What are my chances?

[Plops]

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This is a repost, but I got no responses before so Ima post it again with some updated stats:

First time non-trad applicant (applying next year), 26, male, WA resident. Applying to WSU, OSU, Kansas, Auburn, Tufts, Mexico's vet school

Cum GPA: 3.51
Science/Prereq GPA: 3.35
Last 45 GPA: 3.82

GRE: 168V, 162Q, 4.5AW

Vet experience so far:
~300 hrs vet assistant at small animal/exotic clinic
~200 hrs shadowing/working as a receptionist at private SA clinic
~200 hrs shadowing/volunteering at Humane Society vet clinic
~20 hrs shadowing equine vet

Research experience:
-Undergrad thesis on rangeland monitoring (including livestock impacts) in Maasailand, Kenya

Animal experience:
-approx. 500 hrs volunteering at Seattle Aquarium interpreting exhibits, helping with animal feeding and care, other random tasks (I got to guard a baby seal once, and another time I got groped by an octopus!)
-a few hundred hours doing cattle-related projects in Peace Corps, including biodigestors and lombriculture with local schools and ranches
-Other animal-related small projects in Peace Corps: classes on dog and cat care, adopting/finding homes for some strays in town, classes on organic/sustainable pesticide use with ranchers
-Dog, cat, and exotic owner my whole life. This includes going through the process of bringing my cat back to the USA from Nicaragua 🙂

Other stuff (aka the rest of my life)
-Eagle Scout
-Philanthropy chair, Phi Delta Theta
-Academic distinction 4/8 semesters, distinction on senior orals
-2 years in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua: Environmental Education sector. This consisted of training rural teachers in giving environmental science classes, various garbage-related projects with city hall, biodigesters and lombriculture with local ranchers, a cool radio show a friend and I started in the town, English classes, and much more
-1 year in an office job at a tech startup in Seattle. This taught me that I don't want to spend my whole life sitting at a desk 🙂

Questions I have: Is 162 a decent quantitative GRE score or should I try retaking it? How do VMCAS/schools differentiate semester credits vs. quarter credits in terms of "last 45 GPA" and various schools' credit requirements? Do you guys have any tips on finding livestock vet experience for people who don't live in livestock-heavy areas?

And one other big question: how valuable is it to work as a receptionist for a vet? I personally think you learn as much, if not more, about the field at the front desk compared to working as a tech/assistant, but I imagine most vet schools value technical experience much more than administrative stuff. Thoughts?

 

[Bracco Pointer]

Plops, you've definitely got a very solid application. Your science GPA is a little low, but you've got very strong GRE scores to help balance it. You cGPA isn't stellar, but it shouldn't hold you back, especially since your last 45hr GPA is very good. The more experience you can gain the better, but you've got enough vet hours to not be sorely lacking. If you're not applying for another year, you can probably squeeze in a couple hundred more hours. Your experience is all very unique, which will help you stand out in the application process. Getting food animal veterinary hours will help your application, or at least really getting more in depth experience with the area you're most interested in.

I'd say working as a receptionist at a vet clinic is better than not working at a vet clinic at all... but there are many aspects of vet med that go unseen at the front desk. Ad coms want to see that you're interested in the diagnostics, the science, and the hands-on stuff... not just kissing puppies over the counter and taking histories. 🙂

 

[orca2011]

FWIW, there are people who have been accepted that don't have have many/any of the clinical skills you learn by working as a vet assistant/vet tech. I know of people who have been accepted that have just shadowed or worked as a receptionist. Being a receptionist really teaches you how to interact with clients and how to respond to a variety of situations, so I think those hours you have are important. I wish I had learned how to work the receptionist desk at times actually. I mean, they are the first people you deal with when entering a vet clinic so they are an extremely important part of a practice and they have to know a little bit to be able to help answer some questions that might come up during a phone call.

I believe there are several people in my class that mentioned that they are nervous because they don't have some of those clinical skills and they'll be fine. Vet schools teach you from the ground up, so you're going to learn it the way they want you to anyway.

 

[mr n]

So I'm a little concerned about getting into vet school this year. I'm a returning student and between work, pre-reqs, and non-animal related community service I haven't had a lot of time to accrue as much experience as I'd like.

cum GPA: >3.9
science GPA: >3.9
last 45 GPA: 4.0

GRE: 170V, 164Q, 6.0W

Vet experience: 160 hours volunteering at a local clinic
animal experience: taking my dog to obedience class

Obviously, my question is whether my grades are good enough to make up for my abysmal experience hours and if there's anything I can do to make my hours look better in the application.

 

[Bracco Pointer]

Well, your grades are outstanding and that will help you a lot. What else are you involved in? Hobbies, research, etc? What other volunteer work do you do? What does your job entail? You've still got a little while until the application is due... so you can cram a couple hundred hours in if you push yourself. You've really got to prove that you're not 100% about the grades, and that there's a "you" outside of the 4.0 that understands vet med. If you can prove that to the ad coms, then you've got a decent chance.

 

[Museum Nerd]

So I'm a little concerned about getting into vet school this year. I'm a returning student and between work, pre-reqs, and non-animal related community service I haven't had a lot of time to accrue as much experience as I'd like.

cum GPA: >3.9
science GPA: >3.9
last 45 GPA: 4.0

GRE: 170V, 164Q, 6.0W

Vet experience: 160 hours volunteering at a local clinic
animal experience: taking my dog to obedience class

Obviously, my question is whether my grades are good enough to make up for my abysmal experience hours and if there's anything I can do to make my hours look better in the application.

agreed your grades are great and you have the GRE scores to back it up, but if there is any way that you can fit additonal hours it would certainly help. Some schools have posted minimums so you need to be aware of which schools those are. do you have any research? Some research counts even if it is not under a vet so you might look into that. btw unless things have changes I dont believe you can count your own animal as animal experience.

 

[Museum Nerd]

Alright this is my first post. Arkansas Resident, first time applicant

Applying to
Kansas State
Oklahoma State - 2 contract spots
Louisiana State - 9 contract spots
Mississippi State
Auburn

Almost done with my bachelors in animal science from The University of Arkansas. WPS

Cum GPA - 3.47
Science GPA- 3.63
Last 45 GPA- 3.35
Organic and Physics GPA (for Auburn)- 3.63

Would continue to get experience.....also your science GPA is the best of all so that is good but what happpened with your last 45 -obviously not science classes. any way to bring that up or explain.

 

[capirinha]

.

 

[mr n]

Well, your grades are outstanding and that will help you a lot. What else are you involved in? Hobbies, research, etc? What other volunteer work do you do? What does your job entail? You've still got a little while until the application is due... so you can cram a couple hundred hours in if you push yourself. You've really got to prove that you're not 100% about the grades, and that there's a "you" outside of the 4.0 that understands vet med. If you can prove that to the ad coms, then you've got a decent chance.

