How many schools did/will you apply to?

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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GAgirl85

GAgirl85

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Just curious to know how many schools everyone has applied/plans to apply to. I've got about 8 in mind, but I'm sure I'll narrow it down between now and then.
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Just one (OVC). I'm from Ontario and trying to stay in-province if all possible to reduce debt.
 
Uno.

And I got some flack for it from friends, family, and fellow applicants. But it worked. My biggest thing was that I REALLY wanted to attend my in-state school, so badly that I knew that I'd be willing to wait another cycle to reapply if I got rejected this time around. It didn't make sense to me to spend the money and energy applying to schools I really wasn't interested in-not to mention a waste of those schools' time. Also, what if I had been accepted to an OOS school and not my IS? It would probably not look so great if I turned that down to reapply next year. Hence, I just put all my proverbial eggs in one basket and off I went.

The moral of this story is to take other peoples' advice into account, but in the end do what you think is best for you.
 
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I applied to 8, because I chose not to apply to my IS and instead only apply OOS. That ended up being overkill, because I got plenty of interview offers, but only ended up going to 2 of the interviews (and I got in to both of those). And the school I ultimately chose doesn't do interviews at all! It is expensive to apply to so many, but I did so because I was so paranoid about applying only OOS (even though, quite honestly, my stats were great, and everyone was telling me that my stats were great, but like I said, I'm paranoid). I figured that by apply to that many schools, I was sure to get in to at least one. I saved money by not going to all of the interview offers, though.
 
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I will be applying to 14 schools this upcoming cycle! Unfortunately, NJ got rid of all of our contract seats so I'm OOS everywhere, and I don't really know how competitive of an applicant I'm going to be.
 
I think it depends on you. If you have a very competitive application as in a very nice GPA and a very high GRE score and you have gotten a ton of experience in a lot of different fields I would not apply to more than your top three, but if you are skeptic about getting in this cycle I would apply to no less than 5. I applied to 3 and got declined from two and accepted to one after getting called off the waitlist. The time in there when I thought I was not getting in this cycle I was kicking myself for not applying to more schools, and I thought I was an above average applicant when comparing myself to the schools accepted students stats. I think the biggest thing to consider is that applying to vet school involves putting everything you have into getting great grades, experience, and test scores...giving that to schools and the rest is a whole lot of luck!
 
I applied to two - my in-state and my dream school. Both long shots, but you never know!

If I had known about this website before I applied last year, I would have checked out the successful applicants thread for the previous year and looked for people with stats similar to mine. Then I would have seen what schools they applied to and how many.

Good luck deciding!
 
I had applied to 6 last round, and upped it to 7 this past cycle. I kept 4 schools and picked 3 new ones to apply because after the post mortem I didn't feel like it was worth my time to reapply (they only looked at GPA and GRE for OOS before inviting for an interview or I no longer met their GPA requirement for OOS). I picked up an international school as well as a back up. It paid off as I got an interview at all 4 of my reapplied schools, and accepted to 2 of the new schools sans interview. :)
 
I applied to my IS and one OOS. I picked the OOS (CSU) based on prereqs and if I'd known in advance they only accepted like 2% of their OOS applicants I would have picked a different OOS to apply to.

But in the end, I was accepted to my IS, so it didn't matter at all. I just didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket...although applying to CSU as an OOS is still basically putting all your eggs in one basket ;)
 
Here is a pretty thorough previous thread on the topic:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=723508

If you want to dig around for more, do an advanced search, select the pre-veterinary forum, and do a search for thread titles with the word "apply" or something like that.

As for myself, I applied to 1 the first time, 1 the second time, and 10 the third time. And on the third time, I got into the 1 that I had applied to previously. Oh, the irony.
 
Just one, AVC, for the same reason as SocialStigma. I'm from NS, so AVC is my "IS" school. Paying OOS tuition for an American school or overseas is really not a possibility for me.
 
twelvetigers said:
As for myself, I applied to 1 the first time, 1 the second time, and 10 the third time. And on the third time, I got into the 1 that I had applied to previously. Oh, the irony.
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I knew this was your third time, but I had no idea the schools you applied to. The gods have a sick sense of humour sometimes, don't they?
 
Two, definately and possibly 3.

They are all abroad, I chose this route because getting an education abroad (and traveling the world in any shape, way or form!) is really important to me.
 
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I applied to 4. IL my IS, then Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota. I was sticking with Midwest and wanted back up plans. I got my IS, but the only OOS that flat rejected was Minnesota. I think for my sanity I applied to others even though IS was my best chance. My IS did some real late interviews and the others were a good practice for me I feel.
 
