Internship Match GPA/ rank requirements?

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Ponylover2

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Match is coming. Of course all of the internships require vet school GPA/ class rank to be submitted, but are there any that have specific GPA requirements? If so, is there a place those are listed? Worth it to apply to more than 10 places? Thanks!

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I'd imagine if anything official is required it would be listed on the site's listing. With that said, I've heard from other applicants that certain programs won't look at your application if it's below a certain threshold. That is not true for all places though, my intern director reviews everyone's application each year regardless of GPA. I had below average stats (3.2, 53rd percentile in my class) and ranked 20 programs for internship (many were likely a reach given my GPA) and matched to #17. I would have still ranked the place I matched to even if I'd only applied to 10, but I thought I'd try for those 'reach' programs anyway by ranking them higher. For me, the relatively minimal extra cost for more applications was better than not matching. I was the only one of my intern class to rank more than 10 (one did 10, one did 5, one did 3).
 
Just wondering if anyone knew about Cornell's process for selecting interns. Are they one of the schools that will cut you if you don't meet the GPA/class rank threshold (if they are anyone know what it is), or do they pay more attention to your resume, LORs etc? I'm just trying to adjust my expectations regarding internships and residencies. I'm kind of at a cross roads of whether it's what I want anymore, but I want to maintain specializing as an option and I'm not sure if my GPA of ~3.7 and class rank of painfully average (my class is known for their fantastic performances on tests) will cut it for the programs I'm interested in. I do have a very well rounded resume (research, practice), some wonderful LORs, and will be doing some external rotations there if I can in 4th year.
 
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I'd imagine if anything official is required it would be listed on the site's listing. With that said, I've heard from other applicants that certain programs won't look at your application if it's below a certain threshold. That is not true for all places though, my intern director reviews everyone's application each year regardless of GPA. I had below average stats (3.2, 53rd percentile in my class) and ranked 20 programs for internship (many were likely a reach given my GPA) and matched to #17. I would have still ranked the place I matched to even if I'd only applied to 10, but I thought I'd try for those 'reach' programs anyway by ranking them higher. For me, the relatively minimal extra cost for more applications was better than not matching. I was the only one of my intern class to rank more than 10 (one did 10, one did 5, one did 3).
Lol, just reading you call those stats below average makes me want to throw in the towel completely.
 
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Lol, just reading you call those stats below average makes me want to throw in the towel completely.
Just do as well as possible. I'm sure there were people with lower stats than mine, but yeah, from talking to classmates and fellow interns, I was below average. In fact, when I was applying for residencies one of my internmates peeked at my transcript and literally asked me 'That was your GPA?' then proceeded to tell me that if we both ended up in literally the same place, comparing my GPA and his (which was significantly higher) he felt like he'd tried too hard in school. Awesome, thanks for telling me you think I was a slacker. But its like vet school admissions in a way, you have to make up for your sub-optimal GPA with excellent extracurriculars, LORS, posters/papers, etc. Plus you gotta research programs, apply smartly, and basically be willing to go to whatever reasonably-run program that will take you.
 
Just do as well as possible. I'm sure there were people with lower stats than mine, but yeah, from talking to classmates and fellow interns, I was below average. In fact, when I was applying for residencies one of my internmates peeked at my transcript and literally asked me 'That was your GPA?' then proceeded to tell me that if we both ended up in literally the same place, comparing my GPA and his (which was significantly higher) he felt like he'd tried too hard in school. Awesome, thanks for telling me you think I was a slacker. But its like vet school admissions in a way, you have to make up for your sub-optimal GPA with excellent extracurriculars, LORS, posters/papers, etc. Plus you gotta research programs, apply smartly, and basically be willing to go to whatever reasonably-run program that will take you.
Wow yeah that is a crappy thing to say to someone. I mean overall my GPA has been increasing, but like I've mentioned (complained about....) previously, there's only so much you can do with 9 grades total. Being realistic, I'll likely not get an A in any of the four remaining chances I have. It also feels like my class rank has barely budged even though I've moved up from the straight C crowd (not trying to insinuate anything negative about getting C's to be clear).
 
Just to increase sample size on what JaynaAli said, I was mediocre on grades (3.3 and exactly in the middle class-rank) and was able to match with internships/residency. It really does come down a lot to LORs and extracurriculars. I also ranked 20 places, and would have been fine going to any of them. Also realize, there are a lot of different ways to get to the same destination.
 
Just to increase sample size on what JaynaAli said, I was mediocre on grades (3.3 and exactly in the middle class-rank) and was able to match with internships/residency. It really does come down a lot to LORs and extracurriculars. I also ranked 20 places, and would have been fine going to any of them. Also realize, there are a lot of different ways to get to the same destination.
At this point I'd be thrilled to get an A and hit a 3.0. I'm hoping things just kind of work out for me...I've got the LORs and extracurriculars, but I'm hearing more and more that just like vet schools, many places auto-cut you if you're below a 3.2 or not in the top 50%. I'm like 75th %tile so definitely unremarkable and I'm sure it makes me look like I didn't try imo.
 
