WAMC – First Time Applicant - 3.84 GPA - KS Resident

[juic3star]

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Hi everyone! I’m a first-time applicant looking for an honest assessment of my chances at the schools I applied to (CSU, Oregon State, KSU, and Wisconsin). I’ve already submitted my VMCAS application and all supplementals, so I’m mainly trying to get a realistic sense of where my application is strongest/weakest, and areas to improve for next cycle if things don’t go my way. I switched to the pre-veterinary track during my sophomore year, so most of my veterinary hours have been accumulated within roughly the past year. I additionally financially support myself, so I’ve had to select opportunities carefully and am limited by commute times for working during the school year, but I am continuing to gain clinical experience during my senior year. I am currently interested in wildlife medicine, pathology, zoonotic diseases, and public health, but still love GP and would be open to exploring more specialties!

GPA

• Overall: 3.84
• science: 3.75 (self-calculated, application not verified yet)
• last 45: 3.7 (self-calculated, application not verified yet)

Degree: Bachelor’s in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Bachelor’s in Microbiology, minor in Environmental studies (graduating may 2027)

Hours

• Vet: 531
  • GP Veterinary Assistant and Receptionist
  • GP Shadowing
  • South African wildlife experience (vaccine/sterilization clinic, wildlife translocation, wildlife veterinary hospital/shadowing)
• Animal: 1777
  • Kennel Assistant at Doggy daycare
  • pet sitting
  • naturalist at a nature center
  • shelter volunteer
  • wildlife rehab volunteer
• Employment: 2486
  • Pool cashier
  • Pool slide attendant
  • campus volunteering organization managing director
  • veterinary diagnostic laboratory internship
• Research: 150
  • Interned and assisted with data collection/entry for the director of a monarch conservation program
• Volunteer: 195
  • tiger sanctuary (didn’t interact with animals)
  • wolf sanctuary (minor interact with wolves and horses)
  • service trip to colorado springs
  • service trip to new mexico
  • service trip to texas
• Extracurricular: 134
  • pre vet club social media chair
  • pre vet club vice president
  • student radio dj
  • honors program seminar assistant

Awards, Honors, etc

• Certificate in Service Learning
• Dean's List for 3/3 years completed; anticipate I will receive this next year again
• Over $4000 accumulated in honors awards
• General merit scholarship

LORs

• 2 are from the veterinarians I work with at my local clinic
• 1 GTA who I developed a close professional relationship with; he holds a DVM from Nigeria and a master's in veterinary parasitology
• 1 is from the director who I assisted with research

Questions:

• How competitive do you think I am for interviews/waitlist/acceptance at each of these four schools? I haven’t received my CASPer test score back yet for Oregon State
• For anyone familiar with these schools, are there particular aspects of my application that might help or hurt me at CSU, OSU, KSU, or Wisconsin?

 

[battie]

1) It's good you're looking for areas of improvement already. Act as if you're rejected until you have an acceptance. I think the number one place for improvement is your experience. Do the best you can. If you're at a school with a vet school, that's a good place to start. If not, see if you can contact the lab animal vets in campus (if your campus has research animals).

2) for extracurriculars, don't forget about hobbies and such.

3) have people evaluate your subjectives (essays, descriptions, etc. as that will be where you stand out).

4) utilize your hardships statement if you have something to say

5) you're pretty solid. Just written out like this seems blah. So make sure those essays are solid and your personality shines.

6) consider adding schools that allow tuition status change for next year; if you can, do it this year even. KSU is absolutely your best choice in the long run due to cost.