Penn

[cows93]

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I interviewed at penn over a month ago and found out I was on hold within 5 days, but still haven't heard anything else new. As for those of you still waiting to hear about interveiws this was my second year interviewing. Last year I got a call for the interview the day before the interview. There was bad weather and some people were unable to come for their interview. While I did not get in last year I firmly believe it was because I was very unprepared for my interview and was therefore extremely nervous. Good Luck to those still waiting!

 

[scienceGal]

i think you're the second or third person that's said a story like that.

i'm not sure if it's good or bad to have hope still.
i've already started my "year off" to improve my app and apply again.
if i hear anything other than a No at this point, it will be a VERY unexpected, and amazing, surprise.

 

[scienceGal]

sorry to bring bad news for everyone still waiting. . .

i just spoke to the admissions people and they said that they sent their last invites out through email yesterday.
so if you haven't gotten an email, then it's almost def a no.

they are sending out all the rejection via email AND snail mail from now on.

sorry guys.

guess we should all start preparing for the next admissions round

 

[shemari]

stupid rolling admissions!🙁

 

[scienceGal]

who knows. . .maybe one of you will get lucky and get that "night before" phone call. 😛

good luck next year everyone.
and congrats to all those who are in the class of 2012!!!!
hope to see you guys in the near future

 

[Shanomong]

🙁

Anyone know when the post-mortem's start? I need to find out what the heck I should be doing... Idk if I should be looking for jobs right now or post-bach stuff or just moving to philly and riding the residency wave on the next app...

Did anyone actually receive rejection emails today? Frustrating that they would revert to snail-mail too... it seems like a prolonging of the torture.

 

[cows93]

I do not know about this year, but last year I had to wait until May to call for a post app interview. They said this is because they are busy with accepted students and preparing for graduation. Hope it's soon for u this year. Best Wishes

 

[scienceGal]

i asked them about file review. . .even though i didn't get my rejection yet. . .and they said that we shouldn't call to plan it till end of may because they are busy with admissions still.

 

[Shanomong]

i asked them about file review. . .even though i didn't get my rejection yet. . .and they said that we shouldn't call to plan it till end of may because they are busy with admissions still.

Great... considering at the end of May I have finals, a wedding, honeymoon, and a move to Philly... and I need to apply to grad school if that's the road they want me to take....

Grr. I mean it's fine... most of the post-bach programs don't have deadlines until July anyway, probably just for this reason... I'm just so sick of the indecision...

Sorry to be such a downer 😛 I'm actually not as bitter as I sound!! 😀

 

[reefervet]

That sucks for you guys that were really hoping to go to Penn. I applied there as well and haven't heard a thing, but fortunately I have other options. I just can't imagine the stress some of you have to go through with the waiting to be rejected game.

 

[cuvet]

yeah it really sucks....weird that i haven't heard anything from my own in-state school about an interview, yet i've made it into purdue? anyone else think that's weird by chance?

 

[nyanko]

That sucks for you guys that were really hoping to go to Penn. I applied there as well and haven't heard a thing, but fortunately I have other options. I just can't imagine the stress some of you have to go through with the waiting to be rejected game.

I didn't apply to Penn but I lurk all the threads to see where people got in. Your name makes me giggle, but then I just saw you set your avatar to...coral reefs, and felt like a miscreant for giggling at it.

Okay okay sorry for the derail, yay Penn people!

 

[reefervet]

LOL, I intentionally added that avatar so people wouldn't get the wrong impression!!

That's a captive coral that I am growing. Actually I was kind of excited about Penn and their Aquavet program but oh well, there will be other ways to get experience in that area (I hope)

 

[reefervet]

Plus OOS tuition for 4 years would have sucked anyways

 

[Shanomong]

Plus OOS tuition for 4 years would have sucked anyways

Lol, one of the bright sides to this scenario... at least now I'm saving like $40-60,000 in the long run... more if you take interest into account..

 

[polo vet]

hey last week when i was facebooking i found the upenn vet school clas of 2012 group. but when i tried to search for it today i could not find it. anyone have to url for the group? would you mind sharing?

