Successful Applicants c/o 2024

[dr.doggo]

Stalked these forums (and previous ones) the whole VMCAS cycle. Didn't plan on writing a post myself, but I know how much looking at the stats of successful applicants helped keep my hopes up during the application cycle!!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied
24, F, California Resident, non-traditional, first time applicant

Applied: UC Davis, WSU, Colorado, Oregon
Interview Invites: UC Davis, WSU (declined interview after got accepted to Davis)
Waiting to hear: none
Accepted: UC Davis
Attending: UC Davis

Overall GPA: 3.90
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.94
Last 45 GPA: 3.94

GRE (Q/V/W): x (%) / y (%) / z (%)
Q 154 (53%), V 149 (41%), W 3.5 (39%)
I took this purely for the fact that I had to have a GRE score. I studied for maybe a week before, but not really. I knew that the school's that I was really interested in, Davis and WSU, my gpa would be enough to probably get me to the interview stage.

Degree(s): Associates of Arts 2013, Bachelors of Science in Zoology 2019
I got my associates while I was in high school and then took time off to pursue a professional dance career in LA.

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - (hrs)
Veterinary Assistant-420 hours (this was at the time I submitted my application, I have more 1500 now I believe)
Shadowing vet from home-42 hours

Animal Experience:
Experience - (hrs)
Foal Watch-100 hours
Dog walker-60 hours
Volunteer at exotic sanctuary-99 hours
Zoo Youth Guide-182 hours

Research:
Experience - (hrs)
Undergrad research-112 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - (hrs)
Zoology club-160 hours
Horsemanship club-15 hours
Competitive dancer-4160 hours
Deans list 2013, 2017-2019
Presidents list 2012-2013, 2017, 2018
Tri-beta honor society member 2017-2019
Principal's Scholars Program 2013
Varsity letter for community service
Rookie of the Year 2012 (zoo guide)
Top 20 for high school

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs)
Sales Associate-216 hours
Professional dancer-2500 hours
Learning assistant for OChem-50 hours
Nanny-5460 hours

LORs:
Title of recommender (Vet? Manager? Supervisor? Vet tech?)
OChem professor/teacher I was a learning assistant for, Veterinarian from the clinic I have taken our animals to since I was a child, Professor that I took population genetics and animal behavior

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Summary of what you wrote about
I will be the first to admit that essays are not my forte, so Im just going to leave these out because they were not the best haha

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[LowGPAButStrongPassion]

Accepted students, let’s connect! #2024

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[LowGPAButStrongPassion]

Accepted students, let’s connect! #2024

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[TwelveMarina]

This goes out to all the kids with big dreams and big faith. I've been lurking these threads for years, and I would clutch onto success stories from less competitive candidates as hope for myself. I hope someone else finds the same encouragement from my story.

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied
25, F, Texas, non-trad at this point I guess, 2nd time applying to my IS, 1st time to OOS schools

Applied: Texas A&M University, Michigan State University, Kansas State University, University of Arizona
Interview Invites: Michigan State, University of Arizona, Kansas State(alternate, did not get pulled off)
Waiting to hear: n/a
Accepted: Michigan State
Attending: MICHIGAN STATE!!!!

Overall GPA: 2.98 y'all
Science Prerequisite GPA: ~3.15
Last 45 GPA: 3.33

GRE (Q/V/W): 2018: 154 Q (53%) / 156 V (73%) / 3.5 W (3.5%) 2017: 147 Q (26%)/ 155 V (68%) / 4 W (57%)

Degree(s): 2017 B.S. Biomedical Sciences - Texas A&M University

Veterinary Experience:
Surgery Technician at mixed animal practice - 1440 hrs
Veterinary Technician at mixed animal practice - 2020 hrs
Veterinary Assistant at small animal practice - 660 hrs

Animal Experience:
Boarding Kennel Experience - 225 hrs
Barn experience - 75 hrs
Working cattle @ family friend's ranch - ~8 hrs
Pet sitting
Pet ownership

Research:
Evolutionary genetics lab undergraduate assistant at TAMU ~900 hrs

Extracurriculars/Awards:
National Physique Committee Competitor 300+ hours
Adult rec softball
Intramural softball
Pre-vet society
Varsity softball and orchestra in HS
Playing guitar and writing music in free time

National Hispanic Scholar - College Board Recognition award 2013
National Honor Society in HS

Non-Animal Employment:
I worked two jobs (food service, retail, and the research job) for the majority of my time in undergrad. I worked 40 hour weeks between two jobs for 3-4 semesters and was able to bring it down to 25-30 hours a week towards the end of undergrad.

LORs:
All three were written by veterinarians at my current job at a mixed animal practice. Two are co-owners of the practice and one is an associate.

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Talked about passion for mixed animal practices in smaller rural communities, as well as a special interest in surgery. Talked about my experience as a surgery technician. Talked about having grit and the ability to persevere in difficult situations, familial hardships, and making my own way for myself. Talked about influential female veterinarians and their ability to balance being doctors, mothers and mentors.

Just want to close by saying that it is possible. Maybe you're in my shoes and you don't feel like you can catch a break. Maybe you've worked your butt off just to make ends meet and feel like you have very little to show for it. Maybe you're not financially privileged or don't have those supportive families that everyone around you seems to have. Just want to tell you that you don't need those things to make your dreams come true. You are the only person who can give yourself a chance, so don't ever stop working.

 

[chaoticlife]

This goes out to all the kids with big dreams and big faith. I've been lurking these threads for years, and I would clutch onto success stories from less competitive candidates as hope for myself. I hope someone else finds the same encouragement from my story.

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied
25, F, Texas, non-trad at this point I guess, 2nd time applying to my IS, 1st time to OOS schools

Applied: Texas A&M University, Michigan State University, Kansas State University, University of Arizona
Interview Invites: Michigan State, University of Arizona, Kansas State(alternate, did not get pulled off)
Waiting to hear: n/a
Accepted: Michigan State
Attending: MICHIGAN STATE!!!!

YAY, congrats! Looking at your post, it reminds me a lot of myself. I'm 25, also from Texas, 3rd time applicant but 1st time to MSU, and I will be attending MSU as well! Can't wait for us to be classmates!

 

[TwelveMarina]

YAY, congrats! Looking at your post, it reminds me a lot of myself. I'm 25, also from Texas, 3rd time applicant but 1st time to MSU, and I will be attending MSU as well! Can't wait for us to be classmates!

Ahh yay! Everything happens for a reason and we finally made it! Can’t wait either! Glad to know I won’t be the only Texan struggling to adjust to the cold hahah

 

[Twin2298]

First I want to say that you definitely don’t need thousands of vet hours to get accepted. I always worried that only having a few hundred hours of vet experience would put me at a disadvantage. Don’t get me wrong, they definitely help, but if other areas of your application are strong (academics for me) you can definitely get accepted! I also had no large animal experience with a vet and almost none outside of my classes. My research experience probably helped, but I didn’t have any publications. I think one of the best things you can do if you don’t have much vet experience is to try and get an internship in research -even if it’s not animal related.

Age: 22
Gender: Female
Residence: Ohio
Traditional applicant

# times applied: 1
Applied: Ohio State
Interview Invites: Ohio State
Waiting to hear: 0
Accepted: Ohio State
Attending: Ohio State
Overall GPA: 3.95
Science Prerequisite GPA: 4.0
Last 45 GPA: 4.0
GRE (Q/V/W): Not required


Degree(s):
-Associates of Science-Biochemical Science
-Bachelors of Science-Animal Science

Veterinary Experience:
Vet Assistant (small animal clinic limited to cats and dogs) - 450 hours
Animal Experience:
Total ~ 350 hours
-Volunteer at local Humane Society
-Various large animal labs in school, swine and sheep production courses
-Worked with sheep and calves at a friends farm. Tagging and banding tails on lambs
-Dogsitting for coworkers over 2 years
Research:
OARDC Food Animal Health Research Program: worked with porcine enteroids and using bacteria to prevent rotavirus infection - 300 hours
Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Founded and was co-President for a pre-vet club
-Newcomb Scholar two years (top 5 students by GPA in each class)
-3 years of 4H with various animal and misc projects
-4 years of band (marching, pep, concert/symphonic, and state fair band)

Non-Animal Employment:
PRC-Saltillo (a company that manufactures AAC devices for people that can’t speak. I worked in the funding department with various insurance companies ) - 3000 hours

LORs:
-Veterinarian at the clinic I worked at
-Academic/Pre vet advisor from my associates degree
-supervisor at PRC-Saltillo
Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about originally wanting to go into human med, then switching to vet med (small animal focus), then switching again to mixed after going to an ag school for my associates. My experiences, especially at PRC-Saltillo- helped a lot with writing and qualities I liked in coworkers/teammates. I’m not sure if having a twin also going into vet med counted as diversity or not, but I did mention it in the explanation statement. I’m also a first generation college student.


