Successful Applicant Stats Class of 2016

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Jamr0ckin, I am impressed by the the hard work you have put into getting into vet school. I am glad to see that this year was your year 🙂 Congratulations!
 
Virginger said:
Jamr0ckin, I am impressed by the the hard work you have put into getting into vet school. I am glad to see that this year was your year 🙂 Congratulations!
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Thank you so much! It has been a very long road to get to this place.
 
32 years old, 1st time applicant, very non traditional-I didn't graduate from high school, have my GED, started college at a community college at 26 then transferred to a university
SC resident

Undergrad from a small public university, got an A.B. in Biology (a classics degree, major in biology)
cumulative GPA 3.75
required course GPA (as calculated by LSU) 3.93
GRE: Verbal 610, Quantitative 440, Writing 3.5 (I didn't study for the GRE or take any practice tests and obviously should have)

Applied to UGA (contract), LSU (OOS), VMRCVM (OOS)
Waitlisted to UGA, LSU and initially waitlisted for an interview at VMRCVM
Interviewed at VMRCVM, received interview invite 4 days before interview!
Accepted to VMRCVM

650 hours small animal vet experience
400 hours large animal/zoo/wildlife husbandry animal experience

Countless work hours, mostly in coffee shops and retail shops. I was in retail management before going to school.

Activities: Peer counselor, TA for Comparative Anatomy Lab, Peer Academic Coach, Supplemental Instruction Leader for intro bio, member and secretary of Pre Vet Society, founding member of a private charitable giving society that has donated over $6000 since inception to various national, local and international charities

Awards: graduated cum laude, graduated in top 15% of class, received Academic Achievement Award from Biology Department for graduating with highest GPA of all transfer students in the department, member of Golden Key International Honour Society

eLOR's from Chair of Biology Department and 2 DVM's that I worked with, one the medical director of the hospital

My personal statement began with " I did not graduate from high school." It continued to explain why , and how I went from a high school drop out to finding my calling to pursue vet medicine. (While I am not at all ashamed of my past, it is a bit long, complicated and emotional for me to go into here. If any applicant reading this has a similar background and wants advice on their statement, feel free to PM me.) I continued by describing the work that I want to do as a vet and how involved I want to be in my community as a community leader and advocate for animal welfare.

That is all, really. I have no idea how I got in. All I can figure is that I interview really well. I am personable, friendly and able to talk to anyone, anywhere. That has got to be it.
 
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I have to say that everyone on here is so freaking impressive!
I used to be sad that I didn't know about SDN until February of this year. Actually if I had read this thread before I applied, I never would have had the guts to apply. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.
 
1st time applicant, 21 years old, female, MD, went to University of Delaware.

Applied: VMRCVM, Cornell, UPenn
Rejected: Cornell
Interviewed: UPenn, VMRCVM
Waitlisted: UPenn
Accepted: VMRCVM
Attending: VMRCVM 🙂 🙂

Cumulative GPA (at time of application): 3.831
Science GPA: ~3.8
Last 45: ~3.85
GRE: 550 verbal, 690 quant, 5.0 writing

Veterinary Experience
800 hours at a wild bird rehabilitation & oilspill center
200 hours at a small animal practice
15 hours shadowing an equine vet

Animal Experience
50 hours as a teaching assistant for animal anatomy
40 hours in a dairy production lab course
300 hours as a kennel hand
200 hours horse camp/riding/helping take care of horses at a barn
Countless hours of pet ownership/sitting 🙂 I've owned a lot of different pets! (I even had a praying mantis at one point....)

Research
240 hours doing nestling songbird diet research at the wild bird center

Honors
Dean's List every semester
Phi Kappa Phi
Honors Program
Emerald Scholar

Community activities
UD Synchronized Skating Team
Wildlife Society
Sigma Alpha

Employment:
Work at an ice rink as an ice guard & did cashiering

Recommendation Letters:
- 1 from the vet at the bird center
- 1 from another supervisor at the bird center
- 1 from the vet I took anatomy from/helped out as a teaching assitant for
- 1 from my academic adviser; wildlife biologist

Personal Statement
I double majored in Wildlife Conservation and Pre-Vet, and explained how double majoring really gave me a very developed perspective on the animal world and how I finally chose to pursue the more pre-vet route by relating it to an experience I had in Australia (study abroad) that taught me that I was more compassionate about individual cases rather that population studies (what wildlife is more geared around). I also talked about my experience at the wild bird center and my fascination with surgery.

I'm so so so excited for this fall!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 Congrats to everyone accepted, it's so wonderful that this long process is finally over!!!
 
First time applying, 21 year old male, VA, Virginia Tech

Applied: VMRCVM
Interviewed: VMRCVM
Waitlisted: n/a
Attending: VMRCVM

Honestly my family and I don't have enough money for me to even consider out-of-state schools, so it wasn't even an option I wanted to consider for my 1st year applying round.

Cumulative GPA (at time of application): 3.77
Science GPA and last 45: I honestly don't know, I'm sure it was above a 3.5 though
GRE: 610 verbal, 760 quant. I forget for the writing, but it was pretty average. Thankfully they don't put much weight into it, from what I hear.

Veterinary Experience: While I've interacted with vets during volunteer work/at my job, I've never shadowed a vet, so I didn't want to lie and put that down as veterinary experience when something clearly wasn't.

Animal Experience
300+ hours working in the Large Animal hospital at VMCRVM as husbandry staff (cleaning, lots of ****, literally lol)
50+ hours volunteering for a local SPCA back home
30+ hours volunteering at a recently opened Spay and Neuter clinic down here
Some various hours in my animal labs working on mostly husbandry techniques for food animals, but giving vaccines, etc looked nice enough to put down.

Other:
I served as a TA for an Animal Anatomy/Physiology class down here for a semester
I've been active in the LGBTA here as an officer the past two years. I figured putting it down might make me seem multidimensional/well-rounded? Idk.

Research: none. I was really afraid this was going to hurt me big-time.

Honors
Dean's List (3.4+) every semester
Some scholarships
Awarded for top 10% of my class at some point

Community activities
LGBTA mostly
Some other community service/volunteer work

Employment:
Part-time job at at the vet school (mentioned above) and working in a dining hall this semester

Recommendation Letters:
-1 from my academic advisor, genetist and long time professor here at VT
-1 from the professor/researcher that I TA'ed for, another long time professor
-1 from the supervisor of the Large Animal Hospital (although she turned it at like the last minute x_x)
-1 from a close friend (almost of 10 years) explaining my passion and personality, I had asked it as a back-up just in case the supervisor didn't turn it in on time, which would have been awful. I have no idea if they actually considered it or not.

Personal Statement
I explained how my passion from veterinary medicine and science evolved since middle school when my family adopted our dog. I explained how I worked hard in an academic program in high school so that I could earn enough college credits to graduate a year early in undergrad, since it was financially responsible if I wanted to go to veterinary school. I explained how I gained a variety of animal experiences and interactions after coming to college, and how hard I was working. I also explained how my opinion of the veterinary profession evolved over the years, trying to show that I understand what it takes (being able to put an animal down, long hours, etc).

Looking back, I'm sort of surprised I got in on my first try, especially since less people made it to the interview round in VA than in previous years. But on their site they state (I think) it's like 70% academics, 30% experience for the consideration, so I think having an above average GPA and a great GRE score (aside from writing, haha XD) really helped me out a lot. Not having any research/solid veterinary experience was bad, but focusing on academics and getting a variety of animal experience overall was good too. And then snagging a job at the vet school was pretty sweet.
 
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It's great to see so many of my future classmates on here. I can't wait to meet y'all!!!

Smilezz-did you interview on Friday at 1:30? I don't remember the group #. I think we met, unless there was more than one guy interviewing that currently works in the large animal hospital.
 
Hey! I actually interviewed Sat. at 8am (rough time lol). I stopped working in the large animal hospital at the beginning of last semester b/c of a busy class schedule, so I guess that was someone else. I actually didn't know of any other guy students that worked there while I was there, so I don't even know who that was, heh.
 
Yeah, I'll add my stats to this page too, just to give some hope to those who don't have the highest of grades.

BIO: First time applicant, resident of New York, 26 year old male, BA in Animal Science at time of application from University of Connecticut. It should also be noted that I had attended four other college previously and have a very spotty transcript at best. I've been in and out of college for nearly 8 years.

APPLIED: too many schools to remember, due to my crazy transcript and below average grades I wanted to give myself the best chance.

