WAMC for next round? How can I improve?

[thankdog]

Hello everyone! I applied this current round to 6 schools:

Florida, CSU, Illinois, Arizona, Midwestern, and Missouri.

Pretty sure I should be receiving my rejection from Missouri any day now. Also, I was waitlisted for an interview at Midwestern. Haven’t heard from any others.
I’m a CA resident (Female, 32). Non traditional applicant.

Currently halfway done with a post baccalaureate program. Taking lots of upper level science classes.

Cumulative GPA: 3.29 this round ; should be 3.39 next round

science GPA: 3.29 this round; next round 3.57

last 45: 3.55 ; 3.80 next time

Any degrees achieved
BA in Sociology
By June 2021, I will have completed a post bac program specifically for students trying to improve their chances of getting into medical/dental/vet school

GRE results: Q/V/W
Haven’t taken yet... didn’t apply to any schools that required it this round. Planning on taking it next time so I can apply to my in state (Davis)

Veterinary Experience:
- ~7,000 hrs as a vet assistant in a mainly small animal GP / emergency hospital (we see exotics and some farm animals)

Animal Experience:
- 2,000 hrs working at doggie daycares
- 2 years of fostering kittens and participating in TNR in college
- Volunteer dog walker at local shelter
- 250 hours as an intern in the animal behavior department at an animal shelter

Research Experience:
- for a class in undergrad we trained rats to perform tasks (maybe 80 hours?)

Awards/scholarships:
- deans list x 6 quarters


Extracurriculars:
- Not sure what to put here..


Employment:
- 2 years as a customer service rep at an animal hospital
- 2.5 years as a vet assistant
- 2 years in finance at a tech company
- 1 year teaching history / English to middle and high school students
- 2 years of doggie daycare work

LOR’s:
3 from vets I’ve worked with for 3+ years
1 from a math professor

I’m not feeling good about this current round considering the dramatic increase in applicants, so I’m preparing for next round. Any advice on how to improve my applicant would be greatly appreciated! Also school suggestions would be great.

I’m thankful for you guys!

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[Ivy2020]

Hello everyone! I applied this current round to 6 schools:

Florida, CSU, Illinois, Arizona, Midwestern, and Missouri.

Pretty sure I should be receiving my rejection from Missouri any day now. Also, I was waitlisted for an interview at Midwestern. Haven’t heard from any others.
I’m a CA resident (Female, 32). Non traditional applicant.

Currently halfway done with a post baccalaureate program. Taking lots of upper level science classes.

Cumulative GPA: 3.29 this round ; should be 3.39 next round

science GPA: 3.29 this round; next round 3.57

last 45: 3.55 ; 3.80 next time

Any degrees achieved
BA in Sociology
By June 2021, I will have completed a post bac program specifically for students trying to improve their chances of getting into medical/dental/vet school

GRE results: Q/V/W
Haven’t taken yet... didn’t apply to any schools that required it this round. Planning on taking it next time so I can apply to my in state (Davis)

Veterinary Experience:
- ~7,000 hrs as a vet assistant in a mainly small animal GP / emergency hospital (we see exotics and some farm animals)

Animal Experience:
- 2,000 hrs working at doggie daycares
- 2 years of fostering kittens and participating in TNR in college
- Volunteer dog walker at local shelter
- 250 hours as an intern in the animal behavior department at an animal shelter

Research Experience:
- for a class in undergrad we trained rats to perform tasks (maybe 80 hours?)

Awards/scholarships:
- deans list x 6 quarters


Extracurriculars:
- Not sure what to put here..


Employment:
- 2 years as a customer service rep at an animal hospital
- 2.5 years as a vet assistant
- 2 years in finance at a tech company
- 1 year teaching history / English to middle and high school students
- 2 years of doggie daycare work

LOR’s:
3 from vets I’ve worked with for 3+ years
1 from a math professor

I’m not feeling good about this current round considering the dramatic increase in applicants, so I’m preparing for next round. Any advice on how to improve my applicant would be greatly appreciated! Also school suggestions would be great.

