My stats and application process

Well, it's official! We are going to Missouri! Just sent in my deposit to be a part of the University of Missouri Vet Med Class of 2018!!!!! Off to the Midwest for 4 years!

I am so excited and can't believe that I ACTUALLY got into vet school and am going to be a veterinarian in 4 years!!! Ahh!! Now to find a place to live, a job for Eddie, etc, etc! 

So now I am going to reveal my stats and explain the process that I went through for EACH of the 14 schools I applied to... this is going to be a long entry :)

So these are the different areas of the VMCAS application:

GPA and pre-requisite classes- have to send transcripts from ALL schools attended

GRE scores

Veterinary Experience

Animal Experience

Job Experience

Research Experience

Honors/Awards

Extracurricular/Community Activities

ELORS-letters of recommendations from professors/veterinarians/etc. 

Personal Statement-why do you want to go to vet school/how did you get to this point

Optional Explanation Statement- I did not chose to do this- If you want to explain a gap in your schooling, bad grade, hardship you went thru, this is where you can explain it

So here we go: My stats according to VMCAS-NOTE: schools may calculate themselves differently

Cumulative GPA: 3.60 -competitive- this is normally around the average for accepted applicants when you look at school stats

Science GPA: 3.52- however most schools calculated themselves differently and it ranged from 3.30-3.52

Last 45 credit GPA: 3.38-most schools realize that you may not do as well when first starting college and use the last 45 credit GPA in deciding your academic score, mine was lower than average and that's because my summer courses of Physics were calculated in this (Physics was the lowest grade on my transcipts: B-)

Quantitative GRE: 154, 60% below- I think this was ok but saw other applicants do better than this

Verbal GRE: 145, 24% below- NOT a good score - I thought that this would really hurt my chances but I did an explanation statement that included my verbal GRE score-I discussed how my hearing impairment set me back in hearing and recognizing new words while growing up/learning and this hindered my score tremendously- obviously being a LVT I have a vast medical/veterinary terminology that I was able to learn and use fluently-I made sure to mention that

Analytical Writing: 4.0, 49% below, the scale is out of 6.0, I think is an average score

Side note: The GRE sucks! I'm sure many people would agree with me on this. Prepare for it ahead of time and know your vocabulary! Don't stress out too much though and don't go crazy taking it 3-4 times! If your scores are okay-good then just go with them! I took my GREs late (after I started the VMCAS application) and it was HORRIBLE for me-I decided to stick with my scores knowing that I wouldn't do much better if I took them again. Don't get me started on standardized testing-especially at this level of education?? Definitely not necessary. Just prepare, take them, and get them done with as soon as your ready to and don't think about them again! 

Animal Experience: This is experience that you have gained with animals and NOT under the supervision of a veterinarian NOTE: Most schools do NOT count pet ownership

4000 hours Equine-Working/riding at a local barn for 5 years

100 hours Small Animal/Avian/Lab animal- Animal Care as a part of the Vet-Tech program

792 hours Small Animal/Exotics/Avian- Worked as a Pet Care Specialist at Petsmart-responsible for care and husbandry of fish, birds, small mammals, cats, and reptiles

865 hours Small Animal- Working as a Doggie Daycare Attendant/Bather at a Dog daycare/grooming/boarding facility

Veterinary Experience: Experience under the supervision of a veterinarian- probably MOST important experiences to get!! It is EXTREMELY important to get VARIED experiences with different types of animals such as: equine, large/food animal, small animal, exotics, avian, zoo animal, lab animal

70 hours Small Animal: First internship at a small animal hospital, mostly observed, some hands on lab stuff

20 hours Small Animal: Surgery observation/assisting

45 hours Equine: Equine Handling class at University of Findlay

~250 hours: I listed all my classes and labs taken at Medaille that were taught by a veterinarian

72 hours Equine/Large Animal: Advanced Farm Animal Lab-taught technical procedures on cows, llamas, sheep, goats, alpacas, horses

70 hours Equine: Shadowed an equine veterinarian

15 hours: Listed my experience at the North American Veterinary Conference that I was chosen to attend to

2100 hours Small Animal/Exotics: Working as a receptionist, assistant and now a licensed veterinary technician in a 24/7 emergency/referral/community practice

I had a lot of Small animal (which is the most common experience) and exotics from internships, school, and where I work. I also had some large animal and equine from shadowing a equine veterinarian and labs. I also have experience working in an emergency setting which is definitely worth mentioning and can be considered an experience of its own. Also listing my continuing education hours at the North American Veterinary Conference showed that I am constantly learning, open to new things, and was a great professional experience in general. I feel that my animal/veterinary experiences were a strong part of my application.

