Introduce Yourself Here...

[Horses925]

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I went on Amazon and bought some Kaplan books, some flashcards, and studied consistently over the summer. I also took some practice exam questions that I had in my books and on the GRE website. So in my opinion studying does make a difference.

Agreed. I did a Kaplan prep course also and found it very helpful. I ended up scoring 164 in verbal (94th percentile) and 163 in quant (89th percentile). My basic math skills were a bit rusty, and having a course once per week helped provide the accountability I needed to keep my studying on track. Plus, at the risk of sounding like an ad, their online resources are great for practice. If anything, their stuff is harder than what the real test throws at you, which I think helped my confidence on test day.

 

[equineconstant]

Agreed. I did a Kaplan prep course also and found it very helpful. I ended up scoring 164 in verbal (94th percentile) and 163 in quant (89th percentile). My basic math skills were a bit rusty, and having a course once per week helped provide the accountability I needed to keep my studying on track. Plus, at the risk of sounding like an ad, their online resources are great for practice. If anything, their stuff is harder than what the real test throws at you, which I think helped my confidence on test day.

I did the Kaplan course online. It made me take a bunch of practice tests, which were on the computer like the real test, so I definitely felt prepared for the real thing.

 

[cvanthof]

I did the Kaplan course online. It made me take a bunch of practice tests, which were on the computer like the real test, so I definitely felt prepared for the real thing.

I bought the Kaplan math workbook, worked through it, repeatedly, and it brought my quant up 10 points. Also, instead of buying the 500 flashcards from kaplan to improve my qual, I wish i had started learning latin roots. I only saw 3 of 500 words on my test.

 

[orca2011]

I bought the Kaplan math workbook, worked through it, repeatedly, and it brought my quant up 10 points. Also, instead of buying the 500 flashcards from kaplan to improve my qual, I wish i had started learning latin roots. I only saw 3 of 500 words on my test.

I took 5 years of Latin and learned Greek roots at one point during Latin class, and I still don't pick up that stuff half the time. You'd think it be making anatomy easier (especially since I learned medical roots at one point) but nope. I tend to do better on the verbal sections of standardized tests just from reading a lot. You'd be surprised by how much that helps too.

 

[EngrSC]

Kaplan should hire ya'll 😛

I'm definitely going to look into the Kaplan workbooks and the course! Thanks!

 

[PensivePlatypus]

Hi everybody, I've been lurking around here for a few days so I figured I should probably start posting some. I'm 27, living in NYC, and will be starting a graduate program at the end of this month to hopefully makeup for my less than desirable undergrad GPA. My plan is to build up my experience / GPA and then apply next year (2014) and take it from there. Here's what I have so far.

Undergrad GPA: 2.7 B.S. in Marine Science and Biology
Graduate Level GPA: 4.0 (4 Credits)
GRE: 540 V (70th Percentile), 650 Q (60th Percentile) 5 AW (85 Percentile) (1st and only test)
Experience:
- 3,000 Hours working with fish / examining fish parasites & tissue / fish husbandry.
- 1000's of Hours of personal pet experience.
- 25 Hours volunteering at a small animal hospital.
- 50 Hours volunteering with large animals at Zoo Miami (Rhino, Giraffe, Hippo, Elephant)
- 250 Hours working as a dog walker / dog sitter.

And that's about it minus a few miscellaneous things here and there. Lots of great resources here, happy to have found the site 🙂

 

[wildowl]

Hi everybody, I've been lurking around here for a few days so I figured I should probably start posting some. I'm 27, living in NYC, and will be starting a graduate program at the end of this month to hopefully makeup for my less than desirable undergrad GPA. My plan is to build up my experience / GPA and then apply next year (2014) and take it from there. Here's what I have so far.

Undergrad GPA: 2.7 B.S. in Marine Science and Biology
Graduate Level GPA: 4.0 (4 Credits)
GRE: 540 V (70th Percentile), 650 Q (60th Percentile) 5 AW (85 Percentile) (1st and only test)
Experience:
- 3,000 Hours working with fish / examining fish parasites & tissue / fish husbandry.
- 1000's of Hours of personal pet experience.
- 25 Hours volunteering at a small animal hospital.
- 50 Hours volunteering with large animals at Zoo Miami (Rhino, Giraffe, Hippo, Elephant)
- 250 Hours working as a dog walker / dog sitter.

