WAMC? UGA, non-traditional applicant, low-ish experience

[peachyp]

Hi! This is my first post here so also an intro I guess. I'm currently an architecture student in my last semester of undergrad at a competitive university (Georgia Tech). Prior to this, I was a professional ballerina for a few years after high school before getting injured and having to stop. In high school, I trained full time as a ballet student as well as doing hybrid school/dual enrollment at a local college in order to accomodate my training schedule. As soon as I started I realized I didn't love architecture, but I had a full ride to this great school and I already had made a huge life change so I decided to just go for it. Last year I realized I wanted to pursue vet med and have been taking pre-requisite courses alongside the arch coursework I need to finish my degree (I will finish up this semester so wasn't worth it to switch majors). I still have about 70% of the required coursework left to take, since Chemistry and Biology were not at all part of my major's field of study. I'm hoping I can keep my GPA high for these classes despite my university being rigorous (fingers crossed). I'll be applying for the next round (starting fall 2022).

Cumulative GPA: 3.82
science GPA: currently 4.0 but I haven't taken many of the required classes yet
last 45: currently 3.85

Applying to: UGA (my in-state), probably NC state and UC Davis too, maybe others

Any degrees achieved- B.S. Architecture (finishing this semester)

GRE results: 159 Q / 162 V / 4.5 AW

Veterinary Experience:
- currently around 315 hours as a vet assistant at a small animal practice, will continue working here part-time for the forseeable future

Animal Experience:
- around 40 hours at a rabbit shelter as a volunteer (will do more hours here) (not sure if this counts as exotics?)
- TNR experience with feral cats
- pet-sitting and pet ownership for many years

Research Experience: none, I don't have a science degree (is this bad?)

Awards/scholarships:
- State-level full scholarship to university
- Deans list several semesters

Extracurriculars:
- On the leadership team of a student organization focusing on arts advocacy
- former professional ballerina
- ballet teaching experience
- public speaker for mental health advocacy organization

Employment:
- vet assistant
- ballet teacher
- waitress
- professional dancer
- architectural intern

Letters of recommendation:
- hopefully all 3 veterinarians at the practice I work at
- Architecture studio professor (senior design class)
- Could definitely get one from the director of the Architecture firm I worked at

I know I have a really weird background and I still have a lot of classes to take, but I'm hopeful that my GPA will remain high and that I will accumulate many more vet experience hours over the coming year. I'm already older than my peers in school and I am hoping to get in on my first round, but I know that vet school is very competitive and that may not happen. I would really like to get into UGA because they are my in-state and I don't want to have to take out any more loans than necessary. Anyway, I'm open to sugestions about what else I can do to strengthen my application over the coming months. Thanks in advance!

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[Lupin21]

Excellent shot at all, with my fingers crossed for UGA as it is a great school and in state tuition would be deal maker. Well rounded and make sure to pull all your experience in architecture to relay how it will help you in veterinary medicine. People with multiple backgrounds are very appealing applicants! The biggest thing for you having only worked in one practice is to make sure you understand the variety of vet med even between practices.

 

[EngrSC]

I think you'll be fine! I was accepted to UGA as a GA resident last cycle ... also non-traditional and my cumulative GPA was sad compared to yours. You still have time to diversify your vet experiences so I would work on that and also do as well as you can in your prereqs. I'm not sure if they'll change their supplemental application essay questions between now and when you apply but I used them to talk a lot about non-vet med things and they must've liked what they read. Definitely don't be afraid to talk about things you learned or experienced in ballet and architecture when you get to your application cycle. I felt like their essay questions allowed me to be creative

 

[Georgethecat]

Agree with the others that your non-traditional background (both the ballet and architecture) can be an advantage. Your grades and GRE scores are great.

After you graduate in December, do you have any HOPE hours remaining or will you be paying for the remaining pre-req classes? Either way, you might want to consider taking the pre-req's at a different institution, especially if it will be more cost effective and the classes won't be notorious pre-med weeder classes (like they maybe are at Ga Tech??). Making good grades in these classes will be important since it will determine your last 45 gpa and UGA's science gpa.

You'll have plenty of small animal vet experience. Ask the vets you're currently working for if they know a large animal or equine vet that you could shadow with. Consider shadowing with an ER clinic on the weekends. You don't need a ton of hours in each area, just enough to show that you have a basic understanding of how those practices work.

Best of luck!

 

[peachyp]

Agree with the others that your non-traditional background (both the ballet and architecture) can be an advantage. Your grades and GRE scores are great.

After you graduate in December, do you have any HOPE hours remaining or will you be paying for the remaining pre-req classes? Either way, you might want to consider taking the pre-req's at a different institution, especially if it will be more cost effective and the classes won't be notorious pre-med weeder classes (like they maybe are at Ga Tech??). Making good grades in these classes will be important since it will determine your last 45 gpa and UGA's science gpa.

You'll have plenty of small animal vet experience. Ask the vets you're currently working for if they know a large animal or equine vet that you could shadow with. Consider shadowing with an ER clinic on the weekends. You don't need a ton of hours in each area, just enough to show that you have a basic understanding of how those practices work.

Best of luck!

