Non-traditional WAMC

[mn1309]

Hello!

I applied to four schools this year (UGA, Missouri, Tennessee, and Colorado State). I was denied from all of them and this was my first time applying. I am waiting until May for an application review with Georgia, so I was wondering if you all could help me with what I can work on in the next year? My current goals are to become a mixed animal veterinarian, but I am leaning towards large animal.

First off, I am a non-traditional student. I graduated in 2019 with a degree in business from UGA, 3.3 overall GPA. Since 2020, I have been working full-time as a veterinary assistant in small animal GP, while going back to school to finish my pre-requisites. The most horrible and embarrassing part of my application is that I had to take Organic Chemistry 1 3 times. First time an F, second time a D, and last time an A. Here are my current stats.

Overall GPA: 3.1 - I am currently taking O Chem 2 with lab, Cell Biology, Physics II with lab, and Biochemistry, and have all As currently (I may end up with a B or two at the end, but I am not anticipating any Cs). I'm thinking my GPA may stay around the same as it is now?

Veterinary Experience:
4500+ hours working full-time in small animal GP
100+ hours shadowing an equine/large animal veterinarian
About 50 hours of exotic work in my GP clinic

Animal Experience:
Tens of thousands of hours as a competing equestrian, even did this professionally for a year before deciding to pursue vet school
500+ hours of pet sitting experience with dogs, cats, exotics, and farm animals
200+ hours of work on a dairy goat farm
10 years of volunteer work with equine rescue

I do not currently have any research experience, nor would I know how to go about getting any.

Clubs/Leadership/Volunteer:
Competing member and Barn Manager of the IHSA Equestrian Team
Lead Volunteer at an Equine Rescue

Employment:
Retail Associate (1 year in high school)
Waitress (2 years in high school and college)
Retail Associate (3 more months in college)
Pet Sitter with Professional Pet Sitting Company (2 years)
Full time Barn Manager and Riding Instructor (1 year)
Full Time Veterinary Assistant, Small Animal GP (almost 3 years)

I will also plan on diversifying my letters of recommendation a little more this year. I had two small animal veterinarians, a practice manager, and the owner of the horse rescue I work with write for me.

I am interested in your opinions on what I should do to improve my application? Should I get experience working at a different clinic (I've been looking at openings at specialty clinics such as internal med, dermatology, dentistry). Should I re-take classes or get a master's? (I would prefer not to do more school if I don't absolutely have to.)

My number one school is Georgia, as that is my in-state school and my alma mater. I may also apply to Lincoln Memorial this cycle, and was wondering what other schools you recommend for those with a low GPA? Also if any of you have had application reviews with Georgia in particular, what did they emphasize you work on for the next cycle?

Thank you so much for your time!

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[honeypot999]

You need to apply smarter. You applied to very gpa heavy schools that don’t necessarily have the demographic to fit your gpa. Id recommend applying to more holistic schools like LMU, Michigan State, Mississippi State, and such. You’d have a better chance there gpa wise.

 

[max_wildlife]

Hey @mn1309
I was a non-traditional applicant with a low GPA too, and I also had to take organic 1 three times. I'm sorry you're going through it; for better or worse, you're not alone.

I think file reviews are going to be key to help direct your focus - you have so many hours of experience already, I'm wondering if your schools were really hardline with GPA. And it seems you've already retaken the class the class that you really needed to. I'm not sure where else retaking courses would be helpful if they'd be from your undergrad business degree. Specialty might be interesting just to add to the list.

Are you looking to stay within a specific region? Applying to more schools would probably help open things up. Ohio was the other school that gave me an interview with a lower GPA.

Clubs/leadership/volunteer things - I am not sure about your schools' perspectives on this - but when I got rejected the first time and asked my schools about what to add, they told me they're looking for students to diversify their student body in terms of non-animal related hobbies and interests. So even though I was 28 years old when I applied - they had me put things down from high school, like starting the women's hockey team and editing the school newspaper. I graduated high school in 2010 lol. But if you have any artsy/athletic hobbies, even if they were a long time ago, I'd consider adding them to your application.

