What are my chances?

[Skimble]

Hello everyone! This is my first time posting in this forum, so please let me know if I've accidentally broken any forum etiquette or need to add something else!

22 year old female, graduated with B.A in biology and Spanish a year ago.

Overall GPA: 3.76
Biology GPA: 3.85
GRE: Quant - 154 , Verbal - 166 I plan on retaking the GRE to improve my quant score, but given that I've already taken it twice and gotten the exact same scores, I'm not sure what to expect there.

Veterinary Experience:
Full time veterinary receptionist/technician at a small animal clinic since October of 2017, so approximately 1900 hours by the time I apply. I also intend to continue full time through the fall of next year.

Animal experience:
Shelter volunteer, 2013 (90 hours)
Grooming assistant, summer 2014 (~600 hours)
Bird sitting, 2014-2018. Birds ranging from finches to large parrots (~60 hours)

Non-Animal Jobs:
Admissions phone team supervisor at my university (4 years, 6 hours weekly)
University campus center desk worker (3 years, 8 hours weekly)

Research:
Multiple projects with free living and captive house sparrow colonies: one that involved behavioral plasticity, parental behavior, and pair compatibility, and one that involved neophobic responses and learning differences in response to novel objects (~800 hours)
Presented research at two conferences

Extracurricular:
Assistant academic chair for my sorority (2 years)
Campus radio member (2 years)
Member of Spanish honorary
Member of first year honorary

Awards/Credentials:
Award covering full tuition for university
High school valedictorian (if that even matters...)
Dean's List 7 terms
Fluent in Spanish (spent a month living abroad)

Possible letters of recommendation:
2 vets
Research mentor/professor
Can ask other professors who have written for me in the past

Concerns:

I feel like I need to improve my quant score, but struggle with doing so. I wish I had more varied veterinary experience, but have only this year started gaining experience because I was unsure that I wanted to pursue vet school until late my senior year (I thought I wanted to get a PhD, went through that whole app process, decided against it last minute in order to gain vet experience). Because of this, I also need various remaining prereqs that I will take this fall/winter. (It ranges from 2-4 classes required depending on the program). This worries me as well, but all of the schools I am interested in allow taking classes in the terms prior to matriculating.

My biggest question and reason for posting this is that I'd like to know my chances for getting into US schools (the targets being Auburn (in state), OSU, NCSU, UC Davis, UTK, U of I, Wisconsin, and Cornell). I also have the option of applying to Australian schools (I was born in Australia and am still a citizen, so I would pay either cheap or free tuition). I would prefer to stay in the US (I know more about the schools, and moving to Australia would be terrifying since I haven't been there since I was 7!), but obviously the cheaper price tag is appealing. Unfortunately, I'd be unable to apply to both and see which ones I get into since vet school in Australia starts in February of 2019, and I'd have to decide and deposit in late 2018.

Are my chances for vet school in the US high enough that you'd recommend holding out for those schools? Would you try for an Australian school in my situation? Is there any way you would recommend improving my chances? Thanks so much, I really look forward to your replies (and being an official member of this community!)

Your GPA is pretty good, and some US schools don't even look at GRE anymore, or don't count it for much. One issue that some schools may consider is that you only have experience in one area of veterinary medicine, and at only one hospital (assuming I read that correctly). If you could get any experience in another area like large animal, zoo, exotics, wildlife, etc. even if it is just a few hours of shadowing, that could improve your application. It's been a few years since I've taken the GRE, but your quant score doesn't sound that bad to me.

As far as whether or not you should apply to a US school or Australia, I'm not sure I can properly advise on that. I always tell people to go to the cheapest school, but I also understand not wanting to be on the opposite side of the world as your entire family. I think only you can really make that decision. If I could have gone to Australia and gotten a free education, I probably would have done it (maybe, it's hard to say what we would actually do in a hypothetical situation.)

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[Syeira]

Your GPA is pretty good, and some US schools don't even look at GRE anymore, or don't count it for much. One issue that some schools may consider is that you only have experience in one area of veterinary medicine, and at only one hospital (assuming I read that correctly). If you could get any experience in another area like large animal, zoo, exotics, wildlife, etc. even if it is just a few hours of shadowing, that could improve your application. It's been a few years since I've taken the GRE, but your quant score doesn't sound that bad to me.

As far as whether or not you should apply to a US school or Australia, I'm not sure I can properly advise on that. I always tell people to go to the cheapest school, but I also understand not wanting to be on the opposite side of the world as your entire family. I think only you can really make that decision. If I could have gone to Australia and gotten a free education, I probably would have done it (maybe, it's hard to say what we would actually do in a hypothetical situation.)

Hey!

Thanks so much for the response, that's certainly encouraging! I did plan on trying to get in some shadowing hours coming up this summer (hopefully in exotics especially, as I've thought about trying to specialize in exotics). I'm glad to hear that that may help!

I think you're right that Australian vet schools are more of a personal decision than anything, but I just wanted to make sure that I stood a chance of getting into US vet schools before I decided which schools to apply to. (I'm under the impression that it's easier to get into Oz schools than it is US schools, which is why I'm nervous about potentially throwing away a more likely opportunity there. If anyone knows better than I do and that impression is incorrect, by the way, please let me know!)

Again, thanks so much!

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hey!

Thanks so much for the response, that's certainly encouraging! I did plan on trying to get in some shadowing hours coming up this summer (hopefully in exotics especially, as I've thought about trying to specialize in exotics). I'm glad to hear that that may help!

I think you're right that Australian vet schools are more of a personal decision than anything, but I just wanted to make sure that I stood a chance of getting into US vet schools before I decided which schools to apply to. (I'm under the impression that it's easier to get into Oz schools than it is US schools, which is why I'm nervous about potentially throwing away a more likely opportunity there. If anyone knows better than I do and that impression is incorrect, by the way, please let me know!)

Again, thanks so much!

I would have to echo Skimble. Personally I wouldn't worry about retaking the GRE I had 154Q and 156V with a ~3.76cum GPA and got into WSU, CSU, ISU, and Mizzou-in terms of comparing those parts of application. I think definately look into varied experience would be good. Obviously I would advise cheapest option, however, I can see how moving half a world away would be difficult plus I know the school system is set up slightly different from what I understand which if you're used to US schools the adjusment to vet school might be a little bit more to get used to than just staying stateside. I think that will truly have to be a personal decision-maybe if you could find someone who is enrolled in Oz schools and chat with them would help. Goodluck!

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hey everyone, I'm coming across a difficult time trying to decide which school to really apply to by 2019. I want to apply to several to have better chances of getting in. I'm also looking into specializations that interest me (surgery SA/LA soft tissue, neurology, sports and rebab medicine) and which schools will have summer or job opportunities as I am moving by myself. I also want an area that has close proximity to stores/food places that won't be too long of a drive. Fine with any weather, although as an NV res. the snow may be a shock but I'm looking forward to a proper winter and a campus that will be easy to reach with driving/walking/biking distances to classes

My choices so far are:

IS due to being an NV resident (if I apply for WICHE)
CSU
WSU

OOS
Cornell
Michigan State
OVC Guelph (one slight con of mine is the student visa and the money if it would be too expensive)
LSU
PENN (maybe)


I am still working on gaining hours for vet exp/animal exp. Due to being in NV, there aren't many large animal places, which is a bummer. Will be getting my BAS by May of 2020 and taking the GRE in the fall this year. So applying to schools that will accept current grades would be helpful.

Hey! We've chatted before. Definately wise going with the schools that you'll have "IS" per say as a WICHE. I can personally address CSU and WSU as I know nothing about the others. Both schools have summer work opportunities. As far as specialization both schools will have rotations you'll get to experience and your desires will probably change during school and if a school doesn't have a strong rotation in one of those you can always do an externship of some sort to help fufill that need. As far as traffic travel, WSU everything is like a 10 minute drive in Pullman, if you don't like what Pullman has to offer Moscow is about 15 minutes away. Really you can get anywhere with easy access fairly quickly. CSU is a bigger town, more traffic but depending on where you live access to these things is relatively easy. Football always makes traffic worse though reguardless of the school. Both campuses have great bus routes. CSU is more bike friendly than WSU. Both schools have housing within walking distance you could live in. I'm unsure what you mean by the bolded. Before you take the GRE check with the schools you plan to apply to and see if they still require it or not. Feel free to message me again if you have any additional questions!

