What are my chances?

[SkiOtter]

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Last 43: 3.65 - I know it's a last 45 but that would be 1 class of a new semester, so I didn't know which class to use to calculate.

you would use the whooooole semester where the 44 and 45th credits fall for calculating the last 45 🙂

 

[Shya]

you would use the whooooole semester where the 44 and 45th credits fall for calculating the last 45 🙂

Ah, sweet! Thanks! I didn't think to consider that haha

 

[m_b2016]

Hi!

I have posted a few times in this thread and gotten great advice so I'm back for one more question. I just took the GRE last week and got a 162Q and a 155V. I haven't gotten my writing scores back, but I'm wondering if my verbal is low enough that I should consider retaking them? Also, I'm applying to Tufts, UPenn, Iowa, and Illinois, does anyone know if any of these schools average multiple GRE scores?

 

[Skimble]

Hi!

I have posted a few times in this thread and gotten great advice so I'm back for one more question. I just took the GRE last week and got a 162Q and a 155V. I haven't gotten my writing scores back, but I'm wondering if my verbal is low enough that I should consider retaking them? Also, I'm applying to Tufts, UPenn, Iowa, and Illinois, does anyone know if any of these schools average multiple GRE scores?

Not sure about other schools, but penn doesn't care too much about your verbal, pretty much as long as you don't bomb it. They do like a high quant though, which I think you are pretty good there.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hi!

I have posted a few times in this thread and gotten great advice so I'm back for one more question. I just took the GRE last week and got a 162Q and a 155V. I haven't gotten my writing scores back, but I'm wondering if my verbal is low enough that I should consider retaking them? Also, I'm applying to Tufts, UPenn, Iowa, and Illinois, does anyone know if any of these schools average multiple GRE scores?

Iowa your GRE is only worth like 10% of your total application so I wouldn't worry about them either.

 

[mlew18507]

Not sure about other schools, but penn doesn't care too much about your verbal, pretty much as long as you don't bomb it. They do like a high quant though, which I think you are pretty good there.

When doing a post denial conversation with UPenn they told me that if I don't raise my GRE scores that I pretty much wont get accepted =[

 

[mlew18507]

I'm so excited to finally be posting here. Very nervous, too.

Applying to: Auburn (IS), LMU, and Tennessee.
Kentucky resident!
Female, 20.
Degrees: None! If I am admitted this cycle I will not have a degree. But I am working towards a BS in Biology

Overall GPA: 3.51
Science GPA: 3.35
Last 43: 3.65 - I know it's a last 45 but that would be 1 class of a new semester, so I didn't know which class to use to calculate.

GRE: V159, Q152, Haven't gotten the writing part back yet.

Veterinary Experience:
-Small Animal GP: 18 hours
-Exotic/Zoo Medicine: 6 hours
-Lab Animal Medicine: 5 hours
-Emergency Medicine, SA: 800+ hours (All received between now and November, and I still work here)
-Livestock: 200 hours

Animal Experience:
I'm not sure what counts, so if something doesn't count let me know.
-Police Dog training ~10 hours
-Ownership of dogs, cats, lifestock, exotics, etc. my entire life.
-Animal shelter volunteer: ~10 hours
Paws with Progress volunteer: Training a service dog - ~576 hours so far
-Livestock: 4,000+ hours

Non-Veterinary Experience:
- Teaching assistant for a bio lab
-Customer service manager for Wal-mart for 2 years
-Pharmacy technician, on-going (I have two jobs)
-Cashier 1.5 years
-Ownership of a small business.

Research:
Environmental physiology research on black bears, ~30 hr. Ongoing.

Extracurriculars:
Pre-vet club.
Drama club.

Honors/Awards:
-Trustee's Full scholarship
-Several FPS, academic team, and writing awards from high school
-Deans list, three semesters.
-Honors Society

LORs:
-Japanese professor - I made a 105 in both her courses.
-Vet at the hospital I work at
-The owner of the hospital I work at, who is kind of well-known with Auburn. They have published articles about them before.
-Lab animal vet/pre-vet advisor

I would say that animal ownership shouldn't really be put on an application if you are doing that. I have not been accepted into a school but in doing a ton of research everything I find says something like most likely every applicant has owned an animal that want to be a vet so there is not need to put that on an application. I may be wrong but that is what I personally have found and decided not to put in on my application. I am not sure about the whole non animal experience section. I am putting that I work at a microbiology Lab because it is science related but I am not going to put my other jobs that I have had like waitress and such in my experience section. I may add something about what I have learned from my experience as a waitress in communication or something in an essay but not in my experience section. I'd take a look at what you put under your experience section and see what really needs to be there? Again, I could be wrong. This is just what I have concluded upon researching stuff. Hope this helps!

 

[mlew18507]

22 year old PA resident, 1st time applicant
Applying to NCSU, WSU, Missouri, Purdue, Guelph, Wisconsin, UGA, Florida, and Cornell. Top choice is NCSU. Currently hoping to do zoo med.

B.A. in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and German from Vanderbilt
Currently working on M.S. in Veterinary Science
Overall GPA: 3.82*
Undergrad GPA: 3.77
Science GPA: 3.73*
Last 45 GPA: 4.00*
*These may be different depending on if schools consider my graduate coursework. I'm not entirely sure how that works.

GRE: 164V/159Q/5.0AW

Vet Experience:

• 400 hrs as an intern in the vet department at a zoo
• 120 hrs as a shadower at a small animal clinic
• 60 hrs as a shadower at another small animal clinic
• 15 hrs assisting a veterinary orthopedic surgeon

Animal Experience:

• 936 hrs as a fawn care intern at a deer ranch
• 150-200 hrs of random short-term volunteer experiences - five different shelters and one wildlife rehab center (all but one was volunteer work done on week-long school-sponsored trips)
• 40 hrs bleeding cattle

Research:

• 900* hrs (and counting) as a graduate student working on a project looking at bluetongue virus in cattle *just recalculated today and realized the 495 I had put in the original post was way low

Employment:

• Worked for a cleaning company June 2012-July 2013 and then again one summer in college
• Worked for the dining center first semester of college

Extracurriculars/Awards:

• Fencing club
• Alternative Winter Break (was a site leader one year and served on their board another year)
• Alternative Spring Break
• Dean's List (multiple semesters)
• Graduated cum laude
• Two national honor societies
• One German honor society

eLORs:

• Zoo vet
• Research PI (also has DVM, although not in practice anymore)
• Former professor (now retired, was Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education)

Some advice I have gotten (this is my 2nd time applying) is to apply to your home state school as you have a better chance of getting in. I also live in PA so I am applying to UPenn although I am not sure I will get in because of my GRE scores. Just some food for thought =]

 

[SkiOtter]

I would say that animal ownership shouldn't really be put on an application if you are doing that. I have not been accepted into a school but in doing a ton of research everything I find says something like most likely every applicant has owned an animal that want to be a vet so there is not need to put that on an application. I may be wrong but that is what I personally have found and decided not to put in on my application. I am not sure about the whole non animal experience section. I am putting that I work at a microbiology Lab because it is science related but I am not going to put my other jobs that I have had like waitress and such in my experience section. I may add something about what I have learned from my experience as a waitress in communication or something in an essay but not in my experience section. I'd take a look at what you put under your experience section and see what really needs to be there? Again, I could be wrong. This is just what I have concluded upon researching stuff. Hope this helps!

