Should i apply this year?? Please halp

[Kcin212]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey guys, need some advice.

So I came on to trying to get in to vet school pretty recently (July-ish), and I'm wondering if I should even apply this year or not. Since I made this decision fairly recently I don't have very much shadowing experience or have a close relationship with any vets that could give me a letter of rec, and assume I probably have a pretty low chance of getting accepted. The reason I was going to apply was to put me on the map with some vet schools. I heard from some vets that if you do not get accepted and apply again, they tend to compare your recent application to your old one to see what you have done to improve and thus determine how bad you want to go to vet school.

here are my specs:

-Undergrad bachelors of science in biology (physiology and neurobiology) and psychology

-Undergrad cum. GPA: 3.35

-Currently studying for the GRE (what should I hope to get? best I have done so far on my practice scores for both verbal and quant is 158 (new GRE)

-I have 1 year working in a neuroscience lab as an undergrad at University of Maryland

-1 year as lab technician in the same neuroscience lab but at Johns Hopkins (lab moved)

-plus about 4 months working as lab technician for another lab at Hopkins (lab tech for two labs right now) (worked with mice in both labs)

- I am a co-author on 2 published papers

-I'm also 24 and a little over a year out of undergrad.

-I'm also white and male, idk if that matters.

I literally have about 20 hours of private practice shadowing. I work 40 hours a week and I try to spend most of my free time studying for the GRE.

I'm not sure if I should even try to bust my ass trying to get in experience with a vet in the next month before the AAVMC app deadline... Should I just absolutely thrive to kill the GRE instead???

Any advice will help. Thanks guys

 

[485501]

In my opinion, it's not worth the stress, time, and money to apply this cycle. My advice would be to take the GRE (aim for as high as you can get - the higher the better - but schools have average scores for admitted applicants on their websites) and then get as much experience as possible before next fall.

I feel someone should ask, with that amount of experience, are you sure you want to be a vet? You may want to get more experience fairly soon, to make sure that you understand what it's really like. I've found that the longer I work/volunteer/shadow at one place, the more of the less appealing aspects of vet med I am allowed to see (e.g. paperwork, politics, dealing with terrible owners, euthanasia of animals because of financial concerns, animal abuse cases, etc.)

 

[Leanne]

In my honest opinion, I don't think it would be worth the time and money for you to apply this year. Like you said, you have very little veterinary experience while many applicants have a thousand or more (although it is good that you have a good amount of research experience). The other thing is that schools want to see both breadth and depth of experience - so even if you were able to shadow a vet a lot in one month, I'm not sure you'd be able to diversify your experiences enough to show a true understanding of the profession. I'm sure you already know your GPA is lower than average for most (all?) vet schools - which might not be a problem if you rocked the GRE and had a million experience hours, but as it is I don't think it'll be looked upon too highly.

You also mentioned rec letters - most schools require at least one to come from a vet, so is there anyone you could ask for that? You'd also need at least two others from people who can comment on your academic/ professional experience, character, etc. With less than a month to go before the deadline, I think it'd be cutting it pretty close to ask people to write letters at this point.

I don't think that spending your money and time applying would be worth it, even to make you look better next year. Instead I would spend your time studying for the GRE, as you already are, and getting lots of veterinary experience. You can get a lot in a year, depending whether you have a full time job, other commitments, etc. Additionally, a year will give you time to consider whether you really, really want to be a veterinarian - I don't think it's a decision that should be made lightly or quickly (not saying that's the case for you, but something to think about). Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[kakurubird]

The big question that would/should stand out if you were to apply this cycle (which I don't think would be best--and "establishing" yourself is silly in my opinion--not worth the time/money/effort to apply this year) is why vet and not masters/PhD when 99% of what you have done is research rather veterinary from the sound of it.

Spend a year working on getting experience (an idea: contact the lab vet at Johns Hopkins for some shadowing), rock the GRE, get to know a vet or two well, and apply more confidently (which will come across in your application/in an interview if you get one.

 

[Minnerbelle]

To give you a little perspective, I was in a very similar situation as you in terms of research when I applied (1.5 yrs as a full time lab tech in a neuroendocrine basic sci lab in a human hospital with 4 pubs under review - which were accepted after i turned in my apps). The research experience really helped in terms of impressing vet school adcoms.

However, I also had about 750 hrs vet experience at a shelter and >3000 hrs animal experience with a wide variety of animals. Even then, I was asked in ever interview why vet med and not a PhD. I had enough experience and knowledge about vet med at that point to answer that genuinely and back it up. So while I don't think this many hours is necessary at all especially if you decided on vet med later on, I doubt <100 hrs will cut it, especially since your stats are not spectacular. Bottom line is that you need to be able to explain why vet med based on your own experiences.

If I were you at this point, I would be asking myself how to give myself the maximum exposure in the next year to various vet fields. Remember, 40 hr workweek is standard... and not a tremendous feat by any means. Countless applicants still manage to get their experience in on top of full time work, taking classes, etc... Is your boss flexible in terms of when you get your stuff done? Could you shadow at an ER afterhours? Or take a half-day or two during the week at day practices and shuffle around your work schedule? At the very least, you can do stuff on the weekends. In this economy, I personally wouldn't fault you for not jumping ship from your lab tech job to work at a vet clinic, but that's not the only way to gain experience. You must have quite a bit of earned time off by now (unless you've used it all), so another thing you can do is take that time off, even if 1 full week at a time or all at once, and rack up hours by being in a few practice types full time. In1 year I'm guessing you can accrue 3-4 weeks of earned time unless Hopkins is stingy, so that's a great opportunity for you.

