- Joined
- Aug 18, 2017
- Messages
- 125
- Reaction score
- 71
Successful Applicants Stats - Class of 2022
- Thread starter pcram93
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 19,253
- Reaction score
- 29,673
No uGet out of here....
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2016
- Messages
- 727
- Reaction score
- 1,514
I was in NOLA for the sugar bowl a few years ago and at any moment you could hear a flash mob going “O-H-I-O” and they did the little arm movements like YMCA it was super cute.
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2017
- Messages
- 67
- Reaction score
- 144
- Joined
- May 31, 2017
- Messages
- 15
- Reaction score
- 29
I HAVE DREAMED OF BEING ABLE TO POST ON HERE FOR YEARS
22 year old female, NC resident, first time applicant
Applied: NCSU- DVM/PhD and regular DVM
Interviews: NCSU DVM/PhD
Accepted: NCSU!!
Waiting to hear: DVM/PhD (but it's been ~month with no news so I probably didn't get it)
Attending: NCSU!!!!!!!
Cum GPA: 3.83
Science GPA: 3.82
Last 45: All A's except for 3 CR A-, 5 CR B+
GRE (v/q/w): 157/156/4
Degree: Zoology with minor in Biotechnology
Veterinary Hours:
220 shadowing small animal clinic in HS
330 working as vet assistant at small animal/exotic clinic
72 shadowing equine vet
80 NC State’s Turtle Rescue Team (rehabbing sick/injured turtles)
Animal hours:
50 working with Merlin’s Kids to train a shelter dog to become a service dog
12 Duke Lemur Center technician assistant (I quit a few weeks in because the commute was terrible and I already had such a busy schedule)
48 Animal Phylogeny/Diversity lab
60 SPCA
20 Arthropod Zoo volunteer at NC Museum of Natural Sciences
30 NC State Dairy Unit- calf feeding
Research:
250 Biotechnology Internship
40 Insect Genome Manipulation lab
400 NIEHS Internship- Comparative Medicine Branch
105 NCSU CVM Immunopharmacology Lab research assistant
96 NCSU Dept. of Poultry Science research assistant
20 NC Museum of Natural Sciences citizen science volunteer
Extra-curriculars:
Undergrad Research Panel Speaker
NCSU VetPAC Intern
VetCAMP Counselor
NCSU Commencement Marshal
Scholars Program
Residence Hall Activities Council
Zoology Club- officer position
Pre-Vet Club- officer position
APVMA Symposium planning committee member (2017)
Leadership/teamwork camp
NCVC attendee
Non animal employment :
360 Nursing home activities assistant
1320 Resident Advisor
Awards/honors:
All my research poster presentations/oral presentations
Dean’s List every semester
Phi Beta Kappa
NC State University Housing Brick
RA awards- in my building and from NRHH
QPR Certification
National Merit Finalist
High School Salutatorian
Academic teams participation and awards (HS)
AP Scholar with Honor
National Honor Society
All my HS scholarships- one was a memorial scholarship in honor of two girls who passed at a young age and loved animals, and was awarded to me since I wanted to pursue veterinary medicine.
LORs: All had a DVM and a PhD, which I think helped with becoming a DVM/PhD finalist
-NC State’s pre-vet advisor, who I got to know by being a VetPAC Intern
-My mentor/PI at NIEHS, who showed me I wanted to go into lab animal medicine
-Immunopharmacology lab PI; I had asked the post-doc I directly worked under for a letter, but she actually helped him to write my letter by telling him about me.
Essays:
The VMCAS essays were pretty standard, and I just tried to cram as much as I could to demonstrate my understanding of the profession and my goals. For NCSU’s supplemental essays, I emphasized how important mental health and self care are to me (I literally said I watch Youtube in my spare time). I also wrote a whole essay about my ex-boyfriend and how I learned from our differences. For the DVM/PhD essays, I wrote about how I wanted to be a lab animal vet in order to ensure the welfare of animals used in research as well as having my own research lab.
Things I think that helped:
-My desired focus is lab animal medicine, and I had the experience to back it up. It’s also a very uncommon concentration.
-I’m a first generation college student
-NC State is HUGE on diversity- they have a dedicated Diversity Chair! My experience throughout high school and as a resident advisor allowed me to learn about inclusion, diversity, and culture.
-All my letter writers were involved with NCSU’s CVM in some way and thus knew the admissions committee members. I went to my interview for the DVM/PhD and almost all my interviewers mentioned one of my letter writers as their “old buddy”.
-Though I don’t have thousands of hours, I had a lot of variety of animals that I worked with.
NCSU lowered its required vet experience hours from 400 to 200. I always worried I never had enough hours, but I realized it was important to take care of myself and not overwork myself.
22 year old female, NC resident, first time applicant
Applied: NCSU- DVM/PhD and regular DVM
Interviews: NCSU DVM/PhD
Accepted: NCSU!!
Waiting to hear: DVM/PhD (but it's been ~month with no news so I probably didn't get it)
Attending: NCSU!!!!!!!
Cum GPA: 3.83
Science GPA: 3.82
Last 45: All A's except for 3 CR A-, 5 CR B+
GRE (v/q/w): 157/156/4
Degree: Zoology with minor in Biotechnology
Veterinary Hours:
220 shadowing small animal clinic in HS
330 working as vet assistant at small animal/exotic clinic
72 shadowing equine vet
80 NC State’s Turtle Rescue Team (rehabbing sick/injured turtles)
Animal hours:
50 working with Merlin’s Kids to train a shelter dog to become a service dog
12 Duke Lemur Center technician assistant (I quit a few weeks in because the commute was terrible and I already had such a busy schedule)
48 Animal Phylogeny/Diversity lab
60 SPCA
20 Arthropod Zoo volunteer at NC Museum of Natural Sciences
30 NC State Dairy Unit- calf feeding
Research:
250 Biotechnology Internship
40 Insect Genome Manipulation lab
400 NIEHS Internship- Comparative Medicine Branch
105 NCSU CVM Immunopharmacology Lab research assistant
96 NCSU Dept. of Poultry Science research assistant
20 NC Museum of Natural Sciences citizen science volunteer
Extra-curriculars:
Undergrad Research Panel Speaker
NCSU VetPAC Intern
VetCAMP Counselor
NCSU Commencement Marshal
Scholars Program
Residence Hall Activities Council
Zoology Club- officer position
Pre-Vet Club- officer position
APVMA Symposium planning committee member (2017)
Leadership/teamwork camp
NCVC attendee
Non animal employment :
360 Nursing home activities assistant
1320 Resident Advisor
Awards/honors:
All my research poster presentations/oral presentations
Dean’s List every semester
Phi Beta Kappa
NC State University Housing Brick
RA awards- in my building and from NRHH
QPR Certification
National Merit Finalist
High School Salutatorian
Academic teams participation and awards (HS)
AP Scholar with Honor
National Honor Society
All my HS scholarships- one was a memorial scholarship in honor of two girls who passed at a young age and loved animals, and was awarded to me since I wanted to pursue veterinary medicine.
LORs: All had a DVM and a PhD, which I think helped with becoming a DVM/PhD finalist
-NC State’s pre-vet advisor, who I got to know by being a VetPAC Intern
-My mentor/PI at NIEHS, who showed me I wanted to go into lab animal medicine
-Immunopharmacology lab PI; I had asked the post-doc I directly worked under for a letter, but she actually helped him to write my letter by telling him about me.
Essays:
The VMCAS essays were pretty standard, and I just tried to cram as much as I could to demonstrate my understanding of the profession and my goals. For NCSU’s supplemental essays, I emphasized how important mental health and self care are to me (I literally said I watch Youtube in my spare time). I also wrote a whole essay about my ex-boyfriend and how I learned from our differences. For the DVM/PhD essays, I wrote about how I wanted to be a lab animal vet in order to ensure the welfare of animals used in research as well as having my own research lab.
Things I think that helped:
-My desired focus is lab animal medicine, and I had the experience to back it up. It’s also a very uncommon concentration.
-I’m a first generation college student
-NC State is HUGE on diversity- they have a dedicated Diversity Chair! My experience throughout high school and as a resident advisor allowed me to learn about inclusion, diversity, and culture.
-All my letter writers were involved with NCSU’s CVM in some way and thus knew the admissions committee members. I went to my interview for the DVM/PhD and almost all my interviewers mentioned one of my letter writers as their “old buddy”.
-Though I don’t have thousands of hours, I had a lot of variety of animals that I worked with.
NCSU lowered its required vet experience hours from 400 to 200. I always worried I never had enough hours, but I realized it was important to take care of myself and not overwork myself.
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2014
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 20
What a wonderful surprise! 🙂 I didn't think that I would make it here this year. I hope that this gives applicants who had veterinary experience hours at the lower end some hope (though I still recommend future applicants to get as much vet experience as possible!)
22 year old female, first time applicant, NC Resident
Applied: NCSU, VMCVM, UTK, LMU
Interviewed: LMU
Waiting to Hear: LMU, UTK
Rejected: VMCVM
Accepted: NCSU
Attending: NCSU!!!!
Overall GPA: 3.76
Science GPA: 3.82
Last 45 GPA: 3.72
GRE (Q/V/W): 152 (47%) /154 (65%) /3.5 (42%)
Degree: BS in Biology
Veterinary Experience (my hours are super low 😳):
Small Animal Shadowing (264 hours)
Lab Animal Shadowing/Volunteer (90 hours)
Animal Experience:
PetSmart Bather (800 hours)
Bather and Exerciser at Pet Resort (150 hours)
Carolina Tiger Rescue (4 hours)
Humane Society of Eastern Carolina (96 hours)
Research:
Undergraduate Research Assistant in Ecology (52 hours)
Extracurricular Activities/Awards:
ECU Pre-Vet Club
High School Creative Writing Club
HOSA
High School Tennis Player
High School Orchestra
Health Science Academy
American Red Cross Honor Cord
NC Academic Scholar
The President’s Volunteer Service Award
Junior Marshall
National Science and Math Honor Society
Honor Roll for 1 Semester
Deans List for 4 Semesters
ECU Biology Department Outstanding Senior Award (wasn’t on application, won this from graduation in December)
Non-Animal Employment:
Little Caesars (558 hours)
Taco Bell (1674 hours)
Volunteer Experience:
Vidant Medical Center Candy Striper (276 hours)
Church Sunday Daycare Worker (310 hours)
LORs:
Small Animal Vet I shadowed
Lab Animal Vet I shadowed
PetSmart Salon Manager
Professor I did research under
Essay Q’s:
Talked about my interest in research and lab animal medicine. Also talked about my time volunteering at my local hospital and how I wanted to not only help animals but people too and how I could do this by supporting researchers and taking care of their research animals.
22 year old female, first time applicant, NC Resident
Applied: NCSU, VMCVM, UTK, LMU
Interviewed: LMU
Waiting to Hear: LMU, UTK
Rejected: VMCVM
Accepted: NCSU
Attending: NCSU!!!!
Overall GPA: 3.76
Science GPA: 3.82
Last 45 GPA: 3.72
GRE (Q/V/W): 152 (47%) /154 (65%) /3.5 (42%)
Degree: BS in Biology
Veterinary Experience (my hours are super low 😳):
Small Animal Shadowing (264 hours)
Lab Animal Shadowing/Volunteer (90 hours)
Animal Experience:
PetSmart Bather (800 hours)
Bather and Exerciser at Pet Resort (150 hours)
Carolina Tiger Rescue (4 hours)
Humane Society of Eastern Carolina (96 hours)
Research:
Undergraduate Research Assistant in Ecology (52 hours)
Extracurricular Activities/Awards:
ECU Pre-Vet Club
High School Creative Writing Club
HOSA
High School Tennis Player
High School Orchestra
Health Science Academy
American Red Cross Honor Cord
NC Academic Scholar
The President’s Volunteer Service Award
Junior Marshall
National Science and Math Honor Society
Honor Roll for 1 Semester
Deans List for 4 Semesters
ECU Biology Department Outstanding Senior Award (wasn’t on application, won this from graduation in December)
Non-Animal Employment:
Little Caesars (558 hours)
Taco Bell (1674 hours)
Volunteer Experience:
Vidant Medical Center Candy Striper (276 hours)
Church Sunday Daycare Worker (310 hours)
LORs:
Small Animal Vet I shadowed
Lab Animal Vet I shadowed
PetSmart Salon Manager
Professor I did research under
Essay Q’s:
Talked about my interest in research and lab animal medicine. Also talked about my time volunteering at my local hospital and how I wanted to not only help animals but people too and how I could do this by supporting researchers and taking care of their research animals.
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2016
- Messages
- 257
- Reaction score
- 242
Update: accepted UF. Will likely attend UF as it’s been my first choice since childhood and My IS but still waiting to hear from Mississippi and Auburn.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2015
- Messages
- 3,549
- Reaction score
- 6,300
Congratulations, everyone! So exciting for you all!
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2017
- Messages
- 268
- Reaction score
- 337
24 YO Male - Florida Resident - First Time Applicant
Applied: UF, LMU, Michigan State, VAMD, and Purdue
Interview Invites: UF, LMU, Michigan State, and Purdue
Interview Waitlist; Denied: VAMD; Purdue
Accepted: University of Florida, Lincoln Memorial, and Michigan State University
Attending: UF !!!! GO GATORS
Overall GPA: 3.34
Science GPA: 3.52
Last 45 GPA: 3.92
GRE (Q/V/W): 160 /148 / 3
Anticipated Degree: BS Biological Sciences (Spring 2018)
Veterinary Experience
Equine Veterinary Assistant/Shadow - 100 hours
SA Vet Tech - 3500+ hours
SA Vet Assistant - 680 hours
LA/Food Supply Vet Assistant/Shadow - 360 hours
Animal Experience
Pet Sitter 120 hours
Research
Honors Thesis on Shark Biomechanics and Morphology
Extracurriculars/Awards
Research Council
Peer Mentor
Club Liason
Treasurer
Social Chair
Club Member
Non-Animal Employment
Worked as an Artist/Account Rep. for 2 years
LORs
Honors Thesis Program Professor
SA Vet
SA/Former LA Vet
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
Wrote about my goals on leaving a lasting impact that benefits society. Spoke about my hardships as a First Gen college student, and how my lower-level class grades were horrible since I was immature and how I realized this and how I have applied myself since. Spoke about my passion for LA/Food-Supply and Research.
