yet another med v. vet school question

[ice IX]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey everyone,

I've been on the forum before( under a name I can't remember/find a password to). Last year I had applied to vet school and was rejected(applied to 8 schools...4 interview invites and 3 waitlists at "the" ohio state, oklahoma state, and michigan), and am now trying to boost my gpa/ truly invest myself in research through a masters program(I'm a huge cell/cancer bio guy and really wanted to investigate this interest further if I didn't get into a veterinary school..so far I love it, but we'll see once my thesis starts giving me problems). Anyway, I've been struggling with the decision of applying to med school and applying to veterinary school for several years now. I truly love medicine( human and vet). I've had quite a bit of experience in each:

-Practicing EMT since 2007
-Shadowed human ER docs, family physicians( ~500 hours total)
-SA experience (~5700 hours...includes some exotics/wildlife...worked in a clinic since I was 17 and off and on in college)
-LA experience( less than 20)
-Equine(~100h)
-Research(~1000 in undergrad...more now)

gpa:3.51, s.gpa:~3.4
GRE(1260), MCAT 32Q


I guess, I knew it was a long shot to get into vet school, even though my grades were decent and my experience was varied. I just wonder sometimes if its the right decision to reapply to vet school again, especially since I really believe I can be happy as a physician. I have probably leaned more towards vet med...and it had been my first love( hence why i applied). I just want it to be worth it, financially speaking. I already have about 75k in debt from undergrad...paying for my masters at a state school on my own through work, and while Cornell( my IS) is cheaper than some, it's certainly not cheap by any means. While I want to truly do something I love, I want to knwo that I am not setting myself up for problems down the road.


Anyway, I think about this a lot, and feel as though I should have made this decision a long time ago( and I probably should have). I know no one should choose a career based on money, and I hope I don't give off that impression ( although I probably do). So many of you on this forum have probably struggled with this decision...or at least the financing the vet school decision before.

I think I just need reassurance that loans can be paid off for vet school( particularly if the loan repayment programs now in place dealing with LA don't appeal to you). I know the NIH has a program...and the military is always there if you can get into the HPSP...which I've heard is difficult but doable...but no one should go into the military just for money. Sorry if any of this is incoherent, I just need support that vet school is still a possibility for me...and that my crazy male ego in being a sole bread-winner in the family is not getting in the way.

Thanks everyone 🙂

 

[No Imagination]

You got a 32 on your MCAT?! Hell yeah I would apply to med school, as well as Vet school. I am in vet school (obviously) while my fiance is in med school (a year above me) - we have plenty of conversations about the differences and similarities, but if you can see yourself being happy doing either, then go and apply for both, and see which one you get accepted to...

Worst case scenario, you get accepted to neither, no harm no foul.
Best case scenario, you get accepted to both, then you can post another thread and we will help you 'decide'.

 

[laitmanvet]

I remember when talking to an admin he asked me about my financial situation (can you pay for this, what kind of loans do you have, etc). At first I thought it was weird. He seemed very pleased when I said I have no loans and my parents are prepared to help my with vet school. I don't know if this is a common concern/question from vet schools. (Not that med school is any cheaper.)
Yeah, I agree with NI. If you think you can be happy in either profession then apply to both and see what happens. A 32 is really good and your grades are fine and your experiences (vet and med) are diverse.
If you're interested in research DVM/PhD and MD/PhD programs are usually free. The tuition is covered and a small living stipend is usually provided for the entirety of the program.

 

[ice IX]

thanks for your input, guys. Yeah, I took a couple years off from college after my sophomore year and studied for both in the mean time while working. I finished my undergrad in three years( graduated in may 2010). It payed off for the most part.


Yeah, i looked into both DVM/PhD and MD/PhD programs before. Most of the DVM/PhD programs you have to pay for your vet school years...although there are a few, like penn I think, that are covered under the MSTP. while I like research and wanted to explore it further, I'm fairly certain that its not for me (which isn't to say you limited to a research career with either an DVM/PhD or MD/PhD). Plus, applying to those programs based on their financial benefits( not saying that you guys suggested applying to those programs because the were free...I know I mentioned my interest in research in my previous post) is not fair to me or others that are truly interested in those combined degree programs and research careers.

Yeah, its going to be a tough decision for me, and it always has been. Both med and vet schools are not cheap by any means. While I know I will make a comfortable living in either, I know I will most likely never be rich in either profession I choose. For me, its not really about the money anyway...but I have to be conscious of the debt and how I can pay it off.


