Successful Applicant Class of 2013

[nymfn712]

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First time applicant, female, 21, PA resident, BA in Biology at Penn
Applied: Penn, VMRCVM, OSU, Tufts, Cornell
Interviewed: OSU, Penn, declined VMRCVM interview after Penn acceptance
Accepted: Penn!!
Rejected: Cornell, Tufts
Still waiting: OSU, though I'm assuming it's a rejection at this point

GPA: 3.38
Science GPA: ~3.65
GRE: 1350 (800Q,550V)

Veterinary Experience:
~1000 hrs at small animal private practice
no large animal experience

Animal Experience:
lab animal - working in a research lab in Penn's vet school since sept.
shelter volunteer since I was 15
pet sitting since I was 12

Extracurriculars:
I had tons of extracurriculars in high school, and basically got burnt out on them. I literally have not been involved in any school activities in college except having my name on the email listserv for the pre-vet association...I was really surprised that the fact I had no extracurriculars was looked over!

Recommendations:
2 vets for whom I've worked since Dec. 2006
a Biology professor
supervisor of a lab I worked in junior year
Health Professions Advisory Board cover letter from my school's career services dept.

Despite not having as much veterinary experience as many of the other applicants, I think that during my Penn interview I really made it clear that I understood what the veterinary profession entails, which is a lot of the point of having vet. experience. Also, my GPA is not great, but it has steadily increased since freshman year. What I really think helped was my letters of recommendation, a great interview, and going to Penn for undergrad probably didn't hurt...

 

[bunnity]

wow I actually get to post here... didn't think that would happen!

Female, 22, first year applicant:

Applied: Penn (IS)
Interviewed: Penn
Accepted: Penn

Major: Environmental Studies
GPA 3.97
GRE Q710 V680

Experience:
~200 as volunteer intern / tech at a shelter
~300 as intern at wildlife rehab clinic

I had a decent amount of equine non-vet experience and some rabbit volunteering non-vet experience but I don't remember the numbers.

I also had several thousand hours (20 hr / wk during school year and 40 during summers) working at a people-hospital as a cardiac tech; don't know if that helped at all.

LORs:
-the medical director vet at the shelter I worked at
-the director / wildlife rehabber at the wildlife clinic
-my advisor who also taught one of my classes
-my boss at work

Extracurriculars: haha none, I left that blank on the vmcas

 

[rachroo]

Congrats everyone!! 🙂

*bump

 

[Lckynmbrslefman]

First time applicant, female, 21, MA resident, BS in Animal Science at UMASS
Applied: OSU, Tufts, Iowa, Colorado, Michigan, Western
Interviewed: OSU, Iowa, Tufts, Western
Waitlisted: Ohio
Rejected: Colorado
Accepted: Iowa, Michigan, Tufts, Western

GPA: 3.79
Science GPA: depends on the school requirements...probably around a 3.3, 3.4 or so?
Last 45: 4.0
GRE: 1230 (660 math, 570 verbal, 6.0 analytical)

Veterinary Experience:
~1000 hrs at small animal private practice
~267 hrs large animal at my school and through Meningeal Worm Disease vaccine research with alpacas
~30 hrs on an anesthesia trial in guanacos with Cornell University

Animal Experience:
~1500hrs total made up of the stuff below:

-Certified by IACUC and ABS certified in Artificial Insemination
-Work at UMASS Livestock/Horse/Camelid barns and Red Oak horse farm
-Officer in Student Run Goat Herd
-Belted Galloway Group member
-Camelid Studies teaching assistant
-NESA student coordinator
-member of Dairy Judging Team
-Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society intern
-Livestock Classic showing (mini donkeys, jersey cows, horses)
-member of Animal Behavior and Prevet club

Extracurriculars:
Those clubs^^, Western Riding Team, Academic Peer Advisor, Distinguished Teaching Awards committee member, Mass Games RSO (Humans vs. Zombies, for anyone who has heard of it😉), and stuff from highschool

Recommendations:
-Practice owner/veterinarian in a small animal private practice
-My school's large animal vet and Camelid Studies director
-Professor of nutrition/head of Goat Group

Congrats everyone!!

 

[cuitlamiztli]

I still can't believe I get to post here... it feels so surreal.

Second time applicant, female, 22, Iowa resident, BS in Zoology/minor in Animal Ecology at Iowa State
Applied: Iowa State
Interviewed: Iowa State
Accepted: Iowa State!

GPA: 3.53
Science GPA: 3.31
Last 45 GPA: ~3.78
GRE: 1070 (550Q, 620V, 4.5A)

Veterinary Experience:
~505 hours at an emergency clinic
~60 hours small animal
~40 hours large animal
~80 hours wildlife rehabilitation

Research Experience (put under veterinary):
~650 hours in a genetics lab working with mice and cattle

Animal Experience:
~24 hours as part of local zoo's Zoo Crew
~37 hours as a zoo docent
**Neither of these are/were hands-on, but ISU still told me to put them here.

