Successful Applicant Stats of 2017

[Virginger]

Second time applicant, 23 years old, OR resident (recently moved to OR this year for employment and BF) and VA resident, BS in Animal Science c/o 2011 (GPA at the time was a 3.19)

---------------------First Cycle, c/o 2016:

Applied: Oregon State (OOS), VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Illinois, Tufts, Florida, Auburn, Penn, Minnesota, Purdue
Rejected: VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Illinois, Tufts, Florida, Auburn, Penn, Minnesota, Purdue (so lets say practically everywhere)
Interview Waitlist (until nothing opens up, then to be rejected): Iowa State
Waitlisted: Oregon State

Retook 2 semesters of physics to improve from C+’s to A’s… some schools average (Av.) the scores, some replace the scores (R.), some wont look at them (Nada).

Cumulative GPA: 3.25 - 3.3
Science GPA: depends on the school, 3.1 is probably the average evaluation for me
Last 45 GPA: 3.47
GRE: Q-570 (40%), V-540 (73%), W-3.5 (26%) …I took it 3x at this point

---------------------Second Cycle, c/o 2017:

Applied: Oregon State (IS), VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Western, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State
Interview Waitlist (until nothing opens up, then to be rejected): Kansas State (declined before they would reject me officially), VMRCVM
Rejected: VMRCVM, Oklahoma State
Interviews: Oregon State, Iowa State, Mississippi State (declined), Western
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: Western, Oregon State, Iowa State (off of Waitlist)
Attending: OREGON STATE!!!!!

Finished some prerequisites then retook biochemistry to improve from C to A-. Some schools average (Av.) the scores, some replace the scores (R.), some wont look at them (Nada).

Cumulative GPA: 3.3(Av.) - 3.4(R.)
Science GPA: VMRCVM(Nada)-2.9, Iowa State(Av.)-3.12, Oregon State(R.?)-calculates multiple science GPAs, Kansas State(R.)-3.26, Mississippi(R.)-?, Oklahoma-?, Western(R.)->3.3?
Last 45 GPA: 3.67 (ISU for sure) or 3.85 (depends on the school’s policy)
GRE: Q-154 (60%), V-154 (61%), W-4 (49%) …my 4th try.

Veterinary Experience:
5000 hours of SA preventative med
650 hours of oncology research (studying cancer in dogs as a translational model for humans)
460 hours of equine emergency, some volunteering but mostly working as an operating room assistant
**350 hours of non-human primate research at time of interviews, didnt have this experience when I submitted my application this year (I tried to insert this information into the interviews)
240 hours at time of application **(total of 420 at time of interviews) SA emergency medicine, also received exposure to wildlife and exotics at this practice
135 hours of parasitology research (studied parasitic loads of piscivorous birds)
60 hours of internal medicine shadowing
30 hours of oncology shadowing

Animal Experience:
100+ hours of horseback riding and volunteering at a pay-to-ride
135 hours of working at a parrot specialty store where we hand reared chicks
70 hours of volunteer therapeutic horseback riding
A number of hours pet sitting SA, snakes, and birds

Other Experience:
70 hours as a docent for the forensic anthropology exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History
25 hours as a volunteer teacher’s assistant at the SMART (Saturday Morning Art) program at my university

Honors/Awards honors:
Published as co-author for parasitology research
Presented oncology research at the Undergraduate Research Forum
Honor roll for the last few semesters of undergraduate education
Listed things from high school like attending the governors school for visual arts, congressional recognition for visual art, photograph selected for AOL calendar, honorable mention at the county art show, elected president of NAHS

eLORS:
DVM from SA preventive medicine I had worked with for 8 years
DVM from SA prevenative medicine I had worked with for 4 years
DVM/PhD Veterinary Oncology Professor I had known from my research for 5 years
Biotechnology Professor
Parasitology/Independent study Professor

The hard work pays off!!! I promise

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[kernel]

Second time applicant, 23 years old, OR resident (recently moved to OR this year for employment and BF) and VA resident, BS in Animal Science c/o 2011

---------------------First Cycle, c/o 2016:

Applied: Oregon State (OOS), VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Illinois, Tufts, Florida, Auburn, Penn, Minnesota, Purdue
Rejected: VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Illinois, Tufts, Florida, Auburn, Penn, Minnesota, Purdue (so lets say practically everywhere)
Interview Waitlist (until nothing opens up, then to be rejected): Iowa State
Waitlisted: Oregon State

Retook 2 semesters of physics to improve from C+’s to A’s… some schools average (Av.) the scores, some replace the scores (R.), some wont look at them (Nada).
Cumulative GPA: 3.25 - 3.3
Science GPA: depends on the school, 3.1 is probably the average evaluation for me
Last 45 GPA: 3.47
GRE: Q-570 (40%), V-540 (73%), W-3.5 (26%) …I took it 3x at this point

---------------------Second Cycle, c/o 2017:

Applied: Oregon State (IS), VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Western, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State
Interview Waitlist (until nothing opens up, then to be rejected): Kansas State, VMRCVM
Rejected: VMRCVM
Interviews: Oregon State, Iowa State, Mississippi State (declined), Western
Still Waiting: Western, Oklahoma, Kansas State (tho KSU will prob turn into a rejection) … I promise to update when I hear back from schools!
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: OREGON STATE!!!!!

Finished some prerequisites then retook biochemistry to improve from C to A-. Some schools average (Av.) the scores, some replace the scores (R.), some wont look at them (Nada).

Cumulative GPA: 3.3(Av.) - 3.4(R.)
Science GPA: VMRCVM(Nada)-2.9, Iowa State(Av.)-3.12, Oregon State(R.?)-calculates multiple science GPAs, Kansas State(R.)-3.26, Mississippi(R.)-?, Oklahoma-?, Western(R.)->3.3?
Last 45 GPA: 3.67 (ISU for sure) or 3.85 (depends on the school’s policy)
GRE: Q-154 (60%), V-154 (61%), W-4 (49%) …my 4th try.

Veterinary Experience:
5000 hours of SA preventative med
650 hours of oncology research
460 hours of equine emergency, some volunteering but mostly working as an operating room assistant
**350 hours of non-human primate research at time of interviews, didnt have this experience when I submitted my application this year (I tried to insert this information into the interviews)
240 hours at time of application **(total of 420 at time of interviews) SA emergency medicine, also received exposure to wildlife and exotics at this practice
135 hours of parasitology research
60 hours of internal medicine shadowing
30 hours of oncology shadowing

Animal Experience:
100+ hours of horseback riding and volunteering at a pay-to-ride
135 hours of working at a parrot specialty store where we hand reared chicks
70 hours of volunteer therapeutic horseback riding
A number of hours pet sitting SA, snakes, and birds

Other Experience:
70 hours as a docent for the forensic anthropology exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History
25 hours as a volunteer teacher’s assistant at the SMART (Saturday Morning Art) program at my university

Honors/Awards honors:
Published as co-author for parasitology research
Presented oncology research at the Undergraduate Research Forum
Honor roll for the last few semesters of undergraduate education
Listed things from high school like attending the governors school for visual arts, congressional recognition for visual art, photograph selected for AOL calendar, honorable mention at the county art show, elected president of NAHS

eLORS:
DVM from SA preventive medicine I had worked with for 8 years
DVM from SA prevenative medicine I had worked with for 4 years
DVM/PhD Veterinary Oncology Professor I had known from my research for 5 years
Biotechnology Professor
Parasitology/Independent study Professor

The hard work pays off!!! I promise

YAY! So proud of you!!!! I can't wait for us to start in September Beavers, baby!!!!!

 

[Escalla]

Congrats again Viringer! Have fun at OSU!!!!

 

[Kpowell14]

Congrats Virginger!!! OSU is lucky to have you!!!

 

[Bracco Pointer]

First-time applicant, 21y, F, Florida Resident

Applied: Florida (IS)
Interviews: Florida
Accepted: UF!

Stats:
Cumulative GPA: 3.55
Science GPA: 3.5ish
Last 45 GPA: 3.4ish
GRE: Q-157 (71%), V - 163 (93%), W- 4.0

Veterinary Experience (at time of interview):
770 SA private practice
930 UF Small Animal Hospital
30 other various SA
36 equine

Animal Experience:
AKC Breed Expert: 25hrs
Raising bobwhite quail: 18hrs
Undergrad Animal Science labs: 22hrs
Bovine AI Technician: 25hrs
Dog Hunting Club Activities: 235hrs
Delta Society Pet Partners: 30 hrs
Bracco Italiano Club of America: 3000hrs
Bracco Italiano Breeder: 3500hrs
Dog Show Handler" 1800hrs
Pet Rescue volunteer: 68hrs
Operation Catnip: 6hrs

Other Experience:
Sales Associate at family's western store: 1250hrs
UF Pre-Vet Club some semesters
Mini Med School at UF and Shands in HS

Honors/Awards:
Graduated UF Cum Laude
Dean's List some semesters
Bright Futures Scholarship
HS Graduated Top 10 Percentile & National Merit Scholar
UKC Premier Best Junior Handler in Show ( )

eLORS:
DVM from SA practice I've worked at for 2 1/2 years
UF ECC Clinician I've worked with for 1 year
Meat Science Professor

Personal Statement:
I focused a lot on my involvement in the formation of the Bracco club and my work with the club over the years, talked about what I've learned from hands-on experience, and really getting to see the scope of vet med when I changed from working at a very small, rural clinic to working in ICU at UF.

 

[PetPony]

Yay BP! Congrats!

 

[WelshCob]

Third time applicant: 23yr old female, Florida Resident

---------------------First Cycle, c/o 2015:

This information is a stretch because it was a long time ago.

Applied: Florida, Ohio, Auburn, LSU, UTK
Rejected: Ohio, Auburn, LSU, UTK
Interview Waitlist (until nothing opens up, then to be rejected): Florida

Cumulative GPA: 3.3
Science GPA: around a 3.2
Last 45 GPA: 3.4
GRE: Q-660, V-490, W-3.5 … This was the best out of 4 tries to the date.

I had minimum experience I had only be able to find shadowing positions. Much of it was in the equine field as that is where I had the most connections.

I knew I wasn't ready for vet school the first time I applied. I was still devastated but I was expecting it and I really didn't deserve to be there.

---------------------Second Cycle, c/o 2016:

Applied: Florida, Auburn, Miss State, K-State, Purdue, VMRCVM, OkState, Tenn.
Rejected: Auburn, Miss State, Purude, Tenn.
Interview Waitlist: VMRCVM
Interviews: Florida and K-State
Rejected: K-State
Waitlisted: Florida for IS, OkState
Accepted: None

Cumulative GPA: 3.4
Science GPA: 3.2
Last 45 GPA: 3.6
GRE: Q-660, V-540, W-4 Fifth attempt at this damned test and I broke 1200! WHOOP!

Bachelors of Science in Animal Sciences:Animal Biology graduated Cum Laude

I took the year off after I graduated in 2011 and got a full time position as a small animal technician. I learned a whole HELL of a lot about vet med I had little to no idea about I got to experience the animal and the business side of things. However this job was toxic, to both me and those around me. I went back and forth about asking the owner and head veterinarian for a letter of recommendation. I finally asked him when we were getting along and seemingly best buds. Then the relationship went south again just before VMCAS was due, but by the time K-States invitation came out we were working well together again, joking and being a good team.

My K-State interview was like being water boarded. I couldn't figure out why I was being prosecuted to the nth degree. I walked out of there so defeated. So the rejection wasn't a surprise. Anyway Florida's interview went so much better I was relieved only to be wait listed for acceptance. So I called up and had a file review...

