BennyRabbit1
Ace Prevet
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2020
- Messages
- 11
- Reaction score
- 8
Hello! I am a 21F NY resident, 1st time applicant. I just want to see where I currently stand in the playing field and ask some questions. I think I will ultimately become a small animal vet, but any vet schools with strong wildlife opportunities are a huge plus for me.
Applying to: Cornell (IS), Colorado State, Illinois, Michigan State, Missouri, Tufts, and UW Madison
(GPAs updated 8/16/20 after summer classes and only my best educated estimates because I'm too lazy to do it properly XP)
Cumulative GPA: ~3.60
science GPA: ~3.48
last 45: ~3.63
Any degrees achieved: BS Animal Science, Music minor expected Spring ‘21
GRE results: Q/V/W- 162Q 160V 4.0 writing
Veterinary Experience:
- 420 hrs vet assistant at small animal hospital
-54 hrs shadowing at same hospital & one other hospital (both small animal)
- 20 hrs Tufts AVM
Animal Experience:
- 540 hrs with raptors at college raptor center
-304 hrs small animal shelter during high school
- 20 hrs for animal science classes
Research Experience: 1000 hrs studying nutritional biochemistry and assisting with trials with cows, calves, and sheep
Awards/scholarships:
- Award for research funding
- Performer certifications for 2 weapons
- Endowed scholarship from my college
- An outside scholarship
- National AP Scholar
- Piano exam awards in high school
Extracurriculars:
- President of college stage combat troupe, proficient in multiple weapons (emphasizing leadership and teaching experience in my app)
- Several things related to piano, such as teaching, pit orchestra, and Tri-M Music Honor Society in high school
- President of Animal Welfare Club in high school
- Children’s leader of church, volunteered throughout the academic year and in summer camps in high school
- Columbia Science Honors Program in high school
- Hobbyist music composer
Employment:
- General worker at auto parts warehouse
- Curatorial assistant in a vertebrates museum
- Barista at on-campus cafe
Letter of Recommendations:
- Head vet at clinic I worked at
- Professor who is also my research advisor
- Professor who is also advisor of raptor center
- Stage combat mentor
Summarize any concerns you have
- Should I bother with the GRE? Of the vet schools currently on my list, only UW Madison is requiring the GRE. I was going to take it this summer but not gonna lie I’ve lost a lot of motivation to study for the GRE as soon as I realized that the vast majority of vet schools aren’t even going to look at it (obviously I won’t apply to Madison if I don’t take it)
- Do you think it would be wise of me to ask my stage combat mentor for an eLOR? I see no downsides to this (and may even bring an interesting twist to my app), but I just want an outside perspective of whether I should do it or not.
- I’ve done many extracurriculars for piano. Should I split them up or just list them all under 1 experience? (same question for my piano exam awards)
- How does my app look in general? Are there any other schools I should consider applying to based on my strengths and interests? I believe my weakest points are my sub-par GPA and my lack of diversity in vet hours. I don’t think I can do much about the vet hours (though the clinic I’ve worked at before is considering hiring me if they need the hands come June, not that that will diversify my vet hours or anything) but I do plan to study super hard for orgo over the summer.
Sorry for rambling and thank you in advance!
Applying to: Cornell (IS), Colorado State, Illinois, Michigan State, Missouri, Tufts, and UW Madison
(GPAs updated 8/16/20 after summer classes and only my best educated estimates because I'm too lazy to do it properly XP)
Cumulative GPA: ~3.60
science GPA: ~3.48
last 45: ~3.63
Any degrees achieved: BS Animal Science, Music minor expected Spring ‘21
GRE results: Q/V/W- 162Q 160V 4.0 writing
Veterinary Experience:
- 420 hrs vet assistant at small animal hospital
-54 hrs shadowing at same hospital & one other hospital (both small animal)
- 20 hrs Tufts AVM
Animal Experience:
- 540 hrs with raptors at college raptor center
-304 hrs small animal shelter during high school
- 20 hrs for animal science classes
Research Experience: 1000 hrs studying nutritional biochemistry and assisting with trials with cows, calves, and sheep
Awards/scholarships:
- Award for research funding
- Performer certifications for 2 weapons
- Endowed scholarship from my college
- An outside scholarship
- National AP Scholar
- Piano exam awards in high school
Extracurriculars:
- President of college stage combat troupe, proficient in multiple weapons (emphasizing leadership and teaching experience in my app)
- Several things related to piano, such as teaching, pit orchestra, and Tri-M Music Honor Society in high school
- President of Animal Welfare Club in high school
- Children’s leader of church, volunteered throughout the academic year and in summer camps in high school
- Columbia Science Honors Program in high school
- Hobbyist music composer
Employment:
- General worker at auto parts warehouse
- Curatorial assistant in a vertebrates museum
- Barista at on-campus cafe
Letter of Recommendations:
- Head vet at clinic I worked at
- Professor who is also my research advisor
- Professor who is also advisor of raptor center
- Stage combat mentor
Summarize any concerns you have
- Should I bother with the GRE? Of the vet schools currently on my list, only UW Madison is requiring the GRE. I was going to take it this summer but not gonna lie I’ve lost a lot of motivation to study for the GRE as soon as I realized that the vast majority of vet schools aren’t even going to look at it (obviously I won’t apply to Madison if I don’t take it)
- Do you think it would be wise of me to ask my stage combat mentor for an eLOR? I see no downsides to this (and may even bring an interesting twist to my app), but I just want an outside perspective of whether I should do it or not.
- I’ve done many extracurriculars for piano. Should I split them up or just list them all under 1 experience? (same question for my piano exam awards)
- How does my app look in general? Are there any other schools I should consider applying to based on my strengths and interests? I believe my weakest points are my sub-par GPA and my lack of diversity in vet hours. I don’t think I can do much about the vet hours (though the clinic I’ve worked at before is considering hiring me if they need the hands come June, not that that will diversify my vet hours or anything) but I do plan to study super hard for orgo over the summer.
Sorry for rambling and thank you in advance!
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