Vet students and graduates, what was your undergraduate degree?

[FutureVet96]

I am considering completing a bachelors of science in health science, however I am not sure if this degree would be beneficial for me. What are your thoughts and what degree did you achieve? Thank you!

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[grebes4lyfe]

It doesn’t matter, do something that you’re interested in and can make good grades, and that you feel would serve you well if you decide not to pursue vet med in the end. Take prereqs as electives if necessary.
Your actual major doesn’t matter.

 

[deleted676737]

I graduated with my BS in Biology and Environmental Health, with minors in Spanish and Japanese, in May 2016.

Honestly, your choice of major doesn't factor much, if at all, into your chances of acceptance. I would personally select a major that 1) you enjoy, and therefore would ideally perform well academically in, and 2) would open up good career options for you should vet school not work out for whatever reason (a possibility no one likes to acknowledge, but a real one nonetheless). You could theoretically major in French Literature or Theatre and still make it into vet school provided that you have completed the necessary pre-reqs.

 

[PetVet23]

I graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a Chem Minor, and I 100% agree that the most important thing is to pick something you find interesting. Don't force yourself to choose a certain path because you think it will look good, many schools don't even require you to complete your B.S. as long as you've fulfilled all of the prerequisite classes and experiences. So pretty much, you do you!

 

[JaynaAli]

Major in something that will provide you with an adequate backup plan in case the vet school plan doesn't work out. I think one of the best aspects of my animal science orientation classes as a college freshman was that everyone with the pre-vet emphasis had to come up with their 'plan B'. The idea was to never need it, but you'd at least thought about it. Everyone else is right that the most important thing is doing well in the prerequisite classes, not what your major is.

I majored in Animal Science. I also have a completely unrelated associates degree in web development and graphic design that I got through concurrent enrollment during high school.

 

[tinynest]

I received my BAs in Sociology and Art History! That being said, at the time, I had no idea I would pursue or even be interested in vetmed. I can only echo what has been said above: study what you think you'll enjoy, and don't major in something because it's what you think vet schools will *want* to see. If you find health science interesting, go for it! Just make sure you allow space in your academic schedule for the vet school prereqs.

 

[ajs513]

I “got my degree” in Animal Science, and my school offered a pre-veterinary medicine and research track. They also offered companion animal, equine, lab animal, and production animal tracks. The quotes are because I was one class (well, one exam) short of my degree but due to extenuating circumstances I didn’t finish the class. I was all set up to, but then I got into school and they didn’t care so I didn’t finish the class. It’s my last year to be lazy, whatever. /s

This next part will be partially geared towards you OP, but more towards students who have the option to major in animal science.

Anyway, I do agree that what you major in doesn’t matter as far as getting into school goes. BUT, I’ll say that majoring in animal science with such a specific track was beyond helpful to me. My school proves this is helpful by having a very high acceptance rate to vet school by students in this program. I was able to get lots of hands-on animal experience through my school, take comparative mammalian anatomy, do a full horse dissection with an equine surgeon, find job opportunities in VetMed, participate in livestock judging, take many animal-specific versions of classes (genetics, nutrition, reproduction, behavior, anatomy, physiology, etc.), and take a class focused on careers in animal science. While you can experience some of the things I got to do while in any major, some things were exclusive, and many others were easily facilitated by being in the program. It also made it easy to figure out if this is what I wanted to do. I was also able to use my job at a vet clinic as internship experience for credit.

At the end of the day, do what makes you happy. Majoring in art history or musical performance or anthropology or philosophy won’t make it more difficult to get into vet school per se. But majoring in animal science (if you can) will help to get you many of the experiences you’ll need to quickly learn if you’re in the right field, give you unique opportunities, facilitate experiences you may not have found otherwise, and prepare you well for applying to vet school. As far as majoring in a health sciences sort of major goes, I don’t know if that will be specifically helpful or not. That’s for people who majored in a science major that wasn’t animal science to answer. But hopefully what I said makes some sense.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Anyway, I do agree that what you major in doesn’t matter as far as getting into school goes. BUT, I’ll say that majoring in animal science with such a specific track was beyond helpful to me. My school proves this is helpful by having a very high acceptance rate to vet school by students in this program.

