Do I even have a chance?

[Angelonyxcat]

(Am posting this in the vet student forum as well, to look for similar stories)

Hi, I'm Andrea. I'm 21, and a senior in college in Bio. I spent alot of time trying to find a career that would make me happy, until I finally came around last year and returned to my childhood dream, veterinary. Getting into the field has made me happy beyond describable words. However, I'm starting to wonder if my dream will be taken away.

When it comes to experience, I'm doing great. I've had 100 hours at a small animal clinic, and work 30 hours a week as a vet assistant at what is basically an animal ER. I volunteer at a farm with large animals, and next month I was going to be shadowing a large animal vet on calls to local large and small scale farms.

It's my grades that worry me. Now, I have a 3.3. Not horrible, but not great, either. To make a long story short, I've gotten an A or B in everything except for Gen Chem 2, ochem 1 and 2, and physics 1. Those were C's. I seem to struggle with them. That's 4 c's!! That's horrible for me, who has never had c's most of my entire life. I had taken also a previous ochem class and gotten a D (a lesser class than the one's I'm taking now).

I spoke to my school. They refuse to allow me to retake classes I got a C in. They will not give me a letter grade for them. They refuse to replace the D, or remove it, even though I'm taking the equivalent of it.

I have been heartbroken the past few days, pretty much just laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. How do I recover from this? How is it that other people recover, or even go to vet school much down the road when they are 30, etc.

My parents have started telling me to find a new career, which rips me in two. I have spent my whole college career looking, and nothing compares to this. I am willing to do anything, even if it means staying in school for years...

Do I really have a chance? Is there anything I could do?

I'

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[sumstorm]

I don't have great advice. I don't have a great GPA, and I am not in yet. However, from reading a book by the former head of Cornell's admissions, I have figured out what I will change for next years app cycle. I will emphasize in my personal statement that despite not having excellent grades in chem, I was the ONLY tutor on campus in the history of the college that was certified (by an independent organization) to tutor in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, including calculus and calc based statistics. I also TA'd in chemistry and biology. So I am hoping, if I have to apply again, that will do alot to compensate for mediocore chemistry grades (along with the fact that I worked full time.)

My understanding, at this time, is the big deal with academics is proving the ability to handle intensive science coarse loads. I have semesters where all I had were upper level sciences and had 4.0's in all the courses (after I figured out how to study in between work and class.) Is it hopeless? I really don't know.

As for the D, if it is from another school, there isn't anything your current school can do about that, as it will still be on the original school's transcript (I am assuming it was from another school, since you say it was a 'lesser' class...not sure how else that works.)

My college wouldn't redo passing grades either, but they would let me audit courses (attend without paying or getting a grade.)

 

[Angelonyxcat]

It was from the same school. Basically, it was the one semester "easy" equivalent of the two semester more intensive course. I screwed up on it several years ago when things didn't mean so much to me, so, yeah.

What was your gpa? I have a sinking feeling there isn't much hope for me, though, I don't know how people in their 30's get into vet school. Would getting a master's help?

 

[thunderhawk86]

I think you still have a chance. As long as the pre-req's for veterinary school's are a c and above you should be fine. Just keep getting great animal/veterinary/research experience as it will even out the lower grades. Do really well on your GRE's and make sure you get some excellent references.
Then apply to as many vet schools that you think would fit you including the out of country one's. At the same time look at some master's programs to apply to while you wait on the veterinary school. That way if you don't get into a veterinary school you can start working on a master's to prove you have what it takes courseload wise to be a vet. Then once you hear back from the vet school's if you didn't get in request them to discuss your application with you to discuss what you need to do better.
Even though your grades aren't the best there is still hope. At least in my view.

 

[Angelonyxcat]

Thanks for the encouragement. I forgot to mention, I actually have two papers published in scientific journals, though, they are more ecology related.

I have a stellar academic reference and a very good vet reference.

I have taken about 20 credit hours every semester, which is something you have to get special permission from the department for. I have also tutored in Biology.

Now, if you go for a master's, do you need to retake some of those courses?

Oh, I have a 1250 on the GRE, but that was from several years ago, and I didn't even study. I believe I could raise that substantially.

 

[sumstorm]

My GPA is 3.4. If it was an easier level, I believe on VMCAS you will have to put the more recent one anyways (since you need I & II.)