Thanks for the quick replies. My other volunteer experience involves keeping computer records for the LDS church. I spend one to two weekends a month in Nashville doing that. I do have some indirect research experience. My wife is a master's student in entomology at the University of Tennessee and I sometimes accompany her to the field to help her collect. I also spent 8 months working for the UT plant science department helping with tomato nutrition experiments. Not animal related, but will that still help?

 

[orca2011]

Thanks Orca! Was Glasgow the only UK school you applied to? What made you decide not to attend, if you don't mind me asking?

Glasgow was the only UK school I applied to. I didn't apply to RVC because I didn't want to deal with the COL in London and I didn't apply to Edinburgh, well because I'm honestly not 100% sure why. Edinburgh is a great city and I think it was a subconscious effort on my part to avoid cities that I had been to during my year abroad in England. I think I wanted to try to keep the two experiences separate and one of the last dates my ex from the UK and I went on was in Edinburgh. So I think there were too many memories there...especially if my ex and I didn't end up getting back together (he's about an hour by train from Edinburgh).

I actually deferred my acceptance because I was having panic attacks about going back. Not because I don't think I'd love it (I miss the UK sooo much) but I think part of it was because Penn was my top choice and I felt like I'd regret it if I didn't give them another chance (and I ended up getting in...crazy story there). Also, if I hadn't deferred I would have put the $2000 deposit down and then been accepted to two OOS schools as well and would have had doubts about attending and $2000 is a lot to potentially lose vs the $500 with US schools. Another reason I was hesitant was because of the exchange rate. Tuition is fixed a rate of 1.7 but I was worried about other living costs. The exchange rate is pretty good at the moment (better than when I was there) but it was always something that scared me since my education is entirely off of loan money.


And this is going to sound horrible, but I haven't told Glasgow about my other offers because in all honesty part of me still wants to go back. I actually like that the program is 5 years, and the sound of the EMS work. And being able to practice pretty much anywhere is a huge bonus. It's lately been crossing my mind to make the switch but I'm worried that a lot of it has to do with me being nostalgic more than anything. 🙁

 

[capirinha]

.

 

[kernel]

I posted earlier but didn't get any responses. Could I get some feedback? 😍

Applying only to Oregon State this year.

22 year old Female, Oregon resident, first time applicant
Double majoring in Ecology & Organismal Biology and French
cumGPA: 3.45ish
sciGPA: 3.2ish

GRE scores:
round one: 155V 152Q 4.5W
round two: 157V 156Q 4.0W

Employment:
- 300 hours in a wine wholesale warehouse. it is what it sounds like
- one summer working as a cheese counter person at a high-end gourmet grocery store
- one summer (~150 hours) as a chaperone/program assistant for college-aged international students visiting the US for the first time
- one academic term (~30 hours) as a peer mentor for new international students
- one academic year (~200 hours) as a computer lab attendant/technology assistant
- about 2 years (~800 hours) as a sound engineer/admin assistant for a student-run audio and events crew.
- 160 hours as a kennel attendant in a large emergency veterinary clinic
- 375 hours (and counting!) as a vet tech in a large emergency veterinary clinic this is my current job and i work about 25 hours per week

Volunteer work:
- one summer as an office person/shadower in a pediatric oncology clinic
- sporadic involvement (~50 hours) at a homeless shelter
- ~50 hours at a cat rescue (this was recent but I left because it was crazy and I didn't like the work environment or the coordinator)
- 30 hours (and counting - currently doing this) caring for animals on a toy ranch (we have everything, you name it: horses, cattle, riding steers, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbits...)

Shadowing:
- 50 hours shadowing a vet at the busy emergency clinic where I work.

Other stuff:
- I have my brown belt in Tae Kwon Do. I won't be able to get my black belt by the application due date, but I certainly plan on doing so before the next cycle
- played goalkeeper on my high school's varsity soccer team all 4 years
- 2 years goalkeeper in club soccer
- I've ridden horses on and off for the better part of 3 years, both English and Western.
- I am fluent in French and have passed two exams administered by the French ministry of education that certify my proficiency
-AP scholar in high school blah blah.
- In high school I was crazy about drawing portraits. I think I'm pretty decent. I had my stuff on display at school once. Meh.

 

[abbercadaver]

I posted earlier but didn't get any responses. Could I get some feedback? 😍

Applying only to Oregon State this year.

I'm not all that familiar with Oregon, but I'd say you're a solidly middle-of-the-road applicant as you stand right now.

Your GPA is on the lower side, your GRE is good (new scale is still throwing me, so correct me if I'm wrong, here) but still has room for improvement, and you have a couple hundred veterinary experience hours.

The thing that sticks out to me are your experience hours. You may be competing against several people who have close to 1000 hours, or in some cases, 1000s of hours.

If I were an adcom, that would be the part that I would think could use some improvement.

With a double major, you probably can't do a whole whole lot to improve your GPA much with so many credits under your belt. Speaking of which is it your biology or your French classes or your general ed classes that are low? Do you have one bad class, or several mediocre classes? Some schools only calculate required courses or science GPA...but your science GPA is a little lower than your cumulative GPA. (Again, I don't know how Oregon works, specifically.) Consider re-taking C (or below ) science/required courses and then it could help your science/required GPA quite a bit even if it affects your cumulative GPA relatively minutely.

My advice: study your butt off, retake the GRE, get an EXCELLENT score and then acquire more veterinary experience hours.

Are you solely applying to Oregon? Other schools may be more forgiving for a lower GPA, but you may have to pay OOS tuition (though, some schools let you gain IS residency after your first year...so you may want to look into it if that is what's keeping you from applying elsewhere).

Definitely talk about being fluent in French in your PS. That's really cool and incredibly unique. You always get bonus points for that kind of stuff. 🙂

 

[kernel]

I'm not all that familiar with Oregon, but I'd say you're a solidly middle-of-the-road applicant as you stand right now.

Your GPA is on the lower side, your GRE is good (new scale is still throwing me, so correct me if I'm wrong, here) but still has room for improvement, and you have a couple hundred veterinary experience hours.

The thing that sticks out to me are your experience hours. You may be competing against several people who have close to 1000 hours, or in some cases, 1000s of hours.

If I were an adcom, that would be the part that I would think could use some improvement.