Job Experience:

3120 hours:Worked at Wegmans for 5 1/2 years 

150 hours: Peer tutor

Research Experience: Working in research under the supervision of a DVM or PhD

I have no real "research" experience- I had applied for 2 summers in a row for multiple research internships so that I could gain some experience in this area. However I was never chosen for these internships and my school didn't have a strong research department. However, I did take an Intro to Lab Animal Medicine and decided to list this under research experience so that I didn't leave it blank. This class was about the husbandry of the lab animals used in research and all the laws and regulations that you must follow. It was a different angle on research that what I think vet schools are still looking for but I still listed it!

75 hours Lab Animal- Intro to Lab Animal Medicine class/lab

So clearly the research area of my application was poor-but I had many other experiences to make up for it :)

Honors and Awards: Now you get to list every honor/award that you have ever received pretty much so my advice is to keep track of them starting in high school!

Deans List: 7/8 semesters

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society: Was invited into this society because of my grades and paid my dues to be a member but never really did anything with it...

Medaille College Collegiate Scholarship: Received during my time at Medaille (GPA based)

UAW CAP Scholarship:

Wegmans Schoalrship:

Buffalo Urban League Scholarship:

National Honor Society: In high school

I had a couple scholarships that I was proud of but other than that I wasn't student leader of the year or anything special like that !

Extracurricular/Community Activities: This would include volunteer work, clubs, study abroad trips, etc.

Spanish Club: In high school

AFS (American Field Society): In high school, hosted foreign exchange students, multi-cultural club

European Discovery: Chosen to be a Student Ambassador to represent People to People-traveled to Europe for 3 weeks to travel/study- I write about this in an earlier post

Pre-Vet Club: At University of Findlay

Vet-Tech Club: At Medaille

Life Sciences Club: At Medaille

Trip to Belize, Central America: This was with the Life Sciences Club, spent 10 days travelling to different ecosystems of Belize and learned about the culture, flora, and fauna.

Personal Statement: From VMCAS app

-Discuss briefly the development of your interest in vet med

-Discuss those activities and unique experiences that have contributed to your preparation for a professional program

-Discuss your understanding of the vet med profession

-Discuss your career goals and objectives

This is obviously written in essay format and you have to cram all your experiences, thoughts, ideas, future goals into 2000 characters-which is equivalent to 1 page typed. START THIS EARLY and have several people read it and proof it for you! I talked about how my hearing impairment and being an only child lead me to this field because i recognized the importance and significance of the human-animal bond at such an early age. From there I summed up all my experiences, what it had taught me, why I can handle this program, and how I will be successful, etc. 

ELORS: Can have up to 6 letters (if i remember correctly) however most schools ask for 3 with one of them being from a DVM

These are the people that I asked!

-LVT/Hospital administrator from where I work

-Chemistry professor at Medaille

-Veterinarian/Professor at Medaille

-Veterinarian/Professor at Medaille

I asked these 4 professionals because I felt that they all knew me well and for a good period of time, they knew my strengths/weaknesses and I felt that they thought positively of me ;) 

I didn't ask any DVMs from work because I felt that I didn't have a close relationship with any of them at the time of application ( I was only working on weekends as a receptionist/assistant and just gotten my license) After I became full time as a LVT I felt that I could ask some of the DVMs there but it was too late. 

My advice would be to ask a DVM that you work with in practice for a recommendation. It is good to have recommendations from different professionals who work in different parts of the field or are in different disciplines. 

So there you have it: the breakdown of the VMCAS application! It is not an easy app and requires lots of time and planning ahead- START EARLY- most cycles open up around the first week of June and the deadline is October 2nd. START IN JUNE and SUBMIT IT EARLY :) Will save you lots of stress!

I will talk about the 14 schools I applied to and the breakdown of each in my next post :)

Euthanasia: A Double Edged Sword

I said that I would talk about issues in veterinary medicine and one topic that affects everyone from pet owners to veterinarians is euthanasia. If you want to be in the field you HAVE to learn how to handle it and how to deal with euthanasia, you CANNOT avoid it no matter how much you want to. Some people change their careers/fields because of euthanasia.