I also used the explanation statement to explain how the cost of school was a major factor in my decisions, especially having a sibling in college simultaneously. I didn’t always get to work at the clinic like I wanted since it didn’t pay as much as my full time job, so I mostly stuck to evenings and weekends. I think this really helped to explain my situation a bit since I had low vet hours.

 

[DVM2024]

**Repost with updates**

21, Female, North Carolina, traditional 1st time applicant

Applied: NCSU, Tufts, Purdue, Auburn, UGA, Cornell, UC Davis
Interview Invites: Tufts, Purdue, Auburn (declined invitation)
Waiting to hear: None
Rejected: UC Davis
Accepted: NCSU, Cornell, UGA, Tufts*
(*this is the only one I was accepted to out right...the rest were off the waitlist! If you're waitlisted, don't give up!!!)
Attending: NCSU!!!!

Overall GPA: 3.96
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.93
Last 45 GPA: 3.93

GRE (Q/V/W): 159 (72%) / 163 (93%) / 4.0 (59%)

Degree(s): B.S. of Zoology (May 2020)

Veterinary Experience:
-1800 hrs SA clinic student assistant
-1600 hrs SA clinic veterinary assistant (different clinic)
-120 hrs volunteering with mobile mixed practice
-48 hrs emergency clinic vet assistant (literally just started working there when I submitted my application)

Animal Experience:
-15 hrs pet sitting
-40 hrs reptile care
-500 hrs stablehand
-800 hrs dog boarding kennel

Research:
-130 hrs field research, publication in process

Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Dean's List (6 semesters)
-Full tuition academic scholarship
-Honors Scholar
-Highest level award in an international club

Non-Animal Employment:
-Pre-Vet Club Vice President and founding member
-Member and leader in international club organization from kindergarten to graduation

LORs:
-2 SA veterinarians
-Research prof
-Another bio prof

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I talked about experiences that led to my interest in veterinary medicine (my childhood dog's cancer, standout patients I worked with in clinics, etc.) as well as hobbies of mine outside the animal realm. Also focused quite a bit on unique life experiences... I was a pretty cookie cutter applicant so I wanted to emphasize what made me different.

 

[blueheeler]

**Repost with updates**

21, Female, North Carolina, traditional 1st time applicant

Applied: NCSU, Tufts, Purdue, Auburn, UGA, Cornell, UC Davis
Interview Invites: Tufts, Purdue, Auburn (declined invitation)
Waiting to hear: None
Rejected: UC Davis
Accepted: NCSU, Cornell, UGA, Tufts*
(*this is the only one I was accepted to out right...the rest were off the waitlist! If you're waitlisted, don't give up!!!)
Attending: NCSU!!!!

Overall GPA: 3.96
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.93
Last 45 GPA: 3.93

GRE (Q/V/W): 159 (72%) / 163 (93%) / 4.0 (59%)

Degree(s): B.S. of Zoology (May 2020)

Veterinary Experience:
-1800 hrs SA clinic student assistant
-1600 hrs SA clinic veterinary assistant (different clinic)
-120 hrs volunteering with mobile mixed practice
-48 hrs emergency clinic vet assistant (literally just started working there when I submitted my application)

Animal Experience:
-15 hrs pet sitting
-40 hrs reptile care
-500 hrs stablehand
-800 hrs dog boarding kennel

Research:
-130 hrs field research, publication in process

Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Dean's List (6 semesters)
-Full tuition academic scholarship
-Honors Scholar
-Highest level award in an international club

Non-Animal Employment:
-Pre-Vet Club Vice President and founding member
-Member and leader in international club organization from kindergarten to graduation

LORs:
-2 SA veterinarians
-Research prof
-Another bio prof

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I talked about experiences that led to my interest in veterinary medicine (my childhood dog's cancer, standout patients I worked at in clinics, etc.) as well as hobbies of mine outside the animal realm. Also focused quite a bit on unique life experiences... I was a pretty cookie cutter applicant so I wanted to emphasize what made me different.

Congrats! I was silently rooting for you!

 

[DVM2024]

Congrats! I was silently rooting for you!

Thank you!!! I'm so happy we both got our dream schools!!!

 

[SCML]

I am so excited to be posting in here!!!!

22, F, Ohio, traditional applicant, 2nd application cycle

Applied: tOSU, Iowa State (no interviews), Purdue, Michigan State, Auburn, Mississippi State, Virginia Maryland
Interview Invites: Auburn, Mississippi State, tOSU
Waiting to hear: None
Accepted: Auburn, Iowa State
Attending: Auburn!!!

Overall GPA: 3.67
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.6
Last 45 GPA: 3.89
(I graduated a semester early so I didn’t have much time to improve my GPAs after my last cycle)

GRE (Q/V/W): 150 / 150 / 4.5 —> terrible I know!!! (only Auburn required it so I only took it once and ignored it after that lol)

Degree(s): BS in Animal Sciences

Veterinary Experience:
worked at 2 small animal clinics ~1100 hours
shadowed at an emergency vet ~ 100 hours
internship at equine hospital ~ 80 hours
internship at zoo w/ some food animal and exotics ~ 100 hours

Animal Experience:
volunteering at humane society ~ 40 hours
internship at same zoo ^ ~ 300 hours
volunteering at wildlife center ~ 120 hours
sheep class in undergrad ~ 30 hours
dairy class in undergrad ~ 50 hours
livestock class in undergrad ~ 50 hours
training service dogs ~ 150 hours

Research:
beef cattle RNA study ~ 35 hours
capstone class ~ 40 hours
solo research study at zoo ~ 100+ hours (not all was added to app at the time but it said how many hours I was doing weekly until my internship ended)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
club lacrosse throughout college
sustainability club
tutoring for children with learning needs
training service dogs
dance marathon team captain
deans list
scholarship from college of ag
(i didn’t add anything from HS)

Non-Animal Employment:
babysitting through undergrad program ~ 230 hours
full time nanny ~ 1120 hours
coldstone ~ 720 hours
call center at undergrad ~ 160 hours

LORs:
vet I worked with at the second small animal clinic
boss at coldstone
undergrad animal science professor that I had for multiple classes

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
1st essay: wrote about how the vet saved my childhood dogs life after he swallowed a tennis ball whole (true story) and how it made me want to go into surgery
2nd essay: discussed all the ways vets contribute to society (public health, disease transmission, food safety, etc) and how I thought it was important to/I wanted to study zoonotic diseases
3rd essay: how vets should be resilient, determined, and compassionate and how I am those qualities in everyday life and in vet med

My first application cycle I applied to 5 schools and didn’t get a single interview. I added to my application (wildlife center, more volunteer and research hours, internship at zoo) and improved my essays (which still probably weren’t the best!!). I know some schools don’t care about it, but the schools I applied to last cycle all mentioned I needed more research and that was basically it (so if you’re looking for experience to get, go for that!!). I did my file review with VA MD for this year already and she basically told me that it’s such a fine line of decisions, if someone has the same exact stats but 10 more large animal hours, they are going to pick them. Keep your head up everybody!!

 

[VetGirl42]

Congratulations to those who have heard happy news already! Please post your stats to help other applicants as the acceptances roll in. The format from years before is posted below.