With a double major, you probably can't do a whole whole lot to improve your GPA much with so many credits under your belt. Speaking of which is it your biology or your French classes or your general ed classes that are low? Do you have one bad class, or several mediocre classes? Some schools only calculate required courses or science GPA...but your science GPA is a little lower than your cumulative GPA. (Again, I don't know how Oregon works, specifically.) Consider re-taking C (or below ) science/required courses and then it could help your science/required GPA quite a bit even if it affects your cumulative GPA relatively minutely.

My advice: study your butt off, retake the GRE, get an EXCELLENT score and then acquire more veterinary experience hours.

Are you solely applying to Oregon? Other schools may be more forgiving for a lower GPA, but you may have to pay OOS tuition (though, some schools let you gain IS residency after your first year...so you may want to look into it if that is what's keeping you from applying elsewhere).

Definitely talk about being fluent in French in your PS. That's really cool and incredibly unique. You always get bonus points for that kind of stuff. 🙂

Thanks for the advice.

As for my hours - they increase each week. By the time apps are due, I calculate that I will have about 600 veterinary technician hours. I will certainly try to boost my shadowing/volunteer hours as well, but because school and work take up so much time, I'm not counting on it.

GRE: I just took the GRE for the second time. I only allowed myself 2 months between the first and second attempts, and of course, unforseen family emergencies detracted from my ability to study. Frankly, I don't think I will be retaking it during the current app cycle, but I will undoubtedly take it next year if I am not admitted this year.

Grades: I have a lot of B's. And they're mostly in biology :\ My French stuff actually pulls my GPA up. I do have a few more biology prereqs to take this fall - great oppty's to bring that GPA up.

I know that I'm a mid-range applicant, which is one of the reasons why I am only applying IS.

Thanks again! I guess it pretty much comes down to rocking my classes this fall 👍

 

[Minnerbelle]

I know that I'm a mid-range applicant, which is one of the reasons why I am only applying IS.

If you have other reasons for only applying IS, then that's totally cool. But, don't let being a middle of the road applicant stop you from applying broadly. In fact I think that's when you WANT to apply broadly. Statistically speaking, IS tends to give you more favorable odds, but vet school admissions is kind of a crapshoot. What one school doesn't really like about you, another might love.

 

[wildcatj]

If you have other reasons for only applying IS, then that's totally cool. But, don't let being a middle of the road applicant stop you from applying broadly. In fact I think that's when you WANT to apply broadly. Statistically speaking, IS tends to give you more favorable odds, but vet school admissions is kind of a crapshoot. What one school doesn't really like about you, another might love.

And to add to that, there have been people on here who have applied to a few schools plus there IS and gotten in everywhere BUT their IS. If you have other reason's to just apply IS though, go for it. If I had one I would probably just apply there unless other OOS tuitions were less expensive.

 

[Kpowell14]

I'm a newbie at SDN, so here goes!

First time applicant: Tennessee resident
Applying to: Tennessee and Missouri

Cum GPA: 3.78
Sci. GPA: 3.66
Last 45 GPA: 4.0
GRE: V: 152 Q: 148 AW: 3.5 🙁 👎

Vet experience: 2000+ hrs paid as a Vet. Assistant in small animal practice (proficient in blood draws, catheter placement, anesthesia Monitoring, e-tubing, cysto's, assisting in surgery, performing dental prophy, X-ray positioning, lab work etc.)

Animal experience: 1yr- foster/volunteer for a local Great Dane Rescue
4yrs- associate at local pet store with roles beginning as cashier and moving up to pet care, pet care lead, finally being trained as a dog obedience trainer.
2 yrs- kennel attendant/ bather in a small animal practice

Extracurricular activities / Honors:
Member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society
Member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
Member of Golden Key International Honor Society
Member of University Honors Program
Member of University Women's Softball Team- Freshman yr only
National Fastpitch Association- All American Scholar Athlete -freshman yr
Recipient of 2 University scholarships for academic achievement

I'm a little worried about my GRE scores.. I took the GRE the day after my grandfathers funeral. I was not emotionally or mentally there. Unfortunately I took the GRE way too late to take it again before all application materials are due.

I've pretty much narrowed down my schools of choice to Mizzou and UT. UT mainly bc it is IS. But I really like Mizzous Curriculum as it is 2 yrs classroom, 2 yrs Clinicals and I love being hands on. However the cost difference is tremendous. I currently have Zero student loans as I've been on scholarship throughout undergrad, but I'm a little concerned with the cost of Mizzou if I were to be accepted.
Any input is appreciated!

 

[wildcatj]

I'm a newbie at SDN, so here goes!

First time applicant: Tennessee resident
Applying to: Tennessee and Missouri

Cum GPA: 3.78
Sci. GPA: 3.66
Last 45 GPA: 4.0
GRE: V: 152 Q: 148 AW: 3.5 🙁 👎

Vet experience: 2000+ hrs paid as a Vet. Assistant in small animal practice (proficient in blood draws, catheter placement, anesthesia Monitoring, e-tubing, cysto's, assisting in surgery, performing dental prophy, X-ray positioning, lab work etc.)

Animal experience: 1yr- foster/volunteer for a local Great Dane Rescue
4yrs- associate at local pet store with roles beginning as cashier and moving up to pet care, pet care lead, finally being trained as a dog obedience trainer.
2 yrs- kennel attendant/ bather in a small animal practice

Extracurricular activities / Honors:
Member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society
Member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
Member of Golden Key International Honor Society
Member of University Honors Program
Member of University Women's Softball Team- Freshman yr only
National Fastpitch Association- All American Scholar Athlete -freshman yr
Recipient of 2 University scholarships for academic achievement

I'm a little worried about my GRE scores.. I took the GRE the day after my grandfathers funeral. I was not emotionally or mentally there. Unfortunately I took the GRE way too late to take it again before all application materials are due.

I've pretty much narrowed down my schools of choice to Mizzou and UT. UT mainly bc it is IS. But I really like Mizzous Curriculum as it is 2 yrs classroom, 2 yrs Clinicals and I love being hands on. However the cost difference is tremendous. I currently have Zero student loans as I've been on scholarship throughout undergrad, but I'm a little concerned with the cost of Mizzou if I were to be accepted.
Any input is appreciated!

So a few things I notice with your application. Your GPA is very competitive, which is good, but your GRE scores are not (as I think you realize). When did you take the GRE? They changed it so you can now take it once every 30 days. ETS still says it takes 10-15 days for score reports to be sent so even if you tack a week onto that, you should be ok. I would really recommend taking it again.

The other thing that strikes me about your application is that while you have a lot of hours of experience, it's ALL small animal. Because it's so one sided, that's why I think retaking the GRE would be beneficial.

That being said I certainly think you have a chance this year, but if you can re-take the GRE and do better I think you'll have much better results.

