Successful Applicants c/o 2026

[snuggs114]

Congrats to all who have been accepted 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:

Applied:
Interview Invites:
Waiting to hear:
Accepted:
Attending:

Overall GPA:
Science Prerequisite GPA:
Last 45 GPA:

GRE (Q/V/W): x (%) / y (%) / z (%)

Degree(s):

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - (hrs)

Animal Experience:
Experience - (hrs)

Research:
Experience - (hrs)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - (hrs)

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs)

LORs:
Title of recommender (Vet? Manager? Supervisor? Vet tech?)

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

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[nicoleoey]

So excited to have the opportunity to post here!! My GPA is honestly pretty average, nothing too stellar, so I hope by me posting I can put some pre-vets' minds at ease. YOU DO NOT NEED A PERFECT GPA OR RECORD!!! I also went to the same clinic for 3 years; diversity is definitely important, and I encourage everyone to dabble in as many aspects of veterinary medicine before applying, but if you have circumstances that prevent you from doing that (like I did), IT'S STILL POSSIBLE!!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
22, female, GA, traditional, first-time applicant!

Applied: Cornell, UGA, WSU, (rejected) Oregon State, PennVet
Interview Invites: PennVet (only one with interviews)
Accepted: Oregon State, PennVet, UGA, alternate at Cornell
Attending: PennVet!!

Overall GPA: 3.5
Science Prerequisite GPA: I forgot to download my application, but I remember it was around this ball park: 3.6
Last 45 GPA: 3.6

GRE (Q/V/W): 163 (79%) / 162 (90%) / 5.5 (98%)

Degree(s): Biology B.S.

Veterinary Experience:
I was a veterinary intern at a local animal hospital in my area for about 3 years (~1000hrs)

Animal Experience:
Helped a lot with the kennel at the same hospital (~30hrs)
Worked part-time in my lab as a bird-care technician, so daily care and post-op monitoring (~200 hrs)

Research:
Worked in the lab doing histology, mostly helping PhD candidates with data collection (~300-400 hrs)

(This was after my app but it was something I talked about during my PennVet interview)
Performed rodent surgery when I started working under a different PhD candidate to help with his experimental setups and data collection (~100 hrs)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Treasurer/President of Pre-Vet Club

Non-Animal Employment:
Worked as a student assistant at my school's library, so general help desk and book circulation (~300hrs)

LORs:
1 Advisor/professor for CVA
1 Veterinarian
1 PI/lab supervisor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I focused a lot on how my experiences in the clinic and research lab have impacted how I view veterinary medicine, not only my initial goals in what I wanted to pursue but also how important the profession is for our general health. I spoke a lot to the One Health aspect and how I could try and use my motivations and experiences to give back to my own community. Another aspect I talked about was how veterinarians in small animal clinics (because that was my primary experience) were super important to the wellbeing of families, not just the animals they're taking care of, and how I was able to see that whenever I worked at the clinic and got to help with grieving families. When it came to specific questions, I spoke a lot about my experiences as a first-gen student, especially one going into a career that's not as diverse. Overall, it was just how my specific experiences informed my decisions moving forward and how it shaped me into who I am and what I want to achieve in vetmed.

As for the explanation statement, I used that to talk about the financial circumstances that prevented me from getting as diverse experiences as I wanted (since i only have small animal). I also talked about how I had a W and an S on my transcript (thrown into a weird accelerated organic chem program before I knew how to process it and decided to drop down to the normal chem series; COVID hit and I had to take a class as S/U to prevent my GPA from tanking).

 

[broadbeh]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
Holly Broadbent, 23, Female, Oregon resident, Traditional, 3rd times a charm!

Applied: Oregon, Washington, WesterU, Iowa, Kansas, Midwestern
Interview Invites: Oregon, Kansas, WesternU
Waiting to hear: Interview results waiting: Kansas & WesternU. Normal results: Iowa
Accepted: OREGON
Attending: OREGON!!!

Overall GPA: 3.25
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.3?
Last 45 GPA: 3.2 for undergrad?
Forgot to download my vmcas so not sure
*** I'm in a masters program at kansas right now and my GPA is 3.76

GRE (Q/V/W): V 137 / Q 140 / AW 3.5
I think only WesternU required the GRE, so I didn't retake it after my scores came in

Degree(s): BS in Animal Sciences with Pre Vet option,
Pending: MS in Veterinary Biomedical Sciences

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - (hrs) 400-500
shadowing traveling vet, at vet school, hours with doctors at sheep center, scrubbed into surgeries (2) and observe many (40-50)

Animal Experience:
Experience - (hrs) 10,000+
grew up riding horses and working at that barn, raised livestock throughout highschool, worked at and ended up managing a sheep barn for 4 years in undergrad, brand inspector for cattle

Research:
Experience - (hrs) 500-600
tons of research opportunities with sheep

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - (hrs) lots in HS, probably 200-300 in undergrad
HS: soccer, 4H/FFA, volunteering
College: volunteering, meat science club officer, cattle club officer, pre vet club officer 2 years, sheep club show captain

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs) 300-400?
HS: working in a pear harvesting factory
Masters: working in sterilization unit at vet school

LORs:
Mentor/Professor/ Friend, Masters degree major professor, Vets x2

Essay Questions/Personal Statement
What sparked my love of vet med and how it came at such young age
Gave insight to my childhood, highschool career, and college career (which experiences shaped me to be who I am now). What my masters degree is bringing to the table and has prepped me for.

 

[Dogsandcats22]

Yay I’m so happy that I finally can write in this, I have been following the previous years threads for the longest time now. If anyone has any questions please reply to this or message me and I would love to help out!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied: 21, female, New York, traditional, applied once

Applied: Wisconsin, Cornell, Tufts, Ross, Iowa, Illinois, Penn, Colorado, Michigan, U of Arizona, Midwestern, Washington, LIU
Interview Invites: LIU (declined interview) Midwestern, Tufts, Illinois (declined interview), Penn (declined interview)
Rejected: Michigan, Washington, Colorado, U of A
Waiting to hear: Wisconsin, Iowa
Accepted: Cornell, Tufts, Ross, Midwestern
Attending: Cornell! Has always been my dream school and was a far reach for me considering I have no research & had a withdrawal on my application. BUT everything always works out in the end and I am a firm believer that whatever is meant to be will be

Overall GPA: 3.8
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.6
Last 45 GPA: 4.0

GRE (Q/V/W): N/A Did not take

Degree(s): BA in Biology

Veterinary Experience: Experience with a shelter, holistic, general practice and end of life veterinarian. Worked as a veterinary assistant for 3 years
Experience : 1000 hours

Animal Experience: Volunteered with equine, farm and wildlife animals. Worked at a shelter for 4 years
Experience - 3000 hours

Research: none
Experience : none

Extracurriculars/Awards: deans list all semesters, TA for general chemistry and organic chemistry

Non-Animal Employment: Worked at a deli
Experience - 3000 hours

LORs: 3 Veterinarians (2 general practice, 1 from end of life/hospice veterinarian), 2 science professors & 1 from my boss at the shelter

Essay Questions/Personal Statement: Wrote about the struggles of the field and how I plan to overcome them & what type of veterinarian I plan to be (shelter & general practice)

 

[snuggs114]

I’m so grateful to be able to post this… My story is very unique, and I’ve faced so many setbacks to get here (some of which I included in my application but won't include here for privacy). In 2020 I was an alternate for a PhD program in biology education and then COVID hit. I was rejected from all other PhD programs I applied to that year. In 2021, I applied to vet school for the first time, and was rejected without interview from all but my in-state, where I was waitlisted. I just want to say that if this is really what you want to do, go all in and go for it! Persistence and determination truly pays off!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied: 24, F, Nebraska, Non-traditional, 2nd application cycle

Applied: Nebraska/Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Tufts, Georgia
Interview Invites: Kansas State, Missouri, Purdue, Illinois (declined)
Waiting to hear: Georgia
Accepted: Nebraska/Iowa State, Missouri (alternate), Kansas State (alternate)
Attending: undecided

Overall GPA: 3.74 undergrad, 3.6 masters
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.52 (was a 3.23 my first application cycle)
Last 45 GPA: 3.68 (was a 3.59 my first application cycle)

GRE (Q/V/W): x (%) / y (%) / z (%) 154 V, 153 Q, 4.0 AW (took for PhD admissions in 2019, only needed to submit for UGA)

Degree(s): B.A. Biology/Health Communication, mathematics minor
M.S. Biomedical Sciences (will graduate May 2022)

Veterinary Experience:
Small animal- kennel assistant, volunteer shadower, eventually vet assistant work ~1500 hrs (all through the same clinic)

Large animal shadowing ~ 8 hrs (shadowed two vets for a day and went on farm calls with them)


Animal Experience:
Dog 4-H ~ 2350 hrs (trained/competed with two dogs for seven years)
Dog sitting ~60 hrs
Animal shelter volunteer ~30 hrs

Research:
Biology education research through a summer research program (resulting in authorship on publication) - 495 hrs

Use of virtual reality technology to reduce communication apprehension in public speaking- 360 hrs

Social Penetration Theory as a lens to examine mentoring in summer undergraduate research experiences (communication studies capstone research)- 240 hrs

Interpersonal communication ethnographic research project on my grandfather’s life- 200 hrs


Extracurriculars/Awards:
College cross country/track- 4250 hrs
Tri Beta- 60 hrs
Lambda Pi Eta (served as an officer for two years)- 70 hrs

High school Winter Guard International- 1080 hrs
High school marching band- 900 hrs
High school cross country- 1400 hrs
High school track- 800 hrs

Church mission trips- 200 hrs
Vacation Bible School teacher- 20 hrs

Numerous awards from Dog 4-H showing

Non-Animal Employment:
Covid-19 screener- 670 hrs

LORs:
2 undergraduate professors (one in biology and the other in communication studies), my masters degree major professor, 1 veterinarian that I work for

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
How showing a dog with many health issues sparked my interest in the profession, lessons from working in a clinic in high school/early college, having doubts and questioning the profession/almost leaving it entirely, my adventures into non-vet med research, realizing a biology education research career was a poor fit, shadowing/assisting in a clinic to gain a better and more mature understanding of the profession, how my research endeavors will help me, and briefly touched on my career goals in the veterinary field.

 

[zenarcade]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
22, male, WA, traditional, 1st time applicant
Applied: WSU, OSU, SGU, Ross, RVC, Glasgow, Edinburgh, CSU, Davis, LIU, U of Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, Midwestern, Illinois
Interview Invites: WSU, SGU, Ross, RVC (waitlisted for 4yr program), Glasgow (waitlisted), Edinburgh (declined), LIU (declined), Arizona (declined), Missouri (declined), Midwestern
Waiting to hear:
Accepted: WSU, OSU, SGU, Ross, Midwestern, RVC (5 yr program)
Attending: WSU

Overall GPA: 3.70
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.62
Last 45 GPA: Close to a 4.0 I think

GRE (Q/V/W): 162 (78%) / 165 (96%) / 5.0 (92%)

Degree(s): BS in Biology

Veterinary Experience:
~2500 hrs as an assistant at a SA clinic.
60 hrs volunteering with a TNR program
Various other shadowing hours that don't add up to much

Animal Experience:
400 hrs with cats at one animal shelter
80 hrs with exotics at a different shelter
A few other experiences with low amounts of hours, and literally only 2 hrs LA experience


Research:
none

Extracurriculars/Awards:
I just listed some hobbies, the pre vet club plus some other clubs I was involved in, and around 20 hrs volunteering at a food pantry

Non-Animal Employment:
450 hours working in my college dining hall

LORs:
3 DVMs all from same clinic
Practice manager
Former professor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I mostly wrote about my interest in exotics and what appealed to me about veterinary medicine.

 

[stressy.depressy]

Like many of you, I've been dreaming about making this post for several years now and I'm so excited to get to do so on my first cycle! Cheers to all of my fellow C/O 2026 folks, and good luck to any future pre-vets reading this through - you've got this!!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21, F, Oregon resident, traditional applicant, first cycle

Applied: Washington State (rejected), Michigan State (rejected), Iowa State, University of Minnesota, Oregon State
Interview Invites: Oregon State, University of Minnesota
Waiting to hear: Iowa State (withdrew application)
Accepted: Oregon State, Minnesota
Attending: Minnesota!!

Overall GPA: 3.94
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.90
Last 45 GPA: 3.92

GRE (Q/V/W): Didn't take

Degree(s): BS in economics, graduating in June 2022

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - 1380 hours small animal/exotics GP veterinary assistant, working full-time; 64 hours ER; 48 hours shelter spay/neuter clinic; 120 hours small animal GP; 102 hours small animal free clinic for people and pets experiencing houselessness (current experience); 14 hours shadowing small animal rehab; 8 hours shadowing mobile mixed animal (I got carsick in the truck so I only did this for a day); 40 hours shadowing small animal surgical oncologist. So that all adds up to 1,776 hours!

