WAMC: 1st time OOS Applicant c/o 2025 (High GPA, Low Experience)

[rb0323]

Hi everyone! I'm a first time traditional applicant this cycle and do not have an IS school so I just wanted to get an idea of my chances OOS. I'm planning to apply to Tufts, Cornell, UPenn, VA/MD, Purdue, NC State, Auburn, UF, and CSU. My experience hours are a lot lower than I'd like due to COVID-19 but I'm planning to shadow an ambulatory equine/food animal vet & a small animal emergency clinic as soon as places start opening up around me. I'm also on the fence about retaking the GRE to improve my quantitative score so any advice is greatly appreciated!

Cumulative GPA: 3.85
Last 45 GPA: 3.91
Science GPA (Bio, Gen Chem, OChem, Physics): 3.78
GRE: 157V, 151Q, 4.5A

Veterinary Experience:
- 500 hours working as a veterinary assistant in an equine referral hospital
- 100 hours shadowing at a small animal practice
- 20 hours shadowing an ambulatory equine sports med specialist
- 15 hours volunteering at a spay/neuter clinic

Animal Experience:
- 6000 hours as a competitive equestrian
- 280 hours as a working student for a show jumping facility
- 60 hours volunteering at a shelter
- 260 hours training my shelties to do agility (not sure if this counts since they're my pets?)

Research:
- 90 hours in a ruminant nutrition lab constructing wearable motion sensors, collecting rumen samples from cannulated sheep, entering data, and pooling/grinding feed samples for nutritional analysis

Extracurriculars & Community Service:
- Pre-Vet club member
- Kappa Delta sorority member & appointed officer
- Misc community service events (Relay for Life, Wounded Warrior Project, Greeks Giving Back, The Big Event, blood drives, etc.)

Honors & Awards:
- ASAS Undergraduate Scholar Recognition Award
- Emily Jane Hilscher Memorial Scholarship
- John Alton "Tip" Spivey Scholarship
- Dr. Arden N. Huff Scholarship
- Distinguished University Scholarship
- Maroon & Orange Scholarship
- Dean's List for every semester

Other Work Experience:
- 288 hours as a waitress
- 100 hours as a barista
- 480 hours as a retail sales rep

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[itsrocky]

I think that, despite the pandemic barring you from getting more hours, you still have a nice diverse array of experience! Your stats are also superb. You did pick a few rather competitive schools—namely N.C., Cornell and CSU. Not that I don’t think you couldn’t hack it but if it were me I might consider swapping one or two out for a school that accepts a large number of OOS like Ohio or Missouri. Also these options allow in state tuition! So it would be a win win, yanno?

 

[rb0323]

I think that, despite the pandemic barring you from getting more hours, you still have a nice diverse array of experience! Your stats are also superb. You did pick a few rather competitive schools—namely N.C., Cornell and CSU. Not that I don’t think you couldn’t hack it but if it were me I might consider swapping one or two out for a school that accepts a large number of OOS like Ohio or Missouri. Also these options allow in state tuition! So it would be a win win, yanno?

That's a good point, I'll consider looking into OSU and Missouri. Thanks so much for the advice!!