New to this!

[HopefulVet]

I posted this over at the veterinary forum but was told I would get some better advice over here in the pre-vet one

Howdy guys!
So I think I am just starting to get the pre-vet school jitters. I am a Junior at Texas A&M University (Whoop!) and my advisor has informed me that I shall be starting my application for vet school on May 1st. (the vet school I am hoping on getting into is Texas A&M's vet school)

And so it begins....

He advised me, after finals, to go to barnes and nobel and pick up a $30-$40 GRE prep course software and do that for three weeks after finals and then take my GRE once I am finished with the course.

I want to make kind of a timeline for myself and allow myself ample time to take the GRE multiple times if I want, but I am nervous that it is already too late. I knew I had to take my GRE all along but my advisor didn't mention anything about it until I asked him a couple weeks ago.

Am I still at a point where I could take this more than once without my scores being rushed??

As far as letters of recommendation, I have worked at a vet clinic in my home town for the past 5/6 years or so, so naturally I am going to get one from him, are there any other people that it would be smart to get letters of recs from?

My job brings up another concern. This is the only job I have had, and I am worried that it is not enough experience, esp since it is strictly a dog and cat clinic. what other things should I look into, and where should I start looking considering I have not worked here in college station yet.

well I will leave this novel for now, I think this is enough questions for the time being.

Thanks for any input

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[thereservoirdog]

I'm pretty sure the GRE is not due until October, so you still have plenty of time to take it and retake it. For letters of recommendation, you should try getting one from a professor at school, and one or two from vets. As for experience, it's good to have a variety, and there are plenty of places to get involved with. Just think about what interests you in the animal world and there should be a place where you can volunteer. You can ask one of your professors if you can volunteer at their lab, or you can go to shelters, zoos, wildlife clinics, stables, etc.

 

[Poochlover11]

I'm pretty sure the GRE is not due until October, so you still have plenty of time to take it and retake it. For letters of recommendation, you should try getting one from a professor at school, and one or two from vets. As for experience, it's good to have a variety, and there are plenty of places to get involved with. Just think about what interests you in the animal world and there should be a place where you can volunteer. You can ask one of your professors if you can volunteer at their lab, or you can go to shelters, zoos, wildlife clinics, stables, etc.

I agree. From what I have been hearing around the forum and seeing on the successful applicant thread it is a good idea to get experience in large animal, small animal, research, and exotic/wildlife. I think all the things that thereservoirdog mentioned are great. I don't know what your extracurricular stuff looks like but it would probably be good to make sure you get leadership experience and have some things outside of vet/animal stuff. Good luck!

 

[athane960]

Varied experience is great on any application. Plus, Texas AM has a high acceptance rate of IS'ers so that even gives you a better chance. If you are interested in veterinary public health, I can put you in contact with the local public health vet and I am sure they can work out some shadowing/volunteering exp (unfortunately it is with the state so it probably would not be paid)

I took my GRE's on September 30!! I had planned to take them in August but was deployed with my job for hurricane work for 2 months and ended up getting back on a Friday night and taking them Monday morning. Very little studying and preparing (my fault . .). Luckily, I did ok on them.

I WOULD NOT recommend waitng that long, but if you think you might have to take them 2x remember you cannot take them more than once in a 30 day time period (I think this is it, plz correct me if I am wrong) so I would recommend taking them this summer and if you think you need to to it again, maybe this fall. They have prep classes that I am sure your school offers . . take it! Especially if you tend to not do so well on standardized test, they teach you how to approach and critically think through a question, I wish I had taken one.

