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College academics!

Jasonx

Jasonx

Balls And Corns <3
Hello! My name's Jason, I'm only 13, I'm in seventh grade so I have plenty of time to pick what I want to be when I grow up, and what I want to study in college. I want to do something medically or animal related. I was thinking maybe zoology for animals, and possibly veterinarian, but I don't want to spend any more then five years in a dorm, because I want to go to OSU or Ohio State University. I will need a dorm because I live southeast, in West Virginia. So if you don't mind, please just put in your two cents.
 
Jason,

Two cents about what? Living in the dorms? What school to choose? What major to choose? Some of that's going to be nigh-impossible to recommend as it's rather a personal thing.

As far as living in the dorms, I loved college campus/dorm life. I did both the "live on campus" and the "off campus in an apartment" thing while doing my under-grad work. Personally I preferred to live in the dorms as I felt closer to the "college experience" while on-campus. Off-campus, I found made it too easy to "put off" the study-time / home-work / library-time required to really succeed at acedemics (in my case anyway). I know folks who had just the opposite result though and found on-campus life too distracting to study well, so there you go.

Personally, I'd recommend giving on-campus life a try - then deciding if you want to go with an off-campus lifestyle instead. For under-grad work, I know many universities actually REQUIRE Freshmen and Sophomore level (non-married) students to live on-campus.

As for school choice - no help there. I'd say to just research (and VISIT if possible) the schools you are interested in.

Study Major - again hard to recommend. General Zoology isn't really going to get you hired anywhere unless you go for full PhD and either field research (rare and hard to accomplish) or teaching (again rather difficult to accomplish). Veterinarian is a great goal [although from what I understand is actually HARDER than human medicine].

My own degree is in Biology with a concentration in Microbiology and Pre-Med. I went to Med School for post-graduate, but gave it up for personal reasons and actually ended up as a Software Engineer/Programmer (my second love/skill set) so you never really know what the future will bring :)
 
You don't say whether finances will be a big concern. But unless you get a lot of scholarship or grant help - or have very well off parents, it is likely to be an important part of your decision. If you are looking to save money, you might consider 2 years of local community college and then transfer. I know that Florida has made it very easy and cost effective to get an education that way. But I am not sure if it would be as easy if you are planning to transfer out of state. Out of state tuition can be really expensive! And credits may or may not transfer. But it is something to consider when seeking advice from your counselor.

It sounds as though you will need a lot of science (and a fair amount of math). As long as you continue to take lots of those courses through high school and the first 2 years of college, you will keep a lot of options open.

A couple of options to consider is whether you would be interested in animal husbandry / science instead of zoology. Would you have any interest in learning about and working with various kinds of farm animals?

Or do you think you might want to start your own animal related business some day? If so, business courses are at least as important as zoology related courses. Most animal business owners are more likely to lack business skills and knowledge than they are animal skills.

Remember that, generally speaking, most or all of your first 4 years will be more generalized zoology if you go that route. If you were interested in herpetology, for example, you wouldn't get very much of that specific subject until grad school. It can seem like a very long time of studying general subjects before you get to study mostly just what interests you. It just depends on how excited and motivated you are.
 
kathylove said:
You don't say whether finances will be a big concern. But unless you get a lot of scholarship or grant help - or have very well off parents, it is likely to be an important part of your decision. If you are looking to save money, you might consider 2 years of local community college and then transfer. I know that Florida has made it very easy and cost effective to get an education that way. But I am not sure if it would be as easy if you are planning to transfer out of state. Out of state tuition can be really expensive! And credits may or may not transfer. But it is something to consider when seeking advice from your counselor.

It sounds as though you will need a lot of science (and a fair amount of math). As long as you continue to take lots of those courses through high school and the first 2 years of college, you will keep a lot of options open.

A couple of options to consider is whether you would be interested in animal husbandry / science instead of zoology. Would you have any interest in learning about and working with various kinds of farm animals?

Or do you think you might want to start your own animal related business some day? If so, business courses are at least as important as zoology related courses. Most animal business owners are more likely to lack business skills and knowledge than they are animal skills.

Remember that, generally speaking, most or all of your first 4 years will be more generalized zoology if you go that route. If you were interested in herpetology, for example, you wouldn't get very much of that specific subject until grad school. It can seem like a very long time of studying general subjects before you get to study mostly just what interests you. It just depends on how excited and motivated you are.
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I'm not gonna lie, finances would possibly be an issue, with books, dorms, etc. and yeah, im in to the whole herpetology.
 
Then maybe attending a more local college for the first couple of years or more would be an option? Have you checked it out?
 
I agree with Kathy. I am currently going to college and I started at a community college where I got my associates degree and then went on to a 4 yr school, to finish up my BS. My college is an hour from home so I haven't had to live in a dorm.
 
I have a B.S. in zoology and conservation, and am in the process of a 2nd B.S. in medical technology (a lot of science including various subcategories of biology and chemistry). Both great programs, but I know that for me my medical technology degree will ensure me a good future career. Depending on what you want to do with zoology, it can be tough to get a job. I never figured out exactly what I wanted to do with it, and my love of lab science took me in another direction.

Most people live in the dorms for a year or two, then get apartments off campus with their friends.

I wouldn't worry too much about it right now, plenty of time ahead of you.
 