Animal Experience:
Experience - 312 hours as an adoptions counselor at a shelter with dogs, cats, pocket pets, birds, reptiles, and farm animals.

Research:
Experience - Nada

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - Most important one was 3 years of volunteering with my local LGBTQ community center - I was part of a group that designed and facilitated DEI trainings for elementary-college faculty and staff, focusing on how best to support queer and trans kids in schools. Lots of public speaking and leadership experience there. Also did varsity softball in high school (put this down because I was team captain my last year and figured that was a good leadership experience), and had a smattering of Dean's List and President's List quarters.

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - a miserable 320 hours working retail at a sporting goods store in high school. Learned that lacrosse dads are the rudest, followed by football moms

LORs:
-Clinic owner/veterinarian at the small animal/exotics GP where I did the majority of my hours. She was a very committed mentor to me and I'm sure this was a great letter.
-My academic letter was from my Ethics in Healthcare professor. I took most of my hard sciences after COVID hit and everything went online, so didn't get to make a strong connection with any of my pre-req professors. Connection with your recommender is more important than what subject they taught, IMO!
-Supervisor at shelter where I was an adoptions counselor. She sent me a copy of this letter (unrequested, on her own) and it made me cry (in a good way)!
-Supervisor at LGBTQ center. Have known them for years, also wrote out a lot of material on how this position helped me in veterinary medicine so I'm confident that this was a good letter.

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about how I came to veterinary medicine through my love of science first and foremost, but then fell in love with client education while volunteering at the shelter. Transitioned to veterinary medicine, talked about how I didn't want to commit to the field without experiencing what it was like to work in a clinic 40 (let's be real, usually at least 55) hours per week. Talked about how one of the things I love in the field is how much there is to learn. Finally discussed how I began working with houseless folks and their pets, and how rewarding it was to help keep animals with their families after starting out my career in shelters. I promise the essay flowed better than this summary of it does!

 

[futurewildlifedoc]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
22, female, Tennessee, Traditional, first time applying!

Applied: Tennessee, Cornell (rejected), CSU General Admissions (rejected), CSU/UAF combined program (rejected), Wisconsin-Madison, NC State, Kansas State
Interview Invites: UT and KSU
Waiting to hear: NC State and WISC
Accepted: UT, waitlisted at KSU
Attending: If I get into NC State, it’ll be between UT and NC State

Overall GPA: 3.5
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.7
Last 45 GPA: 3.8

GRE (Q/V/W): Didn’t take it.

Degree(s): Bachelor’s of Science in Animal Science, Bachelor’s of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - 2500 (hrs)
• 2000 small animal clinical hours
• 200 large and farm animal clinical hours
• 200 wildlife and exotic clinical hours

Animal Experience:
Experience - 5000 (hrs)
• 150 wildlife volunteer hours
• 4000 small animal rescue hours
• Little under 1000 hours between classes, other small volunteer opportunities, etc

Research:
Experience - 400 (hrs)
I have a pending publication about Asian-Longhorned Ticks!

Extracurriculars/Awards: Tons of university organizations, made Dean’s List several times, earned several scholarships, etc. I was in a professional agriculture sorority, two honor societies, I was a board member of an animal rescue, amongst many other things.
Experience - Probably close to 400ish (hrs)

Non-Animal Employment: Retail at Ace Hardware
Experience - 2000 (hrs)

LORs: 3
One from my academic advisor, one from my PhD Entomology Research Mentor, and one from a board certified Veterinary Pathologist.

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about my dual degrees, recent entrance into motherhood, how I can manage a heavy load and still succeed, and I talking about how important the One Health Initiative is to me.

 

[JaxysWindow]

Hello everyone!! I am so excited to be attending vet school this fall. I simply cannot believe I am joining this amazing profession! I truly did not think I was going to get in on this first try-some of my application reflects that!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
27, Female, Colorado, Non-traditional applicant, first time applying

Applied: Colorado State University
Interview Invites: N/A
Waiting to hear:
Accepted: Colorado State
Attending: CSU! Go Rams!!!

Overall GPA: Undergrad was 3.7. Since I am non traditional, I graduated undergrad in 2017 and took my final four prereqs through three different online universities. More on this later.
Science Prerequisite GPA: Never calculated :/
Last 45 GPA: Probably also around a 3.7

GRE (Q/V/W): x (%) / y (%) / z (%) - I took this more than five years ago, so my scores were not included

Degree(s): Exercise Science, minor in Psychology

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - (hrs)
Equine Clinic that I currently work at~2000 hours and counting
Different Equine clinic I shadowed at during covid ~ 200 hours
Small animal specialty clinic shadow ~ 200 (maybe a touch fewer)

Animal Experience:
Experience - (hrs)
Trail riding barn I worked at in college~ 1000 hours
Guest ranch in Colorado ~ 4,000 hours
Guest ranch in Montana ~ 1,000 hours
Bison Ranch in South Dakota ~ 400 hours
Eventing barn and small farm in New Zealand - 100 hours
Haflinger stud in Australia ~ 200 hours
Sheep station and horse trekking barn in New Zealand ~ 300 hours
Cattle and horse ranch in Mongolia, as well as a few days I spent with some reindeer, yak, sheep, and goat herders (different families) in ~ 200 hours or so

Petsitting and farmsitting for various families (Horses, donkeys, chickens, pigs, reptiles, dogs, cats, fish) ~ 300 hours
Fostering one crazy cat - 3 weeks
Natural horsemanship training - 15 hours

Research:
Experience - (hrs)
Practicum for my senior year of undergrad. Measuring physical activity of teenagers across South Carolina - 400 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - (hrs)
Young Life leader and mentor for high school students in college (I was the team leader as well for two years) ~ 2,000 hours
Girls Lacrosse coach for a JV team for two seasons
Omega Phi Alpha service sorority - 200 hours

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs)
Usher for a performing arts center - 400 hours or so

LORs:
Title of recommender (Vet? Manager? Supervisor? Vet tech?)
I had five letters of recommendation and I think I needed every dang one!
1. Equine Veterinarian and practice owner of the clinic I currently work for (known for one year)
2. Equine Veterinarian of the other clinic I shadowed (I shadowed intensively there for about three months during the first quarantine time of the pandemic)
3. Organic Chemistry professor - I took this course online and so the professor spoke to my flexibility of taking a hard course not in person
4. Young Life leader who has known me since I was 15 years old. She happens to be a professor at another university (nothing to do with vet med and I have never taken one of her courses or been her student). She spoke to my character and some of my other life experiences.
5. Head wrangler of one of the ranches I worked at


Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Summary of what you wrote about
For my essay, I wrote about my time spent with the reindeer herders of Mongolia and how the animal-human bond and reliance there was clearly exhibited. (In normal life, I really, really try to not to talk/brag about this to respect the culture and my relationship with these wonderful people!! But I knew this would stick out in a pile of applicants). I also touched on how I overcame my animal allergies to be able to work with horses in multiple contexts in order to appreciate the scope of what they can do. I finished my personal statement explaining why I was drawn to the veterinary field and what my experiences outside of school could offer.

In the extra explanation section, I had to touch on a D I had received in Chemistry during my undergraduate career, as well as the F I received from UC Berkeley extension in Biochemistry (I DO NOT RECOMMEND UC BERKELEY EXTENSION!!). The D was due to family stress and lack of support system in my first few years of school.
The F in Biochemistry was a little bit of a fluke, because I had been getting A's and B's on all assignments in the course. The final exam (and only test in the whole course) must be passed with a 70% or higher in order to pass the class. Due to time constraints, I did not pass the final and therefore received an F. I owned up to this grade and explained my mistakes honestly. Thankfully, I was taking Genetics online at the same time through CSU and got an A, so that helped back up my story that my poor grade in Biochemistry was not due to lack of effort or understanding of the material. I retook Biochemistry through CSU right away in the fall, got a B, and the final grade was posted before decisions were announced, but I do not know if the admissions committee saw that I did better the second go around.

I hope my story helps whoever is reading this!

 

[=w=]

Like many of you, I've been dreaming about making this post for several years now and I'm so excited to get to do so on my first cycle! Cheers to all of my fellow C/O 2026 folks, and good luck to any future pre-vets reading this through - you've got this!!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21, F, Oregon resident, traditional applicant, first cycle

Applied: Washington State (rejected), Michigan State (rejected), Iowa State, University of Minnesota, Oregon State
Interview Invites: Oregon State, University of Minnesota
Waiting to hear: University of Minnesota, Iowa State (they don't do interviews)
Accepted: Oregon State
Attending: Almost definitely Oregon State!!!

Overall GPA: 3.94
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.90
Last 45 GPA: 3.92

GRE (Q/V/W): Didn't take

Degree(s): BS in economics, graduating in June 2022

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - 1380 hours small animal/exotics GP veterinary assistant, working full-time; 64 hours ER; 48 hours shelter spay/neuter clinic; 120 hours small animal GP; 102 hours small animal free clinic for people and pets experiencing houselessness (current experience); 14 hours shadowing small animal rehab; 8 hours shadowing mobile mixed animal (I got carsick in the truck so I only did this for a day); 40 hours shadowing small animal surgical oncologist. So that all adds up to 1,776 hours!

Animal Experience:
Experience - 312 hours as an adoptions counselor at a shelter with dogs, cats, pocket pets, birds, reptiles, and farm animals.

Research:
Experience - Nada

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - Most important one was 3 years of volunteering with my local LGBTQ community center - I was part of a group that designed and facilitated DEI trainings for elementary-college faculty and staff, focusing on how best to support queer and trans kids in schools. Lots of public speaking and leadership experience there. Also did varsity softball in high school (put this down because I was team captain my last year and figured that was a good leadership experience), and had a smattering of Dean's List and President's List quarters.

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - a miserable 320 hours working retail at a sporting goods store in high school. Learned that lacrosse dads are the rudest, followed by football moms

LORs:
-Clinic owner/veterinarian at the small animal/exotics GP where I did the majority of my hours. She was a very committed mentor to me and I'm sure this was a great letter.
-My academic letter was from my Ethics in Healthcare professor. I took most of my hard sciences after COVID hit and everything went online, so didn't get to make a strong connection with any of my pre-req professors. Connection with your recommender is more important than what subject they taught, IMO!
-Supervisor at shelter where I was an adoptions counselor. She sent me a copy of this letter (unrequested, on her own) and it made me cry (in a good way)!
-Supervisor at LGBTQ center. Have known them for years, also wrote out a lot of material on how this position helped me in veterinary medicine so I'm confident that this was a good letter.

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about how I came to veterinary medicine through my love of science first and foremost, but then fell in love with client education while volunteering at the shelter. Transitioned to veterinary medicine, talked about how I didn't want to commit to the field without experiencing what it was like to work in a clinic 40 (let's be real, usually at least 55) hours per week. Talked about how one of the things I love in the field is how much there is to learn. Finally discussed how I began working with houseless folks and their pets, and how rewarding it was to help keep animals with their families after starting out my career in shelters. I promise the essay flowed better than this summary of it does!

Congratulations! I also have a B.S. in economics and I am applying in the following cycle. Would you mind sharing if you mentioned anything related to economics during your application? Thank you

 

[stressy.depressy]

Congratulations! I also have a B.S. in economics and I am applying in the following cycle. Would you mind sharing if you mentioned anything related to economics during your application? Thank you

I didn’t, no. But I’m sure if you relate it to vet med (perhaps practice ownership?) it wouldn’t hurt!

 

[spottedbeedvm]

23, F, North Carolina resident, traditional, third time applying

Applied: Kansas (rejected), Texas A&M (rejected), Colorado (rejected), Minnesota (rejected), Washington (rejected), Penn (rejected), Auburn (rejected), NC State, Mississippi, Lincoln Memorial, Long Island U
Interview Invites: Mississippi, Long Island U
Waiting to hear: Lincoln Memorial, along Island U, NC State (they don't do interviews)
Accepted: Mississippi
Attending: Waiting to hear back from others before deciding!

