A Little Pep Talk for the First Day of Vet School

It’s early August, meaning the first day of vet school is right around the corner! This is the moment you have been waiting for since you decided that you wanted to be a veterinarian. A distant dream that was accompanied by excitement and anticipation has suddenly become extremely real. The nerves of the unknown have kicked in, and the start date is now marked with some anxiety and the feeling of “am I ready?”

If this is you, you are not alone. Starting vet school is a significant chapter in a person’s life, and a little apprehension is completely normal. Remember, these feelings indicate that this is something you’re passionate about. If you didn’t care, you probably wouldn’t feel much, and that’s not how you want to be entering the next four years!

Rewind two and a half years, and I was in your shoes. It was Admitted Student’s Day at UC Davis. A cool February weekend filled with the excitement of meeting future classmates, touring the campus, and taking your school photo. Looking at the hallway wall in Valley, plastered with the faces of all the school’s graduates and seeing some of my mentors smiling back, made everything become really real. Suddenly, the reality that my little life in San Luis Obispo was going to be changing hit home.

This was something that I had dreamed about my whole life and things couldn’t have felt more aligned. I was at my dream school with some of my best friends and all of life’s possibilities ahead, but something inside me was still uneasy. In all honestly, there was a split second where I contemplated deferring a year, thinking that I would be more “ready” (whatever that means) with time. Thank goodness I have wise parents who were able to help me think through my temporary lapse in sanity and make me realize that I would never feel completely ready. In hindsight, they were right; waiting a year wouldn’t have done anything to ease the nerves and would have just prolonged the process.

Now that I have made it to the other side, let’s have a heart-to-heart talk on what many of you may be experiencing. Hopefully, I can provide a new perspective and help ease some of your worries or at least be a source of comfort in this period of transition.

You are starting vet school in the next few weeks, know that you are meant to be there. Regardless of what you are feeling inside, you were accepted for a reason and deserve that seat. The admissions team saw something in you and know that you have what it takes to succeed. I can assure you that they are not trying to gamble with their admissions decisions; they have thoughtfully made their selection. Let me say this again, you made the cut because you have what it takes to succeed in their program. Contrary to how you may have felt in some undergraduate classes, the professors in vet school want you to succeed. They are here to support you in your educational endeavors and beyond.

This may sound obvious, but vet school is different than undergrad. Accept and expect it. Humans like routine, and with change comes anxiety. It is important to realize that just because something is different and uncomfortable, doesn't inherently make it bad. Starting vet school will be an adjustment and that is completely okay. Give yourself grace during this transition period and use it as a way to fine-tune your routine or create a new and improved one. It is an exciting new start, and this also holds true for study habits. The common analogy for vet school is that you are “drinking out of a firehose” and that is fairly accurate. There is a lot of information that will be presented to you, and you are likely going to be in lectures much longer than you were in undergrad. Trust me, your brain will adapt, and you will learn how to decipher the material. Try different study habits; I personally do not study well in groups and love utilizing Quizlet for my flashcards, while many of my classmates enjoy study groups and swear by Anki. Don’t be afraid to mix things up and find the strategy that works best for you! Another key thing to remember is that you are done with all those pesky pre-requisites! No more Ochem, physics, or language arts; all of the material you are going to be learning will align with the career goal of becoming a well-rounded veterinarian. When things get hard, remember that what you are learning will one day impact the lives of the animals in your care, and that is pretty special.

You don’t have to have it all figured out. You are in vet school for a reason; if you knew everything, you wouldn’t be there. Approaching material with a humble perspective and utilizing your professors and classmates as resources will be one of your biggest secret weapons for success. In certain situations, there are multiple ways to get to the same result, so try to learn as much as you can. It may come in handy one day. This is a team sport; no one succeeds alone!

In the good and the bad, remember that being in vet school is a privilege. Wild perspective, right?! You’re paying an arm and a leg to be humbled to the core by the amount of information that you are expected to absorb, and I want you to call it a privilege!? Yep, hear me out. Countless qualified applicants were rejected in the application cycle, and you were able to secure a spot. Things will get hard, and that is ok. You don’t have to embody the mindset of toxic positivity, but try to realize that, at the end of the day, being where you are is a blessing and is something that you once dreamed about. Your experience in vet school will be what you make of it; no one but you can determine how you navigate your days.

No one has it all figured out. If people seem like they are sailing through a class that you are struggling with, odds are you aren’t seeing the full picture. Maybe they took a version of the course in undergrad, had a ton of clinical experience in that area, or they may just be ChatGPT in a human body. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and this is also true with vet school material. You will never truly know someone’s backstory, so try to shift your focus to your own performance and realize that the success of someone else does not detract from your success or your ability to achieve a certain result. As mentioned earlier, you deserve to be there, so act like it.

Get help early and don’t keep trying a study method that doesn’t work. The first semester is your time to explore what works for you, but be cautious of spending too much time doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome, because that is the definition of insanity 😉

Do not tie your worth to your grades. Shift your perspective from being a grade-hungry maniac to a well-rounded, compassionate doctor. When a patient is on your table in critical condition, the owners will not be asking for your class rank or GPA; they will be asking you to use your clinical knowledge and humanity to help them and their pet.

Stay human and maintain your hobbies. Vet school can be overwhelming but try to find a balance and do things that are not vet med related. You are SO much more than a career or title. Find the little things that make you feel alive and hang on to those for dear life. The same goes for relationships; don’t push friends and family away during this time. They will be some of your loudest cheerleaders and your rocks during the more challenging times.

Above all else, enjoy the ride for what it is. This is such a short blip in life, and the next four years will zoom by! Embrace all the exciting nerves and energy around this next chapter. This is what you were made for, and you are going to soar. Believe in yourself and know that you are here for a purpose and will do big things! Welcome to the grind.  I’m proud of you and know that you’ve got this! ♡

*As a side note, if any of you incoming UC Davis peeps need some extra support this upcoming year, don’t hesitate to reach out. Churro and I are available and more than happy to support you or be an open ear! And hang in there during Prologue, it can be overwhelming, but I promise things mellow out after those initial two weeks!

**While this post was created with those starting vet school in mind, the same principles hold true for anyone starting a new academic journey or returning to school!