College

[SarahFair]

So Ive decided to start a track towards becoming a Vet.
I understand it will probly take someone like me (with a GED) 10+ years before Im done with school.

Ive read that Im going to need a lot of animal background to be eligible. Many Volunteer hours ahead of me.
I was also reading there is a mass shortage of vets in the large animal feild. Most everyone is dogs and cats now. Farm animals is what I wanted to do anyways. Horses, Cows, Llamas, goats..
Well my son wont be going to school for another 2-3 years. I thought I could get a lot of volunteer hours in on the weekends. I have to have hours at a animal care facility. Question is what is considered an animal care facility for horses, cows, etc. I know dogs and cats would be Animal Control and vet offices but if Im going into the farm animal feild how do I find places that would count towards volunteer hours?

I know that its going to take a lot of chemestry, biology, etc to get there and Im not so good with such things if I am hurried through it. It took me twice to do Chem but came out with almost an A the 2nd time and Biology came out with a D in HS but on my GED I was in the 98 percentile rank for science..

The community college next to my house offers vet tech classes. Cool and all but they dont get paid much and dont ever really move up the pay scale..
Well I was wondering while Im getting all these volunteer hours done if I cant just take some Biology and Chem classes to help freshen me up.

Did I mention the Vet school I would be attending would be UGA.

Ughh. They are very very hard to get into.
My GED scorse look very good but I dont think this does anything for my GPA which was pretty low at one point in HS. Dont know what it was when I withdrew..
How do I work up my GPA?
If I go ahead and get my Vet Tech degree will that help any in the 4 years of normal college or 4 years of vet med or will it look good to UGA?

The four years I have to take of normal college can or can not be done at a community college?

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

For your bachelor's degree, that can be done at a community college IF the community college offers Bachelor's of Science degrees. Basically what you are going to want to start off doing is working towards a Bachelor's of Science in Biology, with a track in pre-vet. There's really not a big difference from a regular biology major, but you'll be taking more zoology and anatomy classes.

You can take two years at a community college and get your associates, then transfer to a four year college. Just do a lot of research to make sure all of your credits from the community college will transfer to a four year school. Different schools will take different credits.

Also remember that you may not be able to get into a vet school on your first try. Many people have to take a year or two off before getting accepted. Vet schools are very competitive, even more so than medical schools. So when you are in college working towards a major in biology, you want to make sure you keep about a 3.5 GPA. That's mostly A's with a few B's mixed in. However, I do know several people who could not keep a high enough GPA in college and decided to work as vet techs. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Its a wonderful job and very versatile. The people I know who left the vet school path to do this are very very happy doing what they do.

Good luck with all of this! your best bet is to get friendly with the director of vet and medical students are whatever college you go to. They will be able to help you a lot.

As for volunteer hours, I would say work where you can. If all you have available right now is a dog and cat vet, then I would say do that. Any sort of animal experience will help you in the long run, not just hours working with the large animals only. In vet school you will be working with large, small, and exotics until you are able to specialize.

 

[Camelot Farms]

A family friend did the vet-tech 'thing' and then worked as a tech while earning her 4 year degree. The majority of vet tech classes were the same as the ones that she needed for her 4 year degree so no waste. Plus she was making a bit more money as a tech than she would have been in a minimum wage job elsewhere and the job experience looked great on her resume. And she was hired on at the business where she teched when she got her 4 year degree.

Just another thought... good luck Sarah!

 

[SarahFair]

Thanks guys.
Ive been reading and looks like getting your vet tech degree does help.

I will most likely go that route.

But I have a question.

4 years of normal classes is required. When and where do I fit that in?
http://www.athenstech.edu/StudentDevelopmentServices/Admissions/ugatrans.pdf
Those are the classes that UGA accepts from Athens Tech.
Does any of that fit into the 4 year college degree?

 

[Camelot Farms]

This probably wont make you very happy but...my 4 year degree took me 10 years. =/

I went to school while raising my kids, getting divorced, getting remarried, buying a house, having a new baby, moving out of state and running my little farm.

I took 2 classes a semester and 1 in the summer. Long road but worth it!!

 

[SarahFair]

Oh boy oh boy

Ive got 2 kids and I dont plan on getting married till after this is all said and done with..
Im fine with sitting my little bottom right here in this house (which is close to both schools) till its done.

 

[Camelot Farms]

Then you should be in good shape Sarah.

How do you feel about internet courses? I did at least 3/4 of mine online. They make them easy to follow today. I personally didnt like math and science online because I stink at them but my English courses and my electives were online and I loved it. Maybe give one a try and see if they work for you, then you can work those in while the kids are at school or napping and at night and on weekends.

Just some more options

 

[Ridgerunner]

I like Camelot Farms advice. She had been there, done that, and her comments make sense.

Maybe you could call the UGA department the Vet program is under and talk to them directly. I think it would be a good way to introduce yourself and show a certain initiative, which won't hurt. They can give you advice and help you avoid problems that others have had. They will know what credits will transfer. My college roommate stayed an extra semester at a community college to get an associates degree and considered that extra time and expence wasted. The credits he earned in the extra semester did not transfer.

 

[SarahFair]

Quote:
I stink at math! Aghhhhh I dislike math and it dislikes me! lol

If I go to Athens Tech for two years and raise my GPA that is what UGA will look at right?

 

[ams3651]

good for you! In high school I wanted to be a large animal vet, till I saw a video of a surgery on a horse.

Then I knew I couldnt do it.