School Info for those applying!

[LuckyJo]

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Since each application session has it's list of questions, I thought I would post some common questions for those who have been accepted to answer and hopefully give additional information to those applying this year.🙂

Put the school you are attending in the heading of your post so the applicants can look at schools they wish to apply to. Copy and paste the list below and then answer the questions. Feel free to add anything I may have missed. Hope this is helpful!

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?

10)How many times did you apply?

11)Why did you choose your school?

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?

 

[LuckyJo]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
In-State
2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
Mainly the science gpa of the pre-reqs and the last 45 hrs of course work. My science GPA was 3.68, overall 3.1
3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General. Highest score from each section no matter the test date. My GRE: 1750 (Q:710, V:440, W:4.5 (600/800)
4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
No
5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
BS: Microbiology with Animal Science and Industry Minor
7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
I did them all at once with my degree
8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Worked for a veterinarian, shadowed 3 veterinarians, volunteered with horses, rehabilitated orphaned wildlife
9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
I: December; A: End of December
10)How many times did you apply?
3 times
11)Why did you choose your school?
State school. I also like the fact K-State teaches a little bit of everything and has many opportunities for externships with big organizations.
12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
Hometown Veterinarian (worked for him for 2 yrs), My current boss (cancer researcher) and my advisor
13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
Moving with technology, K-State is giving each incoming student a tablet computer (Toshiba). K-State also offers many opportunites for expanding your education: going to another country for the summer, interships all over the country as well as research opportunities.

 

[QTkitty]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
Out of state

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
holistic approach (read more about it on their web page). My overall GPA was 3.87, I'm not sure what my science GPA was but it's probably higher

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General- highest score from each testing. Mine: Q:730 V: 550 W: 5.0

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
No, but several recommended courses

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
B.S. Animal Science

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
4 years. I went to school full time and carried a part time job

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Large animal (cattle ranch hand) about 15 years
small animal clinic about 1.5 years

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
CSU generally doesn't interview OOS. I was notified of my acceptance on 1-19

10)How many times did you apply?
first time applicant

11)Why did you choose your school?
Location, tracking, and the equine orthopedic research center

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
Vet, Ranch owner, Advisor

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
I hope this thread helps some of the potential applicants but I strongly suggest checking out the different schools websites to see what they offer and whether or not it is the right choice for you.

 

[ri23]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
In-State

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
Overall - 3.7 (avg. 3.6). They never ask for other GPA's though they do look at individual pre-req grades

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General - school takes highest score from one sitting. Mine was V - 600, Q - 750, W - 5.5

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
No

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
B.S. Biology

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
3 yrs, all at once with a part-time job

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Animal - ~1000 hours at a research farm (horses/camelids)
~3000 at a zoo
Vet ~ 2000 at the zoo with the vet
~ 100 small animal vet

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
OSU starts interviews the last week of November and interviews through March. I interviewed the first week of Dec and was notified early January. People that interviewed the same day as me were notified between Jan-March of acceptance/rejection/waitlist.

10)How many times did you apply?
One

11)Why did you choose your school?
Ohio resident, go to OSU for undergrad and I absolutely love the school. They have great large animal facilities, classrooms and are going to start building a new small animal facility.

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
2 vets, and my boss at the zoo. OSU requires at least 2 vet references.

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
Ohio State has a fantastic program and accepts a good portion of OOS students. They are very good about giving instate tuition after the first year.

 

[HopefulUGACVM]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
In-State-- UGA

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
Overall (mine- 3.4) Science (mine- not too sure but probably around 3.6-3.7) they are pretty cool about picking your highest grade in your upper level classes and not just picking the same classes for everyone. I feel that they give you the best chance possible when calculating this

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General (mine-1200 overall, W-5, can't honestly remember individual scores! but higher in quatitative than verbal), Biology (mine-750)

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
No thank goodness since I went to a small school that did not offer animal nutrition or animal science courses.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
Yes. BS, majored in Biology

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
I had 4.5 years of undergrad total

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Veterinary- about 4,000hrs in Mixed Practice (worked part time time through school, full time in my year off) as well as a short time in a small animal exclusive (about 800hrs), did some ride alongs with equine exclusive vets.
Research- 2 summers in a lab at UGA, got a publication (about 700 hrs total)
Animal- Pet-sitting (a lot), working at horse barns, horse showing/grooming, 4-H, Hippotherapy (I put this in animal not community service since I was a horsehandler), etc...
Volunteer- fundraising for ACS, Humane society, volunteering for science olmpyiad etc.
Extracurriculars- equestrian team, honors society, chem club... worked as an organic chemistry TA/tutor and biology TA/tutor