Also worth mentioning: Missouri let's you change to IS tuition after first year. According to this wonderful thing: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AuDAmocjP-XddEZFZ096NkxsMkdKVmJsUHZ3MmRqUFE&gid=3 made by a very generous SDN member (check out the estimated costs of attendance thread) Missouri only ends up being $13k more expensive. That includes living expenses, tuition, books, everything.

Good luck!

 

[Kpowell14]

So a few things I notice with your application. Your GPA is very competitive, which is good, but your GRE scores are not (as I think you realize). When did you take the GRE? They changed it so you can now take it once every 30 days. ETS still says it takes 10-15 days for score reports to be sent so even if you tack a week onto that, you should be ok. I would really recommend taking it again.

The other thing that strikes me about your application is that while you have a lot of hours of experience, it's ALL small animal. Because it's so one sided, that's why I think retaking the GRE would be beneficial.

That being said I certainly think you have a chance this year, but if you can re-take the GRE and do better I think you'll have much better results.

Also worth mentioning: Missouri let's you change to IS tuition after first year. According to this wonderful thing: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AuDAmocjP-XddEZFZ096NkxsMkdKVmJsUHZ3MmRqUFE&gid=3 made by a very generous SDN member (check out the estimated costs of attendance thread) Missouri only ends up being $13k more expensive. That includes living expenses, tuition, books, everything.

Good luck!

Thanks for your input!

I am Fully aware my GRE was a let down. I just took it a couple weeks ago. It was a horrible week and a half leading up to it as my grandfather was dying in the hospital and we ended up burying him the day before the Test. I thought it was 60 days between tests, so I will definitely look into taking it again with a level head!

Also, my understanding is that it is pretty difficult to gain IS tuition from Missouri after the first year. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

 

[wildcatj]

Someone else that goes there can answer more specifically, but supposedly it's pretty easy, just have to jump through some hoops.

 

[kernel]

I just don't have the money to consider out-of-state tuition :\. My family is also located an hour and a half away from my IS. Being close to them is important to me.

 

[dizzledog92]

Hey, I'm Dylan, first time applicant from South Carolina applying to UGA, Miss State, NC State, and Cornell. For UGA we have 17 IS seats, and for Miss State we have 5 IS seats.

I'm applying as a junior with the intention of obtaining my degree by counting the first year of veterinary school as my senior year of undergrad - worked it out with my undergrad institution should I get accepted.

I've completed all prereqs except biochem, nutrition, and genetics. Genetics I'm taking in the Spring, and the rest I have this semester.

GPA: 4.0
(all over GPAs are 4.0)
GRE: 160 V (83%) 160 Q (81%) 5.5 A (96%)
I took the GRE about a few months ago with some vocab preparation, math review with the Kaplan book, and reading over what style the essays were.

Vet Experience
497 hours at a small animal day practice (paid) - one summer internship, following summer working as a vet assistant (did everything the tech did, x-rays, venipuncture, interacting with clients, TPRs, assisting in surgery, intubation, monitoring anesthesia, running lab work etc.)

249 hours at a small animal emergency clinic working as a veterinary assistant (everything but venipuncture) (paid)
**I work here during the school year on alternating weekends as well, for one semester I had this job while also working as a supplemental instruction leader

105 hours at a mixed animal day practice as a shadow (unpaid)- I was able to draw blood and place catheters in the clinic, and go out with the large animal vet on farm calls to see horses, cows, goats, etc. I was able to assist in debridement of impaling injuries in horses and see a few large animal surgical procedures, including the repair of an umbilical hernia in a horse. Learned routine vaccinations, health problems, etc.

70 hours under an Animal and Veterinary Science PhD doing dairy research (unpaid - and still doing more this entire year), where we were able to monitor growth parameters of calves, draw blood and perform ultrasound on heifers, and run hormonal assays on collected blood and urine.

Animal Experience

40 hours kennel cleaning at a small animal day practice (paid)
30 hours of large animal handling - worked with cows/pigs/chickens/horses/sheep in a semester-long class giving a general overview of working with each animal

30 hours of dairy cow handling and healthcare
30 hours of swine handling and healthcare
10 hours of equine handling and healthcare (upon time of submitting vmcas)

Employment

200 hours at the our university's Academic Success center as a supplemental instruction leader for General Chemistry (paid)

10 hours at our university's Academic Success center as a supplemental instruction leader mentor - helping other upcoming SI leaders with their jobs (upon time of submitting vmcas) (paid)

5 hours of undergrad teaching assistant for our university's Anatomy and Physiology of Domestic Animals laboratory (upon time of submission of vmcas)

Honors and Awards

President's List (4.0) every semester so far
Research publication in a butterfly journal from Spring of freshman year (entomology)
Supplemental Instruction leader employee of the month
Palmetto Fellows and Trustee scholarship recipients
International Baccalaureate diploma
Academic Honors award upon receiving HS diploma
AP scholar with distinction
AATG/PAD Germany study trip recipient winner
Black belt in martial arts


Community Activities

Logistical Coordinator of our Gay-Straight Alliance for one year
Active Member of our Gay-Straight Alliance
Active Member of our Pre-Veterinary Club
Member of Alpha Lambda Delta honors frat
Attended APVMA Symposium for the last two years (Miss State and NC State)
Took part in two other exchange trips with Germany during high school (3 total)
I did Taekwondo from 5 years old up until high schol
I did aikido and a form of jujitsu for a bit as well in high school

For two summers I volunteered in the Angels in the Outfield program where we helped mentally disabled children play baseball on a team


My personal statement is a bit different in that I'm focusing on more about who I am than what specific experience made me want to be a veterinarian, but I feel like I met all of the criteria they wanted in the personal statement.

I'm mostly worried that my experience is not diversified enough, since I'm interested in NC state as an OOS applicant. My top choices are UGA or NC state. It would be great if I could keep up a 4.0 this year, but we'll see what happens.

Regarding supplemental apps, I feel the least comfortable with all of those essays. I've mostly finished NC State's, but Cornell's not at all. I'm also worried about badgering people for getting their LoRs in!

Any critiquing would be greatly appreciated!

 

[scb44f]

Thanks for your input!

I am Fully aware my GRE was a let down. I just took it a couple weeks ago. It was a horrible week and a half leading up to it as my grandfather was dying in the hospital and we ended up burying him the day before the Test. I thought it was 60 days between tests, so I will definitely look into taking it again with a level head!

