WAMC c/o 2028 - research heavy experience

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chelonia9113

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25M, MA resident, first time applicant, mostly non-traditional. Currently thinking about: WSU, Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, LSU, and Florida, but open to suggestions! Finances are a very important factor (part of why I don't want to apply to my IS, Tufts). Predominantly interested in pathology and wildlife/aquatics, but I also love SA work and could see myself doing that if my other goals don't work out.

Cumulative GPA: 3.95
science GPA: 3.94
last 45: 3.95

Any degrees achieved: BS Biology with minors in Chemistry and Mathematics

GRE results: not taking

Veterinary Experience:
- 700+ hours (ongoing) working as a tech assistant in a SA clinic. Since I work in MA, I get a lot of unrestricted practice with venipuncture, vaccinations/injections, cystocentesis, ear cytology evaluation, blood pressure, etc.
- 20 hours of shadowing SA surgeries at various clinics, including some specialty surgeries

Animal Experience:
- 40 hours as an animal care intern at an Audubon wildlife rescue/rehabilitation shelter. Mostly working with birds of prey and reptiles
- 20 hours volunteering at a local cat/dog shelter
- 100+ hours pet sitting/dog walking
- ~10 hours of active care for my pet reptile (assisting with shedding, hand feeding). Not sure if this is worth including

Research Experience:
This is where the bulk of my work in vet med is, and I have a ton of diverse/niche experiences. I worked for a veterinary pathologist in a close-knit diagnostic lab for 4 years, accumulating 3,000+ hours. I spent 3 years there in undergrad and then stayed an additional year after graduation to work full-time and continue on some of the projects I was invested in. Some highlights from my time there include:

- First author on a publication related to health-status and disease monitoring of several endangered sea turtle species, mostly baseline research of relatively unexamined health metrics, but the ideas is that it will eventually have applications toward rehabilitation in the future (1,000+ hours of sample collection, bench-top work, data analysis, lit review, and manuscript writing)
- Presented independent research on a novel neoplastic disease in a bivalve species at a major international conference (300+ hours of sample collection, cytological analysis, immunohistochemistry, and presentation prep)
- Tissue collection/histological sectioning of at least 7 bivalve/crustacean species. Gross physical examination of tissue identifying signs of disease (500+ hours)
- Molecular diagnostics of bivalves, sea turtles, and seawater. Sample collection, DNA extractions, PCRs, qPCRS, data analysis (500+ hours)
- Collected hemolymph (blood) from live bivalves, prepared cytology slides, analyzed slides for presence of abnormal cells (250+ hours)
- Maintained bivalve research populations, practicing good standards for aquatic husbandry, assisted with spawning events (400+ hours)
- Oversaw routine disease diagnostics for marine bivalves at every step of the process from animal intake to pathology reports, using molecular and histological techniques. Also guided younger students in certain steps of this process, while reporting directly to the vet pathologist (1,000+ hours)
- Shadowing/assisting in necropsies of ornamental and local aquatic species conducted by the vet pathologist. I absolutely LOVED these and got to see some really crazy anomalies (30+ hours)

I have some additional experience outside the diagnostic lab, where I utilized my connections to join in on some other projects. These were not completed under the supervision of a veterinarian:

- Spent 8 days living on a research vessel capturing offshore sea turtles for sample collection and tagging, following very strict protocols (84 hours)
- Processed sea turtle fecal samples, preparing float slides to observe for parasite eggs (50+ hours)
- Participant in several sea turtle necropsy sessions, dissecting and collecting samples from several species (20+ hours)

Awards/scholarships:
- A pre-vet scholarship award upon graduation from my undergrad university, 2021
- Outstanding Senior in Biology 2021
- Senior Thesis with Distinction 2021
- Honors Program graduate 2021
- Tri Beta Biological honors society
- Creative writing Fellowship award, participated in a master workshop with an author, 2018
- Two bronze and one silver Science Olympiad medals (state level) from high school

Extracurriculars:
- Photography club at undergrad (4 year member, president for 2 years). I do a lot of wildlife and nature photography, this is my favorite hobby! Lifelong birder thanks to my grandparents :)
- Track and Field for 4 years in high school, was a captain senior year
- A few other clubs from undergrad for a couple semesters, no other leadership positions
- In terms of human volunteering, I'm pretty lacking. I'm a regular blood donor (very easy to do, but makes me feel good since I'm O-). Other than that, I've spent a day at a soup kitchen, a day at a community farm, helped on some Boy Scout Eagle projects, and did some coaching for middle school Science Olympiad

