The Bel Rea Institute of Animal Technology

*Bel-Rea is VERY expensive. The program costs $19,000--not including books, scrubs, lab coat, etc. It's also irksome that most of the books bought weren't used in class. We used the instructor's manuals, which we were required to buy on top of the books. Why require a $90 book and then only lecture from an $18 manual?

*Bel-Rea offers minimal hands-on experience. If you want an almost purely academic, all-book learning experience regarding vet technology, go to Bel-Rea. I've learned some fascinating things, and feel confident being able to tell you the difference between Addison's Disease and Cushing's Disease, but am terrifed at the thought of being in a clinical setting with real animals and being expected to know what to do. With the amount of money we pay, you'd think there'd be more hands-on oppurtunities--such as placing catheters, drawing blood, etc.

*Most of the instructors are great, most of the staff are not. My instructors, by and large, are intelligent, have lots of applicable clinical experience, are approachable, and have made Bel-Rea bearable. The staff, however, can be rude, cold, unfriendly, unapproachable, and downright infuriating at times. With the exception of one lady, the front desk ladies are rude and condescending. The registrar is unfriendly, patronizing, arrogant, and unhelpful. The director is a two-faced gossiper who blatantly plays favorites and flirts with the few men who attend Bel-Rea. The custodian is a bitter misogynist who acts like he'd rather be ripping his toenails out than be at Bel-Rea (I've heard him refer to Bel-Rea students as "dumb bitches" and "dumb bimbos").

*The campus is small, old, over-crowded and smelly. I've been in classes where a student has had to sit on the floor because there weren't enough chairs. The student "lounge" is small, cramped, and uncomfortable, and food options are laughable. Parking is a joke. Good luck if you arrive after noon.

*The "favorites" game is rampant at Bel-Rea. The instructors and staff all have their favorites, and it shows. It's pretty incredible, really. I've felt like I've been in the middle of a "Beverly Hills 90210" episode many times--during a classroom lecture. No joke.**DO YOUR RESEARCH! I've kicked myself many times. I'm two quarters away from finishing at Bel-Rea (with honors, so don't think I'm dissing because I couldn't hack it), and I wish I had gone elsewhere. Example: The Community College of Denver offers an AVMA fully accredited vet tech program that basically covers the same info and material as Bel-Rea, requires THREE semester-long internships, and costs a FRACTION of what Bel-Rea costs. Don't automatically assume Bel-Rea is the best because they air commercials and boast AVMA accredidation. Go to the AVMA website and you can find all the accredited vet tech programs in your area. I guarantee they'll be less expensive, because obviously Bel-Rea spends a lot of the student's tuition money on advertising. Find a school where you are a student wanting to become the best vet tech you can be, and not a big dollar sign walking around in scrubs.