 

[reefervet]

dum, da dum dum.... got my rejection email today!

 

[CalpardNY]

I got a phone call this morning from a 215 number. Normally i don't pick up numbers I don't know but as I went to UG in northern PA i know 215 is philly area! I picked it up and was asked if i was still itnerested in Penn. I said definately!

I was offered an interview on the 28th! Idk if it was because they had more spots or if people declined, but thanks to those who did! AAHH!

Gl to the rest of you that haven't heard - reefer sorry to hear that!

 

[shemari]

got my rejection email today...boo....at least I don't have to wait anymore!

 

[scienceGal]

i still haven't gotten any word from penn. . . . .

but i will be checking my email. . .and apparently my missed call list a LOT more frequently.

🙁

 

[Shanomong]

I got a phone call this morning from a 215 number. Normally i don't pick up numbers I don't know but as I went to UG in northern PA i know 215 is philly area! I picked it up and was asked if i was still itnerested in Penn. I said definately!

I was offered an interview on the 28th! Idk if it was because they had more spots or if people declined, but thanks to those who did! AAHH!

Gl to the rest of you that haven't heard - reefer sorry to hear that!

Congrats that's so AWESOME!!!

Lol maybe I need to start driving to school instead of taking the subway... all that time spent underground with no phone signal might make me go insane now...

Still no word here either... 🙄

ETA: ScienceGal, if by some unforseen miracle you and I end up getting invited to interview... we need to go out for drinks together afterwards... I feel like we've been going through this together, and god knows I'm going to need a drink when this is all said and done whether I get an interview or not... :-D

 

[Hobiecat1642]

Ahhh, CalpardNY that's awesome! I got my rejection email today, but that's okay. That is so exciting! Good luck on your interview!

 

[scienceGal]

ETA: ScienceGal, if by some unforseen miracle you and I end up getting invited to interview... we need to go out for drinks together afterwards... I feel like we've been going through this together, and god knows I'm going to need a drink when this is all said and done whether I get an interview or not... :-D[/quote]


that's a deal

 

[turtlturtlturtl]

rejected today via e-mail. bummer.

 

[scienceGal]

awwww. sorry.

🙁

 

[scienceGal]

got my rejection via email this morning. . . . . .oh well.

good luck to the rest of you waiting.
and to all those applying with me in the next round.

 

[Shanomong]

got my rejection via email this morning. . . . . .oh well.

good luck to the rest of you waiting.
and to all those applying with me in the next round.

Nooooooooooooooooo!!! 🙁 Sorry 🙁🙁

I'm still in limbo land... no news yet...

Anyone else still waiting?? 😕

 

[CalpardNY]

Thanks for all the support guys! I'm sorry you guys won't be joining me!

Congrats that's so AWESOME!!!

Lol maybe I need to start driving to school instead of taking the subway... all that time spent underground with no phone signal might make me go insane now...

Still no word here either... 🙄

Shanomong - being that i live outside of NYC and work there, i understand the subway fear! If it helps, the call came in at 11:15 (not that that should matter!) But i will keep my fingers crossed that you will be joining me that day and we can meet!

 

[baku]

I'm still waiting as well... but not exactly hopeful at this point.

 

[Shanomong]

Thanks for all the support guys! I'm sorry you guys won't be joining me!




Shanomong - being that i live outside of NYC and work there, i understand the subway fear! If it helps, the call came in at 11:15 (not that that should matter!) But i will keep my fingers crossed that you will be joining me that day and we can meet!

Finally got my rejection email... ugh. I'm honestly very interested to hear what they say when I go for the "post-mortem"... I have no clue what else I could have done... aside from go to an Ivy League instead of a city school... I'd be interested to hear what they say to everyone else here if anyone wants to post it on here, I'll post whatever they tell me..

Good luck to anyone still waiting!

 

[CalpardNY]

Finally got my rejection email... ugh. I'm honestly very interested to hear what they say when I go for the "post-mortem"... I have no clue what else I could have done... aside from go to an Ivy League instead of a city school... I'd be interested to hear what they say to everyone else here if anyone wants to post it on here, I'll post whatever they tell me..