INTERVIEWED: Western, Kansas, Virginia-Maryland, Prince Edward Island, Royal Veterinary College, and Ross University

WAITLISTED: Royal Veterinary College (5 year program, they don't waitlist for 4 year)

ACCEPTED: Viriginia-Maryland, Prince Edward Island, and Ross University

ATTENDING: Virginia-Maryland

ACADEMIC INFORMATION:

Cumulative GPA (includes grades from all 5 colleges I attended NYU, Hofstra U, Nassau Community College, Empire State College, and UCONN): 3.295

Cumulative Science GPA: Around 3.5 (this is difficult to calculate, since every school will count different courses as "science" courses. Contacting each individual admissions office is the only way to be sure you are making a correct calculation)

Final 45 Credit Hour GPA: Approx 3.4

GRE Verbal 1st Attempt:570 (80th percentile)
GRE Math 1st Attempt: 680 (61st percentile)
GRE Analytical 1st Attemption: 4.0 (45th percentile)
GRE Verbal 2nd Attempt: 580 (82nd percentile)
GRE Math 2nd Attempt: 680 (66th percentile)
GRE Analytical 2nd Attempt: 5.0 (84th percentile)

Veterinary Experience:
1200+ hours as an assistant and technician at two small animal hospitals
400+ hours as a necropsy technician at the UCONN diagnostic lab
100+ hours as a student in a laboratory animal science course that culminated with the castration of a rat

Animal Experience:
75+ hours work in livestock facility at UCONN as part of an internship
50+ hours work in equine facility at UCONN at part of an internship
50+ hours work in dairy facility at UCONN as part of an internship
75+ hours work in poultry facility at UCON as part of an internship
50+ hours volunteer work at the Connecticut Audubon Society
I also wrote down that I owned many pets including cats, dog, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, and birds for my entire life. I did not include an hour amount since that would just be silly.

Research/Internships:
As listed above, I have an internship at the UCONN farms where I spent much time in all of the animal units. Additionally, I spent a semester working the necropsy lab as an intern before I begun working there. I was responsible for learning enough to write a research paper on forensic necropsies and their importance.

Employment: Just wrote that I either worked part-time or full-time throughout the majority of my long and extensive academic career.

LORs:
DVM/pathology resident with whom I worked at the pathology lab
DVM/pathologist/professor with who I worked at the pathology lab and was also my professor for anatomy and phsyiology
Professor of animal science/poultry extension specialist who taught my animal science course and was the principle investigator for my farm internship
DVM/Boss who headed the small animal hospital in which I worked for about two years; we were quite close during that time

Personal Statement: on this I really tried to explain my life before I had begun working in the veterinary field, after, and the effect it has had on my life and the choices that I make. In doing so, I believe it made expressed the passion I truly have for the field and the things that I believe I will do for it. I also justified all the time I spent before pursuing veterinary as a means of motivation instead of wasted time. I had to make all the bull**** I did into a positive by making the person reading see my perserverance rather than my faults. This is difficult to do in the amount of space you are given, but I believe I pulled it off rather well.

There is also another section on the application where you can essentially write whatever you; anything that you couldn't fit elsewhere on the application goes there. I used all 2000 characters, in order to explain why I attended so many university and the spottiness that they were going to say. I also explained some of the long term absences and periods of time without work/school as best I could. This section is very important and if you have something to say, do not hesitate to do so. That is what it is there for.

Conclusion:

Overall I am very pleased with the outcome of the whole veterinary school application situation. When I applied, I went in with absolutely no expectations due to my low grades and less than admirable transcript. However, I knew that if I could simply get my foot in the door for the interviews, I would really give myself a chance since I am a great talker. It turned out that my varied animal/veterinary experience and my above average GRE scores were enough to get some of the schools attentions. I think that the universities, at least the ones that gave me a shot, saw how hard I worked to get to this point, and for that they wanted to hear what I had to say. The best advise I can give anyone is to not count yourself out because you don't have a 4.0. High grades certainly help, but below average grades do not eliminate you from contention. It just means you need to work harder in all the other areas. Hope this was helpful, or even slightly inspirational, for anyone that cares to read this.
 
jmm09011 said:
Conclusion:

Overall I am very pleased with the outcome of the whole veterinary school application situation. When I applied, I went in with absolutely no expectations due to my low grades and less than admirable transcript. However, I knew that if I could simply get my foot in the door for the interviews, I would really give myself a chance since I am a great talker. It turned out that my varied animal/veterinary experience and my above average GRE scores were enough to get some of the schools attentions. I think that the universities, at least the ones that gave me a shot, saw how hard I worked to get to this point, and for that they wanted to hear what I had to say. The best advise I can give anyone is to not count yourself out because you don't have a 4.0. High grades certainly help, but below average grades do not eliminate you from contention. It just means you need to work harder in all the other areas. Hope this was helpful, or even slightly inspirational, for anyone that cares to read this.
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Thank-you for sharing jmm. Lately I have been feeling very discouraged, but I do not want to give up yet!
 
LeilaFay said:
Thank-you for sharing jmm. Lately I have been feeling very discouraged, but I do not want to give up yet!
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You'll get there!!! Don't feel discouraged, it will happen for you! I know the process is long and the journey can be difficult at times but your perseverance will pay off and you'll be so happy in end 🙂 chin up 🙂
 
Thanks Katie!

Joining this forum I think will help. Everyone is in the same boat and knows exactly how you feel. None of my other friends seem to understand! So far, this forum has brightened my spirits. 🙂
 
First time applicant, Colorado resident, 22 year old male. BSBA in Business Management and a BA in Integrated Sciences from the University of Denver.

I decided at the end of my junior year of college that I wanted to attend vet school, still managed to graduate in 4 years, and was accepted right out of undergrad without taking a year off.


Applied to: CSU, WSU, UPenn, Tufts, Ohio

Interviewed: Ohio, Tufts (turned down)

Wait listed: I was wait listed for the MBA dual degree program at CSU, but accepted into the regular DVM program.

Accepted: CSU, Ohio

Attending: CSU


Academics:

Cumulative GPA: 3.95

Cumulative Science GPA: 3.91

Final 45 Credit Hour GPA: 3.96

I only took the GRE once:
GRE Verbal: 660
GRE Math: 610
GRE Analytical 4.5

Veterinary Experience:
360 Small Animal
6 Large Animal
18 Zoo

Animal Experience:
40 Shelter Medicine
75 Pet sitting

Research/Internships:
I did not have any research or internship experience.

Employment: I worked 3200 hours at a doctor's office.

LORs:
DVM (CSU Alum) The vet I worked under for all 360 small animal hours.
DVM / Professor: (CSU Alum) A professor from DU that is also a veterinarian, I took his class and then continued to shadow under him.
Business Professor: A professor I had a long-term relationship with in DU's business school.

Personal Statement: Discussed discovering vet medicine late into my academic career, and how my business education will contribute to my success as a vet.




CSU was my first choice, and I was slightly surprised that I got in on my first try. Hope that my story shows people that you dont need thousands of hours, as long as you are a well rounded individual. I made it clear in my personal statement that as an undergrad my primary focus was on grades (as reflected in my GPA).
 
LeilaFay said:
Thank-you for sharing jmm. Lately I have been feeling very discouraged, but I do not want to give up yet!
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To add to this, I definitely failed classes (as in plural) when I was in community college (I posted my stats somewhere further back). So don't get discouraged, just learn from your mistakes. After my couple semesters of less than stellar grade (I was also going through some other issues but that was no excuse), I changed my study habits, got motivated and learned from my royal **** ups. Then after transferring to Davis I ended up with a 3.5 GPA. I guess what I'm saying is bad grades don't dictate your ability to get in as long as you learn and improve. And in all my interviews only one even brought up my poor grades (oddly enough Davis where I'm going), and I just explained the situation and showed them that I learned from the whole experience and that it taught me to be more organized and using a variety of study methods 😀.

Hope this helps those who were feeling a little down due to poor grades 👍
 
Congrats Poppy. I'm a Daniels graduate too and will be your classmate at CSU. BSBA FIRE '92. See ya there.
 
alaskandream said:
To add to this, I definitely failed classes (as in plural) when I was in community college (I posted my stats somewhere further back). So don't get discouraged, just learn from your mistakes. After my couple semesters of less than stellar grade (I was also going through some other issues but that was no excuse), I changed my study habits, got motivated and learned from my royal **** ups. Then after transferring to Davis I ended up with a 3.5 GPA. I guess what I'm saying is bad grades don't dictate your ability to get in as long as you learn and improve. And in all my interviews only one even brought up my poor grades (oddly enough Davis where I'm going), and I just explained the situation and showed them that I learned from the whole experience and that it taught me to be more organized and using a variety of study methods 😀.

Hope this helps those who were feeling a little down due to poor grades 👍
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Thanks for this alaskandream! I haven't failed any of my classes, but I certainly don't have the best grades.

Do interviewers take into consideration the number of hours you work just to live? There are only so many hours in a week and sometimes I need to sleep. =S
 
Applicant Stats
 2nd time applicant, 22 years old, female, California Resident

 1st Application:
 -Applied: Tufts, Davis, Cornell, UPenn
 -Rejected: Tufts, Davis, Cornell, UPenn

 2nd Application:
 -Applied: Edinburgh, RVC, Purdue, U of I, Tufts, UPenn, Davis, & Cornell
 -Interview: U of I, Davis, & Purdue
 -Waitlisted: Cornell
 -Rejected: Davis, UPenn, & Tufts
 -Accepted: Edinburgh, RVC-4 year, Purdue, U of I, Cornell
 -Attending: CORNELL!!!!!

