WAMC UGA C/o 2025 1st Time Traditional Applicant -Stressed

[MoshPot]

Hey yall! My name is Justin and like others on this forum Im having post application jitters/panic as I am waiting for acceptance/rejection letters. I have been interested in the Veterinary field since middle school. As a non traditional high school student I did not get accepted into my dream college of UGA right out of school but transferred in from a smaller private university after my 2nd year. The decision to attend this smaller university came to bite me in the butt as many credits did not transfer over directly and I had to retake several upper level electives and Chemistry Classes. On top of that, I moved with my family and eventually on my own throughout this period of time which led to unstable employment as I would have to find a new place of employment every time I moved. That being said I am definitely glad to have experience in a variety of practices as no two doctors practice the same. Although I hope my application is strong enough to compete, the thought of what to do if I don’t get into Vet School this year keeps me up at night. Therefore, my goal is to find weaknesses in my application to hopefully amend those if I need to reapply next year (also maybe some insight to check my odds). Although I do have a decently high GPA, half of the credits attempted (~70) were taken at a smaller university and I do not know how that would factor into the competitiveness of my application. I have maintained a 3.75 Cumulative GPA during my time at UGA which is decent but not the 4.00 I had at my previous institution.



Applied to: UGA Only (In state) - 1st Time Traditional



Current Career Interests: Tour as an Army Veterinarian followed by employment in a Small Animal Practice



Cumulative GPA: 3.82 (At Time of Application) 3.88 (After Completion of Fall 2020)

science GPA: 3.72

last 45: 3.70 (At Time of Application) ~3.74 (After Fall 2020)



Any degrees achieved: Completing B.S. Biological Sciences Currently



GRE results: Q/V/W: Q: 157 V: 154 W: 4.0



Veterinary Experience:

Internship through High School Veterinary Assistant Program - 20 Hours

UGA VetCAMP - 20 hours

Small Animal Practice (Through 5 different practices and 1 Mobile Vaccination Service) - ~2500 Hours



Animal Experience:

Volunteering at Shelter - 100 hrs



Research Experience:

None Unfortunately, Making up credits that did not transfer took all extra space in schedule unfortunately



Awards/scholarships:

Deans List - All Completed semesters except for 1

Eagle Scout Award

Completion of UGA VetCAMP Program - 2017

Math and Science Achievement Award - 2019

Completion of Grayson Tech Veterinary Assistant Program - 1017

Completion of Duke TiP Zoology and Animal Science Program - 2013,2014



Extracurriculars:

LPhiE Fraternity - Held various service positions





Employment:

Employed at 5 different small animal practices dating back to freshman year of college - 5 years

Microbiology Teaching Assistant - 1 year

Residential Assistant for 2 years



LORs -

Two Veterinarians from current practices (~1 year employment at each)

Advisor/Professor of Anatomy



Concerns:

Main concern is lack of research, lack of diversity of experience, and short term employment at different clinics.

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[Georgethecat]

Hopefully you will get in this cycle. Waiting is always hard!!

Your gpa's are great. Not sure why not all of courses weren't accepted when you transferred, but the bright side is that whatever courses you repeated at UGA you got good grades in. Your GRE scores should be fine as well. 311 is right around the average in recent years.

Research can certainly be a bonus, but lots of successful applicants don't have research experience and if your future goals don't include research then it won't be red flag.

Yes, it would be nice if you had more diversity in your vet experience, but Covid has made it hard for everyone to gain experience. If this cycle doesn't work out, try to find a large animal vet that you can shadow for a couple of days. It doesn't have to be a long term experience, just be able to show that you have gained an understanding of large animal practice.

In many ways having worked at several small animal practices is a plus. You've gotten to see how multiple clinics are set up and managed. Had the opportunity to develop more relationships with vets and possibly gain good letters of recommendation. As a traditional applicant at age 21-23, no one is going to expect you to have necessarily had long term employment in a clinic.

If this cycle doesn't work out, meet with Parker and see what advice he has for you. Continue to gain more vet experiences, have your essays critiqued, and make sure that your letters of recommendation are strong.

Best of luck to you!

 

[MoshPot]

Hopefully you will get in this cycle. Waiting is always hard!!

Your gpa's are great. Not sure why not all of courses weren't accepted when you transferred, but the bright side is that whatever courses you repeated at UGA you got good grades in. Your GRE scores should be fine as well. 311 is right around the average in recent years.

Research can certainly be a bonus, but lots of successful applicants don't have research experience and if your future goals don't include research then it won't be red flag.

Yes, it would be nice if you had more diversity in your vet experience, but Covid has made it hard for everyone to gain experience. If this cycle doesn't work out, try to find a large animal vet that you can shadow for a couple of days. It doesn't have to be a long term experience, just be able to show that you have gained an understanding of large animal practice.

In many ways having worked at several small animal practices is a plus. You've gotten to see how multiple clinics are set up and managed. Had the opportunity to develop more relationships with vets and possibly gain good letters of recommendation. As a traditional applicant at age 21-23, no one is going to expect you to have necessarily had long term employment in a clinic.

If this cycle doesn't work out, meet with Parker and see what advice he has for you. Continue to gain more vet experiences, have your essays critiqued, and make sure that your letters of recommendation are strong.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you for the reassurance! Definitely been working hard so hopefully It pays off in the end. ‘Roana definitely has made it hard to diversify experiences but hopefully I will be able to find an equine or large animal internship after the decisions are distributed to further boost my application