Eh, I think there are a lot of confounding factors in this. As far as admissions go, the reason there is a high acceptance rate from animal science majors is because presumably, most of these people are 1) already going to be high performers because they are already interested in animal science, and b) because of this, they are also inherently drawn to animal-related experience OUTSIDE of academia (shadowing, jobs) and will be pursuing them. It's not the major itself that is giving people the advantage, it is that people who are already dedicated to the field are self-selecting into that major. I hesitate to ascribe success in getting into vet school to any specific major in particular.

I agree with Jayna that it is beneficial to pursue a degree that will still give you career options if veterinary medicine does not work out for whatever reason (you don't get in, you change your mind, etc). Which is why I personally dislike "Pre-Vet" major designation because I believe such a limited scope pigeonholes people.

I majored in biochemistry, with a chemistry minor and a history minor. I had absolutely zero animal-related classes prior to vet school and got in on my first cycle and did fine.

 

[ajs513]

Eh, I think there are a lot of confounding factors in this. As far as admissions go, the reason there is a high acceptance rate from animal science majors is because presumably, most of these people are 1) already going to be high performers because they are already interested in animal science, and b) because of this, they are also inherently drawn to animal-related experience OUTSIDE of academia (shadowing, jobs) and will be pursuing them. It's not the major itself that is giving people the advantage, it is that people who are already dedicated to the field are self-selecting into that major. I hesitate to ascribe success in getting into vet school to any specific major in particular.

I agree with Jayna that it is beneficial to pursue a degree that will still give you career options if veterinary medicine does not work out for whatever reason (you don't get in, you change your mind, etc). Which is why I personally dislike "Pre-Vet" major designation because I believe such a limited scope pigeonholes people.

I majored in biochemistry, with a chemistry minor and a history minor. I had absolutely zero animal-related classes prior to vet school and got in on my first cycle and did fine.

Like I said in my comment, majoring in really anything but animal science doesn’t put you at a direct disadvantage. Schools don’t really care. I just found it extremely helpful, especially as someone with motivational issues, in getting me more involved in animal science than I would have otherwise. I think anyone applying to vet school is naturally more driven than a lot of people, but I think having what my program offered available to me made me that much more prepared. We even had personal advisors whose job it was to help us make career decisions and prepare us for vet school if that’s what we wanted to do.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Like I said in my comment, majoring in really anything but animal science doesn’t put you at a direct disadvantage. Schools don’t really care. I just found it extremely helpful, especially as someone with motivational issues, in getting me more involved in animal science than I would have otherwise. I think anyone applying to vet school is naturally more driven than a lot of people, but I think having what my program offered available to me made me that much more prepared. We even had personal advisors whose job it was to help us make career decisions and prepare us for vet school if that’s what we wanted to do.

Definitely with you on the availability of additional opportunities in certain majors. I just wanted to make sure no one interpreted what you said as "if I major in animal science my chances automatically go up" (which I know is not what you meant, but sometimes context gets lost on the interwebs).

 

[ajs513]

Definitely with you on the availability of additional opportunities in certain majors. I just wanted to make sure no one interpreted what you said as "if I major in animal science my chances automatically go up" (which I know is not what you meant, but sometimes context gets lost on the interwebs).

Yea I think what I want people to take away from my comment as a whole is that you’ll likely be presented with opportunities as an animal science that you’d otherwise have to seek out, and that can be really beneficial. You’re not usually limited by not being an animal science major, but you do have to put in more effort to find opportunities that animal science students are just given since they’re in the program.

 

[VetPathLife]

I graduated with a BS in biology and a BA in communications. My undergrad didn't offer animal science as a degree option, which ended up being fine because being exposed to all the different sides of biology actually was what spiked my interest in pathology...thanks micro and immunology! My communications degree was my fallback since I enjoy writing; if I didn't get into vet school within three application cycles, I was planning on either applying to a pathologists' assistant program or become a scientific communicator for either a medical company or magazine or something of that nature.

But like others have said, you can get your degree in anything you want as long as you complete the prereqs for the vet schools of which you want to apply. It's always good to have a degree in something you enjoy as a plan B. ^.^

 

[SocialStigma]

I graduated with a Bachelor of health sciences.

 

[maytheDVMbewithyou]

My BS was in Health Science as well and I got accepted! More than your BS it's much more about how much and what type of animal experience you can get.

 

[raf2769]

I have two Bachelors of Music, wasn't a problem for getting into vet school.

 

[Lupin21]

Bachelors? What is this Bachelors???