Good luck to anyone still waiting!

Sorry Shanomong - it would have be awesome to have you there interviewing on the 28 too! I'd be interested to hear what they have to say about you guys - too bad the post-mortems aren't for a bit! You are all just as deserving if not more than me!

 

[Shanomong]

Sorry Shanomong - it would have be awesome to have you there interviewing on the 28 too! I'd be interested to hear what they have to say about you guys - too bad the post-mortems aren't for a bit! You are all just as deserving if not more than me!

Awe Calpard, you're way too kind. Let us know how your interview goes, I really hope you get in!!! I'll be rooting for you on the 28th!

I'll post whatever they tell me at the post-mortem. My friend did hers with Florida already, and the advice they gave her was surprising... they said that for the third reference of choice on the VMCAS you really should chose a vet, that her descriptions of her work experiences should have been more detailed, and that she didn't place enough stress on the work we did at the AMC as being an important experience. Oh, and that she didn't write an explanitory statement for her first year grades; they said her GPA and academic record were fine but they would have liked to see an extra explanation for that first year even though she explained it in the personal statement. All technical stuff, nothing to do with her abilities or grades, etc..

Anyway, life goes on until the post-mortem! We found our apartment in Philly yesterday, and now we're on our way to "match day" at my fiance's medical school... today's the day all graduating medical students find out where they'll be doing their residencies!! Keep your fingers crossed that he matches in a Center City hospital (his top 3 choices) and not his 4th choice in Jersey so we can take that apartment we found yesterday!

Oh, and for any of you apartment hunting in Philly, make sure you check out www.phillyblog.com for advice from people who live there, and www.apartmentratings.com 🙂

~Tiffany

 

[scienceGal]

sorry to hear bout the "no"

guess we'll all be in this together next year. . . . .or. . .. 3 months from now.

 

[scienceGal]

also. .. i did my file review with tufts already.

they basically said that my entire app was good.
experience was more than enough
gre was awesome
only thing that they didn't like was my gpa (a 3.2)
I concentrated a lot on research my first two years, got a publication and 4 poster presentations out of it but my grades suffered
on my last three semesters I averaged a 3.65
they saw that, but told me that I got a C in genetics (my second year class) and that was what they didn't like.
so they told me to take some grad science courses to "prove myself"

sucks. . . .i could have gone to a state school and done much better. . .but i chose to go to carnegie mellon and ended up working my butt off for nothing. 😡 i don't understand why they couldn't use my last two year's gpa as me proving myself and appreciated all my research accomplished in my first few years. 😕

so now i'm taking grad science courses over the summer, and working full time as an emergency tech. hopefully that will be enough. The classes also go towards a masters in science, which i am debating on whether to pursue or not.

if anyone has suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.
I am not doing a post-bac program because the only one at U Miami is for people without science background, and I need to stay in Miami.

 

[Shanomong]

also. .. i did my file review with tufts already.

they basically said that my entire app was good.
experience was more than enough
gre was awesome
only thing that they didn't like was my gpa (a 3.2)
I concentrated a lot on research my first two years, got a publication and 4 poster presentations out of it but my grades suffered
on my last three semesters I averaged a 3.65
they saw that, but told me that I got a C in genetics (my second year class) and that was what they didn't like.
so they told me to take some grad science courses to "prove myself"

sucks. . . .i could have gone to a state school and done much better. . .but i chose to go to carnegie mellon and ended up working my butt off for nothing. 😡 i don't understand why they couldn't use my last two year's gpa as me proving myself and appreciated all my research accomplished in my first few years. 😕

so now i'm taking grad science courses over the summer, and working full time as an emergency tech. hopefully that will be enough. The classes also go towards a masters in science, which i am debating on whether to pursue or not.

if anyone has suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.
I am not doing a post-bac program because the only one at U Miami is for people without science background, and I need to stay in Miami.

I don't know, I would still check with Penn because they may give you different reasons.