Lots of schools apparently do say to put it on there. And lots of applicants on here have and it didn't hurt the ones who did and got in. As long as you're very conservative with your hours, you're fine. And especially if your pets have medical conditions that require extra care and management.
And the non animal experiences are supposed to include things like being a waitress. It's recommended that you include everything and if a school doesn't want to take animal ownership into account, they'll just disregard it, but some schools do actually care about that.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

I would say that animal ownership shouldn't really be put on an application if you are doing that. I have not been accepted into a school but in doing a ton of research everything I find says something like most likely every applicant has owned an animal that want to be a vet so there is not need to put that on an application. I may be wrong but that is what I personally have found and decided not to put in on my application. I am not sure about the whole non animal experience section. I am putting that I work at a microbiology Lab because it is science related but I am not going to put my other jobs that I have had like waitress and such in my experience section. I may add something about what I have learned from my experience as a waitress in communication or something in an essay but not in my experience section. I'd take a look at what you put under your experience section and see what really needs to be there? Again, I could be wrong. This is just what I have concluded upon researching stuff. Hope this helps!

There are varying views by different schools on animal ownership, but I would most definitely include it and just put low hours. If the school doesn't want to include it they will simply ignore it and move on. If you hop over to Class of 2022 hopefuls I believe is where one applicant was told they were not accepted due to not putting animal ownership. Also you should list all previous work experience (within the 10 year time frame of VMCAS directions) like being a waitress! This helps round you as an applicant and you gained skills from those experiences that you didn't in other places. Ex:in food service I'm sure you learned a great deal of communication skills compared to working in a lab where you're going to be flying solo.

 

[Skimble]

When doing a post denial conversation with UPenn they told me that if I don't raise my GRE scores that I pretty much wont get accepted =[

Ok, but what was your quant score? When I was rejected by Penn previously they told me not to worry about verbal, just focus on quant, and my verbal wasn't terrific, it was just ok, which I think m_b2016 also had an acceptable verbal. Penn puts much more emphasis on quant though, and I was told I could just skip the written part and they wouldn't care. It's also possible some of that has changed over the past few years.

Rob and Roseanne in admissions are both wonderful and the best sources of info if you have questions about your application to Penn.

 

[DVMoftheFuture]

Some advice I have gotten (this is my 2nd time applying) is to apply to your home state school as you have a better chance of getting in. I also live in PA so I am applying to UPenn although I am not sure I will get in because of my GRE scores. Just some food for thought =]

Thanks for the input! I've actually decided against applying to Penn because it is so expensive that I wouldn't be comfortable going even if I got in. They'd have to give me a huge scholarship for me to even consider it, which I doubt will happen.

 

[mlew18507]

There are varying views by different schools on animal ownership, but I would most definitely include it and just put low hours. If the school doesn't want to include it they will simply ignore it and move on. If you hop over to Class of 2022 hopefuls I believe is where one applicant was told they were not accepted due to not putting animal ownership. Also you should list all previous work experience (within the 10 year time frame of VMCAS directions) like being a waitress! This helps round you as an applicant and you gained skills from those experiences that you didn't in other places. Ex:in food service I'm sure you learned a great deal of communication skills compared to working in a lab where you're going to be flying solo.

Well this is very helpful and I change my mind haha thank you!

 

[m_b2016]

When doing a post denial conversation with UPenn they told me that if I don't raise my GRE scores that I pretty much wont get accepted =[

Hi, do you mind if i ask what your GRE scores were? I just got my official scores back and they are 162 Q, 155 V, and a 5.0 written. Do you know if having a higher writing score outweighs an average verbal?

 

[mlew18507]

Hi, do you mind if i ask what your GRE scores were? I just got my official scores back and they are 162 Q, 155 V, and a 5.0 written. Do you know if having a higher writing score outweighs an average verbal?

My scores were a lot lower than that. Mine were Q 150 V 148 and 3.0. I think if you have a good background otherwise you would be perfectly fine!

 

[OP8]

Hello everyone, I have been looking through some threads to get more info on certain things but they've just confused me even more. Background info:

-Currently a biology undergrad expected to graduate in early 2019.
My college has NO vet programs.

-Volunteering at an animal hospital with vet techs, trying to be on the good side of the 2 vets there (they're very busy, so I don't linger too much). Started back in May 2017.
No vet experience yet. Very little animal experience, (pet owner are my only animal "hours")

-Resident in NV. (might explain my poor animal experience lol)


Any useful info is greatly appreciate and any other threads that could help me out.
1. Since I am planning to go to vet school in the fall of 2019, all the websites I have checked out say to apply a year ahead (in my case summer 2018) BUT my main concern is my transcripts. They want the official ones submitted to VMCAS but if I am still going through my education, how could this work out? Do I send them my current transcripts and then my future transcripts when I have graduated? Has anyone else had this concern?

2. I am looking at Colorado State Uni, Washing State Uni, and possibly an international school: University of Guelph. I am a Nevada resident btw. What are the differences, pros/cons to these schools?? I would like more info on other international schools as well, I've done my research but I am just confused as to where to possibly go for my Veterinarian education.
I don't want to move too far but at the same time, I want to experience something new!

3. What was your GRE experience like and how could I prepare for this?

4. Experience and preparation steps for the application process?

Appreciate any advice or info. Thanks!

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Hello everyone, I have been looking through some threads to get more info on certain things but they've just confused me even more. Background info:

-Currently a biology undergrad expected to graduate in early 2019.
My college has NO vet programs.

-Volunteering at an animal hospital with vet techs, trying to be on the good side of the 2 vets there (they're very busy, so I don't linger too much). Started back in May 2017.
No vet experience yet. Very little animal experience, (pet owner are my only animal "hours")

-Resident in NV. (might explain my poor animal experience lol)


Any useful info is greatly appreciate and any other threads that could help me out.
1. Since I am planning to go to vet school in the fall of 2019, all the websites I have checked out say to apply a year ahead (in my case summer 2018) BUT my main concern is my transcripts. They want the official ones submitted to VMCAS but if I am still going through my education, how could this work out? Do I send them my current transcripts and then my future transcripts when I have graduated? Has anyone else had this concern?

2. I am looking at Colorado State Uni, Washing State Uni, and possibly an international school: University of Guelph. I am a Nevada resident btw. What are the differences, pros/cons to these schools?? I would like more info on other international schools as well, I've done my research but I am just confused as to where to possibly go for my Veterinarian education.
I don't want to move too far but at the same time, I want to experience something new!

3. What was your GRE experience like and how could I prepare for this?

4. Experience and preparation steps for the application process?

Appreciate any advice or info. Thanks!

I think volunteering at the animal hospital would be considered vet experience.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hello everyone, I have been looking through some threads to get more info on certain things but they've just confused me even more. Background info:

-Currently a biology undergrad expected to graduate in early 2019.
My college has NO vet programs.

-Volunteering at an animal hospital with vet techs, trying to be on the good side of the 2 vets there (they're very busy, so I don't linger too much). Started back in May 2017.
No vet experience yet. Very little animal experience, (pet owner are my only animal "hours")

-Resident in NV. (might explain my poor animal experience lol)


Any useful info is greatly appreciate and any other threads that could help me out.
1. Since I am planning to go to vet school in the fall of 2019, all the websites I have checked out say to apply a year ahead (in my case summer 2018) BUT my main concern is my transcripts. They want the official ones submitted to VMCAS but if I am still going through my education, how could this work out? Do I send them my current transcripts and then my future transcripts when I have graduated? Has anyone else had this concern?

