What are my chances?

[hagel100]

Does anyone know if there are schools other than Michigan and Mississippi that place more emphasis on the last 45 cr. GPA?

Another thing I'm a little confused about (I apologize if this isn't the correct thread for this question - still finding my way around here) - does veterinary experience have to be work done directly with a veterinarian or just while a veterinarian is on the premises? For example, would working at a vet clinic count as veterinary experience even if you were only cleaning kennels or doing office work?

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[KCgophervet]

Does anyone know if there are schools other than Michigan and Mississippi that place more emphasis on the last 45 cr. GPA?

Another thing I'm a little confused about (I apologize if this isn't the correct thread for this question - still finding my way around here) - does veterinary experience have to be work done directly with a veterinarian or just while a veterinarian is on the premises? For example, would working at a vet clinic count as veterinary experience even if you were only cleaning kennels or doing office work?

The University of Minnesota only looks at last 45 credits and pre-requisite GPA (not cumulative). Also I think if the work was supervised by a vet, its vet experience, if not its animal.

 

[bakedjps]

Does anyone know if there are schools other than Michigan and Mississippi that place more emphasis on the last 45 cr. GPA?

Sorry but how do you know that mississippi places more emphasis on last 45 cr. GPA? I can't find that information anywhere on their website!

 

[hagel100]

Sorry I meant to say Minnesota! (like kcoughli pointed out) I had stuff about Mississippi open at the same time I was typing that. I'm looking at so many things at once I'm getting mixed up.

 

[KathleenHadds31245]

Does anyone know if Midwestern (the new veterinary school) does not take out of state students? The general info chart for this year says they only take 100 in-staters.

http://www.aavmc.org/data/files/vmcas/geninfochart.pdf

 

[sayabear3]

Does anyone know if Midwestern (the new veterinary school) does not take out of state students? The general info chart for this year says they only take 100 in-staters.

http://www.aavmc.org/data/files/vmcas/geninfochart.pdf

I know someone who got in out of state for class of 2018. I don't know specifics on numbers though.

 

[KathleenHadds31245]

Oh ok they must just not have exact numbers yet or something. I just have one more question...sorry I've just been getting such good advice on this forum haha. My school (University of Michigan) doesn't appear to offer a specific Public Speaking course, which I know schools like Purdue, Iowa, and Kansas require. I know I could take it during the spring or something via another school, but I also have to take animal nutrition and animal science courses (which are also not offered at my school) during the spring before matriculation, so I've been eliminating schools at which to apply solely on the basis of them requiring public speaking. Is this a silly thing to do, since it seems like such a minor requirement? Is there some way I can get out of this requirement? Because otherwise, I would really like to apply to Purdue and Kansas, since they accept a fair number of out of staters and Kansas focuses on last 45 GPA (which is much better than cumulative for me).

 

[Gwenevre]

I don't think you can "get out of a requirement." It's a requirement for a reason.

 

[WildZoo]

Oh ok they must just not have exact numbers yet or something. I just have one more question...sorry I've just been getting such good advice on this forum haha. My school (University of Michigan) doesn't appear to offer a specific Public Speaking course, which I know schools like Purdue, Iowa, and Kansas require. I know I could take it during the spring or something via another school, but I also have to take animal nutrition and animal science courses (which are also not offered at my school) during the spring before matriculation, so I've been eliminating schools at which to apply solely on the basis of them requiring public speaking. Is this a silly thing to do, since it seems like such a minor requirement? Is there some way I can get out of this requirement? Because otherwise, I would really like to apply to Purdue and Kansas, since they accept a fair number of out of staters and Kansas focuses on last 45 GPA (which is much better than cumulative for me).

Kansas was on my list before I found out about the Public Speaking requirement. It just wasn't practical for me to try to fit another 3 credit course into my last semester...especially a course I know I would not enjoy. Whether or not it is worth it to you to take the course is a personal decision. For me, it was for one school, and I was looking for something to drop my list down to 5 anyway. For you, it's two schools that you seem to really want to apply to. If you can afford the extra class and really want to be able to apply to those schools, I say go for it.

 

[orca2011]

Oh ok they must just not have exact numbers yet or something. I just have one more question...sorry I've just been getting such good advice on this forum haha. My school (University of Michigan) doesn't appear to offer a specific Public Speaking course, which I know schools like Purdue, Iowa, and Kansas require. I know I could take it during the spring or something via another school, but I also have to take animal nutrition and animal science courses (which are also not offered at my school) during the spring before matriculation, so I've been eliminating schools at which to apply solely on the basis of them requiring public speaking. Is this a silly thing to do, since it seems like such a minor requirement? Is there some way I can get out of this requirement? Because otherwise, I would really like to apply to Purdue and Kansas, since they accept a fair number of out of staters and Kansas focuses on last 45 GPA (which is much better than cumulative for me).

"Getting around it" depends on the school. Some will allow you to substitute other courses for a pre-req but you need to ask the school to find out, especially since each school is often looking for something specific in their replacements. I never tried replacing a speech class, but I have done a literature class for a 2nd writing course.


If both schools are places you'd really like to attend, I second that you should consider taking the course.

 

[haley120892]

I actually contacted Kansas back when I saw that they required public speaking, because it didn't fit in my schedule. They told me I could substitute the class for a similar one so I was able to take a course called Professional Communications. They were really helpful though I would recommend emailing them and talking to them.

 

[WulfpackChica]

Oh ok they must just not have exact numbers yet or something. I just have one more question...sorry I've just been getting such good advice on this forum haha. My school (University of Michigan) doesn't appear to offer a specific Public Speaking course, which I know schools like Purdue, Iowa, and Kansas require. I know I could take it during the spring or something via another school, but I also have to take animal nutrition and animal science courses (which are also not offered at my school) during the spring before matriculation, so I've been eliminating schools at which to apply solely on the basis of them requiring public speaking. Is this a silly thing to do, since it seems like such a minor requirement? Is there some way I can get out of this requirement? Because otherwise, I would really like to apply to Purdue and Kansas, since they accept a fair number of out of staters and Kansas focuses on last 45 GPA (which is much better than cumulative for me).

I applied to both Purdue and Iowa State and received interviews without public speaking. However, I did have a interpersonal communications class. You should email them and see what they would accept. Every time I have emailed admissions at the schools they have been super nice and helpful

 

[bulldog15]

I have contacted Purdue Admissions about the public speaking course in the past, and they told me that if you will have a bachelors degree by the time you would be starting (August 2015), they consider that requirement fulfilled

 

[Prevet2019]

*

 

[wildchild210]

Just opened VMCAS and looking for any suggestions to flesh it out over the summer (I know I need LA vet experience but I do have a lot of LA experience in the "animal" category); I tried to have pretty varied experience so hoping that's a plus. Thank you to everyone who posts and responds in this thread - I love reading all of it!
GPA: 3.76
Science GPA: probably around 3.3 (that's probably a low estimate, A's in orgo, physics, etc.)
GRE: Taking in August

Vet Experience:
900 hours dogs and cats clinic - first shadowed, then worked as vet tech/vet assist. (I still work here)
70 hours exotics (mostly reptiles and rabbits) clinic - shadow
30 hours low cost spay and neuter clinic - shadow
30 hours cat rescue TNR clinic - shadow

Animal Experience:
200 hours educational farm with cows, goats, and chickens at a well-respected zoo - volunteer
90 hours marine animal (sea lions, penguins, otters, rays) care at aquarium - volunteer
400+ hours farm animal rescue with horses, potbelly pigs, camelids, & goats - volunteer
1000+ hours dog shelter - volunteer/work
Unsure how much pet ownership truly counts but have owned dozens of rats, mice, pigeons, hamsters, rabbits, chickens, a gecko, a tarantula, dogs, raised newborn kittens, maintain a lot of freshwater fish tanks, etc.