My gpa is a 3.99, only one A- in my entire college career... the rest A's and my school gives A+'s (but they're still just 4.0's, nothing higher than that), and I got A+'s in Orgo and Physics. My GRE wasn't stellar, but it was a bit above Penn's average. I did research internships in both Biochem and Chem, and have veterinary experience with small animal, equine, wildlife, and aquatic. Tons of scholarships, volunteer experience, and I worked full time for the first two years of college... I tutored chem for 2 years as well... I've done poster presentations and regular power-point presentations of my chem research in NY and PA conferences... my small animal experience was at the AMC, which is (as far as I know) the largest small animal hospital in the world. My veterinary letter of rec came from the head of orthopedic surgery at the AMC...

Honestly, I'm pretty shocked that I didn't even get an interview. I know I REALLY limited myself by only applying to one school... but I really thought I had all of my bases covered as far as what they were looking for in a student... I'm thinking my problem was the schools I went to. I'm an older student, I did one semester of college out of high school and then worked for four years before going back. When I did go back, I went to community college because I didn't think four year schools took non-traditional students like that, after four years of no education. I graduated with my A.S. in Chem as valedictorian with a 4.0 and went to another city school after that, which is where I'm graduating from now. I think if I had skipped the community college route and gone to a four year school straight through I may have gotten in. I think the community college stigma killed my application... either that, or the fact that I did the history major for my bachelor's so I don't have many sciences outside of the ones required... or the combination of those two things... but who the heck knows. I'm definitely calling them ON May 1st and getting in for my post-mortem asap so I can fix whatever it is that needs fixing...

For me the biggest bummer right now is the fact that my school is giving me a scholarship for grad school... and I don't know if I can use it for part-time study, which is probably all I can do if I wan't Pennsylvania residency for the next round... and honestly I'd prefer to keep going to school full time for the next year... It's not like I can get a great job this year with my BA in history 😀😀.

At least Penn Vet hospital has that volunteer opportunity, I'm definitely going to get in on that...

 

[VAgirl]

Shanomong:

At the risk of getting flamed (because I didn't apply to Penn, am certainly not a Penn expert, and this is word of mouth repeated a few times now)... I've heard several people on these boards say that Penn states they do weigh in the rigor of one's academic program; and in this, they apparently also look heavily at how competitive your undergrad school is (reputation, etc.?). This is what I've heard around here. Again, can't vouch for it's validity, but I mention it because you brought up to community college thing. Maybe worth asking specifically about it in your post mortem and seeing (if that is in fact a concern of theirs) what you can do to counter act that concern.

Ok, I'm done butting in. 🙂

 

[CalpardNY]

I don't know, I would still check with Penn because they may give you different reasons.

My gpa is a 3.99, only one A- in my entire college career... the rest A's and my school gives A+'s (but they're still just 4.0's, nothing higher than that), and I got A+'s in Orgo and Physics. My GRE wasn't stellar, but it was a bit above Penn's average. I did research internships in both Biochem and Chem, and have veterinary experience with small animal, equine, wildlife, and aquatic. Tons of scholarships, volunteer experience, and I worked full time for the first two years of college... I tutored chem for 2 years as well... I've done poster presentations and regular power-point presentations of my chem research in NY and PA conferences... my small animal experience was at the AMC, which is (as far as I know) the largest small animal hospital in the world. My veterinary letter of rec came from the head of orthopedic surgery at the AMC...

Honestly, I'm pretty shocked that I didn't even get an interview. I know I REALLY limited myself by only applying to one school... but I really thought I had all of my bases covered as far as what they were looking for in a student... I'm thinking my problem was the schools I went to. I'm an older student, I did one semester of college out of high school and then worked for four years before going back. When I did go back, I went to community college because I didn't think four year schools took non-traditional students like that, after four years of no education. I graduated with my A.S. in Chem as valedictorian with a 4.0 and went to another city school after that, which is where I'm graduating from now. I think if I had skipped the community college route and gone to a four year school straight through I may have gotten in. I think the community college stigma killed my application... either that, or the fact that I did the history major for my bachelor's so I don't have many sciences outside of the ones required... or the combination of those two things... but who the heck knows. I'm definitely calling them ON May 1st and getting in for my post-mortem asap so I can fix whatever it is that needs fixing...