 

[OP8]

Hii again! I recognized your name, it's nice to chat with you again. Since I'm planning to do the application process mid 2019, I will still need 5 more classes before I can graduate in May 2020. So I'm curious to see if the schools will accept me by then. My official transcripts will be missing that last semester.

Also thank you for your response and for being helpful. If more questions arise later on, I will contact you.

 

[Syeira]

I would have to echo Skimble. Personally I wouldn't worry about retaking the GRE I had 154Q and 156V with a ~3.76cum GPA and got into WSU, CSU, ISU, and Mizzou-in terms of comparing those parts of application. I think definately look into varied experience would be good. Obviously I would advise cheapest option, however, I can see how moving half a world away would be difficult plus I know the school system is set up slightly different from what I understand which if you're used to US schools the adjusment to vet school might be a little bit more to get used to than just staying stateside. I think that will truly have to be a personal decision-maybe if you could find someone who is enrolled in Oz schools and chat with them would help. Goodluck!

Thank you! You guys are so encouraging. That GRE score has been a thorn in my side for a long time, so that's very helpful to hear!

I would love to be able to chat with a student enrolled in an Oz school - I haven't been able to find much detailed information on what the programs are like, and that has been what has made me the most nervous about Australian vet schools as a whole. If anyone would be able to help, please feel free to chime in or message me.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hii again! I recognized your name, it's nice to chat with you again. Since I'm planning to do the application process mid 2019, I will still need 5 more classes before I can graduate in May 2020. So I'm curious to see if the schools will accept me by then. My official transcripts will be missing that last semester.

Also thank you for your response and for being helpful. If more questions arise later on, I will contact you.

So when you apply the 2019 cycle it's fine if you have classes missing as most people graduate in May of the following year so May of 2020 in your case. When you submit your application grades will be missing for an entire year as F2019 and S2020 grades will be missing. What will vary is prerequisites and it's important to check with individual schools as to the number of outstanding prerequisites they will allow you to apply with. I think Auburn (could be wrong but think I read this somewhere) starting this cycle wants all prereqs done before application while others will allow say 2 or 3 to be outstanding as long as they are completed before like June of admission year. The schools really vary on this though so I would definately contact them and see what their specific policy is when you get ready to apply.

 

[OP8]

So when you apply the 2019 cycle it's fine if you have classes missing as most people graduate in May of the following year so May of 2020 in your case. When you submit your application grades will be missing for an entire year as F2019 and S2020 grades will be missing. What will vary is prerequisites and it's important to check with individual schools as to the number of outstanding prerequisites they will allow you to apply with. I think Auburn (could be wrong but think I read this somewhere) starting this cycle wants all prereqs done before application while others will allow say 2 or 3 to be outstanding as long as they are completed before like June of admission year. The schools really vary on this though so I would definately contact them and see what their specific policy is when you get ready to apply.

Thank you for this information!

 

[wildknight]

Hey!

So, I was hoping to get some advice on how to strengthen my application. My last 45 GPA will be a 4.0, I have wildlife rehab experience, farm experience, shelter experience, work with a holistic veterinarian, work with an emergency veterinarian, work with a lab vet, a couple thousand hours of research experience in a medical lab and in a ecological lab, and my last semester I was thinking of maybe doing an independent research project?

My career GPA is like a 3.04 or something because it took a long time for me to navigate college/my personal life. I failed orgo once, got an A the second time, got a C- in physics and gen chem and retook both for an A. I also got a D- in biology (...twice) before getting the A. The rest of the pre-reqs I got A's, but...yikes, right?

I was looking into grad schools for improvement, but it's so expensive. Should I take classes at a community college before applying? What else can I do to improve my application, or is there no opportunity for forgiveness haha.

You can be harsh, that's okay. Trying to gain an honest perspective on my situation.


I was looking into schools like MSU, Kansas, (Cornell lol but yeah I realize that's a difficult choice there but #dreams amiright), Minnesota, Illinois...etc if you have any info or anything.

Maybe looking to hear what other people might have done? I've pretty much exhausted school websites.

 

[SkiOtter]

Look into schools that care about the last 45 gpa. Some schools don’t care about your cumulative gpa at all. Iowa State uses prereq and last 45 gpa for admissions and only uses cumulative to make sure you meet their minimum (2.5 I think?).
Some schools don’t factor gpa into admissions decisions at all (Michigan State and illinois) so you could also apply there if you’re a strong candidate elsewhere and interview well.

 

[wildknight]

Look into schools that care about the last 45 gpa. Some schools don’t care about your cumulative gpa at all. Iowa State uses prereq and last 45 gpa for admissions and only uses cumulative to make sure you meet their minimum (2.5 I think?).
Some schools don’t factor gpa into admissions decisions at all (Michigan State and illinois) so you could also apply there if you’re a strong candidate elsewhere and interview well.

what about the averaging of my first failed classes into the pre-req gpa? Wouldn't applying to schools who focus on that hurt?

 

[SkiOtter]

what about the averaging of my first failed classes into the pre-req gpa? Wouldn't applying to schools who focus on that hurt?

Kansas State and Michigan State dont average. KSU takes the last grade and MSU takes whichever is the highest.
Not sure about the others including Illinois. Definitely email and check with individual schools to find their policies

 

[Chili_Cat]

Posting this again as I am really looking for any input that would be helpful- thank you!!

Hello, I plan on applying this cycle and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice if I am a strong candidate? I am interested in WSU, Tufts, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia- Maryland, CSU and AVC. I'm just not sure if these schools I'm applying to are out of my reach.

21 year old RI resident

GPA: 3.45 cumulative
Last 45 is somewhere around a 3.7
Have not taken the GRE yet

Interested in large animal medicine and laboratory animal medicine

Vet experience: 800 hours as a TA at a 24 hour emergency hopsital
300 hours working at a veterinary diagnostic lab in serology
50 hours in a class doing necropsies
200 hours on the farm I work at owned by 2 vets (doing c sections on sheep, procedures, lambing, etc.)
I will be working full time for a year as a research technician at a biomedical research facility in Boston so I will also count this as
vet/animal experience

Animal Experience: 400 hours as a Primate intern at a zoo for a summer (10 weeks)
200 hours of dairy experience taking care of a herd of Holsteins as a year long class
100 hours working on horse farms
400 hours working on a sheep farm where the sheep are used for biomedical research
200 hours walking dogs (started my own business in high school)

Research: 100 hours Assisted in research at a marine lab


Employment: I have always had at least one job in college, worked at department of housing for 4 years and currently work at a sheep farm and the veterinary diagnostic lab

LOR: adviser, veterinarian I work with, serology lab supervisor

Extracurricular: professional agricultural sorority, VP of Girl Up, board member for an international humanitarian org, pre vet club

Do you know your science GPA? WSU weighs science, prerequisite, and last 45 GPA most heavily out of the five GPAs they look at so keep that in mind, but your last 45 looks pretty good!
You experience seems to be on the right track as well, more hours never hurt anyone so it’s good you’re continuing to gain experience. Be careful on your application though not to “double dip” on hours like you kinda are above, for example the sheep farm would only go under vet experience, not vet and employment. And I’d think the research tech position would go under research. Also I’d be careful about adding hours for something that was part of a class, I’d probably contact individual schools and see if they think you should include it (I personally did not include a research project that I did as part of a class for example, but I touched on that experience in my interview).
At this point, I think you have a pretty solid background to get going on your application, and while I’m not familiar with all those schools and their admissions processes, I don’t think vet school in general is out of your reach!

 

[Aloe123]

Do you know your science GPA? WSU weighs science, prerequisite, and last 45 GPA most heavily out of the five GPAs they look at so keep that in mind, but your last 45 looks pretty good!
You experience seems to be on the right track as well, more hours never hurt anyone so it’s good you’re continuing to gain experience. Be careful on your application though not to “double dip” on hours like you kinda are above, for example the sheep farm would only go under vet experience, not vet and employment. And I’d think the research tech position would go under research. Also I’d be careful about adding hours for something that was part of a class, I’d probably contact individual schools and see if they think you should include it (I personally did not include a research project that I did as part of a class for example, but I touched on that experience in my interview).
At this point, I think you have a pretty solid background to get going on your application, and while I’m not familiar with all those schools and their admissions processes, I don’t think vet school in general is out of your reach!

