Pre-Vet or Biology

<p>Okay, this is my dilemma. I am currently a Junior in high school, but I have to start considering my options for college. I want to be a vet, like 95% decided. </p>

<p>Now for college, I don't know if I want to go into Pre-Vet or into Biology. My parents keep telling me to take a general subject like Biology, just so if I don't want to be a vet anymore I still have some hope to be something else.</p>

<p>So, what should I do? If I don't want to be a vet, and I go into Pre-Vet, I still have a chance to be something else still SCIENCE related right???</p>

<p>Opinions PLEASE!!!</p>

<p>There is no pre-vet major. You will go to school and major in something that interests you and take classes that will help prepare you for vet school. The classes will be pretty much the same as you would take if you are planning on going to medical school. Look at pre-med program, you will see what kinds of classes you will need to take. So you can major in biology and still prepare for vet school. You can major in history or music or art and still prepare for vet school. So major in what you want.</p>

<p>luveydovey</p>

<p>You are wise to think ahead. Many majors serve as pre-vet courses of study. As shennie said, you just have to be careful to cover all the bases. Admission to most vet schools will require either the Biology GRE or the MCAT, so you want to make sure you have the courses necessary to do well on those exams. There are other requirements for vet school admission, as well, primarily a hefty number of hours accrued during high school and college job shadowing vets, working with animals, and so on.</p>

<p>One complication is that some state’s vet schools require very specific classes that are only offered at their own undergraduate institutions (for example, Texas A & M). It is not a bad idea to know ahead of time which vet schools you are interested in, so you can look up what their specific entrance requirements are.</p>

<p>My daughter is doing pre-vet at a university that also houses a vet school. Close to half of the pre-vet students are majoring in biology, but a big chunk are majoring in animal science; some are biochemistry, or a number of other fields. I have known of engineering students (biomedical engineering) who have gone on to vet school.</p>

<p>You might start here to look at what some schools require. There are other good web sites as well. Just start googling.</p>

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<p>Thank you for replying. I am pretty sure there is a pre-veterinary major. It’s one of the major options in collegeboard. And yeah, I am thinking about majoring in Biology, but that is an extremely competitive field.</p>

<p>Thank you midmo. I have a few colleges I already have in mind. And I actually already work in an animal hospital and I love it! I am looking for a job at a smaller animal clinic though. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>No there usually isn’t a pre-vet major. The collegeboard includes information about it because it is a specific set of courses, and some colleges/universities have a dedicated pre-vet advisor.</p>

<p>If you are completely focused on a veterinary career, you also should look for colleges/universities that offer direct admission to a 6 year veterinary program, or admission after only two years of college. Back in the last century, my Organic Chemistry lab partner was a college sophomore who was applying to vet school. She started vet school instead of her junior year of college.</p>

<p>I am not sure what you mean by saying that biology is extremely competitive. It is a major like any other. However, getting into vet school is extremely competitive. It is harder to get into vet school than medical school because there are many fewer vet schools in the country. I am not trying to discourage you, but if you are worried about competitiveness, you need to know what you are getting into.</p>

<p>As far as a pre-vet major, go to any college you are interested in and look at their lists of majors and you will not find pre-vet on any of them. As stated above, there are schools that have a pre-vet adviser who can help you select classes that will prepare you for vet school but there is no such thing as a pre-vet major.</p>