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied
40, Female, USA, Non-Traditional, 2

Applied: Cornell, Midwest, Davis, Colorado, Oregon, Washington
Interview Invites: Washington, and Out of State wait list Oregon (they don't interview out of state)
Waiting to hear:
Accepted: Washington
Attending: WSU

Overall GPA: 3.0 (low from previous undergraduate work)
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.6
Last 45 GPA: 3.8

GRE (Q/V/W): 157 (64%)/ 164 (94%) / 5 (92%)

Degree(s): BA Biblical Studies (Cum Laude), Associate of Science (Deans List)

Veterinary Experience:
Worked as lead Veterinary Tech and Office manager 2011-2016 more than 20 hours a week working as Veterinary tech, but only counted 20 hours a week. 5200 hours

Animal Experience:
Rode horses and competed in 3-day eventing and Pony club from 5 years old to 25 years of age. Raised dogs and since 2011 to current raised and trained competitive herding dogs. Live and work on a stockdog training facility since fall of 2015. Manage a flock of 160 head of sheep, 90 head of duck, and 6-30 head of cattle off and on throughout the year. I have competed and placed at National Level competitions in stockdog competitions.

Research:
Experience - very little

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - several within stockdog competition.

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs) - worked as a tutor at a college, worked as a laboratory tech, census, lifeguard, hotel front desk agent, Internships with NCIS and ATF

LORs:
Title of recommender : Veterinarians, Science Professors

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I talked about my journey, which has been a long and winding one. I owned my mistakes, and the failures I have had academically. I talked about what I learned from those failures.

 

[futurebostonvet]

Congratulations to those who have heard happy news already! Please post your stats to help other applicants as the acceptances roll in. The format from years before is posted below.

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied
40, Female, USA, Non-Traditional, 2

Applied: Cornell, Midwest, Davis, Colorado, Oregon, Washington
Interview Invites: Washington, and Out of State wait list Oregon (they don't interview out of state)
Waiting to hear:
Accepted: Washington
Attending: WSU

Overall GPA: 3.0 (low from previous undergraduate work)
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.6
Last 45 GPA: 3.8

GRE (Q/V/W): 157 (64%)/ 164 (94%) / 5 (92%)

Degree(s): BA Biblical Studies (Cum Laude), Associate of Science (Deans List)

Veterinary Experience:
Worked as lead Veterinary Tech and Office manager 2011-2016 more than 20 hours a week working as Veterinary tech, but only counted 20 hours a week. 5200 hours

Animal Experience:
Rode horses and competed in 3-day eventing and Pony club from 5 years old to 25 years of age. Raised dogs and since 2011 to current raised and trained competitive herding dogs. Live and work on a stockdog training facility since fall of 2015. Manage a flock of 160 head of sheep, 90 head of duck, and 6-30 head of cattle off and on throughout the year. I have competed and placed at National Level competitions in stockdog competitions.

Research:
Experience - very little

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - several within stockdog competition.

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs) - worked as a tutor at a college, worked as a laboratory tech, census, lifeguard, hotel front desk agent, Internships with NCIS and ATF

LORs:
Title of recommender : Veterinarians, Science Professors

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I talked about my journey, which has been a long and winding one. I owned my mistakes, and the failures I have had academically. I talked about what I learned from those failures.

Congratulations! Looking forward to meeting you and being classmates

 

[c0smopolitan]

27 year old female (26 at the time of application cycle), Michigan resident, 1st time applicant

Applied: Michigan State University, Midwestern, K-State, University of Arizona, Iowa
Interview Invites: University of Arizona
Rejected: Michigan State (this was painful), Midwestern (I miscalculated my GPA, dats my bad)
Interview waitlist: K-State (was never called off)
Waitlisted: Iowa (#78)
Accepted: University of Arizona, Iowa (called off waitlist)
Attending: University of Arizona

Overall GPA: LOL 2.64
Science Prerequisite GPA: Varied by school- since almost all the schools I applied to honored grade replacement, it ranged from a 3.6-3.75 based on requirements. The lowest was a 3.43 for Midwestern due to grade averaging.
Last 45 GPA (This ended up being last 59 for me due to the amount of classes I took): I calculated 3.44, Iowa calculated 3.51
Last 36 GPA: 3.9

GRE (Q/V/W): I took this so I could apply to K-State- I didn't try. The Q and V were low enough to where I was surprised they were even able to actually put a number to it. W was a 4.0 (57%)

Degree(s): B.S in University Studies (I didn't want to take calc and plant physiology, sue me), Minor in Biology.

Veterinary Experience:
7,500 hours at day practice (vet assistant)
~2000 hours at emergency/speciality referral hospital (vet assistant with the ability to draw blood/place catheters, current employment)
300 at another day practice (vet 'tech')
5 hours bovine (dairy farm)
15 hours equine
Since application- I have continued to work at the ER 25 hours a month since I have taken a new, full time job, so the hours are probably closer to ~2,150 now.

Animal Experience:
At the time of application- none. Since then, I have accepted a job as an operations manager at a humane society. While I wasn't able to have this on my application, I was able to talk about this at my MMI interview at UofA. All of my animal experience was veterinary experience.
Since application- ~700 hours as an operations manager.

Research:
50 hours with a professor/researcher at my university where I obtained my bachelors where we investigated relationships between Herpes Simplex Virus and potentially related Ovarian and Uterine cancer by isolating genetic sequences and comparing them to genomes of tumors.
30 hours at my community college (leader and creator) for water quality testing of retention ponds

Extracurriculars/Awards:
NHS (1 semester lawlz)
VP of Science Club (~3 years)
Scholarship: Received 1 scholarship a handful of years ago due to financial hardship+decent grades

Volunteering:
40 hours tutoring underprivileged children in the area for homework, projects, reading, etc.
200 hours with special needs children and adults in field trips, sensory and tactical activities, and in house activities

Non-Animal Employment:
Pretty much anything you could think of- server, office assistant, retail, etc. Many, many hours here prior to jumping into the veterinary field.

LORs:
2 ER vets I work with, 1 letter from the teacher in charge of science club

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
*I used the explanation statement to talk about why I had withdrawals and low grades, and what I did to make up for those. (I often attempted a full load of college courses while working full time, volunteering, etc and bit off more than I could chew). A more stable financial situation allowed me to dedicate my time to prove I was capable of being a well disciplined student with grades that reflected my commitment to the profession. I spent 10 months prior to the application cycle opening completing my B.S, and taking 61 credits while working full time (25 credits in the fall, 24 credits in the spring, 12 credits in the summer). These credits both allowed me to complete my B.S, as well as re-do courses that I had gotten poor grades in (I re-took any science course I had a C in) as well as complete my last set of pre-reqs required for vet school, all with A's.
*I talked about my passion for providing services to low income communities and families to help with the human/animal bond, allow for client education and why it was important to me. Talked about One Health on a macro level and why its important both in and out of the veterinary field, and how veterinarians play an important role in that relationship.
*I talked about my desire to specialize in small animal/exotic emergency medicine due to the diverse population, unique caseload, and unpredictable schedule. Having the stimulation to solve different 'puzzles' via investigate medicine is an exciting prospect for me, and something I value in long-term career growth. Also mentioned that on a volunteer basis, helping within local communities in some capacities (shelter med) is important to me.
*Talked about how vets contribute to society via cross pollination and how they can continue to teach one another to help the veterinary community grow and become evermore successful.
*Talked about how I felt that perseverance, the ability to translate subject matter expertise to varied audiences, and passion by being a lifelong learner are attributes for success in veterinarians.

Additional thoughts:
* I calculated all of my own science GPA's per school, last 36, 45, etc on a spreadsheet prior to application to make sure I would be competitive, and to make sure that what I calculated matched up with what the school calculated. I mostly only chose schools that would honor grade replacement since I re-took a handful of science courses. I also applied to schools that wouldn't look at cumulative GPA or weigh it since I knew that was an obvious weakness of my application.
* You hear it a lot, but it only takes one. My cycle went rejection (Midwestern) --> rejection (Michigan State) --> interview alternate (K-State)--> interview invite (Arizona) --> waitlist (Iowa) --> acceptance (Arizona) -->waitlist acceptance (Iowa). I feel lucky to have been accepted to two wonderful schools on my first application cycle and to start this journey, I am so excited. That being said, I spent A LOT of time on here obsessing- comparing my stats to others, obsessively checking, etc. In hindsight, I realized it's a bit of a crapshoot. The best advice I can give you is to learn to find other distractions during your application cycle- this ain't it boo. Find healthy outlets for your stress, the application cycle can feel long and disheartening, but don't let that doubt your self worth or ability.

