<p>I am currently a junior in high school and I am starting to research colleges. I am pretty sure I want to becom a veterinarian, but what should I be looking for in prevet programs? I'm sure they have to have strong sciences, but are there any schools that stand out for prevet? As I'm searching, what should I be looking for? Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I know UC Davis is good.</p>
<p>Strong sciences are important; most of the schools my daughter, now a college freshman (actually entering second year!) looked at met that criterion, and in general "pre-vet" was part of the "pre-med" advising program (there really wasn't a pre-vet major). You certainly can look at schools with graduate vet programs, which are small in number, but which may give you an opportunity to become known as an undergraduate. The one she considered was Virginia Tech. You can often find out information about where those admitted to the Vet School went undergraduate.</p>
<p>As suggested by smdur, looking at schools with graduate vet programs is a good place to start. </p>
<p>For example, Cornell University has an outstanding vet school, and many of the students there studied Animal Science as undergraduates at Cornell.</p>
<p>Visit the Amer Vet Med Assoc website. They have a list of schools that offer vet degrees. They would also be good for pre-vet.</p>
<p>The basic pre-Vet sequence is essentially the same as the pre-Med and pre-Dent sequence. You can get this coursework just about anywhere. If you want an animal science program to give you a stronger background (especially for large animal veterinary studies) you should look at your home state college of agriculture.</p>
<p>Veterinary schools generally have preferential admission for students from the state where the school is located. If your home state doesn't have a vet. school, there is a formal agreement with the vet. school in at least one other state that will give you preference for admission to that state's vet school. In which case, it may be advisable for you to consider doing your undergraduate work at that state's agricultural university.</p>
<p>Some vet schools have 6 year programs. If you are clear about your professional goals, this may be a good option for you.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>Purdue has a 7 year program. </p>
<p>Preveterinary</a> Medicine at the Purdue Agriculture Office of Academic Programs</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, the schools with the best undergraduate pre-vet programs and advising are the same schools where the colleges of veterinary medicine are located. Here's a list of U.S. and foreign vet schools:</p>
<p>United States Veterinary Medical Schools and Colleges:</p>
<p>Auburn University </p>
<p>Colorado State University </p>
<p>Cornell University </p>
<p>Iowa State University </p>
<p>Kansas State University </p>
<p>Louisiana State University </p>
<p>Michigan State University </p>
<p>Mississippi State University </p>
<p>North Carolina State University </p>
<p>Ohio State University </p>
<p>Oklahoma State University </p>
<p>Oregon State University </p>
<p>Purdue University </p>
<p>Texas A&M University </p>
<p>Tufts University </p>
<p>Tuskegee University </p>
<p>University of California, Davis </p>
<p>University of Florida </p>
<p>University of Georgia </p>
<p>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign </p>
<p>University of Minnesota </p>
<p>University of Missouri </p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania </p>
<p>University of Tennessee </p>
<p>University of Wisconsin-Madison </p>
<p>Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine </p>
<p>Washington State University </p>
<p>Western University of Health Sciences </p>
<p>Canadian Veterinary Medical Schools and Colleges:</p>
<p>Universit</p>
<p>Cornell .</p>
<p>Take a look at the other Cornell -- Cornell College in Iowa. I heard that their undergraduate pre-professional veterinary medicine program was very good.</p>
<p>Iowa State University has an excellent school of veterinary medicine as well as a great pre-vet program. Both of my parents are alumni from the vet school and have nothing but good things to say about Iowa State's education. Plus, Ames is a great city and not far from Des Moines.</p>
<p>When I was a junior I was pretty sure I wanted to be a veterinarian, too so naturally I began researching pre-vet programs etc. However, I learned from a lot of vets at my internship (I intern at an animal hospital) that majoring in pre-vet to be a veterinarian is not only unnecessary but can even be unwise! Vet school is very competitive and the admissions offices love to see applicants with other interests than just vet medicine. Majoring in something else you're interested in, like maybe Economics, and then taking the prerequisite vet courses on the side can make you a very unique and desired candidate for vet school. Don't worry so much about colleges having pre-vet programs. Just make sure the school can offer you the animal science resources you want but majoring in pre-vet is definitely not the only way to go. Hope this helps :)</p>
<p>^While this advice is generally true for applicants to medical school, the vast majority of successful applicants to vet school have undergraduate majors in animal science, biology or biochemistry. While it is certainly possible to get into vet school with a nontraditional undergraduate major and the prerequisite science courses, it's important to remember that vet schools have very specific requirements for undergraduate preparation and that they give significant weight to the depth and breadth of animal related work experience and/or research presented by a given applicant. A good animal science program will provide the opportunites for animal related work experience and research -- a degree in economics won't. Something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>I’ve read many, many things about pre-vet and the one thing I’ve found is that state school is the way to go. At first, I felt sad about this, 'cuz I really wanted to apply to smart schools like UPenn or Cornell, but you’re going to be spending around 50 thousand a year for grad, so why spend that much for undergrad especially when it is so unnecessary? Every single vet I’ve talked to says go to a state school - same program, but your grades aren’t deflated. Vet schools look at all schools the same - it’s your gpa that matters. Unless you have higher than a 3.5, you aren’t even going to be considered. Go to a good, reputable state school with a good animal science program like Rutgers New Brunswick, Penn State, University of Del, or University of Maryland. They have connections to places, as well. </p>