Research:
Biochem lab with fish and frogs - 100+ hours

Misc:
Worked at a natural history museum where I was basically a tour guide and taught frog dissections to grade school kids
Volunteer in art department at home for people with disabilities
Dean's List all through undergrad
Won some random English scholarship senior year of high school - not sure if that counts?
Pre-Vet Club pres.

ELORS: Orgo professor, 2 vets I work with, animal shelter manager (volunteered there 2 yrs, employed there for ~2 yrs)

Your GPA is great and I think you have solid experience hours. As for the pet ownership- I didn't put any hours on my application but I know people counted hours on the low-side and counted it as them actually caring for said pets, not just while they owned them.

Not sure which schools you're applying to, but as long as you do decent on the GRE and have good PS and strong LORs it all looks great!

 

[michelle D]

I currently have a 3.1 GPA ( still finishing my organic chemistrys and biochem) and still need to take the GRE. My first few years in college were horrendous because I didn't care about school at the time. (I'm talking flunking algebra..twice! but only because i didn't apply my self at the time and am now wanting to kick my self in the head.) In my bachelors in biology.. All of my biology classes are A's and A- but i have one c in general biology 2. I also have C's in my general chemistry's. ( Also a C in Calculus) I have worked in vet. offices with dogs and cats since high school. ( 6 years dogs and cats, 3 of those years with exotics and avians)
I have volunteered at a local horse stable and as an animal care intern at the local zoo. I also do research on bats and assisted in research on preventative supplementation for diabetes. I feel as if I am meant to be a veterinarian but need some advice. & Studied ecology abroad. Thanks.

Any additional tips or honest constructive criticism is appreciated.

 

[SamuraiPizzaCat88]

Hi all,

I apologize in advance for the long post, but I am feeling extremely discouraged, and I have no other resources for advice, so I decided to pour my heart out here:

A little background...
I feel like I am a jack of all trades, I have a variety of experience in many areas, EXCEPT veterinary medicine, which is ironic because it has always been my dream job. I was going through a lot of issues during college that have led me to where I am now. So naturally, I was pretty lost during my undergrad years, unsure of what I wanted to be. I was originally aiming towards Pre-Med for a little bit (which explains all my hospital hours), because I didn't think I could emotionally handle caring for sick animals, then I realized that I should do something my heart was 100% into, so I am finally here on my way to try to get into vet school.

Majority of the stats/hrs here were pretty intimidating, but I thought I'd just give this a shot and see what kind of feedback I can get for my path towards vet school:

24 y/o female, Los Angeles, California resident, received a BS in Anthropology at UCLA. It took me 5 years to receive my degree b/c I lacked a foreign language requirement (took me two years to complete 2 semesters of Spanish, due mainly to financial issues). I am currently enrolled in a post-bac program at a Cal State in San Francisco, California.

Undergrad Cum: 2.8
Undergrad Science: even lower around 2.5
Post-Bac: 3.97 (currently have 38 quarter units completed almost one full year of the post-bac program, and I am enrolled in 12 units for this upcoming summer, and 5 units in the fall)

Currently studying to take the GRE next month, been scoring 155 on both Quant and Verbal in my practice tests.

Veterinary experience:
-Around 60 hrs at an emergency vet hospital as a receptionist (not sure if this qualifies for vet experience? I did first assessment of emergency clients/patients, taking TPR before grabbing a vet tech)
-Currently employed at a veterinary clinic as a veterinary assistant working directly under one doctor, part time 20 hrs a week, been here for 2 months so about 160 hours so far

Animal experience:
-100 hours at the local animal shelter
-100 hours SPCA rescue group
-Helped rescue three animals (two abandoned kittens and an older cat who was abandoned by her owners at our clinic) finding them their "furrever" homes, fostering, giving medicines, coordinated a fundraiser for both to raise money for their tests (I am unsure if this could be included/where it would fall?)
-Finally, where does pet ownership fall?

Other extracurriculars:
-Pre-Veterinary Student Chair: counsel for pre-veterinary students/organize events and opportunities at my campus
-Pre-professional Health Academic Program Committee member: helping other post-bac students get on track with their designated dream careers

Miscellaneous Experience
-2 years working at University of California Medical Center Lab, processing specimens, running blood tests, etc. (this is what I was doing thinking I was going to be pre-med, while fulfilling my foreign language requirement)
-Cultural Club during undergrad
-Lab Research Helper at the University Lab Center
-Directly organized a fundraiser for victims of an enormous natural disaster across seas in my local community, raised $7,000 working w/ a NPO

I feel like my application is lacking in so many things, so many people have research experience/large animal/exotic animal, and on top of that, the quantity I have is nothing to compete with. I know it would be a miracle to be accepted w/ my stats, but is there any way I could apply this upcoming cycle still? I was thinking of doing it just to get a feel on the application process.

Lastly, I wanted to get into shelter medicine or rescue medicine, and could use some suggestions on what I can do to strengthen my app in terms of that..


Sorry for the extremely LONG post! I would deeply deeply appreciate any constructive feedback/suggestions/thoughts/and possibly words of encouragement?

 

[allykd]

Hi all,

I apologize in advance for the long post, but I am feeling extremely discouraged, and I have no other resources for advice, so I decided to pour my heart out here:

A little background...
I feel like I am a jack of all trades, I have a variety of experience in many areas, EXCEPT veterinary medicine, which is ironic because it has always been my dream job. I was going through a lot of issues during college that have led me to where I am now. So naturally, I was pretty lost during my undergrad years, unsure of what I wanted to be. I was originally aiming towards Pre-Med for a little bit (which explains all my hospital hours), because I didn't think I could emotionally handle caring for sick animals, then I realized that I should do something my heart was 100% into, so I am finally here on my way to try to get into vet school...

I'm still figuring pre-vet stuff out myself, so I don't have too much constructive criticism other than keeping that awesome postbac GPA up and rocking the GRE, but I would definitely work on diversifying your experience. Since you're interested in shelter med I would contact SF Animal Care and Control and see if they have openings for vet tech volunteers. It's a pretty awesome position, flexible shifts and you get experience with a variety of small animals, exotics, and whatever wildlife comes in. Also, SF SPCA just added a new volunteer position in their spay neuter department that may have open spots. Its mostly just taking TPRs on recovering animals and helping out the sterile resource tech, but you can watch surgeries (and sometimes they add more interesting things like amputations and enucleations to the schedule) and you get to work with both shelter and privately owned animals.

 

[SamuraiPizzaCat88]

I'm still figuring pre-vet stuff out myself, so I don't have too much constructive criticism other than keeping that awesome postbac GPA up and rocking the GRE, but I would definitely work on diversifying your experience. Since you're interested in shelter med I would contact SF Animal Care and Control and see if they have openings for vet tech volunteers. It's a pretty awesome position, flexible shifts and you get experience with a variety of small animals, exotics, and whatever wildlife comes in. Also, SF SPCA just added a new volunteer position in their spay neuter department that may have open spots. Its mostly just taking TPRs on recovering animals and helping out the sterile resource tech, but you can watch surgeries (and sometimes they add more interesting things like amputations and enucleations to the schedule) and you get to work with both shelter and privately owned animals.