 

[Kcin212]

Thanks guys. Not applying would save me a bit of stress. Is this idea of applying this semester to put myself on the map and show that I really want to study vet med a ridiculous idea altogether?

The thing that bothers me is spending another 2 years+ out of school... Feels like i'm going nowhere...

 

[wildcatj]

Thanks guys. Not applying would save me a bit of stress. Is this idea of applying this semester to put myself on the map and show that I really want to study vet med a ridiculous idea altogether?

The thing that bothers me is spending another 2 years+ out of school... Feels like i'm going nowhere...

I think the putting yourself on the map thing isn't a good plan. Also consider it this way, when you're just making this decision now, there really is no way you're going to be able to show it wasn't last minute. You're going to have to scramble with your app, PS and LORs. In the end it could potentially hurt you.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Thanks guys. Not applying would save me a bit of stress. Is this idea of applying this semester to put myself on the map and show that I really want to study vet med a ridiculous idea altogether?

The thing that bothers me is spending another 2 years+ out of school... Feels like i'm going nowhere...

Think about it this way. The time, energy, and mental capacity it'll take you to apply and agonize over hearing decisions will be taking time, energy and mental capacity you could be using to spend on making yourself a better applicant next year. You already don't have enough time as it is, why add on another thing to take that away? Your problem is that you haven't paid your dues in gaining experience and understanding the profession. That's what you should work on, because there's no way around it. I really don't think applying underprepared and in a rush will "put yourself on the map" in a good way, if at all (what will you do if you get a LOR that says you're woefully underprepared to enter the profession, or your application comes across that way?). Even if it does put you on the map, whatever that means, is it worth it if it's going to interfere with making yourself a better candidate for next year? Unless you magically get in from applying this year, you're going to be out another 2 years until matriculation regardless of what you do. Why not spend the next year to get yourself closer to being accepted for next cycle? If you don't get in next year, then it'll be 3 years.

Remember, application cycles come and go faster than you think. You already have less than a year to find opporunities, develop a great relationship with and impress a veterinarian or two, and ask for a LOR in a timely manner. You still need to take the GRE and possibly retake it. You get your biggest bang for the buck (timewise) if you have an admissions counseling session with schools you're interested in, so that you can get the experience that they recommend you get. Scheduling and following up on that also takes time. Most importantly, you need to put in the time to experience and look up things veterinary related so that you can write a meaningful PS and have thoughtful answers for interviews. All of this takes time! So maximize what little time you have.

 

[Kpowell14]

As someone who is mid application for this cycle, I agree with everything everyone has said. IF you were to decide to apply, you only have 25 days to fill out the VMCAS, request eLORs ( which gives your evaluator a very narrow window to give you an outstanding rec.) write a PS that will "wow" the adcom, ROCK the GRE, fill out supplemental applications, which often have additional writing prompts, and request transcripts. While on top of all these things, trying to work your normal job, and trying to Squeeeeze in some more experience hours. If I were in your shoes I would wait until next cycle. The stress of getting all of these things done is huge! But there are so many things you could do until then that will put you in a much better position for the next cycle.

1. research which schools you like, which ones fit you, and that you would fit into nicely
2. get experience with a Vet, if not more than one that will write you a killer LOR, and to affirm that this is the field you want to be in
3. work with a Variety of animals, not just Dogs/Cats
Which ever way you decide, Good Luck!

 

[bannanababy146]

If I were in your position I wouldn't apply, it is really expensive! And if you haven't taken the GRE by now I dont think you'll even be able to apply because I think it takes four weeks or something to get all of your scores back. Most schools require your scores by the October 2 deadline, so unfortunately your scores wouldnt get there in time. But dont worry! Just apply next year! Save your money, work on your hours over this year, and you will have a good chance getting in next cycle. Good luck!!

 

[LetItSnow]

Thanks guys. Not applying would save me a bit of stress. Is this idea of applying this semester to put myself on the map and show that I really want to study vet med a ridiculous idea altogether?

The thing that bothers me is spending another 2 years+ out of school... Feels like i'm going nowhere...

Nobody can really tell you that other than the applications directors at various vet schools... but in my opinion I think that it's not worth it. You'll show them you want to study vet med by taking the time to get to know the field.

While they may look backwards to compare your last application to the following year, it's not worth what you're going to put into it.

Most places claim they don't look backwards, by the way - most say something along the lines of every year is a fresh application and all applicants are judged just on that year's file. Definitely not all, but most.

As for going nowhere ... you just need to accept that part of getting into vet school is building the experience to be competitive. It's not "going nowhere" to spend time out of school - it's just the path that's required to get there. You DON'T need thousands of hours like some of these overachievers here have 🙂. You can build sufficient experience in one year so that by next October yer ready to apply.