[Angelwngs25]

Hi, I just wanted to post to get some opinions on what people think. I have wanted to work with animals since I was very young and knew what a Vet Tech was or even a Veterinarian. When I was in high school at the charter school I went to I even wrote a essay on what Veterinarians do and what their job is like. I even volunteered at a animal hospital when I was 16 and they said I was a good worker and I am good with animals and I even remember watching them euthanize a dog and it didn't even bother me too much. I am now 26 years old (27 in April) and I have only been in college for a very short time. I started going to a for-profit college when I was 22 years old and was in a Vet Tech program, but I was also living in a homeless shelter and couldn't stand all the stress because my Case Manager at the shelter kept hounding me to go job hunting and I was trying to get SSDI also (I have SSDI now). So, I dropped out from all the stress, plus it was hard to want to stay anyways as the school had horrible tutoring. You only could get tutoring from the teachers between classes and that wasn't enough for me. I was struggling because of it. And I had to get help from classmates and quite a few people in the schools library. The cost for the program was $20,000 and I decided that I didn't want to pay all that back. My dad also told me that he had gone to the school but when it had a different name and that the credits don't even transfer to other schools. After I was done with my 2nd class I dropped out because I could't handle everything and the school just wasn't the right school for me. I did pass my classes with A+'s though.

But I'm really not sure about going to college to be a Vet Tech again as I clearly have learning difficulties. When I was in elementary school I was in a special ed class called "Room 1" for people who have learning difficulties. In 7-8 grade I was homeschooled because of my learning problems. In high school the school I went to was for kids that needed to learn at their own pace. I got great grades in high school and middle school too though, mostly A's but I think that's just because I was getting a lot of help with my homework. I am almost positive I actually have PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder) which is a form of Autism.

So, honestly I'm not sure I could make it through the program. I'm honestly afraid I will fail/drop out again. I'm really just not sure if going to college is a great idea for me as I feel like I am stupid or retarded. My sister-in-law talked to me today about it and said since she will be living back in Phoenix, Arizona where I live she would be willing to help me and from what I know about her she's pretty smart. What do you think I should do given my history and my learning difficulties? Oh, also I need to know if people here think even though I've been fired from 3 different jobs for petty reasons (years in the past) if I graduate from the Vet Tech program if people might overlook it because I will have studied it and graduated from college? And does anyone know if the fact that I have SSDI prevents me from getting student loans or grants or both? The course costs like $5,000 - $9,000 dollars. If I decide to go this year I would need to fill out the FAFSA in August and enrollment starts in October.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Angelwngs25

Hi, I just wanted to post to get some opinions on what people think. I have wanted to work with animals since I was very young and knew what a Vet Tech was or even a Veterinarian. When I was in high school at the charter school I went to I even wrote a essay on what Veterinarians do and what their job is like. I even volunteered at a animal hospital when I was 16 and they said I was a good worker and I am good with animals and I even remember watching them euthanize a dog and it didn't even bother me too much. I am now 26 years old (27 in April) and I have only been in college for a very short time. I started going to a for-profit college when I was 22 years old and was in a Vet Tech program, but I was also living in a homeless shelter and couldn't stand all the stress because my Case Manager at the shelter kept hounding me to go job hunting and I was trying to get SSDI also (I have SSDI now). So, I dropped out from all the stress, plus it was hard to want to stay anyways as the school had horrible tutoring. You only could get tutoring from the teachers between classes and that wasn't enough for me. I was struggling because of it. And I had to get help from classmates and quite a few people in the schools library. The cost for the program was $20,000 and I decided that I didn't want to pay all that back. My dad also told me that he had gone to the school but when it had a different name and that the credits don't even transfer to other schools. After I was done with my 2nd class I dropped out because I could't handle everything and the school just wasn't the right school for me. I did pass my classes with A+'s though.

But I'm really not sure about going to college to be a Vet Tech again as I clearly have learning difficulties. When I was in elementary school I was in a special ed class called "Room 1" for people who have learning difficulties. In 7-8 grade I was homeschooled because of my learning problems. In high school the school I went to was for kids that needed to learn at their own pace. I got great grades in high school and middle school too though, mostly A's but I think that's just because I was getting a lot of help with my homework. I am almost positive I actually have PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder) which is a form of Autism.

