WAMC: very non-trad, 1st time, low vet hours

[^NekoNoir^]

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Should’ve posted this earlier but just applied this cycle and don’t want to wonder for another 2 months if I’ll ever be invited for an interview so here goes…

I’m a first-time, very non-traditional applicant with that previously worked 14 years in the tech industry as a software user-interface designer. I quit my job last year and went all-in on completing my pre-reqs (community college/online schools full-time). I’m interested in small-animal practice and shelter medicine. Because I’ve been doing full-time classes for the last 1.5 years including both summers, I haven’t had a lot of time to commit to volunteer/working for vet hours. I wonder how much life experience is going to help for me.

In-state schools applied to: UC Davis, Western University
Out-of-state: CSU, Oregon State, Midwestern, Rowan, and Long Island University

Cumulative GPA: 3.57
science GPA: 3.73
last 45: 3.74 or 3.81

Degrees achieved
Bachelors of Fine Arts in physical product design and software interface design (double major)
(From a Top 20 Private University that is globally recognized in specialty fields and highly rigorous academics)

Veterinary Experience:

• Vet Assistant - Small animal (ongoing, but was 16 hours at time of application…)
• 180 hours Surgery assistant volunteer at humane society (ongoing)
• 10 hours shadowing small animal vets (large and small practices)

Animal Experience:

• 130 hours small animal/feline volunteer at multiple humane societies
• 15 hours spay/neuter clinic volunteer

Research Experience:

• No scientific research (does design research for work count?)

Awards/scholarships:

• Fine Arts scholarship from like 20 years ago

Extracurriculars (I’m talking like 15-20 years ago):

• President of several clubs in undergrad and high school
• Stage/Tech director for shows in college
• 100 hours volunteer at pediatric ward in a hospital
• Varsity Sports team in high school

Employment:

• 25,000+ hours as a designer (6 years as principle/lead designer)
• 400 hours as a retail casher back in college

LORs:

• Microbio prof
• DVM who taught my intro to vet tech class
• Surgery Assistant Volunteer at the humane society
• Manager at my former career who I’ve known for 5 years (gave me a glowing review)

 

[pp9]

Should’ve posted this earlier but just applied this cycle and don’t want to wonder for another 2 months if I’ll ever be invited for an interview so here goes…

I’m a first-time, very non-traditional applicant with that previously worked 14 years in the tech industry as a software user-interface designer. I quit my job last year and went all-in on completing my pre-reqs (community college/online schools full-time). I’m interested in small-animal practice and shelter medicine. Because I’ve been doing full-time classes for the last 1.5 years including both summers, I haven’t had a lot of time to commit to volunteer/working for vet hours. I wonder how much life experience is going to help for me.

In-state schools applied to: UC Davis, Western University
Out-of-state: CSU, Oregon State, Midwestern, Rowan, and Long Island University

Cumulative GPA: 3.57
science GPA: 3.73
last 45: 3.74 or 3.81

Degrees achieved
Bachelors in Fine Arts, Industrial Design and Human-Computer Interaction (double major)
(From a Top 20 Private University that is globally recognized in specialty fields and highly rigorous academics)

Veterinary Experience:

• Vet Assistant - Small animal (ongoing, but was 16 hours at time of application…)
• 180 hours Surgery assistant volunteer at humane society (ongoing)
• 10 hours shadowing small animal vets (large and small practices)

Animal Experience:

• 130 hours small animal/feline volunteer at multiple humane societies
• 15 hours spay/neuter clinic volunteer

Research Experience:

• No scientific research (does design research for work count?)

Awards/scholarships:

• Fine Arts scholarship from like 20 years ago

Extracurriculars (I’m talking like 15-20 years ago):

• President of several clubs in undergrad and high school
• Stage/Tech director for shows in college
• 100 hours volunteer at pediatric ward in a hospital
• Varsity Sports team in high school

Employment:

• 25,000+ hours as a designer (6 years as principle/lead designer)
• 400 hours as a retail casher back in college

LORs:

• Microbio prof
• DVM who taught my intro to vet tech class
• Surgery Assistant Volunteer at the humane society
• Manager at my former career who I’ve known for 5 years (gave me a glowing review)

Life experience will be a cool aspect to your application, but whether or not it will make up for very low vet hours is unknown. You've got 5 weeks of experience under your belt. I think that you will need to have been very convincing in the written portions of your application. I imagine adcoms will immediately be wondering why you switched careers, how you even know vet med is right for you/you are right for it, how you came to vet med, etc with such little experience and a significant first career.

