Well here we are — Gap year advice and how to strengthen applications

[bird.nerd]

Hi everyone!
to make a long story short — i was rejected by everyone I applied to (waiting on MSU and ISU, interview extended from midwestern but i can not afford 335k in debt). Truthfully, I put my application on the back burner (I am an idiot) because I wanted to do well in school (3.8 GPA this semester ) and between work and extra curricular activities, I did not put out a strong enough application. I have never been in the situation where I don’t know what I am doing next. Does anyone have gap year advice? I currently work in a vet clinic as an assistant and am applying to a research opportunity (Blanding’s turtles) at our highly ranked zoo if MSU or ISU does not work out. I don’t have any large animal experience because of where I am located, but I’m sure I can find some.
furthermore, does anyone have any advice on making the essays stronger? I think now having more time will help but any advice will help!
My stats are:
Biology with an Organismal and Ecology focus for a Pre-Vet concentration and minors in chemistry and sustainability
GPA: 3.68
last 45: 3.73
Experience:
SA at vet clinic: 1,320 as of now
Avian research: 200~
shadowing: 150~
Other:
Presented research at an open forum for MetroParks as an undergraduate
Study abroad in high school (Barcelona) for Marine Biology and Studio Art
Office Assistant in the Biology Department
extra curriculars:
Chi Omega Sorority - make a wish chair 2017-2018, treasurer 2019-2020, formal chair 2020
Order of Omega - top 3% leaders on campus and brotherhood chair 2019-2020
Gamma Sigma Alpha National Honors Society
Rockets Against Sexual Assault - Secretary, treasurer and general memeber
Student Orientation Leader
Honors College Ambassador
Voice of Honors
Service: Make-A-Wish, RockeTHON, Relay for Life, Wrap Up, Students Organize for Syria, Feed My Starving Children, BIG event
Awards: 7 various scholarships, deans list every semester of college

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[MixedAnimals77]

Hi everyone!
to make a long story short — i was rejected by everyone I applied to (waiting on MSU and ISU, interview extended from midwestern but i can not afford 335k in debt). Truthfully, I put my application on the back burner (I am an idiot) because I wanted to do well in school (3.8 GPA this semester ) and between work and extra curricular activities, I did not put out a strong enough application. I have never been in the situation where I don’t know what I am doing next. Does anyone have gap year advice? I currently work in a vet clinic as an assistant and am applying to a research opportunity (Blanding’s turtles) at our highly ranked zoo if MSU or ISU does not work out. I don’t have any large animal experience because of where I am located, but I’m sure I can find some.
furthermore, does anyone have any advice on making the essays stronger? I think now having more time will help but any advice will help!
My stats are:
Biology with an Organismal and Ecology focus for a Pre-Vet concentration and minors in chemistry and sustainability
GPA: 3.68
last 45: 3.73
Experience:
SA at vet clinic: 1,320 as of now
Avian research: 200~
shadowing: 150~
Other:
Presented research at an open forum for MetroParks as an undergraduate
Study abroad in high school (Barcelona) for Marine Biology and Studio Art
Office Assistant in the Biology Department
extra curriculars:
Chi Omega Sorority - make a wish chair 2017-2018, treasurer 2019-2020, formal chair 2020
Order of Omega - top 3% leaders on campus and brotherhood chair 2019-2020
Gamma Sigma Alpha National Honors Society
Rockets Against Sexual Assault - Secretary, treasurer and general memeber
Student Orientation Leader
Honors College Ambassador
Voice of Honors
Service: Make-A-Wish, RockeTHON, Relay for Life, Wrap Up, Students Organize for Syria, Feed My Starving Children, BIG event
Awards: 7 various scholarships, deans list every semester of college

Where else did you apply besides MSU,ISU, and midwestern? To get outright rejected (by most schools, though there are a few exceptions) something in your application was obviously a red flag whether that was your essays or LORs I don't know-Did you meet the minimum requirements for the other schools you applied to? Definitely do file reviews as those will be most helpful. Overall your app seems pretty solid, yeah try and get LA and other veterinary experience, but I don't think that's why you were outright rejected. As for making your essays stronger have others read them-parents, SO, friends, mentors in and outside of the field, have someone who knows grammar edit it-there's a thread on the prevet page that people usually volunteer to read essays.
As I'm sure you've learned from your previous statement, if you end up having to reapply only apply to places you would actually end up going-with your top application hopefully being your IS if you have one or a contract school or schools which you can change residency. If you really feel your procrastination bit you in the butt VMCAS opens in January now! Good luck!