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
no interviews at UGA

10)How many times did you apply?
twice

11)Why did you choose your school?
In-state, liked the people I worked with in the lab

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
1st app- advisor (who is retired DVM), DVM/Practice owner I worked for at the mixed practice and my Project/Lab Head from the lab
2nd app- asked a relief vet (who worked with us a lot) instead of Lab Head

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
Haven't started yet, but I really liked working with the large animal medicine people when I worked there. UGA does track (but you do have to take both large and small anatomy), cant think of anything else for now

 

[flokemahe]

Since each application session has it's list of questions, I thought I would post some common questions for those who have been accepted to answer and hopefully give additional information to those applying this year.🙂

Put the school you are attending in the heading of your post so the applicants can look at schools they wish to apply to. Copy and paste the list below and then answer the questions. Feel free to add anything I may have missed. Hope this is helpful!

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE

out of state

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?[/B]

undergrad only, 35% of selection criteria. They look at cumulative, required sciences, and last 45 semester hours. This was by far my biggest weakness.

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?[/B]

GRE general test (20% of selection criteria)

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition[/B]

Oral communication (!), but I believe they now waive this if you have a degree

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?[/B]

BS in Animal Science, MS in Genetics

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc [/B]

3 yrs and 1 quarter of undergrad, plus one quarter at a local cc - I had to finish a full year of OChem when I'd last taken 2 quarters of it in 1995! eek! But I passed!

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)[/B]

several thousand sm. animal hrs as a vet tech (mainly emergency work), several thousand hours of lab experience (my current occupation) smattering of equine, large animal, and food animal.

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?[/B]

ISU doesn't interview, but that's where I did my MS so I'm familiar with the school. I was notified I was wait-listed in mid February (Valentine's day), and notified of admission by phone April 25th. Yes, I remember the date!

10)How many times did you apply?[/B]

three VMCAS cycles (1996, 1997, and 2006), two to this school (1997 & 2006)

11)Why did you choose your school? [/B]

because they chose me : ) I'm familiar with the school and there are a lot of research opportunities around, especially with the USDA's NADC (National Animal Disease Center) in the same town. I'm interested in contagious diseases of companion animals, and there are some great microbiologists there!

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)[/B]

my old boss, foreign equivalent of MD/PhD (PI of my lab, also the chair of pediatrics at a big-name school)
2 vets, one recent who I didn't work with very closely, and one from 1999 who I worked very closely with

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?[/B]

Yeah, I can't wait to go!!!! Thank you, adcomm, for seeing past my lame GPA! And the cost of living is pretty darned good, and they have a good concurrent degree programs, and so far they've taken great care of me answering all of my questions and setting me up with a fantastic sophomore contact and... I can't wait to go!!! (if the formatting of this post is all screwed up, please accept my apologies)
[/B][/QUOTE]

 

[Spartanvet4cows]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
In-State
2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
This is the first hurdle, all the academic stuff. In step one, they look at cumulative GPA (27%, mine was a 3.92), required pre-reqs (32%I think they've changed this because mine was just "Science GPA" and that was a 3.96) last 45 credits 20% (once again I think this may have changed to the semester in which you gained your last 3 credits, mine was a 4.0 for the last 45 credits)
3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period? Still part of "step 1" this accounts for 21%. You can take either the general GRE or the MCAT, I took the GRE and got a 1310 (580 verbal, 730 math, 4.5 writing) on my second try, they take your highest.

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
Yep, Animal nutrition (3-4 credits) because it will no longer be offered in the curriculum here (thank your lucky stars for that) and they just added microbiology with lab, eukaryotic cell biology and genetics. They aren't that weird but I didn't have to take them.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
Yes, I had a BS in Animal Science (Michigan State)

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
I had all my pre-reqs done by the end of my 3rd year as part of a degree. You could probably do them faster in an accelerated program.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc) About 300 in a large animal clinic as a ride-along, 60 in a small animal clinic as a volunteer, lots of animal experience through volunteering at a local humane society, my animal science degree, and working in research. My research experience was with a PhD so I got to count it as veterinary experience. That's really quite helpful since my hours were lacking. I worked with mostly dairy cattle, and I think that helped since they're so strapped for large animal docs.