Thanks for your reply! I've been reading about how important it is to diversify veterinary/animal experiences. Right now, I am just involved with small animal medicine. I was planning on applying for the Oakland Zoo internship this upcoming fall, but I will definitely look if there are available SF Animal Control and SPCA volunteer positions.

 

[Cautiously Optimistic]

I had a similar undergraduate GPA and post bac GPA as you. With your undergraduate GPA, I think you are going to need to be very strong everywhere else. GRE is particularly important, as many schools calculate a score based on GPA and GRE, and cull your application if you don't make the cutoff. In my opinion, you should really focus on the GRE, and on keeping your post bac grades perfect, because if you don't make the initial cut, a lot of schools will never look at your experiences or other stuff.

 

[RoRey14]

I am wondering if I should re-take my C's, since some of the veterinary schools do grade replacements, or should I continue getting A's in my post-bac program, which I am probably going to continue to do until the end of this year. I know my experiences are pretty low and weak. After taking up more classes in my post-bac, I'm going to focus on diversifying my experiences. Any advice? I appreciate any feedback!

 

[Rattietoo]

Since you have a low GPA, you need to stand out in other areas. Plus you can apply to schools that play to your strengths, such as schools that don't look at cumulative GPA. It sounds like you're continuing to increase your experience hours, which is a good idea, since your vet hours are pretty average. It's nice to see you have diversity, though. Do you have any leadership experiences? If so, I recommend stressing them in your application. For example, do you do adoption counseling at the animal shelter? There are often a lot of great leadership experiences you can get at an animal shelter if you interact with/ educate the public. You might also want to have people read over your personal statement for you to make sure it's really strong. Study for your GRE and try to get a good score. Some schools weigh the GRE heavily, so a high GRE can make up for a lower GPA. If you're planning to apply this year, you have to be sure not to take the GRE too late, though. Most schools want your GRE scores before October, some want you to take it before September.

I'd recommend applying to Michigan as well, since they don't look at cumulative GPA (UMN doesn't either). Did you retake any classes? If so, check which schools replace grades rather than average the two together, and see if you're interested in applying to those schools. There are also some schools with grade forgiveness, like Mizzou, which will eliminate courses from 6 years or older.

Thanks for your input, TheComfyCat! I am definitely going to consider Michigan! I also started a job as a vet assistant, so I am excited about getting paid for experience hours

 

[ahallowell]

Hi all,

I've had some pretty bad luck with getting into vet school and I'm not sure why. They all say its solely because of my GRE, which is a tad nerving because that test, to me, is irrelevant. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice? My stats are as:

- cGPA: 3.60
- sGPA: 3.5
- 45GPA: 3.85

- GRE: 150 & 150

- Clubs/organizations: Treasurer for pre-vet club, equine research team, field hockey, penn state THON

- small animal experience: 300+ hours working at university of Pennsylvania for most. Going to work at a vet clinic for two years so next year when I apply I'll be at 4500+ hours

- equine experience: 250 hours working with equine metabolism research lab

- exotic experience: 350 hours interning at philadelphia zoo

- research experience: 2,100 hours working for USDA good safety intervention. I have 2 publications. Also worked in three labs as an undergrad. Ecology(research award) genetic anthropology (just wanted something different) and equine metabolism.

- awards: deans list for 6 semesters, nfhca honors, animal bioscience schp, information literacy schp


That's the basic gist.. Probably a few other things I left out but does anyone have advice on what I can work on??? I appreciate your words!

Good luck to all applications. I'll be applying for 2020!

 

[NStarz]

Hi all,

I've had some pretty bad luck with getting into vet school and I'm not sure why. They all say its solely because of my GRE, which is a tad nerving because that test, to me, is irrelevant. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice? My stats are as:

- cGPA: 3.60
- sGPA: 3.5
- 45GPA: 3.85

- GRE: 150 & 150

- Clubs/organizations: Treasurer for pre-vet club, equine research team, field hockey, penn state THON

- small animal experience: 300+ hours working at university of Pennsylvania for most. Going to work at a vet clinic for two years so next year when I apply I'll be at 4500+ hours

- equine experience: 250 hours working with equine metabolism research lab

- exotic experience: 350 hours interning at philadelphia zoo

- research experience: 2,100 hours working for USDA good safety intervention. I have 2 publications. Also worked in three labs as an undergrad. Ecology(research award) genetic anthropology (just wanted something different) and equine metabolism.

- awards: deans list for 6 semesters, nfhca honors, animal bioscience schp, information literacy schp


That's the basic gist.. Probably a few other things I left out but does anyone have advice on what I can work on??? I appreciate your words!


Good luck to all applications. I'll be applying for 2020!

Where have you applied in the past? Some schools place more emphasis on certain things than others (like the GRE), so if you choose your schools wisely, I don't see you having any issues

 

[ahallowell]

Ah and one huge thing I forgot!

- animal experience: 1100 hours working in a kennel for most my undergrad summers.

 

[ahallowell]

Where have you applied in the past? Some schools place more emphasis on certain things than others (like the GRE), so if you choose your schools wisely, I don't see you having any issues

I'm reallyyyy shooting for Penn. which I know wants in the 70th percentile. I'm going to try to work hard the next year with classes to reach that. I took the MCATs and got a 34. Wish schools took that. I've applied to penn, VT, auburn, Mississippi and Florida previously. Looking at applying to penn, Cornell, Wisconsin, Minnesota, vt, tufts, and Florida next time. Do you have any suggestions? I really don't want to leave Philly so anywhere but penn is going to be tough.

 

[DVMDream]

Hi all,

I've had some pretty bad luck with getting into vet school and I'm not sure why. They all say its solely because of my GRE, which is a tad nerving because that test, to me, is irrelevant. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice? My stats are as:

- cGPA: 3.60
- sGPA: 3.5
- 45GPA: 3.85

- GRE: 150 & 150

- Clubs/organizations: Treasurer for pre-vet club, equine research team, field hockey, penn state THON

- small animal experience: 300+ hours working at university of Pennsylvania for most. Going to work at a vet clinic for two years so next year when I apply I'll be at 4500+ hours

- equine experience: 250 hours working with equine metabolism research lab

- exotic experience: 350 hours interning at philadelphia zoo

- research experience: 2,100 hours working for USDA good safety intervention. I have 2 publications. Also worked in three labs as an undergrad. Ecology(research award) genetic anthropology (just wanted something different) and equine metabolism.

- awards: deans list for 6 semesters, nfhca honors, animal bioscience schp, information literacy schp


That's the basic gist.. Probably a few other things I left out but does anyone have advice on what I can work on??? I appreciate your words!

Good luck to all applications. I'll be applying for 2020!

Try studying for and retaking the GRE. If the schools told you that your GRE is the problem, then you should fix that. I get the GRE seems irrelevant to you, but it is an indication as to how someone performs on standardized tests (which you will have to take the NAVLE before you graduate vet school).

Other than that, target your school choices to schools that don't place as much emphasis on the GRE. Look at school websites to find out what they place more/less emphasis on.

 

[haley120892]

Hello everyone!

I posted a while back, but I only got feedback from one person so I am gonna give it another go!

I am applying during this cycle for the first time The Schools that I am looking to possibly apply to are: Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, and Massachusetts. I actually just graduated from college a whole year early (It happened rather unexpectedly) and I emailed each of the schools asking if they had an recommendations on how to spend my newly discovered free time. After looking over my resume and transcripts the consensus from most of the schools was to simply acquire some more hours and focus on improving my lousy GRE score. Anyhow if you guys could give me some input I would be extremely grateful!!!!