And that's about it minus a few miscellaneous things here and there. Lots of great resources here, happy to have found the site 🙂

Hi from a fellow Brooklynite/current Californian 🙂

 

[cvanthof]

- 1000's of Hours of personal pet experience.

I don't want to get you down, and you certainly have plenty of animal experience already, but just when you are filling out the VMCAS- I am pretty sure, from filling it out this year, "personal pet" experience does not count :/

 

[PensivePlatypus]

Yea, I didn't think so. It should though, I have a 10 month old pit bull rescue and he's a full time job! I came home the other day and he had ripped the door frame off the wall and chewed a big chunk out of the bathroom door

 

[wildcatj]

I don't want to get you down, and you certainly have plenty of animal experience already, but just when you are filling out the VMCAS- I am pretty sure, from filling it out this year, "personal pet" experience does not count :/

It's my understanding that it depends on the school whether or not they want it on there. Wisconsin for example does want you to list experience with your own pets, but I know there are other schools that tell you not to. I personally think it's silly to count personal pet experience unless your showing, training, breeding, etc. or if they just want to know if you know how to care for a certain species. IE someone who has owned cows is going to be way ahead when it comes to handling and care of someone like me who has not had any experience. As far as the hours go though I don't think they should really count. My opinion doesn't matter anyways though.
That being said I don't think there's any real harm in listing pet experience especially if you're applying to one or more schools that take it into account. Any schools that don't want to include the hours just won't.

 

[Horses925]

It's my understanding that it depends on the school whether or not they want it on there. Wisconsin for example does want you to list experience with your own pets, but I know there are other schools that tell you not to. I personally think it's silly to count personal pet experience unless your showing, training, breeding, etc. or if they just want to know if you know how to care for a certain species. IE someone who has owned cows is going to be way ahead when it comes to handling and care of someone like me who has not had any experience. As far as the hours go though I don't think they should really count. My opinion doesn't matter anyways though.
That being said I don't think there's any real harm in listing pet experience especially if you're applying to one or more schools that take it into account. Any schools that don't want to include the hours just won't.

I included it on mine, based on a recommendation given at a info session led by VMRCVM.

 

[orca2011]

It's my understanding that it depends on the school whether or not they want it on there. Wisconsin for example does want you to list experience with your own pets, but I know there are other schools that tell you not to. I personally think it's silly to count personal pet experience unless your showing, training, breeding, etc. or if they just want to know if you know how to care for a certain species. IE someone who has owned cows is going to be way ahead when it comes to handling and care of someone like me who has not had any experience. As far as the hours go though I don't think they should really count. My opinion doesn't matter anyways though.
That being said I don't think there's any real harm in listing pet experience especially if you're applying to one or more schools that take it into account. Any schools that don't want to include the hours just won't.

Just seconding this. Most schools told me not to unless I was involved in showing, agility training (or some other form), breeding, or if you paid for the care of some sort of major medical issue. But as was just said, some want it. So contact you're individual schools and find out which ones want. And like Wildcat just said, if they don't want it to count, they just won't include it.

 

[loxodonta51]

I have been stalking this forum consistently for a few weeks now, so I thought I would introduce myself!

I am a 23 year old male from Syracuse, NY who will be heading to Cornell Vet. School (my IS) this fall. I am kind of a non-traditional student, as I was all set to graduate from undergrad a year early and had applied/been accepted to law school. I declined the offer and took all my prerequisites for vet school except two the following year. I have a BA in Religion and minored in Biology and Political Science.

I have worked in a SA clinic as a tech for the last two years in Washington, DC and have volunteered at the National Zoo weekly for 2 years preparing diets for the animals. I have a greyhound, French bulldog, Persian, Sphynx, and a 135-gallon saltwater aquarium with some pretty cool fish (any other saltwater aquarium hobbyists out there?). I have played trombone for 15 years and am conversational in ASL; hopefully I can continue both in vet school!

Stats:
Cum. GPA: ~3.56
GRE: 164V, 162Q, 5.5A
Animal Experience: ~5000 hours as tech in SA clinic, 150 hours volunteering at Zoo, 130 hours as Biology TA

 

[EngrSC]

I have been stalking this forum consistently for a few weeks now, so I thought I would introduce myself!

