File review's

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Hey there
Has anyone had a file review done on their denied application? I filed for mine, and in the mean time was wondering what the top reasons for denial were (to make sure I don't make those mistakes for next time).
Thanks!!🙂
 
I had a file review at CSU (alternate status).

* Not enough upper division science classes
* Lack of significant community service
* No LA experience/LA vet experience.
* Too many outstanding OOS candidates, too few spots.
 
Both times A&M denied me they recommended I get more LA experience. First one also said not to 'um' and 'uh' so much in interviewing as well. Didn't seem to have that problem the second go around though.
 
StartingoverVet said:
I had a file review at CSU (alternate status).

* Too many outstanding OOS candidates, too few spots.
Click to expand...

I had a review at CSU also, and this was one big reason that I was pretty much given, along with the "I expect you'll get in somewhere this cycle" line. Honestly the review was one of the most complimentary evaluations I've ever received, only really surpassed by the email my offer letter for the ISU fellowship was attached to.

She also said that if I didn't get in somewhere, continuing to do well in coursework would go a long way towards showing that my "newer academic history" was more representative of my abilities.

My Cornell review on the other hand...

Now throughout my communications with them, Jennifer Mailey and the rest of the staff at Cornell had been among the most helpful and friendliest staff members that I'd encountered in the DVM admissions process. I think that she must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed the morning I called for my file review. It was basically a litany of "stuff I could have figured out myself by waiting for the entering class stats to come out" in list form. Yes I realize that my GPA is lower than average and my GRE is higher than average, thanks. She basically ignored my questions about my personal statement/supplemental essays evaluation. And her only comment about my experiences was that "the average admitted applicant had experience in 4 different areas of vet med and you had 3." Really?? So the stuff I couldn't list because it was so long ago that I couldn't really get a rec letter for it just basically doesn't exist (for those who don't know, Cornell only counts vet experiences that you have a rec letter for). At the beginning she asked if I was thinking about reapplying and I said that I had an interview for UC Davis still but if I was not accepted I would reapply. I think maybe that's where it started to go downhill? I dunno...

My Davis review two years ago was very helpful. Yasmin is great. 🙂
 
My review with Yasmin at UCD is on May 3rd. I'm quite literally chomping at the bit to hear what she has to say!
 
For me it was learning how to interview, and taking the time to think about myself. I know that sounds wierd, but until the year between last cycle and this one, I'd never bothered to actually sit down with words and quantify things like why I was applying to vet school, what I wanted to do with it, etc. This cleared up ALOT of my "um"s and "uh"s and general flaky answers in my interview.
 
In my file review for U-Illinois (alternate) I was told that the big thing working against me was my lack of large animal experience. I had 32 hours with horses and that was it. My interview also wasn't as good as it could have been, but Mary Kelm told me that didn't impact my status as much as the experience factor.
The fact that there were a lot of highly qualified applicants and only 30 seats also contributed. 🙁
 
My file review at CSU centered around:

*Too many OOS Applicants
*not enough -ology classes completed (ie virology, histology, immunology), CSU was unsure how the science classes I did take (evolution, ecology, forestry) stacked up against their VM1 curriculum. I did have all of their required classes taken though.

Just as an FYI there was no mention of not having enough LA experience and I only had equine (although I had 2000 animal experience, but not vet hours)

Don't think I have the guts or desire to do a review at MN, my other rejected school. I already relive my (failed) interview at least a million times in my head.
 
My file review at CSU...

*Too many B's in upper level science classes and not enough A's
*GRE scores are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Verbal is too low and Quant is really high. Need to do better in verbal section.
*Not enough EC's
*Need experience with LA or equine.

I am getting a file review from WSU and should hear from them in the next month and UCD has ignored my request for a file review so I need to email them again.
 
DVMDream said:
I am getting a file review from WSU and should hear from them in the next month and UCD has ignored my request for a file review so I need to email them again.
Click to expand...

At least from my experience with Davis, they prefer to handle scheduling file reviews over the phone.
 
Thanks for all the info! My file review with UCD is on the 20th. I'm pretty nervous to hear what they will say, and am even more concerned that there isn't really enough time to change anything between now and the next application cycle. Eeeak!!
 
