WAMC? 1st time, high GPA, little experience

[sealdog]

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hello everyone! i am applying to veterinary schools this cycle and feeling increasingly nervous about it.

21M, i just completed my senior year and i will be graduating in the fall. i have a STEM major that is completely unrelated to biology, but i decided that i didn't like it and i wanted to pursue the only thing i've ever been interested in. due to childhood bullying, i suffered from severe depression from ages 11 to about 17. after the depression i felt very aimless, and it took me a while to realize i can do things i want to do. since switching to veterinary i have realized that i can make something out of my life. i don't know if i should share this story in my application.

like everybody else, i am trying desperately to make it in on the first try. i am open to any school that is not in the deep south. however, i only started working on getting experience in the past year or so, and i am aware that i fall very short of other applications.

cumulative GPA/science GPA/last 45: 3.99

degrees: in progress STEM major and biology minor

veterinary experience:
- should have ~200 hours as a veterinary assistant in a small animal clinic by the end of the summer
- 20 hours shadowing at the small animal clinic

animal experience:
- 180 hours taking care of horses at a farm

research experience:
- 240 hours of immunology research abroad

awards/scholarships:
- dean's list in every semester

extracurriculars:
- none

employment:
- 1200 retail hours
- 60 hours as a grader for some classes
- should have ~450 hours at the front desk of a small animal clinic by the end of the summer

i am hoping to work in a research lab during the fall semester, although those hours won't make it onto my application. i guess my question is, do i have any chance? is it even worth applying this semester? thanks everyone for any thoughts.

 

[beans2020]

You have a fantastic GPA! If I was reviewing your app, the things I would be concerned about are the lack of vet hours (as you mentioned) and the lack of leadership roles/extracurriculars. If you don't have extracurriculars, that's ok, you don't need to go out of your way to add them, but I would highly recommend you add everything you did even if it is from high school (think band, sports, clubs, church activities, art, etc.)
If you have glowing letters of rec and a good personal statement you may be ok even without many vet hours. Maybe look into schools that heavily focus on GPA because you may go far there.
I can't guarantee anything but if you apply smart and make sure your app shines I think you have a good chance 😉

 

[battie]

extracurriculars:
- none

You didn't do any sort of clubs or anything in college? Not even residence life or something equally chill? If you did any sort of club, you should include it. Doesn't matter if it's animal related or not.

is it even worth applying this semester?

1. I honestly can't recommend anyone who hasn't been working towards vet school for years to even apply at this point. Even if someone's life goal has been vet med, I strongly caution them to wait and see what happens to student loans until applying. For you in particular, I would recommend a different path at this point.

2. **If** you decide to keep going towards vet med, I would still say to wait until next year. You will be competing with students at the same academic caliber as you with 500+ hours across vet and animal hours, in addition to many having research hours. Set yourself up for success and wait.

 

[sealdog]

You have a fantastic GPA! If I was reviewing your app, the things I would be concerned about are the lack of vet hours (as you mentioned) and the lack of leadership roles/extracurriculars. If you don't have extracurriculars, that's ok, you don't need to go out of your way to add them, but I would highly recommend you add everything you did even if it is from high school (think band, sports, clubs, church activities, art, etc.)
If you have glowing letters of rec and a good personal statement you may be ok even without many vet hours. Maybe look into schools that heavily focus on GPA because you may go far there.
I can't guarantee anything but if you apply smart and make sure your app shines I think you have a good chance 😉

thank you for the feedback! i really did not do extracurriculars, although i did have a minor leadership job in retail. i do think i can tell a compelling story about myself in my personal statement and essays. two of my letters of recommendation will be from people that know me well or who i have worked close with, while the third is from a professor who does not know me super well but still wants me to succeed. i will try to look into schools that weigh GPA more heavily.

 

[sealdog]

You didn't do any sort of clubs or anything in college? Not even residence life or something equally chill? If you did any sort of club, you should include it. Doesn't matter if it's animal related or not.



1. I honestly can't recommend anyone who hasn't been working towards vet school for years to even apply at this point. Even if someone's life goal has been vet med, I strongly caution them to wait and see what happens to student loans until applying. For you in particular, I would recommend a different path at this point.

2. **If** you decide to keep going towards vet med, I would still say to wait until next year. You will be competing with students at the same academic caliber as you with 500+ hours across vet and animal hours, in addition to many having research hours. Set yourself up for success and wait.

i went to a few meetings of the veterinary club and a few meetings of my STEM major club, but never enough to feel comfortable listing it as an extracurricular. it has always been my dream to be a vet, even as a kid, and i deeply regret the time i spent away from it. i enjoy the work that i do at the small animal clinic, and i hope to learn more.

i really appreciate your honesty. i am still planning on applying to my top few choices, on the off chance that i get into one, but i want to set realistic expectations going into this. if i don't get in this cycle- and i understand this will probably be the case- i plan on spending the next year or more strengthening my experience hours.