I can't give you a lot of hope based on my experiences, but I also won't say that hope doens't exist. There are plenty of Non-traditionals. If I get it, I turn 30 just prior to admissions. Having said that, check on the varoius thread on acceptance stats for the past couple of years. Sometimes I find that very encouraging.

Here is what I can tell you: sinking into depression won't help you in your current courses/tasks/work/etc and it won't help you have the energy to deal with the application process. If you haven't applied, you should at least give your self a shot at one or more rounds of the application process. Start now, if you will be applying next cycle, and try to ferret out which schools would be best for you.

Something else.... you are 21, I know that family can mean alot, and thier opinions are often important to us, but you will need to make your own decisions on this one, whether or not they agree or support those decisions. There are several on here whose parents disagree with thier hopes/plans for vet school. Mine don't disagree, but they never helped me financially in HS or college, so I don't expect help through vet school. I am sure you realize that...but sometimes it helps to hear that others are dealing with the same thing.

So, simply put, don't give up yet. You haven't played the hand you currently have, and you can probably improve that. There are several people on here who have gone on to Master's programs that might be able to give you advice about that.

 

[Angelonyxcat]

I think my parents want to see me succeed as well, but they also don't want to see me unhappy.

Ochem is a real killer, blech. I even have a tutor right now, and am still doing horribly. I get individual concepts well, my problem is putting them all together in the context of problem sets.

This is really something I want to do. I would be willing to go to grad school while continuing to get vet experience, if it would help, yeah.

Has anyone heard much about the carib schools, like Ross? I would have an easier time getting in there, but I hear a mixed bag of reviews, some good, some bad. One of the vets I shadowed with just graduated from there, and she didn't have anything bad to say, just said it was pretty intensive work.

 

[nyanko]

Your academics sound similar to mine just on a numbers level. My cumulative GPA when I applied was 3.25-3.30, and my required courses GPA was abysmal (2.9ish) due to C's in gen chem 2, organic chem 2, physics 1 (hate mechanics and never bothered to go to class) and my first attempt at biochem. My last 45 hours was in the neighborhood of 3.5 somewhere.

I applied last cycle to only one school (UC Davis) and while I was not accepted, I was invited to interview, so I at least passed the preliminary screening, which means I was a competitive applicant (and UCD doesn't interview a huge excess of people). I think that to be competitive with a lower GPA, you need to stand out in other areas of your application to be noticed, and then be able to discuss your low grades and how you have improved or plan to improve.

There are some things from my application that probably made me stand out. I am a nontrad student. I got a BS in Computer Science back in 2004, and then went back for a second in Molecular Biology and Microbiology in 2005. I also plan on going into research/academia which is an area that has some need. My GRE score is well above their admitted average. I did undergraduate honors thesis research, had thousands of vet experience hours and 2/3 above average rec letters, 1 that was probably average. Those are probably things that helped to get my application noticed for an interview.

However, the part that I believe I failed in (aside from a poor personal statement) was at my interview talking about my GPA; the factors that contributed to the poor grades and how I've managed to improve my academic skills. When I was asked point-blank how I planned to handle the curriculum of vet school given the context of my prior grades, I did not really know how to answer, and it was evident to my interviewers. I'm not saying you should make something up or lie, but you should really think and do some soul-searching about why you did poorly in those classes and what that means, and then how you will correct that. Then if you still don't get in, you have to actually prove that you can put that plan into action.

So basically a) make yourself stand out in other ways and b) be able to discuss your weaknesses and how you'll compensate for them to succeed in vet school. Then it's up to the darts they throw at the applications, or whether yours lands face up when they throw them all down the stairs.

You should read the successful applicants threads as well from the last few years, to see the diversity of the applicants who are accepted and get some perspective beyond that of the cold hard averages presented at the schools' websites or through AAVMC.

 

[Angelonyxcat]

The cold hard average's are pretty scary. I also think I could write a good personal statement letter, more than the "I love animals..." sort of thing. I write for the school paper, etc, so I am a pretty good writer when it comes to things in that realm.

I just can't imagine not doing this for a career. I know I am still young, but I have done alot of career wise exploration, from different forms of research, to working at a zoo (interned at a zoo), to teaching, etc.

