Being a competitive applicant after deciding on vet school late

[sharmylilla]

Just like the title says - I am not technically a non-traditional student, but because I decided on vet school late (after my undergrad) I am seriously lacking in a lot of the areas needed for competitive applicants. I did my undergrad in the UK where your courses are predetermined, so I'm currently working on getting all the required prerequisites done. My undergrad GPA was 3.6 and I'm hoping to get it pushed up a little by acing the prerequisites (my entire degree in biomedical sciences so I need to do quite a few prereqs in physics, chemistry, humanities, english etc). I also started working at a small animal practice as a vet assistant a few months ago, and have loved it. In terms of animal experience, I don't have much but I am working on that by volunteering on weekends at a therapeutic horseriding centre, occasional pet sitting, and helping out at shelters and farms. My big concern right now is that these areas in my application are pretty standard, and most in the applicant pool will have something similar. I know I need wildlife and aquatic experiences but have no idea where to get them.

I've noticed that a lot of successful applicants at the schools I'm interested in (OSU, VMCVM - my in-state school, CSU) have loads and loads of academic achievements/awards under their belt. Because I decided on this career late, I actually spent most of my high school years and undergrad doing the "bare minimum", which was to get good enough grades and nothing else. The problem is that because I'm not an official student anymore, I don't have access to a lot of academic achievements like making the Dean's list, doing Math olympiads, winning school awards and the like. I've also only lived in the US for a year, entirely within the pandemic period, and don't know much about this country or the way higher education works here. In the UK most schools were very grade-focused, though I understand in the US there is more emphasis in accepted students being well-rounded and doing a lot of extracurriculars. If it's relevant, I do have a green card so I will be applying as a US student instead of an international one.

What can I do in my current position that will make me stand out to vet schools? Are there any ways for me to get academic achievements and awards, and extracurriculars now that I'm no longer a student? It seems so hard to get anything done during COVID-19, even the opportunities I did manage to get so far took a while to come by. If you have any advice for a stressed out and overwhelmed vet school hopeful, I'd really really love to hear it. <3 Thank you!

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[britzen]

Your grades are fine as far as VMCVM is concerned.

Go volunteer if you feel like you need more non-work experience. You can show leadership or whatever else a extra curricular activity might give by getting involved with local groups.

Animal shelters, parks / nature preserves, local health depts etc all may be relevant.

Or get involved in whatever you are interested in - being the captain of your local neighborhood racquetball league probably isn't that different in terms of soft skills than having done something similar in college.

I don't think I really listed any academic or college extracurricular achievements on my app because I had been out of school for a decade, but I listed things I was currently or recently involved in.

 

[that redhead]

Instead of focusing on what you can’t bring to the table (academic awards, clubs, etc), think of all the ways you are different than your fellow applicants and what unique perspective you can bring: someone who doesn’t fit the trope of “known I wanted to be a vet since I was five”, your experiences in a different country/your experiences in a new country during a pandemic, etc. I would focus on the fact that because your made your decision as an adult instead of a starry eyed kindergartener, you’ve probably thought about your career path a lot more than your peers. I would make sure to get as much veterinary experience as possible over simply animal experience, especially if you want to prove you know what you’re getting yourself into as a “late-comer”. The quality of the experience is certainly worth more than the quantity, but you’re still going to need solid hours. I would make sure to get some large animal hours in there if at all possible.

@WhtsThFrequency was also someone who made the career choice later in the game if I remember correctly. She’s a busy lady but may be able to chime in with her experiences and advice

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I was somewhat late to the game, as I didn't really consider veterinary medicine as a career path until perhaps the end of my sophomore/beginning of junior year in college.

I was academically solid, but had zero clinical experience - I was all research, all the time - and usually in the realm of biochemistry rather than animal science. So I had to squeeze the minimum number of clinic hours in there (one summer) kind of just to say I did, even though I knew I didn't want to be a clinical vet (I wanted to either be a research vet or to specialize in something with low client involvement). I had to "market" myself very differently to school and emphasize my research background heavily.

It sounds to me like you are doing okay on the vet and animal experience things with the vet assistant schtick and the volunteering. I wouldn't worry about getting wildlife and aquatic. Small animal is great, and if you can get some large animal even better, but don't wear yourself too thin getting sporadic/few hours at too many place - pick a few and stick to them and put in quality AND quantitiy.

I guess what I would think about is 1) what are your positive attributes and experiences that you can market yourself with? And how can you tie in these positive attributes you have with experiences that will make you stand out? We can probably give you some more advice if you describe a bit more about yourself and what you think you are good at, versus just the areas you think you are lacking. They don't have to be directly related to clinical vet med - like I said, I was all research.

Another target you consider in applications are letters of recommendation. How solid do you feel on those so far? If you don't feel like you have a solid 3, I would target your experiences to those where you could form a meaningful relationship with someone who would be a great reference.