If you got rejected then accepted, what did you do to improve application?

[pumpkinsmom]

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Hi! In order to truly understand what sets apart the rejected applications from the accepted, I am very interested in the comments of anyone who has applied more than once to vet school, and eventually got accepted (or even at least got interviews). What did you do that improved your application in the eyes of adcoms the second/third/fourth time around?

(Note, I am interested in UC Davis but will of course take comments from anywhere and EVERYWHERE 🙂)

 

[tuckervet]

I haven't been accepted to a vet school (hope I'm not jinxing myself by posting here preemptively), but this is my second round of applications so I may be able to help a little.
Most schools offer application reviews, and they'll give you feedback specific to your application, but some of it will probably apply to a lot of applicants. Most of my feedback from last year involved suggestions that I get more diversity of experience (I had worked almost exclusively with cats and dogs at that point) and more extracurricular activities. I think both of those show that they value well-rounded applicants. I think variety is good, and listing extracurricular helps them get a better sense of who you are.
Of course there were also some suggestions of raising my GPA, which is easier said than done, but can never hurt.
hope that helps a little, good luck!

 

[jtom]

I think you can get a good idea by looking at the successful applicant thread on here.

 

[pumpkinsmom]

True, but I'm thinking that it would provide a different kind of insight to learn about the experiences of specific people who in multiple rounds of applications probably have similar life background, talents, & skills from app to app (things that tend to be more innate personality than things a person can actually DO).

By hearing about multiple applications from the same people, we can see what ACTION steps people could actually take in just a year to improve their application enough for acceptance.

Also, I haven't applied yet, but as I prepare and gain experience for future application, perhaps there are common areas of weakness that we can anticipate ahead of time...

(ps - I hope the capitals don't sound rude I just tend to write with emphasis)

 

[thereservoirdog]

I didn't do much really, I basically just retook my GRE for a better score and kept working as a tech. I spent a good chunk of my PS talking about my rejection and how it made me reflect on myself, how I handled the rejection and thinking about my plan B's, etc. I knew from my file review from UC Davis that they like depth of experience rather than diversity, so that's why I kept working as a tech and focused my career goals on small animal, which is where most of my hours are.

 

[LegallyPink]

I changed almost everything about my application and went from 0 acceptances to 5 so I must have done something right....

1. I worked really hard during my last semester of college to raise my GPA. It wasn't a huge change but I think it made a difference that when most people were slacking with senioritis, I showed that I still cared and could do my best.
2. COMPLETELY re-wrote my personal statement. They read a million of these so they want to be entertained. Don't say you want to be a vet because you love animals. The field is so much more than that.
3. I changed some of my letters of rec. I chose people who knew me better and I felt more confident with.
4. I gained more diverse experience. I only had small animal experience so I worked with an equine vet who is also a farrier. This obviously might not help with Davis but many schools favor diversity.
5. I came up with a better list of schools to apply to. Some accept more OOS students than others which can really up your chances of acceptance.

The one thing I did not do was re-take the GRE. My score was average and I didn't feel like it was worth the hours upon hours of studying to only possibly increase my score...I feel like I may be missing something so I apologize if I did. Hopefully this helps!

 

[HopefulAg]

• Started an MBA, which served double duty by (1) interesting the adcoms and (2) improving my GPA (two 12 hr semesters of 4.0's), especially my last 45.
• Wrote out answers to all the popular interview questions and edited my answers then repeated them repeatedly, practicing in the mirror and what not to get inflections and what not right. Had the answers basically memorized by the time I was satisfied. I think that helped a lot because it made me more confident, made sure I didn't forget anything I wanted to say, and didn't allow me to ramble myself into a loop or dead-end by sticking to the 'script'.

 

[katryn]

The biggie for me was working on my interview skills, and taking the time to really quantify why I was in the field and what my various experiences really meant to me or how they had changed my perspectives. My file review at UT summed up to something along the lines of the ad coms never felt like I said why I was there, and that I might not have known what I was doing. Oops.

Things I did in the in between:
1. Mock interviews with business professionals(not necessarily vets, but those are good too)
2. Making a lot of outlines of points that I definitely wanted to get across somehow
3. Making outlines of experiences or thoughts that could be used for a variety of questions(how do you know you can study well, what was your hardest course, etc)

 

[drwildlife]

• Started an MBA, which served double duty by (1) interesting the adcoms and (2) improving my GPA (two 12 hr semesters of 4.0's), especially my last 45.

