WAMC? Non-traditional, first-time applicant

[dew5]

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Hi guys! Crazy to finally be posting here after being a long-time lurker! I am a 30 year old female, non-traditional (completed my undergraduate degree in 2017), first-time applicant. My in-state is California and I am interested in clinical general practice for small animal but open to a mixed animal setting. My list of schools I am applying to this cycle will be:

• UC Davis
• Washington State University
• University of Missouri
• Purdue University
• North Carolina State University
• Ohio State University
• Mississippi State University
• Michigan State University
• Oregon State University
• Iowa State University
• University of Tennessee
• University of Wisconsin
• University of Minnesota
• Colorado State University

Cumulative GPA: 3.93
science GPA: 3.89
last 45: 4.0

Any degrees achieved: BS Medical Laboratory Science, Minor in Chemistry

Veterinary Experience:

• >10,000 hours working as a Veterinary Assistant in small animal/exotic/avian general practice (from two different GPs)
• 300 hours working as a Veterinary Assistant in large animal mobile practice (equine, swine, bovine, caprine, etc.)
• 10 hours working as a Veterinary Assistant per diem with a mobile equine lameness specialist
• 50 hours shadowing a mobile equine vet
• 500 hours shadowing at 4 different small animal general practices

Animal Experience:

• 2,000 hours as a horseback riding instructor
• 200 hours as a volunteer at an animal shelter
• 300 hours as a volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary
• 1,000 hours pet sitting for companion animals, pocket pets, and avians
• 1,500 hours ranch sitting for horses, goats, sheep, cows, and pigs
• 100 hours shadowing a farrier
• 200 hours as a member of the UND Wildlife Society (duck banding, white-tailed deer studies)

Research Experience:

• 120 hours of research (sample preparation) in bacterial cephalosporin resistance studies and pneumococcal vaccine efficacy
• 100 hours research through Loop Abroad as a fellow for the Crocodile Research Coalition in Belize

Awards/scholarships:

• Kaiser Permanente Employee Recognition Award
• Pi Beta Phi Academic Achievement Award
• Bishop Mule Days 50th Anniversary Contestant Belt Buckle
• UND Wildlife Society Newcomer Award
• Scholar Athlete Award
• Graduated Summa Cum Laude
• Dean’s List x6
• President’s Honor Roll x8
• Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society

Licenses/Certifications:

• Clinical Laboratory Scientist License (California Department of Public Health)
• Clinical Laboratory Scientist Certification (American Society for Clinical Pathology)
• BLS Life Saver Provider (American Heart Association)
• Level 2 Criminal Justice Information Systems Security (California Department of Justice)
• Fear Free Certified Professional (Fear Free Certification Program)
• Veterinary Assistant Controlled Substance Permit (California Veterinary Medical Board)

Volunteer Hours:

• 100 hours with the Ventura County Sheriff Mounted Volunteer Group for Search and Rescue
• 100 hours with Pi Beta Phi Female Fraternity for Philanthropies
• 200 hours as a Special Olympics Coach (swimming and bowling)

Leadership Roles:

• Medical Laboratory Science Club President
• Horseback Riding Drill Team Captain
• Trainer for new hires/interns at small animal GP
• Trainer for new hires at clinical laboratory

Extracurriculars:

• Horseback Riding Drill Team
• Masters Swim Team
• Line Dancing
• Hall Government

Employment:

• >13,000 hours as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist (ASCP) at a regional reference laboratory in the infectious disease department
• 300 hours as a Chemistry TA

eLORS:

• DVM at small animal GP (also the practice owner)
• Associate DVM at small animal GP (works with avians/exotics)
• Office manager at small animal GP (RVT whom I learned most of my technical skills from when she worked the floor)
• Assistant director at reference lab (my previous supervisor for the past 7 years)
• Operations manager at reference lab (can attest to my research experience)
• Pre-vet advisor/DVM (can attest to my recent experiences in large animal med)

Disclaimers and Concerns:

• Being non-trad, a lot of my coursework is >10 years old. I have been very careful to select schools that either do not have an expiration date on their coursework or schools that grant exceptions. For those with exceptions, I have already communicated with admissions, been approved during their petition processes, and retaken specific classes this past spring to “refresh” my coursework/demonstrate current academic ability.
• I will not be submitting a LOR from either of the large animal DVMs because I just started at the mobile practice this past March and with the lameness specialist this summer - I didn’t feel that I had worked with either of these vets long enough to ask for a letter (and by then all 6 of my LOR positions were already filled)
• How unrealistic is it to express an interest in mixed animal practice in my personal statement/supplementals? (Considering I have a lengthier amount of small animal/exotic veterinary experience compared to large animal veterinary experience). I explain in my essays that I remain passionate about companion animal medicine but large animal vet med made me step outside of my comfort zone and helped me realize the dire need for large animal vets, especially in rural areas with limited access to veterinary care.