All in All, GPAs do matter, but they do not mean everything! I think showing the schools that you are a mature individual is utmost one of the most important factors considered.
Applied: UF, LMU, Michigan State, VAMD, and Purdue
Interview Invites: UF, LMU, Michigan State, and Purdue
Interview Waitlist; Denied: VAMD; Purdue
Accepted: University of Florida, Lincoln Memorial, and Michigan State University
Attending: UF !!!! GO GATORS
Overall GPA: 3.34
Science GPA: 3.52
Last 45 GPA: 3.92
GRE (Q/V/W): 160 /148 / 3
Anticipated Degree: BS Biological Sciences (Spring 2018)
Veterinary Experience
Equine Veterinary Assistant/Shadow - 100 hours
SA Vet Tech - 3500+ hours
SA Vet Assistant - 680 hours
LA/Food Supply Vet Assistant/Shadow - 360 hours
Animal Experience
Pet Sitter 120 hours
Research
Honors Thesis on Shark Biomechanics and Morphology
Extracurriculars/Awards
Research Council
Peer Mentor
Club Liason
Treasurer
Social Chair
Club Member
Non-Animal Employment
Worked as an Artist/Account Rep. for 2 years
LORs
Honors Thesis Program Professor
SA Vet
SA/Former LA Vet
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
Wrote about my goals on leaving a lasting impact that benefits society. Spoke about my hardships as a First Gen college student, and how my lower-level class grades were horrible since I was immature and how I realized this and how I have applied myself since. Spoke about my passion for LA/Food-Supply and Research.
All in All, GPAs do matter, but they do not mean everything! I think showing the schools that you are a mature individual is utmost one of the most important factors considered.
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- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 19,253
- Reaction score
- 29,673
GO SLOFLO!!! @kcoughli OUR MANATEE MADE IT!!!
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2016
- Messages
- 257
- Reaction score
- 242
Yay we will be in the same class! So exciting.
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2017
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 78
22 YO Female - FL Resident - First Time Applicant
Applied: UF, UGA, UPenn, Cornell, NC State
Interview Invites: UF
Denied: Cornell, NC State, UPenn
Waitlisted: UGA (giving up my spot)
Accepted: UF
Attending: UF!!!!!!!
Overall GPA: 3.79
Science GPA: 3.75
Last 45 GPA: 3.76
GRE (Q/V/W): 160/160/5.5
Anticipated Degree: B.S. Biology (Spring 2018) with a minor in Chemistry
Veterinary Experience (low/not diversified hours!)
SA Vet Tech- 800 Hours
Animal Experience
White Oak Conservation Center Volunteer- mainly animal, but I did mention that I spent about half of my time shadowing the veterinarian and the residents there - 50 hours
Humane Society Volunteer- 112 hours
Kennel Tech- 528 hours
Volunteer Puppy Raiser (trained service dogs)- 2880 hours
Research
Study Abroad research trip to Swaziland to assist with research on conservation efforts and diversity studies
Extracurriculars/Awards
My sorority
Panhellenic Counselor
Panhellenic Recruitment Executive Board- basically planned sorority recruitment, which sounds frivolous but it was an intense year of planning an event with 4000 women involved and a strict schedule and such with a lot of logistical coordination, very intensive and time consuming lol
Pre-Health Honor Society
TA for a Leadership class
TA for Biochemistry
TA for Animal Science Lab- not before application but I mentioned this in my interview
Pre-Vet club
Be The Match- bone marrow donation club
Deans List (3x)
Membership award for my honor society (2x)
Non-Animal Employment
Lifeguard
Swim team coach
LORs
SA Veterinarian- UF Alum
Biochemistry professor at UF that I was a TA for (PhD)
Study abroad professor at UF (PhD)
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
Mainly talked about the organization that I raised service dogs for and my study abroad trip to Swaziland. Also talked about my exposure to small animal medicine since I was in middle school and my passion for it as well as understanding what in entails.
Applied: UF, UGA, UPenn, Cornell, NC State
Interview Invites: UF
Denied: Cornell, NC State, UPenn
Waitlisted: UGA (giving up my spot)
Accepted: UF
Attending: UF!!!!!!!
Overall GPA: 3.79
Science GPA: 3.75
Last 45 GPA: 3.76
GRE (Q/V/W): 160/160/5.5
Anticipated Degree: B.S. Biology (Spring 2018) with a minor in Chemistry
Veterinary Experience (low/not diversified hours!)
SA Vet Tech- 800 Hours
Animal Experience
White Oak Conservation Center Volunteer- mainly animal, but I did mention that I spent about half of my time shadowing the veterinarian and the residents there - 50 hours
Humane Society Volunteer- 112 hours
Kennel Tech- 528 hours
Volunteer Puppy Raiser (trained service dogs)- 2880 hours
Research
Study Abroad research trip to Swaziland to assist with research on conservation efforts and diversity studies
Extracurriculars/Awards
My sorority
Panhellenic Counselor
Panhellenic Recruitment Executive Board- basically planned sorority recruitment, which sounds frivolous but it was an intense year of planning an event with 4000 women involved and a strict schedule and such with a lot of logistical coordination, very intensive and time consuming lol
Pre-Health Honor Society
TA for a Leadership class
TA for Biochemistry
TA for Animal Science Lab- not before application but I mentioned this in my interview
Pre-Vet club
Be The Match- bone marrow donation club
Deans List (3x)
Membership award for my honor society (2x)
Non-Animal Employment
Lifeguard
Swim team coach
LORs
SA Veterinarian- UF Alum
Biochemistry professor at UF that I was a TA for (PhD)
Study abroad professor at UF (PhD)
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
Mainly talked about the organization that I raised service dogs for and my study abroad trip to Swaziland. Also talked about my exposure to small animal medicine since I was in middle school and my passion for it as well as understanding what in entails.
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- Joined
- Mar 8, 2017
- Messages
- 268
- Reaction score
- 337
I made it mom!
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 19,253
- Reaction score
- 29,673
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2014
- Messages
- 7,126
- Reaction score
- 14,750
You don't know me, but I am your grandmanator and therefore I am also happy for you.
Actually I'm happy for all of you on this thread. Congrats all around.
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2013
- Messages
- 6,360
- Reaction score
- 6,327
Congrats everyone who's gotten news thus far! In 4 years, you'll be DVMs. It's crazy how fast it goes by
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2017
- Messages
- 268
- Reaction score
- 337
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 19,253
- Reaction score
- 29,673
(You’re the grandmanatee, she’s the grandmanator 😉)Grandmanatee, is that you?
I heard back from Kansas around the 17th but I know I was early.
- Joined
- May 6, 2016
- Messages
- 176
- Reaction score
- 489
I am so excited that I get to post here! I thought for sure my hours were too low, but apparently not.
23 yr old female, IN resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: Purdue, VMCVM
Interview Invites: Purdue
Waiting to hear: -
Rejections: VMCVM
Accepted: Purdue
Attending: Purdue
Overall GPA: 3.86
Science GPA: 3.82
Last 45 GPA: 3.94
GRE (Q/V/W): ~Not required~
Degree: Honors BS in Biology with a concentration in Microbiology, Minor in Anthropology
Veterinary Experience
460 SA Clinic Intern
90 Mixed Animal Clinic Intern
Animal Experience
760 Animal Interpeter at Zoo
320 Lab Animal Caretaker
12 Volunteer at Humane Society of W.C.
Research
528 Novel protein research in M. tuberculosis, including 2nd place IBASM Conference Award
Extracurriculars/Awards
Graduation with Distinction
Student Initiate of Phi Kappa Phi
Member of Phi Etta Sigma Honors Society
Member Of Beta Beta Beta
E.R.S Scholarship Award
VP of local Chapter of American Society for Microbiology
Publicity Chair/Executive Board/Presidential Member of NSLS
Semesters Honors List for seven semesters
Dean's List for 8 semesters
Pre-vet/Agriculture Club
Chemistry Club
People-to-People Student Ambassador
Valedictorian (HS)
Venture Scout (HS)
Team Lead in Academic Superbowl (HS)
Spanish Club, including cultural trip to Puerto Rico (HS)
SADD Officer(HS)
Non-Animal Employment
256 Supplemental Instructions Leader for Biology
64 Tutor in Biology and Chemistry
64 Tutor in Math and Chemistry (HS)
3000 McDonalds
eLORs
Small Animal Vet-Practice Owner - Purdue Alumni
Small Animal Surgeon - Purdue Alumni
Physics Professor
Research/Senior Honors Thesis Advisor
Essays
Mostly discussed that my interests included research/public health as well as owning a clinic within my area due to the significant shortage of large animal veterinarians here.
.23 yr old female, IN resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: Purdue, VMCVM
Interview Invites: Purdue
Waiting to hear: -
Rejections: VMCVM
Accepted: Purdue
Attending: Purdue
Overall GPA: 3.86
Science GPA: 3.82
Last 45 GPA: 3.94
GRE (Q/V/W): ~Not required~
Degree: Honors BS in Biology with a concentration in Microbiology, Minor in Anthropology
Veterinary Experience
460 SA Clinic Intern
90 Mixed Animal Clinic Intern
Animal Experience
760 Animal Interpeter at Zoo
320 Lab Animal Caretaker
12 Volunteer at Humane Society of W.C.
Research
528 Novel protein research in M. tuberculosis, including 2nd place IBASM Conference Award
Extracurriculars/Awards
Graduation with Distinction
Student Initiate of Phi Kappa Phi
Member of Phi Etta Sigma Honors Society
Member Of Beta Beta Beta
E.R.S Scholarship Award
VP of local Chapter of American Society for Microbiology
Publicity Chair/Executive Board/Presidential Member of NSLS
Semesters Honors List for seven semesters
Dean's List for 8 semesters
Pre-vet/Agriculture Club
Chemistry Club
People-to-People Student Ambassador
Valedictorian (HS)
Venture Scout (HS)
Team Lead in Academic Superbowl (HS)
Spanish Club, including cultural trip to Puerto Rico (HS)
SADD Officer(HS)
Non-Animal Employment
256 Supplemental Instructions Leader for Biology
64 Tutor in Biology and Chemistry
64 Tutor in Math and Chemistry (HS)
3000 McDonalds
eLORs
Small Animal Vet-Practice Owner - Purdue Alumni
Small Animal Surgeon - Purdue Alumni
Physics Professor
Research/Senior Honors Thesis Advisor
Essays
Mostly discussed that my interests included research/public health as well as owning a clinic within my area due to the significant shortage of large animal veterinarians here.
22 yr old female, California Resident, 1st time applicant, first generation
Applied: Ross, Midwestern, SGU, Kansas, Western, Tufts, UPenn, Colorado, Virginia-Maryland, Illinois, Missouri, Purdue, Iowa, Cornell, UC Davis
Interview Invites: Kansas, Western, Ross, SGU, Tufts, Penn, Colorado, Illinois, UC Davis
Accepted: UC Davis!, Western, Ross, SGU, Kansas (declined interviews from Midwestern, Illinois, UPenn, and Tufts after Davis acceptance)
Waitlist: Colorado
Rejected: Purdue, Cornell, Missouri, Virginia-Maryland
Attending: UC Davis
Overall GPA: 3.26
Science GPA: 3.23
Last 45 GPA: 3.44
GRE (Q/V/W): 158 (69%), 166 (97%), 5 (93%)
Degree: BS Molecular & Cellular Biology
Veterinary Experience
Small Animal General Practice (600 hrs)
Veterinary Oncology Specialty Hospital (40 hrs at time of application but will be working there the year before matriculation)
Veterinary Pathology and Lab Animal Dept. at Human Hospital (15 hrs)
Animal Experience
Zoo education volunteer (300 hrs)
Zoo animal keeper volunteer (300 hrs)
Pre-veterinary club activities (100 hrs)
Routine Rat Surgery Training Course (15 hrs)
Research
Audioneurophysiology research lab working with Marmosets (100 hrs)
Phage research lab (200 hrs)
Developmental biology lab working on chick limb development (200 hrs)
Work Experience
Pancreatic Tumor Research Lab - Office Assistant (125 hrs)
Anatomic Pathology Consultation Services - Office Assistant (200 hours)
Baby Sitter (500 hrs)
Extracurricular/Volunteering
Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline (400 hrs)
Wind Ensemble (100 hrs)
LORs
One veterinarian from general practice
Microbiology professor
Pre-Professional Advisor
*I've never posted on SDN before, but I wanted to share my GPA stats as a bit of encouragement for others with low GPAs who will be applying in the future. It's easy to feel hopeless when applying to vet school with a low GPA because the competition is so fierce, but don't be discouraged. Good luck to everyone this application season and to all those applying in the upcoming years!
Applied: Ross, Midwestern, SGU, Kansas, Western, Tufts, UPenn, Colorado, Virginia-Maryland, Illinois, Missouri, Purdue, Iowa, Cornell, UC Davis
Interview Invites: Kansas, Western, Ross, SGU, Tufts, Penn, Colorado, Illinois, UC Davis
Accepted: UC Davis!, Western, Ross, SGU, Kansas (declined interviews from Midwestern, Illinois, UPenn, and Tufts after Davis acceptance)
Waitlist: Colorado
Rejected: Purdue, Cornell, Missouri, Virginia-Maryland
Attending: UC Davis
Overall GPA: 3.26
Science GPA: 3.23
Last 45 GPA: 3.44
GRE (Q/V/W): 158 (69%), 166 (97%), 5 (93%)
Degree: BS Molecular & Cellular Biology
Veterinary Experience
Small Animal General Practice (600 hrs)
Veterinary Oncology Specialty Hospital (40 hrs at time of application but will be working there the year before matriculation)
Veterinary Pathology and Lab Animal Dept. at Human Hospital (15 hrs)
Animal Experience
Zoo education volunteer (300 hrs)
Zoo animal keeper volunteer (300 hrs)
Pre-veterinary club activities (100 hrs)
Routine Rat Surgery Training Course (15 hrs)
Research
Audioneurophysiology research lab working with Marmosets (100 hrs)
Phage research lab (200 hrs)
Developmental biology lab working on chick limb development (200 hrs)
Work Experience
Pancreatic Tumor Research Lab - Office Assistant (125 hrs)
Anatomic Pathology Consultation Services - Office Assistant (200 hours)
Baby Sitter (500 hrs)
Extracurricular/Volunteering
Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline (400 hrs)
Wind Ensemble (100 hrs)
LORs
One veterinarian from general practice
Microbiology professor
Pre-Professional Advisor
*I've never posted on SDN before, but I wanted to share my GPA stats as a bit of encouragement for others with low GPAs who will be applying in the future. It's easy to feel hopeless when applying to vet school with a low GPA because the competition is so fierce, but don't be discouraged. Good luck to everyone this application season and to all those applying in the upcoming years!