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
The first round of interviews was in December for my class (October now) I interviewed December 6 (and 7, long story but I was the one person that had to be re-interviewed and that only happens once every couple of years....bad bad experience) I found out by mail December 21st.
10)How many times did you apply?
Twice...the first time I accidentally didn't get my $50 check in with my supplemental app and they tossed me on my butt. Now they have online payment, much easier.

11)Why did you choose your school?
It was the only one I applied to. My husband is a PhD student here, and I LOVE this place. MSU has become home to me, and it will suck to leave when I graduate. The facilities are excellent (always upgrading too, there's construction in the small animal hospital now) and I am in-state so the tuition is low.

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
Large animal veterinarian, my favorite animal science prof, and my research adviser.
13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
It really is great here. If you get to work with Hilda during the admissions process, she's a marvel! She really helped me through a hard time when I didn't get in my first try. She even tried to petition the admissions committee even though I never asked.
I know I got in mostly on academics, but there are others who had much more experience with lower GPAs that are doing great here as well. The clinicians here are awesome, and they changed the curriculum with this year's incoming class. You get a full year of anatomy and physiology combined instead of one semester of each. Also you don't have to take the same microbiology class we did, once again, thank your lucky stars. IMHO MSU RAWKS!

 

[pressmom]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
Out-of-State

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
I think they only calculate a regular GPA. (Critter or daychi correct me if I'm wrong) Mine was 3.81. The minimum they accept is 3.2. The average of the 2005 entering class was 3.59.

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General. Mine was something on the order of 750 Q, 580 V, 5 A. Why is it that 10 years later I can remember my SAT, but one year later I can't remember my GRE?

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
Genetics and Cell Bio

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
I have a four-year degree in Political Science with minors in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy and Cultural Anthropology. When I returned to school to get pre-reqs, I started an Animal Science degree but never finished it.

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
3.5 years plus 2 summers of full-time undergrad with full- to part-time working. 1 full summer with part shadowing, 1 part semester with 2 part shadows, 3 full semesters with part-time working and part-time shadowing, 1 part summer with part working, and finally (right now) one part summer with 2 part-time jobs (specific, anyone?)

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Small Animal with Vet ~ 1500 hours between working and shadow (mostly working)
Exotic Pet with Vet ~ 100 hours shadow
Equine with Vet ~ 100 hours shadow
Wildlife mostly without Vet ~ 120 hours
Shelter without Vet ~ 100
Food Animal ~ 100

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
Interviewed in mid-March found out about acceptance in first week of April

10)How many times did you apply?
First time around. Woo Hoo!

11)Why did you choose your school?
I was really impressed with the school at the interview. It just seemed to have the right combination of a lot of things. It was close to my family, the school seemed to have a really family atmosphere, the students and docs were great and really willing to take time to talk to prospectives, the facilities were great, etc. Plus Knoxville is really nice! I'm just all-around excited to go there.

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
The three vets at the office where I had worked the longest. (One counted as my employer reference and the other two obviously counted as vet ones.) Then a prof I had worked closely with in undergrad.

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
Get the Veterinary Medical School Admissions Requirements book. It was my bible this past year. It is totally invaluable for keeping my pre-reqs, timetables, etc. straight. Here's where to order it. http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/Books%20Pages/Book Descriptions/VetrinaryMedSchool2004.asp

Good Luck! PM me with any questions and I'll do my best!

 

[hmarie05]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it? overall and science GPA (i think mine were 3.42 and 3.67)

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
davis only requires the general GRE. my scores were 750 (verbal) 670 (math) and 5.5 (writing)

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
no, they recently eliminated embryology as a pre-req

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
yes, B.S. in biology from UCLA

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
4 years

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
worked in a small animal clinic in high school, a couple of years at a larger practice during/after college

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
i interviewed march 6 and was accepted march 21-best day ever!

10)How many times did you apply?
twice

11)Why did you choose your school?
ever since i knew i wanted to become a veterinarian, I always wanted to go to Davis. It has an amazing teaching hospital and a brand new building for lectures and labs. i love it here!

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
two college professors and my boss at the time (veterinarian)

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
go aggies!

 

[Monkey85]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
Out of State; has/had a contract with NJ residents (not sure if this will continue because of NJ's limited budget)

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?