 

[sheltermed]

@c0smopolitan congrats on the acceptances! wondering, what made you choose the university of arizona over iowa state?

 

[c0smopolitan]

@c0smopolitan congrats on the acceptances! wondering, what made you choose the university of arizona over iowa state?

Thanks! First and foremost I weighed tuition- Arizona is estimated to put me at $210k, Iowa at $218k (without tuition increases). Next, I weighed factors that were important to me- timeline to graduation, livability, career prospects for my fiancé, teaching hospital, teaching style, etc. Tuition was about the same for the two schools, though I obviously don't get a teaching hospital at Arizona. However, the thought of doing a 3 year program vs a 4 year program was appeasing to me. I'll be 28 in December and feel ready to start the program and get it done without having some summers to work as a tech in a hospital or what have you. Graduating in 3 years with tuition being roughly the same means that I can start paying back my loans sooner, and it also means less interest, and 1 less year of living expenses that I would have to incur and have to ask my fiancé to help saddle of the burden of being responsible for while I'm in school.
Next, coming from Michigan with all of those factors above, I was excited to live in a different climate (i.e. no winters, mountains, etc). I also had to consider job prospects for my fiancé- he would have a better career outlook in Tucson than in Ames and with us going down to a single income household, it's important (essential) for him to have a job, and we both feel that we would be happier in Tucson than in Ames.
Not having a teaching hospital was an obvious negative and concern, and I still think about it being a limiting factor. I spent a lot of time talking with doctors I work closely with that attended different schools throughout the US and thought about what was important for me. I recognize that I will be losing teaching and learning opportunities that won't be readily available at my fingertips, however, the distributive model doesn't necessarily scare me and wasn't something I was opposed to. I believe I can still get a good education and hands on learning with that model, in addition to their plans that they have set up for labs and hands on learning for the first two years prior to rotations.
I appreciated that they seem to be developing a curriculum that isn't solely or mostly didactic and will be incorporating a lot of group based learning, interactive learning while in the classroom, and hands on opportunities with labs that we will have models and live animals. Other factors came into play like student health and wellness, they seem invested in developing a good work/life balance and I liked that my professors would only be focused on teaching my class- they wouldn't be practicing, teaching other classes, etc.
Sorry for the novel, I know it seems crazy I picked a new school over an established school with a teaching hospital. Hopefully I conveyed my reasons sanely, let me know if you have any questions!

 

[sheltermed]

Thanks! First and foremost I weighed tuition- Arizona is estimated to put me at $210k, Iowa at $218k (without tuition increases). Next, I weighed factors that were important to me- timeline to graduation, livability, career prospects for my fiancé, teaching hospital, teaching style, etc. Tuition was about the same for the two schools, though I obviously don't get a teaching hospital at Arizona. However, the thought of doing a 3 year program vs a 4 year program was appeasing to me. I'll be 28 in December and feel ready to start the program and get it done without having some summers to work as a tech in a hospital or what have you. Graduating in 3 years with tuition being roughly the same means that I can start paying back my loans sooner, and it also means less interest, and 1 less year of living expenses that I would have to incur and have to ask my fiancé to help saddle of the burden of being responsible for while I'm in school.
Next, coming from Michigan with all of those factors above, I was excited to live in a different climate (i.e. no winters, mountains, etc). I also had to consider job prospects for my fiancé- he would have a better career outlook in Tucson than in Ames and with us going down to a single income household, it's important (essential) for him to have a job, and we both feel that we would be happier in Tucson than in Ames.
Not having a teaching hospital was an obvious negative and concern, and I still think about it being a limiting factor. I spent a lot of time talking with doctors I work closely with that attended different schools throughout the US and thought about what was important for me. I recognize that I will be losing teaching and learning opportunities that won't be readily available at my fingertips, however, the distributive model doesn't necessarily scare me and wasn't something I was opposed to. I believe I can still get a good education and hands on learning with that model, in addition to their plans that they have set up for labs and hands on learning for the first two years prior to rotations.
I appreciated that they seem to be developing a curriculum that isn't solely or mostly didactic and will be incorporating a lot of group based learning, interactive learning while in the classroom, and hands on opportunities with labs that we will have models and live animals. Other factors came into play like student health and wellness, they seem invested in developing a good work/life balance and I liked that my professors would only be focused on teaching my class- they wouldn't be practicing, teaching other classes, etc.
Sorry for the novel, I know it seems crazy I picked a new school over an established school with a teaching hospital. Hopefully I conveyed my reasons sanely, let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you for the in depth explanation! I think it will be valuable for other applicants/accepted students in their decision making, so definitely don't apologize for the novel

 

[futuresadvm97]

Finally got around to posting this! I lurked on here for a long time so it's very exciting to be able to post here! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions

22, Female, NY, Traditional 2nd-time applicant

Applied: Cornell, Michigan State, Ohio State, UGA, Purdue, Illinois, Midwestern, Western, LMU, Guelph
Interview Invites: Midwestern, Western, Illinois
Waiting to hear: None
Accepted: Midwestern
Attending: Midwestern

Overall GPA: 3.56
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.43
Last 45 GPA: 3.76

GRE (Q/V/W): 154 (53%) / 157 (76%) / 5 (92%)

Degree(s): B.S in Biology, minor in Chemistry

Veterinary Experience:
-Shadowed at 2 SA clinics- 540 hours
-Shadowed at USDA import facility- 275 hours

Animal Experience:
-Laboratory animal caretaker- 315 hours
-Dog walker- 50 hours
-Aquarium volunteer in marine mammal department- 100 hours
-Helped at horse barn- 6 hours

Research:
-Microbiology research on bacteriophages- 800 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Secretary and treasurer of biology club
-Member in a few other clubs
-Biology honor society
-Chemistry honor society

Non-Animal Employment:
-Deckhand at Maid of the Mist- 2600 hours

LORs:
-Two SA veterinarians
-Pre-health advisor/professor
-Professor I did research under
-Boss at lab animal job



Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
1) Talked about how I want to make exotic pet medicine more accessible
2) Advocate for the health of both animals and humans
3) Communication, adaptability, and empathy

 

[cffry]

@c0smopolitan Hi, congrats on your acceptance!
quick question; I was looking at Arizona's vet school and they ask for cumulative 3.0 or 2.75 min GPA req. How were you able to get in with 2.64?

Last cycle, the requirements were a prerequisite GPA of a 2.5

 

[FijianVet]

23, Male, Oregon, Traditional, 1st-time applicant

Applied: Ontario Veterinary College (OVC-Guelph), Ohio State University (OSU), Iowa State University (ISU), & University of Arizona (U of A)
Interview Invites: OVC (12/16/2019), OSU (12/19/2019), ISU (Does not interview students), U of A (01/30/2020-I declined the interview)
Waiting to hear: None
Accepted: OVC (02/14/2020), OSU (02/03/2020), ISU (02/14/2020)
Attending: OVC

Overall GPA: 3.75
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.89
Last 45 GPA: 3.70

GRE (Q/V/W): x (%) / y (%) / z (%) (Did not need it for any applications, I wish I had known earlier before taking it!)