2. I am looking at Colorado State Uni, Washing State Uni, and possibly an international school: University of Guelph. I am a Nevada resident btw. What are the differences, pros/cons to these schools?? I would like more info on other international schools as well, I've done my research but I am just confused as to where to possibly go for my Veterinarian education.
I don't want to move too far but at the same time, I want to experience something new!

3. What was your GRE experience like and how could I prepare for this?

4. Experience and preparation steps for the application process?

Appreciate any advice or info. Thanks!

It's fine if your college doesn't have a vet program! Your experience with the vet techs is vet experience. Get more animal experience with rescues, shelters, etc... You would apply next cycle which will open next May. For transcript you enter everything you have already taken and then put in planned course work. You'll order official transcripts even though your degree is incomplete. You will send your completed transcripts if you get to a certain stage of the process. As a Nevada person I believe you qualify for WICHE for both states? This will help you significantly. CSU is still more pricey than WSU though. I always encourage people to go to the cheapest school. You are going to get a standard education at any AVMA accredited school. Use GRE prep programs Kaplan, Princeton, Magoosh etc. I liked Magoosh. You may wait though and see what happens as the GRE may be going away for many schools. Just do well in school. Be involved. Get more animal experience. Have a prof, vet, and someone else prepared to write you a letter of recommendation when VMCAS rolls around again. Get an understanding of vet med and the debt that accompanies it, be educated about it until you jump in all the way. Good luck! *I've been to CSU and WSU btw on tours and CSU is my IS so feel free to message me if you need.

 

[OP8]

I think volunteering at the animal hospital would be considered vet experience.

Really? Thank you so much!! This entire process has been tough for me. As no one in my academic life has really known much about the vet process.

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Really? Thank you so much!! This entire process has been tough for me. As no one in my academic life has really known much about the vet process.

I had the same issue. I really didn't know that applying to vet school required so many vet hours before going on SDN. I was just sort of lucky because I have been doing 10 hours a week all of college for a volunteer scholarship at a vet clinic. Getting vet hours is very tricky without strong pre-vet counseling I think. My super small school sends people to med school pretty frequently but I don't know of anyone in the last few years who has gone to vet school.

 

[OP8]

It's fine if your college doesn't have a vet program! Your experience with the vet techs is vet experience. Get more animal experience with rescues, shelters, etc... You would apply next cycle which will open next May. For transcript you enter everything you have already taken and then put in planned course work. You'll order official transcripts even though your degree is incomplete. You will send your completed transcripts if you get to a certain stage of the process. As a Nevada person I believe you qualify for WICHE for both states? This will help you significantly. CSU is still more pricey than WSU though. I always encourage people to go to the cheapest school. You are going to get a standard education at any AVMA accredited school. Use GRE prep programs Kaplan, Princeton, Magoosh etc. I liked Magoosh. You may wait though and see what happens as the GRE may be going away for many schools. Just do well in school. Be involved. Get more animal experience. Have a prof, vet, and someone else prepared to write you a letter of recommendation when VMCAS rolls around again. Get an understanding of vet med and the debt that accompanies it, be educated about it until you jump in all the way. Good luck! *I've been to CSU and WSU btw on tours and CSU is my IS so feel free to message me if you need.

I had the same issue. I really didn't know that applying to vet school required so many vet hours before going on SDN. I was just sort of lucky because I have been doing 10 hours a week all of college for a volunteer scholarship at a vet clinic. Getting vet hours is very tricky without strong pre-vet counseling I think. My super small school sends people to med school pretty frequently but I don't know of anyone in the last few years who has gone to vet school.

Same here on the SDN! I started to volunteer this year, I just hope I can get enough hours before I apply.

 

[OP8]

Does WSU, CSU, and OSU use your newest grade (for repeated courses) or do they average both? I tried to search the websites but couldn't find this info. Unless I completely missed it an in obvious spot.. thank you in advance!

 

[Caiter92]

Does WSU, CSU, and OSU use your newest grade (for repeated courses) or do they average both? I tried to search the websites but couldn't find this info. Unless I completely missed it an in obvious spot.. thank you in advance!

WSU will use your newest grade for your prereq gpa, but will average for your overall, if I remember correctly.

 

[OP8]

WSU will use your newest grade for your prereq gpa, but will average for your overall, if I remember correctly.

Thank you!

 

[Caiter92]

Thank you!

No problem! They also should be happy to let you know if you email them 🙂

 

[CharDog14]

26 year old NY resident, 1st time applicant
[not sure if some of this is too detailed for anonymity?]
-- I have a slightly non-traditional educational background, and honestly don't recall a lot of the various volunteering hours and achievements from several years ago, also don't know how much any of my highschool stuff matters anymore
Applying to: Cornell, LMU, Colorado, St. Georges, Ross --
[possibly applying elsewhere, just depends on where I will fit requirements for timeframe of pre-reqs; thinking of Washington State, Univ. of Minnesota]

Prior Degrees: A.A.S. in Veterinary Technology [graduated 2011 & got my LVT license]
A.A.S. in Nursing [graduated 2014 & got my RN license]
Currently working on: Bachelors in Biology
Overall GPA:
-- from vet tech degree: graduated cum laude w/ 3.5
-- from nursing degree: graduated with program honors and cum laude w/ 3.76
-- Current Cum GPA at present school for my Bachelors: 3.94
-- last 45 credits: 3.72


GRE: 155V/154Q/4.0AW

Vet Experience:

• 7000+hrs as an LVT at my current employer, a small animal practice [2012 to present], I also cover ER hours for here & have done minimal amount of diagnostics and treatments of ferrets, guinea pigs, and rabbits here [we don't normally do exotics, but we have a vet that has taken on a few cases] --- also worked as an Assistant and then an LVT at a small animal practice prior to this for about 1.5 years while finishing vet tech school & then going to Nursing School [still trying to find my hours for here.. don't have my paychecks anymore from here]
• 6-10hrs of Rabies Clinics free to the community through local SPCA
• 21hrs -- attended an anesthesia/pain management seminar half way across the country from me, lecture and hands-on wet lab
• Large Animal and Lab/Research Animal experience through my vet tech classes [unsure where or how to state these as they were hands on and observed by a vet, so I feel like they should count for some type of experience]

Animal Experience:

• Self business, Pet Sitting [in their home]; I've done this for atleast 4 years now, not really sure how to put a number on this.. and some of the pets I have cared for have had medical conditions- diabetes, one that was paralyzed in the hind end and required a lot of care to maintain skin integrity etc., post orthopedic surgery]
• Kennel work at a small animal hospital's boarding facility
• Various hours volunteering at a local shelter, a local hospice center, and a program working with horses for therapy of physically handicapped children
• Pet Ownership- dogs, hedgehog, guinea pig, ferrets [had one that got very sick and required SQ fluids, syringe feeding, etc.; and then later he had adrenal disease and the exotics professor in my vet tech school performed surgical removal, which I was able to watch part of]

Research:

