I was rejected by both schools that I applied to this year and would like some advice on how to improve. I think my low GRE and little clinical experience is what killed me. I would also like to know if I should re-apply next cycle or if it would be more beneficial to take an additional year off to gain more experience.
Female, 21
Undergraduate institution: Kansas State
Major: Animal Science
cGPA: 3.475
sGPA: 3.19
Last 45: Hopefully 3.6 or 3.7 after this semester
GRE: Too terrible to post online, will be retaking
Veterinary Experience:
~ 30 hours shadowing small animal vets (3 clinics)
~ 40 hours shadowing large animal vet
**I have the hardest time finding vets to shadow. They're either too busy, or tell me they will get back to me and never do. I would love to take a position as a veterinary assistant for my off-year. I'm curious how everyone got an assistant position. Did you apply for it, or did you shadow long enough they just made you an assistant?
Animal Experience:
~ 200 hours working as dog grooming assistant
- Owned fish breeding business (2 years)- bred show quality fish, had customers from almost every state in U.S.
~ 200 hours volunteering at animal shelter (cats, dogs, exotics)
~ 50 hours training horse for showmanship competition
~ 60 hours training goat for showmanship
~ 30 hours training dairy cow for showmanship
~ 100 hours of horseback riding (plus some horse care)
- Own and trained various exotic animals
- Currently taking lambing class, so I'll have hours to add for this
- Animal CPR and First-Aid certified by Red Cross
Extracurriculars:
- Owned cheerleading bow business - 2 years
- Coached tumbling classes (unpaid) ~ 10 hours
~ 850 hours working as cashier
Honors/Awards:
- Denison Scholarship
- Ag Scholarship
- NHS
- Dean's list - multiple semesters
Research:
~ 1000+ hours of swine vaccine research - 3 different viruses with 3 different research teams
Schools:
Preferably ones in the Midwest - University of Illinois (IS) and Kansas State are my top 2, but I plan to apply to more
My main focus for my year off will be to gain more clinical experience. I hope to gain a full time position in a clinic so I can boost my hours. I also plan to do more volunteering at shelters, as well as non-animal volunteer work. I would like to take Ochem 1 & 2 so I will be eligible to apply to more schools. What else can I do to improve my chances? Thank you in advance!
I wanted to update my stats to get a better idea of my chances.
Female, 22
Undergraduate institution: Kansas State
Major: Animal Science
cGPA: 3.55
sGPA: 3.19 (nothing lower than a B)
Last 45: 3.75
GRE: Retaking, hoping for at least 65 percentile
Veterinary Experience (at time of application process):
~ 600 hours working as vet tech in small animal clinic - will work here up until vet school
~ 30 hours shadowing small animal vets (3 clinics)
~ 40 hours shadowing large animal vet
** I'm looking for an exotic vet to shadow 1-2x per week, so hopefully I'll have about 150 hours of exotic animal experience before applications are due
Animal Experience:
~ 150 hours working at wildlife rescue - will work here up until vet school
~ 200 hours working as dog grooming assistant
- Owned fish breeding business (2 years)- bred show quality fish, had customers from almost every state in U.S.
~ 300 hours volunteering at animal shelter (cats, dogs, exotics)
~ 50 hours training horse for showmanship competition
~ 60 hours training goat for showmanship
~ 30 hours training dairy cow for showmanship
~ 100 hours of horseback riding (plus some horse care)
~ 15 hours of cattle artificial insemination
~ 10 hours lambing
- Own and trained various exotic animals
- Animal CPR and First-Aid certified by Red Cross
Extracurriculars:
- Owned cheerleading bow business - 2 years
- Coached tumbling classes (unpaid) ~ 10 hours
~ 850 hours working as cashier
Honors/Awards:
- Denison Scholarship
- Ag Scholarship
- NHS
- Dean's list - multiple semesters
Research:
~ 1200+ hours of swine vaccine research - 3 different viruses with 3 different research teams
Schools:
University of Illinois (IS), Kansas State, The Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Purdue, University of Wisconsin
I still think that my experience hours are lower than most. If I find an exotic animal vet to shadow, I won't have any extra time to get other experiences. I'm currently working as a vet tech and will start working at the wildlife rescue once a week.