Purdue, Cornell, Illinois:

-GPA (3.35)
-old academics (10+ years on nearly everything)
-experience didn't indicate a strong direction
-'why now' not adequatly addressed (non-trad)

Was told that my PS, LOR's, experience were all excellent, but that I seemed more focused on ethology and ecology than physiology and biochemistry. Admittedly, I still am, but those interests work very well with zoo med. Behavior may be part of a pet practice, but in zoo med it may be the only way to obtain samples....and I have a really strong interest in One Medicine/Health initiatives.
 
I had a file review with Colorado State. The reasons I was denied:
-Majority of experience was animal experience and not veterinary experience
-High Quant score compared to a low verbal
-Too many out of state applicants

They said I was "a good applicant in a pool of phenomenal applicants".
I still don't know if I should take that as a compliment or a burn. I was a bit disappointed in my lack of veterinary experience. It has just been really hard to find jobs in this economy. Now I'm waiting to call Penn at the end of the month for a file review via phone.
 
My review from CSU last year said that I needed to have more "diversified" veterinary experience. Then I went and did a summer shadowing at a zoo. BUt then this year they just said that I was a solid applicant in a group of phenomenal applicants and that this particular pool was just an exceptionally "competitive" year even though my scores fell within the statistics of previous years. I was SUPER disappointed because this was my IS and second year of applying.

Then my Kansas review after being put on the alternate list was very to the point and said that I had "below average interview skills." Oppsss. Kind of made it more "personal" and emotional for me when the only thing they could pinpoint was my interview. Live and learn.
 
After my 1st application cycle when I applied to 5 schools and didn't get a single interview, I did file reviews with Cornell, Colorado, and Tufts. They all said pretty much the same things.

What I took away from my reviews was that I didn't get in because of
* low undergrad GPA
* vet experience not diverse enough
* not enough community service/activity

All my reviewers said my GRE, LORs and PS were excellent. My problems were that I only had small animal shadowing experience and tons of hrs in lab animal work, but no LA, shelter, or zoo experience. Also while I had a 4.0 in my pre-req post-bacc work, my undergrad GPA was a 3.25. While I couldn't do anything about my undergrad GPA, one of the reviewers gave me great advice. She also said that they were impressed with my post-bacc work, but since I had been taking 1-2 classes a semester while working full time, they weren't convinced I could handle a full class load.

I spent the next year getting horse experience, working at a cat shelter, being more active in the community, and I went back for a full semester while working part time (not even pre-reqs, just classes "for fun" - hah!).

It must have worked because this time I got 4 interviews, 2 acceptances and 2 alternates. It just goes to show that even when you have a low undergrad GPA, you CAN do things to improve your chances!
 
My file review from RVC said that my GPA was a little too low, but it was specifically my O-Chem grades (C's) that prevented my accept ion into their program.....can't wait to hear from UCD!
 
Did you hear by email, or did you talk to them on the phone. When I got my rejection email, I immediately emailed back asking for a file review but haven't heard anything. I guess I should email again. Also, do you mind me asking what your GPA was?? you can also PM me if you want.
 
I e-mailed them & Margaret Kilyon (I think) responded via e-mail about a month and a half later (yesterday). My GPA for my last 45units was 3.3 ish & my cum was abt 3.1 - nothing significant. Their requirements have a suggested GPA of 3.4 (I think that's how I interpreted it when I applied at least) - guess they hold true to that. I've got several thousand hours of vet. experience - small animal & research too, I was hoping that would help buffer the GPA - lameness.

Oh, also - she said that starting next app. cycle, they are going to require people to take the GRE bio, chem or some other category exam.
 
I got a file review at Illinois today (my in-state). I didn't get to the interview round which left me kinda bummed. They start off telling you about the strong points of your application to make you feel better. lol Every little bit helps!

Good things about my app:
1) top 100 academically
2) higher than average GRE scores
3) personal statement and supplemental essays were well written
4) good small animal, exotics, and food animal experience

Bad things about my app:
1) didn't explicitly say after I talked about my experiences in my personal statement that I wanted to be a vet (I said it earlier in the essay though)
2) didn't have any equine vet experience (oops!)
3) only had one letter of rec from a vet (double oops!)
4) didn't shadow enough at each office and then said they don't really count hours, which left me a little confused 😕
5) just didn't get the sense that I really "wanted to be a vet" 🙄

I'm waitlisted at K-State and I'm thinking about getting a file review there as well (I'm a glutton for punishment 😛), but I'm pretty sure they'll just tell me my interview skills were sub-par...I was so nervous!
 