Honors/Awards
- Bachelor of Science Cum Laude
- Dean's list (5 semesters)
- A handful of scholarships
- Various art awards during high school

Extracurriculars/Community Activities:
- Art club & NHS in high school
- ISU Move-In Crew for 2 years (I helped freshmen move in)
- Helped to coordinate our lab's wet lab for 4H Beef Blast 2007

Recommendations:
- A vet from the e-clinic I worked at
- My research professor/boss
- My former academic advisor, who I also had as a professor

The biggest advice that I can give to reapplicants is to go through a file review and then do what they tell you to do! I knew that it'd be a long shot when I applied last year--I had a whopping 59 hours of clinical experience and my personal statement definitely needed work--but I came out of it knowing exactly what I should work on and with a stronger resolve to try again this year.

 

[kiki1983]

Hey all! I don't know how I never knew about this site...it's so amazing and probably would have been a huge asset to me during undergrad and the application process...better late then never I guess...

Third-time applicant, female, 25, Florida resident, B.S. Animal Science & Technology (Magna Cum Laude)
Applied: Auburn, Colorado, Cornell, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Western, UCD in Ireland, RVC in London
Interviewed: Ohio, Western, Kansas, RVC, Florida
Rejected: Auburn, Colorado, Cornell, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Florida
Waitlisted: Royal Veterinary College in London, Michigan
Accepted: UCD in Ireland, Western University, RVC (got off waitlist)


GPA at time of application: 3.53
GPA of last 45 undergrad: 3.8
GRE: 1130 (680q, 450v, 5.0a)

Veterinary Experience Hours
~3,600 hours at a small animal hospital

Animal Experience
4 years on the University farm: sheep, goats, cows, chickens, pigs, donkeys, exposure to some horses
~250 hours exotic and wild birds at a bird sanctuary
~500 hours kennel work for a pet shop

Honors/Awards
-Centennial Scholarship
-Graduated Magna Cum Laude
-Dean's List for 6 of my 8 semesters in Undergrad
-Lots of AVS club awards from URI
-High Honor Roll in High School
-Scholastic Athlete Award in high school

Community/Extracurricular
-volunteer for the local animal shelter
-AVS club in college (held a bunch of fundraisers for local causes)
-NESA (agricultural competition among many North East Colleges)
-volunteer worker for the university farm (oh so many wonderful winter nights spent lambing!)
-volunteer for the special olympics

Recommendations
-2 vets (I had worked for them for nearly the past 2 years), and a former professor (who is also the associate dean of the college)

 

[karmapple]

Hey all! I don't know how I never knew about this site...it's so amazing and probably would have been a huge asset to me during undergrad and the application process...better late then never I guess...
First-time applicant, female, 21, Ohio resident, Senior in Zoology
Applied: THE Ohio State University
Interviewed: Ohio
Accepted: Ohio

Cum GPA at time of application: 3.18
Cum GPA at time of interview: 3.24 (3.91 the quarter before interview)
GRE: 1220 (580v, 640q)

Veterinary Experience Hours
SA: 9,000 over 6 years as a tech
Wildlife: 200 over 1 year at a wildlife rehab hospital

Animal Experience
Equine: Horseback riding lessons for several years, petsitting geriatic horses
LA: ~800 volunteering at farms as a teenager
SA: Petsitting for various families over the past 5-6 years

Honors/Awards
-Dean's List a few quarters
-Honors Diploma in high school
-Re-articulated a deer skeleton for a seminar project in high school

Community/Extracurricular
-Habitat for Humanity x 3 years
-25 hours volunteering at the local library
-Pre-Vet Club at OSU
-Some other minor stuff I can't remember

Recommendations
-3 vets I have worked with for 6 years.

Umm... did you just copy and paste AgtOrange's stats? I'm confused.

 

[CR165583]

1st time applicant.
Applied: LSU (contract AR), Miss. SU,
Accepted LSU won't attend MSU interview.
Req. course GPA: 3.87
Last 60 HR GPA: 3.76
Degree: BSc. (wildlife and fisheries sc.), MSc (wildlife ecology).
Experience: Worked the past seven years as a Research Biologist.
Multiple publications in scientific journals as well as monthly publications.
Animal Exp: Volunteered past year at local clinic (300 HR)
Volunteered at local animal shelter (100 HR)
Community/charitable involvement
Hab for Hum x3
chaired award committee for K-12 mini grants program
Bike association - organized association to influence community leaders to assign bike lanes to local roads
LOR's (this is very important)
mine were very influential persons from differing parts of the country.

 

[kiki1983]

Hehe, oops yeah....i apologize!! I was using AgtOrange's post as a template and accidently ended up posting it while i started changing it to my stats...I went back through and fixed it, so now it actually has my stats! sorry for the confusion 😳

 

[Optimistic 13]

.

