What should i do

[reason1765]

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As parent of a young aspiring vet i have this question, to which im hoping someone can give me some direction. My daughter wants to be a veternarian. Now vet school, college even highschool is a long ways from now. Yes she is only 10yrs, she is seeking advice on choosing the right middle school. She is interested in one that is a choice program,that offers pre-medical sciences.Thier mission is to prepare an awareness of medical allied health professions. To prepare them for entry into high school medical academy programs or related fields of study.Course offered include Orientation to health occupations, exploration of health occupations and medical skills and services. Students explore all types of careers like First Responder, Medical Assistant, Medical Doctor, Biotechnology Research, Dentist, RN,and many more. With her wanting to become a veternarian, is this the right environment for her. Thanks in advance for all comments. And keep up the great attitude to all, u just dont understand how much the little ones are observing and learning from these forums. 🙂

 

[reason1765]

thank you cowgirla! shadowing is a definite start but like story of her life she has to wait until of age lol. with the choice program schools out here in palmbeach county, they dont have to pay anything. i think its good exposure, it wont be easy but she is very dedicated as well she is gifted. kids change their mind a million times along the way even in college, but at least she will be in the right environment.thank you😎

 

[Angelo84]

I would second the shadowing idea--this is not a paid position you are just observing so she may be able to find a clinic that will let her do this. Otherwise are there shelters in the area that she could volunteer with, walking dogs, cleaninig kennels, some have vets on staff she could chat with etc.

As far as school--is this something she is interested in or something you found for her?

Good luck.

 

[BlacKAT33]

It is never too young to start getting experience and "preparing"! The one thing i'll say is she can become a vet no matter what school she goes to. It is all up to her choices and how well she does in school and getting experiences. That being said, id be more worried about cost of the school (if not public) and if it would make you guys move..how it will effect the family. So, if it affects no one except her and the school she goes to, id say it sounds great! Otherwise, the school really doesnt matter so i wouldnt waste money paying a crazy amount or making the whole family move so she can go there.

edit: ill just add that i wish i had more focused curriculum (classes only) but i'm SO glad my public school had great extra curricular activities/sports. if this school has both, that's great, i would have preferred it. But if this school only excels in academics and lacks in the "fun" areas i would never want to give that up.

 

[reason1765]

thank so much for the advice. i have much to consider. i do want there to be balance, academics as well fun in her youthful years 🙂 together we will be attending an open house in a few weeks,she will have choices i will be there to support her. you guys are wonderful. best of luck to everyone in your future .

 

[Savethewhales]

When I was in grade school, every summer my dad would take me to get a workbook in order to learn the math concepts for the next grade. I know this is only math but I really believe this helped my problem solving skills immensely. By the time the school year started I already new the math and so when I took it in school it was reinforced. I think little things like that help. A solid math foundation will come in handy for calculus, population genetics, physics, mathematical ecology,and tons of problem solving in other sciences.

 

[Rosekiki]

It is never too young to start getting experience and "preparing"! The one thing i'll say is she can become a vet no matter what school she goes to. It is all up to her choices and how well she does in school and getting experiences. That being said, id be more worried about cost of the school (if not public) and if it would make you guys move..how it will effect the family. So, if it affects no one except her and the school she goes to, id say it sounds great! Otherwise, the school really doesnt matter so i wouldnt waste money paying a crazy amount or making the whole family move so she can go there.

edit: ill just add that i wish i had more focused curriculum (classes only) but i'm SO glad my public school had great extra curricular activities/sports. if this school has both, that's great, i would have preferred it. But if this school only excels in academics and lacks in the "fun" areas i would never want to give that up.

I agree that it's too early to get into the details of the careers. Plus, she might change her mind, and that is ok! The fact is, most college students change majors at least once in their college careers, and most college graduates don't work in fields completely related to their majors in college.

Shadowing a vet is a good idea, but I doubt how much she could benefit. At the age of 10, she probably won't even be allowed to restrain the animals at the clinic, and she probably won't understand the science behind what she sees. However, my interest in the veterinary med. field comes from "shadowing" my father at the human hospital he worked at (more like shadowing the nurses), and taking care of all the pets he kept at home.