I had a bad letter of recommendation. I've never been so devastated in my life.

Side note: No one I knew and was close to still works at that place they all left after I did. Except for one veterinarian.

---------------------Third Cycle, c/o 2017:

Applied: Florida, K-State, Miss State and OkState
Rejected: None
Interviews: Florida, K-State, Miss State
Waiting: Miss State and OkState
Accepted: K-State and Florida
Waitlisted: OkState
Rejected: Miss State
Going: Haven't decided

Undergrad B.S. from the University of Florida: in Animal Science : Animal Biology, cum laude
Cumulative GPA: 3.4
Science GPA: 3.2
Last 45 GPA: 3.6
GRE: Q-660, V-540 (61%), W-4

Grad School: Masters of Science in Management from the University of Florida aka Business School

Cumulative GPA: 3.4
Last 45 GPA: 3.4

GRE: Old Q-660, V-540, W-4
GRE: New Q- 153, V-156 W-3.5

So after being utterly devastated I decided to apply for a masters in the business field. Shadowing and working had shown me most veterinarians have not an f-ing clue how to run a business. If they do they learned it on the fly. I got accepted into grad school and I have learned SO much and met so many amazing people outside of the sciences. I cant even believe it. This was the best decision I have made for both myself and my future.

I left my job at the small animal hospital only stayed there long enough for me to secure another job, as an emergency veterinarian technician another amazing decision. I still currently work on the weekends and go to school during the week.

Veterinary Experience Total over my life time.
2300 hours of general SA as a technician one hospital
1000 hours of Emergency SA as a technician one hospital
500 hours of general SA shadowing multiple establishments
600 hours of equine shadowing one hospital
30 hours research into Citrilline and muscle fatigue in horses.

Animal Experience:
1000's upon 1000's of hours owning, working, cleaning up after horses. Some paid as in acutal jobs some not
2000+ hours Hippotherapy volunteer in highschool
80 hours at Zoo camp at Busch Gardens.
50+ hours in labs at school for my degree mostly large animal related

Other:
Sigma Alpha: professional agricultural sorority.

Honors/Awards honors:
cum laude
Bright futures scholar

eLORS for the 3rd cycle
DVM at the small animal general practice recent UF grad
DVM at the small animal general practice OOS grad
DVM at the small animal general practice UF grad
CVT at the small animal general practice

All four of these writers had been with me through the trenches of that toxic experience. They saw me at both my best and my worst and they continued to push me to achieve greatness and to keep trying. They took the time to teach me everything I know and each of them has been influential in my obtaining this goal. They mean the world to me.

About grades I am a B+ student no matter how hard, I try or study. I take absolutely NO shame in that and neither should anybody. There are two W on my transcripts, one C and one C+. Almost everything else was a B+, including business school, except those easy GPA boosting classes and most of my animal science specific classes were A's.

I played up business school so hard in this application and my interviewers seemed impressed with the though I put into deciding to pursue that route. Keep trying the world is yours for the taking.

Also word of wisdom, if there is ANY doubt about asking someone for a letter DO NOT DO IT!!! Looking back I now understand all of the questions that Kansas ask me on that first interview.

Also file reviews! After the first cycle I was told to get more working experience and my application prospects improved ten fold. The second cycle I was told I had a bad letter of recommendation and to not ask that person again. If I hadn't have known that I would still be working in hell. File review, file review, file review!

 

[twelvetigers]

---------------------Second Cycle, c/o 2017:

Applied: Oregon State (IS), VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Western, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State
Interview Waitlist (until nothing opens up, then to be rejected): Kansas State, VMRCVM
Rejected: VMRCVM
Interviews: Oregon State, Iowa State, Mississippi State (declined), Western
Still Waiting: Western, Oklahoma, Kansas State (tho KSU will prob turn into a rejection) … I promise to update when I hear back from schools!
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: OREGON STATE!!!!!

You know you should wait to hear from the *cooler* OSU before deciding.

...lol

I think I would prefer Oregon's weather by a long shot.

 

[macita183]

Congrats everyone and thanks for sharing your stats/background! And a special congrats to those who have been through this process multiple times...you did it and you are going to be great vets!

 

[wildowl]

Congratulations everyone! It's so great hearing everyone's success stories-- keep them coming!!

 

[McGovernator]

I hope this helps all those hopefuls with less than stellar GRE scores or ones that might have developed a love of veterinary medicine a little later than others (I decided 2 years ago I wanted to be a vet and now here I am!)

First time applicant; 22 years old; female; Rhode Island resident (no in-state or contract seats)

Schools:
Applied: Tufts, Florida, Penn, Ohio, and Purdue
Rejected (without interview): Tufts, Florida
Interviews: Penn, Ohio, Purdue (declined invite)
Waitlisted: None
Accepted: Penn and Ohio
Attending: Still deciding!

Academics:
Degree: BS in Biology with a minor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut
Cumulative GPA: 3.78
Last 45: 3.91
GRE: 530 V (65%), 650 Q (48%) , 5 W (92%) -- old test, took it once

Vet Experience: (at time of application)
800 hrs as a veterinary assistant at mixed animal practice (mostly SA)
250 hrs shadowing at practice listed above
45 hrs as an intern at a mixed animal practice (mostly SA)
240 hrs as an undergraduate researcher in two labs at my school

Animal Experience: (at time of application)
40 hrs volunteering at therapeutic horse riding facility
200 hrs as a zoo intern
30 hrs of lab during my laboratory animal science course (we were assigned 2 lab rats and taught how to restrain, as well as performed our own castrations and sham osmotic mini-pump implantations)

Employment:
Student worker at our school library for a year

Awards:
Graduated magna cum laude
2011 New England Scholar
Phi Kappa Phi honor society
SMART Grant recipient
Dean's List for 5/8 semesters
Alpha Lambda Delta honor society

Clubs/Activities:
Pre-vet club member during senior year
Comedy Committee member for 3 years and marketing chair for 1 year
Concert Committee member for a semester
Member of the ultimate frisbee club team for a semester
A bunch of random volunteering/tutoring/leadership experiences from high school

Letters of Rec:
1 from the vet that I currently work and and shadowed in the past (DVM)
1 from the pre-vet advisor at UConn (PhD)
1 from the vet I interned with (DVM)
1 from my ecology writing professor (PhD)

Personal Statement:
I spent about 4 months writing it and had multiple people read and edit it for me, including one of my best friends who majored in writing. My first draft was a story about my first surgery on my lab rat (super cliche) but my friend told me to scrap the whole thing and honestly that was the best decision. She made me realize that I only have so many words to really let the adcoms know why I deserve to be in their program, and I shouldn't waste half of those words on telling a story/narrative. I ended up writing about my journey to discovering vet med as the right career for me, while tying in my passion for evolution. I used the essay to describe my own evolutionary tree (tying in different life experiences as nodes, branches, etc.). I think it turned out really well and it was even brought up during my interview at Ohio State (we ended up talking about it for like 5 mins and he loved the creativity - which is why it is important to make it as minimally cliche and story-like as possible!).


SDN has helped me so much throughout this process! I honestly thought I would never be accepted into vet school due to my horribly low GRE scores and my less than stellar experiences. If you just recently discovered you want to be a vet don't be discouraged by all those who have been working towards this their entire lives! I would get myself down thinking I could never compete against those with thousands of hours. In a year and a half I was able to gain nearly all of my experience hours (the only prior hours I had were from the zoo and research). You just have to work hard and the adcoms will really notice! Good luck and if anyone has any questions feel free to message me!

 

[ShibaMom]

Second time applicant, 23 years old, OR resident (recently moved to OR this year for employment and BF) and VA resident, BS in Animal Science c/o 2011

---------------------First Cycle, c/o 2016:

Applied: Oregon State (OOS), VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Illinois, Tufts, Florida, Auburn, Penn, Minnesota, Purdue
Rejected: VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Illinois, Tufts, Florida, Auburn, Penn, Minnesota, Purdue (so lets say practically everywhere)
Interview Waitlist (until nothing opens up, then to be rejected): Iowa State
Waitlisted: Oregon State

Retook 2 semesters of physics to improve from C+’s to A’s… some schools average (Av.) the scores, some replace the scores (R.), some wont look at them (Nada).
Cumulative GPA: 3.25 - 3.3
Science GPA: depends on the school, 3.1 is probably the average evaluation for me
Last 45 GPA: 3.47
GRE: Q-570 (40%), V-540 (73%), W-3.5 (26%) …I took it 3x at this point

---------------------Second Cycle, c/o 2017:

Applied: Oregon State (IS), VMRCVM (IS), Iowa State, Kansas State, Western, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State
Interview Waitlist (until nothing opens up, then to be rejected): Kansas State, VMRCVM
Rejected: VMRCVM
Interviews: Oregon State, Iowa State, Mississippi State (declined), Western
Still Waiting: Western, Oklahoma, Kansas State (tho KSU will prob turn into a rejection) … I promise to update when I hear back from schools!
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: OREGON STATE!!!!!

Finished some prerequisites then retook biochemistry to improve from C to A-. Some schools average (Av.) the scores, some replace the scores (R.), some wont look at them (Nada).

Cumulative GPA: 3.3(Av.) - 3.4(R.)
Science GPA: VMRCVM(Nada)-2.9, Iowa State(Av.)-3.12, Oregon State(R.?)-calculates multiple science GPAs, Kansas State(R.)-3.26, Mississippi(R.)-?, Oklahoma-?, Western(R.)->3.3?
Last 45 GPA: 3.67 (ISU for sure) or 3.85 (depends on the school’s policy)
GRE: Q-154 (60%), V-154 (61%), W-4 (49%) …my 4th try.

Veterinary Experience:
5000 hours of SA preventative med
650 hours of oncology research
460 hours of equine emergency, some volunteering but mostly working as an operating room assistant
**350 hours of non-human primate research at time of interviews, didnt have this experience when I submitted my application this year (I tried to insert this information into the interviews)
240 hours at time of application **(total of 420 at time of interviews) SA emergency medicine, also received exposure to wildlife and exotics at this practice
135 hours of parasitology research
60 hours of internal medicine shadowing
30 hours of oncology shadowing

Animal Experience:
100+ hours of horseback riding and volunteering at a pay-to-ride
135 hours of working at a parrot specialty store where we hand reared chicks
70 hours of volunteer therapeutic horseback riding
A number of hours pet sitting SA, snakes, and birds

Other Experience:
70 hours as a docent for the forensic anthropology exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History
25 hours as a volunteer teacher’s assistant at the SMART (Saturday Morning Art) program at my university

Honors/Awards honors:
Published as co-author for parasitology research
Presented oncology research at the Undergraduate Research Forum
Honor roll for the last few semesters of undergraduate education
Listed things from high school like attending the governors school for visual arts, congressional recognition for visual art, photograph selected for AOL calendar, honorable mention at the county art show, elected president of NAHS

eLORS:
DVM from SA preventive medicine I had worked with for 8 years
DVM from SA prevenative medicine I had worked with for 4 years
DVM/PhD Veterinary Oncology Professor I had known from my research for 5 years
Biotechnology Professor
Parasitology/Independent study Professor

The hard work pays off!!! I promise

Keyword: perseverance! Congratulations on your acceptance!

 

[Virginger]

Thanks ShibaMom, twelvetigers, Kpowell14, Escalla, and kernel!!!!