21 years old, first time applicant, Pennsylvania Resident
Biology Pre-Med degree from a small private university

Cummulative GPA: 3.65
Science GPA: 3.40 (If I calculated correctly)
Last 45: 3.65

GRE scores: 150 Q 150 V 4.0 W
I really bombed my first attempt, so I am scheduled to retake them...I made the mistake of not studying until a week before, I have since changed my ways and have been studying for months now.
Vet Experience:
Large Animals (~300)
Small Animals (~300 hours)
Wild Animals (~20 hours)
Equine (~10)
**I am currently working with another local small animal vet so estimated (~300 hours)
This included a total of 4 different vets

Animal Experience
Rehabilitation of Various Species of Wild Animals: bears, deer, owls, hawks, falcons,seagulls, beavers, and many others (~1000 hours)
Processing of Black Bears: (~300)
Pet Care: (~100)
^^^My father has been a Game Warden for my entire life^^^

Extracurricular/Academic:
Dean's List Every Semester
Honor's Program
National Honor Society
Student Ambassador
Mercy Presidential Scholarship
Biology Fellowship
English Fellowship
Supplemental Instructor for Organic Chemistry I and II
Vice-President of Colleges Against Cancer Club
Writer for college's student newspaper
Member of the National Society of Leadership and Success
Part time job as a Cashier at a local grocery store (~20 hours a week)


eLORs
1) Vet I shadowed for about 600 hours who worked with both large and small animals
2) Organic Chemistry teacher, who I served as a supplemental instructor for
3) Head of my Biology department at school
4) Part time job employed who I have worked 6 years for

 

[dovelover]

Hello everyone!

I posted a while back, but I only got feedback from one person so I am gonna give it another go!

I am applying during this cycle for the first time The Schools that I am looking to possibly apply to are: Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, and Massachusetts. I actually just graduated from college a whole year early (It happened rather unexpectedly) and I emailed each of the schools asking if they had an recommendations on how to spend my newly discovered free time. After looking over my resume and transcripts the consensus from most of the schools was to simply acquire some more hours and focus on improving my lousy GRE score. Anyhow if you guys could give me some input I would be extremely grateful!!!!

21 years old, first time applicant, Pennsylvania Resident
Biology Pre-Med degree from a small private university

Cummulative GPA: 3.65
Science GPA: 3.40 (If I calculated correctly)
Last 45: 3.65

GRE scores: 150 Q 150 V 4.0 W
I really bombed my first attempt, so I am scheduled to retake them...I made the mistake of not studying until a week before, I have since changed my ways and have been studying for months now.
Vet Experience:
Large Animals (~300)
Small Animals (~300 hours)
Wild Animals (~20 hours)
Equine (~10)
**I am currently working with another local small animal vet so estimated (~300 hours)
This included a total of 4 different vets

Animal Experience
Rehabilitation of Various Species of Wild Animals: bears, deer, owls, hawks, falcons,seagulls, beavers, and many others (~1000 hours)
Processing of Black Bears: (~300)
Pet Care: (~100)
^^^My father has been a Game Warden for my entire life^^^

Extracurricular/Academic:
Dean's List Every Semester
Honor's Program
National Honor Society
Student Ambassador
Mercy Presidential Scholarship
Biology Fellowship
English Fellowship
Supplemental Instructor for Organic Chemistry I and II
Vice-President of Colleges Against Cancer Club
Writer for college's student newspaper
Member of the National Society of Leadership and Success
Part time job as a Cashier at a local grocery store (~20 hours a week)


eLORs
1) Vet I shadowed for about 600 hours who worked with both large and small animals
2) Organic Chemistry teacher, who I served as a supplemental instructor for
3) Head of my Biology department at school
4) Part time job employed who I have worked 6 years for

I'm going to agree pretty much with what the schools told you. You should work to up your experience hours, but everything else seems pretty much in order. And you already have some variety, so I'd really try to focus on getting more hours in your specific area of interest (Not that getting more hours in other areas would be bad). Also, you didn't specify exactly what you did in your vet experiences, but if they have been mostly just hands off shadowing, it wouldn't be a bad idea now that you have so much free time to see if you can get a job at a clinic to get more hands on experience. It's not a necessity, but if you have the time it would be good experience and making money is always a plus.

I really have no concept of how your GRE score compares without knowing what the percentile rankings are, but if the schools said you could improve it, then I definitely would. Make sure you prepare for it well in advance and try a different approach than you did last time since that didn't seem to work for you. Prep books and practice tests are good, but if you're really awful with standardized tests, classes are available. Just make sure you don't wait until the last minute.

 

[haley120892]

For the most part I did a lot of shadowing that transformed into helping the vets and becoming very involved in the procedures. The vet I am working with now is pretty much an unpaid job and I am really involved with helping her(Jobs at clinics are scarce around here).

GRE wise I have bought the note cards for the verbal section and know the 5o0 pretty much front and back. As for math that is the area that trips me up, and study wise I have some difficulties focusing on one area. Any tips on the quantitative section?

 

[dovelover]

For the most part I did a lot of shadowing that transformed into helping the vets and becoming very involved in the procedures. The vet I am working with now is pretty much an unpaid job and I am really involved with helping her(Jobs at clinics are scarce around here).

GRE wise I have bought the note cards for the verbal section and know the 5o0 pretty much front and back. As for math that is the area that trips me up, and study wise I have some difficulties focusing on one area. Any tips on the quantitative section?

Have you gotten a review book such as princeton review or kaplan? They usually have math reviews that will go over how to do all the basic math you'll need to know for the test and the tricks to do the problems efficiently. Other than that, it's just a matter of practice, practice practice. And it's important to do timed practice tests too. I wouldn't worry so much about the verbal section notecards honestly, because its so much the luck of the draw if the words will actually be on the test, and so often you may know a word in the question but not know the words in the answer choices... so learning techniques on what to look for in the words to make educated guesses is valuable too. Plus, if its the quantitative section you're struggling, I'd focus on that.

 

[michelle D]

Hi i posted this before but didn't get any feedback either. I'm hoping for some this time
I currently have a 3.1 GPA ( still finishing my organic chemistrys and biochem) and still need to take the GRE. My first few years in college were horrendous because I didn't care about school at the time. (I'm talking flunking algebra..twice! but only because i didn't apply my self at the time and am now wanting to kick my self in the head.) In my bachelors in biology.. All of my biology classes are A's and A- but i have one c in general biology 2. I also have C's in my general chemistry's. ( Also a C in Calculus) I have worked in vet. offices with dogs and cats since high school. ( 6 years dogs and cats, 3 of those years with exotics and avians)
I have volunteered at a local horse stable and as an animal care intern at the local zoo. I also do research on bats and assisted in research on preventative supplementation for diabetes. I feel as if I am meant to be a veterinarian but need some advice. & Studied ecology abroad. Thanks.

Any additional tips or honest constructive criticism is appreciated.