For me the biggest bummer right now is the fact that my school is giving me a scholarship for grad school... and I don't know if I can use it for part-time study, which is probably all I can do if I wan't Pennsylvania residency for the next round... and honestly I'd prefer to keep going to school full time for the next year... It's not like I can get a great job this year with my BA in history 😀😀.

At least Penn Vet hospital has that volunteer opportunity, I'm definitely going to get in on that...

Shanomong I have to say i would go with what VA girl said and ask specifically about it! As i was reading your stats my mouth was on the floor! I know i am a less competitive applicant (gpa 3.16, sci gpa 3.4-3.5, gre 1430 i think) and so i wasn't expecting (but obviously hoping for) an interview! And when i read stats like yours i wonder what it is about my application that hit them the right way - letters of rec? does being a neuro major really make me stand out?, was it my essays? - and encouraged them to offer me an interview over someone like you! Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled for the opportunity and can't be happier but i also know there are some other people that deserve it just as much if not more! Anyway - what i'm trying to say is I guess we never know what little things the schools are looking for, and if I were you I would be interested in picking their brains!

On another note Shanomong. Did you do a volunteership at the AMC or did you work there? I did a volunteership in the fall and work "on call" in the clinic now! Who was your letter of rec from? Dr. Fishetti? Not Dr. Kovak I imagine! Anyway this is clearly off topic so you can PM me if you really want to discuss it!

 

[Shanomong]

Shanomong I have to say i would go with what VA girl said and ask specifically about it! As i was reading your stats my mouth was on the floor! I know i am a less competitive applicant (gpa 3.16, sci gpa 3.4-3.5, gre 1430 i think) and so i wasn't expecting (but obviously hoping for) an interview! And when i read stats like yours i wonder what it is about my application that hit them the right way - letters of rec? does being a neuro major really make me stand out?, was it my essays? - and encouraged them to offer me an interview over someone like you! Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled for the opportunity and can't be happier but i also know there are some other people that deserve it just as much if not more! Anyway - what i'm trying to say is I guess we never know what little things the schools are looking for, and if I were you I would be interested in picking their brains!

On another note Shanomong. Did you do a volunteership at the AMC or did you work there? I did a volunteership in the fall and work "on call" in the clinic now! Who was your letter of rec from? Dr. Fishetti? Not Dr. Kovak I imagine! Anyway this is clearly off topic so you can PM me if you really want to discuss it!

That's too funny!! I'm still technically on call there, but I never come in... they changed their whole system and I've heard it sucks there now, a lot of micro-managing. Dr. Fusco is actually the one who wrote my letter, he isn't there anymore, I think he left (under dubious circumstances) at the end of last year?

I volunteered and then did on call... I also volunteered specifically for Dr. Fusco to get his letter while I was also on call in the clinics. Are you in clinics??

As for Penn... they definitely have a very specific criteria... I just can't figure out what it is :-D. One of the interns from last years class at the AMC went to Dartmouth undergrad with a 3.7 gpa, perfect score on her GRE, and had large animal and small animal experience (I want to say food animal for her large but I'm not positive), and did bio research, and she wasn't offered an interview at Penn. She went to Tufts, which she preferred anyway, but she was pretty insulted. So when she told me about that it almost (weirdly) made me more hopeful because I thought that meant Penn was looking for students with a more diverse background if that makes sense?

Whatever the reason they have, I'm sure it's a good one... I'm just curious to know what it is 😀

And nobody deserves that interview more than you do, so go kick some *** on the 28th and get in!!! Me and ScienceGal will be there with you next year 😀

Out of curiosity, where'd you go undergrad? And FYI your GRE score is a lot higher than mine, I want to say I had a 750 math, 580 verbal? And a neuro major is awesome!! Neuro was def my favorite part of A&P, but also the part I did the worst in 🙄. If I had it to do over again tho, i think I'd be a physics major. I LOVE history... but it's easier to learn history on your own than physics... and I love me some physics too 😍

Let us know how it turns out with the interview!!! PM me ur name btw, I'm curious if I actually know you already? Do u know Steph that works in clinics? She was full time, on call now... She's a good friend of mine, she's actually in my wedding in June 🙂.