Oh, for anyone reading this thread to prepare for future apps, I graduated with a 3.19 GPA in 2011 ... within the last year I added more veterinary experience (1000 more SA preventative and then the SA emergency hours) and 140 hours of volunteering while improving my GPA and GRE … My experience makes me think that the schools respond positively to re-applicants that don't stay "stagnant," rather that they show the schools that they will do anything they can to be the better applicant. So stick to it!!! Its gonna happen!!!

Congratulations WelshCob!!!!!!

 

[WelshCob]

Thanks

 

[Escalla]

Congrats Welshcob!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure it was devastating to find out about that letter. I'm so happy that you got out of that place and kept going. Good for you! Now you're going to vet school!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BulldogMS]

It's absurd that people will agree to write a rec when knowing they're going to add disparaging info to the critique. I would hope most would not write a rec in the first place unless they had something positive to say. The old addage of if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all, certainly applies here!

 

[psilovethomas]

It's absurd that people will agree to write a rec when knowing they're going to add disparaging info to the critique. I would hope most would not write a rec in the first place unless they had something positive to say. The old addage of if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all, certainly applies here!

I agree. If someone ever asks me for a rec and I don't feel like I could write them a good one, I would have to turn them down..

 

[Bracco Pointer]

Congrats, WelshCob! You've earned it!!!!! The vet that gave you the bad letter is out of his mind.

 

[KCgophervet]

First-time applicant, 25y, F, Minnesota Resident

Applied: U of MN, UW-Madison, Oregon State
Interviews: U of MN
Waitlist: Oregon State, UW-Madison (#45)
Accepted: U of MN!!!!!
Attending: U of MN!!

Stats:
Cumulative GPA: 3.75
Prereq GPA: 3.8ish
Last 45 GPA: 3.83
GRE: Q 165, V 165, W 4.5

Veterinary Experience (at time of interview):
Over 4000 working in an animal behavior research lab post undergrad
80 in a mentorship at a SA clinic in HS
20 as a volunteer for Kindest Cut, LLC (low cost spay/neuter - I basically washed surgical tools, autoclaved, etc)

Animal Experience:
20 volunteering at Como Zoo as an animal interpreter
120 volunteering on a groundfish survey research vessel for NOAA
150 volunteering at a local animal shelter in college
400 working at a vet clinic/boarding facility as kennel staff
200 volunteering at a local animal shelter in HS
200 running my own pet sitting business in HS and college
1000 hours in pet ownership - we were encouraged to include pet ownership by the U of MN adcom, so I did!

Employment Experience:
1300 working in a cancer research lab at the U of MN post undergrad
70 working as a TA for the biology department in college
400 working in a cancer research lab at Mayo Clinic during college
720 working for the theater/dance department in college
2000 working at good old Culver's during HS and college


Honors/Awards:
Distinction in Science Award in HS
President's Scholarship in college
Norelius Service Award in college
State Science Fair Participant in HS
Girl Scout Gold Award in HS - I actually trained our family dog to become a certified therapy dog and then visited hospitals and nursing homes with her

Community Activity:
Co-chair of public relations for STAND at GAC (group raising awareness about Darfur)
Theater crew at Gustavus
Theater crew at HS
NHS in HS
Science GATE Mentorship program in HS (teaching kids about Biology)
Volleyball in HS

eLORS:
DVM from animal behavior lab I worked at for 2.5 years
Supervisor from animal beh lab
College professor who I went on the NOAA research trip with

Personal Statement:
I focused on my progression of interest in the field of vet med, including how I had been interested, distanced myself from it, and eventually came back to it. I put particular emphasis on coming to the realization as an adult that this is really where I want my life to go, and how I'd been taking classes while working full time in order to fulfill my goal.

 

[kakurubird]

all updated now!

1st time applicant, 23 years old, MD resident
Applied: VMRCVM, Mizzou, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Ohio State, Illinois
Interviewed: VMRCVM, Mizzou, Iowa State, Ohio State, Illinois (declined)
Waitlisted: VMRCVM, Wisconsin (#4), Iowa State
Accepted: Mizzou, Ohio State
Attending: Mizzou

Academic Numbers:
BA, Biology, from a small liberal arts college in NY, 2011
(+ some coursework post-grad at flagship state university)
Cum GPA: 3.81
Last 30/45 GPA: 3.75/3.79
Science GPA: 3.72-3.82, depending on who's counting
GRE: Verbal 170 (99%), Quant 167 (96%), Writing 5.0 (92%)

(all hours are as listed on vmcas)

Veterinary Experience:
10 hrs. low-cost vx clinic volunteer
100 hrs. zoo hospital volunteer
25 hrs. feral tnr spay/neuter clinic volunteer
1850 hrs. small animal general practice assistant

Animal Experience:
30 hrs. wildlife rescue volunteer
50 hrs. therapeutic riding center volunteer
1100 hrs. undergrad ihsa team
180 hrs. stable hand @ small hunter/jumper barn
75 hrs. college polo team
+ pet sitting, pet ownership, riding lessons/leasing in high school

Honors:
summa cum laude/honors in major
phi beta kappa
dean's list (+ list for high gpa/varsity athletes)
+ listed lots of high school academic awards

Community Activities & Employment:
leader for after-school science class for elementary school students
microbiology/plant biology research for a summer in Zurich
introductory biology teaching assistant
molecular biology research for summer + a semester at undergrad college
writing center tutor
clerk at a university campus bookstore in high school
film festival volunteer
intern for human origins program at natural history museum
intern in congresswoman's office for a summer
+ listed high school sports/music/etc.

eLORs:
- 2 vets from small animal practice
- 2 professors from undergrad (one: had for two classes freshman year + class senior year [saw this letter, part of it made me a little teary, true story]; second: had for class sophomore year, class junior year (including a week trip to costa rica) + two classes senior year)

Personal Statement:
started by discussing puzzles, then tutoring/teaching clients, learning from others in the field, can't stop getting excited by each new thing, etc., ended with how like vet med for the diversity/puzzles
(best decision: having others on sdn read and comment on my personal statement. seriously, do this.)

 

[kernel]

super exciting saturday night here, so. i'll update with decisions from the last two when I hear back, just for completeness' sake.

1st time applicant, 23 years old, MD resident
Applied: VMRCVM, Mizzou, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Ohio State, Illinois
Interview offered: VMRCVM, Mizzou, Iowa State, Ohio State, Illinois (declined)
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: Mizzou, Ohio State
Attending: Mizzou

Academic numbers:
BA, Biology, from a small liberal arts college in NY, 2011
(+ some coursework post-grad at flagship state university)
Cum GPA: 3.81
Last 30/45 GPA: 3.75/3.79
Science GPA: 3.72-3.75, depending on who's counting
GRE: Verbal 170 (99%), Quant 167 (96%), Writing 5.0 (92%)

(all hours are as listed on vmcas)

Veterinary Experience:
10 hrs. low-cost vx clinic volunteer
100 hrs. zoo hospital volunteer
25 hrs. feral tnr spay/neuter clinic volunteer
1850 hrs. small animal general practice assistant

Animal Experience:
30 hrs. wildlife rescue volunteer
50 hrs. therapeutic riding center volunteer
1100 hrs. undergrad ihsa team
180 hrs. stable hand @ small hunter/jumper barn
75 hrs. college polo team
+ pet sitting, pet ownership, riding lessons/leasing in high school

Honors:
summa cum laude/honors in major
phi beta kappa
dean's list (+ list for high gpa/varsity athletes)
+ listed lots of high school academic awards

Community activities/employment:
leader for after-school science class for elementary school students
microbiology/plant biology research for a summer in Zurich
introductory biology teaching assistant
molecular biology research for summer + a semester at undergrad college
writing center tutor
clerk at a university campus bookstore in high school
film festival volunteer
intern for human origins program at natural history museum
intern in congresswoman's office for a summer
+ listed high school sports/music/etc.

eLORS:
- 2 vets from small animal practice
- 2 professors from undergrad (one: had for two classes freshman year + class senior year [saw this letter, part of it made me a little teary, true story]; second: had for class sophomore year, class junior year (including a week trip to costa rica) + two classes senior year)

Personal Statement:
started by discussing puzzles, then tutoring/teaching clients, learning from others in the field, can't stop getting excited by each new thing, etc., ended with how like vet med for the diversity/puzzles
(best decision: having others on sdn read and comment on my personal statement. seriously, do this.)

Holy cow, those are some super impressive GRE scores. Congratulations!

 

[krh696]

for kakuru bird if you don't mine me asking, did u study for the gre? because ur score is like insanely good and i would do anything to get that high of a score

 

[kakurubird]

for kakuru bird if you don't mine me asking, did u study for the gre? because ur score is like insanely good and i would do anything to get that high of a score

Kind of saw this question coming...

I got books from the library and used those. Tried to work my way through the entire Barron's book and only got through the verbal section, doing all the practice problems and reading all the strategies and explanations for answers, etc. Started with the math part of the Princeton Review and honestly only really read the explanations for the answers to the sample tests, which showed a lot of tricks/shortcuts. I intentionally powered through the exam with no breaks to let me lose focus and left in like half the time, so my strategy is pretty individual. I also historically have standardize tested well, so that works to my benefit also.

 

[equinelvr]

I read this thread a lot last year before/during applying and it was great to read all of the inspiring stories and to see people with similar stats.

First time applicant, 22 years old, female, California Resident
Applied: UC Davis, Ohio State, Colorado, Michigan State, Iowa State
Interviewed: UC Davis, Ohio, Iowa (CO & MI do not interview)
Waitlisted: UC Davis, Iowa
Rejected: Colorado
Accepted: Michigan, Ohio
Attending: OHIO!!!!!

Animal Science Major
cGPA: 3.84
Last 45 credit GPA: 3.87
Science GPA: 3.90
GRE: 1st: 154q (60%), 149v (40%), 3.5w (30%)
2nd:157q(71%), 149v (40%), 4.5w (73%)

I only took it twice because I really did not think my scores would have changed anymore. I truly studied the second time and it helped me on the math and writing portions. I really hate standardized tests and always do poorly on the verbal sections so this really did not surprise me, and I knew it would be a weak point in my application.

Veterinary experience:
-206 hrs with an equine orthopedic vet
-45 hrs with a mobile equine vet
-68 hrs on foal team at equine emergency hospital
-334 hrs at a small/exotic hospital as a volunteer/observer
-130 hrs at a shelter spay/neuter clinic as a volunteer

Animal Experience:
-800 hrs volunteering at horse center at my school
-350 hrs participating in foal watch program at school
-900 hrs fostering kittens
-1300 hrs. employed at Animal Control as Kennel assistant where I worked in EVERY aspect of the shelter (at time of application)
-3000 hrs. showing horses (probably more throughout my life but only counted the years that I was more competitively involved)

Research:
85 hrs.- with equine vet /professor at school- Also presented at two conferences

Extracurricular:
-Peer Mentor program president
-Peer mentor for incoming students for 2 years
-Pre-vet club 4 years (officer for one)
-In Meat science club for 2 years (held officer position for both)

Honors/Awards:
-Deans list every quarter
-Presidents list every year
-Few scholarships
-Two different honor societies

eLORs:
-Research advisor/ equine vet
- Equine vet I did ride alongs with
-Department chair/professor/my advisor
(I should have gotten one from my boss as well but he was in the hospital this summer)

Personal Statement:
Basically I talked about a few experiences throughout my life and how they have always pushed my desire to this profession. I also talked about what I enjoyed learning through my experiences and how they helped me to decide I wanted to be an equine vet.