That makes sense- I wasn't aware about double dipping so I will keep that in mind! Thank you for your help

 

[SkiOtter]

That makes sense- I wasn't aware about double dipping so I will keep that in mind! Thank you for your help

this is from the vmcas help page and theres a nice little flow chart that helps you determine what category to put each experience in. the newer help page has more descriptions but i still really like that flow chart because it makes it a bit more difficult to miscategorize things.

 

[Spoot]

Hi guys! 22 year old male here. I graduated in 2017 and got freaked out from applying and "decided" I wanted to switch to Physician's Assistant. Long story short, I realized how much a fool I was being and got back on track. I plan to apply this 2018-2019 cycle. Chime in if you feel I'm wrong, but I think this "gap year" may have strengthed my application. I shows I was really thinking about it and finally decided that being a vet was right for me. I'm currently not working in the vet field (I'm a manager of a gym) but I've called some schools and they said they like it when people work outside the field because it shows varied interest and perspective. Plus I think management experience might look nice. Again, correct me if you think it's irrelevant!

Degrees:
B.S. in Veterinary and Biomedical Science from The Pennsylvania State University

Cum GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: Slightly lower I think? I can't remember at the moment.

Veterinary Experience:
-~1000 at a SA clinic

I'm hoping to get ~50-100 hours at hopefully a large animal clinic this summer so I can have recommendations from two vets. I worked ~12 hours with a large animal vet at a different clinic but the time was so miniscule and several years ago so I doubt he remembers me.

Animal Experience:
- ~600 hours working as a "receptionist" at the same clinic. Even though I was a receptionist, I worked in the back a lot restraining, helping with fluids, feeding, etc.

Letters of Recommendation
-Penn State Professor (head of the "pre-vet" program)
-Penn State Professor (another vet)
-Veternarian I worked for
-Boss at unrelated job (physical therapy, where I worked when I thought I was going to switch to PA)

GRE: 318: 160 verbal, 86%; 158 quant, 69% percentile.

My concerns:

-Basically all of the vet experience is from one clinic. I'm in the process of trying to shadow at one in my area right now but it might be "full" (has one student already) and the others are at least an hour from me. And between my job and the travel and this application cycle, I might only be able to get 50-100 hours maximum before I apply in June/July.

-My animal experience might come into question because I was a receptionist, which means I spent time answering phones and doing laundry and stuff. While that is true, I spent a LOT of my time in the back helping with the animals/surgery.

-I have weak extracurriculars. I was in the pre-vet club for 2-3 years while I was at school. No research, I tried but it didn't pan out at school.

-I got 2 C's while in school. One was in freshman year in calculus and my second was in sophmore intro chem (lol). Math and Chem has never been my strong suit, but I took Calc II at a community college and passed and only the credit is transferred to my school, not the grade, so I'm good on that front. Since the C in chem, I took two orgos, and a biochem, and got 2 A's and a B.

Strengths
-fairly good GPA

-fairly good GRE

-I don't know my last 45 credits for certain but they are more like a 3.8-3.9 I think. My trend looks very good because I did mediocre in my first year, rose a signifcant bit in my sophmore year, and essentially got deans list and straight A's my last 4 semesters.

-I think my undergrad school looks pretty good but I'm not sure

-signficant amount of vet experience

-The vet I shadowed loves me, so that evalution will look good. Same with my professors.

-leadership experience as a manager? Hope that counts for something haha.

-gap year to pursue interests led me back to where I started

- I'm a good interviewee in my opinion, so if I manage to get an interview I think that portion will go smoothly.

I plan to apply to NC State (that tuition doe), VT Tech, UPenn, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan.


I probably left a lot out. Please ask me whatever you want to know! Thanks guys.

 

[SkiOtter]

Animal Experience:
- ~600 hours working as a "receptionist" at the same clinic. Even though I was a receptionist, I worked in the back a lot restraining, helping with fluids, feeding, etc.

This might count as vet experience because you were restraining and doing fluids. Unless you are saying you had 1600 at that clinic and split your hours into 1000 vet and 600 receptionist?

 

[Spoot]

This might count as vet experience because you were restraining and doing fluids. Unless you are saying you had 1600 at that clinic and split your hours into 1000 vet and 600 receptionist?

You got it. I was a receptionist at the same clinic I shadowed at. The reason for the "split" was because I wasn't directly working with animals the whole time (ie, answering phones and such). I could probably include that in vet experience. Would it look better to have some vet and some animal, or all vet experience?

EDIT: Also, are those votes at the top for my post? Cause if so, dang looks like baskets are my future

 

[MixedAnimals77]

You got it. I was a receptionist at the same clinic I shadowed at. The reason for the "split" was because I wasn't directly working with animals the whole time (ie, answering phones and such). I could probably include that in vet experience. Would it look better to have some vet and some animal, or all vet experience?

EDIT: Also, are those votes at the top for my post? Cause if so, dang looks like baskets are my future

Oh no lol ignore that.
As far as the vet experience I put anytime I was working for a vet under vet experience-receptionist included. Animal expereince is like 4H, training dogs, rodeo, volunteering at the shelter etc.

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

Hi guys! 22 year old male here. I graduated in 2017 and got freaked out from applying and "decided" I wanted to switch to Physician's Assistant. Long story short, I realized how much a fool I was being and got back on track. I plan to apply this 2018-2019 cycle. Chime in if you feel I'm wrong, but I think this "gap year" may have strengthed my application. I shows I was really thinking about it and finally decided that being a vet was right for me. I'm currently not working in the vet field (I'm a manager of a gym) but I've called some schools and they said they like it when people work outside the field because it shows varied interest and perspective. Plus I think management experience might look nice. Again, correct me if you think it's irrelevant!

Degrees:
B.S. in Veterinary and Biomedical Science from The Pennsylvania State University

Cum GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: Slightly lower I think? I can't remember at the moment.

Veterinary Experience:
-~1000 at a SA clinic

I'm hoping to get ~50-100 hours at hopefully a large animal clinic this summer so I can have recommendations from two vets. I worked ~12 hours with a large animal vet at a different clinic but the time was so miniscule and several years ago so I doubt he remembers me.

Animal Experience:
- ~600 hours working as a "receptionist" at the same clinic. Even though I was a receptionist, I worked in the back a lot restraining, helping with fluids, feeding, etc.

Letters of Recommendation
-Penn State Professor (head of the "pre-vet" program)
-Penn State Professor (another vet)
-Veternarian I worked for
-Boss at unrelated job (physical therapy, where I worked when I thought I was going to switch to PA)

GRE: 318: 160 verbal, 86%; 158 quant, 69% percentile.

My concerns:

-Basically all of the vet experience is from one clinic. I'm in the process of trying to shadow at one in my area right now but it might be "full" (has one student already) and the others are at least an hour from me. And between my job and the travel and this application cycle, I might only be able to get 50-100 hours maximum before I apply in June/July.

-My animal experience might come into question because I was a receptionist, which means I spent time answering phones and doing laundry and stuff. While that is true, I spent a LOT of my time in the back helping with the animals/surgery.

-I have weak extracurriculars. I was in the pre-vet club for 2-3 years while I was at school. No research, I tried but it didn't pan out at school.

-I got 2 C's while in school. One was in freshman year in calculus and my second was in sophmore intro chem (lol). Math and Chem has never been my strong suit, but I took Calc II at a community college and passed and only the credit is transferred to my school, not the grade, so I'm good on that front. Since the C in chem, I took two orgos, and a biochem, and got 2 A's and a B.

Strengths
-fairly good GPA

-fairly good GRE

-I don't know my last 45 credits for certain but they are more like a 3.8-3.9 I think. My trend looks very good because I did mediocre in my first year, rose a signifcant bit in my sophmore year, and essentially got deans list and straight A's my last 4 semesters.

-I think my undergrad school looks pretty good but I'm not sure

-signficant amount of vet experience

-The vet I shadowed loves me, so that evalution will look good. Same with my professors.

-leadership experience as a manager? Hope that counts for something haha.

-gap year to pursue interests led me back to where I started

- I'm a good interviewee in my opinion, so if I manage to get an interview I think that portion will go smoothly.