Also, my understanding is that it is pretty difficult to gain IS tuition from Missouri after the first year. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

The good news about MO is that the GRE is a very small part of your application (it only accounts as 4% of your "score"). http://cvm.missouri.edu/evaluation.htm

About the IS tuition, the biggest hurdle is earning $2000, but we have a summer research program that pays $5000 so if you get into that, you're good to go. Then you have to get a MO license and voter registration card, and present that along with proof that you've lived in MO for a year. People just use bank statements for that. I'm sure I'm missing something, but really the hardest part is making the $2000. Other than that, if you do what they say, you'll get residency and your tuition will drop. 🙂

Edit: I am from MO, but my husband came here from WV and petitioned for residency a couple of years ago. It was very easy for him, and I actually haven't heard of anyone having issues with it once they made the money.

 

[Bracco Pointer]

Hey, I'm Dylan, first time applicant from South Carolina applying to UGA, Miss State, NC State, and Cornell. For UGA we have 17 IS seats, and for Miss State we have 5 IS seats.

I'm applying as a junior with the intention of obtaining my degree by counting the first year of veterinary school as my senior year of undergrad - worked it out with my undergrad institution should I get accepted.

I've completed all prereqs except biochem, nutrition, and genetics. Genetics I'm taking in the Spring, and the rest I have this semester.

GPA: 4.0
(all over GPAs are 4.0)
GRE: 160 V (83%) 160 Q (81%) 5.5 A (96%)
I took the GRE about a few months ago with some vocab preparation, math review with the Kaplan book, and reading over what style the essays were.

Vet Experience
497 hours at a small animal day practice (paid) - one summer internship, following summer working as a vet assistant (did everything the tech did, x-rays, venipuncture, interacting with clients, TPRs, assisting in surgery, intubation, monitoring anesthesia, running lab work etc.)

249 hours at a small animal emergency clinic working as a veterinary assistant (everything but venipuncture) (paid)
**I work here during the school year on alternating weekends as well, for one semester I had this job while also working as a supplemental instruction leader

105 hours at a mixed animal day practice as a shadow (unpaid)- I was able to draw blood and place catheters in the clinic, and go out with the large animal vet on farm calls to see horses, cows, goats, etc. I was able to assist in debridement of impaling injuries in horses and see a few large animal surgical procedures, including the repair of an umbilical hernia in a horse. Learned routine vaccinations, health problems, etc.

70 hours under an Animal and Veterinary Science PhD doing dairy research (unpaid - and still doing more this entire year), where we were able to monitor growth parameters of calves, draw blood and perform ultrasound on heifers, and run hormonal assays on collected blood and urine.

Animal Experience

40 hours kennel cleaning at a small animal day practice (paid)
30 hours of large animal handling - worked with cows/pigs/chickens/horses/sheep in a semester-long class giving a general overview of working with each animal

30 hours of dairy cow handling and healthcare
30 hours of swine handling and healthcare
10 hours of equine handling and healthcare (upon time of submitting vmcas)

Employment

200 hours at the our university's Academic Success center as a supplemental instruction leader for General Chemistry (paid)

10 hours at our university's Academic Success center as a supplemental instruction leader mentor - helping other upcoming SI leaders with their jobs (upon time of submitting vmcas) (paid)

5 hours of undergrad teaching assistant for our university's Anatomy and Physiology of Domestic Animals laboratory (upon time of submission of vmcas)

Honors and Awards

President's List (4.0) every semester so far
Research publication in a butterfly journal from Spring of freshman year (entomology)
Supplemental Instruction leader employee of the month
Palmetto Fellows and Trustee scholarship recipients
International Baccalaureate diploma
Academic Honors award upon receiving HS diploma
AP scholar with distinction
AATG/PAD Germany study trip recipient winner
Black belt in martial arts


Community Activities

Logistical Coordinator of our Gay-Straight Alliance for one year
Active Member of our Gay-Straight Alliance
Active Member of our Pre-Veterinary Club
Member of Alpha Lambda Delta honors frat
Attended APVMA Symposium for the last two years (Miss State and NC State)
Took part in two other exchange trips with Germany during high school (3 total)
I did Taekwondo from 5 years old up until high schol
I did aikido and a form of jujitsu for a bit as well in high school

For two summers I volunteered in the Angels in the Outfield program where we helped mentally disabled children play baseball on a team


My personal statement is a bit different in that I'm focusing on more about who I am than what specific experience made me want to be a veterinarian, but I feel like I met all of the criteria they wanted in the personal statement.

I'm mostly worried that my experience is not diversified enough, since I'm interested in NC state as an OOS applicant. My top choices are UGA or NC state. It would be great if I could keep up a 4.0 this year, but we'll see what happens.

Regarding supplemental apps, I feel the least comfortable with all of those essays. I've mostly finished NC State's, but Cornell's not at all. I'm also worried about badgering people for getting their LoRs in!

Any critiquing would be greatly appreciated!

Dizzledog, I think you've got a very strong application. Your GPA and GRE are excellent. I don't think you have to worry about the diversity of your experience. You've got small animal, equine, and food animal experiences. If you had 2000 hours of just small animal from one clinic, then you might be concerned about diversity. But you've got all your bases covered.

Depending on where your interest is (small, large, exotics?), it would be good to get more experience in that field. I think you're fine for the general application, but it would be helpful for interviews, etc to show a real in depth knowledge. Your extracurriculars look good too, and I'm sure they will give you a lot to write about in your PS besides the run of the mill "vet stuff." Good luck!

 

[Kansas Girl]

Hello!

First time 22yo female applicant from Kansas. Currently thinking K-State, Missouri, CSU, and Minnesota and/or Wisconsin. I have a BBA and a BA in non-science fields. I started out as a biology major and then went business and then changed my mind but went ahead and finished my degrees. This summer, I took microbiology (and lab) and public speaking. Currently, I'm doing OChem and zoology, and this spring, I'm doing genetics and biochem. These will be at a local community college, although I'm contemplating doing the genetics and biochem at a university because I (idiotically) just realized that they have to be upper division for CSU. The ones at the CC are 200 level, even though they fit the other requirements (e.g. organic as a pre-req, etc.).