I have learned a lot through applying and thank everyone on SDN for supplying answers to ALL the questions of every cycle.

I am also so excited to be part of the Class of 2017 at The Ohio State University!!!!!!!

 

[kernel]

I read this thread a lot last year before/during applying and it was great to read all of the inspiring stories and to see people with similar stats.

First time applicant, 22 years old, female, California Resident
Applied: UC Davis, Ohio State, Colorado, Michigan State, Iowa State
Interviewed: UC Davis, Ohio, Iowa (CO & MI do not interview)
Waitlisted: UC Davis, Iowa
Rejected: Colorado
Accepted: Michigan, Ohio
Attending: OHIO!!!!!

Animal Science Major
cGPA: 3.84
Last 45 credit GPA: 3.87
Science GPA: 3.90
GRE: 1st: 154q (60%), 149v (40%), 3.5w (30%)
2nd:157q(71%), 149v (40%), 4.5w (73%)

I only took it twice because I really did not think my scores would have changed anymore. I truly studied the second time and it helped me on the math and writing portions. I really hate standardized tests and always do poorly on the verbal sections so this really did not surprise me, and I knew it would be a weak point in my application.

Veterinary experience:
-206 hrs with an equine orthopedic vet
-45 hrs with a mobile equine vet
-68 hrs on foal team at equine emergency hospital
-334 hrs at a small/exotic hospital as a volunteer/observer
-130 hrs at a shelter spay/neuter clinic as a volunteer

Animal Experience:
-800 hrs volunteering at horse center at my school
-350 hrs participating in foal watch program at school
-900 hrs fostering kittens
-1300 hrs. employed at Animal Control as Kennel assistant where I worked in EVERY aspect of the shelter (at time of application)
-3000 hrs. showing horses (probably more throughout my life but only counted the years that I was more competitively involved)

Research:
85 hrs.- with equine vet /professor at school- Also presented at two conferences

Extracurricular:
-Peer Mentor program president
-Peer mentor for incoming students for 2 years
-Pre-vet club 4 years (officer for one)
-In Meat science club for 2 years (held officer position for both)

Honors/Awards:
-Deans list every quarter
-Presidents list every year
-Few scholarships
-Two different honor societies

eLORs:
-Research advisor/ equine vet
- Equine vet I did ride alongs with
-Department chair/professor/my advisor
(I should have gotten one from my boss as well but he was in the hospital this summer)

Personal Statement:
Basically I talked about a few experiences throughout my life and how they have always pushed my desire to this profession. I also talked about what I enjoyed learning through my experiences and how they helped me to decide I wanted to be an equine vet.



I have learned a lot through applying and thank everyone on SDN for supplying answers to ALL the questions of every cycle.

I am also so excited to be part of the Class of 2017 at The Ohio State University!!!!!!!

That's neat that you raised your GRE writing score by a whole point! Nice work. I struggled with that :\

 

[Kpowell14]

super exciting saturday night here, so. i'll update with decisions from the last two when I hear back, just for completeness' sake.

1st time applicant, 23 years old, MD resident
Applied: VMRCVM, Mizzou, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Ohio State, Illinois
Interview offered: VMRCVM, Mizzou, Iowa State, Ohio State, Illinois (declined)
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: Mizzou, Ohio State
Attending: Mizzou

Academic numbers:
BA, Biology, from a small liberal arts college in NY, 2011
(+ some coursework post-grad at flagship state university)
Cum GPA: 3.81
Last 30/45 GPA: 3.75/3.79
Science GPA: 3.72-3.75, depending on who's counting
GRE: Verbal 170 (99%), Quant 167 (96%), Writing 5.0 (92%)

(all hours are as listed on vmcas)

Veterinary Experience:
10 hrs. low-cost vx clinic volunteer
100 hrs. zoo hospital volunteer
25 hrs. feral tnr spay/neuter clinic volunteer
1850 hrs. small animal general practice assistant

Animal Experience:
30 hrs. wildlife rescue volunteer
50 hrs. therapeutic riding center volunteer
1100 hrs. undergrad ihsa team
180 hrs. stable hand @ small hunter/jumper barn
75 hrs. college polo team
+ pet sitting, pet ownership, riding lessons/leasing in high school

Honors:
summa cum laude/honors in major
phi beta kappa
dean's list (+ list for high gpa/varsity athletes)
+ listed lots of high school academic awards

Community activities/employment:
leader for after-school science class for elementary school students
microbiology/plant biology research for a summer in Zurich
introductory biology teaching assistant
molecular biology research for summer + a semester at undergrad college
writing center tutor
clerk at a university campus bookstore in high school
film festival volunteer
intern for human origins program at natural history museum
intern in congresswoman's office for a summer
+ listed high school sports/music/etc.

eLORS:
- 2 vets from small animal practice
- 2 professors from undergrad (one: had for two classes freshman year + class senior year [saw this letter, part of it made me a little teary, true story]; second: had for class sophomore year, class junior year (including a week trip to costa rica) + two classes senior year)

Personal Statement:
started by discussing puzzles, then tutoring/teaching clients, learning from others in the field, can't stop getting excited by each new thing, etc., ended with how like vet med for the diversity/puzzles
(best decision: having others on sdn read and comment on my personal statement. seriously, do this.)

Sweeeet another Mizzou 2017er!!!! Is this your final decision on where your going or will hearing from the other schools potentially change your mind? Either way- CONGRATS!!!!! Your gonna Be a Vet!!!!

 

[kakurubird]

Sweeeet another Mizzou 2017er!!!! Is this your final decision on where your going or will hearing from the other schools potentially change your mind? Either way- CONGRATS!!!!! Your gonna Be a Vet!!!!

haven't made anything official yet, but, yes, mizzou!

 

[loxodonta51]

I definitely did not think I would be getting in this time around, but am quite thankful that I did. I was especially shocked since I had so very little LA experience. Like you all have said, you can never know what to expect!

1st time applicant, 23 year old male, NY resident
Applied: VMRCVM, Cornell (IS), WSU, CSU, Penn, Tufts, Minn
Interview offered: VMRCVM (declined), Tufts (declined), Minn (declined)
Rejected: Penn, WSU, CSU
Accepted: Cornell
Attending: Cornell

Academics:
BA in Religion, Minors in Political Science and Biology
Cum GPA: 3.60
Last 45 GPA: 3.24
Science GPA: 3.45
GRE: Verbal 164 (94%), Quant 162 (87%), Writing 5.5 (96%)


Veterinary Experience:
~3500 hours as a vet tech/inventory manager in two SA clinics
9 hours specialty equine vet - shadow

Animal Experience:
150 hours as a volunteer at the National Zoo Dept. of Nutrition-prepping diets for animals

Other Employment:
Undergrad TA for Biology lab at my college
Worked at the National Archives for 2 years
Various other DC related activities (Hill intern, etc.)

Community Activities:
President and Treasurer of the very active College Republicans chapter at my college, as well as Treasurer for the State Fed
ASL Interpreter at my church/conversational in ASL
Colonial Brass/Band Member for 4 years in college-trombone and tuba!
Multiple college administration committees and high school stuff was also included on there…

Honors:
BA with honors for senior thesis
Random high school listings

eLORS:
- 2 vets from SA practice that I currently work in
- 1 vet from previous SA clinic
-Professor of microbiology
-Professor of Religion and my thesis advisor
-Zookeeper/volunteer coordinator at the National Zoo

Personal Statement:
I started my statement very simply: “I did not always want to become a veterinarian” and from there I described my early interest in animals, which morphed into an increased interest in politics/law. I had applied to graduate a year early from undergrad, applied to law school, taken the LSAT, and was admitted to law school. I instead rescinded my graduation and took all except two prerequisites for vet school the following year (I used this to explain my lower last 45 GPA). I also stressed experience quite a bit.

 

[Filly Bay]

Figured I should post here since I know where I'm going

First time applicant, 21 years old, female, Pennsylvania Resident
Applied: Ohio State, Michigan State, UPenn, Kansas State, Iowa State, Cornell and Purdue
Interviewed: Ohio State, Purdue, Kansas State (declined invite), and Iowa State (declined invite)
Waitlisted: Purdue (later accepted)
Rejected: Cornell, UPenn
Accepted: Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue (from wait list)
Attending: Ohio State!

Academics
Will graduate with a BS in Animal Science (Pre-Veterinary Emphasis) and Biology. Will also have a minor in Chemistry
cGPA: 3.65
Science GPA: 3.5
Last 45 GPA: 3.5
SIS Score (calc by MSU): 875
GRE: First try (161Q, 155V, 4W) Second try (160Q, 150V, 4W)

Vet Hours:
535 Equine (mostly Standardbred race horses - hence STB )
207 Small
27 Large
5 Wildlife

Animal Hours:
1245 Equine (also mostly Standardbred race horses)
135 Large
850 Mixed (4-H)
600 Small (Rabbits)
*looking back, I definitely underestimated my Animal hours, esp Equine, but I was trying to be conservative.

Employment
Resident Assistant (3 years)
Computer Lab Assistant at my school(2 years)
Various Cashier Jobs on Summer/Winter Break

Community Activities
Leader of a Focus Group
President of a Research Club
Member of Wilderness Club
Member of Pre-Vet Club
Studied Abroad at Rakuno Gakuen University Vet School in Japan for 5 weeks
Research Experiences
PA Governor's School for Agricultural Science (During HS, 5 week program)
Many other high school things

Honors/Awards
Mortar Board Honor Society
Aristos Eklektos Honor Society - PR Chair
Tri-Beta Biological Honor Society - Treasurer and Historian
Sigma Xi Research Honor Society - Student VP
Who's Who Among Students Award
Lots of horse scholarships
Random other awards

eLORS
-Advisor/Biology Teacher who happens to be a DVM
-2 Vets from Racetrack

Personal Statement
I mostly hit on the environment I grew up in (at the racetrack) and how I've always been around horses and other animals. I talked about the reasons why I wanted to be a vet and then hit on some of my important experiences such as raising/showing rabbits, PA gov school, study abroad at Japan Vet school...I ended with summarizing why I wanted to be a vet.

 

[SoundofMusic]

I can't believe after 2 years of being on this site, working my butt off, stressing, and hoping, I finally can post on this thread! It feels absolutely incredible. Thank you everyone for your support. I am somewhat non-traditional because I only decided to pursue veterinary medicine 2 measly years before I applied. Somehow in that time I earned over 2000 veterinary/animal hours and started completely over as a biology major (I was a music major before!)

First time applicant, 21 years old, female, Maryland Resident

Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, May 2013.
Major: Organismic and Evolutionary Biology.
Minor: Dramatic Arts.

Applied: Penn (OOS), VMRCVM (IS)
Interviewed: Penn, VMRCVM
Rejected: Penn
Accepted: VMRCVM
Attending: VMRCVM!!!!

GPA: 3.64
Science GPA: 3.57
Last 45 GPA: 3.77
GRE: Verbal 160 (83%), Math 160 (81%), Writing 5.0 (92%)

Veterinary Experience:
Small Animal Veterinary Clinics - Veterinary Assistant/Technician: 946 hours

Wildlife/Small Animal Clinics in South Africa - Veterinary Assistant/Technician: 415 hours

Cockatiel Research: 152 hours
--This was my own research conducted under the watch of a professor.
--Included performing superficial implantation surgeries.

Vertebrate Surgery Class: 50 hours
--Personally performed nephrectomy, ovariohysterectomy, and splenectomy. These were terminal surgeries performed on swine.