 

[hopefulvet21]

hey kiki, what was your final GPA that got you magna cum laude? I am just curious because I am in my last semester, and oh so close to getting it. They just changed the requirements at my school now though. So instead of just getting above a certain GPA, you have to get a GPA equal or higher to the previous year's top 15%. So from last year's results, I have to get a 3.79. Right now I have a 3.766, and I'm taking 18 credits, so if I get all A's this semester I could get it! At your school did you just have to get above a 3.75 or did they do it like my school?

 

[nyanko]

I was wondering about that too. At UCF they do top 2.5% for summa cum laude, top 5% for magna and top 10% for cum laude, and it's by the college you're graduating from.

My major was in the College of Medicine. I would have needed a 3.828 for even cum laude. Damn pre-allo overachievers!!

 

[kiki1983]

wow.... that's pretty good. My school had set ranges for each of the "laudes".... at the time of my graduation my cumulative GPA was 3.53. Anyone with a GPA between 3.20 and 3.45 (I think) were cum laude. Anyone with a 3.50 to 3.65 (or maybe 3.7) were magna cum laude...and anyone above that was suma cum laude.

 

[StayingHopeful]

My school (I had no idea, but I just checked) does it differently:
-cum laude is for 3.50+
-magna cum laude is for 3.50+ and "a thesis of quality sufficient for oral presentation to scholars in the candidate's field"
-summa cum laude is for 3.50+ and "a thesis of a quality suitable for publication"

 

[kayakman28]

My school really ticked me off with this one...

They went to 3 decimal places without rounding, so:

Cum Laude: 3.500 - 3.749
Magna Cum Laude: 3.750 - 3.899
Summa Cum Laude: 3.900 - 4.000

I graduated with a 3.495. I was furious when I found this out....oh well. I missed out on a little gold sticker on the diploma...

 

[EqSci]

First time applicant, 21 y/o female
Applied: Penn (IS), Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Iowa
Interviewed: Iowa, Ohio, Penn
Rejected: Minnesota, North Carolina, Colorado
Waitlisted: Ohio, Michigan
Accepted: Iowa, Penn

GPA: 3.64
Science GPA: don't know, probably around 3.5
Last 45 GPA: 3.9+
GRE: 740Q, 570V, 3.5W

Veterinary Experience:
200 hours SA
400 hours Equine
20 hours LA

Animal Experience:
~2000+ with horses (stable hand, therapeutic riding volunteer, working w/ broodmares, foals, stallions, yearlings)
~50 hours with cattle, sheep, swine

 

[pressmom]

At my undergrad, it was also done by percentages. The cut off for cum laude was 3.67. I had a 3.64. Boo!

 

[Shanomong]

Second time applicant, 27 years old, Female, Pennsylvania resident


Applied: Penn
Interview: Penn
Accepted: Penn

Cumulative GPA: 3.96
Degree info:
AS in Chemistry
BA in History w/ a Minor in Chem
GRE: 1310. 750Q, 560V

Honors and Awards:
-Summa Cum Laude
-Deans' List all semesters
-6 scholarships
-Phi Theta Kappa
-Phi Beta Kappa
-Golden Key International Honor Society
-Valedictorian of graduating class for AS
-Various department awards
-Research award for history paper
-Honors Scholar
-Who's Who Among Junior Colleges (not sure if that counts for anything 😀 lol)

Veterinary Experience:
~3,500 hours in small animal emergency (Practice 1: 1900 hours as a receptionist/assistant; Practice 2: 1000 hours as an assistant; Practice 3: 300 hours as an assistant training to be a nurse)

Research Experience (put under Employment):
~50 hours conducting research in a chem lab
~240 hours in a biotechnology lab

Animal Experience:
~40 Aquatic/Marine
~800 as an animal rescue volunteer
~300 equine/stable
~2000 as a dog groomer
~320 Wildlife Rehab

Extracurriculars/Community Activities:
-Campaign volunteer in the recent presidential election

Advice.... if you're rejected the first time, go for the follow up. I was basically 2 bio classes short of gaining an interview last year... I was a history major, and had only taken the Penn pre-req's (which are less than I think all other schools) along with A&P. In my follow up I was told that I should take Microbio and Biochem at a school with "more stringent admission criteria" (note the AS above... community college is not something they like to see because there's no admission criteria). I followed the advice and was interviewed/accepted this year! It also helped that I was IS this time, but during my interview I was told that taking the classes they recommended carried more weight than the residency change (go figure, private schools...).

Any questions feel free to PM me =).

 

[kef148]

2nd time applicant, 22 y/o female
Applied: Colorado (IS), Minnesota, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee
Interviewed: Ohio, Kansas, Mississippi (withdrew app before interview), Tennessee (withdrawing app before interview)
Rejected: Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, Ohio
Accepted: Kansas

GPA: 3.504
Science GPA: don't know, probably around 3.6
Last 45 GPA: 3.75 ish
GRE: 690Q, 580V, 4.5W

Veterinary Experience:
~ 800 hours SA

Animal Experience:
~1400 Dog Breeding - English Springer Spaniels
~ 100 Horseback riding lessons
~ 50 wildlife research (prairie dogs and emus)


I'm currently in a one year masters program in Biomedical Sciences. Lots of upper division sciecne classes.