Overall GPA: 3.4
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.0
Last 45 GPA: 3.0

GRE (Q/V/W): 154/159/4.0

Degree(s): BS in Zoology, minor in Nutrition

Veterinary Experience:
Small Animal: 3570 hours (vet assistant, necropsy assistant, TNR group volunteer)
Farm/Livestock/Horses: 852 hours (Necropsy assistant, equine vet assistant, goat AI course)
Wildlife/Exotics: 963 hours (Wildlife rehab, vet assistant)

Animal Experience: like 500 hours (pet sitting, exotic animal ownership/husbandry, animal shelter volunteer)

Research:
Experience - 855 hours in a genomics lab creating transgenic mice for biomedical research

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - Mostly from HS tbh, marching band, swimming, winter-guard, secretary for a beekeeping association

Non-Animal Employment:
BoJangles in high school, MAKO medical as a PCR genomics tech testing for COVID-19

LORs:
-owner/veterinarian at the small animal hospital I interned at in high school and worked at over summers while in college
-equine veterinarian I volunteered with during college
-college professor I was a TA for
-college professor from my favorite grad-level class (Primatology)

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about how I grew up knowing I would be a vet. Kinda basic stuff looking back… My mom was a wildlife rehabber and I talked a little about that and then my interest in pathology

 

[=w=]

I didn’t, no. But I’m sure if you relate it to vet med (perhaps practice ownership?) it wouldn’t hurt!

I see, thank you!!

 

[tigerchuffs]

Congratulations to everyone accepted!!!

As a gentle reminder, with this year being so competitive, if you *know* you aren't going to a school you were accepted to OR are waiting to hear back from, please let the school(s) you're turning down know ASAP!

Your spot (or a waitlist spot) could get offered to a candidate who may otherwise be denied.

And I'm sure those on the waitlist will greatly appreciate the earlier notice of a spot opening up (I mean who really wants to move across country a week before classes start? 🥴).

Now let's go enjoy our time becoming dog-tors!!!!

 

[=w=]

So excited to have the opportunity to post here!! My GPA is honestly pretty average, nothing too stellar, so I hope by me posting I can put some pre-vets' minds at ease. YOU DO NOT NEED A PERFECT GPA OR RECORD!!! I also went to the same clinic for 3 years; diversity is definitely important, and I encourage everyone to dabble in as many aspects of veterinary medicine before applying, but if you have circumstances that prevent you from doing that (like I did), IT'S STILL POSSIBLE!!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
22, female, GA, traditional, first-time applicant!

Applied: Cornell, UGA, WSU, (rejected) Oregon State, PennVet
Interview Invites: PennVet
Waiting to hear: UGA
Accepted: Oregon State, PennVet, alternate at Cornell
Attending: Most likely PennVet!

Overall GPA: 3.5
Science Prerequisite GPA: I forgot to download my application, but I remember it was around this ball park: 3.6
Last 45 GPA: 3.6

GRE (Q/V/W): 163 (79%) / 162 (90%) / 5.5 (98%)

Degree(s): Biology B.S.

Veterinary Experience:
I was a veterinary intern at a local animal hospital in my area for about 3 years (~1000hrs)

Animal Experience:
Helped a lot with the kennel at the same hospital (~30hrs)
Worked part-time in my lab as a bird-care technician, so daily care and post-op monitoring (~200 hrs)

Research:
Worked in the lab doing histology, mostly helping PhD candidates with data collection (~300-400 hrs)

(This was after my app but it was something I talked about during my PennVet interview)
Performed rodent surgery when I started working under a different PhD candidate to help with his experimental setups and data collection (~100 hrs)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Treasurer/President of Pre-Vet Club

Non-Animal Employment:
Worked as a student assistant at my school's library, so general help desk and book circulation (~300hrs)

LORs:
1 Advisor/professor for CVA
1 Veterinarian
1 PI/lab supervisor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I focused a lot on how my experiences in the clinic and research lab have impacted how I view veterinary medicine, not only my initial goals in what I wanted to pursue but also how important the profession is for our general health. I spoke a lot to the One Health aspect and how I could try and use my motivations and experiences to give back to my own community. Another aspect I talked about was how veterinarians in small animal clinics (because that was my primary experience) were super important to the wellbeing of families, not just the animals they're taking care of, and how I was able to see that whenever I worked at the clinic and got to help with grieving families. When it came to specific questions, I spoke a lot about my experiences as a first-gen student, especially one going into a career that's not as diverse. Overall, it was just how my specific experiences informed my decisions moving forward and how it shaped me into who I am and what I want to achieve in vetmed.

As for the explanation statement, I used that to talk about the financial circumstances that prevented me from getting as diverse experiences as I wanted (since i only have small animal). I also talked about how I had a W and an S on my transcript (thrown into a weird accelerated organic chem program before I knew how to process it and decided to drop down to the normal chem series; COVID hit and I had to take a class as S/U to prevent my GPA from tanking).

Congratulations! Do you mind if I ask what area of interest did you put in the pennvet supplement al application? I am applying this cycle but I recently changed my interest from small to food animal but my experience in food animal is way less than in small animal so I am kind of worry

 

[nicoleoey]

Congratulations! Do you mind if I ask what area of interest did you put in the pennvet supplement al application? I am applying this cycle but I recently changed my interest from small to food animal but my experience in food animal is way less than in small animal so I am kind of worry

Thanks so much! I think at the time I actually put that my area of interest was small animal (I forgot if they let you choose multiple options)? I was and still am very ambiguous on which field I want to go into since my interests have expanded from small animal into fields like exotics, lab animal, and public health. Although, I can definitely relate to you when you mention that your experience with your current field of interest is very little, I pretty much only had direct experience with small animal medicine due to my financial constraints (no car so couldn't really afford to transport myself to many different places). I believe I did tick small animal since it was the field I had the most interest in at the time and the most experience in, but if you're able to write about it (I think the supplemental had this section but I forget because it's been like 6 months since I submitted), then you can definitely mention that you also have interest in food animal despite having little experience.

During interviews, I definitely touched on my interests in public health and lab animal a lot more because I developed a better understanding of them since then and have a more solid interest in them since my application, so if you get an interview to PennVet, definitely talk about! They want to get to know YOU and YOUR interests, and food animal is a great place to go into if that's what you want to do!

Feel free to message me directly as well if you want to chat more about the application process, I'm more than happy to talk and help you through it. It's a stressful time!

EDIT: I believe PennVet is a bit lenient on where you get your experience in as well since it's going to be difficult to get some types of exposure (large animal, food animal) if you live in a more urban area, for example.

 

[=w=]

Thanks so much! I think at the time I actually put that my area of interest was small animal (I forgot if they let you choose multiple options)? I was and still am very ambiguous on which field I want to go into since my interests have expanded from small animal into fields like exotics, lab animal, and public health. Although, I can definitely relate to you when you mention that your experience with your current field of interest is very little, I pretty much only had direct experience with small animal medicine due to my financial constraints (no car so couldn't really afford to transport myself to many different places). I believe I did tick small animal since it was the field I had the most interest in at the time and the most experience in, but if you're able to write about it (I think the supplemental had this section but I forget because it's been like 6 months since I submitted), then you can definitely mention that you also have interest in food animal despite having little experience.

During interviews, I definitely touched on my interests in public health and lab animal a lot more because I developed a better understanding of them since then and have a more solid interest in them since my application, so if you get an interview to PennVet, definitely talk about! They want to get to know YOU and YOUR interests, and food animal is a great place to go into if that's what you want to do!

Feel free to message me directly as well if you want to chat more about the application process, I'm more than happy to talk and help you through it. It's a stressful time!

EDIT: I believe PennVet is a bit lenient on where you get your experience in as well since it's going to be difficult to get some types of exposure (large animal, food animal) if you live in a more urban area, for example.

Thank you for your detailed reply! It’s really good to know that Pennvet is holistic!! I’m planning to start my application after midterm and it will be my privilege if we can chat thank you so much again!!

 

[knackered.koala]

Hello all! I am so blessed to be able to post to this thread!! Congratulations to you all and I am so excited for each and every one of you!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21, Female, Indiana, Traditional, 1st time applicant

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

Overall GPA: 3.7
Science Prerequisite GPA: I don't remember but I think around 3.7 too!
Last 45 GPA: Probably will be around 3.6/3.7

GRE (Q/V/W): didn't take the GRE

Degree(s): BS in Animal Sciences

Veterinary Experience: ~2000 hours
I've worked at the same small animal clinic for the past 3 years. I worked primarily during my summer and winter breaks as a vet assistant. I was considered part-time when I first started, but as I worked my way up, I typically worked 40 hours a week when I did work during summer/winter. I worked under two vets (one main vet/clinic owner, one relief vet), it was a very small clinic so I had a lot of hands on experience and learned so much. I still work there, and will probably continue to work there during vet school breaks!

Animal Experience: ~200 hours
I volunteered at animal shelters, worked on a foal watch team, etc.

Research: ~100 hours
Animal Welfare Research - I didn't do this for very long though (tbh-i didn't like it at all).

Extracurriculars: ~5000 hours
I calculated both HS and college, but I was really involved throughout both. Marching band, drama club, student council, university residences association, pre-vet organization, etc. I did have a leadership position in nearly everything I did - section leader, secretary, president, etc.

Awards:
I got Dean's List and Semester Honors every semester of college. I also won president of the year for my university residences organization.

Non-Animal Employment: ~400 hours
I did private clarinet lessons during HS, and worked as a student assistant/receptionist in college.

LORs:
Small Animal Veterinarian (main vet I worked for for 3 years)
Small Animal Veterinarian (relief vet I worked for for ~1 year)
College Academic Advisor (i got to know mine really well and had a great relationship with her)

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I very briefly highlighted how I got interested in the veterinary profession, and really emphasized why I am so passionate about vet med. I discussed how veterinarians impact their community and talked about some downfalls the veterinarian industry faces, such as mental health issues, and what I could do to help improve this. At the end I talked about what makes a good candidate for the vet profession and how I have the same qualities!

In my explanation statement, I mentioned my GPA is not as high I wanted it to be because of my high involvement in extracurricular activities. I was very very busy and wish my GPA would have been better but it was also very important to me to have the experiences I did throughout college!

Note to whoever is reading: Don't compare yourself to the people around you. You have so many great things going for you, and only YOU know your story. Yeah you might not have as many experience hours as your BFF, or may not have the greatest GPA - that's okay. Talk about the things that you DO have, that you ARE proud about, and what makes you STAND OUT! That's what they want to see - what makes you different, and what sets you a part from everyone else. I feel like I really kicked myself my entire undergrad because my GPA wasn't as high as my friend's was, or that I didn't have much research experience. I was really worried I wasn't going to get in because everyone around me was "better." We all have good and bad qualities, but that shouldn't make you feel like you aren't enough. All of my friends and family have been so confident about me getting accepted, I was the only one who wasn't. Now look at where I am! You can do it too!

 

[bbardin]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21, Male, New York, Traditional, first-time applicant.
Applied: Cornell, Tufts, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Purdue, Midwestern, Lincoln Memorial, Long Island
Interview Invites: Purdue, Midwestern, Lincoln Memorial, Long Island
Waiting to hear: Lincoln Memorial, Long Island
Accepted: Purdue, Midwestern
Attending: Undecided

Overall GPA: 3.54
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.30
Last 45 GPA: 3.79

GRE (Q/V/W): Didn't take it!

Degree(s): B.S. Biology, B.A. Environmental Science Systems, Chemistry Minor

Veterinary Experience:
Veterinary Assistant - 600ish hours

Animal Experience:
Kennel Caretaker - 250ish hours

Research:
No research experience

Extracurriculars/Awards:

• NCAA Swimming (4-year student-athlete, 2-year captain). Roughly 20 hrs a week.
• Pre Health Society (4-year member, 1-year treasurer, 1-year president)
• Environmental Activism Club (4-year member, 2-year treasurer, 1-year president)
• A lot of volunteer work with non-veterinary groups during my time at school!
• Dean's List for most of undergrad (emphasis on "most." I'm looking at you, Orgo)
• Tri-Beta Honor Society
• Scholar-Athlete recognition each year of undergrad

Non-Animal Employment:

• Lifeguarding - Too many hours, haha. About 6 years of experience.
• Maintenance/utility work for a school district - About two years of experience.

LORs:
6 LORs:

• 3 from Veterinarians
• 1 from Manager from veterinary practice
• 2 from Professors

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about profound experiences I've had in vet med - scrubbing into surgery on my own dog was one of the highlights. Acknowledging the challenges that vet med presents but staying determined, etc etc.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask!

 

[cp210]

So excited to be able to post this!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied: 30, female, NC, non-traditional, first-time applicant!

