WAMC: decent last 45 GPA, lower science GPA, low-ish vet hours

[ilovelotls]

First application cycle, non-traditional student- 26yo mom, BS in Zoology

Cumulative GPA: 3.59
Science GPA: 3.23
Last 45: 3.78

Veterinary Experience:

• 500 hours of being a remote/telemed vet assistant (not sure if this counts?- triaged patients over the phone, etc)
• 500 hours of assisting in the ICU during my kennel tech job
• 20 hours of assisting large animal vet on ride alongs

Animal Experience:

• 100 hours as a Wag! dog walker and pet sitter
• 3200 hours as a kennel tech at a SA animal hospital
• 360 hours as a wildlife rehab intern (variety of wildlife)
• 200 hours as a kitten foster
• 20 hours with aquatics from an aquarium job shadow

Research Experience:

• 500 hours (volunteer) research assistant for neurotoxin effects on zebrafish behavior

Awards/scholarships:

• Won a $500 scholarship to help with expenses associated with my unpaid internship for “demonstrating the capacity to accomplish professional goals and initiative to seek further experiential opportunities”

Extracurriculars:

• Freelance photographer
• Mom lol
• Didn’t really participate in any clubs in undergrad
• STARS club in high school (volunteered at soup kitchens)

Employment:

• Remote vet assistant/CSR for 6 months; 2021-22
• Wildlife rehab intern for a summer; 2019
• Kennel tech for 2 years; 2016-18
• Tanning salon sales associate for 1.5 years; 2015-16; 2018
• Salon receptionist for 6 months; 2014

Been a stay at home mom since my last job

I’m only applying to Michigan State this cycle as my in state (need to be close to family to help with my daughter while i'm in school) WAMC?

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[pinkpuppy9]

Your stats are fairly similar to mine when I applied. A lot of time has passed since I’ve applied, so things could have changed with MSU, but I was rejected twice and I believe had more experience hours than you did and they were more ‘traditional’ experience hours.

For the tele-med job…that’s a great question. I don’t know if any schools have a statement on that type of experience or not. It’s interesting experience, but is certainly different than in-person clinic work. I would reach out to MSU and see how they would classify that if I were you. If they don’t feel it’s ‘veterinary’ enough, it would be good for you to know that going forward.

As for the kennel job, what kind of ICU assisting were you doing? Are your only hours right under a vet the 20 hours of ride alongs? It’s definitely great experience to assist ICU techs, but depending on exactly what you did, it may not be a strong enough experience to make up for the telehealth job, which may not be considered a strong experience either.

Just food for thought. Veterinary telehealth is still in its infancy and slowly growing…I imagine an admissions committee might have a quick discussion about whether it’s would count as ‘veterinary’ or not. Personally, I lean towards not, as you’re not seeing how a vet’s day to day is, how a clinic works, seeing procedures, etc. Yet, I imagine you still have some degree of training to do that job appropriately. Definitely debatable.

 

[indysadventures]

Hi, just wanted to say that there are some schools that have notes that remote experience does NOT count. I’d contact your schools and ask specifically.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Hi, just wanted to say that there are some schools that have notes that remote experience does NOT count. I’d contact your schools and ask specifically.

This is what I was thinking would be the case...it's at least relevant experience to some extent, but it's not the type of experience you need to make sure you want to be a vet/have some idea of what you're getting yourself into.

Do you know what schools have already published this statement? I'm sure there will be more to follow.

 

[BunnyFluffy]

This is what I was thinking would be the case...it's at least relevant experience to some extent, but it's not the type of experience you need to make sure you want to be a vet/have some idea of what you're getting yourself into.

Do you know what schools have already published this statement? I'm sure there will be more to follow.

I know this year they asked applicants to put an "in person" or "remote" distinction in their description for experiences in the VMCAS. But I'm not sure which schools are accepting or not accepting rote experiences.