r/vetschool

Hi everyone, I’m a rising third year in vet school so this is my last summer of my non-clinical year. The summer after my first year I moved to a new state and never got an externship, so to make up for it I did a short one the winter after… but I feel like it wasn’t enough compared to what my classmates did. Fast forward to this summer, I only have one externship secured, whereas my classmates have 2-3 lined up, and I feel like this summer is going to end up being a waste too. I tried cold-calling some clinics in my area but none of them have space for me. I feel so insecure about my abilities already, and I’ll be going into 3rd year with the least amount of experience in my whole class (especially with starting junior surgery this semester.) I’m not sure what to do and I feel like the 2 months of this summer that I don’t have an externship are completely wasted now. To make up (somewhat) I’m doing NAVLE prep in my own time and revisiting all my notes from my previous 2 years, but I genuinely don’t feel like it’s enough. Am I screwed?

Hey!
I don’t really know how to start this but I’m kinda going through a crisis rn. I’m applying to vet school but I’m really burnt out and I’m starting to maybe consider that vet med isn’t for me. I’ve been in this for 4 years. I have devoted everything (oh and I mean everything) to going to vet school but I mean is it even worth it?
My old best friend just got her dental hygienist and gets paid 100k a year to brush teeth. Literally. In vet med rn as a vet assistant I have been everything from pharmacy tech to nurse to budget manager to plumber to dental hygienist to x ray tech to phlebotomist to optometrist to medical records to bedside care… the list goes on. and on. And I get paid basically minimum wage ($19 an hour). I work hard. Very hard. But what comes the line where I’m getting myself in a profession where I am just working for free? On top of that am I getting myself in a career where I’m sacrificing my physical health, time w family, flexibility, financial freedom etc for what? The animals I help are very meaningful to me and it’s why I’ve stayed in it for four years but there’s SO many problems w the system. How am I supposed to as a vet justify being a corporation’s b*tch limiting discussions w owners to 15 minutes getting product out the door as fast as possible to meet quotas? How am I supposed to justify being a LITERAL DOCTOR FOR MULTIPLE SPECIES getting paid the same as some dummy clicking a button on an MRI machine for ppl and telling them to stay still? How as a literal multi species doctor can I justify getting paid the same as a dental hygienist?!? Someone who brushes your teeth… I can’t help but acknowledge this glaring reality…

On top of that I’m financially stressed rn. Badly. To put gas in my car rn that’s an entire 10 hour shift. Gone. Out the window. I’m $1000 in credit card debt. (I know I’m in college it’s normal to be broke…) but still… I’m begging my parents for basic groceries…

TBH if I don’t get into vet school this cycle I literally financially cannot stay as a vet assistant forever. It’s a dead end job. What I go get my vet tech to get paid $2 more an hour?!? Yippee. Still as a vet tech make maybe $23 an hour… if I don’t get in this cycle i hate to say it but I need to move careers… I’m an adult now I can’t stay in a job w no room for advancement or growth perpetually year after year applying over and over again…

But I can’t help but feel like I’m giving up on them. My patients. My dedication to the field… everything.

I’m studying ecology and graduating w my undergraduate degree in that at the end of the summer (IK stupid degree that has no jobs available- also contributes to my stress of no plan B if vet school doesn’t work) and so rn I’m doing everything I can to make that degree hire-able? I’m pursuing a geospatial information certification (5 more classes) and trying to get a bunch of OSHA certifications too. (To start breaking into environmental roles essentially). I’m on scholarship to school and have two years of eligibility left. (I drop the last year if I get accepted this cycle). So on top of that cert I’m gonna try my best to get a degree in molecular cellular and developmental biology (I only need to take 8 more classes). This is if I hate GIS then it’s another pivot out of vet med to something I guess?

Or do I sell out be another vet med burnout story and take a 12 month advanced RN course to become a nurse. Boom 100k. Course to become a damn dental hygienist? Lemme tell u if I can take a tooth out of a dog I can take a tooth out a human be fr. Go become a CT person and click a button and reign in the dough? Idk have a family, kids I can see, animals of my own?

Not to say human RN etc roles are easy to do but when you are EVERY human healthcare role at once for every species ever getting paid 75% less it hurts… I’m sure I could work way less hard and get paid triple what I do in this field as it is now.

