Finally joined SDN!! WAMC? (and good luck to all!)

[taurusdoc]

Hi everyone! I am a 23yo 1st time applicant. I am from upstate New York but I have been living in Philadelphia for about 7 years now. I work in veterinary emergency & critical care as a VA and the head of inventory/facilities. Outside of work, I have been training dogs for about 6 years now (service dogs, reactive dogs, behavioral basics, etc.)
After vet school I would love to work in either behavioral medicine, emergency, or do research full time. I applied to 4 schools this semester but my top choice is Penn Vet.

Cumulative GPA: 3.91
Science GPA: 3.92
Last 45: 4.00

Recommendations: 2 veterinarians (both Penn Vet alumni), professor that taught my advanced research course, 1 CVT (VTS in ECC)

Degrees: BA in Psychology (Cum Laude)

Veterinary Experience: 2000 hours
VA in an emergency veterinary hospital (small animal, exotics, avian, farm animals)
Inventory management (medications, tools, diagnostics, machinery, etc.) involving hands on patient care under DVMs
Lab management & operation (20+ diagnostic machines, surgical/anesthesia monitoring machines, critical care ICU operation) under instruction of DVMs

Animal Experience: 6000 hours
Dog training (mixed needs, sitting for CPDTKA exam in a month)
Animal care facility for reactive animals (manager)
Managed dog daycare/boarding/grooming center
SPCA volunteering (medical and non medical) seeing small animals, avian, exotics.

Research:
Undergraduate degree focused mostly in research (I feel comfortable with and passionate about the research field). No lab research hours (I worked full time during my undergrad).

Awards/Scholarships:
Dean's List x5
Fear Free Certified: Feline/Canine
Fear Free Certified: Equine
Fear Free Certified: Avian
Low Stress Handling Certified (Silver)
350+ hours of CE conferences (both on paper and hands on components) for small animal, large animal, lab animal, avian/exotic, and zoo animals.

Extracurriculars:
I music directed a choir for 3 years of my undergrad. Coming from a performing arts background, it was the best thing I could have done to keep music in my life. Rehearsals 3x weekly, 2hrs each.
I was on a competitive rock climbing team in college, competing (and placing) in several competitions. Practice 2x weekly, 2hr each.

Employment:
40hr work weeks during my undergrad. 35 hours at animal care facilities and 5 training sessions per week.

Concerns:
Lack of large animal experience, lack of on paper research hours despite psychology degree. General anxiety as a first time applicant not knowing what to expect.

Any feedback will be deeply appreciated, both positive and constructive. I am sending all of you every positive vibe in the world and we've got this!

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[supershorty]

Your GPAs are going to be competitive at most programs. Are you a PA resident or a NY resident at this point?

Research:
Undergraduate degree focused mostly in research (I feel comfortable with and passionate about the research field). No lab research hours (I worked full time during my undergrad).

This is not research experience and you should not list it as such if you do not actually have any formal research hours. If you list it without having done any research, it's just padding your application misleadingly and will hurt you.

I think your biggest hurdle is going to be that your vet experience might not have much on the large animal side - but it sounds like where you work is a mixed clinic? How much farm animal stuff are you getting through there?

 

[taurusdoc]

Your GPAs are going to be competitive at most programs. Are you a PA resident or a NY resident at this point?

This is not research experience and you should not list it as such if you do not actually have any formal research hours. If you list it without having done any research, it's just padding your application misleadingly and will hurt you.

I think your biggest hurdle is going to be that your vet experience might not have much on the large animal side - but it sounds like where you work is a mixed clinic? How much farm animal stuff are you getting through there?

I am a PA resident technically and have seen (weirdly enough) a large number of farm animals. Pigs and goats mostly, but with chickens and other waterfowl scattered in there! As for the research aspect don’t worry I did not list that as actual research experience. I was able to work my passion for research into a segment of one of the school specific essays but I do recognize that the lack of actual quantifiable research would be a weak point for me