Still, in both, it will take years to pay off. I am alright with that. Maybe more years as a vet, but that certainly isn't a given...even if more likely.


Its a tough decision for me, as I love both people and animals....as many vets and doctors do. I have a true passion for the clinical aspects of medicine and its application to both human and animal health( and society as a whole). I know that most likely I will have to give one interest up for the pursuit of another. No profession...med, vet, other medical, science, etc is perfect. We all sacrifice ourselves or a piece of our lives for these professions...whether its time, money, both.

Again, thanks for the advice. It's greatly appreciated. I'm still not too sure what I was looking for in terms of advice when i wrote that last night. Possibly just frustrated and in need of a rant.

 

[david594]

I remember when talking to an admin he asked me about my financial situation (can you pay for this, what kind of loans do you have, etc). At first I thought it was weird. He seemed very pleased when I said I have no loans and my parents are prepared to help my with vet school. I don't know if this is a common concern/question from vet schools. (Not that med school is any cheaper.)

Its actually a pretty common question to make sure applicants know what they are getting into. If a students says they are planning to pay for their entire education with loans and anticipates only taking out $50k in loans and they figure its not big deal because they will make $150k a year as a doctor when they graduate then they clearly have no idea what vet school costs nor the normal salary for a veterinarian.

Before any interview you should have a very good idea at exactly how much it would cost you to attend that veterinary school along with the average starting salaries for the common fields in veterinary medicine and your specific desired field.

 

[HopefulAg]

So it all comes down to this: Do you like it when your patients talk back to you?


Honestly, as much as I love animals, half the appeal is the mystery of having a patient that can't tell me where it hurts, or what exactly is wrong. But that's just me. I really never even considered human med, for more reasons than just that.

And knowing what secret questions to ask the clients to get the information you really need. "So, Fluffy has been limping recently huh? Has anything happened to her here lately?" "No." *twenty minutes later* "Well the radiographs show a bullet lodged in her femur." "Oh yah she wouldn't shut up the other day so I shot at her with an airsoft gun, didnt' think I had hit her" *facepalm*

Not an actual case that came in, but similar....

 

[ice IX]

And knowing what secret questions to ask the clients to get the information you really need. "So, Fluffy has been limping recently huh? Has anything happened to her here lately?" "No." *twenty minutes later* "Well the radiographs show a bullet lodged in her femur." "Oh yah she wouldn't shut up the other day so I shot at her with an airsoft gun, didnt' think I had hit her" *facepalm*

Not an actual case that came in, but similar....

yeah, I saw a case almost exactly like that involving a cat that was fighting with a neighboring cat in the back yard( this was explained to the vet during the examination...and the owner thought the cat got hurt during the catfight). The cat wasn't brought in until about a week later. I helped take radiographs, and the tech and I saw a bb in her leg. When the vet explained this to the owner, she explained that she was trying to shoot the neighboring cat with a bb gun.

I guess she missed her target( even if only by a little). Whatever happened to getting the hose?

 

[bunnity]

I would honestly say, if you would be happy in either, go for human medicine. It would be nice if money didn't matter, but it does, and you're going to be a lot better off financially as a human doctor.

That said, I think your stats are just fine for either one.

 

[JollyBlueJay4]

I agree, med school may be a better bet, especially since it seems to be a much more diverse degree. While a DVM has many posibilties, it appears you may be limited somewhat in cancer / cell bio research via grants. The majority of the money's in human science, although there has been a slight shift toward vet med over the years...

Anyway, a little off topic, but in regards to answering the question, "how are you going to pay for this" during interviews, does anyone know anything about loans for international schools (such as Glasgow or Edinburgh)? From what I was reading, a lot of the federal loan systems, ie. FASA, don't apply to out of country schools, even if they are accredited international programs. Anyone research this further?

 

[BlacKAT33]

I would honestly say, if you would be happy in either, go for human medicine. It would be nice if money didn't matter, but it does, and you're going to be a lot better off financially as a human doctor.

That said, I think your stats are just fine for either one.

👍 not only will you be making better money, but i hear a lot of med schools have "study days" before exams and take a whole year for anatomy. This would be heaven for me. If you don't LOVE vet med MORE than human med....you will probably start regretting your decision once you're in vet school

 

[GellaBella]

Haha BlackKat so THIS is what you were doing next to me during class today 😛

Well I can say that I honestly love both vet med and human medicine and I would have been happy had I gone to medical school as oppossed to vet school. 😱 I know, I'm a bad, bad vet student.

