Should I even bother?

[PongoPal]

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Hi friends!

So I'm not sure if I should even bother applying this year or waiting another year. My GPA is 3.9, my GREs are 700 verbal/730 quant, but my vet experience is lacking. I have over 1000 hrs. working at a zoo, 600 hrs. with research animals, 100 at a wildlife rehab clinic, and am shadowing the zoo's vet. I'm not sure if I will have enough hours with him by Oct. 2nd for me to even be considered this year.

What do you all think? Any advice would be incredibly appreciated.

 

[twelvetigers]

Your stats are good. Do you have time to get the three letters of recommendation finished and sent in by your evaluators? Do you have time to write a good personal statement, fill out the VMCAS, and do any supplemental applications? These are the limiting factors, I think.

 

[zpinkpanther]

Like twelvetigers said, I think if you've got time to get the LOR's and personal statement ready, you should go for it. I definitely gave out my LOR stuff about 4 months in advance, though- I think in June. I just wanted to make sure my writers had plenty of time and didn't feel rushed. If you don't think you have time to get those things in order, another year of experience can only help, and with the rest of your stats, sounds like a great app to me! 👍😀

 

[projekt]

I Concur

 

[charismarl]

DEFINITELY APPLY! I was in a situation similar to yours when I first applied and even though I didn't get in the first time around because I didn't have enough vet experience I was a) not disapointed because I expected it b) thankful to have a year off from school and c) when I applied the second year I was really ready to go to school and I had had the experience of going through interviews and doing the application already so I was much more prepared than I would have been. What do you have to lose? Get used to rejection. Just do it...you won't regret it if you get in and you won't regret it if you don't.

 

[NittanyKitty]

Your stats are great, and they definitely shouldn't be the thing to keep you from applying. I'll echo what everyone else said -- if you think you can complete the application process by the VMCAS due date, go for it. Just be aware that it is very time-consuming, and you need to start ASAP. You'll have a lot to get done in a very short period of time.

 

[pupsforseeing]

I second everyone else's response. I would definitely go for it. What's the worst that could happen? You waste a couple hundred bucks and don't get in. In the big scheme of vet school expenses, the amount of money is minimal and if nothing else, you'll have the experience of applying once already behind you (and I can tell you that the application is WAY easier the second time around since it's mostly just copying and pasting!). Plus, you have great stats and those go a LONG way with adcomms. Good luck to you!