May I ask why you are so set on Ohio State? Do you have family in Ohio? I agree with the previous advise of starting out in a Community College unless money is not an issue. If your heart is set on OSU it would be especially helpful if you could go to a Community College in Ohio to establish residency for when you transfer. Out of state tuition etc. is $40,000 compared with $25K for in state. That's a huge difference.
Of course none of this matters if you don't put the effort in now with your schooling and extra curricular activities. Just getting accepted to a college is tough now a days. Good grades and an ACT of 28 won't guarantee you acceptance to OSU. The reject 2/3rds of all applicants each year. You need things that make you stand out like community service or experience in your future field of study (i.e. volunteering at a shelter or working at a vet's office or the zoo). Start now to accumulate things for an impressive curriculum vitae instead of scrambling your junior and senior year. Planning ahead helps a lot in the college process.

Terri
 
Jasonx said:
Hello! My name's Jason, I'm only 13, I'm in seventh grade so I have plenty of time to pick what I want to be when I grow up, and what I want to study in college. I want to do something medically or animal related. I was thinking maybe zoology for animals, and possibly veterinarian, but I don't want to spend any more then five years in a dorm, because I want to go to OSU or Ohio State University. I will need a dorm because I live southeast, in West Virginia. So if you don't mind, please just put in your two cents.
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Typically, graduate students (including those in vet and med school) don't have to live in dorms. Usually you don't even have to live in dorms during undergrad, some schools require you to live in dorms only your freshman year. I'm not sure about ohio state or OU specifically, but being from Cincinnati, I have a lot of friends who went both schools and many of them had houses they rented on campus with friends.

I actually escaped dorm life all together- neither Miami university nor Ohio required students to live in dorms (Miami only did freshman year, but not if you could live with your parents, which I did). Now that I'm in pharmacy school, I had the option of student housing or finding my own place, so I went with the latter.

Good luck! It's awesome that youre thinking ahead.
 
I do not recommend you starting out at community college if you want to be a vet. It will hurt your chances of getting accepted to vet school; med schools, dental schools, pharmacy schools, etc. will oftentimes accept a student with an average GPA from a reputable, four year university over a kid with a 4.0 at a community college. I don't think this is fair, but it's the sad truth. I've personally seen amazing people with incredible GPAs, experience, volunteer work, etc. get rejected over and over from pharmacy school seemingly for no other reason than not attending a four year college.
If you don't plan on going to vet school, I think community college is a great choice and will get you the exact same education as a four year college at a cheaper price.
 
Yes, vet school is EXTREMELY competitive. I had a friend in Florida who got his 4 year degree in biology or biochemistry, couldn't get into vet school (he had great grades, too), so went and got a Master's in biochemistry, and STILL couldn't get in. He finally gave up and did something else. I haven't talked to him lately, so not sure what he is doing now.

I would guess that most professional programs that require a 4 year degree would look at your last 2 years at the 4 year university more than your first 2 years at community college. Of course, it probably depends partly on just how competitive of a program you choose. But your counselor will probably have the most up to date info on that, and especially for the particular schools you are interested in. We (forum members) just need to get you thinking about the various options you MIGHT be interested in, but hadn't thought of yet, lol! The details can be left to your local professional at your high school or college.

I helped my niece in high school and community college as she tried to make her final decision between marine biology or physical therapy. We checked the prerequisites for both, and kept her taking the ones that would apply to both for as long as possible, to keep her options open as long as possible. When she finally got to the point that she had to choose, she went for the sure job (PT) over the fun, but not so sure jobs in marine biology. She has been working as a PT for a year or two now and loves it.

Making a list of all of the possibilities and taking prerequisites that apply to as many as possible before specializing, will keep your options open so that you can put off a final decision as long as possible. The more experience you get and the older you get, the more likely you will be happy with what may well be a lifelong decision.
 
I'm probably going to sound mean but... just enjoy the ride for now.
I was positive that being a vet was my dream... and then I decided to start with vet tech studies to see how I managed.
Everything was great in theory... but once I started working in a clinic I realized there are too many moral conflicts for me to sleep soundly with... people who insist on operating on their dog when he's old and feeble, people expecting you to treat animals for free...

Here's something not too uncommon here... someone comes with his dog that was run over:
1- You can tell him the cost of the needed operation in advance, to which he'll say "how can you talk to me about money right now?!"
or
2- You can tell him only after it is done, to which he will say "why didn't you tell me it was so expansive?!"

You always end up being wrong... and that's the nature of many customers here in Israel... sadly it's far less organized.

You will be changing your mind on a yearly basis... I actually recommend that you do, because only through re-evaluation can you really make sure you're choosing the right path.

I'd focus my attention to whether or not being a vet is what you want to do- and give it several years of consideration.
I assure you, if you'll want to be a vet, you will find a way- logistics are important, but are far more flexible when the decision is ripe and absolute.
 
I'm definitely an advocate of community college, as I spent two out of my four undergrad years at one. I can say that my organic chemistry class at a community college was more challenging and more impressionable than any of the 600 level classes I took at UC. That being said, I've truly seen too many qualified kids go unnoticed by admissions committees, and I truly attribute that to their time spent at community college. If you go that route, you dont have any room for error.

That being said, my experience is with pharmacy, where some schools only require two years pre coursework. I think that Kathy is probably right in saying that vet schools might be more concerned with your last two years at a traditional college. I would still be afraid to take the chance.

And Kathy- that's horrible about your friend. I've known a lot of people that went through similar experiences with med and pharmacy school. I hope he was finally able to fulfill his dream- I don't see how admissions committees can overlook such dedication!
 
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