How fast can I become a vet realistically?

[Speak2Dogs]

I'm very sorry but there isn't much information online from people who have actually been down the path... just generic Googled answers and they were all different.

I was doing some research as I am VERY interested in this path but the answers were all over the place. Some people said 8 years... others said 9 but then some said 2-3. For example I came across an article that said this:

" It can take about 9 years to become a veterinarian. A person can try to do it in 3 years & 4 months too, but that is next to impossible. Someone might take a bit longer if he / she needs to prepare a bit more for the licensure exam. One might want to intern a bit longer or specialize in some or the other field "

3 years & 4 months? ...That's a random number & way different than 9 years. How do you shave off 6 years?

My dilemma is that I have my heart set on this but I am 31 years old & if that isn't bad enough I have a 2 year old daughter that I need to provide for.

She can't wait 9 years for that & I can't make minimum wage while in school for 9 years and maybe buy her a home to live in when my loans and such are all paid up & I've had the chance to save in about 20 years

If it takes that much time, I have no issue moving on & going down a different path for her but I was very excited to see answers that I could do it in 3-5 years. I have always loved animals & had a special kinship with them, I can't explain it but if somebody could help that would be fantastic, thank you so much

[mew]

I was on a pre-vet path for a very long time  so hopefully I can provide some guidance.

If you're looking at schools in Canada, the first thing to do is figure out which school you are eligible for. In Canada, you're only eligible to apply to one province based on your place of residence, so determine which one that is and then look at the entry requirements for that specific school. I'm in Ontario, so I was going to apply for the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph. For this program, you can apply in your 3rd year of undergrad and if you get accepted right away, that's another 4 years minimum for actual vet school. However, for Guelph, most people end up doing additional years of undergrad before getting accepted so it's typically 4-5 years of undergrad + 4 years of vet school. Other Canadian schools will probably be similar. If you've got some years of university under your belt and/or you have some or all of the prerequisites already, you can shave off some time there, but for all Canadian schools you're looking at a minimum of 4 years for the DVM degree itself. As far as what's realistic for you individually, I can't really say without knowing more about your educational background, extracurriculars, etc.

Please let me know if you have any questions about OVC or any general questions about being pre-vet!

[Mansi@30]

On 6/14/2018 at 5:58 AM, mew said:

I was on a pre-vet path for a very long time  so hopefully I can provide some guidance.

If you're looking at schools in Canada, the first thing to do is figure out which school you are eligible for. In Canada, you're only eligible to apply to one province based on your place of residence, so determine which one that is and then look at the entry requirements for that specific school. I'm in Ontario, so I was going to apply for the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph. For this program, you can apply in your 3rd year of undergrad and if you get accepted right away, that's another 4 years minimum for actual vet school. However, for Guelph, most people end up doing additional years of undergrad before getting accepted so it's typically 4-5 years of undergrad + 4 years of vet school. Other Canadian schools will probably be similar. If you've got some years of university under your belt and/or you have some or all of the prerequisites already, you can shave off some time there, but for all Canadian schools you're looking at a minimum of 4 years for the DVM degree itself. As far as what's realistic for you individually, I can't really say without knowing more about your educational background, extracurriculars, etc.

Please let me know if you have any questions about OVC or any general questions about being pre-vet!

Thanks for sharing information. It would be great to us.