How did you get in???

[evet]

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Hey guys I am fairly new to SDN and have been reading some of the posts. I was wondering if any of you knew someone who has gotten in with a 3.0. Also if any of you would like to point out what you think helped you stand out. I think that would help a lot of us first time applicants.
Thanks!!

 

[DickVetPlease]

Well I don't know anyone personally that has gotten in with a 3.0, but then again, i don't know anybody else who has (recently) gotten into vet school. However, I have seen countless examples of people on SDN that have gotten in with a GPA hovering around 3.0.

I think my biggest stand-out factor was research experience. The first thing the interviewers at Mizzou said to me when i walked in was that they were very impressed that I was a co-author on a paper as an undergrad. If you have any interest, and you can find some sort of opportunity at your university, research is a very good thing to get involved with.

 

[david594]

Hey guys I am fairly new to SDN and have been reading some of the posts. I was wondering if any of you knew someone who has gotten in with a 3.0. Also if any of you would like to point out what you think helped you stand out. I think that would help a lot of us first time applicants.
Thanks!!

I had a 3.0 in undergrad and got in. What really helped was the 2 years of full time classes I aced after graduating with the 3.0 to bring it up to a ~3.25.

It also helps to apply intelligently. Compared your app to how the school evaluates apps. If they value GPA as half their criteria, your application money might be better spent elsewhere.

 

[evet]

Thanks david594, that makes me feel a little better. So where is it you got in??

 

[BlacKAT33]

There are many areas that can help you get in if you lack the stats

Quantity and Quality of experiences: make sure you have a broad area of experience, they also love research. If you apply with only small animal experience that won't look so hot.

eLORs- do they know you well? the more personal the better. This can make it or break it for some applicants. I'm sure if there was ever a tie breaker between students with similar apps their eLORs would be different and whoever has the best letters would probably get in

personal statement- rock that ****. get it edited a billion times. make it unique, make sure to include science elements because that seemed to be a problem for some people this year. there is a thread with people willing to read personal statements

interview skills- so YAY! you get an interview invite! have you prepared? can you form full sentences during this moment that may be the scariest in your life? if you are an introvert i highly recommend working on your interview skills before it is too late. volunteer to speak in public, if you work in a lab ask to do a presentation on a scientific paper just for the hell of it lol If you're an extrovert, work on not talking too much! lol


edit: seems as though my curse word was auto blocked out by stars, when did this feature start? lol maybe i just dont curse enough to notice it!

 

[nyanko]

to be honest idk how

 

[UM2014]

to be honest idk how

Same here. I think even perfect applicants need a little luck when it comes to vet school admissions!

 

[smilin1590]

You might find this past years successful applicants thread interesting and informative. That might give you an idea of areas you may need to improve upon👍

 

[moosenanny]

This has been mentioned a ton in other threads, but I thought I'd remind people that rocking the GRE can somewhat help a lower GPA. It certainly helps you argue that you CAN handle tough material.

Personally, I think having a variety of experiences really helped my application stand out: ~1000 hours working with moose in Alaska, ~200 working in a zoo vet hospital, ~200 with horses, ~200 with cows, and ~800 with small animal vets and shelters. I want to be a zoo/wildlife vet, and I think adcoms liked that I have the most experience in this area to back up my career goals.

I'm sure each applicant has something unique to bring to the table. If you're worried about standing out, maybe focus your personal statement around the most interesting case you've encountered, what you learned from it, and why it strengthened your commitment to vet med.

 

[ginger17317]

Once I got to the interview stage, I would place money on the fact that I got in because of my volunteer work - answer phones for the National Suicide Hotline. That was the backbone of my PS, also.

Yes, grades, GRE, and experience are important. You won't get in unless you have a pretty good combination of the three. But they want to see that you're well-rounded, too. If you have any experiences that make you stand out and make you a better applicant, be sure to play it up - with my experiences on the phones I talked about how I could handle stress, multi-task (a lot of times we're on shift alone and there are 9 possible lines that can ring), and be ok with life and death (I had a girl overdose on the phone with me).

Yeah, sorry for the ramble.... But I would definitely talk about something that makes you stand out and makes you a better candidate. Hope that helps! 🙂

 

[GellaBella]

I got in (Penn, Tufts, waitlist NCSU) b/c of my extensive research experience and my graduate degree. No doubt about it.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I got in (Penn, Tufts, waitlist NCSU) b/c of my extensive research experience and my graduate degree. No doubt about it.

haha, good thing you weren't the only person who posted gellabella otherwise it woulda been doom and gloom for a lot of peeps 😛. not sure how many people would want to get a PhD in order to overcome their low undergrad gpa.

