UC Davis c/o 2016 Applicants

[heylodeb]

Roll Call! Who are our hopefuls?

I noticed a couple other threads pop up for specific schools and thought it was time for UCD to represent!

The application process is the most stressful process I have been through to date (vet school will probably change that!) but it was absolutely and completely worth it once I received the acceptance letter. (It's a PDF - I highly recommend the next class follow in a few of our footsteps and print it out on real paper. Makes it much more real! )

Please ask any question you have - there are people from every current class here on SDN so ask every question you can think of. Someone will probably know the answer or be able to help you figure it out!

Good luck - can't wait to see who gets to be in our shoes next year!

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[HelloNello]

I am! I'm terrified, but if I don't get in I'll reapply until I do.

 

[Howister]

Top choice for me!

 

[CorporateFatCat]

Just posting in this thread makes me feel guilty--I still have so much work to do on my app! But yes, UC Davis top choice...however I'd like to see how you 2015 kids like the new curriculum.

 

[Howister]

Just posting in this thread makes me feel guilty--I still have so much work to do on my app! But yes, UC Davis top choice...however I'd like to see how you 2015 kids like the new curriculum.

I'd also like to hear about the curriculum.

I have a ton to do....retake GRE, figure out personal statement, get LORs finished, compute hours, etc.........

 

[nyanko]

Just posting in this thread makes me feel guilty--I still have so much work to do on my app! But yes, UC Davis top choice...however I'd like to see how you 2015 kids like the new curriculum.

Wooohooo good luck CFC!!

 

[CorporateFatCat]

Wooohooo good luck CFC!!

Fanks, nyanko. I have a feeling this will be the year .

 

[heylodeb]

Hey guys! Class elections just finished up and yours truly has been chosen as one of your class liasons.

Most of my job duties will be after acceptances go out but I'll also be around for the interview orientation and all that fun stuff. Can't wait to meet you guys!

 

[August West]

Hey guys! Class elections just finished up and yours truly has been chosen as one of your class liasons.

Most of my job duties will be after acceptances go out but I'll also be around for the interview orientation and all that fun stuff. Can't wait to meet you guys!

Hope to see you up north. First time IS non-trad applicant here. Gonna be visiting the school for the second time with my pre-vet club later this year. Very exciting times. Good luck with your semester and your new position.

 

[littlesooyon92]

I probably won't be in any "class of" for 4+ years, I just moved to CA and I just started going to a CC to
get my GE's and then transfer to a 4 year for undergrad studies and THEN! apply for UC DAVIS!! (yeaa!)

But I DO! have some questions.
.... actually a lot. I really don't know if this is the place to ask
but I hope I will get some answers.

I specifically want to go to UC Davis! I actually don't have a solid reason
for wanting to attend UC DAVIS VM but I just do.

SO my first question would be, I plan on attending CSUN
(Cal State U. Northridge) only because it is closer and costs
are a bit less. So I noticed they don't have..... ANY animal
related classes... will that be to my disadvantage?
-note: I even emailed UCD VM admissions and they replied with
"No disadvantage." < LOL really?

if there is no disadvantage to "getting accepted" will there be a
disadvantage to "experience/knowledge" I will obtain?


SECOND question is, I really don't want to ... see myself getting
rejected... from applying.. the first time. And! since a lot of students
these days are majoring in RANDOM subjects for undergrad. studies,
would it be kind of smart- if I majored in Business and do my PRE-REQS
for UCD VM and apply? If you look at it from both sides, I could get
experience/knowledge in the business field for when I want to open/run
my OWN veterinary clinic? and the 2nd half would be getting into VET
school and getting my experience/knowledge on the animal half right?

3rd Q~~~~ what ARE some beneficial majors to take as a undergrad?
I would assume majoring in something "animal" related would further add
onto the knowledge you need for VET school... but research on google
is saying "choose different majors other than animal-science, BE DIFFERENT"
.... will it be better HONESTLY? to get a undergrad. major in animal-science?


I probably have more questions but those three are on the top of my head atm.


THANKS.

 

[moosenanny]

I specifically want to go to UC Davis! I actually don't have a solid reason for wanting to attend UC DAVIS VM but I just do.

