How can my 15-year-old become a vet with no prior experience?

Someone who wants to be a veterinarian can learn a lot by volunteering with or working for a veterinarian, an animal shelter, or zoo, but the only way to become a veterinarian is by attending college and veterinary school.

I am sure it helps to have a ll A's, however every vet school has their own admission criteria, so it is best you write to the vet schools you are interested in attending to find out what their admission criteria are. Some require extensive volunteering with a vet, certain science courses, etc. Good Luck!

I started in high school. I needed good grades to get into a good university. I did not get into vet school my first try. I went and got a master's degree and worked for a few years before trying again. I did get into vet school on my second try. If it's a dream of yours to be a vet, go for it and keep trying! There are tons of vet who didn't get into school the first time around. Having extracurricular activities is good as well. Well rounded people at looked highly upon for vet school. Someone who studies all the time may not have the social skills needed to be a vet, and you do see in school that the ones with the best grades in vet school tend to have the most trouble relating to clients. Sports are a good idea. I was a swimmer; in fact, it paid for my university education with a scholarship. I hope this helps!

Hi Jes! The answer to this depends on if you want to be a vet, a vet tech, kennel assistance, or something else in the hospital. If you want to be a vet, you can work in the vet hospital while going to college, but I'd work as a kennel assistance. That's because getting into veterinary school requires many hours (think thousands) of animal experience and work in a clinic. If you'd like to be a vet tech, I'd check to see what requirements are needed in order to get into vet tech school in regards to animal experience. Otherwise, you can just start working reception, and go from there. Hope this helps :-)

Hi, this is Dr. Johnson. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend calling around to local Veterinarians and ask if they allow volunteers. Before I even went to college I volunteered at a local animal hospital. Then in college I worked part-time as a vet tech then full time. 12 years later I'm now a Vet at that same practice! Good luck!

In order to become a licensed veterinary technician, you will need to find a LVT program (2 year) or a veterinary technology degree (4 year). There are many schools that offer these programs depending on where you want to live while doing this. If you do intend on becoming a veterinarian one day, my advise would be to attend a four year program. While in school, you will be able to take all the pre-requisite course work required to apply to most veterinary schools. There is a book put out by the American Veterinary Medical Association each year that outlines precisely what requirements are needed for each school.

If you have any specific questions, you can ask them in our Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach forum. If you want to have a one-on-one discussion you could consider using the Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach consulation service where you can ask numerous questions in the same session. Becoming a vet usually requires a bachelor's degree (though some schools do not require it and only have specific course requirements taken prior to applying to vet school, most students applying nowadays do have bachelor's degrees) and then veterinary school is 4 years of study. After this, some vets go directly into practicing while others who may want to specialize may complete and internship and residency which add a few more years to their studies.