I have been wavering on this... I have 3 definite schools b/c great programs & good acceptance rates. About 5 more that I may or may not add. I'm leaning towards yes, but very indecisive!
 
I applied to 6 schools. This is partially because my instate has a pretty high tuition considering, I'd like to get out of California, and out of state schools had more to offer for food animal. Ended up with 4 out of 6 interviews but if I had to do it again I'd probably only apply to 4 schools.
 
EllieGirl89 said:
Uno.

And I got some flack for it from friends, family, and fellow applicants. But it worked. My biggest thing was that I REALLY wanted to attend my in-state school, so badly that I knew that I'd be willing to wait another cycle to reapply if I got rejected this time around. It didn't make sense to me to spend the money and energy applying to schools I really wasn't interested in-not to mention a waste of those schools' time. Also, what if I had been accepted to an OOS school and not my IS? It would probably not look so great if I turned that down to reapply next year. Hence, I just put all my proverbial eggs in one basket and off I went.

The moral of this story is to take other peoples' advice into account, but in the end do what you think is best for you.
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Same here....just one. I would have applied to four next time if I didn't get in this time. But fortunately, I got in....
 
i applied to 6 and then ross/sgu so 8 total. if i could go back and do it again, i'd be smarter about where i applied to (look at the whole picture more than just a little part). and after i submitted my vmcas in october, i started falling in love with the idea of going abroad. one of the vets i've worked with over the last few years has been pushing me to go abroad whether it be for school or travel and i started to really take those words to heart. the idea of getting to work with people from around the world in a comfort zone far outside my own seems life changing and amazing.
 
jmo1012 said:
i started falling in love with the idea of going abroad. one of the vets i've worked with over the last few years has been pushing me to go abroad whether it be for school or travel and i started to really take those words to heart. the idea of getting to work with people from around the world in a comfort zone far outside my own seems life changing and amazing.
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Do it! do it! <3
 
I applied to 5, flat out rejected from 4, interviewed at ISU and waitlisted.

I loved it there, and they are 2 away from my number, so I'm hoping I get good news soon, and I don't have to go through this awful process again :xf:
 
Just applied to Ross. Undergad GPA is dismal and didn't want to waste my money applying other places.
 
GAgirl85 said:
Just curious to know how many schools everyone has applied/plans to apply to. I've got about 8 in mind, but I'm sure I'll narrow it down between now and then.
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I applied to one, but that's because I have a family, parents, in-laws... all in the area, and I didn't want to uproot.

Morale being: It's different for everyone.

If I were 22 with no responsibilities, excellent stats and experience, and money to burn, I'd apply to my top 5. If I were in that boat but without the stats/experience, I'd apply to every school possible. If money were tight but my stats were good, I'd pick the top 3. If money was tight and my stats were poor.... I'd still apply to 3-4 but I'd be very selective about which ones I thought I had the best chances in (as opposed to which ones I'd really *prefer* to be at).

You get the idea. Where you apply and to how many is going to depend on your relative application strength, financial picture, responsibilities (i.e. flexibility to move), etc.
 
3. I had a strong application, so I should have applied to only my IS, since I really only wanted to go here, but I was curious and did get into the other programs. Plus, I enjoyed visiting the other schools and going on tours, but any more applications/interviews would have been cost-prohibitive.
 
Applied to 5 for this last cycle, 1 rejection and 4 wait lists and still haven't heard anything more. for the next cycle i'm going to apply to 10. Im from NH and we now only have a contract with tufts, a tuition break but not a lot and i dont really want to go there, so i am oos for everywhere
 
I applied to 5 last cycle but didn't really do my research and was rejected from all 5. This year, I applied to 8 after doing a lot more leg work with only my IS being a repeat application. I was convinced that I wouldn't get in anywhere but apparently the extra research and improvements to my application were what it took.
 
I applied to 3, and got into 3. I chose an OOS school over my IS. I'm happy with the choices I've made (so far! Don't make me regret those words, Mizzou!).
 
I applied as a New Jersey resident to 9 the first time (c/o 2013), so I was OOS everywhere. I ended up getting 9 rejections with no interview offers. I moved to New York for grad school and this time I applied as a New York resident to 15. I got 12 rejections and 3 interview offers. The interviews ended up as 1 waitlist and 2 more rejections. At this point I've got my fingers and toes crossed that I get into Mississippi State off the waitlist. Otherwise, I have to decide between submitting my Ross application and going through a 3rd application cycle to apply to US schools. Thoughts and/or advice??
 
das257 said:
Otherwise, I have to decide between submitting my Ross application and going through a 3rd application cycle to apply to US schools. Thoughts and/or advice??
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If Ross is a place you'd want to go (I would, if I were able to pack up 'n go), apply there.