I am a 23 year old male from Syracuse, NY who will be heading to Cornell Vet. School (my IS) this fall. I am kind of a non-traditional student, as I was all set to graduate from undergrad a year early and had applied/been accepted to law school. I declined the offer and took all my prerequisites for vet school except two the following year. I have a BA in Religion and minored in Biology and Political Science.

I have worked in a SA clinic as a tech for the last two years in Washington, DC and have volunteered at the National Zoo weekly for 2 years preparing diets for the animals. I have a greyhound, French bulldog, Persian, Sphynx, and a 135-gallon saltwater aquarium with some pretty cool fish (any other saltwater aquarium hobbyists out there?). I have played trombone for 15 years and am conversational in ASL; hopefully I can continue both in vet school!

Stats:
Cum. GPA: ~3.56
GRE: 164V, 162Q, 5.5A
Animal Experience: ~5000 hours as tech in SA clinic, 150 hours volunteering at Zoo, 130 hours as Biology TA

I'm an aquarium hobbyist! However, since my husband I seem to move every year, I don't have as big of an aquarium as I would like! I have a 40 gallon freshwater planted aquarium that I absolutely love maintaining 😍 ... I want to get a saltwater coral tank eventually but I'm afraid I would kill the coral and/or fish when moving 👎

 

[Emiloo4]

I have been stalking this forum consistently for a few weeks now, so I thought I would introduce myself!

I am a 23 year old male from Syracuse, NY who will be heading to Cornell Vet. School (my IS) this fall. I am kind of a non-traditional student, as I was all set to graduate from undergrad a year early and had applied/been accepted to law school. I declined the offer and took all my prerequisites for vet school except two the following year. I have a BA in Religion and minored in Biology and Political Science.

I have worked in a SA clinic as a tech for the last two years in Washington, DC and have volunteered at the National Zoo weekly for 2 years preparing diets for the animals. I have a greyhound, French bulldog, Persian, Sphynx, and a 135-gallon saltwater aquarium with some pretty cool fish (any other saltwater aquarium hobbyists out there?). I have played trombone for 15 years and am conversational in ASL; hopefully I can continue both in vet school!

Stats:
Cum. GPA: ~3.56
GRE: 164V, 162Q, 5.5A
Animal Experience: ~5000 hours as tech in SA clinic, 150 hours volunteering at Zoo, 130 hours as Biology TA

Cuse!!!! I miss it. Lived there the past two years. Did you go to SU?

 

[loxodonta51]

No, I went to The George Washington University in DC.

 

[ShibaMom]

Since I only thought it was fair, let me introduce myself.

I came across this forum through a friend who was accepted into a DO program. When it came time to prepare for my interview earlier this month I stalked the website for interview question ideas. The sense of community here is quite apparent, and I find that it is genuine and without an underlying current of competitiveness.

My academic stats can be found on the Successful Applicants thread.

I am a 32 year-old female living in Texas. I was born in Mexico but have lived here since I was 6. Currently I am a full-time kennel technician and I shadow at the four-doctor clinic where I work. My two Shiba Inu, Hana and Kuma, are my furbabies. My love, James, just moved in with me in November and he will come with me to Kansas this July.

My goals for the next five years are to finish the DVM program at KSU, learn French, run a marathon and travel to Ireland. I lived in Dublin for almost two years following my undergrad and I long to see my friends again.

I am involved in Shiba Inu rescue and enjoy black & white movies while drinking the odd gin and tonic. James and I are Texas to the bone and we love our truck and guns 😀 I am looking forward to a change of scenery and I'm excited for this new chapter in our lives. Kansas, here we come!

 

[Kpowell14]

Since I only thought it was fair, let me introduce myself.

I came across this forum through a friend who was accepted into a DO program. When it came time to prepare for my interview earlier this month I stalked the website for interview question ideas. The sense of community here is quite apparent, and I find that it is genuine and without an underlying current of competitiveness.

My academic stats can be found on the Successful Applicants thread.

I am a 32 year-old female living in Texas. I was born in Mexico but have lived here since I was 6. Currently I am a full-time kennel technician and I shadow at the four-doctor clinic where I work. My two Shiba Inu, Hana and Kuma, are my furbabies. My love, James, just moved in with me in November and he will come with me to Kansas this July.

My goals for the next five years are to finish the DVM program at KSU, learn French, run a marathon and travel to Ireland. I lived in Dublin for almost two years following my undergrad and I long to see my friends again.