SO my first question would be, I plan on attending CSUN (Cal State U. Northridge) only because it is closer and costs are a bit less. So I noticed they don't have..... ANY animal related classes... will that be to my disadvantage?

if there is no disadvantage to "getting accepted" will there be a disadvantage to "experience/knowledge" I will obtain?

SECOND question is, I really don't want to ... see myself getting rejected... from applying.. the first time. And! since a lot of students these days are majoring in RANDOM subjects for undergrad. studies, would it be kind of smart- if I majored in Business and do my PRE-REQS for UCD VM and apply?

I'm currently a second-year student at UC Davis and thought I'd jump in and try answering your questions . . . First off, you say you want to go to UC Davis, but you don't know why. You have plenty of time between now and when you apply to think more about this, but you really should come up with some solid reasons. Many schools ask in the interview "why our school" and you'd better have a good answer! Look into Davis' curriculum (it just changed entirely), the type of research produced here, your area of interest in vet med, etc. And ask yourself why you want to be a vet - because that question often comes up throughout the application process as well (and hopefully your answer extends well beyond "because I love animals").

Like the admissions office said, the lack of animal-related classes shouldn't be a disadvantage. The most important thing is to fulfill the pre-req classes and get the best grades you can (the general sentiment on this forum would probably be to aim for a 4.0 and be happy with anything above a 3.5-ish).

That advice ties into picking a major. Rather than picking a major based on strategy and what you think will "look good," pick the major that (a) you are genuinely interested in and excited about, and (b) that will allow you to excel academically. If you pick business but then find number crunching boring and accounting impossible, then it is the wrong major for you! I was an environmental studies major. I didn't pick that major because I thought vet schools would favor it or because it would make me stand out - I picked it because I am really passionate about the environment and conservation, and because I loved my EnviStud classes and did well in them.

Regarding your second question: nobody wants to get rejected from vet school the first time! However, these things are not always in your control. You can prepare a solid application with a strong GPA, GRE scores, experience, letters of rec, Personal Statement, etc., but then the decision lies in the admissions committee's hands. Rather than fearing rejection, turn your energy into a constructive, positive force. Push yourself to do your best in school and seek out a variety of veterinary experiences.

As far as getting experience, none of it needs to come from your undergraduate classes. Sure, there are people who major in animal science and get to interact with cows during class . . . but I personally got all of my veterinary/animal experience outside the classroom (minus one cat dissection class that I took/TA'ed). I volunteered during three years of undergrad at the nearby zoo, but got the majority of my hours during summers (I banked over 1,000 hours in 12 weeks one summer!). If you spend your summers between now and when you plan on applying getting experience (either volunteer/shadow or paid), then you should rack up plenty of hours. And that way, you can focus on your schoolwork during the semester!

I hope my responses have been helpful! Let me/us know if you have any other questions! Good luck with everything

 

[TigerWillow]

Anyone else super happy about not supplemental fee?? woot woot California for being cheaper in one aspect! Kinda wish there was a supplemental bc Davis is number one or two for me!!

 

[BeagleVet]

I'd like to see how you 2015 kids like the new curriculum.

The new curriculum, can't comment on whether it's better or worse than the old since I haven't lived both, but so far I love it. There are still some kinks in the system here and there, and they are figuring some things out as they go, but most if not all of that should be smoothed out for the next class, so you're all welcome

Animals: I think we are really lucky the way things have changed, from what I understand we have a lot more hands-on coursework with real live animals!! No really, it's awesome today I did a physical exam on a cow. We also get to rotate through the clinics in the hospital, every 3 weeks half our class is in clinics shadowing 4th year students, residents and clinicians to work up cases, work through a list of differentials, and often participate in rounds.

Time in class: We have a lot more free time during the days, which means you have to be a little more dedicated to directing your own study time and objectives than past years, but I honestly can't imagine what it's like for them. Most of our days in this first block have been 3-6 hours of lecture/lab and we've only had a few days of lecture for 8 hours straight which completely wiped me out mentally, so I can only imagine what the other classes have been through. One thing I will say though is just because we have less time in lecture doesn't mean we are getting less material, some professors have come in saying well I used to give 3 lectures, but now I only have this one, so I combined them all into the next 50 minutes which means there often isn't much time for questions and the material is really dense and you really cannot miss a lecture.

