First time applicant- what are my chances?

[kate743]

Hello! I am in-state, applying to the DVM @ WSU in Pullman. I believe I have a very strong application, except for my GPA.
It is definitely not preferable, with a cumulative gpa of 3.1, and my lower classes (lowest a C) being 100 level science. I am a first time applicant, and I am okay with taking more time after my first application to retake classes.
I just had so many issues with professors (I go to EWU, and oof) and I am super worried. I have had my sights set on WSU right when I fell in love with horses and general veterinary work. (around 7yo)(also have visited their campus 3 times, once for my birthday when I was 13 lol)

My GPA is increasing as I get into more specialized classes. I will have about 1000 hours of veterinary experience and 250 of experience at a animal shelter (paid). I also have experience as a intermittent ranch hand for going on 8 years. I am planning on taking the GRE multiple times with tons of studying to try and offset my GPA in their eyes. I also will have pretty awesome eLORS so honestly it feels like a toss up! I for sure would like to stay in Washington, and I would probably reapply with a improved GPA, retaking the C's.

Let me know! Thank you for taking the time to reply and read this. I am a newbie at this website as well haha.🙂

(also! when is the best time to ask for eLORs? I started at a veterinary clinic in January as a Veterinary Assistant and they have about 6 doctors with DVM [a couple from WSU] and I think I've got solid relationships with at least 2. I will also have a eLOR hopefully from one other Assistant in school to become a Tech, as well as a highly qualified Tech.)

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[battie]

@MixedAnimals77 is a current OOS!

Mixy will probably be the best source of information, but why not retake the Cs prior to your first application, and apply with the best application you can?

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Not to dodge out, but I think @Peaches95 or @CoffeeQuestionMark would be better suited for answering IS specific stuff especially regarding admission GRE/GPA score stuff, but you can find averages on the website. It also works in your favor being IS vs OOS.
As far as GRE take it once and see how you do-definitely not a make or break for making up GPA though. It's expensive and time consuming to take.
Here is the tier break down for interviews https://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/academic-criteria
When to ask for LORs depends on when you're applying. Always give your evaluators as much time as possible so basically as soon as the VMCAS opens for your cycle. Mine wanted my essays first so I has to wait until my essays were done so they could read those too.

 

[kate743]

Not to dodge out, but I think @Peaches95 or @CoffeeQuestionMark would be better suited for answering IS specific stuff especially regarding admission GRE/GPA score stuff, but you can find averages on the website. It also works in your favor being IS vs OOS.
As far as GRE take it once and see how you do-definitely not a make or break for making up GPA though. It's expensive and time consuming to take.
Here is the tier break down for interviews https://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/academic-criteria
When to ask for LORs depends on when you're applying. Always give your evaluators as much time as possible so basically as soon as the VMCAS opens for your cycle. Mine wanted my essays first so I has to wait until my essays were done so they could read those too.

Thank you for your input!
If I am applying for my first year as 2021-2022, wouldn't that be this application period right now? The one you submit on September 15th? I honestly have been doing all my own stuff, my advisor does not specialize in veterinary information at all 🙁

 

[Lupin21]

Thank you for your input!
If I am applying for my first year as 2021-2022, wouldn't that be this application period right now? The one you submit on September 15th? I honestly have been doing all my own stuff, my advisor does not specialize in veterinary information at all 🙁

Yes, they opened early this year, so it throws some of us off. 🙂

 

[Peaches95]

Hello! I am in-state, applying to the DVM @ WSU in Pullman. I believe I have a very strong application, except for my GPA.
It is definitely not preferable, with a cumulative gpa of 3.1, and my lower classes (lowest a C) being 100 level science. I am a first time applicant, and I am okay with taking more time after my first application to retake classes.
I just had so many issues with professors (I go to EWU, and oof) and I am super worried. I have had my sights set on WSU right when I fell in love with horses and general veterinary work. (around 7yo)(also have visited their campus 3 times, once for my birthday when I was 13 lol)

My GPA is increasing as I get into more specialized classes. I will have about 1000 hours of veterinary experience and 250 of experience at a animal shelter (paid). I also have experience as a intermittent ranch hand for going on 8 years. I am planning on taking the GRE multiple times with tons of studying to try and offset my GPA in their eyes. I also will have pretty awesome eLORS so honestly it feels like a toss up! I for sure would like to stay in Washington, and I would probably reapply with a improved GPA, retaking the C's.

Let me know! Thank you for taking the time to reply and read this. I am a newbie at this website as well haha.🙂

(also! when is the best time to ask for eLORs? I started at a veterinary clinic in January as a Veterinary Assistant and they have about 6 doctors with DVM [a couple from WSU] and I think I've got solid relationships with at least 2. I will also have a eLOR hopefully from one other Assistant in school to become a Tech, as well as a highly qualified Tech.)