Overall and last 45 credit GPA. I had a cumulative 3.45 and a last 45 credits GPA of 3.8ish when I applied. Cumulative went up over 3.5 after the fall semester and the last 45 credits GPA went up too. They require a transcript with fall grades. Not sure if they recalculate the GPAs but they at least look at the grades (I'd assume).

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?

Just the general exam. I think they take a composite score (your highest from each section). I know Wisconsin takes only the highest from just one testing period fyi.

By the numbers I got:

740 (Q); 560 (V); 5.5 (W)

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition


One semester of calculus. I think this one of the few schools requiring this.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?

Yes, a BS in Animal Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc


All done in four years.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)

Had 1700+ hours as a research assistant in a primate research lab. It was a very hands on job with the monkeys and I worked very closely with a vet tech and was under the supervision of an M.D. I also got to work with the staff vet on a daily basis. I also shadowed at an emergency clinic for a few months (about 200 hrs). I also took a bunch of animal husbandry classes to get large animal experience. I went to Univ. of Wisconsin for undergrad and they offered a bunch of hands-on lab classes with cattle, horses, sheep, and other livestock.

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?

End of February. It was the last interview day. The interview day ended about 4:30-5ish and I was called a little after 9 that night and was told I got in. They ask for your contact info during the interview day so they can call if they have follow up questions. They have 2 weeks to give you their response. Interviews are held every Friday starting mid-January and run through February and some years into March. This year they accepted so many people in the early interviews they stopped before March. Invites for interviews come via snail mail.

10)How many times did you apply?

Once. Applied the fall semester of my senior year.

11)Why did you choose your school?

I got into Wisconsin and UPenn. I am from NJ and wanted to be closer to my family. After 4 years away I wanted to be back near them. I also felt that UPenn's style of teaching fit my needs the best. Their philosophy of ‘many species, one medicine' and their integrative teaching method was appealing.

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)

I had a bunch, but the schools I applied to did not mind the number and encouraged more than the 3 required; make sure you check before getting a lot because some schools have strict rules on the number and who you get them from.

2 veterinarians- one lab animal and one emergency
1 M.D.- the P.I. of my lab
2 PhD- one was my advisor/professor and I TA'd for him and the other was a professor that I kept in touch with and who used to be on the med school admissions board

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?

Don't be afraid to ask the admissions personnel questions. They are very open and helpful. I know on their website it says they only give tours in the Spring/Summer and if you call you get the same story. The winter of my junior year my dad and I were in Philly and stopped by the school and Malcolm Keiter, the Associate Dean for Admissions, was nice enough to take time out of his day to sit down and talk to me about my credentials without an appointment. On top of that he took me and my dad on a tour of the facilities later that week. He was very open about what my weaknesses were and what I needed to do to be a competitive applicant which was very helpful. If you are in the Philadelphia area and are concerned about any area of your application I strongly recommend getting in touch with him.
​

 

[Emio]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
in-state

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
overall and last 45, according to Monkey85. the post-application post card did ask for last 45, and that was back to and including the entire semester in which the 45th credit hour was obtained.

Overall: 3.57
Last 45: don't remember... 3.5ish

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General. i also remember them taking a composite score, though i didn't have more than one test to composite-ize. Penn does not take the analytical score (thank God).

Q: 780
V: 680


4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
nope; i thought calculus was a pretty wide-spread requirement, but i could be wrong.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
BS in Biology

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
went to undergrad full time for four years; i think if *only* doing pre-reqs, they can be done in 2 years.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Animal: lifetime of horses, H/A Pony Club member, Farm Manager to include care of working and retired horses, donkeys, chickens, sheep, a yak, and daily milking of milk goats, Wildlife Rehabilitator, farrier apprenticeship, pet store job with all sorts of small animals, birds, fish, and reptiles.

Vet: p/t unlicensed tech at small animal hospital for 1 year, 2 summers of shadowing at 2 equine clinics.

Volunteer: EMT-B, zoo internship with reptiles, two biology (anatomy and neurobiology) research experiences

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
Tufts: 2/14/07, notified two weeks later by letter
Penn: 2/28(?)/07, notified a week later also by letter (i.e. no phone call for me)

10)How many times did you apply?
first-timer

11)Why did you choose your school?
close to home, new bolton center, and both the current and prospective students on my interview day made it the place to be for me.