I plan to apply to NC State (that tuition doe), VT Tech, UPenn, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan.


I probably left a lot out. Please ask me whatever you want to know! Thanks guys.

In case you didnt realize, you need to send in transcripts from ANY college you attended, including community college! I have heard of applications getting discarded simply due to one Spanish class at a community college being excluded (not mine for the record lol)

If you can pick up some hours with more varied species I think that will help your chances.

 

[SkiOtter]

In case you didnt realize, you need to send in transcripts from ANY college you attended, including community college! I have heard of applications getting discarded simply due to one Spanish class at a community college being excluded (not mine for the record lol)

And even if you were dual enrolled during high school and took college classes while in high school those transcripts need to be sent (I think usually those ones people tend to forget about too)

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hi guys! 22 year old male here. I graduated in 2017 and got freaked out from applying and "decided" I wanted to switch to Physician's Assistant. Long story short, I realized how much a fool I was being and got back on track. I plan to apply this 2018-2019 cycle. Chime in if you feel I'm wrong, but I think this "gap year" may have strengthed my application. I shows I was really thinking about it and finally decided that being a vet was right for me. I'm currently not working in the vet field (I'm a manager of a gym) but I've called some schools and they said they like it when people work outside the field because it shows varied interest and perspective. Plus I think management experience might look nice. Again, correct me if you think it's irrelevant!

Degrees:
B.S. in Veterinary and Biomedical Science from The Pennsylvania State University

Cum GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: Slightly lower I think? I can't remember at the moment.

Veterinary Experience:
-~1000 at a SA clinic

I'm hoping to get ~50-100 hours at hopefully a large animal clinic this summer so I can have recommendations from two vets. I worked ~12 hours with a large animal vet at a different clinic but the time was so miniscule and several years ago so I doubt he remembers me.

Animal Experience:
- ~600 hours working as a "receptionist" at the same clinic. Even though I was a receptionist, I worked in the back a lot restraining, helping with fluids, feeding, etc.

Letters of Recommendation
-Penn State Professor (head of the "pre-vet" program)
-Penn State Professor (another vet)
-Veternarian I worked for
-Boss at unrelated job (physical therapy, where I worked when I thought I was going to switch to PA)

GRE: 318: 160 verbal, 86%; 158 quant, 69% percentile.

My concerns:

-Basically all of the vet experience is from one clinic. I'm in the process of trying to shadow at one in my area right now but it might be "full" (has one student already) and the others are at least an hour from me. And between my job and the travel and this application cycle, I might only be able to get 50-100 hours maximum before I apply in June/July.

-My animal experience might come into question because I was a receptionist, which means I spent time answering phones and doing laundry and stuff. While that is true, I spent a LOT of my time in the back helping with the animals/surgery.

-I have weak extracurriculars. I was in the pre-vet club for 2-3 years while I was at school. No research, I tried but it didn't pan out at school.

-I got 2 C's while in school. One was in freshman year in calculus and my second was in sophmore intro chem (lol). Math and Chem has never been my strong suit, but I took Calc II at a community college and passed and only the credit is transferred to my school, not the grade, so I'm good on that front. Since the C in chem, I took two orgos, and a biochem, and got 2 A's and a B.

Strengths
-fairly good GPA

-fairly good GRE

-I don't know my last 45 credits for certain but they are more like a 3.8-3.9 I think. My trend looks very good because I did mediocre in my first year, rose a signifcant bit in my sophmore year, and essentially got deans list and straight A's my last 4 semesters.

-I think my undergrad school looks pretty good but I'm not sure

-signficant amount of vet experience

-The vet I shadowed loves me, so that evalution will look good. Same with my professors.

-leadership experience as a manager? Hope that counts for something haha.

-gap year to pursue interests led me back to where I started

- I'm a good interviewee in my opinion, so if I manage to get an interview I think that portion will go smoothly.

I plan to apply to NC State (that tuition doe), VT Tech, UPenn, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan.


I probably left a lot out. Please ask me whatever you want to know! Thanks guys.

Also if you're looking for tuition consider WSU and Mizzou that allow change of residency after year 1. I got a C in gen chem 2-I wouldn't worry too much about it. Don't worry about how your undergrad institution looks as long as it's accredited. I got a minor in management and was an assistant manager essentially for a bit-it's good in the sense if you can use that expereince to show maturity and use that knowledge to answer real world questions like how to handle an employee in situation x. I specifically am interested in owning my own rural practice at some point way in the future so it played into my application more heavily than persay just being a manager, but you can use it to help present yourself as the unique applicant you are. Everything everyone else has said though is great!
ETA: on the transcript portion-literally transcripts from everywhere. Currently working on getting transcripts from Korea for a 2 week 3cr course I took...it's great (insert very sarcastic tone+eye roll)

 

[Spoot]

In case you didnt realize, you need to send in transcripts from ANY college you attended, including community college! I have heard of applications getting discarded simply due to one Spanish class at a community college being excluded (not mine for the record lol)

If you can pick up some hours with more varied species I think that will help your chances.

Oh wow, thank you I didn't even think about that in terms of transcripts, that could be a nightmare! Also I'm in the process of trying, hoping to get at least 100 before I apply.

Also if you're looking for tuition consider WSU and Mizzou that allow change of residency after year 1. I got a C in gen chem 2-I wouldn't worry too much about it. Don't worry about how your undergrad institution looks as long as it's accredited. I got a minor in management and was an assistant manager essentially for a bit-it's good in the sense if you can use that expereince to show maturity and use that knowledge to answer real world questions like how to handle an employee in situation x. I specifically am interested in owning my own rural practice at some point way in the future so it played into my application more heavily than persay just being a manager, but you can use it to help present yourself as the unique applicant you are. Everything everyone else has said though is great!
ETA: on the transcript portion-literally transcripts from everywhere. Currently working on getting transcripts from Korea for a 2 week 3cr course I took...it's great (insert very sarcastic tone+eye roll)

Thank you that makes me feel good about my grades/job!

So would you guys say I have a decent chance? Or average...or below?

 

[SkiOtter]

Thank you that makes me feel good about my grades/job!

So would you guys say I have a decent chance? Or average...or below?

Your cumulative gpa is pretty good and your gre is good. Along with having a lot of hours, I think you probably would at least stand a chance at some schools. What’s your last 45 credit your gpa like? Higher or lower or about the same as your cumulative gpa? If it’s higher, make sure to apply to some schools that focus on last 45 gpa because that’ll give you an extra boost. If it’s a bit lower, focus more on schools that care more about cumulative gpa.

 

[AnimalLover<3]

Hi guys!

So I am seeking advice on how to enhance my GPA for vet school. I graduated with not the most competitive GPA, (cum: 3.2 ish, science cum: 3.0 ish, last 45: 3.5). For those who have experienced similar situations, is it best to apply for a post bacc program for upper-level courses or retake courses at community colleges? What steps have others done to enhance your GPA stats?

I appreciate any advice!! Thank you!!

 

[DVMoftheFuture]

Hi guys!

So I am seeking advice on how to enhance my GPA for vet school. I graduated with not the most competitive GPA, (cum: 3.2 ish, science cum: 3.0 ish, last 45: 3.5). For those who have experienced similar situations, is it best to apply for a post bacc program for upper-level courses or retake courses at community colleges? What steps have others done to enhance your GPA stats?

I appreciate any advice!! Thank you!!

It really depends on the schools you are interested in. If you are looking at schools that average grades for retakes or that are primarily concerned with last 45 GPA, I would recommend doing a post-bacc for upper level courses and getting good grades in those courses. If the schools you are interested in will do grade replacement for retakes, it might be worth it to retake courses. It is unfortunately pretty difficult to bring up cumulative GPA after having a full Bachelor's degree of credits. However, if you target schools that only care about last 45 GPA or schools for which you only need to meet a minimum GPA requirement to make it to file review and/or interview, you might have a better shot. I would also suggest digging around the forums a bit. I think there are multiple threads that discuss this issue more thoroughly.

 

[Georgethecat]

Hi guys! 22 year old male here. I graduated in 2017 and got freaked out from applying and "decided" I wanted to switch to Physician's Assistant. Long story short, I realized how much a fool I was being and got back on track. I plan to apply this 2018-2019 cycle. Chime in if you feel I'm wrong, but I think this "gap year" may have strengthed my application. I shows I was really thinking about it and finally decided that being a vet was right for me. I'm currently not working in the vet field (I'm a manager of a gym) but I've called some schools and they said they like it when people work outside the field because it shows varied interest and perspective. Plus I think management experience might look nice. Again, correct me if you think it's irrelevant!