I have a question about starting a master's in between cycles. If I don't get accepted next time around, I will still have one more semester left then nothing. Do you guys think it would be better to go ahead an apply/start a master's or just do extensive internships/build up experience? Because I don't know how well stopping in the middle of my master's would work out.

 

[turquoisewolves]

I really don't know if this had anything to do with my acceptance or not....but I think this application I put a lot more work into the organization of my Experience/Extracurricular sections and put more effort into the brief descriptions and grouping things to where it was "tidier" to look at. I also overhauled my PS and worked more on the personal aspect of how things affected me rather than just re-writing my resume.

I was told by a college counselor: "Presentation, Presentation, Presentation"
lol....can't hurt anyway!

 

[HopefulAg]

have a question about starting a master's in between cycles. If I don't get accepted next time around, I will still have one more semester left then nothing. Do you guys think it would be better to go ahead an apply/start a master's or just do extensive internships/build up experience? Because I don't know how well stopping in the middle of my master's would work out.

Usually you don't start a masters unless you have the intention of finishing it unless it's an academic masters. MBA is a bit different because there's no thesis and no research.

Vet schools generally frown on you starting a master's and leaving half way through. A lot of them simply won't accept you until you finish it and definitely won't accept you without a letter from your supervisor excusing you from the program. This is to prevent people from leaving their professors high and dry in terms of funding and having to re-train research assistants.

If you do a non-thesis masters then it doesn't really matter.

 

[drwildlife]

That is what I was thinking. I just wanted to hear it from someone else as well. I would most likely do a thesis master's so there goes that 🙄

Thanks for the answer.

 

[eringobraugh]

If you do a non-thesis masters then it doesn't really matter.

Actually, I did a non-thesis masters and CSU still said I needed a letter from my advisor stating that I'd finish the program by the time I'd be starting Vet school.

CSU was the only school I applied to that required a letter from my advisor but I still wouldn't recommend starting any master's program unless you intend on finishing it. If you're planning on doing an MS based thesis just be prepared for it to take 2-4 years.

 

[NStarz]

Also, I would say not to do a master's unless you are really serious about and interested in doing a master's. It's a lot of work and may not give you any kind of boost in vet school admissions.

 

[drwildlife]

Of course I'm really interested in a master's. I would be willing to commit to it once I started. Veterinary school is my main interest however. Master's is just a backup plan in hopes of raising GPA and gaining more educational experience.

 

[nyanko]

Also, I would say not to do a master's unless you are really serious about and interested in doing a master's. It's a lot of work and may not give you any kind of boost in vet school admissions.

👍

A thesis based MS is actually not the best way to raise GPA - the courses are quite different from those in veterinary school and you don't take very many of them. If your GPA was your issue, you'd be better off taking either a non-thesis coursework-based MS like the one at CSU or additional upper division undergraduate courses.

That being said, my GPA was one of my issues and I did a thesis-based MS between my first and second applications to UC Davis. However, I got an interview the first time which meant that my academics were at least competitive enough for that. My interest is in research though so it also gave me more depth in my intended area of interest and 2-3 amazing recommendation letters from professors at UC Davis's vet school (I did my MS there).

I think one of the biggest things my MS gave me was more confidence though. During my first interview, I felt like I shouldn't be there and was way way nervous and scared of saying "the wrong thing." The second time I went in with a lot more confidence and well, I guess it worked!

 

[EveyG]

So I just got in to CSU and this is what I did between try #1 vs. try #3:

- I got a Master's Degree, this allowed me to recover from a non-competitive GPA that I had earned as an undergraduate to a 4.0 for 2 years straight, which bumped up my cumulative GPA and my last 45h GPA

- I overhauled my personal statement (seems to be a common trend). What I was going for in the past was emphasizing that I knew what it took to be an excellent veterinarian and I was prepared for the task in front of me. It wasn't until I had some very good (and very honest) friends tell me that my personal statement gave the reader NO IDEA who the heck I was as a person did I realize that it was generic and boring. I focused instead on what I had gone through as a child/young adult, how it shaped me to be the person I am now, and how these life lessons apply to the career choice I have made.

