What are my chances? Not sure about applying this cycle

[jw1221]

Hi! I am a junior at Mississippi State, and I am thinking about applying to veterinary school this cycle. I am on the fence about taking a gap year to get more experience... I am a MS resident planning on applying to Mississippi State, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, UPenn, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Purdue, Minnesota, Mizzou, Tennessee, Tufts, Wisconsin, and TAMU when i apply. Here are some of my stats:

GPA: 3.6
Science GPA: 3.6
Last 45: Looking like it will be about 3.7

Veterinary Experience: 10 hours GP shadowing
5 hours zoo vet shadowing
10 hours shadowing veterinary dermatologist
5 hours shadowing in food animal theriogenology
I am starting an internship this summer at a veterinary surgery clinic which should get me around 400 hours.

Animal Experience:
Memphis Zoo internship: 460 hours (worked with lots of different species and learned a ton)
Volunteer Humane Society Ambassador: 10 hours (helped with intake and education on spays and neuters)
Equine Assisted Therapy Volunteer: 20ish hours
Cared for a pet rabbit with an abscess, administered shots and wound care

Research
- 230 hours plant pathology research
- Beginning a project next school year on gut microbiome/selenium intake in relation to type 2 diabetes in mice. Expecting to get at least 230 more hours with this

Extracurriculars:
Kappa Delta Sorority
Student Association Committee of 82 (works towards improving legislation in MS)
Intramural Tennis
Honors College
Undergraduate Scholars research program
Tons more in high school

Community service:
Built bat houses for a local park to help control mosquito populations

I know my experience is seriously lacking. Is this internship this summer enough to get me an acceptance, or should I wait and apply next cycle? Thanks so much

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[JaynaAli]

Yeah, I’ll be blunt…in my opinion you don’t have enough hours to really even consider applying right now. Do any of the schools have minimum hours? Your best chance with minimal experience is going to be your instate, but I don’t think you’d be competitive for an out of state spot right now. I personally wouldn’t waste your money and time applying until next year, but if you’ve got the money and time and you’re keeping your expectations low, I suppose you could argue it doesn’t hurt to try. But I wouldn’t, myself. Even if you’d completed the 400 hour experience you’d be on the very low end of hours. You’ve got a good start on breadth of experiences between zoo, derm specialty and therio and but they’re just like 1-2 days worth of experiences so while good, they’re not super standout experiences…can you continue these? Your GPA and experiences all seem pretty average (not meant negatively, just that they’re pretty typical and not standouts) and with hours on the low side I think you’d be better served planning to take that year to explore the field more. How are you sure you even want to be a vet if you’ve only spent 30 hours total shadowing across four different practice types? That is more rhetorical than anything but remember you’ll be up against applicants with 1000+ hours of experience. With that said, I don’t see any other major red flags so with more experience I think you have a good shot down the line. It just may not be this year.

 

[jw1221]

Yeah, I’ll be blunt…in my opinion you don’t have enough hours to really even consider applying right now. Do any of the schools have minimum hours? Your best chance with minimal experience is going to be your instate, but I don’t think you’d be competitive for an out of state spot right now. I personally wouldn’t waste your money and time applying until next year, it if you’ve got the money and time and you’re keeping your expectations low, I suppose you could argue it doesn’t hurt to try. But I wouldn’t, myself. Even if you’d completed the 400 hour experience you’d be on the very low end of hours. You’ve got a good start on breadth of experiences between zoo, derm specialty and therio and but they’re just like 1-2 days worth of experiences so while good, they’re not super standout experiences…can you continue these? Your GPA and experiences all seem pretty average (not meant negatively, just that they’re common things amongst the applicant pool) and with hours on the low side I think you’d be better served planning to take that year to explore the field more. How are you sure you even want to be a vet if you’ve only spent 30 hours total shadowing across four different practice types? That is more rhetorical than anything but remember you’ll be up against applicants with 1000+ hours of experience. With that said, I don’t see any other major red flags so with more experience I think you have a good shot down the line. It just may not be this year.

Thanks so much for being honest!!! Any recommendations as to how to spend that year off? I could try to get a job in a small animal clinic, but what would be the most effective use of that time? Im also considering a one year masters because my internship at the zoo made me very interested in marine mammal medicine.

 

[JaynaAli]

What are your career goals? You don’t necessarily need to answer me, but if you go into an interview saying you want to do equine but you have no experience in equine, people are going to be concerned, if you understand my point? I would highly recommend more experience in GP because the fact is that most vets end up in GP. Even people who want to specialize might not get an internship or residency so you really need to know if you’d be okay working in GP if you had to. Exotics/marine mammal specifically is one that lots of people are interested in but only a small handful will get to achieve. I don’t say that to discourage you but just to prepare you for what ifs. Experiencing more than one clinic is also nice because things are different clinic to clinic. In general, the best applicants usually have a good number of hours in a variety of facets of vet med. You’re off to a good start with all the different specialties you’ve seen but you just need more. Figure out what you’re interested in and do that. You don’t have to know what you want to do in vet med the day you start school, but you need to know you can tolerate real life in the field not the idealized version we often have as kids and as pre-vets. Depending on where you live ERs often have turnover and openings for people as assistants. You could look for some type of exotics/marine enternship. You could work for a small animal GP or two.