 

[dovelover]

Hi i posted this before but didn't get any feedback either. I'm hoping for some this time
I currently have a 3.1 GPA ( still finishing my organic chemistrys and biochem) and still need to take the GRE. My first few years in college were horrendous because I didn't care about school at the time. (I'm talking flunking algebra..twice! but only because i didn't apply my self at the time and am now wanting to kick my self in the head.) In my bachelors in biology.. All of my biology classes are A's and A- but i have one c in general biology 2. I also have C's in my general chemistry's. ( Also a C in Calculus) I have worked in vet. offices with dogs and cats since high school. ( 6 years dogs and cats, 3 of those years with exotics and avians)
I have volunteered at a local horse stable and as an animal care intern at the local zoo. I also do research on bats and assisted in research on preventative supplementation for diabetes. I feel as if I am meant to be a veterinarian but need some advice. & Studied ecology abroad. Thanks.

Any additional tips or honest constructive criticism is appreciated.

You sound like you have some decent hours, although actual numbers would be more helpful. As far as the grades, your GPA is low, but not impossibly low. What is your last 45 GPA? If you've shown an upward trend, schools tend to look favorably on that, especially if you have done well in upper level science courses. And some schools consider last 45 over cumulative, so if your lat 45 is better, you may want to look into those. I do worry about what your science/prerequisite GPA will look like with the Cs you have gotten, but different schools calculate different courses into their science/prereq GPA, so again, you'll have took look at individual schools and see which ones favor your grades. I would definitely try to kick butt on the GRE to make up for the lower GPA, and if you do, there are some schools, again, that weigh the GRE more than others.

 

[KathleenHadds31245]

So I actually emailed both VMCAS and a member of the academic standards board at my university asking if I had to report my disciplinary probation from freshman year. It was expunged from my transcript within a couple months, so I originally wasn't going to report it at all before. I was dealing with my father's suicide at the time, could not focus, and failed to cite my sources on an english paper (i.e. the dreaded "plagiarism"). VMCAS just told me to use my best judgment. They don't look into the students' background but schools I am applying to may. However, the academic standards member at my schools wrote me: "I am the person who sends out dean's letters for students applying to medical schools and other post-graduate programs, or job applicants. In your case, I will be reporting the fact of your record. This is what I will put in the letter: "Early in her college career, the student was found responsible for a violation of the College's academic integrity policy and received a sanction, which she completed. She is in good standing with the College. Therefore, it is in your best interests to report the infraction to any school to which you apply."

I did not think I was going to get into veterinary school in the first place with my low gpa, and now I am really wondering if I should apply at all. I have a lot of experience but only a 3.255 cumulative, 3.54 last 45, and 3.0 science gpa, with a 159 Q, 154 V, and 4.5 W GRE score. I asked her who exactly she would be sending this letter to since I am unsure of exactly where I am applying myself at this point. Would each veterinary school request a letter like this from the dean's office after I apply to them?

Please help. I feel so alone and ashamed in all this.

 

[dovelover]

So I actually emailed both VMCAS and a member of the academic standards board at my university asking if I had to report my disciplinary probation from freshman year. It was expunged from my transcript within a couple months, so I originally wasn't going to report it at all before. I was dealing with my father's suicide at the time, could not focus, and failed to cite my sources on an english paper (i.e. the dreaded "plagiarism"). VMCAS just told me to use my best judgment. They don't look into the students' background but schools I am applying to may. However, the academic standards member at my schools wrote me: "I am the person who sends out dean's letters for students applying to medical schools and other post-graduate programs, or job applicants. In your case, I will be reporting the fact of your record. This is what I will put in the letter: "Early in her college career, the student was found responsible for a violation of the College's academic integrity policy and received a sanction, which she completed. She is in good standing with the College. Therefore, it is in your best interests to report the infraction to any school to which you apply."

I did not think I was going to get into veterinary school in the first place with my low gpa, and now I am really wondering if I should apply at all. I have a lot of experience but only a 3.255 cumulative, 3.54 last 45, and 3.0 science gpa, with a 159 Q, 154 V, and 4.5 W GRE score. I asked her who exactly she would be sending this letter to since I am unsure of exactly where I am applying myself at this point. Would each veterinary school request a letter like this from the dean's office after I apply to them?

Please help. I feel so alone and ashamed in all this.

I think because the VMCAS question says "Were you ever the recipient of any action (e.g. dismissal, disqualification, suspension, etc.) by any college or university for unacceptable academic performance or conduct violations?" you have to report it, even though it was expunged from your records. I think they give you a place to explain a yes answer to that question (if I recall correctly, they actually require an explanation). As for the letters, I really don't know. I recall some schools requiring you to have your school send a dean's certification or whatever they called it if you made to a certain point in the admissions process. But I couldn't really tell you if other schools somehow request those letters. Either way, you'll screw yourself over a lot more if you don't report it and they find out, than if you do report it and give a reasonable explanation. However, I can't really speak to how this may impact your application at various schools, having no experience in the matter. You may want to try calling schools and asking them if they think it will seriously hinder your application.

 

[onisteverina]

So I actually emailed both VMCAS and a member of the academic standards board at my university asking if I had to report my disciplinary probation from freshman year. It was expunged from my transcript within a couple months, so I originally wasn't going to report it at all before. I was dealing with my father's suicide at the time, could not focus, and failed to cite my sources on an english paper (i.e. the dreaded "plagiarism"). VMCAS just told me to use my best judgment. They don't look into the students' background but schools I am applying to may. However, the academic standards member at my schools wrote me: "I am the person who sends out dean's letters for students applying to medical schools and other post-graduate programs, or job applicants. In your case, I will be reporting the fact of your record. This is what I will put in the letter: "Early in her college career, the student was found responsible for a violation of the College's academic integrity policy and received a sanction, which she completed. She is in good standing with the College. Therefore, it is in your best interests to report the infraction to any school to which you apply."

I did not think I was going to get into veterinary school in the first place with my low gpa, and now I am really wondering if I should apply at all. I have a lot of experience but only a 3.255 cumulative, 3.54 last 45, and 3.0 science gpa, with a 159 Q, 154 V, and 4.5 W GRE score. I asked her who exactly she would be sending this letter to since I am unsure of exactly where I am applying myself at this point. Would each veterinary school request a letter like this from the dean's office after I apply to them?

Please help. I feel so alone and ashamed in all this.

So, I agree with dovelover about calling to the schools you are interested in and find out what their thoughts are on the matter. There really isn't a point in fretting about it because you can't change the past. I think some schools offer spots before the dean's certificate is even due.. but you wouldn't wan to surprise them with something like that. VMCAS does give you a spot to explain the situation so definitely do that and be honest (whether the schools that you choose to apply to require the dean certificate or not). Your school kept you in good standing so you may be just fine. Good luck.

 

[Felixor90]

24 year old Hispanic male; first time applicant
Academic:
Cum. GPA: 3.22
Last 45: 3.35
Science: 3.45
Verbal: 159
Quant: 153

Animal Experience:
Small Animal: 1730 - Mostly shelter volunteering and pet-sitting sick pets that need medication (as a vet tech).
Large Animal: 10 (I know, I know.)
Exotic: 160 - Volunteer at a concervancy for primates at an all-primate zoo.
Animal Ownership: 6900 (I only included this because I have owned many exotic animals and was born in a farm town, so it's not just your average dog and cat ownership.)