         

When I first started my job at where I work as an LVT now, I had never witnessed a euthanasia and never had one of my own pets euthanized. I didn’t know what to expect.  I started out as a receptionist and at first my job was just filling out the form and cashing them out in the room. Even that was too much for me. My first week I cried during each one. It just hits you when you walk in that room, even as a receptionist and you see the bond between the pet and owner and the pet is about to pass on.

Eventually you adapt to these situations but it wasn’t until a good year that I finally became comfortable with euthanasia. I hate to use the word “comfortable” or “ok” when talking about euthanasia because even though it the act of humanly ending an animal’s life. You are still taking away that animal’s life and I don’t ever want to truly be “ok” or “comfortable” with that. Yes, euthanasia may be the best and most humane option in some cases but it is important to always be sensitive towards this decision.

I used to always think how could owners make the decision to euthanize their pet? It just seemed to cruel to me, even if the pet was suffering. It wasn’t until one of my professors, who was very influential on me, said that “deciding euthanasia for your pet is one of the most selfless decisions an owner can make for their pet.” I never thought of it that way but it really is true. It really is selfish to make a pet suffer and live a poor quality of life just because YOU want to still be with him/her. I have slowly come to terms with euthanasia and have realized the importance and necessity of it in veterinary medicine.

With that said, there is the other side of consciousness where you become so used to euthanasia that it doesn’t even phase you anymore. Sometimes I reach this point while working in emergency/referral medicine, it just becomes so repetitive that sometimes I don’t even realize that these animals are no longer here anymore. It is especially scary when I hear HUMAN cases that sound so suffering and terminal and I think “why don’t they just euthanize?” And I’m like WAIT because they don’t euthanize in human medicine and I quickly realize that it is scary how “comfortable” you can become with this topic.

The next few paragraphs are from a proposal I wrote for a paper I wanted to write on euthanasia and the effects of it on veterinary staff. 

          Euthanasia is a very touchy subject and should not be taken lightly.  Many healthy animals are euthanized every day due to cost concerns, behavioral problems, accidents, overpopulation, not enough shelter/homes, etc.  Not only is this an issue of too many healthy pets not having homes and as result euthanasia is selected as a solution.  This is also an issue of what effects constant exposure to euthanasia has on veterinary professionals in the field.  When I say veterinary professionals, I am primarily talking about veterinarians, but also veterinary technicians, veterinary assistants, and receptionists.  Veterinary professionals often do not ultimately have the final say in euthanizing an animal.  It is the client’s choice whether the pet is old and suffering and it is “time,” or the client simply does not want the pet anymore for various reasons and chooses to end its life.  When veterinary professionals are exposed to this over and over they must develop a coping method, whether it is a positive or negative method. 

Studies show that workers in this situation are at risk for high blood pressure, ulcers, depression, unresolved grief, substance abuse, and suicide. (Pierce)  Research has also shown that veterinarians have high suicide rates, four times higher than the general public.  (Pierce)  “Veterinarians have a proportional mortality ratio for suicide approximately four times higher than the general public and around twice that of other healthcare professions.” (Bartram and Baldwin)  Possible factors that contribute to these high suicide rates are the rigorous undergraduate work it takes to get accepted into veterinary school, the stressful graduate level learning, the availability of lethal drugs to veterinarians, high stress environment of being veterinarian, and the desensitization to euthanasia from constant exposure to it. 

          Although animals are not humans and cannot literally be compared to them, people who work in the veterinary field often view pets/animals as their children.  Their job is to take care of these animals and very empathetic towards them.  This is a psychological quality of many people in the field that may contribute to how euthanasia affects them, where euthanasia mat be viewed differently and have different effects by a person who has no feelings towards animals.  

It is very important to recognize euthanasia and have a support system that you can turn to when you start to become emotionally drained. This field is very emotional and mentally draining and it's important to stay healthy and stable while working through these situations!

Undergrad Classes and Pre-requisites

Veterinary medicine is a scientific field. Therefore you will be taking LOTS of science classes whether you think it makes sense or not! A Bachelor's degree is actually NOT required for admission into veterinary school, but it does improve your chances of getting in if you are working towards completing your degree. Most schools only require that you have 60-90 credits of undergraduate course work to be admitted. Another thing to note, vet schools will say they have "minimums" to get in, these will most likely not get you into vet school. Vet schools say they require a 2.5-3.0 minimum GPA to apply, but the average of accepted students usually ranges from 3.4-3.7. Try to set your standards high!

