28 year old Male, Maryland resident, 1st time applicant
Nice to post here even if I wasn’t like many others who have been wanting to post here for years. Best of luck to everyone else in their decisions and choices. To echo a post above -- a special congratulations to those who have applied more than once -- you guys are amazing and have demonstrated true grit to have stayed the course.
Looking forward to making some really good, solid friends over the next few years, and meeting more of you guys in person
Applied: Colorado, Tufts, Penn, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Washington State, Oregon
Interview Invites: ALL (except Oregon as no interview)
Accepted Interviews: Colorado, Tufts, Penn, Virginia Tech
Accepted for Admission: Colorado, Tufts, Penn
(with 25k/year for 4 years scholarship), Virginia Tech, Oregon
Attending: Not yet committed, but most likely Penn unless I can get $ from another school. Colorado was the “dream” (mostly for my 2 y/o choc lab child -- she needs wide open green spaces!
), but how can I say no to Penn’s $ offer?
Overall GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: 3.57
Last 45: 3.94
GRE (Q/V/W) -- (158/161/4)
Degree: B.S. in Biology (w/ Honors); Minors in Chemistry and Economics (c/o 2011)
Veterinary Experience
Shadowing small animal vet clinic: -- 160 hrs -- Oops! A little late to the realization vet med was for me -- but hey, goes to show you can get in with less than 200 hours
Work Experience/Research
7 years working at the NIH -- 4 years basic science and animal behavioral model work as a research scientist, followed by 3 years working at a Genetic Engineering Core -- genetically designing and producing mice for science research via microinjection/CRISPR technologies, and practicing cryopreservation/rederivation techniques. 4 publications during my tenure.
Animal Experience
Volunteer for a Labrador Rescue as an adoption coordinator (interview families & match with suitable dogs) -- 150 hrs
Coral Aquaculture/saltwater fish farm -- 320 hrs
Honey Bee Research Lab -- 300 hrs
Extracurriculars/Awards
Oh, this and that, you know...
NIH 2016 Director’s Award for Service
Several semesters Dean’s List; Bachelor’s with Honors awarded
Martial Arts Black Belt
Volunteer at Medical Hospital in the Child Life Unit
Bilingual upbringing + learned 2 additional languages during schooling
Summer Volunteer in various places -- Kenya, Bahrain, Habitat for Humanity in the US
Avid Hiker/Backpacker with my 4 legged child -- climbed the highest peak in West VA, Bahrain, and the UK... (dreamed of Colorado 14'ers during application cycle and hopefully Kilimanjaro during summer 2019)
Swimmer -- high school, college (club team), and now master’s group -- my Penn interviewer was an Australian/swimmer -- maybe that’s why I got into Penn?
LOR Evaluators
Family Veterinarian (where I also shadowed; have known for 15 years)
Director of the Engineering Core
University Professor (Head of the Biology Department)
Essays
Explanation Statement
Moved to the US at the age of 15 with my little sister (7 at the time) after being orphaned (one parent passed away, and the other abandoned us). Got shuttled around the world living in different countries with different relatives, until my dad’s sister (university professor) was able to organize our adoption and carved out a space in her heart and home for us -- gave us a second chance at life, created our little family of 3, and gave us an education. Something not many kids get a chance (let alone a second chance) to have. Extremely fortunate to find myself being able to apply to veterinary school, and in the position where I realize that [research] animals have less of a voice than others and that is something I want to change after having spent several years out in the field. Combining a veterinary medical degree with my research background puts me in a unique position to further the health and welfare of animals while also contributing to both human and animal medicine.
Note to future applicants: Be humble; be nice. Give a damn about living creatures -- both animals AND humans. Show that you are a kind, caring, and compassionate human being that can think about something other than yourself/grades/school/shadowing and have spent some time thinking not only about why you want to be a veterinarian, but also, what you want to do with the degree/how you want to make an impact/contribution to society -- that seemed to an underlying theme that all my interviewers were assessing on some level in my interviews whether stated or not (or at least, I thought so.) Talk slowly, articulate yourself, and don't be afraid to crack a joke and make your interviewers laugh
Ok, I’m done now!