Applied: Colorado State, Washington State, PennVet, U of Wisconsin, U of Minnesota, U of Missouri, Michigan State, Ohio State, Tufts, UC Davis, U of Georgia, U of Forida, U of Arizona, Iowa State, LSU, U of Illinois
Interview Invites: PennVet
Waiting to hear: U of Wisconsin, U of Georgia (don’t worry, I’m withdrawing my name from consideration)
Accepted: PennVet, LSU
Attending: PennVet

Overall GPA: 3.22
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.33
Last 45 GPA: 3.58

GRE (Q/V/W): 159 VR (82%) / 153 QR (46 %) / 4.5 AW (80%)

Casper: Fourth quartile (75-100 percentile)

Degree(s): B.A. in Communications, Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate

Veterinary Experience:
150 hours as a volunteer veterinary assistant at a small animal hospital
1950 hours as a veterinary assistant and receptionist at another small animal hospital

Animal Experience:
100 hours as a shelter veterinary administration volunteer
105 hours as a volunteer working with avians, small mammals, and reptiles at a local museum

Research:
None

Extracurriculars:
Women in Business Club - served as a mentor to freshman and sophomore girls for two years
Her Campus - blog writer for one year
LeaderShape - conference attendee
Pre-Veterinary Club - member for all four years

Non-Animal Employment:
500 hours as an intern for a small marketing group
500 hours as an intern for a large communications company
500 hours as an intern for a hospital communications department
500 hours as a Junior Account Executive for a small marketing group
500 hours an Event Coordinator for a company that produced food truck festivals

LORs:

1. Veterinarian and practice owner at the small animal hospital where I did the majority of my hours
2. Organic Chemistry professor at the university where I completed my post-bacc
3. Communications professor at the university where I got my bachelor’s degree
4. Principal of the event company where I worked as an event coordinator

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
For my personal statement, I talked about my experience recovering from a traumatic brain injury at the beginning of my undergraduate career and how I eventually found my way (back to) veterinary medicine after I had recovered.

I also included an explanation statement that touched on the head injury as the reason why my undergraduate GPA was very low.

 

[plsletmein2026]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
27F, Ohio Resident, Traditional, 3rd time
I took a gap year after undergrad, then did my masters in Colorado, then came back to Ohio for another two years while trying to get into vet school (the job I had before I did my masters in Ohio rehired me in a promoted position)

Applied: OSU (IS), CSU, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin-Madison, Illinois, Auburn, Purdue
Interview Invites: OSU
Waiting to hear: OSU, Wisconsin-Madison
Accepted: CSU!!
Attending: CSU unless I get into OSU since it is my instate

Overall GPA: 3.2
Science Prerequisite GPA: ~3.2/3.3
Last 45 GPA: 3.6

GRE (Q/V/W): I took this in 2015 so it wasn't applicable to the schools I applied to.

Degree(s): BS in Zoology, minor in neuroscience, minor in wildlife & fisheries (at OSU)
Masters in biomedical sciences (at CSU) **I loved my experience in this program if anyone wants info you can PM me

Veterinary Experience:
-Small Animal Neurology Nurse Lead/Doctor Coordinator (I also pick up shifts in the ER) ~7000hrs
-Small Animal GP Vet assistant ~500hrs
-Veterinary Student Intern in South Africa working with Zoo/Equine/Food Animal ~200hrs
-Wildlife Hospital Intern ~1100hrs
-Student Shadowing at pathology lab Dept of Ag ~200hrs
-Student Shawoing at large animal hospital ~50hrs

Animal Experience:
-Vice president of rabbit rescue group in undergrad (350 hr)
-Zebrafish caretaker in undergrad (~2000hr)
-Wildcat sanctuary volunteer (~50hr)

Research:
-Beginning a project where I work assisting with auto-infusers of seizure medications in epileptic dogs
-Worked with postdoctoral fellow in a zebrafish genetics lab investigating certain genes and their role in skeletal muscle regeneration (1600hrs)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Employee of the year 2020
-Employee of the quarter fall of 2020
-Brain Awareness Week Outreach Program during Masters
-Summer Undergraduate Research Institute Researcher in undergrad
-Student Ambassador for second-year program in undergrad
-Pre-vet club student member in undergrad

Non-Animal Employment:
-Tutor for undergraduate and highschool students during my Masters (~200 hours)
-worked as an accountant during the summer my first couple years of undergrad

LORs:
-3 boarded neurologists that I worked with, one that used to be the dean of a vet school and was on the ACVIM board.
-The hospital director where I work who is also an RVT

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
***I had all of my essays profread by multiple doctors and my friends in grad programs outside of vet med which I highly recommend
I wrote my personal essay about my growth in the profession over time and what I've learned from my experiences that prepared me for vet school.
I wrote a pretty bomb explanation statement about some trauma I had my first two years of undergrad that significantly affected my GPA, how I've grown from that and shown that I'm no longer the student I was then based on my performance in my classes since then.

 

[Ptsivik]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
23, Male, NY, Traditional, First time applied
Applied: Midwestern, K-State, Oregon, CSU, Florida, Ohio, Michigan,
Interview Invites: Midwestern, K-State
Waiting to hear:
Accepted: Midwestern, K-State
Attending: Midwestern

Overall GPA: 3.51
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.50
Last 45 GPA:3.95

Degree(s): B.A. Biology

Veterinary Experience:
1100 hours in GP

Animal Experience:
50ish hours in a nature preserve

Research:
100 hrs doing research on allicin and its ability to increase GSH concentrations in neurons via the astrocyte-neuron relationship

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Vet Tech club: 400 hours
Rotoract club: 300 hours
Non-Animal Employment:
Best Buy: 5000+ hours
7/11: 200ish hours
Starbucks: 130 hours at the time of submission
Orientation Leader: 80ish hours
More stuff just forgot tbh
LORs:
2 from my fav GP vets
1 from a PHD biochem professor
1 from another PHD Organic chem professor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I mostly spoke about the change I wanna create in the homeless population and people's view on them having animals. I found in many cases the companion helped them have a sense of responsibility and being able to have a pet along with them even helped some of them curb addiction to substances. I also spoke about how i wanna try and make a dent in the student loan crisis plaguing the veterinary industry.

 

[spottedbeedvm]

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I mostly spoke about the change I wanna create in the homeless population and people's view on them having animals. I found in many cases the companion helped them have a sense of responsibility and being able to have a pet along with them even helped some of them curb addiction to substances. I also spoke about how i wanna try and make a dent in the student loan crisis plaguing the veterinary industry.

Just curious, what was an idea to make a dent in the student loan crisis 😅 asking for a friend 😂 that’s such an interesting topic to put in an admissions essay!

 

[kmcclure134]

So excited to be able to post this!

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied: 30, female, NC, non-traditional, first-time applicant!

Applied: Colorado State, Washington State, PennVet, U of Wisconsin, U of Minnesota, U of Missouri, Michigan State, Ohio State, Tufts, UC Davis, U of Georgia, U of Forida, U of Arizona, Iowa State, LSU, U of Illinois
Interview Invites: PennVet
Waiting to hear: U of Wisconsin, U of Georgia (don’t worry, I’m withdrawing my name from consideration)
Accepted: PennVet, LSU
Attending: PennVet

Overall GPA: 3.22
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.33
Last 45 GPA: 3.58

GRE (Q/V/W): 159 VR (82%) / 153 QR (46 %) / 4.5 AW (80%)

Degree(s): B.A. in Communications, Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate

Veterinary Experience:
150 hours as a volunteer veterinary assistant at a small animal hospital
1950 hours as a veterinary assistant and receptionist at another small animal hospital

Animal Experience:
100 hours as a shelter veterinary administration volunteer
105 hours as a volunteer working with avians, small mammals, and reptiles at a local museum

Research:
None

Extracurriculars:
Women in Business Club - served as a mentor to freshman and sophomore girls for two years
Her Campus - blog writer for one year
LeaderShape - conference attendee
Pre-Veterinary Club - member for all four years

Non-Animal Employment:
500 hours as an intern for a small marketing group
500 hours as an intern for a large communications company
500 hours as an intern for a hospital communications department
500 hours as a Junior Account Executive for a small marketing group
500 hours an Event Coordinator for a company that produced food truck festivals

LORs:

1. Veterinarian and practice owner at the small animal hospital where I did the majority of my hours
2. Organic Chemistry professor at the university where I completed my post-bacc
3. Communications professor at the university where I got my bachelor’s degree
4. Principal of the event company where I worked as an event coordinator

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
For my personal statement, I talked about my experience recovering from a traumatic brain injury at the beginning of my undergraduate career and how I eventually found my way (back to) veterinary medicine after I had recovered.

I also included an explanation statement that touched on the head injury as the reason why my undergraduate GPA was very low.

Also recovered from a TBI and spoke about it in my interview. I was very hesitant because I felt like it might be seen as a disadvantage when going through vet school, but my interviewers seemed impressed with my response. Congrats on recovering and showing resiliency, and also getting accepted into vet school!

 

[BlackCatsRuleTheWorld]

I am so so SO excited to be posting here!!! Yay class of 2026 and good luck to any future/current applicants reading this

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
28 y/o female, MA resident, non-traditional, 1st time applying

Applied: Cornell, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Midwestern, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, UPenn, VA-MD, WesternU
Interview Invites: Minnesota, Mississippi, WesternU
Waiting to hear: WesternU (withdrew app before decisions)
Waitlisted: Mississippi (1st quartile), Iowa (#57)
Accepted: Minnesota, Mississippi (accepted 4/12 off waitlist), Iowa (accepted 4/15 off waitlist)
Attending: MINNESOTA!!!!

Overall GPA: 3.47 (undergrad was 3.4, grad was 3.8)
Science Prerequisite GPA: ~3.1
Last 45 GPA: 3.58

GRE (Q/V/W): Q 155 (55%), V 154 (63%), W 4.5 (80%)
(Only required for WesternU)

Degree(s):
B.S. Behavioral Neuroscience, Professional Science Master’s Environmental Science

Veterinary Experience: ~400 hours total
-Aquarium: 300 hours
-Shadow at SA practice: 100 hours

Animal Experience: ~10,000 hours total
-Animal care technician (zebrafish lab): 1,500 hours
-Aquarist: 5,700 hours
-Cat trapping volunteer: 30 hours
-Wag dog walking: 30 hours
-Manager at dog walking/daycare business/pet boutique: 2,500 hours
-Animal shelter volunteer: 60 hours

Research: ~1,700 hours total
-Research assistant (zebrafish lab): 900
-Research assistant on digital habitat resource: 720 hours
-Seabird fieldwork: 130 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Study abroad scholarship
-SCUBA certification
-Various sports leagues
-Pottery class

Non-Animal Employment:
-Summer camp counselor
-Intramural sports referee
-Outreach education assistant at marine science center
-Math tutor volunteer for underserved communities
-Elementary school Chinese tutor/classroom assistant
-Cleaning surgical suites and scanning records at animal hospital

LORs:
Aquarium veterinarian, Master’s advisor/professor, PI of lab I’m currently at, owner of pet boutique I managed

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about a bird that I helped raise at the aquarium, and how her veterinary care and passing impacted me. I connected this with how I switched into research, and how animal research excited me about the field in general. I had many, MANY people read and reread my statement. I tried to make it as heartfelt as possible, while conveying my passion and interest in the field as a lifelong learner.

Advice for future applicants -
Try to not obsess over this site (easier said than done - I *tried* to only go on SDN on my computer, but that didn't always work!).
Can’t stress enough to apply smart and do your research on each individual school, both before you apply and again before interviewing. We all have different strengths to offer - it’s about making sure those strengths truly SHINE on your app!!

 

[stressy.depressy]

I am so so SO excited to be posting here!!! Yay class of 2026 and good luck to any future/current applicants reading this

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
28 y/o female, MA resident, non-traditional, 1st time applying

Applied: Cornell, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Midwestern, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, UPenn, VA-MD, WesternU
Interview Invites: Minnesota, Mississippi, WesternU
Waiting to hear: WesternU
Waitlisted: Mississippi, Iowa
Accepted: Minnesota
Attending: MINNESOTA!!!!

Overall GPA: 3.47 (undergrad was 3.4, grad was 3.8)
Science Prerequisite GPA: ~3.1
Last 45 GPA: 3.58

GRE (Q/V/W): Q 155 (55%), V 154 (63%), W 4.5 (80%)
(Only required for WesternU)

Degree(s):
B.S. Behavioral Neuroscience, Professional Science Master’s Environmental Science

Veterinary Experience: ~400 hours total
-Aquarium: 300 hours
-Shadow at SA practice: 100 hours

Animal Experience: ~10,000 hours total
-Animal care technician (zebrafish lab): 1,500 hours
-Aquarist: 5,700 hours
-Cat trapping volunteer: 30 hours
-Wag dog walking: 30 hours
-Manager at dog walking/daycare business/pet boutique: 2,500 hours
-Animal shelter volunteer: 60 hours

Research: ~1,700 hours total
-Research assistant (zebrafish lab): 900
-Research assistant on digital habitat resource: 720 hours
-Seabird fieldwork: 130 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Study abroad scholarship
-SCUBA certification
-Various sports leagues
-Pottery class

Non-Animal Employment:
-Summer camp counselor
-Intramural sports referee
-Outreach education assistant at marine science center
-Math tutor volunteer for underserved communities
-Elementary school Chinese tutor/classroom assistant
-Cleaning surgical suites and scanning records at animal hospital

LORs:
Aquarium veterinarian, Master’s advisor/professor, PI of lab I’m currently at, owner of pet boutique I managed

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about a bird that I helped raise at the aquarium, and how her veterinary care and passing impacted me. I connected this with how I switched into research, and how animal research excited me about the field in general. I had many, MANY people read and reread my statement. I tried to make it as heartfelt as possible, while conveying my passion and interest in the field as a lifelong learner.

