Non-Traditional Vet School Applicants c/o 2025

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I'm all right, glad the waiting game is coming to an end. My semester is starting so I've been more busy. I got into Ross and I'm waiting to hear back from Ohio, and then still need to interview with Tufts on Tuesday. I thought I would be more worried at this point but I'm genuinely relieved that it's almost over and I'll know soon.

I have mixed feelings about the Caribbean now that I've learned how tricky it is to bring dogs over especially during pandemic times, so I'm really hoping I get positive news from a US school. if not, I may take a hit and reapply next year to a greater number of US/Canadian schools.

I hate not knowing but I've been so strung out I'm trying to like...find balance somehow
Sending you good vibes! And congrats on Ross. I've heard that some students rent a plane and travel together to the Caribbean? Seems like a lot of work but I'm sure you will find a solution if needed! Fingers crossed for a US school!

I'm interviewing at U of I in two weeks and I am just so stressed! It's my first interview and I almost can't believe it's happening!
I agree with the waiting, even though I got into my dream school, I'm still waiting to see if/where else I get in + financial aid/scholarships before I make a commitment. I would love to just pull the trigger on my first choice but I want to make a smart informed decision about it (plus the deposit and visa alone are ~8,000 dollars and I just don't have that right now). I'm interviewing Edinburgh and Penn this week, then I'm finally done with interviews!

Other than that, I'm now working full time (and about to pick up a second job part-time because money) and really missing classes 😂 I got my diploma yesterday and it made it feel very real that I was finally done undergrad. On the other hand, I got all in my feels when I saw it because it was a representative of all my hard work both in class and gaining veterinary/animal experience. Anyone else feel like your pre-vet journey helped change you into a person you're actually proud to be???

I hope everyone else is doing well and staying strong! Honestly when I'm bored I real other schools' threads and get all excited when I see others getting excited about interviews/acceptances. It makes me so happy to see my peers doing well! 🤩

SO CLOSE GUYS. WE'RE GONNA BE BABY VETS SOON OMG!!!!!!!!!
Congrats on your dream school!!!!! It inspires me when I see other non-traditional students making their dreams become a reality!

When thinking back on my journey (although parts were very challenging), I am so grateful to have a wide range of experiences. I think that my career within addiction rehabilitation and my own battle with alcoholism has prepared me to be a strong and compassionate doctor.

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Just checking in to see how my fellow non-traditional students are doing!! This wait is killer, I am barely sleeping these days! 😅
Definitely refreshing my email wayy too often haha. But I'm hoping the schools I applied to will let me know in the next couple weeks!! Something I'm having a lot of trouble with is: How are y'all deciding between schools without visiting? I can research location and costs and program structure and keep adding to my spreadsheet, but I'm having such trouble really comparing schools and deciding on a firm top choice. I wish I could get a better "feel" of each school. Is anyone else struggling with this? Does anyone have any advice?
 
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Sending you good vibes! And congrats on Ross. I've heard that some students rent a plane and travel together to the Caribbean? Seems like a lot of work but I'm sure you will find a solution if needed! Fingers crossed for a US school!

I'm interviewing at U of I in two weeks and I am just so stressed! It's my first interview and I almost can't believe it's happening!
that's so exciting!! I hope it goes well for you :)
and yeah I've heard of that too for the Caribbean, I'm just going to see how the ball bounces for now. I'm kind of open to anything - but at the same time sort of get tangled up thinking about you know, traveling during a pandemic lol especially with international family (like in Poland along with the US) so I'm trying to make my choices carefully
 
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Something I'm having a lot of trouble with is: How are y'all deciding between schools without visiting? I can research location and costs and program structure and keep adding to my spreadsheet, but I'm having such trouble really comparing schools and deciding on a firm top choice. I wish I could get a better "feel" of each school. Is anyone else struggling with this? Does anyone have any advice?
Hm... are you close to any of the schools that you applied to? For example, I live about an hour and a half from Tufts so on a day off I took a drive and walked around campus to get a feel for the area. I wasn't able to tour any of the buildings, which was kind of a bummer but it still gave me a better feel for what being on campus is like, what it's near, etc.