Actually I think we're harder on ourselves in our interview than our interviewers are. I thought I did absolutely atrocious in my Western interview but I ended up getting accepted. If you asked me after I walked out of that interview if I was expecting an acceptance, I would've told you flat out 'not a chance'. So it's likely that your KSU file review would still be beneficial, though they may just echo the Illinois one.

Edit: Oh nevermind, just noticed you were accepted at Purdue. Don't really have to worry about improving your app too much 😀

1) didn't explicitly say after I talked about my experiences in my personal statement that I wanted to be a vet (I said it earlier in the essay though)
Click to expand...
Lol, what else did they think you wanted to be? "The reason I'm applying to veterinary school is because I want to be a plumber." I mean, shouldn't it just be kinda assumed?
 
I had my file review with Illinois on Tuesday. I was rejected without an interview (only school I applied to that didn't offer me an interview).

Good stuff
- outstanding GRE scores (I got 83%, they said their average for the incoming class was 63%)
- my GPA is right on target for their average
- well-written, "lovely" personal statement
- good essay for the supplement (which, by the way, she said flat-out that this past cycle's supplemental question was the WORST one they've ever done)

Bad stuff
- all of my vet experience is in small animal and is old; I worked at a SA clinic for six years until 2007 and did animal care stuff since. She said they don't look at number of hours, and they would have liked to see more recent stuff, and a broader experience. Basically she made it sound like even shadowing for a day with a LA vet would have helped. She said that they didn't feel I had taken a good look at veterinary medicine, and that since they have such a high (98%) graduation rate, it would have been a big risk to let me go to the next level.
 
nitheninny said:
- good essay for the supplement (which, by the way, she said flat-out that this past cycle's supplemental question was the WORST one they've ever done)
Click to expand...
Glad to hear that. I thought the question sucked (poorly worded, vague). :laugh:

To be honest, I have decided not to do any file reviews for the schools where I was rejected. I pretty much can guess why I didn't get in - my GPA is kind of crappy and I don't have much SA experience. At this point, it seems that I would be spending the adcoms' time without much benefit. I know that I need to do better in vet school than I did in the first couple years of college, studying-wise (my undergrad GPA has a strong upward trend between years 1 and 3). I will get experience with all kinds of animals in vet school. There is plenty of time to practice interview skills and writing (and, if I say so myself, I pretty much rocked the UC Davis interview). I feel like I need to keep looking ahead and upward, and I will get plenty of feedback on all of these things in the next 4 years so that I can continue to improve. To each his own, I guess.
 
That's true. Anyone wanting to specialize in renal/urinary/intestinal/cardiovascular care?
 
Yeah...you know, plumber pants.
 
Animevet said:
1) didn't explicitly say after I talked about my experiences in my personal statement that I wanted to be a vet (I said it earlier in the essay though)
Click to expand...
I had a similar comment when I did my UI file review! Mary told me I lost points because I didn't explicitly state that I understood that this is a science-based medical field, even though I felt that it was implied in my PS.
 
I can see that opening statement:

"I am applying to your veterinary school because I want to become a veterinarian. Now that I've gotten that out of the way..."
 
"I've been an emergency/ICU tech for the past 3 years. I am applying to veterinary school because my job is lame and I really want to cuddle puppies and kittens all day." Yeah, that should do it.
 
VeganSoprano said:
I am applying to veterinary school because my job is lame and I really want to cuddle puppies and kittens all day." Yeah, that should do it.
Click to expand...


!!!! that reminds me of this girl who i met during penn interviews!! The director of admissions asked everyone what they wanted to go into. she said "Pediatrics" and he was like uh ok what do you mean exactly and she said "well, in the past 2 years ive raised 15 puppies and kittens" and of course he was like well, there isn't really anything like this unless you're interested in LA's and she was like "no i dont really like LA's" :laugh:
 
If that person had a 4.0 and got in because of it, I am going to go drown my sorrows in espresso and give up on life entirely.

I can kind of relate, though. My favorite thing in the entire world is feline pediatrics. Functionally, though, it'll always be mostly a hobby. Fortunately, there is always a need for fosters for neonates!
 
BlacKAT33 said:
!!!! that reminds me of this girl who i met during penn interviews!! The director of admissions asked everyone what they wanted to go into. she said "Pediatrics" and he was like uh ok what do you mean exactly and she said "well, in the past 2 years ive raised 15 puppies and kittens" and of course he was like well, there isn't really anything like this unless you're interested in LA's and she was like "no i dont really like LA's" :laugh:
Click to expand...

