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Vet

Canadian_Cowgirl

Well-known member
So since i was like in grade 2 ive always wanted to be a vet. Im really really good in science but not so much in math, and Calculus will probaly be my worst subject, do I need Calculus for vet? does any one know?


What would be a good College course to take, that had something to do with agriculture and animals, mom says i should major in an Agriculture course, but i have no clue what some are.

I have like 2 years to decide but i like to plan out my future more or less. After i graduate from high school id love to go work on a ranch for a year or so, but thats probaly not gunna happen. One can hope tho!:D

So if any of ya'll have any information on any of this id love to hear it!

Katy
 

IL Rancher

Well-known member
I think that will depend on the school. The first University I went to you couldn't take Biology until you took Organic Chem and the prerequisite for Orgo was Chem and Calc... But at MSU for example they had diffen't reqs for things... probably the more science you take the better, which means get out the math book, lol... I don't know how hard it is in Canada to get into the Vet schools but here in the States it is harder to get into Vet school than Medical or Law School just because there are so few Vet schools and so many people wanting to be vets... From what I have gathered there is a shortage of food animal vets in this country and it is only going to get worse since most people want the consistant income and hours of a pet vet... Good luck, I would recommend talking to your vet about this.. He/she might have some great advice for you..
 

Canadian_Cowgirl

Well-known member
thanks IL ive talked to my vet lots of times about this, but they wont hear that i might not want to go one with it, they just kind of block that part out! They want whats best for me so hearing how much i love animals then hearing how i might not want to be a vet anymore they just dont want to make up my decison for me(really wish they would)! im really close with our vets i work there when ever i can and we have become pretty close. I think it will be hard to get into Saskatoon and my grades aint the best so thats why im wonderin bout this stuff!





Katy
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
Not sure what you'll need to be a vet tech-I think it's pretty much a 90 plus average to get accepted into Saskatoon to be a Vet. There is a pretty good Livestock Management course at Vermillion College that isn't as hard marks wise to get into. It has alot of hands on stuff with cattle,sheep,hogs , horses etc. whatever you decide to major in. My neighbor is the prof there he does a good job of teaching the practical with the theoretical.
 

IL Rancher

Well-known member
There was a time I wanted to be a vet.. Chemisty B03 and Calc B03 straightened that out of my head. that being said, I would have regreted at least not giving it an honest go of it..

Sounds like you are 15-16 years old.. A lot can happen in 2 years. at the end of my Sophmore year my grades were, eh.. Okay.. some things were good, some things were bad. Junior year I actually buckled down and had almost a 4.0 average for that year and for much of my Senior year as well... I got into some pretty darn good schools that the guidance councelor told me I had no chance of at the end of Sophmore year because I blew off French class too much. (Man, I was glad to finish that requirement).. Probably could have gotten into more if I had bump my extracuricular activites up.

It all depends on when you "grow up" and realize your potential... Honestly, if you can get a job on a ranch and take a couple classes at a community college or something like that, it might be real good for you.. I have seen it work for a lot of people who struggled through HS.
 

Kato

Well-known member
It's a good career to be in. Grads are having their pick of jobs right now, especially if they are into large animals. There is a severe shortage of large animal vets.

Saskatoon can be tough to get into. You will need two years of pre-vet at U.of M. first with good marks. Get experience, even if it's volunteering at your local vet. Then you need to pass the interview! If your marks are perfect, they won't get you in if you blow the interview. They are looking for dedicated people, because that's what you need to succeed in the profession. It's not nine to five. And it can be a tough way to make a living, even though it's a good living.

You've got lots of time to get the marks up. :D :D

Aren't they supposed to be opening a new school in Alberta? I'd check that out too.
 

Canadian_Cowgirl

Well-known member
Yea, i volenteere when ever i can. Large\small is what i want to do. But my vets say its alot harder to be a female large vet, because the guys dont take them seriously. one of our vets is way shorter than me im 5'3" and shes a large\small vet. I can take pre-vet in brandon witch is closer to me. As much as i love being around animals, i dont know if i can survive threw another 10 years of school, and yes i know everyone says it goes way to fast. but... thats like half my life already! So i guess i will decide soon enough!


Katy
 

IL Rancher

Well-known member
Cow girl, you are probably right about that. We have three female large animal vets and their plain and simple isn't a male vet that I would take over any of the three. They are gentler with the animals, they aren't arrogant SOB's like some of the vets, they are willing to take the time to explain things to me and teach instead of talking to you like you have the IQ of a kumquat..