Apart from that, I've just been watching the virtual tours, hoping that they give me a better idea of the facilities. I've also gone to virtual info sessions and faculty/student Q&A panels hoping to get as much info as possible. Also reading and re-reading older threads for the schools here on SDN. Depending on the schools, there may be some current students here on SDN that would be more than willing to answer questions honestly through DM/PM. You could also try talking to any DVMs that you work with to see if they have any insight, even if they didn't attend the schools you're considering. They might give you things to consider that we haven't thought of since they've been through school. This is a really hard year to be applying not only because of the increased number of applicants but because we can't tour schools during interviews.

For sure make a pros and cons list for everything, not just the school itself but the town/city the school is in. Consider things like cost of living, access to things like stores (like Target), food, healthcare, etc. Is there something you just can't live without that would be a deal breaker if you didn't have access to it? Are there any schools that you just feel more "connected" to based on interviews, what you read online, etc.? Something that gets you excited about a particular location? At risk of sounding like my stepmom: could you see yourself living in that area after graduation? Think about the weather, for example I'd rather lamb outside in the middle of a snowstorm in March than be on a farm animal rotation in 100+ degree weather so I didn't apply to schools in the South 😆

I really wish I had a better answer for you and anyone else that's struggling with this. Honestly, my top schools are schools that I got to tour before the pandemic (RVC, Edinburgh) as well as Tufts and Penn. I live close enough to Penn that if I am accepted making a day trip down there to check it out isn't weird. If I'm accepted to any of those four schools (which I've already gotten RVC), I will probably choose one of those over schools that I haven't toured and will not have the opportunity to tour. The only thing that would change that would be a sweet sweet scholarship.

Anyone else? I feel like I didn't actually give helpful tips here 😂
 
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I'll be thinking positive thoughts for all of us...the next few weeks are going to be nail biters lol

When I started in the field, I had 0 vet/animal experience except for owning a dog, and the first volunteer position I found was in a shelter in the suburbs, 1.5h one-way commute (45min on the train, 30min bus, plus a bit walking). That's where I met my mentor, who single handedly introduced me to the world of veterinary medicine. I was able to land an assistant job a few months later, kept volunteering for shelter clinic on weekends, half a year later I got a tech job.

So my answer is, it depends. If you can truly learn a lot - not only the technical part that can help you get a better job, but also deeper understanding of the field and hopefully some knowledge in medicine, then potentially yes. If you have to travel 1h one way to clean cages and scrub walls ALL DAY, hmmm......

Hm... are you close to any of the schools that you applied to? For example, I live about an hour and a half from Tufts so on a day off I took a drive and walked around campus to get a feel for the area. I wasn't able to tour any of the buildings, which was kind of a bummer but it still gave me a better feel for what being on campus is like, what it's near, etc.

Apart from that, I've just been watching the virtual tours, hoping that they give me a better idea of the facilities. I've also gone to virtual info sessions and faculty/student Q&A panels hoping to get as much info as possible. Also reading and re-reading older threads for the schools here on SDN. Depending on the schools, there may be some current students here on SDN that would be more than willing to answer questions honestly through DM/PM. You could also try talking to any DVMs that you work with to see if they have any insight, even if they didn't attend the schools you're considering. They might give you things to consider that we haven't thought of since they've been through school. This is a really hard year to be applying not only because of the increased number of applicants but because we can't tour schools during interviews.

For sure make a pros and cons list for everything, not just the school itself but the town/city the school is in. Consider things like cost of living, access to things like stores (like Target), food, healthcare, etc. Is there something you just can't live without that would be a deal breaker if you didn't have access to it? Are there any schools that you just feel more "connected" to based on interviews, what you read online, etc.? Something that gets you excited about a particular location? At risk of sounding like my stepmom: could you see yourself living in that area after graduation? Think about the weather, for example I'd rather lamb outside in the middle of a snowstorm in March than be on a farm animal rotation in 100+ degree weather so I didn't apply to schools in the South 😆

I really wish I had a better answer for you and anyone else that's struggling with this. Honestly, my top schools are schools that I got to tour before the pandemic (RVC, Edinburgh) as well as Tufts and Penn. I live close enough to Penn that if I am accepted making a day trip down there to check it out isn't weird. If I'm accepted to any of those four schools (which I've already gotten RVC), I will probably choose one of those over schools that I haven't toured and will not have the opportunity to tour. The only thing that would change that would be a sweet sweet scholarship.