 

[cdo96]

I have a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. My school had animal science, and I could’ve, but I didn’t want to.

Biochemistry gave me a nice fall back plan if I didn’t get accepted (Biomedical research being the big one), and I personally enjoyed being challenged in that curriculum and I got to meet a lot of people going into different professions.

Plus, let’s be honest I’m not really an ag person. I’m not saying every single person in ansci is a super ag person, but there’s a good chunk at my school hahaha

 

[supershorty]

I have a BS in animal science, but in retrospect, I wish I'd gotten my BS in genetics and cell biology instead. I would have gotten more out of it and enjoyed it more - genetics was one of my favorite undergrad courses and is how I ended up in research eventually.

 

[genny]

Psychology, with a minor in creative writing.

 

[SkiOtter]

BS in biomolecular science, but in the chem department at my school. Didn’t go to a school with an ansci major, but even if I had I probably wouldn’t have gone that route anyway. I liked my upper level chem classes

 

[danseth]

I'm not in vet school yet but I was accepted to three and waitlisted to one. I am getting a BS in Zoology with a minor in Business Administration. I've been told by many people that the title of your degree doesn't matter as long as you meet all of the prerequisites anyway. Having a different degree could give you a diverse persepective that your classmates might not have.

I personally chose Zoology because Animal Science is very farm-to-table related and focuses mostly on agricultural animals and that's not what I wanted to focus on. It also helps that the zoo major at CSU sets you up perfectly to apply for *most* veterinary schools.

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

My degree is in microbiology. It was REALLY hard, a lot of BORING professors, and my grades dropped. But I made a lot of great friends.

I have a BS in animal science, but in retrospect, I wish I'd gotten my BS in genetics and cell biology instead. I would have gotten more out of it and enjoyed it more - genetics was one of my favorite undergrad courses and is how I ended up in research eventually.

Similarly, I also love genetics!

 

[battie]

I did a generic BS in biology. Hindsight, I wish I had done either visual arts or communication with the prerequisites on the side. There is nothing I would have done with the bio degree had I not been accepted.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I did a generic BS in biology. Hindsight, I wish I had done either visual arts or communication with the prerequisites on the side. There is nothing I would have done with the bio degree had I not been accepted.

Grad school. Soul-sucking postdocs. Endless begging for grant money. Crying. Lots of things to do with it

(But yes, an undergraduate degree in Biology by itself is, sadly, almost worthless nowadays unless you want a low-level technician job with minimal upward mobility. Graduate school in some form is basically a necessity).

 

[Vet school hopeful]

I chose to major in biomedical sciences with a minor in art because it covered all the vet school pre-recs, but it really doesn’t matter as long as you hit all the pre-recs. Historically Chem and Physics majors have been admitted with lower GPA averages than other majors, so they may be good majors to look into if you are good at math and want to stand out while staying in orbit.

 

[supershorty]

IHistorically Chem and Physics majors have been admitted with lower GPA averages than other majors, so they may be good majors to look into if you are good at math and want to stand out while staying in orbit.

Do you have proof of this? Sounds like an urban legend.

 

[Vet school hopeful]

Do you have proof of this? Sounds like an urban legend.

Vmcas website

 

[SkiOtter]

Vmcas website

Link to the actual numbers though??

 

[Vet school hopeful]

Link to the actual numbers though??

Sorry correction auburn admissions statistics so probably doesnt apply to all schools but they have a little chart with physics around 3.2 whereas everything else was 3.6 or higher

 

[supershorty]

Aight, now, admittedly, I didn't look terribly hard, but the only GPA mentions I found on Auburn's site were some baseline cumGPA numbers (i.e. what you needed to be considered) and the average GPA for the admitted class in 2016 (so c/o 2020).

Either way, major doesn't matter as long as you have prerequisite courses and good solid grades. Whether you're a physics major or a theater major really won't come into play.

 

[Vet school hopeful]

Aight, now, admittedly, I didn't look terribly hard, but the only GPA mentions I found on Auburn's site were some baseline cumGPA numbers (i.e. what you needed to be considered) and the average GPA for the admitted class in 2016 (so c/o 2020).

Either way, major doesn't matter as long as you have prerequisite courses and good solid grades. Whether you're a physics major or a theater major really won't come into play.

