Opinion on non-U.S. vet schools

[hopeful_dvm]

Hello everyone...I have just recently discovered this forum and was wondering if one of you could give me insight on my my situation..

I am 25 years old and a Georgia resident..I graduated from Emory University, earned a B.A. in Psychology, and went back and finished my prerequisites as a post-baccalaureate student. As far as stats go, overall GPA is 3.3, science GPA is 3.4-3.5, last 45 hours is 3.63, GRE 1210, Biology GRE 580. ..I have applied and been denied to UGA 3 times despite being REALLY close..

As far as experience goes..I grew up on a farm so I have a plethora of large animal experience..my fathers owns a registered kennel and breeds foxhounds so I have been involved in that..Volunteer at a local animal hospital for one summer and recently, worked in the ICU of the SA Teaching Hospital of UGA's vet school...

This is the first application cycle I have applied to a number of out-of-state schools as well..but I have already received denials from about half of them an still waiting to hear from WSU, LSU, UPENN, Univ. Wisconsin and UGA..so to say that I am discouraged at this point is an understatement

I have been accepted to St. George's University vet school in Grenada for August and am seriously considering attending..I have only heard excellent things about the school in terms of faculty, campus facilities, and pass rates on boards..Have any of you known anyone that has taken this route or have information or an opinion about it?

Sorry for the long post but I know that all of you are immersed in the vet school application process as well and if you have a complex question you should go to the source, right Thanks so much and take care!

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[birdvet2006]

I have heard good things about St. George's until the hurricane struck - after that, I heard they moved their students to various vet schools in the US until they could rebuild their campus on the island. I don't know what's going on with it now, but I wonder if they could truly re-build in a year?
I do have a friend at Ross University and know someone who went there but transfered to a stateside school. Ross is an excellent university from what I hear, but it takes quite some adjustment to live in a third-world country type setting (where electricity often goes out and food supplies aren't the greatest).
Going the non-AVMA accredited school route means it may be a rough road for you once you graduate. However, the PAVE exam has changed things and perhaps it will be accepted in more states. You should still keep in mind the expense and wait to become ECFVG certified.
I think going overseas is an excellent idea. The other option is re-applying to the US schools and waiting...and waiting...and waiting. I never applied to US schools but that is what I feared most - the wait and waste of time it would be just to get into vet school, when I could be IN vet school already.
Just curious: did you apply to the overseas AVMA accredited schools such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Murdoch or Massey? Murdoch and London don't participate in VMCAS, so perhaps you can still apply (but Murdoch begins the school term about now).

Just my two cents,
Cindy
4th year student at Glasgow University Vet School

 

[Beauty2597]

Hello everyone...I have just recently discovered this forum and was wondering if one of you could give me insight on my my situation..

I am 25 years old and a Georgia resident..I graduated from Emory University, earned a B.A. in Psychology, and went back and finished my prerequisites as a post-baccalaureate student. As far as stats go, overall GPA is 3.3, science GPA is 3.4-3.5, last 45 hours is 3.63, GRE 1210, Biology GRE 580. ..I have applied and been denied to UGA 3 times despite being REALLY close..

As far as experience goes..I grew up on a farm so I have a plethora of large animal experience..my fathers owns a registered kennel and breeds foxhounds so I have been involved in that..Volunteer at a local animal hospital for one summer and recently, worked in the ICU of the SA Teaching Hospital of UGA's vet school...

This is the first application cycle I have applied to a number of out-of-state schools as well..but I have already received denials from about half of them an still waiting to hear from WSU, LSU, UPENN, Univ. Wisconsin and UGA..so to say that I am discouraged at this point is an understatement

I have been accepted to St. George's University vet school in Grenada for August and am seriously considering attending..I have only heard excellent things about the school in terms of faculty, campus facilities, and pass rates on boards..Have any of you known anyone that has taken this route or have information or an opinion about it?

Sorry for the long post but I know that all of you are immersed in the vet school application process as well and if you have a complex question you should go to the source, right Thanks so much and take care![/QUOTE]



Hi!
Dont worry! I have my share of rejections too! Its a part of this process, unfortunately. I really think you have respectable stats and i am not sure why UGA is being so tough on you (especially after 3 times). Have you tried going to their admissions office and asking them WHAT specifically you can work on to get you in?

Secondly, from the list of schools you have left it seems like you picked many vet schools that take hardly any out of state and receive a high number of out of state applications. Did you try applying to Western University in California? They take 100 people (and have No residency requirements). I am from CT and so I basically looked at what places take the most people from out of state.

Lastly, about the out of country thing, I agree with Cindy. I have never seen the facilities but I dont think St Georges would give you a "bad" education. It is what happens after graduation thats the problem...you cannot compare an accredited vs. non accredited school. I think that if this was your 1st or 2nd time applying I would say hold out for an accredited school; but its your 3rd time so its really up to you in terms of can you wait another year? I also know that at those schools they have you do your 4thyear in the US, so that would be cool.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck, please feel free to message me.

