Not to be annoying...but here's my what-are-my-chances thread...

[vetwardbound]

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Hi, guys! I've been filling out my application and want a better idea of where I stand in terms of possibly getting in next year or not. Like I mentioned in another thread, I decided on veterinary school late in the game and don't have that many hours, so I'm worried about my chances. While I am set on pursuing vet med as a career, I don't want to invest over a grand applying everywhere possible this year if there's absolutely no chance of getting in. Can good grades and GRE offset lack of experience?

GPA: 3.9
Science GPA: 3.8
GRE: 1400 (780 M, 620 V, 5.5 A)
Hours: 400-500 at time of application
- actively involved on campus, variety of work experience in other fields

I'm at a top 25 university with a challenging pre-health curriculum and a resident of TX...I apologize for the thread, but I'm really in the dark here. Thanks in advance!

 

[cyrille104]

Can good grades and GRE offset lack of experience?

Yes, but you have good reason to be worried - 500 hours is the minimum requirement of some schools! If you can get that up to 800 hours by the end of winter break, you'll have a MUCH better chance of getting in. Still, you have SOME chance of getting in, and if you don't get in this year, you'll definitely get in next year.

 

[CookieBear]

I think your sweet grades and GRE will get you past the first cut at many places. My personal opinion entirely.

If you can get the experience hours up for this application season, it'll look alot better.

Make sure you write a kick ass personal statement, and that your eLORs rock.

My gut is that your grades and GRE will do you well.

Good luck!

 

[silverelf]

really step it up this summer and cram in as many hours as you can with different vets...if you really work hard at getting in as many hours as you can, you should be able to get in with those grades. However, like cyrille said above me, if you don't get accepted this cycle, you really shouldn't have much trouble next year once you get your experience up...i wish i had had a 3.9 GPA!

 

[Max Power]

i know people that got in with a little over 200..don't let them scare you. OSU's requirement is only 80 last time I checked. You GRE and GPA are excellent. I'm sure you'll be great as long as everything else checks out alright.

 

[vetwardbound]

Thank you guys so much for the insight. I'm going to get all the hours I can, but I know that my hours won't even compare to the number of hours most of the applicants have (i.e. Davis's 3500 hour average). This is definitely heartening, though, and I'll wait however long it takes to get in, so I guess that's all that matters! Also, I was thinking about using that extra essay space on the application (where you can explain special circumstances) to explain why I don't have that many...We'll see! Thanks again...and sorry for the what are my chances thread.

 

[ri23]

I would actually be surprised if you didn't get in. You have fantastic grades and GRE score. I know some schools (OSU) have an objective and subjective score which they total for the final score. They are waited fairly evenly, with the objective being solely based on GRE/GPA. The subjective is based off the interview, experience, and LORs. What exactly was your experience, small animal? If you've absorbed a lot of information and can express that in your interview then I think you'll be fine. With your scores and GPA I would imagine you would get interviews and you then have the chance to show what you learned.

 

[vetwardbound]

All of my experience has been in only one clinic -- small animals and exotic. It's a five doctor clinic, though, so there's usually a lot going on. Also, I've been volunteering, which has been great because I get to actually shadow the doctors and pick which surgeries I want to see (i.e. if a routine spay and a surgery to repair a prolapsed uterus in an iguana come in at the same time, I get to see the iguana). I've kept a rough journal of all of the different surgeries and procedures I've seen, so hopefully I can pull from that if I get the opportunity to.

 

[Serendipity4]

Vetwardbound -- I had a somewhat similar situation (i.e. thought I was low on the experience). I had a 4.0 GPA and 1410 GRE (800 Q, 610 V, 6.0 W), and as for my experience, I had worked/shadowed 8 summers at the same vet's office (also a decent sized one with 3+ doctors at any given time). 5 of those summers was a kennel assistant (alright experience, but not great) and 1 as a grooming assistant (again, not great). As for my hours, though, they were right around 1000. Furthermore, if I recall correctly I couldn't even say all my hours because it asked for... okay, I might be remembering wrong... but only hours that took place in the last 4 years. If I'm recalling correctly, that cut my hours roughly in half. Minnesota was my first choice schools, and as "back ups" I chose Cornell (for fun), Colorado and UC Davis (recommendations of people; obviously not the smartest choices AT ALL for backups, as Cornell is #1 in the country and CSU and UC Davis tend to be tied for 2nd). I was rejected at Cornell, CSU and UC Davis, but accepted outright at Minnesota. Sooooo, the purpose of my now-long reply is that I definitely think you can do it. Many of the cutoffs for interviews have to do soley with your grades and GRE scores, and your's should definitely get you interviews. Are you a good interviewer? If so, I think that's another place you could explain your lower number of hours, and also play up how you worked at a clinic with exotics, how you got to see cool surgeries like the iguana, etc. etc. Also, if you can get some additional experience with large animals, wildlife, etc. I think that might definitely help. But this is just all my two cents -- good luck!! 🙂

 

[pressmom]

I think if you don't get in this year, you probably will next year. Try to work on a breadth of experience, as you already have depth. Maybe a large animal ride-along. It's definitely worth applying. Try Auburn. They seem to weight GPA quite heavily.

