WAMC c/o 2027

[ch3yruh]

Hi!! Long time lurker but this is my first time posting on here. This will be my 3rd cycle applying,1st cycle applied in 2019 and 2nd cycle applied 2021. Graduated undergrad with Animal Biology major and currently in an Laboratory Animal Science Masters (graduating spring 2022). Also, California resident.

Stats:
GPA/GRE:

• VMCAS
  • Graduate GPA: 3.88
  • Overall Cumulative GPA: 2.81
  • Overall Science GPA: 2.68
  • Last 45 right now: 3.56
  • Last 45 (assuming I get all A’s in the last semester of my masters): 3.72
• GRE scores:
  • Best scores are 153 V/152 Q/ 4.0 W

Experiences:

• 2360 hours in Animal Experience – internship with goats, internship at wildlife center (mainly birds), animal shelter volunteering(dogs/cats), and a veterinary medicine immersion camp in HS (dogs, cats, cattle)
• 3638 hours in Extracurriculars – various HS sports and clubs, ROTC events in college, ROTC leadership positions, anime club officer in college
• 1713 hours in Employment (non animal related) - Army Reserves (part time), dishwasher during college, retail store
• 360 hours Research – class research, undergraduate research in lab with bees/flowers/pollination, and then conducted my own research for senior practicum with cows
• 3855 hours in Veterinary experience – most of that comes from working in a small animal vet clinic (dog, cats, rabbits), but I have also some from working with laboratory animals in my masters program (rabbits, mice/rats, NHPs), shadowing at a clinic on a military base and various other clinics before getting an actual job(dogs/cats), and volunteering with cow research and helping veterinarian insert urinary catheters there.

Achievements:

• Various Army awards and achievements
• Army reserve officers training corp 3 year scholarship
• Undergraduate research award
• Then various other HS sports related awards

LORs

• 2 from veterinarians that I have worked with for the past 2 years at my job
• 1 from academic director of masters program
• 1 from army reserves supervisor
• 1 from research mentor

Personal statement

• I talked about my journey to wanting to become a veterinarian, through my experiences, especially in research throughout undergrad and through the masters program that Im in.

For 2nd cycle, I applied to UC Davis, western, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, midwestern, Arizona, LMU, tufts, Cornell, Minnesota, and Illinois. I wanted to focus on schools that didn’t require GRE (since I thought mine were not that competitive) and schools that took a more holistic approach and that didn’t have a GPA requirement.

Do you guys have ideas of how I should apply next round? I am thinking that I should retake the GRE to help that offset my grades and give me better options with other schools that do require the GRE. But I think it would be wise to look at schools that also focus on last 45 credits too. And with GPA in general, I feel like it wouldn’t do much if I start retaking some classes that I did poor in like Calculus and physics? (I already retook gen chem/ochem and biology).
Overall, I would like your recommendations on what are smart schools to apply to next cycle with all this in mind. I would consider international schools (like SGU), but I would have to keep in mind my Army responsibilities as I would have to drill one weekend a month.

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[BlackCatsRuleTheWorld]

You have great experiences and it's awesome you're acing your master's program! I think you will have a better shot if you tailor your list better.

For example, Oregon and Washington have very small amounts of OOS seats, and Washington is on a "tiered" system where you might be put in a low tier because of your GPA. Colorado got like 4000 applicants this cycle. Tufts and Cornell are more GPA focused.

Midwestern, Arizona, LMU, Minnesota and Illinois seem like good places to reapply. Though Illinois did have a high GPA cutoff for phase 1 this year.

Some other schools to consider: Iowa (if your Iowa science GPA is 3.0 or above), Mississippi State. VA-MD and Ohio State can be more experience focused but they get a lot of applicants. Look at Michigan state's website to see if your GPA for their categories would be 3.0 or above. Maybe Oklahoma State.

This is a great website to use to compare schools Veterinary Medical School Admission Requirements (VMSAR).

I would consider international schools (like SGU), but I would have to keep in mind my Army responsibilities as I would have to drill one weekend a month.

I don't think it would be feasible to do this at an international school.

I would also encourage you to do file reviews where available to see how you can further improve your application. Make sure your essays are very strong. I hope this is helpful and good luck!

 

[ch3yruh]

You have great experiences and it's awesome you're acing your master's program! I think you will have a better shot if you tailor your list better.

For example, Oregon and Washington have very small amounts of OOS seats, and Washington is on a "tiered" system where you might be put in a low tier because of your GPA. Colorado got like 4000 applicants this cycle. Tufts and Cornell are more GPA focused.

Midwestern, Arizona, LMU, Minnesota and Illinois seem like good places to reapply. Though Illinois did have a high GPA cutoff for phase 1 this year.

Some other schools to consider: Iowa (if your Iowa science GPA is 3.0 or above), Mississippi State. VA-MD and Ohio State can be more experience focused but they get a lot of applicants. Look at Michigan state's website to see if your GPA for their categories would be 3.0 or above. Maybe Oklahoma State.

This is a great website to use to compare schools Veterinary Medical School Admission Requirements (VMSAR).


I don't think it would be feasible to do this at an international school.

I would also encourage you to do file reviews where available to see how you can further improve your application. Make sure your essays are very strong. I hope this is helpful and good luck!

Thank you for the feedback!!
Yeah my biggest struggle is actually getting a cGPA of 3.0 to be able to apply to those other schools that focus more on experience and such. I think I might be able to if I take or retake some classes during the summer before the apps are due if my masters doesnt cover it after this last semester. Then otherwise some of those schools also require 3.0 for science/prereqs as well.