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
1) SA vet i worked for
2) one equine vet i shadowed
3) employer/trainer/friend of farm i worked and wildlife rehabilitation mentor
4) health professions committee letter

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
some people seem to have a problem with Philly, but i love it. University City (Drexel and Penn part of Philly) is really nice, just don't go west of 45th st 😉

 

[jfitzpatri8]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it? No idea- my overall was 3.38.

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period? General. Highest.

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition? Just added Micro + Lab & Nutrition (be glad. our nutrition guy was a vet-school wanna be with a bad attitude). New curriculum starting this year... not sure about the new req's.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it? UCD BS Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. minor in English.

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc. 6 very long years with breaks for medical reasons.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc). SA clinical 5 years. Lab animal 8 months. Horse owner 15 years.

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance? Valentine's Day. March 10.

10)How many times did you apply? 2.

11)Why did you choose your school? No supplemental app. No, really, that's how I chose!

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession). SA Veterinarian. Lab animal Veterinarian. College Counselor- I volunteered a lot!

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?

 

[alliecat44]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it? I believe they look at all three. My overall was a 3.1, and I'm not sure what my science/pre-req GPA turned out to be. I'm one of those weird applicants with extenuating circumstances affecting undergrad GPA, though, which I explained in my "explanation statement" (but NOT my personal statement).

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period? General. Highest. My scores were M: 710 V: 720 A: 6.0

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition? Public speaking is probably the oddest, but I didn't have that. Instead, I spoke about a professional acting program I completed and how I performed stand-up comedy as a hobby for about a year--they didn't ask about the public speaking.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it? VA Tech B.S Biology/Philosophy 2001

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc. 4 years during my undergraduate degree program.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc). SA general practice for three years; SA specialty practice (three different specialties) for 9 years. Also rode horses for about 8 years.

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance? Interview was January 14, I think. Notified on February 5 (though this was longer than usual for KSU, as weather prevented some people from interviewing on time).

10)How many times did you apply? 4, but this was the first time to KSU.

11)Why did you choose your school? I had basically given up hope on ever getting into vet school, as my pre-reqs were expiring. I'd been rejected in the past from VMRCVM (twice), Cornell, Penn, Guelph, RVC, Murdoch, Melbourne, Edinburgh. We had an AMAZING extern last summer from KSU--the first KSU student I'd ever met--and she just raved about the school and put me in touch with someone there. I was so impressed by her knowledge and review of the school that I decided to give vet school one last shot (and I'm glad I did!). Turns out our extern was first in her class and she's now doing an internship at CSU. 🙂

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession). SA neurologist, two SA board-certified surgeons (one a fellow of surgical oncology).

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school? It's in the middle of nowhere, but everyone I've talked to who's been to Manhattan--including clients at my clinic--raves about the town. Everyone falls in love with it! Also, I've already found the faculty and student offices to be extremely helpful and accessible, especially during the application process. They treat you with respect and are so friendly!

 

[4theanimals]

Colorado State
1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
Out of State

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it? Overall 3.65. Others not calculated.

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General GRE. Must report all scores.

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
No oddball prereqs. However, I did apply for the DVM/MBA program which requires an additional essay and professional work experience. I worked for over 5 years as a paralegal.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
BS Animal Science, Minor Psychology

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
It took me five years, but that was to get my degree & minor and the pre-reqs.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)

VET: 4 years county animal shelter, 4 years with two foal watch programs, 2 summers full time with a SA vet, 1 year of research re: transport stress in horses.
ANIMAL: 5 years retail pet store manager, 4 years therapetuic riding program, 2 years equine rescue, 2 years humane society,
VOLUNTEER: 7 years animal disaster response team , 1 year tutoring homeless children , 1 year hospice, 2 years peer advisor

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
CSU generally does not interview out of state applicants. They look at combined applications first so I was notified December 5..

10)How many times did you apply?
One

11)Why did you choose your school?
The DVM/MBA program was the big draw for me. I had also lived in CO in the past and loved the area.

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
The attorney I worked for in a previous life 😉, shelter veterinarian and advisor/professor/veterinarian.

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?[/QUOTE]

 

[JIKJen124]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
Instate

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it? Overall. As ri23 said, they look a specific grades from pre-reqs

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General GRE highest score.

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
None that I remember... Maybe micro, but I applied broadly so that wasn't too odd in that context

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
BA History

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
2.5 years including the summer terms, with about 11 credits per semester

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)

VET: 250 SA emergency, 250 LA teaching hospital, 300ish (at time of submission) SA referral - all volunteer
ANIMAL: 15 years competative horseback riding, about 5 years of shelter work 1 saturday per month


9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
Interviewed first week in December, notified a couple of days before Christmas.

