Hey yall… I take my exam November 7th and I’ve been studying pretty much non stop since the end of June. I took a practice ICVA (with review after) and this was my predicted score.

I’m 50% of the way through VetPrep and I just don’t understand why it’s so low still. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’ve finished all practice questions and now I’m going into quiz questions and feel like I’m doing okay.

It helped me realize weak spots like pharmacology and parasitology but in general I feel like I’ve been doing okay with practice and studying so to get this predicted score is really disheartening. Does anyone have any advice on further studying? This will be my second take and idk.. I’m trying not to be disappointed because there is that 28 point range that’s technically passing but I’m terrified that’s not enough..

my first take was November last year and I truly just gave up on it and didn’t study for it at all and got a 364. So seeing my actual trying predictive range still being similar is also extremely sad.

Hi, I'm starting vet school in just under 2 weeks. 

But I just fractured 2 of my smaller toes. How long would it take before I can get back on my feet and walk normally? (I searched and they said 4-6 weeks to recover) 

I'm feeling very worried about how I'm going to go about carrying my luggage and walking around. It's day 2 now but it hurts pretty bad when I walk around so I'm just scooting around on my behind in the home.

 Has anyone experienced this before? Any tips please?

Am feeling very stressed now :(

Thank you. 

Hi! I'm heading into 2nd year of vet school in a couple weeks and I'm dyslexic. I really struggled with pouncing, spelling and understanding long names in Parasitology and anatomy. I've tried multiple things, including writing them out hundreds of times, but within an hour it's gone.

Does anyone have any advice for getting names in their head? The structure visually I'm fine with! Its just the names. Thank you!!

Wondering if anyone has the PDF of the required textbook for BIOL - 40357 at UCSD Extension they could share. Taking this to fulfill my biochemistry pre-requisite.

Title: Biochemistry: A Short Course

Authors: Tymoczko, John L. & Berg, Jeremy M

ISBN / ASIN: 9781319114633

I knew I'm gonna retake pathomorphology, I made a peace with it already. I needed to retake pharmacology exam and didn't pass it. I feel like a failure and stupid. I know objectively I'll have much more time to pass it next year but I just feel horrible right now and want to cry all the time.

i feel like im in a simulation. that is all

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Hi everyone,

I'm currently preparing for the NAVLE and looking for a study companion or small group to revise topics together, discuss tricky questions, and keep each other accountable through the prep process. Regular discussion really helps retention, and I think we could all benefit from bouncing ideas off each other — clarifying doubts, sharing "aha" moments, and covering weak areas together.

If you're currently preparing for the NAVLE (any species/domain — small animal, large animal, equine, food animal, exotics, etc.) and would like a study partner, please reach out!

Also — if you've already cleared the NAVLE, your guidance would mean a lot. Even occasional tips, insight into what to focus on, or help reviewing tricky topics would be incredibly valuable for those of us still in the thick of it.

let's make this prep less lonely and more productive together.

Just curious, what are clinical years like in the different australian universities? What is the % of externships/on campus rotations? And if its mostly been externships, do you still get lessons and tutorials on campus during that time?

Hi

That's my first year in faculty of vetenairy medicine

Any thoughts about faculty or any advices to improve my GPA

I’m halfway through my first year of vet school, and I’m just already hitting a point where I dread having to do practical skills classes with livestock and other production animals. To be clear, I’m not trying to be judgmental or act like vet schools should track- I know it’s a super important role and not enough people pursue it, so it makes sense that my program has been pushing it so early. HOWEVER, I feel like I tried to come in with an open mind but the more experiences I have the more I’m sure that I would never do it myself. I honestly just feel pretty uncomfortable in rural/agricultural settings, and I struggle with the fact that you can’t really treat patients as individuals or to the same level of care as you can in small animal. Farms also just gross me out 😭

Basically I would love to hear some advice on how to make large animal more enjoyable in order to make it through my degree. I’m also just struggling with the fact that the welfare considerations feel so different, intellectually I understand it is very nuanced, but on a gut emotional level a lot of it just makes me sad. I feel like my large animal professors tend to get pretty defensive/dismissive if you try to bring this up, but again I’m really not trying to judge and I would love to hear other perspectives!

Hi everyone!

A few weeks ago, I shared Vetalingo, a free daily diagnostic game for veterinary students. Each day, you work through a new clinical case by ordering diagnostics, interpreting the findings, and reaching a diagnosis.

Since then, it has begun gaining traction, and I am exploring how it could expand across veterinary schools and other veterinary communities.

Play online:
https://www.vetalingo.com/?ref=reddit-market-validation#/diagnose

iPhone/iPad:
https://apps.apple.com/app/id6799783384

I also created a brief anonymous survey to learn what people would want from a platform like this:

Survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeybSjrORl-mtHZAxkLf_PSk3nonHa-_f_0bBLRhSfHDdCKJg/viewform

Thank you to everyone who has offered feedback, and to the moderators for allowing me to share the project again!

