WAMC first time applicant, strong hours, low/mid GPA

[ch3rryb0mb]

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Hey everyone! I’m applying this upcoming cycle and would love some outside perspective on my school list + how competitive I realistically am. I’ve looked through all the class profiles, but I’d love advice from people who’ve applied recently or who go to these schools. My main priority is attending a school that has a teaching hospital, but I recognize that my GPAs are not the most competitive and there are gaps in my application.

My Stats​

• Cumulative GPA: 3.45
• Science GPA (VMCAS): 3.39
• Prereq GPA (estimated): ~3.3–3.4
• Last 45 GPA: ~3.7–3.8
• Degree: B.S. Biological Sciences (2024 grad)
• State: California

Experience​

• ~2,500+ current small animal GP hours (blood draws, treatments, anesthesia monitoring, client comms, etc.). Some of this experience (probably 400ish hours) was spent as a CSR.
• Starting new job in small animal Internal Medicine + ER in the coming weeks
• ~400 hours wildlife rehabilitation internship under DVM supervision (primarily raptor/avian patients)
• ~800-900 animal hours (**I worked at a dog daycare/boarding facility in college)
• No research
• Limited extracurriculars/leadership
• Strong LOR potential from multiple veterinarians + a hospital manager/RVT

Concerns​

• Early COVID-era grades lowered my science GPA
• Limited leadership/ECs outside of work
• Some schools’ admitted GPAs look intimidating
• Currently no exotics or large animal experience

My Current School List​

Top choices (teaching hospital, curriculum fit):

• UC Davis (IS)
• Washington State
• Oregon State
• Michigan State
• Colorado State

Rest of the list:

• Iowa State
• Minnesota
• Virginia–Maryland
• Ohio State
• Illinois
• Georgia
• LSU
• Kansas State
• Missouri
• Mississippi State
• Oklahoma State
• Tennessee
• Midwestern

I ended up removing Western and Arizona from my list due to cost and their distributive model. I kept Midwestern since it seems that their students are given more structured learning and hands on experience despite the lack of an actual teaching hospital. I do not want to attend any island schools or foreign schools due to lack of teaching hospitals, cost, and distance. Here are my questions:

1. Are there schools I should remove based on my stats?
2. Which schools on this list are the most realistic for someone with a 3.39 sci GPA + strong last 45 + solid vet hours?
3. Are any of these apps “wasted money” given my profile?
4. Should I drop Midwestern or keep it as safety?
5. Any OOS-friendly schools I should consider adding?
6. Is my experience well-rounded enough, or should I add anything ASAP?

Thanks so much, any honest feedback is appreciated!

 

[pp9]

1. Are there schools I should remove based on my stats?
2. Which schools on this list are the most realistic for someone with a 3.39 sci GPA + strong last 45 + solid vet hours?
3. Are any of these apps “wasted money” given my profile?
4. Should I drop Midwestern or keep it as safety?
5. Any OOS-friendly schools I should consider adding?
6. Is my experience well-rounded enough, or should I add anything ASAP?

1. Idk...you're kind of in a pickle here. Your last 45 is pretty strong, but your cGPA and science/prereq are essentially identical, so you have lost some strategizing power. Doesn't mean you have no chance, far from it, but it just makes picking schools according to your stats a bit harder. If you are truly looking to trim this list, I'd cut Georgia and Colorado. Both are notoriously competitive for OOS students, Georgia also has very few non-contract OOS seats iirc.
2. Again, hard to say, because it depends on your competition. You might have some trouble with the average to slightly lower science/cumulative GPAs. There are people with higher GPAs that get rejected in initial cuts.
3. Again, I'd say Georgia and Colorado. I did not review each school's admissions stats, those are just the two that jumped out at me. Illinois' stats are getting really high lately too, although if you make the initial academic cut, their process favors those who have good subjective portions from there on.
4. No such thing as a safety school in vet med. You may very well find yourself rejected from Midwestern for all we know. Only apply to schools that you'd actually attend should you get an acceptance.
5. Idk, I think you've got a large list here and from what I can think of off the top of my head, your list includes the schools that have a considerable number of OOS seats.
6. I think your hours are probably fine, your biggest hurdle is getting past any initial academic cuts. The biggest thing to remember is that admitted stats are generally presented as averages, fewer schools publish the actual ranges for a class. There are people both above and below an average.

