WAMC/ How to improve my application!

[lilygarcia2000]

Cumulative GPA: 3.967
science GPA: 3.974
last 45: 4.0

GRE results: taking in July!

Veterinary Experience (908 total):
-160 hours shadowing at a small animal GP clinic
-408 hours shadowing a mobile equine veterinarian
-245 hours shadowing a holistic small animal/exotic veterinarian
-24 hours shadowing at urgent vet pet clinic (continuing this experience throughout the summer, estimating around 150 hours in total)
-71 hours shadowing a mobile equine/large animal veterinarian

Animal Experience (290 total):
100 hours- pet sitting
120 hours- basic care of exotic animals at technical education center while completing veterinary science program
20 hours- dog grooming at technical education center while completing veterinary science program
50 hours- volunteering at an animal shelter

Research Experience:
- 80 hours working on a project about breathing meditation and stress/anxiety, completed for credit. I am continuing this research over the summer under an INBRE grant. I will be working a total of 400 hours over the summer. We are trying to get our work published (I am writing our paper) and we will be presenting at conferences. I am also completing a course over the summer in mindfulness-based stress reduction. This is something that I talked about in my personal statement and has shaped my desire for a career in veterinary academia (with a specific emphasis on mental health).

Awards/scholarships:
Dean's List – 2 semesters
Presidents list- 4 semesters
J. A. Knox Scholarship
Dr. E Cooper Bell Scholarship
Winthrop Garnet Scholarship
Life Scholarship with Enhancement

Extracurriculars:
Founder & President of Pre-Veterinary club (4 semesters)
Winthrop University Ambassador (5 semesters)
Tri-Beta member (5 semesters)
Tri-Beta president (2 semesters)
Environmental/Animal Rights division leader for service organization (2 semesters)
Alpha Lambda Delta
Biology freshman symposium mentor (3 semesters)
National Society for Leadership and Success
Phi Kappa Phi
Honors Program

Employment:
Server (4 months)

I mainly want some advice on how to finish out the next few months to develop my vet school application. I am doing paid research so I am limited in the number of veterinary hours I can compile over the summer, however, I am planning to work with my advisor to try and maintain some shadowing positions. I am currently shadowing an equine/large animal vet, holistic vet, and a veterinarian working at an urgent vet. I also found an ophthalmology clinic that will allow me to shadow some in July. Should I focus on adding some hours with the veterinary ophthalmologist or just the veterinarians I am currently working with? I am at a disadvantage because I have not held a vet tech position so I want to try and have as many diverse experiences as possible to make up for my lack of thousands of hours. However, I have been able to do a lot of things in these experiences. I have scrubbed in on multiple surgeries, performed a goat castration, performed dentals, drawn blood on multiple species, etc. What would others recommend I do to round out my application over the next couple of months? I am open to any and all advice!

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[BigCats]

I had a very similar application in terms of both grades and vet experience! I wouldn't kill yourself to get a few hours in with the ophthalmologist if you're only going to do it for your application (I think you already have good diversity of experiences- would definitely recommend emphasizing the soft skills you gained from them), but I would recommend taking the time to really craft a solid story through your personal statement and supplemental essays. IMO there are diminishing returns to stats (ex. a 3.95 might not be substantially more likely to get you in than a 3.9; experience with 6 different practices isn't necessarily better than 5), but being able to write about how your experiences have affirmed your desire to go into vet med is what can push you to the top at the more-competitive schools. Not sure what your school list looks like but I think you stand a good chance

 

[lilygarcia2000]

I had a very similar application in terms of both grades and vet experience! I wouldn't kill yourself to get a few hours in with the ophthalmologist if you're only going to do it for your application (I think you already have good diversity of experiences- would definitely recommend emphasizing the soft skills you gained from them), but I would recommend taking the time to really craft a solid story through your personal statement and supplemental essays. IMO there are diminishing returns to stats (ex. a 3.95 might not be substantially more likely to get you in than a 3.9; experience with 6 different practices isn't necessarily better than 5), but being able to write about how your experiences have affirmed your desire to go into vet med is what can push you to the top at the more-competitive schools. Not sure what your school list looks like but I think you stand a good chance

I appreciate the advice! I have been working on my personal statement for a while and hopefully I will be able to get those points across! As far as my school list I am planning to apply to UGA, NCSU, Miss State, UF, Ohio State, and Texas A&M. I hope that I will be competitive enough for those schools