Anyone else? I feel like I didn't actually give helpful tips here 😂


Sorry a bit late to the thread. Not sure who's in where or what's going on. I'm at Penn (3rd year) if anyone has questions about school/interview/anything. Can also answer questions about scholarships or research etc. Also, started school at 28, so I've left the 20's behind if anyone else has questions about that. Good luck to everyone interviewing!
 
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Hm... are you close to any of the schools that you applied to? For example, I live about an hour and a half from Tufts so on a day off I took a drive and walked around campus to get a feel for the area. I wasn't able to tour any of the buildings, which was kind of a bummer but it still gave me a better feel for what being on campus is like, what it's near, etc.

Apart from that, I've just been watching the virtual tours, hoping that they give me a better idea of the facilities. I've also gone to virtual info sessions and faculty/student Q&A panels hoping to get as much info as possible. Also reading and re-reading older threads for the schools here on SDN. Depending on the schools, there may be some current students here on SDN that would be more than willing to answer questions honestly through DM/PM. You could also try talking to any DVMs that you work with to see if they have any insight, even if they didn't attend the schools you're considering. They might give you things to consider that we haven't thought of since they've been through school. This is a really hard year to be applying not only because of the increased number of applicants but because we can't tour schools during interviews.

For sure make a pros and cons list for everything, not just the school itself but the town/city the school is in. Consider things like cost of living, access to things like stores (like Target), food, healthcare, etc. Is there something you just can't live without that would be a deal breaker if you didn't have access to it? Are there any schools that you just feel more "connected" to based on interviews, what you read online, etc.? Something that gets you excited about a particular location? At risk of sounding like my stepmom: could you see yourself living in that area after graduation? Think about the weather, for example I'd rather lamb outside in the middle of a snowstorm in March than be on a farm animal rotation in 100+ degree weather so I didn't apply to schools in the South 😆

I really wish I had a better answer for you and anyone else that's struggling with this. Honestly, my top schools are schools that I got to tour before the pandemic (RVC, Edinburgh) as well as Tufts and Penn. I live close enough to Penn that if I am accepted making a day trip down there to check it out isn't weird. If I'm accepted to any of those four schools (which I've already gotten RVC), I will probably choose one of those over schools that I haven't toured and will not have the opportunity to tour. The only thing that would change that would be a sweet sweet scholarship.

Anyone else? I feel like I didn't actually give helpful tips here 😂
I’m a little less than an hour from Tufts and I actually have toured there a few times and been there as a client too...I toured Penn a few years ago as well....LIU is new so I haven’t been there but I grew up on LI so I have a feel for life there...PEI I probably won’t get to visit but I have some friends who attended so I’ve asked them 8464 questions lol it’s a little like internet dating lol
 
Haha I met my husband on Tinder. I think you'll know it when you feel the good vibe;)
You're so lucky! I wish that would happen. I was on Tinder for 24 hours and all I got were "I'm in town for one night, want to meet up?" and lots of 🍆. I'm the first one to offer to extrude a male dog for catheterization but unsolicited human 🍆 in my inbox? NO THANK YOU.

Maybe when I'm actually looking to date I'll try again but at the time I was like "hell no" and deleted it 😂 I'm hoping to head to the UK for school... maybe I'll find a sexy British man..........
 
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You're so lucky! I wish that would happen. I was on Tinder for 24 hours and all I got were "I'm in town for one night, want to meet up?" and lots of 🍆. I'm the first one to offer to extrude a male dog for catheterization but unsolicited human 🍆 in my inbox? NO THANK YOU.