 Academics
 Undergrad: Robert Morris University- Major: Biology Pre-med Minor: Business
 -Cum GPA: 3.89
 -Last 45 Credit Hrs: 3.96
 -Science GPA: 3.75
 -GRE: 1st application cycle: 430 V (43%), 600 Q (47%), 4.0 W (45%)
 -2nd application cycle: 420 V (41%), 730 Q (77%), 4.5 W (67%)
 -470 V (55%), 620 Q (52%), 4.0 W (45%)

 Veterinary Experience
 -140 Interning at Small Animal Hospital
 -190 Interning at Harness Racetracks
 -350 Interning at Private Horse Practice
 -600 working as a vet assistant at Small animal/Exotic Practice

 Animal Experience
 -600 Pet sitting/Dog Walking
 -25 Wildlife Volunteer
 -60 Exchange Student in Australia on Farm
 -300 Ranch Manager for many animals
 -520 Raising a Guide Dog
 -100 Zoo Counselor
 -2500 Riding/showing horses

 Other Employment
 -1700 working at restaurants
 -4000 Division 1 Volleyball Team

Extracurricular Activities
 -Volleyball- Division 1 team at Robert Morris, High School Volleyball, Basketball, Softball
 -Traveled to: Australia, all over Central America
 -Horseback riding/showing most of life

 Honors & Awards
 -Dean’s List every semester
 -Graduated Magna Cum Laude
 -President’s Award- Given to 1 person per major
 -Scholar Athlete Award every season
 -Almost full athletic scholarship for volleyball
 -Alpha Chi Member
 -Team GPA Award
 -NSCS Member
 -200% Community Service award
 -Many Volleyball/Beach Volleyball related awards
 -Many horseback riding awards

 Letters of Recommendation
-1 Organic Chemistry Professor
 -1 Cell & Molecular Biology Professor
 -2 Small Animal Veterinarians
-1 Large Animal Veterinarian

Personal Statement
 -I began with my experience at the racetrack (ethical dilemmas) then mentioned the work and time involved with playing a division one sport then finished with my qualifications for making a good veterinarian and specific experiences


 I’d like to point out my GRE was less than great, especially my first time taking it. I know how frustrating and stressful it can be if that is a real negative on your application. I retook it for my second application and received a 730 Quantitative(a 130 point improvement). I believe this along with an extra 600 veterinary hours made the difference between my two applications.
My advice for studying for the GRE is get a couple different practice books and study for an hour or two a day for as many weeks previous to the test as you can. For me, I got overwhelmed if I did more than that. Go cover to cover and understand why you got certain problems right or wrong. I focused on Quantitative because I knew that a small amount of studying could reflect a better score more quickly than if I had focused on Verbal. Another pointer is taking the test more than once. I took the last two tests two weeks apart and my scores were completely different. Sometimes it’s your mentality or outside factors that can influence your scores come test day. The first time I took it I just figured I was a horrid test taker and pretty much settled with that score. If you really want this, the GRE is something that can improve your application drastically just by studying for it. If you put in the time and effort you can really improve your scores no matter what you think.


I hope this helped some people because I know I poured over these to try to see some light after applying. Feel free to PM me about GRE questions or anything else. I never thought I’d attend the school that I’ve been dreaming about since high school but I am! Congrats to everyone else who have successfully been admitted and good luck to those of you who are still in the process!
 
alaskandream said:
To add to this, I definitely failed classes (as in plural) when I was in community college (I posted my stats somewhere further back). So don't get discouraged, just learn from your mistakes. After my couple semesters of less than stellar grade (I was also going through some other issues but that was no excuse), I changed my study habits, got motivated and learned from my royal **** ups. Then after transferring to Davis I ended up with a 3.5 GPA. I guess what I'm saying is bad grades don't dictate your ability to get in as long as you learn and improve. And in all my interviews only one even brought up my poor grades (oddly enough Davis where I'm going), and I just explained the situation and showed them that I learned from the whole experience and that it taught me to be more organized and using a variety of study methods 😀.

Hope this helps those who were feeling a little down due to poor grades 👍
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Hahaha Davis was the only one who asked me also about my "bad year." but obviously grades aren't everything. I ended up with 3.42 by the time I applied. But had a 3.7 45 gpa (I need to post my stats. Someday I will lol)
 
Thanks! Mainly it was because I received a volleyball scholarship but also because I wanted to experience an east coast school. I was originally going to attend Cornell for undergrad but things with the volleyball coach fell through and I was not admitted. I was also a business major initially and RMU had a good reputation for their business program
 
LeilaFay said:
Thanks for this alaskandream! I haven't failed any of my classes, but I certainly don't have the best grades.

Do interviewers take into consideration the number of hours you work just to live? There are only so many hours in a week and sometimes I need to sleep. =S
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Yea I think definitely a consideration. Most of the schools I interviewed at liked the fact that while at Davis I've had a heavy workload (18-23 quarter units for most quarters after I transferred) since it showed that I will be prepared for the even harder Vet School workload. I think working is the same idea, balancing lots of work, school or job, shows you can be prepared. Just make sure you improve those poor grade. Find better study habits, get more organized, etc... so eventually you can do work and school and get good grades.
 
TigerWillow said:
Hahaha Davis was the only one who asked me also about my "bad year." but obviously grades aren't everything. I ended up with 3.42 by the time I applied. But had a 3.7 45 gpa (I need to post my stats. Someday I will lol)
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Yea, my last 45 units was fairly solid and that was with lots of units, so improvement is a big deal I think.
 
Ah yes, and I was working full time when I improved my last 45! Haha sounds like AKD and I are fairly similar 🙂
 
1st time applicant
Maryland resident
Applied:V Tech, Ohio, Tenn, NC
Interview offers:V tech, Ohio, Tenn
Waitlisted: VTech, NC
Accepted: V tech from the waitlist, Ohio
Declined interview from Tenn


 Cum GPA: 3.75
Last 45: IDK
Science GPA: IDK
GRE: V 430, Q 600, A 5.0

Veterinary Experience:
96hrs- Worked with various DVM's at Marion DuPont Scott Equine Center as a career intern
1094hrs- Working with three DVM's at the small animal hospital I currently work at.
Animal Experience:
Crayfish research thru my college
Two equine farm jobs
Listed my experience from growing up on a farm

Employment:
Working at the small animal hospital
Manager at a frozen custard shop-- had good experience training fellow employees, handling money
Extracurriculars:
Played basketball and softball in college. Community service activities. Went back to high school years. My travel softball. My high school sports.
Awards:
Was dean's list almost every semester. Was in honor soceities-athletic and academic. Any award I had ever recieved I put down.
eLORS:
2 Doctors, 1 professor, 1 mentor, had a long-time softball coach on and she didn't submit in time

If your school offers any research, get it! Ohio loves research experience.. Interviewer kept asking questions about it.
 
Bridge1313 said:
1st time applicant
Maryland resident
Applied:V Tech, Ohio, Tenn, NC
Interview offers:V tech, Ohio, Tenn
Waitlisted: VTech, NC
Accepted: V tech from the waitlist, Ohio
Declined interview from Tenn
Cum GPA: 3.75
Last 45: IDK
Science GPA: IDK
GRE: V 430, Q 600, A 5.0

Veterinary Experience:
96hrs- Worked with various DVM's at Marion DuPont Scott Equine Center as a career intern
1094hrs- Working with three DVM's at the small animal hospital I currently work at.
Animal Experience:
Crayfish research thru my college
Two equine farm jobs
Listed my experience from growing up on a farm

Employment:
Working at the small animal hospital
Manager at a frozen custard shop-- had good experience training fellow employees, handling money
Extracurriculars:
Played basketball and softball in college. Community service activities. Went back to high school years. My travel softball. My high school sports.
Awards:
Was dean's list almost every semester. Was in honor soceities-athletic and academic. Any award I had ever recieved I put down.
eLORS:
2 Doctors, 1 professor, 1 mentor, had a long-time softball coach on and she didn't submit in time

If your school offers any research, get it! Ohio loves research experience.. Interviewer kept asking questions about it.
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Does this mean you'll be declining your OSU offer for VMRCVM? If so, 🙁
 
1st time applicant (Junior year) CT resident

Applied: Cornell, Penn, UF, VMRCVM, Mississippi State, Iowa State
Interviewd: All (except Cornell that doesn't interview and declined Miss State
Rejected: Penn, Iowa State
Wailisted: Cornell, UF, VMRCVM
Accepted/Attending : Cornell

GPA: 3.94 (don't remember the other ones- my science req GPA was 4.0)
GRE: Q 730 (77%) V 550 (75%) W: 4

Veterinary Experience:
450 hrs w. Equine clinic
300 hrs w. small animal clinic in NZ where I had an internship for 10 wks

Animal Experience:
Riding horses
Volunteering at animal shelter (all pretty typical things)
Farm animal experience w. classes

Extracurriculars:

Equestrian Team- Head of Social committee
Pre-Vet Club- Treasurer
TA for Introduction to Animal Science Lab
Resident Assistant- 2 yrs
Collegiate Horsemen's Assoc
Animal Welfare Society
NCSC

Awards:
Pres list- 2 sem
Dean's List- All others
In state tuition scholarship (i was OOS)
Honors College
Lumber Dealer's Assoc Scholarship

eLORs:
1 advisor for classes and living learning community I was an RA for, 1 vet from small animal practice in NZ, 1 vet from equine clinic that was a Cornell alum

Basically my advice to anyone on waitlists- If you show that you really want to attend their school and will go there given the chance you will be so much more likely to get that call...at least that's what I think helped get me in
 
NStarz said:
Does this mean you'll be declining your OSU offer for VMRCVM? If so, 🙁
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I second the 🙁 if that is the case. Does there seem to be an abnormally low number of people on here going to OSU, it seems like there are very few of us.
 
