<p>Hey guys!,</p>
<p>I started out my freshmen year at Rocky Mountain College, Billings Montana. I was double majoring in equine studies (very intensive hands-on program) as well as biology. After a lot of anxiety I transferred to Rutgers, as I am a NJ resident. At Rutgers I am an animal science major and I currently work as vet tech at a local animal hospital. It has always been my dream to become a vet and I love my job! However I have been having trouble adjusting to Rutgers and I dont really like the location AT ALL and I am not very happy. I miss Montana a lot and I enrolled back into RMC, but I am having trouble totally committing because I am scared that I will be less successful with a small unknown college. I would love advice, time is ticking and I am completely torn with this decision. Do I stay at the well-known school with a solid vet tech job where I am not happy or do I go back to where I was happy? I really am not sure if I should follow my head or my heart on this one.</p>
<p>Vet schools look for good performance in the required classes and a certain number of hours (500 is pretty typical, 1000-1500 is better) of (1) animal handling experience and (2) vet experience. Having experience with both small and large animals is a bonus. If you meet these criteria, you can do pre-vet anywhere. It often helps to attend a college with a vet school or a large agricultural school because they are more likely to have the relevant courses and resources. </p>
<p>New Jersey residents are at a HUGE disadvantage in vet admissions because NJ lacks a vet school and, as far as I know, no longer has any agreements with vet schools in other states. It’s therefore imperative that you have as strong an application as possible, because the odds are very much against you – most vet schools admit ~3-5% of nonresidents.</p>
<p>Ask for pre-vet statistics from Rocky Mountain before committing…GPA, GRE/MCAT/VCAT scores, and success rates. Be aware that vet school is extremely selective, and I encourage you to starting thinking of things you’d like to pursue as a career in case you don’t get into vet school, whether it’s working as a vet tech or doing something else entirely.</p>