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[sagecat]

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Hi! Hopefully it's ok to post this here as I am not able to apply until a year or two from now, but I am a non-traditional applicant and hoping to make my application as strong as possible. Obviously a HUGE factor that is TBD is my science GPA, but I'd really love feedback and thoughts on the rest of my application. Another consideration is that I will most likely only be applying to UF due to cost of attendance as my IS, life stuff, husband's job, etc. Thank you in advance!

29 y.o. female, Florida, career pivot after 6 years as a senior graphic designer in the veterinarian industry (software, distribution, pharmaceuticals). Two passions in high school were graphic design and vet med and I opted for design at first!

Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Last 45 and science GPA TBD — I am starting from scratch with my prereqs and genuinely have no science courses other than a 5 AP score from AP Bio from 2014 😅

Any degrees achieved:

• B.S. Graphic Design & Communication Studies, 2020
• In progress: Laboratory Specialist - Advanced Technical Certificate (starting this summer—encompasses 95% of my pre-vet courses and my advisor recommended this for financial aid purposes)

GRE results: Q/V/W: N/A

Veterinary Experience*:

• Clinical Shadowing at a small animal clinic (4 hrs/week)
• Clinical Intake & Surgery Support Assistant at Humane Society (4 hrs/week)

Animal Experience*:

• Dairy goat care/milking assistant (4 hrs/week)
• Fostering/walking/pet sitting (hard to gauge but estimating 500 hrs currently?)

* My realistic goal for hours by the time of application is 2000 total, 1000 being with a vet. I work full-time and will be taking classes, and I am not in a position to leave my job or cut down on hours.

Research Experience:

• Currently none, but one of my goals for my pre-vet courses is to do an independent, faculty-led research project. Specifically, I am really interested in tying my design background to shelter medicine in some form, but I can also see the benefit of doing more lab-based research as well. Open to thoughts here!

Awards/Scholarships:

• Dean's list throughout undergrad
• Graphic Design student of the year in 2016

Extracurriculars:

• Sorority with philanthropy and leadership positions in my undergrad
• Design lead & community engagement member at undergrad student-led design firm

Employment:

• Senior graphic designer at major vet-tech company (10k+ hrs)
  • I don't think this can be considered animal/vet hours, but I have had the opportunity to learn a lot directly from vets about the business side of clinics, working directly with manufacturers (Merck, BI, Purina, Zoetis, etc.), attending industry events including VMX, and marketing for both vets and pet parents
• Freelance graphic designer (~2k hrs)
• Some other odd jobs, including library assistant, manager at college bookstore, and several other random high school/college jobs

Personal statement:

• Obviously, this is subject to change, but I am thinking of writing about my experience with my first foster (high-medical-needs pup who passed away) and how the vets and staff at the ASPCA really impacted me, and tying it to my experience as a cancer survivor and how the medical teams in both experiences were so inspiring. Going to include my career path and why I am making the switch. Talked about my passion for shelter medicine and the unique skillsets my first career in the vet industry gives me.

 

[JaynaAli]

I think you’ve got a good plan, just make sure to keep your grades as high as you can and keep getting experience hours. If you could add in some large animal vet experience that might be good too, but I wouldn’t do it at the expense of grades. Until we know more concrete numbers in a year or two it’s a bit hard to give much more advice, but sounds like you’re off to a good start with a realistic plan.

 

[cardamom23]

Hi! Hopefully it's ok to post this here as I am not able to apply until a year or two from now, but I am a non-traditional applicant and hoping to make my application as strong as possible. Obviously a HUGE factor that is TBD is my science GPA, but I'd really love feedback and thoughts on the rest of my application. Another consideration is that I will most likely only be applying to UF due to cost of attendance as my IS, life stuff, husband's job, etc. Thank you in advance!

29 y.o. female, Florida, career pivot after 6 years as a senior graphic designer in the veterinarian industry (software, distribution, pharmaceuticals). Two passions in high school were graphic design and vet med and I opted for design at first!

