Here’s my deal.
I went to a liberal arts school for two years as a Musical Theatre major on track to get my BA. In the last semester of my second year I ended up failing out. It was due to my decision to drop out but not to do it properly so I stopped attending classes and was formally dismissed from the college.
It’s been a year and I have decided that I want to go back to school to become a veterinarian. I understand this is difficult. My first step is to take some courses at my community college this next year, transfer to a college to finish off my undergraduate degree the year after that and then apply to veterinary school when the time comes.
Am I crazy? Have I blown my shot at being accepted to veterinary school because of my failed first attempt at college? I’m hoping that performing well in my community college courses will help with acceptance into the undergrad. Does that sound like the right thing to do? And then just working my ass off till I graduate.
I’m hoping you understand that I’m not so easily defined by my failing out. I want to make sure I’m taking the right steps to be taken seriously in the future because I really refuse to be defined by it.
I also need any advice you might have on what courses would be best to take to start off with at my community college. I haven’t talked about it with an advisor yet so I’m still in the dark.
No it is not too late. Thousands upon thousands of college students have rough starts and stops and later bring it all together to go on to graduate as well as go on to graduate studies!
Since you haven’t asked for any advice about study habits or being able to handle college classes, I will assume that you have the ability to actually handle your actual college courses. I will also assume that you can handle the switch to a more science-based major and do well in the required courses for a Biology or some other major that will support your application toward vet school.
So my advice is twofold. First, is to pick a major that prepares you for vet school. I presume biological sciences would be a good choice. From there you should be able to map out what your classes need to be to A) fulfill any sequence of classes needed to finish GEs (lower division) for transfer purposes to your target colleges and B) fufill any pre-reqs for your major as part of preparing for transfer.
The second piece of advice about prepping for vet school is that you need to start NOW with working or volunteering with animals. I am recalling the information I read when I researched this topic for my daughter when she was younger and looking at career options and what struck me is that a major criteria for getting into vet school is having THOUSANDS of hours of experience working with or volunteering with animals. It can mean working at a stable with horses, volunteering to clean pet cages at an animal shelter, a helper-job with the local vet.
The reality is that applicants to vet school without this 800 - 1500 hours of volunteer/work experience just can’t stack up with those who do. The hours show that the applicant really has the abilty to work with and handle animals, has worked enough to show they are committed to the field, and has the passion and drive to be in this field. So start accumulating those hours now! 200-300 hours a year and you’ll not only look great on the application, but you will also gain valuable insights into whether or not you truly love this field or if it is something that just sounds romantic or that you would rather keep on a hobby level.
Advisors at a CC will likely be able to help you transfer - but will have very little knowleged about grad school/vet school. Find a mentor! (This is where volunteering may lead you to these kinds of resources.)
Good luck.