I'm starting to look at which schools to apply to next year and was wondering which ones are particularly good for someone wanting to be an equine vet. I've heard Penn and Colorado - any others that stand out? And if so, are they strong in any specific areas (lameness/orthopedic, repro, etc)? I know you can do equine from pretty much any vet school, but this will hopefully help narrow down my list.
Equine Programs
- Thread starter Tiraka
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I would definitely take a look at this thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=379130
Do you have state residency anywhere? If you don't mind sharing what are your stats, that will really help people give you guidance. Good luck!
Do you have state residency anywhere? If you don't mind sharing what are your stats, that will really help people give you guidance. Good luck!
Thanks for the direction to that thread
I'm in-state for TAMU, and there's a good chance I'll go there if I get in (it's my undergrad, plus it's hard to justify paying 3x or more for out of state).
as for stats - 3.6 GPA, GRE: 600Q 700V
vet experience: ~400 hours SA, 100 LA (mostly equine), will be working at a mixed clinic that also sees zoo animals this summer
animal: shelter work & horse showing in high school, trained a service dog, worked with swine for a semester, volunteered with a sea turtle conservation group in Uruguay, and currently helping with equine nutrition research
I'm in-state for TAMU, and there's a good chance I'll go there if I get in (it's my undergrad, plus it's hard to justify paying 3x or more for out of state).
as for stats - 3.6 GPA, GRE: 600Q 700V
vet experience: ~400 hours SA, 100 LA (mostly equine), will be working at a mixed clinic that also sees zoo animals this summer
animal: shelter work & horse showing in high school, trained a service dog, worked with swine for a semester, volunteered with a sea turtle conservation group in Uruguay, and currently helping with equine nutrition research
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I think your stats are good enough to get you into your state school and some schools that accept a lot of out-of-state students, but schools that accept very few out-of-staters, like CSU, will be tough. Don't get me wrong - your stats are good, but make sure that the school is someplace that would REALLY suit you (GREAT equine) if you're going to spend $75 and however long on a secondary app if the average out-of-state stats are 3.8 GPA, 750Q, and 5000 hrs.
I think you'll get into TAMU if you write a good essay, and considering the price, and that their equine program is decent (I think) I'd say it's your best bet 🙂
If you want an easy way to up your chances, I would retake the GRE and try to improve your Q score. 600 isn't terrible, but I think (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that it's about 50-70 points below average for most schools. 700 V is pretty good, but the Q section is weighted far more than the verbal. 3.6 is right up there with the average accepted GPAs, but you don't want to lose ground because of one test. Otherwise looks like you'll be successful 👍
I think you'll get into TAMU if you write a good essay, and considering the price, and that their equine program is decent (I think) I'd say it's your best bet 🙂
If you want an easy way to up your chances, I would retake the GRE and try to improve your Q score. 600 isn't terrible, but I think (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that it's about 50-70 points below average for most schools. 700 V is pretty good, but the Q section is weighted far more than the verbal. 3.6 is right up there with the average accepted GPAs, but you don't want to lose ground because of one test. Otherwise looks like you'll be successful 👍
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I agree with Cyrille. 1300 is a competitive overall score (700 is fantastic for verbal by the way!), but quantitative is weighted more. Though I don't think you really need to retake it, its something to consider. I think you have really solid stats for your state school, out of state is kind of a crap shoot (though sometimes so is instate). I definitely agree its hard to rationalize paying out of state costs when you have a great instate program. I am going to the same vet school (Ohio) as my undergrad, and I'm really excited that I know Columbus well (I get lost so easily!). Good luck with your app!
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Is it actually weighted more - like in the actual formulas that schools use to rank applications - or is the average just higher? See, in previous threads people have asserted the opposite - if you have an OK quant but a great verbal you'll stand out because the average for verbal is so much lower. (Which I just DO NOT understand, because for me the verbal stuff is cake, whereas I had to go all-out just to finish the quant sections in time...)
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I know certain schools do look at it more, while others just look at the overall score. For example, Penn claims to look at the quantitative score specifically, but Ohio just looks at the overall score. I guess its on a school by school basis.