Your academics are decent to good, may/may not get you considered at UC Davis (one of the most academically competitive schools in the country). CSU is also exceptionally competitive, even moreso for OOS applicants. If this cycle does not work out for you, I would consider altering/expanding your school choices. Totally respect that UC Davis is your IS so you should absolutely apply there (and continue to do so), but idk that I would have recommended CSU for you.

I do also question your LORs - you don't have an actual vet with which you've gained significant clinical experience it seems. Unless the tech class is super clinical based, but even then, it's still a class and not real life in a clinic. The only person who might have witnessed you in action in a real-life setting is a volunteer.

At this point you just have to wait and see though! People do get in with low experience hours all the time, so don't leave my post feeling like there is no hope. I'm not a vet school, I'm just some giving one person's opinion. If this cycle doesn't work out, grow your clinical experience significantly (I would recommend a FT job somewhere, which will get you a better LOR in addition to more experience hours) and consider changing up where you apply. Do file reviews where you can as well.

I also am not sure if you're up to date on the loan situation in this country, the predicted sustainability crisis in this field, etc. but we can talk about that too. I don't want to dissuade you from the field, just curious how much research and thought you've put into this

 

[JaynaAli]

You've got 5 weeks of experience under your belt.

5 weeks worth and all but four full-time- equivalent-days worth of that is as a surgery assistant which may have very little interaction with clients. It may have client interactions, but as it’s presented here it’s hard to tell. That’s the biggest red flag I see…if I were on an admissions committee I would really question if you’ve had enough exposure yet. I do think you probably have a chance and it isn’t impossible to get accepted…a lot will probably come down to your essays and then an interview to convince people you’re ready. I think you’d be a much more competitive applicant in a year with a lot more experience under your belt, so if it doesn’t work out for you this year, I bet you’ll be even more competitive next year. Luckily experiences are usually an easier area for people to improve compared to grades, so you’re good in that regard.

 

[^NekoNoir^]

Life experience will be a cool aspect to your application, but whether or not it will make up for very low vet hours is unknown. You've got 5 weeks of experience under your belt. I think that you will need to have been very convincing in the written portions of your application. I imagine adcoms will immediately be wondering why you switched careers, how you even know vet med is right for you/you are right for it, how you came to vet med, etc with such little experience and a significant first career.

Your academics are decent to good, may/may not get you considered at UC Davis (one of the most academically competitive schools in the country). CSU is also exceptionally competitive, even moreso for OOS applicants. If this cycle does not work out for you, I would consider altering/expanding your school choices. Totally respect that UC Davis is your IS so you should absolutely apply there (and continue to do so), but idk that I would have recommended CSU for you.

I do also question your LORs - you don't have an actual vet with which you've gained significant clinical experience it seems. Unless the tech class is super clinical based, but even then, it's still a class and not real life in a clinic. The only person who might have witnessed you in action in a real-life setting is a volunteer.

At this point you just have to wait and see though! People do get in with low experience hours all the time, so don't leave my post feeling like there is no hope. I'm not a vet school, I'm just some giving one person's opinion. If this cycle doesn't work out, grow your clinical experience significantly (I would recommend a FT job somewhere, which will get you a better LOR in addition to more experience hours) and consider changing up where you apply. Do file reviews where you can as well.

I also am not sure if you're up to date on the loan situation in this country, the predicted sustainability crisis in this field, etc. but we can talk about that too. I don't want to dissuade you from the field, just curious how much research and thought you've put into this

Thanks for the feedback! I do address the reason for switching to this career in my personal statement. I’ve been thinking about his for 10 years but never had the courage to go for it until recently so it wasn’t really an impulsive decision. I just regret not doing this earlier.