We had to use one as a temp 2 years ago because my vet was t-boned while doing a call and almost died.. She was layed up for a couple months, and not allowed to do any large animal vet work because she had a broken vertebrae or two... well this temp vet must have been 5 foot nothing and weighed 100 pounds but she was great... Had her out and she taught me how to IV a cow (Actually had me do it while she watched and instructed me, pretty cool) and than had her come out and work the cows a month later. She was great but from too far away.. If I lived 15 minutes closer I would use her instead of the two ladies that we use...

That being said a few of the old timers kind of snicker when I mention the vet we use... "Oh, those Lady Vets" with a certain tone... The ons that have used them or talked to them, execially the head vet, have a different opinion though... They are take her seriously when they see that she might be the best vet in the area. I think times are changing personally in that regard, especially in the states because the majority of vet school students are women now...
 

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
Katy,

From someone who applied to vet school, had a GPA of 3.8, I ended up getting a Master's Degree. It was tough competition here in the States when I applied, plus I was divorced with 2 children.

The time I applied, you had to:
Take all the math (that includes CALCULUS)
Tons of sciences, Chemistry, and Physics - organic, inorganic, bio Chem
Biology - hematology, histology, etc.

Where are your vet schools in Canada? Contact them to find out their requirements for Vet School.

The better your grades, the more science/math/biology classes the better off you are. If you are dedicated enough, you will follow through.
 

Canadian_Cowgirl

Well-known member
Yea our lady vets are awesome, dont get me wrong i lik ethe guys to, but the girls will explain what they're doing. The guys have more fun bugging me. Lik ewe were casterating some huge steers and the vet handed me the knife and is like go to town! i was like :shock: :eek: ok. So i did one and totally gave the knife back to him. I guess it was actully a scalple but oh well. But a couple weeks ago we did a surgry on a cat. spay and i was sitting down watching what was going on and then the vet hands me the needle and is like stitch, but she told me what to do and if i did it wong she would take it out and make me do it again, it probally took 10 minutes longer to do the surgery but i learned alot. If i have questions i can count on anyone to answer them but for different questions i ask different people. And i was taught how to preg test a ewe! :shock: i know wierd but she used a altra sound and did it, it was on our sheep to. it was pretty neat. I was over at someone house and we were preg testin cows, and Darren made me do one tall cow of course, so the farmer went and got me a stool so i could actully reach! thats the kind of people our vets are. and I love them to death. Wouldnt change a thing about them. Except when Darren makes me hold the probe for semen testing i hate that part! :twisted:


Katy
 

cowsense

Well-known member
Canadian Cowgirl; If being a vet is your real goal go for it but you had better be dedicated to nothing but succesfully meeting the academic scores. I know of lots that have started Pre-vet but unfortunately there's only openings for a few select students a year. As well the spots at WCVM are allocated and divided on a provincial basis. As far as being female most of the graduates are women........maybe they've got a better work ethic towards making the admission standards. Part of the problem with a shortage of large animal vets is that they usually cannot make the kind of income their education justifies in rural large animal practice. They can double or triple their income in city small animal practice and work regular office hours as well.
Hang tough girl and maybe someday you will be Dr. Katy DVM!
 

Canadian_Cowgirl

Well-known member
Goodness. this is to much weight on my shoulders! And the really sucky part is that we have the worst acidemic school in ALL of Canada! Sadly im not kidding! My freinds sister was going into pedeactics or something and she had to take a course by herself, no professor or anything. All because her other classmates had takin it in highschool and it wasnt offered. We are offered the bare minimum at our school! My brother droped out of uni. and mom and dad wont pay anything for me to go, so i have to get scholarships.Maybe I can cnvince the vets to help me! haha since i should have like $1000 if I was getting payed to work there! But knowledge is enough! well thats what i keep saying to myself! :lol:


Katy
 

Work Hard and Study Hard

Well-known member
cowsense said:
WHSH; Your low level of witt is only slightly higher than your intelligence!

Yes I am very dense when it comes to cattle however, is it true that Canada has had a high amount of post feed ban (not feeding ruminant parts) positive cattle compared to the US?
 

Work Hard and Study Hard

Well-known member
cowsense said:
WHSH; Your low level of witt is only slightly higher than your intelligence!

my intelligence must be very low however my cattle checks seem to depend on when you Canadians have a BSE positive critter. Should I start penciling your problems into my cashflow or should I just start grinding up my cows to cut my feed costs?
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
Work Hard and Study Hard said:
To be a successful Canadian vet you have to turn a blind eye to "post feed ban BSE positives". Once you have that mastered you can choose your own destiny.
Although I believe I've read it before in reference to you....must be something your proud of because you keep proving it over and over,but you are the biggest Jackass I've ever run across
 
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