Degree(s): BA in Biology-Minor(s) Spanish & Psychology, Honors Program

Veterinary Experience:
Veterinary Oncologist: 120 hrs
DVM/PhD Scientist: 5,000 hrs
Veterinary Ophthalmologist: 1,100 hrs
Community Clinic: 85 hrs
Wildlife Treatment Crew: 100 hrs
Large Animal Emergency Treatment Crew: 30 hours

Animal Experience:
Zoo/Sanctuary: 200 hrs

Research:
National Institutes of Health T32 Grant Fellowship: 3,000 hrs
National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU): 630 hrs
National Primate Center: 600 hrs

Volunteer:
Tutoring for K-12 at local schools near university of campus: 300 hrs
ER Volunteer at local hospital: 200 hrs

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Dean’s List
Psi Chi Member (Psychology Honors Society Member)
Sigma Tau Delta (English Honors Society Member)
Service Leadership Award
Publication (three co-authorship papers)
Presented at Conferences
Student Council Member
Pre-Vet Club Member
Honors Program Scholarship Award
Other-organization scholarship Awards
Regional Competition for Geology-1st place Award

Non-Animal Employment:
Library Circulation Desk: 5,500 hours
Event Coordinator for my university-Student Council: 700 hrs

LORs: I do believe that the professionals who wrote my letters of recommendations helped me stand out.

1. Co-written by two Graduate Research Professors in Infectious disease and Biochemistry
2. Written by a DVM/PhD Scientist who is my mentor that I worked with in several animal studies and experiments.
3. Written by a Veterinary Ophthalmologist (double board certified in Ophthalmology & Internal Medicine)-Owner of Private Practice

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
So I started out my VMCAS essay questions with how clinical medicine and working as a researcher in a virology lab influenced my decision to be a vet. I have a lot of experience in the research field so I think that helped me stand out a little. I made sure to talk about the experience I had at the ophthalmology clinic and briefly talked about the complicated cases that I saw. My main interest is Lab Animal Medicine, and so I explained in my application how my research experiences, especially the animal studies I participated in led me to gain interest in this field.

 

[Panda84]

36, Female, Washington State, Non-traditional, First time applying.

Applied: Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Michigan, Western, Minnesota, Virginia, Lincoln Memorial, Penn, Cornell, Mississippi, Missouri, Wisconsin, Colorado, University of Arizona, Louisiana.

Interview Invites: Western, Michigan, Lincoln (declined interview), Minnestoa, Univ. Arizona.

Waitlisted: Virginia (then eventually rejected), Oregon, Michigan, Louisiana, Western.

Rejected: Washington, Iowa, Virginia, Penn, Cornell, Mississippi, Missouri, Wisconsin, Colorado, Univ. of Arizona, and Minnesota. It hurts when you get rejected after an interview!

Waiting to hear: Still on waitlists for Oregon, Michigan, Louisiana, and Western but its probably a small chance of getting pulled at this point.

Accepted: Iowa State University

Attending: Iowa State University

Overall GPA: 3.0 *Low cumulative and science GPA because it included my schooling from like 10 years ago when I did terrible. When I returned to school I drastically brought my GPA up and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.86 cumulative for my recent school years.
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.3
Last 45 GPA: 3.9

GRE (Q/V/W): 149/ 155/3.5
Degree(s):

B.S. Biology, Magna Cum Laude

Veterinary Experience:
Experience -
I was actually pretty low on veterinary experience before I applied, due to school and working at a "non animal" job but after the application I started a job at in an animal ER and gained a lot more hours at the spay neuter clinic, and wildlife rehabilitation center.

Spay Neuter Clinic- 350
Small Animal Job Shadow- 36
Equine Job Shadow- 16

Animal Experience:
Experience -
Wildlife Care Assistant -15
Pet Sitting- 300

Research:
Experience -

Research project through the university- 50

Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Graduated Magna Cum Laude
-Dean's List 7 quarters.
-Top Honors Award at my community college's first science and engineering fair.
-Tau Sigma National Honor Society.
-Volunteer work-1200 hours
-Recreational Hobbies & Sports- 1400 hours

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience -

Around 10,000 or more hours of work experience as a Lab Assistant, Medical Records Clerk, Barista, Sales Associate.

LORs:
Title of recommender: Biology Professor, Veterinarian where I volunteered, Former supervisor.

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Summary of what you wrote about:

I went to college directly out of high school and then dropped out. I had a terrible GPA. I had some personal struggles with addiction I wrote about. I talked about how I have turned my life around and what that looked like. When I returned to school about 10 years later, I got great grades and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Unfortunately the grades from my past didn't go away and led me to have a lower cumulative GPA. I tried to stress that my past grades did not reflect who I was today. I also have some misdemeanors on my record from my past. I thought surely that would be a huge issue but a lot of schools were able to look past that. I only bring that up in hopes it may provide some encouragement to someone who thinks that may be a barrier to them.

 

[YAACMF]

30, Male, Georgia, Non-traditional applicant (first gen college), First time applying

Applied: UGA
Interview Invites: None (UGA does not interview)
Waiting to hear: None
Accepted: UGA
Attending: UGA

Overall GPA: 3.47 (3.27 undergrad, 4.00 post-bacc)
Science Prerequisite GPA: 4.00
Last 45 GPA: 4.00

GRE (Q/V/W): 154 (53%) / 164 (94%) / 5.0 (92%)

Degree(s): BA in English and History from a small liberal arts (NESCAC) school

Veterinary Experience:
Avian and Exotics Clinic Vet Tech (1500 through application submission date)
Wildlife Rehab Center Volunteer (580 at time of application)

Animal Experience:
Dog Walker (ugh) (1715)
Ambassador Animal Handler Intern (216)

Research:
None (at least not science research)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
D3 Rower + Team Captain (4 yrs.)

Non-Animal Employment:
FT College Rowing Coach (many hours)
PT Project Consultant for Program Evaluation Firm (800)

LORs:
Veterinarian (Practice Owner)
Veterinarian (Practice Associate/Director Vet Med at WL Center)
Director Animal Care at WL Center

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Talked about serving in underserved areas (rural, mixed animal practice)
Focused on how vets help their community
Discussed how being a good vet is not all about loving cute and fuzzy animals

Closing Thoughts:
I got myself into vet school despite having the wrong degree (woo humanities), a meh undergrad gpa, and making the choice to switch path in my late 20s. What it took, though, was a focused effort to make clear to an admissions committee that this was something I wanted by achieving top marks while attending school half-time and holding down several jobs to make it all work financially. I think that made up for the above issues and the fact that I have no LA or dog and cat clinical experience. Hopefully this gives hope to some other non-trad applicant out there - you don't have to do a thousand things to get accepted like some of these posts show. Focus on a few of the important ones, excel in those, and show the committee what you are capable of doing.

 

[Ariel-Li]

Research:
Experience - again, LOTS of time including my own thesis project from my M.S.

I also have a master's degree (and several mediocre publications) from a non-veterinary field. Will that count as research experience? I always thought that exclusively refers to research in the biomedical field.

 

[Ariel-Li]

-- My essay was basically “why I never wanted to be a vet,” so… yeah. I tried to write it from several other angles and they all felt fake, so I finally just went with the truth. I never did want to be a vet. Everyone told me not to be a vet. Heck, everyone had told me not to be a horse trainer. I was initially a pre-law English and philosophy major at SMU when I was “traditional college-aged.” But when you follow your passions and develop your talents… sometimes you end up somewhere unexpected. And I truly feel like this is where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to do. (I guess I filled in with enough of my experiences and analysis of those experiences to support that and convince them to admit someone whose “purpose statement” essay was about why she had never intended to be a vet.)

How did you narrate your never-wanted-to-be-vet experience into a positive story? I'm on that "never thought of being a vet until late 20s" path and no matter how I tried to explain my pre-pre-vet life, it's hard not to sound like "I chose to be vet because I was not successful in what I was doing earlier"...

 

[Ariel-Li]

I remember reading these posts several years ago when I discovered SDN and thinking I would never be posting one. I feel really fortunate that I am able to do so now! Thank you to the whole SDN veterinary and pre-veterinary community for all the information and help with this crazy process.

41, Male, CO resident, Non-traditional applicant, 1st time applying

I graduated from a small liberal arts college at age 22 with a degree in economics, went back to do science pre-requisites starting at age 36, took them plus some other upper level science at a community college and 2 different state universities.