I did some more research on schools using that website, and i do think that reapplying to Arizona, LMU, and Minnesota would be good, and even WesternU. The others, not so much with my prereq GPA. The others that you mentioned (like Iowa & mississippi, and even kansas) require a communications/public speaking class and I didnt take that during undergrad and its kind of hard for me to do that now with work and everything. I *might* be able to try to get it substituted for another class I took but its a long shot.

I did see other schools that I may have a chance in like Auburn, Tuskegee, UPenn, and then VM. I would just need to take a medical terminology class (which is much easier for me to do online during the summer). And I was also going to retake biochem online because I have a C- in that and that was preventing me from applying to the schools that require a C or better for prereqs.

Oklahoma and Texas A&M would be great for me too since they have lower requirements but they also require animal nutrition, which I didnt take either. Im trying to see how I can work around that one without having to take a bunch of classes.

 

[BlackCatsRuleTheWorld]

The others that you mentioned (like Iowa & mississippi, and even kansas) require a communications/public speaking class and I didnt take that during undergrad and its kind of hard for me to do that now with work and everything.

I believe for Iowa if you have a bachelor's degree that you don't need a communications class

Oklahoma and Texas A&M would be great for me too since they have lower requirements but they also require animal nutrition, which I didnt take either. Im trying to see how I can work around that one without having to take a bunch of classes.

A&M has a REALLY small amount of OOS seats so that might be one to rethink, but the other schools you mentioned seem like good options!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

First, thank you for the service you provide to the nation.

I admit I don't know about veterinary admissions when it comes to status as a military reserve and state residency. For medical, some schools really give consideration to military/veteran/reserve experience, so I don't know if vet schools will do the same. There are veterinarians in the military (I know one) so you may be able to work within that network to see who you can talk to (you did work on-base). I know you applied previously so you probably already know the answer, but I wanted to make sure I mentioned this. Any feedback from any of them?

 

[ch3yruh]

I believe for Iowa if you have a bachelor's degree that you don't need a communications class


A&M has a REALLY small amount of OOS seats so that might be one to rethink, but the other schools you mentioned seem like good options!

Oh yeah i just read that about iowa, and mississippi does that too! Ill have to ask about kansas because they dont say otherwise. And youre right about TA&M...
With Iowa though it says science GPA needs to be 3.0 for out of state so im not sure if ill be there yet by the time of apps..

 

[ch3yruh]

First, thank you for the service you provide to the nation.

I admit I don't know about veterinary admissions when it comes to status as a military reserve and state residency. For medical, some schools really give consideration to military/veteran/reserve experience, so I don't know if vet schools will do the same. There are veterinarians in the military (I know one) so you may be able to work within that network to see who you can talk to (you did work on-base). I know you applied previously so you probably already know the answer, but I wanted to make sure I mentioned this. Any feedback from any of them?

Thank you for your support!
Id have to ask the schools about it individually. Honestly, I haven't been inquiring about them because I have been accepted to any yet, which is my main focus rn. I know about the GI Bill but Im not sure how much the reserves one would cover. But I will def have to look into the schools im applying to this coming cycle to see if they have anything for military status, tuition, gi bill, etc

 

[soniavarghese98]

Hi OP,

I'm kind of in the same boat as you and definitely relate with the low cGPA (Under 3.0). I completed my undergrad in Toronto, Canada, graduated with a BS in biology and recently moved to the US to work and pursue a master's degree in health administration (MHA). I should mention that I am not an international applicant (US resident). A couple of months ago, I realized that I want to pursue my passion to be a vet and decided to take a break from my MHA degree to focus on completing the pre-requisites. However, I'm super behind on shadowing and accumulating hours for experience. Your post helped me feel a lot better about my situation and gave me better perspective on things

 

[plsletmein2026]

You may also want to apply to Wisconsin! I don't believe they have a GPA cut off.

 

[RightMeow!]

Thank you for your support!
Id have to ask the schools about it individually. Honestly, I haven't been inquiring about them because I have been accepted to any yet, which is my main focus rn. I know about the GI Bill but Im not sure how much the reserves one would cover. But I will def have to look into the schools im applying to this coming cycle to see if they have anything for military status, tuition, gi bill, etc

Completely missed this thread previously, sorry I'm a bit late.

I'm a former Air Force reservist and just wanted to share a quick thought or two. In terms of drill, you may be able to work out an alternative schedule while still fulfilling the requirements for a "good" year. Instead of drilling monthly, my squadron commander allowed us to come in quarterly or biannually as long as you covered for future drills. (E.g. Drill for a week or two in December during winter break, the extra drill periods covered drill weekends until May, then you would drill in the summer, etc.) This obviously depends on the duration of your proficiency requirements for skills, but there may be some wiggle room. I'd run it up the chain of command if you do end up international.

I can't say if military status has any influence on admittance, but I'd have to image that it's a relatively unique experience among applicants and that holistic schools looking for a diverse student body strongly consider it. Even if you have a civilian style job, you are still exposed to leadership and have developed qualities that make you fairly different.

As for the financial aspect, it is very much dependent on you as an individual. The Montgomery GI bill is different than the post-9/11, your benefit percentage is based on your total number of active duty days, if you had active duty orders for more than 90 consecutive days, etc. It's best to talk to your base finance office or the campus VA people to figure out your specific case.

P.S, I think if you apply smartly, you'll have an excellent chance of getting in. You're killing it in your master's program.