 

[scienceGal]

i just wanted to comment on the community college thing.

tufts specifically told me NOT to take ANY classes at the community college before applying again. I even listed some colleges in the area (fiu, barry, nova) and they said that they would recommend ONLY taking classes at the two top schools in florida for me to have a chance (UF and UM). so i am taking courses from UF.

so at least for tufts. . . .the school you go to is a HUGE thing.

i would assume it's the same thing for penn, but i haven't done my file review with them yet.

 

[scienceGal]

it's definitely a double edged sword, cause i could have gone to a community or state school and done better.

but i opted for the better school and had to work a LOT harder. I even worked harder than most of my classmates to graduate early! although i definitely overloaded (not such a great idea). and yes, i was waitressing at night as well 🙁

it's hard on both ends. it sucks for people that went to community colleges, because there are a lot of monetary/geographic reasons that those are attended, and it sucks for those that were lucky enough to go to good schools, because as a result they maybe did not do as spectacular.

I'm sure with another year of tweaking we'll both get in 😀

 

[CalpardNY]

That's too funny!! I'm still technically on call there, but I never come in... they changed their whole system and I've heard it sucks there now, a lot of micro-managing. Dr. Fusco is actually the one who wrote my letter, he isn't there anymore, I think he left (under dubious circumstances) at the end of last year?

I volunteered and then did on call... I also volunteered specifically for Dr. Fusco to get his letter while I was also on call in the clinics. Are you in clinics??

As for Penn... they definitely have a very specific criteria... I just can't figure out what it is :-D. One of the interns from last years class at the AMC went to Dartmouth undergrad with a 3.7 gpa, perfect score on her GRE, and had large animal and small animal experience (I want to say food animal for her large but I'm not positive), and did bio research, and she wasn't offered an interview at Penn. She went to Tufts, which she preferred anyway, but she was pretty insulted. So when she told me about that it almost (weirdly) made me more hopeful because I thought that meant Penn was looking for students with a more diverse background if that makes sense?

Whatever the reason they have, I'm sure it's a good one... I'm just curious to know what it is 😀

And nobody deserves that interview more than you do, so go kick some *** on the 28th and get in!!! Me and ScienceGal will be there with you next year 😀

Out of curiosity, where'd you go undergrad? And FYI your GRE score is a lot higher than mine, I want to say I had a 750 math, 580 verbal? And a neuro major is awesome!! Neuro was def my favorite part of A&P, but also the part I did the worst in 🙄. If I had it to do over again tho, i think I'd be a physics major. I LOVE history... but it's easier to learn history on your own than physics... and I love me some physics too 😍

Let us know how it turns out with the interview!!! PM me ur name btw, I'm curious if I actually know you already? Do u know Steph that works in clinics? She was full time, on call now... She's a good friend of mine, she's actually in my wedding in June 🙂.

Aww your too kind now! Well thank you - i appreciate it! If the hot interviewer says anything about what stood out for them on my application ill let you know! Might be interesting!

I love neuro - i actually followed around Dr. West and Dr. Kegge (new clinician) on the nervous service (i love that term!) for my last two weeks of internship! I did my UG at lafayette College. Its a small liberal arts college in northern pa with a big engineering program, but it was one of the pioneers in a neuro major (or so they say!). Also, i told myself i had to kick *** (well my minimum was 1300 that i set) on the gre to "make up" for my gpa or what i could! But i will take your advice to heart and go kick a** and report back so you and sciencegal can benefit and join me!

I will go send you a PM about AMC. Its an interesting place and I've definitely learned a lot!

 

[RockStarKDub]

Shanomong:

At the risk of getting flamed (because I didn't apply to Penn, am certainly not a Penn expert, and this is word of mouth repeated a few times now)... I've heard several people on these boards say that Penn states they do weigh in the rigor of one's academic program; and in this, they apparently also look heavily at how competitive your undergrad school is (reputation, etc.?). This is what I've heard around here. Again, can't vouch for it's validity, but I mention it because you brought up to community college thing. Maybe worth asking specifically about it in your post mortem and seeing (if that is in fact a concern of theirs) what you can do to counter act that concern.

