Is it possible to get into vet school with only 300 hours experience?

[Ges]

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I only have about 300 hours of experience, animal and vet combined, and most of it in a small animal clinic (other at a shelter and at an equine clinic).

Ive seen that to enter into a US vet school a lot of the students have thousands of hours of experience, and even though the admissions comitee does not even have a specific number for it (some say 80 or 200) I can't help at feeling that they discard people with little experience and only take the overachievers. I feel like I have no chance really.

Maybe they should have a specific number, don't you think?

 

[StartingoverVet]

I only have about 300 hours of experience, animal and vet combined, and most of it in a small animal clinic (other at a shelter and at an equine clinic).

Ive seen that to enter into a US vet school a lot of the students have thousands of hours of experience, and even though the admissions comitee does not even have a specific number for it (some say 80 or 200) I can't help at feeling that they discard people with little experience and only take the overachievers. I feel like I have no chance really.

Maybe they should have a specific number, don't you think?

Yes it is possible... you just need to be an overachiever in other ways.

 

[kakurubird]

I only have about 300 hours of experience, animal and vet combined, and most of it in a small animal clinic (other at a shelter and at an equine clinic).

Ive seen that to enter into a US vet school a lot of the students have thousands of hours of experience, and even though the admissions comitee does not even have a specific number for it (some say 80 or 200) I can't help at feeling that they discard people with little experience and only take the overachievers. I feel like I have no chance really.

Maybe they should have a specific number, don't you think?

I'd imagine it's very case-by-case specific and boils down to quality vs. quantity, along with other factors in the application.

 

[orca2011]

I think it depends a lot on that year's applicant pool. My first year I had like 80 hours of veterinary experience was wait listed at 4 schools. For one of those schools, I was at the top of the list. I did have 1000+ working in a laboratory that I think helped me out a bit.This year, I had 300+ hours at time of application and updated the schools as the year went along. One of the schools I was wait listed at, flat out rejected me this year, although they did say it was due to me not taking the GRE a 3rd time and not related to experience. I think a couple hundred hours of experience is a good number to shoot for since it will give you more to talk about in interviews or personal statements.

I also agree with Kakurubird that some schools probably do it on a case by case basis depending on their process for determining competitive applicants. Some schools put more weight on certain areas than others.

 

[Spinach Dip]

Yes, it is possible. I know a couple people who got interviews/wait-listed/admitted with under 100 hours.



If you have doubts about your other stats though (GPA, GRE, etc), more hours would certainly help balance your application.

Also, as stated above, some schools value vet hours more than others. Pay attention to how potential schools will weigh the various factors in your application.



In short: Anything is possible.

 

[Poppy327]

I got into vet school with only ~300 hours, here are my stats if you're interested:


First time applicant, Colorado resident, 22 year old male. BSBA in Business Management and a BA in Integrated Sciences from the University of Denver.

I decided at the end of my junior year of college that I wanted to attend vet school, still managed to graduate in 4 years, and was accepted right out of undergrad without taking a year off.


Applied to: CSU, WSU, UPenn, Tufts, Ohio

Interviewed: Ohio, Tufts (turned down)

Wait listed: I was wait listed for the MBA dual degree program at CSU, but accepted into the regular DVM program.

Accepted: CSU, Ohio

Attending: CSU


Academics:

Cumulative GPA: 3.95

Cumulative Science GPA: 3.91

Final 45 Credit Hour GPA: 3.96

I only took the GRE once:
GRE Verbal: 660
GRE Math: 610
GRE Analytical 4.5

Veterinary Experience:
360 Small Animal
6 Large Animal
18 Zoo

Animal Experience:
40 Shelter Medicine
75 Pet sitting

Research/Internships:
I did not have any research or internship experience.

Employment: I worked 3200 hours at a doctor's office.

LORs:
DVM (CSU Alum) The vet I worked under for all 360 small animal hours.
DVM / Professor: (CSU Alum) A professor from DU that is also a veterinarian, I took his class and then continued to shadow under him.
Business Professor: A professor I had a long-term relationship with in DU's business school.

Personal Statement: Discussed discovering vet medicine late into my academic career, and how my business education will contribute to my success as a vet.

 

[bbeventer]

Yes it is possible... you just need to be an overachiever in other ways.

👍

 

[kakurubird]

I'd imagine it's very case-by-case specific and boils down to quality vs. quantity, along with other factors in the application.

And I mean case-by-case as in both applicant-by-applicant and school-by-school.

 

[nyanko]

And I mean case-by-case as in both applicant-by-applicant and school-by-school.

Yeah, some schools value experience more than others do.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Yeah, some schools value experience more than others do.

and some applicants value school more than others. I am sorry. that was not useful. But it amused me.

 

[Audrey007]

I had maybe 200 hours of Vet experience, but I had a lot of other animal experience, high GPA, and 8000 hours of animal genetics research.

 

[hopefulinva]

When I was first identifying schools I wanted to apply to (back in 2007), VMRCVM listed 400 hours of veterinary experience as one of their requirements to apply to the school.

I guess this is no longer the case, although I don't know when they did away with that requirement; regardless, if nothing else it's a ballpark figure for about what they're looking for.

But remember - it's not about the hours, it's about what you get from the experience.

 

[Trilt]

But remember - it's not about the hours, it's about what you get from the experience.

Just going to echo this. I was on the lower side of experience hours (500ish?) but I truly think I had a better understanding of the veterinary profession than many of my peers who have worked for significantly more, and I really, really worked to prove that in my writing of my PS and supplemental application. Additionally, I tailored my experience for the school I wanted to go to - getting a wide variety of different experiences in different fields, as opposed to lots of experience in one.