Which major to choose?

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Hey guys/girls
I am an incoming freshman at UC Davis c/o13 and my current major is Animal Biology. I definitely want to go to a vet school and get my DVM.
At UCD they have animal science and animal biology as "pre-vet" majors. I know that undergraduate major can be any as long as one complete all the pre-req. I've been thinking whether i should switch major or keep my current major.

Animal Bio: More text book based, senior research project required

Animal Science: More hand-on approach to animals care, management, and utilization by people for food,etc.

I don't plan to go into research field and I would rather go into pathology or surgery.

Anyone want to help me which major would give me the best foundation for my goal?
🙂

 

[Backwoods Boy]

I am in the exact same spot as you. I am currently a Zoology major but I will most likely switch over to Animal Science very soon (I have thought about it for quite a while). To be honest, both will get you the same place in the end, or should at least.

 

[psjlg2]

I go to a smaller University so our options are Biology and Natural Sciences, thats it. I would look at the different courses and compare those to the ones that are pre-reqs for the vet-schools you want to go to and then decide which one fits better.

 

[HopefulAg]

Well I went Biomedical Sciences which is what your animal bio sounds like, and wish I had done animal science instead. I think BIMS will help me more when I actually get into vet school, but that's for naught if the GPA hit from the major keeps me out.

 

[PrimalMU]

I think a Biology major would be a better choice. For one, you'll have more options as far as careers or grad school if you don't get into vet school. It also shows the adcoms that you are mature enough to realize that you may not get into vet school and that you haven't put all of your eggs in a single basket.

 

[CurrySpice]

You certainly don't have to decide yet... they probably have very similar core courses for freshman year. I entered college as a Biology major, but I LOVE Chemistry (weird, right?) so I'm glad I kept an open mind. I think it would be kind of fun to do Animal Sciences, but I go to a small LAC with nothing of the sort.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Hey guys/girls
I am an incoming freshman at UC Davis c/o13 and my current major is Animal Biology. I definitely want to go to a vet school and get my DVM.
At UCD they have animal science and animal biology as "pre-vet" majors. I know that undergraduate major can be any as long as one complete all the pre-req. I've been thinking whether i should switch major or keep my current major.

Animal Bio: More text book based, senior research project required

Animal Science: More hand-on approach to animals care, management, and utilization by people for food,etc.

I don't plan to go into research field and I would rather go into pathology or surgery.

Anyone want to help me which major would give me the best foundation for my goal?
🙂

Well if you want to go into pathology or surgery, you're probably going to want to hit the books! A thorough background in biology with lots of upper level courses is pretty important for vet school. Animal/Vet experience is super important, BUT usually it's secondary to your academic performance. (of course there are people who didn't do well in school but made up for it in other ways, but generally it takes a lot more dedication for those people to show that they're cut out for it)

It sounds like the Animal Science major will give you lots of hands on experience to help buff up your experiences and animal handling... but can't you still take some of the coolest courses from there even if you major in Animal biology? I dunno about UCD, but there's usually a lot of room to explore beyond your major requirements.

 

[nyanko]

Hi! I'm a MS student at UC Davis in Animal Bio. 😉

My personal suggestion is (and don't take this the wrong way) that undergrad is a time to explore different options and make sure that what you think you want coming out of high school is what you actually want. I suggest not narrowing your focus so much going into it - Animal Science & Animal Bio have pretty similar first year/core requirements anyway as previously mentioned, so take those, take some gen ed requirements, and see what you enjoy. Don't rule out the majors in the College of Biological Sciences either, if you enjoy the science part of it!

 

[twelvetigers]

I am in the exact same spot as you. I am currently a Zoology major but I will most likely switch over to Animal Science very soon (I have thought about it for quite a while). To be honest, both will get you the same place in the end, or should at least.

And I did the same thing, only in reverse. So, you should just pick whatever you like the best!