WAMC 2nd time applicant, average to low GPA

[peanutbutterchip]

27F, TX, applied to KSU, UMN and Mizzou last cycle. Waitlisted at KSU and interviewed & rejected at UMN and rejected without interview at Mizzou. KSU said to work on community service and research hours at my app review, so I've tried to a little bit but have had a few lifestyle changes and had to pick up a second job.
Cumulative GPA: 3.55(up from 3.43 last cycle)
science GPA: 3.65(up from 3.32 last cycle)
last 45: 3.93(up from 3.75 last cycle)

Any degrees achieved: I will graduate with my BS in bio this coming spring

GRE results: didnt take

Veterinary Experience:
- 5k+ hours as an unlicensed tech at a SA GP, last 1.5k hours were as the lead "tech". Worked here full time throughout my undergrad experience
- 8 hours shadowing an equine vet
- 20-30 hours shadowing SA internal medicine specialist who does ultrasounds in my area
- 30-40 hours shadowing board certified surgeon

Animal Experience:
- 300 hours pet sitting(dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds)
- 20 hours at an animal shelter (had to stop due to covid)
- 50 hours caring for reptiles in a research lab at my school
-160 hours caring for 30+ horses at a therapy riding center

Research Experience:
-65-70 hours working with an ecology professor and his grad students on a few projects
Awards/scholarships:
- Presidents list last two semesters
- Academic scholarship for my academic performance in community college


Extracurriculars:
- 120+ hours from my book club
- 150+ hours donating crochet pieces to homeless shelters, etc
- key club from highschool, around 50 hours
- Choir and acapella in highschool, about 1k hours
- Various CE courses through my job, about 5 hours
Employment:
- 10k hours as a server. I worked at several places before going back to school and always ended up in some sort of leadership position(training, lead server, etc)
- 1k hours in retail
- 2k hours as a shift lead at a fast food restaurant

I'm a little worried about my low hours in some of my experiences. I was supposed to really work on getting more experience this summer, but I had to pick up the second job. It's been hard working full time, going to school full time and also finding time for varied experiences. Also not sure if I should even bother adding the 8 hours at the equine clinic or if it looks bad that I only shadowed them one working day? Thinking of applying to A&M and KSU for sure and I'm open to other suggestions that I may be competitive at! Thank you!

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[peanutbutterchip]

Forgot to mention that my GPA is on the lower end because I got all C's the semester my dad died and when I went back to school a few years later, I had a hard time transitioning to working while going to school. These things are covered in my explanation statement! Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What feedback did the schools that interviewed you provide to help you with a reapplication?

 

[supershorty]

27F, TX, applied to KSU, UMN and Mizzou last cycle. Waitlisted at KSU and interviewed & rejected at UMN and rejected without interview at Mizzou. KSU said to work on community service and research hours at my app review, so I've tried to a little bit but have had a few lifestyle changes and had to pick up a second job.
Cumulative GPA: 3.55(up from 3.43 last cycle)
science GPA: 3.65(up from 3.32 last cycle)
last 45: 3.93(up from 3.75 last cycle)

Any degrees achieved: I will graduate with my BS in bio this coming spring

GRE results: didnt take

Veterinary Experience:
- 5k+ hours as an unlicensed tech at a SA GP, last 1.5k hours were as the lead "tech". Worked here full time throughout my undergrad experience
- 8 hours shadowing an equine vet
- 20-30 hours shadowing SA internal medicine specialist who does ultrasounds in my area
- 30-40 hours shadowing board certified surgeon

Animal Experience:
- 300 hours pet sitting(dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds)
- 20 hours at an animal shelter (had to stop due to covid)
- 50 hours caring for reptiles in a research lab at my school
-160 hours caring for 30+ horses at a therapy riding center

Research Experience:
-65-70 hours working with an ecology professor and his grad students on a few projects
Awards/scholarships:
- Presidents list last two semesters
- Academic scholarship for my academic performance in community college


Extracurriculars:
- 120+ hours from my book club
- 150+ hours donating crochet pieces to homeless shelters, etc
- key club from highschool, around 50 hours
- Choir and acapella in highschool, about 1k hours
- Various CE courses through my job, about 5 hours
Employment:
- 10k hours as a server. I worked at several places before going back to school and always ended up in some sort of leadership position(training, lead server, etc)
- 1k hours in retail
- 2k hours as a shift lead at a fast food restaurant

I'm a little worried about my low hours in some of my experiences. I was supposed to really work on getting more experience this summer, but I had to pick up the second job. It's been hard working full time, going to school full time and also finding time for varied experiences. Also not sure if I should even bother adding the 8 hours at the equine clinic or if it looks bad that I only shadowed them one working day? Thinking of applying to A&M and KSU for sure and I'm open to other suggestions that I may be competitive at! Thank you!

Your GPAs look solid, and props to you on that improvement from your last cycle because those are some big jumps. I would for sure prioritize schools that look at last 45 given how strong yours is - that would include UMN, KSU, ISU, and I'd throw Michigan State on there too (though their process is different). You should also include TAMU since it's your in-state.

I would include the equine hours, though scant, given that it's your only large animal experience. That lack of diversity in hours could be detrimental and I encourage you to get more large animal (or other aspects of vet med outside of small animal practice), but I know that can be really difficult if you're working full-time. Even if you're only able to shadow for 1 day a week, that would be better than nothing.

 

[peanutbutterchip]

What feedback did the schools that interviewed you provide to help you with a reapplication?

UMN said my grades and extracurricular experiences were lacking and KSU said my app looked great but I was missing community service and research hours and I hadn't taken many upper level science courses yet when I applied so they wanted to see how I would do in those. I did get A's in all of the ones I've taken since last cycle, though.
For community service, I've been crocheting for a while so I found a non-profit to donate to that makes blankets for homeless shelters in the area out of 7 by 9 inch crochet pieces! It's really fun for me and I get to use up my leftover yarn so it's a win win. So that's a new experience and I added research hours too, albeit a small amount but it's been hard to find people who are willing to take you on for a few hours once a week.

 

[peanutbutterchip]

Your GPAs look solid, and props to you on that improvement from your last cycle because those are some big jumps. I would for sure prioritize schools that look at last 45 given how strong yours is - that would include UMN, KSU, ISU, and I'd throw Michigan State on there too (though their process is different). You should also include TAMU since it's your in-state.

I would include the equine hours, though scant, given that it's your only large animal experience. That lack of diversity in hours could be detrimental and I encourage you to get more large animal (or other aspects of vet med outside of small animal practice), but I know that can be really difficult if you're working full-time. Even if you're only able to shadow for 1 day a week, that would be better than nothing.

Thank you, I worked really hard to get all A's the past few semesters.
I will definitely add those schools to the list and try to get more large animal experience.