CanHardlyWait said:
I have to say that everyone on here is so freaking impressive!
I used to be sad that I didn't know about SDN until February of this year. Actually if I had read this thread before I applied, I never would have had the guts to apply. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.
Click to expand...

I found this site when I was putting the finishing touches on my application, aaaaannnddd it was the biggest source of stress in my life, ever. I'd call my mom on the verge of tears because I was so sure my stats were crap compared to everyone else's and I'd never get in (and to put this in some perspective: I'm a really low-stress person. This NEVER happens).

She'd start doing random checks, calling/IMing me to make sure I wasn't on here until after I'd submitted my app. Ignorance is definitely bliss sometimes :laugh:
 
21 year old, Female, 1st time applicant
Maryland resident
Applied: VMRCVM
Interview offers: VMRCVM
Waitlisted: ---
Accepted: VMRCVM!!!



Cum GPA: 3.51
Last 45: not positive, somewhere in the 3.6 area?
Science GPA: again not positive, I think around a 3.45
GRE: V 530, Q 610, A 4.0


Veterinary Experience:
1000 (it was probably more though, I kept it modest) - I worked for 6 years, part time at a Small Animal Hospital as a Vet Assistant
30 hours - also worked on an equine nutrition research study with a equine Vet and helped collect samples (aka poop) and took care of the horses

Employment:
Working at the small animal hospital
Ritas Italian Ice
Weekend Office Manager for my Church
Krislynn Atlantic Fitness Store
Community College of Baltimore County - Research Assistant/Intern (unpaid)

Extracurriculars:
Pre-Vet Club Vice President
Leadership 1016 Teaching Assistant - Peer Leader
Newman Catholic Campus Community
BARC Club - walking the MDL dogs at the Vet school
College of Science Dean's Leadership Council
Service Immersion Trip Leader
Mission Trip Leader
Member of the Residential Leadership Community
Member of the OLF Core Team


Honors/Awards:
Phi Sigma Biological Honor Society
Ken Allor Volunteerism Scholarship
Deans List/Honor Roll



eLORS:
1 Vet from the small animal clinic I worked at
1 Vet - from the equine nutrition study, she's also a PhD student at VMRCVM and their clinic nutrition resident
1 professor - I TAed for his class and he was my professor freshman year
1 researcher (PhD & shes a professor) - the lady I interned for at CCBC


I had a TON of various animal experience that I think helped flesh out my application. I also had a lot of research which I think made me stand out a bit more since i'm not top notch academically. I did my internship analyzing data from a nursing school tutoring program and how successful it was, I did the equine gut microflora study, and I did almost a years worth of ovarian cancer research. If you can find some I highly recommend getting involved in research! It's a lot of fun, you'll learn a lot and it will make your application look great!
 
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1st Time Applicant- 21 year old Female
Texas Resident
Applied: TAMU, VMRCVM, UPenn (combined PhD), CSU (Combined PhD), Cornell (Combined PhD), NCSU (combined PhD)
Combined Program Interviews: CSU, Cornell, NCSU
Rejected: UPenn, VMRCVM
Accepted: TAMU, CSU, Cornell, NCSU (COMBINED PROGRAM!!!!! WOOT WOOT!)


Cum GPA: 3.61
Last 45: around a 3.7
Science GPA: around a 3.7
GRE: V 650 (95%), Q 790 (90%-I think), A 4.5 (i think)

Veterinary Experience:
~1100 hours in high school working at a mixed practice clinic
~ 300 hours working vet checks for an animal rescue non-profit
- 14 hours assisting and observing a C-section and hernia repair on my mare

Employment/Animal Experience:
- Lived and worked on a Hanoverian farm for a year in college
- worked as a camp counselor/horseback instructor for a summer
- various jobs riding horses, cleaning stalls, and working as a groom
- calf research project(30 hours one summer)
- tutor
- TA for Intro Physics Lab

Extracurriculars:
- Phi Mu sorority
- Equestrian Team (captain)

Awards:
Deans list most semesters
Research Fellowship from my school
Travel award to go to a conference and present a poster

Research:
- 30 hours calf nutrition project
- 150 hours biomechanics project (most boring stuff ever!)
- 600 hours Biophysics Research ( I LOVE NITRIC OXIDE)

eLORS:
- Vet who I worked with through high school and has known me since I was born
- PI/Adviser
- English Professor
- Health Professions committee adviser
- PI on a biomechanics project
- Guy who got his PhD in my lab
- Animal science professor/PI for calf project
- I was reviewed by our health professions committee and received a ranking of High Confidence- they sent the letters as a packet, but some schools wouldn't take this and I had to then re ask for letters (it was a pain)

Personal statement focused on how I went from being the stereotypical I want to be a vet little girl to a serious adult who wanted to combine basic science research with a career in veterinary medicine. Looking back, it was pretty emotional, but our health professions adviser asked me to talk at a thing on effective personal statement writing and it worked.

I'm super excited/lucky/blessed! :laugh:
 
Alright, as embarrassing as my stats are, I want to post them to give hope to all you out there without the best grades! It's possible!!

2nd time applicant, 22 year old red-haired female. Michigan and Tennessee resident (will explain), undergrad at Michigan State

1st Round
Applied: Michigan State
Waitlisted Michigan State

2nd Round
Applied: Michigan State, Auburn, Georgia, Virginia-Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Illinois, Florida.
Rejected: Michigan State, Auburn, Georgia, Virginia-Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Illinois, Florida
Interviewed: Iowa State, Tennessee
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: Tennessee 😍

So my parents moved to Tennessee in the summer between rounds and I was able to establish residency there, which is how I believe I got in. I am so so lucky that happened. Everything happens for a reason

Grades
Cumulative GPA: 3.54
Science GPA: 3.46
Last 45 Credit GPA: 3.65
GRE: I took it six times. everything from 940 to my best which was 1160.

Veterinary Experience.
200 hours straight shadowing hours with 5 different vets
20 hours of a high school vet program after school
Pre-vet symposium in 2010 which included various lectures and labs with DVMs at Purdue

Animal Experience
6 years equestrianism (hunter-jumper)
2000 hours in the kennel attached to a vet clinic, included medications, assisting techs and overnight observation of patients
40 hours in a zoo internship, about 10 hours of vet shadowing there. mostly animal care shadowing
20 hours cat sanctuary volunteer (i stopped due to persistent ringworm)
2 semesters of little international livestock show, dairy and beef
1 semester dog behavior internship at doggie day care
200 hours of subsequent hiring by doggie day care as a day care staff, learned TONS of dog behavior stuff which i used a lot in my iowa interview

LORS
DVM from vet clinic i've known for six years. great great woman
Undergraduate advisor whom i've very close with
Dog handler/trainer from doggie day care (boss)

I had another DVM the first round. It turns out she did not write me a flattering eLOR and then in mid-september of this cycle, emailed me that she didnt want to write me again and didnt know me well enough. I've known her for six years. It wasn't fun. luckily I called my boss from the dog center and she was more than willing. IMPORTANT: have people who will cheer for you to write the letter! dont settle, make sure they LOVE you!

Personal Statement
This cycle I had alot of fun with it. I'm a very creative writer and was all about english classes in high school. I made it more a narrative, novel-ish and fun to read. In my UT interview, one interviewer kept reading it and saying how much fun it was. I detailed my first experiences shadowing in surgery and passing out flat and how determined I am to keep going and try try again! (I've held flashlights for the vets in power-outages, driven 2 miles for 40 mins in a blizzard to shadow and yes eventually didn't keep passing out. it's that damn first cut)

Overall

I cannot stress how much determination has helped me. Its been a very rough road. I thought I was a shoo-in originally (i was naive) and was crushed when my best friend got in without me. We did everything together and I really have never been so close to someone before, she's like my other half (still is 🙂 ) I also had both grandmothers pass away that semester, my parents move out of state, my boyfriend get a job out of state and my roommate ditch me so i've been living with a random girl from the internet who dropped out of college as soon as the lease was signed. I'm very glad to have this process over. I decided that I would do anything to be a vet so I applied to ten schools and never looked back. I took each rejection in stride and kept positive as possible. I'm thrilled to be going to UT. I never in a million years thought I'd be there but my parents moved, I got in-state and presto! Everything happens in a weird way and things will always work out if you try hard enough and keep an open mind.

THANKS SDN! I discovered you randomly through a classmate (Hi Allie!!) and it's been a life-source for this round. I wish I could tell all pre-vetters about this!! Good luck to all futuer applicants, look at my grades then see where I am (IN VET SCHOOL!! 🙂 ) YOU CAN DO IT!! Don't give up! 😍
 
cshep09 said:
Alright, as embarrassing as my stats are, I want to post them to give hope to all you out there without the best grades! It's possible!!