Advice for future applicants -
Try to not obsess over this site (easier said than done - I *tried* to only go on SDN on my computer, but that didn't always work!).
Can’t stress enough to apply smart and do your research on each individual school, both before you apply and again before interviewing. We all have different strengths to offer - it’s about making sure those strengths truly SHINE on your app!!

I feel like we've overlapped in a couple different threads this cycle, I'm so glad you got in! I will see you at Minnesota in August!!!

 

[abbielovescats]

I hope these data help someone with a background of mine (especially in terms of choosing schools to apply to)... although my GPA is not striking, it is from a Tier 1 university's engineering school (not ivy league tho) so it might have been hit or miss for each vet school.

I was really worried about my GPA which turns out to be indeed the obstacle.

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21 female, international but applying from the States, traditional 1st time

Applied: Edinburgh, RVC (rejected after interview), AVC, tOSU, Tufts, UMich, KSU (rejected), UIUC(rejected), Purdue(rejected), UW Madison, CSU(rejected) UMN, Western, Penn(rejected), cornell (rejected)

Interview Invites: Edinburgh, RVC, tOSU, AVC, Tufts, Western, UMN (wl #76)
Waiting to hear: Tufts, western, Edinburgh
Accepted: Ohio, AVC
Attending: Ohio

Overall GPA: 3.52
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.40
Last 45 GPA: ~3.7

GRE (Q/V/W): x (%) / y (%) / z (%)

Degree(s): Finishing B.S for a super hard bio major curriculum

Veterinary Experience: Total 707 hours
- 3 GP ~400 hours
- 1 animal research facility ~300 hours

Animal Experience: Total 500 hours
Experience - (hrs)
~375 hours horseback riding lessons
~ cat shelter volunteer 50 hours
~exotic pet sitting 50 hours
~disabled pet 50 hours (counted minimum)

Research:
Experience - (hrs)
~ 2 research projects that add up to ~ 100 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
- university event leader
- international student leader in high school
- snowboarding, martial arts
- Dean's List
- certified chemical lab proctor
- certified accordionist

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - (hrs)
- Bio TA
- Bio and chem tutor

LORs:
- bio prof
- chem prof
- lab vet (he included phrases from another lab vet and tech in his letter)

I knew they were all super strong so I stuck with three.

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
The main Essay had Two points. Four vets and three vet students looked it over and an MD prof brainstormed with me. The key is to reach out for help.
- want to volunteer for shelter medicine
- want to educate the public on animal care

So yeah I received 8 rejections because of my GPA but it's cool.

In soups, I listed many examples. But I was accepted into AVC and tOSU that didn't have supps... I spent equal time on both so idk what happened honestly

For Tufts, I wrote about anime and language learning which they loved I think. I do really well in creative writing so I think that's why Tufts gave me an interview despite my GPA. Tufts and Ohio also look at where you went to undergrad + difficulty of your major too! Most vet schools don't care where you went to school or what you majored in.

Tufts was my top choice in terms of academics. But Ohio has a bigger campus, is in a city, more people, cheaper renting, cheaper tuition.

Lastly, I only prepared vet experiences for nine months before the application which I know is a lot less than most applicants. It's due to COVID but also because I only started considering this career path junior year of college. I think what is important is not how long you have prepared for vet school application but the quality of recs, quality of what you learned, and most importantly GPA. Good luck.

I’m accepting my Ohio spot too! I have 3 other schools to hear from but Ohio has been my fav since high school!

 

[Doraemon123]

I’m accepting my Ohio spot too! I have 3 other schools to hear from but Ohio has been my fav since high school!

I’m accepting my Ohio spot too! I have 3 other schools to hear from but Ohio has been my fav since high school!

yay!!

 

[KarebearDVM]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
23, female, CA, traditional (with one gap year), first-time applicant

Applied: WesternU, Oregon State
Interview Invites: WesternU
Waiting to hear: Western (withdrew app)
Accepted: Oregon State
Attending: Oregon State
*After I graduated undergrad I took a gap year and have been living in Oregon to establish residency. I applied and was accepted as an out of state student, but will hopefully be considered a resident by the time I matriculate this fall.

Overall GPA: 3.75
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.80
Last 45 GPA: 3.93

GRE (Q/V/W): Didn't take it (neither of the schools I applied to required it)

Degree(s): B.S. in Animal Science with pre-vet concentration

Veterinary Experience:
Veterinary assistant at small animal hospital for 2.5 years - 4500 hrs
Laboratory assistant at undergrad's veterinary diagnostic lab for 1.5 years - 1200 hrs
Wildlife care intern at wildlife rehab center for one term working with birds of prey and small mammals - 132 hrs

Animal Experience:
Volunteered at undergrad’s sheep center doing lambing crew for one lambing season - 32 hrs
Pet sitting for friends and family and on Rover app (including dogs, cats, horses, bearded dragons, rabbits, etc.) - ~200 hrs
Volunteered at wildlife center (worked with big cats and birds of prey) - 50 hrs
Volunteered at local animal shelter - 50 hrs

Research:
None!

Extracurriculars/Awards:
American Sign Language Honor Society in high school
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at community college in undergrad
Student Writing Award Winner in undergrad for Social Issues Research category
Dean’s List all but two terms of undergrad

Non-Animal Employment:
Cashier/food runner at a pizzeria in high school - 1100 hrs
Sales associate at a jewelry store - 200 hrs when I submitted my application, but I still work there

LORs:
1 vet from small animal hospital
1 animal genetics and animal physiology professor, also my advisor in undergrad
1 supervisor from veterinary diagnostic lab

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about some family hardships and financial difficulties I had during my first few years of undergrad and how overcoming this provided me with characteristics that I feel will be beneficial as a veterinarian.

I also talked about how my work at the veterinary diagnostic lab during COVID sparked an interest in the One Health initiative and public health.

 

[cp210]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but I just want to throw it out there for those reading this thread... I understand how disappointing not being accepted to your top choice may be and how even more disappointing not being accepted at all is. But know that this is not the end of the road. For those who were accepted this cycle, regardless of the program, please be grateful for this opportunity and gracious in how you speak about it. For those who were not accepted this cycle, you can still get into veterinary school in the future. Yes, metrics like your GPA do matter to a certain extent, but are not necessarily indicative of how good a vet student and/or veterinarian you will be, so don't lose hope.... Anyone who is questioning their future, please feel free to message me. I know how much it can mean to have someone in your corner and I'm already in yours.... Best of luck to everyone in their future endeavors!

 

[tigerchuffs]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
23, female, CA, traditional (with one gap year), first-time applicant

Applied: WesternU, Oregon State
Interview Invites: WesternU
Waiting to hear: Western (withdrew app)
Accepted: Oregon State
Attending: Oregon State
*After I graduated undergrad I took a gap year and have been living in Oregon to establish residency. I applied and was accepted as an out of state student, but will hopefully be considered a resident by the time I matriculate this fall.

Overall GPA: 3.75
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.80
Last 45 GPA: 3.93

GRE (Q/V/W): Didn't take it (neither of the schools I applied to required it)

Degree(s): B.S. in Animal Science with pre-vet concentration

Veterinary Experience:
Veterinary assistant at small animal hospital for 2.5 years - 4500 hrs
Laboratory assistant at undergrad's veterinary diagnostic lab for 1.5 years - 1200 hrs
Wildlife care intern at wildlife rehab center for one term working with birds of prey and small mammals - 132 hrs

Animal Experience:
Volunteered at undergrad’s sheep center doing lambing crew for one lambing season - 32 hrs
Pet sitting for friends and family and on Rover app (including dogs, cats, horses, bearded dragons, rabbits, etc.) - ~200 hrs
Volunteered at wildlife center (worked with big cats and birds of prey) - 50 hrs
Volunteered at local animal shelter - 50 hrs

Research:
None!

Extracurriculars/Awards:
American Sign Language Honor Society in high school
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at community college in undergrad
Student Writing Award Winner in undergrad for Social Issues Research category
Dean’s List all but two terms of undergrad

Non-Animal Employment:
Cashier/food runner at a pizzeria in high school - 1100 hrs
Sales associate at a jewelry store - 200 hrs when I submitted my application, but I still work there

LORs:
1 vet from small animal hospital
1 animal genetics and animal physiology professor, also my advisor in undergrad
1 supervisor from veterinary diagnostic lab

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about some family hardships and financial difficulties I had during my first few years of undergrad and how overcoming this provided me with characteristics that I feel will be beneficial as a veterinarian.

I also talked about how my work at the veterinary diagnostic lab during COVID sparked an interest in the One Health initiative and public health.

Congratulations!! OSU is an awesome school and Corvallis is a great little town. (As a Western hopeful, thank you for withdrawing your app early to give someone else a chance!! 🙂)

 

[juri179]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied: 26 Years old, Texas resident, I am a traditional applicant and this is my second application cycle(Last year I had transcript issues and my VMCAS application wasn't verified 😭)

Applied: Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Mississippi, OSU, K-State, LMU, Iowa, and SGU
Interview Invites: Mississippi, LMU, Texas Tech
Waiting to hear: Texas Tech - waitlist. LMU
Accepted: SGU, Mississippi State and Iowa State
Attending: MISSISSIPPI STATE!!

Overall GPA: 3.5
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.4
Last 45 GPA: 3.67

GRE (Q/V/W): 150, 150, 4

Casper: 100th percentile

Degree(s): Bachelor's of Animal Science and Bachelor's in Biomedical Science

Veterinary Experience:
Experience - 5875 (hrs) - Shadowed at a few clinics, worked as a technician at a mixed practice for 3 years and then at a small animal mobile practice for 1 year.

Animal Experience:
Experience - 4170 (hrs) - THIS IS ME BEING VERY GENEROUS(More likely 8k+ hours). Showed cattle, goats and chickens in high school and I still raise cattle today. Also very active in our prevet society which held house, small animal, cattle and exotic handling clinics and had opportunities to work with animals.

Research:
Experience - About 60 (hrs) from a lab on campus where we trained dogs to help them become more adoptable after being in our school's research program.

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience - 200 (hrs) plus numerous awards through Pre-vet society - Most of this time was spent in our very active pre-vet society where I was a committee chair and was the most active member for 2 years in a row. I was also active in a Student org I created that was geared towards Beef Cattle Production.

Volunteer hours: 250 hours
I volunteered with the Texas Special Olympics, our local animal shelter and a few smaller volunteer opportunities through our prevet society.

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - About 400 (hrs). Manager for my parents feedstore and I worked at a feedstore when I moved into college.

LORs:
Title of recommender (Vet? Manager? Supervisor? Vet tech?) Veterinarian that I Shadowed under
A business owner and fellow cattle producer
And my biochemistry prof.

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Summary of what you wrote about: I went and discussed how numerous aspects about veterinary medicine interested me, but my main focus would be food animal. I discussed how I want to become a veterinarian that wants to focus on food animal medicine in rural parts of Texas to help serve under provided regions.

I also discussed how I may want to specialize in Theriogenology, specifically bovine assisted reproductive technologies and how I can further utilize that knowledge in practice to help educate producers and allow them to be more successful.

Lastly I discussed how I aspire to provide a safe and ethically raised food source for the public and promote the one health and public health initiative.

 

[Ptsivik]

Just curious, what was an idea to make a dent in the student loan crisis 😅 asking for a friend 😂 that’s such an interesting topic to put in an admissions essay!

I would like to make my own scholarship that is not need-based but merit-based. I also wanna somehow make a change in terms of the pay that people get for interning when trying to specialize. It looks to me based on so many of the salaries posted up that it is literally a poor get poorer and a rich get richer situation and this is not what the veterinary industry should be promoting. I'd say ultimately I wanna try and get some form of aggressive lobbying to push for policies that not only help veterinary students but all medical students in terms of the chokehold loans have on them. It's a stretch but I would rather try than just sitting around doing nothing.

 

[stressy.depressy]

I would like to make my own scholarship that is not need-based but merit-based. I also wanna somehow make a change in terms of the pay that people get for interning when trying to specialize. It looks to me based on so many of the salaries posted up that it is literally a poor get poorer and a rich get richer situation and this is not what the veterinary industry should be promoting. I'd say ultimately I wanna try and get some form of aggressive lobbying to push for policies that not only help veterinary students but all medical students in terms of the chokehold loans have on them. It's a stretch but I would rather try than just sitting around doing nothing.

