Thinking About Vet School? Advice from Our Vets

Dr. Preston Russell, a veterinarian at Comer Vet Hospital, performs a canine spay surgery.

Each year, hundreds of undergraduates and even second-career hopefuls across the country apply for coveted spots on veterinary school rosters, eager to join the field of animal medicine. Each year, hundreds more determine their coursework schedules, volunteer opportunities, internship hours, and hands-on experience as they prepare for one final year before the application process begins.

Applying to vet school, and the years of preparation beforehand — between wondering if you’re taking enough Advanced Placement courses and hoping that one C-minus on an organic chemistry test won’t kick you out of the running — can be overwhelming and intimidating. The Comer Veterinary Hospital vets decided to pull together and share some wisdom for potential future veterinarians as they work to pursue their dreams.

Obviously the grades are important. You gotta keep your GPA up just to get in that stack of applicants that gets looked at. Beyond that, though, really what I think vet school’s looking for — what I’m looking for as an employer — are people who are well-rounded, who communicate very effectively. In their résumé, I want to see that they really challenge themselves, that they worked, that they were involved in afterschool or extracurricular things, clubs on campus, they attempted to take on externships that would challenge and grow their knowledge base.

What have they done outside of the classroom? What experiences have they gone and gotten? Where have they done internships? Did they hold down a job while going to school? Can they handle the balance that it takes to be a veterinarian? You’ve got work, you’ve got life, you’ve got lots of things going on.

Try to set yourself apart through the things you do outside of the classroom. Make sure that you show you’re able to handle that workload, that balance of scheduling, because that’s what’s gonna be required of you as you step into your professional career.

1. If you don’t like people, don’t do it. There are often one or more people that own that pet you are treating.

2. The grass may look greener in the next pasture, but they all have weeds. Make careful decisions.

3. Beware of school loans. You may be eating peanut butter sandwiches and ramen noodles for many years!

Find ways to study that make sense for your brain and allow you to retain the things that you are studying and not just memorize them. Have hobbies that are life-giving and allow you to take your mind off of school. Surround yourself with a community that will support your hard work, but also give you a break from it.

Not every job you take in undergrad has to be in the vet field. You will work with animals the rest of your life, so feel free to try other jobs: work at a summer camp or a coffee shop. Learning communication skills is just as important as learning how to work with animals, and those skills can be nurtured in a variety of careers.

Get involved in your community. Again, the skills of working with a variety of people and personalities are so important for vet med. Plus, being involved in your community will be an important part of establishing yourself and your business in your community as a vet, so might as well start now!

Make strong connections in the clinics you work with. Whether it’s shadowing, interning, a paid position, short- or long-term, make sure you stand out. The impact you make on veterinarians and their staff is evident in both letters of recommendation and the phone calls we inevitably get from the applications committees, and how that translates can be the difference of acceptance. Be strong leaders, take action in cases, and be reliable in doing so. Take responsibility for your contributions and your overall experience in a clinic. Strong, repeat connections also increase your clinical skill exposure, and give you the opportunities to learn more in a clinical setting — a foundation that is essential to your overall veterinary education.

Do not take things too seriously. There is plenty of time, and do not stress. You got this! Just do what you can at your own pace.

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To schedule your pet's next appointment at Comer Vet, please give us a call at 706-783-5111 to schedule a wellness exam, or request an appointment through our online form. Interested in interning or externing at Comer Veterinary Hospital? More details can be found on our careers page!