There a several highly accrediated veterinary schools. According to national rankings Cornell University has the best veterinary programs.
There are many veterinary programs available in different areas of the world. If you are from the US, you can try the Association of Veterinarian Medical Colleges or the American Veterinary Medical Association. Each of these offer different veterinary programs which you might be interested.
There are associate programs for veterinary technicians at many large colleges. Contact your class adviser to learn more about becoming a veterinary technician.
The best source for finding degree programs in veterinary technology, no matter what state you are in, is the American Veterinary Medical Association website. They keep a list of all of their accredited onsite and online programs. www.avma.org You can also check the Texas Association of Registered Veterinary Technicians website as they have a list of in-state and online AVMA accredited programs there as well. www.tarvt.org
Trained veterinary technicians receive a Bachelor's of Science majoring in veterinary technology at most accredited programs.
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Completion of a 2-year American Veterinary Medical Association accredited program in veterinary technology is required to become a credentialed veterinary technician. There are also 4-year degree programs in veterinary technology, but these are not required for credentialing in any state and while there are more than 200 accredited 2 year programs there are less than 40 of the 4 year degree programs in the US.
Veterinary assisting is an entry-level position and special education, training or certification is typically not required. There are veterinary assistant training programs and the time required to complete them ranges from a few weeks to a year. However, many of these programs are not viewed as respectable by veterinarians. If special training is sought, veterinary assisting programs offered through a college with an AVMA accredited veterinary technology program or that is approved by a veterinary medical or veterinary technician association should be selected.
There are more than 200 schools in the US that offer American Veterinary Medical Assoc. accredited veterinary technology programs. There are, of course, programs that are not AVMA accredited, however they will not meet the requirements for being credentialed as a veterinary technician so selecting from the list of AVMA accredited programs is important. To find an up to date list of AVMA accredited programs, go to the AVMA website and look under "education".
Most states require veterinary technicians to have completed an American Veterinary Medical Association accredited veterinary technology program. These are associates degree programs at colleges and universities or may be diploma programs through for-profit schools.
Upenn and Harvard University have some of the top veterinary schools and degree programs in the United States. You can read more at www.veterinarianschoolguys.com
The American Veterinary Medical Association accredits veterinary technology degree programs. Because this is an on-going process and these programs must continue to meet the accreditation standards, the list of accredited veterinary technology programs can and does change. For this reason it is best to get lists of accredited schools directly from the AVMA website so that the information is current and accurate. The AVMA maintains their list by state and also those schools offering distance education programs on their website: http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/vettech_programs/vettech_programs.asp
There are not any free veterinary programs, but with loans and grants you can make it pretty cheap. I would find a program near you and see what type of financial aid they offer you.