What are my chances?

[coffeelauren]

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Agree here. Depth and breadth are both important for demonstrating an understanding of the field. Not every experience must be a 500+ hour one but you also can't just have fifty 10 hour experiences either. A combination of the two is good, and shows that you understand the variety of things you can do in the field but also recognize a few areas you're really interested in and have spent more time learning about.

I do need to focus on the "Doing things I'm interested in" thing haha. As I said, almost all my animal experience right now is horses? I don't really know how that happened- I got one job, and it's been easy to get horse related experiences since then. But I've basically never been into riding, and I'd barely touched a horse growing up. It's just weird how things work out haha

 

[Dr. Emmett Brown]

This is slightly different than what people normally post but....


Are my chances increased if I live within 5 minutes of the school? I know IS boosts your chances but was curious if in-town boosts your chances any further?

For me it'd be Tufts University.

Thanks

David

 

[Coopah]

This is slightly different than what people normally post but....


Are my chances increased if I live within 5 minutes of the school? I know IS boosts your chances but was curious if in-town boosts your chances any further?

For me it'd be Tufts University.

Thanks

David

Short answer, no.

 

[cdo96]

Short answer, no.

Does VMCAS even ask for your address?

Edit: yes they do, to establish residency, and to give to the schools to send you things.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

This is slightly different than what people normally post but....


Are my chances increased if I live within 5 minutes of the school? I know IS boosts your chances but was curious if in-town boosts your chances any further?

For me it'd be Tufts University.

Thanks

David

I live ~20 min (weather depending) from my IS and I was rejected last year. 😛 Living so close DID benefit me though, since I had an interest in pathology and was able to shadow necropsies at the school, and I don't even know where I could have found a similar experience if I didn't live here.

 

[coffeelauren]

I live ~20 min (weather depending) from my IS and I was rejected last year. 😛 Living so close DID benefit me though, since I had an interest in pathology and was able to shadow necropsies at the school, and I don't even know where I could have found a similar experience if I didn't live here.

I live about 5 minutes from the vet school here too, and I was wondering how you got involved shadowing at the vet school hospital? It so massive I just don't even know where to begin....

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I live about 5 minutes from the vet school here too, and I was wondering how you got involved shadowing at the vet school hospital? It so massive I just don't even know where to begin....

I'm sending you a pm. 🙂

 

[goaggies2017]

I had an interview for Texas A&M Vet school and I am getting very nervous. When I applied to Vet School I had a 3.69 GPA in BIMS from TAMU. I had probably 1,000 hours in large animal shadowing and 300 in small animal. I also had some hours with an ophthalmologist. My senior year of my fall semester I got a 4.0 and that raised my overall GPA to a 3.72 and my science gpa to a 3.64. My GRE scores were V: 162 and Q:158 writing: 4. What are my chances ? Will the fall 4.0 really make a difference?

 

[vetmedhead]

I had an interview for Texas A&M Vet school and I am getting very nervous. When I applied to Vet School I had a 3.69 GPA in BIMS from TAMU. I had probably 1,000 hours in large animal shadowing and 300 in small animal. I also had some hours with an ophthalmologist. My senior year of my fall semester I got a 4.0 and that raised my overall GPA to a 3.72 and my science gpa to a 3.64. My GRE scores were V: 162 and Q:158 writing: 4. What are my chances ? Will the fall 4.0 really make a difference?

Are you saying you applied this cycle? Also, are you IS (I'm assuming you are since your undergrad is at TAMU too but you never know for sure) or OOS?

FWIW good GPAs are good GPAs and can only help you. I believe TAMU has a points system that they sort of outline on their website (and GPAs factor into a portion of them) and I think they recalculate GPAs to include fall semester grades after the interviews are over.

It's hard to say anything exactly, especially since the MMI scores factor into things a bit differently, but your application by no means looks bad. Take a deep breath and relax a little - I know this time of the application cycle is stressful but the wait will be over soon. 🙂

 

[goaggies2017]

Yes I applied for this cycle and I am finishing my senior year. Yes I am IS. I took two classes last semester that were pre reqs ( Microbiology and Statistics) so I submitted my most recent transcript after my interview in January.

Thank you for the advice. The waiting games is the worst. I think my MMI went well but you can never be sure.

 

[just_wanna_save_dogs]

New to this website, so still trying to get things figured out! I was just wondering what some of you might think I'm looking at if I'm planning on applying this coming cycle.

Female, white, 21, PA resident
Undergraduate institution: Penn State University, Schreyer Honors College
Intended major: Veterinary and biomedical sciences
Current GPA: 3.69 (not sure what all "officially" figures into science GPA, but if I had to guess I'd say somewhere around ~3.4)
Work experience:
~550 hours at a small/exotic animal practice (paid) - VERY hands-on work, essentially a full-fledged assistant helping with animal restraint, giving vaccinations, surgery prep and monitoring, filling prescriptions, interacting with clients
~250 hours as a medical assistant (paid) at a local animal shelter - also very hands on, giving vaccinations, routine medical care to resident animals, but also a lot of time spent working with local practices to see our animals
~40 hours working with shelter staff veterinarian
~100 hours at the same shelter but as a dog care volunteer (unpaid)

Extracurriculars:
- Pre-Vet Club - Pre-vet symposium chair, planned an event for 100+ high school students to attend lectures by distinguished faculty and alumni, participate in hands-on labs
- Honors college - Orientation organizer, planned a 3-day orientation program for 300 incoming honors college freshmen
- Learning assistant, lab TA - intro level biology course and second year animal science course

Research:
- Just now starting my honors thesis in large animal nutrition; will be conducting in vitro and in situ study on digestion

Schools:
- OSU, Virginia-Maryland, Penn, still thinking about others (would like to stay east coast)

I know I don't have a TON of experience hours, but I feel like those I do have are very valuable. I plan on returning to the small animal practice this summer and am also hoping to get at least 75 or so hours shadowing large animal mobile practice/racetrack vet. Any other suggestions? I sort of joined the pre-vet game late, so I've always felt like I'm playing catchup.

Thanks guys 🙂

 

[cdo96]

Schools:
- OSU, Virginia-Maryland, Penn, still thinking about others (would like to stay east coast)

Which OSU? There are 3. I'm guessing Ohio..

 

[ahallowell]

New to this website, so still trying to get things figured out! I was just wondering what some of you might think I'm looking at if I'm planning on applying this coming cycle.

