Applying to Schools

[crichard]

So I am looking at re-applying this year.
Last year I only applied to LSU (OOS- declined before interview) and VMCVM (IS MD waitlist- #3)

I am looking to apply to the following schools this year:

Colorado State

Long Island

Cornell

Louisiana State

Ohio State

Washington State

University of Wisconsin

Virginia-Maryland

University of Minnesota

Ideally I want to practice in equine med or small animal ER- are any of these schools more or less desirable for these things? I want everyone's opinions. TIA

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[flotus]

I would say there aren’t any schools that are “super spectacular” in any category. Of course, some may have more opportunities than others directly while others you may have to search for. However, you can make connections and go into any sector of vet med (and have amazing opportunities) at any vet school.

my unsolicited/possibly too direct advice: you shouldn’t worry about which school will provide you with what (all will have ample opportunities and allow you to put DVM behind your name)
You should focus on which schools you have the best shot of being accepted to.

I’m not sure what your stats are - so I don’t have any full proof advice on which schools you should or shouldn’t apply to.

Generals advice, Colorado and Cornell are extremely hard to get into and extremely selective. LSU cuts OOS students without extremely high GPAs early. Wisco is also very selective, particularly with GPA. I know nothing about Washington, LI, or Virginia Maryland but you should apply to your IS.

Ohio and Minnesota are both pretty holistic schools.

Again, who cares where you go. You just want to go! Trust.

 

[crichard]

I would say there aren’t any schools that are “super spectacular” in any category. Of course, some may have more opportunities than others directly while others you may have to search for. However, you can make connections and go into any sector of vet med (and have amazing opportunities) at any vet school.

my unsolicited/possibly too direct advice: you shouldn’t worry about which school will provide you with what (all will have ample opportunities and allow you to put DVM behind your name)
You should focus on which schools you have the best shot of being accepted to.

I’m not sure what your stats are - so I don’t have any full proof advice on which schools you should or shouldn’t apply to.

Generals advice, Colorado and Cornell are extremely hard to get into and extremely selective. LSU cuts OOS students without extremely high GPAs early. Wisco is also very selective, particularly with GPA. I know nothing about Washington, LI, or Virginia Maryland but you should apply to your IS.

Ohio and Minnesota are both pretty holistic schools.

Again, who cares where you go. You just want to go! Trust.

Thank you for your reply and help. I definitely want to go to VMCVM (my in-state) if possible. I am debating on reapplying to LSU as i got cut early in the year and don't exaclty have a 4.0...
I made a WAMC post a while ago and have gotten tons of view but zero replies. This is a link to it: WAMC?
My stats have improved slightly since last application cycle- more experience hours, 3.6 last 45 and overall 3.64 GPA.

I had heard a while back of a vet school (i think one of the newer ones) that did not offer much, if any, large animal curriculum, so I just didn't want to end up somewhere that did not offer significant education in equine/large animal med since that is an area of special interest that I have. I know that not all schools have a tracking system either, which is fine! I just wanted to make sure that when applying it is worth my while.

 

[AppyDust]

If you’re interested in large animal and planning to apply to Minnesota then I’d suggest you look at the 2+2 program between South Dakota (SDSU) and Minnesota. I applied there and got interviewed multiple years (& almost off the waitlist) with a higher last 45 gpa but only about 3.2 overall gpa.

 

[wayne455338]

I don’t know about other schools, but Washington state has few seats for OOS and it is extremely competitive. There is a class statistics online and you can check it out. I think there is about 25 seats available and about 1600 applicants? So the chance for OOS is about 1.5 percent. Washington is kind of holistic but they also take the grades really seriously. Your grades are in average and most of your veterinary experience are small Animals. If you are interested in large animal but no large animal veterinary experience, I think committee would take a pause here. I suggest to shadow some large animal vet around your area to increase your experience diversity.

 

[crichard]

I don’t know about other schools, but Washington state has few seats for OOS and it is extremely competitive. There is a class statistics online and you can check it out. I think there is about 25 seats available and about 1600 applicants? So the chance for OOS is about 2.5 percent. Washington is kind of holistic but they also take the grades really seriously. Your grades are in average and most of your veterinary experience are small Animals. If you are interested in large animal but no large animal veterinary experience, I think committee would take a pause here. I suggest to shadow some large animal vet around your area to increase your experience diversity.

I have some large animal veterinary experience, but not a much as the area I live in has very very little opportunity for it. :/ I have owned horses for years though and lived on a ranch with almost 30 horses, cattle, etc for a year. I have contacted pretty much every large animal vet within a 30 mile radius and they either don’t respond or say no, which is frustrating.

 

[crichard]

If you’re interested in large animal and planning to apply to Minnesota then I’d suggest you look at the 2+2 program between South Dakota (SDSU) and Minnesota. I applied there and got interviewed multiple years (& almost off the waitlist) with a higher last 45 gpa but only about 3.2 overall gpa.

I haven’t heard much about this program and would love to! Is it 2yrs in south dakota and then 2 in Minnesota?

 

[AppyDust]

I haven’t heard much about this program and would love to! Is it 2yrs in south dakota and then 2 in Minnesota?

Yes. This coming fall will be their third class so it’s fairly new. It’s geared towards rural vet med and they only have 20 students in each class so you’ll get more one on one time with faculty. The transfer to UMN is automatic for year 3 and they’ll who you get your DVM from. If you apply to both UMN and SDSU you get a slight discount on the supplemental application fees.

 

[gbanks123]

I would also recommend looking into LMU! They tend to look more holistically at the overall application versus just GPA. I’m also planning on going into equine and we get large animal experience from the first couple weeks of first year onward. The equine faculty are also AMAZING and offer up their horses at local farms around for additional practice if you need! I feel I’ve learned a ton about equine medicine already after just completing my first year. I was accepted with a 3.6 gpa as well as others in my class and highly recommend this program

 

[mkg323]

I have some large animal veterinary experience, but not a much as the area I live in has very very little opportunity for it. :/ I have owned horses for years though and lived on a ranch with almost 30 horses, cattle, etc for a year. I have contacted pretty much every large animal vet within a 30 mile radius and they either don’t respond or say no, which is frustrating.

Hey! Just took a peak at your WAMC, definitely keep reaching out to equine/large animal vets, especially if you are writing about wanting to practice equine medicine on your VMCAS. I get that its been rough, but with the current shortage of equine vets, and continuing high turn-over of equine vets getting out of practice/changing to SA med, schools want to see applicants with experience related to what they want to practice so that applicants know what they’re in for and will stick with it. You’ve mentioned you own horses, so I’d recommend reaching out to your own vet about shadowing, even if its only once or twice a week, and if they are not available, ask if they would help you network and vouch for you with an associate! ask boarders who have different vets if they’d introduce you. the equine industry is a tight-knit community, and networking is key!