I’m a sophomore in college now, and because of a lot of other school things that have kept me busy, I haven’t been able to start any volunteer/shadowing hours in an actual vet clinic yet. I’m doing research with a professor right now and hopefully I’ll be able to do more serious research over the summer too, since I know those types of things also count sometimes. But I’m also trying to secure some time in an actual vet clinic over winter break.
UC Davis is my goal school, but even for some of the less hardcore schools, I’ve seen people who say they had over 10,000 when they got admitted. For the average person though, how many hours did you get admitted to Vet school with, or know other people that got admitted with?
The required amount for each school in generally less than you actually need to be competitive. I believe the average is 1,000 hours.
From UC Davis Vet school Website:
Veterinary Experience
A minimum of 180 hours of veterinary experience are required by the application deadline (September 15 of current application year) to have your application considered for admission; however, admitted applicants have an average of 2,000 hours of quality “hands-on” experience in the veterinary field. You are expected to have a realistic and appropriate perspective of the responsibilities of the veterinary profession. Your experience may come from a job or volunteer service. You may acquire experience by working with veterinarians in private practice, farms, ranches, animal shelters, zoos, aquaria, etc.