO have a shot, no matter how bleak it might look.' My stats don't scream 'she'll get in the first time', but I did. There is hope.

 

[kate_g]

Whether it's true or not, no adcom wants to hear about how you had it so much harder than "everyone else."

Most veterinary schools specifically ask if you feel you were disadvantaged in some way.

Not so sure having taken hard classes is what they mean by 'disadvantaged'...

Thanks wivet, you took the thought right out of my head.

I think that all the applicants who come from truly disadvantaged backgrounds would be pretty offended if anyone got in because they claimed hard courses as a "disadvantage" on the application...

 

[Tiraka]

A Texas A&M Biomedical Science major wouldn't dare say vet school is easy to get into. There would be bloodshed.

If you are a pre-vet student determined to get accepted into a US veterinary school, do NOT make the "mistake" that I did. Avoid biology, chemistry, biomedical science, engineering, and other extremely difficult degree plans.

At the risk of being too targeted, I'd disagree that Biomedical Sciences at A&M is a hard major for pre-vet students. There's no denying that we take difficult classes, but most of them (organic, etc) are required for vet school anyways. Someone in a different major still has to take them on top of their other requirements. And other difficult classes in BIMS (like anatomy) are similar to the courses you will take as a vet student. I think if you enjoy the sciences and want to be well-prepared for vet school rather than just doing the minimum it takes to get in, Biomedical sciences or biology (or whatever other variation) is a good choice.

 

[sundoggie]

I think the question is, do you want to push yourself or not? If you take the easy way out and take the courses someplace "easy" then are you really learning the material or are you just jumping through the hoops to get an A? And, if you can't handle O-chem at a "tough" school, then maybe you can't handle vet school. If you don't love science then why do you want to be a vet?? I took hard classes at a hard school because I wanted to be challenged and I wanted to learn and acquire a deep understanding of the subject. Some community colleges will give you that, many wont. I am finishing up the last of a pre-req at a community college and I am very disappointed. I am not learning anything, and I am simply filling in the boxes to get an easy A. That does not satisfy my soul and I am very glad that I did my undergraduate degree at Cornell, even though it meant a B or even a C sometimes. I still got in to vet school...

 

[aggiegolf]

1. Advocating that all pre-veterinary students attend a community college to get 'awesome' grades is ludicrous. 2. Getting into vet school is not entirely dependent on your grades. 3. Do you have the experience to know that this is, in fact, the career for you? 4. If your GPA isn't that great, have you improved your grades recently?

1. I never advocated the entire pre-vet community to avoid the university level. I simply provided my point of view. I think it's more ludicrous to tell them to enter the university without thinking about it first and risking some negative consequences of that action.


2. I also never said getting into vet school depended entirely on grades. However, it only takes a little light reading to clarify my point. 70% of an applicants score at Oklahoma State is quantitative. The odds are simply not in your favor if your grades aren't stellar. It doesn't matter if you worked with Jane Goodall.

3. Gee, that's a hard one. I grew up in a veterinary clinic, and I just spent 14,000 dollars on expenses for an overseas veterinary school. You tell me.


4. When you have 152 credit hours, then we'll have a talk on raising GPA. I could have went somewhere, taken 20 hours, made straight A's, and it wouldn't have risen significantly. But life is too short to sit around and apply 5 or 6 times when it doesn't bother me whether I attend an AVMA approved school or not.


It is extremely easy to sit back and make such comments when you've been accepted, especially with your GPA. But for those of us who know what it's really like and have gone to extreme measures to reach their goals, we know you're full of crap.

 

[dyachei]

1. I never advocated the entire pre-vet community to avoid the university level. I simply provided my point of view. I think it's more ludicrous to tell them to enter the university without thinking about it first and risking some negative consequences of that action.


2. I also never said getting into vet school depended entirely on grades. However, it only takes a little light reading to clarify my point. 70% of an applicants score at Oklahoma State is quantitative. The odds are simply not in your favor if your grades aren't stellar. It doesn't matter if you worked with Jane Goodall.

3. Gee, that's a hard one. I grew up in a veterinary clinic, and I just spent 14,000 dollars on expenses for an overseas veterinary school. You tell me.


4. When you have 152 credit hours, then we'll have a talk on raising GPA. I could have went somewhere, taken 20 hours, made straight A's, and it wouldn't have risen significantly. But life is too short to sit around and apply 5 or 6 times when it doesn't bother me whether I attend an AVMA approved school or not.


It is extremely easy to sit back and make such comments when you've been accepted, especially with your GPA. But for those of us who know what it's really like and have gone to extreme measures to reach their goals, we know you're full of crap.

First of all, i want to say I agree with you to a certain extent. It isn't always an option to raise your grades. However, I think it's wrong to say that the experiences don't matter. Even if at some schools it is 70% grades, other schools aren't. I personally don't have a stellar GPA and I think that the reason I got in this year was due to my experiences. It could be a good idea for others in similar situations to work on areas other than GPA to improve their chances of getting in, even if you think it isn't the best for you. And if it is the first time applying (I don't know in your case), it probably wouldn't hurt to apply again. Now, having said that, you're choice of going to the Caribbean isn't the wrong one at all in my opinion. I've only heard great things and I hope you have a good time.

 

[wildfocus]

i took most of my science prereqs at night at the community college b/c i work in the day and on weekends, and could only get away for a few daytime classes at the university (which i used for my wildlife major). i really enjoyed the teachers and the students, most of whom also worked full time, had families, and were pursuing second careers. my classes were small (30 compared to 300) and i got the one-on-one time i needed. every single basic science course i took at the university was weed out oriented. i admit biochem II and physics II were much harder at the university than they would have been at the cc, but i am absolutely convinced that if i would have taken them at the cc, i would have understood the material much better.

 

[Pennymare]

Not so sure having taken hard classes is what they mean by 'disadvantaged'...

I'm with you on that wivet! To me disadvantaged means something drastic---like you're an orphan, you're missing a hand (like the vet mentioned on the wildlife vet thread), you have a really nasty disease, you had a traumatic incident in your life etc.

You have to be careful when talking about your 'disadvantages' or 'hardships'....if it's a common problem or rite of passage, they may peg you as a whiner or egocentric.