 

[Georgethecat]

Agree with JaynaAli, your lack of vet hours is going to be hard to overcome for the next cycle. Right now, would you have a vet that would write you a strong letter of recommendation?

I certainly would not apply to the entire list of schools you mentioned. If you want to apply for the next cycle, I'd focus on just your IS. Look through Miss State's website carefully. For instance I saw that you can't have more than 3 outstanding science/math requirements (excluding labs) at the time of application. Doesn't appear that Miss State looks at last 45. Their class profile mentions overall gpa and pre-req gpa, both averaging around 3.6.

Remember that even if you take a gap year, you will need to gain your vet hours from now until Sept 2024. So essentially during your senior year and the following summer. Can you find a clinic to either work at or shadow during the school year? Try a shelter or an ER clinic. Those might have more flexible hours and willing to take a volunteer shadowing. Shadowing provides great experience since you are following the vet around and can focus your attention on what the vet is doing.

Personally, I'd do your best this summer with your internship and maybe try to shadow a GP clinic on your off day and apply to Miss State. With the caveat being that you have 1 to 2 vets who are willing to write you strong letters of recommendation by the end of the summer. Applying to the entire list would be expensive and very time consuming and mentally exhausting. At the end of the day, your best odds are likely to be Miss State and it will also be your most affordable option by far.

Best of luck to you. The good news is that you are on the right track. You have good grades, research experience, extra curriculars, animal experience, and the start of varied vet experience hours.

Application & Requirements | Vet Med

The Application

www.vetmed.msstate.edu

Selection of the Class | Vet Med

Academic assessments will take place once the application has been verified by VMCAS, all supporting documents have been received, and the supplemental application fee has been paid. Applicants who meet the minimum academic requirements are sent to the MSU CVM Admissions Committee for the...

www.vetmed.msstate.edu

 

[jw1221]

Agree with JaynaAli, your lack of vet hours is going to be hard to overcome for the next cycle. Right now, would you have a vet that would write you a strong letter of recommendation?

I certainly would not apply to the entire list of schools you mentioned. If you want to apply for the next cycle, I'd focus on just your IS. Look through Miss State's website carefully. For instance I saw that you can't have more than 3 outstanding science/math requirements (excluding labs) at the time of application. Doesn't appear that Miss State looks at last 45. Their class profile mentions overall gpa and pre-req gpa, both averaging around 3.6.

Remember that even if you take a gap year, you will need to gain your vet hours from now until Sept 2024. So essentially during your senior year and the following summer. Can you find a clinic to either work at or shadow during the school year? Try a shelter or an ER clinic. Those might have more flexible hours and willing to take a volunteer shadowing. Shadowing provides great experience since you are following the vet around and can focus your attention on what the vet is doing.

Personally, I'd do your best this summer with your internship and maybe try to shadow a GP clinic on your off day and apply to Miss State. With the caveat being that you have 1 to 2 vets who are willing to write you strong letters of recommendation by the end of the summer. Applying to the entire list would be expensive and very time consuming and mentally exhausting. At the end of the day, your best odds are likely to be Miss State and it will also be your most affordable option by far.

Best of luck to you. The good news is that you are on the right track. You have good grades, research experience, extra curriculars, animal experience, and the start of varied vet experience hours.

Application & Requirements | Vet Med

The Application

www.vetmed.msstate.edu

Selection of the Class | Vet Med

Academic assessments will take place once the application has been verified by VMCAS, all supporting documents have been received, and the supplemental application fee has been paid. Applicants who meet the minimum academic requirements are sent to the MSU CVM Admissions Committee for the...

www.vetmed.msstate.edu

Thanks so much for being honest!! I really appreciate it. I wish I had started getting experience much earlier.

 

[jw1221]

What are your career goals? You don’t necessarily need to answer me, but if you go into an interview saying you want to do equine but you have no experience in equine, people are going to be concerned, if you understand my point? I would highly recommend more experience in GP because the fact is that most vets end up in GP. Even people who want to specialize might not get an internship or residency so you really need to know if you’d be okay working in GP if you had to. Exotics/marine mammal specifically is one that lots of people are interested in but only a small handful will get to achieve. I don’t say that to discourage you but just to prepare you for what ifs. Experiencing more than one clinic is also nice because things are different clinic to clinic. In general, the best applicants usually have a good number of hours in a variety of facets of vet med. You’re off to a good start with all the different specialties you’ve seen but you just need more. Figure out what you’re interested in and do that. You don’t have to know what you want to do in vet med the day you start school, but you need to know you can tolerate real life in the field not the idealized version we often have as kids and as pre-vets. Depending on where you live ERs often have turnover and openings for people as assistants. You could look for some type of exotics/marine enternship. You could work for a small animal GP or two.

