WAMC - 1st time applicant for 2026 cycle

[parakeetproud]

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Hi all. I'm a 23F recent college graduate and MA resident taking a gap year to gain more experience in vet med before applying. I'm in the dark about whether or not I make up a competitive applicant and could really use some help. While my GPA is about average, I've been eager to get all the experience I can during my gap year. I will also be retaking 2 classes in which I received two C+ in and taking the Casper if needed. I'm interested in possibly becoming an oncologist or zoological veterinarian in the future. I haven't been able to round off what vet schools I'd like to apply to and could use some advice.

Cumulative GPA: 3.44
Last 45: 3.5

Veterinary experience
Equine vet intern/shadow: 36 hours
Small animal gp intern: 110 hours
Small animal gp vet assistant: 330 hours (will have substantially more hours by the time of application)

Animal experience
Dog shelter volunteer: 35 hours
Dog daycare attendant/van operator: 350 hours
Zoo internship w/ primates: 130 hours
Zoo job within an aviary: 350 hours (may have more, need to check in)

Volunteer experience (non-animal related)
Student alumni association in college: ~100 hours

Independent research
Research w/ marine invertebrates: 80 hours
Research w/ frogs: 20 hours

Extracurriculars
Pre-health society, First Gen honor society, student alumni association (college)
Student council, honor society, cheerleading (hs)

Employment (non-animal related)
Family business convenient store: 200 hours
Curtsy seller (secondhand clothing thrift):100 hours roughly

Achievements
Merit scholarship, Tri-Alpha honor society inductee, Dean's List (5 semesters), held high honors in hs

 

[Kodiak-Bear]

I think you have some pretty great experiences under your belt, but I would recommend doing some more large animal work, like bovine or working on a farm. Your gpa is pretty average like you said (its ok, mine was too!) so I would probably focus more on schools that aren't super gpa heavy. Maybe applying to places like Ohio, LIU, LSU, Iowa, U of A, Midwestern, Michigan, etc would be good choices! Tufts is your in state so you should probably apply there too, although I think it will be just as expensive as most other schools that are out of state. Maybe also branch out with some more extracurriculars, like a sport or art, as your only extras as of now are what you had in college and high school.

 

[parakeetproud]

I think you have some pretty great experiences under your belt, but I would recommend doing some more large animal work, like bovine or working on a farm. Your gpa is pretty average like you said (its ok, mine was too!) so I would probably focus more on schools that aren't super gpa heavy. Maybe applying to places like Ohio, LIU, LSU, Iowa, U of A, Midwestern, Michigan, etc would be good choices! Tufts is your in state so you should probably apply there too, although I think it will be just as expensive as most other schools that are out of state. Maybe also branch out with some more extracurriculars, like a sport or art, as your only extras as of now are what you had in college and high school.

Thank you!!! I really appreciate the feedback!!! I actually practice tattoo work and draw/paint on glassware as a hobby. Does this count towards extracurriculars? I haven't been able to find exactly what defines an extracurricular on the applications.

 

[Kodiak-Bear]

That definitely would count. that’s an awesome extracurricular!! and honestly i think it’s really anything you do outside of vet med