 

[Angelonyxcat]

I wonder if there are any grad schools where I could go to research things like BSE (mad cow). Diseases that can affect both humans and animals have always fascinated me, and I'm sure that would look nice on an application. Of course, I would rather just go to vet school first.

 

[nyanko]

Er, you can find a grad school to do research on pretty much anything possible. Look up journals you're interested in -> find cool articles -> find authors -> find universities they're from -> look into universities -> go through application process that sucks just as much as the DVM one -> profit

Prion diseases are pretty cool, tbh.

edit: by "profit" I mean spend countless hours going insane over your research, TAing and coursework load while trying to maintain some semblance of a schedule and direction. That's where I am now.

 

[No Imagination]

Yeah, i'm jealous of anyone working with Prion's right now. There are SO many open questions, I'm not longer sold on "Prions as the causative agent" of BSE/Scrapie, but sitting on the fence. Always thought it was pretty solid, but something weird seems to be going on with all this. I mean, we don't even know what the role of (natural) prions are yet.

Anyway, prion work is pretty Biochem/molecular heavy, and probably more of a Ph.D project, but if you can get in on it, go for it - Its still very hot.

Anything Immunology is pretty wide open - my new favorite field.

 

[Angelonyxcat]

Epi in general is one of my favorite subjects.

 

[InfiniVet]

You sound like a very good candidate. Don't freak over the 3.3, that is not a death sentence by any means. 1250 on GRE is great! If you can boost it then by all means, spank it.
Just make sure your application looks like someone who could handle a 80 hour work week.
You could go for a master's, but honestly I don't think that'll help you nearly as much as you think. I'd pour all my energy into shadowing & volunteering, personally. I think that would really round out your application.

 

[Angelonyxcat]

Do they look alot at your ability to balance things?

I am in school full time, working 30 hours a week, and will be shadowing the large animal vet as well. Also, a humane society with a low cost spay/neuter program might use me as a volunteer surgery assistant. Oh, and I care for the humane society cats on display at Petco once a week (I wish I could adopt them all!)

I've tried to do a mix of volunteering for humane organizations, because I would really like to do that as a vet, volunteer my time for low cost surgery operations, etc.

I've also thought about going into research, or at least helping to collect data in the field (farms, etc) for research programs if I got my DVM. Coming from a research background, I wouldn't want to do that soley as a career, but at least participate.

It scares me though when I see people with high gpa's being rejected. Is it because of the gpa, or usually something else, like lack of experience?

 

[InfiniVet]

Do they look alot at your ability to balance things?...Is it because of the gpa, or usually something else, like lack of experience?

Bingo.

Lack of experience, by far. Its not that you have to know how to intubate a dog for example, its that you have to prove that you've seen some pretty scary/gorey/abusive/sickening/exhausting/tedious things and you are still 100% certain this is what you want.

If you can rack up an experience where you were part of something that would make any rational person say "Uh no, veterinary work is definitely not for me!" but it made you beam like a four year old getting a stuffed animal, that would look really good.
Like...if spending 3 hours in freezing cold 2ft deep mud and urine helping a cow with dystocia at 5am makes you think "SWEET! Where do I sign up??" Thats the kind of stuff that'll really knock their socks off.

Research too. A huge plus on your application. Believe it or not, being a Cow Hero is more popular than devoting years of your life determining exactly what it is that makes colostrum so special.

Also balance is critical. They want to know that you can take the heat and not show up to school with an AK-47. Thats really what the high GPA is for actually, its not to see if you're smart, its to see if you can handle a 30 hour course load and come out the other side alive.

So, apply to U.S. schools first if Ross is not in your heart of hearts. You do have a chance.

 

[Angelonyxcat]

Thanks for the encouragement. I remember my first day at work, cleaning up after an HGE dog. The room was literally covered in blood, walls and all, the owners were screaming, crying... Still, I couldn't wait to come back the next day. I think especially in emergency work, you see alot of gruesome stuff. I feel that you really have to love veterinary to do that line of work. We get people all the time, bringing a pet in for something they think is little, and you have to tell them their pet is dying.

They've had several pre vet students there, and everybody has gotten in. Not sure about their grades though.