Undergrad GPA: 3.7
Last 45 and science GPA TBD — I am starting from scratch with my prereqs and genuinely have no science courses other than a 5 AP score from AP Bio from 2014 😅

Any degrees achieved:

• B.S. Graphic Design & Communication Studies, 2020
• In progress: Laboratory Specialist - Advanced Technical Certificate (starting this summer—encompasses 95% of my pre-vet courses and my advisor recommended this for financial aid purposes)

GRE results: Q/V/W: N/A

Veterinary Experience*:

• Clinical Shadowing at a small animal clinic (4 hrs/week)
• Clinical Intake & Surgery Support Assistant at Humane Society (4 hrs/week)

Animal Experience*:

• Dairy goat care/milking assistant (4 hrs/week)
• Fostering/walking/pet sitting (hard to gauge but estimating 500 hrs currently?)

* My realistic goal for hours by the time of application is 2000 total, 1000 being with a vet. I work full-time and will be taking classes, and I am not in a position to leave my job or cut down on hours.

Research Experience:

• Currently none, but one of my goals for my pre-vet courses is to do an independent, faculty-led research project. Specifically, I am really interested in tying my design background to shelter medicine in some form, but I can also see the benefit of doing more lab-based research as well. Open to thoughts here!

Awards/Scholarships:

• Dean's list throughout undergrad
• Graphic Design student of the year in 2016

Extracurriculars:

• Sorority with philanthropy and leadership positions in my undergrad
• Design lead & community engagement member at undergrad student-led design firm

Employment:

• Senior graphic designer at major vet-tech company (10k+ hrs)
  • I don't think this can be considered animal/vet hours, but I have had the opportunity to learn a lot directly from vets about the business side of clinics, working directly with manufacturers (Merck, BI, Purina, Zoetis, etc.), attending industry events including VMX, and marketing for both vets and pet parents
• Freelance graphic designer (~2k hrs)
• Some other odd jobs, including library assistant, manager at college bookstore, and several other random high school/college jobs

Personal statement:

• Obviously, this is subject to change, but I am thinking of writing about my experience with my first foster (high-medical-needs pup who passed away) and how the vets and staff at the ASPCA really impacted me, and tying it to my experience as a cancer survivor and how the medical teams in both experiences were so inspiring. Going to include my career path and why I am making the switch. Talked about my passion for shelter medicine and the unique skillsets my first career in the vet industry gives me.

I am non-trad coming from visual design as well! 7 years in corporate 🙂 I am currently waitlisted at my instate school so you definitely are on track. Keep learning, gathering experiences, and asking questions. For me, I am juggling two little kids too so finding childcare during the day so I can get more experience hours is on my priority list this year. Additionally, I am finishing my last pre-requisite course this May. Good luck! PM me if you have any questions. I graduated from West Virginia university with a BFA in Graphic Design / minor in art history. Love meeting fellow creatives.

 

[sagecat]

I am non-trad coming from visual design as well! 7 years in corporate 🙂 I am currently waitlisted at my instate school so you definitely are on track. Keep learning, gathering experiences, and asking questions. For me, I am juggling two little kids too so finding childcare during the day so I can get more experience hours is on my priority list this year. Additionally, I am finishing my last pre-requisite course this May. Good luck! PM me if you have any questions. I graduated from West Virginia university with a BFA in Graphic Design / minor in art history. Love meeting fellow creatives.

Very cool, glad to know there are folks out there with similar backgrounds! Even though I have such a passion for animals and medicine, I definitely feel a little out of my element with this switch and it's not something I am really able to bring up (yet) at work. I'm also starting bare bones with my in-clinic experiences and feeling a little behind on my tech skills and confidence, but I guess that's the point 🙂 If you feel comfortable sharing, curious what your stats/experiences are? Sending good luck and good vibes to you!!

 

[macgowsy]

I was in the same spot as you as two years ago starting from scratch and got into 3 vet schools this year! I moved around for my husbands job and had to start fresh in a new city.