 

[dew5]

Where are you considering applying? Do you have an IS school?

Echoing what others have said: You have a strong GPA but are lacking in experience hours. I'd also recommend waiting to apply next cycle when you have more experience to go off of. It'll be challenging to write essays that can powerfully reflect your interest in veterinary medicine. Additionally, 200 hours is the equivalent of 5 weeks of full-time work - that said, it may be difficult to secure a strong letter of recommendation from a veterinarian. A mediocre letter has the potential to harm you more than help you.

If you decide to apply anyway, but find yourself having to reapply, I think you will be in a great position to do so - esp. given your near-perfect GPAs.

 

[sealdog]

Where are you considering applying? Do you have an IS school?

Echoing what others have said: You have a strong GPA but are lacking in experience hours. I'd also recommend waiting to apply next cycle when you have more experience to go off of. It'll be challenging to write essays that can powerfully reflect your interest in veterinary medicine. Additionally, 200 hours is the equivalent of 5 weeks of full-time work - that said, it may be difficult to secure a strong letter of recommendation from a veterinarian. A mediocre letter has the potential to harm you more than help you.

If you decide to apply anyway, but find yourself having to reapply, I think you will be in a great position to do so - esp. given your near-perfect GPAs.

thank you for your input! i work both at the front desk and as an assistant at the clinic, so while i wouldn't count the front desk as veterinary experience, i have done a lot of interacting with and learning from the veterinarians in those hours as well. i do believe i could get a good letter of recommendation from the clinic.

my IS is penn, and my other top choices are colorado, cornell, and davis. i have always been a good student and it stings that i didn't set myself up for success with this, but at least not getting in this cycle gives me a year to flesh out my experience hours and learn more about my interests.

 

[dew5]

thank you for your input! i work both at the front desk and as an assistant at the clinic, so while i wouldn't count the front desk as veterinary experience, i have done a lot of interacting with and learning from the veterinarians in those hours as well. i do believe i could get a good letter of recommendation from the clinic.

my IS is penn, and my other top choices are colorado, cornell, and davis. i have always been a good student and it stings that i didn't set myself up for success with this, but at least not getting in this cycle gives me a year to flesh out my experience hours and learn more about my interests.

Of course. I missed that part about your reception position. I would lean toward including that as veterinary experience, especially because you mentioned the role involves you interacting with and learning from a vet. Some people argue that a receptionist role does not count towards vet hours, but I would argue that it can as long as you are considering time spent working under the direct supervision of a veterinarian (time spent consulting the vet on appointments/interactions with clients, asking questions related to cases, etc.).

These are schools that tend to favor high GPA applicants like yourself. They also unfortunately tend to be some of the most competitive schools for OOS applicants. Take that into consideration with your less-than-competitive vet hours.

I absolutely wouldn’t say that you didn’t set yourself up for success. It is almost always better to prioritize GPA over experience hours, simply because a low GPA is significantly harder to overcome compared to low hours of experience.

 

[battie]

i work both at the front desk and as an assistant at the clinic, so while i wouldn't count the front desk as veterinary experience,

You can and should label reception hours as veterinary hours. Reception is the front line of the clinic and is just as important as any other position. If schools don't want it listed as vet hours, they'll change it to work hours.

 

[sealdog]

Of course. I missed that part about your reception position. I would lean toward including that as veterinary experience, especially because you mentioned the role involves you interacting with and learning from a vet. Some people argue that a receptionist role does not count towards vet hours, but I would argue that it can as long as you are considering time spent working under the direct supervision of a veterinarian (time spent consulting the vet on appointments/interactions with clients, asking questions related to cases, etc.).

These are schools that tend to favor high GPA applicants like yourself. They also unfortunately tend to be some of the most competitive schools for OOS applicants. Take that into consideration with your less-than-competitive vet hours.

I absolutely wouldn’t say that you didn’t set yourself up for success. It is almost always better to prioritize GPA over experience hours, simply because a low GPA is significantly harder to overcome compared to low hours of experience.

i was on the fence about counting those hours at veterinary experience, but i have truly learned a lot about the profession and about cases while working in reception. i will think about about whether and which schools i want to apply to. thank you for your advice!

 

[sealdog]

You can and should label reception hours as veterinary hours. Reception is the front line of the clinic and is just as important as any other position. If schools don't want it listed as vet hours, they'll change it to work hours.

i was hesitating because i've seen mixed advice on whether to count those hours as veterinary or not, but you're right that they'll just change it if they don't count it. that certainly helps my hours, even though they're still not competitive. thank you!