Female, white, 21, PA resident
Undergraduate institution: Penn State University, Schreyer Honors College
Intended major: Veterinary and biomedical sciences
Current GPA: 3.69 (not sure what all "officially" figures into science GPA, but if I had to guess I'd say somewhere around ~3.4)
Work experience:
~550 hours at a small/exotic animal practice (paid) - VERY hands-on work, essentially a full-fledged assistant helping with animal restraint, giving vaccinations, surgery prep and monitoring, filling prescriptions, interacting with clients
~250 hours as a medical assistant (paid) at a local animal shelter - also very hands on, giving vaccinations, routine medical care to resident animals, but also a lot of time spent working with local practices to see our animals
~40 hours working with shelter staff veterinarian
~100 hours at the same shelter but as a dog care volunteer (unpaid)

Extracurriculars:
- Pre-Vet Club - Pre-vet symposium chair, planned an event for 100+ high school students to attend lectures by distinguished faculty and alumni, participate in hands-on labs
- Honors college - Orientation organizer, planned a 3-day orientation program for 300 incoming honors college freshmen
- Learning assistant, lab TA - intro level biology course and second year animal science course

Research:
- Just now starting my honors thesis in large animal nutrition; will be conducting in vitro and in situ study on digestion

Schools:
- OSU, Virginia-Maryland, Penn, still thinking about others (would like to stay east coast)

I know I don't have a TON of experience hours, but I feel like those I do have are very valuable. I plan on returning to the small animal practice this summer and am also hoping to get at least 75 or so hours shadowing large animal mobile practice/racetrack vet. Any other suggestions? I sort of joined the pre-vet game late, so I've always felt like I'm playing catchup.

Thanks guys 🙂

Yay! Fellow Penn Stater, here. Graduated back in May 2013. I'll be applying for a second time this cycle. But I agree with you in gaining some large animal vet hours. That should help some.

Also - I forgot to add. 1) Make sure you have a strong last 45 credit GPA. Always good to have an upward trend. And 2) focus on getting a solid GRE score (think that's what killed me the first time.. I'm going to try Magoosh since a few people on here suggested it)

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[just_wanna_save_dogs]

Which OSU? There are 3. I'm guessing Ohio..

Oops, yes you're right. To this lifelong PA girl, OSU only means Ohio State!

 

[just_wanna_save_dogs]

Yay! Fellow Penn Stater, here. Graduated back in May 2013. I'll be applying for a second time this cycle. But I agree with you in gaining some large animal vet hours. That should help some.

Also - I forgot to add. 1) Make sure you have a strong last 45 credit GPA. Always good to have an upward trend. And 2) focus on getting a solid GRE score (think that's what killed me the first time.. I'm going to try Magoosh since a few people on here suggested it)

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Yeah, I should've added that I haven't taken my GRE yet. Taking it at the beginning of June in case I have to take it a second time prior to application deadlines.

How do schools feel about a consistent last 45? I think I've gotten a 3.68-3.71 every single semester of college and I'd probably expect that again this semester?

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Oops, yes you're right. To this lifelong PA girl, OSU only means Ohio State!

You mean THE Ohio State 😉

 

[Skimble]

You mean THE Ohio State 😉

I was just thinking we should start calling it TOSU.

 

[cdo96]

I was just thinking we should start calling it TOSU.

Still need one for Oklahoma and Oregon. OkSU and OrSU?

 

[Skimble]

Still need one for Oklahoma and Oregon. OkSU and OrSU?

Here are my votes
Ohio = TOSU
Oklahome = OkSU (this just sounds funny and amuses me!) 🙂
Oregon = OSU

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Here are my votes
Ohio = TOSU
Oklahome = OkSU (this just sounds funny and amuses me!) 🙂
Oregon = OSU

I've even seen it like tOSU

 

[Lupin21]

We usually refer to oklahoma as OKstate anyway.

 

[ahallowell]

Yeah, I should've added that I haven't taken my GRE yet. Taking it at the beginning of June in case I have to take it a second time prior to application deadlines.

How do schools feel about a consistent last 45? I think I've gotten a 3.68-3.71 every single semester of college and I'd probably expect that again this semester?

I'm not too sure about the consistency - I would assume as long it's a higher GPA it's good to be consistent. Having an upward trend can balance those who had lower GPAs in the beginning but increased greatly over time. I was very average when I started college and towards the end when I finally got into the vet med specific classes I had 3.8-4.0.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[illumoonate]

This is a little premature, as I'm only a sophomore, but I'm nervous about my low GPA and want to know what I can do to strengthen my application, besides make sure I do really well the next 5 semesters (even though I calculated it, if I get straight A's for all my classes I'll be up to a 3.6... but that's unlikely)

Female, white, 19, PA resident
Undergraduate institution: Penn State
Major: Veterinary & Biomedical Science
Current GPA: 3.13 🙁

Veterinary Experience:
~3,000 hours as a veterinary assistant at a SA/exotic animal hospital starting when I was 15. Restrain, administer vaccinations, draw blood, prepare labwork, IV catheterization, surgery prep and monitoring, have scrubbed in to assist in surgery, fill prescriptions, answer phones and communicate with clients,
~250 hours shadowing a LA primarily equine veterinarian; allowed me to give vaccinations and assist with a ton of procedures

Animal Experience:
~1,000 hours volunteering at the same SA/exotic animal hospital prior to being hired; walked/fed patients and their in-house rescue animals
~500 hours volunteering at a horse barn; a stable hand and assisted with getting horses ready for lessons. Also rode
~500 hours of fostering various animals; adult dogs, 1 week old puppies or kittens, and everything in between!
~500 hours of volunteering at Centre County PAWS
~200 hours volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center

Extracurriculars:
• Pre-Vet Club Public Relations Chair
• Project PAWS, a student group that volunteers at our local animal shelter
• Penn State Equine Research Team; assist graduate students with their research projects
• Penn State Club Swimming
• THON 2017 Family Relations Chair for Club Swim
• THON 2016 and 2017 Committee Member
• Camp Kesem Central PA Make the Magic Coordinator
• Out of the Darkness Walk Student Captain

Research:
• None yet, but trying to get into a necropsy or pathology lab

Schools:
• ANYWHERE. Will move and work for a few years following graduation to establish residency in either a contract state or wherever I have a chance!

My GPA is low mostly because of 3 C's I have; one in first semester general chemistry, one in first semester calculus, and the third in last semester's physics. I did fine in organic chemistry and all of my other grades are B's and A's... mostly B's though. I'm losing confidence/hope and am looking for advice to compensate for my low GPA. All of my classes have been taken at main campus and I have never been below 15 credits a semester. No courses taken over the summer; my advisor told me I shouldn't because vet schools would look at that as "taking the easy way out".

