<p>Hi all, I will be an undergrad at Purdue University this august (after being denied by Cornell), my major will be animal science..or pre-vet. Kind of confused on which major I should take if I want to become a veterinarian. I'd like to attend Cornell for grad school.</p>
<p>Anywho, I have heard from multiple sources that Cornell's Vet school is top notch, is this true? And if that may be so, how competitive is it?</p>
<p>Cornell’s vet school is supposed to be leagues above any other.</p>
<p>Cornell has a fine vet school, but saying that it is “leagues” above the others is stretching it. There are only 28 vet schools in the U.S., ALL of them are accredited, ALL of them are excellent, and ALL of them are very difficult to get into. In other words, don’t put too much weight on the rankings as you’ll be lucky to get admitted to ANY vet school. Here’s a website that you can consult for vet school profiles, admissions data, etc.: [Welcome</a> to AAVMC](<a href=“http://www.aavmc.org/]Welcome”>http://www.aavmc.org/) As for what you should major in, the answer is “anything you like” as long as you complete the prerequisite courses for the vet schools to which you plan to apply. That being said, many vet students major in animal science, biology or zoology. The four most important factors in being admitted to vet school are undergraduate grades (particularly in the sciences), GRE scores, experience working with animals and your state of residence (vet schools give serious preference to admitting residents of the state in which the vet school is located). Statistically, vet school is harder to get into than medical school. If you’re serious about wanting to go to vet school, work hard in your undergraduate classes, maintain at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA, nail the GRE, get as much documented experience working with a variety of animals and in a variety of settings as you can, and, if you’re lucky enough to be a resident of a state with a vet school, make sure that you complete that school’s prerequisites for admission because it will offer you the best chance of getting in. One more piece of advice: persistence counts in vet school admissions, as many applicants end up applying for more than one admissions cycle before they are ultimately admitted.</p>
<p>Thanks much gbesq! I already got the prerequisite courses down, as well as the deadlines, dates, ect. & I am a native new yorker. My study plan should work out well, and I am already an A student in the sciences. I have no doubt that I can do this with hard work and faith!</p>
<p>^No doubt you can. My daughter made it. I’m sure you can too. Good luck.</p>
<p>I just read an article about Cornell’s vet school a few days ago - that it was once again ranked #1 in the country, and that even Cornell’s peer schools admit their program is top notch, and easily the best. Went into detail about how they do their coursework differently, and it’s modeled after human medical school, etc. The article itself had a quote from someone saying it’s leagues above other vet schools.</p>
<p>One of my good friends is Pre-vet at Cornell and she says Cornell and UC Davis always fight for the top spot in regards to Vet School.</p>
<p>^Colorado State is often in the mix for the top spot as well. Again, I would not focus too much on peer review rankings, but instead upon whether a given vet school is the right fit for your interests. Keep in mind that about 70% of the veterinary school curriculum is prescribed, so it really doesn’t matter that much whether you learn the material via problem based learning (which Cornell uses) or via the traditional lecture/lab method (which most vet schools use). No matter where you attend vet school, you still have to pass the NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Examination) in order to practice, and Cornell’s pass rates are no better than those of students who attend many other vet schools that are not ranked number one. Also, keep in mind that no one vet school has the best programs in every area of veterinary studies. If, for example, you wanted to study zoonotic diseases with epidemic potential (like avian influenza or hanta virus), you would be better advised to choose Kansas State over Cornell because K-State was recently selected by the feds for the site of the new $500 million state of the art lab complex that is going to replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center. I’m not saying that Cornell doesn’t have a great vet school – it does. But there are many reasons why it might not be the best choice for many students. By the way, OP, since you are an undergrad at Purdue, you should also take a hard look at Purdue’s vet school, which is excellent – being an undergrad there may give you a leg up in admissions. Are you aware of the Veterinary Scholars early admission program offered by Purdue’s vet school? Did you look into it? Here’s a link: <a href=“Doctor of Veterinary Medicine - College of Veterinary Medicine - Purdue University”>Doctor of Veterinary Medicine - College of Veterinary Medicine - Purdue University;
<p>There is no such thing as “pre-vet”. gbesq got it right. There are about 100 or so ani sci undergrads at Cornell and about 50% of them will go to a vet school and about half of those will go into Cornell Vet. With only 70 or so slots total Cornellians have an edge. As NYS resident you have a slight edge for Cornell as the Vet school is one of the state landgrant schools. Cornell grads have a slight edge though, all else being equal, so you will have to do just a little better. Cornell ani scis can volunteer and do research at the vet school so they can get connections. Plan on a 3.6 or 3.7, get 1,000 (yes that is one thousand) or more hours volunteering with animals, high GRE’s, and some good recommendations and you will have a chance.</p>
<p>How to pick between Texas A&M, Berry University, Ohio State University, and Cal Poly SLO when all are full rides? I am animal science/ pre-vet.</p>
<p>^Are you a state resident for any of these schools? Of the four, only Ohio State and Texas A&M have vet schools – if you’re a resident of either state, you would have an advantage in admissions over non-resident applicants.</p>
<p>I’ve been wondering this for a while, but is Pre-vet or Pre-med harder? I was thinking Pre-vet since there are less vet schools?</p>
<p>^Undergraduate preparation is about the same since there is substantial overlap in the prerequisite science courses for vet school and med school, but vet school is a tougher admit than med school.</p>
<p>Bump</p>
<p>I was wondering if past english and math remedial courses would have a major impact when applying to vet school? Or do they want to see improvement and the science reqs?</p>
<p>thank you</p>