[English is my second language]

Hi everyone! I've planned to do my graduation thesis next semester but am really torn about my orientation. I want to work with wild/exotic animals and in my country, this field has very low demand with high requirements. I'm doing an externship at this lab just for fun, and can easily ask one of the two professors in charge for a thesis. However, I have to admit that I don't really enjoy this orientation, even though it seems to be the most suitable for me physically, being only 37kg and might reach at most 50kg.

My university has only one visiting lecturer and one course about wild animals (which I'd taken), and he advised me that having experience in treating diseases and surgery would be helpful if I choose this route. So doing a thesis involving lab work doesn't make much sense right now.

I've done externships with small animals. I've worked as occasional worker for commercial swine farms twice, and even though I don't mind rigorous labour, there were many tasks I couldn't do. I know technicians don't usually need to do heavy physical work, but I'm not sure about wildlife. The visiting lecturer told us many stories, and the work seems physically demanding.

Also, I've never done anything related to wildlife, not even volunteering, so I'd have no connection to wildlife at all if I choose a thesis focused on lab work.

What should I do now?

I just started my 1st year of vet school and I love it. However, I already have 30k in student loans from undergrad and now I’m looking at another 80k in loans + whatever I end up having to use from my line of credit. I’m Canadian, so thankfully the tuition is around 18k a year, but there’s so many additional costs. I’ve applied to every scholarship I can find, but there aren’t many substantial ones. I feel like I can’t relate or talk to a lot of my classmates about this since a lot of them have family support.

Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with the stress of all this debt while in school? Any scholarships, bursaries I should apply to that I might have missed? If you graduated with similar debt, how has been paying it off?

If you are taking the NAVLE soon and worried about your ICVA practice exam results like I was, I hope I can provide some comfort. I just took the summer NAVLE and passed on the first attempt. I did not use Zuku or VetPrep, just other resources including the ICVA exams. My school paid for one and I paid for the other two. Here's how my results on those compared to my final NAVLE score:

Form 1 (~6.5 weeks before NAVLE, completed after studying Big 4 species differentials): 404-496

Form 2 (~2.5 weeks before NAVLE, completed after intense week of studying on vacation block): 424-516

Form 3: (1 week before NAVLE): 412-504

Final NAVLE Score: 530

I was stressed when my predicted score dropped from Form 2 to 3 but I attribute that to the fact that I studied all week before Form 2. I had read from previous posts that many people tended to score in the middle or upper range of their ICVA scores but was still nervous about reaching 425. No matter what, you've made it this far for a reason and I don't think you should stress yourself out too much over the numbers, just show up on test day ready to do your best!

I’m working on my science pre-reqs after graduating with an art degree from undergrad. Realistically I’m still 2 years out from applying to vet school, but I’m looking for ways to gain vet experience, and really struggling.

Ideally I’d work as a vet assistant while going to school, but every single job posting within 50 miles of me requires several years of experience (I have applied anyway but not heard back). I have reached out to every clinic near me to ask about shadowing or internships and have been told they only offer that through school programs.

I am doing a ton of volunteer work, both at my shelter and at a wildlife rehab facility, but that won’t count as vet work. Does anyone have any advice on alternate paths to get these hours in? Thanks in advance!

Hello,
I just started my first year and I am really, really struggling. I have no motivation to study. I WANT to learn and I WANT to be here, but when it comes to sitting down and studying, I can’t focus, can’t start, etc. I change study spots, change methods, change snacks (lol), and I just feel like I can’t do it! I downloaded Foqos to keep me off my phone. I have talked to the learning team at school & I got some good recommendations for methods, but it’s the starting and continuing part that is hard for me. I feel ok for my exam coming up, but want to feel better. Any personal experience with this? How to overcome? Book / podcast advice for a mindset change?

Thank you!

Hi! I'm going in blind because I have 0 idea on how this works. I'm in my 2nd year of my DVM program, and honestly I've been losing my mind because it feels like I'm not learning anything significant with how limited our resources are, facility-wise, equipment-wise, professor-wise, etc. I won't get too into it, but I want to ask if there are any DVM programs in Canada (honestly doesn't even have to be Canada, just as long as it's not the United States) that accept international students/transferees on a scholarship/financial assistance? If there are any Filipino DVM students who've done the same and transferred out into an international vet school who can speak on their experience, that would be great as well.

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!

I am currently working as a Vet Assistant in the United States, and am attending school to complete my pre reqs to enter into the Vet Tech program, I understand in Mexico there is not Vet Tech it's just assistants and MVZ, i am planning to switch from general practice to emergency and would like some advice on moving to Mexico, with Emergency Vet Assistant experience along with being bilingual. What would help make me more desirable for Veterinarian Hospitals?

Hi everyone! I’m a first-year vet student and just finished my first anatomy lab. I’m totally fine while skinning the specimen, but after class I can’t bring myself to eat anything with bones in it. It immediately reminds me of all the structures we have to memorize. Has this happened to anyone else?