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2014
- Messages
- 10,550
- Reaction score
- 10,697
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2018
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 45
20 year old female, Georgia resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: Georgia, Florida, Mississippi State, LSU, Tennessee
Interview Invites: Tennessee, Miss St (Waitlisted for interview at Florida)
Accepted: Miss St, LSU
Waiting to Hear: UGA, Tennessee
Attending: ??????? (depends on UGA, fingers crossed - LOVED Miss St though)
Overall GPA: 3.98
Science GPA: 3.97
Last 45 GPA: 4.0
GRE (Q/V/W): 161 (78%), 161 (88%), 4 (60%)
Degree: BS Animal Science at University of Tennessee (but applied a year early, so won't be graduating immediately)
Veterinary Experience
Small Animal Vet Assistant (870 hrs)
Shadowing at UTK vet school - Rehab and community practice (21 hours)
Veterinary Camp - Large, small, and exotics (50 hours)
Shadowing large animal UTK vet (12 hours at time of application but explained it would be continuing throughout the fall semester)
Animal Experience
Animal Science hands-on labs (90 hours)
Research
24 hours with UGA professor
*More described in interviews that I did at UTK after application was due
Extracurricular/Volunteering
Kappa Kappa Gamma
New Member Chairman for sorority (and assistant the year before)
Treasurer for Pre-Veterinary Club
Chancellor's Honors Program
For the Kids
LORs
Veterinarian from small animal clinic
Head vet tech from small animal clinic
Research professor at UGA vet school
Professor at UTK w/ DVM and PhD
I originally was just applying to UTK as part of the 3+1 program that they offer here, but once I figured out that you didn't need a Bachelor's degree to apply to most veterinary schools, I decided I would try to increase my odds, especially since I'm already out-of-state at Tennessee! Halfway decided to apply early so I could get a jumpstart, but also halfway decided to do it in case I didn't get in my first try so I could just continue undergrad. 🙂
Applied: Georgia, Florida, Mississippi State, LSU, Tennessee
Interview Invites: Tennessee, Miss St (Waitlisted for interview at Florida)
Accepted: Miss St, LSU
Waiting to Hear: UGA, Tennessee
Attending: ??????? (depends on UGA, fingers crossed - LOVED Miss St though)
Overall GPA: 3.98
Science GPA: 3.97
Last 45 GPA: 4.0
GRE (Q/V/W): 161 (78%), 161 (88%), 4 (60%)
Degree: BS Animal Science at University of Tennessee (but applied a year early, so won't be graduating immediately)
Veterinary Experience
Small Animal Vet Assistant (870 hrs)
Shadowing at UTK vet school - Rehab and community practice (21 hours)
Veterinary Camp - Large, small, and exotics (50 hours)
Shadowing large animal UTK vet (12 hours at time of application but explained it would be continuing throughout the fall semester)
Animal Experience
Animal Science hands-on labs (90 hours)
Research
24 hours with UGA professor
*More described in interviews that I did at UTK after application was due
Extracurricular/Volunteering
Kappa Kappa Gamma
New Member Chairman for sorority (and assistant the year before)
Treasurer for Pre-Veterinary Club
Chancellor's Honors Program
For the Kids
LORs
Veterinarian from small animal clinic
Head vet tech from small animal clinic
Research professor at UGA vet school
Professor at UTK w/ DVM and PhD
I originally was just applying to UTK as part of the 3+1 program that they offer here, but once I figured out that you didn't need a Bachelor's degree to apply to most veterinary schools, I decided I would try to increase my odds, especially since I'm already out-of-state at Tennessee! Halfway decided to apply early so I could get a jumpstart, but also halfway decided to do it in case I didn't get in my first try so I could just continue undergrad. 🙂
- Joined
- May 16, 2016
- Messages
- 3,829
- Reaction score
- 6,782
I will finally get to post here later this week hopefully once I know from my final schools...today was killer...IDK how I'm gonna cope the rest of the week.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2017
- Messages
- 90
- Reaction score
- 128
OMFG I FINALLY GET TO POST IN HEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! 
🙂
22 yr old male, Vermont resident, 1st time applicant
Applied (10): Cornell, Tufts, MSU, VA-MD, UPenn, UTK, ISU, UGA, Midwestern, Purdue
Interview Invites(3): Midwestern (9/27/17), MSU (1/12/18), and VA-MD (1/14/18)
Waiting to hear: UTK, UGA, MSU, ISU
Attending: VA-MD
Overall GPA: 3.25
Science GPA: 2.90 (chemistry ruined me)
Last 45 GPA: 3.57
GRE (Q/V/W): 153/153/4.5 (did better on the writing than expected!)
Degree: BS Animal & Veterinary Sciences, concentration in Molecular Immunology
Veterinary Experience
Vet Tech at Integrative Vet ~5,000 hours
ICU Tech at Equine Hospital ~500 hours
Animal Experience
Kennel Tech ~500 hours
Artificial Insemination (Cattle) ~10 hours
Grooming Assistant ~500 hours
Research
none!
Extracurriculars/Awards
Study Group Coordinator for Domestic Animal A&P, Endocrinology T.A., Microbiology Journal Club Coordinator,
Non-Animal Employment
Kid's Store Associate, Cashier at Kinney Drugs
LORs
Integrative Vet + Hosp Owner
Integrative Vet
UG Advisor (also taught one of my animal prereqs)
Endocrinology/Researcher (also taught A&P)
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
Becoming a board-certified oncologist (now thinking I rather do critical care); role of vets in the community/public health, attributes of a successful vet
HOLY **** THIS IS REAL
🙂22 yr old male, Vermont resident, 1st time applicant
Applied (10): Cornell, Tufts, MSU, VA-MD, UPenn, UTK, ISU, UGA, Midwestern, Purdue
Interview Invites(3): Midwestern (9/27/17), MSU (1/12/18), and VA-MD (1/14/18)
Waiting to hear: UTK, UGA, MSU, ISU
Attending: VA-MD
Overall GPA: 3.25
Science GPA: 2.90 (chemistry ruined me)
Last 45 GPA: 3.57
GRE (Q/V/W): 153/153/4.5 (did better on the writing than expected!)
Degree: BS Animal & Veterinary Sciences, concentration in Molecular Immunology
Veterinary Experience
Vet Tech at Integrative Vet ~5,000 hours
ICU Tech at Equine Hospital ~500 hours
Animal Experience
Kennel Tech ~500 hours
Artificial Insemination (Cattle) ~10 hours
Grooming Assistant ~500 hours
Research
none!
Extracurriculars/Awards
Study Group Coordinator for Domestic Animal A&P, Endocrinology T.A., Microbiology Journal Club Coordinator,
Non-Animal Employment
Kid's Store Associate, Cashier at Kinney Drugs
LORs
Integrative Vet + Hosp Owner
Integrative Vet
UG Advisor (also taught one of my animal prereqs)
Endocrinology/Researcher (also taught A&P)
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
Becoming a board-certified oncologist (now thinking I rather do critical care); role of vets in the community/public health, attributes of a successful vet
HOLY **** THIS IS REAL
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2017
- Messages
- 79
- Reaction score
- 105
21yr old female, WA resident, 1st time applicant
Still freaking out that this is real! My heart was set on WSU the whole time, I really just applied to other schools because I thought I might regret it if I didn’t - the whole wondering what could’ve been thing. Even though I knew I’d pick WSU regardless.
Applied: Washington State, Oregon State, Colorado State, UC Davis
Interview Invites: Washington State
Rejected: Oregon State, Colorado State, UC Davis
Accepted: Washington State
Attending: WSU!!!
Overall GPA: 3.59
Science GPA: 3.41
Last 45 GPA: 3.76
GRE (Q/V/W)- 163 (84%)/159 (83%)/4.5 (82%)
Degree: BS biology, BA philosophy
Veterinary Experience
Veterinary Assistant at a small animal and exotics GP clinic - 1000+ hours at time of application (I think I did the math and it was like 1012 or something)
Animal Experience
Worked at a summer camp directing the horse program -550 hrs
Foster parent for humane society for 3 months (put 55hrs on my application)
Pet ownership, cats and horses my whole life (put 680 hours on my application)
Research
Lab assistant/media prep, basically did inventory and made fruit fly food -360hrs
Extracurriculars/Awards
Sorority executive committee/generally being a member -320 hrs
Pre-Vet Society -30hrs
Various volunteer things with my church, donations to goodwill, welcome week leader, etc.
Non-Animal Employment
Nanny (3 different families during undergrad) - 2,250 hours
Tutor for AP Bio - 50 hours
LORs
Small animal/exotic GP vet
Hospital manager/LVT
Physiology professor
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
For VMCAS I talked about how it’s just as much about the client as it is the patient, human animal bond stuff. How I want to work in small animal practice and how I hope to contribute to my community by filling that role. For my supplemental app for WSU I said I liked that the program was non-tracking and super community oriented. And I felt like I could offer my skills gained in being a philosophy major (ethics) and nanny (communication/trust from parents) and apply that to vet med.
Still freaking out that this is real! My heart was set on WSU the whole time, I really just applied to other schools because I thought I might regret it if I didn’t - the whole wondering what could’ve been thing. Even though I knew I’d pick WSU regardless.
Applied: Washington State, Oregon State, Colorado State, UC Davis
Interview Invites: Washington State
Rejected: Oregon State, Colorado State, UC Davis
Accepted: Washington State
Attending: WSU!!!
Overall GPA: 3.59
Science GPA: 3.41
Last 45 GPA: 3.76
GRE (Q/V/W)- 163 (84%)/159 (83%)/4.5 (82%)
Degree: BS biology, BA philosophy
Veterinary Experience
Veterinary Assistant at a small animal and exotics GP clinic - 1000+ hours at time of application (I think I did the math and it was like 1012 or something)
Animal Experience
Worked at a summer camp directing the horse program -550 hrs
Foster parent for humane society for 3 months (put 55hrs on my application)
Pet ownership, cats and horses my whole life (put 680 hours on my application)
Research
Lab assistant/media prep, basically did inventory and made fruit fly food -360hrs
Extracurriculars/Awards
Sorority executive committee/generally being a member -320 hrs
Pre-Vet Society -30hrs
Various volunteer things with my church, donations to goodwill, welcome week leader, etc.
Non-Animal Employment
Nanny (3 different families during undergrad) - 2,250 hours
Tutor for AP Bio - 50 hours
LORs
Small animal/exotic GP vet
Hospital manager/LVT
Physiology professor
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
For VMCAS I talked about how it’s just as much about the client as it is the patient, human animal bond stuff. How I want to work in small animal practice and how I hope to contribute to my community by filling that role. For my supplemental app for WSU I said I liked that the program was non-tracking and super community oriented. And I felt like I could offer my skills gained in being a philosophy major (ethics) and nanny (communication/trust from parents) and apply that to vet med.
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- Joined
- May 16, 2017
- Messages
- 175
- Reaction score
- 325
After months of anxiously obsessing with hearing back, I'm so thankful to have my first acceptance.
28 Y.O. Female - Texas Resident - First Time Applicant
Applied: TAMU, LMU, Michigan State, UF, Oregon State
Interview Invites: TAMU, LMU, Michigan State
Denied: UF, Oregon State
Waiting Response: TAMU, LMU
Accepted: Michigan State
Attending: Waiting to hear back from IS
Overall GPA: 3.44
Undergrad GPA: 3.35
Grad GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: Varied - some schools calculated differently, around a 3.2
Last 45 GPA: Varied - some schools calculated differently, some didn't count my master's
GRE (Q/V/W): 147 /153 / 4 (Dem math skills, note to self, don't wait 8 years between math courses)
Completed Degrees:
B.S. Marine Biology
M.A. Teaching w/ certification TX Life Science 8-12
Veterinary Experience - Total: 508 hrs
SA Emergency Clinic, 508 hrs
Animal Experience - Total: 3,440 hrs
- Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition - opossum care, 30 hrs
- Dog Training - personal pet, 25 hrs
- Science Classroom Animal Care - turtles, fish, birds, rodents, 400 hrs
- Moody Gardens - Interpretive Naturalist, 150 hrs
- Undergrad Biology Lab Animal Care - turtles, fish, tarantula, reptiles, 60 hrs
- Sea World Experience - focus on avian, reptiles, 40 hrs
- Kennel Assistant & Bather, 300 hrs
- Pet Sitter & Caregiver, 100 hrs
- Exotics Mini Internship - wolves, wolf hybrids, 50 hrs
- Sea Camp Adventure - Vet Med, 40 hrs
- Dog Show & Handling, 600 hrs
- Petsmart - dog bather, 1545 hrs >> had way more hours, worked there in high school but didn't want crazy numbers on app
- Pet Owner - hedgehog, guineas, birds, reptiles, fish, dogs, cats, several disabled/blind/sick, etc. , 100 hrs (max to count)
Research Experience - Total: 340 hrs
- Rice university R-STEM NSF RET Summer Internship: Focus on membrane distillation nanotechnology, 300 hrs
- Coastal Plant Ecology Lab. 40 hrs
Leadership Experience
- High School Science Teacher
- Cohort Teacher Team Lead
- Presenter: multiple conferences: Region 4 Edu, National Science Teacher's Association, TCEA, FETC, Houston ISD Transformational Institute
- PBL Academy Designer & Presenter
Extracurriculars/Awards
- Beginning Teacher of the Year - first year teaching
- Teacher Evaluations - always scored highest ranks
- Ladies of Energy Institute HS - teacher sponsor
- Special People's Ball - volunteer (undergrad)
- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center - clean up volunteer (undergrad)
- Animal Husbandry Association - member (undergrad)
- Circle K club - member (undergrad)
- SMART Scholarships (undergrad)
Non-Animal Employment
>> 5 years in education
- Science Teacher: Regular & Pre-AP Biology, Aquatic Science, Environmental Systems, & AP Environmental Science
- Teacher Development Specialist
- Project Based Learning Developmental Specialist
- STEM Quest Camp Counselor
LORs
- Former boss - kennel and grooming work (known 10 years)
- Current boss - principal (known 5 years)
- Veterinarians - committee letter from 5 vets at the ER clinic and organized by the Chief of Staff (known 1.5 years)
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
Wrote about how several recent deaths made me re-evaluate where I was at in life; made me realize that I need to take a chance and try vet med. Always wanted to be a veterinarian but did not want to commit to that level of debt that young. Continued to come back to vet med and now feels like the right time. Spoke about experiences and growth as a teacher, how it has made me more sure that this is the right decision.