Cumulative GPA: 4.0
Science GPA: 4.0
GRE: 164 V (93%) 157 Q (71%) 4.5 A (73%)

Vet Experience
~800 hours at SA hospital as assistant (paid)

Animal Experience
100+ hours SA care (not quite sure how to address this - I've been pet sitting since I was at least 10 and doing house/pet sitting for past two years as my summer work. This includes taking dogs to park/day care and giving medications. Although this has amounted to probably 40+ overnights, I don't know the most appropriate way to count the hours.)
30 hours at Central Veterinary Convention - I listed all of the sessions that I attended - thoughts on that?/Should this be here or community activities?
800+ hours horseback riding/low level showing (should I include this? Also, I just did a rough calc on that number, so right now it's super-conservative)
~100 hours humane society volunteering
~75 hours volunteering at therapeutic riding facility
~600 hours working at pet store with puppies (I know. I thought I was going to save them all.) - started and led dog training class, fed, medicated

Employment
700+ hours at university's admissions office as tour guide/university ambassador
500+ hours at Blockbuster

Honors and Awards
Graduated summa cum laude
Dean's List all semesters
Completed university honors program
Full tuition/room/board university scholarship
National Merit scholarship
National AP Scholar
Numerous high school honors, NHS, NSHS, etc.
Phi Kappa Phi member

Community Activities
Church mission trips
Committee member for major comm. service event in college for two years
Various HS comm. service experience
Traveling? - studied abroad two semesters, went to UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Australia
Dressage Team - didn't ride but did fundraisers and bi-weekly meetings and assisted with shows with team. We had different speakers come, including a UT grad who is now a vet for one of the major racing farms in Kentucky.

Personal Statement
Still working on it, but I'm trying to draw on experiences from work that cemented my decision to go to vet school/my love for the science of the profession, not just the animals, and my interest in the business side of things as well. I've also toyed with the idea of public health but probably won't mention that. But like I said, I'm working on it still.

Obviously at this point, I'm not going to be able to squeeze in more diverse experience before submitting my app (am trying to start volunteering at wildlife rescue place), but I'm interested in thoughts on the above/where I stand as well as feedback about where I'm applying/others I might consider. I know my vet experience is my weakest area, but I know there are others on here who also had minimal vet experience, so if any of you are reading, I would love to know what the rest of your app was like!

 

[Kpowell14]

The good news about MO is that the GRE is a very small part of your application (it only accounts as 4% of your "score"). http://cvm.missouri.edu/evaluation.htm

About the IS tuition, the biggest hurdle is earning $2000, but we have a summer research program that pays $5000 so if you get into that, you're good to go. Then you have to get a MO license and voter registration card, and present that along with proof that you've lived in MO for a year. People just use bank statements for that. I'm sure I'm missing something, but really the hardest part is making the $2000. Other than that, if you do what they say, you'll get residency and your tuition will drop. 🙂

Edit: I am from MO, but my husband came here from WV and petitioned for residency a couple of years ago. It was very easy for him, and I actually haven't heard of anyone having issues with it once they made the money.

Awesome! I talked to a c/o 2016 CVM student who also said exactly what you said! Yaaay! It makes me feel good having 2 people say the same thing! Mizzou is my #1 choice and would LOVE to go there! Everything about he school is impressive! I have an IS school, but I'm really drawn to mizzous curriculum.
Thanks so much for your response!

 

[PuffPastry]

Hi everyone, I am new to SDN but just wanted to hear some input on my chances 🙂

1st Time Applicant
Undergrad- Small private science and ag school in PA- has 500 acre farm on campus- allows for a lot of hands-on experience

GPA:
Cumulative GPA: 3.997
Science GPA: 4.00
Last 45: 4.00

GRE 🙁
1st Time: 152 V 152 Q 4.5 AW
2nd Time: (even worse) 152 V 151 Q 4.5 AM
Will be taking for a third time in about 1 week

Vet Hours:
150 Equine
1,200 Small Animal
70 Exotic ( Exotic practice and zoo)
5 Large Animal
200 Navel Ill Research with Ph.D

Animal Experience:
Equine: 8,000+
Equine Reproduction:300 (Equine Science major at school with breeding facility)
Small Animal (pet sitting, dog walking): 500
A.I. Course with Bovine: 15 hours
Fistulated cow- 3 hours

Activities:
4-H (8-18 years old)- President for 3 years
Horseback riding lessons
Horse Camp Counselor
Stable Hand
National Honor Society Member- HS (4 years)
Positive Awareness for Wildlife and Zoos member (1 year)
Animal Science Society Member (1 year)
Pre-Vet club member (1 year)
Delta Tau Alpha Honor Society (2 years)
T.A. Anat. and Phys. (Undergrad course)

Honors:
Presidential Scholarship
Deans List- every semester from Freshman to present
Bristol-Myers Squibb Research Scholarship- my research on navel ill
Glick Liberal Arts Scholarship
Chemistry Award, Environmental Science Award- HS


I am really very concerned about my GRE scores. Do you think that good grades will be able to outweigh bad GRE scores. I studied a lot before I took them the second time but did even worse. I have been studying the whole summer as well so hopefully I can do better the third time but I do not do well on standardized tests 🙁

Thank you for your input!

 

[wildcatj]

PuffPastry,
I would say see how you do the third time around and if you don't do well I wouldn't worry about it unless you need to reapply. I know you have the option now to only send schools the one set of scores you choose, but it might be worth sending them all your scores so they can see that you've taken it more than once? (I'm curious to see if anyone else thinks that might be a good idea) Just because if they see that you tried several times and didn't do well, but then have your near perfect GPA, perhaps they'll just assume standardized tests aren't your thing.
Otherwise your application looks awesome! If your GPA wasn't so good I would be a little more worried about your GRE scores.

 

[McGovernator]

First time 22yo female applicant from Kansas. Currently thinking K-State, Missouri, CSU, and Minnesota and/or Wisconsin. I have a BBA and a BA in non-science fields. I started out as a biology major and then went business and then changed my mind but went ahead and finished my degrees. This summer, I took microbiology (and lab) and public speaking. Currently, I'm doing OChem and zoology, and this spring, I'm doing genetics and biochem. These will be at a local community college, although I'm contemplating doing the genetics and biochem at a university because I (idiotically) just realized that they have to be upper division for CSU. The ones at the CC are 200 level, even though they fit the other requirements (e.g. organic as a pre-req, etc.).

I would suggest emailing CSU with the course title, description, and what school it is and see what they have to say. I went to UConn and for some reason our Biochem class is a 200 level too but I emailed all the schools I thought it might be an issue with and they all said it was fine!

 

[imsuperduper15]

I have been reading through all of the other "what are my chances" threads and you guys all sound amazing. I'm nervous about my application; I don't think I stack up.

First time traditional applicant, 21, female, MN resident.
Applying to MN, WI, IA, and NC

Cum GPA: 3.97
Science/Prereq GPA: 3.92
Last 45 GPA: 4.0

1st GRE: 153 V, 154 Q, 4.0 W
2nd GRE: 159 V (80%), 156 Q (68%), 4.0 (49%) W

Vet experience:
800 hours SA technician's assistant/kennel help
1200 hours SA veterinary assistant
160 hours SA shadowing
10 hours SA behavior specialist shadowing
35 hours LA shadowing
40 hours equine shadowing
6 hours mixed animal shadowing

Research experience:
None (yikes!)