Maybe when I'm actually looking to date I'll try again but at the time I was like "hell no" and deleted it 😂 I'm hoping to head to the UK for school... maybe I'll find a sexy British man..........
I met mine on eHarmony. We both hated eHarmony but we were the third set of people from his group of friends to meet and get married and since then four of my friends have met and married their significant others that way too. The process feels like a heavy duty hassle but ultimately it does seem to result in better matches…
 
I met mine on eHarmony. We both hated you Harmony but we were the third set of people from his group of friends to meet and get married and since then four of my friends have met and married their significant others that way too. The process feels like a heavy duty hassle but ultimately it does seem to result in better matches…
:unsure:something to consider. I'm not looking at starting anything new right now, especially if I'm leaving to go to school in the fall. I'm trying to leave myself as unattached as possible, at least until I decide 100% where I'm going to end up! I've never really done internet dating (I met my ex at a bar where he was a bouncer and I was a customer) so it's all new to me!
 
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:unsure:something to consider. I'm not looking at starting anything new right now, especially if I'm leaving to go to school in the fall. I'm trying to leave myself as unattached as possible, at least until I decide 100% where I'm going to end up! I've never really done internet dating (I met my ex at a bar where he was a bouncer and I was a customer) so it's all new to you have plent
You’ll know when the time is right. You absolutely have plenty on your plate, nothing wrong with staying focused on that!
 
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just here to say yeah tinder, bumble and hinge have all been 'meh' for me. i had one more serious boyfriend several years ago and every since then felt like i was moving around too much to commit to anything. met one guy on tinder i sort of liked, but then i dumped him the day before valentine's day a few years back sooo 🙃 (to make matters worse i tried to soften the blow by agreeing to go out with him on valentine's day and it was nice enough but i think we both felt pretty rotten at the end of the day..definitely a time of growth for me)

i'm hoping when i settle into a vet school location it'll be easier to feel motivated to try again. but ugh. it's so uncomfortable.
 
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I'm not an applicant this year, but wanted to jump on this thread. I've loved reading everyone's stories and it's been very motivating to me! I graduated undergrad in 2019 with a degree in business and have since decided I wanted to go into vet med. I work full-time as a veterinary assistant at a small animal clinic, and I'm attending school part-time to get all the science pre-reqs done that I didn't take in undergrad :( So upset that I didn't decide on being a vet when I was actually in college, but I'm super motivated to make it happen now! Hoping to apply in about 2 years!
 
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Hello! I guess considered NT lol I’m 28, 29 in May. I’m married with a 7 month old baby boy 💙 I’m actually going to chiropractor school starting January 2022 but also contemplating getting my cvm in the future. My goal is to do more therapy, chiropractor, and strength/conditioning work. I feel like there isn’t many of those vets around. I have a Doberman that I show in dog shows and would love to cater or focus on performance and rehab to suit their particular sport or ailment. Dog and horse. After I get my DC, I’ll do animal chiro training afterwards. Only thing is that as human/animal chiro, I can only practice at someone else’s vet practice legally and I want to be able to own my own practice and even travel to events or people’s homes to work on patients ☺️ DC school is 3 years but I’m sure it’ll fly by and really train me to study for the heavy biological course work! Haha!
 
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So glad this forum exists! I’m non traditional in that I’m mid 30s (don’t ask how mid), 2 kids, have worked in vet med for a decade after going for my human nursing education and stopping close to the end. Went back to undergrad for animal science in 2018 and I’m graduating in December of this year (2021). I have applied 3x now because I had prereqs and well, why not? but this upcoming cycle is the one that I feel I’m actually a realistic candidate for.
My biggest weakness is my academic performance when I went back to school after so long out, I went straight to taking chemistries (gen chem 1/2 and orgo 1) and physics 1. Baaaaad idea. I did those at a community college and got straight Cs, with the exception of orgo 1 (got a D in that). Transferred to a 4 year university that is the same school as my dream IS CVM and have flown up the GPA scale. My institutional GPA at last cycle application time was a 3.39 and it is now a 3.63 BUT my VCMAS calculated GPA is around a 3.01. My last 45 is a 3.73 and after this spring, assuming I stay on track grade wise, will be between a 3.8-3.9. I have not been able to put enough distance between that poor performance and consistent good performance yet but i am hopeful that will change this upcoming cycle.

