Reapplication

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So the VMCAS opens in a month and I was hoping to get something answered by other people who have reapplied. I know they make you reenter all of your information, but do the schools save the evaluations that they received via VMCAS? I don't want to ask the same people to do the same thing all over again if I don't have to.

That kind of depends on the school. Tufts and Penn keep everything from your application for 5 years (I think). Transcripts and GRE scores they carry over to your next application so you don't have to pay to send them again. They will carry forward LOR if you want them to. Penn told me they would, but also recommended adding 3 new LOR, so that's what I did.

I'm not sure which other schools do it because those two and Glasgow were the only one's I reapplied to. It might be a good idea to contact each school individually and see what they say.

I applied three times and for both of the reapplications I had my LORs resubmit their info. It isn't a bad idea to have them do this anyway because they will have known you for another year and they might be able to add to the recommendation or write a stronger letter. You should probably contact the schools to see if they require the letters to be resubmitted.

I reapplied to Mississippi State, Michigan State, Purdue, and Kansas State and I had to resend GRE scores, transcripts, evaluation letters...everything.

When I reapplied I also changed up my elLors, removed the ones that I suspected may not have wrote the best letter for various reasons (time, distance, etc).

Ohio State told me they keep your application on file as well as GRE and transcripts. They keep the names of your LORs, but they want new letters every year.

I agree with DVMD-even if you had the option to resubmit old LORs I wouldn't because the fact that they are willling to write you a new letter shows that they really think you should go to vet school. They will also have known you for another year as she said.
I reapplied to CSU and WSU this year. CSU kept some of my essay answers and address/ personal info. Unfortunatly I had moved and forgot to update my address so my acceptance letter almost went to my old house. I almost think it's best to start everything new.

Does the VMCAS save your evaluations from previous years to use again for the next year?

Nope

Originally Posted by BurnieBear

Does the VMCAS save your evaluations from previous years to use again for the next year?

They wipe everything. If you want to keep the info you put in last year you need to print out your vmcas before the 22nd.

This may be an out of place question but it has to do with reapplication. I am in a predicament on whether or not I should take the new GRE or just stick with my old score. My current score is an 1100, 580math, 520 verbal. Yes I know this score is atrocious, but if you saw where I started at, it looks pretty good. I have also taken the GRE 5 times. I just don't know if I should try it out in the new format or not. I'm worried that if I take it again I won't do well. But then again if I do end up doing well that can only help me. I just don't know what to do and I wish I wasn't in this situation. Anyone's thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated

Originally Posted by zebrastripe86

This may be an out of place question but it has to do with reapplication. I am in a predicament on whether or not I should take the new GRE or just stick with my old score. My current score is an 1100, 580math, 520 verbal. Yes I know this score is atrocious, but if you saw where I started at, it looks pretty good. I have also taken the GRE 5 times. I just don't know if I should try it out in the new format or not. I'm worried that if I take it again I won't do well. But then again if I do end up doing well that can only help me. I just don't know what to do and I wish I wasn't in this situation. Anyone's thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated

I don't think that score is bad at all, actually. Around average maybe. Quant may be slightly low, but verbal is pretty good. Something to consider: the new GRE may be easier for you, depending on what part of the test you struggled with (can use calculator, no analogies, for example). Also, some schools are requiring the new GRE next year, so depending on what schools you want to apply to, you may need to take it again

HTH

Originally Posted by zebrastripe86

This may be an out of place question but it has to do with reapplication. I am in a predicament on whether or not I should take the new GRE or just stick with my old score. My current score is an 1100, 580math, 520 verbal. Yes I know this score is atrocious, but if you saw where I started at, it looks pretty good. I have also taken the GRE 5 times. I just don't know if I should try it out in the new format or not. I'm worried that if I take it again I won't do well. But then again if I do end up doing well that can only help me. I just don't know what to do and I wish I wasn't in this situation. Anyone's thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated

This is by no means meant to scare you, but if you take it again make sure you prepare for it well, which I know you know. I took the test twice and got a 550 V, 650 Q 4.5 W the first time and a 440 V 670 Q 5 W the second time. So my score is either a 1200 or 1220 and I've been told by several schools that that was just average. I didn't take the test a third time for various reasons, but I was starting to prepare to take the new one should I have not gotten in this year, since I've heard it's more test take friendly (except for being longer) and I'm sure many schools are going to require it this year. Just beware of any major scores drops between sections as it was a huge red flag for one school and one of the main reasons I didn't get an interview despite being wait listed the year before. I was told they felt it was a trend and might indicate trouble for me in the future. I feel there are particular reasons my score dropped (depression mainly) but I just want you to know how adcoms may interpret score fluctuations.

If you have it in you to hunker down and study for it, I would personally retake it to see how you would do on the new one. Many people have said they felt it was easier than the old version. Wishing you luck either way!