- I did not have a vet write me an eLOR. I know, this is shocking to most, but because of my work schedule, I had never really worked directly under a vet. I had done a lot of volunteering in an emergency clinic after-hours, but all the vets were on call, so I had one of the emergency nurses write me a letter instead. Some would call this a risky move, but the nurse could say more about who I was as a person an also attest to my other qualities better than a vet I hardly knew could. The other two letters were from animal-related but non-DVM supervisors that I had, who again could say a lot of good, honest things about the type of person I am. eLORs are really important, so choose people who you know know you well, rather than whether or not they are a vet.

-I made my experience more diverse. I have been an animal control officer, a wildlife rehabilitator, a volunteer in an equine research center, a volunteer in a critical care unit, and I am currently employed with the Centers of Disease Control & Prevention. There are SO MANY people who tech/volunteer at only small animal clinics. I don't know about UC Davis, but it wouldn't hurt to try and do something a little less common, to distinguish yourself from someone who's app may look similar to yours.

-This brings me to my last point. Consider your application and all your experience, awards, etc. Think about an evaluator, looking at your application and someone's who looks almost exactly like yours. How are they going to decide who to choose? They are going to look at the only things they can guarantee are different- your personal statement and your eLOR's. I can't emphasize how important it is to make sure they have the best picture of who you are, what you want to take from vet school, and what you can give back. Choose the authors for your recommendations carefully, and let anyone who is willing read your statement and tell you what their impression of you is based solely off that.

Hopefully these long-winded ramblings are helpful. Good luck with your future applications! 🙂

 

[pennyonthefloor]

Rejected twice before this year's acceptance. Here's how it went down:

Rejection #1- for c/o 2012 (actually had vet school interviews-- applied to 5 schools)
Did exit interview. Found out where I needed to improve (was told my interviewing skills were excellent, my vet experience was excellent and varied, it was just GRE/GPA issues.... yeah... not "easy" to fix). Started in the MPH-VPH program at OSU. Busted my arse (but also maintained a full time job.... made it a little more difficult to get stellar grades, but it was better than undergrad). Re-took the GRE. Didn't really improve much with GRE scores, but still an increase is an increase (was told that it doesn't matter how many times you take that thing.... that the AdComm doesn't care just as long as you have a good score)

Rejection #2- for c/o 2014 (no interview. Only applied to OSU)
After I single-handedly caused Nabisco's stock to increase (darn you Oreo cookies!), I went into overdrive for the next application cycle... I did not do the exit interview immediately after being rejected. For me, it felt like I'd be ripping off the painful rejection bandage again. I thought I knew what they would tell me (GRE and GPA needed work).... While finishing courses for my MPH, I did everything and anything I could to prove that I could handle a demanding schedule. Usually I was only home for 8 hours a day (between volunteering, coursework, helping out with various veterinary-related organizations I belong to). I also took the opportunity to strengthen my relationships with people I may potentially ask for eLORs. Before application deadline for c/o 2015, I finally did an exit interview. At that time I explained all that I had done to improve for the upcoming year and the individual I had spoken with gave me a few other words of advice (aka- essays on applications-- just answer the questions. Don't sugar-coat it or try to make it flowery.... you want to get your point across, not put the members of the AdComm to sleep). I wrote essay upon essay prior to the application was open (took prompts from SDN, made up some of my own, asked people for qualities of vets they knew and just wrote.... my application was submitted a month early due to this....) I got a job pertinent to having my MPH (was later told that this was a huge plus from some individuals' perspective-- that I wasn't simply putting my life on hold to get in to vet school.... that I realized that potentially I may never get in and I was willing to better myself as an individual instead of sitting around waiting year after year....). I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone this past year and feel that I have grown tremendously as a result of that.


Advice:
The GPA/GRE battle is a tough one.... if vet school is even close to being on your radar for the future, try to keep your GPA up-- it'll be worth it in the long run.... (If I could re-take a handful of classes, I would!) There's no way to get anyone from the AdComm to even bat an eye at anything else you've done pre-vet school until you meet those benchmarks.

Don't give up hope-- I didn't and I start vet school this fall. I firmly believe that, if this is something you truly want to do, it will eventually happen. Patience, hard work and determination are key, though.