2nd time applicant, 22 year old red-haired female. Michigan and Tennessee resident (will explain), undergrad at Michigan State

1st Round
Applied: Michigan State
Waitlisted Michigan State

2nd Round
Applied: Michigan State, Auburn, Georgia, Virginia-Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Illinois, Florida.
Rejected: Michigan State, Auburn, Georgia, Virginia-Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Illinois, Florida
Interviewed: Iowa State, Tennessee
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: Tennessee 😍

So my parents moved to Tennessee in the summer between rounds and I was able to establish residency there, which is how I believe I got in. I am so so lucky that happened. Everything happens for a reason

Grades
Cumulative GPA: 3.54
Science GPA: 3.46
Last 45 Credit GPA: 3.65
GRE: I took it six times. everything from 940 to my best which was 1160.

Veterinary Experience.
200 hours straight shadowing hours with 5 different vets
20 hours of a high school vet program after school
Pre-vet symposium in 2010 which included various lectures and labs with DVMs at Purdue

Animal Experience
6 years equestrianism (hunter-jumper)
2000 hours in the kennel attached to a vet clinic, included medications, assisting techs and overnight observation of patients
40 hours in a zoo internship, about 10 hours of vet shadowing there. mostly animal care shadowing
20 hours cat sanctuary volunteer (i stopped due to persistent ringworm)
2 semesters of little international livestock show, dairy and beef
1 semester dog behavior internship at doggie day care
200 hours of subsequent hiring by doggie day care as a day care staff, learned TONS of dog behavior stuff which i used a lot in my iowa interview

LORS
DVM from vet clinic i've known for six years. great great woman
Undergraduate advisor whom i've very close with
Dog handler/trainer from doggie day care (boss)

I had another DVM the first round. It turns out she did not write me a flattering eLOR and then in mid-september of this cycle, emailed me that she didnt want to write me again and didnt know me well enough. I've known her for six years. It wasn't fun. luckily I called my boss from the dog center and she was more than willing. IMPORTANT: have people who will cheer for you to write the letter! dont settle, make sure they LOVE you!

Personal Statement
This cycle I had alot of fun with it. I'm a very creative writer and was all about english classes in high school. I made it more a narrative, novel-ish and fun to read. In my UT interview, one interviewer kept reading it and saying how much fun it was. I detailed my first experiences shadowing in surgery and passing out flat and how determined I am to keep going and try try again! (I've held flashlights for the vets in power-outages, driven 2 miles for 40 mins in a blizzard to shadow and yes eventually didn't keep passing out. it's that damn first cut)

Overall

I cannot stress how much determination has helped me. Its been a very rough road. I thought I was a shoo-in originally (i was naive) and was crushed when my best friend got in without me. We did everything together and I really have never been so close to someone before, she's like my other half (still is 🙂 ) I also had both grandmothers pass away that semester, my parents move out of state, my boyfriend get a job out of state and my roommate ditch me so i've been living with a random girl from the internet who dropped out of college as soon as the lease was signed. I'm very glad to have this process over. I decided that I would do anything to be a vet so I applied to ten schools and never looked back. I took each rejection in stride and kept positive as possible. I'm thrilled to be going to UT. I never in a million years thought I'd be there but my parents moved, I got in-state and presto! Everything happens in a weird way and things will always work out if you try hard enough and keep an open mind.

THANKS SDN! I discovered you randomly through a classmate (Hi Allie!!) and it's been a life-source for this round. I wish I could tell all pre-vetters about this!! Good luck to all futuer applicants, look at my grades then see where I am (IN VET SCHOOL!! 🙂 ) YOU CAN DO IT!! Don't give up! 😍
Click to expand...


Super excited to have you as a classmate!
 
I got accepted/chose my school a while ago, but I thought I'd go ahead and share my stats to help anyone out who might be applying to the same schools I did.

General Stats:
1st time applicant, 22 y/o Female
Oklahoma Resident
Applied: Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Mizzou
Interviewed at: OK State, Mizzou (Oregon St. doesn't do OOS interviews)
Accepted at: OSU, MU, OSU

At time of VMCAS application:
Cum. GPA: 3.708
Science GPA: 3.702
Last 45hrs GPA: 3.782
(old) GRE:
Verbal - 590 (84th percentile)
Quantitative - 620 (49th percentile)
Writing - 4.5 (72nd percentile)

Veterinary Experience:
380 hours as a kennel tech at a mixed animal practice (mostly SA, however)
315 hours shadowing at a small animal clinic
40 hours at OK State's vet teaching hospital as a pre-vet intern (I did a different rotation each week)
~50 hours observing vet procedures at the Tulsa Zoo (I mostly worked with keepers; shadowing the vet wasn't why I was there but I still got to see a lot of vet stuff)
25 hours at Elephant Nature Park in Thailand - I was actually taught how to do various things (like apply compresses, give eye drops, etc.) and was trusted to go around on my own each day and give different elephants their necessary treatments

Animal Experience:
550 hours as a zooteen/zookeeper intern at the Tulsa Zoo
500 hours over the course of my major doing wildlife-related stuff (trapping, mist netting, banding birds, transects, point counts, radio transmitter stuff, you name it)
90 hours as a volunteer at Elephant Nature Park doing non-vet stuff
Thousands of hours as a pet owner - dogs, fish, a chinchilla, a degu, chameleons, an iguana, euromastyx, etc...

Research:
I actually don't think I included any research hours in my VMCAS. I've never done any veterinary research, but I have done several things with my major (Greater Prairie Chicken Surveys, Track Plate Research, etc.), but I can't remember if I ever mentioned it.

Club Activities
OSU Wildlife Society - Historian/Webmaster
OSU Pre-Vet Club
Audubon Society
Other clubs and societies that I've joined but didn't figure prominently into my application

Honors and Awards:
Dean's/President's Honor Roll every semester
Several different scholarships from my department/college
Transfer student scholarship

Letters of Recommendation:
- DVM from a small animal clinic whom I shadowed for two summers
- My adviser, who also happens to have been my professor for two different classes
- Another professor who I've had for two classes and who is the president of the Audubon Society (which I'm a member of)

Personal Statement
I LOVED my personal statement. I talked about an experience I had in Thailand working with an elephant I had to give eye drops to (her name was Jokia and she had an eye infection in each eye). She saw me coming and shut her eyes tight, and I couldn't figure out how to give her the eye drops. I was stumped until her mahout jumped off the fence he'd been sitting on, and her eyes popped open at the sound of him hitting the ground. After she'd assessed that everything was okay, she closed her eyes tightly again, so I readied the syringe full of eye drops and jumped as loudly as I could. As soon as her eyes popped open she was met with a syringe full of eye drops! Basically, I felt really awesome after this experience because it was the first time I really used my intuition with animals in a veterinary setting, and I developed my PS from there. I also ended the PS by saying that, sadly, I later found out that Jokia went blind due to her eye infections, but the experience I had with her will be with me for a lifetime.

Anyway, I know that I had somewhat competitive grades/GRE scores, but I really feel like the various experiences I've had, along with my personal statement, really went a long way in helping me get accepted at all the schools I applied for. Of course I don't know that for sure, but I definitely was the most proud of those overall.
 
First time applicant, Michigan resident, female
Graduating in May with B.A. in Biology (minor in Psychology) from Albion College (small, private, liberal arts college in MI)

Applied: Michigan State, Missouri, Auburn, Minnesota, Purdue, Washington State, Illinois
Interview offers: Missouri, Auburn, Minnesota
Rejection: Purdue, Washington State, Illinois, Minnesota (after interview), Michigan State (doesn't interview...still waited 'til March to tell me...)
Waitlisted: Auburn, Missouri
Accepted: Missouri (off the waitlist, April 16)!!!
Attending: Missouri!!!

My GPA and hours have increased since applying, but since this is about helping people know what they need to get in, I'm putting my info as of the time of application

Cum GPA: 3.69
Last 45 credit hrs: 3.65 (ish I think)
Science GPA: ~3.48/3.5 (but this was what I calculated off the requirements for my IS and I think Missouri has different science requirements so it might have been different for them..)
GRE: 1st round: 590(84%) Verbal, 630 (53%) Quantitative, 4.0(48%) Writing 2nd: 560 (77%) Verbal, 720 (74%) Quantitative, 3.0 (11%) Writing (UGH horrible hah) I took the second one a month or so after the 1st and focused on the math portion since that is easiest to improve (which I did...though the rest went down a bit hah whoops..)

Veterinary Experience:
- 7 hours unpaid shadowing small animal vet (it was just one day, but hey it was technically vet experience so I put it!)

-326 hours paid vet assistant at a small animal (dogs and cats only) hospital - got to do a lot of the tech stuff (vaccinations etc. as well as reception stuff. It's a very small hospital with just one Vet and usually only one other person working (me when I was there) so I got to see/do a lot and observed surgeries as well!