 

[mht2k3]

This is a little premature, as I'm only a sophomore, but I'm nervous about my low GPA and want to know what I can do to strengthen my application, besides make sure I do really well the next 5 semesters (even though I calculated it, if I get straight A's for all my classes I'll be up to a 3.6... but that's unlikely)

Female, white, 19, PA resident
Undergraduate institution: Penn State
Major: Veterinary & Biomedical Science
Current GPA: 3.13 🙁

Veterinary Experience:
~3,000 hours as a veterinary assistant at a SA/exotic animal hospital starting when I was 15. Restrain, administer vaccinations, draw blood, prepare labwork, IV catheterization, surgery prep and monitoring, have scrubbed in to assist in surgery, fill prescriptions, answer phones and communicate with clients,
~250 hours shadowing a LA primarily equine veterinarian; allowed me to give vaccinations and assist with a ton of procedures

Animal Experience:
~1,000 hours volunteering at the same SA/exotic animal hospital prior to being hired; walked/fed patients and their in-house rescue animals
~500 hours volunteering at a horse barn; a stable hand and assisted with getting horses ready for lessons. Also rode
~500 hours of fostering various animals; adult dogs, 1 week old puppies or kittens, and everything in between!
~500 hours of volunteering at Centre County PAWS
~200 hours volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center

Extracurriculars:
• Pre-Vet Club Public Relations Chair
• Project PAWS, a student group that volunteers at our local animal shelter
• Penn State Equine Research Team; assist graduate students with their research projects
• Penn State Club Swimming
• THON 2017 Family Relations Chair for Club Swim
• THON 2016 and 2017 Committee Member
• Camp Kesem Central PA Make the Magic Coordinator
• Out of the Darkness Walk Student Captain

Research:
• None yet, but trying to get into a necropsy or pathology lab

Schools:
• ANYWHERE. Will move and work for a few years following graduation to establish residency in either a contract state or wherever I have a chance!

My GPA is low mostly because of 3 C's I have; one in first semester general chemistry, one in first semester calculus, and the third in last semester's physics. I did fine in organic chemistry and all of my other grades are B's and A's... mostly B's though. I'm losing confidence/hope and am looking for advice to compensate for my low GPA. All of my classes have been taken at main campus and I have never been below 15 credits a semester. No courses taken over the summer; my advisor told me I shouldn't because vet schools would look at that as "taking the easy way out".

I doubt summer courses are looked down upon TBH. If you really think you can get As going forward, I think you still definitely have a chance. Focus on schools that only look at last 45GPA/Science GPA instead of cGPA. If you can get those into decent shape and do well on your GREs I think you have a shot.

Not the same situation, but I have a low cGPA (due to low gpa from previous bachelors) but had 3.9ish GPA for last 45/science and ended up being accepted to vet school.

 

[illumoonate]

I doubt summer courses are looked down upon TBH. If you really think you can get As going forward, I think you still definitely have a chance. Focus on schools that only look at last 45GPA/Science GPA instead of cGPA. If you can get those into decent shape and do well on your GREs I think you have a shot.

Not the same situation, but I have a low cGPA (due to low gpa from previous bachelors) but had 3.9ish GPA for last 45/science and ended up being accepted to vet school.

Would you recommend re-taking any of the classes I got C's in?

 

[mht2k3]

I dont know for sure, but from what other people have advised, schools would rather you take a upper level science that you haven't already taken than retaking a lower level pre-req (as long as you passed the course the first time). I would look into what schools you are interested in applying to and seeing what their retake policy is. If they do grade replacements and you are confidant you can get an A in the course, then it might be beneficial since it will definitely help out your science GPA. If they just average them together, then going from a C to a B probably wont help you too terribly much.

A lot of schools also look at upward trends. If your C's are from your first year and you are able to get As your junior and senior year, it will look a lot better than the opposite. If I were you I'd think about why you ended up with Cs in the first place. A lot of this hinges on getting good grades the rest of the way through, so if you haven't changed your study habits or figured out where those classes went wrong, its going to be hard to maintain high grades the rest of the way through.

 

[illumoonate]

I dont know for sure, but from what other people have advised, schools would rather you take a upper level science that you haven't already taken than retaking a lower level pre-req (as long as you passed the course the first time). I would look into what schools you are interested in applying to and seeing what their retake policy is. If they do grade replacements and you are confidant you can get an A in the course, then it might be beneficial since it will definitely help out your science GPA. If they just average them together, then going from a C to a B probably wont help you too terribly much.

A lot of schools also look at upward trends. If your C's are from your first year and you are able to get As your junior and senior year, it will look a lot better than the opposite. If I were you I'd think about why you ended up with Cs in the first place. A lot of this hinges on getting good grades the rest of the way through, so if you haven't changed your study habits or figured out where those classes went wrong, its going to be hard to maintain high grades the rest of the way through.

My C's freshman year were simply because I had no idea the workload that was going to be required. In high school, I worked hard, but not nearly as hard as you have to in college. I didn't form strong study habits that prepared me for my first few exams (which I tanked, in both chem and calculus). It's not an excuse, but it's the truth and it's a mistake I have to accept and overcome!

 

[Coopah]

This is a little premature, as I'm only a sophomore, but I'm nervous about my low GPA and want to know what I can do to strengthen my application, besides make sure I do really well the next 5 semesters (even though I calculated it, if I get straight A's for all my classes I'll be up to a 3.6... but that's unlikely)

Female, white, 19, PA resident
Undergraduate institution: Penn State
Major: Veterinary & Biomedical Science
Current GPA: 3.13 🙁

Veterinary Experience:
~3,000 hours as a veterinary assistant at a SA/exotic animal hospital starting when I was 15. Restrain, administer vaccinations, draw blood, prepare labwork, IV catheterization, surgery prep and monitoring, have scrubbed in to assist in surgery, fill prescriptions, answer phones and communicate with clients,
~250 hours shadowing a LA primarily equine veterinarian; allowed me to give vaccinations and assist with a ton of procedures

Animal Experience:
~1,000 hours volunteering at the same SA/exotic animal hospital prior to being hired; walked/fed patients and their in-house rescue animals
~500 hours volunteering at a horse barn; a stable hand and assisted with getting horses ready for lessons. Also rode
~500 hours of fostering various animals; adult dogs, 1 week old puppies or kittens, and everything in between!
~500 hours of volunteering at Centre County PAWS
~200 hours volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center

Extracurriculars:
• Pre-Vet Club Public Relations Chair
• Project PAWS, a student group that volunteers at our local animal shelter
• Penn State Equine Research Team; assist graduate students with their research projects
• Penn State Club Swimming
• THON 2017 Family Relations Chair for Club Swim
• THON 2016 and 2017 Committee Member
• Camp Kesem Central PA Make the Magic Coordinator
• Out of the Darkness Walk Student Captain

Research:
• None yet, but trying to get into a necropsy or pathology lab

Schools:
• ANYWHERE. Will move and work for a few years following graduation to establish residency in either a contract state or wherever I have a chance!

