by Rie

I want to say something interesting but, not being interesting in general, I’m only saying a casual hello. And a vet school update. For something that makes up almost 50% of my time, it makes up very little of my blog, doesn’t it?

Sometimes I want to rant about my university but you probably can guess which university it is, so I have to shelve that. It’s also sort of illegal for me to post any pictures from vet school online. Apparently animal welfare advocates may hate vets. (I thought we were on the same side, guys! Okay, fine, I’m not vegetarian – I’ve lost all credibility.)

I’m almost done with vet school now. It’s the last of my lectures this semester and I start rotations (if everything goes well) in a couple of weeks. Literally, fifth year starts in a couple of weeks.

That’s terrifying to me. I don’t know how ready I am for this.

Also, vet school is expensive. Can I say that again? Vet school is expensive. And so is being a vet.

The horrible thing about wanting to be a veterinarian, though? The emotional draw to the profession. It doesn’t matter how much work or how much money you spend; it’s meant to be worth it at the end. Okay, that’s not always a horrible thing. But, until you’re actually super sure you want something, how do you commit to something that will take 5 years of your life? (8 altogether in the US – how do you guys afford it?)

I was talking to my parents about their friend’s son’s journey. I think they were misled by an adviser. The last I’ve heard, he was in the US doing his undergraduate degree, hoping to get into vet school. Except that his mother seemed to be under the impression that it would take less than 8 years. And that US vet schools aren’t competitive beasts. Except vet school is a competitive beast.

Agencies dealing in higher education terrify me. They hold whole fairs in high schools drawing students into expensive programs. I mean, yes, it can be worth it. But doesn’t it worry anybody that they have a vested interest to get you into the schools they represent? That these schools pay them to promote to students?

(For background: I’m from Malaysia where this is the norm. It can be legitimate. And they do represent legitimate universities. Mixed amongst the less than legitimate. Well.)

Okay, I meant for this to be a casual hello. I have failed. But, seriously, if you’re looking into vet school or just university in general, do thorough research. On your own. University websites can be stupid but everything is there. Otherwise, e-mail the university. They have whole departments that are supposed to answer your questions.

Just don’t trust one source. Check accreditation. Think about where you want to be.

I sound naggy, don’t I? Feh.