applicant for class of 2025

[serendipity14]

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Hi everyone! I was hoping for some advice on my status for this application cycle. Please give me any advice/recommendations you have. Also, feel free to comment where you're standing right now if you're applying this cycle as well. Good luck to everyone!!

21 y/o Hispanic female from NY

Applying to: Cornell (IS), LIU Post (IS), Michigan State, Tufts, University of Pennsylvania, University of Florida, Ohio State, Virginia-Maryland

Cumulative GPA: 3.13
science GPA: 3.02
last 45: 3.37
last 30: 3.77
(only current estimates for now, i'm retaking a course this summer as well as taking an animal nutrition online since my undergrad institution didn't offer it. i took higher level science courses in my last 30/45 and did really well on them but unfortunately my beginning science course grades weren't the greatest. my lowest was a C- in advanced organic chemistry II which i am retaking.)

Any degrees achieved: BS Biology

GRE results: Q/V/W- have not taken yet

Veterinary Experience:
-3840+ hours as a vet assistant at private animal hospital (work with one exotic doctor as well)
-just received an offer to volunteer with the vets and vet techs at a large aquarium this summer! i haven't started it yet due to COVID-19 but it was a super competitive position.

Animal Experience:
-100 hours working with adoptions & rescue cats in a cat cafe
-170 hours working with potential adopters & rescue dogs in a large shelter

Awards/scholarships:
- Gamma Sigma Alpha National Honor Society

Extracurriculars/Volunteer:
-President & Founder of Pre-Veterinary Club
-Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority, held position on new member education board for Spring 2020
-Surfrider Foundation
-Relay for Life
-League of Yes
-Girls on the Run

Employment:
- Still holding a veterinary assistant position in small animal hospital
- Barista at Starbucks

Letter of Recommendations:
-Boss & Veterinarian at small animal hospital
-Veterinarian at my small animal hospital that I learned exotics under
-Calculus Professor that I had twice in my undergrad studies
-Biology Professor/Advisor of the Pre-Veterinary Club I started
*I would like to receive one from the aquarium position but I'm not sure when everything will be open back up in NY*

Summarize any concerns you have
-My gpa is my biggest concern. Like I mentioned, I'm retaking up to two courses this summer as well as taking a course not offered at my college. I'm not sure how much this will help though. I finished college strong but I'm worried this won't be enough.

Again, please let me know any advice, recommendations, personal thoughts. Thank you guys!!

 

[MixedAnimals77]

This will pry get moved to WAMC just FYI.
Regardless, I'd focus on schools that focus on your last 45 hours. Michigan and Iowa come to mind as schools that have emphasis on those last credit hours. Personally I'd run like the wind from LIU and take a gap year before applying to what definitely seems like is going to be a hot mess especially since it's private and gives no IS tuition-can read a recent article in the New vet school form and decide for yourself plus applicants experiences from this last cycle.

Double check all the schools GRE requirements if they require them or not. I know some schools are moving away from the GRE and have either nothing or CASPer in place instead or so I've heard.

For your LORs I wouldn't worry about getting a LOR from the aquarium because such brevity in knowing you likely isn't going to get you a strong recommendation unless you blow them out of the water. The quality of the letters matter much more than who writes them as long as you are meeting school requirements (ie vet, professor, etc.) and a luke warm or poor letter can be detrimental even to the "best" candidates.

I agree that your GPA is probably going to be an obstacle. Part of overcoming that obstacle is applying to schools that fit you as an applicant as I mentioned before regarding applying to schools that focus on last 45. Make sure you are making cut offs too for all the schools. ie Ohio while 3.0 is a cut off gives preference to those with sGPA and cGPA above 3.6 so they may not be the best option to apply to.
I would also look into schools that do grade replacement for your C- than averaging the 2. Also idk if those courses will be considered P/F over the summer due to COVID or not.

For other suggestions I know COVID makes things impossible right now but if you could get more varied vet experience that would be great to adventure out into the other aspects of vet med. I would also continue to increase your animal experience hours if you can. Make sure and knock out those essays like a champ! I wish you all the luck!

 

[WildZoo]

For your LORs I wouldn't worry about getting a LOR from the aquarium because such brevity in knowing you likely isn't going to get you a strong recommendation unless you blow them out of the water.

 

[serendipity14]

This will pry get moved to WAMC just FYI.
Regardless, I'd focus on schools that focus on your last 45 hours. Michigan and Iowa come to mind as schools that have emphasis on those last credit hours. Personally I'd run like the wind from LIU and take a gap year before applying to what definitely seems like is going to be a hot mess especially since it's private and gives no IS tuition-can read a recent article in the New vet school form and decide for yourself plus applicants experiences from this last cycle.