I have consistently high interview scores, top of the pack actually, and have strong, well rounded experience. I also have strong letters of recommendation. It seems it’s all down to my GPA and some of those classes I can’t retake because they’re not low enough for my school to let me retake. I CAN retake after graduation if I want to but we’ll see.

anyway, does anyone else had a hard time going back to school at the very beginning but then seemed to excel before getting in?
 
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So glad this forum exists! I’m non traditional in that I’m mid 30s (don’t ask how mid), 2 kids, have worked in vet med for a decade after going for my human nursing education and stopping close to the end. Went back to undergrad for animal science in 2018 and I’m graduating in December of this year (2021). I have applied 3x now because I had prereqs and well, why not? but this upcoming cycle is the one that I feel I’m actually a realistic candidate for.
My biggest weakness is my academic performance when I went back to school after so long out, I went straight to taking chemistries (gen chem 1/2 and orgo 1) and physics 1. Baaaaad idea. I did those at a community college and got straight Cs, with the exception of orgo 1 (got a D in that). Transferred to a 4 year university that is the same school as my dream IS CVM and have flown up the GPA scale. My institutional GPA at last cycle application time was a 3.39 and it is now a 3.63 BUT my VCMAS calculated GPA is around a 3.01. My last 45 is a 3.73 and after this spring, assuming I stay on track grade wise, will be between a 3.8-3.9. I have not been able to put enough distance between that poor performance and consistent good performance yet but i am hopeful that will change this upcoming cycle.

I have consistently high interview scores, top of the pack actually, and have strong, well rounded experience. I also have strong letters of recommendation. It seems it’s all down to my GPA and some of those classes I can’t retake because they’re not low enough for my school to let me retake. I CAN retake after graduation if I want to but we’ll see.

anyway, does anyone else had a hard time going back to school at the very beginning but then seemed to excel before getting in?
Similar story to yours, just turned 38, 2 kids, made some attempts at prereqs several years ago, didn’t do so well which shot my gpa, however, knew if I could get in front of people for an interview I could work it out. I’m in a post-bacc premed program and it’s made a huge difference in successfully tackling the material and doing it well. Best of luck this cycle!
 
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So glad this forum exists! I’m non traditional in that I’m mid 30s (don’t ask how mid), 2 kids, have worked in vet med for a decade after going for my human nursing education and stopping close to the end. Went back to undergrad for animal science in 2018 and I’m graduating in December of this year (2021). I have applied 3x now because I had prereqs and well, why not? but this upcoming cycle is the one that I feel I’m actually a realistic candidate for.
My biggest weakness is my academic performance when I went back to school after so long out, I went straight to taking chemistries (gen chem 1/2 and orgo 1) and physics 1. Baaaaad idea. I did those at a community college and got straight Cs, with the exception of orgo 1 (got a D in that). Transferred to a 4 year university that is the same school as my dream IS CVM and have flown up the GPA scale. My institutional GPA at last cycle application time was a 3.39 and it is now a 3.63 BUT my VCMAS calculated GPA is around a 3.01. My last 45 is a 3.73 and after this spring, assuming I stay on track grade wise, will be between a 3.8-3.9. I have not been able to put enough distance between that poor performance and consistent good performance yet but i am hopeful that will change this upcoming cycle.

I have consistently high interview scores, top of the pack actually, and have strong, well rounded experience. I also have strong letters of recommendation. It seems it’s all down to my GPA and some of those classes I can’t retake because they’re not low enough for my school to let me retake. I CAN retake after graduation if I want to but we’ll see.

anyway, does anyone else had a hard time going back to school at the very beginning but then seemed to excel before getting in?
Yes, yes, YES. I have almost the exact same academic story - came back to do my pre-reqs through a post-bacc program, and WHOO did chemistry kick my butt. I did okay in physics, but had to retake gen chem II & orgo II! I had a higher last-45 credit GPA as well, plus strong interviews, strong letters, strong essays, and lots of vet med & animal experience. The one thing I might suggest you add is to work on getting a stellar GRE score if you can - that opened more doors to me than I ever realized. More and more, schools are recognizing the benefit of added diversity from non-traditional candidates with varied life experiences, and that has been reflected by my 3 acceptances & 2 waitlists this year! Don't give up hope!
 