Degrees:
B.S. in Veterinary and Biomedical Science from The Pennsylvania State University

Cum GPA: 3.62
Science GPA: Slightly lower I think? I can't remember at the moment.

Veterinary Experience:
-~1000 at a SA clinic

I'm hoping to get ~50-100 hours at hopefully a large animal clinic this summer so I can have recommendations from two vets. I worked ~12 hours with a large animal vet at a different clinic but the time was so miniscule and several years ago so I doubt he remembers me.

Animal Experience:
- ~600 hours working as a "receptionist" at the same clinic. Even though I was a receptionist, I worked in the back a lot restraining, helping with fluids, feeding, etc.

Letters of Recommendation
-Penn State Professor (head of the "pre-vet" program)
-Penn State Professor (another vet)
-Veternarian I worked for
-Boss at unrelated job (physical therapy, where I worked when I thought I was going to switch to PA)

GRE: 318: 160 verbal, 86%; 158 quant, 69% percentile.

My concerns:

-Basically all of the vet experience is from one clinic. I'm in the process of trying to shadow at one in my area right now but it might be "full" (has one student already) and the others are at least an hour from me. And between my job and the travel and this application cycle, I might only be able to get 50-100 hours maximum before I apply in June/July.

-My animal experience might come into question because I was a receptionist, which means I spent time answering phones and doing laundry and stuff. While that is true, I spent a LOT of my time in the back helping with the animals/surgery.

-I have weak extracurriculars. I was in the pre-vet club for 2-3 years while I was at school. No research, I tried but it didn't pan out at school.

-I got 2 C's while in school. One was in freshman year in calculus and my second was in sophmore intro chem (lol). Math and Chem has never been my strong suit, but I took Calc II at a community college and passed and only the credit is transferred to my school, not the grade, so I'm good on that front. Since the C in chem, I took two orgos, and a biochem, and got 2 A's and a B.

Strengths
-fairly good GPA

-fairly good GRE

-I don't know my last 45 credits for certain but they are more like a 3.8-3.9 I think. My trend looks very good because I did mediocre in my first year, rose a signifcant bit in my sophmore year, and essentially got deans list and straight A's my last 4 semesters.

-I think my undergrad school looks pretty good but I'm not sure

-signficant amount of vet experience

-The vet I shadowed loves me, so that evalution will look good. Same with my professors.

-leadership experience as a manager? Hope that counts for something haha.

-gap year to pursue interests led me back to where I started

- I'm a good interviewee in my opinion, so if I manage to get an interview I think that portion will go smoothly.

I plan to apply to NC State (that tuition doe), VT Tech, UPenn, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan.


I probably left a lot out. Please ask me whatever you want to know! Thanks guys.

There's no advantage to applying early. Depending on when you plan to get the shadowing hours for LA, you should probably wait till early September to hit submit on VMCAS. As others have said, vet experience hours are generally looked at more than animal experience. If you are looking to add diversity to your application, you could consider volunteering at the local Humane Society or rescue shelter to add animal experience.

If you get the 50-100 hours with a LA vet, hopefully they will be able to write a strong letter of recommendation for you to go along with the others you mentioned (current vet and former professors). I'd be careful about using the physical therapy rec unless you are sure that the person will be very clear about your potential for vet school and not muddy the waters by introducing physical therapy into the conversation. Probably don't want to appear as if you have a "back up" plan in PT.

You have a strong application. Best of luck to you.

 

[SkiOtter]

There's no advantage to applying early. Depending on when you plan to get the shadowing hours for LA, you should probably wait till early September to hit submit on VMCAS.

^^^^^^^this

 

[Spoot]

There's no advantage to applying early. Depending on when you plan to get the shadowing hours for LA, you should probably wait till early September to hit submit on VMCAS. As others have said, vet experience hours are generally looked at more than animal experience. If you are looking to add diversity to your application, you could consider volunteering at the local Humane Society or rescue shelter to add animal experience.

If you get the 50-100 hours with a LA vet, hopefully they will be able to write a strong letter of recommendation for you to go along with the others you mentioned (current vet and former professors). I'd be careful about using the physical therapy rec unless you are sure that the person will be very clear about your potential for vet school and not muddy the waters by introducing physical therapy into the conversation. Probably don't want to appear as if you have a "back up" plan in PT.

You have a strong application. Best of luck to you.

Wow I am so glad I posted this. That is something I didn't even consider, thank you so much. I definetely want to use him as a reference because he knows me well and essentially got me the job I have today, but I will be sure to stress that he doesn't make it about PT but more about me as a person. Thank you so much for posting!

 

[PetVet7]

What am I doing wrong?? This was my second time applying, and again I only got rejections and waitlisted. Lol @ me for thinking I had a decent chance.

I'm waiting to hear back about file reviews from Illinois (waitlisted), and Kansas State (straight up rejected) told me my sGPA and GRE were too low to be offered an interview (even though I interviewed last year with lower scores). Mizzou doesn't do file reviews, and I was in way over my head applying to Wisconsin.

I really don't want to take the GRE again because I don't believe I can do much better on it, so my plan will be to apply to schools that don't require it or don't weigh it heavily. I also only took one semester of organic chemistry, which limits the schools I'm able to apply to. If I take a second semester, I can hopefully raise my sGPA slightly and apply to more schools.

22 year old Illinois resident

Degree: B.S. Animal Science from Kansas State 2017
cGPA: 3.55
sGPA: 3.19 or 3.4 depending on the school
Last 45: 3.8

GRE: 149V, 150Q, 3.5 writing

Vet Experience:
- 1500 hours SA vet tech
-150 hours shadowing various SA and LA clinics

Animal Experience:
- 400 hours Wildlife clinic
- 15 hours parrot rescue
- 250 hours animal showmanship (horse, goat, dairy)
- 300 hours animal shelter volunteer
- 500 hours kitten foster
- 200 hours pet sitting (SA and exotic)
- 200 hours grooming assistant
- 50 hours bovine AI
- 40 hours kidding/lambing
- owned pets all my life

Research:
- 1500 hours swine vaccine research

Other experience:
- 900 hours cashier
- owned a small business in high school
- ultimate frisbee club member

LOR:
- SA veterinarian I currently work under
- Professor/advisor
- PI I did the swine research under

 

[RedLauren]

What am I doing wrong?? This was my second time applying, and again I only got rejections and waitlisted. Lol @ me for thinking I had a decent chance.

I'm waiting to hear back about file reviews from Illinois (waitlisted), and Kansas State (straight up rejected) told me my sGPA and GRE were too low to be offered an interview (even though I interviewed last year with lower scores). Mizzou doesn't do file reviews, and I was in way over my head applying to Wisconsin.

I really don't want to take the GRE again because I don't believe I can do much better on it, so my plan will be to apply to schools that don't require it or don't weigh it heavily. I also only took one semester of organic chemistry, which limits the schools I'm able to apply to. If I take a second semester, I can hopefully raise my sGPA slightly and apply to more schools.

22 year old Illinois resident

Degree: B.S. Animal Science from Kansas State 2017
cGPA: 3.55
sGPA: 3.19 or 3.4 depending on the school
Last 45: 3.8

GRE: 149V, 150Q, 3.5 writing

Vet Experience:
- 1500 hours SA vet tech
-150 hours shadowing various SA and LA clinics

Animal Experience:
- 400 hours Wildlife clinic
- 15 hours parrot rescue
- 250 hours animal showmanship (horse, goat, dairy)
- 300 hours animal shelter volunteer
- 500 hours kitten foster
- 200 hours pet sitting (SA and exotic)
- 200 hours grooming assistant
- 50 hours bovine AI
- 40 hours kidding/lambing
- owned pets all my life

Research:
- 1500 hours swine vaccine research

Other experience:
- 900 hours cashier
- owned a small business in high school
- ultimate frisbee club member

LOR:
- SA veterinarian I currently work under
- Professor/advisor
- PI I did the swine research under

Why do you think you won't improve if you retake the GRE? Have you taken a GRE prep class? How well did you prepare for it last time? I'm asking this because I think it's one of the weaker points in your application and it is very easy to fix, unlike raising a low cumGPA after years of college credits.