One of the things I love about veterinary so much is the owners. Now, we get alot of just downright bad pet owners in, putting their pets to sleep because they don't want to spend 200 dollars to help their pet. But then you get the good ones, who love their animals like their own kids, and it makes it worth everything. The most poignant thing I remember was a little old man, and his little old cat, who was dying of old age. He called his cat son, and hand fed him because he was blind. That's why the profession is so rewarding, not only do you get to work to heal or ease the pain of animals, you get to help enrich the lives of the people that own them.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Believe it or not, being a Cow Hero is more popular than devoting years of your life determining exactly what it is that makes colostrum so special.

OMG. I have found my new life calling. Cow Hero to the rescueeeeee Brucellosis beware!

You definitely have a chance. Get varied experience in a lot of different fields. I'm not into small animal med, but I worked at a clinic for a month on purpose to a) get the experience and b) get a feel as to why I didn't want to. I like horses but not equine med so much, but I worked volunteering at a human society horse farm. And I told my interviewers that. Do a lot of stuff, it's fine if you don't like it all. They like variety.

They like seeing people that are willing to try anything, even if it isn't in the realm of expertise. And you're doing that! Small, large, emergency, zoo, etc....Getting out of your "comfort zone" = great!

Grades are a part, yes. They want to know if you can handle the workload. But the also don't want people who are so concerned about grades that they don't care about the field itself. I got in with a 3.3/3.4 and main interests being production medicine and pathology/research.

If you want a ballpark, I got mostly low As and high Bs the first three year of undergrad, then in the last year it got pretty bad, low Bs, Cs, and a D. GPA a little under 3.4 at the end, GREs were 1430. And I got in. I had a lot of different experiences that showed the interviewers that I was very serious about the field and open minded.

I think you absolutely sound like a great candidate and you ARE getting those varied experiences. Keep on with it!

PS...and at many schools, research interest is a HUUUUUUGE plus. Come join us dorky lab types

 

[Angelonyxcat]

Cape. spandex, and all. Cow hero tothe rescueee!

 

[jglovicz]

Don't give up! A few C's won't keep you out of the running. I had a 3.34 when I graduated from college and was not accepted-not given a second glance- when I first applied to vet school (to start F07). I went straight into an M.S. program and I'm really glad that I did. Now I'm working on finishing up my research and I applied again this past October. I've had 3 interviews so far and another one coming. I've been waitlisted at Ohio State, and accepted at Iowa State. Here's my two cents. Apply. See what happens, you may be accepted on your first try. IF you don't get in, ask admissions committees how to improve your application. You have a few options. When I got to this point (I never actually called adcoms because I felt I had a good idea of ways to improve my application) I chose graduate school. ESPECIALLY since it was my GPA that was weak. I already had some vet experience and my feeling was that all prospective students that get rejected get more experience...I thought I might stand out by getting another degree and it seems to have worked! Good Luck and don't give up!

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

 

[Mr Vega]

YES!!!! You do!

Whatever you do, don't assume that you're out of the game because of a few C's. There's a lot more going on in that admissions process than letter grades. I had one of the worst (if not THE worst) undergrad cumulative GPAs in my current class when I applied. I have to admit I did not get in the first time I applied, but I'm glad I didn't. I took some classes that have given me a huge advantage over people in my class now. I think I had like a 2.9 the first time and a 3.0 (and only like 1040 GRE) the second time when I actually got in. So don't lose hope. A great interview and some good letters of rec. can go a long way.

As a side note--- Me and a couple buddies of mine in class all had either so-so or low GPAs coming in. Currently, all 3 of us are in the top 10 of our class so don't worry about how you'll perform in vet school just because of a few Cs.

 

[InfiniVet]

rofl! Love the pic!

 

[jenk]

I believe every school weight the GPA/GRE differently. But I Do believe that they all look at experience and the whole package altogether. If your grades are not perfect (mine are pretty bad too), try to get great letters of Rec. and experience. I really think that helps.

You are definitely not out of the game! And your GRE is pretty good BTW.