Block scheduling: I was a little wary about this, but I really like it so far, though we are really still in our first foundation block (kind of laying a framework for all the organ system blocks later) which is a more Veterinary focused recap and expansion on a lot of your pre-requisites which has included cell bio, physiology, histology, pharmacology, immunology, basic neuroscience, neoplasia, inflammation and pathology. In some ways it's an amalgamation of the first quarter courses that years ahead of us have had(though some things we are getting in first year that second years are also just now seeing), but because it's all one course with core block leaders(though up to 40 faculty members have been involved either through our PBL or lectures) we aren't inundated with constant quizes and tests and instead have had one test every 2 weeks or so on the past material. It's also kind of nice because we don't have to worry about course scheduling and enrolling in anything, it is just done automatically for you and you just need to show up when and where they tell you.

PBL: This will be incorporated different ways based on the discretion of each block leader, but so far has actually gone a lot better than I had expected. A common theme among vet students is that we carried our groups for undergrad group projects so that was an initial fear here, but since we were almost all that way it means there is a much more even contribution to workload and discussions which is great. We have only really worked through 3 cases so far, one kind of pre-view doctoring/professionalism one, a pharmacology problem which was a little different, as well as one dealing with a medical decision, but the point on the last on is not so much to come up with a presentation as to work through the mechanisms of a disease process and you get as much out of it as you put in.

I should get back to histology studying now, but hopefully that addressed some of the changes in the curriculum, and let me or some of the others like heylodeb know if you guys have more questions, as the year progresses we'll also have a better idea of how things will work from block to block.

 

[marshmallow12]

Animals: I think we are really lucky the way things have changed, from what I understand we have a lot more hands-on coursework with real live animals!! No really, it's awesome today I did a physical exam on a cow. We also get to rotate through the clinics in the hospital, every 3 weeks half our class is in clinics shadowing 4th year students, residents and clinicians to work up cases, work through a list of differentials, and often participate in rounds.

That is WAY awesome. I am actually an Aggie myself. Graduated in 2010 with an Animal Biology degree. I took a few animal science classes, and they allowed us to do physical examinations on the cows as undergrads already. I love what they're doing with their curriculum (from what you're saying).

 

[sunnex3]

does anyone know when we'll hear from Davis in terms of whether our application is complete, interview dates, anything like that?

thanks! good luck to everyone

 

[Pomona2006]

I was notified that my application was complete on November 4th.

Notifications for interviews are usually sent in mid-February (I was notified on 2/11). Interviews are usually end of February through mid-March. Decisions are usually made by the end of march (I heard on 3/23).

Usually they will update the website with expected dates, but they are usually approximations.

 

[heylodeb]

It's normally sometime in November and can be very spread out. I heard on November 8th last year but i think some people heard closer to Thanksgiving. They let you know in the e-mail when you'll hear about interview invites, etc. Normally mid-february.

 

[StormWater]

My daughter got the admission package complete email on 11/15, invite email on 2/9 and got the acceptance email on 3/21. And the acceptance email didn't indicate their decision, you had to open the attachment. Those few seconds of waiting for the letter to download were the longest of our lives.

 

[nyanko]

My daughter got the invite on 11/15 and got the acceptance email on 3/21. And the acceptance email didn't indicate their decision, you had to open the attachment. Those few seconds of waiting for the letter to download were the longest of our lives.

Interview invites were in February - perhaps the application complete email was what she got in November?

 

[HelloNello]

I keep alternating between "I have a decent shot at getting in because I have good stats and decent experience" and "There is no way in H**L I will get in." I am beginning to realize that the next few months will be the longest months of my life...ugh

 

[Pomona2006]

Interview invites were in February - perhaps the application complete email was what she got in November?

Agreed, definitely not possible for the interview invite to have been in November.

 

[iheartmycorgi]

I just got my application complete email

 

[heylodeb]

It starts! Can't wait to follow you guys through this cycle!

Yay UCD!!