Fall 2008 GPA = 3.825

 

[Myappy]

1st time applicant, 22 y/o female Indiana resident
Applied: Purdue, Kansas, Wisconsin, Penn
Interviewed: Kansas, Penn
Rejected:
Waiting to hear: Wisconsin, Penn, Purdue
Accepted: Kansas

GPA: 3.88
Science GPA: 3.9
Last 45 GPA: 3.9
GRE: 710Q, 410V, 4.5W

Veterinary Experience:
~200 hours SA

Animal Experience:
~200 shelter work
~ 3000 equine
Degree: Chemistry (ACS certified)

Countless awards in high school
Member of the equestrian team

Fall 2008 GPA = 4.0

 

[LivestockDoc]

2nd time applicant, 22 y/o female
Applied: Colorado (IS), Minnesota, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee
Interviewed: Ohio, Kansas, Invited to Mississippi (but no turning interview down)
Rejected: Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, Ohio
Waiting to hear: Tennessee (but withdrawing application)
Accepted: Kansas

GPA: 3.504
Science GPA: don't know, probably around 3.6
Last 45 GPA: 3.75 ish
GRE: 690Q, 580V, 4.5W

Veterinary Experience:
~ 800 hours SA

Animal Experience:
~1400 Dog Breeding - English Springer Spaniels
~ 100 Horseback riding lessons
~ 50 wildlife research (prairie dogs and emus)


I'm currently in a one year masters program in Biomedical Sciences. Lots of upper division sciecne classes.

Fall 2008 GPA = 3.825

OMG. Looks to me like you have great stats, decent experience, you're in the masters program (presumably at CSU) earning a 3.8, applied for the second time and the CSU vet school STILL didn't accept you?? That makes me want to go jump off a cliff. Damn you, CSU! (shaking fist in the air) What do you want from us?!? 😱

Big congrats for getting into Kansas though! That has gotta feel good!

 

[Poochlover11]

OMG. Looks to me like you have great stats, decent experience, you're in the masters program (presumably at CSU) earning a 3.8, applied for the second time and the CSU vet school STILL didn't accept you?? That makes me want to go jump off a cliff. Damn you, CSU! (shaking fist in the air) What do you want from us?!? 😱

Haha! When you find out, let the rest of us know. 😀

 

[dreamvet]

"first time applicant"???? I applied last year but only for two schools, both dvm/phd combined programs, and OOS for both. basically no chance at acceptance so i don't count that as first time applying 😛

female, 22y/o, BS in Bio Science from a top 10 school. (I am pretty sure the competitiveness of my undergrad helped out my gpa)

Applied: Ross, Iowa, Auburn, Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan, Florida (IS), VMRCVM, Illinoise, Washington
Rejected: Illinoise, Washington
Interviewed: Ross, Iowa, Auburn, Minnesota, Purdue, VMRCVM
Accepted: Ross (withdrew), Iowa, VMRCVM
Still waiting: Minnesota, Auburn, Purdue, Florida, Michigan

undergrad gpa: 3.26
science gpa: 3.19
last 45 hour gpa: 3.7ish
GRE: 1330 (790 Quant, 540 Verbal, 5 writing)

Vet Experience: total hours: 2540
Emergency tech at emergency hospital for over 1 year (full time after undergrad)
intern at domestic small animal in pittsburgh, part time
intern at Jerusalem biblical zoo (quarantine ward) for 1 summer
Marine Animal Rescue Society volunteer for 1 summer

Animal Experience: total hours: 1860
foster/volunteer at Western PA humane society
pet sitter

Research Experience: total hours: 2225
Live Cell Imaging Center for 2 semesters
Microbiology research with environmental engineering dept at CMU for 3 semesters
animal behavior research for 4 years at the Pittsburgh Zoo

Received 6 grants for research and presentations
presented research at 4 conferences including the International Elephant Research and Conservation Symposium in Denmark in 2006

 

[kef148]

OMG. Looks to me like you have great stats, decent experience, you're in the masters program (presumably at CSU) earning a 3.8, applied for the second time and the CSU vet school STILL didn't accept you?? That makes me want to go jump off a cliff. Damn you, CSU! (shaking fist in the air) What do you want from us?!? 😱

Big congrats for getting into Kansas though! That has gotta feel good!

Thanks! Yeah, I don't know what to say about CSU. I know two people that were told at their exit interviews that if they had a couple more 4.0 semesters they would have been accepted. So that made me think that I would probable never get into CSU anyway becaue I never had a 4.0 semester! 😀 I'm super excited about Kansas though! It still keeps amazing me that I get to go to vet school next year.