 

[bird.nerd]

Where else did you apply besides MSU,ISU, and midwestern? To get outright rejected (by most schools, though there are a few exceptions) something in your application was obviously a red flag whether that was your essays or LORs I don't know-Did you meet the minimum requirements for the other schools you applied to? Definitely do file reviews as those will be most helpful. Overall your app seems pretty solid, yeah try and get LA and other veterinary experience, but I don't think that's why you were outright rejected. As for making your essays stronger have others read them-parents, SO, friends, mentors in and outside of the field, have someone who knows grammar edit it-there's a thread on the prevet page that people usually volunteer to read essays.
As I'm sure you've learned from your previous statement, if you end up having to reapply only apply to places you would actually end up going-with your top application hopefully being your IS if you have one or a contract school or schools which you can change residency. If you really feel your procrastination bit you in the butt VMCAS opens in January now! Good luck!

I applied to tOSU (IS), MSU, ISU, UF, Purdue, Virginia-Maryland and Midwestern. I met all of the requirements for each school except taking microbiology (taking it this spring before graduation). Had 2 vets from my clinic write me letters, along with the professor i did research under. I was sad when i got rejected from tOSU but I’m not exactly sure why other than my essays, because i don’t think my experience is lacking. Maybe I didn’t portray my unique talents well enough either? I know people put down they are gardeners/ rock climbers/ taekwondo masters but I didn’t do anything to that affect.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Definitely do a file reviews-take their advice to heart they are the ones grading your application after all. Your gpa, extracurriculars and hours seem fine overall. Theres nothing obvious that would've resulted in that many outright rejections with what you currently have going on. Essays and suprise terrible LORs can kill an application. Also yes add anything and everything to show youre rounded. Good luck!

 

[bird.nerd]

@Elkhart @MixedAnimals77 thank you guys for your feed back! I really appreciate it! This cycle was super hard for me with no advice/ direction (didn’t find out about SDN until after submitting), especially with the pre-vet advisor quitting at my school and my school not hiring a new one until this December (everyone was screwed from pre-vet to pre-med, sad). I really appreciate the time you guys put in to answer me!

 

[elephants&cows]

Hey! I second everything said above. File reviews, solid references etc. I myself took a gap year after my first applications last year and it was hard to swallow but am now getting multiple acceptances after improving certain aspects of my applications.
I would say that contrary to the stats you are showing above, I think what may have set me apart was the essays I wrote. I was very borderline GPA wise to the schools I applied to, and my experience hours were decent but I also worked a lot on my essays.

** Sorry if I repeat anything above but just thought I could give my two cents of how to improve essays!
I personally think it's really important to be honest with what you're writing about. For example, one of my essay questions asked me to described someone who would complement me well. I was very honest with shortcomings about my personality in that one, even though some people told me not to "make myself sound bad". This can be difficult to do but I think my essays stood out because it was obvious I was being introspective and realistic about myself.

Secondly, get as many people to read your essays as possible. Friends, family, SDNers, really anyone who you think could give you a different perspective or point something out that you may not have thought of before. You won't agree with everyone but it's a great way to change your perception of your writing and yourself. Sometimes people close to you may even bring up examples of applicable situations that you hadn't even thought about before. It's also a great way to triple check your grammar and flow of writing is pleasant and well-written. It may also be useful to get people to read your essays from this cycle to see if anyone can pinpoint red flags you may have overlooked to avoid them for next cycle.

In terms of "unique-ness", it is always helpful to have something hip and different on your resume, but I think you can make a lot of hobbies or interests sound 'hip and different' as long as you delve into why that certain hobby or interest is unique and why you take part in it. I talked about how i love to cook in one of my essays, which sounds pretty trivial and lame to me but I really went into depth about why I love it and how it has shaped me (it's taught me to keep trying, it brings people together, it fosters tolerance and encourages people to listen to each other etc etc...).

I hope this can be somewhat helpful!

 

[bird.nerd]

@hopefulvetschool this was very helpful!!! Thank you so much for your input, i appreciate the time you took to respond! Good luck on your interviews

 

[Kassidy25]

Hi everyone!
I am a junior earning my Bachelor's degree in biology. I work at a pet store so I have enough animal experience and will be volunteering at an animal shelter next week. I noticed for vet school I need about 300-400 hours of veterinary experience such as shadowing a vet, which I don't have at this time. I don't feel prepared to apply this September, but I am leaning towards applying the September after I graduate so I would have more experience to show for. Does anyone have any advice for the situation I am in?

 

[isocitrate dehydrogenase]

Hi everyone!
I am a junior earning my Bachelor's degree in biology. I work at a pet store so I have enough animal experience and will be volunteering at an animal shelter next week. I noticed for vet school I need about 300-400 hours of veterinary experience such as shadowing a vet, which I don't have at this time. I don't feel prepared to apply this September, but I am leaning towards applying the September after I graduate so I would have more experience to show for. Does anyone have any advice for the situation I am in?

It's a very realistic goal to be able to grind out 500+ hours in a single summer assuming you find a paid position with a vet (or if you're ok with volunteering full time, idk what your financial situation is like). You should be able to cobble together enough hours before September to a) determine if you actually want to be a vet and b)have enough experience for reference letters and to write about on your essays.