Animal experience:
400 hours working with disabled/"unplaceable" SA
160 hours volunteering at humane society
300+ hours SA petsitting
40 hours therapeutic riding volunteer
60 hours wildlife rehab volunteer
120 hours dairy farm worker



Other stuff:
Pre-Vet Club Member
Alpha Zeta Fraternity Member (honors agriculture frat/sorority)
University Honors Program Member
Co-capt Intramural basketball team (2 years)
Volunteer at local food pantry
Employee of the month award (voted by coworkers)
Academic scholarship (sophomore year)
Dean's List (every semester & counting)
Student Adviser to Superintendent (in high school, faculty picked)


I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

[Museum Nerd]

PuffPastry,
I would say see how you do the third time around and if you don't do well I wouldn't worry about it unless you need to reapply. I know you have the option now to only send schools the one set of scores you choose, but it might be worth sending them all your scores so they can see that you've taken it more than once? (I'm curious to see if anyone else thinks that might be a good idea) Just because if they see that you tried several times and didn't do well, but then have your near perfect GPA, perhaps they'll just assume standardized tests aren't your thing.
Otherwise your application looks awesome! If your GPA wasn't so good I would be a little more worried about your GRE scores.

Puffpastry, I would not recommend sending all three scores if you do not have to. Several schools average the scores therefore you will be bringing down your higher set. I have not seen a single school that will take the highest in a section so even if they do not average they will only look at your best anyway.

 

[Emiloo4]

Puffpastry, I would not recommend sending all three scores if you do not have to. Several schools average the scores therefore you will be bringing down your higher set. I have not seen a single school that will take the highest in a section so even if they do not average they will only look at your best anyway.

I would say figure it out based on where you're applying. Most schools take the higher score at one sitting (meaning they won't take your highest of EACH score, but the highest score you received as a set). I agree with wildcat that they may take a single score to mean you gave up after one shot.

 

[Kansas Girl]

I would suggest emailing CSU with the course title, description, and what school it is and see what they have to say. I went to UConn and for some reason our Biochem class is a 200 level too but I emailed all the schools I thought it might be an issue with and they all said it was fine!

Thanks for the input! I did this, and they also said it was fine. I was having a mini-major freakout trying to decide whether I was going to take the classes elsewhere or not apply to CSU at all.

So if anyone else adds his or her $0.02 on my chances, you can ignore that part of my lengthy post.

 

[MaiT]

Hi All, I just took the GRE (for the first time) and I am wondering how competitive my scores are. I got a 158 Verbal (77%) and a 161 Quant (83%) (don't have my writing score yet).
Does anyone happen to know what the average GRE scores are for Cornell and UPenn? I can't find them anywhere! lol
Thank you 🙂

 

[orca2011]

Hi All, I just took the GRE (for the first time) and I am wondering how competitive my scores are. I got a 158 Verbal (77%) and a 161 Quant (83%) (don't have my writing score yet).
Does anyone happen to know what the average GRE scores are for Cornell and UPenn? I can't find them anywhere! lol
Thank you 🙂

I don't know what it is on the new test, but they recommended having a 570 V and 710 Q on the old test( I think), so I guess they would recommend whatever the equivalent of that is now. I had neither of those.


That's for Penn btw. Didn't apply to Cornell.

 

[MaiT]

I don't know what it is on the new test, but they recommended having a 570 V and 710 Q on the old test( I think), so I guess they would recommend whatever the equivalent of that is now. I had neither of those.


That's for Penn btw. Didn't apply to Cornell.

Thanks for the info! I checked on the concordance chart the GRE site has for converting the new scores to the old scores. It says a verbal 158 is a 580 and a quant 161 is a 770; I'm a little speculative about a 161 being 770 though, because the max of the test now is 170, yet the equivalent of an 800 is a 165...

 

[kakurubird]

Thanks for the info! I checked on the concordance chart the GRE site has for converting the new scores to the old scores. It says a verbal 158 is a 580 and a quant 161 is a 770; I'm a little speculative about a 161 being 770 though, because the max of the test now is 170, yet the equivalent of an 800 is a 165...

If you compare the percentiles, it should make more sense. The percentiles on the math section had gotten kind of wacky and an 800 was only like a 94th percentile. Changing the scoring moved the average score back down to the middle of the scoring range. So 165 is likely around 95th %tile, which would make it 800 on the old test. It's just more clear now to tell high quant scorers apart--they have more possible scores, not just 800 for all.


Basically, this is the first year for the new test. I imagine schools are going to focus largely on percentiles because no one is really comfortable with the new scoring yet.

 

[MaiT]

If you compare the percentiles, it should make more sense. The percentiles on the math section had gotten kind of wacky and an 800 was only like a 94th percentile. Changing the scoring moved the average score back down to the middle of the scoring range. So 165 is likely around 95th %tile, which would make it 800 on the old test. It's just more clear now to tell high quant scorers apart--they have more possible scores, not just 800 for all.


Basically, this is the first year for the new test. I imagine schools are going to focus largely on percentiles because no one is really comfortable with the new scoring yet.

Okay, that makes more sense! So if that's the case, then a quant 161 (which is 83%) was a 760 on the old GRE and a verbal 158 (which is 77%) was a 580.
I guess I'm just surprised that an 83% is on the higher end.

 

[Allie26]

Hi! I have been lurking around for a while now but I finally decided to join and post. I am a first time applicant from Washington state. I am applying to WSU and OSU.
Cumulative GPA: 3.78
Science GPA: 3.75
Last 45 GPA: 3.81

GRE:
Verbal: 165
Quantitative: 161
Writing: 4.5

Vet Experience:
Kennel Technician at Exotic Emergency Animal Clinic --1000 hours
Volunteer at Exotic Emergency Animal Clinic---80 hours
Internship at WSU VTH-- Both large and small animal and exotics --250 hours
Surgery Room Prep--15 hours

Animal Experience:
Intern at PAWS animal shelter focusing on foster care--200 hours
Small Animal Technician at WSU VTH (Mainly cleaning) --130 hours
Volunteer at Woodland Park Zoo (mainly petting zoo) -- 500 hours
Horseback riding lessons-- 100 hours
Many hours pet sitting and taking care of my own animals.

Personal:
I also work at Staples (for the money. haha) and participate in intramural sports on campus.

I am currently at WSU completing my zoology degree and my top choice is WSU. What are my chances of getting in this cycle?

 

[VetStudent123]

Would really appreciate anyones input, I just took the GRE with one of the worst fevers in my life and did not do well. I believe it is too late to retake it, but I will go ahead and add my stats. I would like to mention my dream school is Western U and would love any feedback as that is the main school I'm targeting.