 

[jaydog12]

To you Angelonyxcat (close enough), relax. You and a whole bunch of other pre-vet students are all in the same situation of having "below average" grades in some area: physics, chemistry, electives, and etc. You have great animal experience, excellent GRE score, and a published research from what I have read about you on this forum. All you need are good LOR and a savy personal statement and you should still be a prime choice for vet committees. The only saving grace I had was my GPA (3.85 overall) and some decent vet/animal experience. I did no research, my GRE was only 1050 (bad for a pre-vet student), and my LOR written by my two veterinarians I knew for a long time wrote one paragraph in their LOR (hoping to be short and sweet apparently). Many rejections later, I got an interview from Missouri, nailed it, and got accepted. Everyone has their pros and cons, just try to show off the positives as best as possible and for the negatives, just be honest and don't give any bull about it. We are only human, we are allowed to make some mistakes once in a while.

 

[justinpaws]

Hi! To the OP: Honestly I am no one to listen to (haven't even applied for anything yet), but my itty smidge of advice is to take a look at a current issue of the VMSAR (Veterinary Medical School Admissions Requirements) book, which will provide you with the actual % weights given for admission criteria for at least a couple schools. Some schools weigh very heavily on GPA (for example, I think LSU is around 25% cumulative GPA, 25% last 40 hours GPA), while other schools consider that if you have done well on your GRE--which it looks like you could very well do--grades won't play as much of a factor. If you are a good interviewer, I actually think Ohio weighs about 50% of admissions just on that.

Don't give up hope! I had a friend get into Davis on possibly less than a 3.0 (I can't remember), but with killer GREs, good letters of rec, and good experience.

 

[Angelonyxcat]

Thanks for all of the encouragement guys! It has really helped alot.

Where can I get a copy of that book you spoke of?

More and more, I love this field. Was up until 3am watching a surgery at work last night after I clocked out. We had an 10 month old bullmastiff eat an 8 foot long nylon leash. So, they had to open him up to take it up. The leash was nearly in one piece! The vet had me taking pics with her camera as she pulled the thing out.

 

[nyanko]

Where can I get a copy of that book you spoke of?

This upcoming application cycle's copy of the VMSAR isn't out yet; I think it'll come out in a couple months. You can probably get a used one from last cycle on Amazon or something though, if you just want some kind of idea.

 

[justinpaws]

Thanks for all of the encouragement guys! It has really helped alot.

Where can I get a copy of that book you spoke of?

More and more, I love this field. Was up until 3am watching a surgery at work last night after I clocked out. We had an 10 month old bullmastiff eat an 8 foot long nylon leash. So, they had to open him up to take it up. The leash was nearly in one piece! The vet had me taking pics with her camera as she pulled the thing out.

I love watching surgeries too! Although I am constantly reminded of how much pressure is on you when you're doing one. Eek...oh, and this vet told me about how he had set up his sterile area to do his surgery, and this tech came in and started eating a burrito all over it

You can get cheap versions of older copies on Half.com, or the most recent available one on Amazon. Just keep an eye out for it...someone stole mine at work yesterday

 

[2BaVet]

My GPA is lower than yours and I have 2 C, 3 C+ and 1 D and all of those are in my prereqs. My school allowed me to repeat my D and I got an A but they do not average it into my GPA because D is considered as a "pass". Most of those horrible grades are from my first year, first semester because I had trouble adjusting.. And the other C/C+'s are from organic chemistry of course... If you are willing to go to an other country to study, I think you have a good chance of getting into an avma accredited school. As long as you have an explanation for those grades and you try to make it up, you'll get in. I did Hope this will give you some encouragement.. I'd say go for it!

 

[Angelonyxcat]

I love funny surgery stories! I almost made my mom vomit once by explaining in gory detailing how I watched an abdominal exploratory while sucking down spaghettios...Those were some good spaghettios!

I order the latest copy on Amazon, should be in by monday the latest! I'll have to keep it close when I go to work.

2BAvet, what school did you get in at?

 

[2BaVet]

I love funny surgery stories! I almost made my mom vomit once by explaining in gory detailing how I watched an abdominal exploratory while sucking down spaghettios...Those were some good spaghettios!

I order the latest copy on Amazon, should be in by monday the latest! I'll have to keep it close when I go to work.

2BAvet, what school did you get in at?

I got into glasgow... Still waiting to hear from 3 more schools.. for me!

 

[Angelonyxcat]

Wow, congrats! Where else did you apply?

