<p>Hello,
I am currently a freshman at University of Maryland, College Park. My major is undecided, though I am taking the required coursework to earn a degree in biology. At this point, I'm stuck between trying to become a veterinarian and going to medical school. What should I do? I've volunteered almost 200 hours in a hospital emergency department, shadowed veterinarians, worked in kennels, and completed a research project in high school at a veterinary office. I feel like I need to decide now what path I am going to choose. If I don't choose soon, how will I know which test to study for? For medical school, I will need the MCAT. Most veterinary schools take the GRE, but I believe only a few take the MCAT. I don't know what to do, and I don't know how to figure this out.</p>
<p>Have you tried sitting down and making a list of the pros and cons for each career?</p>
<p>Be sure to list all those intangibles you find valuable for each career, as well the amount of debt you’ll be taking on, the length of training, family-friendliness, practice options, etc.</p>
<p>You do need to decide fairly soon (probably by midway thru sophomore year) if you plan to apply to vet or med school after your junior year. Not just because you have to study for the MCAT vs. GRE, but also because med school and vet school both have some pretty strong expectations about having directly-related ECs. (IOW, volunteering at a hospital won’t win your friends when applying to vet school. Nor will volunteering at animal shelter impress med school adcoms.)</p>
<p>OTOH, if you’re willing to be a slightly older applicant to med/vet school, you can postpone your decision until you feel more confident you’re making the right choice. There’s no rule you have to start professional school at age 22. (In fact, for both med & vet school, the trend is toward older applicants.) </p>
<p>(D1 started med school at age 25. She is neither the oldest not the youngest person in her class.)</p>
<p>As an aside, if it makes you feel any better, at least a couple of pediatricians I know say that being a peds and being a vet are kind of similar in that in both cases your patients are non-verbal.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. I’m still confused. I guess I will just keep getting experience in both fields…And I don’t think I’d make a good pediatrician. I like kids, but I’m not that great with them haha.</p>