In addition to what you said, I would also try to vary your veterinary experience a bit. Also don't underestimate leadership experience and try to find some way to display leadership. When I went to file review they talked about his a lot (this was at a vet school you didn't apply to, but still - ) and it caught me off guard because I hadn't thought of it much either, but leadership IS important.

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

Really thought I had it this year. I still have a chance I guess with the waitlists I'm on but trying to be very proactive in getting this tidied up for next application cycle. I think I'm weakest in number of large animal hours (and none with a vet) as well as my lower last 45 GPA (I struggled during one quarter that ended in less than 3.0 gpa taking 18 credits and working nearly full time. First day of that quarter both my brother and sister attempted suicide (friggin serious) and the next month my dad was hit by a car. I really wanted to graduate that year so I refused to drop any classes)

My plan is to gain some more LA experience (I'm already going to begin with a horse rescue and volunteer during their gelding clinics for vet experience). I'm trying to think of what to do to help with GPA. I don't have any Cs or below for required courses. I would need to essentially take a couple quarters of classes just for the hey of it to up my last 45 gpa. I suppose I could retake the GRE to see if I could ace the math portion (the circumstances leading up to my test were very stressful. Let's just say I drove over 2 hours in rush-hour traffic and was 1 minute away from being sent back due to almost missing the sign-in deadline, and on an empty stomach)

Here are my up-to-date hours.

23 year old female, Washington State resident, second time going on third time applicant

Applied: Washington, Minnesota, Florida
Interview Invites: Washington, Minnesota, Florida
Waitlisted: Washington, Minnesota, Florida

(VMCAS reported GPAs - tbh I don't know the difference)
Overall GPA: 3.59
Science GPA: 3.49
Last 45 GPA: 3.38

Degree: BS Microbiology 8/2017

GRE (V/Q/W): 160/162/4.0

Veterinary Experience:
Shadowed porpoise necropsy (3 hours)
Mouse health check assistant (144 hours)
SA vet assistant (760 hours)
Overnight kennel attendant (90 hours)
Veterinary assistant course (280 hours)
Pathologist's assistant (552 hours-->did not have at time of last application)

Animal Experience:
Volunteer at parrot sanctuary (110 hours (42 at time of last application))
Zebra finch husbandry (110 hours)
Field Investigator/Responder for ASPCA (mixed animals: dogs, roosters, horses) (120 hours)
Animal shelter dog walker/volunteer (624+832 hours (two shelters))
Cat adoption counselor (104 hours)
Small animal massage training (1000 hours)
Housesitting/petsitting (1700 hours)
Dog boarding facility manager (5840 hours)
Pony club volunteer (91 hours)

Work Experience:
Store associate (4400 hours)
Brand ambassador (288 hours)

Extracurriculars:
Not a member of any clubs, I listed various hobbies incl. water sports, cooking, dance, and camping lol

Volunteer:
Assistant chef/server for soup kitchen (5 hours)
Eastern African refugee tutor (18 hours)
Board of Directors officer (145 hours)
Summer camp counselor (210 hours)

Research:
Physiological research of mussels (11 hours)
Review of canine immunotherapy treatments (22 hours)
Use of mice as language development models (47 hours)
Characterizing plant endophytes (22 hours)

Awards:
Dean's list 2 quarters
Associate's degree w/ honors

LORs
1. Veterinary pathologist
2. Professor/chair/PI in DCM (Department of comparative medicine)
3. Senior veterinarian in DCM
+/- research PI, store employer

 

[Coopah]

Really thought I had it this year. I still have a chance I guess with the waitlists I'm on but trying to be very proactive in getting this tidied up for next application cycle. I think I'm weakest in number of large animal hours (and none with a vet) as well as my lower last 45 GPA (I struggled during one quarter that ended in less than 3.0 gpa taking 18 credits and working nearly full time. First day of that quarter both my brother and sister attempted suicide (friggin serious) and the next month my dad was hit by a car. I really wanted to graduate that year so I refused to drop any classes)

My plan is to gain some more LA experience (I'm already going to begin with a horse rescue and volunteer during their gelding clinics for vet experience). I'm trying to think of what to do to help with GPA. I don't have any Cs or below for required courses. I would need to essentially take a couple quarters of classes just for the hey of it to up my last 45 gpa. I suppose I could retake the GRE to see if I could ace the math portion (the circumstances leading up to my test were very stressful. Let's just say I drove over 2 hours in rush-hour traffic and was 1 minute away from being sent back due to almost missing the sign-in deadline, and on an empty stomach)

Here are my up-to-date hours.

23 year old female, Washington State resident, second time going on third time applicant

Applied: Washington, Minnesota, Florida
Interview Invites: Washington, Minnesota, Florida
Waitlisted: Washington, Minnesota, Florida


Overall GPA: 3.59
Science GPA: 3.49
Last 45 GPA: 3.38

Degree: BS Microbiology 8/2017

GRE (V/Q/W): 160/162/4.0

Veterinary Experience:
Shadowed porpoise necropsy (3 hours)
Mouse health check assistant (144 hours)
SA vet assistant (760 hours)
Overnight kennel attendant (90 hours)
Veterinary assistant course (280 hours)
Pathologist's assistant (552 hours-->did not have at time of last application)

Animal Experience:
Volunteer at parrot sanctuary (110 hours (42 at time of last application))
Zebra finch husbandry (110 hours)
Field Investigator/Responder for ASPCA (mixed animals: dogs, roosters, horses) (120 hours)
Animal shelter dog walker/volunteer (624+832 hours (two shelters))
Cat adoption counselor (104 hours)
Small animal massage training (1000 hours)
Housesitting/petsitting (1700 hours)
Dog boarding facility manager (5840 hours)
Pony club volunteer (91 hours)

Work Experience:
Store associate (4400 hours)
Brand ambassador (288 hours)

Extracurriculars:
Not a member of any clubs, I listed various hobbies incl. water sports, cooking, dance, and camping lol

Volunteer:
Assistant chef/server for soup kitchen (5 hours)
Eastern African refugee tutor (18 hours)
Board of Directors officer (145 hours)
Summer camp counselor (210 hours)

Research:
Physiological research of mussels (11 hours)
Review of canine immunotherapy treatments (22 hours)
Use of mice as language development models (47 hours)
Characterizing plant endophytes (22 hours)

Awards:
Dean's list 2 quarters
Associate's degree w/ honors

LORs
1. Veterinary pathologist
2. Professor/chair/PI in DCM (Department of comparative medicine)
3. Senior veterinarian in DCM
+/- research PI, store employer

Honestly your app looks good, a little low on the last 45 (understandably) but overall good. I'm surprised you didn't get in this year. I'll be crossing my fingers for you! Maybe try to expand the amount of schools you want to try for? Sorry I can't do better than that, you're already so on top of everything. If you need someone to review your PS or anything I'd love you help out. Best of luck!

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

Honestly your app looks good, a little low on the last 45 (understandably) but overall good. I'm surprised you didn't get in this year. I'll be crossing my fingers for you! Maybe try to expand the amount of schools you want to try for? Sorry I can't do better than that, you're already so on top of everything. If you need someone to review your PS or anything I'd love you help out. Best of luck!

Thanks Coopah! I'll probably take you up on that if I don't get off a waitlist before start of the cycle :/

I have come to accept what you mentioned about applying to more schools. Made the silly *assumption* that this year I'd get in, so why spend all that money that I didn't have :-( Maybe will focus on schools with bigger class sizes, and try Michigan since GPA isn't a huge factor there.

 

[PetVet7]

Why do you think you won't improve if you retake the GRE? Have you taken a GRE prep class? How well did you prepare for it last time? I'm asking this because I think it's one of the weaker points in your application and it is very easy to fix, unlike raising a low cumGPA after years of college credits.

In addition to what you said, I would also try to vary your veterinary experience a bit. Also don't underestimate leadership experience and try to find some way to display leadership. When I went to file review they talked about his a lot (this was at a vet school you didn't apply to, but still - ) and it caught me off guard because I hadn't thought of it much either, but leadership IS important.