• coursework-- testing physiological effects of water types on mice; looked at urine pH and performed tail snip blood draws for PCV
• coursework-- senior research [currently in the process of developing the protocol and details] will be working with a local dog trainer that takes unadoptable dogs [various destructive, hyperactive, or aggression issues] and training them to become working dogs [police, search and rescue, scent, etc.]; she has had AMAZING success with very aggressive dogs in rehabilitating and providing them working positions throughout the US and Canada

Employment:

• a local gym [January to present]-- Front Desk/Customer Relations, Shake Bar, and Company Web Design [NO prior website experience ]
• Babysitting [this summer]
• Restaurant [sales in storefront]-- was only there for a few months inbetween LVT jobs
• Biology Tutor

Achievements:

• Dean's List -- several semesters throughout my schooling
• Various Scholarships for academic excellence & community service
• President's List -- several semesters
• Honor's List -- 3 semesters
• Community Service Leader of Merit Award

Extracurriculars:

• Alternative Winter Break (volunteered with Habitat for Humanity building a home) 2011
• Alternative Spring Break '17-EFcollege study tour in France [Mind you I had never learned French], & signed up for 2018 spring break trip in England
• Clubs throughout my various Schooling: Interfaith Club, Bio Club, Future Healthcare Professionals Club
• New York State Association of Veterinary Technicians [active while in vet tech school]
• National Honor Society
• Mentoring Experience in a [human] hospital ER
• Out of the Darkness Overnight walks [4 of them so far], I do these with my mom and we have raised a combined amount over $7000 throughout all of them
• Peer Mentor in my Vet Tech program [scholarship funded position requiring academic tutoring hours and designing programs for the vet sci students]

eLORs:

• 2 Veterinarians that I currently work with [one is Medical Director of the practice]
• Biology Department Chairperson, has been my instructor in several classes

 

[Jazmina]

Advice ? I have a stellar GPA of 2.86 (sarcasm btw lol). With over 200 units accumulated during my undergrad, getting my GPA up to even a 3.0 is going to be difficult. There are only a few courses that I need to take before I can apply (biochem and ochem/ a few more depending on schools requirements). I know some schools prefer upper division courses to be taken at specific level universities. I was thinking of taking ochem at my local community college and seeing how I do there (performance wise) before I invest thousands of dollars applying to my state schools. Would it look bad if I take ochem twice ? One at my cc and again at a university I decide to do so? It just scares me. I did pretty average on gen chem in undergrad but ochem always scared me and I feel safer taking this route but I don't know if it is a smart one.


Also, while I'm here do you guys have any threads you can direct me to where applicants with extremely low GPA's have actually been accepted....I feel like I always see 3.0 and above and that makes me so sad because I want a chance. I know schools like Western university say that they require a minimum of 2.7 but do they actually consider you? I know vet school is on a whole other level than undergrad and although they say they look at your entire app, I know that they want security when they see your academics. I've been trying to compile a list of schools that would even consider me (western/Caribbean schools as of now) but I feel like I've never actually seen an applicant with my GPA post on our forums. What is your experience since you've been here/any advice ? Thanks !!!!!!

 

[SkiOtter]

Would it look bad if I take ochem twice ? One at my cc and again at a university I decide to do so? It just scares me. I did pretty average on gen chem in undergrad but ochem always scared me and I feel safer taking this route but I don't know if it is a smart one.

@LyraGardenia

 

[finnickthedog]

Advice ? I have a stellar GPA of 2.86 (sarcasm btw lol). With over 200 units accumulated during my undergrad, getting my GPA up to even a 3.0 is going to be difficult. There are only a few courses that I need to take before I can apply (biochem and ochem/ a few more depending on schools requirements). I know some schools prefer upper division courses to be taken at specific level universities. I was thinking of taking ochem at my local community college and seeing how I do there (performance wise) before I invest thousands of dollars applying to my state schools. Would it look bad if I take ochem twice ? One at my cc and again at a university I decide to do so? It just scares me. I did pretty average on gen chem in undergrad but ochem always scared me and I feel safer taking this route but I don't know if it is a smart one.


Also, while I'm here do you guys have any threads you can direct me to where applicants with extremely low GPA's have actually been accepted....I feel like I always see 3.0 and above and that makes me so sad because I want a chance. I know schools like Western university say that they require a minimum of 2.7 but do they actually consider you? I know vet school is on a whole other level than undergrad and although they say they look at your entire app, I know that they want security when they see your academics. I've been trying to compile a list of schools that would even consider me (western/Caribbean schools as of now) but I feel like I've never actually seen an applicant with my GPA post on our forums. What is your experience since you've been here/any advice ? Thanks !!!!!!

What are your last 45 and science GPAs? There are schools that either place less emphasis or even don't look at cumulative GPA.

 

[Calvin_the_dog]

Possibly applying to/Could use advice: Tenn, Auburn, LMU, UGA, UFlorida, CSU, Western, KState, UMinn, Virg-Maryland, Purdue
ND Resident, 1st time applicant
Female, 24
Degrees: BS in Business Administration. Back in school as Chem major.

Overall GPA: 3.204, 3.7 under current degree program
Science GPA: 3.18 (if not including maths, all As since back in school)
Last 45: 3.6

GRE: 1st time : 153v, 158q
2nd time : 156v, 152q

Veterinary Experience:
-Small Animal/Exotic : ~400 hours
-Zoo Medicine: ~300 hours

Animal Experience:
-Zoo Primate/Carnivore Seasonal Keeper: ~400 hours
-Animal Shelter Volunteer-~150
-Pet-Sitting for Single Military personnel ~ 600 hours (not sure if I can include this, but they can be gone for up to three days)

Non-Veterinary Experience:
-HR coordinator- 9 months
-Recruiting intern- one summer

Research:
Organic Chemistry Assistant- focus on fungicide for agriculture hay storage that wouldn't affect animals

Extracurriculars:
pre-vet
sorority- exec officer
student alumni association
Officer spouses club


Honors/Awards:
-Zell Miller scholar
-Deans list, three semesters.


LORs:
-Research professor
-Zoo curator
-SA veterinarian

 

[coffeelauren]

I don't plan on applying for a couple more years so I know I have a lot to work on, but I just wanted some potential advice anyway on what schools I should potentially think about applying to besides my instate? (Georiga)
overall GPA: a little over 3.1 (yeah i had a blip with gen chem 2 last spring that basically totalled my GPA)
Major: Avian Biology

Prereqs so far:
Bio 1: A-
Bio 2: B
Precalc: B
Gen chem 1: C+
gen chem 2 (first time...): D
Gen chem 2 (again...): C+

So obviously gen chem is not my strong suit haha- I'm in Ochem and physics now and already feel like I'm having a way easier time than I did in either general chemistry... Maybe I can still turn some grades around yet here.
Animal experience: (not exact hours, I have them logged officially elsewhere)
Various animal shelters as a volunteer: 25ish hours
A big cat sanctuary (mostly tigers): 12ish hours
Stable Hand at a barn (mostly old horses tbh): 190ish hours
Internship at a Clydesdale farm (there are a couple vet hours thrown in here technically, but mostly just animal): 100ish hours

Vet experience: (my weakest area honestly)
various low cost spay neuter clinics as a volunteer: 30ish hours

Research: (These are all supervised by a vet)
Helping with a cattle immunization project: 12ish hours (ongoing)
Working at the UGA Poultry Diagnostic Lab: (I still work here): close to 200 hours now

EC's:
I've been involved with rowing on either a junior team or my current college team for about 6 years as a coxswain- the small person who steers and yells (leadership skills ehh?). This honestly is how most of my time is spent...
Pre-Vet club
Thinking of joining the agriculture sorority this semester?