Vets please am I crazy?!? How do you all deal with it?!? Ppl say vets burn out bc of euthanasia but tbh I’m burning out bc this is literally just working for free and I’m financially struggling despite having the scope of like every human healthcare profession?!? There’s no advancement and honestly the field lacks so much respect.

Idk what to do… I’m still applying this cycle and in this next year that i wait for decisions to come out I got a lot of big adult life choices to make. As idealistic as vet school committees want me to be…only being a vet assistant forever is not real. I can’t survive and be an adult off the money of vet assisting year after year application cycle after application cycle.

Does this make sense? Idk any advice helps. I do love the field I really really do. But I don’t want my bleeding heart to get in the way of the correct financial choice. And I’m not a punching bag. I’m not community toilet paper. My skillset should not be used for free.

I appreciate any guidance. Thank you.

Hi Everyone,
I was accepted to WesternU recently and I think the realization of how bad things can be with the BBB are finally hitting me. I just wanted to see if there are any WesternU graduates that would be willing to share how much they took out including for tuition + rent/living expenses. WesternU is the only school I was accepted to this cycle and I’m not sure my stats are good enough to be likely to get admission to anywhere else in future cycles. But doing my own math is putting the final cost to around like 500k which is not feasible if 300k of it is through private loans😭. Just hoping to hear some hope on here.

I’m also looking at the HPSP army scholarship but it has a 40-50% acceptance rate and I dont want to gamble a crushing private loan like that on a 50% chance.

A lot of people think you MUST complete a traditional bachelor’s degree before vet school, but that’s not always true depending on the school and prerequisite structure.

I’m a small animal ER vet and honestly I think many students waste years and accumulate unnecessary debt because nobody clearly explains the options.

I only have one degree to my name - DVM.

I’m curious:
what part of the pre-vet/vet school process is most confusing or stressful for people?

I recently got admitted to Ross Vet for January of 2027. When I applied this last cycle, I had told myself I would go wherever I got in because of course I wanted to just be able to go to vet school. But after hearing some things from different vets I have talked to and thinking I was going to take a gap year/apply again next cycle I am not sure what to do anymore. While I do think Ross does look like a really cool school, being where it is, I am unsure if the debt it worth it or not and if I might be making a mistake accepting this offer.

I did get Waitlisted at Colorado for the MPH/DVM Program as well as at LSU, so while those are possibilities this year, I don't know how high that possibility is. I would also like to get my MPH with my DVM and while Ross has their research programs, I don't actually think you would be getting a MPH, unless I am mistaken.

The little feedback i did get from a few schools this past cycle was that I needed more experience with animals, which i will be doing working with racing horses this summer and with the data side of things at a state health department. But I am not sure if that would put me over the edge next cycle. I know this was my first application cycle, but I just want some advice from others and need some other viewpoints on what I should do.

I just found out my current school won't let me take my final Master's capstone this summer due to a policy change, moving my graduation to the Fall.

I’ve already been accepted to WesternU for this August. I have my Bachelor's and all my prerequisites are 100% finished. Is the Master's degree itself usually a "hard" requirement for entry if you already have a Bachelor's?

Has anyone ever been allowed to start DVM classes while finishing a final Master's credit remotely? Any advice on how to approach admissions about this would be amazing.

I just got accepted to UAGM for their DVM program and I was wondering if they drug test? Specifically for marijuana? it would be really helpful to get answers from current students, thanks!

Hello! Currently studying for my final exam and reviewing some of my lectures covering MSK is showing to me my weakness for this exam. Does anyone have an apps/websites that are helpful when studying MSK? Specifically ligaments and tendons are getting me a bit, especially with all the differences seen in the horse limbs. Also if anyone knows of a resource that shows the movement of the muscles and tendons during locomotion, that would be very helpful! Right now, I am using my lectures to review, a 3D anatomy app, and a dissection textbook I have on hand but any additional resources would be extremely helpful! Thank you!

hello all, I am currently a licensed vet tech and have been thinking heavily about going to vet school. I have been completing my bachelors a few classes at a time in order to not take out loans. for a lot of my bachelors I took classes at my local community college because of the cost difference. I know that schools look down on community classes for harder courses, However I have been working in the field for about three years as an ER tech, and I’m about to graduate with my bachelors in biology and a minor in chemistry from University of Wilmington. My only concern would be since I have been taking a few classes at a time, and most were taken at a community college, there isn’t a heavy workload at any point. How much would this affect my chances of getting in? Should I do a full load for my last semester? Any advice would be helpful, as this is worrying me!