My GPA is low mostly because of 3 C's I have; one in first semester general chemistry, one in first semester calculus, and the third in last semester's physics. I did fine in organic chemistry and all of my other grades are B's and A's... mostly B's though. I'm losing confidence/hope and am looking for advice to compensate for my low GPA. All of my classes have been taken at main campus and I have never been below 15 credits a semester. No courses taken over the summer; my advisor told me I shouldn't because vet schools would look at that as "taking the easy way out".

I feel you, I had a low GPA of 3.28 when I applied. I have been accepted at two schools already. The key is to keep your science GPA and last 45 GPA as high as you possibly can. My first undergrad the only science courses I took was physics. When I went back for my prerequisites I focused on getting all A's so that last 45 was a 4.0 and my science was around 3.79. If those are high, schools will take you seriously. You still have to explain why you would make a good candidate for their school. A couple of C's isn't going to break you, just make sure you focus on those science classes! Best of luck!

 

[PrincessButterCup]

This is a little premature, as I'm only a sophomore, but I'm nervous about my low GPA and want to know what I can do to strengthen my application, besides make sure I do really well the next 5 semesters (even though I calculated it, if I get straight A's for all my classes I'll be up to a 3.6... but that's unlikely)

Female, white, 19, PA resident
Undergraduate institution: Penn State
Major: Veterinary & Biomedical Science
Current GPA: 3.13 🙁

Veterinary Experience:
~3,000 hours as a veterinary assistant at a SA/exotic animal hospital starting when I was 15. Restrain, administer vaccinations, draw blood, prepare labwork, IV catheterization, surgery prep and monitoring, have scrubbed in to assist in surgery, fill prescriptions, answer phones and communicate with clients,
~250 hours shadowing a LA primarily equine veterinarian; allowed me to give vaccinations and assist with a ton of procedures

Animal Experience:
~1,000 hours volunteering at the same SA/exotic animal hospital prior to being hired; walked/fed patients and their in-house rescue animals
~500 hours volunteering at a horse barn; a stable hand and assisted with getting horses ready for lessons. Also rode
~500 hours of fostering various animals; adult dogs, 1 week old puppies or kittens, and everything in between!
~500 hours of volunteering at Centre County PAWS
~200 hours volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center

Extracurriculars:
• Pre-Vet Club Public Relations Chair
• Project PAWS, a student group that volunteers at our local animal shelter
• Penn State Equine Research Team; assist graduate students with their research projects
• Penn State Club Swimming
• THON 2017 Family Relations Chair for Club Swim
• THON 2016 and 2017 Committee Member
• Camp Kesem Central PA Make the Magic Coordinator
• Out of the Darkness Walk Student Captain

Research:
• None yet, but trying to get into a necropsy or pathology lab

Schools:
• ANYWHERE. Will move and work for a few years following graduation to establish residency in either a contract state or wherever I have a chance!

My GPA is low mostly because of 3 C's I have; one in first semester general chemistry, one in first semester calculus, and the third in last semester's physics. I did fine in organic chemistry and all of my other grades are B's and A's... mostly B's though. I'm losing confidence/hope and am looking for advice to compensate for my low GPA. All of my classes have been taken at main campus and I have never been below 15 credits a semester. No courses taken over the summer; my advisor told me I shouldn't because vet schools would look at that as "taking the easy way out".

I had several C's when I applied last year, and the committee only cared about the ones that were pre reqs (biochem and gen chem). They wanted me to retake those classes and apply again.

In your case, I'd continue doing as well as you can (hopefully no more C's, but it's not the end of the world if it happens). Apply and see what the schools say. Your hours are great, and depending on your science GPA and GRE scores, your cumulative GPA might not hurt you as much as you fear.

Summer classes being an 'easy way out' is complete and utter BS. Seriously. Doing an entire semester of work in 1/3 of the time . . . How is that easier? I had several summer courses, and two of them were pre reqs. It's a non-issue. If you're taking classes online, double check with the schools you're going to apply to. I retook biochem through an online college, and I just needed to make sure my school would accept that specific course to fulfill their requirement. Other than that, I see no problem with it (other than that it tends to be expensive).

 

[TrashPanda]

This is a little premature, as I'm only a sophomore, but I'm nervous about my low GPA and want to know what I can do to strengthen my application, besides make sure I do really well the next 5 semesters (even though I calculated it, if I get straight A's for all my classes I'll be up to a 3.6... but that's unlikely)

Female, white, 19, PA resident
Undergraduate institution: Penn State
Major: Veterinary & Biomedical Science
Current GPA: 3.13 🙁

Veterinary Experience:
~3,000 hours as a veterinary assistant at a SA/exotic animal hospital starting when I was 15. Restrain, administer vaccinations, draw blood, prepare labwork, IV catheterization, surgery prep and monitoring, have scrubbed in to assist in surgery, fill prescriptions, answer phones and communicate with clients,
~250 hours shadowing a LA primarily equine veterinarian; allowed me to give vaccinations and assist with a ton of procedures

Animal Experience:
~1,000 hours volunteering at the same SA/exotic animal hospital prior to being hired; walked/fed patients and their in-house rescue animals
~500 hours volunteering at a horse barn; a stable hand and assisted with getting horses ready for lessons. Also rode
~500 hours of fostering various animals; adult dogs, 1 week old puppies or kittens, and everything in between!
~500 hours of volunteering at Centre County PAWS
~200 hours volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center

Extracurriculars:
• Pre-Vet Club Public Relations Chair
• Project PAWS, a student group that volunteers at our local animal shelter
• Penn State Equine Research Team; assist graduate students with their research projects
• Penn State Club Swimming
• THON 2017 Family Relations Chair for Club Swim
• THON 2016 and 2017 Committee Member
• Camp Kesem Central PA Make the Magic Coordinator
• Out of the Darkness Walk Student Captain

Research:
• None yet, but trying to get into a necropsy or pathology lab

Schools:
• ANYWHERE. Will move and work for a few years following graduation to establish residency in either a contract state or wherever I have a chance!