That's all! Just wondering what kind of schools I shoud be looking at applying to with my extremely mediocore GPA and weird horse/poultry experience. Also should I try to expand my hours in the spay neuter clinics or look at shadowing at some place new?
Thanks!

 

[TheNerdiestRedneck]

Hey there! So I don't plan on applying for a while (still need to take physics, biochem, and anything else to up my GPA), have not taken the GRE, current cumulative GPA is about 2.8 (B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, + some duel enrollment classes from high school). My question is about my experience. How does it look so far? I still help out my livestock vet sometimes, am petsitting/dog walking, and working ~30 hours a week at a mostly SA hospital. I have enough CE credits to get a Category IV wildlife rehabber license in the state of VA, I just have to be associated with a current rehabber or wildlife center. I'll also be starting a job at a shop with grooming/daycare/retail/maybe training in October.




Veterinary Experience:

Shadowed at a few different SA hospitals in high school: ~20 hours

Shadowed with a LA veterinarian high school to present: ~70 hours

Working at a SA/LA/Exotic hospital: ~1,500 hours and counting

Worked at a low-cost clinic: ~65 hours

Internship at an equine clinic: 150 hours

Working occasionally as a USEF testing technician: ~20 hours


Animal Experience:


Volunteered at animal shelter in high school: ~100 hours


Pet ownership: owned dogs, cats, livestock, and exotics my whole life

Petsitting/farmsitting since I was 9 years old. If I should just list hours for the past few years, ~150

A ton of experience working with/showing livestock and educating both kids and adults about agriculture through 4-H when I was in high school (did that for about six years, was Reporter for 2 terms, VP and President each for one term)

Worked at a pet store for 3 years, not sure how many hours

Working at a horse farm: ~300 hours

Working as a mouse caretaker in the biology department: ~55 hours

Internship at Maymont (working with livestock and wildlife): ~150 hours


Other Work Experience

Assisting the secretary of Copley Science center: ~50 hours


Research Experience:

Research with Biology professor on the effect knocking out GPR56 has on the fertility of mice: 140 hours


Extracurricular Activities:

Member of Beta Beta Beta, Biology honor society

Member/Vice President of Fellowship (for 3 semesters) of Alpha Phi Omega - Theta Omega Chapter

Member of Pre-Health Society

Pre-Vet Student Mentor

President of IRIS (photography and film club)

Member of Young Democrats

Member of Macon Outdoors


Other:

4-H All-Star

Pet First Aid and CPR certified

Beef Quality Assurance certified

Human CPR and first aid

Appreciate the help!

 

[LyraGardenia]

I was thinking of taking ochem at my local community college and seeing how I do there (performance wise) before I invest thousands of dollars applying to my state schools. Would it look bad if I take ochem twice ? One at my cc and again at a university I decide to do so? It just scares me. I did pretty average on gen chem in undergrad but ochem always scared me and I feel safer taking this route but I don't know if it is a smart one.

I didn't take any community college courses, so I don't know about that specifically, but I doubt schools would bat an eye at you retaking one class. You can read about my saga with ochem here, which I'm pretty sure is why Ski tagged me: Successful Applicant Stats - Class of 2020 Note that as I said there, I don't at all recommend doing what I did as it did make getting accepted more difficult, but I'm in my second year of vet school now! In my file review with Mizzou they did mention that it helped that I finally passed the same ochem course that I had failed before, but doing poorly in ochem at a CC and then well at a 4-year university would definitely look better than the opposite, given that CC courses tend to have a reputation for being easier.

I second the recommendation to look at schools that emphasize last 45 and prerequisite GPAs. Are there any classes you got a C or below in that you could retake? If you look at schools that only include the most recent grade in their GPA calculations, that might help you. Average GPAs for accepted applicants do tend to be significantly higher than the minimum, but averages are just that, there are going to be accepted students with much higher GPAs and much lower. You might look at the successful applicant stats threads from previous years. Some schools do an initial academic cut where if you don't meet a certain GPA requirement, they won't look at the rest of your application, so I would read school websites carefully to see how they evaluate applicants, and avoid schools like that. Here are a few other threads for you:

Accepted with a low GPA...?
low Gpa; too late to apply for vet school???
Low GPA successful applicants?
Successful applicants with "low" GPA

 

[Jazmina]

I didn't take any community college courses, so I don't know about that specifically, but I doubt schools would bat an eye at you retaking one class. You can read about my saga with ochem here, which I'm pretty sure is why Ski tagged me: Successful Applicant Stats - Class of 2020 Note that as I said there, I don't at all recommend doing what I did as it did make getting accepted more difficult, but I'm in my second year of vet school now! In my file review with Mizzou they did mention that it helped that I finally passed the same ochem course that I had failed before, but doing poorly in ochem at a CC and then well at a 4-year university would definitely look better than the opposite, given that CC courses tend to have a reputation for being easier.

I second the recommendation to look at schools that emphasize last 45 and prerequisite GPAs. Are there any classes you got a C or below in that you could retake? If you look at schools that only include the most recent grade in their GPA calculations, that might help you. Average GPAs for accepted applicants do tend to be significantly higher than the minimum, but averages are just that, there are going to be accepted students with much higher GPAs and much lower. You might look at the successful applicant stats threads from previous years. Some schools do an initial academic cut where if you don't meet a certain GPA requirement, they won't look at the rest of your application, so I would read school websites carefully to see how they evaluate applicants, and avoid schools like that. Here are a few other threads for you:

Accepted with a low GPA...?
low Gpa; too late to apply for vet school???
Low GPA successful applicants?
Successful applicants with "low" GPA

Thank you so much for replying ! This really helped a lot ! I think what I am going to focus on is taking science courses at my local cc so I can boost my science GPA/ last 45.

The thing about my GPA is that there are a good amount of C's and C+'s. I can't say that I didn't take college seriously because I did, however, I felt so lost. I Was first generation to attend a university and had no one up until my senior year of high school to introduce me to the world of higher education. I was new to moving away from home to go to college and it took me a lot of time to adjust to the setting as well as the workload in college. Some classes were harder than others and I felt mentally unprepared for it. However, I'm soooo ready to do my best to give myself a shot at my dream job! Anyways, thank you all for replying this really helped motivate me and give me some hope 🙂

 

[Jazmina]

Can any of you direct me to a thread that can help me out on my science GPA. I'm having a hard time researching if an EART class falls under science (it was marine geology and oceanography). Thank you to anyone who responds !

 

[breezy11]

Hi, everyone! I'm new to the SDN world but have been doing a ton of research on schools/requirements/etc. and thought I would just get as much advice/feedback as possible. I'm currently applying for this cycle to Davis, OSU, CSU, and I'm still looking for probably one more. I'm in my last semester of undergrad still trying to bump up my GPA a little bit but here are my stats!

