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Hi everyone, I am 29 yo male, non-traditional, international student. Being a vet is my dream since I was a kid. However, I did not really have a chance to pursue vet school in my country. I am currently a post-bacc student with a master's degree earned. I apply to several vet schools this cycle and 3 of them are my dream schools. I just want to know what is my chance to get into these schools, especially WSU, OSU, and tufts.
Schools applied this cycle: WSU, OSU, CSU, Midwestern (accepted), LMU (interviewed), Western (Interviewed), LIU (Interview invitation), tufts
Washington state, Oregon state, and tufts are the 3 schools I want to go in, especially WSU. Except for Tufts, I know that WSU and OSU are extremely hard to get into due to limited seats for OOS. Unfortunately, I have only an OOS chance as an international student.
Degree earned
1. bachelor of science in entomology (2015)
2. master of natural science (2018)
3. current post-bacc non-degree program
My stats:
note: since I finish my undergrad in my country, VMCAS has separated my grades between my hometown and in the US.
undergrad GPA from my country: 2.61/ undergrad GPA in the US: 4.0
cGPA: 3.96 (non include grade from my hometown according to VMCAS)
graduate science: 3.91
overall science: 3.95
last 45: 4.0
test:
1. TOEFL: overall: 97 L/R/S/W: 25/25/23/24
2. GRE: N/A, I took it when I applied to the master's program, but it was a long time ago.
3. CASPER: 1st quadrille
Experience
--vet experience-- total 520 hr
1. 120 hr at a local small animal clinic
2. 155 hr at another local small animal clinic
3. 90 hr at an ER clinic
4. 170 hr at National Primate Research Center
--animal experience-- total about 5800 hrs
1. 3 zoo internships: one from my hometown, 2 in the US: a total of about 1300 hrs
2. animal technician at National Primate Research Center: about 3200 hours
3. seasonal zoo keeper: about 1000 hrs
--research--
1. animal behavior study for my master project: about 2000 hr
2. research assistant for 1-year reptile memory study: about 300 hr
--non-animal related employment and activities--
1. teaching assistant during the master's program
2. one-year military service in my country
--extracurricular activities--
1. leader of K-12 educational summer camp
2. member of the student union
3. leader of the insect exhibition
4. leader of the student association of the entomology department
5. volunteer at the department at the zoo that I used to intern there
--honors--
1. Honourable Mention -Red Dot Award Design Concept 2015
2. tour guide certificate
--eLORs-- 4 letters total/ 5 letters for Tufts (another professor that I have right now in the post-bacc program)
1. my professor when I was in a master's program
2. senior veterinarian from the research center that I shadowed with (retired this year).
3. 2 veterinarians from the local clinics (one from each) that I shadowed (one who was a committee member before).
Concerns:
Since I just decided to pursue DVM one and a half years ago, I did not have a lot of experience compared to most people. During the middle of COVID, I did not have a chance to shadow for more hours. The working restrictions for foreigners in the US also limit my chance to shadow or work. The hours listed above are the hours that I can earn the most in the past 2 years. And, I lack LA experience. I don't know if that will be my weakness when the committee reviews my application. Second, I had pretty bad grades when I was an undergrad. When balancing out the grades in the US, the cGPA is about 2.9, and Science GPA is probably 2.8 ish. I talked to a veterinarian who was one of the committee members about my concern and she told me that since my undergrad grades were earned a long time ago, the committee won't consider them (most of the classes that I took in my country were about 8~11 years ago) and only focus on the classes that I have taken in the US. Since my grades are separated from VMCAS, I don't know if the committee only looks at the overall grades on VMCAS or if they will balance out all the grades I have received throughout my academic career. I know my situation is kind of weird because I do not see a lot of international students come to ask questions on the SDN.
Thank you for reading my long story. Any comments or advice will be appreciated.
Schools applied this cycle: WSU, OSU, CSU, Midwestern (accepted), LMU (interviewed), Western (Interviewed), LIU (Interview invitation), tufts
Washington state, Oregon state, and tufts are the 3 schools I want to go in, especially WSU. Except for Tufts, I know that WSU and OSU are extremely hard to get into due to limited seats for OOS. Unfortunately, I have only an OOS chance as an international student.
Degree earned
1. bachelor of science in entomology (2015)
2. master of natural science (2018)
3. current post-bacc non-degree program
My stats:
note: since I finish my undergrad in my country, VMCAS has separated my grades between my hometown and in the US.
undergrad GPA from my country: 2.61/ undergrad GPA in the US: 4.0
cGPA: 3.96 (non include grade from my hometown according to VMCAS)
graduate science: 3.91
overall science: 3.95
last 45: 4.0
test:
1. TOEFL: overall: 97 L/R/S/W: 25/25/23/24
2. GRE: N/A, I took it when I applied to the master's program, but it was a long time ago.
3. CASPER: 1st quadrille
Experience
--vet experience-- total 520 hr
1. 120 hr at a local small animal clinic
2. 155 hr at another local small animal clinic
3. 90 hr at an ER clinic
4. 170 hr at National Primate Research Center
--animal experience-- total about 5800 hrs
1. 3 zoo internships: one from my hometown, 2 in the US: a total of about 1300 hrs
2. animal technician at National Primate Research Center: about 3200 hours
3. seasonal zoo keeper: about 1000 hrs
--research--
1. animal behavior study for my master project: about 2000 hr
2. research assistant for 1-year reptile memory study: about 300 hr
--non-animal related employment and activities--
1. teaching assistant during the master's program
2. one-year military service in my country
--extracurricular activities--
1. leader of K-12 educational summer camp
2. member of the student union
3. leader of the insect exhibition
4. leader of the student association of the entomology department
5. volunteer at the department at the zoo that I used to intern there
--honors--
1. Honourable Mention -Red Dot Award Design Concept 2015
2. tour guide certificate
--eLORs-- 4 letters total/ 5 letters for Tufts (another professor that I have right now in the post-bacc program)
1. my professor when I was in a master's program
2. senior veterinarian from the research center that I shadowed with (retired this year).
3. 2 veterinarians from the local clinics (one from each) that I shadowed (one who was a committee member before).
Concerns:
Since I just decided to pursue DVM one and a half years ago, I did not have a lot of experience compared to most people. During the middle of COVID, I did not have a chance to shadow for more hours. The working restrictions for foreigners in the US also limit my chance to shadow or work. The hours listed above are the hours that I can earn the most in the past 2 years. And, I lack LA experience. I don't know if that will be my weakness when the committee reviews my application. Second, I had pretty bad grades when I was an undergrad. When balancing out the grades in the US, the cGPA is about 2.9, and Science GPA is probably 2.8 ish. I talked to a veterinarian who was one of the committee members about my concern and she told me that since my undergrad grades were earned a long time ago, the committee won't consider them (most of the classes that I took in my country were about 8~11 years ago) and only focus on the classes that I have taken in the US. Since my grades are separated from VMCAS, I don't know if the committee only looks at the overall grades on VMCAS or if they will balance out all the grades I have received throughout my academic career. I know my situation is kind of weird because I do not see a lot of international students come to ask questions on the SDN.
Thank you for reading my long story. Any comments or advice will be appreciated.
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