My GPA is low mostly because of 3 C's I have; one in first semester general chemistry, one in first semester calculus, and the third in last semester's physics. I did fine in organic chemistry and all of my other grades are B's and A's... mostly B's though. I'm losing confidence/hope and am looking for advice to compensate for my low GPA. All of my classes have been taken at main campus and I have never been below 15 credits a semester. No courses taken over the summer; my advisor told me I shouldn't because vet schools would look at that as "taking the easy way out".

You've gotten some great advice already so I won't add much. Moving out of state and establishing residency elsewhere is a really good idea. Check out the VIN Cost of Education Map to consider where to move. Definitely consider other things like cost of living, chance of being accepted IS, and job prospects, but it's a useful starting point.

You have excellent experience and adding research to your resume is a good idea. If you can swing it, your best option is to move to a state that has a low IS tuition that values last 45 GPA. If you get research experience now, you could probably get a lab tech job that pays decently, gives you more experience for your app, and (if it's at a college or university) may give you reduced or free tuition so you can retake/take more classes and boost your GPA.

I agree with @mht2k3 that taking higher-level classes is probably a better idea than retaking lower ones. One thing to watch out for is schools that evaluate pre-req GPA separately. In that case, or in the case of schools that replace rather than average grades, it may be best to retake.

 

[illumoonate]

Thank you all! 🙂

 

[PetVet7]

I was rejected by both schools that I applied to this year and would like some advice on how to improve. I think my low GRE and little clinical experience is what killed me. I would also like to know if I should re-apply next cycle or if it would be more beneficial to take an additional year off to gain more experience.

Female, 21
Undergraduate institution: Kansas State
Major: Animal Science
cGPA: 3.475
sGPA: 3.19
Last 45: Hopefully 3.6 or 3.7 after this semester

GRE: Too terrible to post online, will be retaking

Veterinary Experience:
~ 30 hours shadowing small animal vets (3 clinics)
~ 40 hours shadowing large animal vet
**I have the hardest time finding vets to shadow. They're either too busy, or tell me they will get back to me and never do. I would love to take a position as a veterinary assistant for my off-year. I'm curious how everyone got an assistant position. Did you apply for it, or did you shadow long enough they just made you an assistant?

Animal Experience:
~ 200 hours working as dog grooming assistant
- Owned fish breeding business (2 years)- bred show quality fish, had customers from almost every state in U.S.
~ 200 hours volunteering at animal shelter (cats, dogs, exotics)
~ 50 hours training horse for showmanship competition
~ 60 hours training goat for showmanship
~ 30 hours training dairy cow for showmanship
~ 100 hours of horseback riding (plus some horse care)
- Own and trained various exotic animals
- Currently taking lambing class, so I'll have hours to add for this
- Animal CPR and First-Aid certified by Red Cross

Extracurriculars:
- Owned cheerleading bow business - 2 years
- Coached tumbling classes (unpaid) ~ 10 hours
~ 850 hours working as cashier

Honors/Awards:
- Denison Scholarship
- Ag Scholarship
- NHS
- Dean's list - multiple semesters

Research:
~ 1000+ hours of swine vaccine research - 3 different viruses with 3 different research teams

Schools:
Preferably ones in the Midwest - University of Illinois (IS) and Kansas State are my top 2, but I plan to apply to more

My main focus for my year off will be to gain more clinical experience. I hope to gain a full time position in a clinic so I can boost my hours. I also plan to do more volunteering at shelters, as well as non-animal volunteer work. I would like to take Ochem 1 & 2 so I will be eligible to apply to more schools. What else can I do to improve my chances? Thank you in advance!

 

[mmmdreamerz]

I was rejected by both schools that I applied to this year and would like some advice on how to improve. I think my low GRE and little clinical experience is what killed me. I would also like to know if I should re-apply next cycle or if it would be more beneficial to take an additional year off to gain more experience.

Female, 21
Undergraduate institution: Kansas State
Major: Animal Science
cGPA: 3.475
sGPA: ~3.1
Last 45: Hopefully 3.6 or 3.7 after this semester

GRE: Too terrible to post online, will be retaking

Veterinary Experience:
~ 30 hours shadowing small animal vets (3 clinics)
~ 40 hours shadowing large animal vet
**I have the hardest time finding vets to shadow. They're either too busy, or tell me they will get back to me and never do. I would love to take a position as a veterinary assistant for my off-year. I'm curious how everyone got an assistant position. Did you apply for it, or did you shadow long enough they just made you an assistant?

Animal Experience:
~ 200 hours working as dog grooming assistant
- Owned fish breeding business (2 years)- bred show quality fish, had customers from almost every state in U.S.
~ 200 hours volunteering at animal shelter (cats, dogs, exotics)
~ 50 hours training horse for showmanship competition
~ 60 hours training goat for showmanship
~ 30 hours training dairy cow for showmanship
~ 100 hours of horseback riding (plus some horse care)
- Own and trained various exotic animals
- Currently taking lambing class, so I'll have hours to add for this
- Animal CPR and First-Aid certified by Red Cross

Extracurriculars:
- Owned cheerleading bow business - 2 years
- Coached tumbling classes (unpaid) ~ 10 hours
~ 850 hours working as cashier

Honors/Awards:
- Denison Scholarship
- Ag Scholarship
- NHS
- Dean's list - multiple semesters

Research:
~ 1000+ hours of swine vaccine research - 3 different viruses with 3 different research teams

Schools:
Preferably ones in the Midwest - University of Illinois (IS) and Kansas State are my top 2, but I plan to apply to more

My main focus for my year off will be to gain more clinical experience. I hope to gain a full time position in a clinic so I can boost my hours. I also plan to do more volunteering at shelters, as well as non-animal volunteer work. I would like to take Ochem 1 & 2 so I will be eligible to apply to more schools. What else can I do to improve my chances? Thank you in advance!

I think that low experience hours definitely played a role. If you can, try to shoot for around 500 hours minimum. People get in with lower hours but there are also people with thousands, so its just something to keep in mind. However many hours you can get, definitely show in your personal statement/experience section that they were quality hours and that you learned from your experiences with a veterinarian.

I highly recommend Magoosh if you are going to retake the GRE. It helped me immensely and I improved my scores a lot using it.

Honestly, the thing that jumps out to me the most is your pretty low science GPA, unfortunately. Normally, I suggest to people with low-ish cumulative GPAs to look at schools that focus more on last 45/ science GPA. I do think that science GPA probably hurt you. Do you have anything less than a C in any of your science prerequisites? Do you have more than a couple C's in any of those classes? If so, I would consider maybe retaking some to boost your GPA. Ultimately, vet schools want people they know can get through their program, so you really have to show them that you can be successful in the upper level science classes.

