WAMC

[schooby]

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Hi all. I am a Michigan resident, first-time applicant, most interested in Michigan State, CSU, Cornell, PennVet, Tufts, UC Davis, and UF, and I would like to be a teacher/professor.

Cumulative GPA: 3.8
Science GPA: 3.8
Last 45: 3.8

Any degrees achieved: Bachelor’s of Science

GRE results: N/A

Veterinary Experience: ~2000 hours in ECC

Animal Experience: ~1800 hours total in SA and LA

Research Experience: ~500 hours in various sciences

Awards/scholarships:
- University Honors (x4 semesters)
- Graduation with Honors
- Academic scholarship (x1 semester)

Extracurriculars:
- Greek Life
- Religious Life Involvement
- Sports Involvement

Employment:
- Barista / Food Service
- Teaching Assistant, Various Classes
- Tutor, Various Classes

I am concerned about my average credit hours being only 13 per semester.

 

[indysadventures]

I think you have a decent shot. Obviously, you have a great number of hours but low variety of vet experience. I’d try to diversify a little bit - see if you can get into some other clinics or experience something slightly different from what you’ve been doing.

I’d maybe see if you can add any volunteer experience outside of vet med, or leadership experience, just to strengthen your other experience aspects.

Other than that, make sure you have top notch LORs from people who really know you. Also, take your time with all your written sections - you have competitive stats, but you want to show your personality and make sure that you shine, and that schools really understand why you want to be there and why you want to be a vet.

Finally, you have some competitive schools on your list, so it really helps to understand their requirements very well. Spend some time really exploring schools and make sure that you have a solid handle on what they require and what types of candidates they prefer in admissions. Be really honest with yourself when making your list so you are picking the right schools for you (not just based off of something like perceived status or rank). Another thing to be aware of is that MSU requires you have ALL science prerequisites finished by application and they do not make exceptions.

Best of luck!

 

[schooby]

I also have ~50 hours in SA specialty clinic, and ~10 volunteer hours outside of vet med, but forgot to include above. I’ve been told to get leadership experience by other people, too.

I have been trying really hard to pick the right schools for me, and have a longer list than just those noted above (Illinois, Purdue, UMN, UW). If you have any recommendations on picking schools, I would love to hear. Also, I do have all of my science prereqs done for all schools, except one for CSU.

 

[indysadventures]

If you can, another volunteer experience and some more variety in your types of vet experiences couldn't hurt, though you'll likely be fine as long as you aren't hoping to focus on something that you haven't experienced (i.e., saying you want to do large animal practice with all small animal experience, or vice versa, etc.). I didn't really have any large animal experience (~5 hours) and I don't think that held be back, but I want to do a SA specialty (and had relevant experience) and built my application off of this focus. I also had some other diversity - specialty, GP, wildlife.

Your school list is relatively similar to what mine was for this past application cycle.

I narrowed my options generally in this order:

1. Made a list of programs I knew I'd be willing to move to attend, if accepted.
2. Searched schools' websites and made lists of prerequisite requirements (I'm a non-trad student, so this was very important as I had up to five prerequisites pending at the time of application at some schools) as well as other important parts of their application process (# of OOS seats, tuition, research opportunities, admitted student profiles).
3. For the schools that still met my criteria, I made a list of admission questions. I then reached out to admissions officers at each school of interest and asked (a) my premade list of questions and (b) if they'd be able to meet with me to discuss my preparation for applications.
4. Made additional cuts based on this, and met with any schools willing to talk to me - they were all very helpful in different ways, and I made sure to stay in touch with those I'd met with, thanking them for their time. (Of your listed schools, I met individually with admissions officers at UPenn, Tufts, UMN, Cornell, and CSU; I believe CSU only offers this if you're a non-traditional applicant, but the other schools openly offer. Each meeting helped me in a different way.)
5. Made my final list and tailored essays based on the admissions officers' instructions (if applicable) and the schools' individual objectives/values.

I ultimately applied to 12 schools, though I ended up rescinding 3 applications before decisions were made once I got into one of my top choices. I decided to cast a wide net, but I also narrowed down schools as rigorously as I could - for example, I removed NC State because I knew I wouldn't be able to finish their online nutrition course in time, removed MSU because I would not have all prerequisites completed, and removed UC Davis because I would have too many prerequisites pending at application.

Feel free to PM me for more in-depth details about how I narrowed my school list, or if you need any eyes on anything! I think my written materials and LORs were the strongest aspect of my application - make sure you're establishing quality relationships, and spend a LOT of time on your written materials. 🙂 Best of luck!