Vet Recommendations

[BurnieBear]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I am having a really difficult time getting a vet to write me a recommendation becuase I live in a VERY small town with few vet offices. I have several references from my advisor, several professors, and from a zoo that I did a summer internship with. When I applied to an international school last year, I was told that I had excellent recommendtions. My question is has anyone applied to any US schools without a vet recommendation? I know some schools like Iowa say they recommend that one comes from a vet, but do not say that it is required. If I were to apply do you think my application would be instantly denied even though I have a 4.0 gpa?

 

[orca2011]

Pretty sure most schools require at least one vet. Some require two and a form signed by a vet stating you have x amount of hours. You might be able to get away with a professor who has a PhD and you have worked with on research, but personally, I wouldn't want to risk spending all that money applying if you can't meet a school's requirement. I almost feel like it's an unspoken requirement if it's not explicitly stated.

 

[wildcatj]

I guess it's possible you could get in with great stats and no vet recommendation, but I wouldn't count on it. If you have a good number of veterinary hours, but no recommendation from any of the vets you worked with, that would might look bad to admissions committees. I think your best bet is to try to put in more hours with one of the vets (one you think you have a chance of getting a rec from) and after you've put in some more hours ask again. I know the practice owner/vet at my hospital has NO interest in writing me a letter of recommendation despite the fact I've been working with her for 3 years. Some people just have no interest, but as a whole I've found vets to be pretty willing to put in the effort if you have. Just choose where you're going to focus your efforts and try again.

 

[Jamr0ckin]

I know the practice owner/vet at my hospital has NO interest in writing me a letter of recommendation despite the fact I've been working with her for 3 years. Some people just have no interest, but as a whole I've found vets to be pretty willing to put in the effort if you have.

I find that really, really odd. And sad.

 

[iwantbatteries]

is he/she uninterested in writing, or uninterested in signing, one is lazy, the other is telling.

 

[wildcatj]

I find that really, really odd. And sad.

Yeah... She's the one I'm always complaining about on here. One particular instance was when I thought I was going to apply last year. One of the other vets was talking to her about writing a joint recommendation, but she said she wasn't interested in writing me a rec because I had "made a few mistakes lately". Those "few mistakes" were when I had just started teching for her and broke pcv tubes in the centrifuge because I had never used it before... I wouldn't trust her to write one for me now because of that. And yet when they laid me off out of the blue (read that doozy in the rant thread) she told me I shouldn't be mad at them because I "needed them to get into vet school". And yet she has no interest in actually helping me out. I think mostly she doesn't like me because I don't take her crap. She founded the wildlife clinic that I work in, but isn't involved much at all. So generally I don't agree with her rehab practices because she makes animals totally tame and I don't let her pressure me into making poor decisions. So we don't get along.
Sorry OP to get off topic...

 

[Jamr0ckin]

Yeah... She's the one I'm always complaining about on here. One particular instance was when I thought I was going to apply last year. One of the other vets was talking to her about writing a joint recommendation, but she said she wasn't interested in writing me a rec because I had "made a few mistakes lately". Those "few mistakes" were when I had just started teching for her and broke pcv tubes in the centrifuge because I had never used it before... I wouldn't trust her to write one for me now because of that. And yet when they laid me off out of the blue (read that doozy in the rant thread) she told me I shouldn't be mad at them because I "needed them to get into vet school". And yet she has no interest in actually helping me out. I think mostly she doesn't like me because I don't take her crap. She founded the wildlife clinic that I work in, but isn't involved much at all. So generally I don't agree with her rehab practices because she makes animals totally tame and I don't let her pressure me into making poor decisions. So we don't get along.
Sorry OP to get off topic...

Yes, I remember now. I worked for a vet for a year that hated me. He threatened to call every vet school in the country and tell them I abused animals and not to let me in... because I was late!

 

[wildcatj]

Yes, I remember now. I worked for a vet for a year that hated me. He threatened to call every vet school in the country and tell them I abused animals and not to let me in... because I was late!

I wish I could say she was totally insane, but she's not. I think I would just describe her as fickle? Her opinion of you just changes on a whim, depending on how she feels that day. One day you're her shining star, the next she looks at you like she stepped in you...