And, talk to the schools you're getting rejected from and find out why. And then prioritize their reasons and set about addressing the deficiencies.

Then, apply again. :)
 
I had no IS or contract options, and wasn't overly confident in the stats department... and I ended up applying to five programs. It was a busy semester, and I knew I wouldn't have the time to really devote myself to VMCAS and ten or fifteen supplementals.

I figured (especially with a questionable cumulative) that it would be better to submit fewer applications and do them right than it would be to apply everywhere, overextend myself, and do the bare minimum.

As far as Ross, the single most talented veterinarian I've ever encountered graduated from Ross in the 80's. I avoided applying outside the country because I have a pet that won't pass through customs and I didn't want to leave him behind if I could avoid it... but if I'd ended up going the Caribbean route, Ross was at the top of my list. One of my former classmates is there right now, and apparently loving it. (I don't know that I'd necessarily characterize the other vet's experience with Ross as much of a love-fest, but she is an awesome clinician, regardless.)

I agree with LIS on the application front. If you think the program is a good fit for you and you'd enjoy it there, go for it. If you have reservations, look into reapplication. Either way, requesting an application review from at least some of the schools that turned you down would probably be a good idea. Especially if you elect to reapply to said programs. It may be that tweaking something relatively minor would be enough to turn one of those invites into an acceptance.

That said... hopefully, you'll be receiving The Call from Mississippi at some point in the very near future, and this will all be a non-issue. Good luck! :)
 
I applied to eight. Seven rejections no interview, one interview/acceptance. My acceptance was not my in-state either, and while I think IS is probably best for everyone money-wise, I wanted to get in badly enough that I didn't particularly care where I wound up. If I hadn't been reading SDN, I might not have even applied to my acceptance school, so I'm glad I found this place when I did :)
 
I applied to 4. My IS (Davis), a school that interviews and accepts a lot of OOS'ers (Kansas), my dream OOS school (Washington State), and the school closest to my parents (UPenn).

I made sure that I had at least 3 reasons for each school of why I would want to go there and I'm glad that I did. When I interviewed at both Kansas and Washington - I was asked why I would choose to attend their school if accepted to both Davis and them.

I don't have great stats but I don't have awful stats so I went with schools that seemed to fit my application. The VMSAR book was incredibly useful for this! I applied only to schools who had average cGPA that was the same or higher than my own.

I think my order of reasoning went as follows:
-Make a list of all 28 schools (can't go international for family reasons)
-Cross off every school that requires 1 year of OChem or classes that I did not take (made my list small - FAST)
-Circle my favorites
-Cross off: ones that only accept 0-10% OOS'ers, are in places I could absoluteley never live, are ONLY PBL based (sorry folks, 100% PBL is not my cup of tea)


I think I ended up with 9 schools to choose from and I only had money to choose 5. So I contacted the schools, scoured websites.... Finally decided on UC Davis, WSU, Kansas, UPenn, and Illinois. I left Illinois out in the end because I didn't want to write the essays on their supplemental. Sad, but true...
 
I applied to five my first cycle, was denied by 3 w/o interviews, interviewed at one, and was waitlisted at two. No acceptances that year.

This year I applied to 10, was denied by 6 w/o interviews, interviewed with three, got waitlisted at four, and was accepted at two.
 
One. I *almost* applied to my IS, VMRCVM, because I didn't think I would get accepted to MSU, but decided against it because I couldn't see myself in Blacksburg and didn't want to be stuck if I was accepted and not accepted to MSU. (I planned on applying again to MSU and a few OOS if I wasn't accepted the first time.) I also didn't want to take away a potential interview/acceptance from someone. Overall, I saved on app fees and traveling costs.
It doesn't really matter how many schools you apply to. Just make sure you can get all the supp's done on time! (and that you can cover the costs of supp's+app's!)
 
drforwhiskers said:
I applied to 5, flat out rejected from 4, interviewed at ISU and waitlisted.

I loved it there, and they are 2 away from my number, so I'm hoping I get good news soon, and I don't have to go through this awful process again :xf:
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Good luck Whiskers! I loved there as well and I know when I interviewed they said they were taking people into the first week of classes last year. I have hope for you!
 