Overall GPA: 3.575
Biology GPA: 3.469
Last 45 units GPA: 3.41

GRE: Only took it once and I know I could've done better because I barely studied 😳
Verbal: 155
Quantitative: 152
Analytical: 4


Veterinary Experience: Unfortunately my weakest area 🙁
-Currently have ~200 hours at my local vet hospital, planning on getting more.


Animal Experience:
-Laboratory mice caretaker at my college ~20 hours so far
-Pet-sitting for ~5 years working with dogs, cats, reptiles, horses, rabbits, birds
-Volunteer for Project Wildlife ~50 hours working with opossums, seabirds, skunks, hummingbirds, raccoons
-Volunteer for TERI Therapeutic Equestrian Program ~100 hours working with horses and disabled children/adults
-Volunteer for local animal shelter ~100 hours
-Rawhide Ranch Equestrian Summer Camp working with horses, goats, sheep, pigs every day for a week (~60 hours)
-Pet ownership of dogs, cats, birds, guinea pig, ducks, pigs

Work Experience:
-Spanish tutor at my college for 3 years
-San Diego Zoo Safari Park retail/food service for one summer
-Wag dog walker/sitter

Research:
-Not my personal project but studying/researching TNF knockout mice in the lab with the mice I care for

Extracurriculars:
-Delta Zeta Treasurer/Apparel Chair
-Pre-Vet Society
-InterVarsity music leader
-Intramurals


Honors/Awards:
-Gamma Sigma Alpha Greek Honor Society
-Dean's List multiple semesters
-National Society of Collegiate Scholars
-Pony Club awards


LORs:
-My animal phys professor
-Current employer
-Veterinarian from the local hospital I volunteer for

 

[SkiOtter]

Hi, everyone! I'm new to the SDN world but have been doing a ton of research on schools/requirements/etc. and thought I would just get as much advice/feedback as possible. I'm currently applying for this cycle to Davis, OSU, CSU, and I'm still looking for probably one more. I'm in my last semester of undergrad still trying to bump up my GPA a little bit but here are my stats!

Overall GPA: 3.575
Biology GPA: 3.469
Last 45 units GPA: 3.41

GRE: Only took it once and I know I could've done better because I barely studied 😳
Verbal: 155
Quantitative: 152
Analytical: 4


Veterinary Experience: Unfortunately my weakest area 🙁
-Currently have ~200 hours at my local vet hospital, planning on getting more.


Animal Experience:
-Laboratory mice caretaker at my college ~20 hours so far
-Pet-sitting for ~5 years working with dogs, cats, reptiles, horses, rabbits, birds
-Volunteer for Project Wildlife ~50 hours working with opossums, seabirds, skunks, hummingbirds, raccoons
-Volunteer for TERI Therapeutic Equestrian Program ~100 hours working with horses and disabled children/adults
-Volunteer for local animal shelter ~100 hours
-Rawhide Ranch Equestrian Summer Camp working with horses, goats, sheep, pigs every day for a week (~60 hours)
-Pet ownership of dogs, cats, birds, guinea pig, ducks, pigs

Work Experience:
-Spanish tutor at my college for 3 years
-San Diego Zoo Safari Park retail/food service for one summer
-Wag dog walker/sitter

Research:
-Not my personal project but studying/researching TNF knockout mice in the lab with the mice I care for

Extracurriculars:
-Delta Zeta Treasurer/Apparel Chair
-Pre-Vet Society
-InterVarsity music leader
-Intramurals


Honors/Awards:
-Gamma Sigma Alpha Greek Honor Society
-Dean's List multiple semesters
-National Society of Collegiate Scholars
-Pony Club awards


LORs:
-My animal phys professor
-Current employer
-Veterinarian from the local hospital I volunteer for

What state are you a resident of? And which OSU? There's three. Ohio State, Oregon State, and Oklahoma State

 

[breezy11]

What state are you a resident of? And which OSU? There's three. Ohio State, Oregon State, and Oklahoma State

Oops, sorry forgot to clarify that. I'm applying to Oregon and I am a California resident.

 

[m_b2016]

Hello! I'm frantically finishing up my applications for this cycle and have just entered crisis mode. In addition to PennVet, Tufts, Iowa, and Virginia Tech, I'm going to apply to either St. George's or Ross University. Does anyone know if one school is better than the other? And is it easy to have your license to practice transferred back over to the states?

 

[Skimble]

Hello! I'm frantically finishing up my applications for this cycle and have just entered crisis mode. In addition to PennVet, Tufts, Iowa, and Virginia Tech, I'm going to apply to either St. George's or Ross University. Does anyone know if one school is better than the other? And is it easy to have your license to practice transferred back over to the states?

St George's and Ross are both AVMA accredited, so anyone graduating from those schools are licensed to work in the US.

 

[dogbones]

Definately not use the explanation statement. I would however encourage you to apply to Davis, and other schools that like Last 45 and Science GPA. Two others that come to mind are Iowa and Kansas. And of course your IS. Where are you thinking of applying?

Thanks for the advice! I will not be using the statement at all. I am applying to Davis and my in-state (FL) as well as Tufts and Michigan. Maybe a few others if I can get my stuff done in time...

 

[i love dogs]

Would like some feedback on the schools that I am thinking of applying to because of my LOW GPA. Do I stand a chance?
Applying to (maybe 2years from now): Oregon State, Iowa State, Ross U, Saint George U, and Western U
I am a CA resident
Female, 23. (but will be 25/26 when I apply)
Degrees: B.S. Ecology and Evolution

Overall GPA: 2.86
Science GPA: 2.6 (still need to take Organic, Biochem, and microbio) 🙁
Last 45: (still need to take about 22 more units) currently is 3.14

GRE: studying for it now will be taking it in Jan 2018

Veterinary Experience:
-Working Full-time at an animal rehab center as a technician. I get to actually work alongside the vets and physical therapists assisting them but also get to do the actual therapy on our clients. So far for about 3/4ish months but will continue working here until I apply/hopefully get accepted.
- at the rehab center, I've learned to do basic wound care, administer SQ injections, and give medications.
-During the summers when I am not in school, I plan on getting some opportunities to shadow vets in GP's and /or volunteer with horses.

Animal Experience:
-Kennel attendant (full-time) for about 4 months at the rehab place before I got promoted to be a tech
-Ownership of dogs, canaries, parakeets, freshwater fishes, and hermit crabs my whole life.
-During the summers (as a teen), I helped my grandfather tend to his farm (feeding cattle, pigs, cleaning horse stables) all was under his supervision so it wasn't professional/was over a decade ago. Should I include it?
-Would this go under animal or non-veterinary? I worked as an Education volunteer at my local aquarium for 300+ hours. I basically talked to the public about the animals in the exhibits and encouraged discussions about conservation/ sustainable fishing. I also was able to teach guests how to interact with the animals in our touch pools. I had to take a few classes from the aquarium to learn about the animals/anatomy/ how to properly handle them so I don't know if it counts as animal because of that? Besides the sting ray/ bamboo shark pools (I got to be inside), I was always outside of the tank talking to people (hence education volunteer)

