Application Check

[T_Huene]

So I’m looking for fair and straight criticism on the main points of what will become my application hopefully in the coming couple years.

I graduated high school with just below a 3.0 and then continued onto the Honors College of Lewis and Clark Community College in Southern Illinois for an associates in science where I am currently in my last semester with nearly a 3.4 GPA. At Lewis and Clark I am a part of the Student Governmt Association and of course the Honors College. During my time at LC I have preformed 2 separate undergraduate research projects, one pertaining to botany and one pertaining to micro-biology. I will now be transferring into Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for a major in medical science biology and a minor in chemistry. I have not yet taken my GRE exam.

Previous to highschool I volunteered at a local horse rescue where I have approximately 400-600 hours over my years there. Additionally, once in highschool, as far as leadership goes in high school I served in several officer positions in FFA finally becoming President my senior year. I was also involved in a couple other clubs and assisted on student council though never an official member.

I currently own a small farm with several horses, goats, a mule, chickens, a cat, the occasional turkey, etc with little to no help from my family and I have not missed one single day at farm in over 5 years giving me thousands of animal (not vet) hours at my farm. At home I have had a variety of pets including fish, cats, a dog, and sugar gliders which are all logged in a spreadsheet. In addition to other leadership roles I have had, I have a passion for politics and just recently finished (as of Election Day) running a successful State Representative campaign where I managed a paid internship team, networked with dozens of volunteers, and kept our campaign relevant with donors across the state.

I’m terms of veterinary overseen experience I have spent about a year (≈800 hours) shadowing at a mixed animal practice near my home assisting and performing procedures on animals such as cattle, birds, hogs, monkeys, snakes, cats, dogs, etc. I have logged all hours in a spreadsheet that I have spend with veterinarians and taking care of my own animals. Outside of this I have volunteered for a local spay clinic for two EXTREMELY long days in a mobile surgical unit neutering over 100 animals.

So, I have a good idea of where I stand and what I need to do overall (such as at the very least keeping my GPA steady if not raising it and continuing to get shadowing hours) but I’d like to know what an unbiased outside opinion thinks. Please let me know below and tell me what the top or top few things are that I need to do to boost my application.

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[lemons24limes]

In my opinion you seem like a good candidate so far! To improve I’d get your GPA up a little bit like you said. Try aiming for at least a 3.6 by the time you apply, I think that’s a pretty good range to be at when applying. And I think it’s really unique that you own your own farm! It’s different that what I normally see from students who live around me in my area. Also who knows maybe you won’t even need to take the GRE depending on what schools you plan on applying to

 

[T_Huene]

In my opinion you seem like a good candidate so far! To improve I’d get your GPA up a little bit like you said. Try aiming for at least a 3.6 by the time you apply, I think that’s a pretty good range to be at when applying. And I think it’s really unique that you own your own farm! It’s different that what I normally see from students who live around me in my area. Also who knows maybe you won’t even need to take the GRE depending on what schools you plan on applying to

That’s awefully optimistic! Thanks so much! I really do spend lots of time on the farm because I know it’s a unique part of my application. I may be able to to get a summer job at the St. Louis zoo since it’s driving distance from my house and I really think that would look good on my application!

 

[srbibo]

I would agree that your animal experience is unique. I would absolutely concentrate on your grades, specifically in your upper division sciences. When you apply to vet school many schools break down your GPA into sciences and non sciences so I would particularly make sure to keep your science course GPA high. Some schools also look at your 65 most recent units and calculate GPA based on that. Even now, I would check out the class requirements for all the schools you plan to attend and make sure you plan to check them off before graduating. Believe it or not, they don't all have the same course requirements. I would make sure that you continue your shadowing and hands on experience all the way through as many schools look out how recent your experience is. Lastly, I would make sure you have someone to review your essays for grammatical and spelling errors. Good luck!