*Beauty2597*

 

[hopeful_dvm]

Thanks so much for the advice you guys...keep it up

To answer your questions..no, I have not previously applied to any overseas accredited schools...I did apply and was accepted to Ross University a couple of years back but decided against it for a number of reasons..mostly because I still believed that I could improve my application and not have to end up going the offshore route..Also, because of the fact that the island it is located on (St. Kitts) is alot more primitive than Grenada and does not offer on-campus housing and the same quality of lecture, lab and clinical facilites as does St. George's..which is why I am leaning there if I do not get an offer from a US school..

As far as getting feed back from UGA..this has pretty much been the story of my life for the last 3 years..first, they told me to take more biology courses and maybe repeat a couple for a higher grade...I did that and got A's in all of my repeats..then they told me to increase my GRE scores..I did that...then they told me to focus on a getting a really great clinical experience...which lead me to work in the ICU of their Teaching Hospital on overnight shifts every weekend for almost a year (with excellent references from my supervisors, I might add)....I am talking side by side with interns, faculty, students, techs with the most critical cases they see....There is nothing like working in the environment where you will be learning to better prepare you for vet school, right..at least that is what I thought..

As a result, I am VERY good friends with the associate dean at UGA and this year when I was denied all she could say was that I was a competitive applicant who was in the final cut and they were no foreseeable holes left in my application....but I didn't get in so what can I say

Anyway, thanks so much again for your advice...at this point I am very grateful for the opportunity that SGU is giving me..the licensing process after SGU can't be much harder than the system I am trying to penetrate now...but I am still weighing my options...I would greatly appreciate any further thoughts that any of you have to share..Take care!

 

[chris03333]

Thanks so much for the advice you guys...keep it up

To answer your questions..no, I have not previously applied to any overseas accredited schools...I did apply and was accepted to Ross University a couple of years back but decided against it for a number of reasons..mostly because I still believed that I could improve my application and not have to end up going the offshore route..Also, because of the fact that the island it is located on (St. Kitts) is alot more primitive than Grenada and does not offer on-campus housing and the same quality of lecture, lab and clinical facilites as does St. George's..which is why I am leaning there if I do not get an offer from a US school..

As far as getting feed back from UGA..this has pretty much been the story of my life for the last 3 years..first, they told me to take more biology courses and maybe repeat a couple for a higher grade...I did that and got A's in all of my repeats..then they told me to increase my GRE scores..I did that...then they told me to focus on a getting a really great clinical experience...which lead me to work in the ICU of their Teaching Hospital on overnight shifts every weekend for almost a year (with excellent references from my supervisors, I might add)....I am talking side by side with interns, faculty, students, techs with the most critical cases they see....There is nothing like working in the environment where you will be learning to better prepare you for vet school, right..at least that is what I thought..

As a result, I am VERY good friends with the associate dean at UGA and this year when I was denied all she could say was that I was a competitive applicant who was in the final cut and they were no foreseeable holes left in my application....but I didn't get in so what can I say

Anyway, thanks so much again for your advice...at this point I am very grateful for the opportunity that SGU is giving me..the licensing process after SGU can't be much harder than the system I am trying to penetrate now...but I am still weighing my options...I would greatly appreciate any further thoughts that any of you have to share..Take care!

Apply to the schools that accept more out of state applicants. It seems to me that you chose the wrong schools to apply to in that matter. Try applying to Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. These schools accept way more out of state applicants than the schools you applied to. Of course I have to give a plug for my own school Western University which has no residency requirements so you have an equal chance to get in with everyone else and tuition is not different that out of state (or out of country) is. Since you seem willing to move out of country I would also suggest like Cindy did, apply to the schools that are AVMA accredited.

 

[VeganSoprano]

I think your stats are so competitive that you will be accepted to an AVMA accredited school eventually. Sometimes it just comes down to luck - for instance, it's between you and one other person for the final slot and that person just happens to have a particular area of interest that no one else in the admitted class has. So they're accepted and you're not. It's a bummer but doesn't necessarily reflect on you as an applicant.

Since your stats are so competitive, re-applying will work in your favor. If a school sees you applying several years in a row, they will know you are really serious about it. This will open a door for you at some point - hopefully this year!

 

[CoffeeCrazy]

All those schools mentioned above take a lot of out of state applicants... especially Kansas. I think it's far better to go to an accredited school... it's a better education and much cheaper in the long run. But I understand your frustration with the current system. Wait and see how this round of applications pans out before you decide anything... you never know.

And really, I think you'd get in to one of the aforementioned schools if you tried. Have you gotten feedback from all the schools you've heard denials from? That might also help you decide what to do.