I am a 4th year vet stduent in Iowa. I used to have a real life, in New England. I went to college, and got a degree. Then I got a really good job, and made pretty good money. And then? I had a change of heart, and a big one at that. So I toiled for several years just to give it all up, and now I’m in vet school, and really can’t wait to just be a really good vet. But I still have a lot of work to do, and this is my record of that.
I started this blog right around the time I (FINALLY) got accepted to vet school – primarily because going through the application process, I found very little personal advice about the whole process. Then it became more a way for me to keep in touch with friends and family. Now it’s a valuable record of my time here – I love looking back and see where I was a year ago, etc; it’s also amazing how much I forget along the way. It’s also an excellent exercise in narcissism.
24 October 2007 at 4:14 am
Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I have been reading your blog and really enjoy it. I’m posting here for several reasons. I’m 25 years old and just graduated with a Masters in the social sciences. I was planning to go for a phd. in Clinical Psych, but I think now that I want to go back to school to become a Vet. It’s hard for me to make the decision between vet and psych. I feel I understand psych much easier, but I feel the actual job of being a vet will be more rewarding, and have a better salary. I love animals and always tried helping them when I was younger. I have really no math or science since 8th grade, and I just wanted to hear from people who have gone back to pursue classes in math and science at the collegiate level. I’m really scared that I’m going to suck and not even make it into Vet school. Also, do you have to love the sciences in order to be a good vet, and how good to you have to be in math in order to do well in vet school. I was hoping that you could email me with some advice on what I really should know before I decide vet school is for me. If you could please email me at moses@uchicago.edu that would be really helpful.
Thank you and good luck,
Moe Gross
25 October 2007 at 9:28 pm
thanks for the comment, moe…I’ll e-mail you soon!
24 November 2007 at 3:24 pm
Hi, I’m a vet student from the UK, and just found your blog–I’ve really enjoyed reading it (and realised how much anatomy I’ve forgotten…). I hope the rest of this term goes well for you, the exam load seems frighteningly high!
Angharad
25 November 2007 at 3:27 pm
Thanks for the comment Angharad – I totally sympathize w/ having forgotten a lot of anatomy. I’m friendly with some first years going through anatomy now, and it’s humbling how much is gone from my head. Ah well, hopefully it’ll come back when we really need it!!
30 January 2008 at 11:27 pm
I just found you’re blog today. So, as it turns out, it is one more way that I can manage to get through a full day of classes, and maybe retain a sliver of my sanity.
12 February 2008 at 2:12 pm
Hey, I read your blog. I really liked it. I have the same situtation as Moe Gross, in which I’m currently doing bachelors of Psyc but also wanted to try my hand at medical school. As the two fields are quite different from each other and I’m not the greatest person at genetics and chem. i am scared of taking these courses as a requirement as they might lower my gpa and later on restrict me from getting into a graduate school for Psyc, let alone vet school. I dunno what I should do. I’m only 20 but i still don’t wanna waste any time. and don’t wanna regret not trying my hand at vet school once I’m a psychologist thinking “I could’ve made it in to vet school” I will hate myself for that if that happens. Psyc comes easy to me while chemistry and bio chem are kinda of drag every time i open the book. but then i think bout being a vet and think to myself “i can do this man..just have to stick to it” How has your experience been at the vet school. How much studying is required?? GPA? how to get experience before vet school??
I will REALLY appreciate your answer as I’m in a serious dilemma (have been for the last 1 year)
thanks
kartik
5 March 2008 at 5:43 pm
4 September 2008 at 4:46 am
Hi there!
I stumbled upon your blog and I’m glad I did. I just left a good job and started taking my pre-reqs for vet school. I think it’s more of a mental game than anything else because I’m so nervous that all of this effort will never pay off but I know that I would never know had I not tried. Anyways, did you take calculus? I know some schools require it but I saw your class listing from your post and didn’t see it (which is great!). Also, how do you think it is to take pre-reqs at 2 different schools? I’m taking them right now at the school I did my undergrad in and while I enjoyed it then, I don’t know if I can stay. Anyways, any information regarding your experience on getting into vet school would be great. thank you and good luck!
25 September 2008 at 2:03 pm
It’s nice to find someone who has already made the big decision I’m facing! I too graduated, got a job, set up my life…and then realized that I was miserable with it! I’m 25, so I’m not young, and I want to just drop everything to follow my heart and pursue vet school. Any advice you have on the transition would be greatly appreciated. Also, how difficult was it to go back and take all those math/science classes? I consider myself pretty bright, but that stuff still scares me!
~Stephanie
15 October 2008 at 1:55 am
Love your writing. Any advice you can give to a first year vet student in regards to studying?
