Teaxs A&M?

[Phebe]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Just didn't see much people discuss about Texas A&M, are there any of you are from A&M vet school? Do you have any comments about A&M like how they interview, any specific type of students they looking for and what's special about the school?

Thank you

 

[philomycus]

I would LOVE to apply/attend TA&M, but won't. They take a lot of in staters and have a very very competitive GPA requirement which I lack. As you may know TA&M was the 1st to clone cats and a few others. That just excited the heck out of me (whether you're for or against it, biologically it's pretty darn neat). Plus, I'd love to live in Texas. Alas, reality sets in about the GPA, GRE scores for me.

 

[clawsbeatskin]

I received my undergrad degree from TAMU, and I will be applying to the vet school this round. From what I've heard, they are very cut and dry about how they assess applicants. The process relies on a points system, and your initial points are calculated from GRE, GPA, etc. Whether or not you get an interview depends on where your point total lies in the whole applicant pool. The only interview 225 applicants/year, so if you're #226 then you're out of luck. After they have the 225, the applicants receive points based on the more 'subjective' aspects of the application, like essays, lor's and your interview. From the 225 they accept the top ranking group of about 110 (not quite sure about this number). If you are rejected, they do a post application interview, so they will tell you where you ranked in the pool.

It seems TAMU is one of the least "holistic" in regards to looking at the entire application before making a decision.

This is how I understood the explanation given by the Dean's office. Anyone please correct me or add your take on it.

 

[ebrewha]

I agree Clawsbeatskin (I feel odd addressing someone like that, HA!)...

I will be re-applying to A&M again this round. I too completed my undergrad there (aerospace engineering)....but completing your undergrad there really doesn't mean much to them. I applied last year, interviewed, and was about a point and a half away from making the alternate list. They probably have one of the most UN-Holistic processes out there and it is super frustrating. It is all points....they don't even have anything built in to reward you for re-applying or noting that it's your second interview, etc. I was accepted to 2 other schools for this Fall but have decided to decline and try my chances again at A&M because I think it is an incredible school...and it's incredibly cheaper for us Texas peeps. 12k a year versus ~35k a year out of state (Texas does not have contracts with other schools like WICHE)

So, it's all about the points and there is little you can even do on the subjective stuff. The interview is basically 30 points out of 300.....wait, I just checked the website http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/dcvm/admissions/selection.shtml
and it looks like they've weighted the interview a little higher this year, 40 points, which is great. The interview is extremely easy and relaxed and basically just a verification that you can communicate.

It is an absolutely awesome school (I believe it is currently ranked #5....whatever that means....because all accredited vet schools are awesome) and I really hope my luck turns this time around. I'm secretly hoping for an incompetent and unqualified applicant pool but somehow I don't think that's going to happen!

 

[clawsbeatskin]

Wow, ebrewha, that is some serious Aggie dedication! I don't know that I would have been as concrete about TAMU if I had been accepted elsewhere...congrats, though and best of luck to you!

 

[aggiegolf]

I went to Texas A&M for undergrad and received a Biomedical Science degree. Our degree program is the vet school's undergrad program, so we all knew a lot about the vet school as we were there most of the time. I applied twice, and twice rejected. It's a great vet school, but too research oriented in my opinion. The large animal facility is outstanding. They only accept 10 outta states, so I wouldn't bother applying unless you have a 3.999 out of state gpa. Where you went for undergrad isn't very significant. A community college graduate can easily outrank you on the points system because GPA is heavily weighted like everywhere else. Good luck!

 

[ElsieCat]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading this forum for a few months now, but this is my first post. I moved to TX about a year ago now and am planning on applying to A&M this year. I too am interested in learning more about the school. I'm a non-traditional applicant (UG degrees in biology and psychology, started grad school for psyc but decided I would rather do something in medicine and with animals). I think I have pretty decent grades and GRE scores but my animal experience is pretty limited (hopefully 500 hrs total by the time I submit my app). Am I understanding you all correctly in that A&M places a lot of weight on grades and test scores? I'd appreciate any advice you all can offer. Do I stand a chance at all or should I just wait another year?

Thanks in advance and glad to be a part of the forum!

 

[clawsbeatskin]

If the past is any indication of their plans for this year, then yes, most of the weight is placed on grades and scores. Although, it is interesting that we've been talking about this topic the last few days because after speaking with a couple of professors it seems they might be shifting the focus. I was told that while they will still place a lot of weight on grades, they will begin to look for applicants with grades AND outstanding experience, whereas in the past they were happy to accept students with outstanding grades alone. Apparently, this change is the result of several 'dropouts'...students with great scores and grades but little vet experience who were accepted, attended for a year or so, and then transferred to medical school once they decided they didn't like vet med. I guess this situation has been occurring more frequently.

 

[InfiniVet]

Grades and test scores only? Mmm...I don't quite agree. I got into A&M this year with moderate grades/scores (3.5GPA, average GRE) with animal science major that I didn't even finish lol but I had like 10,000 hours animal/veterinary experience with small animal+Equine.

As far as getting your hours - the more interesting and wierd it is, the better. Just volunteering every weekend at the shelter for the past 10 years isn't gonna cut it.

Its a fantastic school, extremely supportive and lots of fun.

They also most certainly look at your personality & dedication...so keep your chin up and apply and reapply!

Good luck to all and feel free to msg me with any questions/stories 🙂