I know Davis and CSU are reach schools for me but I applied to the places where I knew people or could see myself living. I wanted to apply to more schools like U of A and Tufts I but didn’t meet some prereqs. I decided against applying to international schools this cycle because I worry about my husband not being able to find employment and I have a senior cat who probably won’t appreciate a 12 hour flight. Also, apparently you can’t fly internationally into the UK with cats in cabin, which I think is ridiculous. Flying to the EU and driving over seems like a nightmare. Nevertheless, I will probably apply internationally next cycle especially if the political situation in this country keeps degrading.

As for money, I saved up quite a bit working and also my parents are willing to fund at least half of my tuition (with the implicit understanding I basically will be their indentured vet for the rest of all 15+ of their cats’ lives…)

Debating whether or not to just go for vet tech school but based on what I’ve observed in the field, I know it’s not what I want to do.

 

[^NekoNoir^]

5 weeks worth and all but four full-time- equivalent-days worth of that is as a surgery assistant which may have very little interaction with clients. It may have client interactions, but as it’s presented here it’s hard to tell. That’s the biggest red flag I see…if I were on an admissions committee I would really question if you’ve had enough exposure yet. I do think you probably have a chance and it isn’t impossible to get accepted…a lot will probably come down to your essays and then an interview to convince people you’re ready. I think you’d be a much more competitive applicant in a year with a lot more experience under your belt, so if it doesn’t work out for you this year, I bet you’ll be even more competitive next year. Luckily experiences are usually an easier area for people to improve compared to grades, so you’re good in that regard.

Thanks, does any of my decade long experience dealing with business clients/difficult team members in another industry count for anything?

 

[JaynaAli]

Thanks, does any of my decade long experience dealing with business clients/difficult team members in another industry count for anything?

Yes and no. Yes I think that absolutely counts for something and puts you in a better position than someone fresh out of school, but no in the sense that that doesn’t show you realities of being a vet and the challenges we face, which are really really often driven by those difficult client interactions. That’s kinda what I meant when I said it could go either way and a lot may come down to perception and your essays and interviews and stuff.

 

[pp9]

Thanks for the feedback! I do address the reason for switching to this career in my personal statement. I’ve been thinking about his for 10 years but never had the courage to go for it until recently so it wasn’t really an impulsive decision. I just regret not doing this earlier.

I know Davis and CSU are reach schools for me but I applied to the places where I knew people or could see myself living. I wanted to apply to more schools like U of A and Tufts I but didn’t meet some prereqs. I decided against applying to international schools this cycle because I worry about my husband not being able to find employment and I have a senior cat who probably won’t appreciate a 12 hour flight. Also, apparently you can’t fly internationally into the UK with cats in cabin, which I think is ridiculous. Flying to the EU and driving over seems like a nightmare. Nevertheless, I will probably apply internationally next cycle especially if the political situation in this country keeps degrading.

As for money, I saved up quite a bit working and also my parents are willing to fund at least half of my tuition (with the implicit understanding I basically will be their indentured vet for the rest of all 15+ of their cats’ lives…)

Debating whether or not to just go for vet tech school but based on what I’ve observed in the field, I know it’s not what I want to do.

Fair to be choosy about your schools, so long as you acknowledge the potential to be select yourself out of admissions. Again, see what happens this cycle before making any big decisions or panicking, but the choosier you are (alongside a somewhat less competitive application) the less likely you are to get accepted somewhere. Not going to unpack the international/political aspect because that's outside the scope of this thread, but just be very wise about your financial choices going forward and fully understand how you will obtain funding for the full 100% of your education (as well as any recently instituted limits on said funding).

Thanks, does any of my decade long experience dealing with business clients/difficult team members in another industry count for anything?

Like Jayna said, yes and no. You don't have experience dealing with veterinary clients, you haven't even really witnessed those interactions from what we can tell. Every workplace has its difficulties and I am in no way trying to downplay that, but we deal with some exceptionally dire circumstances in this field on a daily basis so it's not really comparable to the typical office/client interactions. Even the negative ones. I'm not even sure if your position in shelter med would get you there, honestly. Shadowing/assisting at the small animal clinics can, so long as you ensure client exposure and the vet(s) you are shadowing allow that.

Having that experience can really influence your essays, interviewing, and even your LORs.