28 Y.O. Female - Texas Resident - First Time Applicant
Applied: TAMU, LMU, Michigan State, UF, Oregon State
Interview Invites: TAMU, LMU, Michigan State
Denied: UF, Oregon State
Waiting Response: TAMU, LMU
Accepted: Michigan State
Attending: Waiting to hear back from IS
Overall GPA: 3.44
Undergrad GPA: 3.35
Grad GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: Varied - some schools calculated differently, around a 3.2
Last 45 GPA: Varied - some schools calculated differently, some didn't count my master's
GRE (Q/V/W): 147 /153 / 4 (Dem math skills, note to self, don't wait 8 years between math courses)
Completed Degrees:
B.S. Marine Biology
M.A. Teaching w/ certification TX Life Science 8-12
Veterinary Experience - Total: 508 hrs
SA Emergency Clinic, 508 hrs
Animal Experience - Total: 3,440 hrs
- Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition - opossum care, 30 hrs
- Dog Training - personal pet, 25 hrs
- Science Classroom Animal Care - turtles, fish, birds, rodents, 400 hrs
- Moody Gardens - Interpretive Naturalist, 150 hrs
- Undergrad Biology Lab Animal Care - turtles, fish, tarantula, reptiles, 60 hrs
- Sea World Experience - focus on avian, reptiles, 40 hrs
- Kennel Assistant & Bather, 300 hrs
- Pet Sitter & Caregiver, 100 hrs
- Exotics Mini Internship - wolves, wolf hybrids, 50 hrs
- Sea Camp Adventure - Vet Med, 40 hrs
- Dog Show & Handling, 600 hrs
- Petsmart - dog bather, 1545 hrs >> had way more hours, worked there in high school but didn't want crazy numbers on app
- Pet Owner - hedgehog, guineas, birds, reptiles, fish, dogs, cats, several disabled/blind/sick, etc. , 100 hrs (max to count)
Research Experience - Total: 340 hrs
- Rice university R-STEM NSF RET Summer Internship: Focus on membrane distillation nanotechnology, 300 hrs
- Coastal Plant Ecology Lab. 40 hrs
Leadership Experience
- High School Science Teacher
- Cohort Teacher Team Lead
- Presenter: multiple conferences: Region 4 Edu, National Science Teacher's Association, TCEA, FETC, Houston ISD Transformational Institute
- PBL Academy Designer & Presenter
Extracurriculars/Awards
- Beginning Teacher of the Year - first year teaching
- Teacher Evaluations - always scored highest ranks
- Ladies of Energy Institute HS - teacher sponsor
- Special People's Ball - volunteer (undergrad)
- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center - clean up volunteer (undergrad)
- Animal Husbandry Association - member (undergrad)
- Circle K club - member (undergrad)
- SMART Scholarships (undergrad)
Non-Animal Employment
>> 5 years in education
- Science Teacher: Regular & Pre-AP Biology, Aquatic Science, Environmental Systems, & AP Environmental Science
- Teacher Development Specialist
- Project Based Learning Developmental Specialist
- STEM Quest Camp Counselor
LORs
- Former boss - kennel and grooming work (known 10 years)
- Current boss - principal (known 5 years)
- Veterinarians - committee letter from 5 vets at the ER clinic and organized by the Chief of Staff (known 1.5 years)
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
Wrote about how several recent deaths made me re-evaluate where I was at in life; made me realize that I need to take a chance and try vet med. Always wanted to be a veterinarian but did not want to commit to that level of debt that young. Continued to come back to vet med and now feels like the right time. Spoke about experiences and growth as a teacher, how it has made me more sure that this is the right decision.
26 yr old female, MA resident, 1st time applying, so excited I get to post here!! 🙂
Applied: (14...ALOT bc I didn't think I'd get in anywhere with my GPA being not very competitive) UC Davis, Oregon, Edinburgh, Wisconsin, RVC, Western, VA-MD, Tufts, WSU, Minnesota, Penn, Illinois, Iowa, CSU
Rejected w/o interview: UC Davis, Oregon, Edinburgh, Wisconsin, CSU
Interview Invites: RVC, Western, VA-MD, Tufts, WSU, Minnesota, Penn, Illinois (declined interview)
Accepted: RVC, Western, WSU (Logan campus), Penn
Waitlist: VA-MD
Waitlist w/o interview: Iowa State
Attending: most likely Penn, but waiting on Tufts/Minnesota decisions to come out
Overall GPA: 3.31
Science GPA: 3.25
Last 45 GPA: 3.27
GRE (Q/V/W): 159, 163 , 4.5
Degree: BA Biology w/ Environmental Studies minor
Veterinary Experience
Veterinary Technician in Lab Animal Medicine @ University (6000+ hrs, have been working here for 3 years)
Shadowing/Volunteering @ small animal practice (200 hrs)
Volunteering @ ICU of hospital (100 hrs)
Animal Experience
Lab Animal Caretaker @ University (3000 hrs)
Zoo Education Intern (600 hrs)
Zoo Caretaker Intern (120 hrs)
Farmhand on dairy/meat farm (600 hrs)
Research
none!
Work Experience
Waitress in college & for a few months after I graduated (1000+ hrs)
Kids camp counselor (500 hrs)
Extracurricular/Volunteering
Runner/Triathlete (starting a small, informal running club at work that I mentioned!)
Varsity Swimmer/Captain
LORs
2 from lab animal veterinarians at work
1 from microbiology/biochemistry teacher in college
1 from thesis adviser in college
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
N/A for VMCAS because they were so short!
For the supplement essays, ranged depending on what they asked for, but talked about running, experiences growing up/living overseas, interest in Lab Animal Medicine and One health!
I wanted to post to give hope to people with not so stellar GPAs! This process has shown me how seemingly unpredictable it is, and that different schools value different qualities in their applicants!! I held off applying for so long because I was convinced without a 4.0 GPA I wouldn't get in anywhere! So to those who have a less than stellar GPA, it's still possible! Having great veterinary experience and good recommendations definitely helped! It's also worth noting that most of the schools that I got interviews for had a supplement essay portion, and I think working very hard to make sure my essays were great helped them overlook my not super great GPA!
That being said, I did enroll in a class for the fall (2017) and 2 classes for this spring (2018) just to show schools that I was serious (and, if I didn't get in, it would only help boost my GPA). Most schools I applied to looked pretty favorably on it (and I was asked about it at several of my interviews!), so I think showing a lot of initiative in improving your weak spots up front lets schools know you're really serious about this 🙂
Applied: (14...ALOT bc I didn't think I'd get in anywhere with my GPA being not very competitive) UC Davis, Oregon, Edinburgh, Wisconsin, RVC, Western, VA-MD, Tufts, WSU, Minnesota, Penn, Illinois, Iowa, CSU
Rejected w/o interview: UC Davis, Oregon, Edinburgh, Wisconsin, CSU
Interview Invites: RVC, Western, VA-MD, Tufts, WSU, Minnesota, Penn, Illinois (declined interview)
Accepted: RVC, Western, WSU (Logan campus), Penn
Waitlist: VA-MD
Waitlist w/o interview: Iowa State
Attending: most likely Penn, but waiting on Tufts/Minnesota decisions to come out
Overall GPA: 3.31
Science GPA: 3.25
Last 45 GPA: 3.27
GRE (Q/V/W): 159, 163 , 4.5
Degree: BA Biology w/ Environmental Studies minor
Veterinary Experience
Veterinary Technician in Lab Animal Medicine @ University (6000+ hrs, have been working here for 3 years)
Shadowing/Volunteering @ small animal practice (200 hrs)
Volunteering @ ICU of hospital (100 hrs)
Animal Experience
Lab Animal Caretaker @ University (3000 hrs)
Zoo Education Intern (600 hrs)
Zoo Caretaker Intern (120 hrs)
Farmhand on dairy/meat farm (600 hrs)
Research
none!
Work Experience
Waitress in college & for a few months after I graduated (1000+ hrs)
Kids camp counselor (500 hrs)
Extracurricular/Volunteering
Runner/Triathlete (starting a small, informal running club at work that I mentioned!)
Varsity Swimmer/Captain
LORs
2 from lab animal veterinarians at work
1 from microbiology/biochemistry teacher in college
1 from thesis adviser in college
Essay Questions/Personal Statement
N/A for VMCAS because they were so short!
For the supplement essays, ranged depending on what they asked for, but talked about running, experiences growing up/living overseas, interest in Lab Animal Medicine and One health!
I wanted to post to give hope to people with not so stellar GPAs! This process has shown me how seemingly unpredictable it is, and that different schools value different qualities in their applicants!! I held off applying for so long because I was convinced without a 4.0 GPA I wouldn't get in anywhere! So to those who have a less than stellar GPA, it's still possible! Having great veterinary experience and good recommendations definitely helped! It's also worth noting that most of the schools that I got interviews for had a supplement essay portion, and I think working very hard to make sure my essays were great helped them overlook my not super great GPA!
That being said, I did enroll in a class for the fall (2017) and 2 classes for this spring (2018) just to show schools that I was serious (and, if I didn't get in, it would only help boost my GPA). Most schools I applied to looked pretty favorably on it (and I was asked about it at several of my interviews!), so I think showing a lot of initiative in improving your weak spots up front lets schools know you're really serious about this 🙂
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- Joined
- May 16, 2016
- Messages
- 3,829
- Reaction score
- 6,782
22 yr old female, CO resident, 1st time applicant
*When I visited WA they recommended to include everything within VMCAS limits no matter how small
Applied: Colorado (IS), Mizzou, Washington, Iowa
Interview Invites: Colorado, Mizzou, Washington (Iowa didn’t do interviews this year)
Waitlisted: None
Rejections: None
Accepted: Colorado, Mizzou, Washington (Pullman), Iowa
Attending: Washington! (most likely 90% or greater: waiting on residency office to answer some questions)
Overall GPA: 3.76
Science GPA: ~3.70
Last 45 GPA: 3.96
GRE (V/Q/W): 156 /153/4.5
Degree: BS in Biology (Biomedical Sciences) minors in Chemistry and Supervisory Management: Fall 2017
Veterinary Experience
Shadowing and veterinary assistant (paid & unpaid for 6 years (50SA:50LA)) at rural mixed animal practice:~1500 hours
Shadowing at a more suburban mixed animal practice (80SA:20LA):8 hours
Shadowing at a city urban small animal practice: 8 hours
Animal Experience
Animal Handling Clinic (variety of animals): 4 hours
Horse Rescue: 8 hours
Showing dogs in AKC: 300 hours
Dairy work: 300 hours
Pet sitting (variety of animals): 160 hours
4H dogs, market goats, and market lambs: 1016 hours
Family ranch: 208 hours
Animal ownership: 50 hours (listed minimal hours)
Research
Synthesized N’ substituted benzohydrazide derivatives via acylation in organic chem lab and then tested products for antimicrobial, antiviral, and cell viability. Published abstracts and presented at National American Chemistry Society Conferences in Philadelphia and San Diego: 458 hours
Field experience with hospital pharmacist:40 hours
Extracurriculars
International Learners and Leaders exchange in S. Korea: 80 hours
Pre-vet club (president):72 hours
Chemistry club (vice-president):84 hours
Water sports: 72 hours
Hiking: 160 hours
High school golf: 120 hours
Tennis:780 hours
High school National Honor Society:110 hours
High school Student Council:32 hours
4H (dogs, market goat & sheep):375 hours
Missionettes (church group):450 hours
Taekwondo:2421 hours
Soccer:896 hours
Science Olympiad judge:10 hours
Annual River Clean Up:5 hours
Field Organizer (grew, tended to, and donated over 22,000 pounds of vegetables to Cooperative Care):176 hours
TLC Food Drive:48 hours
Summer Library Program Assistant: 36 hours
Elementary School Student Assistant: 219 hours
ARC Donations: 104 hours
Awards
Tri-Beta National Honor Society, CPR & First Aid, Completion WILL Program, Pre-vet scholarship, ACS Undergraduate Research Poster, National Society of Leadership and Success, ACS Undergraduate Ambassador, Walgreens Employee of the Month, U.S. Senate Recognition, Various 4H awards in market animals and dog shows, Hellstern Scholarship, Gold Cord, University Concurrent Enrollment Recognition, Kane (full ride) Scholarship, Volunteerism Scholarship, Scholar Scholarship, Community Service Award, Sports, academic, and leadership letters, Honor roll, Attendance, State Testing Award, AKC top 10 junior showmen of my breed, Dean’s list, National Good Teen, Honor Society, Abstract Publications
Non-Animal Employment
Walgreens:864 hours
Tutoring:45 hours
Parking and Safety Officer:2500 hours
LORs
Mixed animal practitioner worked for 6 years, owns own practice, and served as president of state veterinary board
Biology professor who was my advisor half way through college, did research for, and took several classes with, known for 3 years
Taekwondo participant’s husband, known me for over 8 years
Essays
Talked about why I want to do rural mixed vet med, possibly owning my own practice, and the call to serve food animal med but also care for companion animals. Touched on breeding and my desire to improve animals for future use companion and industry wise. Talked about doing my part to help improve medicine and the qualities needed to influence medicine and the future like conscious antibiotic use, educating my community, and contributing to a better practice, community, and world.