Veterinary Experience:
Small Animal: 865 (5-6 different veterinarians at a multi-vet hospital; includes 50 hours at a large-scale spay/neuter event with dozens of different veterinarians)
Exotic: 1345 (two different veterinarians)

Research:
52 hours as a vet tech assisting with lab animal euthanasia and necropsies
40+ hours (still going on) assisting with dissections for animals used for a biomechanics/locomotion research lab and for instructional purposes in the Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy course at my university

Honors and Awards
Public Relations Society of America Ev Clay Scholarship
Dean's List for the last two semesters

Community Activities
Cellist with Alhambra Orchestra - free community concerts and promotion of art/music programs in underprivileged schools
Cellist with FIU Symphony Orchestra
FIU Pre-Vet Club
March of Dimes
Biology Tutor

Applying to:
University of Florida (IS)
Kansas State University
Michigan State University
Purdue University
Iowa State University
University of Illinois-Urbana

 

[supervet]

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting in any thread regarding vet school...kinda freaking me out a little bit. I will be applying this cycle to Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin, NCSU, Iowa State, Oregon State, and Oklahoma State.

I wanted to write up a brief overview of my stats so anyone could give me an idea f my chances or where I fit in with the applicant pool. Thank you so much, and good luck to everyone applying!

21, IN Resident, Female
Purdue University
Major: Biology
Minor: Sociology
cumGPA: 3.86
last45: 3.8 ish?
GRE: haven't taken it yet...not too excited about standardized tests

Vet Experience
500 hours zoo hospital/animal nutrition internship
150 hours small animal oncology unit volunteer at Purdue's teaching hospital
24 hours shadowing large animal vet
360 hours working in small animal clinic

Animal Experience
336 hours volunteering at Seaview Predator Park in South Africa working with lions, tigers, and other exotic species
16 hours of bird care for the birds used in the research lab I was in for 3 semesters
pet ownership (does that count?)

Research Experience
150 hours bird retinal ganglion cell density in different bird species

Extracurriculars
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority--held offices (recording secretary and marshal)
Biology Lab TA 2 semesters
PUDM 4 years--18 hour dance marathon raising money for Riley Hospital for Children and the Children's Miracle Network
Panhellenic Academic Committee

Awards/Honors
Deans List and Semester Honors every semester in college
National Honor Society member in high school
graduated in the top 10% of high school class

Anyone please let me know how I stack up! I feel like everywhere I look, everyone has 10000000 hours of experience. Also, what do people consider animal experience that they write down?

 

[Gwenevre]

Animal experience is anything animal-related experience without a veterinarian supervising. Example, I will be volunteering down at Columbian Park Zoo, that's animal experience.

 

[dyachei]

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting in any thread regarding vet school...kinda freaking me out a little bit. I will be applying this cycle to Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin, NCSU, Iowa State, Oregon State, and Oklahoma State.

I wanted to write up a brief overview of my stats so anyone could give me an idea f my chances or where I fit in with the applicant pool. Thank you so much, and good luck to everyone applying!

21, IN Resident, Female
Purdue University
Major: Biology
Minor: Sociology
cumGPA: 3.86
last45: 3.8 ish?
GRE: haven't taken it yet...not too excited about standardized tests

Vet Experience
500 hours zoo hospital/animal nutrition internship
150 hours small animal oncology unit volunteer at Purdue's teaching hospital
24 hours shadowing large animal vet
360 hours working in small animal clinic

Animal Experience
336 hours volunteering at Seaview Predator Park in South Africa working with lions, tigers, and other exotic species
16 hours of bird care for the birds used in the research lab I was in for 3 semesters
pet ownership (does that count?)

Research Experience
150 hours bird retinal ganglion cell density in different bird species

Extracurriculars
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority--held offices (recording secretary and marshal)
Biology Lab TA 2 semesters
PUDM 4 years--18 hour dance marathon raising money for Riley Hospital for Children and the Children's Miracle Network
Panhellenic Academic Committee

Awards/Honors
Deans List and Semester Honors every semester in college
National Honor Society member in high school
graduated in the top 10% of high school class

Anyone please let me know how I stack up! I feel like everywhere I look, everyone has 10000000 hours of experience. Also, what do people consider animal experience that they write down?

You have fairly solid hours (a few more definitely wouldn't hurt), don't just compare yourself to the people here - remember we all tend to be pretty type A here.

If you've ever volunteered at a shelter, worked with 4H, etc.

 

[Mewfasa]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and I planned on applying to vet school this year, however I have started to have doubts and I was hoping you guys could maybe help me out. Also this is the first time I've ever posted on any online forum (though I have lurked around a few) so I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this issue!

My biggest issue at this point is veterinary experience, as in I don't really have any. I have maybe 20 hours I could claim as a volunteer for a spay and neuter clinic where I didn't really do much besides cleaning instruments and occasionally observing the surgeries from afar, but other than that I've got nothing. I have volunteered at a variety of clinics, pet boarding facilities, and a zoo plus I have owned my own pets so I feel like I am pretty good as far as animal experience goes (could always use more). I also have some research hours under my belt. I have no large animal experience so I have been trying especially hard to try to find a large animal vet to shadow or work with but nothing has panned out. I have been incredibly unlucky with finding jobs with veterinarians. Admittedly, I kind of shot myself in the foot by not seeking work as an assistant or tech in high school or being more aggressive with job searches earlier in my first few years of college. My grades and GRE scores seem to be okay and I have four people willing to write me recommendation letters (none of them veterinarians however). I have been working on my personal statement pretty much daily and have some people who I have asked to look over it. The only thing it seems I am really missing at this point is vet experience which is one of the most, if not the most, important part. At this point I am seriously considering scrapping the idea to apply this year and instead focusing on finding a job with a vet so I can get more formal experience with veterinary medicine and just apply next year. I am graduating this upcoming fall semester, so I will have a good amount of time to find a job and work full-time in between graduation and the next application cycle. I know it can be hard to motivate yourself to get everything together again once you are out of school and start working and I also am struggling with the idea of letting my family down by not immediately going to vet school, but I also don't want to spend money on applying this year or waste anyone's time if it is highly likely that I won't get in because of this. I was wondering if anyone could maybe give me some advice or let me know if my idea of taking a year off is the right way to go.


20, Female
University of Georgia
Major: Biological Sciences
Minor: Avian Biology
cumGPA: 3.76
last45: around 3.7
GRE: 163 V, 158 Q, 4 A

Vet Experience
20 volunteering at spay and neuter clinic

Animal Experience
250 hours volunteering at various animal shelters
30 hours volunteering at Bear Hollow Zoo working with small mammals
pet ownership

Research Experience
130 hours as poultry science research assistant (primary experiment dealt with determining phosphorous content of feed samples, but I also helped with processing, penning, etc.)

Extracurriculars
UGA Pre-vet club member for 1 year

Awards/Honors
Deans List last three semesters
National Honor Society member in high school (not sure if high school honors are relevant)
BETA club member in high school
graduated 4th in high school class
Zell miller scholarship (do scholarships count here?)
One UGA scholarship

 

[Gwenevre]

I posted my stats a while back but never got any feedback, so I'm reposting because I'm debating whether or not to add Wisconsin and if I don't have the numbers I want to save money on the application fee.

