One daughter is currently getting a DVM. She is just starting her fourth year so if all continues to go well she should be called “doctor” in a bit less than 10 months.
She got her bachelor’s degree at a university that does not have a DVM program, but that does have a very good pre-vet program. She then worked for two years and established residence in a different state while also verifying that she definitely did want to be become a veterinarian. Then she applied to DVM programs and did very well in admissions.
I got to listen in to the welcome reception via Zoom (this was three years ago so the COVID pandemic was still going on). They said where each incoming student got their bachelor’s degree. There was a very, very wide range. It was unusual to hear the same university mentioned twice, and I do not recall happening to hear any university mentioned more than twice (other than perhaps the university that she is attending for her DVM, which also has a very good pre-vet program).
I agree that clinical hours are important. My daughter and I both think that her extensive experience with animals was an important part of what got her admitted to multiple DVM programs. Quite a bit of this was in a veterinary medicine situation, but she also had quite a bit of experience in other situations. This also included both small and large animal experience which apparently also helps.
The eight year process of becoming a veterinarian is expensive. DVM programs are expensive. You should look carefully at the cost of your bachelor’s degree. It would be best to avoid debt for your bachelor’s if you can. It would be even better if you can leave some $$$ in the bank to help with your DVM. My daughter has reported that most of the students in her program are taking on too much debt, and most do not want to talk about it. This is something to minimize as much as you can.
The university she attended had a very good CREAM program. Here you get to take care of dairy cows. This includes milking and cleaning up. However, this also includes drawing blood, administering medication, and helping with births. Apparently cows can’t swallow pills so you get to put the pill inside the appropriate part of the cow. Here are two examples:
https://www.uvm.edu/cals/asci/cream
She also attended university in an area where there were dairy herds nearby, and a university that has a good equestrian team (that she was on). She volunteered to help out in both areas. I would expect that almost any university would have a veterinary office nearby, or at least any university that has an animal science program (although you can major in nearly anything and complete the pre-vet requirements).
We might note that the required pre-vet classes are the same as premed classes, and these classes will be academically challenging and full of very strong premed students. My daughter has several friends who were premed. The need for clinical experience is similar, but of course you will have entirely different patients. As a prevet students your patients will be far worse at telling you what is wrong, far more varied in size and body type, a bit more likely to poop on you (although this can happen with human patients also), and some might think cuter.