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- Joined
- Apr 8, 2014
- Messages
- 230
- Reaction score
- 231
26 yr old female, PA resident, 2nd time applying
First time:
Applied: Penn, Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida, VA-MD
Interview Invites: NONE
Accepted: NONE
Rejected: ALL
A few lessons to take away from this 1) Make sure to apply to schools that value the strongest part of your application and to really make sure you meet all the requirements. I honestly look back and wonder why I chose most of these schools when I didn't even have the appropriate pre-reqs. UGH. 2) Don't let all rejections ever discourage you. Take advantage of the admissions review process they provide at the end of the cycle. It was extremely beneficial with helping me improve certain parts of my application.
Second Time:
Applied: Penn, Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa State, Oregon State, Ohio State, Kansas State, Colorado Sate, VA-MD, Minnesota
Rejected: Ohio State, Kansas State, Colorado State, VA-MD (interview waitlist and then rejected)
Interview Invites: Michigan State, Purdue, Penn, Minnesota (declined interview)
Waitlist: Oregon State,
Accepted: Penn, Iowa State, Purdue, Michigan State
Attending: Penn!!! <3 <3 <3
Overall GPA: 3.60
Science GPA: 3.55
Last 45 GPA: 3.85
Masters GPA: 4.0
GRE (Q/V/W): 153, 147 , 4.0 (this test is so absolutely painful)
Degree: BS Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (2013); MS Food Safety (2018)
The below hours are all rough estimates
Veterinary Experience
Veterinary Assistant @ small animal clinic: 350 hours
Animal Care Intern @ zoo: 50 hours
Veterinary Volunteer @ vet school ER: 200 hours
Summer VETS @ PennVet: 32 hours
Veterinary Assistant/Student @ mixed animal practice: 450 hours
Animal Experience
Kennel Manager (small animal): 720 hours
Animal Care Intern (zoo animal): 360 hours
Lab Assistant (lab animal/lizards): 320 hours
Lab Assistant (horses): 100 hours
Research
USDA @ Agriculture Research Service in the Food Safety Intervention Technologies Lab: 1920 hours
Lab assistant for ecology @ undergrad: 150 hours
Lab assistant for horse metabolism @ undergrad: 100 hours
Work Experience (only counted post-graduation)
Food Safety Specialist/Public Health: 7,680 hours
Extracurricular/Volunteering
Conference for Food Protection Committee Member
International Association for Food Protection Industry Member
Central Atlantic States Association of Food and Drug Officials - Philadelphia
ToastMasters International (public speaking group)
Collegiate and post-collegiate Field Hockey
National Field Hockey League Manager
Dance MaraTHON Committee Member
Pre-Veterinary Club
Awards
Deans List all semesters in college
NFHCA All-Academic Squad
Information Literacy Award (undergrad research)
Preissner Scholarship (animal biosciences)
Roger P. Kline Scholarship (athlete and academic)
LORs
1 from Master's professor, DVM (UC-Davis)
1 from Undergrad professor, DVM (Michigan State)
1 from Undergrad advisor, DVM (Auburn)
1 from Large animal vet, DVM (Kansas State)
I decided to post my stats so people who may feel lost after a rejection don't lose hope and that a gap year(s) is not always a bad thing. And for how corny it sounds, sometimes things happen for a reason. During my first cycle I applied with the intent to focus in small animal - emergency. After taking a few years off, I fell in love with food safety and how veterinarians impact this area of public health (I discussed this in all of my essays), saved money, gained experience in the industry/worked on professional skills, adopted my two fur-babies and met my amazing fiance. I am so excited I took the chance again to apply and finally can say that I'm taking the next step to be a veterinarian! CLASS OF 2022! Can't wait to meet any fellow PENNVET'ers 🙂
First time:
Applied: Penn, Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida, VA-MD
Interview Invites: NONE
Accepted: NONE
Rejected: ALL
A few lessons to take away from this 1) Make sure to apply to schools that value the strongest part of your application and to really make sure you meet all the requirements. I honestly look back and wonder why I chose most of these schools when I didn't even have the appropriate pre-reqs. UGH. 2) Don't let all rejections ever discourage you. Take advantage of the admissions review process they provide at the end of the cycle. It was extremely beneficial with helping me improve certain parts of my application.
Second Time:
Applied: Penn, Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa State, Oregon State, Ohio State, Kansas State, Colorado Sate, VA-MD, Minnesota
Rejected: Ohio State, Kansas State, Colorado State, VA-MD (interview waitlist and then rejected)
Interview Invites: Michigan State, Purdue, Penn, Minnesota (declined interview)
Waitlist: Oregon State,
Accepted: Penn, Iowa State, Purdue, Michigan State
Attending: Penn!!! <3 <3 <3
Overall GPA: 3.60
Science GPA: 3.55
Last 45 GPA: 3.85
Masters GPA: 4.0
GRE (Q/V/W): 153, 147 , 4.0 (this test is so absolutely painful)
Degree: BS Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (2013); MS Food Safety (2018)
The below hours are all rough estimates
Veterinary Experience
Veterinary Assistant @ small animal clinic: 350 hours
Animal Care Intern @ zoo: 50 hours
Veterinary Volunteer @ vet school ER: 200 hours
Summer VETS @ PennVet: 32 hours
Veterinary Assistant/Student @ mixed animal practice: 450 hours
Animal Experience
Kennel Manager (small animal): 720 hours
Animal Care Intern (zoo animal): 360 hours
Lab Assistant (lab animal/lizards): 320 hours
Lab Assistant (horses): 100 hours
Research
USDA @ Agriculture Research Service in the Food Safety Intervention Technologies Lab: 1920 hours
Lab assistant for ecology @ undergrad: 150 hours
Lab assistant for horse metabolism @ undergrad: 100 hours
Work Experience (only counted post-graduation)
Food Safety Specialist/Public Health: 7,680 hours
Extracurricular/Volunteering
Conference for Food Protection Committee Member
International Association for Food Protection Industry Member
Central Atlantic States Association of Food and Drug Officials - Philadelphia
ToastMasters International (public speaking group)
Collegiate and post-collegiate Field Hockey
National Field Hockey League Manager
Dance MaraTHON Committee Member
Pre-Veterinary Club
Awards
Deans List all semesters in college
NFHCA All-Academic Squad
Information Literacy Award (undergrad research)
Preissner Scholarship (animal biosciences)
Roger P. Kline Scholarship (athlete and academic)
LORs
1 from Master's professor, DVM (UC-Davis)
1 from Undergrad professor, DVM (Michigan State)
1 from Undergrad advisor, DVM (Auburn)
1 from Large animal vet, DVM (Kansas State)
I decided to post my stats so people who may feel lost after a rejection don't lose hope and that a gap year(s) is not always a bad thing. And for how corny it sounds, sometimes things happen for a reason. During my first cycle I applied with the intent to focus in small animal - emergency. After taking a few years off, I fell in love with food safety and how veterinarians impact this area of public health (I discussed this in all of my essays), saved money, gained experience in the industry/worked on professional skills, adopted my two fur-babies and met my amazing fiance. I am so excited I took the chance again to apply and finally can say that I'm taking the next step to be a veterinarian! CLASS OF 2022! Can't wait to meet any fellow PENNVET'ers 🙂
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- Joined
- Feb 8, 2018
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 20
So immensely excited that I actually made it, I had already started preparing to reapply when I finally got an acceptance from the last school I was waiting to hear from. I don't remember exactly everything that was on my application but this should all be pretty close.
22 yr old female, AZ resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: Wisconsin, Cornell, Colorado, Ohio
Interview Invites: Colorado
Alternate: Cornell and Colorado
Rejections: Ohio
Accepted: Wisconsin
Attending: Wisconsin!
Overall GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: 4.0
Last 45 GPA: 4.0
GRE (Q/V/W): 163/162/5
Degree: Honors BS in Veterinary Science with minors in Microbiology and Chemistry
Veterinary Experience
500 hours volunteer/shadow at small animal clinic
50 hours working under research veterinarian
Animal Experience
100 hours petsitting
100 hours caring for chickens and pigs
Research
500 hours over 6 semesters in food-borne illness vaccine research
1 semester isolating DNA for NIH research
2 semesters working on making a diagnostic ELISA for use canine fungal infection research (my thesis)
Extracurriculars/Awards
Deans list with Distinction for 8 semesters
Wildcat Scholarship (4 years)
Honors Preceptor with the chemistry department for 5 semesters (both general and organic), Head Preceptor for 1 year
Non-Animal Employment
1 summer working as a receptionist for a church
1 summer working as a waitress
5 semesters employed in food-borne illness research lab
eLORs
Small Animal Veterinarian
Research Supervisor (who also taught a couple of my microbiology classes)
Lab P.I.
Organic Chemistry Professor (who I taught with as a preceptor)
University Lab Veterinarian
Honors Thesis Advisor (M.D., head of our research department)
Essays
I talked a lot about my experience working with animals in research and my interest in being a lab animal vet. Also mentioned how much I've learned about communication and education while teaching.
Since the supplemental application for Wisconsin came much later I was able to add how I had recently volunteered to be a subject in a somewhat painful study because I wanted to make sure I saw all sides of research and better understand exactly the kind of stress my patients will have in a research setting. (Not exactly sure whether that helped but they were the only school to give me an outright acceptance!)
22 yr old female, AZ resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: Wisconsin, Cornell, Colorado, Ohio
Interview Invites: Colorado
Alternate: Cornell and Colorado
Rejections: Ohio
Accepted: Wisconsin
Attending: Wisconsin!
Overall GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: 4.0
Last 45 GPA: 4.0
GRE (Q/V/W): 163/162/5
Degree: Honors BS in Veterinary Science with minors in Microbiology and Chemistry
Veterinary Experience
500 hours volunteer/shadow at small animal clinic
50 hours working under research veterinarian
Animal Experience
100 hours petsitting
100 hours caring for chickens and pigs
Research
500 hours over 6 semesters in food-borne illness vaccine research
1 semester isolating DNA for NIH research
2 semesters working on making a diagnostic ELISA for use canine fungal infection research (my thesis)
Extracurriculars/Awards
Deans list with Distinction for 8 semesters
Wildcat Scholarship (4 years)
Honors Preceptor with the chemistry department for 5 semesters (both general and organic), Head Preceptor for 1 year
Non-Animal Employment
1 summer working as a receptionist for a church
1 summer working as a waitress
5 semesters employed in food-borne illness research lab
eLORs
Small Animal Veterinarian
Research Supervisor (who also taught a couple of my microbiology classes)
Lab P.I.
Organic Chemistry Professor (who I taught with as a preceptor)
University Lab Veterinarian
Honors Thesis Advisor (M.D., head of our research department)
Essays
I talked a lot about my experience working with animals in research and my interest in being a lab animal vet. Also mentioned how much I've learned about communication and education while teaching.
Since the supplemental application for Wisconsin came much later I was able to add how I had recently volunteered to be a subject in a somewhat painful study because I wanted to make sure I saw all sides of research and better understand exactly the kind of stress my patients will have in a research setting. (Not exactly sure whether that helped but they were the only school to give me an outright acceptance!)
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2016
- Messages
- 11,959
- Reaction score
- 20,687
Congrats to everyone who has gotten positive feedback- whether waitlist or acceptances!!!!
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2014
- Messages
- 10,550
- Reaction score
- 10,697
Wooooo yeah nooblet!!!!
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2017
- Messages
- 8,574
- Reaction score
- 12,803
Congrats! Will miss meeting you here at MSU 🙂
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 2
I totally agree with this. My mom got the letter from the mailbox while I was out running errands - she called me and asked if she could open it. When she told me the good news, I started happy-crying in the middle of the grocery store! XD Whenever I was having a hard time with my classes, I would think of that moment.Hold onto this feeling or maybe save this message for yourself to look at when you're in the thick of it and having a hard time next year (or in other years of school!). Vet school is tough even if you know you want to do it and know it's the profession for you. I still look at my facebook post about getting in every so often (or my first SDN post, it's about the same thing lol) and recapture that feeling of excitement because it reminds me why I'm here.
I love this thread, the enthusiasm is frankly infectious and I'm really excited for and proud of everyone who posts here this application cycle. We're all going to be vets y'all! Get excited!
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2017
- Messages
- 268
- Reaction score
- 337
Aww thanks man. I'm sure we can keep in touch and share experiences!
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2017
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 27
Congrats to all and good luck with your first year!
23 yr old female, MS resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: Mississippi State, Illinois, Tennessee, UGA
Interview Invites: Mississippi State, Illinois (declined interview due to in-state school acceptance)
Waiting on: UGA (no interview)
Accepted: Mississippi State
Attending: Mississippi State!!
Overall GPA: 3.76
Science GPA: 3.61
Last 45 GPA: 3.89
GRE (Q/V/W): 156 (62nd) / 155 (69th) / 3.5 (42nd)
Degree: BS Biological Sciences - University of Alabama - May 2017
Veterinary Experience
Small animal clinic - 1500 hrs (shadowed and worked during gap year)
Animal Experience
Humane Society - 400 hrs
Research
Laboratory of Evolutionary and Integrative Physiology (Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes) - 500 hrs of animal care
Psychology lab - 200 hrs
Non-animal Employment
Server at restaurant during undergrad - 3000 hrs
LORs
Small Animal Vet I shadowed
Research professor
Advisor/Professor
23 yr old female, MS resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: Mississippi State, Illinois, Tennessee, UGA
Interview Invites: Mississippi State, Illinois (declined interview due to in-state school acceptance)
Waiting on: UGA (no interview)
Accepted: Mississippi State
Attending: Mississippi State!!