Animal Experience:
- ~ 414 hours volunteering at a local cat shelter this was over around 8 or 9 years but it was only 1 or 2 hours a week and then periodic (when home for breaks/weekends etc.) after I moved to college so even though the hours are fairly low I think it might of been a positive showing dedication since it still was part of my life (still is really) for a long time

~80 hours pet sitting for friends, family and neighbors (included cats, dogs, fish, hamsters)

Employment:
Those mentioned above (paid vet job, and pet sitting)
Dairy Queen every summer Senior year of HS - present
Babysitting (regularly in HS)

Extracurriculars:
College:
Kappa Delta Sorority
Habitat for Humanity (couple hours)
Prevent Child Abuse America fundraisers
Work with Girl Scouts
Union Board for a year (puts on free fun events for the school)
High school:
Many different orchestra groups
Violin Lessons
Volunteer tutor
Volunteered at concession stands to raise money for my class's graduation party


eLORS:
- Vet from my paid job
- Psychology professor I'd taken 2 classes with and done well in and I was confident he'd write me a good letter
-My academic advisor (biology professor) and I was in my 2nd class with her at the time the app was due

Awards and Honors:
-Deans list almost every semester (technically had the GPA minimum every semester)
-Several academic/honor fraternities, such as Beta Beta Beta, Psi Chi, Gamma Sigma Alpha, and Alpha Lambda Delta
-And then basically every award I ever got in HS, for orchestra, academic letter, etc.

I don't think my personal statement was very good. Especially after hearing more about what other people wrote and what you're not supposed to write (don't restate your app etc.) I think I definitely dropped the ball on that one. Luckily it didn't totally ruin my chances! hah

So I just wanted to post my stats because I felt like when I was looking if people had fairly low Vet (even animal) hours like I feel I have, they had super high GPAs (3.9+ etc) and if they had lower GPAs then me they had tons of good hours/experiences. I also didn't have much (any) large animal experience or anything but small animal so I was worried I wasn't going to be very competitive, but apparently you can still do it!

It was super stressful being on the wait list and not knowing for sure, but it feels SO good when it finally happens, and remember it only takes one!
I know technically I'm a first time applicant but since I was stuck in wait list land for a couple months feeling like I wasn't getting in this year, I had to think about the reality of having to reapply again. That was not a great feeling, but if this is really what you want and what you're passionate about don't give up!! You can do it!!
 
First time applicant, Texas resident, 24 years old, female
Graduated from Texas A&M University in 2010 with a BS in Biomed/Wildlife Sciences
Graduating from The University of Texas School of Public Health in May 2012 with an MPH in Epidemiology

Applied: Texas A&M University
Interview offers: Texas A&M University
Accepted: Texas A&M University
Attending: I wonder??? 🙄 Texas A&M University!

Grades at time of application--
Cum GPA: 3.81 (included 1st Year of MPH)
Last 45 credit hrs: 3.89 (included 1st Year of MPH)
Science GPA: 3.52 (included 1st Year of MPH)
GRE: 800 V, 650 Q, 5 W

Rigor: High? I guess, lol.

Veterinary Experience:
- 450 hours in wildlife medicine (shadowing)
- 610 hours in large animal + equine (shadowing during the summers)
- 2430 hours in small animal (shadowing/employment since I was 15 years old)
- 56 hours in emergency medicine (employment)
- 100 hours in exotic medicine (employment)
- 32 hours collecting brain stem samples from (dead) White-tailed deer in a study on Chronic Wasting Disease prevalence in Brazos County (where my love for Epi was born!)

Animal Experience (only listed a few!):
- 300 hours cat fostering
- 730 hours reptile sanctuary volunteer (over four years during undergrad)
- 100 hours of pet ownership (limited by TMDSAS--but really in the tens of thousands! I've owned horses, reptiles, dogs, cats, pocket pets, and birds since forever)
-1100 hours at a cattle ranch
-250 hours at horse stables

Employment (non-vet):
Science/Math tutor for student athletes at A&M
After-school mentor for underprivileged elementary students

Extracurriculars (TMDSAS only counts college):
Aggies for Animal Rescue club
Texas A&M Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society
Society for Conservation Biology
TAMU Pre-Vet Society

Awards and Honors (only college again):
-Dean's List or President's List every semester
-Couple of scholarships here and there
-Phi Eta Sigma member all 4 years

eLORS:
-Mixed animal vet that I shadowed for 3 years
-Volunteer leader (RVT)
-Professor/Vet that I worked with for 2 years

As far as my personal statement--I just wrote about my love for veterinary medicine and how I envisioned my future contributions to the field, especially in the realm of public health. Nothing very fancy or heart-wrenching or the like, lol. I feel very grateful and lucky to have been accepted. I knew my grades were solid, but I felt like I was going to completely bomb the interview portion. I guess I did better than I thought. Congrats to all the other acceptances! 🙂
 
I'll post my stats just because looking through here I feel so unusual. I'm non-traditional and my animal experience is extremely minimal compared to almost everybody here. I'm also going to an out of state school after getting turned down by my in-state school. I guess it just goes to show that different schools look for different things - don't worry if you aren't a typical applicant.

First time applicant, Texas resident, male
Undergrad: Rice University - Computer Science.
Post-bacc non-degree work at University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas Community College, and Dallas Baptist. Basically wherever I could get classes I needed

Applied: Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, LSU, Auburn
Interview offers: Texas A&M
Wait-List: LSU, Oklahoma State
Accepted: Oklahoma State

Cum GPA: 3.45 as calculated in state, 3.6ish elsewhere. (dang B+'s getting downgraded to B's)
Last 45 credit hrs: 3.8
Science GPA: 3.5ish, don't feel like looking it up
GRE: 660 V, 740 Q, 4 W

Veterinary Experience:
- 60 hours shadowing my vet at a small animal clinic
- 16 hours shadowing a small animal dermatologist
- 8 hours shadowing at internal medicine specialist

Animal Experience
- 100 hours of pet ownership
- 20 hours Humane Society

Employment:I listed everything just for diversity, even if it was a long time ago
Basketball Coach - Paid Summer camps during college, paid select team assistant some summers
Middle School Basketball Referee
Teaching Assistant - various computer science classes during undergrad
Motorla, HP, Coremetrics, IBM (still working here ... even during my post-bacc work.) - full time programming jobs after graduating

eLORS:
- Small Animal vet I shadowed
- Professor
- Co-worker

Personal Statement: I walked through my decision to change careers, from the impetus for the decision to the doubts and fears I had to confront about it. I just tried to be as honest and genuine as possible.

Congrats to everyone, especially my fellow non-traditionals!
 
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Guys, I never thought I'd get to post on this thread. I am posting to give hope to some other applicants with lower stats, because frankly my GPA is abysmal, and I just got accepted on my 3rd year of trying, off the waitlist. Most of you on here know me as I've been around for a while, but for the newbies and for people with lower stats - don't lose heart.

Third time applicant, female, 26 years, MA resident (sort of). Grew up in NJ, went to undergrad in Indiana, lived in KY for a minute, back to NJ, moved to OH for 4 years for pre-reqs, just moved to MA last August.
Educational background: Graduated with a BA in English (journalism minor) in 2007. Took prereqs in Ohio for 4 years, plus one online through another school. Currently taking additional classes in MA to round out application.

Applied: (this time) Tufts, Oklahoma, Ohio, Purdue, UPenn, Washington State, VMRCVM, Illinois
Interviewed: Tufts. (3rd year in a row - Purdue interviewed me last year, flat-out rejected this year)
Rejected: Ohio, Purdue, UPenn, Washington State, VMRCVM, Illinois
Waitlisted: Tufts, Oklahoma
Accepted: Oklahoma

Cum GPA: 3.2 If I'm lucky. No, seriously. It might actually be a 3.12 or something.
Last 45 credit hrs: Also something like 3.2
Science GPA: 3.2 ish
GRE: 710 V, 610 Q, not sure what my W was

Veterinary Experience:
-~1000hrs small animal (including some exotics) as a tech in MA
-5000 hrs small animal as a tech in OH
-200 hours SA shadowing
-100hrs equine at a large clinic (shadowing)
-300hrs equine/LA (employed) in Indiana and Ohio

Animal Experience
- 1000's of hours of equine experience, ranging from barn managing, riding instructor, barn hand, etc, in addition to horse ownership
- 300hrs pet sitting (primarily dogs and cats)
- varied other tidbits (working a petting farm/pony ride business, helping my equine vet with his cows, etc)

Employment: Oh, so many things!
-Stable hand (many times)
-Riding instructor, barn manager, lesson coordinator
-Editorial intern at the Thoroughbred Times
-sales at The Limited
-admin assistant at Breyer (yes, the model horses)
-college phone-a-thon caller
-college newspaper writer/editor
-waitress
-vet tech

Extras:
- volunteering at handicapped riding centers; 1 in NJ, 1 in IN, 1 in MA
- won the Anna Eves award in English in 2007
- CHA certified riding instructor
- rode on my college equestrian team
- managed my college's entirely student-run equestrian program

eLORS:
- VP of my undergrad institution
- professor for Endocrinology, who was also my TA in Parasitology
- equine vet I worked for in college
- SA vet in worked for in OH for 4 years
- other SA vet in OH
-*bonus letter from vet I currently work with who wrote an extra letter to the institution she graduated from

Personal Statement/other essays:
Mostly I think I focused on how my diverse background and circuitous path to vet school made me a good candidate. Also, I included an embarrassing childhood story in one of my essays for Tufts - while I didn't get in, it did come up in my interview and made for some great conversation!