 

[smm482]

The GRE can only be taken once per calendar month, which I interpreted to mean you technically could take it June 28 and again on July 3 if you wanted to. You can take it up to 6 times in a 12 month period. I personally think the sooner you start studying and can take a crack at it the better. If you took it a few weeks after your semester ends, you leave yourself plenty of time to improve on things if you're not fully satisfied with your score. Allowing yourself plenty of time lets you go into the test for the first time without a huge load of pressure. I personally found that going through the motions of going to the testing center and taking the test on a strange computer in a testing corral helped get rid of a lot of my anxiety when I took it a second time. I also don't recomend waiting huge periods of time in between tests since it's easy to forget the vocabulary and such. Starting the beginning of this Summer still leaves you plenty of time so no need to worry! Good luck!

 

[DVMorBust]

Allowing yourself plenty of time lets you go into the test for the first time without a huge load of pressure. I personally found that going through the motions of going to the testing center and taking the test on a strange computer in a testing corral helped get rid of a lot of my anxiety when I took it a second time.

While this is true, in that you'd probably be more comfortable with the experience of the test under your belt, I HIGHLY advise against approaching the GRE as if you're going to take it more than once. You may need to, but planning on it is expensive, a waste of time, and could hinder you in the long run. Schools don't always take the highest score on the GRE - many of them average scores out, and all of them will see that you took it more than once.

That being said, plan to take it with enough time that - should you need to - you have enough time to study and get another exam in.

I saw on the other forum you mentioned that your advisor said you need to have your application in by the middle of July - there is no advantage to submitting before the deadline of October 1st. It sounds like it would even be better for you to submit in late September, to get more of the diverse hours on your application

 

[HopefulVet]

If you are interested in veterinary public health, I can put you in contact with the local public health vet and I am sure they can work out some shadowing/volunteering exp (unfortunately it is with the state so it probably would not be paid)

I would be interested in that, and as far as the payment, that is not a big deal considering I have been in college station 3 years already with no job. when I work, I go back home to dallas to work at my home clinic. so I am used to not being paid while living here.

what exactly does veterinary public health include?? whatever it is, I would be interrested as any more experience would be great. If anything it would be a great opportunity to get to know other people in the field.


as far as my other extracurricular things...It does not look too good I was apart of the Biomedical Science club at the beginning of my freshman year, however my freshman year was very rough for many reason and I did not attend many meetings and ended up not re-applying. I was also apart of a freshman leadership group too, but many of the people had different interests and lighter school loads and I did not feel that it was a good fit. because of how bad my first two years were here, I stopped joining things to just focus 100% on my grades, which helped cuz last semester I got a 3.3. I still have my hardests classes ahead of me though and so I am afraid to join things that would take up studying time. another reason I do not have a job here while I am in college station...

I think this is the main root of all of my jitters.

 

[DVMorBust]

because of how bad my first two years were here, I stopped joining things to just focus 100% on my grades, which helped cuz last semester I got a 3.3. I still have my hardests classes ahead of me though and so I am afraid to join things that would take up studying time. another reason I do not have a job here while I am in college station...

Just something to consider - you have plenty of time to apply to vet school, but you don't have forever in undergrad. If a 3.3 is an improvement on your previous years (sounds like it from the way you phrased it), then focusing on your schoolwork is the right thing to be doing. I would NOT sacrifice your GPA to take on other activities - although it's important to show you can handle courseload, do extra curriculars, etc. - frequently GPA is what will get you past the first round so adcoms actually SEE that other stuff.

I'm not saying you shouldn't apply this year - but keep in mind that the application cycle is stressful, and plan accordingly. Taking on a ton of extra animal experience, AND applying, AND taking your hardest classes next year will be difficult.

Again, not saying don't do it - just remember that your GPA is your GPA is your GPA. You can always get more experience outside of small animal, you can't always be in a position to improve your numbers.

 

[ZooNose]

as far as my other extracurricular things...It does not look too good

I would definitely look to the "Successful Applicants Class of 2013" thread to see the wide variety of extracurricular and life experience that applicants this year have had. It's a little daunting! But their stats might also give you great new ideas of different types of vet shadowing/work that you can do in your area before next fall when VMCAS is due. A lot of this application process is demonstrating your passion with concrete examples, and making yourself stand out from the crowd. Good luck!