😱 I would have paid to see his reaction to that!
 
BlacKAT33 said:
!!!! that reminds me of this girl who i met during penn interviews!! The director of admissions asked everyone what they wanted to go into. she said "Pediatrics" and he was like uh ok what do you mean exactly and she said "well, in the past 2 years ive raised 15 puppies and kittens" and of course he was like well, there isn't really anything like this unless you're interested in LA's and she was like "no i dont really like LA's" :laugh:
Click to expand...

Was she actually serious or was it a "haha" moment?
 
Sounds serious to me. I would expect a joke to be followed by some obviously over-the-top statement about playing with puppies or something.
 
BlacKAT33 said:
!!!! that reminds me of this girl who i met during penn interviews!! The director of admissions asked everyone what they wanted to go into. she said "Pediatrics" and he was like uh ok what do you mean exactly and she said "well, in the past 2 years ive raised 15 puppies and kittens" and of course he was like well, there isn't really anything like this unless you're interested in LA's and she was like "no i dont really like LA's" :laugh:
Click to expand...

Oh my god... That is ridiculous.

I know a girl who told me, "If I don't get into vet school the first round, I'll just take the MCAT and go to med school." Because it toooootaaalllyyy works that way.
 
BlacKAT33 said:
!!!! that reminds me of this girl who i met during penn interviews!! The director of admissions asked everyone what they wanted to go into. she said "Pediatrics" and he was like uh ok what do you mean exactly and she said "well, in the past 2 years ive raised 15 puppies and kittens" and of course he was like well, there isn't really anything like this unless you're interested in LA's and she was like "no i dont really like LA's" :laugh:
Click to expand...

There are SA pediatric specialties. You sepnd a LOT of time working with breeders (who often aren't my favourite people). I guess it's more of a reproduction specialty because you're working with clients from conception on through post birth. My boss (a vet) and I were JUST talking about this about a week ago and we were both discussing how it could be a lot of fun if it wasn't for dealing with the crazies! 🙂 (which of course then derailed us into discussing crazies in all other specialties, so what does it matter? lol)
 
oya she was DEAD serious, of course the director of admissions chuckled a lil bit until he realized she was serious. I highly doubt she got in, she was really upset after her interview, i dont think it went well. i guess we'll see once i start class and she'll probably hate me if she finds out i wrote it on here lol.

Another girl said she wanted to do zoo med, and he was like oh thats great! there are lots of opportunities around here for that. what kind of experience do you have so far? and she said "oh, i dont have any zoo experience yet" and he was like 😱 "I'd highly recommend you don't tell your interviewers that today"

lol it was quiet an entertaining beginning to our day. of course, i dont think anyone knew he was the director of admissions until mid/end of day.
 
HopefulAg said:
Lol, what else did they think you wanted to be? "The reason I'm applying to veterinary school is because I want to be a plumber." I mean, shouldn't it just be kinda assumed?
Click to expand...

Lol...that was exactly what I asked her. We have so few characters in those darn things...we don't have space to type "I want to be a vet" over and over.
 
BlacKAT33 said:
Another girl said she wanted to do zoo med, and he was like oh thats great! there are lots of opportunities around here for that. what kind of experience do you have so far? and she said "oh, i dont have any zoo experience yet" and he was like 😱 "I'd highly recommend you don't tell your interviewers that today"
Click to expand...

... yeah, that was me.

I actually said I had an interest in zoo medicine, but I meant wildlife rehab/conservation medicine. That's not my career goal, though. It's just something I'm interested in learning about and potentially doing for like a summer project during school or for a year or two post-graduation. I just got flustered due to nerves and it came out all wrong. I explained it better in my interview, but I do wonder if that's why I got rejected (though in the end that turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for me). And to be honest, I thought the way he reacted was fairly rude. I understand that I didn't get my point across well, but his response was IMHO a little on the harsh side and really made me feel like I'd already bombed the interview.
 
nitheninny said:
... yeah, that was me.