 

[thunderhawk86]

First Time Applicant- 22 yr old male
B.S. in bio with a minor in history - graduate in May

Applied: Iowa, UPenn (IS), Florida, Kansas
Rejected: Iowa
Interviewed: Kansas
Accepted: Kansas
Waiting to hear back from: Florida and Upenn (IS)

Undergrad GPA: 3.66
Science GPA (including math): 3.55
Fall GPA: 3.8
Last 45 hr- 3.8ish
GRE: 750 Q, 570 V, 3.5 A

Veterinary Experience: 50 hours shadowing small animal surgeries, 100 hours mixed, some on the road large animal, performed a cat spay under supervision, did some stuff around the office, shadowed office visits.

Animal Experience: 0 hours

Research Experience: 0 Hours

Awards: Deans List all but one time, Tri-beta member, fastest learned duet award, citizenship award.

Clubs/extras: Bowling, 4-diamonds committe member

Elors:
1 from the mixed animal practice. I had the input of the small animal veterinarian and the large animal one.
1 from my pizza hut boss
1 from the head of the pre-health committee at college

After looking on here for so long I was doubting my chances after seeing all of the hours of experience in veterinary/research/animal that people had on the board. The interview went very well at Kansas and the elors probably helped me to get to the interview. But man am I excited.

 

[EqSci]

After looking on here for so long I was doubting my chances after seeing all of the hours of experience in veterinary/research/animal that people had on the board. The interview went very well at Kansas and the elors probably helped me to get to the interview. But man am I excited.

Me too!! I have a bit more than you but still low compared to most applicants. My interview at Iowa went excellent and I'm sooooo thrilled!!! The whole point of experience is to understand the profession, and I definitely have a good understanding of the profession. I'm so glad they could see that. 🙂

 

[great potoo]

First-time applicant, female, 24, Washington resident
Applied: Washington State, Tufts, Wisconsin, Cornell,
Interviewed: Washington State, Tufts
Accepted: Washington State
Rejected: Cornell
Waitlist: Wisconsin #46; Tufts
Attending: Washington State!
Education: B.A., in biology with honors
Cum GPA : 3.56
GRE: 1370 (650v, 720q, 4.5w)

Veterinary Experience
-Animal technician at dog research lab (just began when applying)
-1 year as technician assistant at veterinary ophthalmology clinic
-500 volunteer hours at wildlife rehab hospital
-3 months as veterinary receptionist

Animal Experience
-6 mo wildlife research at a national park

Other Experience
-Involved in several ecology research projects as an undergrad, one in process of publication

Community/Extracurricular
-sports
-oboe

Recommendations
-Ophtho vet
-wildlife vet
-professor that sponsored my undergraduate research

 

[canis13]

Community/Extracurricular
-sports
-oboe

I play the oboe too! How long have you been playing?
Actually, at this point in time, oboe takes up more of my time than vet/animal stuff, but I have a feeling that will change once I graduate.

 

[incendium04]

First-time applicant, female, 22, California resident
Applied: UC Davis, Western, Washington, Colorado, Mississippi, VA-MD, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Penn, Minnesota, Michigan
Interviewed: Iowa, Kansas, Western, and will be interviewing at Minnesota, Illinois, UC Davis
Accepted: Kansas
Rejected: Washington, Colordao, Mississippi, VA-MD
Waitlisted: Iowa
Waiting on: UC Davis, Western, Illinois, Penn, Minnesota, Michigan
Education: B.S. in Animal Science
Cum GPA : 3.58
GRE: 1300 (610v, 690q)

Veterinary Experience
-3000 hrs at mixed animal emergency hospital (working graveyards, surgery shifts, whatever!)
-300 hrs at private small animal

Animal Experience
-1000 hrs fostering kittens
-1200 hrs large animal/poultry doing stuff like raising quail, broiler chickens, halter breaking horses, calving, lambing, etc
-200 hrs volunteering at a humane society

Other Experience
-Traveled to New Zealand as a volunteer in habitat restoration
-Researching Valley Fever in the Central Coast of CA
-Took an applied animal embryology course

Community/Extracurricular
-Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do
-Flute
-Photography

Recommendations
-2 vets from emergency hospital (both went to Kansas actually... though that was not my intent when I asked them!)
-1 professor who is helping me with my research project on Valley Fever in dogs

 

[Shanomong]

Me too!! I have a bit more than you but still low compared to most applicants. My interview at Iowa went excellent and I'm sooooo thrilled!!! The whole point of experience is to understand the profession, and I definitely have a good understanding of the profession. I'm so glad they could see that. 🙂

Someone from Penn's 2013 class toured Iowa's campus and took pics. I saw them on facebook... OMG the anatomy lab there is beyond amazing. I'm a bit jealous 😀

You interviewed at Penn this past Friday too, didn't you?

 

[EqSci]

Someone from Penn's 2013 class toured Iowa's campus and took pics. I saw them on facebook... OMG the anatomy lab there is beyond amazing. I'm a bit jealous 😀

You interviewed at Penn this past Friday too, didn't you?