Double check all the schools GRE requirements if they require them or not. I know some schools are moving away from the GRE and have either nothing or CASPer in place instead or so I've heard.

For your LORs I wouldn't worry about getting a LOR from the aquarium because such brevity in knowing you likely isn't going to get you a strong recommendation unless you blow them out of the water. The quality of the letters matter much more than who writes them as long as you are meeting school requirements (ie vet, professor, etc.) and a luke warm or poor letter can be detrimental even to the "best" candidates.

I agree that your GPA is probably going to be an obstacle. Part of overcoming that obstacle is applying to schools that fit you as an applicant as I mentioned before regarding applying to schools that focus on last 45. Make sure you are making cut offs too for all the schools. ie Ohio while 3.0 is a cut off gives preference to those with sGPA and cGPA above 3.6 so they may not be the best option to apply to.
I would also look into schools that do grade replacement for your C- than averaging the 2. Also idk if those courses will be considered P/F over the summer due to COVID or not.

For other suggestions I know COVID makes things impossible right now but if you could get more varied vet experience that would be great to adventure out into the other aspects of vet med. I would also continue to increase your animal experience hours if you can. Make sure and knock out those essays like a champ! I wish you all the luck!

Thank you so much for all the info, you were really helpful! I am a little weary of applying to LIU. It's twenty minutes from my home so I figured it was worth a shot, but I definitely understand where you're coming from. Most schools I'm interested in are getting rid of the GRE, especially now due to COVID-19 so thankfully I might avoid taking it and focus on schools that aren't requiring it this cycle. You definitely made sense too with the aquarium LOR so I'll probably avoid that all together considering we don't even know as of right now when they're gonna open back up. I'm going to look into which schools focus on last 30/last 45 more as well as schools that take the better grade rather than average it. All this COVID stuff is so unfortunate but I would definitely love to increase my animal experience since I have so many in veterinary. Thank you so so much again!

 

[c0smopolitan]

I posted this in another thread, but Florida is incredibly competitive OOS.
"Take my recommendations with a grain of salt since I have no personal experience applying to this school- Florida to be incredibly competitive. For reference, here is Floridas most recent admission statistics. Florida accepted 26 OOS students in their class of 2023. Floridas OOS average cumulative/science/last 45 was ~ 3.67/3.6/3.7. Personally, given their low OOS acceptance rate, and high academic admission statistics, I would reconsider them as apart of your list and replace them with a school(s) that have a higher OOS acceptance rate and focus a bit more on schools that might benefit you a bit more".

It's already been suggested, but I would consider adding Iowa and Kansas to your list. They both do grade replacement (I applied there this past cycle, and they honored it then, though I always recommend double checking) and have a relatively high number of seats reserved for OOS applicants.

 

[serendipity14]

I posted this in another thread, but Florida is incredibly competitive OOS.
"Take my recommendations with a grain of salt since I have no personal experience applying to this school- Florida to be incredibly competitive. For reference, here is Floridas most recent admission statistics. Florida accepted 26 OOS students in their class of 2023. Floridas OOS average cumulative/science/last 45 was ~ 3.67/3.6/3.7. Personally, given their low OOS acceptance rate, and high academic admission statistics, I would reconsider them as apart of your list and replace them with a school(s) that have a higher OOS acceptance rate and focus a bit more on schools that might benefit you a bit more".

It's already been suggested, but I would consider adding Iowa and Kansas to your list. They both do grade replacement (I applied there this past cycle, and they honored it then, though I always recommend double checking) and have a relatively high number of seats reserved for OOS applicants.

Thank you for your help! I did previously look at UF's admissions stats and noticed that as well. I will definitely take it into consideration and see what my best options are. I'm going to look more into Kansas and Iowa for sure then as well.

 

[Dana_May_B]

Sorry I don't really have much advice on where to apply because I'm in the same boat as you and I'm trying to decide where to apply myself this cycle, but I do have a question about UF's OOS admissions. I looked at the admission statistics and it looks like they "invited" 96 OOS candidates after the interview, but only 26 OOS candidates were in the final class. Does this mean that 70 OOS declined their seat, leaving only 26 in the final class, or am I reading this whole chart wrong? I just thought since the "cand. invited" column was part of the "candidate interview outcomes" it meant that they were invited to attend UF after the interview. I am struggling with the math in this chart too since shouldn't the "candidate declined" and "final class" both add up to the total number of candidates invited? Because "cand. declined" is separate from "cand. denied" so I would assume that means the candidate declined their seat as opposed to being denied admissions after the interview. Sorry again for rambling but I'm confused!