Moral of the story: My GPA basically excluded me from most of the schools in the US. I played around as an undergrad, didn't ever prioritize my schoolwork over things like work and the barn (usually the same thing), and have had to fight tooth and nail to even be considered. However, my tenacity and passion opened a lot of doors. I was able to work with incredible mentors, gain great experience, and I had some of the best eLOR writers a girl could ever ask for. My motto remains: Fight for it.
 
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I bet it feels INCREDIBLE to post here after all you've been through! Sincere congratulations! You deserve it!:bow:
 
That's absolutely awesome! Congratulations!!!!
 
Congrats whyevernot! If you're taking your horse, send me a message and I'll give you low-down on all the barns from my UG experience 🙂
 
Your stats are amazing WEN!! I also had a non-science Bachelors, but you show that there is so much more to being a vet student I am so happy for you!!!!
 
Whyevernot55 said:
Guys, I never thought I'd get to post on this thread. I am posting to give hope to some other applicants with lower stats, because frankly my GPA is abysmal, and I just got accepted on my 3rd year of trying, off the waitlist. Most of you on here know me as I've been around for a while, but for the newbies and for people with lower stats - don't lose heart.

Third time applicant, female, 26 years, MA resident (sort of). Grew up in NJ, went to undergrad in Indiana, lived in KY for a minute, back to NJ, moved to OH for 4 years for pre-reqs, just moved to MA last August.
Educational background: Graduated with a BA in English (journalism minor) in 2007. Took prereqs in Ohio for 4 years, plus one online through another school. Currently taking additional classes in MA to round out application.

Applied: (this time) Tufts, Oklahoma, Ohio, Purdue, UPenn, Washington State, VMRCVM, Illinois
Interviewed: Tufts. (3rd year in a row - Purdue interviewed me last year, flat-out rejected this year)
Rejected: Ohio, Purdue, UPenn, Washington State, VMRCVM, Illinois
Waitlisted: Tufts, Oklahoma
Accepted: Oklahoma

Cum GPA: 3.2 If I'm lucky. No, seriously. It might actually be a 3.12 or something.
Last 45 credit hrs: Also something like 3.2
Science GPA: 3.2 ish
GRE: 710 V, 610 Q, not sure what my W was

Veterinary Experience:
-~1000hrs small animal (including some exotics) as a tech in MA
-5000 hrs small animal as a tech in OH
-200 hours SA shadowing
-100hrs equine at a large clinic (shadowing)
-300hrs equine/LA (employed) in Indiana and Ohio

Animal Experience
- 1000's of hours of equine experience, ranging from barn managing, riding instructor, barn hand, etc, in addition to horse ownership
- 300hrs pet sitting (primarily dogs and cats)
- varied other tidbits (working a petting farm/pony ride business, helping my equine vet with his cows, etc)

Employment: Oh, so many things!
-Stable hand (many times)
-Riding instructor, barn manager, lesson coordinator
-Editorial intern at the Thoroughbred Times
-sales at The Limited
-admin assistant at Breyer (yes, the model horses)
-college phone-a-thon caller
-college newspaper writer/editor
-waitress
-vet tech

Extras:
- volunteering at handicapped riding centers; 1 in NJ, 1 in IN, 1 in MA
- won the Anna Eves award in English in 2007
- CHA certified riding instructor
- rode on my college equestrian team
- managed my college's entirely student-run equestrian program

eLORS:
- VP of my undergrad institution
- professor for Endocrinology, who was also my TA in Parasitology
- equine vet I worked for in college
- SA vet in worked for in OH for 4 years
- other SA vet in OH
-*bonus letter from vet I currently work with who wrote an extra letter to the institution she graduated from

Personal Statement/other essays:
Mostly I think I focused on how my diverse background and circuitous path to vet school made me a good candidate. Also, I included an embarrassing childhood story in one of my essays for Tufts - while I didn't get in, it did come up in my interview and made for some great conversation!

Moral of the story: My GPA basically excluded me from most of the schools in the US. I played around as an undergrad, didn't ever prioritize my schoolwork over things like work and the barn (usually the same thing), and have had to fight tooth and nail to even be considered. However, my tenacity and passion opened a lot of doors. I was able to work with incredible mentors, gain great experience, and I had some of the best eLOR writers a girl could ever ask for. My motto remains: Fight for it.
Click to expand...

Congrats!
 
Way to go WhyEverNot! Wish you would have gotten into Ohio and joined are class, but super happy for you getting into Oklahoma, that is great! Congratulations!
 
Third time applicant, male, 25 years old, Upstate NY resident...I guess non-trad

Education: B.S. in Biochemistry 2010, M.S. in Immunology 2012

1st Application Fall '09
Applied: Oklahoma State, THE Ohio State, Purdue, Iowa State, Cornell, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Michigan State
Interviewed: Iowa State, Mississippi State
Rejected: Cornell, The OSU, Purdue, Minn
Waitlisted: Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Michigan State
Accepted: Oklahoma State( off waitlist, but had to decline due to family and personal circumstances)

2nd Application Fall '10
Applied: Cornell, Kansas State, Michigan State, Oklahoma State
Interviewed: Kansas State
Rejected: Cornell
Waitlisted: Kansas St., Michigan State, OK State
Accepted: None

3rd Time Fall '11:
Applied: Cornell, The OSU, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Iowa State, Tufts, UPenn, U Illinois, Edinburgh, St. George's, Ross
Interviewed: Kansas St., Mississippi State, Ross, St. George's, Iowa State
Rejected: Cornell, UPenn, U Illinois, Tufts
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: Kansas State, Mississippi State, Ross, St. George's, Edinburgh

Cum GPA B.S.: ~3.61
Science GPA:~3.5
GRE #1: 710Q, 510V, 6.0W GRE #2: 730Q, 600V, 6.0W

M.S. GPA: 3.74

Veterinary Experience:
~5000 in a small animal clinic ( worked throughout high school and first part of college: Exposure to Wildlife and Exotics regularly)
~300 in Humane Association
~2000 in a cat clinic
~150 in Bovine/LA clinic in upstate NY
~2000 equine in western NY

Animal/ Research Experience
-College research for B.S. Thesis on zebrafish( ~1000s of hrs)
-Instructor and stable hand a hippotherapy camp for children with autism/ ASD
-Intern at zoo in central NY
-volunteer at Humane Society
-volunteer at wildlife rehabilitation center( a lot of work with raptors)
-Research for Masters thesis (a lot of mousework: C57BL/6 and BALB/c strains, IL-6 KOs, CCR7 KOs) several thousands of hours...kind of trying to forget how many late nights I spent in a lab, flow cytometry core, or animal facility


Employment:
-Army Reserves- 68W
-Small Animal clinic- veterinary assistant/ animal caretaker
-Equine clinic- veterinary assistant
-Medical Insurance company that will not be named- financial analyst
-Library Assistant in college( work study)
-Chemical Stock room assistant

Extras:
-Lacrosse Club
-Wrestling Club

in the process of trying to apply for the Army HPSP Scholarship next year....will continue in the reserves for the meantime, as it supplies some money for me each month


LORS:
- Research Mentor in Undergrad(1st & 2nd app Cornell all 3)
-Chair of Biology Dept. Undergrad(1st app...Cornell all 3)
-Research Mentor for M.S. Thesis(3 app)
-SA DVM( All applications)
-SA DVM #2( All apps)
-Equine DVM (2nd& 3rd Apps)

Just be yourself in your PS and on interviews, but try to figure that one thing about yourself that makes you stand out. Peacock that around if you can. really accentuate your positives. If your didn't do well academically, explain yourself, but don't forgive your mistakes or blame others. I went through several personal circumstances, my sister had a life threatening illness, my mother had cancer at the same time. I was a mess, and it affected me and my decisions. I took 2 years off of undergrad, and then when I went back I took no less than 18 credit hours a semester. I also worked during this time and later had reserve duties. I furthered my education and prepared myself for the worst; hoping for the best. I had several backup plans lined up in case I didn't get in( my third time was my last shot...I decided that if I din't get in, I'd look for another career that made me happy....probably not as much as being a vet, but one that would give me great opportunities in life to broaden and challenge myself intellectually and personally .


If you really want it, you'll find a way to achieve it that suits you personally, professionally and financially. Debt is a big problem that people need to be aware of, so be smart about applications and your ability to attend. Make sure this profession is truly your passion in life. Delayed gratification in terms of multiple application/ application cycles isn't ideal, but it proves your resilience and commitment to the profession and feels damn good when you finally do get that acceptance, whether that be a foreign, US, or caribbean school. Man, am I tired...and probably not making sense anymore. Good luck everyone
 
Thanks for sharing your story OneHealthDVM. I think it helps those of us who are still trying and that perseverance can get you a golden ticket 😉
 
23 years old, female, third application, AZ resident

1st cycle:
Applied: Washington State, CSU, UCDavis, Western
Rejected: Washington State, CSU and UCDavis
Interviewed: Washington and Western
Waitlisted: Western (no ranking)

2nd cycle:
Applied: KSU, Ohio State, Western, Mississippi State, Iowa State, and University of Illinois
Rejected: KSU, Ohio, Western, Iowa State and University of Illinois
Interviewed: KSU, Western and Mississippi State
Waitlisted: Mississippi State (would not tell ranking)

3rd Cycle:
Applied: KSU, Mississippi State, Iowa State, UPenn, Washington State, University of Edinburgh, and University of Missouri
Rejected: KSU, Mississippi State, UPenn, and Unviersity of Missouri
Interviewed: KSU, Washington State and Iowa State
Waitlisted: Washington State (no ranks) and Iowa State (will know rank after March 30th)
Accepted: University of Edinburgh
Attending: Edinburgh :woot:

Academics:
Graduated with a B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in zoology and a Chemistry Minor in May 2010
Cumulative GPA: 3.47
Science GPA: 3.3-3.4 depending on the school
Last 45th: I forgot… somewhere around a 3.6-3.7
GRE: 1st test (7/2007): V: 360, Q: 640, AW: 4.5
2nd test (8/2009): V: 430, Q: 710, AW: 4.5
3rd test (9/2010): V: 480, Q: 650, AW: 4.0
The best test would be 1130 and looking at best section would be an 1190. The verbal section and I had a mutual hatred of each other. :slap:

Veterinary Experience
All at time of application:
~7,000 hours as a small animal and pet exotics technician (drawing blood, setting catheters, monitoring anesthesia, etc) This is an extremely low estimate considering I have been doing this for nearly 7 years, I would say 10,000 hours would be a closer approximation but I did not want to over-do it.