Also, I think they look at the number of years it took you to get that experience and what else you were doing at that time.

 

[vetwardbound]

Serendipity - That's a lot of time in my book! But good to see similar stats and a success. Were you in state for Minnesota?

Pressmom - The ride-along sounds like a really great idea. I live in a large city so I can't make a long-term commitment to a large animal clinic, but that would be a great way for me to show that I at least have an idea of how those clinics function as well.

 

[tapir]

FWIW, I was accepted to Penn with not much more than 500 hours of experience at the time of the application (I've accrued much more since then). Take the shot!

 

[runnerDC]

The decision should rest more with you than about what you think others--i.e. an admissions committee--will think of you. If you feel ready to go to vet school and confident in your career decision, then put your best foot forward and apply. There are no guarantees of anything in life in general, so no guarantees that you will be accepted...except if you don't apply--then you certainly won't be accepted 😉

For what it's worth, I'm a non-trad with degrees in sociology/public policy, am leaving a 10-year career in pub policy research, and had 300 hours of veterinary experience in one small animal clinic when I applied (I was a first-time applicant). I was accepted at MN and Tufts and will be attending Tufts. So...people with varied backgrounds, experiences, hours, etc, do get in. I say go for it if you feel ready.

One more thing: in your application, be sure to highlight your strengths rather than spending a lot of time explaining away what you feel are your perceived weaknesses. If you feel that your quantitative number of experience hours is low, don't feel like you have to necessarily apologize for that. Rather, discuss what you've learned qualitatively from your collective experiences. You can spin perceived weaknesses in your favor both in your application and during any interviews. Strike the balance between feeling confident with your current knowledge/experience, while looking forward to being exposed to and learning that much more in vet school. Best of luck!

 

[cyrille104]

Furthermore, if I recall correctly I couldn't even say all my hours because it asked for... okay, I might be remembering wrong... but only hours that took place in the last 4 years. If I'm recalling correctly, that cut my hours roughly in half.

Uhhh...where did you get this 4 year thing? That's not right at all...

 

[cyrille104]

FWIW, I was accepted to Penn with not much more than 500 hours of experience at the time of the application (I've accrued much more since then). Take the shot!

Yes, this brings up a good point. You'll want to apply to schools that are more focused on the academics. Penn and Cornell come to mind, but don't waste your time with Colorado. I would also suggest that you apply narrowly, only to school you REALLY want to go to; if you don't get into them this year you'll definitely get into them next year (rather than being miserable in the middle of nowhere/somewhere you hate just to get through vet school a year earlier)...just my personal opinion though.

 

[wivet2011]

I agree, your grades and gre are great. Apply, keep getting as much experience as you can and see what happens. Also, if you are able, have someone look at your personal statement before you submit it (contrary to popular belief, some schools actually consider them important and read them 🙂)

 

[Serendipity4]

Uhhh...where did you get this 4 year thing? That's not right at all...

😳 This is the closest smiley I can find to an embarrassed/blushing one... Cyrille, you're right. I couldn't remember if that was right or not because what happened, when I filled out my VMCAS application, was I filled out employment first. In the employment instructions it tells you to only include paid employment since highschool -- for me, this was less than 4 years at the time. The paid employment I wanted to include (which, obviously, I later figured out was to be put in the vet experience section anyways) was my 5 summers of being a kennel assistant, all of which was before/in high school. So at the time I FREAKED out, thinking all those summers weren't going to do me ANY good. Evidently, the freaking out stuck in my mind, but the relief after I figured it out didn't... I'm sorry, everyone, for my stupidity! 😳

Vetwardbound: While my 1000 hours or so seems like a lot to you, when I was applying and seeing all the "successful applicants" at thousands and thousands of hours, I thought I was screwed. And yes, I was instate in Minnesota, and that could well be the only reason I got in, but I think had I been smarter about the other schools I applied to, I might have gotten in elsewhere. Hence the point of my posting: I really think you have a decent shot of getting in this year, especially if you write a stellar personal statement and look into the schools to which you're applying as everyone else has suggested. And like they say, if you don't get in this year, DO NOT FEEL BAD about it as you'll have, I think, an excellent shot next year. (After my Minnesota interview where I talked to AT LEAST 10 people who were all 2nd or 3rd year applicants, I got over my thinking it was a bad thing to reapply 🙂

 

[vetwardbound]

Thank you all so, so much for the feedback. I definitely feel ready for vet school, but it was difficult to gauge my chances when (like serendipity said) all the successful applicants seem to have thousands and thousands of hours. It's nice to hear that that isn't the absolute standard in terms of getting in...I'll do my best! We'll see!