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Hi everyone! Here’s my story! I started working at a clinic when I was 17 cleaning kennels. I always wanted to be a vet, but I HATED university when I was 18/19 years old. So I started working at a clinic full time as a veterinary technician and set school aside. I was happy! I worked my way up to a lead veterinary technician position and was close to becoming the practice manager. Six years after I first started working at a clinic, I lost my father to cancer. He was a doctor in human medicine, and my last promise to him was to get my DVM. So, I quit my job. Just like that. And it was terrifying. At that point, I had a husband, a one year old little boy, and a house/plenty of bills to pay! But I had to do it. So, I quit my comfortable job at 23 years old and started working on my prerequisites to apply to vet school. My GPA was a 2.5-something when I started back up. I maintained a 3.9 GPA or above every semester since I returned. A little over a year ago, we had our second little boy!

I applied this cycle and was accepted to BOTH of the schools I applied to. I’m 25 with a fully settled life, but I’m doing it. It took some blood, sweat, and tears to get through it with a 3 year old and a 1 year old this past year, but I did it. AND YOU CAN TOO! I’m excited to start vet school this fall, and I genuinely wish everyone on this thread all the best. Feel free to message me if I can answer any questions. Don’t give up on your dreams, y’all. They do come true after some hard work and long nights.
 
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Hello all,

I'm really glad this thread exists and it has been really interesting and reassuring to read all your stories.

I will tell my story soon but for now just wanted to ask a question. If I get in this year and start in September, it will have been a year and a half since I finished my last prerequisite, and even longer since I finished the rest of them. Do any current students or graduates have any insight as to whether it is of any value to bring my notes from undergrad for those prerequisite courses in case I need to reference them/figure out what the heck is going on? I guess I'm good at getting up to speed on things but I know that vet school is a whole other story. Just wondering if it's worth lugging all that paper around or if I can recycle it with a clear conscience. You know, things like calculus and genetics. I've already forgotten so much lol.
 
Hello all,

I'm really glad this thread exists and it has been really interesting and reassuring to read all your stories.

I will tell my story soon but for now just wanted to ask a question. If I get in this year and start in September, it will have been a year and a half since I finished my last prerequisite, and even longer since I finished the rest of them. Do any current students or graduates have any insight as to whether it is of any value to bring my notes from undergrad for those prerequisite courses in case I need to reference them/figure out what the heck is going on? I guess I'm good at getting up to speed on things but I know that vet school is a whole other story. Just wondering if it's worth lugging all that paper around or if I can recycle it with a clear conscience. You know, things like calculus and genetics. I've already forgotten so much lol.
Recycle the paper imo. I spent 9mo between degrees and havent looked back to undergrad notes once. Tbh I don't think any of my friends have referenced their notes from undergrad. Theres tons of extra resources if you dont understand something and what you're learning is usually pretty specific the class notes suffice just fine.
 
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Hello all,

I'm really glad this thread exists and it has been really interesting and reassuring to read all your stories.

I will tell my story soon but for now just wanted to ask a question. If I get in this year and start in September, it will have been a year and a half since I finished my last prerequisite, and even longer since I finished the rest of them. Do any current students or graduates have any insight as to whether it is of any value to bring my notes from undergrad for those prerequisite courses in case I need to reference them/figure out what the heck is going on? I guess I'm good at getting up to speed on things but I know that vet school is a whole other story. Just wondering if it's worth lugging all that paper around or if I can recycle it with a clear conscience. You know, things like calculus and genetics. I've already forgotten so much lol.
The only one I can see being useful would be anything anatomy or physiology, and I think keeping powerpoints or the textbook would be sufficient. Save the paper!
 
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