Need advice heading into final year before application!

[Hazel93]

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Hi all, I am looking for advice on where I am as an applicant and where I can improve going into the next year as I will apply next summer.

I'm currently a Junior at a state school in Texas and a Zoology major. I'm most likely applying to A&M, Colorado St., and University of Florida. Will I be able to get IS status in FL if my father has lived there for the past 10 years?

My stats are:
GPA: 3.45
sGPA: ~3.4
Last 45: ~3.6

EC:
Worked as Vet Tech for past year, will continue (700+ hrs)
Had a summer Vet Tech job (200 hrs)
Volunteer at Smithsonian Marine Research Center (100 hrs)
Intern at Wildlife Rehab Center (100 hrs)
Volunteer at Wildlife Rehab Center (same as above) (200 hrs)
Summer Zookeeper Intern (500 hrs)
Worked at Sandwich Shop as a Trainer (2 years)

GRE: Have not taken yet.

Some questions:

Where do I stand in terms of my stats and ECs for the schools I am targeting?
How much of a role does the GRE play into admissions?
How many LOR do I need, and from whom should I ask? Vet? Science Profs?

 

[Gwenevre]

post this in the "What are my Chances" thread stickied to the top of the forum! There's a ton of people in there who can look your stats over

 

[Cyndia]

Indeed, definitely post in the What are my Chances thread for more specific help.

But in regards to some of your questions - the GRE plays a varying role from school to school, some weigh it as more than others. If you google the specific schools you're interested in and take a look at their admissions formula, it'll let you know just how much they value it. For example with UF, it's important as they do a first round assessment where they look at just your verbal score, quantitative score, science gpa, overall gpa, and last 45 credits gpa. They rank everyone and pick the top whatever number of students that they then go on to perform a full assessment review on (which includes assessing experiences etc.) and then invite the top candidates from that to interview. So if you don't make the initial cut for them, they don't even look at the rest of your application. But again, different schools do things differently so check each of their websites. I think the bottom line is that usually there is more emphasis placed on the GPA (particularly since most schools look at your overall, science, and last 45), but it's good to have as high a GRE as possible to bump you up if needed.

As for LORs, that also ranges from school to school, so check their websites. Usually the minimum number is 3 references, with one being a vet. VMCAS allows for 6 I believe, but it's usually not a good idea to put in all 6 eLORs, it's just a bit excessive. I personally went with 4 LORs on my app (a vet whose clinic I worked in, a vet I researched for, a professor from my last degree, and my supervisor from my big cat rescue internship).