I think you really want to let her be exposed to as many different careers as possible, let her keep her options open. I think starting on a "medical/health profession" track in middle school is too early. Definitely thought, in high school, she should make sure that she's doing more than just school.

At the end of the day, you want her to be happy and he herself =) so yeah, if you and her both feel comfortable about this middle school, go for it! But just keep in mind that by choosing this school probably would not increase her chances of getting into a vet school in the future.

keep us posted!

 

[reason1765]

When I was in grade school, every summer my dad would take me to get a workbook in order to learn the math concepts for the next grade. I know this is only math but I really believe this helped my problem solving skills immensely. By the time the school year started I already new the math and so when I took it in school it was reinforced. I think little things like that help. A solid math foundation will come in handy for calculus, population genetics, physics, mathematical ecology,and tons of problem solving in other sciences.

indeed , i hear that.

 

[168135]

When I was in middle school, we had "Take Your Kids To Work Day". I knew a girl, who is in tech school now, who went to a vet clinic that when she was in 7th or 8th grade. She got to see a spay.

You could always start volunteering at shelters. At the shelters I've been at, I don't think there is a minimum age requirement, but if you're under 16, you have to have a parent with you when you volunteer.

 

[nyanko]

Hey, it's really cool of you as a parent to be so supportive and such.

When I was in middle school is when I began volunteering at the local shelter. We had to do community service, a certain number of hours, for Confirmation in the Catholic church I went to (obviously that worked out well).

Now all I did at that time was come in one weekend a month and help with straightening up the reception area - folding pamphlets, sweeping the floor, stocking the grooming supplies and stuff that they sold, etc. I did learn a lot though, from the staff and volunteers, who told me about things they were doing and why when they took animals in or had to medicate them or bathe them or whatever. I didn't get any direct animal contact (restraining, handling, etc) except for getting to help with taking some dogs out on walks with a group of older volunteers. Still, I came out of it having learned a lot. And I even organized fundraisers for them within my school on consecutive holiday seasons during that time, one with selling dog biscuit wreaths and two holiday pet food and donation drives. So there's ways to get involved, even for kids.

It's hard to speak for the idea of beginning to specialize so young, though. I can see pros and cons to it, and ultimately it comes down to what she wants to do. How about her friends currently? Will she have problems adjusting to a new group of people at this time? I honestly think that the majority of compulsory schooling is more about the social experiences than about the academic experiences, so as long as her social functioning won't be too compromised by going to a school like that, why not give it a shot?

 

[that redhead]

I'm going to go against the common opinion here and say no, don't send her to this program. So many little girls want to be veterinarians when they're ten. So many people want to be veterinarians into college and then realize the innumberable factors that tie into the decision - really tough courses, lots of time and money, moral issues (euthanasia, for example), etc. I think you have a really good intention in supporting your daughter in her career choices and I'm sure people on this forum would appreciate a parent like you! However, until she's at least in middle school or high school, I would let her be. If she wants to be a vet still, help her find some shadowing or volunteer positions, and encourage her to study hard. Ten is far too soon, in my opinion.​

 

[shortnsweet]

Maybe before you send her to a fancy middle school, try letting her go to a summer program directed at vet med. In high school I attended Adventures in Vet Med at Tufts, and it was fantastic. Solidified that this is really what I want. They do sessions for younger kids (middle school)-- that might be a good fit for her!! They let you get a feel, no matter what stage you are at in the process, of exactly what goes into the career, as well as getting to vet school in the first place!!

 

[nyanko]

I'm going to go against the common opinion here and say no, don't send her to this program. So many little girls want to be veterinarians when they're ten. So many people want to be veterinarians into college and then realize the innumberable factors that tie into the decision - really tough courses, lots of time and money, moral issues (euthanasia, for example), etc.​

So on that note, wouldn't it be better for her to realize she doesn't care for the medicine side of it earlier on, before it affects her GPA and puts her/her parents more in debt while she's in college?

I mean, it sounds like the program has normal middle school classes and stuff and then on top of it there are courses like introduction to different health science careers and other things appropriate for the middle school level. There's no law that says if she finishes this she has to go into the high school medical sciences magnet or whatever - she could decide not to later...