Applied:
University of Arizona
Colorado State University
Cornell
University of Georgia
University of Illinois
Iowa State University
Kansas State University
Lincoln Memorial University
Michigan State University
Midwestern University
University of Missouri
University of Pennsylvania
University of Tennessee
Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
Washington State University
University of Wisconsin
Interview Invites: Midwestern, Kansas State, Tennessee, Colorado State, Tufts, Illinois (declined), Penn (declined), Lincoln Memorial (declined), University of Arizona (declined)
Waiting to hear: none
Accepted: Midwestern, Kansas State, Tennessee, Colorado State, Tufts
Attending: COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY!

Overall GPA: 3.59
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.93
Last 45 GPA: 3.93

GRE (Q/V/W): 155 (60%) / 160 (86%) / 4.0 (57%)

Degree(s): BA Economics, bunch of post bacc non degree seeking coursework (science pre-requisites)

Veterinary Experience:
~2800 hours vet assistant in small animal clinic plus some shadowing with various SA specialists

Animal Experience:
~1100 hrs volunteering in veterinary clinic of local shelter
18 year history of owning many dogs and a variety of medical adventures with them (the number of hours here isn't important but my experiences as a client informs my perspective as a doctor and helping families navigate medical decision making that is appropriate for their values and budget while of course prioritizing the wellbeing of their pet)

Research:
None

Extracurriculars/Awards:
A couple of awards from the shelter I volunteered at

Non-Animal Employment:
Worked for several years for a local non profit organization, started and still run my own business for over a decade

LORs:
DVM that owned clinic where I worked
Professor that I took several science courses from
Director of veterinary counseling and support service who I have known for over a decade

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Goals (essay 1): Wrote about a patient who was treated at the clinic I worked at that had several somewhat complex problems which took a team of doctors to assess and treat. Talked about his dedicated owner and how nice it is to have a long standing trusting relationship with a client and how that relationship helps both clinician and client during challenging times. Discussed that my experience with this patient and others like him attracts me to GP work because of the diversity of conditions, pets and people you see, but that specialty medicine is also attractive because of the significant difference you can make.
Roles (essay 2): Discussed the role of standing at the interface of humans and animals and protecting both. Included some personal experiences in the clinic involving zoonotic disease and the Dr. having to keep the patient safe and the community safe by interfacing with local health department. Discussed that I see myself in a clinical role while realizing that my experience and education from this day forward will no doubt expose me to a variety of things that may take me in new directions.
Traits (Essay 3): I discussed the traits I think are important in a clinical veterinarian and how diverse they are (to include ability to diagnose and understand often complex phenomena coupled with an ability to communicate effectively with clients of varying backgrounds). Continued on about some of the traits I think are important regarding self care for veterinarians.

BIG CONGRATS!!!

I'm almost in exact same shoes as yours! Master's in sociology, exact same GPAs, exclusive small animal experience (with specialty hospital experience), employment in NGO field. And CSU is my dream school!

Was lack of large animal experience a problem along your application and interview processes? Did you have to explain your pre-vet life in essays/supplemental application statements?

 

[EngrSC]

How did you narrate your never-wanted-to-be-vet experience into a positive story? I'm on that "never thought of being a vet until late 20s" path and no matter how I tried to explain my pre-pre-vet life, it's hard not to sound like "I chose to be vet because I was not successful in what I was doing earlier"...

I know this wasn’t a question for me but I started one of my essays with “I haven’t always wanted to be a veterinarian, nor was there a light-bulb defining moment when I realized it’s the career for me. My decision to pursue engineering was impulsive, as I envisioned working futuristic programs in a lab amongst vibration tables and liquid nitrogen containing cooling chambers. In reality, much of my time has been spent on a computer writing documents and corresponding with other engineers via email and conference calls.”

One of the things I love most about vet med is working with clients (most clients, definitely not all). I went on to talk about coming to this realization as I worked with adoptees through a rescue organization (I was the adoptions coordinator), and was a caseworker (still am) with another organization that provides funding to vets directly to be used for a particular animal in need of non-routine care. I think I showed that engineering wasn’t a good fit for me because I’m just not a cubicle or lab person... but medicine gives me a way to work with people and also challenge me intellectually.

 

[Ariel-Li]

I know this wasn’t a question for me but I started one of my essays with “I haven’t always wanted to be a veterinarian, nor was there a light-bulb defining moment when I realized it’s the career for me. My decision to pursue engineering was impulsive, as I envisioned working futuristic programs in a lab amongst vibration tables and liquid nitrogen containing cooling chambers. In reality, much of my time has been spent on a computer writing documents and corresponding with other engineers via email and conference calls.”

One of the things I love most about vet med is working with clients (most clients, definitely not all). I went on to talk about coming to this realization as I worked with adoptees through a rescue organization (I was the adoptions coordinator), and was a caseworker (still am) with another organization that provides funding to vets directly to be used for a particular animal in need of non-routine care. I think I showed that engineering wasn’t a good fit for me because I’m just not a cubicle or lab person... but medicine gives me a way to work with people and also challenge me intellectually.

That's awesome approach! Thank you!

 

[Hp48g]

BIG CONGRATS!!!

Was lack of large animal experience a problem along your application and interview processes? Did you have to explain your pre-vet life in essays/supplemental application statements?

Thank you. I was concerned about this issue. Nobody brought it up in any of my interviews and I did not address it in any of my essays. I suspect it may have contributed to my being rejected at one or more schools (Missouri is the one that comes to mind), but of course I don’t really know. Feel free to PM me if I can be of assistance during your application process.

 

[SardonicWit]

How did you narrate your never-wanted-to-be-vet experience into a positive story? I'm on that "never thought of being a vet until late 20s" path and no matter how I tried to explain my pre-pre-vet life, it's hard not to sound like "I chose to be vet because I was not successful in what I was doing earlier"...

Oddly enough, it was much easier for me to do it that way than to try to pull off the whole "OMG I really really have always wanted to be a vet!" narrative that I'm sure is more "normal." I'm in my 30's. I figured... duh, obviously being a vet was not the initial plan. Even now, I don't ultimately want to practice in a clinical setting, so it was easy to kind of run with the "not wanting to be a vet" scenario.

I did basically address my mistakes (I was pre-law when I did undergrad the first time, only to discover in my senior year that I honestly had no interest in going into law and was not in a good place health-wise to consider such a venture anyway). I also discussed what had worked for me (I ran a successful horse training facility - and I acknowledged that though I'd always loved riding and showing, I'd never wanted to be a horse trainer, either; it was just where my heart and talents took me at that point in time). From there, I could outline the experiences I had that showed me that I had a gift for science and a passion for medicine, so even though I'd never wanted to be a vet in the traditional sense at the traditional time, I honestly felt that this is where I'm supposed to be now.

My thought? Try writing out how you got here in a blunt, sloppy, "no one will see this but you" way. What experiences did you have? You say it's sounding like you weren't successful in what you were doing before; what did you learn about yourself/the world/the vet profession from that? Obviously, vet school isn't really something any of us should do on a whim, but really, even getting to the point of applying requires an incredible amount of work and commitment that tends to prevent that. Something must have driven you. Something has caused you to decide that you want to follow this career path - not the one you're on, or any of the hundreds that offer better pay and require less commitment and debt to enter. So explore that; write it all down without trying to make it sound like anything. Once you have that, read over it, pick out the highlights that emphasize your passion, and edit from there.