Yep! I'm withdrawing from Penn I think. I was very impressed with Penn, but I'm choosing small town over Philly. I agree, the anat lab at Iowa was amazing (and their histo lab wasn't bad either)! As was the new LA facilities - gigantic. I was a little worried about their equine caseload but I was reassured that it's pretty good - there are several higher end show barns in the area and they get quite a few racehorses as well. Can you tell I loved Iowa?? 😍

I've been second-guessing myself a bit... it's so hard to willingly turn down a school as great as Penn when I know their equine caseload is excellent and the education I get will be top notch. But at the same time, every vet school will give you a good education and I firmly believe it's what you make of it! I also believe everything works out in the end.

 

[LivestockDoc]

First-time applicant, female, 22, California resident
Applied: UC Davis, Western, Washington, Colorado, Mississippi, VA-MD, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Penn, Minnesota, Michigan
Interviewed: Iowa, Kansas, Western, and will be interviewing at Minnesota, Illinois, UC Davis
Accepted: Kansas
Rejected: Washington, Colordao, Mississippi, VA-MD
Waitlisted: Iowa
Waiting on: UC Davis, Western, Illinois, Penn, Minnesota, Michigan
Education: B.S. in Animal Science
Cum GPA : 3.58
GRE: 1300 (610v, 690q)

Another person with great stats who is rejected by CSU. I am now convinced that the CSU class of 2013 consists of about 4 people!

Tearing my hair out and shaking in my boots at the thought of applying this summer to CSU...my only school.

 

[WildlifeSaver]

Seems like Cornell is tough too.

 

[DocDVMD]

Seems like Cornell is tough too.

Don't even get me started, hahaha.

 

[WildlifeSaver]

Don't even get me started, hahaha.

Yeah, seriously, that used to be my first choice until I find like no one gets the dual and among the most difficult vet school in my opinion to get in.

I can keep dreaming though?😳

 

[vnair2]

For reasons unclear even to me, I found this thread calming while waiting to hear from schools. I say "unclear even to me", because my stats are not higher then the other people posting here, so who knows how my mind works? I have a strange application. It has a lot of non-vet work, but I think I explained it well in my statement. I also didn't have any upper level science classes beyond the Penn prereqs, but it probably didnt hurt that I went to Penn and am a boy

First-time applicant, male, 23, New York resident
Applied: Penn,
Interviewed: Penn
Accepted: Penn
Education: B.S.E in CSE w/ a minor in Math from Penn
Cum GPA : 3.67
GRE: 1350 (600v, 750q)

Veterinary Experience
As of application I only had:
- 400 hrs at a small animal practice

As of now:
- 70 hrs at a shelter
- 15 hrs at an Avian and Exotics practice

Community/Extracurricular
- Prevet Club
- Theatrical Lighting and Set Design
- Technical Director / Board Member Strictly Funk (penn dance group)
- NPAR conference poster (non photorealistic rendering and animation conference)

Honors
- Dean's List (>3.7) once

Recommendations
- Small Animal Vet
- CSE professor (it turns out that computer science is close enough to actual science)
- My adivisor
- Prehealth Committee letter

 

[bunnity]

vnair2, I am glad to hear I will not be the only one going to Penn without upper level science beyond the pre-reqs! I am a little intimidated by the thought of taking biochem without doing it in undergrad. My undergrad degree will be in Environmental Studies, so most of my science is geology. Props for getting all your pre-reqs in while doing computer classes though, that sounds hard (can you tell I am a little afraid of computers?).

 

[nyanko]

Computer science isn't really about computers at all. 😛

 

[WildZooVet]

I was also told in my interview that my undergrad university’s GPA is worth .2-.4 points higher compared to other schools (therefore 3.0à ~3.2-3.4). My gre is just low…if I could do anything over, it would be to prepare for this test at least 1-2 months in advance.

Where did you go to school that this was the case? And congradulation!!

 

[WildZooVet]

uh oh! I messed up that quote thing. Might just be a little technologically impaired.

 

[VetMed555]

I am a little intimidated by the thought of taking biochem without doing it in undergrad.

I didn't really see the difference between biochem majors and the "others" when it came to biochem in vet. school. It's going to suck either way. I was a chemistry major in undergrad, but I didn't feel like it helped me much. Yes, I was more familiar with enzymes and pathways than others, but our test questions were not connected with those pathways per se: more clinical applications.

So you will find it difficult, but it will not be any more difficult for you than it is for others who had taken biochem in the past. You'll make it.

 

[great potoo]

I play the oboe too! How long have you been playing?
Actually, at this point in time, oboe takes up more of my time than vet/animal stuff, but I have a feeling that will change once I graduate.

I don't play as much anymore since I work full time and I'm taking biochem and physics right now 🙂 I wish I had time to be in orchestra again...

There aren't too many oboes around, I'm surprised there are two of us!

 

[CBRGrl]

Another person with great stats who is rejected by CSU. I am now convinced that the CSU class of 2013 consists of about 4 people!

Make that five!

