<p>I was admitted as a biology major to cal poly slo and i want to be considered pre-vet. however, i’m really concerned that as a biology major any research, internships, or other opportunities to work directly with animals would be given to the animal science majors. in order to get into vet school i know that you need to have experience working with animals, and i’m afraid that i won’t be able to do this at cal poly since i’m not planning to switch to animal science. does cal poly have opportunities to work directly with animals, even if you aren’t an animal science major?</p>
<p>the main reason i’m asking this is that i was just accepted off the waitlist for UC davis as a neurobiology, physiology, and behavior major and i know that i can work with animals there without doing animal science and that i’ll be well prepared for veterinary school after my four years at davis. i’d much rather attend cal poly because i like it better overall, but if it can’t give me the tools i need to get into vet school then i might have to withdraw and attend UC davis instead… 
so if anyone has any information related to this that’d be super awesome!</p>
<p>Call the biology department and ask the speak with department head about this today or tomorrow. They want you to come to school here, so they will tell you what they can or can’t do with respect to animals research. </p>
<p>I think you should also ask them whether you can enroll in animal science class as a bio major. </p>
<p>Given your specific requirements that will profoundly affect your future, don’t risk just getting an answer here. You might also want to post this same question on Cal Poly’s subreddit thread and ask see if there are any bio students there who can help.</p>
<p>IMHO, if you can’t get a satisfactory answer from Cal Poly, attend UC Davis instead because they have a Vet school and you would be able to align your course work with their entry requirements.</p>
<p>i’m already planning on calling them tomorrow because i think most of their offices close at 4pm. should i be calling the academic advisers for the college of science and math or just the college in general?</p>
<p>Call the biology department and ask if you can speak with a professor or the chair. They would know, and don’t settle for an ambiguous answer. You need to know whether bio has animals or not, and whether you can take animal science classes (or any other animal related classes like animal husbandry) as a bio major so you get experience. </p>
<p>Try Reddit for sure too. They have a Cal Poly dedicated subreddit which lots of current Cal Poly students lurk. </p>
<p>Not sure how far you are from SLO, visiting the bio department personally can be a great idea too if feasible.</p>
<p>Poly has a lot of experience with vet school (we are Cow Poly after all) through its animal science program because a lot of the students end up applying for vet school afterward. So I am pretty sure there is an expert to answer your question.</p>