"It was really difficult being pre-vet atHarvard," Shanies says. "No one really knows whatto tell you, whether you need VCATs orsubject-specific GREs, for instance."

Jane Remeika `98, who will be taking a year offbefore applying to veterinary school beforeattaining her ultimate goal of working in a "zooor wildlife rescue center," says she remembersattending meetings for the pre-veterinary club,but that the club did not last long enough for herto take full advantage of it.

"A pre-vet club would have helped to findinternships and research opportunities," saysShanies, who wound up getting her internships bygoing through the phone book.

C. Langdon Fielding '98, an equestrian who isheaded to veterinary school at the University ofCalifornia at Davis, came to Harvard thinking thathe would become an investment banker or abusinessman--"something usual," he recalls.

"When I got to Harvard, I'd heard about thepre-vet club, but by the time I became interestedin becoming a vet, it wasn't something people knewmuch about anymore," Fielding says.

"The biggest complaint I have is that it's hardto have anyone to talk to," he says.

During the application process, Fielding sayshe felt very much alone, and that being referredto pre-medical tutors was not very helpful, sincehe feels that pre-med tutors could not give adviceon whether having more small animal or equineexperience was better, for instance.

"I definitely understand if Harvard doesn'thire a pre-vet adviser at OCS [because of thesmall numbers,] but it would be nice if there wasone house tutor who could be responsible to thewhole college and maybe organize a pre-vet club,which wouldn't fluctuate based on studentinvolvement," Fielding says.

The Pre-Vet Club

The wish for the resurrection of apre-veterinary club is a theme that comes upsrepeatedly in interviews.

Shana L. Ellenberg `97, an off-campusbiochemistry tutor in Adams House currentlyattending Tufts University School of VeterinaryMedicine, says she wishes there were more tutorswho could advise pre-veterinary students.

"It would be nice if pre-med tutors could knowa little about vet schools or could refer you tosomeone who knows," Ellenberg says. "I want to letpeople know it's an option, because I didn't haveany."

"If I could be around a lot more, that is whatI would do," Ellenberg says, lamenting heroff-campus status.

The current pre-veterinary resources availableat OCS include "veterinary school catalogues,books on vet school admissions requirements andguidebooks on applying to veterinary school,"according to Michelson. They make up only severalbooks that sit atop part of a shelf in the readingroom of OCS.

However, Michelson says she is devoting herefforts to increasing the pre-veterinary resourcesat OCS. She has compiled an alumni list forcontacts, and has obtained 12 names thus far.