You can major in anything you want and still apply to vet school AS LONG as your have all the pre-reqs done. The standard pre-reqs for vet schools are
-General Chemistry 1 + 2 (with labs)
-Organic Chemistry 1 + 2 (with labs)
-Biochemistry (some schools require a lab some don't, usually 1 semester will suffice)
-Biology 1 + 2 (Basic level bio class)
-Microbiology with Lab
-Physics 1 + 2 (with labs)
-English/Writing (3 credits)

^^ These are the core pre-reqs for MOST schools-some require more
Additional pre-reqs:
-Algebra or Calculus (Calculus looks better since it is higher level course)
-Genetics
-Animal Nutrition (some schools)
-Upper level Science Courses
-General Electives (3-12 credits)
-Every school is different

IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO FIND OUT WHAT EACH SCHOOL SPECIFICALLY WANTS!! DON'T ASSUME IF YOU MEET ONE SCHOOL'S CRITERIA YOU'LL MEET ANOTHER. PLEASE PLEASE CHECK EACH SCHOOL'S REQUIREMENTS.

Applying is expensive!!!! Don't waste your money and chance on a school because you didn't check ahead of time! Also if schools require Algebra and you only took Calculus, don't assume that's acceptable, contact the school and ask. Schools are good at getting back to you in a timely manner. If you are unsure your animal nutrition class will meet their expectation, then ASK. Especially if it is a vet-tech nutrition class, some schools like Florida and North Carolina will NOT accept it (as of 2013).

It is not solely your adviser's responsibility to make sure you are taking all the classes that you need to take. Keep track of this yourself as well and plan out your years/semesters in advance to make sure you will get all your pre-reqs done on time. Most schools will only allow you to have 1-2 remaining pre-reqs that you can take in your last Spring semester. They specifically say that NO pre-reqs can be taken the summer before vet school starts. So get them done early!

Obviously it is important to get GOOD grades in your pre-reqs. These classes let schools know that you can handle the rigorous science curriculum in veterinary school. You do NOT need a 4.0 GPA to get in to vet school. If you have a 4.0 KUDOS TO YOU, that's amazing! If you do not then that is okay because your GPA is only a FRACTION of your application. But with some schools they will use your GPA and GRE scores as the first screening of your application, and if they are not good enough, your application will not make it to the next step :( And I certainly received a few rejections because of this!

These pre-req classes are CHALLENGING and you WILL find yourself thinking "maybe I'm not cut out for this-this is way too hard." I felt like this several times during my freshman and sophomore years! DO NOT GIVE UP! I HIGHLY recommend tutoring and getting a tutor ASAP, the moment you start to feel lost in a class. Ask your professor for help-they will help you! There are lots of resources available to you so that you can do well but it is up to you to use them!

You should definitely strive for A's and B's for obvious reasons. A couple of C's are ok! If you feel that you are doing worse than that and will not be able to pull off at least a C, then WITHDRAW. C is usually the lowest grade a school will take for a pre-req (some say C-). A couple W's on your transcripts will not hurt you. The first time I took Physics I KNEW it wasn't going to end well-and I withdrew.

Some people think that if you take a class twice and received an F in the first time and an A in the second time that schools will only take the A-NO. Most schools average ALL of your classes, whether retaken or NOT. This is why it is sometimes better to withdraw from a class so it does not affect your GPA for the worse.

This all seems complicated, I know. Just do your best-you do need to prove that you can handle these classes but there are also other parts of your application: animal experience, job experience, research experience, veterinary experience, personal statement, honors/awards, GRE scores, that will all be taken in to consideration as well.

Traveling

I think that it is very important to travel to difference places, especially studying abroad. I feel that it really broadens your horizons and opens your mind up to so much more that is out there. It is important to go out of your comfort zone and traveling definitely involves doing that! Also, vet schools LOVE these kind of experiences on your applications and I was questioned about mine at interviews.

During my senior year of high school I was chosen by an organization called "People to People" to be a student ambassador and travel to Europe for three weeks during the summer following my high school graduation. I was told that a faculty member had picked me but that it had to remain anonymous.  (I think that they just sent out letters to everyone to see whose parents would fork over the money for the trip, but hey, who knows)

People to People Student Ambassadors July 2009

A group of about 40 students were chosen ranging from 7th-12th grade (me being the oldest). We traveled to France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. This was an educational trip and we visited numerous landmarks, museums, chapels, and famous areas. Not only did I learn a TON on this once in a lifetime trip, but I saw so many amazing things and I was able to appreciate all the art and history that I learned about in school. When you travel to different places and countries you learn about the culture, history, and economics and it opens your mind up to things that might be different from what your used to. You may also experience or see a lot of things that you don't see at home such as poverty, different living conditions, etc.

