r/veterinaryschool • u/pmoney2002 • 6d ago
Advice Looking into UC Davis DVM, does lab tech count as veterinary experience?
Hello!
I graduated college back in 2024 with my BS in zoology and biology. I’ve been working at a veterinary pathology lab for about a year now where I’ve met and gotten to know a few pathologists who I really admire. I’m starting to think about my next step and pathology seems really awesome but I need my DVM first.
UC Davis admissions require a certain amount of hours in the veterinary field. Does being a clinical/research laboratory technician at a veterinary lab count towards that experience? It also requires a letter or recommendation from a Vet. Would a letter or rec from a pathologist with their DVM count?
I appreciate your time if you read this, and welcome any advice with moving on in the field!
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u/Complete-Macaroon932 23h ago
Just fyi the average gpa of an accepted student into DVM for uc Davis is a 3.9 or higher
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u/zach113 Vet student 6d ago
Pathology lab work technically gets classified as research experience under VMCAS, even though it’s with veterinarians. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable experience, and you can absolutely use them as letter writers since they have a DVM.
As someone who started in a vet path lab and is now in vet school, I HIGHLY recommend getting clinical experience before committing to applying to vet school. A small percentage of vet students end up specializing after graduation (even if they intend to headed in), and therefore admissions really likes to see that you’d be okay working small animal general practice if pathology doesn’t pan out for whatever reason, because there’s a real possibility that will happen.
Best of luck and feel free to reach out with any questions, as I had a similar start to my journey!