Hello. I am working on my applications now to be submitted in August for the 2026 admission cycle (20y M, first time applicant). Soon to start working on my 17 essays!!!!😯. If anyone has any particular advice on how to strengthen my application or a particular school I should consider, please share.
Currently planning to apply to: NCSU, UT Knoxville (ISS), TAMU, UF, Georgia, and Missouri
I am most interested in good large animal and exotic/wildlife elective rotations, and will likely do mixed animal upon finishing school (so I don't starve doing only large animals lol).
Additional driving factors in school selection: price, location (commute to home - middle TN), amount of clinical/hands-on time
Double major: Animal Science and General Science with Biology and Chemistry concentrations
Minor: Business Entrepreneurship
completing within 3 years of high school graduation
Overall: 3.544
Science/Math: 3.497
Last 45: 3.496 (I'm taking a business course right now and retaking biochem in July.)
Biochem is my only retake course, as I got a C- in the spring and am retaking it in July/August. Prior Cs, besides biochem, are History II and Micro.
Pending pre-requisites: Animal Nutrition (for most colleges above) and Cell/Molecular Bio (for one college above).
CASPer: taking in June
Animal Experience: ~3,000 hours, about 60% large animals and 40% small animal (~5% of this was cats/dogs)
--Unique experience: Africa trip ~50 hours behavior and habitat observation of wild exotics, avian, and aquatic animals in a few countries
Veterinary Experience: Estimating 450-550 hours (paid) by August submission time, mostly cats and dogs. (This opportunity began this month, as my area has limited job opportunities for those without formal certification and require senior status for interns. There also are not large animal vets within <1 hr of where I live. Even small animal shadowing opportunities are extremely limited and have been full.)
Ag experience: 700+ hours greenhouse and small barn/farm at high school (volunteer), 400+ hours farmhand internship summer 2024 (paid), ~50 hours farmhand husbandry per diem jobs (paid)
Employment: over 5,000 hours at a (non-animal) job working 25-40 hrs/week during high school and undergraduate.
Volunteer and Extracurricular: over 3,000 hours numerous church events, mission trips, math tutor for 3+ years, in 2 weekly worship bands for few years, FFA x4 years in high school (VERY involved, minimal hours included in these hours); bass guitar, ultimate frisbee, hunting, pre-vet med society
Awards: Deans List 3x, FFA American Degree recipient, FFA National Livestock gold emblem individual, multiple scholarships, multiple high school merit awards
Leadership: assistant manager at job for >2 years, FFA chapter officer in high school, math tutor in high school, band leader at church