Yeah I definitely didnt mean that someone with like a 2.0 in physics would be selected over someone with a 4.0 in theater
I was just saying if you are good at it and have a slightly under average gpa they will probably take that into consideration. Plus most of the schools do say on their website that class load and difficulty is taken into consideration when evaluating gpa

 

[ajs513]

Either way, major doesn't matter as long as you have prerequisite courses and good solid grades. Whether you're a physics major or a theater major really won't come into play.

Maybe no one here has a solid answer for this, but then what do schools like Cornell look for when they say that 5% of your application strength comes from the quality of your school’s program? I assume they mean that they weigh science classes taken at Harvard or MIT more than science classes taken at a community college. But would they also look at what you majored in? Given that majoring in communications is typically viewed as easier than majoring in biochemistry. Just something I’ve never seen explained.

 

[JaynaAli]

Sorry correction auburn admissions statistics so probably doesnt apply to all schools but they have a little chart with physics around 3.2 whereas everything else was 3.6 or higher

Are you talking about this chart from their online admissions powerpoint thing?

If so, I think you are misinterpreting the chart. Auburn's website says this: "Applications are evaluated based on academic record, GRE, and experience. Four GPAs will be calculated: an overall GPA combining all college-level coursework completed at every institution attended; a science GPA which will include two science electives; a GPA combining organic chemistry, biochemistry, and physics; and a trend GPA over the most recent 60 credits completed." I am fairly sure what they are showing in that chart are each class's average scores for those four GPA categories. They're not saying that physics majors get accepted with lower GPAs...all of their matriculated students (no matter what their majors were) averaged about a 3.2-3.3 on the physics-organic-biochem course GPAs, which is one of the things they calculate. Their other GPAs (science, total, last 60) tended to be higher.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

I had a BA in journalism; I had classmates who had undergrad degrees in Education, Engineering, and Psychology.

 

[ajs513]

I’ll add another thing. My current vet I work for (the practice owner) studied psychology. The part time vet at my office studied archaeology. The first got into every school he applied to (Penn, tOSU, Tufts, VMCVM). The other got into Penn without an interview because apparently they used to do that for top applicants back when she applied. So further proof that there are many factors to getting in, but the name of your major almost certainly isn’t one.

 

[WildZoo]

Just adding to the "data" pool I guess

I graduated with a BS in Biology with a Chem minor, and a BA in English Writing (Fiction track, though I don't think that designation is actually on my degree anywhere).

 

[LKG17]

I graduated with a BS in biomedical sciences (almost as worthless as a biology degree imo...almost all career options require some level of grad school) and I am currently getting my MS in biotechnology and will graduate 10 days before my orientation begins for vet school lol

 

[mlew18507]

I am considering completing a bachelors of science in health science, however I am not sure if this degree would be beneficial for me. What are your thoughts and what degree did you achieve? Thank you!

As long as you get all of the prerequisites for applying to vet school do whatever you like to do! I have a degree in biology and chemistry

 

[Vet school hopeful]

If so, I think you are misinterpreting the chart. Auburn's website says this: "Applications are evaluated based on academic record, GRE, and experience. Four GPAs will be calculated: an overall GPA combining all college-level coursework completed at every institution attended; a science GPA which will include two science electives; a GPA combining organic chemistry, biochemistry, and physics; and a trend GPA over the most recent 60 credits completed." I am fairly sure what they are showing in that chart are each class's average scores for those four GPA categories. They're not saying that physics majors get accepted with lower GPAs...all of their matriculated students (no matter what their majors were) averaged about a 3.2-3.3 on the physics-organic-biochem course GPAs, which is one of the things they calculate. Their other GPAs (science, total, last 60) tended to be higher.
[/QUOTE]

OOPS that was probably it thanks!!!

 

[that redhead]

Agricultural science and technology. I switched from animal science for some reason having to do with class availabilities or something weird that I have completely forgotten

 

[JustPaws]

BA in Film/Video!

 

[Cephal0pod]

Bachelors of science in Molluskan Culture, Economics, Management, and Religion.

(BS in zoology )

 

[WildZoo]

Bachelors of science in Molluskan Culture, Economics, Management, and Religion.

(BS in zoology )

Did you minor in potato physiology?

 

[Cephal0pod]

Did you minor in potato physiology?

You know I was on the fence for a long time and almost went that route, but when it came time to commit to classes, I ended up going with a minor in Potato Contemporary Literature Studies at the last second.

It was a spud of the moment decision.