Very cool about the fish business...vet schools like unique things...talk that up haha

 

[PetVet7]

I think that low experience hours definitely played a role. If you can, try to shoot for around 500 hours minimum. People get in with lower hours but there are also people with thousands, so its just something to keep in mind. However many hours you can get, definitely show in your personal statement/experience section that they were quality hours and that you learned from your experiences with a veterinarian.

I highly recommend Magoosh if you are going to retake the GRE. It helped me immensely and I improved my scores a lot using it.

Honestly, the thing that jumps out to me the most is your pretty low science GPA, unfortunately. Normally, I suggest to people with low-ish cumulative GPAs to look at schools that focus more on last 45/ science GPA. I do think that science GPA probably hurt you. Do you have anything less than a C in any of your science prerequisites? Do you have more than a couple C's in any of those classes? If so, I would consider maybe retaking some to boost your GPA. Ultimately, vet schools want people they know can get through their program, so you really have to show them that you can be successful in the upper level science classes.

Very cool about the fish business...vet schools like unique things...talk that up haha

Thanks for the response! I didn't get anything lower than a B in any of my classes, but unfortunately, I got almost all B's in my science classes. I took almost all my science courses my freshman and sophomore year, before I formed good study habits. I know if I were to retake these courses, I could get As in most of them. It's hard for me to justify re-taking a class to raise a B though, but if you think that my sGPA is really holding me back, I'll retake some. If I take the additional science classes to apply to more schools, I'm hoping these will raise my sGPA as well.

 

[palahala]

Thanks for the response! I didn't get anything lower than a B in any of my classes, but unfortunately, I got almost all B's in my science classes. I took almost all my science courses my freshman and sophomore year, before I formed good study habits. I know if I were to retake these courses, I could get As in most of them. It's hard for me to justify re-taking a class to raise a B though, but if you think that my sGPA is really holding me back, I'll retake some. If I take the additional science classes to apply to more schools, I'm hoping these will raise my sGPA as well.

Hey! Thought I'd add in my two cents - my science GPA is pretty similar (lower actually) than yours for the same reason - I got one C, no fails, and a loooooooooooooooooooot of Bs. This is my first cycle applying, but so far it doesn't seem to have held me back a lot (I got interviews almost everywhere I applied, including Illinois.) BUT I also have about 1000 vet hours, and a fairly non-traditional background that I think probably has helped me to stand out - I've worked primarily in the zoo field, not the vet field, doing everything from education and zookeeping to vet assisting, which has given me a solid foundation to telling the schools I applied to that I want to be a zoo vet.

Obviously I'm not an expert or anything, and I don't know if this will all work out for me or not, but I bet what's holding you back is your lack of hours. You should show the schools that you really want to do this, and if you don't have the grades or the GRE scores, then you're going to need another way to prove you want this.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Thanks for the response! I didn't get anything lower than a B in any of my classes, but unfortunately, I got almost all B's in my science classes. I took almost all my science courses my freshman and sophomore year, before I formed good study habits. I know if I were to retake these courses, I could get As in most of them. It's hard for me to justify re-taking a class to raise a B though, but if you think that my sGPA is really holding me back, I'll retake some. If I take the additional science classes to apply to more schools, I'm hoping these will raise my sGPA as well.

Got ya. If I were you then, I probably wouldn't *retake* classes. If you decide you want to boost your GPA I would take upper level science classes (and make sure you get A's!) that would allow you to apply to more schools while also raising your GPA and showing vet schools you can handle the harder science classes.

Whatever you do, try to do really well on the GRE and definitely get as many experience hours as possible!

 

[specaslew]

Hey guys! Looking for some advice. I was rejected by UGA today, first time applying 🙁

Female, 26, Georgia
Undergraduate institution: University of Central Arkansas 2013
Major: Biology
Minor: Psychology
cGPA: 3.68
sGPA: 3.8
Last 45: 3.86

GRE: V/Q/W 158 (80%)/156 (63%)/3.5 (42%) - I will be taking the GRE again

Veterinary Experience:
Veterinary technician at small animal clinic (general practice): ~2500 hours
ICU/Surgery technician at a speciality small animal hospital (current employment): ~1200 hours

Animal Experience:
- Assistant barn manager/riding instructor at a riding facility: ~10,000 hours
- Volunteering at Arkansas Hunter Jumping Association shows: ~100 hours
- Owning horses & competing nationally in eventing: ~ 7,000 hours
- Dog & cat owner: Lots of hours

Non-Veterinary Experience:
- Histology technician for a laboratory: ~1,000 hours
- Multiple misc. jobs in customer service, counseling, optometry
- Volunteer at Heart Hospital: ~60 hours

Extracurriculars:
- Horseback riding (eventing). Qualified for nationals three years in a row
- Vice President of Equestrian Club during college (2 years)

Honors/Awards:
- Presidential Scholarship out of high school
- Transfer scholarship to a 4 year institute
- Dean's list - four semesters
- Presidential scholar list - two semesters
- USEA Eventing Medal (Silver)
- Multiple year-end awards for regional horse shows

Research:
- Undergraduate research with freshwater turtles (Trachemys scripta): ~200 hours

LORs for the coming application cycle will include the manager of the riding facility I worked at for 7 years and vets from both the general practice and the speciality hospital.

Schools:
I plan on just applying to UGA again this year.

In my personal statement, I talked about my interest in large animal medicine and research. I know my veterinary experience is limited to only small animal but I have a lot of experience working with large animal veterinarians thanks to my years as an assistant barn manager. But it's not actual large animal veterinary experience because I didn't work for them and therefore was not under their direct supervision.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Pretty bummed 🙁

 

[kayed12]

Hello everyone...