I think sometimes my classmates think I'm a little weird when I say that or that maybe I'm not dedicated enough to the vet med profession...my impression is that many of them have always wanted to be vets and hate the idea of practicing on a human.

I think human medicine is so cool

I also think making $$ as a MD would be very cool as well. Especially since I will have tons of debt once vet school is done. 😡. I also think I would make a really good human physician.

In the end, however, I decided that vet med was more for me simply because it fits my personality and personal interests a little more than human med.

I'm really interested in infectious diseases (in humans) many of which originate as infectious diseases in animals. I like that I can have an impact on both animal and as a byproduct human public health and welfare.

I really like that as a veterinarian I get to do a bit of everything...I can be general practitioner, surgeon, dentist, oncologist, dermatologist, cardiologist etc. No need to pick one field, hope I make it into a residency specialty I enjoy, and be stuck there for the rest of my life doing the same things over and over again.

I like that veterinary medicine is less of an exact science. There is still so much to learn about animals and the profession is constantly evolving. I like that there is room in vet med to be creative and to find creative solutions to problems whereas in human med you have to stick to strict guidelines or risk the swift falling malpractice suits etc.

and I like the challenge of vet med. I think I've always been the type of person who is too stubborn to just 'take an easy way out' (not that human med is easy by any sense of the word) but I enjoy the idea of having a patient who cannot communicate and having to figure out what is wrong and how to help not only the animal but the people who love/are concerned about their animals.

So I think it is important to think about you and how you see yourself fitting into the profession. I would certainly love to be an MD for the money, but I found myself drawn more to the animal side of things. It is okay if you decide to do MD and it is okay if you decide to go DVM I don't think that you HAVE to have known which direction you would go since you were five. I think it is more important to try to determine, if you went MD would you later regret not being a veterinarian? or vice versa? If all things are equal in your mind between the two...do you need to feel prestigous? People don't like to admit that a lot of times but feeling important is important, does one profession give you more prestige in your mind? Is money important to you? these are all things that can help you decide, but in the end it can be a tough choice. And in the end, having either as a choice is not really such a bad choice at all (at least not to me, the opinions of some pre-vets/vet students may differ).

 

[ice IX]

Thank you everyone, for your kind and reasoned responses. This is why this forum is so great and beneficial to a lot of people( Although there are a few instances where everyone is very quick to shoot down the OP....a few more of those instances are in the pre-med forums).


Its hard, and there will probably be regrets in whatever I fully end up choosing. It may be partly because I felt so rejected after not getting in this past year, it may be the large amount of debt that I may accrue in either or any profession i am truly interested in, or it may be my broad range of interests and a mixture of other things that got me thinking again about this decision (especially after I was so sure about vet school last year...or at least comfortable witht he possible regret of not applying to med school).

its not really about the money, although I have to be smart/realistic in my decision(s) and future finances. While its typically wise to follow your heart, dreams and passions in life, there are other factors that play into your ability to attain those dreams( money, time, situation, disability.)

I feel luck that I even have the opportunity to "struggle" with this choice of following my passions in life. While I do have a lot of undergrad debt on my own shoulders, my parents struggled very hard to keep me in school and i am thankful for the opportunities that presented themselves in order for me to attain my current level of education.

No matter what I decide( if either...hell, I may even be happy with my masters...even though filled with some regret of missed opportunities... being able to work in research or possibly teach at the high school or community college level), I'm confident I chose them for noble reasons. For me, it not really about prestige or perceived importance. The only person I( or any of us) should have to answer to is ourselves.


I'm proud of all of you who have chosen veterinary medicine, research, ecology, teaching or any facet of the human healthcare field...especially if you chose it for the right reasons. There are certainly plenty of individuals in all of those professions who don't.

Again, thank you for your responses. I'm sure it not only helps me( or at least eases my mind during this very hectic and emotional week) but others who are struggling with similar decisions or concerns about their future career(s).

 

[chris03333]

I remember when talking to an admin he asked me about my financial situation (can you pay for this, what kind of loans do you have, etc). At first I thought it was weird. He seemed very pleased when I said I have no loans and my parents are prepared to help my with vet school. I don't know if this is a common concern/question from vet schools. (Not that med school is any cheaper.)

Common interview question for both vet/med school.