Pardon my finals week brain, hopefully this all comes out coherent. Do feel free to PM me if you have more questions

I am a current in-state student at WSU, I did my undergraduate there as well. I was accepted on my first application cycle. I don't remember my stats incredibly well, but I was average for the most part. My GRE scores were in the 50ish percentile for each part, I think my overall GPA was a 3.4-5. One thing I had really going for me was my science GPA, because I was a Biology student all of my upper level classes counted towards my science GPA putting me around the 3.8 mark there. I did have several C's including Organic Chemistry and a general Biology Class. I think I was in the 1000-1500 hours of vet experience under a couple of different vets. Please don't take my stats and think of them as a bench mark, the application teams do really look at people as a whole not just their stats. I know people that are both higher and lower than me, but do know that you do not have to be a 4.0 student to be accepted.

As for the GRE, take it once and see where your at. If you think its good I wouldn't take it again. I've heard of people taking it a second time and only improving by a few points. Its not worth the time and money if your sitting fine after the first try.

eLORs ask for them early and set the deadline before you really need them. I had all of my eLORs by the end of July and I submitted my whole application by the middle of august because I didn't want to mess with it once school started and I was a bit worried about my transcript input because I went to two schools. This allowed me time to get the transcript stuff finalized well before the true submit date and I wasn't having to hound my eLOR people close to the deadline either. It made the application a bit less stressful for me by doing it this way.

Hopefully that all helps,feel free to PM if you have more questions. Best of luck on your application, its defiantly a stressful but exciting thing.

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

I don't have really much to add except for what caught my eye about your eLORs. I honestly couldn't remember off-hand what WSU's requirements are but I followed the rules for another school when I applied that had the strictest, which required eLORs from a veterinarian, an employer, and someone from academia (advisor or professor)

For accuracy sake, I just went and found WSU rules which are quite similar actually

"Each applicant should obtain a minimum of three evaluations (the program will accept up to six evaluations) to aid the Admissions Committee in assessing personal traits. The best individuals for these evaluations are those who know the applicant well enough to provide meaningful comments. At a minimum, your application must have the following three evaluations: (1) A licensed veterinarian with whom the applicant has interacted fairly extensively; (2) A current or former academic (e.g., professor, teaching assistant, laboratory instructor, advisor from college) who can speak to the applicant’s academic ability; (3) Individuals (e.g., another DVM, another academic, employer) who can evaluate the oral and written communication skills as well as the scientific background of the applicant. Graduate students should include an evaluation from their major advisor. Applicants who have been out of school for at least two years do not need to provide an academic reference."

Source: https://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/non-cognitive-criteria

So, just FYI, I'm not sure asking for a LOR from an assistant or tech will do you much good, and make sure you're following the requirements.

 

[kate743]

I don't have really much to add except for what caught my eye about your eLORs. I honestly couldn't remember off-hand what WSU's requirements are but I followed the rules for another school when I applied that had the strictest, which required eLORs from a veterinarian, an employer, and someone from academia (advisor or professor)

For accuracy sake, I just went and found WSU rules which are quite similar actually

"Each applicant should obtain a minimum of three evaluations (the program will accept up to six evaluations) to aid the Admissions Committee in assessing personal traits. The best individuals for these evaluations are those who know the applicant well enough to provide meaningful comments. At a minimum, your application must have the following three evaluations: (1) A licensed veterinarian with whom the applicant has interacted fairly extensively; (2) A current or former academic (e.g., professor, teaching assistant, laboratory instructor, advisor from college) who can speak to the applicant’s academic ability; (3) Individuals (e.g., another DVM, another academic, employer) who can evaluate the oral and written communication skills as well as the scientific background of the applicant. Graduate students should include an evaluation from their major advisor. Applicants who have been out of school for at least two years do not need to provide an academic reference."

Source: https://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/non-cognitive-criteria

So, just FYI, I'm not sure asking for a LOR from an assistant or tech will do you much good, and make sure you're following the requirements.

Yes, I've got eLORS from an academic, a employer and a DVM. There are 3 other possible eLORS I can submit, so that is what I mean by the tech, assistant and other DVM!

 

[that redhead]

I will also have a eLOR hopefully from one other Assistant in school to become a Tech, as well as a highly qualified Tech.)

Just my two cents, but I wouldn't ask for a letter from the assistant or the tech. You don't NEED to submit the full number of letters and while a seasoned coworker could certainly write a nice letter, it's not going to hold the same weight as the others. Plus they're all from the same job/location and likely won't be adding much more for admissions to consider.