Female, Hispanic, 22, California resident
Undergraduate institution: Pepperdine University
Major: BS Sports Medicine
Graduated in Spring '16 then enrolled in a Post-Bacc program at CDU (1 year program)
Cum GPA= 3.45
Science GPA= 3.30
Last 45 GPA= 4.0

Veterinary Experience THUS FAR:
~50 hours shadowing at small clinic

Animal Experience:
~800 hours volunteering fostering for local shelter
~50 Wildlife volunteering at shelter
~100 hours cat socialization of ferals
~100 Cat off-site program
~100 hours paid pet sitting

Research:
~850 hours in breast cancer research (PAID)

I want to apply for next years cycle, meaning I have between now and May 2017 to gather MUCH more veterinary experience. I figured it would be best not to rush this process. I really want to use this year to evaluate the candidate I am. Identify my weaknesses and work on them.
This week I landed a spot as a vet shadow/assistant. And plan to stay there as long as I can, racking up about 15 hours or more a week. Hoping to gain some experience in equine soon! Very difficult to get zoo or farm animal experience in LA area, still looking.
My questions for you guys...
1. My science GPA is low... since I have one year to do "whatever" I choose to prepare, should I take more science classes to raise it? Even though i have already completed all the pre-reqs? If so, what science classes do you recommend to take to show that you can handle the work, other than the pre-reqs?
2. I will need to get a job soon and would hope it could be related to vet field. The most common options seems to be kennel attendant. I have heard positive and negative things about doing this. Anyone have input of a type of paid position you can get in the animal world without having any kind of license????
3. I have not taken the GRE. When is the best time to do this. Since I have the year free (May 2016-May 17), I am trying to plan. Better to take it early? Thinking of doing Magoosh. Has anyone completed their six month program?

Open to any tips and criticism! I do not know anyone else who is pre-vet so this website has been very helpful. Thank you everyone.

 

[Teepster87]

Any advice is greatly appreciated

As I scrolled down your stats, I thought everything looked really good. Sci/Last45 are great, I personally think your GRE is good too (unless UGA weighs your writing score as well). You've got a ton of experience in small animal, but try to get some experience in other areas as well; equine, production, lab animal etc.
Where I think you might have gotten dinged is your PS stating your interest in large animal med. I'm not sure what thread it got brought up on this forum before (possibly could have been this one), but its hard to believe in your interest when you don't really have to background to support it.
Besides that you have an impressive application. Best of luck during the next cycle!!

 

[Coopah]

Hello everyone...

Female, Hispanic, 22, California resident
Undergraduate institution: Pepperdine University
Major: BS Sports Medicine
Graduated in Spring '16 then enrolled in a Post-Bacc program at CDU (1 year program)
Cum GPA= 3.45
Science GPA= 3.30
Last 45 GPA= 4.0

Veterinary Experience THUS FAR:
~50 hours shadowing at small clinic

Animal Experience:
~800 hours volunteering fostering for local shelter
~50 Wildlife volunteering at shelter
~100 hours cat socialization of ferals
~100 Cat off-site program
~100 hours paid pet sitting

Research:
~850 hours in breast cancer research (PAID)

I want to apply for next years cycle, meaning I have between now and May 2017 to gather MUCH more veterinary experience. I figured it would be best not to rush this process. I really want to use this year to evaluate the candidate I am. Identify my weaknesses and work on them.
This week I landed a spot as a vet shadow/assistant. And plan to stay there as long as I can, racking up about 15 hours or more a week. Hoping to gain some experience in equine soon! Very difficult to get zoo or farm animal experience in LA area, still looking.
My questions for you guys...
1. My science GPA is low... since I have one year to do "whatever" I choose to prepare, should I take more science classes to raise it? Even though i have already completed all the pre-reqs? If so, what science classes do you recommend to take to show that you can handle the work, other than the pre-reqs?
2. I will need to get a job soon and would hope it could be related to vet field. The most common options seems to be kennel attendant. I have heard positive and negative things about doing this. Anyone have input of a type of paid position you can get in the animal world without having any kind of license????
3. I have not taken the GRE. When is the best time to do this. Since I have the year free (May 2016-May 17), I am trying to plan. Better to take it early? Thinking of doing Magoosh. Has anyone completed their six month program?

Open to any tips and criticism! I do not know anyone else who is pre-vet so this website has been very helpful. Thank you everyone.

So since your a cali resident I'm guessing Davis is a top choice. Your in luck, they consider the last 45 GPA strongest, then science, then Quant gre. Make sure you focus on getting good letters of recommendation because they look at that too (only the rated section though not the actual letter) your science gpa is a little low but I wouldn't worry about it too much for IS. They require a minimum of 180 vet hours but after that they don't care. Once you get an interview, your stats don't matter one bit. Just ace that GRE and you'll be fine for davis. Everybody else is totally different but a lot more expensive.

Just as an FYI make sure to do quality work on your volunteering over quantity, it is important you show the best side of yourself to the vets over number of hours. Volunteer for grunt work, show a willingness to learn. Don't complain about small stuff, you'll do great.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Hey guys! Looking for some advice. I was rejected by UGA today, first time applying 🙁

Female, 26, Georgia
Undergraduate institution: University of Central Arkansas 2013
Major: Biology
Minor: Psychology
cGPA: 3.68
sGPA: 3.8
Last 45: 3.86

GRE: V/Q/W 158 (80%)/156 (63%)/3.5 (42%) - I will be taking the GRE again

Veterinary Experience:
Veterinary technician at small animal clinic (general practice): ~2500 hours
ICU/Surgery technician at a speciality small animal hospital (current employment): ~1200 hours

Animal Experience:
- Assistant barn manager/riding instructor at a riding facility: ~10,000 hours
- Volunteering at Arkansas Hunter Jumping Association shows: ~100 hours
- Owning horses & competing nationally in eventing: ~ 7,000 hours
- Dog & cat owner: Lots of hours

Non-Veterinary Experience:
- Histology technician for a laboratory: ~1,000 hours
- Multiple misc. jobs in customer service, counseling, optometry
- Volunteer at Heart Hospital: ~60 hours

Extracurriculars:
- Horseback riding (eventing). Qualified for nationals three years in a row
- Vice President of Equestrian Club during college (2 years)

Honors/Awards:
- Presidential Scholarship out of high school
- Transfer scholarship to a 4 year institute
- Dean's list - four semesters
- Presidential scholar list - two semesters
- USEA Eventing Medal (Silver)
- Multiple year-end awards for regional horse shows

Research:
- Undergraduate research with freshwater turtles (Trachemys scripta): ~200 hours

LORs for the coming application cycle will include the manager of the riding facility I worked at for 7 years and vets from both the general practice and the speciality hospital.

Schools:
I plan on just applying to UGA again this year.

In my personal statement, I talked about my interest in large animal medicine and research. I know my veterinary experience is limited to only small animal but I have a lot of experience working with large animal veterinarians thanks to my years as an assistant barn manager. But it's not actual large animal veterinary experience because I didn't work for them and therefore was not under their direct supervision.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Pretty bummed 🙁

Honestly, your stats seem solid to me, especially for IS. I agree that stating you want to be a LA vet without having LA experience may have hurt you (yeah crappy, but when you get a ton of applicants they have to make cute and sometimes it's for little stupid things...). If anything maybe retake the GRE just 'cause. Do a file review, for sure!!!