I am involved in Shiba Inu rescue and enjoy black & white movies while drinking the odd gin and tonic. James and I are Texas to the bone and we love our truck and guns 😀 I am looking forward to a change of scenery and I'm excited for this new chapter in our lives. Kansas, here we come!

and congrats on your acceptance!! I love your goals, super awesome!! I wanna check out Ireland, I've heard it's beautiful!!

 

[Kansas Girl]

I am a 23 year old male from Syracuse, NY who will be heading to Cornell Vet. School (my IS) this fall. I am kind of a non-traditional student, as I was all set to graduate from undergrad a year early and had applied/been accepted to law school. I declined the offer and took all my prerequisites for vet school except two the following year. I have a BA in Religion and minored in Biology and Political Science.

I thought really long and hard about going to law school, (and it was my backup plan if I didn't get into vet school), did well on the LSAT and may still do law school one day. Anyway, it's fun to see someone in that "kind of non-traditional" boat, too! I'm also 23, and I have a BA in Political Science and a BBA in Management and minored in International Business, but I decided senior year to go back to my original plan and go to vet school.

 

[deleted497320]

I am a 23 year old male from Syracuse, NY who will be heading to Cornell Vet. School (my IS) this fall. I am kind of a non-traditional student, as I was all set to graduate from undergrad a year early and had applied/been accepted to law school. I declined the offer and took all my prerequisites for vet school except two the following year. I have a BA in Religion and minored in Biology and Political Science.

your interests are kind of like me + my SO combined- he went from G.W. to law school, I'm (probably) headed to Cornell vet school. based on what i've seen of his law studies...we picked the more interesting profession. 🙂

 

[loxodonta51]

I am glad to see I am not the only one heading off to vet school with these interests! mlk45, I look forward to meeting you at Cornell soon!!! 🙂

I thought really long and hard about going to law school, (and it was my backup plan if I didn't get into vet school), did well on the LSAT and may still do law school one day. Anyway, it's fun to see someone in that "kind of non-traditional" boat, too! I'm also 23, and I have a BA in Political Science and a BBA in Management and minored in International Business, but I decided senior year to go back to my original plan and go to vet school.

your interests are kind of like me + my SO combined- he went from G.W. to law school, I'm (probably) headed to Cornell vet school. based on what i've seen of his law studies...we picked the more interesting profession. 🙂

 

[Cider]

I have been lurking very seriously for several months, so I think introductions are well past due. 😳 You guys have been so very helpful to me and are so supportive of eachother, it made me realize that we are all in the same very stressful boat. It has been so exciting seeing everyone recieving interview invites and accepts and want to congratulate everyone!😀

I am a 26 year old non-trad female from upstate NY with the typical BS in Bio. I applied for c/o to 2017 Cornell, Mizzou, Purdue, NCSU, and Wisconsin. I have been a LVT at a mixed animal practice for the last 5 1/2 years, which is where my interests lie. I love hand raising all baby things and secretly wish I could be a regular on SNL.

 

[Kpowell14]

I have been lurking very seriously for several months, so I think introductions are well past due. 😳 You guys have been so very helpful to me and are so supportive of eachother, it made me realize that we are all in the same very stressful boat. It has been so exciting seeing everyone recieving interview invites and accepts and want to congratulate everyone!😀

I am a 26 year old non-trad female from upstate NY with the typical BS in Bio. I applied for c/o to 2017 Cornell, Mizzou, Purdue, NCSU, and Wisconsin. I have been a LVT at a mixed animal practice for the last 5 1/2 years, which is where my interests lie. I love hand raising all baby things and secretly wish I could be a regular on SNL.

what part of NY are you from? My fiancé is stationed at Fort Drum, about an hour North of Syracuse.. There are quite a few SDNers from upstate NY as well! Best of this cycle!!

 

[Cider]

I am an hour north of Fort Drum, but was in Watertown yesterday (it is the closest place with a mall). And thank you! Good luck to you too!

 

[MommaFox]

Hello, I'm 22 and have been a long time lurker here who just decided I should start posting.

Born and raised in Tampa Bay area and hate it. Haha. I Have my AA and am currently just completing my pre-reqs for applying to CVM. I should have all of my pre-reqs done for the schools I wish to attend by Summer 2014. I plan to work and continue classes to achieve my BS in Bio (just to have it, and so my loans do not come out of deferment 😎) while waiting for the 2015 cycle to start applying.