Applying to Purdue, Illinois, Ohio

20 year old Female
Major: Animal Science
Minor: Biology
Graduating in December with Bachelors
Cumulative GPA: 3.49
Last 45: 3.52
Science: 3.45 (I honestly wasn't sure what courses to include in this calculation, because physics tanked me, and I know that I have other science classes that could really bump this up)
GRE scores: V: 155 Q: 151 AW: 3.5

Vet Experience
Large Animals: ~3 (will be volunteering at LAH in fall)
Small Animals: 1,000+ (have volunteered in Neurology department for 2.5 years)
Exotics: 0

Animal Experience
Personal Pet Ownership, breeding of Pomeranians
Volunteering at grooming salon in high school
*(Will be volunteering at local zoo in fall)

Research
Meat Color Trial; was trained to discern between hues in color spectrum to properly evaluate cuts of meat based on color brightness and percent of discoloration related to meat oxidation, and how that related to customer perception of "bad meat." ~15 hours

Heat Stress and Perch Conditions on Laying Hens; evaluate behavioral and physiologic changes in laying hens when subject to heat stress, and how varying perch conditions may affect these behaviors. 50+ hours (summer job)

Employment
A lot. Starting with high school to now:
-Office Associate for three months in a Health Care office, answered phones, organized files and folders, filled out paperwork, made copies. My mom got me the job, and she went out for surgery halfway through the summer, so I ended up taking over half her position.
-Worked as a student aid for three years in high school at the library as customer service
-Working as a Libraries Student Associate for full time I've been at college in the vet library. Customer service, assisted in remodeling of library, being in charge of office after hours and open and close library.
-Notetaker for Purdue's Disability Resource Center. Attend class for a student, take detailed notes, deliver notes in a timely fashion. Also serve as a reader/writer for exams in the testing facility
-TA'ed for our Domestic Physiology and Anatomy course for a semester
-Student Office Coordinator for Purdue Res life. I'm in charge of 21 students over four buildings, making sure that the front desks have coverage for summer conferences, summer school students. Serve as liaison between students and administrative staff. I'm the person my students call when something goes wrong, even when I'm not On-Call... On top of that, this is my first time working in Res Life and I was offered a supervisory position off the bat.

Extracurricular
Archery Club
Western Equestrian Team. I served as webmaster for two years
Student Usher Club
Sound Board/tech assistant for Purdue Cru for a year and a half
Boiler Gold Rush Team Leader (our week-long orientation program, lead a group of 14 freshmen)
Animal Science Team Facilitator (semester-long ansc career course, lead a group of 5 freshmen)

Academic
A whole holy host of scholarships and semester honors from freshman year until now

LORs
-Physio professor I TA'ed for
-Libraries Supervisor
-Research Lab Supervisor
-Neurology tech
-Neurology DVM
-debating whether or not to ask another one of the docs at Neuro or as my SOC supervisor (only three weeks in and she raves about how good of a job I do)

I'm a re-applicant, and I was told during my last file review that my PS was great, so I will most likely update and submit that (thank God VMCAS saved my final draft because I didn't ) as well as not re-take the GRE, simply because I know I don't do well with standardized testing and I'd rather take my scores as they are.
I'm mostly worried that my experiences won't be enough, or not diverse enough by the time I actually submit my application. I've spent a lot of time in the Neuro department, and I love the people there. I was never able to get over to Large Animal because you had to have certain blocks of time available to you.

 

[dyachei]

I posted my stats a while back but never got any feedback, so I'm reposting because I'm debating whether or not to add Wisconsin and if I don't have the numbers I want to save money on the application fee.

Applying to Purdue, Illinois, Ohio

20 year old Female
Major: Animal Science
Minor: Biology
Graduating in December with Bachelors
Cumulative GPA: 3.49
Last 45: 3.52
Science: 3.45 (I honestly wasn't sure what courses to include in this calculation, because physics tanked me, and I know that I have other science classes that could really bump this up)
GRE scores: V: 155 Q: 151 AW: 3.5

Vet Experience
Large Animals: ~3 (will be volunteering at LAH in fall)
Small Animals: 1,000+ (have volunteered in Neurology department for 2.5 years)
Exotics: 0

Animal Experience
Personal Pet Ownership, breeding of Pomeranians
Volunteering at grooming salon in high school
*(Will be volunteering at local zoo in fall)

Research
Meat Color Trial; was trained to discern between hues in color spectrum to properly evaluate cuts of meat based on color brightness and percent of discoloration related to meat oxidation, and how that related to customer perception of "bad meat." ~15 hours

Heat Stress and Perch Conditions on Laying Hens; evaluate behavioral and physiologic changes in laying hens when subject to heat stress, and how varying perch conditions may affect these behaviors. 50+ hours (summer job)

Employment
A lot. Starting with high school to now:
-Office Associate for three months in a Health Care office, answered phones, organized files and folders, filled out paperwork, made copies. My mom got me the job, and she went out for surgery halfway through the summer, so I ended up taking over half her position.
-Worked as a student aid for three years in high school at the library as customer service
-Working as a Libraries Student Associate for full time I've been at college in the vet library. Customer service, assisted in remodeling of library, being in charge of office after hours and open and close library.
-Notetaker for Purdue's Disability Resource Center. Attend class for a student, take detailed notes, deliver notes in a timely fashion. Also serve as a reader/writer for exams in the testing facility
-TA'ed for our Domestic Physiology and Anatomy course for a semester
-Student Office Coordinator for Purdue Res life. I'm in charge of 21 students over four buildings, making sure that the front desks have coverage for summer conferences, summer school students. Serve as liaison between students and administrative staff. I'm the person my students call when something goes wrong, even when I'm not On-Call... On top of that, this is my first time working in Res Life and I was offered a supervisory position off the bat.

Extracurricular
Archery Club
Western Equestrian Team. I served as webmaster for two years
Student Usher Club
Sound Board/tech assistant for Purdue Cru for a year and a half
Boiler Gold Rush Team Leader (our week-long orientation program, lead a group of 14 freshmen)
Animal Science Team Facilitator (semester-long ansc career course, lead a group of 5 freshmen)

Academic
A whole holy host of scholarships and semester honors from freshman year until now

LORs
-Physio professor I TA'ed for
-Libraries Supervisor
-Research Lab Supervisor
-Neurology tech
-Neurology DVM
-debating whether or not to ask another one of the docs at Neuro or as my SOC supervisor (only three weeks in and she raves about how good of a job I do)

I'm a re-applicant, and I was told during my last file review that my PS was great, so I will most likely update and submit that (thank God VMCAS saved my final draft because I didn't ) as well as not re-take the GRE, simply because I know I don't do well with standardized testing and I'd rather take my scores as they are.
I'm mostly worried that my experiences won't be enough, or not diverse enough by the time I actually submit my application. I've spent a lot of time in the Neuro department, and I love the people there. I was never able to get over to Large Animal because you had to have certain blocks of time available to you.

what did your reviews tell you to do? I'd follow those steps.

 

[Gwenevre]

what did your reviews tell you to do? I'd follow those steps.

I only applied at Purdue, and I was told to keep my competitive GPA and get more varied experience, which I'm doing. I just want to know if I'm competitive for Wisconsin before I spend the money to apply.

 

[sorasea]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and I planned on applying to vet school this year, however I have started to have doubts and I was hoping you guys could maybe help me out. Also this is the first time I've ever posted on any online forum (though I have lurked around a few) so I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this issue!