 

[chris03333]

I'm going to go against the common opinion here and say no, don't send her to this program. So many little girls want to be veterinarians when they're ten. So many people want to be veterinarians into college and then realize the innumberable factors that tie into the decision - really tough courses, lots of time and money, moral issues (euthanasia, for example), etc. I think you have a really good intention in supporting your daughter in her career choices and I'm sure people on this forum would appreciate a parent like you! However, until she's at least in middle school or high school, I would let her be. If she wants to be a vet still, help her find some shadowing or volunteer positions, and encourage her to study hard. Ten is far too soon, in my opinion.​

👍

Plus, I can't speek for kids in middle school, but "premed" students in college are a completely different type than "prevets". If I went for a premed type degree when I was prevet and had the cut throat atmosphere of the premeds, I might have backed down. I don't like to keep checking my back to make sure it doesn't have a knife plunged into it.

***disclaimer: I am perfectly aware that I just stereotyped the premeds, and if this offends you, I apologize in advanced (actually no I do not so deal with it)

 

[gone2dogs]

As a teacher, my first impulse was that "specializing" so early isn't a great idea. But on second thought, if this is a program that will make her excited about school and learning, then I'd go for it! I'm sure the school still has plenty of the "traditional" subjects (is there a state that has no state standards and high stakes testing still?) that will allow her to get exposure to lots of different things. And as mentioned already, going to this particular school doesn't lock her in to a career as a middle schooler.

There is plenty of time to get experience, ect. in high school and college (and even in middle school as previously discusses), but there isn't necessarily plenty of time to get her to love learning and being in school. To me that is the most important thing at her age. Just my two cents.

 

[that redhead]

So on that note, wouldn't it be better for her to realize she doesn't care for the medicine side of it earlier on, before it affects her GPA and puts her/her parents more in debt while she's in college?

I mean, it sounds like the program has normal middle school classes and stuff and then on top of it there are courses like introduction to different health science careers and other things appropriate for the middle school level. There's no law that says if she finishes this she has to go into the high school medical sciences magnet or whatever - she could decide not to later...

It may be that I'm overanalyzing the program and seeing it as a much weightier thing than perhaps it is. I don't see a problem with having one of the child's classes being a medicine-based class if all of the rest are normal middle school classes. I see your point 100%, and I don't think it's an atrocious idea by any stretch - I can see the benefits but I suppose I just think of those parents who push their children into things with good intentions and have a negative effect on the child. I think this isn't really the case with the OP but that's just the feeling I get considering these sorts of things. It certainly can't hurt to allow her to experience the classes and perhaps in the end, allowing her to pursue her interests at this earlier point in her life will allow her to solidify that interest in vet med. The flip side of the coin is that the child feels pressured to pursue medicine because of her mother's early efforts and she doesn't go after something else she may be interested in too, and that's what makes me sad about parenting sometimes 😳

 

[lalzi22]

I think, for my 2 cents, that maybe she should start volunteering before she chooses this as a track...in middle school. People change their minds about being vet in high school, college and even in vet school. She should keep her options open and maybe work at a vet clinic, or go to a veterinary summer camp (I did! loved it! still got to be a normal kid). You dont want to track your kids only to find they may not like it.

 

[Savethewhales]

....you will have to let us know what you decide and how it goes

 

[reason1765]

I will say this much, there's alot of pros and cons to sending her to this school as indicated but everyone, things I myself didnt even consider. At the end of the day a child needs to be happy, learning, supported and loved. Schools like this exist because there are actually kids that are that focused and dedicated about what they want in life. As well there are some parents that are over ambitious for their children.There's lots of mistakes to be made here,and i'm comfortable with that. Nothing ventured nothing gained!🙂
Sending her to this school will not guarantee she will become a vet, but actually the shadowing will give her exposure. After attending their open house in a few weeks, i will have all the facts. If they dont pass the snif test, on extra curricular activities, sports and fun programs, and its all academics, i will advise her to attend elsewhere. If she is persistant and still wants to go, well i'll let her swim, if and when it becomes really really overbearable, then i will fish her out. But at least she tried.
Without a doubt, i will let you guys know how it turned out. And if you know a parent with young kids thats in a situation like this , tell them to join a forum!! The insight and opionions are priceless.Some parents are scared to make mistakes and some think they always right, some dont let their child live, and some live through their child. Information is knowledge, understanding knowledge brings wisdom.
It takes a village to raise a child. I have read every single one of your responses as if it was an aunt or uncle's input. I've been well informed and properly cautioned. I'll keep u posted after Nov 2nd, after open house 🙂

