WAMC - Gap year, Class of 2026, Please Help!

[fluffysheep]

21 years old, female, senior, Illinois resident - taking a gap year and applying this summer!

Schools I'm applying to: Illinois (in state), Missouri, Washington (any others that I have a good chance at??)

Cumulative GPA: 3.7
Science GPA: 3.58
Last 45: 3.95

Any degrees achieved
Animal Sciences - 2021

GRE results: Q/V/W: not taken yet!

Veterinary Experience:
~ 360 hours SA (possibly up to 2900 after gap year)
~ 0hrs LA (trying to get something here but COVID ruined an internship I had set up)

Animal Experience:
~ 800 hrs SA - kennels at same clinic as vet experience
~ 32 hrs LA cattle, horses from class experiences
~ 200 hrs Beef Cattle internship (not set yet)

Research Experience:
~ 200 hrs Maternal Immunity - swine research (this upcoming semester)

Awards/scholarships:
- deans list 3 semesters

Extracurriculars:
- community college bio club: secretary and helped in creation of club
- Academic quadrathalon
- D2 Women's Rugby - captain for a semester


I would love to get into large animal medicine, but it has been very difficult in finding a clinic to take me on, especially since I come from a small area. I potentially have one LA clinic that will let me shadow their vets, but it is highly dependent on COVID. I'm also worried that my grades won't be good enough, especially since I had a rough first couple of years at community college. I would love any advice on strengthening my application! Also, recommendations on which colleges I should go for.

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[WonderingStudent]

You definitely have the right idea of diversifying your vet experiences. It is difficult with COVID but reaching out to Wildlife, Zoo, large animal, etc facilities to work there during your gap year or shadow would help your application. Advice that I got from an admissions officer was to include in my estimated experience hours on VMCAS the number of hours that I would accumulate at that experience during that application cycle.

Hopefully COVID stuff will get better so that you will be able to shadow at the LA clinic. But your GPA looks good and depending on the school, your Last 45 GPA demonstrates to schools that you can deal with the course load even if you did not do as well at the beginning of undergrad.


Hope this helps!

 

[max_wildlife]

21 years old, female, senior, Illinois resident - taking a gap year and applying this summer!

Schools I'm applying to: Illinois (in state), Missouri, Washington (any others that I have a good chance at??)

Cumulative GPA: 3.7
Science GPA: 3.58
Last 45: 3.95

Any degrees achieved
Animal Sciences - 2021

GRE results: Q/V/W: not taken yet!

Veterinary Experience:
~ 360 hours SA (possibly up to 2900 after gap year)
~ 0hrs LA (trying to get something here but COVID ruined an internship I had set up)

Animal Experience:
~ 800 hrs SA - kennels at same clinic as vet experience
~ 32 hrs LA cattle, horses from class experiences
~ 200 hrs Beef Cattle internship (not set yet)

Research Experience:
~ 200 hrs Maternal Immunity - swine research (this upcoming semester)

Awards/scholarships:
- deans list 3 semesters

Extracurriculars:
- community college bio club: secretary and helped in creation of club
- Academic quadrathalon
- D2 Women's Rugby - captain for a semester


I would love to get into large animal medicine, but it has been very difficult in finding a clinic to take me on, especially since I come from a small area. I potentially have one LA clinic that will let me shadow their vets, but it is highly dependent on COVID. I'm also worried that my grades won't be good enough, especially since I had a rough first couple of years at community college. I would love any advice on strengthening my application! Also, recommendations on which colleges I should go for.

EDIT: I'd take any reply, even a hello. Feels so lonely on my post

Hey I'm afraid I'm not in much of a position to give advice as I'm still waiting to hear back from schools but just wanted to say my LA opportunities were also largely thwarted due to covid. I eventually found some luck with an organization that hires out their goats for invasive species removal lol I still only got 12 hours by the time I applied this past round but they were a lot of fun to work with. So you're not alone with the covid struggles.

Best of luck!

 

[fluffysheep]

You definitely have the right idea of diversifying your vet experiences. It is difficult with COVID but reaching out to Wildlife, Zoo, large animal, etc facilities to work there during your gap year or shadow would help your application. Advice that I got from an admissions officer was to include in my estimated experience hours on VMCAS the number of hours that I would accumulate at that experience during that application cycle.

Hopefully COVID stuff will get better so that you will be able to shadow at the LA clinic. But your GPA looks good and depending on the school, your Last 45 GPA demonstrates to schools that you can deal with the course load even if you did not do as well at the beginning of undergrad.


Hope this helps!

Thank you for the advice! I'm really hoping that schools become a bit more lenient with the experience hours and diversity. Especially since I come from an extremely rural area, it is quite difficult to get much of anything right now. Just have to keep trying in any COVID friendly way I can!

 

[Ariel-Li]

Thank you for the advice! I'm really hoping that schools become a bit more lenient with the experience hours and diversity. Especially since I come from an extremely rural area, it is quite difficult to get much of anything right now. Just have to keep trying in any COVID friendly way I can!

I live in downtown Chicago and don't drive...so yeah I have zero LA vet experience (I have about 150h LA animal experience). I was told that we can diversify within SA vet experience by helpful SDNers. I have shelter, GP, emergency, and very limited specialty experience in SA. And I haven't been rejected from any of the schools I applied to this cycle - I'm sure they are to come, but I already have 7 interviews, so I guess lacking LA experience didn't hold me back for sure.