 

[2BaVet]

ahh.. a lot of schools.. total of 12.. I need some time to think about all of their names LOL Well let's see:
Colorado, Wisconsin, Washington, Penn, Tufts, Ohio, Minnesotta, V-tech, RVC, Glasgow, Edinburgh and one more... what was it? hmmm.. aha, illinois! I wish I applied to more schools but these were the ones to which my pre-reqs fit... Don't make the same mistake like I did! Apply as many schools as you can! Esp. try to find those who do not care only about the grades like minesotta.. My mistake was that I never really looked at the schools criteria too much..

 

[Angelonyxcat]

Wow, that's alot! I am hoping this book I ordered will help me do that. I was going to look at all the pre-reqs and make a big list, but doing it online was such a pain. Hopefully, with that book I ordered, it'll be easier to pick out schools. I'm also lucky, my parents offered to pay the fee's to apply to as many schools as I would like this upcoming year, as they really want me to have a chance.

 

[2BaVet]

I think you are on the right track.. My advice would be to make sure that you do well in your upper level classes bc those will show that you actually understand the basic level classes but your grades just don't reflect it.. Also try to find something unique about yourself and use that to sell yourself. That's very important. I think that is what helped me the most.

 

[shelterURIgirl]

Bah, my gpa is lower than all of yours!

I did really good in most of my science classes, but then I got a couple of C's and B's (and maybe one D that we just wont talk about) and
h o l y c r a p my science GPA dropped from a 3.7 to a 2.9! I didn't realize how much damage I had done until it was too late.

I like what nyanko said in her blurb, thats really good advice. I've been rejected twice, but I also had a poor personal statement both years. GPA isn't everything. They just need to know that you can handle the course load. I can, I just didn't show it.

So ANYWAYS,
If you want something, then to hell with what everyone else thinks. Nothing is worse than getting the "maybe you should pick something else" sympathy speech from friends and family. Ignore them. You'll get there. Don't be willing to compromise a dream over a few lousy grades.

Best of luck!

 

[Lotion]

I'm not your normal applicant. Definitely can't say that I have "wanted to be a vet since for eveerrrrr" like most.

This new career path was born out of my prior pursuits in human medicine. I got into med school, took a break, really thought about what would make me happy and proud, and I finally realized that vet med was the way to go. Like everyone else on this forum, I like science, I love animals. I'm fascinated with how they work and act, and it would satisfy me indescribably to be an animal health expert.

Here's my problem: I have little animal or vet experience.
GPA is fine (3.6)
GRE is fine, i think. (670 VERBAL, 710 QUANT)
DO I HAVE A CHANCE NEXT YEAR?

I have begun shadowing vets and I'm also working as a dog walker/groomer/trainer.

By the beginning of the next application cycle (around August 2010) I will have racked up at LEAST 1400 hours of shadow/dog time.
With some luck, I hope to get a vet tech job in the next couple months, which will make the hour count even higher.

BUT, WHEN the admissions panel sees that all my hours have been within the past year, will they shake their heads and growl?

I realize that other factors are involved (letter of rec, pers statement, etc). But does ANYONE know ANYBODY who has gotten in after one year of hard, hard work of getting experience?
Thanks for your advice!

 

[LittleGato]

Lotion, your academic stats look pretty good. There weren't many pre-vets at my university, so I don't know if any one got in with just one year of experience. However, I really think it's the quality of the experience that matters the most. Of course, you need to get in a reasonable amount of hours to be competitive (seems like you're on the right track .) My best advise to you is to get varied veterinary experience. All the vets I've worked with told me to work with not only small animals, but also large animals and wild/zoo animals. While I was in school full-time, I worked at an small animal hospital part-time over the course of two and a half years (full-time during breaks), took care of wildlife, volunteered at a large animal clinic for a summer, and shadowed critical care speacialists. If you are doing your veterinary experience full-time, I think you could make a competitve applicant. My interviewers also wanted to know if I had any non-veterinary animal experience (I bathed dogs/cats), so I think it's important too. I hoped this long ramble helped. I'm sure others can probably give you better advise!

 

[No Imagination]

Lotion, I think the Med School is going to be an issue.

From what I've noticed, Adcoms care most about whether this person is going to finish the program. Now that entails; A) Desirer B) Capabilities C) Long/Short term goals, and D) Mental/Emotional Stability.

How are you going to spin your stint in Med School? Now, they way you did it just now is alright, but I think you need to put some time in on that so you can really nail it they ask about it.

 

[DVMorBust]

Lotion, I think the Med School is going to be an issue.