Hah. Wondering what ballpark GPAs get into internships as I read this... I realize that I'm reading this, rather than studying for finals. :whistle: I love the smell of irony in the evening
 
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I don't know of any internship programs that have published, hard GPA cutoffs but I know a few places who wouldn't look at applications if the GPA was below a certain number. That being said, I personally don't think it's worth it to apply to 10+ internships..there are so many of them out there that pretty much everyone matches (provided that they don't only apply to 1-2 programs). I know people in the bottom 10% of their class who matched to internships, and I have never heard of someone not matching to a rotating internship (even if they had to go through the scramble for it).
 
I don't know of any internship programs that have published, hard GPA cutoffs but I know a few places who wouldn't look at applications if the GPA was below a certain number. That being said, I personally don't think it's worth it to apply to 10+ internships..there are so many of them out there that pretty much everyone matches (provided that they don't only apply to 1-2 programs). I know people in the bottom 10% of their class who matched to internships, and I have never heard of someone not matching to a rotating internship (even if they had to go through the scramble for it).
I generally agree. If you want an internship and are a reasonable candidate (aka you didnt fail a bunch of classes or don't have letter writers saying DONT DO IT) then you can generally match or scramble to an internship, including a really good program. The caveat of course is not having geographical restrictions, because you can be amazing and not match/scramble if you are only up for 1 location.
 
For an internship it's all about who you know, who is writing your LORs and everything after that is pretty negligible including your GPA! so long as you graduate, and get into where you want to go. To match in the scramble, be careful where you choose, there is probably a reason these places still have openings...go visit if you can and definitely speak to a current intern. If the current intern says they don't want to talk about the program take it as a red flag and move on! No matter where you end up you will be slave labor for a year (they know that and really your GPA is meaningless to them) so you need to make a good choice! Re-read the previous sentence! now make sure you go somewhere there are great people, who will support you (rather than beat you down!).
 
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For an internship it's all about who you know, who is writing your LORs and everything after that is pretty negligible including your GPA! so long as you graduate, and get into where you want to go. To match in the scramble, be careful where you choose, there is probably a reason these places still have openings...go visit if you can and definitely speak to a current intern. If the current intern says they don't want to talk about the program take it as a red flag and move on! No matter where you end up you will be slave labor for a year (they know that and really your GPA is meaningless to them) so you need to make a good choice! Re-read the previous sentence! now make sure you go somewhere there are great people, who will support you (rather than beat you down!).


While this may be true for some smaller private practice programs, I can assure you that your GPA and Class rank absolutely do matter for any of the bigger private practice, or academic programs.

I was on the internship selection committee at Cornell when I was a resident; we had upwards of 250 applicants for 6 rotating intern positions. The first weeding criteria we used before reviewing any of the applicants package was GPA and rank.

Until all vet schools move to pass/fail, your GPA is probably always going to matter.
 
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Haven't been through the match yet (this is my year), but I believe this. Not shocking. LORs and experience matter...a lot...but I'm not surprised to hear that there's a gate for many programs that must first be crossed. Once that hurdle is jumped, all bets are off. That's where experience, faculty support, and statement of intent come into play. In some cases, I wouldn't doubt that an influential phone call from and to the 'right' people may help a candidate 'jump the GPA (objective criteria) bar,' but these instances may be rare. I can't yet speak from experience. That's not to say, don't try. I always advise folks to apply where you want to go. You never really know what admissions boards are looking for, and when it comes to advanced training, programs can be wildly different in their program structure and concept of an ideal candidate (I've already experienced that first hand). Go for it. You may surprise yourself. Don't be heartbroken if you don't match to your first choice. There are a lot of great programs out there. I'm having a tough time narrowing my match list. There are LOTS of great places, each with something unique to offer. I trust that I'll end up where I'm supposed to be- the best fit for me, and for the program that chooses me (here's hoping...fingers crossed :)
 
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hello!
I'm a foreign vet practitioner and want to apply for diagnostic imaging residency program this year. I found very important information here, thanks to all of you. I just wanted to know according to things that you've heard, if I select surgery residency programs along with radiology programs, will my chance of being selected increase? I mean does it worth to select more than one field in our order list, like surgery, radiology, and anesthesiology together?
 
hello!
I'm a foreign vet practitioner and want to apply for diagnostic imaging residency program this year. I found very important information here, thanks to all of you. I just wanted to know according to things that you've heard, if I select surgery residency programs along with radiology programs, will my chance of being selected increase? I mean does it worth to select more than one field in our order list, like surgery, radiology, and anesthesiology together?
As I said in the other thread, I think choosing multiple fields to apply to will actually dramatically decrease your likelihood of matching anywhere. It will likely be very obvious that you have cross applied, and your application is likely to be tossed from that program's stack. You are better off focusing your energies on making yourself the best candidate you can for a DI residency.
 
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As I said in the other thread, I think choosing multiple fields to apply to will actually dramatically decrease your likelihood of matching anywhere. It will likely be very obvious that you have cross applied, and your application is likely to be tossed from that program's stack. You are better off focusing your energies on making yourself the best candidate you can for a DI residency.