Second-time applicant, Female, 23 (last year I applied ONLY to CSU and was rejected)
Applied: CSU (IS), Davis, Virginia, WSU, Tufts
Rejected: WSU, Tufts
Accepted: CSU (IS) (still waiting to hear from a couple other schools, but I've already accepted my seat)
Education: BA in Psychology and English, Currently finishing up an MS in biomedical sciences
Undergrad Cum GPA : 3.2
Master's GPA: 3.8
Pre-Req/Science GPA: 3.9
GRE: 1100 (520v, 580q)

Veterinary/Animal Experience
-1000's of hrs as a tech at a small animal practice
- Lots of shadowing experience
- Shelter experience
- Grew up on horse ranch (lots of LA experience)
- Worked on a movie set with animals, tacking up horses for different takes..etc
- 1,000's of hours working with animals in a research setting before my master's program and during

Other things of note:
- Founder and president of the Prevet Club at my undergrad.
- Play multiple instruments
- graduated high school at 15 and college at 20
- Published author in a high ranked neuroscience journal and about to publish again as part of my master's degree
- Lots of poster presentations as an undergrad

Recommendations
- Small Animal Vet
- My baby bio professor who also taught my biochem class
- My current PI/adivisor

Just a word of advice. Last year I only applied to CSU and was rejected. The BEST thing I ever did was to go to the file review after with a list of questions. If I hadn't I dont think I'd be a part of the 2013 class! Make sure to write out all your questions on a notepad the night before while you're thinking clearly, when I got into the office I so was nervous that I definately would have forgotten some key things that Im glad I asked about. Good luck to everyone! Im proof that a lower undergrad GPA won't sink you as long as you are able to prove to the adcoms that you can take a full load of upper division courses and ace 'em!

 

[LivestockDoc]

Make that five!

Second-time applicant, Female, 23 (last year I applied ONLY to CSU and was rejected)
Applied: CSU (IS), Davis, Virginia, WSU, Tufts
Rejected: WSU, Tufts
Accepted: CSU (IS) (still waiting to hear from a couple other schools, but I've already accepted my seat)
Education: BA in Psychology and English, Currently finishing up an MS in biomedical sciences
Undergrad Cum GPA : 3.2
Master's GPA: 3.8
Pre-Req/Science GPA: 3.9
GRE: 1100 (520v, 580q)..............................

I am so glad you posted, CBRGrl! I have MANY similar stats to yours, so you not only totally ROCK for getting accepted to CSU, you also ROCK because you give me hope!

It'll probably take two tries for me as well (dammit!), so if I get rejected, I'll do the Plan B Master's (might as well, right?) I only have 3 choices of vet school (CSU, WSU, ISU) b/c I only have 1 semester of physics, and I won't take any more. Blech! And, if I read the WSU site correctly, I can't apply there this cycle b/c all pre-req's have to be finished by this Spring (not taking Biochem til Fall.) So, CSU and ISU are all I've got for this coming cycle. Hopin' for a miracle...

Congratulations to you!

 

[Pandacinny]

To echo the sentiment in other parts of this thread: you CAN get in with a low GPA. I mean, try for the highest GPA you can, but don't give up just because you don't have a 3.5+!

Third-time applicant, female, 24, Maryland resident, B.S. in Biology, minor in Anthropology
Applied: VMRCVM, Missouri, Tennessee, UPenn, Edinburgh
Interviewed: VMRCVM
Rejected: Missouri, Edinburgh
Accepted: VMRCVM
Still waiting to hear: UPenn, Tennessee

Undergrad GPA: 3.22
GPA of last 45 undergrad: 3.09
GRE: 1330 (590v, 740q, 5.5)

Veterinary Experience Hours
~4,500+ hours at an animal shelter working as a vet assistant, then an RVT
-4 hours with a veterinary dermatologist
-40 hours at an emergency clinic
-12 hours with a veterinary ophthalmologist
-70 hours of house call practice (dogs and cats)
-250 hours with another S/N clinic where I also sit on the board of directors
-10 hours at an orthopedic clinic
~1500 hours of lab animal work
-A summer spent doing research with a professor on fruit flies

Animal Experience
-Some of the lab animal stuff fits here, actually - I had to separate it depending on where I was working
-Lots of pet sitting for dogs, cats, birds
-Kennel assistant at a county animal control
-Lots of time on my family's small farm (cows, chickens, rabbits, pigs)
-Foster work for an animal shelter
-15 hours working with a horse rescue

Other Work Experience
-Worked at a front desk
-Worked as an office assistant
-Worked as a note taker for a semester
-Worked as an admin for a doctor's office

Honors/Awards
-Wellesley College Book Award (that sounds fancy, but it's just an award I got in high school)
-University Scholar Award (scholarship at undergrad)
-Semester Academic Honors twice
-Deans List once

Community/Extracurricular
-Volunteered orrienting new freshmen one year
-Secretary of the Newman Club
-Member of the Biology Council of Majors
-I crochet baby things to send to hospitals & was in my school's knitting circle
-I spent some time working on an archiving project with comic books at my school's library
-Tennis
-Soccer
-A group called Operation Friendhsip while I studied abroad. We made friends with older members of the local community who would take us around and introduce us to the area. It was pretty awesome.
-Member of a local dog walking group

Recommendations
-One vet I worked with at the shelter (she's sort of my mentor)
-One vet I did lab animal work with
-The professor I did research with


Okay, so as you can see, my GPA is kind of embarrassing. I was working a lot during undergrad and did have some fairly heavy family issues to deal with that definitely affected my performance. I think the only reason I ever got an interview is because my GRE scores are decent and my experience is pretty good.