Overall GPA: 3.76
Science GPA: 3.61
Last 45 GPA: 3.89
GRE (Q/V/W): 156 (62nd) / 155 (69th) / 3.5 (42nd)
Degree: BS Biological Sciences - University of Alabama - May 2017
Veterinary Experience
Small animal clinic - 1500 hrs (shadowed and worked during gap year)
Animal Experience
Humane Society - 400 hrs
Research
Laboratory of Evolutionary and Integrative Physiology (Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes) - 500 hrs of animal care
Psychology lab - 200 hrs
Non-animal Employment
Server at restaurant during undergrad - 3000 hrs
LORs
Small Animal Vet I shadowed
Research professor
Advisor/Professor
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2018
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 32
33 yr old male, SC resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: CSU, UGA, UF, Miss State, LSU, SGU
Denied: UF
Interview Invites: CSU, Miss State, SGU
Waitlisted: CSU (OOS), LSU (OOS), Miss State (IS/contract)
Accepted: UGA (IS/contract), Miss State (OOS), SGU
Attending: Undecided
Overall GPA: 3.10
Science GPA: 3.26
Last 45 GPA: 3.93
Disclaimer: While I was a Pre-Vet major the first time I went to college 16 years ago, my grades were absolutely abysmal; the desire was there at the time but the discipline was not. This steered me toward enlisting in the Navy, where I did well in what's regarded as the most demanding academic program in the U.S. military and is what got me into the Naval Academy. When my active duty commitment was up a few years ago I decided to pursue veterinary school again, and excelled while completing my prerequisites.
GRE (Q/V/W): 158 (69th) / 159 (83rd) / 4.0 (60th), taken once
Degree: BS Information Technology - United States Naval Academy - May 2010
Military Training: Enlisted Naval Nuclear Power Training Pipeline, Officer Naval Nuclear Power Training Pipeline, Officer Navy Supply Corps School, Basic Combat Skills Course
Veterinary Experience:
Mixed animal mobile veterinarian- 62 hours
Small animal veterinarian- 328 hours
Shelter veterinarian- 266 hours
Disclaimer: I shadowed/volunteered with the above veterinarians.
Animal Experience:
Animal shelter (primarily walked dogs and socialized cats)- 113 hours
Non-veterinary Employment:
Navy Reserve Supply Corps Officer- 468 hours
SEAL Training Detachment Supply Officer- 5700 hours
Navy Supply Corps School Officer Student- 1100 hours
Submarine Squadron Operations Assistant- 1300 hours
Submarine LAN Division Officer- 3600 hours
Navy Nuclear Power Training Unit Officer Student- 2860 hours
Navy Nuclear Power School Officer Student- 2015 hours
United States Naval Academy Midshipman- 4020 hours
Naval Nuclear Power Training Pipeline Enlisted Student- 6588 hours
Disclaimer: The aforementioned student and midshipman positions wouldn't be considered employment at face value, but the fact that they carried with them non-academic responsibilities and yielded a paycheck compelled me to list them.
Extracurricular Activities:
Pre-Vet Club- 47 weeks
Varsity Football Team Equipment Manager- 1 semester
Intramurals (flag football in the fall, fieldball in the spring)- 4 years
Men's Glee Club- 1 year
Protestant Choir- 1 year
Mids for Kids- 1 year
LORs:
Shelter veterinarian
Small animal veterinarian
Another small animal veterinarian
Physics I professor
Organic Chemistry I professor
Chemistry I and II professor
Recommendation for those looking to apply:
Be different; you want your application to (positively) stand out. That doesn't mean you have to go off and do another career prior to applying like I did, but you should certainly be seeking unique experiences.
Applied: CSU, UGA, UF, Miss State, LSU, SGU
Denied: UF
Interview Invites: CSU, Miss State, SGU
Waitlisted: CSU (OOS), LSU (OOS), Miss State (IS/contract)
Accepted: UGA (IS/contract), Miss State (OOS), SGU
Attending: Undecided
Overall GPA: 3.10
Science GPA: 3.26
Last 45 GPA: 3.93
Disclaimer: While I was a Pre-Vet major the first time I went to college 16 years ago, my grades were absolutely abysmal; the desire was there at the time but the discipline was not. This steered me toward enlisting in the Navy, where I did well in what's regarded as the most demanding academic program in the U.S. military and is what got me into the Naval Academy. When my active duty commitment was up a few years ago I decided to pursue veterinary school again, and excelled while completing my prerequisites.
GRE (Q/V/W): 158 (69th) / 159 (83rd) / 4.0 (60th), taken once
Degree: BS Information Technology - United States Naval Academy - May 2010
Military Training: Enlisted Naval Nuclear Power Training Pipeline, Officer Naval Nuclear Power Training Pipeline, Officer Navy Supply Corps School, Basic Combat Skills Course
Veterinary Experience:
Mixed animal mobile veterinarian- 62 hours
Small animal veterinarian- 328 hours
Shelter veterinarian- 266 hours
Disclaimer: I shadowed/volunteered with the above veterinarians.
Animal Experience:
Animal shelter (primarily walked dogs and socialized cats)- 113 hours
Non-veterinary Employment:
Navy Reserve Supply Corps Officer- 468 hours
SEAL Training Detachment Supply Officer- 5700 hours
Navy Supply Corps School Officer Student- 1100 hours
Submarine Squadron Operations Assistant- 1300 hours
Submarine LAN Division Officer- 3600 hours
Navy Nuclear Power Training Unit Officer Student- 2860 hours
Navy Nuclear Power School Officer Student- 2015 hours
United States Naval Academy Midshipman- 4020 hours
Naval Nuclear Power Training Pipeline Enlisted Student- 6588 hours
Disclaimer: The aforementioned student and midshipman positions wouldn't be considered employment at face value, but the fact that they carried with them non-academic responsibilities and yielded a paycheck compelled me to list them.
Extracurricular Activities:
Pre-Vet Club- 47 weeks
Varsity Football Team Equipment Manager- 1 semester
Intramurals (flag football in the fall, fieldball in the spring)- 4 years
Men's Glee Club- 1 year
Protestant Choir- 1 year
Mids for Kids- 1 year
LORs:
Shelter veterinarian
Small animal veterinarian
Another small animal veterinarian
Physics I professor
Organic Chemistry I professor
Chemistry I and II professor
Recommendation for those looking to apply:
Be different; you want your application to (positively) stand out. That doesn't mean you have to go off and do another career prior to applying like I did, but you should certainly be seeking unique experiences.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2017
- Messages
- 25
- Reaction score
- 105
28 years old, Georgia resident, first time applicant.
Applied: UGA, LMU, and VMCVM.
Interviewed: LMU and VMCVM.
Waitlisted: VMCVM.
Accepted: LMU and UGA.
Attending: UGA!!!
Overall GPA: 3.19
Science GPA: 3.49
Last 45 GPA: 3.63
Degree: Biological Science, B.S. (UGA, graduate next May)
GRE (Q/V/W): 148 (30%) / 154 (65%) / 3.0 (18%) I am a horrible standardized test taker.
Veterinary Experience
Small animal technician (10,000 hrs)
Large animal (primarily cattle, small ruminants, and swine) technician (5,000 hrs)
Animal Experience
I have been a cattle and goat farmer most of my life.
Work experience
Veterinary technician (three different practices, spanning almost 10 years)
Research experience
Research assistant in meat science/muscle biology (about 400 hours)
Extracurriculars/Awards
None.
LORs
Three mixed animal veterinarians
One researcher in animal science
I hope everyone can take comfort from my stats that academics is not all that matters in the game of veterinary admissions. I feel my most competitive asset was simply experience and good references. I have been doing this work for a very, very long time and have continued to fall in love with it even more with each passing day. Also, I made it very clear in my application and interview that I plan on practicing food animal medicine. There truly is a shortage that they are trying to fill and I believe this might have helped their decision.
Applied: UGA, LMU, and VMCVM.
Interviewed: LMU and VMCVM.
Waitlisted: VMCVM.
Accepted: LMU and UGA.
Attending: UGA!!!
Overall GPA: 3.19
Science GPA: 3.49
Last 45 GPA: 3.63
Degree: Biological Science, B.S. (UGA, graduate next May)
GRE (Q/V/W): 148 (30%) / 154 (65%) / 3.0 (18%) I am a horrible standardized test taker.
Veterinary Experience
Small animal technician (10,000 hrs)
Large animal (primarily cattle, small ruminants, and swine) technician (5,000 hrs)
Animal Experience
I have been a cattle and goat farmer most of my life.
Work experience
Veterinary technician (three different practices, spanning almost 10 years)
Research experience
Research assistant in meat science/muscle biology (about 400 hours)
Extracurriculars/Awards
None.
LORs
Three mixed animal veterinarians
One researcher in animal science
I hope everyone can take comfort from my stats that academics is not all that matters in the game of veterinary admissions. I feel my most competitive asset was simply experience and good references. I have been doing this work for a very, very long time and have continued to fall in love with it even more with each passing day. Also, I made it very clear in my application and interview that I plan on practicing food animal medicine. There truly is a shortage that they are trying to fill and I believe this might have helped their decision.
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2015
- Messages
- 87
- Reaction score
- 90
21 yr old male, GA resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: University of Georgia
Interview Invites: N/A (UGA doesn't do interviews)
Alternate: --
Rejections: --
Accepted: University of Georgia
Attending: University of Georgia
Overall GPA: 3.9
Science GPA: 3.88
Last 45 GPA: 3.95
GRE (Q/V/W): 154/158/2.5 (no... that's not a typo
... I'm just really really really bad at timed writing)
Degree: BSA in Animal Science
Veterinary Experience
600 hours assisting at an equine practice
200 hours assisting at a small animal practice
8 hours assisting at a vaccine clinic at a local pet store
Animal Experience
Avid horseback rider since age 10
Horseback riding instructor from age 17-20
Various pet sitting and farm sitting jobs
Spent a weekend on a friend's dairy goat farm during kidding season, assisting in kidding and kid care
Volunteer for a dressage association, and volunteered at numerous dressage shows
Research
None
Extracurriculars/Awards
Dean's or President's list all semesters
Recipient of Zell Miller scholarship
Recipient of ABAC Foundations scholarship
Blue Key Award nomination
Justice on my school's student judicial board
Member of school's pre-vet club and horseman's association
Also included some of my leisure-time activities (hiking, camping, fly fishing, cycling, etc)
Non-Animal Employment
October 2016- current: Bus operator for my school's campus transit system
eLORs
2 equine veterinarians
general chemistry professor
Essays
Mostly talked about my food animal and equine interests, including implementing best practices, educating clients, educating the public on the food animal industries, and ensuring proper welfare for all animals.
Applied: University of Georgia
Interview Invites: N/A (UGA doesn't do interviews)
Alternate: --
Rejections: --
Accepted: University of Georgia
Attending: University of Georgia
Overall GPA: 3.9
Science GPA: 3.88
Last 45 GPA: 3.95
GRE (Q/V/W): 154/158/2.5 (no... that's not a typo
... I'm just really really really bad at timed writing)Degree: BSA in Animal Science
Veterinary Experience
600 hours assisting at an equine practice
200 hours assisting at a small animal practice
8 hours assisting at a vaccine clinic at a local pet store
Animal Experience
Avid horseback rider since age 10
Horseback riding instructor from age 17-20
Various pet sitting and farm sitting jobs
Spent a weekend on a friend's dairy goat farm during kidding season, assisting in kidding and kid care
Volunteer for a dressage association, and volunteered at numerous dressage shows
Research
None
Extracurriculars/Awards
Dean's or President's list all semesters
Recipient of Zell Miller scholarship
Recipient of ABAC Foundations scholarship
Blue Key Award nomination
Justice on my school's student judicial board
Member of school's pre-vet club and horseman's association
Also included some of my leisure-time activities (hiking, camping, fly fishing, cycling, etc)
Non-Animal Employment
October 2016- current: Bus operator for my school's campus transit system
eLORs
2 equine veterinarians
general chemistry professor
Essays
Mostly talked about my food animal and equine interests, including implementing best practices, educating clients, educating the public on the food animal industries, and ensuring proper welfare for all animals.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2018
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 32
Good to see another older candidate whose success demonstrates that grades aren't everything when applying... congrats, and maybe I'll see you in Athens.
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2017
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 118
Wow, can't believe I actually get to post here! I kind of realized I wanted to do vet school relatively late in the game (sophomore year) with virtually no animal experience and I still did it! So don't worry if you look around and only see the "I was shadowing vets in the womb" people. You can do it!!
21 year old female, GA resident, first time applicant
Applied: UGA, Tennessee, Colorado State
Interviews: Tennessee, Colorado State (declined)
Accepted: UGA (GO DAWGS!!!!) Tennessee
Attending: 99% sure it will be UGA (can’t beat that IS tuition)
Cum GPA: 3.67
Science GPA: 3.7
Last 45: 3.75ish or 3.8ish
GRE (V/Q/W): 159/160/4
Degree: BS in Biology with minors in Chemistry and German
Veterinary Hours:
150 shadowing small animal clinic
400 working as vet assistant at small animal clinic
Animal hours:
150 hours volunteering at local animal shelter
30 hours cat sitting
Research:
400 hours at Yerkes National Primate Research Center with a DVM shadowing various support units and completing a project looking at efficacies of phenolic and quaternary ammonium disinfectants. Placed under research instead of vet. xp. but this experience really encompassed so many things its hard to pin it down!
400 hours researching the effects of incubation on telomere length in barn swallow nestlings. Its ongoing, and I actually got to present at SICB!
30 hours investigating the effect of various drugs on BLOC-1 in mouse N2A cells
Extra-curriculars:
Pre-Vet Club President and Founder
Chemistry tutor and workshop leader
STEM Siblings Mentor
German Mentor
Non animal employment :
3000 hours at Chick-fil-a (I see you fast food workers!)
