Are vet school coaches/advisors helpful?

[buttersthecat]

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Getting desperate. I’ve been out of undergrad for a while so I don’t have a college advisor. Are the consulting services worth it or just a money grab?

 

[JaynaAli]

You can do the researching schools part yourself pretty easily and SDN has all sorts of resources between forum posts, interview help, PS readers, etc. I don’t see the value. I suspect that there’s a lot of selection bias, where people who did use a paid service feel like it was worth it but I bet most of those people could get in on their own too.

 

[supershorty]

You can do the researching schools part yourself pretty easily and SDN has all sorts of resources between forum posts, interview help, PS readers, etc. I don’t see the value. I suspect that there’s a lot of selection bias, where people who did use a paid service feel like it was worth it but I bet most of those people could get in on their own too.

This.

Don't waste your money!

 

[_rae_]

I was out of undergrad for 3 years. Middle of the road GPA and non-science/unrelated BA. I got into 3/5 schools I applied to on my own. I agree with Jayna, there’s going to be people who used them and got in who think it’s worth it, but likely would have been successful. Most of it can be done on your own with some hefty research and scouring the forums here.

 

[buttersthecat]

I was out of undergrad for 3 years. Middle of the road GPA and non-science/unrelated BA. I got into 3/5 schools I applied to on my own. I agree with Jayna, there’s going to be people who used them and got in who think it’s worth it, but likely would have been successful. Most of it can be done on your own with some hefty research and scouring the forums here.

It’s hard to think I can do it on my own since I haven’t been able to do it on my own. Thank you for your input though.

 

[_rae_]

It’s hard to think I can do it on my own since I haven’t been able to do it on my own. Thank you for your input though.

I apologize, I wasn’t trying to imply that you weren’t looking hard enough or doing enough or anything like that. It’s a difficult process and somewhat of a crapshoot. Have you gotten any feedback on your applications from schools? You may have some luck posting in the WAMC forums; I think I got some decent recommendations of schools to apply tailored to my stats on there.

 

[JaynaAli]

It’s hard to think I can do it on my own since I haven’t been able to do it on my own. Thank you for your input though.

I definitely understand your feelings and I know applying is stressful, but haven’t you only applied to like two schools? Your post history mentions applying to your IS and UF. If those are the only places you’re interested in attending then that’s a fine decision to make, but like people told you in a prior thread, I think you need to go through the schools and find those that prioritize certain GPAs like last 45 where your stats look better to find where you are going to really look your best on paper. That is the “work” we’re talking about. And maybe you have done that already or you’re only interested in a few select schools, but it may be time to consider casting a wider net. So much of vet admissions comes down to luck and applying smartly, and you don’t need to pay thousands for someone to do something I’m very confident you’re absolutely capable of.

I’d start by making a list of places you’d consider living and then read the schools’ websites and make a spreadsheet of what those schools use in their decisions, seats available, averages of accepted students, cost, if SDN says there’s higher internal limits than the published minimums, etc. Calculate your various GPAs using each school’s criteria and go from there. It’s a lot of work, but your stats aren’t hopeless, it’s just a matter of finding the right place and presenting yourself the best you can.

If you do feel like you need a paid advisor to keep you motivated, then you’re free to spend your money as you wish, but I don’t think they’ll do much you can’t do yourself, especially if you’ve gotten this far in life.

 

[kitzsuna]

You can do the researching schools part yourself pretty easily and SDN has all sorts of resources between forum posts, interview help, PS readers, etc. I don’t see the value. I suspect that there’s a lot of selection bias, where people who did use a paid service feel like it was worth it but I bet most of those people could get in on their own too.

Ditto. I rapid fire found information I need when I decided to pursue vet med and apply relatively quickly. Just gotta research.

The ONLY paid service I got was a practice interview with a current NCSU student. I did that because my first interview was for my top choice school and I had never done a Kira assessment before, and I had no real idea how vet school interviews worked vs job interviews.

 

[buttersthecat]

I definitely understand your feelings and I know applying is stressful, but haven’t you only applied to like two schools? Your post history mentions applying to your IS and UF. If those are the only places you’re interested in attending then that’s a fine decision to make, but like people told you in a prior thread, I think you need to go through the schools and find those that prioritize certain GPAs like last 45 where your stats look better to find where you are going to really look your best on paper. That is the “work” we’re talking about. And maybe you have done that already or you’re only interested in a few select schools, but it may be time to consider casting a wider net. So much of vet admissions comes down to luck and applying smartly, and you don’t need to pay thousands for someone to do something I’m very confident you’re absolutely capable of.

I’d start by making a list of places you’d consider living and then read the schools’ websites and make a spreadsheet of what those schools use in their decisions, seats available, averages of accepted students, cost, if SDN says there’s higher internal limits than the published minimums, etc. Calculate your various GPAs using each school’s criteria and go from there. It’s a lot of work, but your stats aren’t hopeless, it’s just a matter of finding the right place and presenting yourself the best you can.

If you do feel like you need a paid advisor to keep you motivated, then you’re free to spend your money as you wish, but I don’t think they’ll do much you can’t do yourself, especially if you’ve gotten this far in life.

I applied to 8 schools the first time when I was almost finished with my masters degree and 2 the second time because I extended my research after not getting into vet school and was quite burnt out after finishing my masters degree. I am applying more strategically this next time and doing the research. I think I’m so frustrated because I thought my masters degree would help a lot. Thanks for your input!

 

[buttersthecat]

I apologize, I wasn’t trying to imply that you weren’t looking hard enough or doing enough or anything like that. It’s a difficult process and somewhat of a crapshoot. Have you gotten any feedback on your applications from schools? You may have some luck posting in the WAMC forums; I think I got some decent recommendations of schools to apply tailored to my stats on there.

Thank you!