Ok, I'm done butting in. 🙂

That's actually really interesting. I DID get an interview, but was ultimately rejected.. and, for financial reasons, I go to a Tier 4 state school. Obviously, there could be many other things "wrong" with my application and/or interview (which I thought went pretty well), but you have an interesting theory VAgirl!

 

[reefervet]

Also some schools don't like to see prereqs taken during the summer. I think it's all BS, why even use the GRE scores then isn't that supposed to be the "equalizer?"

 

[UVA Wahoo]

I personally think that one of the reasons Penn and Tufts look favorably on and give weight to attending a competitive undergraduate school is because they both have difficult undergraduate programs themselves...

Therefore in general they understand the value of that kind of education and the difficulty of being admitting to those kinds of schools.

You could compare this to another vet school that I will not mention, who blatantly admits they could not care less about one's undergraduate institution, merely what your GPA and raw scores are. That is why if you look at the undergraduate schools from which their entering class is made of you will see a huge number of students from their own undergraduate, which is not very competitive or difficult whatsoever.

Flame me if you will, I am a grouchy unsuccessful applicant and I do not care.

 

[gemini55]

I personally think that one of the reasons Penn and Tufts look favorably on and give weight to attending a competitive undergraduate school is because they both have difficult undergraduate programs themselves...

Therefore in general they understand the value of that kind of education and the difficulty of being admitting to those kinds of schools.

You could compare this to another vet school that I will not mention, who blatantly admits they could not care less about one's undergraduate institution, merely what your GPA and raw scores are. That is why if you look at the undergraduate schools from which their entering class is made of you will see a huge number of students from their own undergraduate, which is not very competitive or difficult whatsoever.

Flame me if you will, I am a grouchy unsuccessful applicant and I do not care.

Hi Wahoo, I don't want to flame you, but I would caution you not to flame any program that you intend to apply to in the next cycle. Can we assume you are referring to VaTech when you say their undergraduate program is not competitive......what is that based on? Best of luck next time.

 

[WishingnHoping]

That's actually really interesting. I DID get an interview, but was ultimately rejected.. and, for financial reasons, I go to a Tier 4 state school. Obviously, there could be many other things "wrong" with my application and/or interview (which I thought went pretty well), but you have an interesting theory VAgirl!

Well, I went to the lowest tier state school (the University of Maine) and I was accepted at UPenn. Also, two other vets I know went to the University of Maine for undergrad and attended UPenn. I'm not sure they put as much weight on your undergrad school as you think since my school is not anything special at all. I'm not trying to fuel the fire, just letting you know.

 

[VAgirl]

I personally think that one of the reasons Penn and Tufts look favorably on and give weight to attending a competitive undergraduate school is because they both have difficult undergraduate programs themselves...

Therefore in general they understand the value of that kind of education and the difficulty of being admitting to those kinds of schools.

You could compare this to another vet school that I will not mention, who blatantly admits they could not care less about one's undergraduate institution, merely what your GPA and raw scores are. That is why if you look at the undergraduate schools from which their entering class is made of you will see a huge number of students from their own undergraduate, which is not very competitive or difficult whatsoever.

Flame me if you will, I am a grouchy unsuccessful applicant and I do not care.

First off, no one is going to fault you for being grouchy. 🙂 We can all understand where you're coming from on that, I assure you.

I, too, have attended really competitive schools. I've also taken courses at less competitive 4 year colleges and at community colleges, so I've seen that there is (or can be) a difference in the difficulty level. So I understand where the schools who value strength of program/reputation of school are coming from.

Nevertheless, I think it would be incredibly short-sighted for an adcom to say, "Well, this person has a 4.0, but it's from a less competitive school, so we'll value that less." Especially when the person has a 4.0 (or as good as), because they've basically maxed out academically where they were. There is no way of knowing how well they would have done at a more competitive school, but you can easily see that they did the absolute best that the could in the environment they were in. So one could maybe give them the benefit of the doubt. If everything else was competitive, I'd at least think it would warrant an interview to judge the candidate in person.