 

[itseunsss]

Decided to post here to help out applicants, especially the non-trad oldies out there

30, Female, CA, Non-traditional, First time applicant

Applied: CSU, Georgia, Michigan State, Midwestern, Tufts, UC Davis, UIUC, UPenn, UW-Madison, Western
Interview Invites: Midwestern, Tufts, UC Davis, UPenn, Western, Michigan State (declined), UIUIC (declined)
Waiting to hear: None
Waitlisted: Western, UW-Madison
Accepted: Georgia, Midwestern, Tufts, UC Davis, UPenn
Attending: UC Davis

Overall GPA: 3.50
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.49
Last 45 GPA: 4.0

GRE (Q/V/W): 168(93%) / 162(90%) / 5(92%)

Degree(s):
B.S in Bioengineering, minor in Industrial Engineering (2012)
MBA (2017)

Veterinary Experience: (fyi, I accumulated all of my veterinary & animal hours in the last 1.5 yrs)
- 700 hrs at a city shelter veterinary department
- 650 hrs at a SA clinic

Animal Experience:
- 900 hrs at a wildlife rehabilitation center (these hours include a 'wildlife internship course I completed there)
- 190 hrs of pet sitting through Rover
- 100 hrs at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA
- 40 hrs of socializing with dogs, cats, and exotic animals at various non-profit organizations

Research:
- 1000 hrs of campus research lab experience focused on developing POC diagnostic devices
- 100 hrs of designing and developing microfluidic devices using cell droplet technique at a biotech startup

Extracurriculars/Awards:
- Completed an online veterinary assistant program at a NAVTA-approved school

Non-Animal Employment:
- 9000 hrs of operations & project management work at a private company
- 500 hrs of operations & project management work at a management consulting firm

LORs:
- SA veterinarian
- Head veterinarian at the city shelter
- Community college instructor I met recently while retaking some of my pre-requisite science classes
- Undergraduate professor (I honestly didn't think he would write me one since it was SO long ago, but he remembered me and wrote me a stellar one )

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
1) Future career goals? Discussed my interest in becoming a SA GP as well as learning more about shelter medicine.
2) Veterinarians' contribution to the society & my way of contributing in the future? Presented several ways of how veterinarians are helping the society (pet care, wildlife care, public health, etc.). I talked about my shelter and wildlife rehab experience and how I'd like to continue this work in the future as a veterinarian.
3) Important attributes? Compassion, integrity, communication skills, leadership, teamwork, etc.

I was not interested in veterinary medicine at all when I was in college, hence why I worked in non-veterinary fields for 5 years coming out of college and getting a MBA during that time. I had taken some of the science pre-reqs in undergrad since I was a "bio"-engineering major. BUT upon deciding on vet med career, I retook everything (except English) at community colleges and UC Berkeley Extension since I didn't feel comfortable with my current science knowledge. Also, it was a way of boosting up my GPA. BTW, I completed all the science pre-req's and all of my veterinary & animal hours in the last 1.5 years. I didn't want to waste too much time.

In supplemental application essays, I discussed how I came about in developing this "sudden" interest in vet med and how I approached it (doing research and taking one step at a time while ensuring I was very confident about my decision, especially before quitting my job!). Several interviewers at different schools mentioned that they liked my methodical & strategic approach, so for the non-trads out there, I'd highly recommend telling your story in a way that highlights your good qualities, such as critical thinking, thoughtfulness, meticulousness, etc.

Good luck to everyone!

 

[GrassPuppyDoctor2024]

22, female, CA resident, Traditional applicant, 1st time applying

Applied: UC Davis, Colorado State, Washington State, Oregon State, Mizzou, Purdue, Michigan State, Lincoln Memorial University
Interview Invites: 2, UC Davis and LMU
Waitlisted: Oregon State (was actually very surprised about this in a good way LOL)
Waiting to hear: 0
Rejected: CSU, WSU, Mizzou, Purdue, MSU
Accepted: UC Davis and LMU
Attending: UC DAVIS!!!!!

I'll be honest, some of the schools I applied to I was expecting rejection and others I was expecting at least an interview but you never know what the reviewers are looking for in your app! Very fortunate that I was accepted into my in state and my dream school!! LMU was great too and I was very impressed with their facilities, however, I wanted a teaching hospital available to me. While it was difficult to pass up LMU's gorgeous country landscape and very nice staff, Davis has been my dream since senior year of high school!

Overall GPA: 3.73
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.70
Last 45 GPA: 3.79

GRE (Q/V/W): 151(41%)/155(68%)/4.5(81%)- hated the GRE, hate standardized tests in general

Degree(s): just graduated with a B.S. Animal Science

Veterinary Experience: ~1500 hours
mixed animal veterinary experience: interned and then worked as a veterinary assistant-1147 hours
Shadowed at a specialty equine clinic off and on for a few months- ~20 hours
Shadowed a dairy veterinarian while she was preg checking cows- 1 hour
Shadowed equine veterinarian at Santa Anita Racetrack- 14 hours
Study Abroad with EcoLife Expeditions in South Africa, worked with various wildlife veterinarians- 44 hours
Small animal veterinary experience- ~4 hours
Interned at an Exotic Veterinary practice- 100 hours
Participated in a class where I identified parasites in equine fecal samples under the supervision of a DVM- ~20 hours

Animal Experience: ~1050 hours
Volunteered at an Equine Rescue as the Feed Crew- ~300 hours
Class offered on campus where we got to work at the sheep/swine unit- 30 hours
Interned at a dairy farm- 100 hours
Worked as a milker at a dairy farm and also gave presentations to children at our school's pumpkin festival- ~550 hours
Pet sitting (dogs, cats, and horses)- ~80 hours
Feeding trial in my Animal Nutrition class- ~21 hours

Research: Total hours- ~70 hours
Participated and worked as a research assistant under our animal nutrition professor- 66 hours
Recorded heart rates of chicken embryos for a separate project- 4 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Member of the Honors College at my university, we were required to do CE events which equated to about 12 hours of volunteer work
Worked our university's pumpkin patch for one season- 40 hours
Participated at fall at the farm at our university giving presentations- 4 hours
Participated in the National Youth Leadership Forum of Medicine when I was going into my senior year of high school at UCLA- 60 hours
Completed an orientation at a Wetland rescue on wildlife and emergency care for them when faced with disasters/ human caused medical problems- 2 hours

Non-Animal Employment:
When I worked our university's pumpkin festival so about 40 hours, all other work experience was involving animals/veterinary care

LORs:
Veterinarian from the Mixed Animal Practice that I worked at for 2 years

Veterinarian from the exotic animal hospital I interned at that was impressed with me (honestly she wrote me the best one, she sent me a copy of the letter and it was absolutely phenomenal so don't let a low amount of hours with the veterinarian deter you from using them! If they are willing to write you a letter (especially if they offer themselves) then they likely are impressed by you in some way!)

Animal Nutrition Professor and also my research mentor that I worked under for about a year a half for his feeding trials and took three classes with

Parasitology professor who is also a DVM from my university ( I didn't use hers when asked by VMCAS/ vet schools because I felt that those stated above would provide me with stronger letters)

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about how I desire to go into large animal medicine and how I want to specifically go into dairy medicine. I discussed the importance of education and working directly with farmers and the AG industry. Also wrote about perseverance and my ability to speak/understand Spanish.

I had a good friend of mine read over my essays before I submitted them, and I also took a class at my university where the professor (who is also a DVM) read our essay and provided valuable advice and critique on them.

 

[Hopefuldogtor21]

27, Male, CA Resident, 2nd-time applicant

1st Time:
--Applied: UC Davis, Virginia-Maryland, & Iowa State (Flat out denied from all)
2nd Time:
--Applied: Virginia-Maryland, Midwestern, WesternU, Ross, Iowa State, LMU, and St. Georges
Interview Invites: WesternU
Waiting to hear back from: LMU
Waitlisted: n/a
Accepted: WesternU
Attending: I am staying in Cali!!!!!! WesternU
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[VMCAS Raw GPA’S]
Overall GPA: 2.50
Cumulative Undergraduate Science GPA: 2.35
Last 45 GPA: 3.27
Fun Facts: I had 4 W’s, 5 F’s, 12 D’s, and 20 C’s on my transcripts!
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GRE (Q/V/W): 144 (16%) / 135 (3%) / 2.5 (7%)
Degree(s): B.S. in Biology
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Veterinary Experience:
~4.5k hours mostly in small animal medicine

Animal Experience:
~4.1k hours include dog walking, stable attendant, animal shelter etc.
Research:
~536 hours in a biochemistry lab during undergrad. (hated it but it can help!)
Extracurriculars/Awards:
My 5 WOW’s in my opinion

1. Founding President of two organization
2. Student Rep for AAVMC Student Panel
3. Helped with a Podcast with AAVMC DIveristy on Air
4. Coordinator for UC Davis Health Conference
5. Finally made the Dean’s list my last year of Undergrad ahaha.

