so i’m a high school student, going into my senior year. until recently, i was pretty certain i was going to pre-vet or veterinary medicine as a major. but now i’m conflicted because i’m not sure if i want to major to become a veterinarian or a doctor. i’m not sure if i can double major as both or if i should pick one or the other. any tips or guidance would be wonderful.
i’m hoping this makes sense; i can give clarification if any part of this needs to be better explained. thank you so much!
My understanding is that the requirements overlap quite a bit. One daughter actually switched from pre-med to pre-vet part way through university without changing her major and didn’t seem to have any trouble.
You also should be aware that you don’t major as pre-vet or pre-med. You major in something, and complete the pre-med or pre-vet requirements while you are at it. There is a significantly overlap between biology and either, or between an animal science major and pre-vet requirements. However, you could major in pretty much anything.
You however need to be aware of the financial issues with veterinary school. Basically it costs as much as medical school or a bit more, but afterward you don’t make enough money to pay back your veterinary school loans. I honestly don’t know how anyone does it in the USA unless they have parents who can pay for most of the cost of veterinary school.
The one place where you will have to decide: For either medical school or veterinary school you need experience working / volunteering in a medical or veterinary situation, respectively. I have been quite amazed at how much volunteer experience my daughter’s pre-med and pre-vet friends have gotten. Some students will get some of this in high school, some while in university, some over the summers while in university, or some after getting their bachelor’s before starting veterinary or medical school.
Ok, number one. There are no Pre-med or pre-vet degrees. You can have any degree and get into vet or med school as long as you have the prerequisites (key), grades (also key) and GMAT or GRE scores. So for example you major in biology. Classes for either would be the same. You look at schools you are interested in and make sure to take the prerequisites. Probably could do enough to get into either … BUT
Either graduate program wants to see significant hours in the field you are going into. Vet school (which I know most about since son is pre-vet) wants to see a high number of animal hours, vet hours - shadowing, working, and some experience showing you know how to deal with people not just animals. Med school wants to see demonstrated interest in human medicine. For example son’s gf who is pre-med volunteers at a hospital, does research at the college on cancer cells, shadows a doctor in the summer, and is getting her CNA certification right now. In college it will be hard to do both.
Financials - being a human doctor is much better than being a vet. From actual vets I have heard that “If you can see yourself doing anything other than being a vet do it.” The salary to debt ratio for a vet is awful. Unless you have very deep pockets you will be hugely in debt coming out of school.
So before you decide anything shadow both! Start tomorrow. Go find a vet, yours if you have one, a friend, a friend of a friend, etc and ask to shadow them to see what being a vet is really like. Then do the same with a human doctor (sometimes this can be hard due to legal issues but try volunteering at a hospital and paying attention to the doctors if you can’t find a doctor to shadow. Seeing their day to day work should tell you which one is for you.
You can pick a major that could work either way, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, to name a few and decide which path to go after your freshman year. That is a possibility also.
For colleges go with the one that put you the least in debt, get the highest grades and gives you good opportunities to get research or other hours in the area you choose. The prestige is not the most important thing!
Hope this helps a bit. If you have more questions feel free to ask here or PM me. Good luck.
thank you so much for the info! if it comes to financials, i think i definitely would rather pursue a career being a doctor rather than a vet.
i’ve been shadowing at a vet clinic for a while now; i’m not sure if that counts for anything in regards to being a doctor? and speaking of, is it still too late to shadow and volunteer in order to be a doctor? or can i also do that after high school is over and have that count as volunteer experience before med school?
Shadowing a vet isn’t med experience. For a doctor it is not too late at all. A lot of people don’t start until their undergrad but the earlier the better. I’d go ahead and maybe for the rest of the summer volunteer at a hospital and look for a doctor to shadow. Then continue on and get as much as you can undergrad. My son also volunteered at a hospice that both med and vet schools like because it showed the ability to work with people in stressful times.
There are vet forums and md/med school forums might help for you to pop in there and see what they are saying about their lives/finances etc.
“is it still too late to shadow and volunteer in order to be a doctor?”
No. You still have plenty of time. Most students change their goals in life after graduating high school.
“i’ve been shadowing at a vet clinic for a while now; i’m not sure if that counts for anything in regards to being a doctor?”
No. Shadowing at a vet clinic counts if you are interested in veterinary school. If you want to become a doctor, at some point you will need to volunteer / shadow in a medical situation. You still have plenty of time to do this. Starting earlier is better than later, but it is not unheard of for students to be at university before they start shadowing in a medical situation, or even to decide to be premed while they are in university.
Absolutely no reason to decide now. The prerequisites are pretty much the same. And both have tons of weed-out type classes you must get through at the undergraduate level.
Once you get to college seek out the Pre-Health Advising Group - most colleges have one (the names are somewhat different but if you search around you can probably find something). They can give you information about both paths and may be able to help you find opportunities to get more exposure to both of your options.
While in high school I was enrolled in the Bio Med program and new I wanted to go into the medical field. Once graduating high school I still had to however start with getting my undergraduate work completed and meet the requirements of medical school. I just completed my 2nd year of study in which my last semester I had the opportunity to study abroad at The University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia which was an amazing experience to say the least. That being said you do still have time to think about exactly what field of study, either the vet program or the medical program. Both fields as stated above both overlap some so even change mid stream may not be too difficult as well.