As far as the Master's goes, I'd again wait for the file reviews. Probably not worth a traditional thesis-based 2-3 year Master's unless you're planning to use it. I do have an M.S., but I went for it before I even considered vet school, and it was partially funded. I think there are some 1-year Pre-Health Professions Masters programs that people have been successful with, but I'm not sure about funding opportunities with those.

 

[dancingvet_loading]

Hi! If you are interested in a master's program and serious about LMU, I highly recommend looking into LMU’s 1-year Veterinary Biomedical Science Master Program! It’s a bridge program into the vet school. I did a semester of it and was accepted for the spring cohort (will be finishing my master's degree next semester)! If you get a 3.0 or higher in the fall semester, you are guaranteed an interview with the school. You also take Vet Anatomy and Parasitology with the first-year vet students and if you get a B or higher, you won’t have to retake the course when you matriculate into the vet school!! I believe it’s a great program to consider! I even received an interview from my IS after 2 cycles! It’s been extremely helpful! Especially coming from someone who had an EXTREMELY low science GPA and retook Organic Chem twice in undergrad. If you have any questions about the program, you can message me!

 

[mn1309]

Hey @mn1309
I was a non-traditional applicant with a low GPA too, and I also had to take organic 1 three times. I'm sorry you're going through it; for better or worse, you're not alone.

I think file reviews are going to be key to help direct your focus - you have so many hours of experience already, I'm wondering if your schools were really hardline with GPA. And it seems you've already retaken the class the class that you really needed to. I'm not sure where else retaking courses would be helpful if they'd be from your undergrad business degree. Specialty might be interesting just to add to the list.

Are you looking to stay within a specific region? Applying to more schools would probably help open things up. Ohio was the other school that gave me an interview with a lower GPA.

Clubs/leadership/volunteer things - I am not sure about your schools' perspectives on this - but when I got rejected the first time and asked my schools about what to add, they told me they're looking for students to diversify their student body in terms of non-animal related hobbies and interests. So even though I was 28 years old when I applied - they had me put things down from high school, like starting the women's hockey team and editing the school newspaper. I graduated high school in 2010 lol. But if you have any artsy/athletic hobbies, even if they were a long time ago, I'd consider adding them to your application.

As far as the Master's goes, I'd again wait for the file reviews. Probably not worth a traditional thesis-based 2-3 year Master's unless you're planning to use it. I do have an M.S., but I went for it before I even considered vet school, and it was partially funded. I think there are some 1-year Pre-Health Professions Masters programs that people have been successful with, but I'm not sure about funding opportunities with those.

Thank you for your help! UGA is my number one choice school for sure as it is my in-state option. I am willing to apply to some other schools this year, but not very many as it adds up super fast. I am also hopefully about to accept a job with an ER/specialty referral practice to diversify my experience a little bit. UGA does have a one year non-thesis fully online biomedical science masters program that I have heard good things about, but again, if I don't have to spend more money or do more school, I'd prefer not to. Looking forward to when I can do my file review with UGA!

 

[mn1309]

Hi! If you are interested in a master's program and serious about LMU, I highly recommend looking into LMU’s 1-year Veterinary Biomedical Science Master Program! It’s a bridge program into the vet school. I did a semester of it and was accepted for the spring cohort (will be finishing my master's degree next semester)! If you get a 3.0 or higher in the fall semester, you are guaranteed an interview with the school. You also take Vet Anatomy and Parasitology with the first-year vet students and if you get a B or higher, you won’t have to retake the course when you matriculate into the vet school!! I believe it’s a great program to consider! I even received an interview from my IS after 2 cycles! It’s been extremely helpful! Especially coming from someone who had an EXTREMELY low science GPA and retook Organic Chem twice in undergrad. If you have any questions about the program, you can message me!

Thank you! I know UGA has a similar program as well, I will look into LMU's also!