LORs:
One veterinarian
2 Science Professors

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I am more than willing to share my essays. Talked about maturity, growth, perseverance, and determination. Oh and interested in US Army.


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OKAY GUYS. I still can’t believe that this moment has finally become a reality. I do not have the magic for what go me in. I also feel like I cant share my detailed journey by typing it out. I am going to be doing a 3 part series by April 15th on my YouTube channel. Yes, the 15th because by then some of you guys will want to start working on your application and all I can say is apply smart.

Part 1: GPA & Essays
Part 2: GRE & LOR
Part 3: Experience

Be patience. And work hard. I want to leave you guys with this, I posted it on Facebook:

“I really want to add, I made significant changes in order to get this acceptance. I dropped out of CSUF and I transferred to Cal Poly Pomona where their motto is “Learn by Doing”. That is what worked best for me. I really needed my family’s support in finishing my Bachelors in Science at the time so I moved back home. I also learned to balance school, work, and personal life. I made changes. Please know it is never too late to change for the better. Being aware of your playing field is so vital. During my last two years of undergrad, I did not fail another class nor did I repeat another class. It felt so great yet so strange. I knew I was capable and I have now channeled my inner strength to prepare me and help me get through veterinary school. Time will pass you in one way or another so always work on being the better version of yourself. VALUE ANYONE WHO SUPPORTS YOU WITH NOTHING TO GAIN. #Patience #HardWork #Perseverance “

If you want to follow my journey, please follow all my social media at @arturomunozcid

THANK YOU FOR READING and check out my YouTube Channel:

Can you share your essays? I feel that your statistics are most relatable to mine and would love to read what you said!

 

[Ryxxie]

Definitely wasn't expecting to be able to post this since it is down to the wire, but received my acceptance phone call today!

30/F AZ resident, non-traditional applicant, first time applicant

Applied: Midwestern
Interview Invites: Midwestern
Waiting to hear: n/a
Accepted: Midwestern
Attending: Midwestern

Overall GPA: 3.71
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.65
Last 45 GPA: 3.75

GRE (Q/V/W): x (%) / y (%) / z (%) - didn't have to take

Degree(s): Associate Science, Associate Arts

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - (hrs) >10,000 hrs SA hospital

Animal Experience:
Experience - (hrs) <40 hrs volunteering in the orphan center of Liberty Wildlife

Research:
Experience - (hrs) n/a

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - (hrs)

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs) n/a

LORs:
4 veterinarians, Chemistry professor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
#1 - want to work in small animal GP with an emphasis in emergency medicine, and orthopedic surgery
#2 - Discussed relevance in private and public sectors, research, and response to public health. Some stay local to the community to help nurture the human-animal bond
#3 - Compassion, humility, relatability, and trustworthiness are vital in the success of a veterinarian

 

[Eclectic Teal]

Definitely wasn't expecting to be able to post this since it is down to the wire, but received my acceptance phone call today!

30/F AZ resident, non-traditional applicant, first time applicant

Applied: Midwestern
Interview Invites: Midwestern
Waiting to hear: n/a
Accepted: Midwestern
Attending: Midwestern

Overall GPA: 3.71
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.65
Last 45 GPA: 3.75

GRE (Q/V/W): x (%) / y (%) / z (%) - didn't have to take

Degree(s): Associate Science, Associate Arts

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - (hrs) >10,000 hrs SA hospital

Animal Experience:
Experience - (hrs) <40 hrs volunteering in the orphan center of Liberty Wildlife

Research:
Experience - (hrs) n/a

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - (hrs)

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs) n/a

LORs:
4 veterinarians, Chemistry professor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
#1 - want to work in small animal GP with an emphasis in emergency medicine, and orthopedic surgery
#2 - Discussed relevance in private and public sectors, research, and response to public health. Some stay local to the community to help nurture the human-animal bond
#3 - Compassion, humility, relatability, and trustworthiness are vital in the success of a veterinarian

Congrats! How soon do classes start?

 

[Ryxxie]

Congrats! How soon do classes start?

Orientation is Monday, and I believe classes begin the following Monday!

 

[mweed]

22, female, CT resident, traditional, first time applicant

Applied: UC Davis, Washington State, Oregon State, North Carolina State, Cornell, UPenn, and Colorado State
Interview Invites: Davis, WSU, Colorado State, UPenn — declined all after hearing back
Alternate: Cornell (pulled spot)
Accepted: Oregon State, UC Davis
Attending: UC DAVIS!!

Overall GPA: 4.0
Science Prerequisite GPA: 4.0
Last 45 GPA: 4.0

GRE (Q/V/W): 168 (93%) / 156 (73%) / 5.0 (93 %)

Degree(s): BA in Biology (minor in Classics, sociology, and chemistry)

Veterinary Experience:
Volunteer, then shadower, then paid assistant at small animal clinic — 1800 hrs
Shadowed equine veterinarian — 800 hrs

Animal Experience:
Horse back riding camp counselor (paid) — 240 hrs
Competitive equestrian (training, showing, grooming etc.) — 14000 hrs

Research:
HHMI funded research on native Miami plant species and their antimicrobial properties — 180 hrs
Lab assistant testing samples for chlamydia, sarco, EPH, ECUN, aspergillus… etc. Helped prepare samples for protein research alongside of my mentor — 300 hrs

Extracurriculars/Awards:
UM Canes Investing Club
Gamma Sigma Alpha Honors Society (treasurer and member)
Biology workshop leader
Delta Phi Epsilon (head of standards’ board and member)
Pre-vet society (PR coordinator and member)
Photography (both paid gigs and for pleasure)

Equestrian awards
Hermes Prize (Latin award at my university)
President’s honor roll
Dean’s List
Scholarships
Natural Science Award
Horsemanship award
Emerson Burr Horsemanship Grant

Non-Animal Employment:
None

LORs:
Small animal veterinarian I have worked with for almost 6 years
Equine veterinarian
Organic Chemistry Prof

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:

I focused on my love of problem solving and my horse’s neurological tripping problem. I spoke about how my need to problem solve has translated into wanting to pursue a DVM focusing in equine advanced imagine to help horses similar to my own that have yet to be properly diagnosed.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

wow hi!! i know this is super late since you’ve hopefully already had a great year at Davis… but how did you study for your GRE??? ALSO how do you like Davis??!!

 

[mweed]

27, Female, California resident, non-traditional, 1st time applicant

Applied: Davis, North Carolina, Colorado, Cornell, Missouri, Michigan, and Georgia
Interview Invites: Davis, (turned down invites from) Missouri, Michigan, and Colorado
Waiting to hear back from: None
Accepted: Davis, North Carolina, UGA, and Cornell
Attending: Davis

Overall GPA: 3.98
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.96
Last 45 GPA: 3.97

GRE (Q/V/W): 166 (91%) / 166 (97%) / 4.5 (82%)

Degree(s): B.A. in Zoology, B.A. in Psychology

Veterinary Experience:
- Specialty orthopedic surgery 880 hours
- SA & Exotics GP 1240 hours
- Exotics only clinic 1200 hours
- Humane Society 112 hours

Animal Experience:
- Wildlife Centers/Columbus Zoo 420 hours
- TA Ornithology 100 hours

Research:
- Psychology research 85 hours
- Various Marine Bio research 760 hours
- Undergrad labs 1100 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
- Barry M. Goldwater Scholar
- NSF GRFP Recipient
- Phi Beta Kappa/Sigma Xi
- Various clubs, department honors/awards, dean’s list, grants, etc.

LORs:
2 Vets from SA/Exotics GP
Undergrad PI (Animal behaviorist)

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
1) Future career- Wrote about how various mentors and family environment shaped my desire to go into academia
2) How veterinarians contribute to society - I wrote about my experience with chronic illnesses and pain and how it makes me a better advocate for companion animal welfare
3) Attributes to become a successful veterinarian - Kindness, compassion without judgement, and resilience in the face of adversity

omg how has Davis been???