So, honestly I'm not sure I could make it through the program. I'm honestly afraid I will fail/drop out again. I'm really just not sure if going to college is a great idea for me as I feel like I am stupid or retarded. My sister-in-law talked to me today about it and said since she will be living back in Phoenix, Arizona where I live she would be willing to help me and from what I know about her she's pretty smart. What do you think I should do given my history and my learning difficulties? Oh, also I need to know if people here think even though I've been fired from 3 different jobs for petty reasons (years in the past) if I graduate from the Vet Tech program if people might overlook it because I will have studied it and graduated from college? And does anyone know if the fact that I have SSDI prevents me from getting student loans or grants or both? The course costs like $5,000 - $9,000 dollars. If I decide to go this year I would need to fill out the FAFSA in August and enrollment starts in October.

I see one very huge hurdle you may not know about with your going to college. its not about you its about your income....I see in your post you are on SSDI. you might want to contact your social security caseworker. the social security website states they only give benefits to those under 18 and still in school, those over 18 and wanting to go to college lose their SSI/SSDI benefits. the reasoning behind this is that if someone is well enough to go to college they are well enough to get a full time job, plus going to college entails college scholarships and financial aid packages. short version it constitutes a crime called defrauding the government\ fraud when anyone here in NY on SSI\SSDI gets caught attempting to go to college while on SSI\SSDI, so please be sure to have a sit down with your SSDI caseworker who can explain the details and how you can prepare for the loss of the government grant while you go to college.

As for actually going to college for vet tech... I think that you doing this would be great. I know many people who have gone to college for this and though they couldnt actually do the job they gained an education that helped them with their own pets...for example I know someone who it stressed him out to no end because he had a cat and dog that used the floor for their bathroom needs. the vet tech class gave him the information that he needed to have more patience and address the problem with out getting stressed out bordering on abuse of his pets. based on your past posts even if this opportunity doesnt pan out job wise, you will be able to gain some information that will help you with your own pets problems.

Also if you are still trying to get pregnant you might want to talk with your doctors. people with bipolar disorder, pregnancy sometimes need some special considerations that they need to think about before entering college...like how to handle the mood swings associated with pregnancy while sitting in class for hours, most vet tech classes are 2-3 hours long with labs that can stretch into 2, 3, and 4 hours long, a pregnant person cant take their bipolar meds so theres also the consideration of how to deal with psychosis side of bipolar disorder while pregnant and being in a classroom setting that may entail triggers that set off an hallucination or delusion.

you might also consider going through the diagnostics for what you suspect is PDD (autism) with the documented paperwork on this it will allow the college to grant you some special accomodations like being able to record your classes, tutors, special considerations with the instructors....

no your SSDI/SSI will not affect you getting grants but the grants will affect your SSDI/SSI in that you will lose your SSDI completely which is why above I suggested contacting your caseworker.....before....you actually go through the process of getting in to college. they may know of some programs other than college that will help you to get where you want to be in this with out endangering your income.

Weren't you the one that got angry with her cat for pissing on the floor of the apartment?

[avlady]

maybe you should take up the arizona option, its cheaper and you know someone there. im happy you got a's in college. i used to be the smartest kid in grammer school and after a head injury i worked so hard just for bs and cs. you should be proud of yourself for that.

[scorpiosis37]

From everything you have shared, not only in this post but in others, I would say that you should probably think long and hard about whether becoming a vet tech is really the best career choice for you. You have posted about having a lot of trouble managing your own cat and getting really frustrated with him/her, you have already dropped out of vet tech school once, you struggle with emotional regulation, you have trouble in school unless you have additional tutoring, and you have been fired from three previous jobs. Becoming a vet tech not only requires a lot of hard work to earn the degree, but also a lot of discipline and patience on a daily basis with animals who won't want to cooperate with you. Those are skills that seem to be particularly difficult for you. There is also a lot of communicating with pet owners who are going to upset (their pets are sick!) and angry about the costs (it's super expensive!)-- how are you going to handle difficult customers in those situations? From what you have shared in other posts, you seem to have a pretty short fuse and revert quickly to name-calling and swearing. I'm sure there are a lot of careers that you could succeed at, and that you have a lot of strengths. Just thinking realistically based on what you've shared, I'm not sure that being a vet tech suits your particular skillset.

[Nammu]

You could start again by volunteering for a local animal shelter, keep regular hours and go no matter how you feel as if it was a real paying job, and see how that goes. Gotta agree with the others even temperament is a huge requirement when working with animals and if you have problems maintaining emotional equilibrium it may be best to find a job where you don't work with animals or in customer service.