 

[Shanomong]

First off, no one is going to fault you for being grouchy. 🙂 We can all understand where you're coming from on that, I assure you.

I, too, have attended really competitive schools. I've also taken courses at less competitive 4 year colleges and at community colleges, so I've seen that there is (or can be) a difference in the difficulty level. So I understand where the schools who value strength of program/reputation of school are coming from.

Nevertheless, I think it would be incredibly short-sighted for an adcom to say, "Well, this person has a 4.0, but it's from a less competitive school, so we'll value that less." Especially when the person has a 4.0 (or as good as), because they've basically maxed out academically where they were. There is no way of knowing how well they would have done at a more competitive school, but you can easily see that they did the absolute best that the could in the environment they were in. So one could maybe give them the benefit of the doubt. If everything else was competitive, I'd at least think it would warrant an interview to judge the candidate in person.

Thanks VAgirl 🙂. That's what I was thinking while I was at the community college... I worked full time as a dental assistant more to show that I could handle the load than for the money (not that I didn't need it lol). I also did the tutoring, research, clubs, and took at least 17 credits each semester (my last semester I took 21!) to show that I could handle more than the average community college student... I was accepted into Columbia from there, but I didn't get the scholarship I needed and I felt like I would rack up so much debt in vet school that it just didn't seem worth it. I definitely wonder now if that would have made all the difference... but I'm on full scholarship where I am and I'm glad not to have that debt so I don't regret it 😀

I'll be the first to admit, community college (at least that one) was definitely academically a lot easier than even the city college I'm going to now. Now I take about 16 credits a semester, and don't work except volunteering... this semester I took it really easy because it's my last, and with planning the wedding and the move and everything I wanted to take it easier, but generally it's definitely been harder than the 2 year school... and honestly I still know it's easier than many private schools... we had a professor from Columbia teach my history of the Holocaust class last semester, and she was a tough cookie!

All that said, even with the extra stuff, I'm sure going to community college didn't help my application, and I'm willing to bet it hindered it a good amount. BUT, I also think Penn is very fair in how it chooses people to interview (however that may be 🙄😕), and I think they definitely took notice of the other stuff, even if it wasn't enough to get me the interview. I don't think Penn is a snob school that would reject someone because they had a mixed background (but fyi Barnard totally is 😀😀... I can say that bc they don't have a vet school ), and I think there definitely has to be other factors affecting their decision. I also think that with my background and willingness to do whatever they tell me to when I meet with them, plus my becoming a PA resident, will get me in next year, so hopefully I can find a cool job that leaves me lots of time to read and relax and get to know Philly for a year before the hard core studying starts in 09 😀

ETA: Not sure if anyone would know this.. but if I'm married and my husband is working full time in Philly, do you think there's any chance I could get PA residency while going to school full time? Probably not... but I'm really thinking this vms program at Drexel is along the lines of what they're going to want me to do... plus my fiance found out yesterday that he matched for his surgical residency at Drexel and I'm hoping that means a big tuition break for me if I enrolled :-D

 

[alliecat44]

I personally think that one of the reasons Penn and Tufts look favorably on and give weight to attending a competitive undergraduate school is because they both have difficult undergraduate programs themselves...

Therefore in general they understand the value of that kind of education and the difficulty of being admitting to those kinds of schools.

You could compare this to another vet school that I will not mention, who blatantly admits they could not care less about one's undergraduate institution, merely what your GPA and raw scores are. That is why if you look at the undergraduate schools from which their entering class is made of you will see a huge number of students from their own undergraduate, which is not very competitive or difficult whatsoever.

Flame me if you will, I am a grouchy unsuccessful applicant and I do not care.

I think we've already established that there are different programs of varying difficulty at different schools which are perceived to have varying levels of difficulty.

Flame me if you will, but I graduated from VT undergrad and I'm offended and grouchy and I don't care. Thanks for the insult.

 

[VAgirl]

Maybe I'm naive, but I didn't think UVAWahoo was talking about VT. VT has an excellent reputation...😕