[.hurry.up.and.wait.]

I'll apologize now for the length, but the situation warrants the extensive details, and I'd really appreciate some second opinions.

I'm planning to apply to vet school next summer, for admission in Fall 2011. Now, what is the better plan for the time between graduation and starting vet school? The pre-vet advisor at my college (RIT) suggested applying to a Master's program in some animal-related field, such as Animal Behavior or Animal Science. He said that taking a year off to work looks bad and you shouldn't do it unless you really HAVE to or you'll snap...or something of the equally pressing sort. I searched online, and it kinda sounds like grad schools of any sort do understand that you need to be able to at least partially fund your education, so working isn't so bad. But I could be wrong.

Part 1: The master's program is at Cornell, so is it better to get into the university, then "move" the next year to the vet program, or just wait and apply to Cornell for the first time for the Vet program?

Part 2: If I apply for a Masters program this year (I'd have to for Fall 2010 after I'm graduated), can I back out of it if I want to? I've searched but can't find an answer to this anywhere on the web. (I'd back out if I got accepted to the Vet program and didn't need another year of classes to get my GPA high enough.)

Part 3: In regards to GPA, if it isn't high enough to get me into vet school when I apply next summer, I'll have to take some classes to get it up. Is it better to take a few as needed at a community college in a different subject like psych or business (because vet school likes well-rounded applicants) or just to do the full Master's program? All grad and undergrad classes are counted towards overall GPA.

Part 5: Cost IS a factor.

-plan 1: Masters program. Means I pay for school and housing for a year, then get married that summer, which it will be tough to plan a Rochester wedding from Ithaca (summer 2011 is a set date zone already), then if I can do vet school in Fall 2011, I'll move in with my then husband.

-plan 2: Work for a year. Means I pay for classes as necessary (at a far lower cost than Cornell), have a full time job, plan a wedding where I'll be living, get married summer 2011, then move to Ithaca with my husband for vet school in the fall.

(Yes, getting married before I move in with him IS MANDATORY. Old school family.)

Thanks in advance for any actual help and opinions.

I'm planning on attending vet school in the near future (hopefully Fall 2011), but I'm having a bit of a dilemma with my parents as to how "my life timeline" will lay out. Now, I've been with the same guy for about 2 years and we both agree that this is it.

Here's the thing though: My dad for some reason is soooo concerned about where getting married and having kids fits in around vet school. He thinks I shouldn't get married until I'm completely done with school...yes that means until I'm a certified DVM. He then worries that I can't have a kid right out of grad school, and still have a job, because he thinks I should stay home with a baby until they start school. Now don't get me wrong, I'd love to be a stay-at-home mom, but helping animals is my calling. So he says well you've got to get the job straightaway, THEN you can start a family. Because it's too hard to have the family and then do vet school, and it's too hard to get a job more than a year out of vet school.

Your opinions on all this? The thing that's bothering me so much is that my dad's opinion makes sense to me, but that might mean I'm about 28 before I start my family (the kids part that is). I know you'll say there's nothing wrong with that, but I always planned to be younger than that when I had my first kid. Anyone who went to grad school have an opinion on maybe starting the family DURING grad school? My cousin is in her first year of a masters program and is pregnant, and I can't really see a problem, so long as financially we could support a baby and see that it's well taken care of. My boyfriend has no problem with that (given being in a financially stable situation). Any vets with opinions on timing? I'm worried that I couldn't during the 3rd and 4th years of school due to clinical rotations...wouldn't I have to skip certain rotations due to things like infections or xray danger for a fetus?

Thanks in advance for any helpful answers.

i've got a couple things going on here.

my car is a 1992 ford thunderbird v8 5.0L sport coupe. auto tranny.

first, when in ONLY park or neutral, my car has a very high idle. when in drive, it shifts perfectly, and idles at stop lights perfectly. but when i start it, it's up to about 1500rpm, when i park it slowly goes up to about 1800 or 1900 rpm in a controlled sort of way. like a smooth increase. reverse is also fine. i once tried at a long train to put the car in park--up to 1800rpm--tried neutral another time--same thing. it's NOT the pcv valve. we just replaced that a few months ago. my check engine light has never come on. my dad thought it had something to do with the air sensor, and after unplugging that with the car running, it idles low at 600 or 700rpm, and one time unplugging it, it stalled. and that unplugged is the only time the check engine light is on.

second, my car kind of drives itself. from a complete stop, it can get up to 3rd gear with me never touching the gas.

I live in Rochester, NY, and I found a dog on petfinder.com that is exactly what I'm looking for. Only problem is, I'm not sure if it's even possible to adopt across borders. Can I? I'm sure there'd be some fee for customs, but is there a whole bunch of other things I'd have to do to get a dog? My dad thinks it would need a lot of medical checkups before they'd let it into the U.S.

Please don't answer unless you have an actually useful answer. None of those "Don't know sorry" answers here please.

And for those anti-puppy mill people (of which I am one), the puppy is from a shelter in Niagra-on-the-Lake, ON.

last period was december 24-30. it's been right around the 24th for a while now (within a day or two). right at ovulation time, had semi-unprotected sex with my boyfriend. he was in me without a condom for a while...like 10 or 15 minutes, but then he pulled out and put one on to go the rest of the way. i'm 7 days late on my period now, and don't know what to think. took a hpt at 3 days late but that came out a honkin' negative. going to test again in a few days to see if it changed. am i pregnant? i know it's possible to get pregnant from pre*** but would there have been any in that time? no matter what i'm getting an abortion, there's no way i can have a baby right now. anyone recommend one type over the other? or am i just stressing myself out for no reason? i had no reason to expect my period to be ate, and once it was is when all the stressing started. i've tried to relax and tell myself the test was right and i'm not pregnant, but i don't know what to think at 7 days late. help!