 

[Lechatnoir]

I shadowed a vet when I was in 5th or 6th grade and saw a spay and it totally scared me away from wanting to be a vet. Maybe i was just a weird kid but the surgery frightened me and I didn't think that there was any way that I would be able to do something as scary as surgery... I just wasn't ready to see something like that yet. I totally threw out the idea of becoming a veterinarian and didn't again realize that maybe I could do it/wanted to do it again until my early 20's which made me a little late jumping on the bandwagon, but I'm here now and loving it =p

 

[luplodw]

I agree on sending her to a summer program directed at vet med. When I was in middle school, my friend and I went to a camp at Texas A&M... I ended up following through and going to vet school, but my friend didn't. You never know what she will want to do a few years down the road

 

[Coquette22]

I think it might be too early, but a vet camp is definitely a good idea. I personally didn't decide to go into vet med until I was 20 or so. (I spent my entire high school and middle school life convinced I'd be a writer! ) I did go through a period when I was a little when I wanted to be a vet, but I wanted to be just about everything at one point or another.

I think my only concern with this special school is that they wouldn't adequately expose her to non-medical career paths and she might not know enough about other options.

 

[reason1765]

I visited the school, i attened their openhouse and indeed they have a really good program for the kids. An introduction to pre-med, as in terminology, all differnt types of doctors and what they do. At an early age they decide if this is really what they want to do. If not they offer communictions, and if not that she will still be in a great, happy,fun learning environment. They have a top rated gifted program which is excellent for my daughter. Sports activities, like football,baseball, karate, dance even golf and more. I feel confident she will be happy there.
As of today, she received an acceptance letter from Western Pines Middle School (check it out on greatschools.com) and she is overjoyed. I am too for her. As well her bestfriend who also got accepted.
She got a puppy last week.🙂 we are looking for programs that will allow her to shadow . Palmbeach offers great volunteer programs at the zoo, but she is not old enough yet. Something will work out.
Once again many thanks to everyone for all the support. You guys rock!🙂

 

[LetItSnow]

With her wanting to become a veternarian, is this the right environment for her. Thanks in advance for all comments. And keep up the great attitude to all, u just dont understand how much the little ones are observing and learning from these forums. 🙂

Sure, that'd be a great academic environment.

But don't get so preoccupied with what school she's at that you ignore the other things vet schools are looking for. Most of them want well-rounded people with hobbies, community involvement, etc. Encourage your daughter to be active in a variety of things - music, art, stocking a food shelf, sports, whatever - and it will help her out with vet school as well.

I think you're giving her a big advantage by tailoring the school. Even if she matures and decides vet school isn't for her, that academic background will carry well into a lot of fields. But it's not the be all and end all: shoot, I'm a public school graduate and it worked out just fine. So don't let 'school' be a set of blinders.

I wish my parents had been as supportive!!

 

[reason1765]

Thanks Letitsnow! for the advice. I too wish my parents were as supportive. BUt we made it this far! Kids nowadays have it sooooo much better than i did. This school is a public school as well. And you're right, its not alll and only about the school. Her attitude, outlook and apporach to life is what's important more so .
Have a grrreat day
thanks👍

 

[AngSchmange]

As parent of a young aspiring vet i have this question, to which im hoping someone can give me some direction. My daughter wants to be a veternarian. Now vet school, college even highschool is a long ways from now. Yes she is only 10yrs, she is seeking advice on choosing the right middle school. She is interested in one that is a choice program,that offers pre-medical sciences.Thier mission is to prepare an awareness of medical allied health professions. To prepare them for entry into high school medical academy programs or related fields of study.Course offered include Orientation to health occupations, exploration of health occupations and medical skills and services. Students explore all types of careers like First Responder, Medical Assistant, Medical Doctor, Biotechnology Research, Dentist, RN,and many more. With her wanting to become a veternarian, is this the right environment for her. Thanks in advance for all comments. And keep up the great attitude to all, u just dont understand how much the little ones are observing and learning from these forums. 🙂