 

[gracietiger]

the email went out??! i didn't get one! do they send them all out at once, or in batches? or did i just completely overlook something and not complete my application??

 

[moosenanny]

the email went out??! i didn't get one! do they send them all out at once, or in batches? or did i just completely overlook something and not complete my application??

First of all, breathe. Then check your spam folder. Davis does usually send emails out in batches (that goes for interview invites and acceptances, too), so I wouldn't worry. I would give it until Thursday and if you haven't heard by then, perhaps politely call the admissions office.

 

[gracietiger]

*phew*... heylodeb said she didn't receive hers until end of nov (in another thread in which i discuss the same thing - sorry for dragging my nerves into two threads!)

i just have one other interview scheduling question (assuming all my application materials are actually completed)... does UC Davis give flexible interview dates or is it this-one-date-better-work-for-you?

thanks again, guys!

 

[heylodeb]

the email went out??! i didn't get one! do they send them all out at once, or in batches? or did i just completely overlook something and not complete my application??

And even if you didn't complete your application - they do give you time to submit items that weren't included. I think the time to do this is 10 days or something. (don't quote me on the timing for that...)

EDIT: and by complete I mean things like transcripts, etc....not a personal statement or something! lol

 

[gracietiger]

that's nice of them! ok, things are looking up!

i've attended a lot of schools over the years, so i'm nervous that one of the transcripts could have gotten lost in the mail. but that's great news if they allow time to submit material should something like this have happened.

 

[moosenanny]

i just have one other interview scheduling question (assuming all my application materials are actually completed)... does UC Davis give flexible interview dates or is it this-one-date-better-work-for-you?

They gave us a period of two, maybe three, weeks during which we could select a day and time slot (no weekends, though). As the invites go out in waves, people call up and reserve their time slot. So it is first-come, first-serve, meaning that you might have to be more flexible if you happen to get notified in a later batch of emails. I was one of the first people to hear, according to SDN, and didn't have trouble picking the time I wanted most -- after I got through on the phone line, that is!

 

[gracietiger]

thank you, that is so helpful!

travel plans now doing a 180...

 

[heylodeb]

*phew*... heylodeb said she didn't receive hers until end of nov (in another thread in which i discuss the same thing - sorry for dragging my nerves into two threads!)

i just have one other interview scheduling question (assuming all my application materials are actually completed)... does UC Davis give flexible interview dates or is it this-one-date-better-work-for-you?

thanks again, guys!

you can choose your interview date - and it is pretty flexible but they give you the days that you can choose from (normally over a 2-4 weeks period)

 

[nyanko]

Both years that I applied here I did not get the app complete email until mid to late December.

 

[TigerWillow]

Both years that I applied here I did not get the app complete email until mid to late December.

Heyo!!!!!! I just got my app is complete email this morning!! Now everyone panic (jk please don't!!!)

 

[FutureDVM2016]

Heyo!!!!!! I just got my app is complete email this morning!! Now everyone panic (jk please don't!!!)

Oh YAY! now I can start expecting mine soon... I have been waiting ever so patiently to get something from Davis, anything... I've gotten something from the other three schools I applied to but crickets from Davis

 

[CorporateFatCat]

Oh YAY! now I can start expecting mine soon... I have been waiting ever so patiently to get something from Davis, anything... I've gotten something from the other three schools I applied to but crickets from Davis

I got my confirmation on November 14th. 2 years ago when I applied and they were missing one of my transcripts, they pretty much called me and left messages non-stop, so you will know if they're missing something.

 

[FutureDVM2016]

I got my confirmation on November 14th. 2 years ago when I applied and they were missing one of my transcripts, they pretty much called me and left messages non-stop, so you will know if they're missing something.

Good to know I was nervous last month because Iowa's status page said they were missing 2 transcripts from me, so I messaged them and we discovered that they missed my previous (married) name. I called Minnesota, but they said they would call if they were missing anything and I knew Davis said that on their site as well, so I figured I would just wait it out. Good to know they will track you down haha

 

[Emiloo4]

Has anyone else received an application confirmation email recently? I still haven't received mine, but I don't want to annoy admissions if they are just getting a few done at a time... so I'll annoy everyone here instead!