Animal Experience:

Horseback Riding - Student: 120 hours

Zoo Keeper Aide - Volunteer: 84 hours

Wildlife Sanctuary - Volunteer: 30 hours

Cat Shelter - Volunteer: 170 hours

ELORS:
-1 from the professor that was mentoring my cockatiel research
-1 from a SA Vet I had worked with for 2 years and had known my entire life.
-1 from another SA Vet I had worked with for 2 years.
-1 from a SA Vet I had worked with for 1 year.
-1 from a South African wildlife vet I had worked with for 7 weeks.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to send me a message! I received so much support on this site during the past 2 years that I only feel it fair to return the favor to future pre-vets.

 

[dovelover]

I honestly wasn't all that sure I was going to get to post in this thread this year, but I am honored to have the chance to do so! Still waiting to hear back from AVC, but I didn't want to wait another 2 weeks to post this, especially since I've all but officially made my decision!
(Edit: I got an early acceptance from AVC today (Feb 20th) so I've updated my school list!)

1st time applicant, PA resident, 23 years old
Applied: Minnesota, Ohio State, Atlantic Veterinary College, Florida, North Carolina, Cornell, Penn
Interviewed: Minnesota, Ohio State, AVC, Florida
Rejected: Cornell, North Carolina
Application Withdrawn: Penn
Waitlisted: Florida
Accepted: Minnesota, Ohio State, AVC
Decision: University of Minnesota!!!

Academics
GRE: Verbal 590 (80%), Quant 770 (83%), Analytic Writing: 5.0 (92%)
My percentile rankings were originally higher, but they changed after the new test was released (a little screwy, eh?) Moral of the story, double check your GRE scores if it's been awhile since you took/sent them as they can change and you don't want to self report them differently than the official reports
Degree: B.S. in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (2011)
Cumulative GPA: 3.75
Prereq/Science GPA: 3.6-3.82, depending on the school
Last 45 GPA: 3.83
I took a fairly heavy course load with honors courses
I also took the Biology GRE (it's long story as to why…) and did very well on it (98th percentile) While none of the schools actually took those scores, that doesn't mean that some of them didn't at least see them and get impressed

Vet Experience (At time of application)
1000 hours zoo hospital (with an avian focus)
28 hours lab animal
20 hours small animal/exotic practices

Animal Experience
500 hours zoo hospital(avian)--This was the same experience as my vet hours, but since I did a lot of husbandry that wasn't directly supervised by the vet I felt obligated to list it separately. This experience also included a lot of leadership responsibilities as I was the senior intern and really did a significant amount of work above and beyond the call of duty
252 hours zoo keeper internship (at a different zoo than above)
36 hours at a children's farm (aka high quality petting zoo)
390 hours dog walking (I did this independently, not at a shelter or anything)
94 hours pet setting
200 hours at an animal shelter

Other Experiences/Community Service/etc.
-Shadowed a human focused public health practitioner
-Volunteered in a human hospital pharmacy
-Worked at my university's library for 2 years
-Worked as a university tour guide for 1 summer
-Participated in the largest student run philanthropy in the world, including raising money for pediatric cancer and providing emotional support to sick kids/families
-I had a crap load of extra-curriculars in high school—theater, dance, voice lessons, marching band, clarinet lessons, national honor society—which were all on my application, but I'm not sure how much anyone really cares about those
-Honors: deans list all semesters, graduating with distinction, national merit commended in high school, high school scholar athlete, some award from the state for doing awesomely on the SAT, etc.

Another big thing for me was that I waited until I had been out of school for a year to start applying to vet school. Being in the "real world" taught me a lot about myself and really helped me to mature. I knew I wasn't personally ready to go to vet school at the end of college (regardless of my lack of experience at the time). I dealt with a lot of anxiety/depression issues in college and had a lot of shyness to get over to be successful in life, and taking time off really helped with that. I drove across the country and spent 7 months living near my sister in British Columbia, then drove back across the country again. That experience was amazingly eye opening and taught me a lot about myself, and was something that was fairly unique to me. While I didn't have the space to talk about most of this in my personal statement I talked about it at most of my interviews.

eLORs
1 from the head vet at my zoo hospital experience (she's pretty well known in her field and has worked with a ton of pre-vets, so a good letter from her (and mine was one of the best ever!) is worth its weight in gold, so to speak&#8230
1 from a professor/vet who taught my comparative anatomy lab and my lab animal science course
1 from the public health professional I volunteered with

Personal Statement
I spent a TON of time working on/agonizing over/re-re-rewriting my personal statement and felt it was very strong when all was said and done, even if it wasn't necessarily all that creative. It was however simple and honest. The biggest thing I did to make my PS good was not to listen too much to other people's (including a professional writer's) edits in regard to writing style/vocab/paragraph structure, etc… because the more I changed, the less "me" it was. I feel that if your PS doesn't have a bit of "you" in it the admissions committee is going to think you're just saying what they want to hear. Having a very genuine PS really conveys your passion for your future profession better than any fancy vocab or perfect sentence structures ever could. Ultimately, showing that you're passionate about being a vet even after learning about the realities of the profession is what doing all those hours of experience and going through all this application hell is really all about!

I admit, I did have a cliche emotional story moment in my PS, but it wasn't a "when I was nine and fluffy was really sick..." moment, it had to do with two truly poignant and emotionally dichotomous moments that had happened during an important and unique aspect of one of my experiences. (Yes, it had something to do with doves--people tend to wonder where that particular obsession came from...)

As you might imagine from the somewhat lengthy posts I leave at times, my biggest trouble with my PS was getting it down to 5000 characters. My first draft was over twice that when it was only about half done So it was a good thing I started a few months in advance!

 

[kireikirin297]

Just got accepted at Virginia!!!

1st time applicant, 21 years old, PA resident
Applied: VMRCVM, UPenn, Iowa State, Purdue, Tufts, Cornell, Auburn
Interviewed: VMRCVM, U Penn (this weekend!!) Iowa State, Purdue, Tufts, Auburn(declined)
Rejected: Cornell, Purdue
Waitlisted: Iowa State
Accepted: VMRCVM!!!
Waiting to hear from: U Penn and Tufts
Attending: Not sure yet

Academic Numbers:
Graduating this spring with a BS in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Penn State
Cum GPA: 3.65 (I applied with a 3.59, but I got a 4.0 in the fall)
Last 45 GPA: 3.72?
Science GPA: 3.5ish
GRE: Verbal 161, Quant 158, Writing 4.0 (scores from second attempt)

(all hours are as listed on vmcas)

Veterinary Experience:
1000 hours - Vet assistant at small mixed animal clinic
30 hours - Shadowing at Equine Hospital

Animal Experience:
7000+ hours riding and showing horses
330 hours volunteering/internship at the Pittsburgh Zoo
200 hours showing and raising 4-H market goats
200 hours working with exotic avian species at my grandfather's business

Honors:
Deans list 6/7 semesters so far
Internship Award from the College of Agriculture for my Zoo internship
Scholar Athlete Award in High School

Community Activities & Employment:
President of 4-H Archery Club
Various Theatre Clubs at Penn State
FBLA
Varsity Cross Country Team (high school)
Marching Band (high school)
listed other general hobbies (skiing, playing piano...)
Employed as a researcher at the PSU Harrisburg Biotech Lab - 100 hours
Notetaker at Nittany Notes - 60 hours
Currently employed as front desk attendant at the White Building Fitness Cenetr on Campus


eLORs:
- 1 from vet from mixed animal practice
- 2 professors from undergrad who taught bio classes
- 1 from my supervisor at the Zoo
- 1 from professor I did biotech research with

Personal Statement:
started with how I became interested in vetmed (grew up with animals, talking to family vet, loved the sciences in high school), and then talked about my various experiences. Listed my future goals as becoming a mixed animal veterinarian specializing in avian and pocket pet medicine (maybe). I discussed a lot about how I wanted to be able to provide quality services to my community ( I live in a rural area with not many vets around) and be able to treat all the animals in the community. There are pretty much no food animal vets in my area so I also discussed that I would like to obtain more food animal experience so that I could provide low-cost services to the farmers in my area.

 

[JoAnna423]

I just want to emphasize this, because I think it's really true - you need to be your own best advocate in your application. It makes a difference - seriously, your statistical chances of getting into NCSU IS were so much better, but with just changing your application you got in OOS! So freaking awesome. Congrats! Dr. Lewbart's just waiting for you now.

I've already e-mailed him and he has told me all about the turtle rescue team. LOL I know that NCSU is the PERFECT place for me to be...I am thrilled

Thanks to everyone for the congrats!

 

[Psorophoraferox]

Second-time applicant, 32y, F, Louisiana resident, BA in biology

First cycle, c/o 2016 (Texas resident):
Applied: LSU, UTK, NCSU
Rejected: UTK, NCSU
Waitlist: LSU
Accepted-then-rejected off waitlist: LSU
In May 2012 I received a phone call from Jared with an offer of admission, but I had just received a D in one of my prerequisites [biochemistry], so in the same phone call I was rejected. Not my favorite day, even if he was extremely kind about it!

Second cycle, c/o 2017 (Louisiana resident):
Applied: LSU
Interviewed: LSU
Accepted: LSU
NOT accepted-then-rejected (haha): LSU
Attending: LSU!
I knew LSU was the right school for me, so I went ahead and moved back to Baton Rouge (lived here previously) and didn't apply anywhere else this year.

Stats:
Cumulative GPA: 3.01
Prerequisite GPA: 3.75
Last 45 GPA: 3.57
GRE:
1) Old: Q-690 (68%), V-670 (95%), W-3.5
2) New: Q-150 (43%), V-168 (98%), W-4.0
LSU required the new GRE this cycle, so I had to retake it.

Veterinary Experience:
9,100 hours - tech at two SA/exotics hospitals
480 hours - tech at two SA cat/dog exclusive hospitals
160 hours - volunteer assistant at spay/neuter clinic
10 hours - volunteer tech at triage center for ~550 dogs rescued from an animal hoarder/puppy mill

Animal Experience:
600 hours - competitive horseback riding (estimated - I went with the low end)
370 hours - volunteer keeper at exotic cat sanctuary
330 hours - volunteer at cat/dog shelter
8 whopping LA hours - volunteer at rescued farm animal sanctuary

Other Employment:
11,870 hours total - I have been employed since I was 13 so everything from the ice skating rink snack bar to digging ditches for a forestry research project to sorting mosquitos for a West Nile Virus research project to scanning and archiving ancient documents for a library to being a waitress went in here. And then some. I have had a lot of jobs.

Other Experiences:
Founder and president of my last college's pre-vet club
Officer positions in student organizations (vegan club, environmental club, LBGTQ club)
Volunteer at paleontological dig/fossil lab
Membership in high school clubs (quick recall, drama, French, German, Latin, a neighborhood youth group)
Girl Scouts
Competitive figure skating

Honors/Awards:
Honor rolls in two of my colleges
Two academic scholarships
National Merit award
Girl Scout Silver Award
Couple of awards for projects and foreign language study in high school

eLORS:
Four DVMs from the SA/exotics hospital I was a tech at the longest (5.5 years)

Personal Statement:
I discussed my interest in zoo medicine, the comparative aspects of SA/small exotics and zoo med (many of the same medications and treatments are used; I mentioned giving SQ fluids to both a domestic cat and a tiger), and the challenges I had experienced and that I anticipated in working with large exotics (tigers don't like SQ fluids!).