I say go for the summer program, I spent my 11th birthday shadowing at a veterinary clinic and spent the next 5 years there, so it's def not too young to be doing something 🙂 Idk if I would want to be that specified in middle school, but you and your daughter may be ready for that kind of commitment. I agree with Coquette though on the basis that she may miss out on learning other aspects of school. It's good to have a well-rounded background before college. I didn't like writing, foreign language, and sometimes history, but I'm glad I was forced to take it in middle school and high school cause it was a good background for me. And I am not wondering, what if I had done it differently? if i had not taken those classes.

 

[Halebug]

I think that it is great that you are looking for how you can help your daughter reach her goal! I personally think the pre-medical middle school is a bit overkill. At her age I definitely think she has an idea of wanting to be a vet but as others have said it can change after a while. I would send her to the school she has already been going to and put more effort into the out of school time. For example, I could not volunteer at a lot of places at her age because they had a minimum age of 18 without a parent and my parents worked all the time. I would recommend finding a humane society that will allow her to volunteer, or you to volunteer with her if they allow that. Also find somewhere to shadow...I WISH I had started shadowing early because you are able to make connections and maybe they will offer her a job in high school and if not she will still get a good recommendation letter after volunteering so long! If there are any zoos around you, she can volunteer there too! Good luck with your decision and I hope she continues to work towards this goal. It is a long tough road but she is starting early and it is worth it!

 

[nyanko]

Hey, thanks for coming back and updating us. 🙂

 

[Chinola]

I just realized this is a really old thread. Erasing my long winded response.

 

[squirrelsrule]

Good luck with your daughter, I hope she reaches her dreams and finds that it is everything she was looking for.

10 is pretty early to specialize and my main concern would be school burn out. I LOVED school and when I graduated from college I was DONE! I wanted to experience life outside of school. Of course, I went post secondary and crammed my 4 year degree into 3 graduating at age 18, so I might have pushed myself a little bit far, but it worked out for me and after a break (5 years) I am ready to head back and go to vet school (if I can get in 🙂 ). My point is that becoming a vet is academically very rigorous and she will have to face that soon enough, not sure you want to put it on her now. I'd let her enjoy herself and not overdo it. I'd focus more on the animal side of things, let her build up her love of animals and explore the options with them instead of options in medicine. If the main thing is she loves animals, let her experience working on a farm, working with wildlife as a rehabber, raising puppies or kittens for a shelter, shadowing at a vet clinic, being a dog walker, going horseback riding. Stuff like that so she can get a feel for why she loves animals and what she most enjoys. At age 10, she doesn't realize how tough it will be to be a vet or the stress being a vet brings, so developing other loves too, even if she does decide to be a vet, will help her cope with the stresses that a medical career brings.

I guess I just wouldn't push her too hard and make sure she has fun too and isn't always studying or feeling like she has to always be studying. Even if she enjoys school, believe me, if she overdoes it she will be burnt out and not enjoy it anymore.

At age 10 I wanted to be a killer whale trainer 🙂. I got Cs and Bs and spent my summers swimming and going for walks in the woods and building forts. My parents have never pushed me to do anything I didn't want to do and I have never had the pressure to do well academically. I pushed myself to be what I wanted to be (still a killer whale trainer until I was 19 🙂 ). I had my heart set on that and knowing the pay wasn't that good and my parents weren't rich, I did the Post Secondary Option and managed to graduate from college with a 3.99 GPA at the age of 19 and my total College bill was $15,000 (I went to a pretty expensive private college because it was the only 4 year college within driving distance of my house when I was in high school). I found my true passion to be wildlife rehab after doing an internship in college and my parents have been very supportive of my rehabbing, letting me take over the basement with cages for the little tykes and building 3 large prerelease cages in the backyard 🙂. Through the rehabbing, I found that I like the medical aspect of care and want to do more than just care for animals, so I have opted to become a vet. My parents are supportive of that decision as well.

