WAMC First time applicant

[Penny$29]

Hi! I am applying to vet school this cycle, graduating college next year in 2024. My major is Biology and I go to a small, competitive liberal arts school in Pennsylvania. I'm debating if I should wait to apply and take a gap year because I don't have a ton of veterinary experience due to COVID and I play Division I Lacrosse. It is a spring sport, so we come back during winter break so I can only work over the summers. Plus, I wasn't able to get a job as a veterinary assistant until this past summer, I was rejected from every hospital I applied to. I'm a New York resident so Cornell is my in state school. Would love people's opinions on what I should do, and my chances, I can put all my info below.

GPA:3.70 (Should be going up to a 3.75 if all my finals go according to plan )
Last 45: Unsure because my school does one credit per class (they say its 4 credit hours a class so its a little confusing), but last fall I got a 4.0 and the semester before that was a 3.58, so somewhere around a 3.7-3.8
No GRE

Veterinary Experience
-Approximately 350 hours as a veterinary assistant for a small animal hospital in rural Maryland. Originally I was an unpaid shadow but I helped out a lot and after 3 weeks they promoted me to veterinary assistant and paid me for the rest of the summer
-Approximately 100 hours shadowing a vet small animal practice in Manhattan, they asked me to come back this summer to get paid as a veterinary assistant which I said yes to, I should be getting around 400 hours by the end of this summer when I submit my application

Research
-none, unfortunately with COVID and lacrosse I wasn't able to find any opportunities

Extracurriculars
-Division I lacrosse player on scholarship
-Peer Mentor-I get 4 student-athletes and meet with them once a week to discuss classes, social life, etc., and help them get adjusted to college, its a competitive program and a great leadership opportunity
-Member of Empowering Female Athletes, a club designed to enhance women's athletics at my school

Work Experience
-Lacrosse Coach/Private Trainer- I have been training girls in lacrosse for about 7 years and started coaching a team 4 years ago. I've been with my team since they were fourth graders so it's been cool to see them grow.
-Hostess-I was a hostess at Seasons 52 for a summer, which gave me great customer service skills and was a competitive application since they are a corporate restaurant.

I think I'm going to apply to a few schools to get a sense of what the application process looks like. If I don't get in anywhere I can work for a year and reapply with more veterinary experience. Just wanted to see what my chance would be

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[abbielovescats]

I would say overall your app looks good. Make sure to add everything you can think of to your app including hobbies and volunteering. Schools like to see what you do outside of vet med too, so I def think lacrosse will help. Not having research isn’t a big deal, not eveyone has it. Grades are pretty good too.

I would suggest maybe shadowing a large animal vet or exotics or something of the sort to get more diversity in your hours so it’s not just small animal. Also do you have any animal hours? I know vet experience hours are most important but animal hours are too.

I would suggest if you’re going to apply to go all in. Don’t waste the app money to only apply to a couple of places. Either apply with intention of succeeding or wait another year. I had a conversation with a vet school before deciding to apply the year that I did and he said to either do it or you don’t. Don’t waste the time, energy and effort into your app if you’re just gonna apply a couple places just to see. Now if you only have the funds to do a couple places that is different, but really think. Go online and research the schools and think about their requirements and things they focus on to make a school list.

Let me know if you have questions!

 

[eleanor713]

I was in a very similar situation. I played college field hockey which really took away my time from vet experience especially because I also coached high school while working full time after undergrad. I applied this last cycle and got waitlisted at Wisconsin and Virginia Maryland when I had between 300-400 hours of only large animal so there’s definitely a chance you could get in. Personally, I’m so happy I got another year after not getting in because it’s just more time to get money, more experience, and I can stay coaching for another season. It was also nice to have a year of the application cycle because I got to practice interviews and learn how to handle rejection and learn how to improve my application

 

[Georgethecat]

I would strategically apply to a handful of school this cycle. As a NY resident, your most affordable options include NC State (always a crap shoot since they accept so few OOS and stats are high), Cornell, Missouri, WSU, and Ohio State. Make sure that you'll meet all pre-req's and any requirements they have for vet experiences etc. 5 applications will be more than enough in terms of effort on your part with personal statements, supplemental essays, LOR's etc.

Every applicant is different. Sell yourself. Quality of experiences is better than sheer quantity. Keep a log of things that happen during your internship this summer. You never know what will spark a good example for your essays. Your grades are excellent. You've got leadership experience. Being a DI athlete is a plus. Shows commitment to a team effort and you maintained a high gpa on top of a lot of hours of practice and travel for competitions. See if one of your coaches has experience with writing recommendation letters. While it's not directly veterinary related, a coach can attest to your character, drive, commitment, and teamwork skills.

 

[Penny$29]

Thank you all for your responses its helped a lot!
I got my grades for this semester back and I got another 4.00! My overall GPA is now 3.75 and I believe my last 45 GPA is around 3.8-3.9. Right now I am definitely applying to Cornell, Virginia Maryland, and UPenn. Thinking since my last 45 GPA is good I should add a couple of schools that really take that into consideration. I was thinking of picking three more schools, I just have to decide which three out of Tufts, UF, UGA, WSU, Oregon State, and Colorado State. If anyone has any info on these and which I should pick that would be great! I'm going to email the Cornell Equine Specialists on Long Island and see if they will let me come shadow for a few weekends, just to get some more diverse experience. Again thank you all for the advice it has helped me so much I really appreciate it!