Why is literature a prerequisite for vet school?

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One of the prerequisites for vet school is so many credits in literature. WTF? Now why do I need to study that when I could be using the time and energy to study something that I am actually going to need as a vet such as a science. Why on earth do I need to study literature to be a vet? As a high school student, literature is the subject I have the most trouble with and try to avoid. I could answer a question about quantum physics easier than I could drawing a conclusion for some fictitious character's motivation and mindset. The trouble for me with literature is that often times there is no wrong or right answer. Why then do I have to bother answering at all? But anyway why do I have to have credits in literature to be a vet?

I suspect this is one of those "butt-kissing" " prerequisites" like psychology and public speaking.

General education requirements differ by state, college and program. Literature can provide shared frame of reference for discussion, and there is a lot of animal-related literature that has been written over the years. You can either look for another program - though I will caution that many of the more specialized programs through smaller schools/groups are accredited differently and may not provide the result you are looking for when looking for a job - or find a way to make the requirement work for you. Otherwise, you're left with the option of complaining, which is rarely as productive as one would like.


M.

That's a part of that pain-in-the-ass core curriculum you must take in college. It's equally frustrating for people who would want to major in art or english yet still have to take courses in math and science as prerequisites.

I don't understand the point either. I mean, we already had to take a bunch of subjects we had no interest in and that were hard for us in public school, why do we have to do the same thing in college?

The reason is for practicing communication and writing skills as well as a preserving knowledge in fields that have been traditionally been considered important. On occasion, these classes "weed out" students that are probably not capable of completing a degree program at the time.

You DO need to know how tor write, and colleges just need to verify that. If you have to file a report, or wind up in a job not directly related to your major, this can be important. Usually it's just one or two classes that you need to be take, maybe and art class or two, then you go on and get your degree.

Literature is a requirement for the vast majority of academic programs. However, depending on the institution, math/science/engineering majors can take technical writing instead.

I've never seen literature as a pre-req, however I've seen English comp and speech...things like that. Physics as a pre-req doesn't make any more sense as a pre-req than literature does, IMO. I sat in on a physics class today and I remember thinking to myself, "how could I ever apply this to vet school?" (I'm not sure if I'll go, but I've thought about it.) I would guess that it's a general education/core requirement and not a vet school requirement. Either way, it isn't going to hurt anything,. You do some writing and some thinking. Grad programs love well-rounded individuals...I was looking at stats for the undergrads who entered Tufts vet school...each year there was a ton of Bio majors, a significant number that double majored in Bio and something else, a fair number of Psych majors, and there was always something weird like a Flute major If I do decide to go pre-vet, I'll be glad for classes like literature. Even though I love science, I'd get tired of studying just science all the time.

The schools want to make more money. It's as simple as that.

^Taking one more class doesn't help them make any more money Tuition is set at you pay this much for ______ hours. (At the majority of colleges, just not at some private colleges.) At my college you can take more than twice the regular number of hours for regular tuition. You only pay for an extra class if you're a part time student. It's much cheaper to be full time, which is what they encourage. I'm going to school for 100% free right now and I can take way more classes than I could handle. Plus, the pre-reqs you take before vet school don't make the vet school any more money.

Because veterinary schools expect applicants to be academically well-rounded and able to read/write well. How else can they be confident in an applicant's ability to succeed in vet school, which is much more rigorous than undergrad? From their perspective, if a student can't suck it up and do well in a course he or she dislikes as an undergrad, the same thing will happen in vet school. The admissions committees want to see strong communication skills in general because anyone who goes into private practice (about 2/3 of graduates) will need a lot of people skills. Public speaking and psychology probably fall into the category of communication skills as well.

I'm in vet school, btw.

PunkyKat, can I ask what vet school you're going to apply to? Today I just happened to be looking at pre-reqs for the vet schools I would be interested in and Lit wasn't a requirement at any of my schools.

I may be mistaken, but I didn't see it as a pre-req http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/2537.htm. I'm interested in Mississippi State University, UT-Knoxville, and Tufts University. This (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=163) is a really good site for pre-vet/veterinary students, if you're interested