I’ve taken the GRE twice and only improved by a few points. The first time I used a practice book and second time I studied with magoosh. I really thought I would significantly improve after using magoosh, but I was extremely disappointed to find out that I only improved 3 points. I studied at least an hour every night for a few months. Standardized tests just aren’t my thing.

I agree I could use some more varied Vet experience. I’ve been looking for an exotic vet to shadow, but so far I’ve had no luck. I also live in the city, so there aren’t many large animal clinics around, but I’ll definitely look into it.

I think my lack of leadership experience is hurting my app. I had some in high school, but it doesn’t seem relevant now. I worked nearly full time in college while taking full course loads and participating in club activities when I could, so there wasn’t much time for anything else. Now that I’m graduated and working full-time, I’m not sure where I could gain this experience. I would love to participate in public education events at the wildlife rescue I work at. Would this count as a leadership?

 

[SkiOtter]

Thanks Coopah! I'll probably take you up on that if I don't get off a waitlist before start of the cycle :/

I have come to accept what you mentioned about applying to more schools. Made the silly *assumption* that this year I'd get in, so why spend all that money that I didn't have :-( Maybe will focus on schools with bigger class sizes, and try Michigan since GPA isn't a huge factor there.

try illinois too! i dont have an amazing gpa and got off their waitlist. once you make it to the interview stage your gpa isnt factored into admissions decisions.

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

I’ve taken the GRE twice and only improved by a few points. The first time I used a practice book and second time I studied with magoosh. I really thought I would significantly improve after using magoosh, but I was extremely disappointed to find out that I only improved 3 points. I studied at least an hour every night for a few months. Standardized tests just aren’t my thing.

I agree I could use some more varied Vet experience. I’ve been looking for an exotic vet to shadow, but so far I’ve had no luck. I also live in the city, so there aren’t many large animal clinics around, but I’ll definitely look into it.

I think my lack of leadership experience is hurting my app. I had some in high school, but it doesn’t seem relevant now. I worked nearly full time in college while taking full course loads and participating in club activities when I could, so there wasn’t much time for anything else. Now that I’m graduated and working full-time, I’m not sure where I could gain this experience. I would love to participate in public education events at the wildlife rescue I work at. Would this count as a leadership?

Your club participation in college should count.. did you list that on your application?
Volunteering is an easy way to show leadership but if it is directly involved with animals, that is listed under animal experience and not volunteer experience. Though public education for a wildlife rescue could swing either way. If you need more ideas, check out VolunteerMatch - Where Volunteering Begins. They can match your interests with an organization. Another random thought; there are likely opportunities within your cities parks for trail maintenance if you prefer outdoorsy stuff.

Does your wildlife clinic have a veterinarian? Either one that works for them, or one that they use? Also, the parrot rescue...? often times, if you can go through an organization that knows you and likes you, they can make you a good recommendation to meet with their veterinarian.

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

try illinois too! i dont have an amazing gpa and got off their waitlist. once you make it to the interview stage your gpa isnt factored into admissions decisions.

One of the Drs I worked with just took a job there lol.

I'll add it! Do you know of more like Illinois/Michigan? I hate the GPA pressure

 

[SkiOtter]

One of the Drs I worked with just took a job there lol.

I'll add it! Do you know of more like Illinois/Michigan? I hate the GPA pressure

Sadly I don’t

 

[britzen]

Really thought I had it this year. I still have a chance I guess with the waitlists I'm on but trying to be very proactive in getting this tidied up for next application cycle. I think I'm weakest in number of large animal hours (and none with a vet) as well as my lower last 45 GPA (I struggled during one quarter that ended in less than 3.0 gpa taking 18 credits and working nearly full time. First day of that quarter both my brother and sister attempted suicide (friggin serious) and the next month my dad was hit by a car. I really wanted to graduate that year so I refused to drop any classes)

My plan is to gain some more LA experience (I'm already going to begin with a horse rescue and volunteer during their gelding clinics for vet experience). I'm trying to think of what to do to help with GPA. I don't have any Cs or below for required courses. I would need to essentially take a couple quarters of classes just for the hey of it to up my last 45 gpa. I suppose I could retake the GRE to see if I could ace the math portion (the circumstances leading up to my test were very stressful. Let's just say I drove over 2 hours in rush-hour traffic and was 1 minute away from being sent back due to almost missing the sign-in deadline, and on an empty stomach)

Here are my up-to-date hours.

23 year old female, Washington State resident, second time going on third time applicant

Applied: Washington, Minnesota, Florida
Interview Invites: Washington, Minnesota, Florida
Waitlisted: Washington, Minnesota, Florida

(VMCAS reported GPAs - tbh I don't know the difference)
Overall GPA: 3.59
Science GPA: 3.49
Last 45 GPA: 3.38

Degree: BS Microbiology 8/2017

GRE (V/Q/W): 160/162/4.0

Veterinary Experience:
Shadowed porpoise necropsy (3 hours)
Mouse health check assistant (144 hours)
SA vet assistant (760 hours)
Overnight kennel attendant (90 hours)
Veterinary assistant course (280 hours)
Pathologist's assistant (552 hours-->did not have at time of last application)

Animal Experience:
Volunteer at parrot sanctuary (110 hours (42 at time of last application))
Zebra finch husbandry (110 hours)
Field Investigator/Responder for ASPCA (mixed animals: dogs, roosters, horses) (120 hours)
Animal shelter dog walker/volunteer (624+832 hours (two shelters))
Cat adoption counselor (104 hours)
Small animal massage training (1000 hours)
Housesitting/petsitting (1700 hours)
Dog boarding facility manager (5840 hours)
Pony club volunteer (91 hours)

Work Experience:
Store associate (4400 hours)
Brand ambassador (288 hours)

Extracurriculars:
Not a member of any clubs, I listed various hobbies incl. water sports, cooking, dance, and camping lol

Volunteer:
Assistant chef/server for soup kitchen (5 hours)
Eastern African refugee tutor (18 hours)
Board of Directors officer (145 hours)
Summer camp counselor (210 hours)

Research:
Physiological research of mussels (11 hours)
Review of canine immunotherapy treatments (22 hours)
Use of mice as language development models (47 hours)
Characterizing plant endophytes (22 hours)

Awards:
Dean's list 2 quarters
Associate's degree w/ honors

LORs
1. Veterinary pathologist
2. Professor/chair/PI in DCM (Department of comparative medicine)
3. Senior veterinarian in DCM
+/- research PI, store employer

While it's tough to say without knowing the % weight of each part of the application, I'd definitely suggest investing a lot of time in interview prep for the next cycle.

Given that you got interviews at every school you applied to but ultimately waitlisted at all three, it's possible your interview is at least partly responsible for holding you back.



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[CoffeeQuestionMark]

While it's tough to say without knowing the % weight of each part of the application, I'd definitely suggest investing a lot of time in interview prep for the next cycle.

Given that you got interviews at every school you applied to but ultimately waitlisted at all three, it's possible your interview is at least partly responsible for holding you back.



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Is there an organized way that most people do this, aside from practicing questions?

 

[Coopah]

Is there an organized way that most people do this, aside from practicing questions?

Some universities offer mock interviews, I did mine in my living room wearing what I was going to wear and had the whole thing set up like an actual interview. Since my interviews were mainly MMI I set a timer and looked up MMI questions and worked on structuring my responses.

*end of helpful advice*

I dunno if you could tell but I was wicked nervous . Strangely the thing that seemed to help the most was travel issues. If you get snow delayed enough you work up your stress levels to a critical mass, then when you finally make it to the interview by the skin of your teeth, you don't have it in you to be any more nervous. You are out of ****s to give however, I really wouldn't recommend doing that. I was zombie Coop for quite a few interviews, but adrenaline enough to not appear dead... it's a delicate balance.

 

[Chili_Cat]

Really thought I had it this year. I still have a chance I guess with the waitlists I'm on but trying to be very proactive in getting this tidied up for next application cycle. I think I'm weakest in number of large animal hours (and none with a vet) as well as my lower last 45 GPA (I struggled during one quarter that ended in less than 3.0 gpa taking 18 credits and working nearly full time. First day of that quarter both my brother and sister attempted suicide (friggin serious) and the next month my dad was hit by a car. I really wanted to graduate that year so I refused to drop any classes)

My plan is to gain some more LA experience (I'm already going to begin with a horse rescue and volunteer during their gelding clinics for vet experience). I'm trying to think of what to do to help with GPA. I don't have any Cs or below for required courses. I would need to essentially take a couple quarters of classes just for the hey of it to up my last 45 gpa. I suppose I could retake the GRE to see if I could ace the math portion (the circumstances leading up to my test were very stressful. Let's just say I drove over 2 hours in rush-hour traffic and was 1 minute away from being sent back due to almost missing the sign-in deadline, and on an empty stomach)

Here are my up-to-date hours.