~1500 hours working in companion animal private practice
~2000+ hours working in shelter medicine
~500+ hours of at home medical animal fostering
~Uncountable hours working in equine facilities growing up

I am a foster parent for my current job at an animal shelter. I have had the privileged of fostering everything from hit by car dogs to bottle baby 3 day old kittens/puppies. I have enjoyed many breakthroughs but have also suffered a few heartbreaking losses.

With the very little free time I have left, I enjoy paddleboarding, offroading, mountain biking (not very many hills here in FL, but we make do), hiking, and camping with my 1.5 yr old rescue mini aussie and 3 yr old lab mix.

Dream schools : NCSU, CSU
Where I think I will be applying : UF, NCSU, KSU, ISU, CSU and maybe several other undecideds.

In the near future I plan to finish pre-reqs and begin the process of taking the GRE and getting my GPA where I want it to be.

When all is said and done, I have a huge interest in shelter medicine and would love to sink my teeth into being a shelter animal DVM. I also have aspirations to maybe specialize in dermatology.

I am very happy I have found this forum, I was feeling very stressed and y'all have deff made me feel a little bit less psychotic.

 

[Kpowell14]

I am an hour north of Fort Drum, but was in Watertown yesterday (it is the closest place with a mall). And thank you! Good luck to you too!

Ahh very cool!! I really like it up there! I was pretty impressed with the mall considering how small Watertown is compared to home (Nashville) .. If this cycle doesn't work out I'm packing my bags and headed that way lol

 

[Emiloo4]

Hello, I'm 22 and have been a long time lurker here who just decided I should start posting.

Born and raised in Tampa Bay area and hate it. Haha. I Have my AA and am currently just completing my pre-reqs for applying to CVM. I should have all of my pre-reqs done for the schools I wish to attend by Summer 2014. I plan to work and continue classes to achieve my BS in Bio (just to have it, and so my loans do not come out of deferment 😎) while waiting for the 2015 cycle to start applying.

~1500 hours working in companion animal private practice
~2000+ hours working in shelter medicine
~500+ hours of at home medical animal fostering
~Uncountable hours working in equine facilities growing up

I am a foster parent for my current job at an animal shelter. I have had the privileged of fostering everything from hit by car dogs to bottle baby 3 day old kittens/puppies. I have enjoyed many breakthroughs but have also suffered a few heartbreaking losses.

With the very little free time I have left, I enjoy paddleboarding, offroading, mountain biking (not very many hills here in FL, but we make do), hiking, and camping with my 1.5 yr old rescue mini aussie and 3 yr old lab mix.

Dream schools : NCSU, CSU
Where I think I will be applying : UF, NCSU, KSU, ISU, CSU and maybe several other undecideds.

In the near future I plan to finish pre-reqs and begin the process of taking the GRE and getting my GPA where I want it to be.

When all is said and done, I have a huge interest in shelter medicine and would love to sink my teeth into being a shelter animal DVM. I also have aspirations to maybe specialize in dermatology.

I am very happy I have found this forum, I was feeling very stressed and y'all have deff made me feel a little bit less psychotic.

We have a fantastic shelter med program here at UF! 👍👍
They offer a certificate program for it and give you insane amounts of hands on experience.

 

[Emiloo4]

Ahh very cool!! I really like it up there! I was pretty impressed with the mall considering how small Watertown is compared to home (Nashville) .. If this cycle doesn't work out I'm packing my bags and headed that way lol

I want to live in Watertown... said no one ever.

 

[MommaFox]

We have a fantastic shelter med program here at UF! 👍👍
They offer a certificate program for it and give you insane amounts of hands on experience.

I have mixed feelings about going to UF. Growing up I always wanted to, but the older I get the more I stray away. I think it is because of all of the people I hear who say it is insanely difficult to get in even if you're IS. That's a little bit intimidating.

I was accepted to UF as an undergrad out of HS but chose to stay local due to $. I know that has nothing to do with the cvm but when I researched moving out there, the monthly living expenses seemed crazy.

 

[Emiloo4]

I have mixed feelings about going to UF. Growing up I always wanted to, but the older I get the more I stray away. I think it is because of all of the people I hear who say it is insanely difficult to get in even if you're IS. That's a little bit intimidating.

I was accepted to UF as an undergrad out of HS but chose to stay local due to $. I know that has nothing to do with the cvm but when I researched moving out there, the monthly living expenses seemed crazy.