Did you see the article published last month in JAVMA comparing intern/resident salaries to the living wage in various parts of the country? It was a really interesting read, you might want to check it out. Author was Dr. Sam Morello

 

[Ptsivik]

Did you see the article published last month in JAVMA comparing intern/resident salaries to the living wage in various parts of the country? It was a really interesting read, you might want to check it out. Author was Dr. Sam Morello

ill give it a read this week thank you!

 

[futuredrj00]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied: 21, Female, NJ/USA, Traditional applicant, first application cycle

Applied: NC State, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Purdue, Cornell (waitlisted), Missouri, Oklahoma, Virginia-Maryland, Illinois, Ohio State (rejected)
Interview Invites: Florida (Declined), Missouri, Illinois (Declined), Virginia-Maryland, Purdue
Waiting to hear: NC State, Georgia, Virginia-Maryland
Accepted: Purdue (with 10k/year scholarship), Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri
Attending: Oklahoma State! (Unless another school offers me a significant amount of scholarship money)

Overall GPA: 3.99
Science Prerequisite GPA: 4.0
Last 45 GPA: 4.0

GRE (Q/V/W): 145 (18%) / 154 (63%) / 5.5 (%) (Absolutely bombed it, but that's okay!)

Degree(s): B.S. Small Animal Science with a Large Animal Science Minor

Veterinary Experience:
1500 hours. All exclusively small animal GP. Interned for 100 hours at my dog's vet, worked for 1400 hours as a veterinary assistant at a different clinic.

Animal Experience:
600 hours exotic/laboratory
300 hours small animal
200 hours large animal/equine

Research:
50 hours. Did research on the presence of food borne pathenogenic bacteria found in commercial raw dog food diets. I also presented that research at a regional conference to PhD and Grad students.

Extracurriculars/Awards:
-Graduated 1 semester early
-Alpha Lamda Delta National Freshmen Honor society
-Delta Tau Alpha National Agricultural Honor Society
-Dean's list every semester
-Pre-vet club member
-On the pre-vet club exec team for 1 year
-Peer mentor to incoming freshman for 2 years
-Lab assistant for 3 different labs (Livestock behavior, Intro to small animal management, and Animal Anat & Phys)
-Aquatics supervisor at the small animal labs on campus
-Lab animal care tech at the small animal labs on campus
-Supplemental instruction leader/tutor for Gen Chem I and II
-Digital transcription volunteer for the Smithsonian Museum of natural history (My secret weapon and something that I feel made me really stand out. I was asked about it in my Missouri interview.)

Non-Animal Employment:
-2000 hours cashier/customer service rep at a small family pharmacy in my home town throughout high school and part of undergrad
-150 hours tutoring for Gen Chem

LORs:
-Veterinarian (my boss)
-Animal Anat and Phys Professor/Veterinarian (I lab assisted for her and took her class)
-Small Animal Lab facility Manager (my other boss)
-PhD Microbiology Professor (Took her for Microbio and did research with her)
-PhD Gen Chem Professor (Took her for Gen Chem I and II and tutored her students)

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I really focused on what made me unique. A lot of my extracurriculars/volunteer work was human oriented, and I leaned into those differences. A lot of people forget that Vet Med is very human oriented and I made sure to point out that I understood that. I also talked about wanting to pursue exotics/zoo in my personal statement because of the challenge of the differences between species.

 

[vetmed252020]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:

23, Female, Texas resident, traditional, 2nd cycle

Applied: Auburn, CSU(rejected), Illinois, Iowa(waitlisted- declined waitlist) Michigan (rejected) , Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ross, Texas A&M, Texas Tech (rejected)
Interview Invites: Auburn, Illinois (declined), Minnesota, Missouri, Texas A&M
Waiting to hear: Ross- I haven’t heard anything from them?
Accepted: Auburn, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M Vero
Attending: Auburn or Minnesota

Overall GPA: 3.73
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.64
Last 45 GPA: 3.94

GRE (Q/V/W):
- honestly don’t remember my score, only one school looked at it

Degree(s): Animal Science, Honors

Veterinary Experience:
Humane society animal clinic intern- 500 hours

Mixed practice vet tech - 2000 hours

OSU teaching hospital intern- 40 hours

Animal Experience:
Humane society mobile adoptions- 50 hours

-honestly can’t remember the other experiences I put here. Not many though

Research:
ZERO! Thought this would hurt me but I also told them in my undergrad I had no interest in pursuing research within vet med

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Honors graduate
Pre-vet club member
Sorority member and held a leadership position
High school soccer, captain one year
Athletic training student aid
Church mentorship group and led a bible study

*some people say not to include high school experiences but the applications both say to include them and Missouri sent an email to all applicants to include it on the application, so start thinking about everything you’ve done!

Non-Animal Employment:
Day camp counselor - 3 summers
Tutor- 500 hours
Nanny- 1 summer

LORs:
- 2 veterinarians from my mixed practice
- 1 Doctor who I did an internship with in high school at a human hospital (I want to possibly dabble into public health and wanted his LOR)

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
- I did a lot of research on what to put for a personal statement. I talked about my motivations for vet school and what qualities I had picked up from my experiences would make me a great doctor. I recommend looking up videos on YouTube or templates to help get an idea of writing one, as it should be to your experiences and only you can talk about it!

Other take aways from this cycle!
- I got an interview with Texas tech last year and then was rejected but this year I was flat out rejected. Proves that cycles vary and what schools look for vary. I added more large animal experience this year, last year I had less than 50 hours, and tech didn’t want to interview me. Main point, DON’T GIVE UP!!!
- I found it extremely helpful to make an application binder last year. It included the application guides which break down what to put in each section and was nice to reference when going through the application. I also keep things from schools I interviewed with last year, such as prep questions and resources that I researched. Finally, I had a pdf copy of last cycles application and I sat and went through it and found experiences I had left off because I didn’t think they mattered, like high school info. It was so nice to have a guide this year that I created to keep myself organized and relaxed during this process. I also highly recommend submitting early. This year I submitted end of august and it was nice not having to worry about anything. They did extend the application deadline this year due to natural disasters, however, I was already submitted and didn’t have to stress as my town was getting hit with some tropical storms!

 

[lilygarcia2000]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21, Female, South Carolina, Traditional, 1st cycle

Applied: TAMU, NCSU, UF, UGA, MSU, OSU
Interview Invites: TAMU, UF, MSU, OSU
Waiting to hear: UF, UGA, NCSU
Accepted: TAMU, MSU, OSU, UGA, NCSU
Waitlisted: UF
Attending: NCSU

Overall GPA: 3.97
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.97
Last 45 GPA: 4.0

GRE (Q/V/W): 157 (75%) / 151 (39%) / 4.0 (54%)

Degree(s): Biology (honors)

Veterinary Experience:
Experience ~1000 hrs
- Small animal GP (~100)
- Equine/large animal (~500)
- Holistic/exotics (~200)
- Opthalmology (~10)
- Urgent Care (~200)

Animal Experience:
Experience - 100 hrs
- Dog sitting & exotics

Research:
Experience - 80 hrs
Did research on the affects of meditation on college student anxiety and well-being. I had multiple presentations (oral and poster).

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Honors program
Founder and president of pre-veterinary club
Ambassador (gave tours)
Biology honors society
Phi Kappa Phi

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience - 500 hrs
Server

LORs:
Title of recommender (Vet? Manager? Supervisor? Vet tech?)
1 veterinarian (equine)
2 professors
1 professor/research advisor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I wrote about how my equine veterinary experience contributed to my understanding of the field and really showed me how diverse the field is. I also talked about some of my specific career goals in the field of veterinary medicine.

 

[musoem]

I want to preface this by saying that I never in a billion years thought I could get into vet schools after my Academic Dishonesty charge in undergrad. I knew it was going to be the biggest stain on my application and it ruined my mental health for my remaining time in college. So bear with me, because this is a rather emotional post for me.

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
22, Female, New York, Traditional w/ 1 gap year, 1st time

Applied: Oregon (Rejected), Minnesota (Waitlisted), Cornell (Waitlisted), Illinois (Rescinded), Georgia (Rescinded), Ross (Rescinded), WCVM (Rescinded), UPenn, Ohio, Tufts, Edinburgh
Interview Invites: Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Edinburgh, WCVM, UPenn, Tufts (The rest of them did not conduct interviews)
Waiting to hear: Edinburgh
Accepted: Ohio 🎉!! UPenn 🎉!! Tufts 🎉!! I was ELATED to even receive interview invites, still can't believe I got in :')
Attending: Most likely Penn, unless my IS pulls my name off the waitlist.

Overall GPA: 3.77
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.65
Last 45 GPA: 3.66
I received an F for the class I was charged in, it tanked my grades. For the rest of my undergrad, I tried to take as many classes as I could to raise my GPA.

GRE (Q/V/W): 161 (74%) / 152 (53%) / 4 (54%)
I don't think the GRE matters anymore, only Georgia and Illinois wanted my scores. If you do take it, I highly recommend using GREGMAT, he is a godsend!!

Degree(s): BS in Psychology, Chemistry minor
My honors were revoked due to my Academic Dishonesty charge.

Veterinary Experience:
Total Experience - ~900
Small Animal (Interned at a GP clinic) - 640 hours
Lab Animal Med (volunteered at my university's Lab Animal Division) - 210 hours
Exotics (Wildlife experience offered by my school) - 16 hours

*ER Small Animal (Scribe at a high volume hospital) - ~100 hours
This one isn't on my application because it occurred during my gap year. I do bring it up during my interviews.

Animal Experience:
Total Experiences - ~ 600 hours
Equine (Volunteer at a riding center) - 250 hours
Small Animal (Foster parent for a shelter) - 320 hours
Small Animal (Volunteer for a TNR program at my university) - 14 hours

Research:
Computational Chemistry - ~360 hours (Performed structural analysis of 3D RNA simulations; presented at the American Chemistry Society)
Lemur vocalization study - ~64 hours (It was an independent study abroad project, I tracked a group of lemurs in the national park of Madagascar)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Pre-Vet Club - Treasurer for 2 years, then VP during my final year
Orgo Lab Teaching Assistant - 2 semesters
Environmental Club
Pink Gloves Boxing

Non-Animal Employment:
Cashier at Whole Foods - 360 hours
Dental Receptionist - 432 hours

LORs:
1 Veterinarian (Lab Animal Veterinarian at my university; the person who made me want to become a lab animal vet)
1 Professor/Principal Investigator (Professor who taught me Gen Chem, I later joined her computational chemistry lab for 2 years)
1 Professor/Primatologist (Professor who oversaw my wildlife research in Madagascar)
1 Professor/Supervisor (I TA'd for this professor for 1 year, Orgo Lab Professor)

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Personal Statement:
I wrote about how I entered college wanting to be a film major but my intro biology course drew me into animal research. I mentioned my experiences in vet med (GP and Wildlife) and how inaccessible veterinary care is for people who do not speak English. I touched upon how I had to translate for clients when working in an immigrant dense area and how urgent it is to implement translation services in vet med. I ended it with what I hope I can accomplish by becoming a vet, whether it is in research, GP, or wildlife.

**Explanation Statement: (I really recommend using the Explanation Statement to your advantage. It really helps the admissions to understand why a certain aspect of your application is lacking, how you recognized it as a flaw, and what you did to be better.)

So here it is: I started off by describing the circumstance I was in, it was during the beginning of mass lockdown and I had to evacuate the campus and move home. With my mother being stuck in a foreign country, and me not having any support system after moving home, my mental state deteriorated. I failed to attend to my academic studies and took an easy way out for one of my exams.

I wrote about how I was appalled by my act, not only did it undermine the hard work of my peers but how I also abandoned my moral principles as a student. I came to the realization that I have completely ruined my future and betrayed the trust of my mentors and my family. I went into details regarding my university's Academic Dishonesty process and how I was offered a second chance. The professor of the class failed me, but my school removed the mark from my transcript. I also made the decision to retake the class and prove to myself that I can achieve a good grade with my own merits (which I did). In my conclusion, I distinctively stated how I don't believe this single action defines who I am as a student; how I refuse to let this one thing undermine years of accomplishments. I made it clear that if I am offered a chance, I am capable of great excellence.
----------------------------
Sorry for this extremely long post. Writing this has been cathartic for me...especially how I convinced myself that I will not get in anywhere for the last two years. I still cannot believe I made it. To anyone reading this that is in a similar position I was in, please don't give up on yourself. A single action does not define who you are, it is only important that you learn from it.

