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If you’re an animal lover, becoming a veterinarian might be a good career path for you. Veterinarians care for animals in the same way that doctors care for humans. They treat, diagnose, and assess an animal’s overall health. There are many focuses you can pursue as a veterinarian , such as companion animals (dogs, cats, etc), food animals (those that commonly live on farms), and zoo animals.
The path to becoming a veterinarian starts in high school, but most of your preparation will be done in college as you get ready to apply for veterinary school. In this post, we share what courses can help you get on the right track for veterinary school, as well as other factors to consider in college.
Similar to pre-med, pre-vet is not a major but an aggregate of required courses, activities, and experiences. Typically pre-vet students pursue a four-year bachelor’s degree in order to fulfill the requirements needed to apply to veterinary school. However, some veterinary schools don’t require a bachelor’s degree as long as applicants have completed the requirements for entry.
There’s no specific major for veterinarians in college, you just need to complete the courses required to apply to veterinary school. With that said, veterinary schools do look at your overall GPA, especially your GPA for your science courses. It’s important to do well in your science classes and, because of this, students who want to become veterinarians tend to major in a science-focused subject.
Every veterinarian school is different, so it’s important to check pre-requisites at the schools you’re applying to. In general, most schools require:
As mentioned before, there can be some variation at each school. For example, University of California Davis has very similar prerequisites to those listed above and no general education requirements, whereas Auburn University has more than one science elective requirement and an animal nutrition requirement, as well as many general education requirements.
Make sure to reach out to your advisor and career coaches if your college has them. They can help guide you on the right path for the veterinary schools you’re interested in.
Besides the standard prerequisites most veterinary schools require, there are a couple of other courses that the American Veterinary Medical Association recommends to give your application a boost:
Don’t stress if your undergraduate program doesn’t offer these classes! However, if your program does offer some or all of these classes, they can be helpful in exposing you to these subjects before you head to veterinary school.
Biology: Since there are so many science prerequisites for veterinary school, many students choose to major in science since it will make completing the prerequisites easier. Biology, or the study of living organisms, can help complete your biology prerequisites, and possibly a molecular biology or genetics prerequisite (if the school requires it).
Chemistry: Chemistry is the study of properties and the behavior of matter. As a chemistry major, you’d be able to complete both of your general and organic chemistry prerequisites.
Animal Sciences: If the college you attend offers animal science focused majors, then this can be very beneficial for paving the way to veterinary school. Animal science includes the study of a variety of life sciences to better understand animal physiology, breeding, and management across a range of species. Animal sciences often include science classes, like biology and chemistry, and some math classes, which would help you complete many prerequisites.
Zoology/Animal Biology: Zoology includes the study of both domesticated and wild animals and how they’re shaped by their environment and relationships with other animals. Zoology or animal biology often includes math and science classes, like biology, chemistry, physics, and statistics.
Remember that it’s perfectly okay to major in something not science related. Whether it’s English, a foreign language, or another major of your choosing, as long as you’re completing the prerequisites you’ll be in good shape for veterinary school applications.