I just finished my freshman year of undergrad. I am a Biology major, and so far my cumulative GPA is a 3.35. I know that isn't great, but first semester was rough and last semester went much better so I hope I'm going in the right direction now (3.07 first semester and 3.65 second semester). I have a ton of animal experience but very minimal vet experience. I have a research project lined up for the fall that I hope to work on all 3 remaining years of undergrad. Does research really help with chances of admission to vet school? Also, I have a lot of work experience and am consistently working 3 part-time jobs while in school. Am I doing ok to have a shot at grad school? Any tips as I move forward? I know a major thing would be to get more vet experience!
Am I on the right track, and asking for tips as I continue undergrad?
- Thread starter drmfslt
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Lots of things "really help" with vet school admission, and research is definitely one of them. But it's not more important than other components; most schools look pretty broadly at applicants.
One thing you can't duck, I think, is the need for vet experience. You can find people who get in with really small amounts ... but my take on it is that a) those people are always VERY strong applicants in every other way, and b) there are always ends of the bell curve to muddle things up. So I wouldn't set your goal based on seeing somebody post saying "oh shoot, yeah... I got in with 150 hours of vet experience.... you don't need that much." In general, you'll want several hundred hours worth of experience. Other people can probably give you a better idea, but at a rough pull-it-out-of-my-ass number I'd say you should shoot for a minimum of 350, with 500 being better, and a few thousand being nice.
(That said, just like you'll see a few people get in with limited vet experience, you'll also see many people with thousands of hours - don't let that intimidate you either. Usually they worked as techs or assistants or whatever for several years. You don't need <that> extreme amount to get into vet school and frankly, I suspect that in the minds of most applications folks once you hit a few thousand it's all 'meh' after that. You've kinda made your point by a few thousand.)
Working multiple part-time jobs while sustaining a full undergrad load (and doing reasonably well) will definitely reflect well on you. No question. A 3.65 GPA is just fine. I mean, higher is obviously better and you only improve your chances by improving your GPA, but 3.65 is just fine. It seems to be viewed especially favorably to have a nice upwards trajectory in your last few semesters with the more advanced classes.
In a nutshell, I imagine you're mostly on the right track. I would make sure of two things. First, don't overlook vet experience. Research is great, but schools want to see sufficient veterinary experience. Many (most?) of them want to see a broad base of it, too (small animal, equine, large animal, whatever). You can definitely have most of it in one area, but why not plan to spend a couple days driving around with a farm vet? Or a week at an equine practice just hanging out to see what goes on? Second, don't overlook things like leadership roles in school clubs, volunteer service in the community, etc. Longtime, dedicated, steady participation in things like that reflect extremely well on an applicant and, in general, reflect positively on character.
G'luck. Kudos to you for having the foresight to think ahead and aim big.
One thing you can't duck, I think, is the need for vet experience. You can find people who get in with really small amounts ... but my take on it is that a) those people are always VERY strong applicants in every other way, and b) there are always ends of the bell curve to muddle things up. So I wouldn't set your goal based on seeing somebody post saying "oh shoot, yeah... I got in with 150 hours of vet experience.... you don't need that much." In general, you'll want several hundred hours worth of experience. Other people can probably give you a better idea, but at a rough pull-it-out-of-my-ass number I'd say you should shoot for a minimum of 350, with 500 being better, and a few thousand being nice.
(That said, just like you'll see a few people get in with limited vet experience, you'll also see many people with thousands of hours - don't let that intimidate you either. Usually they worked as techs or assistants or whatever for several years. You don't need <that> extreme amount to get into vet school and frankly, I suspect that in the minds of most applications folks once you hit a few thousand it's all 'meh' after that. You've kinda made your point by a few thousand.)
Working multiple part-time jobs while sustaining a full undergrad load (and doing reasonably well) will definitely reflect well on you. No question. A 3.65 GPA is just fine. I mean, higher is obviously better and you only improve your chances by improving your GPA, but 3.65 is just fine. It seems to be viewed especially favorably to have a nice upwards trajectory in your last few semesters with the more advanced classes.
In a nutshell, I imagine you're mostly on the right track. I would make sure of two things. First, don't overlook vet experience. Research is great, but schools want to see sufficient veterinary experience. Many (most?) of them want to see a broad base of it, too (small animal, equine, large animal, whatever). You can definitely have most of it in one area, but why not plan to spend a couple days driving around with a farm vet? Or a week at an equine practice just hanging out to see what goes on? Second, don't overlook things like leadership roles in school clubs, volunteer service in the community, etc. Longtime, dedicated, steady participation in things like that reflect extremely well on an applicant and, in general, reflect positively on character.
G'luck. Kudos to you for having the foresight to think ahead and aim big.
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LIS is on point per usual. I just wanted to add that you should be really careful with your activity load. Grades are super important for admittance (I got burned there, so I do my best to emphasize it to others) and doing 45 things per semester and letting your grades slip is absolutely not worth it. I'd suggest adding one or two things per semester; better to add more than have to drop things. You need to maintain balance and have time for things you enjoy outside of vet med.
To be clear, what counts as vet experience vs. animal experience? I live on a farm and work on another farm so I have so much experience that I consider to be more animal experience, but maybe some of that counts as vet experience? Or is vet experience when you actually shadow a vet or something like that?
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Vet experience = working with a veterinarian
Animal experience = experience working with animals that is not supervised by a veterinarian.
Working on a farm is animal experience.
Animal experience = experience working with animals that is not supervised by a veterinarian.
Working on a farm is animal experience.
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Whoa, VMCAS updated their chart on how to classify your experience. I like it better than the old one. Here it is:
https://portal.vmcas.org/vmcasHelpP...s/sites/6/2014/04/VMCAS_Experiences_Chart.png
Go to portal.vmcas.org and even though you're not applying yet, you can click on "Instructions" and "FAQ" along the left side of the page. There's some good general info about applying in there, and some links to where you can find specific requirements for the different schools. Some vet schools' websites list info like the average GPA's, hours of experience, and GRE scores, as well as breaking down how they weight the different parts of you application.
Also check with various schools when you're closer to applying and when you have an idea which schools you want to apply to. Some schools have slightly different requirements than VMCAS for something to count as veterinary experience, but I think the VMCAS website gives you a pretty good general idea.
https://portal.vmcas.org/vmcasHelpP...s/sites/6/2014/04/VMCAS_Experiences_Chart.png
Go to portal.vmcas.org and even though you're not applying yet, you can click on "Instructions" and "FAQ" along the left side of the page. There's some good general info about applying in there, and some links to where you can find specific requirements for the different schools. Some vet schools' websites list info like the average GPA's, hours of experience, and GRE scores, as well as breaking down how they weight the different parts of you application.
Also check with various schools when you're closer to applying and when you have an idea which schools you want to apply to. Some schools have slightly different requirements than VMCAS for something to count as veterinary experience, but I think the VMCAS website gives you a pretty good general idea.