 

[sumstorm]

Just a quick note about the GRE, as someone mentioned, some schools average the scores, and some will only accept the highest total score, while some take the highest of each section.

A few schools have earlier dates by which it is due, but none are shockingly early (that I know of.) Illinois is Aug 31, if I remember correctly. There are several GRE threads on here that might be worth checking out. Definitly get some experience taking the practice tests on a computer...the format can be obnoxious.

 

[georgie339]

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[redsteven]

Is A&M's vet school on the same grounds where you take your undergrad classes?

If so, stop by the veterinary admissions office, and make an appointment to speak with someone there. They can probably provide you with far better advice as to what THEY'RE looking for than you undergrad advisor can.

While it may be a lot of work to improve your GPA, take on many extracurriculars, and handle a heavy course load, it CAN be done. You can do it if you have the motivation and if you have good time management.

Sure, it's possible for you, but if Hopeful was struggling with her grades when she tried that then I think it's absolutely NOT worth it : \

Worst case scenario, you don't get in and you add more experience and extracurricular activities to your application and try again the next year. If the area that needs improvement is your GPA though... well, that's a heck of a lot more difficult... and costly... to improve.

 

[georgie339]

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[HopefulVet]

That's very true, part of the problems however when my grades were low, was severe home sickness, long distance relationship, not being in a city I knew very well (I read on a thread on this site that when looking for a vet school it it important to go visit it and make sure its a place you can live for 4 years...I did not do that, yes i visited A&M but that was the ONLY place I visited. I knew it had a vet school i knew I wanted to be a vet so i closed all my other doors...) that resulted in being at a university where I knew no one, being in a city where i knew no one, and a city that was TOTALLY different from back home in Dallas.

however, thru the years i have grown and matured a lot from my first year, and i have actually come to like A&M and could see myself living here for another 4 years. Yes, the vet school in on campus and my advisor's office is actually in the same building.

This year I am taking a GREAT class that I wish I had known of sooner. Dr. August one of the veterinarians at the A&M clinic meets with myself and one other vet student every other friday. He gives us two articles to read over the course of the two weeks and we discuss them every other Friday. They range in topics from animal behavior to different diseases, to legal issues, etc. I thoroughly enjoy this class and feel that it is teaching me many things that could be useful to me as a veterinarian. I am hoping to continue something like this after the end of the semester.

I think everyone's advice about what to juggle and what not to juggle is very helpful. I know the weight of GPA and it is the reason I have not joined many things on campus.

(and just an aside, obviously I am new to this and I just wanted to thank everyone already for making me feel welcome here and answering questions im sure you have heard over and over )

 

[heavenfordogs]

If it is any help, I got into A&M this year after only working at a dog and cat clinic for a couple hundred hours (the only vet experience I had on my application but I also got started kinda late). I did not have a whole lot of large animal experience and what I did have was limited to equine. That being said, while having varied animal experience is great, I would definitely concentrate on getting your GPA higher as that is the bulk of the "points" that A&M gives you before the interview. You can always take the summer (or other breaks) to get the varied experience you need.

In terms of letters of recommendation, find anyone who will write you a STRONG letter. I would look into possibly getting a professor to write one of your letters if you feel that your grades might be an issue as they can attest to your work academically.

 

[redsteven]

This year I am taking a GREAT class that I wish I had known of sooner. Dr. August one of the veterinarians at the A&M clinic meets with myself and one other vet student every other friday. He gives us two articles to read over the course of the two weeks and we discuss them every other Friday. They range in topics from animal behavior to different diseases, to legal issues, etc. I thoroughly enjoy this class and feel that it is teaching me many things that could be useful to me as a veterinarian. I am hoping to continue something like this after the end of the semester.

Lol, that's one letter of recommendation out of the way.

 

[HopefulVet]

exactly, i had a meeting with him this past friday actually and got signed up to shadow him on the floor next semester and requested a LOR