SO excited to be finally posting here...it's been an emotional two years of applying, but in the end I am happy with the results! For people waiting on schools for this cycle or those reapplying next year, keep the hope alive, enjoy your experiences in the meantime
!
MA resident, 2nd time applicant, 23 years old, F
B.A. in French Studies - May 2013, pre-vet track
First cycle (2012-2013):
applied: Tufts
interviews: Tufts
waitlisted: Tufts
Second cycle (2013-2014):
applied: Tufts, UPenn, VMRCVM, UGA, Midwestern, WSU
rejected w/o interview: VMRCVM
Disqualified: UGA...(did not really know how to categorize this, I was one credit hour short yet completed all of the science class requirements and actually had a few extra credit hours n ochem and biochem and I submitted for approval of my pre-reqs. I was told I was fine to apply, yet later on got an email saying that they were mistaken...I still needed one credit hour of advanced biology. They gave me a certain time in which I could submit course enrollment that would cover that credit, but there was no way I could afford to do that unfortunately. I called and told them that, but never officially received a rejection.)
interviews: Tufts, Upenn, WSU, Midwestern (declined)
waitlisted: WSU
accepted: Upenn, Tufts
attending: Deciding between Upenn and Tufts, and I feel sooooo lucky to have this choice!
cGPA: 3.6 for vmcas, 3.7 for Tufts (they calculated by study-abroad credit hours differently)
science/math GPA: 3.5
last 45 credits: 3.45
GRE (new version):
V: 165 (96%)
Q: 157 (69%)
A: 5.5 (95%)
My stats were mostly the same between the two applications...I finished by degree and graduated, and took two courses after graduating to finish up pre-requisites, but my GPA stayed pretty much the same. Below I underlined the experiences that were added after my first application
Vet experience
Pre-veterinary extern at wildlife center: 485 hours (did a lot of 50 hr + weeks!)
Pre-Veterinary Intern at shelter/sanctuary: 500 hours
Shadowed at several small animal practices: 25 hours total
Shadowed orthopedic surgeon: 12 hours
Shadowed mixed animal holistic veterinarian: 15 hours (I highly recommend shadowing a holistic vet...very eye-opening experience!)
Research project under several veterinarians, some schools counted this as vet experience (described below): 500 hours
Animal experience
Shelter volunteer: 30 hours
Animal care intern at zoo: 400 hours
Experience when I was much younger working with horses and farm animals
Research experience
Studied Golden Retriever Muscular Dystrophy in Neurobiology lab of vet school in France (my study-abroad was internship-based, so this is what I did). Finished with a 35 page research report in French (I brought this to my interviews). As mentioned above, done at veterinary school laboratory under several vets, also got to shadow/help vets with the lab animals and in the hospital, so sort of a mix of veterinary/research experience: 500 hours
Medical Experience (Because I was pre-med until my junior year)
Co-President, MEDLIFE, while on campus coordinated brigades, fundraised, trained students going on brigades, brought in speakers, and I personally participated in 2 medical brigades to Peru and Ecuardor
Elective Africa, pre-medical/medical student shadowing program at community hospital, four weeks
NYU Health Career Opportunity Program, shadowed in the rehabilitation medicine department at Bellevue, four weeks
Other Employment/Extra Curriculars
Assistant athletic trainer for my college, all four years, depending on the season and what teams I was assigned this was anywhere from 9 to 20 hours a week
Assistant Director, NYU Langone Medical Center Health Career Opportunity Program, summer job: 500 hours
Admissions Ambassador (fancy name for a tour guide) at my college, three and a half years, 1-2 hours a week
Pre-Veterinary Club, Co-Founder/Co-President, last year of college: about 4 hours a week, depending on activities
Mentorship Director for On the Spectrum, an autism awareness club on campus, mentored local autistic children and teenagers, two years in college
I also do a lot of art in my free time and have entered several competitions
Honors/Awards
Deans list 5 semesters
Cum Laude
Internship Grant from my college
Esterly Award for Independent Research, from my college
Girl Scout Bronze and Silver awards
Silver Key for state art competition
Letters of Recommendation
first cycle:
Wildlife vet from my internship
General Chemistry/Organic chemistry professor (I had him for three semesters total)
Pre-Health advisor who I worked with for several clubs as well as personal advising
Head vet/researcher of my lab in France
After I was wait listed I sent in two additional letters...
Biology professor
French professor who researches animals in French society...I took a course with her on this subject
second cycle:
Wildlife vet from my externship
General Chemistry/Organic chemistry professor (I had him for three semesters total)
Shelter vet from my internship
my boss at the athletic training office for four years
Personal statement
Pretty much talked about my transition from human medicine to veterinary medicine, how it was a hard decision because all of my friends, family, professors, mentors, etc. spent so much time helping me towards medical school, but in the end I was just not really inspired by human medicine and found that my passion truly was in veterinary medicine. I also talked about my struggles with OCD and how being around animals has help me both understand and conquer this. For the extra essay for Tufts, the first year I wrote about my experience in Kenya and how the program I went on was basically a scam, the director ended up going to jail while we were there, etc., and how this taught me how to be more independent and confident in unfamiliar situations. The second year I wrote about how I have always wanted/still want to write and illustrate children's books, and I now hope that I can use this to educate children about animal/environmental issues.
I also included an explanation statement of why my grades went down some during my senior year...I know that this usually looks bad so while I did not want to make excuses, I wanted to explain that I was not simply slacking...my Dad had kidney failure followed by a heart attack and was in and out of the hospital for months, could not get the surgery he needed for his kidneys because of his heart problems, finally ended up having the surgery months after it was initially scheduled. I was across the country from my family for most of this, and I just had an incredibly hard time concentrating on my work when I was constantly waiting for the next call saying my Dad was in the hospital again. I wrote about how I learned from this experience, specifically I learned to not internalize these kind of issues, but to talk to friends and get counseling. This came up in my Tufts interview and they seemed to appreciate what I said about the experience and how it helped me grow up a lot.
One final piece of advise...DO NOT BE TOO NERVOUS FOR INTERVIEWS!!! Through my file review, I know that this is largely what messed me up for Tufts on my first application. I was too nervous to eat that morning and ended up almost passing out before the interview. I know it's easier said than done, but my second year before interviews rather than stressing out with interview prep I planned something fun both for the day before and evening after all of my interviews, I watched a guilty pleasure tv show before leaving for the interview, got myself something reallllly good for breakfast, drank tea instead of coffee, etc., and I know some people who work out the morning before, bring their parents, friend, partner along, whatever helps! Just pamper yourself before and after each interview, and you will be much more confident!