10)How many times did you apply?
One

11)Why did you choose your school?
location, price, size, no tracking, strong equine program, systems based learning

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
Health professions committee chair, 2 SA specialists

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
[/QUOTE]

 

[River5]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE

Out of state

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
Overall: 3.4 Science: 3.3 I think they focus on both.

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period? General only. V:640 Q:690 A:5.0 They take the highest from each section.

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
Microbiology, public speaking and writing.But I also took a bunch of prereqs for other schools that didn't pan out. Figures. They included genetics, cell bio, pharmacology 101, nutrition, etc.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
Yes. BS in TV-R (yeah I know) my other major was pre-med (there was no pre-vet at my school) and a minor in speech comm.

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
Little by little I finished them over 7 years.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Animal-Worked with horses all my life (since I was 6). Rode competitively as a kid and then turned pro after college. Worked last 3 years as a vet assistant at various small animal hospitals. For the last year I have been working at a small animal/exotics hospital. Summer internship at an equine emergency hospital
Volunteer- Volunteered at the cornell large animal clinic, and with therapeutic riding

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
I interviewed in january, was wait-listed and then found out on April 17th.

10)How many times did you apply?
Twice

11)Why did you choose your school?
I loved the curriculum (it's very broad unlike some schools that track) the people and facilities were wonderful and I loved their study abroad program. Also the fact that they take a good percentage of out-of-staters didn't hurt.

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession) This time 3 vets that I have worked with over the years. I know that is not the norm. All of my academic profs that I would have asked have since retired and moved abroad.

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
I think it's a wonderful place and I highly recommend it to anyone.

 

[QTkitty]

Hey all! I just thought I'd add to the following question some info that prospective applicants might like to know...
13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?

Out of state tuition just increased to $40,806.00 per year and there is absolutely no way of gaining residency at CSU over the course of one's 4 year study term.

 

[RazorDoc2010]

A little late, but I wanted to add my school for those interested.

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE?
Out of State, but on Contract

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?

Cumulative GPA (20% of Applicant Score)
Last 3 semesters GPA (10%)
Average Undergrad Course Load (6%)

My stats:
Overall: 3.84
Last 45: 3.9ish
Course Load: about 17 hours per semester

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?General... (or you could take the MCAT...ha!). Highest score from a single test date (I think).

Mine:
Q: 800
V: 560
A: 4.0

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition?
No, fairly straight-forward as far as pre-reqs go. They do have "recommended" courses though, including nutrition, repro, anatomy, physiology, stats, cell bio, business/accounting

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
BS Chemical Engineering

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
Went to undergrad for 4 years for my degree, but the MU prereq's could be done in 2 years.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Vet: (at application time) 700 hours in SA E-clinic, 150 in SA day practice, 50 in Equine Practice
Animal: Certified in Basic Wildlife Rehab (IWRC), shelter work, pre-vet work

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
Missouri's interview was early January, notified in March by snail mail, then phone call.

10)How many times did you apply?
One

11)Why did you choose your school?
2 years of clinicals, closer to home than most, nice facilities, I had worked with several grads that were great vets, location, felt like a good fit

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
1) E-clinic vet I worked with
2) SA day practice vet
3) professor in the ChE department


13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?I'm going to vet school in a month???? 😱

 

[runnerDC]

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
Out-of-state.

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
Not sure, but with all of the transcripts you send to them, they can look at it any way they want! My undergrad was 3.5, grad was 3.7, science pre-reqs were 3.6.

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General. I only took it once (670V, 680Q, 5.0A), so don't know how Tufts handles scores from multiple administrations.

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition...
No.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
Yes. BA and MA in sociology.

6)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc.
3.5 years, PT, while working FT. Coming from a non-science background, I had a lot of courses to take. Since some of the courses were pre-reqs for others (eg. gen chem-->org chem-->biochem) and since I was working FT, I had to stagger the progression over a few years.

7)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Several dozen hours volunteering in various capacities in animal shelters.
About 300 hours shadowing small animal vets in busy urban clinic.
Two years of part-time teaching experience from my grad school days.
Nearly 10 years of full-time work experience as a public policy researcher and data analyst.

8)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
Interview in mid-February.
Notified of wait-list in early-March.
Notified of acceptance in mid-April.