I think you're going to need to be 110% sure that your LORs are exceptional, and that you write a really good personal statement/supplemental essays when applicable.

 

[JaynaAli]

I’d personally cut Midwestern because of cost. Especially when considering the new borrowing limits if you’ll need loans.

And before anyone jumps on me for this opinion, it’s not a criticism of the program or its people or anything, it’s just that a 450k+ total cost of attendance (source: their own website, I just verified the math) is nuts, especially when you can only borrow 200k from federal student loans.

 

[ch3rryb0mb]

I’d personally cut Midwestern because of cost. Especially when considering the new borrowing limits if you’ll need loans.

And before anyone jumps on me for this opinion, it’s not a criticism of the program or its people or anything, it’s just that a 450k+ total cost of attendance (source: their own website, I just verified the math) is nuts, especially when you can only borrow 200k from federal student loans.

It is ridiculous. My concern is that I will not be accepted to any of the other schools on my list, and I would attend midwestern despite the tuition.

 

[ch3rryb0mb]

1. Idk...you're kind of in a pickle here. Your last 45 is pretty strong, but your cGPA and science/prereq are essentially identical, so you have lost some strategizing power. Doesn't mean you have no chance, far from it, but it just makes picking schools according to your stats a bit harder. If you are truly looking to trim this list, I'd cut Georgia and Colorado. Both are notoriously competitive for OOS students, Georgia also has very few non-contract OOS seats iirc.
2. Again, hard to say, because it depends on your competition. You might have some trouble with the average to slightly lower science/cumulative GPAs. There are people with higher GPAs that get rejected in initial cuts.
3. Again, I'd say Georgia and Colorado. I did not review each school's admissions stats, those are just the two that jumped out at me. Illinois' stats are getting really high lately too, although if you make the initial academic cut, their process favors those who have good subjective portions from there on.
4. No such thing as a safety school in vet med. You may very well find yourself rejected from Midwestern for all we know. Only apply to schools that you'd actually attend should you get an acceptance.
5. Idk, I think you've got a large list here and from what I can think of off the top of my head, your list includes the schools that have a considerable number of OOS seats.
6. I think your hours are probably fine, your biggest hurdle is getting past any initial academic cuts. The biggest thing to remember is that admitted stats are generally presented as averages, fewer schools publish the actual ranges for a class. There are people both above and below an average.

I think you're going to need to be 110% sure that your LORs are exceptional, and that you write a really good personal statement/supplemental essays when applicable.

Thanks for the feedback! I am hearing the same about Illinois and that it has initial GPA cuts, so I will likely be removing it from my list. I'm torn about Georgia and Colorado. It is obvious they are long shots and maybe my hope is false.

 

[pp9]

Thanks for the feedback! I am hearing the same about Illinois and that it has initial GPA cuts, so I will likely be removing it from my list. I'm torn about Georgia and Colorado. It is obvious they are long shots and maybe my hope is false.

I feel a little bit of both in these situations - you can't get a yes unless you try, but based on what we know, a yes at schools seems really unlikely unless you meet certain stats.

ETA: You (and I mean the collective 'you' and not you specifically) could truly apply to every accredited school and not get a single acceptance. You could do the same thing the next year and get 5 acceptances. It's hard, if not impossible, to predict what's going to happen. I've seen applicants with 4.0's or darn close to 4.0's get rejected, I've seen applicants with concerningly low GPAs get in (and do fine, for the record).

It is ridiculous. My concern is that I will not be accepted to any of the other schools on my list, and I would attend midwestern despite the tuition.

You could always see what happens, but 450k+ in debt is akin to staring down the barrel of a loaded gun imo.

A bit of harshness here, but I don't see why you are thinking that you won't get in anywhere else, but then Midwestern would take you. They have a slightly different approach to admissions, but there is not a single accredited school that I would consider a 'safety' school or 'easier' to get into. Some consider that for the island schools and newer for-profit programs, but then again we are seeing people get rejected from those schools every year too.

 

[ch3rryb0mb]

I feel a little bit of both in these situations - you can't get a yes unless you try, but based on what we know, a yes at schools seems really unlikely unless you meet certain stats.