From what I've noticed, Adcoms care most about whether this person is going to finish the program. Now that entails; A) Desirer B) Capabilities C) Long/Short term goals, and D) Mental/Emotional Stability.

How are you going to spin your stint in Med School? Now, they way you did it just now is alright, but I think you need to put some time in on that so you can really nail it they ask about it.

I though Lotion got accepted, then decided not to go...but didn't attend? I think there's definitely a big difference between the two. Lotion? Care to clarify?

 

[sunnex3]

in my opinion, i think just the length of exposure you've had to the veterinary field may work against you, if you're applying when you've had only about a year. now i haven't applied yet, but i always got the feeling adcoms look for commitment to veterinary medicine, to make sure that you know exactly what you're getting yourself into. it might be worth it to consider maybe taking a couple years to build up on experience before applying?

JMO

i think otherwise your GPA + GRE look great.

 

[No Imagination]

I though Lotion got accepted, then decided not to go...but didn't attend? I think there's definitely a big difference between the two. Lotion? Care to clarify?

As I reread his/her post, I see what you mean, (s)he may not have started Med school - Which would help out a bit I'd say

But does ANYONE know ANYBODY who has gotten in after one year of hard, hard work of getting experience?
Thanks for your advice!

Again, depends on how you spin it. Perhaps you have always been going in this direction (Vet school), but didn't have an opportunity to work with animals while at school. A lot of people get their animal exp. last minute. While I think that people who have long term animal experience is a +1 on their application, I do not think that people with short and heavy animal experience get a -1, probably just breaks even in their eyes.

Here's the thing, and you can see it by looking at the Successful and Rejected applicant threads. Getting in is in the end, subjective. There is no rhyme or reason why some people get accepted and others get rejected in the end

Ohh, and if they are going to see that you did attend/get into med school - The MCAT might help - How did you do on it?

 

[GenghisCohen]

Hi Lotion. I am proof that you can get in with only one year of experience. In my case it was less.

I made the decision to become a veterinarian in August of '07. Since my grades were only average, first I focused on taking the GRE. Once I'd gotten a score that I thought would make me a competative applicant, then I started gettting experience. I didn't want to quit my job or uproot my life, so in January of '08 I began spending one weekend day per week at an aquarium animal hospital. I also shadowed a small animal, large animal and wildlife vets. It was A LOT of work, and I was insanely busy, but it paid off. I applied in the fall and was accepted to 3 schools.

One of the things that helped me was that I have a good amount of research experience relating to animals and natural history. When I volunteer at the aquarium, I spend part of my time working on a project that uses skills I gained in my previous experience, and in my personal statement I tried to show how my previous work with animals and natural history affected my understanding of veterinary medicine.

So, my advice is to use what you've got. If you were accepted to medical school then you probably have some background with human medicine, or research experience. Try to show how this relates to vet med so that when the adcoms see your veterinary experience they don't see it as something you suddenly lept into, but a logical continuation of lifelong interests.

Best of Luck!

 

[bunnity]

in my opinion, i think just the length of exposure you've had to the veterinary field may work against you, if you're applying when you've had only about a year. now i haven't applied yet, but i always got the feeling adcoms look for commitment to veterinary medicine, to make sure that you know exactly what you're getting yourself into. it might be worth it to consider maybe taking a couple years to build up on experience before applying?

JMO

i think otherwise your GPA + GRE look great.

While I think a commitment to vet med is something important, I don't think it is the same thing as length of time you knew you wanted to be a vet. Personally it took me forever to realize what I wanted to do, but that doesn't mean I have any less commitment than someone who realized it in the womb. I don't think Lotion should wait to apply if he/she has the grades and GRE has accumulated several hundred hours experience.

I agree with above posters though that if Lotion dropped out of med school, that could be a sign of non-commitment to things in a general sense and would be a problem.

 

[Lotion]

As I reread his/her post, I see what you mean, (s)he may not have started Med school - Which would help out a bit I'd say.
Ohh, and if they are going to see that you did attend/get into med school - The MCAT might help - How did you do on it?

To clarify, I got into med school,
deferred for a year to do some soul searching, and during that time I re-considered my career goals and true interests. So, no I never entered med school.