CUM GPA: 3.41
Science GPA: 3.453

GRE SCORES (NOT GOOD!) Q: 140 V: 145 (awaiting analysis writing scores since I just took the exam)
Male, 27 year old student


Vet Experience:
2,030 hours of experience as a veterinary technician with the majority of hours at one particular clinic
300 hours recently hired as a veterinary technician at the same clinic

Animal Experience:
300 hours working in a bovine research facility
40 hours working at an equine science lab
50 hours working at a meat facility
100 hours working at a ranch with various food animals

I would appreciate any input, I did NOT do well on the GRE but my primary school of choice is Western and would love to hear some feedback, thanks.

 

[Bracco Pointer]

You've got very strong experience hours, which will help you. But your GRE is going to be very tough to overcome. Your GPA is about average, so it won't really help or hurt you. The concordance table puts your Q&V scores both at about 24%. If you had a stellar GPA you might have better luck. I'm not very familiar with Western, but it might be worth your while to retake the GRE and apply again next year.

Were your 300 hired hours part of the 2030hrs? Were you a "volunteer" tech there before you were hired?

 

[Emiloo4]

Would really appreciate anyones input, I just took the GRE with one of the worst fevers in my life and did not do well. I believe it is too late to retake it, but I will go ahead and add my stats. I would like to mention my dream school is Western U and would love any feedback as that is the main school I'm targeting.

CUM GPA: 3.41
Science GPA: 3.453

GRE SCORES (NOT GOOD!) Q: 140 V: 145 (awaiting analysis writing scores since I just took the exam)
Male, 27 year old student


Vet Experience:
2,030 hours of experience as a veterinary technician with the majority of hours at one particular clinic
300 hours recently hired as a veterinary technician at the same clinic

Animal Experience:
300 hours working in a bovine research facility
40 hours working at an equine science lab
50 hours working at a meat facility
100 hours working at a ranch with various food animals

I would appreciate any input, I did NOT do well on the GRE but my primary school of choice is Western and would love to hear some feedback, thanks.

Western does tend to look at the "whole applicant" more than other schools and less on academics, but that will definitely be a tough score to overcome. If you want to try and apply this year, it can't hurt. The worst they can do is say no and you lose money, but that is up to you. Otherwise, I would retake it and apply next year. Call Western directly and ask when you have to take the GRE by for them... some schools allow later testing dates.

 

[VetStudent123]

You've got very strong experience hours, which will help you. But your GRE is going to be very tough to overcome. Your GPA is about average, so it won't really help or hurt you. The concordance table puts your Q&V scores both at about 24%. If you had a stellar GPA you might have better luck. I'm not very familiar with Western, but it might be worth your while to retake the GRE and apply again next year.

Were your 300 hired hours part of the 2030hrs? Were you a "volunteer" tech there before you were hired?

Yes I was a volunteer before I was hired, and the 300 hours are separate. The GRE was like a nightmare to me, I studied and took it today but I had a 102 fever and literally didn't sleep all night. I wish the exam wasn't at 7:00 am so I could of had time to be better prepared. I really hope this wont be the make or break for Western as I know they look for the overall application.

 

[VetStudent123]

Western does tend to look at the "whole applicant" more than other schools and less on academics, but that will definitely be a tough score to overcome. If you want to try and apply this year, it can't hurt. The worst they can do is say no and you lose money, but that is up to you. Otherwise, I would retake it and apply next year. Call Western directly and ask when you have to take the GRE by for them... some schools allow later testing dates.

I will do that, so otherwise from the GRE scores do you think for Western everything else seems strong? I have heard from friends who got in that they had 3.2-3.3 gpa's and did fairly average or below average on the GRE.

 

[Emiloo4]

I will do that, so otherwise from the GRE scores do you think for Western everything else seems strong? I have heard from friends who got in that they had 3.2-3.3 gpa's and did fairly average or below average on the GRE.

No one can ever be sure. Admissions are a crap shoot. It also depends on your personal statement, extracurriculars, and eLORs, not just academics. The better everything else is on your app, the better chance you have. I got into Western last year so I went through their process. Your experience looks good and your GPA is average for Western I believe. Unfortunately there is no way of knowing. Even when you have a 4.0 and perfect GRE scores, there's no guarantee.

 

[VetStudent123]

No one can ever be sure. Admissions are a crap shoot. It also depends on your personal statement, extracurriculars, and eLORs, not just academics. The better everything else is on your app, the better chance you have. I got into Western last year so I went through their process. Your experience looks good and your GPA is average for Western I believe. Unfortunately there is no way of knowing. Even when you have a 4.0 and perfect GRE scores, there's no guarantee.

I appreciate your help, I feel aside from the GRE I would be a solid candidate. I hope that wasnt the make or break, I think being 27 is my determining factor for why I'm getting nervous about applying and getting in ASAP!

 

[Bracco Pointer]

Applying certainly can't hurt (minus the fees *grumble*). Good luck!

 

[Museum Nerd]

Hi All, I just took the GRE (for the first time) and I am wondering how competitive my scores are. I got a 158 Verbal (77%) and a 161 Quant (83%) (don't have my writing score yet).
Does anyone happen to know what the average GRE scores are for Cornell and UPenn? I can't find them anywhere! lol
Thank you 🙂

The data was several yeas old when i was looking but average GRE for Cornell was a 1330/1600 (old score)

 

[deleted493496]

Is it really too late to apply at this point? What are the consequences of applying a day before the deadline?

Also, is it recommended that you submit the app before receiving GRE score?

 

[abbercadaver]

Is it really too late to apply at this point? What are the consequences of applying a day before the deadline?

Also, is it recommended that you submit the app before receiving GRE score?

Deadline is October 2nd so unless you're somehow in the future and posting this in the past as your previous self, you have quite a while to apply before October. 🙂

However, the consequence for applying the DAY before COULD be that your application is stuck in limbo for whatever reason on the internet, and it is not processed in time for the 12am deadline. And you wouldn't make the deadline. So I'd say give yourself a week to be safe. 3-5 days, minimum, if you're pushed for time.

Your evaluators (which I'm assuming you have yet to contact) will be rushed in getting your eLORs together, but that's not really a problem as long as they all get them in on time.

You'll know your GRE score the day you take it (except for the written portion), unless they've changed that policy since last year. So you should know your score as soon as you take it.

However if you're applying in October, but the school you're applying to allows the GRE to be taken after that, well there's nothing you can really do about that. You can't apply without a GRE score (by whatever time the schools' individual deadlines are for that), so if you've never taken it, you'll have to send in your scores, regardless of what they are, or else your application will get chucked out.

So yeah, you'd be taking a bit of a risk with the GRE. Study your butt off and just get an awesome score. Then you have no worries. 🙂