Applying for vet school.

[Slbaldwin]

Hey everyone, I just sent this e mail to my academic advisor but I thought it couldn't hurt to post something on here for some advice. Here is the e mail i sent him:
"I have been thinking about applying for vet school recently. I know I won't be able to apply until fall of 2014, but I still feel unprepared for applying. I worked full time at a small animal vet office last summer but haven't had any other vet related experience since then. My goal for vet school would be to 'specialize' in large animals rather than small animals and I have 0 experience in that field. Do you have any advice of what I should do? On the AAVMC website it says that I will need to submit test scores on applying to vet school, I feel so silly for asking what test scores? Honestly I feel like I'm behind in preparing to apply to vet school and I don't want to be behind any longer."

I just realized that the test I was wondering about is the GRE. Are there any other tests I will need to take? When should I take this test?

I honestly feel that I won't be ready to apply for vet schools in 2014, am I right in this assumption? I honestly don't want to fork out hundreds of dollars applying if I cannot make it the best application that I can.

Again, I just feel like I'm so behind in this whole process!

Thank you

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[nichocj]

In regards to writing the GRE

 

[nichocj]

Crap.... In regards to writing the GRE I would give yourself enough time to retake it if necessary, other than that write it when you are ready.

You should definitely get some large animal experience, I.e working with a large animal vet, working on a farm etc. while its good to have a goal in mind, how do you know you want to specialize in large animals if you have no experience?

 

[Frozenshades]

Yeah, you may not be ready to apply this cycle; the VMCAS opens in June.

One summer of full time work has probably given you a decent amount of small animal experience, but you need to diversify. If you're going to claim to want to do large animal medicine, your app will seem weak if you have no experience in it (besides, how can you be sure if you've never done it...it might not be what you think...).

 

[TooLove]

What year are you in for undergrad? What's your major and how are your grades? How do you know you want to do LA if you have zero experience?

 

[BlackDog17]

Yeah, you may not be ready to apply this cycle; the VMCAS opens in June.

One summer of full time work has probably given you a decent amount of small animal experience, but you need to diversify. If you're going to claim to want to do large animal medicine, your app will seem weak if you have no experience in it (besides, how can you be sure if you've never done it...it might not be what you think...).

This.

Small Animal and Large Animal are two very different worlds. Have you worked with large animals at all, outside of vet med? Even large animal husbandry and large animal medicine are quite different from each other.
You definitely need to get at least a little experience with large animals before you can really say that you want to pursue it as a specialty. If you talk about your desire to specialize in LA on your application but have no experience to back it up, the adcoms are going to think you've been reading too much James Herriot and don't really know what you're getting yourself into.

As for feeling unprepared, you haven't really given us any details on what you HAVE done to prepare for vet school. Are your pre-reqs done? Are your grades decent? Have you done extracurriculars? Do you have animal (non-veterinary) experience? I highly recommend checking out the What Are My Chances and the Successful Applicants Stats threads to get a better idea of whether you're prepared to apply or not.

 

[Minnerbelle]

This.

Small Animal and Large Animal are two very different worlds. Have you worked with large animals at all, outside of vet med? Even large animal husbandry and large animal medicine are quite different from each other.
You definitely need to get at least a little experience with large animals before you can really say that you want to pursue it as a specialty. If you talk about your desire to specialize in LA on your application but have no experience to back it up, the adcoms are going to think you've been reading too much James Herriot and don't really know what you're getting yourself into.

And it's not only just the actual "work" of what LA vets do, but also the lifestyle and long term career trajectory that you should also understand by talking to current LA vets. The nature of ambulatory practices are evolving as more and more of the traditional "vet" things are being performed by lay staff on the farm. And there are a ton of LA vets that ultimately switch to SA due to either lack of good jobs, or the physical toll that these lines of work has on their bodies. Also, depending on what part of the country you're in, the nature of your work can be different too.

 

[Slbaldwin]

Hey everyone! I forgot to mention, I have worked at numerous horse farms and have worked on my Aunt and Uncle's alpaca farm since I was 10 (now 21) so in that aspect I have TONS of LA experience, but not so much with other LAs but I know it's what I want to do.

I just got a reply from my advisor and he said that I shouldn't bother applying for vet schools because I won't get in *bummed*. I won't be applying this fall but the fall after (so 2014) but I have contemplated taking a year off from applying to vamp up my experience and possibly retake some of the courses I did poorly on.

My GPA right now is 2.9 I know that isn't good enough to get into vet school, this is the ONE thing I do know and don't need to hear it again (not getting snarky at you guys I promise!) I told my advisor this. I said that grades are the one thing I know I need to improve on but I need advice on what else to do.

Thank you all again for your thoughtful advice

 

[485501]

I think you should read up some more on the application and admissions processes. The AAVMC has a book they publish every year with information about each accredited vet school, and you can also find lots of information on the AAVMC website and the websites of vet schools. Look up your in-state school, or some schools that you've heard of, and start looking at what they require. Most schools have readily available statistics on their incomming classes for several years - average GPAs, hours of experience, GRE scores, etc. Also make sure you look at various schools' pre-requisites. They are NOT the same for each school, and sometimes classes are required that are not offered at your school, in which case you'll have to find another way to take them (usually online).

Getting in with low grades is possible, but requires being outstanding in other areas of your application. I second the recommendation to look through the "What are my chances" and "Successful applicant stats" threads. Remember, getting your cumulative GPA up is very, very difficult even if you get excellent grades from here on out, but schools may also look at your "Last 45 credits GPA," your GPA in science classes, and your GPA in pre-requisite classes, and some put a lot more weight on those than on cumulative GPA. There are several posts and threads on here about "applying smart."