EllieGirl89 said:
Uno.

And I got some flack for it from friends, family, and fellow applicants. But it worked. My biggest thing was that I REALLY wanted to attend my in-state school, so badly that I knew that I'd be willing to wait another cycle to reapply if I got rejected this time around. It didn't make sense to me to spend the money and energy applying to schools I really wasn't interested in-not to mention a waste of those schools' time. Also, what if I had been accepted to an OOS school and not my IS? It would probably not look so great if I turned that down to reapply next year. Hence, I just put all my proverbial eggs in one basket and off I went.

The moral of this story is to take other peoples' advice into account, but in the end do what you think is best for you.
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+1. I did this exact same thing. Got in. I will admit I was biting my nails near the end, but I got in!
 
1st app: 1, my IS, rejected
2nd app: my IS, MN, IL, MO; rejected w/o interview OOS and waitlisted IS
3rd app: WI (my IS), waitlisted--->accepted!

I was thinking the second time around that I just wanted to get in anywhere, but then I realized there is no way I was going to pay OOS tuition no matter what, so I just applied to my IS the third time around and got called off the waitlist :)
 
I applied to 9 since it was my first cycle and has no idea of how competitive my app was. CSU was a huge waste of money for me since there was no way I'd be one of the few chosen. Illinois was the only other that flat out rejected me. Interview at my IS (Penn) and Ohio State and was accepted to both. Interviews offered at Auburn and Minnesota but I declined them once I knew I was in at OSU. Waitlisted at LSU and withdrew my apps from Michigan and Wisconsin. If I had to do it again I would have crossed CSU, Wisconsin, and Michigan off my list. All great schools but I felt like Wisconsin and Michigan were a little lower on my list since I had two acceptances already and hadn't heard anything from them besides the general "your application is complete" email by mid-February. Just an opinion from an impatient worrier. :)
 
I applied to 6 schools. I'm OOS everywhere, but my state has a contract program with 4 schools (CSU, OSU, WSU and UC Davis-- all long shots!). I chose those 4 as well as 2 UK schools (RVC and University of Edinburgh). I ended up with 1 interview at RVC (which I declined), 3 rejections (WSU, CSU, UC Davis), 1 waitlist (OSU) and 1 acceptance (U of E!). I honestly regret not applying to Tufts. I intended on it, but they have a separate application and I was lazy/broke so they got crossed off the list. I really like their program, but my application was very "middle of the pack" so it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. Plus at this point I can't see myself going anywhere but SCOTLAND! :love: I have felt myself being drawn back to the UK since my first visit in 2002 and I have absolutely no doubt that it's where I'm meant to be.
 
jmo1012 said:
Just received my SGU acceptance so abroad I go!
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Congrats!!!!! eeee!!!! My apps aren't due for another few weeks/months so I have yet to find out lol. Congrats on fun in the sun! <3
 
I just calculated the percentages of my enrollment (VMMCAS data) in each of the schools I'm considering... super depressing! (They're listed in order of how much I like them right this moment... certainly subject to switch around as I go through the app cycle. I would happily attend any of them; they're all awesome!)

1. Penn 27.0 %
2. RVC 8.5 %
3. VMRCVM ~6.7 %
4. Wisconsin 2.1 % (no interview)
5. Edinburgh 14.7 % (no interview)
6. Illinois 3.4 %
7. Colorado 2.3 % (no interview)
8. Iowa 8.8 %
9. Tufts 12.4 %
10. Glasgow 14.3 %

Penn's percentage will be depressed for me b/c of the decreasing # of IS acceptances, and VMRCVM is estimated based on their new class size. I think the international numbers may be a little skewed b/c many US applicants turn them down for American schools

I'm so indecisive! These are all the schools that I've completed pre-reqs for (UGA, UCD, and WSU don't admit enough OOS & Missouri interviews while I'm abroad).
 
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CurrySpice said:
I just calculated the percentages of my enrollment (VMMCAS data) in each of the schools I'm considering... super depressing! (They're listed in order of how much I like them right this moment... certainly subject to switch around as I go through the app cycle. I would happily attend any of them; they're all awesome!)

