<p>Hi everybody,
im a sophomore and in the biotech program at my school. My weighted GPA is 4.31. So far i have taken AP US, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology and nxt yr i am taking AP Stats, Bio, Lit and World.
I have wanted to be a vet ever since i was two. Im already looking at schools and so far i have Cornell, Univ. of Wisconsin Madison, UGA and NCSU. But i sort of want to go to smaller private schools. does anyone know any private schools that have really good animal science and/or biological science programs? I want to try to do a double major, if not major in animal science and minor in biological science. Also is it better to undergrad at the school i want to go to vet school or for or to go somewhere else for undergrad school?</p>
<p>please and thank you</p>
<p>Tbird, check some of the previous threads regarding schools which contract with vet schools. Several of the posts go into detail about some of the early admit programs at schools like Miss State where admission into the undergrad program guarantees admission into their vet school.</p>
<p>it sounds like you are off to a great start with the course load heavy on the sciences! Don’t think you must major in the animal sciences, and really look at the requirements for the bio degree before you dive into a double major. I’m not personally familiar with any small school pre-vet programs, but perhaps others will be.</p>
<p>Keep up the good work!</p>
<p>Kudos to you for your hard work and initiative–you will need those in spades to make it into (and through) vet school!! Since it is so early in the game, I would do as timeflew said and look into early admission programs for high school students. Mississippi State was mentioned, and I know Kansas State has one as well (don’t know about others; your advisor should be able to help you). Some other schools allow students at certain universities to apply earlier in undergrad (during their sophomore or junior year). All of these programs are very competitive, but if you can get into vet school through one of those channels, I would go for it! Then you aren’t sitting there your senior year of college wondering if you’re going to get in anywhere (your odds are about 10%, and less if you are not a resident of the state where you are applying). If you have a public vet school in your state, I would highly recommend applying and going there–your chances of getting in are far better, and you will spend about half as much on tuition as if you go out of state. For the most part, vet school is vet school–I wouldn’t buy into the “hype” of certain schools (e.g. Cornell).</p>
<p>As for your other questions, no I don’t think it is a major advantage from an admissions standpoint to do your undergrad where you want to go to vet school. It is, however, nice because you will at least be familiar with the school and there may be more opportunities for you to get experience there (compared to a college that doesn’t have a vet school). As for your comment on small private universities, I would steer away from those. You are not likely to have the opportunities there that you will at a larger school with a good animal science program (I don’t think many small schools even have an animal science program, though I could be wrong). Granted, you don’t have to go animal science–one of my classmates was an anthropology major!! Also, you will be spending anywhere from $80,000-200,000 on vet school alone, and vets don’t make a lot of money–it’s in your best interest to save as much money as possible on your undergrad degree (which usually means going to a public school).</p>
<p>FYI I was a veterinary science major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and am now a 4th year vet student at Iowa State. If you have any questions about these schools, or pre-vet/vet school in general, just let me know!</p>