Non-Veterinary Experience:
-Dining hall worker (1 year)
-Parking attendant (1 year)
-MESA (STEM) program assistant (1 week)
-STEM program leader (4 months)
- I own a small business on Etsy (selling hermit crab food). I started an instagram page (4 years now) to help advocate and educate new owners on how to properly care for them and my page got big. I saw the need for ready to serve hermit crab food (because the store bought food is crap) so I started my business and still continue to help people through multiple social media platforms giving advice. I feel really passionate about helping people and animals 🙂 I am very proud of this project but does it actually count? I did my own research on the nutritional needs for land hermit crabs and that is how I came up with my recipes. (business for over 1 year now)



Research:
-about 12 hours helping a TA sort out samples in a lab setting for a geology thesis she was working on
-Do internships count as research? I did an environmental steward internship where I got to collect data on invasive species and was able to help our campus steward come up with a plan to help remove them so we could increase the population of some of our native insect species that were being affected by invasive plant species. I also did general trail maintenance. Before I graduated, I did not know that I wanted to be a vet so I was really into the conservation type of research.
I also had to conduct my own research for a plant ecology course I took during undergrad. We had to make our own experiments and log them in a journal and at the end of the quarter, we had to write a short proposal (like if it were a thesis).
***All of these are plant/conservation related so that's why I am wondering if this counts? Would really appreciate your feedback!***

Extracurriculars:
Animal rights club (2 years)
Wildlife conservation club (1 year)

Awards/recognitions:
-Hispanic scholarship recipient
- I came out in a short documentary for one of the rescue dogs that I adopted. He was abused /lived with a homeless person. A rescue picked him up and contacted the rehab center that I work at. If the rehab center had not taken him in, he would have been euthanized. He was hopping on his RH leg for a month with a dislocated L hip. He had almost no muscle on his LH because he was hopping on it for so long. He needed an FHO surgery + rehab to be able to function again. I was only a kennel attendant at that moment. This guy literally changed my life and sparked my interest in veterinary medicine/animal rehab. I worked extra hard to learn how to help him out (physical therapy) and with my assistance, he is running around and having the most normal life possible for an FHO case. Because of this entire story, I was featured on this documentary for a pet resource center that just opened up. I don't know if this is even relevant? Or if I can/should include it? The last thing that I want is to sound cocky.

LORs:
-I will be asking 3 of the veterinarians that work at my rehab clinic.


I know my GPA is a mess. I hope I can raise it up by whatever means possible before I apply (at least science GPA/ last 45). My Cum GPA will be a mess since I already have about 210 worth of undergrad credits. With all of this, do I have a chance for even the island schools? Thanks for the help 🙂

 

[wishmeluck28]

Hi everyone! I am a second time applicant here, wondering what my chances are for getting in this time around, and also looking for any recommendations of schools to apply to. I had health issues my junior year of college, so my GPA is not very competitive despite having all A's and B+'s my other three years. Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.03
GRE: v:157 q:152 a: 4.0

Vet experience: 1,000h
Animal experience: 10,000h

From last application cycle I improved my grades and have also become a lab technician at a national company, Eurofins. I am an equestrian and have good letters of recommendation from a professor, academic counselor, and veterinarian. I'm currently applying to SGU (already got an interview), Midwestern (waiting on response), UFL, and Western. Last cycle I was admitted to SGU and selected as an alternate for Western. I didn't apply to Midwestern or UFL.

Thanks for reading through this whole post!

 

[Tanrabbit]

I guess I just need someone to tell me "you've still got a chance" or "find something else to do" - that would be great.

Basically, I failed out of college about 10 years ago due to depression/life stuff. Since then, I've become incredibly productive but I haven't done much work at all in vet settings, though I do have some hours in (maybe 200-400?)

I'm currently 31 years old, wondering if I still have a chance to go to vet school? I started taking classes at the local college here and pulled off a 4.0 my first semester and I don't see any problem with doing it this semester as well. Like many, I've wanted to be a veterinarian since I was 5 years old but I allowed my self-doubt get in the way of that goal and I find myself unhappy with my current direction in life. I'm MUCH more mature than I was when I failed out and my time management skills are excellent. Basically, I'm ready now.

If I were to completely start over and get a bachelor's degree in biology (and whatever else is needed) would my application immediately be thrown out due to that past performance or would I be given a chance if I was able to show that I had matured, buckled down and gotten excellent grades? Of course, I do realize that getting more hands-on experience is ideal as well and would certainly be working on that in the meantime. Any advice is appreciated

 

[SkiOtter]

I guess I just need someone to tell me "you've still got a chance" or "find something else to do" - that would be great.

Basically, I failed out of college about 10 years ago due to depression/life stuff. Since then, I've become incredibly productive but I haven't done much work at all in vet settings, though I do have some hours in (maybe 200-400?)

I'm currently 31 years old, wondering if I still have a chance to go to vet school? I started taking classes at the local college here and pulled off a 4.0 my first semester and I don't see any problem with doing it this semester as well. Like many, I've wanted to be a veterinarian since I was 5 years old but I allowed my self-doubt get in the way of that goal and I find myself unhappy with my current direction in life. I'm MUCH more mature than I was when I failed out and my time management skills are excellent. Basically, I'm ready now.

If I were to completely start over and get a bachelor's degree in biology (and whatever else is needed) would my application immediately be thrown out due to that past performance or would I be given a chance if I was able to show that I had matured, buckled down and gotten excellent grades? Of course, I do realize that getting more hands-on experience is ideal as well and would certainly be working on that in the meantime. Any advice is appreciated

Some schools will let you petition to have classes older than 10 years thrown out. I know Illinois is one of them. I think some also might not accept prereqs older than 10 years. So I'd think that as long as you did well in your prereqs now, that you'd probably have a chance.
Have you shadowed any vets yet to make sure this is the field for you? If not, I (and a lot of the other people on here) would recommend finding someone to shadow so you can make sure that you do actually want to be a veterinarian and know what you're getting yourself into before you invest time and money into prereqs only to find out that this isn't what you want to do.

Edit: I missed the sentence the first time around where you said you do have some vet experience. I'd still recommend getting some more obviously, but you do at least have some.

 

[Tanrabbit]

Some schools will let you petition to have classes older than 10 years thrown out. I know Illinois is one of them. I think some also might not accept prereqs older than 10 years. So I'd think that as long as you did well in your prereqs now, that you'd probably have a chance.
Have you shadowed any vets yet to make sure this is the field for you? If not, I (and a lot of the other people on here) would recommend finding someone to shadow so you can make sure that you do actually want to be a veterinarian and know what you're getting yourself into before you invest time and money into prereqs only to find out that this isn't what you want to do.

Edit: I missed the sentence the first time around where you said you do have some vet experience. I'd still recommend getting some more obviously, but you do at least have some.

Oh yes, absolutely. It's all I've ever wanted to do, really. My worry is that I will go to school for a 4 year degree in Biology, be denied...and then what? If I knew there was a chance going into it that I could still get in I'd try. But then, if I don't get in what do I do with that degree? I'm just really unsure of what my next move is. I'm working toward a degree right now that I DON'T love, something that doesn't involve animals at all and I'm just not happy with it.

 

[SkiOtter]

Oh yes, absolutely. It's all I've ever wanted to do, really. My worry is that I will go to school for a 4 year degree in Biology, be denied...and then what? If I knew there was a chance going into it that I could still get in I'd try. But then, if I don't get in what do I do with that degree? I'm just really unsure of what my next move is. I'm working toward a degree right now that I DON'T love, something that doesn't involve animals at all and I'm just not happy with it.