9)How many times did you apply?
One.

10)Why did you choose your school?
Of the two places I was accepted (Tufts and Minn), Tufts had the geographic advantage: my partner and I wanted to remain on the east coast. But about the program, I liked these things:
-Introduces clinical skills to their students early (first year),
-Offers the ability to customize your education and experience through 'selectives' at the teaching hospitals on campus or at various off-campus research or clinical practice sites,
-Has relationships with area research facilities and private clinical practices,
-The instruction style strikes a balance between traditional and PBL instruction (seems mostly traditional but they throw in some PBL).

11)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession).
1. Supervisor at my current job. Not in the vet field, but spoke about my professional career over the past 10 years.
2. Vet who I shadowed.
3. Organic chem professor.
4. MA thesis advisor from my grad program years ago. We kept in touch through the years, and she was able to speak to the quality of my academic work at the graduate level.

12)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
The admissions and student affairs folks at Tufts were extremely nice and helpful at all points before, during and after the admissions process. Don't hesitate to call them with any questions you might have at any time. A year before I even applied, I was in contact with the admissions director, who not only helped set-up a somewhat impromptu student-guided campus tour for us while we happened to be in Boston one weekend, but also offered to look at my transcripts to make sure one of my classes from undergrad fulfilled a pre-req.
And--totally unrelated to vet med but so cool, nonetheless--the vet school's Dean ran the Boston Marathon this past spring with a bunch of other Tufts students, faculty and staff as part of a fundraising effort. As a distance runner myself, I was impressed...

 

[kate_g]

What they hey, I'll throw mine in too. (Waiting for a data analysis program to finish running...)

1) In-state, Out of State, Contracted, WICHE
In-state

2)GPA: What GPA does your school look at (overall, science, pre-req)? How do they calculate it?
I don't believe they asked for any special calculations, so they get whatever you report on VMCAS. They may do their own calculations using the data you provide, though.

3)GRE: Which one is required for your school? (General,Biology) Does the school take your highest score from each section or one testing period?
General only, and I believe they took the highest score you got in each section even if they're from different testing sessions. (I only took it once.)

4)Does your school have any odd ball pre-reqs? Like nutrition
Statistics, but they're pretty lenient about what counts as a stats course.

5)Will you have a degree when you enter school? If so what is it?
A BS in Biology and a PhD in Molecular & Cell Bio.

7)How long did it take to finish the pre-reqs? All at once, little by little, etc
I had all the prereqs by the time I decided to apply. Or, more correctly, I decided not to apply to any schools for which I did not already have all the prereqs. 🙂 Most of them were part of my undergrad degree program; I took a physiology course post-bacc just for fun that turned out to be useful for the schools that required physio (I don't think Davis does); and what counted for my stats course was a graduate seminar I took for my own research interest.

8)What kind of experiences do you have? (Animal, Vet, Volunteer, etc)
Couple hundred hours as a volunteer tech in a shelter from '98-99; thousands of hours of veterinary-related research experience; 66 hours shadowing a private practice vet; one day each with a research anesthesiologist and a private practice radiologist. My only non-vet "animal experience" was a couple thousand hours of my research that I carved out as being related to animal handling and behavior as opposed to medicine.

9)When did you interview? When were you notified of your acceptance?
Davis was my latest interview. I got the interview invite on February 14th, interviewed on the 27th (second day out of 14 straight days of interview appointments) and got my acceptance e-mail on March 23.

10)How many times did you apply?
One.

11)Why did you choose your school?
Personal reasons for staying in CA, in-state tuition, and their breadth of non-domestic experiences available (lab, wildlife, zoo).

12)Who did you ask for LOR's? (Don't have to be specific, just profession)
My graduate advisor, the head vet at the university (with whom I've worked very closely for many years), and the private practice vet I'd been shadowing.

13)Any other information you would like to add about your school?
The Davis application/interview process is really pretty unfriendly. They don't need to woo you, they've got hundreds of other applicants just as good as you (no matter how good you are!). The interview is just an appointment time, no speeches, no tours, nada. The interviewers are tough. But don't let it get you down. *Do* go to the interview info session and orientation (held just before interviews start), because you get to meet the students and faculty (who were really wonderful), tour the facilities, etc. That's what won me over. The "feel" of the place is really important, and the application process will give you the feeling that Davis is a harsh and competitive place - turns out it's only that way until you're accepted.