Chances at UC Davis

[flyinglady31]

kk

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[JerseyisCutest]

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[chris03333]

Hello,
I'm a CA resident and UC Berkeley student and I'm only really interested in UC Davis....I wanted to know how risky it would be to only apply at UCD given my stats and animal experience. I have a 3.45 science GPA and my animal experience includes general practice vet tech 1.5 years, ER vet tech for 2.5 years, conservation work and research with jaguars in Belize, resident night staff/foal team at the Center for Equine Health and UC Davis for 6 months....all of these experiences should be able to give me good LOR's.
Also, I went from being pre-vet to pre-med for about a year during my undergraduate... should I bring this up or stay quiet and say that I never swayed from being pre-vet. The idea with pre-med was to still be practicing medicine but be making 4-5 times as much so that I could have more time to spend with animals on my time off.... I of course ditched this idea as I LOVE veterinary medicine and couldn't imagine doing anything else.
SO...given my circumstance should I only apply at UC Davis? The only other schools I might consider would be WSU, Tufts, Cornell, or Western... but those are distant 2nds and I'd probably reapply to davis anyway.
Thanks to anyone who responds!!

Well you GPA is low/average. You animal experience is pretty good. I think a lot depends on your GRE. Davis is VERY GRE picky.

 

[flyinglady31]

Thanks...I'll study A LOT for the GRE then...I have the Kaplan course ($$ I know, but we're talking about vet school admission). What type of score do you think I would need to feel safe? Is the GRE like the SAT? Also, it seems like UCD has a much lower GPA average than other schools... 3.42.. so hopefully I'll be alright.

 

[chris03333]

Thanks...I'll study A LOT for the GRE then...I have the Kaplan course ($$ I know, but we're talking about vet school admission). What type of score do you think I would need to feel safe? Is the GRE like the SAT? Also, it seems like UCD has a much lower GPA average than other schools... 3.42.. so hopefully I'll be alright.

I think they care more about percentile than raw score. Good luck. If you honestly would turn down acceptacne at any of the other schools you mention to reapply to Davis, I highly suggest only applying to Davis the first time. Turning down an acceptance is really looked down on.

 

[pressmom]

I think they care more about percentile than raw score. Good luck. If you honestly would turn down acceptacne at any of the other schools you mention to reapply to Davis, I highly suggest only applying to Davis the first time. Turning down an acceptance is really looked down on.

I agree. Turning down an acceptance looks bad, so just apply to Davis the first time and IF you don't get in make sure to do your post-mortem interview (or whatever they do there) and then consider applying to other schools.

 

[ferral]

From UC DAVIS FAQs page:

"What should I do to enhance or improve my application?

Earn high grades and perform well academically. Obtain high (70th% or higher) scores on the GRE. Gain as much veterinary experience as you can, especially in your area of interest in veterinary medicine, so that you can show a clear understanding of the veterinary profession. In addition, give your potential evaluator(s) ample opportunity to observe you in a clinical setting so that thorough letters of evaluation can be provided on your behalf. Try to acquire diverse veterinary experience working with a variety of animal species (small and large) to broaden your knowledge of the many aspects of veterinary medicine. "

With Davis, the GRE counts for just as many points as your GPA. (I think it's like 20-30% of total decision for acceptance). If your GPA isn't above average, I would shoot for above average GRE scores.

Just curious, why Davis over all other schools?

 

[tiddlywinks]

because Davis is the best

as others have mentioned, don't apply to a school you can't actually see yourself attending. I don't think it's that risky considering that, except for a few unusual cases, it's MUCH more likely you'll get into your in-state school than out-of-state.

About being "pre-med for a year", if you do want to talk about it (which isn't really absolutely necessary) I'd do so in a positive light. After all, it shows that you've really thought a lot about vet med as a profession and you know what you're getting into, both the good and the bad (not ever making enough money to pay back your loans, haha). That you've realistically considered options and realized what you want to do. Totally not a bad thing.

 

[kate_g]

Also, I went from being pre-vet to pre-med for about a year during my undergraduate... should I bring this up or stay quiet and say that I never swayed from being pre-vet.

My understanding was that Berkeley has neither a pre-vet nor a pre-med major. Your actual major is probably MCB or IB, just to take a wild guess, but you were following the course selection recommendations of the pre-vet or pre-med advisors (and perhaps going to the club meetings and things). If I'm right about this, then it just doesn't matter - there shouldn't be anything on your transcript that shows some official switch from pre-vet to pre-med and back again. So unless it was an experience that affected you in such a profound way that you want to talk about it in your personal statement, there's no reason they'd know. Personally, I just wouldn't bring it up because it's unnecessarily confusing. If I'm wrong on that and your transcript does list "pre-vet" then "pre-med" then "pre-vet" again, well, they'll see it on your transcript. I kind of doubt it would keep you from getting an interview, as there are a handful of people in the current first-year class who were pre-med for a while or even took the MCAT. Again unless it was a real personal turning point, I'd leave it out. They probably will ask about it at the interview in that case, though.

There are a number of people in the first-year class who've said they had non-stellar undergrad GPAs, so that's not an automatic deal-breaker. But most of them had remarkable experience (e.g. graduate work or several years of working in the industry after undergrad) or remarkable persistence (e.g. got in on their third try). Or both, in some cases.

Unfortunately I can't give you the magic prescription for what GRE score would offset your exact GPA. You should try calling the admissions office and scheduling a meeting (on the phone or in person) with Yasmin Williams, who's the administrative director of admissions. (Fair warning: Ms. Williams is *not* known for being a "you can do it" cheerleader type. She will probably seem outright discouraging and will undoubtedly tell you that you need to take more courses and raise your GPA. But if you keep asking questions you ought to be able to get some idea of the GRE score you need to shoot for.) If you end up really concerned that you won't get in, I'd suggest lining up some serious work after graduation (i.e. not just continuing to work as a vet tech). Get a job on the Davis campus doing research, working in the path lab at the hospital, etc. Or in industry, working at a research facility or for a drug company (quite a few of those in and around Berkeley), or whatever interests you. If conservation is your thing, then get back into the jaguar project or hook up with one of the wildlife vets at Davis.

Good luck!

 

[flyinglady31]

Thank-you so much for all of your input! I'll try to get in touch with Ms. Williams and btw you're right about me being an IB major and I havn't taken the MCAT yet so I'll probably leave the pre-med part out. Also, I was planning on going back to Belize this spring to continue the jaguar research project which is graduate level work with faculty, grad students, vets and wildlife biologists, but that means that I will have less of an opportunity to raise my GPA.... once again, school getting in the way of education. I presonally don't think it's worth it to miss out on this amazing experience for a few more GPA points, but I don't know how the admissions at UC Davis will feel about that.
Also, what are the schools that are more likely to accept an out of state applicant?