 

[turquoisewolves]

Same here. I think even perfect applicants need a little luck when it comes to vet school admissions!

Agreed. Seems like everyone has to try to offset something even if you have a high GPA.....and then luck of the draw in the end. SO I wouldn't over-stress the low GPA. Pretty sure I saw some statistics of someone that got in with lower than a 3.0 a while back.

GOOK LUCK!

 

[HopefulAg]

Dunno. Took me three tries and I did substantially better this time than the last two. I suppose practicing for the interviews (like, actually writing out and rehearsing answers to 'known' questions [like why do you want to be a vet?], complete with pauses and an 'uh' or two to simulate thinking, so as not to make it sound rehearsed) was the biggest part.

I thought my interviews went a LOT better this time around, though I still kick myself for my Ohio interview (sounded like an idiot at times; couldn't even remember what the chem machine we used in the clin path lab was called!) even though I ultimately got accepted there. I wish I could do a last post mortem on my application or at least see my points in interview so I'd know how much I improved, but I don't reckon that'd be appropriate.

Anyhow that combined with going in with a 'let's get this **** done, I'm tired of applying over and over again' attitude did it I believe. To me, I was a lot more confident this time than in years past.

 

[that redhead]

If you search for the previous "Successful Applicants" threads, they will give you some good information. People have gotten in with 3.0s, 4.0s, sub-3.0s, etc. Also, what has worked for one person can't be guaranteed to work for another, unfortunately! I've found the successful applicants thread to be really helpful for understanding how GPA can be balanced out with other things.

 

[that redhead]

Personally, I think having a variety of experiences really helped my application stand out: ~1000 hours working with moose in Alaska, ~200 working in a zoo vet hospital, ~200 with horses, ~200 with cows, and ~800 with small animal vets and shelters. I want to be a zoo/wildlife vet, and I think adcoms liked that I have the most experience in this area to back up my career goals.

Thanks for this - as someone with a low GPA and a ton of experience, it's encouraging! Oh what I wouldn't do to have been working alongside you with the moose(s?)! That sounds like such an awesome experience.

 

[GellaBella]

haha, good thing you weren't the only person who posted gellabella otherwise it woulda been doom and gloom for a lot of peeps 😛. not sure how many people would want to get a PhD in order to overcome their low undergrad gpa.

Haha I know, I was actually going to respond as soon as the thread was posted but then I thought it might be discouraging. But I guess it is an option...not one I necessarily recommend but still...😛

 

[StartingoverVet]

I got in (Penn, Tufts, waitlist NCSU) b/c of my extensive research experience and my graduate degree. No doubt about it.

Hey it wasn't just the phD! I think the fish and rabbits make you stand out as well! I mean how bored must the adcoms be hearing about dogs, cats, and horses after a while.

 

[Pigsfoot]

i got in with a SCIENCE GPA hovering around the 3.0 mark, and totally mediocre GRE scores (1175 ish?). *but* My overall GPA was decent-(3.57) and my experience is really varied and plentiful. I got into my in-state school (Illinois) after my second try. I was waitlisted the first time. I recommend really trying for your in-state school as their GPA cut-offs are a bit lower than out of state. i was rejected from every out of state school i applied to.

hope this helps.......

 

[cowgirla]

Pure dumb luck, no doubt about it.

 

[jpeterman13]

Pure dumb luck, no doubt about it.

👍...same! I had a 3.26, but extensive research experience and good interviews (even though at the time, I thought I bombed them) and I got into 4 schools. Look at the stats on each school's site, people get in with GPA's well into the 2.8 region--you just have to make up for it in other parts of your application. So I guess my answer is Luck + hard work.

 

[Sportster]

I had a 3.3 GPA, 1220 GRE, tons of small animal and lab animal experience, some farm exp, and did lots of research work in undergrad. I ended up moving to a state with a vet school after two tries and got accepted on my third attempt.

Luck may have had something to do with it, but I'd like to think it was my persistence that got me in.

 

[lei325]

Pure dumb luck, no doubt about it.

This. Times a million.

 

[ImaJerseyGirl]

Pure dumb luck, no doubt about it.

Absolutely! I had a lot of varied experience and crappy scores. Really, I think when they post all the applications on a wall and throw darts, I got lucky and landed an interview. I had 6/7 rejections, no interview or anything. I am proud to say I rocked my interview... so do that!!! It's your point to sell yourself!

 

[variegata]

Pure dumb luck, no doubt about it.

This. There's no other explanation.