Originally Posted by orca2011

This is by no means meant to scare you, but if you take it again make sure you prepare for it well, which I know you know. I took the test twice and got a 550 V, 650 Q 4.5 W the first time and a 440 V 670 Q 5 W the second time. So my score is either a 1200 or 1220 and I've been told by several schools that that was just average. I didn't take the test a third time for various reasons, but I was starting to prepare to take the new one should I have not gotten in this year, since I've heard it's more test take friendly (except for being longer) and I'm sure many schools are going to require it this year. Just beware of any major scores drops between sections as it was a huge red flag for one school and one of the main reasons I didn't get an interview despite being wait listed the year before. I was told they felt it was a trend and might indicate trouble for me in the future. I feel there are particular reasons my score dropped (depression mainly) but I just want you to know how adcoms may interpret score fluctuations.

If you have it in you to hunker down and study for it, I would personally retake it to see how you would do on the new one. Many people have said they felt it was easier than the old version. Wishing you luck either way!

I was told the same thing by VMRCVM that I did not get an interview because of my GRE score. I only took it once, and made a 1020 : / I really thought that other parts of my application (GPA, experiences, etc.) would shine through, and I was told in my file review that they were great, but I did not make it past their "initial phase" of weeding people out becaue of GRE. I am both happy that this was my one and only "red flag" of my application...but dissappointed that I did not try harder and have to do this application stuff all over again. I am also scared that I will take the new one and not do any better. I feel NO MOTIVATION to study for this thing, despite actually hearing the words "you did not get in because of it". I just hate the GRE. Hate Hate Hate. Ok I am done whining...

Thanks for the advice guys! The thing is, I really don't know if I have it in me to study hardcore for the test again. This past summer all I did was eat, sleep and study for the GRE. A bad excuse, I know, but Im terrible at standardized tests. All of the vet schools I will be applying to again will accept the old GRE. I talked to Joyce from VMRCVM and April from Ohio State--Joyce told me to take it over and April from Ohio told me not to. However, since VT is my in state, I still have some grades that were still being completed at the time of application so she said I could send those to her and see if that makes me competitive enough with my GRE score as is. If not, well, I guess I will have to make time and study for the dumb thing again.

It's such a hard decision! When I saw my scores, I wanted to retake it (in June) before the end of this application cycle! But I just didn't have time to learn the new test. My scores: 440 V, 600 Q, 4.5 W. Yeahhh, I'm awesome. hahaha.

Originally Posted by mooshagen

It's such a hard decision! When I saw my scores, I wanted to retake it (in June) before the end of this application cycle! But I just didn't have time to learn the new test. My scores: 440 V, 600 Q, 4.5 W. Yeahhh, I'm awesome. hahaha.

That was kind of one of the reasons I never took it a 3rd time. I was on 4 wait lists throughout the entire summer before this app cycle and was kind of hoping one of them would move. Plus, in my file reviews I was told my lack of experience was the bigger issue, so I focused on that. I even had one school tell me I probably wasn't going to improve even if I took it a 3rd time, so I put the GRE even lower on my priority list. Then I didn't get off the wait list and didn't have time to prepare for the new test. Luckily, it's turning out to not be an issue.

I'm glad it all worked out for you guys I'm currently on the waitlist at Mississippi, so I'm hoping it will work out for me too

Originally Posted by JoAnna423

I was told in my file review that they were great, but I did not make it past their "initial phase" of weeding people out becaue of GRE.

This is why people really need to take the time to investigate how the schools to which they want to apply evaluate candidates!

I think too many people are afraid to just call up the school and say "Hey, can you walk me through your evaluation process?" I know here at UMN it's no secret and they'll gladly take the time to tell you about it. I'm presuming (most?) other schools are similar.

Some schools use a gated sort of system where they evaluate one part first, then move you to the next part, etc. At UMN you have to pass the academic section first, which is purely two GPAs and your GRE. Nothing else. If you don't pass that, it won't matter how amazing the rest of your application is. In the END they weight the different sections (academic, subjective, interview) equally, but you don't get to that point if you don't pass the first hurdle. Sounds like VMRCVM is similar.

So don't be bashful. If you want to get into a particular school, call them and ask them to walk you through the details of how they evaluate candidates. That allows you to tailor your application to their process, or at least know which weaknesses to prioritize.

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

This is why people really need to take the time to investigate how the schools to which they want to apply evaluate candidates!

I think too many people are afraid to just call up the school and say "Hey, can you walk me through your evaluation process?" I know here at UMN it's no secret and they'll gladly take the time to tell you about it. I'm presuming (most?) other schools are similar.

Some schools use a gated sort of system where they evaluate one part first, then move you to the next part, etc. At UMN you have to pass the academic section first, which is purely two GPAs and your GRE. Nothing else. If you don't pass that, it won't matter how amazing the rest of your application is. In the END they weight the different sections (academic, subjective, interview) equally, but you don't get to that point if you don't pass the first hurdle. Sounds like VMRCVM is similar.

So don't be bashful. If you want to get into a particular school, call them and ask them to walk you through the details of how they evaluate candidates. That allows you to tailor your application to their process, or at least know which weaknesses to prioritize.

This should be stickied or required reading with a Captcha for anyone applying in future cycles.

