I'm also planning on becoming a veterinarian, and I'm at the end of my junior year (11th grade) of high school.
Being a vet requires eight years of college, so it's definitely expensive and time consuming. While you're in high school, get good grades. If there was one thing I could go back and change regarding school, it's that I didn't take planning for the future seriously until recently. I've always gotten all As and Bs in the past, but honestly, for someone pursuing a vet career, that's nothing impressive. This school year, I buckled down, and the lowest grade I ever received on a report card was an A-. I plan to keep it that way next year. Your grades need to become your number one priority. Aim for as close to a 4.0 GPA as possible (you don't have to be perfect, just aim for it). I suffer from anxiety, but there's been a few times where I had to bite the bullet and email teachers to ask about raising my grades in order to keep an A in the class. There's also been a lot of times where I had to cancel or put off doing other activities in order to do school related things that I didn't want to do. You really need to study. This year, I've studied for every test I've had (and I have several tests a week), and it helped tremendously.
As far as classes go, make sure that your schedule is well rounded with classes from every subject, however, once you get into your junior and senior year, take the most advanced science and math classes you can. Double up (take more than one science/math class at a time) if you can. Classes that vet schools are going to look for are mainly things like algebra, calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy, etc. If you can take classes in those subjects, do so. Since you're home schooled, I'm not sure what kind of classes you can take, but my (public) school offers college classes. I have (or will be taking) college classes in english, science, social studies, and foreign language. When I graduate, I will have 30 credit hours. That's half of an associate's degree. My college classes, although I still have to physically go to my high school, are done online through my laptop, taught by professors from the college I applied for. Perhaps you can ask any local community colleges if they will offer you any online classes. Mine are all completely free of charge, except for any lab fees, or if I was to fail a class.
Just don't overload yourself. Don't think that you have to take every single science and math class in your freshman year and get a 100% on every test. There's been a couple of tests I've done bad on and still had an A in the class, and you have four years to take all of the classes you need. Try planning out what classes you'll take each year. I'll use myself and the science classes I've taken/will take as an example. In 9th grade, I took physical science. In 10th grade, biology. In 11th grade, chemistry. In 12th grade, college anatomy/physiology and college physics. Figure out what classes you can take every year now, rather than waiting until the end of each school year. Keep in mind that you don't need to take the hardest classes right away. Also, don't sign up for a certain class you truly know you will do poorly in. For instance, if math is your worst subject (like it is for me), focus more on excelling at science and having overall higher level classes than on taking a bunch of the most advanced math classes in high school that you know will be too much to handle at once. Do what you can, and definitely push yourself, but don't pile too much on your plate at once. Your mental health is really important. I hope this helps you.