 

[Frozenshades]

I think you should read up some more on the application and admissions processes. The AAVMC has a book they publish every year with information about each accredited vet school, and you can also find lots of information on the AAVMC website and the websites of vet schools. Look up your in-state school, or some schools that you've heard of, and start looking at what they require. Most schools have readily available statistics on their incomming classes for several years - average GPAs, hours of experience, GRE scores, etc. Also make sure you look at various schools' pre-requisites. They are NOT the same for each school, and sometimes classes are required that are not offered at your school, in which case you'll have to find another way to take them (usually online).

Getting in with low grades is possible, but requires being outstanding in other areas of your application. I second the recommendation to look through the "What are my chances" and "Successful applicant stats" threads. Remember, getting your cumulative GPA up is very, very difficult even if you get excellent grades from here on out, but schools may also look at your "Last 45 credits GPA," your GPA in science classes, and your GPA in pre-requisite classes, and some put a lot more weight on those than on cumulative GPA. There are several posts and threads on here about "applying smart."

On that note, make sure you note GPA requirements in addition to the required prerequisite courses. Some schools have minimum requirements to apply (either cumulative or last 45 usually) so a 2.9 may make you ineligible to apply to some schools.

 

[Slbaldwin]

I have seen that book on the AAVMC website and as soon as I pay rent, car payment, and getting my car registered that is the next thing on the list to get!

I know which two schools I really want to get into. My top two picks are UMN and PEI. I live in Maine and we don't have any vet schools

I actually went to UMN for a year and became close friends with one of the people who is usually involved with interviewing applicants and I also worked at the Leatherdale Equine center there for a year, so I am hoping that has given me a little edge (though I know it's not nearly enough).

If I could have six months of 'free' time I would sign up for some live-in internship somewhere. I know of a lady who goes to Afghanistan once in a while for a couple months or so to practice over there and I have tried to get into contact with her to see if she would be willing to bring an intern with her. Something like that is what I want to do for an internship.

 

[BlackDog17]

I know which two schools I really want to get into. My top two picks are UMN and PEI. I live in Maine and we don't have any vet schools

Definitely don't get too discouraged by your low GPA - I got into PEI with a 2.96 cumulative GPA! I had a ton of diverse experience though, and I rocked my interview so that definitely helped. My stats are posted in the Successful Applicants thread if you're interested in seeing them.

I was rejected from UMN though - if I remember correctly they weeded out everyone below a certain GPA cutoff right away, so I never made it past the first round of admissions.

Your plan to beef up your application with more unique experience is a good one! But instead of retaking classes, you might want to look into a Master's program. Some schools won't accept new grades for classes you've already taken, and others will average your two grades together so retaking may not do you much good. Definitely check and see how each school you're interested in applying to handles this. Generally it's better to get good grades in higher level courses than it is to retake the same lower level courses. There are several people on here who have completed a Master's and done really well, and were accepted to vet school that way.

 

[TooLove]

Exactly what BlackDog said. I was accepted to PEI with a similarly low GPA. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't do everything in your power to improve your grades though. I knew my GPA was going to be the biggest hurdle for my application so I worked hard to improve in other areas. I wrote a long spiel in the Accepted Students thread if you're really interested. I also took a year off simply to save up to apply - and applied to every school that had GPA requirements that I met. Not cheap.
Getting experience will help you a lot, especially unique opportunities. However, while going to Afghanistan would be awesome, don't limit yourself to experiences that just sound great. You can get just as much learning experience at a local shelter, which may be more feasible as well. That being said, if you can go to Afghanistan, GO! That's something that will certainly set your application apart from the rest, and you want that.
As far as retaking classes goes, it really depends I think. My advisors were pushing me to retake some of my basic bio and chem courses and I'm glad I didn't. I did get high scores in upper level science courses though, and had a strong upward trend in my GPA which I think helped. On the other hand, if you have below the required grade in a pre-req, you'll have to retake it. Like others have said though, pay attention to the way your grades are calculated for classes you have taken more than once, a low score usually isn't just replaced.

But please, don't get discouraged! Like I said before, I had two advisors tell me I would never get into vet school! If this is something you really want, then make it work. You may not get in your first cycle, and you may not end up at your dream school, but if you want it bad enough then you can make it happen.

 

[KCgophervet]

I know which two schools I really want to get into. My top two picks are UMN and PEI. I live in Maine and we don't have any vet schools

I'm pretty sure UMN only looks at your pre-req and last 45 credit GPA, so depending on how those are this might be a great idea. They also accept a good number of OOS students (I think it's 45 OOS vs 55 IS). I would definitely look into some other schools as well though, check on the pre-requisite coursework of each and what they base their applications on. Not sure if tuition is a large concern for you, but UMN also has one of the highest OOS (and IS) tuition rates.

Good luck!

 

[Slbaldwin]

Thank you everyone for the much needed encouragement!

In terms of getting experience at a shelter, how should I approach that? I know vet schools look at total animal experience and vet experience, so do I just volunteer there? I'm willing to do anything at this point. Not only do i want to diversify my experience for the application, but I feel that it will help me figure out exactly what I want to do and explore new areas in the veterinary field. I just need to know where I can look for my next experience.

 

[TooLove]

There are probably some more in depth threads about this but in general, type up a professional, well thought out letter with a little about yourself and your goals. Hand deliver this to every clinic, hospital, shelter, zoo, wildlife rehab, etc in your area. Show up looking professional and ask to speak with someone in charge if you can. It may take a while, but eventually one of those will come through for you. It helps too to ask if you can shadow for just one day. That's so much easier for most places to handle than a long term arrangement. If you liked it, and felt like you made a good impression, then you can follow up with a thank you and express your desire to come back if possible.