Explanation Statement:
My transcripts show twenty-one "W"s and twelve "F"s. That required some explanation! Most of them are from my first few years of college, just out of high school. I started experiencing severe depression/anxiety in high school, and it went undiagnosed and untreated until my mid-20s. I left my first two schools with a cGPA ranging from 1.87 - 2.1. My eventual diagnosis/treatment created a lot of medical debt, so when I was well enough to start school again in my late 20s, I needed to work full time. Some of my job demands resulted in dropping several classes (more "W"s), but after the first 2-3 years I was able to start taking classes full time and work only part time. My last two years of school I took a full schedule of upper level science courses, and most semesters I got all As with the occasional B (other than biochem ... stupid biochem). I said that I believe that my more recent academic record shows that I am able to successfully complete a rigorous schedule of science-based courses (i.e. VET SCHOOL).
I also put some of my CE credits earned while being a tech in here!

Interview:
I started working as a zookeeper after submitting my app, so I brought it up in my interview. I also talked about my incredibly small amount of LA experience (other than equine), and how I'm looking forward to learning more about LA med in vet school. In sales they call that close "assuming the sale".

What I've learned:
- If you are struggling with mental illness, get help sooner rather than later. It will take a lot of hard work, and maybe some trial-and-error with finding the right doctors and meds, but you CAN get better.
- A low cGPA and a bajillion "W"s will make it even more difficult to get into vet school, but not impossible. A lot depends on the school's admissions criteria; I have so many credit hours (207!) that even with getting 4.0s (or near) my last few years of college, my cGPA still barred me from consideration at many vet schools. Luckily for me, my top choice (LSU) weighs last 45/prereq GPAs much, much more heavily than cGPA.

Previous posters in the successful applicant stats threads with messy academic histories gave me hope, so I want anyone reading this who is in a similar situation to have hope too!

 

[RinTinTin]

(tigers don't like SQ fluids!).

In my experience, domestic cats don't like them much either.

Congrats on your acceptance!!! I love reading everybody's stories!

 

[dovelover]

In my experience, domestic cats don't like them much either.

My cat doesn't mind them actually. She just curls up on my lap and starts purring, then usually sits there for a few minutes after I'm done. Now my bird on the other hand, not a fan...

 

[EngrSC]

My cat doesn't mind them actually. She just curls up on my lap and starts purring, then usually sits there for a few minutes after I'm done. Now my bird on the other hand, not a fan...

My guinea pig isn't a fan either

 

[that redhead]

So much Maryland on SDN. I love it

Congrats everyone, you all are remarkably diverse!

 

[jhupup]

First time applicant, non-traditional (25 years old). Maryland Resident.

Applied: VMRCVM, Tufts, Penn
Interviewed: VMRCVM, Tufts, Penn
Accepted: VMRCVM, Penn
Waitlisted: Tufts
Attending: Probably Penn

Stats:
Undergrad GPA: 3.05
Science GPA: well below a 3.00
Graduate GPA: 3.86
Last 45 hours: around 3.8
GRE: Verbal - 640 (90% at the time); Quantitative - 750 (82% at the time); Writing - 4.5

Veterinary Experience:
30 hours at a bird rescue/sanctuary
15 hours at a draft horse rescue
~200 hours at two different small animal hospitals
~1000 hours as a paid vet tech at my local shelter

Animal Experience:
Foster parent for my local shelter (I take most of the sick/difficult med cases since I'm a tech)
Foster parent and volunteer for a German Shepherd Rescue
Volunteer at a draft horse rescue (most of the time was not spent doing vet-related stuff)
Lure coursing, Schutzhund, and herding classes with my dog
Volunteered at the bird rescue in a non-veterinary capacity while I was in high school

Other activities:
Worked for 5+ years in human asthma clinical trials at Johns Hopkins
Did an unpaid internship at the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital (I started out as a pre-med and switched to pre-vet later on)
Did an unpaid internship at the Center for Aging and Health at JHH
I listed some other random hobbies - cooking, hiking, soccer with friends, some activities from high school

Personal statement:
I wrote about my involvement with rescue work since that's what really drew me into veterinary medicine, how that all tied into different things in my life, and how I know that I'm always going to be involved with rescue one way or another, no matter what field of vet med I go into. I was quite proud of the end draft, and felt good about turning it in. Since I'm done with applications, if anyone wants to read it to see how I structured my PS, I'd be happy to send it.

Honors/Awards:
Uhh...well I was a National Merit Scholar in high school? And I was on the Dean's List for one semester in college. As you can tell from my GPA, academics were not really my strong suit.

eLORS:
Staff veterinarian at the shelter (he is around for like maybe 3 hours a week at the shelter itself so I didn't think I'd be getting a great LOR from him)
Graduate school professor, also the second reader of my thesis paper
Pre-vet advisor from my undergrad
Clinic manager at the shelter, also my boss, so she knew me much better and I assume she wrote a stronger recommendation than the DVM

I only posted this cause I'm hoping it'll help and encourage someone who's applying. It can be daunting to go onto SDN and see all these people with 3.6+ GPAs, thousands upon thousands of vet experience hours, and tons of extracurricular activities. I did zero extracurrics in undergrad and grad, unless you count the fostering and volunteering with rescues.

My GPA barely made the cut off, and I think my science GPA probably wouldn't have if there was a cut off (I've never calculated it out myself, too depressing). I did a masters in biochemistry & molecular biology after taking a year off after college cause I wanted to make sure that I could handle upper level science courses - if I hadn't done the masters I'm sure I wouldn't've been a competitive applicant at all. Cumulatively, I think my overall GPA is 3.30 when you factor in both grad and undergrad.

As for experience - I think hundreds and even thousands of hours are great, but it's important to get good quality vet experiences, not just high volume. I know a lot of pre-vet students volunteer at my local shelter, and have been doing so for longer than I have, and have more hours, but they do things like clean cages and restock supplies. I was pretty pushy about asking questions, asking the techs to teach me how to restrain animals, give meds, auscultate heart/lung sounds, give vaccinations, draw blood, etc., and they were happy to teach, so I learned everything over the course of a few months and they offered me a job there when they were short staffed. That's how I ended up working as a vet tech (MD doesn't require certification or licensing for techs), and I've learned 100x more working as a tech than I ever did volunteering. Also I like getting paid .

Also, in the explanation section, I didn't really address my undergrad grades. I mostly talked about some of the other difficulties that had just happened in my life. I didn't feel like I needed to justify my crappy undergrad GPA since I did well enough in my masters program to prove that I was fully capable to handling a rigorous science curriculum.

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text. I haven't declined my IS spot at VMR yet, but I will soon, so hope that pulls someone off the waiting list there. I will probably withdraw my application from Tufts since I can't afford it anyway. Hope this helps someone, and if anyone has any questions...feel free to PM!

 

[deleted497320]

Second-time applicant, 24 years old, female, NY State resident

First cycle, c/o 2013:
Applied: Western U, Purdue, Wisconsin, Cornell, Tufts, Missouri, Washington State
Rejected: Purdue, Wisconsin, Cornell, Tufts, Missouri, Washington
Accepted, but Didn't Attend: Western U

Second cycle, c/o 2017:
Applied: Cornell, UPenn, Michigan, Ohio State, VMRCVM, Missouri, NCSU, Texas A*M
Interview Invites: Ohio, VMRCVM, Texas
Rejected: Missouri (again! they really hate me )
Still Waiting: UPenn, Michigan
Accepted: Cornell, NCSU
Attending: Probably Cornell.

Academics:
Undergrad GPA: 3.6, B.S. in Animal Science
Grad GPA: 4.0, currently in a PhD program in Pathology. Hoping to leave with a Master's
GRE: I took it 2x (old format) and 1x new (Texas required it). My best scores:
1) Old: Q-740 (74%), V-710 (97%), W- 5.5
2) New: Q-161 (83%), V-166 (97%), W- 5.0

Veterinary Experience:
1600 hours - kennel assistant at SA hospital
50 hours - intern at SA hospital

Animal Experience:
50 hours - piglet caretaker for research project
350 hours- worked with chickens for research project

Research Experience:
6000+ hours- PhD candidate research using mouse models; I estimated that 50% of time involved working directly with mice and included that under my Veterinary Experience (VMCAS said that working under an MD should be placed there, and one of my advisors is an MD)
Contributed to 2 review + 1 research paper (published)

Honors/Awards:
High School: National Merit Scholar, AP Scholar with Honors, Valedictorian
College: Dean's List, college-specific awards for Animal Science, grant for conducting research
Grad school: Fellowship

eLORS:
PhD Advisor (P.I. of lab I'm currently in)
P.I. of lab I rotated in during 1st year of grad school
DVM I worked for on/off for 4 years

Community Activities + Clubs:
I'm very interested in political + social justice issues, and those clubs dominated my undergrad life. I only listed a few that were more conservative + showed my leadership experiences. I focused more on my experience living in student cooperative housing as both a grad and undergrad student, which is more about community, shared resources, democratic leadership, and all those good hippie vibes.

Personal Statement/My Story:
I was one of those kids that wanted to be a veterinarian from day one. I was also super sheltered, shy, and focused on academics, and that changed a lot in college when I got interested in political/social justice groups + cooperative living. These experiences drew me out of my shell *a lot* and I am eternally grateful for them, but they also confused the hell out of me and made me question whether or not vet med was the right path for me. I half-assed my first application and am not surprised that I didn't get many offers. I was too terrified of taking time off to consider my future so I jumped from vet med to research and got into a PhD program. I've learned *a ton* but it's just not the best fit for me- there's not enough hands-on experience with animals or applied science in the field that I'm in. I was going to finish the program and then re-apply to vet school, but my lab is moving soon and that gave me the push I needed to try reapplying now instead of later in order to save myself the expense of relocating. My advisors and my grad program have been *super supportive* and I'm incredibly grateful to them; if anyone else is thinking of leaving a grad program for vet school, I hope their school is as nice as mine has been.

It was difficult for me to explain this all in a PS in such a way that wouldn't make me sound like a total flake who bounced from vet to research to vet again. It was also hard for me to talk about these switches without going into the emotional/intellectual transformation I underwent in college, which would have been way too personal. I struggled with it A LOT and had several people read it over before sending it again. They all emphasized what most people here have- sell yourself! be positive!

What I learned:
- There is a way to connect all your experiences in some way so as to strengthen your application. I tied my research, my political interests, and my experiences living in a coop into my desire to serve the public good by working as a lab animal vet doing comparative oncology research. Be creative.
- If you want to express something very personal in your PS, write it out, stream-of-consciousness style. Then read through it with a critical eye and pick out the parts you would feel comfortable expressing to a complete stranger.
- Take your time going through the applications. I got a copy of my old VMCAS app and I could see typos, places where I forgot to mention community activities/awards, etc. Had I just spent more time on it, I would have made a much stronger applicant.
- Your passion (or lack thereof) will show through in your application + your interview. If your stats aren't perfect but you've worked hard and want to be a vet, that will be evident. If you're on the fence, they'll see that too. If you're not 100% sure this is what you want to do, wait a little to apply so that when you know, you can give it your all.

 

[dovelover]

- If you want to express something very personal in your PS, write it out, stream-of-consciousness style. Then read through it with a critical eye and pick out the parts you would feel comfortable expressing to a complete stranger.

