Does gender matter?

[PerfectBrak]

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I've heard from a few people and read on other forums that being male might help you get into vet school, as nearly 80% of applicants are female.

However, all of the class profiles I've seen reflected the applicant pool; 4:1 female to male ratio.

Any thoughts?

 

[chris03333]

I've heard from a few people and read on other forums that being male might help you get into vet school, as nearly 80% of applicants are female.

However, all of the class profiles I've seen reflected the applicant pool; 4:1 female to male ratio.

Any thoughts?

The ratio in vet classes is because of the applicant pool. There are WAY less males that apply, so yes it is easier for a male to get in then a female.

 

[quakk]

nothing i've read anywhere indicates anyone gives preference to males over females.
most schools spell out point by point how they rank applicants. texas a&m, for example,
does dole out points for socioeconomic status, but it seems the point total for
this would be small (total 300 points):
"The remaining 28 points are calculated from the applicant's personal evaluations, written communication skills, leadership and extracurricular activities and socioeconomic background."

seems to me there are applicants who are extremely well-qualified, and there are those
who are perceived to be "less qualified". the remaining 90% of us are in a big pool, and
we're essentially equally qualified, though our qualifications may be diverse.

how do you pick from that pool?

 

[chris03333]

seems to me there are applicants who are extremely well-qualified, and there are those
who are perceived to be "less qualified". the remaining 90% of us are in a big pool, and
we're essentially equally qualified, though our qualifications may be diverse.

how do you pick from that pool?

You pick those that stand out or are unique. Being male in the applicant pool makes a person unique. I am not saying that a "less qualified" male would get in over a female in the 90% pool you mention.

For instance if you were comparing 2 applicants thet were well qualified and hypothetically speaking say they had the exact same GPA, GRE, oh heck say they have everything the same, except one is male, the other is female, and there is only one spot left in the class. I would say that the male would get the seat and the female would get alternate listed.

And of course schools will not put anything in writting about giving a preference for a certain gender....but many schools say they "seek to diversify" there classes. Diversity has a lot of different aspects, gender being one. Also in my application process, I have actually heard schools admit that they need male applicants.

There's the longer version of my 2 cents.

 

[Olddodger]

You pick those that stand out or are unique. Being male in the applicant pool makes a person unique. I am not saying that a "less qualified" male would get in over a female in the 90% pool you mention.

For instance if you were comparing 2 applicants thet were well qualified and hypothetically speaking say they had the exact same GPA, GRE, oh heck say they have everything the same, except one is male, the other is female, and there is only one spot left in the class. I would say that the male would get the seet and the female would get alternate listed.

And of course schools will not put anything in writting about giving a preference for a certain gender....but many schools say they "seek to diversify" there classes. Diversity has a lot of different aspects, gender being one. Also in my application process, I have actually heard schools admit that they need male applicants.

There's the longer version of my 2 cents.

Well,

Here's to hoping they give points to a greying male who probably nullified the last of his cognative thought synapses with alcohol 10 years ago.

Best,
Oldie

 

[chris03333]

👍 good luck

Well,

Here's to hoping they give points to a greying male who probably nullified the last of his cognative thought synapses with alcohol 10 years ago.

Best,
Oldie

 

[verbal_kint]

Using the numbers from UC Davis's guide for perspective students, which has statistics for the class of 2003-2005...

Total applicants: 2676
Total accepted: 366 (122 per year)
Rate: 13.7%

Total Females: 2191
Total Accepted: 296
Rate: 13.5%

Total Males: 485
Total Accepted: 70
Rate: 14.4%

Based on the average of the past three classes, it looks like males have a higher acceptance rate. But if you look at the trend from year to year, it tells a different story.

2003:
female: 13.1%
male: 15.6%

2004:
female: 13.6%
male: 14.7%

2005:
female: 13.7%
male: 13.0%

The male acceptance rate is decreasing, and the female acceptance rate is increasing. These are pretty small changes if you consider the sample size, so I'm thinking it's not very significant. Plus, this is only at Davis, so it's not representative of all the schools.

The bottom line: It is hard to get into vet school no matter what gender you are.

Now what I'm more curious about is race/ethnicity... 😀

 

[VeganSoprano]

Being male or a minority (or interested in an underserved area of vet medicine, or anything else) won't get you in if your credentials don't compare favorably with the applicant pool as a whole, and being a white female interested in small animal medicine won't hurt your chances if your credentials are top notch. Where it will make the difference is if your credentials rank you near the cutoff point. Then if you add to the "diversity" of the class, it can make the difference between being waitlisted and being accepted outright. Diversity characteristics usually come into play when an adcom is trying to make a decision between pretty much equally qualified candidates.

 

[aubieRx]

when i saw this thread my initial impression was that it must be referring to the physically demanding nature of vet medicine ( large animal)

does male vs female matter at all in that sense? I am female , btw, and am willing to admit that sometimes guys have an advantage in strength

 

[chris03333]

when i saw this thread my initial impression was that it must be referring to the physically demanding nature of vet medicine ( large animal)

does male vs female matter at all in that sense? I am female , btw, and am willing to admit that sometimes guys have an advantage in strength

I do not know about that..it depends on the woman. I just did a 2 months of large animal (1 month equine/ one month livestock) Rotations and had a blast. They did have long days but I was able to handle them and had fun while I was at it. Oh I guess I should mention that I am a woman 😀

 

[Moxxie]

I do not know about that..it depends on the woman. I just did a 2 months of large animal (1 month equine/ one month livestock) Rotations and had a blast. They did have long days but I was able to handle them and had fun while I was at it. Oh I guess I should mention that I am a woman 😀

I think that there can be problems either way. When I was a pre-vet student (got into WSU's vet school in 2002 but decided to go to grad school, now trying for pharm school - long story) I took an AI seminar. I'm 5'9" and I didn't have any problems, but one of the other girls in the class was about 5'1" and very petite. The rectal exams were rough on her because her arms weren't long enough for some of the older (bigger) cows. On the other hand, we had some burly farm boys that worked out that were also in the class - I felt really bad for some of the heifers that they had to preg check!

As far as male:female ratio goes, when I was applying, the ad coms didn't seem to make any mention of gender other than the fact that more girls than guys apply each year, and that the numbers get more and more disproportionate each year. Based on the students that I knew that applied and were accepted, I don't think that WSU gives any preference over gender. (Although more of the guys that got in seemed to be married - I'm not sure how this worked into the equation - older, more mature, perhaps?)

 

[aubieRx]

I am also a 5'9" female and am fairly athletic so the physical side isn't incredibly intimidating to me (although I think about this aspect sometimes..the risks) I don't have the sort of strength that can push 1000 pound + animals around....

then again..who does? I think the average horse could destroy any unsuspecting person it wanted to