1. Penn 27.0 %
2. RVC 8.5 %
3. VMRCVM ~6.7 %
4. Wisconsin 2.1 % (no interview)
5. Edinburgh 14.7 % (no interview)
6. Illinois 3.4 %
7. Colorado 2.3 % (no interview)
8. Iowa 8.8 %
9. Tufts 12.4 %
10. Glasgow 14.3 %

Penn's percentage will be depressed for me b/c of the decreasing # of IS acceptances, and VMRCVM is estimated based on their new class size. I think the international numbers may be a little skewed b/c many US applicants turn them down for American schools

I'm so indecisive! These are all the schools that I've completed pre-reqs for (UGA, UCD, and WSU don't admit enough OOS & Missouri interviews while I'm abroad).
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I had the same #1 and #2 this year. Penn decreased its numbers of IS acceptances from 50% of the class to 30% for last years class. But I heard it wasn't going down any more. As for the international numbers I think (at least for RVC) its around a 30% acceptance rate, but you're right about half turn down the acceptance.

I applied to 6 schools total : Penn, RVC, UMinn, Tufts, Edinburgh, and Miss.
The first 3 were my top choices and I got into one of them!
This was my second app cycle and I applied to twice as many schools last year (most of them I had no chance of getting in to.) I def suggest doing some research and talking to the admins. (They're really helpful!)
 
laitmanvet said:
I had the same #1 and #2 this year. Penn decreased its numbers of IS acceptances from 50% of the class to 30% for last years class. But I heard it wasn't going down any more. As for the international numbers I think (at least for RVC) its around a 30% acceptance rate, but you're right about half turn down the acceptance.

I applied to 6 schools total : Penn, RVC, UMinn, Tufts, Edinburgh, and Miss.
The first 3 were my top choices and I got into one of them!
This was my second app cycle and I applied to twice as many schools last year (most of them I had no chance of getting in to.) I def suggest doing some research and talking to the admins. (They're really helpful!)
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Thanks for the input :)

I chatted with admissions at Tufts (blanking on her name), and she gave me a lot of great feedback on my application. So, I'm confident that I will have a fighting chance but I also know my weaknesses to work on during my gap year. My gpa & gre are strong, but my vet experience is relatively limited. I've heard the UK schools are more forgiving with that, so I'm just hoping for the best :xf:

Minn would totally be on my list if I could fit in Micro :-(

I would rather spend a little more right now applying to extra schools than risk another round of apps. Although the ones I'm adding have a lower acceptance rate :laugh:. I will probably just keep going with the supplementals until I get bored of writing them. lol! Colorado's supplemental is especially frustrating...
 
Last cycle I only applied to 2 schools my IS (IL) and CSU, flat out rejection from both. This next cycle I think I have 10 on my list right now... including Ross. Gosh, I just want to get in somewhere! The other day I was trying to think of side careers I could do besides vet med and I really could not see myself anywhere else.
 
This past cycle I applied to 8 schools but I am only applying to 3 this upcoming cycle. My IS wants nothing to do with my application, because OOS tuition $$$ are more important to them than IS tuition dollars from tax-paying residents. I have narrowed the field down and think I'll have a decent shot. (I hope)
 
I applied to 8 schools (UC Davis, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn, Purdue, Colorado), because I really wasn't sure if I was going to be competitive enough for my IS (Davis). I ended up accepted to 3 (Davis, Ohio, Michigan), waitlisted at 1 (Wisconsin), turned down 1 interview (Minnesota), and flat out rejected from 3 (Penn, Colorado, Purdue).

Looking back, I had no business applying to Penn and Colorado - they were both such long shots. But Penn is really close to my family, and I love Colorado, so I gave it a shot. My other choices were mostly based on location (where my family is and where I'd want to live) and program strengths.

In the end I was accepted to my #1 school, and it ended up being a huge waste of money applying to all of those other schools. But I obviously had no way of knowing how everything would go down and wanted to give myself the best shot possible.
 
Marsala said:
This past cycle I applied to 8 schools but I am only applying to 3 this upcoming cycle. My IS wants nothing to do with my application, because OOS tuition $$$ are more important to them than IS tuition dollars from tax-paying residents. I have narrowed the field down and think I'll have a decent shot. (I hope)
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What would your IS happen to be?
 
sunnyshine said:
What would your IS happen to be?
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Purdue, and I know some people will want to give me flak for saying it, but it is absolutely true. The administration makes no bones about it.
 
I applied just to my IS, LSU.

I was applying after three years of undergrad, so it was kinda a dry run/ cross your fingers kinda thing. Since I was applying relatively early, I figured I could afford to put all of my eggs in one basket for this year.

Also, I wanted to make sure that if I could get in to any school, LSU would be on that list just for the tuition reasons. Also, I had heard they had a good exotics program, so that lined up with my career goals.
 
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