What's crazy? I think my expenses are rather cheap. I pay $370 a month for my apartment right next to the vet school. I would recommend at least keeping your thoughts open for the purpose of cost alone. OOS tuition is just not worth it in my eyes (and at one point I wanted to go anywhere BUT UF). I originally only came here for the tuition, but I definitely made the right decision. We are having an open house in April where you can tour and ask tons of questions. Maybe come check it out for yourself. I know you said NCSU is your dream school and that's pretty much the only OOS comparable option money wise. But if you think getting into UF as an IS is harder than NCSU as an OOS, you might want to check out their OOS acceptance stats... they are scary high It is insanely difficult to get in ANYWHERE!
Not everyone is the same but just to let you know, I got flat out rejected from NCSU and accepted to UF.

 

[Cider]

I want to live in Watertown... said no one ever.

Haha! Amen

 

[Kpowell14]

I want to live in Watertown... said no one ever.

Haha lol if living there meant I could see my love everyday, ill take it

 

[swingnsave]

We have a fantastic shelter med program here at UF! 👍👍
They offer a certificate program for it and give you insane amounts of hands on experience.

really?? I've been really interested in shelter med lately! It's nice to know that UF is good in that area! Bumping it up for future schools in mind 😀

 

[Emiloo4]

really?? I've been really interested in shelter med lately! It's nice to know that UF is good in that area! Bumping it up for future schools in mind 😀

Yeah and if you are in shelter med specifically you can graduate with over 400 spays and neuters. Obviously that's not all shelter med is about, but it's a nice perk.

 

[MommaFox]

Now that I am starting to be more educated on OOS rejection rates I am leaning back towards UF. Sigh, I just do not know at this point. I do not want to be in FL anymore but it is not work paying OOS tuition to do so.

 

[Emiloo4]

Now that I am starting to be more educated on OOS rejection rates I am leaning back towards UF. Sigh, I just do not know at this point. I do not want to be in FL anymore but it is not work paying OOS tuition to do so.

To be honest I'm not sure it will matter where you are geographically bc you pretty much just see the inside of the vet school all day

 

[MommaFox]

To be honest I'm not sure it will matter where you are geographically bc you pretty much just see the inside of the vet school all day

Haha. Youre right.

 

[SurgeryDawg25]

Hey guys, I've been stalking on here for the past couple of weeks, but I figured I'd dive in and make an account. A little about me, I'm 22, male, in my second semester of my Senior year, and hopefully will be a part of the class of 2017! My current GPA is a 3.78, my GRE's were 1240, and my veterinary experience is 600+ hours. I've gotten an interview at both Auburn and Mississippi, and am waiting to hear back from UGA.
But I'm excited to be on here now, good luck to everyone!

 

[PensivePlatypus]

Now that I am starting to be more educated on OOS rejection rates I am leaning back towards UF. Sigh, I just do not know at this point. I do not want to be in FL anymore but it is not work paying OOS tuition to do so.

The grass is always greener on the other side... I lived in Miami for 8 years, moved to NY this summer and I already miss Florida so much. Make sure you know for certain that you want to leave because once you do you're committed. If I were you I'd stay there, pay the IS tuition, and then start looking for somewhere cheap to live OOS once you have you're brand new shiny DVM title after your name.

 

[wildowl]

Now that I am starting to be more educated on OOS rejection rates I am leaning back towards UF. Sigh, I just do not know at this point. I do not want to be in FL anymore but it is not work paying OOS tuition to do so.

Any school OOS will be hard to get into, but you could look into other schools that let you gain residence after the first year? WSU comes to mind.

 

[indocalls]

Hey there everyone. I've been dredging through posts on here for the past few months, and finally gave in and made an account. A little bit about me, I'm a 22 year old, female, from Florida. My experience is around ~1000 hours in mixed animal practice, ~250 hours in small animal practice overseas, and countless animal experience hours. 🙂

 

[labmouse9]

Hey yall. Im new to sdn and thought to introduce myself!
Volunteer @ anticruelty society chicago
Primary experiences in biomedical research
Interested in lab animal med (need to get over my fear of primates)
Fancy tickled by infectious diseases, enthralled by reading Spillover
Top choices ohio state or Wisconsin
Totally did not anticipate getting into vet school after everyone told me how competitive it is
I have virtually no experience with large animals

Lesson learned from this painful application process: never doubt yourself and dont compare yourself to others.

