WAMC? First time applicant, please help :)

[krosesilver]

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Applying to: UW-Madison (IS)

Cumulative GPA: 3.434
GPA for required courses: 3.23
last 30: 3.53

Any degrees achieved
Triple major at UW-Madison (BS): Zoology, Environmental Science, and Environmental Studies
Certificate in Gender and Women's Studies

GRE results:
I'm taking it July 31st My last practice test was Q: 158 and V: 155

Veterinary Experience:
- 1000 hours small animal clinic
- 50 hours shadowing at the UW-Madison special species clinic
- 8 hours of shadowing large animal vets

Animal Experience:
- 600 hours at the local wildlife rehab center

Research Experience:
I worked in a research lab for 2 years so probably over 500 hours, I wasn't working directly with animals but I'll have a paper published in the Dec. 2020 issue of the Journal of Raptor Research. My paper is about competition between avian scavengers in South America.

Awards/scholarships:
- Employee of the Month award in Jan. 2019
- Deans list fall 2015

Employment:
- Veterinary assistant at local clinic
-Worked as lead supervisor of local campus restaurant for 3 years while in school. It's why I don't have any extracurriculars, my time was spent either at my job or doing school work.

Letters of Rec
- Veterinarian from clinic I work at
-Supervisor at wildlife rehab
-Professor at UW Madison I did my research with
-Manager from restaurant I worked at

I'm worried my GPA is too low, but I'm a Wisconsin resident so I'm hoping that helps my chances. Also, does having a paper published in a journal boost my chances a lot? I'm hoping to do well on the GRE and have strong essays to help me as well. Thank you!

 

[krosesilver]

Applying to: UW-Madison (IS)

Cumulative GPA: 3.434
GPA for required courses: 3.116
last 45: 3.340

Any degrees achieved
Triple major at UW-Madison (BS): Zoology, Environmental Science, and Environmental Studies
Certificate in Gender and Women's Studies

GRE results:
I'm taking it July 31st My last practice test was Q: 158 and V: 155

Veterinary Experience:
- 1000 hours small animal clinic
- 50 hours shadowing at the UW-Madison special species clinic
- 8 hours of shadowing large animal vets

Animal Experience:
- 600 hours at the local wildlife rehab center

Research Experience:
I worked in a research lab for 2 years so probably over 500 hours, I wasn't working directly with animals but I'll have a paper published in the Dec. 2020 issue of the Journal of Raptor Research. My paper is about competition between avian scavengers in South America.

Awards/scholarships:
- Employee of the Month award in Jan. 2019
- Deans list fall 2015

Employment:
- Veterinary assistant at local clinic
-Worked as lead supervisor of local campus restaurant for 3 years while in school. It's why I don't have any extracurriculars, my time was spent either at my job or doing school work.

Letters of Rec
- Veterinarian from clinic I work at
-Supervisor at wildlife rehab
-Professor at UW Madison I did my research with
-Manager from restaurant I worked at

I'm worried my GPA is too low, but I'm a Wisconsin resident so I'm hoping that helps my chances. Also, does having a paper published in a journal boost my chances a lot? I'm hoping to do well on the GRE and have strong essays to help me as well. Thank you!

 

[gizzerlizzer]

So I was a first time applicant and was accepted for Class of 2024. I was a little higher with GPA. I had 3.57 cumulative, 3.3 required courses. GRE I had 158 Q, 157 V, and 4.0 writing. In total I had over 3,000 experience hours all hands-on work experience. I'm not sure how heavily they weigh everything, but explain the heck out of your experiences in your essays. I know I had a couple bad semesters due to health issues, which I was able to include in my essays. You may have to retake your pre-requsites to try and raise both GPAs (cumulative and required courses). I know compared to average, I was low too. So it's worth a shot, but if you don't get accepted do an application review. They will tell you exactly where you need to improve to boost your chances the following year.

 

[krosesilver]

So I was a first time applicant and was accepted for Class of 2024. I was a little higher with GPA. I had 3.57 cumulative, 3.3 required courses. GRE I had 158 Q, 157 V, and 4.0 writing. In total I had over 3,000 experience hours all hands-on work experience. I'm not sure how heavily they weigh everything, but explain the heck out of your experiences in your essays. I know I had a couple bad semesters due to health issues, which I was able to include in my essays. You may have to retake your pre-requsites to try and raise both GPAs (cumulative and required courses). I know compared to average, I was low too. So it's worth a shot, but if you don't get accepted do an application review. They will tell you exactly where you need to improve to boost your chances the following year.

Thanks for your help!!