Making the short list...

[NittanyKitty]

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For those of you who have been getting all of that good news about interviews and acceptances and stuff (and congratulations, by the way!), how did you start? When you were comparing veterinary schools, what were the things that put schools on your short list or removed them from your choices? Basically, what was the most important criteria for you when shopping for vet schools?

 

[carrbear21]

For those of you who have been getting all of that good news about interviews and acceptances and stuff (and congratulations, by the way!), how did you start? When you were comparing veterinary schools, what were the things that put schools on your short list or removed them from your choices? Basically, what was the most important criteria for you when shopping for vet schools?

I decided somewhat based on where I might want to live, proximity to home, where my husband could get a job if we did move and, mostly, pre-reqs. If I couldn't get them done in time, I didn't apply there. I also looked at number of OOS (out-of-state) people they accept. Had I known that Kansas only takes into account your GPA for THEIR pre-reqs along with your GRE I wouldn't have applied there. Some other schools that are very highly ranked I may have passed on, but it depends. I tried to stick to places I thought I stood a shot as to not "waste" money but it's all a learning experience!

 

[lailanni]

I picked 4 because that's how many free GRE score reports I got. Honestly, I didn't give it as much thought as I probably should have.

I don't recommend you do that : )

If I knew then what I knew now, I'd apply to a few more schools -- ones that take in more OOS people. I am on a waitlist, and I have an interview but it would've been nice to have a few more schools to hear from and keep my options open. I would have not applied to CSU, since they get like 1700 applicants for maybe ~20 spots, with $40,000+/yr OOS tuition.

I applied to OKstate, WSU, Oregon, CSU -- washington resident

If I could travel back in time... I would have chosen
OK state, Oregon State, Alabama, Miss, WSU, Western

Just keep in mind where you want to live, the tuition, and if you think you'd be a competitive applicant (somewhere is a list of the schools and the GPA/GRE averages for admitted students)

 

[LVT2DVM]

My short list.

Cost- ISS verses OSS (Students loans...scary)
Prerequisites (preferrably ones I already have)
Statistics of Successful Applicant (How did I compare/was I competitive)
Proximity of school to family (only slightly considered)

 

[dustman]

I had a laundry list of schools in the us and abroad i applied to. cost me a pretty penny but i did not want to wait. I knew applying that my grades were not the most competitive so i wanted to get my name out there and see what happened. I have been accepted to one foreign and one us school and waiting to hear from my in state school (Davis). i would love to go in state so im not 150,000 dollars in debt when i graduate but oh well money isn't everything.

 

[NittanyKitty]

Thanks, guys! I've been trying to narrow down the list and some of my big concerns are cost (can you get residency, too) and how many OOS applicants are taken. A lot of my classmates are really shooting high with their choices and I guess I feel like a cop-out sometimes for aiming safer. Does that make sense?

 

[adOggy07]

my very very short list:

1. how many OOS they would take for their entering class. The higher the number, the more excited I was about applying!

🙂

 

[athenaparthenos]

My short list was made of: schools on the West (ish) Coast, in order to not go too far from my boyfriend (who's going to USC for engineering). So I picked UC-Davis (rejected), CSU (rejected), Oregon State (interviewed), Western (interviewed) and WSU (interviewed).

 

[tastrophe]

I had a very complicated set of criteria - cost, location, proximity to water, family, bility of my SO to get a job, weather...kind of sounds like throwing darts, but there really was a method to the madness 🙂

 

[pupsforseeing]

My choices were slightly arbitrary. I decided 5 was a good number (again, slightly arbitrary). UC Davis was a given because it's my IS. I applied to Penn because I'm doing undergrad in PA so I knew they'd be one of the few schools that would have heard of my school (and that strategy seemed to have worked!). CSU and WSU because they're on the west coast and, after spending the last 3 years in PA, I have discovered that I am definitely a west coast girl! And Purdue because I worked with an intern this summer who had just graduated from there and she is an amazing doctor. She highly recommended it, and I know if I turn out to be 1/2 the doctor she is I'll be a great one!

In retrospect, I probably would have applied to Tufts. I started the supplemental, but I got lazy and never finished it. Same with Cornell. And I probably wouldn't have applied to WSU or Purdue just because their locations don't do anything for me and there isn't really anything that I particularly love about them that I can't find at one of the other schools. But, live and learn!

 

[clawsbeatskin]

Since I am a non-trad, it was important for me to find OOS schools that met 2 main criteria: accepted more than average OOS, and had a "holistic" approach to admissions. I wanted schools to look at my entire story because I have had so many experiences. I also applied to my IS school because the chances are just higher for IS students.

Minnesota (rejected)
CSU (waitlist)
Western (interview)
TAMU (interview)

 

[Moonpaw]

Once I eliminated the schools which had ridiculous requirements, I looked at which accepted a good percentage of OOS students, and then further cut some where OOS tuition seemed ridiculous at the time (i.e. Ohio)...although in retrospect, I probably should have just applied anyways. I took it down to 7:
Cornell (IS, rejected)
Minnesota (rejected)
Illinois (interview 2/18)
Tufts (interviewed 2/11, no word yet)
RVC (accepted!!)
and Penn (no word yet)

 

[wi girl]

Going in, I really only wanted to go to UW (IS), so I applied there. I thought that another two would be good (random, arbitrary, and I only wanted to spend a certain amount on apps), so Penn, as my mom thought I would like Philly (in retrospect, I think it's a bit too urban for me) and UMN because it was nearby, and I liked the undergrad program when I was thinking about choosing colleges. I wish a bit I had put more thought into it, or researched more schools, because I LOVE UMN, and they are now at the top of the list (ironic, as they were a "why not" application). If I have to do it again next year, I'll look into more schools, see which fit my personality, and probably apply to more.

Synopsis:
UPenn: still waiting
UW: still waiting
UMN: interviewed (2/9) -- still waiting.

I'm also going to put out there that I might apply to schools that you hear EARLIER from. You worry less when others have racked up 4+ admission offers (congrats to you if you have though!!)

 

[pressmom]

I looked at proximity to my parents. Number of OOS students taken. And my top choices were either my contract or one in a small to medium-sized city. (Fortunately I got into my top 3 choices, so I had a rough choice.) 6 seemed like a good number, and if I had to do it over again, I'd probably apply to the same schools.

Even though I applied last year, here is my breakdown:

TN: accepted and went there OOS
Ohio State: accepted OOS
Auburn: accepted KY contract
NCSU: waitlisted OOS
Purdue: declined interview OOS
Illinois: rejected OOS

 

[CanadianGolden]

I applied to the highest ranked schools that I wanted to go to. Didn't apply to Cornell, Davis, or CSU because I didn't want to go out west or somewhere where it routinely reaches negative temperatures. Penn and OSU were the next highest ranked, and I wanted a combined program, so I applied to Penn, and OSU has good research so I applied there although its location was a major downside. VA-MD was my state school so I applied there. Wisconsin has great research so I applied there, and Tufts offered a combined program and is a good school so I applied there too.