600 hours at AMC (movie theater chain)
Awards/honors:
Awards for conducting research
HOPE scholarship all 4 years
Tri-beta member
Omicron Delta Kappa member
Merit Scholarship for undergrad
Goldwater scholarship nominee
LORs:
2 from small animal hospital I currently work at
1 from biology professor
1 from research PI for barn swallow study
21 year old female, GA resident, first time applicant
Applied: UGA, Tennessee, Colorado State
Interviews: Tennessee, Colorado State (declined)
Accepted: UGA (GO DAWGS!!!!) Tennessee
Attending: 99% sure it will be UGA (can’t beat that IS tuition)
Cum GPA: 3.67
Science GPA: 3.7
Last 45: 3.75ish or 3.8ish
GRE (V/Q/W): 159/160/4
Degree: BS in Biology with minors in Chemistry and German
Veterinary Hours:
150 shadowing small animal clinic
400 working as vet assistant at small animal clinic
Animal hours:
150 hours volunteering at local animal shelter
30 hours cat sitting
Research:
400 hours at Yerkes National Primate Research Center with a DVM shadowing various support units and completing a project looking at efficacies of phenolic and quaternary ammonium disinfectants. Placed under research instead of vet. xp. but this experience really encompassed so many things its hard to pin it down!
400 hours researching the effects of incubation on telomere length in barn swallow nestlings. Its ongoing, and I actually got to present at SICB!
30 hours investigating the effect of various drugs on BLOC-1 in mouse N2A cells
Extra-curriculars:
Pre-Vet Club President and Founder
Chemistry tutor and workshop leader
STEM Siblings Mentor
German Mentor
Non animal employment :
3000 hours at Chick-fil-a (I see you fast food workers!)
600 hours at AMC (movie theater chain)
Awards/honors:
Awards for conducting research
HOPE scholarship all 4 years
Tri-beta member
Omicron Delta Kappa member
Merit Scholarship for undergrad
Goldwater scholarship nominee
LORs:
2 from small animal hospital I currently work at
1 from biology professor
1 from research PI for barn swallow study
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2013
- Messages
- 76
- Reaction score
- 119
I can't believe I actually get to post here!! I hope my stats are an encouragement to people who have struggled in the past. This is my FIFTH time applying, and I'm so excited! I went through some major personal challenges during undergrad. I would definitely suggest to have file reviews at schools that you receive rejections from! I had one two years ago, and the director of admissions suggested that I either retake classes or go to graduate school. So here I am, graduating this may with an MS in animal science and an acceptance to vet school!
26 year old female, GA resident, FIFTH time applicant
Applied: UGA, Washington, Ohio
Rejections: Washington
Interviews: Ohio, (UGA doesn't interview)
Accepted: UGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Waiting to hear: Ohio
Attending: Pretty sure UGA because of IS tuition. I also have lived in Athens for 8 years and love it.
Cum undergrad GPA: 3.16
Science GPA: Probably around the same as my cumulative for prerequisites
Last 45: Probably around 3.6
Graduate GPA: 3.72 at time of application
GRE (V/Q/W): 160/158/4
Degree: BS in Biological Sciences, MS in Animal Science (in progress)
Veterinary Hours:
2,000+ vet tech, receptionist, surgery tech at small animal and exotic pet hospital
~600 as a small animal radiation therapy orderly at UGA vet school
~60 at small animal hospital before undergrad
~30 large animal
A few hours of zoo med from when I interned
Animal hours:
Thousands of hours riding and showing horses
Intern at a small zoo for one summer (full time for three months)- involved in guiding tours and animal care
Took a very hands-on class where we worked a lot with ruminant reproduction- got to palpate, pass rods, do BSEs, etc.
Volunteered at local zoo once a week for a year making diets for reptiles
Volunteered for local humane society a few times a month for a year
Pet-sitting
Research:
Swine nutrition studies
Poultry nutrition studies- my thesis topic!
Swine gait analysis studies
Extra-curriculars:
Voice lessons
Choir
Guitar lessons
Piano lessons
Volleyball- high school, I still love to play
Tennis- only competitively in high school
Praise band- high school and undergrad
Project Focus- went to local elementary school once a week to do science experiments with the kids
Athens Community Council on Aging- Visited mentally disabled and elderly "daycare" once a week for a year to keep them company and play Bingo!
Was an ambassador of my high school- gave tours of the school to prospective students and their families
Non animal employment :
4.5 years as a bartender--- they actually called my boss here even though she didn't write me a letter!
Awards/honors:
Academic-Athletic Award
Beta Club
NHS
HOPE scholarship
other small scholarship
Dean's list one semester before the s**t hit the fan in undergrad
LORs:
1 from the owner/vet at the clinic I've worked at for four years
1 from the associate vet at the same clinic
1 from my major professor in graduate school
1 from another professor in the animal science department who I took several classes from and I knew could vouch for my academic abilities
**They called at least three of my references. They aren't screwing around!!
26 year old female, GA resident, FIFTH time applicant
Applied: UGA, Washington, Ohio
Rejections: Washington
Interviews: Ohio, (UGA doesn't interview)
Accepted: UGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Waiting to hear: Ohio
Attending: Pretty sure UGA because of IS tuition. I also have lived in Athens for 8 years and love it.
Cum undergrad GPA: 3.16
Science GPA: Probably around the same as my cumulative for prerequisites
Last 45: Probably around 3.6
Graduate GPA: 3.72 at time of application
GRE (V/Q/W): 160/158/4
Degree: BS in Biological Sciences, MS in Animal Science (in progress)
Veterinary Hours:
2,000+ vet tech, receptionist, surgery tech at small animal and exotic pet hospital
~600 as a small animal radiation therapy orderly at UGA vet school
~60 at small animal hospital before undergrad
~30 large animal
A few hours of zoo med from when I interned
Animal hours:
Thousands of hours riding and showing horses
Intern at a small zoo for one summer (full time for three months)- involved in guiding tours and animal care
Took a very hands-on class where we worked a lot with ruminant reproduction- got to palpate, pass rods, do BSEs, etc.
Volunteered at local zoo once a week for a year making diets for reptiles
Volunteered for local humane society a few times a month for a year
Pet-sitting
Research:
Swine nutrition studies
Poultry nutrition studies- my thesis topic!
Swine gait analysis studies
Extra-curriculars:
Voice lessons
Choir
Guitar lessons
Piano lessons
Volleyball- high school, I still love to play
Tennis- only competitively in high school
Praise band- high school and undergrad
Project Focus- went to local elementary school once a week to do science experiments with the kids
Athens Community Council on Aging- Visited mentally disabled and elderly "daycare" once a week for a year to keep them company and play Bingo!
Was an ambassador of my high school- gave tours of the school to prospective students and their families
Non animal employment :
4.5 years as a bartender--- they actually called my boss here even though she didn't write me a letter!
Awards/honors:
Academic-Athletic Award
Beta Club
NHS
HOPE scholarship
other small scholarship
Dean's list one semester before the s**t hit the fan in undergrad
LORs:
1 from the owner/vet at the clinic I've worked at for four years
1 from the associate vet at the same clinic
1 from my major professor in graduate school
1 from another professor in the animal science department who I took several classes from and I knew could vouch for my academic abilities
**They called at least three of my references. They aren't screwing around!!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2013
- Messages
- 76
- Reaction score
- 119
CHICK-FIL-A!!!!! You are a bringer of gifts. Let's be friends.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2017
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 70
Some random words to all of you, from a graduating 4th year who just landed their top choice internship and has loved the overall experience of vet school:
This feeling that you have right now, knowing that you just got your foot in the door and are on the path to pursuing your dream? Bottle it up. If there's a song you were listening to, or a sweatshirt you were wearing, or a favorite beverage you were drinking the moment you found out, remember it. When the days get long, and your classmates drive you nuts, and you're annoyed by the silly hoops you have to jump through to graduate - put on that song, wear that sweatshirt, have that drink. Get yourself back to the feeling that you have right now, and remember that every day is one step closer to the finish line.
Many of the hoops are silly, and the days are long, but the years are short. It feels like I blinked and 4 years have gone by, and I don't regret a single bit of it.
This feeling that you have right now, knowing that you just got your foot in the door and are on the path to pursuing your dream? Bottle it up. If there's a song you were listening to, or a sweatshirt you were wearing, or a favorite beverage you were drinking the moment you found out, remember it. When the days get long, and your classmates drive you nuts, and you're annoyed by the silly hoops you have to jump through to graduate - put on that song, wear that sweatshirt, have that drink. Get yourself back to the feeling that you have right now, and remember that every day is one step closer to the finish line.
Many of the hoops are silly, and the days are long, but the years are short. It feels like I blinked and 4 years have gone by, and I don't regret a single bit of it.
- Joined
- May 16, 2017
- Messages
- 175
- Reaction score
- 325
@clairebear210 - you would have loved me in my undergrad. I was at Texas A&M University at Galveston studying Marine Biology in 2008 as a freshman when Hurricane Ike hit. We ended up as the only class to go to TAMU College Station to be rehoused since the bridge to our campus broke. After surviving months alone, with nothing but a bike, living in a tv lounge on a cot with 2 other girls on an all-boy's floor, we were done. The last day of my semester there I took all of my school dining dollars and bought dozens and dozens of boxes of chick-fil-a nuggets. While everyone in my hall studied for finals I passed them out until I was out of money. 🙂
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2018
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 13
Y’all I am so damn excited to post this OH MY GOD
21 year old female, GA resident, first time applicant
Applied: UGA, Auburn, Oklahoma State
Rejections: N/A
Interviews: Auburn (Oklahoma OOS/UGA don’t interview)
Accepted: Auburn, Oklahoma State, UGA!!!
Attending: GO DAWGS
Cum GPA: 3.68
Science GPA: 3.72
Last 45: 3.83
GRE (V/Q/W): 157/158/4.5
Degree: BSA in Biological Sciences, Avian Biology minor
Veterinary Hours:
700 hours as a small animal veterinary assistant
45 hours assisting an equine veterinarian on site at my Clydesdale internship
4 hours helping give vaccines for Pre-Vet Club
30 hours riding with an equine veterinarian
Animal hours:
>5000 hours working with horses, showing, teaching summer camp
120 hours interning at a Clydesdale breeding farm, hand breeding stallions and teasing mares
~45 hours performing laboratories on chickens, intubating and anaesthetizing to perform procedures such as inserting catheters
Research:
300 hours interning under a neurosurgeon to conduct research involving arteriovenous malformations in humans (high school)
Extra-curricular:
Member of Pre-Vet Club
Member of the Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity
Habitat for Humanity (high school)
Student Government Exec (high school)
Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta
Awards/honors:
Zell Miller Scholarship
Dean’s List
LORs:
2 from small animal veterinarians at a clinic I worked at, but I asked them to focus on different aspects to make the recs unique
1 from an equine veterinarian
1 from my academic advisor who was also my professor for a few classes
Essays:
I focused my essays a lot around my career goals because I want to get boarded in equine surgery and specifically focus on orthopedics. I talked a lot about my motivation to get to that point and what led me to pursue this goal, such as interning under human surgery in high school and working with horses my entire life. I chose this because I think my career goals are something that set me apart and made my application a little different.
21 year old female, GA resident, first time applicant
Applied: UGA, Auburn, Oklahoma State
Rejections: N/A
Interviews: Auburn (Oklahoma OOS/UGA don’t interview)
Accepted: Auburn, Oklahoma State, UGA!!!
Attending: GO DAWGS
Cum GPA: 3.68
Science GPA: 3.72
Last 45: 3.83
GRE (V/Q/W): 157/158/4.5
Degree: BSA in Biological Sciences, Avian Biology minor
Veterinary Hours:
700 hours as a small animal veterinary assistant
45 hours assisting an equine veterinarian on site at my Clydesdale internship
4 hours helping give vaccines for Pre-Vet Club
30 hours riding with an equine veterinarian
Animal hours:
>5000 hours working with horses, showing, teaching summer camp
120 hours interning at a Clydesdale breeding farm, hand breeding stallions and teasing mares
~45 hours performing laboratories on chickens, intubating and anaesthetizing to perform procedures such as inserting catheters
Research:
300 hours interning under a neurosurgeon to conduct research involving arteriovenous malformations in humans (high school)
Extra-curricular:
Member of Pre-Vet Club
Member of the Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity
Habitat for Humanity (high school)
Student Government Exec (high school)
Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta
Awards/honors:
Zell Miller Scholarship
Dean’s List
LORs:
2 from small animal veterinarians at a clinic I worked at, but I asked them to focus on different aspects to make the recs unique
1 from an equine veterinarian
1 from my academic advisor who was also my professor for a few classes
Essays:
I focused my essays a lot around my career goals because I want to get boarded in equine surgery and specifically focus on orthopedics. I talked a lot about my motivation to get to that point and what led me to pursue this goal, such as interning under human surgery in high school and working with horses my entire life. I chose this because I think my career goals are something that set me apart and made my application a little different.
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2017
- Messages
- 173
- Reaction score
- 268
22 year old PA resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: NCSU, WSU, Missouri, Purdue, Ontario, UGA, Florida, and Cornell
Interview invites: WSU, Guelph, Florida
Rejected: NCSU, Purdue, Missouri
Waitlisted: WSU, UGA, Florida, Cornell
Accepted: Ontario
Attending: ????? Most likely Ontario; waiting to see what happens with the waitlist schools
Degree: B.A. in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and German from Vanderbilt
Currently working on M.S. in Veterinary Science
Overall GPA: 3.82*
Undergrad GPA: 3.77
Science GPA: 3.73*
Last 45 GPA: 4.00*
*These may be different depending on if schools consider my graduate coursework.
GRE: 164V/159Q/5.0AW
Vet Experience:
Honestly I think this was a weak point of my app. I really struggled with the character limit. I talked about my desire to be a zoo veterinarian.
Applied: NCSU, WSU, Missouri, Purdue, Ontario, UGA, Florida, and Cornell
Interview invites: WSU, Guelph, Florida
Rejected: NCSU, Purdue, Missouri
Waitlisted: WSU, UGA, Florida, Cornell
Accepted: Ontario
Attending: ????? Most likely Ontario; waiting to see what happens with the waitlist schools
Degree: B.A. in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and German from Vanderbilt
Currently working on M.S. in Veterinary Science
Overall GPA: 3.82*
Undergrad GPA: 3.77
Science GPA: 3.73*
Last 45 GPA: 4.00*
*These may be different depending on if schools consider my graduate coursework.
