- Joined
- Feb 5, 2013
- Messages
- 66
- Reaction score
- 50
Hey! I posted here last year but decided to hold off on applying until this coming summer so that I could work on boosting my GPA and filling in the gaps in my veterinary experience, so my plan has changed a bit. I'd be really interested in how you all think I could best spend my free time in order to make my application more appealing. I'm also very open to suggestions about where to apply! I currently plan on applying to Davis, Western, Cornell, Ohio, Tufts, and.....?
23yo, CA resident, 1st time applicant, mostly interested in lab animal med and behavior
Academics:
Graduated c/o 2012 UCLA
Major: Integrative Biology and Physiology; Minor: English
cGPA: 3.206
sGPA: Depends on how I calculate it, but probably a bit lower than cGPA . I'm currently retaking Organic Chem II and am taking Microbio for the first time. I'm also planning on taking Stats and maybe Animal Science/Animal Nutrition in the near future.
Last 45: 3.45ish
GRE: 167V, 165Q, 4.5A
All these hours are the approximate number I'll have at the time of application.
Research Experience:
-4000+hrs paid neurobehavior research with mice (includes surgeries, injections, euthanasia, and treating sick animals; I might split some of these hours off and list them under vet experience)
-500 hrs unpaid research in an animal cognition laboratory with pigeons, rats and hermit crabs
-100hrs TA for an animal cognition lab class working with rats
-50hrs MRI analysis for a neuro lab
-200hrs public health research about needle exchanges and HIV
Veterinary Experience:
-20hrs SA shadowing
-8hrs shadowing at a feline only practice
-8hrs shadowing at an equine sports medicine facility
-50hrs SA vaccine clinics
-200hrs vet tech volunteer at a city shelter
-100hrs volunteering for a veterinary behaviorist
Animal Experience:
-4 months fostering dogs deemed unadoptable due to failing their in-shelter behavioral evals
-50hrs paid petsitting
-100hrs shelter volunteer - dog walking and cat socialization
-6years of 4H with rabbits both as a member and a leader
-10hrs volunteering at marine mammal center (really wanted to make this a regular thing, but I couldn't make the shifts that they had open work with my work schedule)
-Lots of pet experience? I'm not going to list that though
Human Medical Experience:
-100hrs clinic assistant
-50hrs volunteer for a outpatient pediatric psych program
-EMT certified (just for fun!)
Non-Research Work Experience:
-7.5 years as a lifeguard and WSI (2 of those years as a pool manager)
-7 years as a private tutor for various companies
Other:
-held multiple leadership positions in 4H (secretary, VP, President)
-recipient of multiple scholarships/awards in highschool/early college
-was in tutoring/community service related clubs in college, but wasn't super involved
-volunteer as a tidepool "docent" helping with research (counting algae/anenomes/whatnot) and showing people how to find cool things in the tidepools without destroying too much habitat or killing anything
I work full time (plus frequent overtime and weekends) so putting in lots of hours at one clinic is a bit of a struggle, but I currently volunteer with the shelter vet on Saturdays and I work with the behaviorist whenever she has Sunday classes/consults or whenever I can take a day or two off work (she's up in Davis and I live in San Francisco). I hope to have a few more large animal hours by the time I apply but other than that I don't know whether I should be focusing on getting more hours in the same places I have already been volunteering/shadowing or if I should try to branch out and get a few hours here and there at other clinics or in different specialties. Any ideas?
Thanks!
23yo, CA resident, 1st time applicant, mostly interested in lab animal med and behavior
Academics:
Graduated c/o 2012 UCLA
Major: Integrative Biology and Physiology; Minor: English
cGPA: 3.206
sGPA: Depends on how I calculate it, but probably a bit lower than cGPA . I'm currently retaking Organic Chem II and am taking Microbio for the first time. I'm also planning on taking Stats and maybe Animal Science/Animal Nutrition in the near future.
Last 45: 3.45ish
GRE: 167V, 165Q, 4.5A
All these hours are the approximate number I'll have at the time of application.
Research Experience:
-4000+hrs paid neurobehavior research with mice (includes surgeries, injections, euthanasia, and treating sick animals; I might split some of these hours off and list them under vet experience)
-500 hrs unpaid research in an animal cognition laboratory with pigeons, rats and hermit crabs
-100hrs TA for an animal cognition lab class working with rats
-50hrs MRI analysis for a neuro lab
-200hrs public health research about needle exchanges and HIV
Veterinary Experience:
-20hrs SA shadowing
-8hrs shadowing at a feline only practice
-8hrs shadowing at an equine sports medicine facility
-50hrs SA vaccine clinics
-200hrs vet tech volunteer at a city shelter
-100hrs volunteering for a veterinary behaviorist
Animal Experience:
-4 months fostering dogs deemed unadoptable due to failing their in-shelter behavioral evals
-50hrs paid petsitting
-100hrs shelter volunteer - dog walking and cat socialization
-6years of 4H with rabbits both as a member and a leader
-10hrs volunteering at marine mammal center (really wanted to make this a regular thing, but I couldn't make the shifts that they had open work with my work schedule)
-Lots of pet experience? I'm not going to list that though
Human Medical Experience:
-100hrs clinic assistant
-50hrs volunteer for a outpatient pediatric psych program
-EMT certified (just for fun!)
Non-Research Work Experience:
-7.5 years as a lifeguard and WSI (2 of those years as a pool manager)
-7 years as a private tutor for various companies
Other:
-held multiple leadership positions in 4H (secretary, VP, President)
-recipient of multiple scholarships/awards in highschool/early college
-was in tutoring/community service related clubs in college, but wasn't super involved
-volunteer as a tidepool "docent" helping with research (counting algae/anenomes/whatnot) and showing people how to find cool things in the tidepools without destroying too much habitat or killing anything
I work full time (plus frequent overtime and weekends) so putting in lots of hours at one clinic is a bit of a struggle, but I currently volunteer with the shelter vet on Saturdays and I work with the behaviorist whenever she has Sunday classes/consults or whenever I can take a day or two off work (she's up in Davis and I live in San Francisco). I hope to have a few more large animal hours by the time I apply but other than that I don't know whether I should be focusing on getting more hours in the same places I have already been volunteering/shadowing or if I should try to branch out and get a few hours here and there at other clinics or in different specialties. Any ideas?
Thanks!