Employment:
- Tutoring center at my undergrad, one year as a writing tutor (168 hours) and three years as a calculus 2/3 tutor (504 hours)
- Worked at a trophy store throughout high school over the summers and in between track seasons (1,000+ hours)


Mostly looking for input about my experiences. I know I'm lacking a bit in "traditional" clinical vet experiences, especially LA (planning to try to add some LA shadowing before I apply). My research feels really niche to me (bivalves and turtles), as I'm not necessarily dead set on continuing to work with those species. I don't want to focus primarily on research either, which is why I want to pursue a DVM rather than a PhD. I have a broader interest in pathology and working to protect wildlife populations from disease. Definitely looking for advice for writing my essay to convey my passion for vet med. I'm planning to write about some unique experiences I've had: witnessing two (unrelated) naturally-occurring mass mortality events in the species I was studying. These were very emotionally powerful, seeing hundreds/thousands of the animals I care about laying dead all around me. These made me realize that the work I do has the potential to impact entire populations of animals, not just the individual. These were very humbling and inspiring moments that made me seriously interested in pursuing vet med, so that I could continue to be involved in work like this. However, that wasn't enough to entirely convince me it was what I wanted, and it wasn't until I shifted gears to a SA clinic that I fully understood vet med was right for me, because I fell in love every aspect of it (especially when I get to help the vets with cytology!). The emotional fulfillment from treating animals and working with clients has been amazing. I love the highs of the job and I feel that I've handled the lows well. If pathology doesn't work out (I know how competitive it can be), I believe I could be perfectly happy doing SA for the rest of my life.

I appreciate all thoughts about my school list, how I should frame my essay/application, or anything else! I haven't seen many posts from people like me with a predominant focus on veterinary research, so I'd love to hear your thoughts about my chances and what else I should do from now until I apply to make myself a more rounded applicant.

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I have to laugh a little because of how stellar your application is - you have to know that you will have no trouble getting accepted to schools. 700 hours clinical work is decent, and everything else is far above what most applicants bring to the table.

If your LORs and essays are sound, I couldn’t imagine you not having a choice on where you will attend school. You’re a solid applicant.
 
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Solid stats all the way around. Make sure your essays and LOR's reflect your career goals. Have a couple of people that know you well and are good writers themselves proofread your essays.

Since finances are a priority, I'd focus on the most affordable OSS schools: NC State, WSU, Mizzou, Purdue etc.

Illinois, Wisconsin, Mich State, LSU are all over $300k. My personal advice, especially on the 1st round of applications, is to set your price tag limit and do NOT apply to schools that are over it. You don't need the stress of feeling guilty about not wanting at accept an expensive school. If the 1st round doesn't work out, then expand your list.

Research each school you are interested in and do your best to ensure that your application meets their average accepted profile. For example, if a school values diversity in experience you might want to shadow a large animal vet, equine vet, or ER. These experiences don't have to be hundreds of hours, you just need to demonstrate exposure and understanding.


Congrats on your accomplishments! Look forward to seeing where you land in vet school.
 
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I appreciate all thoughts about my school list, how I should frame my essay/application, or anything else! I haven't seen many posts from people like me with a predominant focus on veterinary research, so I'd love to hear your thoughts about my chances and what else I should do from now until I apply to make myself a more rounded applicant.
Similarly had a solid amount of research experience for this past cycle, although a bit more balanced than yours. I think 2k hours research and 1.5k clinical?

Most of my research and all of my clinical experience was in oncology, which I think definitely harmed me in the regular DVM pools (although helped me for PhD side of DVM/PhD admissions I feel). I think already having that aquatic research experience along with SA clinics looks more diverse than my own experiences, which is a definite plus. I feel the combo of the two is already pretty solid, but adding large animal experience certainly doesn't hurt.

I will point out that your GPA is high enough that you may be competitive for Davis. I don't know how the finances pan out for non-dual degree Davis. I am legally obligated to spout off about Davis to everyone though.
 
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