Do schools give preference to 1st time or multiple time applicants?

[Femshep]

This might be a silly question, but I'm a current junior in undergrad and technically I could apply to vet school this summer for entry into the Fall 2016 year. I have a good GPA and I would finish all my prereqs by the Spring before. However, I know I don't have enough experience to be competitive. I will have around 350-400 SA hrs split between a spay and neuter clinic and a MedVet hospital. I will have around 140 hrs of exotic/wildlife shadowing a vet in Africa, and around 60-70 hrs at a wildlife hospital. No large animal or research. :/

I was thinking of applying just to my instate school (Ohio State) this year, but comparing myself to other applicants I am very far behind in experience. Should I just wait until next year to apply, or is there some benefit to being a 2nd time applicant in the year I really planned to enter into anyway (Fall 2017). And by that time I will hopefully have LA and research.

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[WildZoo]

This might be a silly question, but I'm a current junior in undergrad and technically I could apply to vet school this summer for entry into the Fall 2016 year. I have a good GPA and I would finish all my prereqs by the Spring before. However, I know I don't have enough experience to be competitive. I will have around 350-400 SA hrs split between a spay and neuter clinic and a MedVet hospital. I will have around 140 hrs of exotic/wildlife shadowing a vet in Africa, and around 60-70 hrs at a wildlife hospital. No large animal or research. :/

I was thinking of applying just to my instate school (Ohio State) this year, but comparing myself to other applicants I am very far behind in experience. Should I just wait until next year to apply, or is there some benefit to being a 2nd time applicant in the year I really planned to enter into anyway (Fall 2017). And by that time I will hopefully have LA and research.

There isn't any preference given based on how many times you apply, as far as I know. However, there are other benefits to applying (and many people do just what you described - apply just to their in-state if they aren't as confident about their stats). If you get in, you're in a year earlier which means you'll be out and working a year earlier, and you won't have to take a gap year if it isn't something you want to do. And if you don't get in, you still would have had the experience of applying so you'll know what you're doing the next time, and you can get feedback from Ohio to see what you can do to improve your application.

On the other hand you have the risk of spending the money on VMCAS, the supplemental app, and interview travel and then not getting in. Plus many people do like having a gap year between undergrad and vet school.

You can post your full stats in the What Are My Chances thread where you can put more detail and get some opinions on your stats, but just from what you've said here your experience actually isnt that bad, especially if you have a great GPA and GRE. I got in (not to Ohio though, so grain of salt there) without any LA or research experience.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Do schools give preference to 1st time or multiple time applicants?

yes.

 

[LetItSnow]

I heard they totally give preference to applicants.

 

[DVMDream]

I heard they totally give preference to applicants.

I hear they like old applicants. Bonus points if they are bald.

 

[LetItSnow]

I hear they like old applicants. Bonus points if they are bald.

I knew there had to be a reason I got in.

 

[LetItSnow]

This might be a silly question, but I'm a current junior in undergrad and technically I could apply to vet school this summer for entry into the Fall 2016 year. I have a good GPA and I would finish all my prereqs by the Spring before. However, I know I don't have enough experience to be competitive. I will have around 350-400 SA hrs split between a spay and neuter clinic and a MedVet hospital. I will have around 140 hrs of exotic/wildlife shadowing a vet in Africa, and around 60-70 hrs at a wildlife hospital. No large animal or research. :/

I was thinking of applying just to my instate school (Ohio State) this year, but comparing myself to other applicants I am very far behind in experience. Should I just wait until next year to apply, or is there some benefit to being a 2nd time applicant in the year I really planned to enter into anyway (Fall 2017). And by that time I will hopefully have LA and research.

Ok, ok, snark aside.

It's hard to say without looking at your full application, but if you're even modestly competitive I would apply. The downside is that if you don't get in, you're out the cash to apply. The upside is a) you might get in, and b) even if you don't, you have done most of the legwork for applying next year, and then all you have to do is spend the time improving your application. And, if you don't get in, you can talk to the school(s) and get some clues about WHY you didn't get in and what the most productive changes to your application would be.