Yes, yes and more yes. Although once you get me comfortable I'm a very open person and I'll spill my guts to the world (before that I'm a terribly closed book), so I'm not very good at filtering what's appropriate to say (in writing) to strangers/casual friends etc. and what isn't, so I had to get my mom to help me with figuring out the appropriateness of personal stuff I wrote. I also would like to add to make sure you that anything you include actually adds something positive to your application (ie, overcoming adversity, beating a personal struggle, etc.) , and doesn't just act as an excuse for something. Otherwise, it's probably not worth putting it in and risking making a negative impact. I thought I was going to write an explanation statement about my emotional journey to get over anxiety and depression, because that explained why I had gotten almost no vet/animal experience in college. But then I wrote it out. And then realized that was not such a good idea...

Apparently they didn't care that I didn't do vet stuff in college, even though I was in a pre-vet program the whole time. Nor did they care about the random switch I made to taking a bunch of anthropology classes my senior year (instead of potentially cool upper level science classes) which happened because I had a "quarter life crisis", as my cousin calls it, and doubted whether vet med was the right path for me... I quickly realized once the semester started and I got into anatomy (I LOVE anatomy) that I had, indeed been on the right track all along. (I blame being a school tour guide and trying to give high schoolers advice on picking schools/majors for my sudden panic that I hadn't picked the right field...) I didn't end up explaining any of it, and that turned out to be a good choice.

On that note, a word of advice to anyone considering writing an explanation statement: make sure you really NEED to explain it (aka, you have a negative objective measure that will get noticed regardless, such as failing grades/withdrawals) and that by doing so you're not just drawing excessive attention to a negative aspect of your application that really wouldn't stand out all that much otherwise. Just because something seems like a major end of the world flaw to you, doesn't mean that the admissions committees who review hundreds of applications will even notice it, until you draw their attention unnecessarily towards it...

 

[thepidog]

So excited to finally get to post in this thread...my story is sort of a weird one; the moral of the story is sometimes good things come when you wait.

Second time applicant... Female, 22
FIRST CYCLE
Applied: Michigan State (in-state), University of Illinois, Mississippi State
Interview offers: UIUC, Mississippi (decided to withdraw from Mississippi before my interview)
Accepted: Illinois...
Waitlisted: Michigan State

Although I was accepted at the University of Illinois, the cost to attend the school as an out-of-state student was simply not an option for me. When you crunch the numbers, include interest, figure out how old you'll be when you are finally debt free, etc...it was just too much. Decided not to attend was so, so hard. I was waitlisted in the last spot at MSU, which was my in-state and dream school. After my post portem with the admissions officer, I was given a couple tips that made it seem like I had an extremely good chance of being admitted this year. I decided to take the chance, research some schools that allowed out of state kids to become in state after the first year, and work to save some money and gain some more experience. Sitting here now, I can honestly say it was the best decision I've ever made.

SECOND CYCLE
Applied: Michigan State, Ohio State, UW-Madison, Mizzou
Interviews: Ohio State, Mizzou
Accepted: MICHIGAN STATE! Ohio State, Mizzou
Still waiting: UW-Madison...but not very hopeful.
Attending: Michigan State!

Cum GPA: 3.69
Sci GPA: 3.6
Last 45: 3.5
GRE: 1230 (650 Q, 580 V, 4.0 W)...sorry, not sure what these scores would be in the new scoring system.

I started off my undergrad career very strongly, and when I hit some of the harder science courses (biochem, analytical chem), my GPA took a bit of a hit. I have a feeling it was a bit of a contributor to being waitlisted my first time around. After I graduated I took a few summer classes that bumped it up a little but, but there weren't significant differences in my first and second cycle stats.

Veterinary experience:
4000 hrs as a vet assistant/tech and currently receptionist at a SA hospital in my hometown. It might seem like a lot but I've been there for more than 6 years. I work there full time right now and they feel like a second family to me.
50 or so LA from various other vets around town.
Research:
1000ish hrs doing larval fish/zooplankton work in an Aquatic Ecology lab for undergrad, including presentations and some possibility for publication.
Probably 800 from high school when I was enrolled in an advanced math/science school where we were required to perform and present research with faculty mentors at Ferris State University.
Animal experience:
4000 horse experience...4H, high school equestrian team, college equestrian team, currently taking hunter/jumper lessons, occasionally judge for trail classes at shows and help with the local eq. teams.
600 hrs at an animal shelter working with their cat colony.
Pet ownership (haha, I heard that Wisconsin liked seeing that so I included it too?)
Lots of pet sitting for clients at work, friends, professors, etc...
Clubs: too many...Pre-Vet Club, president of one of the humane societies on campus, Vagina Monologues, etc etc etc.

Recommendations:
DVM/practice owner vet at the clinic where I work.
Another DVM at the clinic who I've known for probably 4 years.
PhD research advisor/professor from undergrad.
I can't stress how important it is to form close relationships with mentors in the field and who you're involved with in undergrad/grad school. They are great sources of support, inspiration, and reality checks. They will be invaluable in your professional life. Plus, they will help you realize or not realize that you're doing what you should be doing with your life. The vets I work with have offered endless support, taught me tons, and have helped me feel like I'm doing what I should be.

Honors/Awards:
Full ride scholarship to my undergrad school.
Honor's college.
Dean's list most semesters.
Biology scholarship.
Graduated cum laude.

PS - talked largely about my experiences, but also discussed my first cycle and why I didn't attend the school I was offered a spot at. I figured it was better to be honest about something like that and let them know I was realistic of my goals.

If I have any advice for people who are applying, do the research - you don't need to apply to every school, but make sure you apply to ones you will absolutely attend if you get in. I messed up and didn't take it seriously enough my first cycle and ended up with an offer to a school that I didn't want to attend.

Second, gain as much experience as you can...and not because the number of hours are that important. It's really that important to know that this is what you want. Explore your doubts, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Most vets are supportive of people in your shoes because they were in that place not too long ago!

 

[Hotfillyky]

Second-time applicant, 32y, F, Louisiana resident, BA in biology

First cycle, c/o 2016 (Texas resident):
Applied: LSU, UTK, NCSU
Rejected: UTK, NCSU
Waitlist: LSU
Accepted-then-rejected off waitlist: LSU
In May 2012 I received a phone call from Jared with an offer of admission, but I had just received a D in one of my prerequisites [biochemistry], so in the same phone call I was rejected. Not my favorite day, even if he was extremely kind about it!

Second cycle, c/o 2017 (Louisiana resident):
Applied: LSU
Interviewed: LSU
Accepted: LSU
NOT accepted-then-rejected (haha): LSU
Attending: LSU!
I knew LSU was the right school for me, so I went ahead and moved back to Baton Rouge (lived here previously) and didn't apply anywhere else this year.

Stats:
Cumulative GPA: 3.01
Prerequisite GPA: 3.75
Last 45 GPA: 3.57
GRE:
1) Old: Q-690 (68%), V-670 (95%), W-3.5
2) New: Q-150 (43%), V-168 (98%), W-4.0
LSU required the new GRE this cycle, so I had to retake it.

Veterinary Experience:
9,100 hours - tech at two SA/exotics hospitals
480 hours - tech at two SA cat/dog exclusive hospitals
160 hours - volunteer assistant at spay/neuter clinic
10 hours - volunteer tech at triage center for ~550 dogs rescued from an animal hoarder/puppy mill

Animal Experience:
600 hours - competitive horseback riding (estimated - I went with the low end)
370 hours - volunteer keeper at exotic cat sanctuary
330 hours - volunteer at cat/dog shelter
8 whopping LA hours - volunteer at rescued farm animal sanctuary

Other Employment:
11,870 hours total - I have been employed since I was 13 so everything from the ice skating rink snack bar to digging ditches for a forestry research project to sorting mosquitos for a West Nile Virus research project to scanning and archiving ancient documents for a library to being a waitress went in here. And then some. I have had a lot of jobs.

Other Experiences:
Founder and president of my last college's pre-vet club
Officer positions in student organizations (vegan club, environmental club, LBGTQ club)
Volunteer at paleontological dig/fossil lab
Membership in high school clubs (quick recall, drama, French, German, Latin, a neighborhood youth group)
Girl Scouts
Competitive figure skating

Honors/Awards:
Honor rolls in two of my colleges
Two academic scholarships
National Merit award
Girl Scout Silver Award
Couple of awards for projects and foreign language study in high school

eLORS:
Four DVMs from the SA/exotics hospital I was a tech at the longest (5.5 years)

Personal Statement:
I discussed my interest in zoo medicine, the comparative aspects of SA/small exotics and zoo med (many of the same medications and treatments are used; I mentioned giving SQ fluids to both a domestic cat and a tiger), and the challenges I had experienced and that I anticipated in working with large exotics (tigers don't like SQ fluids!).

Explanation Statement:
My transcripts show twenty-one "W"s and twelve "F"s. That required some explanation! Most of them are from my first few years of college, just out of high school. I started experiencing severe depression/anxiety in high school, and it went undiagnosed and untreated until my mid-20s. I left my first two schools with a cGPA ranging from 1.87 - 2.1. My eventual diagnosis/treatment created a lot of medical debt, so when I was well enough to start school again in my late 20s, I needed to work full time. Some of my job demands resulted in dropping several classes (more "W"s), but after the first 2-3 years I was able to start taking classes full time and work only part time. My last two years of school I took a full schedule of upper level science courses, and most semesters I got all As with the occasional B (other than biochem ... stupid biochem). I said that I believe that my more recent academic record shows that I am able to successfully complete a rigorous schedule of science-based courses (i.e. VET SCHOOL).
I also put some of my CE credits earned while being a tech in here!

Interview:
I started working as a zookeeper after submitting my app, so I brought it up in my interview. I also talked about my incredibly small amount of LA experience (other than equine), and how I'm looking forward to learning more about LA med in vet school. In sales they call that close "assuming the sale".

What I've learned:
- If you are struggling with mental illness, get help sooner rather than later. It will take a lot of hard work, and maybe some trial-and-error with finding the right doctors and meds, but you CAN get better.
- A low cGPA and a bajillion "W"s will make it even more difficult to get into vet school, but not impossible. A lot depends on the school's admissions criteria; I have so many credit hours (207!) that even with getting 4.0s (or near) my last few years of college, my cGPA still barred me from consideration at many vet schools. Luckily for me, my top choice (LSU) weighs last 45/prereq GPAs much, much more heavily than cGPA.

Previous posters in the successful applicant stats threads with messy academic histories gave me hope, so I want anyone reading this who is in a similar situation to have hope too!

Congrats Pfox!

I am so glad you posted your info. I am also a non-trad with some early undergrad issues. I have a gagillion hours too (288) so my cGPA is even lower than yours. I also have a good number of "W"s and "F"s.

I am so glad that you were successful! I am trying to stay positive for myself this cycle (3rd).

Revel in your success and celebrate like you were in NO!

 

[RinTinTin]

My cat doesn't mind them actually. She just curls up on my lap and starts purring, then usually sits there for a few minutes after I'm done. Now my bird on the other hand, not a fan...

The only time my cat has ever hissed at me was for SQ fluids. And he has already had an abdominal exploration (it was negative... happily for him, sadly for my wallet) at 8 months old... so he's no stranger to being poked (naughty cat).

We also rarely do SQ fluids for cats where I work because they get so angry. But every animal is different.

 

[hpequalslove]

First time applicant. 22, Indiana Resident. Biology/Zoology double major at CSU.