My undergrad degree was in health policy. I'm nontraditional 28F. I had the time to start working full time as a front desk receptionist for 4 months and then a veterinary assistant which helped me rack up experience hours and form a better essay on why I want to be a veterinarian.

Get to know a veterinarian super well for your reference! Be picky though and make sure the relationship is quality. It might actually help if they are younger and know the admissions process better which mine was. I knew mine for about 6 months but we had a good relationship and they were upfront about wanting to support people's learning and education. I knew others for longer but I had a gut feeling they weren't the right one. The vet recommendation matters the most out of all of them. I submitted 4 references from people I knew could write well, and supported me.

I toured my IS vet school 6 months before the application was due which helped me get a lot better idea of how to frame my application. I highly recommend doing a tour and connecting with your IS admissions ASAP. Admissions people are so helpful. it won't hurt you to make connections with them now. They won't judge only be helpful.

The admissions advisor told me to spend a lot of time on my experience categories as a non traditional applicant. I was able to confirm with them I could take online pre requisites and they counted them just as fairly as other stuff. All my GPAs were around 3.75 and I think last 45 was 3.8-3.95 but I didn't bother calculating. Best of luck!

 

[cardamom23]

Very cool, glad to know there are folks out there with similar backgrounds! Even though I have such a passion for animals and medicine, I definitely feel a little out of my element with this switch and it's not something I am really able to bring up (yet) at work. I'm also starting bare bones with my in-clinic experiences and feeling a little behind on my tech skills and confidence, but I guess that's the point 🙂 If you feel comfortable sharing, curious what your stats/experiences are? Sending good luck and good vibes to you!!

Hey! I completely relate. I felt very out of my element at first too. It takes a minute to build confidence, especially switching careers.

Stats-wise:
• Undergrad GPA: 3.8
• MBA: 3.6
• Recent prereqs: ~3.7 overall, ~3.9 science

Experience has been pretty diverse. Over the last two years I’ve done small animal shadowing (some hands-on), shelter vaccine clinics, wildlife field training, sanctuary work, equine sports medicine (including an endurance ride event), and some integrative exposure (chiro/herbs) with a DVM. I’ve also shadowed avian/exotics at a zoo.

Balancing full-time remote work and two kids has shaped the pace of it, but this year I’m focusing more on depth and mentorship rather than just stacking hours. I met with admissions back in 2024 before I knew I was pregnant with my second, so I feel like so much has changed. I am planning to gather feedback from admissions to see where we can tighten things up and come better prepared for next year if reapplication is necessary.

Happy to share more if helpful — and sending you lots of good vibes too! You got this!!!

 

[sagecat]

Hey! I completely relate. I felt very out of my element at first too. It takes a minute to build confidence, especially switching careers.

Stats-wise:
• Undergrad GPA: 3.8
• MBA: 3.6
• Recent prereqs: ~3.7 overall, ~3.9 science

Experience has been pretty diverse. Over the last two years I’ve done small animal shadowing (some hands-on), shelter vaccine clinics, wildlife field training, sanctuary work, equine sports medicine (including an endurance ride event), and some integrative exposure (chiro/herbs) with a DVM. I’ve also shadowed avian/exotics at a zoo.

Balancing full-time remote work and two kids has shaped the pace of it, but this year I’m focusing more on depth and mentorship rather than just stacking hours. I met with admissions back in 2024 before I knew I was pregnant with my second, so I feel like so much has changed. I am planning to gather feedback from admissions to see where we can tighten things up and come better prepared for next year if reapplication is necessary.

Happy to share more if helpful — and sending you lots of good vibes too! You got this!!!

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[indysadventures]

Best of luck, it seems like your overall plan is good! Be intentional with your prerequisites and go for affordable and achievable (aka set yourself up for GPA success). Talk with schools you’re interested in now- it took me 2 years to get everything together - I also started from scratch….I’m also a non-trad career changer, currently in my first year of vet school, feel free to DM with any questions.