Hi all!
I am a non-traditional student. I graduated in 2019 with a degree in Business from Georgia not sure what I wanted to do, and I have since decided that Veterinary Medicine is my passion and I simply cannot have any other career. I have been working full-time as a veterinary assistant in a small animal clinic for almost two years, while going back to school part-time to finish my science pre-reqs that I did not take while pursuing business, so I will have over 4,000 hours of experience at the time of my application. We also see exotics, but I mostly work with the dogs and cats. I have lots of large animal experience. I was a competing member on my college's equestrian team, as well as the barn manager for our team horses. I have been a lead volunteer at a horse rescue for 10 years, as well as an exercise rider/trainer for them. I just got the opportunity to shadow a large animal vet a few times a month. My GPA is a 3.30 right now (for all of my undergrad classes ever taken), I've had A's and B's in my sciences so far with one C in gen chem 2 (chem is the bane of my existence). I have a couple semesters left of classes and am going to try really hard to bring my GPA up a bit. I'm taking the GRE in March.
My only worries are my GPA and I do not have any research experience, and the fact that I'm a non-traditional student who didn't go the usual route. I'm hoping my clear dedication, experience, and passion for this field will help me the most. I will have great letters of recommendation as I work with six vets currently, and my non-vet letter would be from the founder of the horse rescue I've worked with for 10 years. My first choice school is Georgia. It is my in-state school and my alma mater. I do want to apply to a couple other schools but have not yet decided which ones.
Thank you so much for any and all advice!
I am a non-traditional student. I graduated in 2019 with a degree in Business from Georgia not sure what I wanted to do, and I have since decided that Veterinary Medicine is my passion and I simply cannot have any other career. I have been working full-time as a veterinary assistant in a small animal clinic for almost two years, while going back to school part-time to finish my science pre-reqs that I did not take while pursuing business, so I will have over 4,000 hours of experience at the time of my application. We also see exotics, but I mostly work with the dogs and cats. I have lots of large animal experience. I was a competing member on my college's equestrian team, as well as the barn manager for our team horses. I have been a lead volunteer at a horse rescue for 10 years, as well as an exercise rider/trainer for them. I just got the opportunity to shadow a large animal vet a few times a month. My GPA is a 3.30 right now (for all of my undergrad classes ever taken), I've had A's and B's in my sciences so far with one C in gen chem 2 (chem is the bane of my existence). I have a couple semesters left of classes and am going to try really hard to bring my GPA up a bit. I'm taking the GRE in March.
My only worries are my GPA and I do not have any research experience, and the fact that I'm a non-traditional student who didn't go the usual route. I'm hoping my clear dedication, experience, and passion for this field will help me the most. I will have great letters of recommendation as I work with six vets currently, and my non-vet letter would be from the founder of the horse rescue I've worked with for 10 years. My first choice school is Georgia. It is my in-state school and my alma mater. I do want to apply to a couple other schools but have not yet decided which ones.
Thank you so much for any and all advice!