Applied: Cornell, CSU, Illinois, K-State, Mizzou, MSU, Purdue, Wisconsin
Interviewed: Mizzou, Purdue (declined my Illinois interview offer)
Accepted: Cornell, Mizzou, Wisconsin
Waitlisted: Purdue
Rejected: CSU
Attending: I don't know!!! Probably between Cornell and Wisconsin - whoever gives me less debt

Stats:
Undergrad GPA: 3.6
Science GPA: 3.6
Last 45 hours: 3.8
GRE: Verbal - 158, Quantitative - 150, Writing - 4

Veterinary Experience:
- 2900 hours at a veterinary practice (worked for 2 years in high school then during all breaks) focused on small animals, exotics, and the occasional wildlife
- 100 hours as a volunteer researcher with dogs at CSU's vet teaching hospital

Animal Experience:
- 800 hours volunteering at my local animal shelter since 14 years old with cats and dogs
- 100 hours interning at the same animal shelter doing behavioral evaluations and adoption counseling
- 115 hours volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation facility with birds, opossums, squirrels, groundhogs, deer, and turtles
- 70 hours volunteering at a raptor program
- 30 hours volunteering at a wolf sanctuary

Other activities:
- Been active with Habitat for Humanity throughout my college career, became an officer second semester my freshman year and have been an officer ever since (co-President the last two years)
- Began working as a dishwasher in a research lab as soon as classes started freshman year and now working as a lab assistant helping in research projects with plants and molecular biology
- For my senior thesis, started working at a lab focusing on FIV and immune response

Personal statement:
I wrote about my understanding of the veterinary profession and how I learned that through my experiences (most notably my clinical experience), I also wrote about how I understood the research side of veterinary medicine since I have research experience and wrote about my wanting to work with low-cost spay/neuter programs in my place of birth (Puerto Rico) and the U.S. after graduation as well as going into private practice.

Honors/Awards:
- Basically just Dean's list a couple semesters

eLORS:
- My boss/co-owner (veterinarian obvs) of the veterinary clinic I worked at for so long who I worked with the most as a technician
- The veterinarian I did research with at the vet teaching hospital
- The P.I. of my lab for all of undergrad who was also my genetics professor
- Animal shelter behavior consultant who I worked with closely with both my internship and my volunteer work (including fostering)

 

[brownlemur]

For those non-traditional students with sub-par undergrad GPAs:

First time applicant. 33, male, PA Resident. East Asian Studies major (undergrad), Wash U in St. Louis.

Applied: Penn, Wisconsin, Michigan St, Tufts, RVC, Mizzou, VMRCVM, Ohio, UC Davis
Interviewed: Penn, Tufts, VMRCVM
Accepted: RVC (4-yr w/o interview), Penn, VMRCVM
Waitlisted: Tufts
Rejected: Ohio, Davis, Mizzou
Attending: Penn!

Stats:
Undergrad GPA: 3.03
Science GPA: 3.3-ish
Grad School (MS, Ecology & Evolution): 3.89
Grad School (MA, Primatology): 3.4
Post-Bac: 3.3
Last 45 hours: 3.4-ish
GRE: Verbal - 164, Quantitative - 159, Writing - 5.0

Veterinary Experience:
- 450 as zookeeper working with zoo vets daily
- 300 with wildlife vets working on my lemur projects in Madagascar over span of 6 years

Animal Experience:
- 2800 as zookeeper - worked with primates, monotremes, carnivores, raptors, herps, hoofstock, parrots, marsupials, sloths, etc....
-5500 conducting ecological research on wild lemurs in Madagascar spanning 2003-2012

Other activities:
- teaching English in Madagascar
- work as biking & hiking guide across Europe, US, Canada & Central America for 4 years

Honors/Awards:
- several publications
- lots of published abstracts
- presentations at many scientific conferences
- $30,000+ grant money raised for my field projects in Madagascar
- hon. mention award for best student poster presentation at primatology conference

eLORS:
- Committee from Post-Bac program (2 chem profs, 1 physiology prof)
- Zoo/Wildlife DVM who worked with me at zoo and in field
- Current boss at travel/tour guide company

Don't get discouraged if you haven't had a 4.0 GPA since birth! I wasn't even close!

 

[BGoodl]

First time applicant, female 21, NY resident

Applied: SGU, Cornell, Wisconsin, Tufts
Interviewed: Tufts, SGU
Accepted: Tufts, SGU
Rejected: Cornell, Wisconsin
Attending: Tufts

Stats:
GPA: 3.65
Honors degree Animal Science/Ag and Natural Resources double major
Minors in Psychology and Biology

GRE- Verbal- 157, Quant- 161, Writing 4

Veterinary/Biomedical Experience:
25 hrs shadowing an aquarium vet
200 hrs SA vet hospital assistant
700+ hrs Plum Island Animal Disease Center
45 hrs Brookhaven national lab- biomedical research with rats
30 hrs shadowing a small animal vet in surgery and stuff
80 hrs research with embryonic ducks

Animal Experience:
250 hrs Marine Rescue
countless hours- raising 2 guide dogs in training
66 hrs Farm Animal volunteer
80 hrs New Zealand study abroad, mostly farm animals
25 hrs animal science club field trips, mostly large animals
120 hrs animal science lab experience, mostly large animals
60 hrs honors animal experience in my major
~40 hrs 4-H Showmanship, probably more hours but I didn't keep track
1000+ hrs horse back riding, mucking stalls, helping with pony camp general barn rat

Other employment:
I had lots of other jobs- one of my interviews commented on it at my Tufts interview. He said he was impressed that I took on some of my own financial responsibility. It did take away from some of the time that I could have been getting veterinary experience, but such is life.

Activities:
Steel band, Tour guide, Sigma Alpha professional agricultural sorority, Lutheran campus ministries, karate

eLORS: I had 5 (probably too many) one from a vet I worked with, my internship coordinator at the marine rescue, my advisor (also taught a class to me), assistant dean who I worked with closely on some projects, research scientist at plum island

Personal statement:
I think my personal statement was pretty strong. I gave it a lot of editing. I started with a story about a necropsy on a whale that I helped with and moved into my fascination with anatomy then my interest in a career in veterinary public health. PM me if you want to read it.

Comments:
The hours I posted were those at the time I submitted my application. I did email my schools to update them on hours when I sent in my fall grades. I continued to get some interesting experiences over the fall and winter. I wasn't sure if I would get in the first round because from posts on SDN it seems as though a lot of applicants have a lot of more experiences and/or higher GPAs. I think the interview really helped set me apart. Good communications skills and genuine interest is essential. I also got feedback that they were impressed with the variety of unusual experiences that I had.

 

[lgs9109]

First time applicant; 21 years old; Female; New Mexico resident; BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry c/o 2013

Schools:
Applied: Washington, Colorado, Tufts, Texas A & M, Wisconsin, Purdue
Rejected: Texas A&M, Wisconsin
Interviews: Washington, Tufts, Purdue (declined all)
Waitlisted: None
Accepted: Colorado
Attending: Colorado!!!

Academics:
Cumulative GPA: 3.48
Last 45: 3.56
Science: 3.20
GRE: Verbal - 155, Quantitative - 157, Analytical Writing - 4.0 -- 1st and only try

Vet Experience: (at time of application)
56 hours on a vet med volunteer trip to Central America with VIDA
1025 hours in various small animal clinics
1200 hours in a small animal and exotic emergency and specialty center
1200 hours as a lab assistant in a veterinary diagnostic lab

Animal Experience: (at time of application)
none

Employment:
10000 hours of babysitting overnight (3 days a week for ~7 years)
780 hours working technical support for Apple Inc
960 hours working as an elderly caretaker

Awards:
2 semesters on the Dean’s List
Acceptance into UNM’s honors program
Award of UNM Scholars Scholarship
Receiving honors for graduating at top of high school class

Activities:
Founder of collage’s Pre-Vet club as well as serving as secretary and vice president

eLORS:
1 from the medical director/small animal vet that I worked with for a year
1 from the exotics vet I worked with for a year
1 from my pre-vet advisor and mentor from my school
1 from a teacher I had for two honors classes

Personal Statement:
I talked about why my grades were so bad. Basically, I had to raise my three siblings growing up, then was kicked out of my mom’s house and had to support myself working 2-3 jobs at one time while still taking 17-18 credit hours a semester. A big chunk of my personal statement was dedicated to this. I also spoke of my time at the emergency clinic and how I want to be an emergency vet. Also, I mentioned my volunteer trip to Central America and what I learned that will help me become a better vet. I didn’t include a cheesy story about a profound experience I had that made me what to be a vet. It doesn’t sound like a good PS just from my description, but it ended up sounding great!


I think that my experience and my personal statement are what got my in on my first try! I worked very hard on my PS and had SO many people read it and revised it hundreds of times, and it kicks butt. I also think it helped that I juggled so many things at once and that showed that I had good time management skills and could handle a large credit load. If you’d like to read it to help you start yours, PM me and I’m happy to forward it along

I hope I give hope to other people who don’t have outstanding GPAs that you can get into your dream school on the first try!

 

[kernel]

First time applicant; 21 years old; Female; New Mexico resident; BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry c/o 2013

Schools:
Applied: Washington, Colorado, Tufts, Texas A & M, Wisconsin, Purdue
Rejected: Texas A&M, Wisconsin
Interviews: Washington, Tufts, Purdue (declined all)
Waitlisted: None
Accepted: Colorado
Attending: Colorado!!!

Academics:
Cumulative GPA: 3.48
Last 45: 3.56
Science: 3.20
GRE: Verbal - 155, Quantitative - 157, Analytical Writing - 4.0 -- 1st and only try

Vet Experience: (at time of application)
56 hours on a vet med volunteer trip to Central America with VIDA
1025 hours in various small animal clinics
1200 hours in a small animal and exotic emergency and specialty center
1200 hours as a lab assistant in a veterinary diagnostic lab

Animal Experience: (at time of application)
none

Employment:
10000 hours of babysitting overnight (3 days a week for ~7 years)
780 hours working technical support for Apple Inc
960 hours working as an elderly caretaker

Awards:
2 semesters on the Dean's List
Acceptance into UNM's honors program
Award of UNM Scholars Scholarship
Receiving honors for graduating at top of high school class

Activities:
Founder of collage's Pre-Vet club as well as serving as secretary and vice president

eLORS:
1 from the medical director/small animal vet that I worked with for a year
1 from the exotics vet I worked with for a year
1 from my pre-vet advisor and mentor from my school
1 from a teacher I had for two honors classes

Personal Statement:
I talked about why my grades were so bad. Basically, I had to raise my three siblings growing up, then was kicked out of my mom's house and had to support myself working 2-3 jobs at one time while still taking 17-18 credit hours a semester. A big chunk of my personal statement was dedicated to this. I also spoke of my time at the emergency clinic and how I want to be an emergency vet. Also, I mentioned my volunteer trip to Central America and what I learned that will help me become a better vet. I didn't include a cheesy story about a profound experience I had that made me what to be a vet. It doesn't sound like a good PS just from my description, but it ended up sounding great!


I think that my experience and my personal statement are what got my in on my first try! I worked very hard on my PS and had SO many people read it and revised it hundreds of times, and it kicks butt. I also think it helped that I juggled so many things at once and that showed that I had good time management skills and could handle a large credit load. If you'd like to read it to help you start yours, PM me and I'm happy to forward it along

I hope I give hope to other people who don't have outstanding GPAs that you can get into your dream school on the first try!

We have eerily similar stats. Even my PS has the same focus as yours.

Congrats

 

[lgs9109]

We have eerily similar stats. Even my PS has the same focus as yours.

Congrats

You too! We rock