 

[Trilt]

This might be a silly question, but I'm a current junior in undergrad and technically I could apply to vet school this summer for entry into the Fall 2016 year. I have a good GPA and I would finish all my prereqs by the Spring before. However, I know I don't have enough experience to be competitive. I will have around 350-400 SA hrs split between a spay and neuter clinic and a MedVet hospital. I will have around 140 hrs of exotic/wildlife shadowing a vet in Africa, and around 60-70 hrs at a wildlife hospital. No large animal or research. :/

I was thinking of applying just to my instate school (Ohio State) this year, but comparing myself to other applicants I am very far behind in experience. Should I just wait until next year to apply, or is there some benefit to being a 2nd time applicant in the year I really planned to enter into anyway (Fall 2017). And by that time I will hopefully have LA and research.

Subtract your wildlife experience and trade it for a day with a LA vet and an equine vet, and you sound very much like my experience level when I applied (and got in!) Not every applicant has 1000s of hours, and if you're prepared to go to vet school, pretty much all you lose by applying is some money.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

I've been told by an admissions counselor that schools appreciate "perseverance and dedication." With that being said, I don't think that only refers to applying multiple times. Going above and beyond in your academics, experiences, etc. will also show those two qualities. I don't know if any school would flat out say they prefer multiple applicants. Usually, multiple applicants end up being accepted because they do file reviews and improve where they were lacking in their initial attempts.

 

[jmo1012]

there are schools out there that will argue that you should apply as soon as you're ready, because worst case scenario, you dont get in and then you can do a file review to find out where you should improve. financially that may not work for everyone, but it might be nice to at least apply IS and see what happens. if you dont get in, keep on with your life and try again, but at least you'll have an idea of where to improve (and you can still be working on improving during your "practice" application year anyway)

 

[Staffie]

You're in Columbus already, so why not try to set up a meeting the admissions department at Ohio State? They're pretty friendly and should be able to give you some guidance. They might say you should wait another year and give some advice on experience to get, and then you wouldn't waste any money on applying this year. Or they may say, go for it. It doesn't hurt to ask.

If you do decide to meet with them, it might be best to wait until the end of April or beginning of May so they can sort out who's accepting/declining and work through the waitlist a bit for this year. It should start to get a bit quieter a few weeks after the mid-April decision deadline.

Good luck!

 

[Gemgrrrl]

I hear they like old applicants. Bonus points if they are bald.

And crotchety.

 

[Gemgrrrl]

I've been told by an admissions counselor that schools appreciate "perseverance and dedication." With that being said, I don't think that only refers to applying multiple times. Going above and beyond in your academics, experiences, etc. will also show those two qualities. I don't know if any school would flat out say they prefer multiple applicants. Usually, multiple applicants end up being accepted because they do file reviews and improve where they were lacking in their initial attempts.

Yeah, "perseverance and dedication" doesn't mean just applying over and over again and hoping the ball finally lands on your number. I think they mean taking an honest look at where you have deficiencies and correcting them. I agree with Staffie that you should talk to an admissions counselor. I don't think your experience hours are bad. People have gotten accepted with less. It really depends on your whole application.

 

[Femshep]

Thanks for all the helpful responses (and the sarcasm lol), this forum has been a great resource for me for the year that I've been stalking it without making any posts, aha.

I probably shouldn't have worded it with "preference"; I guess I already knew it wouldn't be that simple. But in the back of my mind I wondered if, for example, it for some reason came down to a decision between applicants who had about the same experience, grades, GRE score etc, and the difference was between how many times they've applied to that school. I wondered if at that point they might let the person who applied 2-3 times get in before the 1st timer.

And I will definitely be making an appointment with admissions, I honestly did not realize you were allowed to do that. <.<

 

[LetItSnow]

And crotchety.

OMG, I was a shoe-in!