Vet school re-applicants

[VAgirl]

So I've been thinking recently about how it seems that a number of people end up applying to vet school multiple times. However, I don't think I ever heard my friends that were pre-med/had med school aspirations ever talk about applying more than once. It always seemed to me that people apply to med school, and if they don't get in, they figure out what else to do with their lives. So my question is, do you guys think/know if the reapplicant thing is unique to vet school? And if it is unique, why do you think that is? Maybe part of the numbers game (i.e. there are so few vet schools)?

I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks and what their experiences have been with this.

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[krodriguez]

Interesting question. I went looking around on the internet and found some statistics. Last year 42k applied to med school and 19k got in. 5.7k applied to vet school (through vcmas) and 2.8k got in. So the acceptance rate is about the same 45-50%. I also found that 25% of med school applicants were reapplicants. I can't find those stats for vet students though so it would be interesting to know if there is a real difference or just something noted anecdotally.

 

[krodriguez]

I keep posting twice. Dumb..

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Because vet students are more determined **runs away before people from the allopath board start invading**

 

[168135]

If they ever ask me what I am planning on doing if I don't get into vet school, knowing me, I'll say, "Study to be a vet technician and try again next year" :S One thing I have going for me is my determination... if they say no, I'm just going to keep on trying until I get in.

I wonder what are the most number of times that somebody has applied to vet school before getting in?

I can't be impossible to get in... or can it

 

[Tiraka]

"I wonder what are the most number of times that somebody has applied to vet school before getting in?"

A speaker at one of my pre-vet club meetings mentioned someone who got in on his 7th try...

 

[fargeese]

I have to say that personally am not going to apply again if I don't get in this year. I vowed after my rejection last year that I would do everything (quit my teaching job, do tech work with food animals and equines, go to conferences, get new recommendations etc. etc.) that I possibly could to make my application better, and if I still can't get in, to hell with it.

I want the dream, but I will be 34 this year, and I can't work low-paying tech jobs forever chasing it. My local university has already offered me a place in any graduate science program I want, tuition free and with a salary for which I don't have to do a TA-ship or anything. It is not the dream, but it is a pretty good alternative and I will enjoy it I think.

I really think that the number of times you re-apply depends on how long you want or have to put your life on hold chasing acceptance, and it is a personal decision.Trying 7 times is fine but that is a lot more waiting than I am willing to do at this stage of my life.

And for those people who are trying this year and fail? There are a lot more re-applicants out there than you think. The statistic I heard was closer to 1 in 3 for re-apps for vet school, but I am not positive on that statistic. I just know there are alot of us out there!

 

[VAgirl]

I have to say that personally am not going to apply again if I don't get in this year.

Fargeese, I understand your point of view. This is only my first time applying, but I have a few friends who've applied before (I think maybe 3 times each) and they decided after that to move on in a different direction. One of them was in my masters program, and she's now in a really cool PhD program at UVA. I have no doubt that she's going to end up every bit as happy as if she had gotten into vet school. There's no one path to happiness, I believe. (But all that said, I'm really rooting for you to get into vet school this time around!)

And for those people who are trying this year and fail? There are a lot more re-applicants out there than you think. The statistic I heard was closer to 1 in 3 for re-apps for vet school, but I am not positive on that statistic. I just know there are alot of us out there!

For this statistic, do you mean that 1 in 3 people who apply are re-applicants, or 1 in 3 who get in were re-applicants? (For some reason, I never understand the phrasing of this statement.) If it's the former, I wonder what the % is of matriculating students who are reapps. Does anyone know?

 

[flokemahe]

first two were 9 & 10 yrs ago. (I have to say I really half-assed my second applications). I reapplied last fall for the third time - it's a charm!

Best of luck to all of you waiting, I know what a nail-biter it can be!

 

[fargeese]

I thought it was 1 out of 3 people matriculating were re-apps. But again, I am not sure where I heard that and I may be completely wrong.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

 

[philomycus]

Fargeese, I'm almost 34 and right there with ya! I'm starting to accumulate years for a pension already.....man do I feel old. If I applied 7 times before I got in?? Well, that just doens't work for me either.

 

[Phebe]

That what I had been thinking about: will it be a "not so good" impression being a re-applicant? I should be applying next year according to the "schedule". However, I am thinking, due to lack of working experience with animals, I should work a year first, then apply the year after. Which may provide me a better chance...

Does it really matter if you are reapplying?

 

[168135]

I'm trying to decide if I want to apply after I get my pre-requisits or wait until I get my BSc. If I wait, I'll be able to accumulate more experience and be able to say that I have finished my degree... and that makes me feel more complete, confident and accomplished... I don't know.

 

[fargeese]

I believe that they actually look more favorably on an re-applicant who does the things suggested in rejection interviews and re-applies. I don't really think being a re-applicant hurts you at all, else so many people would not get in on their 2nd, 3rd and 4th time.

And philo, I already have 9 years in a state pension plan and actually heard myself say the other day that if I worked 21 more years for Va I could retire at age 56. Arrrggh!

 

[philomycus]

Does it really matter if you are reapplying?

I wished I had applied one year earleier than I was really ready to get in to get that 'no chance in hell' year out of they way. My GPA is 3.4 and my GRE 1030 I really should've applied one year sooner. It gets your name out there. That's worth a lot. Schools want to see you reapply in many cases.

 

[akitavet]

Maybe its because of the required experience element? I know for me, this year I have mostly small animal hours with about 200 total in zoo/equine. Next year my application will be much improved and I will be able to take a couple more prerequisites that allow me to apply to more schools. Since there's nothing else I can do now, I am working on improving my application for next year. If I dont get in next year, then I dont think I will be improving much going from 4000 to 6000 hours or something. Two and done for me. Its not about perserverence, its about diminishing returns. I dont want to be a vet tech forever and I certainly cant afford to. Its back to biotech industry (Ugh ) for me if this doesnt work out in two application cycles.

OH and the other thing is that I am 26. If I got in this year, I would be 31 at graduation. Next year 32. After that, if you want to have kids and you want to wait until you are out of school, you are begining to get into the woulda shoulda coulda stage.

 

[clawsbeatskin]

Hey akitavet, sounds like we have similar stories and backgrounds! I'm 25, applied last year, and have literally tens of thousands of hours experience. My major weakness last time was that most of my hours came from zoo/research and no SA or LA. So this year I have added close to 1000 total hours in those areas, plus I took a few more prerequisite courses I was lacking the first time around. Those helped with the overall GPA, bringing it up .2 points. So here's to success this round!

I agree, though, I will be moving on from the hope of becoming a vet after this round if things don't work out. Then it's back to some lab bench