 

[JaynaAli]

Also, please don’t feel like pp9 and I are trying to dissuade you and say you don’t have a shot, because I think you very well might get in. But in case you don’t, we’re just trying to explain better why the expectations of applicants are what they are. This is a field with a 300-450k “entry price” investment to enter and we face literal life altering decisions daily and the field has a high suicide rate. So we expect applicants to have significant experience before they’re ushered in. Maybe you’re ready and get good news this year. If not, I do feel you are on track and can be moving forward. But wishing you the best of luck, especially this cycle but also in the future if you need to reapply. 🙂

 

[^NekoNoir^]

Do file reviews where you can as well.

Oh, forgot to ask what you meant by this.

 

[CeeGee14]

Oh, forgot to ask what you meant by this.

File reviews are when schools will go over your application with you and tell you areas you can improve in.

I'm not sure if the schools on your list offer file reviews. I know Davis stopped doing them last cycle. They're still answer any specific questions you have, but they won't critique your entire application.

 

[mkg323]

Thanks for the feedback! I do address the reason for switching to this career in my personal statement. I’ve been thinking about his for 10 years but never had the courage to go for it until recently so it wasn’t really an impulsive decision. I just regret not doing this earlier.

I know Davis and CSU are reach schools for me but I applied to the places where I knew people or could see myself living. I wanted to apply to more schools like U of A and Tufts I but didn’t meet some prereqs. I decided against applying to international schools this cycle because I worry about my husband not being able to find employment and I have a senior cat who probably won’t appreciate a 12 hour flight. Also, apparently you can’t fly internationally into the UK with cats in cabin, which I think is ridiculous. Flying to the EU and driving over seems like a nightmare. Nevertheless, I will probably apply internationally next cycle especially if the political situation in this country keeps degrading.

As for money, I saved up quite a bit working and also my parents are willing to fund at least half of my tuition (with the implicit understanding I basically will be their indentured vet for the rest of all 15+ of their cats’ lives…)

Debating whether or not to just go for vet tech school but based on what I’ve observed in the field, I know it’s not what I want to do.

Hi! I think everyone’s got things covered here, just figured I’d add some preemptive advice in case this cycle doesn’t pan out. 1. If you have a good financial cushion, and ok with schools with higher cost of attendance, to maybe consider Penn (similar cost to Midwestern and LIU and we have a hospital) as Penn accepts quite a few nontrads, even those with low hours. 2. I will say though that while it sucks to not get in the first time and to feel like your waiting another year, see it as an opportunity to explore more of this profession and be more confident in what you think you want to do after graduation in terms of GP/specializing/shelter/etc. The 4 years go quickly and you may still change your mind in school, but every hour before it helps you navigate how to spend your time in school.

 

[^NekoNoir^]

Hi! I think everyone’s got things covered here, just figured I’d add some preemptive advice in case this cycle doesn’t pan out. 1. If you have a good financial cushion, and ok with schools with higher cost of attendance, to maybe consider Penn (similar cost to Midwestern and LIU and we have a hospital) as Penn accepts quite a few nontrads, even those with low hours. 2. I will say though that while it sucks to not get in the first time and to feel like your waiting another year, see it as an opportunity to explore more of this profession and be more confident in what you think you want to do after graduation in terms of GP/specializing/shelter/etc. The 4 years go quickly and you may still change your mind in school, but every hour before it helps you navigate how to spend your time in school.

Thanks! I was planning on applying to UPenn this cycle but sort of ran out of time and they had a ton of supplemental essays. Also was intimidated because Ivy League but it’s good to know they are open to non-trad students!

 

[indysadventures]

Thanks! I was planning on applying to UPenn this cycle but sort of ran out of time and they had a ton of supplemental essays. Also was intimidated because Ivy League but it’s good to know they are open to non-trad students!

Can confirm they’re very open to non-trads, while I didn’t end up attending, I really enjoyed the application process with them last year and was accepted. In fact, Penn’s admin department was so helpful and supportive about 3 years ago when I reached out saying, “I am a non-trad with no idea if I could even fit in this field…..” No school is perfect, but definitely worth exploring if this year doesn’t pan out. Best of luck to you!