 

[serendipity14]

Sorry I don't really have much advice on where to apply because I'm in the same boat as you and I'm trying to decide where to apply myself this cycle, but I do have a question about UF's OOS admissions. I looked at the admission statistics and it looks like they "invited" 96 OOS candidates after the interview, but only 26 OOS candidates were in the final class. Does this mean that 70 OOS declined their seat, leaving only 26 in the final class, or am I reading this whole chart wrong? I just thought since the "cand. invited" column was part of the "candidate interview outcomes" it meant that they were invited to attend UF after the interview. I am struggling with the math in this chart too since shouldn't the "candidate declined" and "final class" both add up to the total number of candidates invited? Because "cand. declined" is separate from "cand. denied" so I would assume that means the candidate declined their seat as opposed to being denied admissions after the interview. Sorry again for rambling but I'm confused! View attachment 306880

That's okay, good luck to you! You can message me if you want to talk more about admissions, I'm always open to hearing about others and their process! I noticed that a couple days ago when I was looking at their stats, I truthfully have no idea. Hopefully someone that can tell us more sees this and answers!

 

[WildZoo]

Sorry I don't really have much advice on where to apply because I'm in the same boat as you and I'm trying to decide where to apply myself this cycle, but I do have a question about UF's OOS admissions. I looked at the admission statistics and it looks like they "invited" 96 OOS candidates after the interview, but only 26 OOS candidates were in the final class. Does this mean that 70 OOS declined their seat, leaving only 26 in the final class, or am I reading this whole chart wrong? I just thought since the "cand. invited" column was part of the "candidate interview outcomes" it meant that they were invited to attend UF after the interview. I am struggling with the math in this chart too since shouldn't the "candidate declined" and "final class" both add up to the total number of candidates invited? Because "cand. declined" is separate from "cand. denied" so I would assume that means the candidate declined their seat as opposed to being denied admissions after the interview. Sorry again for rambling but I'm confused! View attachment 306880

Schools often over-accept for OOS seats because they expect some people to decline, and/or they move through their waitlist as people decline offers. That discrepancy means that over the course of the cycle they offered 95 OOS applicants a seat, but only 26 ended up attending, either because they declined or deferred.

 

[Dana_May_B]

Schools often over-accept for OOS seats because they expect some people to decline, and/or they move through their waitlist as people decline offers. That discrepancy means that over the course of the cycle they offered 95 OOS applicants a seat, but only 26 ended up attending, either because they declined or deferred.

Thanks so much for clearing that up! Accepting 95 OOS students instead of 26 definitely gives me hope that I might have a shot there after all.

 

[serendipity14]

Schools often over-accept for OOS seats because they expect some people to decline, and/or they move through their waitlist as people decline offers. That discrepancy means that over the course of the cycle they offered 95 OOS applicants a seat, but only 26 ended up attending, either because they declined or deferred.

That definitely makes sense. Thank you!

 

[SkiOtter]

Thank you so much for all the info, you were really helpful! I am a little weary of applying to LIU. It's twenty minutes from my home so I figured it was worth a shot, but I definitely understand where you're coming from. Most schools I'm interested in are getting rid of the GRE, especially now due to COVID-19 so thankfully I might avoid taking it and focus on schools that aren't requiring it this cycle. You definitely made sense too with the aquarium LOR so I'll probably avoid that all together considering we don't even know as of right now when they're gonna open back up. I'm going to look into which schools focus on last 30/last 45 more as well as schools that take the better grade rather than average it. All this COVID stuff is so unfortunate but I would definitely love to increase my animal experience since I have so many in veterinary. Thank you so so much again!

I’d definitely take a look at the thread “new vet schools” for more opinions on LIU.

 

[serendipity14]

I’d definitely take a look at the thread “new vet schools” for more opinions on LIU.

I was reading into it last night and it seems like a disaster super conflicted now


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[battie]

I was reading into it last night and it seems like a disaster super conflicted now


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The first class is paying 55k to take classes in the undergraduate biology building. That can give you an idea of how serious the university is their new veterinary school.

 

[serendipity14]

The first class is paying 55k to take classes in the undergraduate biology building. That can give you an idea of how serious the university is their new veterinary school.

Yeah that’s definitely terrifying. It just sucks because it’s so close to home, but maybe that’s telling me to take an opportunity to get away from home for a little


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[EngrSC]

As others have suggested, definitely look into K-State and Iowa State! Iowa is pretty particular about how they calculate their prereq GPA but you can find what courses they use on their website. If this GPA is strong then it may be a good option for you! Minnesota also only uses prereq and last 45 GPAs. But yes, your GPA is going to be your biggest hurdle. Do you have more classes to take after this summer or are you done?