Some of the places that I went to are Versailles/Gardens, the Louvre, Fragonard Parumeur, Eiffel Tower in Paris, France; Strasburg, France, Lucerne, Switzerland, learned how to make apple strudel in a culinary institute in Innsbruck, Austria, stayed with a German family in Munich, Salsburg, Austria, Mauthausen Concentration camp, Vienna (where the famous James Bond ferris wheel is), Medeival Ages camp in Freseich, Austria, Venice, Florence, and Rome in Italy.

Some of my favorite places and experiences from this trip were traveling to Paris, France and seeing the Eiffel tower, it is HUGE. Seeing the Mona Lisa (really tiny).

I LOVED Switzerland, it was so calm and peaceful and beautiful there!

My favorite part was staying with a German family in Munich, Germany, so COOL. I stayed with a family of 4, mom, dad, brother and sister. I became close to the mom and daughter and they showed me around town, we went to a huge museum, the Olympic Park, the beer gardens, I got to try wiener schnitzel! I also got to go to school with Andrea for the day which was cool! Most of the students spoke some English and of course I attended the English class-guess what they were doing that day?? Watching the Simpsons!! (in English)

My host siblings-at the museum

My host sister-Andrea

My host mother!

Olympia Park

 I got to see around town like a "normal" person instead of with a huge group of obvious tourists. It was nice to see the day life of the town.










The family was super nice! I don't have a picture of the dad because he worked practically the whole time. (Mom stays at home) However, dad worked for BMW and they had 2 BMW cars themselves...very nice.






















Olympia Park was huge! It was really cool to be where they Olympics once took place!












And of course ITALY-AMAZING. My favorites cities were definitely Rome and Venice!

The Colosseum!

 Typical Gonzalo-ing in Venice! 

The leaning Tower of Pisa, Florence, Italy.










I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to go on this once in a lifetime trip!! I encourage you to travel to different places and take advantage of travel abroad opportunities that your school has! Yes, it does cost money to go on these trips. But there are ways to fund raise and pay for them! You will not regret these amazing experiences and like I said before, vet schools LOVE to see that you have these types of experiences!

One thing that people (probably) don't know about me if they don't know me is that I was born profoundly hearing impaired ( approx 90% loss in my left ear and 70% loss in my right ear) -ever watch Switched at Birth?? Being deaf is NOT a loss it is a GAIN! I fully believe this! My hearing loss has made me who I am today, has taught me many lessons that I may not have otherwise learned, and I would not want it ANY other way. Yes, it caused delays in my learning, speech,and pragmatic skills and yes I still have situations in my everyday life where my hearing impairment gets the best of me. No, I do not know sign language (besides the alphabet and a few signs) I read lips very effectively.  I do wear a hearing aid in my right ear which helps me but I do need people to look at me when they talk!

Ironically my vision is awful too ha, legally blind without contacts/glasses and my friends and husband jokingly call me Helen Keller.... Thanks guys! ;)

Along with my hearing impairment, I grew up as an only child, no siblings :(  who did I make friends with and talk to? You guessed it- animals! Welcome to the roots of my veterinary career :) I owe my life to animals and I made a promise that I would spend my life helping them in return.

I found myself turning to animals for companionship at a young age and learned how amazing and STRONG the human-animal bond is at a very young age. I later wrote my undergrad thesis paper on the human-animal bond (will post that later).

My first two pets were my 2 cats, Gizmo, FS black DLH, and Silver, MN grey DSH. Miss you babies! I started breeding and showing guinea pigs when I was 8-9 years old. I know most people are like what? Showed guinea pigs? Is this girl serious? Yes lol it is like showing dogs, there are different breeds of guinea pigs and they are judged on their colors and conformation. No I did not run them around a ring on a collar and leash as one of interviewers asked me at Tennessee!