 

[Ilikedogs]

Has anyone else received an application confirmation email recently? I still haven't received mine, but I don't want to annoy admissions if they are just getting a few done at a time... so I'll annoy everyone here instead!

All's quiet on the western front.. lol and you're not annoying anyone. For a while, I thought something was wrong with my application because I didn't get a confirmation from davis either, but apparently they take forever to send anything.

 

[marshmallow12]

I just got a confirmation email. Their schedule with these doesn't seem very set

 

[Emiloo4]

Just got mine today! "Hurry up and wait" ....

 

[Myotis]

I still haven't gotten a confirmation email from Davis. I'm going to give it another week and then I'll start bugging them...

 

[bonaparte]

Hello all!

I'm another first year vet student at UCD who just wanted to pop in and say GOOD LUCK to all you hopefuls! I offer you all my advice/support in these times of anxiety, so don't hesitate to ask me a question/shoot me an email/scream with stress/etc.

 

[HelloNello]

I haven't gotten a confirmation either...

I'm kind of curious if the "batch" your application complete notification goes out in corresponds to the "batch" you get an interview invite in. I really hope me being at the end of application complete notifications doesn't mean that I will be the last to find out if I get an interview invite.

CURSE my last name being at the end of the alphabet...this is also why I always got picked last in PE boooooooo

 

[fromthebox]

I'm kind of curious if the "batch" your application complete notification goes out in corresponds to the "batch" you get an interview invite in.

Proof that I am crazy-procrastinating: This sounded like an excellent stat project, and I was about to look up threads for info until ... thank god, we don't aggregate the app complete notifications.

On another note, don't worry! I got mine around Dec. 10th last year if I recall.

bonaparte we missed you! Bismarck has a cool hat and all but, there is no substitute!

 

[heylodeb]

bonaparte we missed you! Bismarck has a cool hat and all but, there is no substitute!

Yet, she never wears the hat to class. hmm....

 

[fromthebox]

Yet, she never wears the hat to class. hmm....

Not even on Halloween? That would be a great moment for an in-joke.

Then again, my judgement on good Halloween costumes is not to be trusted. I did make alpha helix and beta sheet t-shirts with my lab group's names and .pdb extensions once...

 

[ApplicantNSoCal]

Hey,

I am one of the guys from the 2015 class at the SVM. I am from So Cal and I have to say that UC Davis is amazing. It is everything you've heard and then some. Those of you that will make it into the c/o 2016 can rejoice. You can't go wrong with choosing this school. Feel free to shoot me a question on here. I don't mind being another resource (perspective rather) for you applicants. Our class has meshed well and we are super supportive. In fact many of us are excited to see who will be joining us in Valley Hall next year.

Best of Luck

 

[gracietiger]

Hi UCD c/o 2015'ers... I know that you guys are not done with your semester yet, but when you are (so soon! congrats!), I would love to hear some updated thoughts on the new curriculum. Last I read, anatomy hadn't really been touched yet, and the PBL/group work was in its infancy. I'm wondering what the course load and group work has been like since then (how much time do you spend with your group and preparing to meet with the group? have you started anatomy? has the course load picked up a great deal? are you in class more than the first block? is there still a lot of independent learning? if so, do you feel like you know what you need to learn?)

Thanks so much, and again, congrats to making it half-way!

 

[moosenanny]

I'm kind of curious if the "batch" your application complete notification goes out in corresponds to the "batch" you get an interview invite in. I really hope me being at the end of application complete notifications doesn't mean that I will be the last to find out if I get an interview invite.

If I recall correctly, two years ago I was one of the first to post about getting an interview invite, and one of the last to hear I was actually accepted (minus those who had been wait-listed). I don't remember the "application complete" email because I didn't think it was that big a deal I wouldn't read into any of this if I were you!

 

[nyanko]

CURSE my last name being at the end of the alphabet...this is also why I always got picked last in PE boooooooo

It's not alphabetical, anyway.

edit: I was one of the last to get an interview invite two years ago (because I applied to the VSTP and our interview invites got lost in email) and the first to get an acceptance.