Alright, I will stop being sappy. 😩 If anyone has any questions, please PM me!! : )

 

[polemical]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
23, Female, Asian-French-American, Adopted, FL, Traditional (2 gap years), applied twice

Applied: University of Florida (IS), Ohio State, Iowa State, University of Saskatchewan, Purdue University, Mississippi State, Missouri State, Michigan State
Interview Invites: U of Florida, Mississippi (waitlisted), Ohio State
Waiting to hear: U of Florida
Accepted: Ohio State, Iowa State (no interviews)
Attending: If accepted to UF, will be attending there, if not then Ohio State

Overall GPA: 3.63 (3.5 at community college and 3.77 at UF)
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.51
Last 45 GPA: 3.88

GRE (Q/V/W): n/a

Degree(s): B.S in Biology

Veterinary Experience:
Volunteer vet tech @ Humane Society - 250 hrs
Full-time vet tech @ Humane Society (wellness clinic, spay-neuter clinic, shelter) - 800 hrs
Full-time vet tech @ Fear Free certified GP - 800 hrs
Volunteer vet tech for mobile large animal vet - 200 hrs

Animal Experience:
Barn help - 200 hrs

Research:
N/A

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Karate | black belt candidate - 6hrs of practice per week since 2016
Karate sports club @ UF | Club President - 2yrs
Dean's list @ UF - Fall 2018 and Fall 2019

Non-Animal Employment:
Waitress - 2014-2016

LORs:
1. Veterinarian from Humane Society
2. Veterinarian from Humane Society
3. Veterinarian from GP
4. Head of the style of my karate

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Focused on how I am interested in shelter medicine and how I came about it. I grew up in my parents' restaurant and didn't have pets growing up. I explained that I was still drawn to helping animals, and had an early introduction to TNR (trap neuter release) and how I wanted to pursue vet med to help the underserved animals of our communities. I also talked about how my experiences working in a shelter and later in a Fear Free certified practice have helped me become a better DVM candidate and how I plan to contribute to vet med using those experiences.

 

[boilerpup]

21, nonbinary, Indiana resident, traditional applicant, 1st cycle

Applied: Purdue, Michigan State, Minnesota, Illinois, Glasgow
Interview Invites: Purdue, Minnesota, Glasgow (waitlisted), Illinois (declined interview), Michigan State (did not offer interviews this cycle but I moved to the final stage)
Waiting to hear: n/a
Accepted: Purdue, Minnesota, Michigan State
Attending: Purdue

Overall GPA: 3.99
Science Prerequisite GPA: 4.0
Last 45 GPA: 4.0

GRE (Q/V/W): did not take

Degree(s): B.S Animal Science (2022)

Veterinary Experience: ~730 hours
Veterinary assistant (oncology department), Purdue vet hospital – 610 hours
Shadowing in ophthalmology department, Purdue vet hospital – 120 hours
(this was at the same time as my summer research)

Animal Experience: total ~2,500
Carriage tour driver – 720 hours driving and caring for draft horses
Animal shelter volunteer – 1000 hours
Pet boarding employee – 340 hours
4-H (dairy cattle and goats, cats, and dogs) – 400 hours
Riding lessons/helping at barn - ~50 hours

Research: ~515 hours
Veterinary summer research program – 440 hours
Manuscript from program submitted to journal for review
Lab assistant – 75 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards: ~750 hours
LGBTQ Center Ambassador – 540 hours
Orchestra librarian – 120 hours
ASL Club involvement (club member and executive board) – 110 hours
Juggling & Unicycling Club (member and exec board) – 100 hours

Non-Animal Employment: ~100 hours
Undergrad TA (2 courses, 3 semesters) - ~100 hours

LORs:
Two vets at Purdue vet hospital (one clinician I've worked under, one research mentor)
One vet nurse at Purdue vet hospital that I've worked closely with
Staff at LGBTQ center

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:

I wrote about my specific interests in veterinary medicine (oncology) and why I have that interest. I also hit on my commitment to diversity/inclusion (specifically LGBTQ inclusion) and how my experiences and own identity have informed that.

 

[Dogsandcats22]

I want to preface this by saying that I never in a billion years thought I could get into vet schools after my Academic Dishonesty charge in undergrad. I knew it was going to be the biggest stain on my application and it ruined my mental health for my remaining time in college. So bear with me, because this is a rather emotional post for me.

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
22, Female, New York, Traditional w/ 1 gap year, 1st time

Applied: Oregon (Rejected), Minnesota (Waitlisted), Cornell (Waitlisted), Illinois (Rescinded), Georgia (Rescinded), Ross (Rescinded), WCVM (Rescinded), UPenn, Ohio, Tufts, Edinburgh
Interview Invites: Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Edinburgh, WCVM, UPenn, Tufts (The rest of them did not conduct interviews)
Waiting to hear: Edinburgh and Tufts
Accepted: Ohio 🎉!! UPenn 🎉!! I was ELATED to even receive interview invites, still can't believe I got in :')
Attending: Most likely Ohio, unless my IS pulls my name off the waitlist.

Overall GPA: 3.77
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.65
Last 45 GPA: 3.66
I received an F for the class I was charged in, it tanked my grades. For the rest of my undergrad, I tried to take as many classes as I could to raise my GPA.

GRE (Q/V/W): 161 (74%) / 152 (53%) / 4 (54%)
I don't think the GRE matters anymore, only Georgia and Illinois wanted my scores. If you do take it, I highly recommend using GREGMAT, he is a godsend!!

Degree(s): BS in Psychology, Chemistry minor
My honors were revoked due to my Academic Dishonesty charge.

Veterinary Experience:
Total Experience - ~900
Small Animal (Interned at a GP clinic) - 640 hours
Lab Animal Med (volunteered at my university's Lab Animal Division) - 210 hours
Exotics (Wildlife experience offered by my school) - 16 hours

*ER Small Animal (Scribe at a high volume hospital) - ~100 hours
This one isn't on my application because it occurred during my gap year. I do bring it up during my interviews.

Animal Experience:
Total Experiences - ~ 600 hours
Equine (Volunteer at a riding center) - 250 hours
Small Animal (Foster parent for a shelter) - 320 hours
Small Animal (Volunteer for a TNR program at my university) - 14 hours

Research:
Computational Chemistry - ~360 hours (Performed structural analysis of 3D RNA simulations; presented at the American Chemistry Society)
Lemur vocalization study - ~64 hours (It was an independent study abroad project, I tracked a group of lemurs in the national park of Madagascar)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Pre-Vet Club - Treasurer for 2 years, then VP during my final year
Orgo Lab Teaching Assistant - 2 semesters
Environmental Club
Pink Gloves Boxing

Non-Animal Employment:
Cashier at Whole Foods - 360 hours
Dental Receptionist - 432 hours

LORs:
1 Veterinarian (Lab Animal Veterinarian at my university; the person who made me want to become a lab animal vet)
1 Professor/Principal Investigator (Professor who taught me Gen Chem, I later joined her computational chemistry lab for 2 years)
1 Professor/Primatologist (Professor who oversaw my wildlife research in Madagascar)
1 Professor/Supervisor (I TA'd for this professor for 1 year, Orgo Lab Professor)

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Personal Statement:
I wrote about how I entered college wanting to be a film major but my intro biology course drew me into animal research. I mentioned my experiences in vet med (GP and Wildlife) and how inaccessible veterinary care is for people who do not speak English. I touched upon how I had to translate for clients when working in an immigrant dense area and how urgent it is to implement translation services in vet med. I ended it with what I hope I can accomplish by becoming a vet, whether it is in research, GP, or wildlife.

**Explanation Statement: (I really recommend using the Explanation Statement to your advantage. It really helps the admissions to understand why a certain aspect of your application is lacking, how you recognized it as a flaw, and what you did to be better.)

So here it is: I started off by describing the circumstance I was in, it was during the beginning of mass lockdown and I had to evacuate the campus and move home. With my mother being stuck in a foreign country, and me not having any support system after moving home, my mental state deteriorated. I failed to attend to my academic studies and took an easy way out for one of my exams.

I wrote about how I was appalled by my act, not only did it undermine the hard work of my peers but how I also abandoned my moral principles as a student. I came to the realization that I have completely ruined my future and betrayed the trust of my mentors and my family. I went into details regarding my university's Academic Dishonesty process and how I was offered a second chance. The professor of the class failed me, but my school removed the mark from my transcript. I also made the decision to retake the class and prove to myself that I can achieve a good grade with my own merits (which I did). In my conclusion, I distinctively stated how I don't believe this single action defines who I am as a student; how I refuse to let this one thing undermine years of accomplishments. I made it clear that if I am offered a chance, I am capable of great excellence.
----------------------------
Sorry for this extremely long post. Writing this has been cathartic for me...especially how I convinced myself that I will not get in anywhere for the last two years. I still cannot believe I made it. To anyone reading this that is in a similar position I was in, please don't give up on yourself. A single action does not define who you are, it is only important that you learn from it.

Alright, I will stop being sappy. 😩 If anyone has any questions, please PM me!! : )

I actually got goosebumps reading this and am so happy for you! Life comes with obstacles but you definitely picked yourself up and persevered. I’ll be attending Cornell in the fall so maybe we’ll be classmates 😊

 

[BlueCats]

29y Non trad CVT

Applied: Purdue, Michigan State, Minnesota, LIU, Wisconsin, Cornell, Penn, LMU, WSU, Oregon, Ross
Interview Invites: Ross & LIU
Waiting to hear: n/a
Accepted: Ross, LIU
Waitlist: LIU (taken off the waitlist in April)
Attending: LIU!!

Overall GPA: 3.50

GRE (Q/V/W): did not take

Casper: 3rd quartile

Degree(s): B.S Environmental Science 2019, AAS Veterinary Technology 2013

Veterinary Experience: >15k hours as a CVT
Mainly working in ECC/ICU but also in surgery, dentistry, internal medicine, and GP

Animal Experience: ~5k hours probably a huge underestimate
- Fostering sick cats/neonates & doing TNR
- dog walking/pet sitting
- volunteer at the SPCA with small animals and birds

Research: ~30 hours of environmental research on a vegetable farm in undergrad

Extracurriculars/Awards:
- Hospice Volunteer
- Fear Free Certified
- Recover/veterinary CPR certified ALS/BLS
- Human CPR
- Attended IVECCS in 2017

Non-Animal Employment:
- 5k hours in fast food/delivery

LORs:
Two ER Veterinarians
My chem professor who talked about how I took chemistry II with him after having taken chem I like 8 years prior
The head of the non profit cat rescue I have volunteered with for 3yrs

All those rejections were tough, but not unexpected. I kind of decided to apply randomly after years of telling myself it wasn’t in the cards. Some of my prerequisites were about to turn 10yrs old (Bio I and chem I) so I figured it was as good a time as any. Also I didn’t have any large animal vet hours. Leaving the states will be tough. Hoping I hear some positive news from LIU🤞🏻

 

[zsnyder]

Hi everyone so very very excited to get to post this now, I’ve just been waiting for a few decisions to roll in before I made the post! Congratulations to everyone!

Age,gender,state/country,traditional/nontraditional/# of times you’ve applied:
22, female, Pennsylvania, Traditional applicant, first time applicant, I’m interested in wildlife or exotic zoo medicine and also conservation

Applied: Wisconsin, LMU, LSU, Ohio State (rejected), Illinois, Tennessee (rejected), UPenn, Cornell (waitlisted), Colorado(waitlisted), Mississippi (waitlisted), Tufts, Glasgow, RVC, Edinburgh, WSU (rejected)

Interview Invites:LMU(rescinde), Illinois, Tennessee, UPenn(Rescinded) ,Mississippi, Tufts, Glasgow, RVC, Edinburgh (Rescinded)

Waiting to hear:

Accepted: Wisconsin, Tufts, Glasgow, RVC, LSU, Illinois

Attending: Wisconsin 🦡🐾🩺❤️

Overall GPA: 3.96

Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.99

Last 45 GPA: 3.96

GRE (Q/V/W): 153(59%) / 158(64%) / 4(54th%)

Degree(s): Biology B.S. graduating this spring

Veterinary Experience:

I shadowed at a small animal hospital my sophomore year winter break, I am on the swim team at my undergrad school and so I don’t have much time during the school year to shadow/work. Scrubbed into some surgeries.- 40 hours

I work at a small animal hospital currently since last summer as a receptionist, was originally going to be trained in the back but there were not enough employees to train me at the time due to covid. -600 hours

I shadowed at Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin 2 weeks for my spring breaks sophomore and junior year. -80 hours

Animal Experience:

Had an internship with the Pennsylvania Game Commission biologists my freshman year of high school, got to tranquilizer black bears, band different water fowl and worked with other mammals.- 750

Research:

Have been doing research on campus since my junior year first semester. Currently working on publishing my results this semester-200

Extracurriculars/Awards:

On the swim team at my undergrad- 2,400

I also volunteer at special Olympics and an local rabbit rescue.