 

[Devastating]

My first BS was in Animal Science. Intended to be on the pre-vet track but someone had fricked up and put me on general ansci track instead which messed with my degree plan a bit. This turned out to be a slight blessing though, because I ended up switching to the "science and technology" concentration which allowed me to pick whatever science electives I wanted and rearrange the credits so that I graduated a semester early. I liked my major, especially because it indirectly led me to poultry science, which opened up many doors for me in undergrad. I chose ansci over a general bio/micro/etc. major mainly because at my school those tracks involved less hands-on and animal-specific courses (and more math lol)

To improve the strength of my application, I also got a second BS in Veterinary Technology (LVT). Very non-traditional route, and I certainly would not recommend that someone pursuing vet school should go to Tech school (especially for only an Associates), but this program is at a school where I was already taking additional prereqs and everything fell into place perfectly. this degree has been INCREDIBLY helpful for me as a vet student--not only because of the education/connections/vet experience itself (undergrad-level information only goes so far, although having that background has helped a LOT in understanding vet school concepts and technical procedures), but because the workload of the program definitely eased the transition to vet school. Like, the material may be at a higher level now, but I'm already somewhat used to a tough schedule with frequent exams, so I rarely feel overwhelmed. I would not feel the same had I come straight from a typical undergrad schedule. (as a bonus, you have no idea how awesome it feels when I can perform a task/know some random info and students/teachers ask how i know that, lmao)

Basically I echo the general sentiment here--doesn't matter what, just major in something that you enjoy (and can get good grades in...and feel comfortable in your career options) while ensuring you hit all required prereqs. I'm glad that LSU offered Animal Science (and a couple other majors) with the option of a pre-vet-oriented degree track, rather than the nebulous "Pre-vet"/"Pre-med" degree. If LSU had offered it while I was there, I probably would have chosen Zoology, but Animal Science still appealed to my interests and hit the major prereqs anyway. And I don't know how true this is, but people at LSU always told us that admissions enjoyed seeing applicants with non-traditional (i.e. non-science) majors as far as diversity and stand-out factor.

 

[FrostySparrow]

I was originally pursuing a BS in Biology and then switched it to Forensic Science. I was however, accepted without an undergrad degree (only prerequisites). So further echoing that it doesn’t matter what your undergrad degree is in. Make sure it’s something you enjoy and can see yourself pursuing a career in if vet school doesn’t work out. That’s ultimately why I changed my major from biology to forensic science!

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I'm doing the grad school thing, not vet school, but my English degree has been the most valuable so far. I wish I hadn't done animal science as my other degree because I ended up not getting to take a lot of upper level biology classes - just did vet school pre-reqs, which actually hasn't been that beneficial. I wish I'd done more biochem and immunology and evolution. Computer science, too (programming skills would be awesome rn) but hindsight.

I never would have guessed my English classes (mostly poetry btw) would be so helpful in a science field.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I was originally pursuing a BS in Biology and then switched it to Forensic Science. I was however, accepted without an undergrad degree (only prerequisites). So further echoing that it doesn’t matter what your undergrad degree is in. Make sure it’s something you enjoy and can see yourself pursuing a career in if vet school doesn’t work out. That’s ultimately why I changed my major from biology to forensic science!

I see another anatomic pathologist in our midst....

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I'm doing the grad school thing, not vet school, but my English degree has been the most valuable so far. I wish I hadn't done animal science as my other degree because I ended up not getting to take a lot of upper level biology classes - just did vet school pre-reqs, which actually hasn't been that beneficial. I wish I'd done more biochem and immunology and evolution. Computer science, too (programming skills would be awesome rn) but hindsight.

I never would have guessed my English classes (mostly poetry btw) would be so helpful in a science field.

My history minor was actually quite helpful for a similar reason - all the primary literature I had to read. My middle and high schools were also very heavy on the classics (as in we were reading Beowulf in 6th grade and everything from Bronte (E. and C.) to Dickens to Shakespeare in 7th-8th). I truly believe that all the exposure to literature I've had in the past has allowed me to be a more effective communicator. I'd probably be a pretty good GP in terms of talking the talk if I wasn't such a raging introvert. I just write very long, eloquent "comments" sections on my reports instead.

 

[FrostySparrow]

I see another anatomic pathologist in our midst....

I’m sorry if this is a disappointment, but I’m currently planning ECC or Oncology
But we will see! I just attended my first pathology round and really enjoyed it!!