WAMC? 2nd time applicant, already received two rejections. Thinking about the next cycle.

[andsotheplants]

I'm a second-time applicant. First cycle I applied to Missouri, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. This cycle, I applied to:
Washington
Colorado
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Illinois (rejected)
Missouri (IS)
Kansas (rejected)**
Michigan
Penn
Arizona
Virginia-Maryland

**I realized after submitting my app that I hadn't saved my essays for Kansas. So this was expected, I was told no changes could be made following submission even if it was before the VMCAS deadline.

Academic stats:

cGPA: 3.167 (VMCAS)​

3.267 (w/ grade replacement)​

science GPA: 3.259 (VMCAS)​

3.346 (w/ grade replacement)​

GRE: 165V, 155Q, 5.5W​

If I have to apply again, I could potentially "forgive" my freshman grades. This would leave me a cGPA of 3.33 & a sGPA of 3.35.

Experience:

Veterinary: ​

~3000 small animal (assistant/tech in both general & ECC)​

150 large/farm/avian (one of our DVMs sees some farm every month or so)​

40 exotic/zoo (zoo vet shadowing)​

Non-veterinary/handling: ​

400 small animal (dog-daycare attendant)​

~3000 equine (riding, both competitive and pleasure)​

500 exotic/zoo (zookeeping internship at AZA accredited zoo)​

Research: ​

900, veterinary & public health related​

​

My LoR were from two DVMs that I've worked with as a tech and a DVM/supervisor in the research lab I'm in.
I wrote my essay about how/when I fell in love with One Health & my goal to continue education after a DVM through a PhD or pursuing board-certification.

I know my academics are my weakest spot. I'm currently in grad school, expected to graduate in the spring. During my undergrad, I took an extra semester to do a dual-degree program. So by matriculation I would have a B.S., B.A., and an MPH.

What schools should I apply to if I don't get in this round? I obviously can't change the past, so I'm not sure how I can even go about becoming a more competitive applicant since my pitfall isn't lack of experience. I'm increasingly anxious that I'll be rejected from everything again.

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[battie]

How have you been doing in your masters program?

 

[supershorty]

What’s your residency state?

 

[andsotheplants]

What’s your residency state?

Missouri!

 

[andsotheplants]

How have you been doing in your masters program?

Generally well! I have a 3.59 graduate GPA.

 

[battie]

Generally well! I have a 3.59 graduate GPA.

If you have to reapply next year, I would take off Penn, Washington, and Colorado. Penn is more grades focused, Washington ranks you poorly, and Colorado is very competitive for your states just purely on how many OOS students apply for 70 seats. Keep Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, and Arizona. The others I don't know enough to advise on tbh.

You really need to focus on schools that don't consider grades as a main component of their evaluation. Bonus points if the school cares about your graduate degree.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

How much networking have you done prior to submitting your application? See if you can connect with admissions staff who can connect you to student ambassadors or leaders at their schools so they can let you know about any upcoming recruitment events or socials that may be friendly to prospective applicants. Here's a link to Florida's as an example.

The goal is to see if there are students with similar trajectories with their grades as you; the more confidence you have that these students are not only accepted but also well supported. Each school should have an example of a student that overcame a bad undergraduate start, so the question is how similar you are to what they did to prepare for vet school.