MCAT was fine: 12 Bio, 10 Phys, 10 Verb
But if I'm not mistaken, not THAT many vet schools accept mcat scores.

As for prior experience:
I have a MS in biology, but my research was focused in entomology. heh. (come on! it is a small animal is it not? )
I'm also a research intern at the zoo, with few responsibilities.
I have prior clinical experience in private practice.
I have demonstrated excellent leadership skills through extracurricular activities. (This leadership thing was pretty important in med applications. Is this also true with vet?)

Thank you VERY much for all the replies so far.
I realize that whether I get in the first year (or the 4th or 5th ) it will take a lot of work. Hopefully things will turn out in the end. Too bad it's partly a game of luck, no?

Does anyone know how friendly the folks down at admissions are? I'd like to see if I can get any input from the source.
Not to bash you guys in the least!
As a newbie in this vet game, I continue to appreciate all and any advice! Thanks again

 

[nyanko]

Does anyone know how friendly the folks down at admissions are? I'd like to see if I can get any input from the source.
Not to bash you guys in the least!
As a newbie in this vet game, I continue to appreciate all and any advice! Thanks again

This varies by school. I've found people at Minnesota, Colorado State, Cornell and UPenn to be really friendly and helpful. The only other two schools I've dealt with admissions staffers from are UCDavis and VMRCVM. I did not include them in that list.

 

[ZooNose]

Lotion - sounds like you've got yourself a good application! The masters in entomology could be a HUGE selling point. Research experience, even if not directly animal related, is awesome to have on an application and ad coms look highly upon it. And back to entomology - I don't know your exact research focus, but some vet schools have really fantastic vector-borne disease research programs/facilities (CSU comes to mind immediately). Play that up! And good luck!

 

[VAgirl]

I have a MS in biology, but my research was focused in entomology. heh. (come on! it is a small animal is it not? )

No, but parasitology is a fair direction to sell that one in, as Zoonose hinted with the vector borne diseases comment.

This varies by school. I've found people at Minnesota, Colorado State, Cornell and UPenn to be really friendly and helpful. The only other two schools I've dealt with admissions staffers from are UCDavis and VMRCVM. I did not include them in that list.

I, on the other hand, found the admissions staff at VMRCVM to be nothing but supremely helpful and friendly. Most comments I've seen say the same thing, though obviously at least one person (and therefore likely at least a few others) had a negative experience.

 

[david594]

I'm not your normal applicant. Definitely can't say that I have "wanted to be a vet since for eveerrrrr" like most.

This new career path was born out of my prior pursuits in human medicine. I got into med school, took a break, really thought about what would make me happy and proud, and I finally realized that vet med was the way to go. Like everyone else on this forum, I like science, I love animals. I'm fascinated with how they work and act, and it would satisfy me indescribably to be an animal health expert.

I love medicine, and mostly like animals. I was also able to clearly explain my understanding of the differences between human and veterinary medicine and provide a sound reason for choosing veterinary medicine over human medicine.

"Why veterinary medicine and not human medicine?"

If you get an interview, YOU WILL BE ASKED THIS. This will probably also be one of the single most important questions you will have to answer. Think long and hard about it.

Here's my problem: I have little animal or vet experience.
GPA is fine (3.6)
GRE is fine, i think. (670 VERBAL, 710 QUANT)
DO I HAVE A CHANCE NEXT YEAR?

Your stats definitely wont keep it you. GRE is definitely fine.

I have begun shadowing vets and I'm also working as a dog walker/groomer/trainer.

By the beginning of the next application cycle (around August 2010) I will have racked up at LEAST 1400 hours of shadow/dog time.
With some luck, I hope to get a vet tech job in the next couple months, which will make the hour count even higher.

How much of that will be vet experience and how much will be dog sitting/walking/training? I think the vet experience will matter a ton and the rest not so much.

BUT, WHEN the admissions panel sees that all my hours have been within the past year, will they shake their heads and growl?

I realize that other factors are involved (letter of rec, pers statement, etc). But does ANYONE know ANYBODY who has gotten in after one year of hard, hard work of getting experience?
Thanks for your advice!

I got accepted in basically 18 months. From the day I rolled over in bed and said "I think I will try and become a vet" to the phone from the admissions office offering me a seat. In that time I managed 2000+ hours of varied small animal veterinary experience which I think definitely helped.