Your degree doesn't have to be in biology to go to vet school. Tons of people get in with some other major and are just fine. You can be a music major if you want, as long as you take the necessary prerequisites for the schools you're applying to. Heck, you don't even HAVE to have a bachelors (I think Davis is the only US school that requires one, might be others, but most certainly don't require a prior degree, just the prereqs)
Major in something you like and if you had to fall back on it you could. If you don't get into vet school the first time, would you try again? Or just be done? I'm currently a second time applicant because I didn't get in the first year.

Another thing you can do when applying is to apply smartly. Some schools don't even care what your cumulative gpa is and only look at prereq gpa, science gpa, and last 30/36/45 semester hours gpa. So they wouldn't necessarily look at your previous coursework from 10+ years ago.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Would like some feedback on the schools that I am thinking of applying to because of my LOW GPA. Do I stand a chance?.
Applying to (maybe 2years from now): Oregon State, Iowa State, Ross U, Saint George U, and Western U
Overall GPA: 2.86
Science GPA: 2.6 (still need to take Organic, Biochem, and microbio) 🙁
Last 45: (still need to take about 22 more units) currently is 3.14

Make sure those schools don't have GPA cutoffs. Just keep trekking and do well you will probably be ok in the end you still have a few prereqs and I know Iowa emphasizes the last 45 and science over cumulative. Also many schools have petitions for course removal and some don't look at courses more than 6-7 years old so check into that also. For your GRE you might just relax for now, there's a bunch of changes coming and schools are starting to drop that requirement so hold off on that til closer to application.

-During the summers (as a teen), I helped my grandfather tend to his farm (feeding cattle, pigs, cleaning horse stables) all was under his supervision so it wasn't professional/was over a decade ago. Should I include it?

VMCAS rules state nothing over 10 years old so this doesn't qualify any longer I don't believe.

-Would this go under animal or non-veterinary? I worked as an Education volunteer at my local aquarium for 300+ hours. I basically talked to the public about the animals in the exhibits and encouraged discussions about conservation/ sustainable fishing. I also was able to teach guests how to interact with the animals in our touch pools. I had to take a few classes from the aquarium to learn about the animals/anatomy/ how to properly handle them so I don't know if it counts as animal because of that? Besides the sting ray/ bamboo shark pools (I got to be inside), I was always outside of the tank talking to people (hence education volunteer)

Animal, you interacted with the animals often teaching guests how to interact in touch pools.

Non-Veterinary Experience:
- I own a small business on Etsy (selling hermit crab food). I started an instagram page (4 years now) to help advocate and educate new owners on how to properly care for them and my page got big. I saw the need for ready to serve hermit crab food (because the store bought food is crap) so I started my business and still continue to help people through multiple social media platforms giving advice. I feel really passionate about helping people and animals 🙂 I am very proud of this project but does it actually count? I did my own research on the nutritional needs for land hermit crabs and that is how I came up with my recipes. (business for over 1 year now)

Include this! It shows your other interests and who you are.

Research:
-Do internships count as research? I did an environmental steward internship where I got to collect data on invasive species and was able to help our campus steward come up with a plan to help remove them so we could increase the population of some of our native insect species that were being affected by invasive plant species. I also did general trail maintenance. Before I graduated, I did not know that I wanted to be a vet so I was really into the conservation type of research.
I also had to conduct my own research for a plant ecology course I took during undergrad. We had to make our own experiments and log them in a journal and at the end of the quarter, we had to write a short proposal (like if it were a thesis).
***All of these are plant/conservation related so that's why I am wondering if this counts? Would really appreciate your feedback!***

Count these. They all count animal related or not research is good use it to your advantage.

Awards/recognitions:
-Hispanic scholarship recipient
- I came out in a short documentary for one of the rescue dogs that I adopted. He was abused /lived with a homeless person. A rescue picked him up and contacted the rehab center that I work at. If the rehab center had not taken him in, he would have been euthanized. He was hopping on his RH leg for a month with a dislocated L hip. He had almost no muscle on his LH because he was hopping on it for so long. He needed an FHO surgery + rehab to be able to function again. I was only a kennel attendant at that moment. This guy literally changed my life and sparked my interest in veterinary medicine/animal rehab. I worked extra hard to learn how to help him out (physical therapy) and with my assistance, he is running around and having the most normal life possible for an FHO case. Because of this entire story, I was featured on this documentary for a pet resource center that just opened up. I don't know if this is even relevant? Or if I can/should include it? The last thing that I want is to sound cocky.

Count this. The point of VMCAS is to be cocky. Obviously not arrogant, but yes boast about your self, accomplishments, and everything in between. You are trying to prove that you deserve a place in that 150 size class from a pool of >1000 applicants. Keep trekking, get good grades in the remainder of your classes and I think you have a decent shot.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hi everyone! I am a second time applicant here, wondering what my chances are for getting in this time around, and also looking for any recommendations of schools to apply to. I had health issues my junior year of college, so my GPA is not very competitive despite having all A's and B+'s my other three years. Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.03
GRE: v:157 q:152 a: 4.0

Vet experience: 1,000h
Animal experience: 10,000h

From last application cycle I improved my grades and have also become a lab technician at a national company, Eurofins. I am an equestrian and have good letters of recommendation from a professor, academic counselor, and veterinarian. I'm currently applying to SGU (already got an interview), Midwestern (waiting on response), UFL, and Western. Last cycle I was admitted to SGU and selected as an alternate for Western. I didn't apply to Midwestern or UFL.

Thanks for reading through this whole post!

So my question is are you looking to get into UFL, Western, or Midwestern over SGU? From my perspective I find it as odd you were accepted at SGU then declined only to reapply there again, but I would only ever apply to schools in which I would actually attend if accepted. With that said if you aren't admitted to the other schools would you actually go to SGU this time? I assume you requested a file review from the schools you applied to. Take their info to heart as they have the best info on you and what they are looking for. As long as you've stayed active in your vet and animal involvement I think you should be fine. Of course all of this is hard to tell from year to year. I would assume you will probably be reaccepted to SGU. Since you were an alternate at Western(idk where you were on the list) but I would see you moving up to possibly being offered a spot since your GPA has improved. Check your stats in comparison to Midwestern and UFL for GPA and GRE I think would give you the best idea. Goodluck!

 

[wishmeluck28]

So my question is are you looking to get into UFL, Western, or Midwestern over SGU? From my perspective I find it as odd you were accepted at SGU then declined only to reapply there again, but I would only ever apply to schools in which I would actually attend if accepted. With that said if you aren't admitted to the other schools would you actually go to SGU this time? I assume you requested a file review from the schools you applied to. Take their info to heart as they have the best info on you and what they are looking for. As long as you've stayed active in your vet and animal involvement I think you should be fine. Of course all of this is hard to tell from year to year. I would assume you will probably be reaccepted to SGU. Since you were an alternate at Western(idk where you were on the list) but I would see you moving up to possibly being offered a spot since your GPA has improved. Check your stats in comparison to Midwestern and UFL for GPA and GRE I think would give you the best idea. Goodluck!

I decided to not go to SGU, because I wasn't ready at that point in my life to make such a big transition. I am ready now, although I would prefer to stay in the US. I just got an email from Midwestern saying I was waitlisted for an interview...what does that mean exactly?