Vet School: Myths vs. Reality
So, you want to go to veterinary school?
If, like I have, you have been dreaming of being a veterinarian for basically your entire life, then I’m sure you’ve heard all sorts of things about vet school.
Now that I’ve finished my first semester at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, I wanted to debunk two major myths I had heard before starting vet school.
Myth No 1:
Vet school is extremely competitive and cutthroat. No one will want to help you, and it will be really hard to make friends.
Reality:
This is FAR from the truth. In the past four months, I have made some of the best friends I have ever had—something about spending 12-plus hours together every single day really does it to you.
Our class Facebook page is FULL of shared study materials, reviews people have made, online flashcards, reminders, and important information professors have mentioned in classes or review sessions.
We all want each other to succeed and we try our best to help one another whenever possible. We are focused on collaboration not competition.
At the end of these four years, we are going to be colleagues. Together, we can make this profession better and provide the best care possible to our respective patients.
Myth No. 2:
You do nothing but study and have absolutely no free time.
Reality:
This myth holds some truth…veterinary school is HARD. You are going to study A LOT if you want to be successful.
However, you can make time for other things. You have to find an effective method to study that works FOR YOU.
Some classes require more time than others and some topics will naturally be easier for you to understand than others. This is normal.
There is no “right way” to go through vet school, but there are many wrong ways. So, find what works for you. Everyone needs to study for a different amount of time and that is OK.
You have to give your brain a break and do something fun, hang out with friends, exercise, go to a movie, or just relax. Your brain functions better when you allow yourself breaks, and you will be much happier. Sometimes you have to make time for yourself and not allow studying to completely take over.
You can study every second of every day and I promise you will STILL not know every single thing that you are supposed to know for all of your tests. Know your limits, plan accordingly, and give yourself some grace.