I’m thankful for you guys!

Hey! Im actually in the same boat. I just got my Missouri rejection yesterday. but i applied to all the schools you did besides Florida. I also applied to NC state, Ohio, kansas, and iowa (my in state)
i think your experiences are amazing. Im super nervous about this cycle as well. I want to remain positive but its hard to know if the current experience i have will be good enough this time around

 

[EngrSC]

Have you considered applying to schools that focus on science/prereq GPA and last 45 credit GPA? Like K-State, ISU, UMN, etc. Possibly LSU if your prereq GPA is strong based on how they calculate it.

 

[thankdog]

Have you considered applying to schools that focus on science/prereq GPA and last 45 credit GPA? Like K-State, ISU, UMN, etc. Possibly LSU if your prereq GPA is strong based on how they calculate it.

I’m definitely open to applying to them next cycle! My science GPA and last 45 will be significantly better than my cumulative GPA. Thanks for your input!

 

[thankdog]

Does anyone think it would be worth it for me to try and get more varied veterinary hours? I just applied to do some wildlife volunteer work but it seems like nobody is taking on new volunteers because of COVID. I'm just curious how important variety is, especially since I know I want to work in small animal GP/emergency (which is where I currently have ~7000 hours). I plan to put most of my energy into finishing in my post bacc program with high grades, studying for the GRE, and continuing to work at my current hospital where I've been for almost 4 years. Any input / advice is MUCH appreciated

 

[battie]

Haven’t heard from any others.

Illinois 4th year. Did you get invited to interview?

Extracurriculars:
- Not sure what to put here..

This is where I put things like clubs and hobbies I did.

Does anyone think it would be worth it for me to try and get more varied veterinary hours?

As long as this doesn't affect your grades or the paid job you currently have, this is never a bad idea.

 

[thankdog]

Illinois 4th year. Did you get invited to interview?

This is where I put things like clubs and hobbies I did.

As long as this doesn't affect your grades or the paid job you currently have, this is never a bad idea.

Sorry forgot to mention, I got rejected by all the schools

 

[thankdog]

UPDATED STATS for C/O 2026
Got rejected from everywhere for c/o 2025, so I'm trying again My stats are much more competitive this round

I’m a CA resident (Female, 32). Non traditional applicant.
Going to apply to: UC Davis, Western, Colorado State, Oregon State, Midwestern, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota, Cornell, Michigan State

Currently halfway done with a post baccalaureate program. Taking lots of upper level science classes.

Cumulative GPA: 3.41

science GPA: 3.62

last 45: 3.94

Any degrees achieved
BA in Sociology
By June 2021, I will have completed a post bac program specifically for students trying to improve their chances of getting into medical/dental/vet school

GRE results: Q/V/W
Haven’t taken yet... Planning on taking it soon so I can apply to my in state (Davis)

Veterinary Experience:
- ~7,000 hrs as a vet assistant in a mainly small animal GP / emergency hospital (we see exotics and some farm animals)

Animal Experience:
- 2,000 hrs working at doggie daycares
- 2 years of fostering kittens and participating in TNR in college
- Volunteer dog walker at 2 shelters
- 250 hours as an intern in the animal behavior department at an animal shelter

Research Experience:
- for a class in undergrad we trained rats to perform tasks (maybe 80 hours?)

Awards/scholarships:
- deans list x 6 quarters


Extracurriculars:
- Intramural volleyball in undergrad
- Member of Animal Welfare Club in undergrad


Employment:
- 2 years as a customer service rep at an animal hospital
- 2.5 years as a vet assistant
- 2 years in finance at a tech company
- 1 year teaching history / English to middle and high school students
- 2 years of doggie daycare work

LOR’s:
3 from vets I’ve worked with for 3+ years
1 from a physiology professor