From what I've heard too, diagnostic imaging is a pretty competitive specialty these days as well. The resident here was saying they got a ton of applications for their single open position, so they were pretty stringent in their early rounds of cuts. An application with wishy-washy commitment to the specialty, like jmo said, is likely to get tossed before detailed review.
 
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From what I've heard too, diagnostic imaging is a pretty competitive specialty these days as well. The resident here was saying they got a ton of applications for their single open position, so they were pretty stringent in their early rounds of cuts. An application with wishy-washy commitment to the specialty, like jmo said, is likely to get tossed before detailed review.
Thank you for both of you, jmo1012 and @variegata. Jmo, you said that DI is somewhat competitive, do you know any web to find such information about specialties there? As you know, time is important and I need to choose the best to increase my chance.
 
Lol, just reading you call those stats below average makes me want to throw in the towel completely.
Hey I saw that you are from Illinois and I am also from Illinois. I just wanted to point out to you that other schools have different curriculums and ways of testing. For instance, I've heard from Davis students that the majority of their students have above 3.0's because of having take home assignments that have questions that appear on exams, so it is 'easier' to get A's/ B's. I put easy in quotes because their curriculum is obviously still hard but is set up differently than ours. For instance, at Illinois probably 25-30 people get A's on each exam. GPA is definitely not the number 1 thing potential internship matchers look for. I'm on clinics now and some of the straight A students are truly not great at clinics. Some internship locations definitely have GPA standards that you must meet but that's a small percent of places. My mentors at school have all told me that you will get good internships based off of your letters of recommendations and your letters of intent. It's a great idea to build relationships with diplomats or to try to do research with them early on. I didn't decide I wanted to apply to the match until I started clinics so I did not have those relationships before, but now I do from getting to work with them and see them at the hospital every day. You obviously shouldn't blow off your classes but you should never judge yourself as a future doctor based off the grades you get. There are always going to be those rare students who are top of their class, personable, great on clinics and have great hair or something, but you can't compare yourself to others you can only work on building yourself into the kind of doctor you want to become.

Also I should add that this post is all assuming that you are wanting to apply to a small animal internship.
 
I don't know too much about oncology as a specialty and how competitive it is, but at least two of the four oncology residents at my current institution did SA rotating internships before an onc specific internship. Then after their onc internship here they stayed on as a resident. The program at my institution used to be a 4 year residency too because they required a master's year before beginning the 3 year clinical portion, but I think they may be doing away with that. A classmate of mine also did a SA rotating + onc specialty internship before matching for a residency. Just to give you an idea about common timelines (at least 4, but possibly as much as six years) I've witnessed to get to boards.
 
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So I was going to start my own thread on this, but since this one's been bumped and is relevant, I figured it'd be more prudent to post here instead. I don't know if anyone here is familiar with oncology as a specialty, but maybe someone can help a bit or share their experiences.

Post-DVM, I'm considering trying for a small animal rotating internship with the eventual goal of doing an oncology residency. Obviously, with specialization training in general becoming more competitive in recent years, I may have do an oncology internship or two in there depending on how things go.

I'm currently a second year student, and I have a fair amount of experience following our oncology service and helping out here and there. We've also been working on getting an oncology case report published, on which I have been assured that I will have first authorship. I am hoping to continue helping out with small research projects here and there.

My issue is that my first year grades are not very good. In fact, they're quite awful. A couple of As, lots of Bs and Cs, and two Ds in large animal anatomy and neuro (the former I'd anticipated as I'd been struggling in the class pretty much all year, in spite of seeking help and lots of tutoring; the latter D was a shock as I'd had a B+ in the class all semester, so I must have just completely bombed the final). My current GPA is in the very low 2.0s and I can only imagine that I'm near the bottom of my class in terms of rank, if not at the bottom. Part of it is because I was working two jobs while in school and part of it is due to some holes in my study methods that I have since recognized and and will be working to remedy in the coming year.

But with how much more cutthroat the match seems to be now (at least judging by the published stats), even if I managed to turn my GPA around and made it over the 3.0 hump and continued accruing research and making contacts in the onocology field, and even with a first authorship under my belt, is it honestly even worth applying? Is my rocky first year just too much of a blemish on my transcript to overcome?

I think it's still worth it to give it a shot. Yes some institutions will overlook your application because of poor grades, and you may not match to your top 5, but I don't think it's completely hopeless. Especially if you're open to matching to a private practice residency. LORs are more important than grades anyway, and it sounds like you will have some great LORs from ACVIM (oncology) diplomates.
 
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There are no specific GPA requirements - however some programs will discard application below a certain GPA. This is highly variable between programs and there is really no way to know what that number is in advance.

As for applying to more than 10 positions, that is also highly dependent on the candidate. Applying to 50 positions vs 10 will not give you an edge. Short answer is if you're interested in more than 10 positions and have the money to apply, then go for it.

In the grand scheme of things, LOR are the single most important aspect of an application.
 
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