 

[Scooter157]

I have been lurking for quite some time, and have considered this site a wonderful asset as I prepare for the upcoming cycle.

25 year old, Female, NJ resident. Non-traditional, as I graduated in 2010; currently finishing up my pre-reqs.

Major: Equine Science
Minor: Biology, History

Looking back, Equine Science was not the best choice in major, but they say hindsight is 20/20...

Current Stats
Cum GPA: 3.63
Science GPA: 3.43
Last 45 hour: 3.45
GRE: V 153 Q 150 A 4.5
- These will vary slightly upon completion of a couple more classes.

Vet Experience
- at least 4,000 hours Equine
- 500 (and counting) SA

Animal Experience
- countless Equine hours
- pet sitting and various other odd jobs involving critters large and small

Miscellaneous
- Captain of Intercollegiate Riding Team (~ 60 students)
- 4-H member
- Maintained (at least one) full time job continuously throughout school, and am continuing to do so

I suppose there is a silver lining to being a NJ resident - You aren't as tempted by in-state tuition as a major deciding factor....

As a side note, VMCAS posted this on their Facebook page today:
"What's New In VMCAS 2014?

~Transcripts: You will send your official transcripts to VMCAS (not your designated schools) this year!

~ Transcript Verification: Your entered coursework will be verified course-by-course by VMCAS before your application goes to your designated schools!

~ Transcript Deadlines: To allow time prior to the deadline (10/02/13 at 1pm Eastern Time), your official transcripts MUST be received by VMCAS by SEPTEMBER 1st, 2013. Fall 2013 Transcripts MUST be received by VMCAS by February 1st, 2014. (note: Fall transcripts are NOT verified by VMCAS)."

I didn't know where to post that, and think some people may find that info beneficial.

 

[Rainheart]

Hi guys- I just wanted to post a little about me (I was looking for a thread like this yesterday).

My name is Jess and I am a second time applicant. So far I have received an admission offer from Mizzou. I also had an interview at VMRCVM and I'm waiting to hear from NCSU. I had interviews scheduled at Auburn Tuskegee but I'm going to call and cancel them tomorrow since I have Mizzou as a backup school.

I'm from Virginia, my dream school is VMRCVM. I won't hear from them until March, though. My alma mater is Virginia Tech, I graduated in May and I'm hoping to return there in the fall!

I also have an almost 2 year old Golden Retriever named Beamer who is the light of my life <3.

 

[smallowls]

Hello
I am new to SDN and pre-vet in general. 26 year old, female, living in Oregon. Currently working full-time as a wildlife rehabilitator and have recently decided to pursue veterinary medicine after years of thinking about it. I'm still formulating my path to vet school but I'm planning to go back to school as a post-bac in the fall to get some pre-reqs done and prove that I can do better than I did in undergrad (graduated in 2009, B.S. in Wildlife Conservation).
Experience:
at least 5,000 hours of wildlife rehabilitation
75 hours small animal
32 hours large animal
Wildlife field research

I'm planning to apply in 2014 for 2015 matriculation. I should have much more experience and a better GPA by that time.
My main interest is wildlife. Although I have lots of rehab experience, I am looking to get experience in other aspects of wildlife health. I also know that most wildlife hopefuls do not end up working primarily with wildlife, so I am trying to get more small animal experience.

 

[ThePiedPiper]

Hey everyone!

I'm Piper. I'm a non-traditional student in the sense I'll be graduating with my Bachelor's degree this March (whoo!) and then going back to school for three years to complete my pre-requisites, hopefully to become a part of the class of 2020 or 2021! I am currently an employee at a small animal dentistry clinic and unfortunately, the general practice clinic I applied to and was accepted into rescinded their offer; they said to call again in the spring and see if they have a place for me, so we'll see what happens then. I am also starting up as a volunteer as a youth mentor/leader at our local animal shelter and have an internship doing research on horses coming up in April as well, with this summer dedicated to our wildlife program and working full-time at another small animal clinic (at the boarding kennels). 😀 I have two years to go before I apply, but I'm super excited to start this journey and to meet everyone; everyone so far has been great.

 

[dooleypuppy]

Hi! Ok before intros lemme do a shout out for the mcgruber gre study book. I hated kaplan because it had a math error every two seconds ugh, i improved both my scores by 10 points by using that book rather than kaplan now I tell everyone to use it!!