<p>And yes, they do want more than just biology classes. I’ve heard recently that they are looking for business classes as well for vets that wish to go into private practice (you want to go into a business, you gotta have some know-how!)</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>I am in High school; freshman. I am interested in becoming a Vet and am beginning to look for quality pre-vet and vet schools. Cost is an issue so I am interested to know which colleges offer the best education at the best price. I also want to know how people felt they were prepared to enter the working Vet world after they completed their education. In othewords, which schools that were attended made you feel as if you were prepared and ready to confidently practice as a new vet after school was completed? I am looking into Colorado state right now. How did you feel after completing that program. Did you feel prepared and ready?</p>
<p>I really think high school freshman is too soon to be trying to pick out a target graduate school (sorry). It is even awfully early to be making up your undergraduate college list. The posters on here have given very good advice on how to pick an undergraduate college, though. Make a choice that keep your costs down and allows you to earn great grades, and review the comments on here about probable majors and coursework. Then keep your focus on high school so you are well positioned for that undergraduate admission process (and maybe can even get your statistics up so you can get some scholarships to bring your costs down). </p>
<p>Cost of schooling is just a huge deal to consider, as the schooling is expensive and compenstation isn’t great. You will probably want to look at schools on the list here that are in-state for you (or a state where you have reciprocity, so can get in-state tuition in the other state). Although as you will hear out here on CC, there are certainly private schools that offer good financial aid, and sometimes that route is cheaper. You can only figure that out by running the net price calculators on the web sites with your parents’ help, and looking at their merit scholarship offerings compared to your qualifications.</p>
<p>I assume you are looking into working at or volunteering in some capacity at a vet or animal shelter or something working with animals as well.</p>
<p>Cornell University in Ithaca, NY!</p>
<p>You said choosing in-state undergraduate schools is the way to go, should I go to WSU or UW since I’m in WA? But is WSU competitive? I’m thinking of going to Cornell to get my DVM and found this on its website “make sure you consider competitive colleges so you will be prepared for our rigorous curriculum.”</p>
<p>@clolosunvv: I think it depends what you’d most like to study. </p>
<p>If you go to UW, considering that they don’t offer animal science or zoology, the most relevant major would probably be one of the biology programs:
[Biology[/url</a>]</p>
<p>WSU has an entire college of agriculture, along with an animal science major, and a dedicated pre-vet program within some majors:
[url=<a href=“http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/prospectiveStudents/applyWSU.aspx]Applying”>http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/prospectiveStudents/applyWSU.aspx]Applying</a> To WSU For Undergraduate Studies](<a href=“http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/academic/biol.html]Biology[/url”>http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/academic/biol.html)</p>
<p>You are correct that WSU is generally considered less competitive than UW, but if you take advantage of the educational opportunities there and do very well in your classes, you should be well-prepared for any vet school.</p>
<p>One more thing to consider is that WSU is your state vet school, and thus your least expensive option. If you don’t want to do your undergrad and professional school in the same place, but still want to be economical, you could think of doing your bachelor’s degree at UW and then going to WSU for vet school. (Or, depending on your family finances, you could go to Cornell for undergrad and then to WSU for vet school.)</p>
<p>I know you probably don’t wanna venture all the way over to Georgia especially if your preferring in state colleges, BUT I plan on going to vet school also and today I visited Berry College (liberal arts school not too well known) but has the largest campus in the country and their Animal Science major pre-vet track has a 90% acceptance rate when many schools I looked at are only 12-20%. Vet school is extremely competitive and Berry offers hands on experience the second week of school that you would either not receive at all or not experience until your junior/senior year at another school. They have mainly large animals but that doesn’t limit you, they have many research/internship opportunities in vet/animal hospitals about 10 min near the campus but it is rare that you won’t find everything you need on campus. It is so huge, but the population of students isn’t big at all and the teachers there (normally a class size under 20 students) have a huge reputation for really caring about the students and some of them went to vet school themselves. </p>