I'll reiterate that this was my third time applying. I worked my butt off this past year to bring my application up to par as best I could. I got all the lab animal experience in the past year, some of the emergency (I only worked one shift on weekends around my other jobs), and some of the spay/neuter stuff. I think that getting all this extra, varied experience really showed that I'm serious about becoming a vet.

Another thing I did this year was practice like crazy for my interview. I had everyone quizzing me and giving me interview questions while we drove around or ate dinner or whatever for weeks beforehand. It really, really helped! Most of my interview had to do with my direct experiences. For example, I was asked about primates as pets because I've worked with primates. I think the fact that I didn't stutter or go "Uhh..." after every question was a big help, so definitely practice! I was also apparently the only one who, when asked what I like to do in my spare time, said "I like to read comic books" as part of my answer. Surprisingly, that went over well.

 

[gone2dogs]

Just a word of advice. Last year I only applied to CSU and was rejected. The BEST thing I ever did was to go to the file review after with a list of questions. If I hadn't I dont think I'd be a part of the 2013 class! Make sure to write out all your questions on a notepad the night before while you're thinking clearly, when I got into the office I so was nervous that I definately would have forgotten some key things that Im glad I asked about. Good luck to everyone! Im proof that a lower undergrad GPA won't sink you as long as you are able to prove to the adcoms that you can take a full load of upper division courses and ace 'em!

Thanks for posting CBRrl! I've been trying to work up the nerve just to call and schedule my file review because I am so nervous about it for some reason. I think I'm afraid they'll laugh at me or something! I have some specific questions I know I want to ask, but do you have any suggestions on things I should ask? Also, since I am being a freak about this, should one dress in interview attire, or is just looking nice and relatively professional appropriate? Thanks!

 

[CBRGrl]

Thanks for posting CBRrl! I've been trying to work up the nerve just to call and schedule my file review because I am so nervous about it for some reason. I think I'm afraid they'll laugh at me or something! I have some specific questions I know I want to ask, but do you have any suggestions on things I should ask? Also, since I am being a freak about this, should one dress in interview attire, or is just looking nice and relatively professional appropriate? Thanks!

Dont be nervous! It's the BEST thing you could possibly do. No one will look down on you, if anything they admire you for coming in because it shows them you are committed to doing everything it takes to get in. It shows that you're determined to move forward and not afraid to address any concerns they have and conquor them. 🙂

I wrote out a list of specific questions before I went. I asked things like, what was my application's strongest and weakest point? What the one major flaw was and what the one shining strength was...things that would help me highlight my strengths (things to leave in for the next cycle) and things I could do to turn my weaknesses around (things I could work on before the next cycle). I asked what order the application is read in (ie what sections the adcoms see first, second, third)...I asked this so I could know what parts of the application had to be the strongest...not sure if it helped, but I figured the application was like a sales pitch and if I had to grab their attention in the first few pages, it would help knowing what pages they read first.

As for attire. Not sure if it helps, but I wore a pair of pressed khaki slacks and a nice button down shirt. I made sure to look clean and presentable but I didnt wear a suit or anything...

Any other questions, feel free to post or PM me!

 

[CBRGrl]

I am so glad you posted, CBRGrl! I have MANY similar stats to yours, so you not only totally ROCK for getting accepted to CSU, you also ROCK because you give me hope!

It'll probably take two tries for me as well (dammit!), so if I get rejected, I'll do the Plan B Master's (might as well, right?) I only have 3 choices of vet school (CSU, WSU, ISU) b/c I only have 1 semester of physics, and I won't take any more. Blech! And, if I read the WSU site correctly, I can't apply there this cycle b/c all pre-req's have to be finished by this Spring (not taking Biochem til Fall.) So, CSU and ISU are all I've got for this coming cycle. Hopin' for a miracle...

Congratulations to you!

Thanks LivestockDoc, your day will come! I definitely suggest Plan B, and if you go for it, get straight As in the first semester regardless. I have met a few people who have applied as a Plan B student but were not accepted because they didnt make a strong enough impression in their first semester. Good luck and keep posting!

 

[DocDVMD]

Do you guys still think it's worth it to get a file review if I'm OOS? Therefore it would be over the phone. Maybe I should just wait and see where I get in first!

 

[Shanomong]

I'll reiterate that this was my third time applying. I worked my butt off this past year to bring my application up to par as best I could.

Pandacinny, don't feel like you need to defend your acceptance just because of a lower GPA. The rest of your stats are awesome, you've worked VERY hard for this and you've put yourself through the application cycle 3 times, YOU DESERVE THIS!!! And congrats!!!!