Non-Animal Employment:

I worked as a life guard for 6 years before college.-2,500 hours

I also work as a lab assistant on campus since sophomore year, animal form and function and molecular and cellular biology-600 hours

LORs:

Vet from when I shadowed at a small animal hospital
Swim coach
Advisor 1
Advisor 2
My internship advisor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:

I wrote about my experiences with the Game Commission which was what changed my mind from wildlife biology to veterinary medicine. I felt like this experience was unique to me because I was the first biology intern they have ever had and now it’s an extremely successful program. I also briefly went into the unique skill set I have acquired from that experience and other experiences as well.

 

[cmwells]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21 years old, female, Alabama resident, traditional applicant, first time applicant, hispanic first gen college student

Applied: Ohio State, Florida, Tennessee, LMU, Arizona, Midwestern, Auburn (IS), Colorado, NC State, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Illinois, Iowa
Interview Invites: Ohio State, Tennessee (rejected after interview), LMU, Midwestern, Auburn (IS alternate), Minnesota, Missouri (alternate), Mississippi (alternate), Illinois
Waiting to hear: NC state
Accepted: Ohio, LMU, Midwestern, Minnesota, Illinois
Attending: Most likely Ohio. However, I am an alternate for several schools so still waiting to see financial aid and what not

Overall GPA: 3.92
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.86
Last 45 GPA: 4.00

GRE (Q/V/W): did not take

Degree(s): B.S. in Biology, minor in Chemistry, Honors Program - completion in spring 2022

Veterinary Experience:
Equine hospital shadowing - 70 hours
Small animal and exotic GP shadowing - 77 hours
Small animal emergency hospital shadowing and compensated assisting - 726 hours

Animal Experience:
Exotic Pet Ownership and Care (this involved taking care of an ill pet) - 450 hours
Pet sitting dogs - 60 hours
Service dog training for veterans with PTSD - 2550 hours

Research:
Research in conservation of turtles - 24 hours (is now around 80 hours)
Research presentations through classes - 105 hours

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Volunteer at animal shelter - 80 hours
Volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters - 5 hours
Vice President of Pre-Vet club - 10 hours
Secretary of Quiz Bowl - 28 hours
Vice President of Philanthropy of sorority - 400 hours
Health Science Internship in high school - 48 hours
Dean's List - 1 semester
Presidential Honors List - 5 semesters
Presidential Scholarship - 8 semesters
High school graduation with honors distinction
High school NTHS
High school NEHS

Non-Animal Employment:
Chemistry Teaching Assistant - 210 hours
Publix in high school - 720 hours

LORs:
1 from the professor whom I have been a teaching assistant for during the past 4 semesters
1 from a veterinarian I shadowed and worked with at the emergency hospital
1 from my academic advisor
1 from my research mentor who was also my professor for a course

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I pretty much talked about how I have always been interested in science and medicine. I talked about how I grew up wanting to be a vet and lost a pet on Christmas Day. This made me recognize the need for emergency veterinarians and where my passions truly were and how I want to make a change in this field of veterinary medicine.

 

[lav]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied: 21, F, Georgia, Traditional, 1st time applying

Applied: Colorado State (rejected), Oregon State (rejected), Tennessee (rejected), Florida (rejected), Mizzou (alternate), Western (alternate), NC State, Oklahoma State, LSU, Auburn, UGA
Interview Invites: Western, Mizzou, Auburn
Waiting to hear: NC State
Accepted: LSU, Oklahoma State, Auburn, UGA
Attending: UGA

Overall GPA: 3.39
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.13
Last 45 GPA: 3.69

GRE (Q/V/W): 163 (92%) / 158 (64%) / 4.0 (54%)

Degree(s): BS in Biology

Veterinary Experience:
UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital Vet assistant in Exotics ward- 196 hrs
Corporate SA GP #1 vet assistant- 380 hrs
Corporate SA GP #2 vet assistant- 380 hrs
Corporate SA GP #3 vet assistant- 352 hrs
Private SA GP vet assistant - 385 hrs

Animal Experience:
Local county shelter- 81 hrs
Zoo volunteer- 153 hrs
Rescue intern- 832 hrs

Research:
Elephant behavioral analysis - 72 hrs

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Sexual Health Club Exec board - 82 hrs
Health Professions Advising Ambassador - 89 hrs
Chorus member - 995 hrs
RA Title IX Representative - 30 hrs
Child care assistant/observer - 13 hrs
Bio Honor Society
Dean’s List

Non-Animal Employment:
Resident Assistant - 456 hrs

LORs:
Biology Professor/Health Professions Advisor
DVM from one of corporate clinics
RA supervisor
DVM from UGA VTH

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
In my explanation statement I discussed my rough first year of college that affected my GPA and what I learned from it/how I grew.
For my personal statement I discussed how growing up around the industry (with two vets for parents) meant that I had a unique perspective that few of my peers would share. I talked about how I had experience with both the clinical life as well as the home life of a vet and how it prepared me for this career. Mentioned how my job as an RA helped develop skills necessary for vet med and a passion for patient advocacy due to watching the head of the rescue I worked with hold on to a dog for too long that needed to pass.

 

[Summerthom]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21, female, NJ resident, traditional, first time applicant

Applied: Tufts (alternate), Cornell (rejected), Lincoln Memorial, Long Island, Virginia-Maryland, U of Florida, U of Tennessee, Purdue (alternate), Iowa State (alternate), PennVet (rejected), Colorado (rejected)
Interview Invites: Tufts, Lincoln Memorial, Long Island, Virginia-Maryland, U of Florida, Purdue
Waiting to hear: U of Florida
Accepted: Lincoln Memorial, Long Island, Virginia-Maryland
Attending: Undecided

Overall GPA: 3.64
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.45
Last 45 GPA: 3.65

GRE (Q/V/W): Did not send to any schools.

Degree(s): BS in Biology (graduating this month)

Veterinary Experience:
Small animal clinic: Veterinary Assistant (about 1200 hours)
PennVet's Ryan Hospital: Wards Veterinary Assistant (about 600 hours)

Animal Experience:
PAWS Dog Care Volunteer (about 16 hours)
Wag Dog Walking (about 30 hours)

Research:
Bacteriophage Culturing and genomic analysis (about 120 hours)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
President of Drexel' Pre-Vet club
Member of The Biological Honors Society (Tri Beta)
High School Student Athlete
American Medical Women's Association Member
Dean's List
Intramural Soccer and Volleyball

Non-Animal Employment:
Hostess (1 year)
Backwaiter (2 years)
Barback (1.5 years)

LORs:
Biology Professor/Assistant department head
Penn Vet Nursing Supervisor
Pre-Vet Club Advisor (DVM)
Small Animal Clinic Owner (DVM)
Biology Professor

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
For my explanatory statement, I wrote about the passing of my father in 2020 and having to immediately move out of my house of 20 years.
For my personal statement, I wrote about a specific experience while working at PennVet (I got rejected from Penn, I guess they weren't a fan).

 

[finley6]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
22, Female, SC, traditional 2nd time applicant (I applied the first time a year early during my junior year of college)

Applied: UGA, University of Tennessee (denied), Mississippi State, FSU (denied), Virginia-Maryland, Auburn, CSU (denied), and NC State (denied)
Interview Invites: University of Tennessee, Mississippi State, Virginia-Maryland, and Auburn
Waiting to hear: None
Accepted: Auburn, Mississippi State (contract seat & Bardsley Scholarship), UGA (contract seat), and Virginia-Maryland ($5,000 scholarship)
Attending: Mississippi State University!!

Overall GPA: 3.80
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.71
Last 45 GPA: 3.82

GRE (Q/V/W): 153 (48%)/153 (59%)/4 (55%)

Degree(s): B.S. in Animal and Veterinary Sciences with a minor in Biological Sciences

Veterinary Experience:
Equine reproduction clinic – 176
Small animal clinic – 672 (split over two summers)

Animal Experience:
Teaching Assistant 1 – 40
Teaching Assistant 2 – 36
Volunteer at a humane society - 200

Research:
Looking at cancer genomics - 132
Looking at the aquatic toxicity of different metals - 168

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Ambassador for my major – 64
Officer of Block and Bridle – 180
Officer of FIRST club – 90
Volunteer with a pen pal – 30
Dean’s list: 3 semesters
President’s list: 3 semesters
My school’s honors college
A few scholarships

Non-Animal Employment:
Student intern – 336
FIRST mentor – 240
Gas station clerk – 252
Work-study - 1350

LORs:
Two professors (one of whom taught my research)
One GP small animal veterinarian
One equine reproduction specialist veterinarian

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I talked about the specific experiences that I had that led to my decision to apply to veterinary school. I really tried to go into detail about how I made the choice to apply and how these experiences impacted me at the different stages of my life.

**If anyone is going to be a second-time applicant and needs any advice or wants to know more about the changes I made to my application between the rounds then feel free to reach out

 

[birbtime]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
23, Female, TN, traditional-ish 1st time applicant (I was an EXTREMELY late switch to the pre-vet path and applied my senior year)

Applied: Georgia, Tennessee, Midwestern, Illinois, Virginia-Maryland, Long Island, Colorado, Glasgow, Missouri, Washington State, Michigan, Cornell, Arizona
Interview Invites: Tennessee, Long Island, Midwestern, Glasgow, Illinois
Waiting to hear: None
Accepted: Midwestern, Long Island, Glasgow, Illinois
Attending: Undecided – most likely midwestern or Illinois unless I get off the Georgia waitlist

Overall GPA: 3.90
Science Prerequisite GPA: No idea
Last 45 GPA: No idea

GRE (Q/V/W): 159 (67%)/167 (98%)/4 (54%)

Degree(s): Bachelors in Geography- Space, Society, and Culture Concentration. Minor in public health

Veterinary Experience:
Small animal vet assistant – 600
Shelter clinic – 30
Small animal shadowing – 15

Animal Experience:
Pet sitting – 150

Research:
Research assistant in neurology lab – 1400 (over 3 years)

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Summa cum laude
Honors Student
A couple small scholarships
Dean’s list: 8 semesters

Non-Animal Employment:
CVS for a summer
Babysitting

LORs:
Two professors from the research lab
A history professor
A veterinarian whose PHD research I was a co-author on
The vet I work for

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
I mostly talked about the importance of empathy and why I made the decision to switch to veterinary medicine from human medicine. This part gave me the most anxiety so I've pretty much blocked it out lol!

So exciting to finally post this! So proud of us all and everyone who applied

 

[andydoctor]

Age, Gender, State/Country of Residence, Traditional/Non-traditional applicant, # of times you've applied:
21, female, CT, traditional applicant, 1st cycle
Applied: Cornell (denied), Michigan State (denied), UPenn, tufts, CSU, Iowa, Illinois, UGA
Interview Invites: Upenn, Tufts, Illinois
Waiting to hear: Heard back from all but waiting to see if I get pulled off any waitlists. I was waitlisted at UPenn, Tufts, Iowa, UGA and Colorado
Accepted: Illinois!
Attending: Illinois!!!!! Unless, I get any offers from the waitlisted schools

Overall GPA: 3.90
Science Prerequisite GPA: 3.80
Last 45 GPA: 3.95

GRE (Q/V/W): I don't remember the exact numbers but I think 58%/54%/4
Degree(s): Molecular and Cellular Biology (honors program)

Veterinary Experience:
Experience -
600 hours at the time of application at a feline-only practice (vet assistant)
200 hours at a small animal general practice (vet assistant)
90 hours as a kennel tech at a small animal practice


Animal Experience:
Experience -
~50 hours from lab courses in undergrad (horses, pigs, sheep, chicken, cows)

Research:
Experience -
~100 working with sheep, researching the effect of maternal diet on offspring development

Extracurriculars/Awards:
Experience -
Alpha Phi Fraternity: I held a leadership position as director of academics
HuskyTHON: a dance marathon fundraiser for Connecticut Children's Hospital
Pre-Vet Club
Paws and Claws club
Big Brother Big Sister
Intramural basketball
TA for introduction to microbiology for one semester

Non-Animal Employment:
Experience -
Worked 3 summers at Dairy Queen

LORs:
Title of recommender (Vet? Manager? Supervisor? Vet tech?)
One letter was from the veterinarian I worked with the most, another was from my honors thesis supervisor/ advisor, and the third was from the professor who I was helping out with research

Essay Questions/Personal Statement:
Summary of what you wrote about
I wrote about everything that led to the decision of becoming a veterinarian. I also explained how feline medicine was the most interesting to me and why it was so important to me to continue my education in that. I explained how my veterinary experience and animal experience hours got cut short from COVID (was going to intern at a zoo but it got canceled from covid, had to stop working for a bit summer 2020).