Updated after application:
~8 hours with an equine vet just shadowing. Was trying to get back with this vet to do some more hours but their clinic has been really slow and they have not had anything for me to really see. 🙁

Animal Experience:
All times are at time of application:
~150 hours spent at a summer camp geared towards kids with an interest in veterinary medicine at the humane society. I did this around the age of 12-13 and some of these experiences are what really lead me to pursue vet med.
~530 hours between the years 2000-2003 volunteering in the cattery of a small animal rescue. Again, a very low number compared to what it probably really was.
~50 hours volunteering with a local rescue close to the university I went to. I did the through the pre-vet club which was a joke and did not continue doing this for very long since I felt working at the vet clinic nearly full time and going to school full time was enough on my plate.
~60 hours volunteering in the reptiles and small mammals sections of the Wildlife World Zoo over winter break one semester.
~120 hours at the humane society volunteering with the horses, goats and the pot-belly pig. I was just doing basic husbandry work but I still learned a lot about horses.


Other Employment
~650 hours as a desk assistant at the freshman dormitory I lived in. I worked graveyard shifts (midnight to 8AM).

Extracurriculars:
High School Bowling team for 2 years and both years the girls team when the state championship. (By the way I suck at bowling; I just happen to get lucky occasionally). 😎
Yearbook Committee in high school
Pre-vet club for about the first two years of college but the pre-vet club at my university sucked so I quit after the second year. 🙄


Awards/ Honors Societies
Dean’s List in December of 06, May of 07, December of 08 and May of 09
National Society of Collegiate Scholars awarded in April of 07
Llewellyn R. Pierce Scholarship for academic excellence awarded in July of 07
Grant for Excellence awarded in May of 09 for having great academic achievements my junior year (and by far the most difficult year) of college.

eLors:
1st Year:
2 vets who I had worked with for 4 years
A professor who I had gotten to know well and taught the animal physiology course I had taken

2nd Year:
2 vets who I had worked with for 5 years now
1 vet who I had worked with for 2 years
The same professor mentioned above

3rd Year:
2 vets who I had known for 6 years
2 vets who I was working with at time of application and had known for a little over a year (still working with these two)
The same professor from above


Personal Statement:
1st Year:
I compared bowling to veterinary medicine. It was epic. It worked for some schools. I scratched the idea for the second year, but it was by far a very creative PS. 😎

2nd Year:
I started off the PS with kind of a long story to introduce myself and explain why vet med, etc, etc, etc. It was an ok PS and I got some good reviews by some of the schools on how to make it better.

3rd Year:
I used the same ideas from the PS from the second year but really showed who I was. I put in lots of points about how I am a leader because they told me that was what had been lacking and that it would make my PS stronger. I also cut out the fluff and storytelling because it seemed that in my reviews the schools wanted a straightforward PS without the extras. I also really compared science courses I had taken to vet med and how I have used the knowledge I have gained from these courses to my current job in the veterinary field. I think this really showed them that I realize that vet med is a very science based field.


I know some of you are currently debating applying a second or even third year. I know how hard and emotionally draining this process is, but if it is something you REALLY want: do NOT let ANYTHING stop you! I can’t even count how many times I wanted to bow out and call it quits. I can’t tell how many times I have contemplated if I could even afford to apply again or apply to one more school. Get file reviews! They really help! Iowa really pointed out to me after the second year what my weak points were especially in my essays and PS; I listened to them and I am now waitlisted. Don’t let the rejections get you down too much because you have to be able to get back up, wipe the dirt off and say, “Ok. I AM going to do this.” Be determined, be persistent and it will work out. Soon enough you will be able to look back at the whole application drama and laugh at it.
 
Congrats OneHealthDVM and DVMDream !!!! Your definitely a source of motivation & inspiration!!

DVMDream said:
I know some of you are currently debating applying a second or even third year. I know how hard and emotionally draining this process is, but if it is something you REALLY want: do NOT let ANYTHING stop you! I can’t even count how many times I wanted to bow out and call it quits. I can’t tell how many times I have contemplated if I could even afford to apply again or apply to one more school. Get file reviews! They really help! Iowa really pointed out to me after the second year what my weak points were especially in my essays and PS; I listened to them and I am now waitlisted. Don’t let the rejections get you down too much because you have to be able to get back up, wipe the dirt off and say, “Ok. I AM going to do this.” Be determined, be persistent and it will work out. Soon enough you will be able to look back at the whole application drama and laugh at it.
Click to expand...

👍👍 good advice, I'll take it
 
I remember this time last year reading this thread and wanting to have the honor to post here as well! Good luck to those in my position and know it is more than possible to get what you want

California Resident, 22, Female, BS degree from UC Davis in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, emphasis in reproductive physiology, minored in Equine Science

1st Cycle:

Applied: 12 schools (do not recommend, but I am an anxious person!)- UC Davis, Western, Washington, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Purdue, UMinn, Ohio, UPenn, Illinois, Mississippi
Rejected: UC Davis, Washington, Purdue, UMinn, Ohio, UPenn, Illinois
Interviewed: Kansas, Iowa (off waitlist), Mississippi, Western
Waitlisted: Kansas, Iowa (#79!), Mississippi, Western, OKSU
Accepted!: Kansas (on 4-17)
Attending: Kansas State University! 😍 (unless I am called off for Iowa🙂)

Stats:

Cum. GPA: 3.27
Last 45: 3.46
Science GPA: 2.95(Iowa)-3.1 😳
(Ochem was killer for me, and competing against grade curves at a giant public uni)

GRE: (Took one time April 2011) 570 Verbal, 750 Qual, 5 Analytical

Veterinary Experience
Well growing up, my father, mother, and step-father are all veterinarians in various fields from small animal to lab animal to large animal (my dad even worked with Navy dolphins and military police dogs for a few years!). So I knew what I was getting into!
(At time of application)
950 hours small animal private practice- technician training and boarding assistant
70 hours ambulatory equine- mostly shadowed, but also some assisting (I got to assist in cutting a check ligament on a yearling, and I was the designated joint-scrubber for joint injection procedures several times per day)
30 hours equine emergency hospital- watched several (long!) surgeries and recovery of patients as well as an unfortunate necropsy where a poisoning was suspected

Animal Experience:
1000's of hours English horseback riding, barn assistant work, showing, and instructing riding lessons and summer camps
650 hours at a breeding facility as a Management Intern training foals and yearlings, participating in nightly foal watch, and even learning stud collection and rectal ultrasound (one of the few internships that allows rectal ultrasound instruction to non-veterinary students)
100 hours training my own weanling I bought at auction from the above internship in June
150 hours fostering several litters of kittens
50 hours volunteering at an off-the-track Standard-bred rescue

Employment:
Summer camp instructor for several summers
Veterinary technician (in training!) for two summers

Letter of Rec:
1 from my equine professor at Davis
1 from the equine veterinarian I was fortunate enough to ride-along with
1 from a small animal veterinarian I have known since I was like 8

Personal Statement: Talked about growing up around the profession and some of the sacrifices I made with my parents being on call or working the long hours of a veterinarian, though my sacrifices do not compare to those an actual veterinarian must make! I adamantly did not want to be a vet until I came to understand the positives (and they are very unique and rewarding positives) when I was in my freshman year of undergrad. I then talked about being involved in equine repro work and how I wanted to work especially in client education in selecting appropriate horses to breed so the offspring have the best possible chance at performing (the yearling I trained was unfortunately euthanized due to inherited leg confirmation issues). Last, I talked about representing the profession and what it means to wear the white coat and what your skill set means to the client- either helping their family member or their livelihood. And the diversity of the profession- either day to day or in the ability to change fields.


I know my stats are below average to put it lightly. This thread helped me so much in motivation to apply and selecting schools to apply to and really I hope to all you future c/o 2017'ers reading this now that you do decide to apply and give it your best shot. You really never know what is going to happen. Even with a poor gpa, know you do have something special and worthwhile to bring to the profession, just figure out what that is and really shine on your personal statement and experiences. Good luck to you!
 
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