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Sorry for off-topic of equine. Regarding GRE:
Missouri had told me that they look at both equally. So did Tufts.
Penn said they care much more about quantitative.
Kansas told me that my [ever so humble] Q540 and V650 were "very competitive" for non-resident when I interviewed there. [Insert more KSU love here 😍 ]
Penn never looks at the essay grade. Missouri does.
Tufts told me during my post-mortem call last year that "most students would kill" for my verbal score, and even though they consider both equally, they wanted a higher quantitative from me. (No surprise, since I was so far below their average).
(And remember, for all of next year's applicants, the GRE is changing. I think in August??? I can't recall. www.ets.org I believe is the site for GRE stuff. Unless you like being a guinea pig... it's probably good to take the GRE before it changes. Better access to previous exam and practice questions. Once it's new, it'll all be new. Ick!)
Missouri had told me that they look at both equally. So did Tufts.
Penn said they care much more about quantitative.
Kansas told me that my [ever so humble] Q540 and V650 were "very competitive" for non-resident when I interviewed there. [Insert more KSU love here 😍 ]
Penn never looks at the essay grade. Missouri does.
Tufts told me during my post-mortem call last year that "most students would kill" for my verbal score, and even though they consider both equally, they wanted a higher quantitative from me. (No surprise, since I was so far below their average).
(And remember, for all of next year's applicants, the GRE is changing. I think in August??? I can't recall. www.ets.org I believe is the site for GRE stuff. Unless you like being a guinea pig... it's probably good to take the GRE before it changes. Better access to previous exam and practice questions. Once it's new, it'll all be new. Ick!)
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Ok, I guess all I was going on was what Penn told me. Thanks for the correction. Still, if you have the motivation and time (and you think you can repeat the 700 V), it's relatively easy to raise the Q score by studying. So I think I will still go with my original recommendation, especially since you're applying to Penn because of their great equine program...it's up to you though.
Just from my own experience, my stats were somewhat similar to yours and Penn told me to do well on the GRE to be competitive...so I studied my butt off, got 800Q 660V and they wound up accepting me. So I'm a big proponent of a good GRE score, because I think it was one of the kickers in my app. Then again, I don't have a state school, so again the decision is yours. Good luck either way 🙂
Just from my own experience, my stats were somewhat similar to yours and Penn told me to do well on the GRE to be competitive...so I studied my butt off, got 800Q 660V and they wound up accepting me. So I'm a big proponent of a good GRE score, because I think it was one of the kickers in my app. Then again, I don't have a state school, so again the decision is yours. Good luck either way 🙂
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Some schools will actually count the best score in each section from any test you took. That is, if you got 700V/500Q and then 500V/700Q, you would get credit for the 700 on each section. But, like every other requirement, not all schools do it that way...
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Yeah,
I've heard Penn and Colorado also. Additionally, I don't really know much about Minnesota's case load, but they are just finishing a brand new equine center, and there was a big equine/horse owners conference the day of my interview. Also, I think UC Davis is supposed to be big, and I think one of the equine vets I shadowed also told me Ohio State--it was a list of like 5 schools that he gave me, so I'll try to remember to post it.
Oh, I think Cornell is pretty good too, but I'm not sure.
Also, Michigan State has an equine center with some pretty cool stuff, but I'm not sure what kinds and how many cases they see.
My advice would be to look at the case loads of the schools, because really great facilities don't mean much if there's nothing coming in.
I've heard Penn and Colorado also. Additionally, I don't really know much about Minnesota's case load, but they are just finishing a brand new equine center, and there was a big equine/horse owners conference the day of my interview. Also, I think UC Davis is supposed to be big, and I think one of the equine vets I shadowed also told me Ohio State--it was a list of like 5 schools that he gave me, so I'll try to remember to post it.
Oh, I think Cornell is pretty good too, but I'm not sure.
Also, Michigan State has an equine center with some pretty cool stuff, but I'm not sure what kinds and how many cases they see.
My advice would be to look at the case loads of the schools, because really great facilities don't mean much if there's nothing coming in.