Or more succintly:

Originally Posted by zebrastripe86

Thanks for the advice guys! The thing is, I really don't know if I have it in me to study hardcore for the test again. This past summer all I did was eat, sleep and study for the GRE. A bad excuse, I know, but Im terrible at standardized tests. All of the vet schools I will be applying to again will accept the old GRE. I talked to Joyce from VMRCVM and April from Ohio State--Joyce told me to take it over and April from Ohio told me not to. However, since VT is my in state, I still have some grades that were still being completed at the time of application so she said I could send those to her and see if that makes me competitive enough with my GRE score as is. If not, well, I guess I will have to make time and study for the dumb thing again.

Most schools (and I know for a fact for Tufts and Penn) will take the section that you did best on. So if you take it again spend most of your time on your math because that's what seems to be slacking. You kicked my butt on the verbal and all the schools I applied to loved my GRE, so congrats on the verbal!

Ok now I'm freaking out about the flipping GRE! (lol I'm freaking out about pretty much everything because I have to reapply) Anyway, I got a 600 on the verbal and 660 on the math, 4 on the writing. Washington told me it actually wouldn't hurt to retake it but I've had my adviser etc tell me not to worry about that. But I really don't know if these are good enough AND they are the old test.


(honestly I think I may just be scared of moving forward at all from the fear of failing)

Originally Posted by Abney

Ok now I'm freaking out about the flipping GRE! (lol I'm freaking out about pretty much everything because I have to reapply) Anyway, I got a 600 on the verbal and 660 on the math, 4 on the writing. Washington told me it actually wouldn't hurt to retake it but I've had my adviser etc tell me not to worry about that. But I really don't know if these are good enough AND they are the old test.


(honestly I think I may just be scared of moving forward at all from the fear of failing)

I had almost identical scores (600, 670, 4.5) and they were a tad bit above average for the school I was applying to (NC), so I declined to retake. Maybe do the same thing, see if you're at least average/a bit above, and decide based upon that.

Originally Posted by catlady816

Most schools (and I know for a fact for Tufts and Penn) will take the section that you did best on. So if you take it again spend most of your time on your math because that's what seems to be slacking. You kicked my butt on the verbal and all the schools I applied to loved my GRE, so congrats on the verbal!

Just as a heads up, Tufts was the school I was talking about that rejected me after being wait listed the year before based on GRE scores. So if that's the case, make sure you don't bomb one section just to improve the score of another. My 110 point drop in my one section ruined my chances.

Originally Posted by zebrastripe86

The thing is, I really don't know if I have it in me to study hardcore for the test again.

This will probably sound ... meaner ... than I mean it to sound, but honestly: vet school is, in some ways, one stupid hurdle after another. If the GRE is such an annoying hurdle to you that you don't know if you have it in you to prep for it again ... you're might seriously hate vet school. Just a thought; not intended to dissuade you, but something to think about.

Originally Posted by Trilt

I had almost identical scores (600, 670, 4.5) and they were a tad bit above average for the school I was applying to (NC), so I declined to retake. Maybe do the same thing, see if you're at least average/a bit above, and decide based upon that.

Only one of the schools recommended it. And when she said it she was pretty wishy washy about it because the were "pretty competitive". I just kind of feel like since it was mentioned I should do it. But then like I said my adviser said she wouldn't worry about it. (And this woman has been working on getting students specifically into vet school for 20+ years) I'm just not sure. Money is really tight, and there are a couple other things they suggested that I feel like I could spend my time on. Problem is that I didn't really get any "you're weak here" or "work on this" kind of advise.

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

This will probably sound ... meaner ... than I mean it to sound, but honestly: vet school is, in some ways, one stupid hurdle after another. If the GRE is such an annoying hurdle to you that you don't know if you have it in you to prep for it again ... you're might seriously hate vet school. Just a thought; not intended to dissuade you, but something to think about.

No, I understand what you mean. The GRE in my opinion is totally different from studying for vet school exam. I mean, studying for solely verbal and math is extremely boring. Who likes studying for the GRE anyway? Whereas I don't mind and actually like studying for other things that are actually useful like embryology or histology for example. But to each his own. If I end up needing to take it again I probably will. It just sucks that I even have to be in this situation.

Originally Posted by zebrastripe86

No, I understand what you mean. The GRE in my opinion is totally different from studying for vet school exam. I mean, studying for solely verbal and math is extremely boring. Who likes studying for the GRE anyway? Whereas I don't mind and actually like studying for other things that are actually useful like embryology or histology for example. But to each his own. If I end up needing to take it again I probably will. It just sucks that I even have to be in this situation.

Letitsnow has an excellent point, but I see where you're coming from. One school recommended that I retake the GRE strictly for the verbal portion and I just couldn't justify studying, retaking AND PAYING to do the whole thing over again because one school didn't like a portion of the exam when two other schools said my scores were great. It's not so much the idea of spending another entire summer studying (ok it is a little haha) as it is taking the same damn 4 hour long exam over again. However, I spent almost every waking moment of my sophmore year studying for orgo and didn't mind because I actually found it interesting. It's all about your perspective on the material.