I’ve been going back and forth about taking my classes at another institution. I get Pell Grant and Hope right now, and my plan currently is to not actually graduate this fall despite finishing my degree in order to take advantage of the financial aid. However, many of the classes I’m taking are “weed-out” classes at GT. Also, GT is extremely stressful and I’m more than ready to be out of there, the culture is kind of toxic and I’m constantly anxious which doesn’t help my class performance! I’d love to take these classes at GSU or another state college but it would cost me an extra $7-8k probably, all said and done. I guess that’s not that much money compared to how much my loans will be for vet school. I can’t decide what I should do about that. 8k might be worth it for a higher GPA and my sanity... I’m also not sure if UGA will like to see the classes taken at GT, or if it will be more of a detriment than it’s worth.

 

[Georgethecat]

I figured the Hope/financial aid situation might be complicated. Once you graduate, do you lose Pell money? Can you use "unused" HOPE credits as a post bacc? Once your HOPE credits are exhausted, it might be cheaper to go elsewhere even if that means losing Pell. I'm definitely all about saving money....but if you're coming out of undergrad debt free then $7-8k is not an exorbitant amount of money to pay for the remaining pre-req's and the reduced stress levels might be priceless.

If Atlanta is home then maybe it's easier to stay at Ga Tech, but if home is elsewhere in GA there might be a cheaper option for the classes and reduced expenses if living with parents/family is an option.

Have known plenty of Ga Tech peeps and all have said what you're saying about the stress and toxic culture I don't think UGA would care where you take the pre-req's as long as it's an accredited institution (Ga State, Kennesaw State, Augusta University, Georgia Southern etc).

Your stats are great and I think you stand a very good chance at getting in on your 1st try. Even if you make some B's on the pre-req's (only saying this cause obviously you've been making almost all A's to this point), you've got enough credits taken that your gpa's will still be very competitive. Rough calculations of 124 credits at your current 3.82 + 43 credits (UGA science pre-req's) at a 3.5 and you'd have a 3.74 cum gpa. From the current posted pdf on their website and old stats (info on classes 2015-2018 no longer on their website), UGA's science pre-req gpa ranges from 3.42 to 3.57.

https://vet.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Admissions-DVM-Program-Overview-handout.pdf

 

[peachyp]

I figured the Hope/financial aid situation might be complicated. Once you graduate, do you lose Pell money? Can you use "unused" HOPE credits as a post bacc? Once your HOPE credits are exhausted, it might be cheaper to go elsewhere even if that means losing Pell. I'm definitely all about saving money....but if you're coming out of undergrad debt free then $7-8k is not an exorbitant amount of money to pay for the remaining pre-req's and the reduced stress levels might be priceless.

If Atlanta is home then maybe it's easier to stay at Ga Tech, but if home is elsewhere in GA there might be a cheaper option for the classes and reduced expenses if living with parents/family is an option.

Have known plenty of Ga Tech peeps and all have said what you're saying about the stress and toxic culture I don't think UGA would care where you take the pre-req's as long as it's an accredited institution (Ga State, Kennesaw State, Augusta University, Georgia Southern etc).

Your stats are great and I think you stand a very good chance at getting in on your 1st try. Even if you make some B's on the pre-req's (only saying this cause obviously you've been making almost all A's to this point), you've got enough credits taken that your gpa's will still be very competitive. Rough calculations of 124 credits at your current 3.82 + 43 credits (UGA science pre-req's) at a 3.5 and you'd have a 3.74 cum gpa. From the current posted pdf on their website and old stats (info on classes 2015-2018 no longer on their website), UGA's science pre-req gpa ranges from 3.42 to 3.57.

https://vet.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Admissions-DVM-Program-Overview-handout.pdf

Thanks so much! Unfortunately I won’t be debt-free, even though I have free tuition I had to take out some loans to help pay for living expenses, fees, and a study abroad program. My loans are fairly low compared to most though, I think I will have about 35k by the time I finish all the classes I need. Still, I guess an extra 7-8k isn’t huge in the grand scheme of things. Atlanta is home, I live with my partner here, but GSU is a great option since it is local, accredited, and cheaper tuition than GT. I actually just looked into being a transient student and I wrote to GT to see if they will let me stay enrolled while taking classes at GSU... hopefully they will since I’ve already completed my major requirements at GT! Thanks for the advice, thanks to you I might be able to get the best of both worlds! Definitely coming to terms with the fact that GT is not a good place for me to be any longer than necessary, and I need to get out of there if I can.

 

[EngrSC]

I’ve been going back and forth about taking my classes at another institution. I get Pell Grant and Hope right now, and my plan currently is to not actually graduate this fall despite finishing my degree in order to take advantage of the financial aid. However, many of the classes I’m taking are “weed-out” classes at GT. Also, GT is extremely stressful and I’m more than ready to be out of there, the culture is kind of toxic and I’m constantly anxious which doesn’t help my class performance! I’d love to take these classes at GSU or another state college but it would cost me an extra $7-8k probably, all said and done. I guess that’s not that much money compared to how much my loans will be for vet school. I can’t decide what I should do about that. 8k might be worth it for a higher GPA and my sanity... I’m also not sure if UGA will like to see the classes taken at GT, or if it will be more of a detriment than it’s worth.

If you're willing to move, I took my prereqs at the College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick. Tiny school but I LOVED all of the professors I had there. The school itself is rated one of the most affordable in the country and my prereqs were accepted at every school I applied to. I'm only 9 weeks into vet school but don't feel like my foundational education is lacking in any way