I actually said I had an interest in zoo medicine, but I meant wildlife rehab/conservation medicine. That's not my career goal, though. It's just something I'm interested in learning about and potentially doing for like a summer project during school or for a year or two post-graduation. I just got flustered due to nerves and it came out all wrong. I explained it better in my interview, but I do wonder if that's why I got rejected (though in the end that turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for me). And to be honest, I thought the way he reacted was fairly rude. I understand that I didn't get my point across well, but his response was IMHO a little on the harsh side and really made me feel like I'd already bombed the interview.
Click to expand...

aww i'm sorry. yea im sure it all just came out wrong and he was just wondering how you came upon zoo med with no experience in that area. now that you explain it i understand. i think we all just thought you meant you wanted to specialize in that not learn more about it. and yea, his response was not something that would make you feel comfortable about the rest of the day. but i do think he was just trying to help you? did you know who he was?? i had NO CLUE he was the director of admissions. im sure i posted this on another thread, but he was actually the guy who interviewed me. once i found out i couldnt believe it, im sure i sounded SO stupid. especially when i defended my stats in front of him

but i guess it all worked out for the best! i wasnt trying to make fun of you like the pediatrics girl i just thought it was funny. im sure you didnt think it was funny at the time, but maybe a little now? just miscommunication though. anyway, you'll be at Ohio!!!!! woo!
 
BlacKAT33 said:
aww i'm sorry. yea im sure it all just came out wrong and he was just wondering how you came upon zoo med with no experience in that area. now that you explain it i understand. i think we all just thought you meant you wanted to specialize in that not learn more about it. and yea, his response was not something that would make you feel comfortable about the rest of the day. but i do think he was just trying to help you? did you know who he was?? i had NO CLUE he was the director of admissions. im sure i posted this on another thread, but he was actually the guy who interviewed me. once i found out i couldnt believe it, im sure i sounded SO stupid. especially when i defended my stats in front of him

but i guess it all worked out for the best! i wasnt trying to make fun of you like the pediatrics girl i just thought it was funny. im sure you didnt think it was funny at the time, but maybe a little now? just miscommunication though. anyway, you'll be at Ohio!!!!! woo!
Click to expand...

No worries, I wasn't offended! I was actually wondering if it would get mentioned, lol. To be honest, at that point my heart was already set on Ohio State, so while I was pretty mortified when it happened, I was sort of amused by it by the time I actually had my interview and just explained my career goals more clearly to them. I guess we'll see if that was the nail in my coffin when I have my file review.

I think he said he was on the board of admissions when he introduced himself, so I sort of felt like I'd completely screwed myself with that. I don't think he meant to make it seem that way, though.
 
I'm wondering if anyone knows if Illinois isn't as strict with IS applicants during Phase I. During my file review with them she said that I didn't make it past Phase I because of my gpa (3.44 cum/3.22 sci [and somehow that is lower than every other school calculated it]), she said if I had I probably would have gotten an interview. I guess they don't even look at the rest of your application until Phase II. Anyway, I saw an acceptance with lower gpa than mine, so I am curious.
 
squibby said:
I'm wondering if anyone knows if Illinois isn't as strict with IS applicants during Phase I. During my file review with them she said that I didn't make it past Phase I because of my gpa (3.44 cum/3.22 sci [and somehow that is lower than every other school calculated it]), she said if I had I probably would have gotten an interview. I guess they don't even look at the rest of your application until Phase II. Anyway, I saw an acceptance with lower gpa than mine, so I am curious.
Click to expand...

Yeah I didn't even get an interview to Kansas even though I know people got one with a lower gpa than me (3.55)...oh well... They said that it was all based on gpa too so who knows.
 
I would't be surprised if there is a lower GPA cutoff for in-state applicants. Think about it - if there are 200* IS applicants for 75* IS seats and 800* OOS applicants for 25* OOS seats, it is only logical that competition for OOS seats will be much stiffer and stiffer competition means a higher GPA will probably be required in order to be competitive.

*numbers are made up but are intended to be fairly realistic
 
VeganSoprano said:
I would't be surprised if there is a lower GPA cutoff for in-state applicants. Think about it - if there are 200* IS applicants for 75* IS seats and 800* OOS applicants for 25* OOS seats, it is only logical that competition for OOS seats will be much stiffer and stiffer competition means a higher GPA will probably be required in order to be competitive.

*numbers are made up but are intended to be fairly realistic
Click to expand...

that makes sense, thanks.
 
Shanomong said:
BlacKat, one of the admissions guys is a pedes guy, he actually walks around telling all of the interviewee's how he literally went into the field so he can play with puppies and kittens... he's the president of the Repro club and plans to specialize in small animal pedes. It actually is a field 😉 Limited, but existant.
Click to expand...

thats cool, Mr. Keiter should have told her about him
 
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