I started a dog walking business when I was 10 and would walk dogs for an hour for a dollar, talk about cheap labor lol if only I knew... I ALWAYS wanted a dog but my parents (mom) would not let me get one for anything until I was 19! I started riding horses and eventually got my very own appendix QH when I was 13 years old after I lost 60 pounds ( a bet I made with my parents and a story for later!) I worked at the barn where I rode and boarded my horse and got thousands of equine animal experience there.

Once high school started (overrated) I was very shy and introverted, well I still am now but feel I have improved and have grown so much as a person since, I mean I'm blogging! I couldn't even talk to boys HA and was scared of what everyone thought of me (what a joke now) and yet I was the youngest and first to get married out of everyone I know... Funny how life works!

I did my first internship at a veterinary hospital during my junior year of high school and shadowed for roughly 70 hours. It helped me get a feel for a veterinary hospital and what a typical day in a small animal hospital was like. I did not really get much hands on animal experience but surprisingly was taught a lot of lab skills. Something to mention is that my 2 mentors, who it still have some contact with almost 8 years later! Were vet techs! The veterinarian actually probably cared less that I was there and the techs showed me everything there and that was when I first heard about Medaille and the vet tech program from both of them. One of them was in the process of applying ( and recently graduated from KSU!!) and told me about the Student Doctor Forum! I'm sure many professional students know about this network and it is ADDICTING, especially during the application cycle.  Anyways that was my first experience in the veterinary field and it only confirmed my life's aspirations, and the fact that I love scrubs :)

So anyways my first semester of undergrad was not at Medaille, it was at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, known for its great pre-vet and equestrian programs. I loved the school and professors and the program but did get homesick :( I wasn't very involved in outside activities, didn't attempt to make friends that much, not to mention my roommate and I DID NOT get along and I felt like I was her mother.... My husband ( boyfriend) at the time would meet half way in Mentor, Ohio to see each other EVERY weekend. I just knew that I would be happier in my hometown, good ol Buffalo. I missed working a job, driving my car, seeing my friends, having a life. I was also going through MAJOR pre-vet stress, with the sudden realization that pre-vet classes/ pre-reqs are hard and that vet school is extremely COMPETITIVE, I may not even get in! I was also having anxiety with deaths in my family and hometown. I decided to come back home and attend Medaille for the veterinary technology program to use as a back up in case I don't get into vet school. This was a very hard decision for me and I did not have my family's support at first. Most people ( my friends and parents) probably thought I wanted to come home because I missed my boyfriend, which of course I did but clearly I am much more mature than that and there were many other factors considered. I AM SO HAPPY I WENT THIS WAY AND MADE THIS DECISION! I have no regrets, everything happens for a reason.

I will continue in my next post with my experiences during undergrad!

Intro

So I wish I could have started a blog sooner (like high school) so I could share my journey and help others with theirs! But it's never to late to start, so here I am!

My name is Lauren, I am currently 22 years old and married ( but that's a different story that I WILL definitely tell another time) and I have recently been ACCEPTED TO VETERINARY SCHOOL!!!!!!! CAN I GET A WOOT WOOT! I have been working towards vet school since I was like 10 years old and it has been one HELL of a journey. It is NOT easy but it is WORTH it. I am going to tell you how I got here, WHO I AM, what experiences I received, education, what classes I took and when, what professionals I networked with and received recommendations from, where I traveled, what I did, etc etc. I am also going to write throughout veterinary school because I think this is a really cool thing to do and I will definitely look back at it.

This is me. I make birthday cakes and banners for my pets birthdays. I know I'm nuts ;)

The title of my blog is LVT2DVM. I am currently working as a licensed veterinary technician in the state of New York. One of the first things you will hear upon learning about this field is how people outside of the field mix up technicians and veterinarians  when it comes to education, schooling, and more. You will then learn that most veterinary schools FROWN upon becoming or working as a licensed/registered/certified technician prior to applying...WHAT? Why? I still do not understand the thinking behind that. I have been told that vet schools want students with a "clean slate," no "set way" of doing things, whatever. I feel that my education and experience as a LVT have prepared me me SO much more for veterinary school and being a veterinarian then if I had decided not to go that route. I was lucky to attend an undergraduate institution that offered a dual degree program so I was able to earn my associates in veterinary technology and bachelors in Biology in 4 years, go class of 2013! It was a very rigorous program and prepared me well.

Anyways I guess I will start from the beginning and go chronologically in order here.... I will also include posts on things like euthanasia, certain issues in vet med and life in general :) if anyone reads this??... Feel free to leave comments, questions, or whatever:)