GRE: 164V/159Q/5.0AW
Vet Experience:
- 400 hrs as an intern in the vet department at a zoo
- 120 hrs as a shadower at a small animal clinic
- 60 hrs as a shadower at another small animal clinic
- 15 hrs assisting a veterinary orthopedic surgeon
- 936 hrs as a fawn care intern at a deer ranch
- 150-200 hrs of random short-term volunteer experiences - five different shelters and one wildlife rehab center (all but one was volunteer work done on week-long school-sponsored trips)
- 40 hrs bleeding cattle
- 900 hrs (and counting) as a graduate student working on a project looking at bluetongue virus in cattle
- Worked for a cleaning company June 2012-July 2013 and then again one summer in college
- Worked for the dining center first semester of college
- Fencing club
- Alternative Winter Break (was a site leader one year and served on their board another year)
- Alternative Spring Break
- Dean's List (multiple semesters)
- Graduated cum laude
- Two national honor societies
- One German honor society
- Graduate scholarship recipient
- Zoo vet
- Research PI (also has DVM, although not in practice anymore)
- Former professor (now retired, was Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education)
Honestly I think this was a weak point of my app. I really struggled with the character limit. I talked about my desire to be a zoo veterinarian.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2017
- Messages
- 5,855
- Reaction score
- 5,438
22 yrs of age, OR resident, 1st time applying
Applied: Oregon State, University of Missouri, North Carolina State, Washington State
Interview invites: OSU, Mizzou, WSU
Waitlist: NC State, WSU (after interview)
Accepted!!: OSU, Mizzou
Attending: Oregon State! Go beavs! (lol my family would kill me)
Cum GPA: 3.84
Science GPA: 3.76 is what I calculated but VMCAS said 3.81
Last 45: 3.97
All of these GPAs were before my Fall 2017 semester which would’ve raised my last 45 to a 4.0, and the other 2 higher as well.
GRE (Q/V/W): 162 (81%), 162 (91%), 5.0 (93%)
Degree: BA in Biochemistry ’18, Environmental studies minor
Veterinary hours:
592 hours nonprofit SA animal (and some wild). veterinary assistant and reception
12 hours shadowing on LA farm calls
4 hours shadowing zoo vet
12 hours bringing injured birds to SA clinic and assisting with restraint and procedures. for rehab birds that needed imaging/vet care basically
Animal hours:
760 hours nature center employee. Raptor care and handling/presentations. reptile and amphibian care. Wildlife rehab, mostly songbirds and raptors
84 hours dog and cat fostering and caring for wild animals
192 hours going on safari in Tanzania during study abroad. learning about wild mammals and birds in several national parks.
120 hours volunteering at a waterfowl sanctuary. caring for injured birds and daily bird care
owner of cats, dogs, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits, tarantulas (through the years)
Non-animal/veterinary employment:
Virtually none. Nanny in hs.
Research:
280 hours mouse neuroscience research (continuing my own project this semester)
278 hours various independent projects for classes (including project on impala and one on brittle stars in Tanzania)
Extracurricular:
Bonner scholarship meetings/involvement
Lobbying to congress for Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (reducing mandatory minimums)
NCAA d3 athlete
Outdoor leadership conference organizer
Studied abroad in Tanzania and Berlin (not sure where to put this)
Intern at a family planning clinic in Tanzania
Art and Recreational Therapy Volunteer at a behavioral health facility
Volunteer on organic farms
Exchange student in Mexico (high school)
1st grade classroom volunteer (high school)
Volunteer on overnight program teaching environmental science to 6th graders (high school)
Volunteer at an arts camp (high school)
hiked 1700 miles on PCT
Awards/Scholarships:
Bonner Scholar
Trustee Scholar (2nd highest merit award at my college)
Chemistry scholarship through my college
Academic sports award at college
AP scholar with distinction (high school)
Community service and public speaking related scholarship (high school)
Young Scholar (took college level chemistry at an elite LAC in high school)
Academic All-American in Lacrosse (high school)
All team selection for soccer and lacrosse (high school)
Talented and Gifted (in 98th+ percentile on state standardized tests and received advanced education beginning early in elementary school)
References:
Bio prof who taught my intro bio class, cell phys, and A&P
Psychology/Neuro prof who was advisor/PI of mouse neuro research
Lead naturalist at the nature center (coworker)
One of the vets at the nonprofit SA clinic who has known me for 3 yrs
Essays:
I planned to apply next year because I didn’t think I would be able to get in all the pre-reqs to apply this year.I go to a small school where certain classes are only offered once every 3 semesters. I also got freaked out by all the people with so many vet hours on here as I had basically no advising and was lucky to get all the vet hours I did because I volunteered for 3 years as a requirement for my scholarship. Before fall semester, I had both physics, genetics, biochem, and microbio outstanding and this may have hurt me at NC, no clue. I originally just planned to apply to OSU but my advisor wanted/recommended I apply to more schools so I did. I chose ones with low OOS cost as I felt my stats had me as a competitive applicant there and I would rather re-apply to my IS than go to a very spendy school.
Everyone talks about diversity of experiences which I kind of lack in some areas (especially vet hours as I have no interest in working with LA). I feel like my app shows that with a solid GPA, test scores, and EC/experiences, it is totally possible to be a competitive applicant without the thousands of hours that a lot of people recommend. I would always say to prioritize your GPA over hours. You can’t necessarily salvage a poor GPA but you can always get more experiences!
Y'all we made it!!!!
Applied: Oregon State, University of Missouri, North Carolina State, Washington State
Interview invites: OSU, Mizzou, WSU
Waitlist: NC State, WSU (after interview)
Accepted!!: OSU, Mizzou
Attending: Oregon State! Go beavs! (lol my family would kill me)
Cum GPA: 3.84
Science GPA: 3.76 is what I calculated but VMCAS said 3.81
Last 45: 3.97
All of these GPAs were before my Fall 2017 semester which would’ve raised my last 45 to a 4.0, and the other 2 higher as well.
GRE (Q/V/W): 162 (81%), 162 (91%), 5.0 (93%)
Degree: BA in Biochemistry ’18, Environmental studies minor
Veterinary hours:
592 hours nonprofit SA animal (and some wild). veterinary assistant and reception
12 hours shadowing on LA farm calls
4 hours shadowing zoo vet
12 hours bringing injured birds to SA clinic and assisting with restraint and procedures. for rehab birds that needed imaging/vet care basically
Animal hours:
760 hours nature center employee. Raptor care and handling/presentations. reptile and amphibian care. Wildlife rehab, mostly songbirds and raptors
84 hours dog and cat fostering and caring for wild animals
192 hours going on safari in Tanzania during study abroad. learning about wild mammals and birds in several national parks.
120 hours volunteering at a waterfowl sanctuary. caring for injured birds and daily bird care
owner of cats, dogs, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits, tarantulas (through the years)
Non-animal/veterinary employment:
Virtually none. Nanny in hs.
Research:
280 hours mouse neuroscience research (continuing my own project this semester)
278 hours various independent projects for classes (including project on impala and one on brittle stars in Tanzania)
Extracurricular:
Bonner scholarship meetings/involvement
Lobbying to congress for Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (reducing mandatory minimums)
NCAA d3 athlete
Outdoor leadership conference organizer
Studied abroad in Tanzania and Berlin (not sure where to put this)
Intern at a family planning clinic in Tanzania
Art and Recreational Therapy Volunteer at a behavioral health facility
Volunteer on organic farms
Exchange student in Mexico (high school)
1st grade classroom volunteer (high school)
Volunteer on overnight program teaching environmental science to 6th graders (high school)
Volunteer at an arts camp (high school)
hiked 1700 miles on PCT
Awards/Scholarships:
Bonner Scholar
Trustee Scholar (2nd highest merit award at my college)
Chemistry scholarship through my college
Academic sports award at college
AP scholar with distinction (high school)
Community service and public speaking related scholarship (high school)
Young Scholar (took college level chemistry at an elite LAC in high school)
Academic All-American in Lacrosse (high school)
All team selection for soccer and lacrosse (high school)
Talented and Gifted (in 98th+ percentile on state standardized tests and received advanced education beginning early in elementary school)
References:
Bio prof who taught my intro bio class, cell phys, and A&P
Psychology/Neuro prof who was advisor/PI of mouse neuro research
Lead naturalist at the nature center (coworker)
One of the vets at the nonprofit SA clinic who has known me for 3 yrs
Essays:
- sort of all over. emphasized my interest in neuro research and wild animal care. displayed interest in clinical work and research
- contributing to mitigating human-animal conflicts and preserving species diversity. talked about how specialists can help improve the lives of animals and humans
- mostly talked about requiring dedication to being a learner, needing to work with diverse groups, and good communication
I planned to apply next year because I didn’t think I would be able to get in all the pre-reqs to apply this year.I go to a small school where certain classes are only offered once every 3 semesters. I also got freaked out by all the people with so many vet hours on here as I had basically no advising and was lucky to get all the vet hours I did because I volunteered for 3 years as a requirement for my scholarship. Before fall semester, I had both physics, genetics, biochem, and microbio outstanding and this may have hurt me at NC, no clue. I originally just planned to apply to OSU but my advisor wanted/recommended I apply to more schools so I did. I chose ones with low OOS cost as I felt my stats had me as a competitive applicant there and I would rather re-apply to my IS than go to a very spendy school.
Everyone talks about diversity of experiences which I kind of lack in some areas (especially vet hours as I have no interest in working with LA). I feel like my app shows that with a solid GPA, test scores, and EC/experiences, it is totally possible to be a competitive applicant without the thousands of hours that a lot of people recommend. I would always say to prioritize your GPA over hours. You can’t necessarily salvage a poor GPA but you can always get more experiences!
Y'all we made it!!!!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2017
- Messages
- 236
- Reaction score
- 235
22 yrs of age, OR resident, 1st time applying
Applied: Oregon State, University of Missouri, North Carolina State, Washington State
Interview invites: OSU, Mizzou, WSU
Waitlist: NC State, WSU (after interview)
Accepted!!: OSU, Mizzou
Attending: Oregon State! Go beavs! (lol my family would kill me)
Cum GPA: 3.84
Science GPA: 3.76 is what I calculated but VMCAS said 3.81
Last 45: 3.97
All of these GPAs were before my Fall 2017 semester which would’ve raised my last 45 to a 4.0, and the other 2 higher as well.
GRE (Q/V/W): 162 (91%), 162 (81%), 5.0 (93%)
Degree: BA in Biochemistry ’18, Environmental studies minor
Veterinary hours:
592 hours nonprofit SA animal (and some wild). veterinary assistant and reception
12 hours shadowing on LA farm calls
4 hours shadowing zoo vet
12 hours bringing injured birds to SA clinic and assisting with restraint and procedures. for rehab birds that needed imaging/vet care basically
Animal hours:
760 hours nature center employee. Raptor care and handling/presentations. reptile and amphibian care. Wildlife rehab, mostly songbirds and raptors
84 hours dog and cat fostering and caring for wild animals
192 hours going on safari in Tanzania during study abroad. learning about wild mammals and birds in several national parks.
120 hours volunteering at a waterfowl sanctuary. caring for injured birds and daily bird care
owner of cats, dogs, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits, tarantulas (through the years)
Non-animal/veterinary employment:
Virtually none. Nanny in hs.
Research:
280 hours mouse neuroscience research (continuing my own project this semester)
278 hours various independent projects for classes (including project on impala and one on brittle stars in Tanzania)
Extracurricular:
Bonner scholarship meetings/involvement
Lobbying to congress for Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (reducing mandatory minimums)
NCAA d3 athlete
Outdoor leadership conference organizer
Studied abroad in Tanzania and Berlin (not sure where to put this)
Intern at a family planning clinic in Tanzania
Art and Recreational Therapy Volunteer at a behavioral health facility
Volunteer on organic farms
Exchange student in Mexico (high school)
1st grade classroom volunteer (high school)
Volunteer on overnight program teaching environmental science to 6th graders (high school)
Volunteer at an arts camp (high school)
hiked 1700 miles on PCT
Awards/Scholarships:
Bonner Scholar
Trustee Scholar (2nd highest merit award at my college)
Chemistry scholarship through my college
Academic sports award at college
AP scholar with distinction (high school)
Community service and public speaking related scholarship (high school)
Young Scholar (took college level chemistry at an elite LAC in high school)
Academic All-American in Lacrosse (high school)
All team selection for soccer and lacrosse (high school)
Talented and Gifted (in 98th+ percentile on state standardized tests and received advanced education beginning early in elementary school)
References:
Bio prof who taught my intro bio class, cell phys, and A&P
Psychology/Neuro prof who was advisor/PI of mouse neuro research
Lead naturalist at the nature center (coworker)
One of the vets at the nonprofit SA clinic who has known me for 3 yrs
Essays:
Extra:
- sort of all over. emphasized my interest in neuro research and wild animal care. displayed interest in clinical work and research
- contributing to mitigating human-animal conflicts and preserving species diversity. talked about how specialists can help improve the lives of animals and humans
- mostly talked about requiring dedication to being a learner, needing to work with diverse groups, and good communication
I planned to apply next year because I didn’t think I would be able to get in all the pre-reqs to apply this year.I go to a small school where certain classes are only offered once every 3 semesters. I also got freaked out by all the people with so many vet hours on here as I had basically no advising and was lucky to get all the vet hours I did because I volunteered for 3 years as a requirement for my scholarship. Before fall semester, I had both physics, genetics, biochem, and microbio outstanding and this may have hurt me at NC, no clue. I originally just planned to apply to OSU but my advisor wanted/recommended I apply to more schools so I did. I chose ones with low OOS cost as I felt my stats had me as a competitive applicant there and I would rather re-apply to my IS than go to a very spendy school.
Everyone talks about diversity of experiences which I kind of lack in some areas (especially vet hours as I have no interest in working with LA). I feel like my app shows that with a solid GPA, test scores, and EC/experiences, it is totally possible to be a competitive applicant without the thousands of hours that a lot of people recommend. I would always say to prioritize your GPA over hours. You can’t necessarily salvage a poor GPA but you can always get more experiences!
Y'all we made it!!!!
Woah @ziggyandjazzy your animal experiences are so cool! Also, hiking the PCT?! 😍 I totally want to be your friend even more now 😛