So, I guess you should expect her decision to change from time to time, she needs to explore her options and discover what she really wants to do to make a difference in animals lives. She might find that she feels happiest caring for them and may want to be a zookeeper or something, or she might decide that she wants to study environmental biology and help conserve wild animals territories. There are so many options out there that she probably isn't even aware of at her age. So, I wouldn't try to convince her that medical career is for her and would try to get her to explore her options in all areas of science and other subjects as well.

You seem like an awesome parent though! I know you will make the right choices for your daughter and I hope you will support her in whatever turns she decides to take in her path to choose a career.

 

[AngSchmange]

YES! I wanted to be a dolphin/whale trainer when I was younger LOL! Awesome! Then I worked at a zoo with zookeepers and it definitely solidified my desire to be more in the health of animals more than the day-to-day care, which was still fun. All of the SDN-ers who have done all this cool stuff with rehab clinics and wildlife rescue centers is really inspirational, I wish I had done stuff like that. I stayed with clinics and the local zoo, but I'm thinking about doing some volunteering at a local animal (mainly raptor) rehab center. I'm glad to see that everyone else that has done this sort of thing has had such a great time and really good responses to it.

 

[lareinesoleil]

I visited the school, i attened their openhouse and indeed they have a really good program for the kids. An introduction to pre-med, as in terminology, all differnt types of doctors and what they do. At an early age they decide if this is really what they want to do. If not they offer communictions, and if not that she will still be in a great, happy,fun learning environment. They have a top rated gifted program which is excellent for my daughter. Sports activities, like football,baseball, karate, dance even golf and more. I feel confident she will be happy there.
As of today, she received an acceptance letter from Western Pines Middle School (check it out on greatschools.com) and she is overjoyed. I am too for her. As well her bestfriend who also got accepted.
She got a puppy last week.🙂 we are looking for programs that will allow her to shadow . Palmbeach offers great volunteer programs at the zoo, but she is not old enough yet. Something will work out.
Once again many thanks to everyone for all the support. You guys rock!🙂

One thing that I was doing at 10 that gave me great animal experience and an absolute LOVE for behavior was dog training. Let her take the puppy to basic obedience classes (which I believe every dog should have anyway but I won't get into that). She might want to continue on to obedience, agility, flyball, rally, or conformation. 10 years old is definitely old enough to be doing that, she'll probably love it, and "animal experience" is something that vet schools look for anyway. (Plus, I love seeing junior handlers at agility trials 🙂) Even if she changes her mind about Vet School down the road, this could be a great hobby for her regardless.

EDIT: they totally asked me about doing agility in my interview, b/c of course I had put that on my application. When they asked me what kind of dog I had, they all laughed (it was good-natured) when I said I had a Toy Poodle. I think they expected me to say "Border Collie" or something . But yeah, it would be a good activity for her!

 

[reason1765]

I am making a priority, to find vet camps,volunteering programs and shadowing at clinic. I am convinced this is what she needs at her age. Thanks guys.
I will come back after first few months after school has started and let everyone knows how it officially turned out. This pre-med class that's offered is once a week, while she will have all regualr subjects as middle schools have. Ive got my eyes open😱. Puppy training yeah, i will look into that as well. Thanks guys🙂

 

[Savethewhales]

I visited the school, i attened their openhouse and indeed they have a really good program for the kids. An introduction to pre-med, as in terminology, all differnt types of doctors and what they do. At an early age they decide if this is really what they want to do. If not they offer communictions, and if not that she will still be in a great, happy,fun learning environment. They have a top rated gifted program which is excellent for my daughter. Sports activities, like football,baseball, karate, dance even golf and more. I feel confident she will be happy there.
As of today, she received an acceptance letter from Western Pines Middle School (check it out on greatschools.com) and she is overjoyed. I am too for her. As well her bestfriend who also got accepted.
She got a puppy last week.🙂 we are looking for programs that will allow her to shadow . Palmbeach offers great volunteer programs at the zoo, but she is not old enough yet. Something will work out.
Once again many thanks to everyone for all the support. You guys rock!🙂

Congratulations! She's lucky to have such a mom like you!

 

[nyanko]

I LOVED school and when I graduated from college I was DONE!

I hated school really, really badly up until about 5 years ago (when I went back for my second bachelors). That's why my family thinks it's funny that I signed up for this and plan on going into academia.