ETA: You (and I mean the collective 'you' and not you specifically) could truly apply to every accredited school and not get a single acceptance. You could do the same thing the next year and get 5 acceptances. It's hard, if not impossible, to predict what's going to happen. I've seen applicants with 4.0's or darn close to 4.0's get rejected, I've seen applicants with concerningly low GPAs get in (and do fine, for the record).

You could always see what happens, but 450k+ in debt is akin to staring down the barrel of a loaded gun imo.

A bit of harshness here, but I don't see why you are thinking that you won't get in anywhere else, but then Midwestern would take you. They have a slightly different approach to admissions, but there is not a single accredited school that I would consider a 'safety' school or 'easier' to get into. Some consider that for the island schools and newer for-profit programs, but then again we are seeing people get rejected from those schools every year too.

I don't necessarily think I will get accepted to Midwestern, it just seems more likely based on their admissions processes. I think it is safe to say that applying to Midwestern will increase my chances of an acceptance, but that's obviously not a guarantee and you are correct in that I can't necessarily consider it a safety.

 

[beans2020]

I would consider adding Mizzou to your list - they are currently using a holistic approach to decide which OOS applicants receive interviews, meaning that your GPA wouldn't necessarily initially hold you back from having a chance there as they do not do first cuts based on GPA. (Applicants that receive interviews are scored in multiple categories including grades/academics and applicants with the highest scores are accepted). However, the catch is that you will have to have a standout application to make it past the first cut and get an interview. Be sure you have a fantastic personal statement that addresses the prompt well and doesn't just rehash your experiences and strong LORs from people who truly know you and won't have bad things to say about you. Also I would recommend writing an explanation statement so it is clear why your grades are on the lower side. Include all experiences even if they may not be directly related to vet med. (A lot of this advise will apply to other more holistic schools as well).
One of the benefits of Mizzou too is that you can change your residency after the first year so you will only have to pay OOS tuition for the first year.
Best of luck and I hope this helps!

 

[pp9]

Also I would recommend writing an explanation statement so it is clear why your grades are on the lower side.

I would not recommend this if the explanation is as simple as the 'COVID era' making things more challenging for OP (as is implied). IMO COVID in and of itself is a poor reason to write one, but up for OP to decide of course especially if there is more to the story. The stats aren't so low that I think they need explaining at all, imo

 

[indysadventures]

You’ve already gotten some great advice here, but I’ll weigh in on a few things.

1. I agree with the others re: removing Georgia, Illinois, and Colorado. If you keep any of this group (ie, time and money for the extra apps aren’t a problem for you), I’d consider keeping Colorado. But Georgia and Illinois will likely screen you for GPA in early rounds.

2. I’d say that you should focus on holistic schools, as well as your in state, as well as any schools that let you switch to in state tuition. Colorado, VMCVM, and Ohio State on your list are all pretty holistic from what I remember, so might be a reason to add Colorado back. Minnesota is fairly holistic once you get past initial screenings, and your last 45 could get you past there, but that’ll be a toss up. As others have said, it’s hard to predict anything. It all depends on how you end up stacking up against the other candidates of the year. The best thing you can do is play to your strengths, which includes what you’re already doing - assessing what schools will be a great choice for your application. Every school is competitive, though. None of these are safety schools and you should take every app seriously, email the admissions office to set up contact, ask if they offer personalized advisory meetings (many do), or at least ask a list of personalized, thoughtful questions.

3. If you need to cut schools, Illinois and Georgia are most likely to be wasted money, as others have suggested. Midwestern is very expensive, so I’d consider not applying there. I’d also take a hard look at the costs of all of your schools to make sure you prioritize affordability.

4 & 5. Don’t have much here. See above.

6. I think your veterinary experience looks pretty decent. I think diversifying your experiences overall could be beneficial - try to see if you can add any research experience at your university (doesn’t need to be vet med!) or extracurricular /leadership experience. These are really important both to help show you have interests outside of vet med/are well-rounded, etc. Volunteer in your local community, participate in a club, get involved in something you love…. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering, it’s just nice to see elements of your personality shine through within applications! I’d also make sure that you have top notch written elements as well as letters of recommendation to help balance out your less competitive GPA. Unfortunately, nothings 100%, but I think with some additional experiences to list /write about will provide you with some balance!