Thanks so much. Will look into all of those options!! I really appreciate it

 

[abbielovescats]

I would say it’s very doable for you to get your hours up. I didn’t have many vet hours until the summer I applied where I got around 450ish by the time the app was due. And had maybe around 70 of previous vet experience from the previous couple years. I applied the summer after I graduated college in ‘21. I defintely had a lot of other things on my app that I’m sure helped, so I’m not saying my ‘last minute’ hours will work out for everyone, but just know it’s doable.
Focus on your hours this summer, during school this coming year, and next summer and I think you’re app can be strong.

 

[jw1221]

I would say it’s very doable for you to get your hours up. I didn’t have many vet hours until the summer I applied where I got around 450ish by the time the app was due. And had maybe around 70 of previous vet experience from the previous couple years. I applied the summer after I graduated college in ‘21. I defintely had a lot of other things on my app that I’m sure helped, so I’m not saying my ‘last minute’ hours will work out for everyone, but just know it’s doable.
Focus on your hours this summer, during school this coming year, and next summer and I think you’re app can be strong.

Thank you!! I appreciate the advice and encouragement

 

[jw1221]

What are your career goals? You don’t necessarily need to answer me, but if you go into an interview saying you want to do equine but you have no experience in equine, people are going to be concerned, if you understand my point? I would highly recommend more experience in GP because the fact is that most vets end up in GP. Even people who want to specialize might not get an internship or residency so you really need to know if you’d be okay working in GP if you had to. Exotics/marine mammal specifically is one that lots of people are interested in but only a small handful will get to achieve. I don’t say that to discourage you but just to prepare you for what ifs. Experiencing more than one clinic is also nice because things are different clinic to clinic. In general, the best applicants usually have a good number of hours in a variety of facets of vet med. You’re off to a good start with all the different specialties you’ve seen but you just need more. Figure out what you’re interested in and do that. You don’t have to know what you want to do in vet med the day you start school, but you need to know you can tolerate real life in the field not the idealized version we often have as kids and as pre-vets. Depending on where you live ERs often have turnover and openings for people as assistants. You could look for some type of exotics/marine enternship. You could work for a small animal GP or two.

If I were to look into more specialized internships/externships like with exotics, would that be as helpful to my application as working at a GP?

 

[Georgethecat]

I'd aim for more GP hours. Odds are that most vets end up working in GP at some point in their careers so this would help you demonstrate a thorough understanding of the field. If exotics are a particular interest for you, you might be able to find a GP practice that also sees exotics.

 

[JaynaAli]

Why choose one? Experience with exotics certainly wouldn’t hurt but you need to get more GP hours also, for reasons I already explained in the post you quoted. Do both (or even more!) if you can find the opportunities though.

 

[fdvet]

Hi! I wanted to offer some encouragement. I got "last minute" hours the summer before I applied to vet school. I quite literally worked my butt off. I was working full time at a small animal hospital and accumulated around ~450 hours. I had Wednesdays off and I would drive 2.5 hours to and from a large animal vet and spend the day with them. They were 10 hour days. I was able to rack up a good bit of large animal hours. I will say, my GPA was a strong point of my application. I think if you are determined enough to rack up enough hours this summer (both large and small animal) and if you can write a really thoughtful personal statement, you may have a shot (especially at your in state).

 

[jw1221]

Hi! I wanted to offer some encouragement. I got "last minute" hours the summer before I applied to vet school. I quite literally worked my butt off. I was working full time at a small animal hospital and accumulated around ~450 hours. I had Wednesdays off and I would drive 2.5 hours to and from a large animal vet and spend the day with them. They were 10 hour days. I was able to rack up a good bit of large animal hours. I will say, my GPA was a strong point of my application. I think if you are determined enough to rack up enough hours this summer (both large and small animal) and if you can write a really thoughtful personal statement, you may have a shot (especially at your in state).

Thank you so much!!! It's definitely nice to hear some encouragement so I really appreciate it.

 

[jw1221]

Thank you so much!!! It's definitely nice to hear some encouragement so I really appreciate it.

Did you get accepted after that summer?

 

[fdvet]

Did you get accepted after that summer?

I did! An adcom once told me that everyone can claim to have a billion hours. It's about the quality of those hours (do you have a considerable amount of experience within the area of vet med that you say you want to go into? did you get a lot out of that experience? etc)

 

[jw1221]

I did! An adcom once told me that everyone can claim to have a billion hours. It's about the quality of those hours (do you have a considerable amount of experience within the area of vet med that you say you want to go into? did you get a lot out of that experience? etc)

Awesome. Thanks so much!! I think I am going to plan on applying to 1-2 schools this cycle and see what happens. I appreciate your encouragement a lot- it's very easy to get frustrated with this stuff)