You’re still pretty young so learn what you can from this application cycle and continue gaining diverse experiences after your application is submitted just in case you need to apply a second time. If I’m reading your stuff right, all of your vet experience is in one hospital? The quality of that experience is strong and shows reliability but all hospitals operate so differently and even doctors doctor differently. I wouldn’t recommend leaving your current job but I think you could learn a lot by even just a day of shadowing in another hospital ... or in an ER or a low cost clinic or a shelter etc. Large animal experience would also help round out your vet experiences, but I know that can be hard to come by depending on where you live. I personally started volunteering with a therapeutic riding group ( ) and they hooked me up with their vet because they thought we’d get along (and they were right!). There’s tremendous value in networking, so what may start as animal experience could become something more.

Anyway, I think you’re on the right track. Do well in the classes you have left, have people proofread your essays to make sure they’re strong, and ask letter writers that you are certain will write you killer letters. You got this!

 

[serendipity14]

As others have suggested, definitely look into K-State and Iowa State! Iowa is pretty particular about how they calculate their prereq GPA but you can find what courses they use on their website. If this GPA is strong then it may be a good option for you! Minnesota also only uses prereq and last 45 GPAs. But yes, your GPA is going to be your biggest hurdle. Do you have more classes to take after this summer or are you done?

You’re still pretty young so learn what you can from this application cycle and continue gaining diverse experiences after your application is submitted just in case you need to apply a second time. If I’m reading your stuff right, all of your vet experience is in one hospital? The quality of that experience is strong and shows reliability but all hospitals operate so differently and even doctors doctor differently. I wouldn’t recommend leaving your current job but I think you could learn a lot by even just a day of shadowing in another hospital ... or in an ER or a low cost clinic or a shelter etc. Large animal experience would also help round out your vet experiences, but I know that can be hard to come by depending on where you live. I personally started volunteering with a therapeutic riding group ( ) and they hooked me up with their vet because they thought we’d get along (and they were right!). There’s tremendous value in networking, so what may start as animal experience could become something more.

Anyway, I think you’re on the right track. Do well in the classes you have left, have people proofread your essays to make sure they’re strong, and ask letter writers that you are certain will write you killer letters. You got this!

Thank you so much for your advice!! I did want to shadow at a specialty center close to my house this summer so I’m going to contact them about it, I know some places are requiring shadows/volunteers to stay home until this is all over which sucks. There’s also a equine specialist super close to my house so I’m going to check them out as well. Thanks again!


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[Ariel-Li]

I wouldn’t recommend leaving your current job but I think you could learn a lot by even just a day of shadowing in another hospital ... or in an ER or a low cost clinic or a shelter etc.

Question: when it comes to diversity of experiences, does specialty small animal practice (such as ER) count differently than GP?

 

[SkiOtter]

Question: when it comes to diversity of experiences, does specialty small animal practice (such as ER) count differently than GP?

Yep! GP is so different from ER which is so different from a neurologist which is so different from a cardiologist. Any different specialty counts as a diverse experience. Heck, even having multiple different SA GPs can be better than just one because you’re seeing how multiple different practices run and how their different doctors do things.

 

[Ariel-Li]

Yep! GP is so different from ER which is so different from a neurologist which is so different from a cardiologist. Any different specialty counts as a diverse experience. Heck, even having multiple different SA GPs can be better than just one because you’re seeing how multiple different practices run and how their different doctors do things.

Beautiful. My chance of getting LA experience seems pretty slim, maybe I can mend on that with ER and shelter experience. Every bit helps.

 

[EngrSC]

Question: when it comes to diversity of experiences, does specialty small animal practice (such as ER) count differently than GP?

Agreed with what was said above, ER is definitely different from GP. I also volunteered with a non-profit low cost clinic and that was wildly different as well

 

[Ariel-Li]

Agreed with what was said above, ER is definitely different from GP. I also volunteered with a non-profit low cost clinic and that was wildly different as well

Do I need to mention that I have GP, ER and Shelter experience in small animals anywhere in the essays, or simply laying them out in the experiences section is enough?

 

[battie]

Do I need to mention that I have GP, ER and Shelter experience in small animals anywhere in the essays, or simply laying them out in the experiences section is enough?

Dont use your essays to reiterate your experience list. They already have your experience list. Use your essays to show how your experiences shaped your view of vet med. Focus your essays on the specific prompt.