What are my chances? Thank you in advance for all of your time and advice!

 

[pp9]

I think your chances are really high at probably all schools. UC Davis can be a bit of a crap shoot at times but you have the stats that they tend to be looking for.

I'm glad to see that you have several schools that allow for residency change after first year - your stats/hours are competitive enough that you might get multiple acceptances OOS (if UC Davis doesn't work out) and cheaper = better.

I am interested in clinical general practice for small animal but open to a mixed animal setting.

How unrealistic is it to express an interest in mixed animal practice in my personal statement/supplementals? (Considering I have a lengthier amount of small animal/exotic veterinary experience compared to large animal veterinary experience). I explain in my essays that I remain passionate about companion animal medicine but large animal vet med made me step outside of my comfort zone and helped me realize the dire need for large animal vets, especially in rural areas with limited access to veterinary care.

I wouldn't say unrealistic, but you've seemingly contradicted yourself here so this has me wondering how sincere your interest in mixed actually is. It's the internet, I get it, I'm not trying to over-interpret here and you may have just misworded...it just caught my eye. It seems that quite a lot of people are riding on the 'LA vet shortage' and/or 'underserved communities' buzzwords right now so I would just make sure your interest is sincere before you try to use it to convince adcoms.

With your academics and experience hours, I don't think you need to rely on hot button issues to get an acceptance, fwiw. If the interest isn't sincere, it can be obvious. If schools are paying extra attention to people with LA interest, my guess is the people with significant LA vet hours and/or a lengthy background in production/farming, equine, or rural environments would get that attention. It's not so simple as 'I want to do this' it's moreso looking at people who are very, very, VERY likely to actually end up in those settings after graduation from what I can tell.

Also, if any of your schools require an academic LOR, make sure an advisor checks that box. Idk what schools require what, but not all will allow an advisor to satisfy that requirement.

 

[dew5]

I think your chances are really high at probably all schools. UC Davis can be a bit of a crap shoot at times but you have the stats that they tend to be looking for.

I'm glad to see that you have several schools that allow for residency change after first year - your stats/hours are competitive enough that you might get multiple acceptances OOS (if UC Davis doesn't work out) and cheaper = better.



I wouldn't say unrealistic, but you've seemingly contradicted yourself here so this has me wondering how sincere your interest in mixed actually is. It's the internet, I get it, I'm not trying to over-interpret here and you may have just misworded...it just caught my eye. It seems that quite a lot of people are riding on the 'LA vet shortage' and/or 'underserved communities' buzzwords right now so I would just make sure your interest is sincere before you try to use it to convince adcoms.

With your academics and experience hours, I don't think you need to rely on hot button issues to get an acceptance, fwiw. If the interest isn't sincere, it can be obvious. If schools are paying extra attention to people with LA interest, my guess is the people with significant LA vet hours and/or a lengthy background in production/farming, equine, or rural environments would get that attention. It's not so simple as 'I want to do this' it's moreso looking at people who are very, very, VERY likely to actually end up in those settings after graduation from what I can tell.

Also, if any of your schools require an academic LOR, make sure an advisor checks that box. Idk what schools require what, but not all will allow an advisor to satisfy that requirement.

Thank you pp9, this is all very helpful advice!
Agreed, my intent was to be as financially practical as possible when choosing schools to apply to (in addition to meeting prerequisite requirements).
That's fair! I do think I worded this poorly. Mainly what I was getting at is, I have not found many opportunities to work in large animal vet med until recently. Now that I have (and loving the work), my concern is that my genuine interest in this area will be less valued because it is a relatively recent experience with less hours. I just don't want to leave adcoms with the impression "it's a shiny new toy, it's only interesting to her because it's new", if that makes sense. Nor do I want to come off as "this is a hot button issue that is more critically needed so let's just pretend it's my area of interest" (you have made another really great point here!). I will be sure to avoid using these buzzwords in my essays, especially if they don't come off as authentic.
Noted - I'll definitely check up on the academic LOR requirements. This area is a little dodgy in my case, just because the last in-person class I took was back in 2017 (classes I took this spring were all online), so finding someone to fill the academic LOR requirement has been cumbersome.
Thank you again for your thoughtful response!