23 year old female, Washington State resident, second time going on third time applicant

Applied: Washington, Minnesota, Florida
Interview Invites: Washington, Minnesota, Florida
Waitlisted: Washington, Minnesota, Florida

(VMCAS reported GPAs - tbh I don't know the difference)
Overall GPA: 3.59
Science GPA: 3.49
Last 45 GPA: 3.38

Degree: BS Microbiology 8/2017

GRE (V/Q/W): 160/162/4.0

Veterinary Experience:
Shadowed porpoise necropsy (3 hours)
Mouse health check assistant (144 hours)
SA vet assistant (760 hours)
Overnight kennel attendant (90 hours)
Veterinary assistant course (280 hours)
Pathologist's assistant (552 hours-->did not have at time of last application)

Animal Experience:
Volunteer at parrot sanctuary (110 hours (42 at time of last application))
Zebra finch husbandry (110 hours)
Field Investigator/Responder for ASPCA (mixed animals: dogs, roosters, horses) (120 hours)
Animal shelter dog walker/volunteer (624+832 hours (two shelters))
Cat adoption counselor (104 hours)
Small animal massage training (1000 hours)
Housesitting/petsitting (1700 hours)
Dog boarding facility manager (5840 hours)
Pony club volunteer (91 hours)

Work Experience:
Store associate (4400 hours)
Brand ambassador (288 hours)

Extracurriculars:
Not a member of any clubs, I listed various hobbies incl. water sports, cooking, dance, and camping lol

Volunteer:
Assistant chef/server for soup kitchen (5 hours)
Eastern African refugee tutor (18 hours)
Board of Directors officer (145 hours)
Summer camp counselor (210 hours)

Research:
Physiological research of mussels (11 hours)
Review of canine immunotherapy treatments (22 hours)
Use of mice as language development models (47 hours)
Characterizing plant endophytes (22 hours)

Awards:
Dean's list 2 quarters
Associate's degree w/ honors

LORs
1. Veterinary pathologist
2. Professor/chair/PI in DCM (Department of comparative medicine)
3. Senior veterinarian in DCM
+/- research PI, store employer

Have you done a file review this year? I’d be curious to know if it was just the last 45 holding you back at WSU or if there’s something else they’re looking for. I have very similar cGPA, sGPA, and GRE scores, just a higher last 45 GPA (almost a 3.8 I think).
I don’t think you need to retake the GRE, your scores aren’t bad at all. If possible/if recommended by schools I’d say boosting your last 45 could help. I’d also work more on interview prep, especially because I’ve heard (could be definitely not true so don’t count on this) that WSU weighs the interview pretty heavily when it comes to final decisions. I practiced by talking to myself a lot, especially while I was driving, just explaining what I’ve learned from every experience I put on my application in case any of those came up. I started asking more questions at work as things came up to get an idea of how I would go about answering situation-based questions (like in situation X would Y be an appropriate response, or why did you choose to go about X this way, things like that). Plus the doctors I work with saw this as extra initiative to know more about the practice so there’s a plus as well.
Fingers crossed for your waitlists! Hopefully you won’t have to worry about applying again I wish you the best

 

[britzen]

Is there an organized way that most people do this, aside from practicing questions?

I think most people make a list of questions and practice answering outloud. You can make flash cards with questions and shuffle them so that you have to think on your feet.

Also, find people to help you practice interviewing. The career center at your college probably does mock interviews (I think they'd help you even if you've already graduated since you are an alum). You can also ask people you know who are interviewers (college or workplace) that can give you mock interviews. All else fails, really any friend or family member who is willing to help you can work too.

I'd also suggest having people give you different types of interview styles: MMI style, longer behavioral, traditional... Also ask people to vary their interviewing style - nice, relaxed, intense, kind of a jerk, slow vs rapid fire pace, etc. That way no matter the school interview philosophy or interviewer personality, you'll be used to it.

@LetItSnow might have some thoughts since I think he's an vet school interviewer (if he's allowed to say anything).

I'm happy to give you a mock interview online in the summertime if you want. I do undergrad admission interviews for my alma mater, so not quite the same, but it might help if you can't find others to help you practice.

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[cameronluna]

Does anyone have any experience coming from a school that uses an unconventional grading system? At my university we do not have any minuses. For example, a 90-93 is a B+ and a 94-100 is an A, wheres at other institutions a 90-93 is typically an A-. Does anyone know how this might impact my GPA? Will schools take this into consideration when calculating their own GPAs? Because the grade weight at my school might be higher, I'm afraid my GPA will technically be lower according to other schools and VMCA.

 

[SkiOtter]

Does anyone have any experience coming from a school that uses an unconventional grading system? At my university we do not have any minuses. For example, a 90-93 is a B+ and a 94-100 is an A, wheres at other institutions a 90-93 is typically an A-. Does anyone know how this might impact my GPA? Will schools take this into consideration when calculating their own GPAs? Because the grade weight at my school might be higher, I'm afraid my GPA will technically be lower according to other schools and VMCA.

On your transcript does it say your percentage or a letter grade? If it says a letter grade, your gpa might be a bit lower because you put the grade into vmcas and they assign it points. If there’s a grade conversion chart on the back of your official transcript, that MIGHT be a way to get around it, but I can’t say for sure.

 

[cameronluna]

On your transcript does it say your percentage or a letter grade? If it says a letter grade, your gpa might be a bit lower because you put the grade into vmcas and they assign it points. If there’s a grade conversion chart on the back of your official transcript, that MIGHT be a way to get around it, but I can’t say for sure.

I'm pretty sure when my official transcripts are sent out it'll have the grade point conversions for a letter grade. I know for a B+ the grade weight is a 3.5 at my school, but on VMCA it's a 3.3.

 

[SkiOtter]

I'm pretty sure when my official transcripts are sent out it'll have the grade point conversions for a letter grade. I know for a B+ the grade weight is a 3.5 at my school, but on VMCA it's a 3.3.

Honestly, I would contact vmcas AND the individual schools and ask if there’s a way around it because they’re the ones who will be evaluating your application. There might be a way to adjust it or something on vmcas and if not schools might be willing to use your schools grading method to convert it and evaluate you.

 

[cameronluna]

Yes, I agree with you. I will definitely contact them! Thank you

 

[LabLuv004]

Thank you so much for responding, I was hoping someone from one of my school choices would see this! I will be taking the GRE in June (right before I leave to visit my family in the U.K. actually) and then that gives me a little bit of time to retake if needed. But I have 5 study books and plan on studying tons right after I take my final exams in 2 weeks. I also just calculated my last 45 credits and that is about a 3.3 so it's a little bit higher than my overall. I think I'll also talk about how I'm an independent and work two jobs to support myself in my application. With all of that, hopefully I have a shot! The only other thing I'm concerned about is RVC'a required courses. I would have all of them complete by the time I'd leave to go there (if I get accepted this round) other than one course in microbiology. But they have a statement online saying that if you are lacking pre-req courses they will consider you for the 5 year program. Do you know anything about that? Sorry for rambling on, thanks so much for your help!

I believe for all international applicants they look at you for the 4 year first and then the 5 year if you don't have all the courses/grades. I would say though, it is worth trying to take microbio before because the extra year of international tuition plus an extra year of living in London is a lot of money. I was able to take some summer classes at a community college to save time and money, so that may be an option. I would check with the schools specifically to see if they would care about a microbio class at CC (because I took lower level sciences and I'm not sure their stance on CC for other courses). I get the feeling they wouldn't mind at RVC so I think it is worth checking on. I have also heard of some people taking it over winter break--in 3 weeks-- so its your whole break but then it's done.

If you are going to be in London area while you're in the UK, you could schedule a tour of the school and you may be able to sit down with someone from the admissions to go through your application before you submit. Admissions was really friendly to me and they would be able to give you the most reliable information.