Should I apply this year?

[kegra]

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Hello,

I am new to this thread. I am hoping to apply for veterinary school this fall, but I am worried about my chances of getting in. I did well in undergrad, and had some animal experience throughout my college years. I am now 3 years out of school. I worked as a research assistant at Children's Hospital Boston for two years after graduating, and am now working as a veterinary tech at a small animal hospital. Here are my stats:

cum gpa: 3.7
science gpa: 3.8

vet experience: 1000 hours so far, but working full time now, so this will be more at the time of applicated (all small animal)
other animal experience: worked for a seal rescue clinic, also volunteered at a vet on summer breaks, haven't calculated the hours

extracurricular: student activity council for 2 years, chair of the biology student advisory board for 2 years

gre: 1400

awards for excellence in biology and service to the department during my junior and senior years

I am very worried about my lack of large animal experience. I am working on volunteering at the mspca shelter in massachusetts that deals with large animals. I was hoping to hear your thoughts on whether I should apply this fall, or work on building my experience and apply next year. Any ideas would help!

 

[HopefulAg]

Yes.

 

[kegra]

Yes.

Hello, Just wondering why you said "yes." Any feedback on my experience or stats? Do you not think its a problem that I have no large animal experience? I'm just trying to get all the help I can get. Thanks!

 

[twelvetigers]

Yeah, go for it. You seem in good shape.

Re: LA experience - you can try to get some, but I don't think it would be a dealbreaker. Your other stats and hours are good enough that I think you would be okay either way. Might try for ~15 hours or so before you submit... couldn't hurt, and you might like it.

 

[CurrySpice]

I don't see a downside to applying this year except for a few hundred dollars in application fees. Your stats are competitive enough to have a shot. Why not throw your ticket in the lottery?

 

[deleted387118]

I agree with what everyone above is saying: go for it!

The worst that can happen is you don't get in, but then you get to contact the schools and ask them what else they want to see on your application next year. That way you don't waste a year to find out there is something else you missed other than LA.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Your stats seem very similar to mine (except prob better in many regards) from when I applied.

I worked 2 years at MGH as a research assistant, only had 750 hrs of vet experience (shelter only), GRE of 1350, and a gpa of just under 3.6. Pretty close to 0 LA vet experience other than the occasional small ruminant and pig at shelter. That's it. And when I applied, I had 3 manuscripts submitted, but none had been accepted yet.

Only thing different is that I had a couple of significant leadership and animal experience. I'm not sure how big of a deal those were, but it helped me round out my personal statement. If you want to know specifics, you can look up my stats on the successful applicants thread from 2008, but I think we're pretty similar.

For what it's worth, out of the 7 schools that I applied to, I was outright rejected by 1 school (OOS Davis, go figure!), waitlisted to 1, and accepted to 4. I even withdrew from 1 when invited for an interview, because I had already received 3 acceptances by the end of December.

One caveat is that admissions is a bit of a crapshoot... so I know a bunch of very qualified people who've gotten rejected for who knows why. But I don't see why you shouldn't apply this year. hope that makes you feel better.

 

[goldnretrivrgrl]

I definitely think you should take a shot and apply this year! Your stats look good from where I'm standing and I got in to two schools (with interviews to another two that I chose to decline) with less than 25ish hours of large animal experience. Where are you planning to apply?

 

[LetItSnow]

Hello, Just wondering why you said "yes." Any feedback on my experience or stats? Do you not think its a problem that I have no large animal experience? I'm just trying to get all the help I can get. Thanks!

I'm not speaking for Ag, but I suspect his/her "Yes" might have been a reaction similar to mine. I read your original post and rolled my eyes and thought "these stats are so much better than what I brought to the table....."

So yes. Apply.

As far as LA experience ... sure, not having any is a weakness. Your other stats are quite good, though, so you can either not worry about it, or you can find some LA hours over the summer to mitigate the issue. If it were me, I probably wouldn't worry about it. You can't be strong in every area. 🙂

 

[lostbunny]

as my bf keeps saying: "You definately WON'T get in, if you don't apply".

 

[drwildlife]

As most people have said, go for it. It's really not going to hurt you to apply except maybe for losing some monies (application fees and such.) Plus, your stats seem good so it's worth a shot.

PS. I'm backkk from hiatus everyone 😀

 

[Trilt]

as my bf keeps saying: "You definately WON'T get in, if you don't apply".

^This. I'm in a similar situation where I wasn't sure if I wanted to apply this year or not, but it really just seemed not worth it to DEFINITELY delay everything for another year. I'm applying with the expectation that I will not get in, but figure it would be a nice surprise if I do and good experience. Plus, it shows perseverance when I apply again.

I'm only applying to my in-state, not going crazy, so it'll only put me back a couple hundred dollars. ("Only")

 

[lareinesoleil]

You might as well. I had 0 LA veterinary hours and minimal LA animal experience and got in. Even if you got declined this year, it wouldn't hurt your chances next year - might actually HELP, as it would show perserverance (sp?).