My biggest issue at this point is veterinary experience, as in I don't really have any. I have maybe 20 hours I could claim as a volunteer for a spay and neuter clinic where I didn't really do much besides cleaning instruments and occasionally observing the surgeries from afar, but other than that I've got nothing. I have volunteered at a variety of clinics, pet boarding facilities, and a zoo plus I have owned my own pets so I feel like I am pretty good as far as animal experience goes (could always use more). I also have some research hours under my belt. I have no large animal experience so I have been trying especially hard to try to find a large animal vet to shadow or work with but nothing has panned out. I have been incredibly unlucky with finding jobs with veterinarians. Admittedly, I kind of shot myself in the foot by not seeking work as an assistant or tech in high school or being more aggressive with job searches earlier in my first few years of college. My grades and GRE scores seem to be okay and I have four people willing to write me recommendation letters (none of them veterinarians however). I have been working on my personal statement pretty much daily and have some people who I have asked to look over it. The only thing it seems I am really missing at this point is vet experience which is one of the most, if not the most, important part. At this point I am seriously considering scrapping the idea to apply this year and instead focusing on finding a job with a vet so I can get more formal experience with veterinary medicine and just apply next year. I am graduating this upcoming fall semester, so I will have a good amount of time to find a job and work full-time in between graduation and the next application cycle. I know it can be hard to motivate yourself to get everything together again once you are out of school and start working and I also am struggling with the idea of letting my family down by not immediately going to vet school, but I also don't want to spend money on applying this year or waste anyone's time if it is highly likely that I won't get in because of this. I was wondering if anyone could maybe give me some advice or let me know if my idea of taking a year off is the right way to go.


20, Female
University of Georgia
Major: Biological Sciences
Minor: Avian Biology
cumGPA: 3.76
last45: around 3.7
GRE: 163 V, 158 Q, 4 A

Vet Experience
20 volunteering at spay and neuter clinic

Animal Experience
250 hours volunteering at various animal shelters
30 hours volunteering at Bear Hollow Zoo working with small mammals
pet ownership

Research Experience
130 hours as poultry science research assistant (primary experiment dealt with determining phosphorous content of feed samples, but I also helped with processing, penning, etc.)

Extracurriculars
UGA Pre-vet club member for 1 year

Awards/Honors
Deans List last three semesters
National Honor Society member in high school (not sure if high school honors are relevant)
BETA club member in high school
graduated 4th in high school class
Zell miller scholarship (do scholarships count here?)
One UGA scholarship

Welcome to the forum! As a fellow pre-vet, I'm not the best source of advice but I did want to point out that one of your LORs needs to come from a vet. Are you looking at UGA? UGA's website says DVM applicants need a minimum of 250 vet experience hours. I was in a similar boat last year, where I felt like I didn't have enough experience to apply, so I did exactly what you are considering: I graduated in December, found a full-time research job, and spent the last six months grabbing vet experience hours wherever I could (e.g. shadowing nights and weekends at an emergency clinic). None of my vet experiences are paid, but it's better than nothing! The only thing I'd do differently is apply to my IS last cycle just to see where I stood, maybe using their file review to know what to focus on for this cycle. But I wouldn't feel embarrassed at all about taking extra time! You're being smart about your chances and your money.

By the way, VMCAS totally accepts high school honors and experiences.

 

[Mewfasa]

Welcome to the forum! As a fellow pre-vet, I'm not the best source of advice but I did want to point out that one of your LORs needs to come from a vet. Are you looking at UGA? UGA's website says DVM applicants need a minimum of 250 vet experience hours. I was in a similar boat last year, where I felt like I didn't have enough experience to apply, so I did exactly what you are considering: I graduated in December, found a full-time research job, and spent the last six months grabbing vet experience hours wherever I could (e.g. shadowing nights and weekends at an emergency clinic). None of my vet experiences are paid, but it's better than nothing! The only thing I'd do differently is apply to my IS last cycle just to see where I stood, maybe using their file review to know what to focus on for this cycle. But I wouldn't feel embarrassed at all about taking extra time! You're being smart about your chances and your money.

By the way, VMCAS totally accepts high school honors and experiences.

Thanks so much for the reply! Yes I am looking at UGA and few other schools (but staying in Athens is my ideal choice right now). I had been hoping to find a vet I could work with this summer so I could at least get a LOR and be able to put that I am in the process of getting more hours on the explanation portion of the application but, unfortunately, that hasn't worked out I am so glad to hear that you took the path I am considering and are doing well. I think I will try applying to my IS like you've suggested just to see where I stand. Your input has been extremely helpful~

 

[StartingoverVet]

Thanks so much for the reply! Yes I am looking at UGA and few other schools (but staying in Athens is my ideal choice right now). I had been hoping to find a vet I could work with this summer so I could at least get a LOR and be able to put that I am in the process of getting more hours on the explanation portion of the application but, unfortunately, that hasn't worked out I am so glad to hear that you took the path I am considering and are doing well. I think I will try applying to my IS like you've suggested just to see where I stand. Your input has been extremely helpful~

I am not sure what you hope to gain by applying, unless it is just a file review.
With no veterinary experience, and no LOR from a vet, you have virtually zero chance to get in. And that would be the focus of your file review because it would stand out.
Applying costs money. Are you willing just to throw that away just to be disappointed, even though you expect it.

Why not focus on improving your app this year, and applying next year when you have a more legitimate shot?

I haven't read all the posts, but this just didn't seem to serve much purpose tome.

 

[Mewfasa]

I am not sure what you hope to gain by applying, unless it is just a file review.
With no veterinary experience, and no LOR from a vet, you have virtually zero chance to get in. And that would be the focus of your file review because it would stand out.
Applying costs money. Are you willing just to throw that away just to be disappointed, even though you expect it.

Why not focus on improving your app this year, and applying next year when you have a more legitimate shot?

I haven't read all the posts, but this just didn't seem to serve much purpose tome.

Yeah, you are right. I think I just needed to hear it from other people before I decided whether or not to apply. I don't really have many people to talk to about vet school stuff that really understand the whole application process so I wanted to get confirmation from here. I could get an LOR from a vet (professor I've taken classes with), but I wanted to get one from someone I actually spent time observing and working with in a clinical setting. Since I have everything else ready I guess I was holding on to the hope that I could somehow pull off getting enough hours in the few months before applying (not very smart lol). Thanks for your help! I will take your advice and just focus on improving my application for now

 

[StartingoverVet]

Yeah, you are right. I think I just needed to hear it from other people before I decided whether or not to apply. I don't really have many people to talk to about vet school stuff that really understand the whole application process so I wanted to get confirmation from here. I could get an LOR from a vet (professor I've taken classes with), but I wanted to get one from someone I actually spent time observing and working with in a clinical setting. Since I have everything else ready I guess I was holding on to the hope that I could somehow pull off getting enough hours in the few months before applying (not very smart lol). Thanks for your help! I will take your advice and just focus on improving my application for now

Also, you might want to open a VMCAS application just to see what it is like and start filling in info (as apparently now it will carry over to the next year).

But also, try listing yourself as a LOR writer to see what the form they use. In the past, the form asks about your animal experience and animal handling capabilities. If you use a Vet who you have not worked with in an animal environment to be your ONLY LOR, it may look strange as they fill N/A for a bunch of categories. It might not, but why take the chance.

 

[Mewfasa]

Also, you might want to open a VMCAS application just to see what it is like and start filling in info (as apparently now it will carry over to the next year).

But also, try listing yourself as a LOR writer to see what the form they use. In the past, the form asks about your animal experience and animal handling capabilities. If you use a Vet who you have not worked with in an animal environment to be your ONLY LOR, it may look strange as they fill N/A for a bunch of categories. It might not, but why take the chance.

I have already opened a VMCAS application and filled out a good bit of the info (as I have heard from multiple people that it takes a while to complete). Glad to hear that it will be carrying over to the next year. Yeah, I figured it would look weird to have a LOR from a vet that can only vouch for my academic capabilities and not actual experience in an animal environment so I don't plan on asking him. Thanks again, you guys are awesome!