okish GPA, high vet hours, boring personal experiences

[anompotato]

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Hi everyone! I’m applying this VMCAS cycle and would appreciate feedback on my overall competitiveness and how I can strengthen the way I present my experiences.


Academics:

• California resident
• Animal Science student at UC Davis; transferred from UC Merced
• Cumulative GPA: ~3.74
• Science GPA: ~3.94
• Last 45 GPA: ~3.92
• Prerequisite GPA: ~3.98, depending on the school
• Since starting college full-time, I’ve received almost entirely As/A+s with a handful of A−s. Some of the grades lowering my cumulative GPA are Bs from community college courses I took through dual enrollment in high school, when I wasn’t taking those courses as seriously as I do now.

Veterinary experience: ~3,000 hours

• Small-animal veterinary assistant
• UC Davis Small Animal Hospital
• UC Davis Equine Hospital — Barn Nurse
• UC Davis Foal Team
• Equine/large-animal veterinary shadowing
• Fresno Chaffee Zoo veterinary hospital
• UC Davis/Loop Abroad veterinary program in Thailand
• Shelter/vaccine-clinic experience
• Medical fostering of sick/neonatal patients

Animal experience: ~1,000 hours

• Kennel technician
• Dairy/milk-lab volunteering
• Shelter volunteering, canine behavioral assessments and fostering
• 4-H horse showmanship/equine experience
• Pet sitting/animal care

Other activities:

• Pre-Veterinary Club throughout college
• Volunteer tutoring/mentoring for disadvantaged high-school students interested in veterinary medicine
• Hiking Club at UC Davis

My main concern is that most of my experiences revolve around school, animals, and veterinary medicine, and I’m worried that my application may come across as one-dimensional or not show much of my personality. I want to highlight that the range of experiences I’ve pursued comes from my curiosity, willingness to learn, and interest in exploring different areas of veterinary medicine, while my longer-term positions show depth and commitment.


I’m mainly wondering:

1. How competitive does my overall profile look for DVM programs?
2. How would admissions view my 3.74 cumulative GPA compared with my 3.94 science and 3.92 last-45 GPAs, considering some of my lower grades were from dual enrollment in high school?
3. Do my experiences show enough depth and breadth, or do I come across as too veterinary-focused?
4. How can I make my Experiences section show more of my personality, curiosity, and passion instead of reading like a list of veterinary duties?
5. Is there anything you think I’m missing or should emphasize before submitting?

I’d really appreciate constructive feedback, especially from current veterinary students, veterinarians, or people familiar with veterinary admissions. Thank you!

 

[apoptosis09]

How competitive does my overall profile look for DVM programs?

I think it looks pretty good, but considering Davis is your in state and one of the most competitive nationwide, I would still apply to a few others if you can afford them.

How would admissions view my 3.74 cumulative GPA compared with my 3.94 science and 3.92 last-45 GPAs, considering some of my lower grades were from dual enrollment in high school?

The latter two are typically considered more important to adcoms than cumulative, so being higher is likely an advantage here., but best to check how Davis weighs them just to be safe.

Do my experiences show enough depth and breadth, or do I come across as too veterinary-focused?

You do come across as very veterinary focused (because you are), which is only a bad thing if you get rejected with feedback to have more varied non-vet/animal hours. You'll probably be just fine otherwise.

How can I make my Experiences section show more of my personality, curiosity, and passion instead of reading like a list of veterinary duties?

Do you have experiences that exemplify these things? Keep in mind you can add all manner of extracurriculars to your experiences section. Piano lessons, community theater, your weekend pickleball league, your book club, etc, etc.

Is there anything you think I’m missing or should emphasize before submitting?

Hard to say since we only know about you what you've posted here, but if you have other hobbies or non-animal employment (even just working a coffee shop in high school/undergrad) or non-animal volunteer hours, I would add those.

 

[CeeGee14]

How would admissions view my 3.74 cumulative GPA compared with my 3.94 science and 3.92 last-45 GPAs, considering some of my lower grades were from dual enrollment in high school?

Davis only takes your last 45 and sGPA into account, so this works in your favor.