I am a senior at Emory and a bio major with a comp lit focus. My gpa is a 3.67 and I honestly forgot my gre scores but i know I was 97th percentile english and 87th for math. I am president of my prevet club and have about 1000 hours at a small animal hospital, 500 at a zoo, 800 at an equine surgery place, and 200 at my lab. I also really like writing (thus the comp lit thing, some how ended up with an afro-Caribbean theme with that so I have written and spoken for symposiums), I am currently directing a play (avenue Q shout out!!), and I volunteer for...well everything I have no time haha. Also I applied to cornell, tufts, auburn, virginia, and davis. Davis is my IS. I am waitlisted davis, rejected from cornell, and accepted at virginia, auburn, and tufts.

BTW thanks so so much for everyone on this network and all your wonderful advise! I am new to sdn and it has been such a huge help!

 

[pirateyoho]

Hi everyone!

I thought I had already posted here but then discovered that I had not. I've had an SDN account for a while, but really only used it to post an occasional question. Now, I'm really looking forward to getting more involved on the great community that's developed on this forum and hopefully meet people who may end up being my future vet school classmates. 🙂

I'm a student at the University of Montevallo in Alabama, majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry and Environmental Studies. I'll be applying to vet school with the class of 2019, so I've still got 2 cycles to go.

My main interest is conservation medicine research, which basically incorporates a lot of public health and epidemiology in addition to veterinary medicine. Because of this, I plan to do a residency after vet school and possibly also get an MPH. Still trying to decide for sure on the details. 🙂

I look forward to getting to know you all!

 

[EngrSC]

Hey everyone!

I'm Piper. I'm a non-traditional student in the sense I'll be graduating with my Bachelor's degree this March (whoo!) and then going back to school for three years to complete my pre-requisites, hopefully to become a part of the class of 2020 or 2021! I am currently an employee at a small animal dentistry clinic and unfortunately, the general practice clinic I applied to and was accepted into rescinded their offer; they said to call again in the spring and see if they have a place for me, so we'll see what happens then. I am also starting up as a volunteer as a youth mentor/leader at our local animal shelter and have an internship doing research on horses coming up in April as well, with this summer dedicated to our wildlife program and working full-time at another small animal clinic (at the boarding kennels). 😀 I have two years to go before I apply, but I'm super excited to start this journey and to meet everyone; everyone so far has been great.

Hi PiedPiper! I'm a non-trad as well and currently taking classes post-bacc. I hope to be applying for the c/o 2020 or 2021 as well! 😀

 

[cloverbug]

Hi everyone! I've been on here for a couple weeks now from a suggestion from a girl I met from Texas at the U of I interview. Thank you because this place is awesome! So, a little about me. I'm 23, female, and currently live in Arizona so I'm OOS for every school imaginable which kind of sucks. I have a BS in Veterinary Science that I received May of 2011. I graduated in 3 years while working at least 30 hours/week so I'm used to the lack of free time, which I find helpful. I'm a second time applicant and was rejected from everywhere last year but am waitlisted this year at 2 schools and waiting to hear back from another 2.
Ok, so stats:
-GPA: 3.62
-Major GPA: 3.8
GRE: V-153 Q-155 W-4.5
-At time of application I had ~2400 hours of veterinary experience in clinics through volunteering and through my current job as an non-certified tech in the 3 doctor private practice. I'm probably closer to ~2600 hours
-I have performed spays and neuters and vaccinated/given injects of vitamins to LA while traveling with the VIDA group to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Clinic days added up to 80 hours.
-~120 hours of bird breeding experience since my cockatiel went baby crazy for a few years. I hand fed them until we found them homes.
-~100 hours of pet sitting a friend's birds. She was a breeder in NC and sometimes we would take care of her overflow of babies or if she was making new aviaries and needed a place for them to stay until they were done, we would take care of adult birds of all kinds.
-Was a winner of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) my senior year of high school. For those that don't know what that is, it's where you have to write a 50,000 word story in the month of November. Chapter titles, any lines to separate chapters, etc. don't count towards the word total. It doesn't sound so bad until you realized 50,000 words equals about 80 pages of writing.

I'm looking into going into exotic/wildlife/zoo medicine since I really want to work with birds and I think that's the path that would make me the happiest, though money is not going to be as affluent as in other paths.