My girlfriend is trying to structure her college career to getting into State's vet school. She asked if I'd come on here and look for advice, so here I am.

She's a sophomore at...sigh...UNC-CH. So far she's just been knocking out GER's and was planning, in conjunction with her advisor's recommendation, on majoring in biology. So if that's a bad idea let me know ASAP.

Thank you for your help.

8/22/2007 6:47:12 PM

she should contact the vet school for recommendations as well...

8/22/2007 7:02:29 PM

Quote :

"She asked if I'd come on here and look for advice"

"Baby, would you go on The Wolf Web and find out how I can get into Vet school. Surely they'll have expert advice...those motherfuckers are geniuses!"

8/22/2007 7:04:14 PM

while she's also contacting the vet school itself you will surely understand the desire to get firsthand, digested accounts from people with a perspective more closely approximating her own.

And I realize the Wolfweb isn't just a pool of experts, but the advice they've given me in the past has generally been quite good and, at the very least, it's the only place where I have a chance of finding people who are in vet school, as I don't know any myself.

8/22/2007 7:19:47 PM

I am a second-year vet. student this year at State so I can give some advice. I majored in Biology at State and made it into vet. school the first time I applied. I would recommend to her that going to another college besides State might put her at a disadvantage. I have plenty of classmates that went to other schools but only two went to Carolina and the other people were just one from that particular college. Many of my classmates went to State for undergrad and the vet. school does take more State undergrads than other schools from seeing other student classes. She will need to get lots of different veterinary experiences to help build up her resume. Other than that, I do not really know what else to tell you.

8/22/2007 8:26:28 PM

Switching schools isn't really an option, but I appreciate it.

So biology is a good bet as far as majors go? Are there particular courses that might be a good idea?

8/23/2007 11:19:57 AM

PM alee.

8/23/2007 11:40:59 AM

Quote :

"those motherfuckers are geniuses!"

We may not be geniuses on this board but I guarantee that there is someone on here that can answer any question you have on any topic, and if they can't, they sure as hell can direct you to someone/somewhere that can. This message board does get a lot of shit, but most people outside of chit chat are willing to offer their help and experience .

8/23/2007 12:13:56 PM

I knew a few people who made it into the vet school. A straight up Biology major will work, but a more rigorous undergrad degree might help. (Biochemistry, Microbiology, etc). I'm not sure about UNC-CH, but at State the BS in Biological Science was pretty lax in terms of advanced courses that would look good to the Vet School.

8/23/2007 1:32:54 PM

i know good grades are crazy important...maybe more so then how strenuous the degree is

8/23/2007 1:36:11 PM

I'm a first year vet student....I went to State for undergrad and majored in Zoology. I also got in on my first try, but I took 2 years off after i got my bachelor degree to gain experience.

My advice:

Get lots and lots of varied veterinary experience! You need experience in 3 different areas of vet med to get in. A volunteer experience looks good too. Networking with vets you work with will be invaluable for the letters of recommendation.

Get good grades! I would guess it should be around a 3.5. My GPA was 3.8. Also make sure to focus on getting good grades in the required courses (i.e. Chemistry, Bio, Biochem, etc...) - it probably won't matter if you don't do as well in, for example, a History or Sociology elective.

As for her major, I don't think it really matters too much. Some people in my class were bio majors. Biochem, genetics, micro, etc. might look better, but only major in something like that if you think you can do well in it. So, if you're not going to make good grades with a Biochem major, stick with Bio.


My main advice is to get as much experience as possible, and make good grades. Good luck.

8/23/2007 3:55:51 PM

She's working on experience and volunteering and whatnot, and is curious as to what ballpark number of hours they might require or that seems to reflect your experiences. She's not trying to do the bare minimum of those or anything, she's just curious.

Thanks for the advice so far.

8/23/2007 8:20:38 PM

Quote :

""Baby, would you go on The Wolf Web and find out how I can get into Vet school. Surely they'll have expert advice...those motherfuckers are geniuses!" "

I lol'ed at work

8/24/2007 11:35:57 AM

Quote :

"The selection procedure is based on both academic and non-academic criteria. The admissions committee will assess the seven criteria listed below. Much of the information is requested on the standard VMCAS application form, and the applicant will complete the Supplemental Application Form to provide the additional information 1. Veterinary Experience A minimum of 400 hours of clinical, medical, agribusiness, health science or research experience is required. However, supervised experiences in three or more different areas are highly recommended for a competitive application.. Experience in three (3) different areas (small animal, large animal, research, food animal production, exotic, aquatic, wildlife, zoological medicine, etc.) of the veterinary medical profession is preferred. The work can be either paid or voluntary and must be completed under the supervision of a veterinarian (or PhD scientist if scientific research). Applicants will be evaluated on duration, level of duties, and diversity of the experiences. 2. Animal Experience All other animal related experiences will also be evaluated, such as working with livestock, breeding/ showing dogs or similar, working at a zoo, aquarium or pet shop, equestrian activities, volunteer time at an animal shelter/rescue, etc., and these should be included in the "Animal Experience" section of the VMCAS application. Like veterinary experience, animal experience will be evaluated on duration with at least 100 hours or more contact time highly recommended; multiple activities of long duration are preferred. This category doesn't include pet ownership. 3. Educational Experience Consideration will be given to academic excellence, the course load per term, employment concurrent with school attendance, and participation in intercollegiate athletics. This will also include evaluation of accomplishments such as honors, awards and advanced degrees. "

For my application, my hours of vet experience were way over 400. Just having a full-time summer job at an animal hospital should get you those hours.

8/25/2007 8:40:09 AM