19 October 2008 at 11:48 am
I found your blog several weeks ago. I love reading your posts and find them very helpful. I’m 26 years old and I teach Kindergarten. I will complete my Masters degree in Education this May, but for the past few months I have seriously considered changing my career and going to vet school. Whoa. That scares me and excites me all at the same time! I’ve always loved the idea of being a vet, but I pushed the thought aside in high school and college because the thought of the additional years in school turned me off. Fast forward…I went back to get a Masters degree…and now I’m thinking of starting all over! I’m looking at 6 to 7 more years of school!! Who would have thunk it? My husband is extremely supportive and we have no children. We would have to move once I start vet school (1. bc we don’t live near a vet school and 2. bc we would have to downsize our home to afford me not working). I have several pre requisites I must fulfill before applying to vet school and I need to complete these while still teaching full time. However, I can’t find a school near where I live that offers night classes for the courses I need. That’s a problem. I have been an A/B student my whole life and I haven’t had bio or chem since high school but I was good at it and I enjoyed it. I really love reading your posts where you describe your day in class or labs, or what your studying load is like. It’s very real and those of us who are reading your post to find out what vet life is really all about need that. Thank you and I look forward to reading more about your adventures!
11 November 2008 at 5:58 pm
Hi,
I have also enjoyed looking through your blog! I think my situation is similar to yours in many ways. I just graduated from college this May and am working in Boston doing biomedical research. All of my experiences thus far have been in research (using animal models), but in the past year I have started thinking about an old aspiration I had in high school to be a vet. I gave it up because I thought that it would be too hard for me to get in to vet school, but fortunately I have more confidence now and I think that I could do it with a lot of work over the next couple years! I have taken some of the pre-reqs (I started out college as a humanities major, but the last 2 years I started taking some intro science courses) and am currently taking more at Harvard Extension School in the evening. I have also already taken the GRE, and the score is good for 4 more years. Thus far, my only animal experience is 2 short stints at animal shelters helping out with taking care of cats (one was way back in high school, one was for a few months this past spring). I am trying to find more clinical veterinary experience in the Boston area (accessible by T because I don’t have a car) but haven’t had much luck, especially since I work M-F 8-5. How did you get the part-time job at Angell? I am told that it is pretty much impossible to get such a job without experience — did you have experience before that job? Someone told me that it would be best to start off shadowing a vet — do you think that Angell allows shadowing (I would want to do it regularly, like once or twice a week from 6-10 pm or something)? Sorry for all the questions. Your blog has been really interesting, informative, and inspiring for me to read — I’m glad I found it! Good luck with everything going on in your life right now! Thanks
17 November 2008 at 5:15 pm
What is so bad about Iowa? YOU chose to go there. There are other vet schools to pick from ya know.
17 November 2008 at 5:32 pm
There’s nothing so bad about Iowa at all…except that it just isn’t my home, my friends and family aren’t here, etc., which I certainly can’t blame on it! I just like giving it a hard time. But it’s a nice place, really, and most importantly I think the school is great, and I hope that I’ve generally given that impression in my blog.
And yes, technically there are other schools to pick from…if you have a rockin’ GPA. I got to choose between IA and KS, and counted myself very lucky.
8 December 2008 at 9:19 pm
I found your blog today! It is awesome. I love reading about someone who is in vet school, especially one I am considering to apply to. I live near Rochester, MN and want to go to vet school SO badly. Sadly I am in 10 grade and have three more years before I can apply. Does Ames have a nice campus? Thanks!!
Alex
27 September 2009 at 1:44 pm
May I ask you some questions about vet school? If so, please send me your e-mail address. I thought I wanted to be a vet my whole life, I got my B.S. degree (though not with flying colors), and have been biding time for 6 years for peanuts (peanuts more so than vet med, even), and still wonder if I want to do it. The cost of going gives me hives, too.
1 October 2009 at 7:17 pm
Hi, I just found you blog while searching for different things about Iowa Vet school. I am actually right in the middle of writing my last supplemental essay- the one that asks what Iowa Vet School has to offer me that is unique. I have to send in my supplement tonight because the deadline is tomorrow, Oct 2nd. Your blog is very interesting and I find that I’m relating to it a lot. I am a senior in college right now, 21 years old, and very nervous about this whole application process. I went back in your blog to 2006 and saw that you started getting rejection letters around January. I didn’t realize you actually find out so soon after applying. I’ve applied to 10 vet schools, including Kansas. I have absolutely no idea where I want to go yet, I honestly just want to get accepted. Reading you blog actually makes me realize how badly I want to be vet school student. I would really appreciate speaking with you sometime and maybe get some advice and insight on this whole process. After tomorrow, there is nothing for me to do but wait for those letters. I’m very very nervous. So I guess If you have time send me your email address or write me an email. Thanks!