 

[Coopah]

Hello everyone...

Female, Hispanic, 22, California resident
Undergraduate institution: Pepperdine University
Major: BS Sports Medicine
Graduated in Spring '16 then enrolled in a Post-Bacc program at CDU (1 year program)
Cum GPA= 3.45
Science GPA= 3.30
Last 45 GPA= 4.0

Veterinary Experience THUS FAR:
~50 hours shadowing at small clinic

Animal Experience:
~800 hours volunteering fostering for local shelter
~50 Wildlife volunteering at shelter
~100 hours cat socialization of ferals
~100 Cat off-site program
~100 hours paid pet sitting

Research:
~850 hours in breast cancer research (PAID)

I want to apply for next years cycle, meaning I have between now and May 2017 to gather MUCH more veterinary experience. I figured it would be best not to rush this process. I really want to use this year to evaluate the candidate I am. Identify my weaknesses and work on them.
This week I landed a spot as a vet shadow/assistant. And plan to stay there as long as I can, racking up about 15 hours or more a week. Hoping to gain some experience in equine soon! Very difficult to get zoo or farm animal experience in LA area, still looking.
My questions for you guys...
1. My science GPA is low... since I have one year to do "whatever" I choose to prepare, should I take more science classes to raise it? Even though i have already completed all the pre-reqs? If so, what science classes do you recommend to take to show that you can handle the work, other than the pre-reqs?
2. I will need to get a job soon and would hope it could be related to vet field. The most common options seems to be kennel attendant. I have heard positive and negative things about doing this. Anyone have input of a type of paid position you can get in the animal world without having any kind of license????
3. I have not taken the GRE. When is the best time to do this. Since I have the year free (May 2016-May 17), I am trying to plan. Better to take it early? Thinking of doing Magoosh. Has anyone completed their six month program?

Open to any tips and criticism! I do not know anyone else who is pre-vet so this website has been very helpful. Thank you everyone.

Oh and go for a job you want to rack up money, if you don't want to settle then don't, just make sure you put your best foot forward on the job front. Earn some money, put it away, and be happy. Don't go to work thinking oh god not this crap again, because it will show and the vets will reflect that in their reviews of you.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Hello everyone...

Female, Hispanic, 22, California resident
Undergraduate institution: Pepperdine University
Major: BS Sports Medicine
Graduated in Spring '16 then enrolled in a Post-Bacc program at CDU (1 year program)
Cum GPA= 3.45
Science GPA= 3.30
Last 45 GPA= 4.0

Veterinary Experience THUS FAR:
~50 hours shadowing at small clinic

Animal Experience:
~800 hours volunteering fostering for local shelter
~50 Wildlife volunteering at shelter
~100 hours cat socialization of ferals
~100 Cat off-site program
~100 hours paid pet sitting

Research:
~850 hours in breast cancer research (PAID)

I want to apply for next years cycle, meaning I have between now and May 2017 to gather MUCH more veterinary experience. I figured it would be best not to rush this process. I really want to use this year to evaluate the candidate I am. Identify my weaknesses and work on them.
This week I landed a spot as a vet shadow/assistant. And plan to stay there as long as I can, racking up about 15 hours or more a week. Hoping to gain some experience in equine soon! Very difficult to get zoo or farm animal experience in LA area, still looking.
My questions for you guys...
1. My science GPA is low... since I have one year to do "whatever" I choose to prepare, should I take more science classes to raise it? Even though i have already completed all the pre-reqs? If so, what science classes do you recommend to take to show that you can handle the work, other than the pre-reqs?
2. I will need to get a job soon and would hope it could be related to vet field. The most common options seems to be kennel attendant. I have heard positive and negative things about doing this. Anyone have input of a type of paid position you can get in the animal world without having any kind of license????
3. I have not taken the GRE. When is the best time to do this. Since I have the year free (May 2016-May 17), I am trying to plan. Better to take it early? Thinking of doing Magoosh. Has anyone completed their six month program?

Open to any tips and criticism! I do not know anyone else who is pre-vet so this website has been very helpful. Thank you everyone.

Do you have anything lower than a C in prerequisites (I'm guess not...)? If not, I'd take some other upper level science classes to raise your science GPA. I don't know what you've taken and what is available to you but any upper level class would be useful. Consider things you are interested in!

My current tech job started as a volunteer gig and slowly grew from there. A lot of people start in the kennel. If you do, definitely express interest in getting as much hands on experience as you can!

HIGHLY recommend Magoosh. It helped me immensely and I improved my scores greatly the second time I took the GRE using it!

 

[Momokeen]

Hello everyone...

Female, Hispanic, 22, California resident
Undergraduate institution: Pepperdine University
Major: BS Sports Medicine
Graduated in Spring '16 then enrolled in a Post-Bacc program at CDU (1 year program)
Cum GPA= 3.45
Science GPA= 3.30
Last 45 GPA= 4.0

Veterinary Experience THUS FAR:
~50 hours shadowing at small clinic

Animal Experience:
~800 hours volunteering fostering for local shelter
~50 Wildlife volunteering at shelter
~100 hours cat socialization of ferals
~100 Cat off-site program
~100 hours paid pet sitting

Research:
~850 hours in breast cancer research (PAID)

I want to apply for next years cycle, meaning I have between now and May 2017 to gather MUCH more veterinary experience. I figured it would be best not to rush this process. I really want to use this year to evaluate the candidate I am. Identify my weaknesses and work on them.
This week I landed a spot as a vet shadow/assistant. And plan to stay there as long as I can, racking up about 15 hours or more a week. Hoping to gain some experience in equine soon! Very difficult to get zoo or farm animal experience in LA area, still looking.
My questions for you guys...
1. My science GPA is low... since I have one year to do "whatever" I choose to prepare, should I take more science classes to raise it? Even though i have already completed all the pre-reqs? If so, what science classes do you recommend to take to show that you can handle the work, other than the pre-reqs?
2. I will need to get a job soon and would hope it could be related to vet field. The most common options seems to be kennel attendant. I have heard positive and negative things about doing this. Anyone have input of a type of paid position you can get in the animal world without having any kind of license????
3. I have not taken the GRE. When is the best time to do this. Since I have the year free (May 2016-May 17), I am trying to plan. Better to take it early? Thinking of doing Magoosh. Has anyone completed their six month program?

Open to any tips and criticism! I do not know anyone else who is pre-vet so this website has been very helpful. Thank you everyone.

My clinic is hiring tech assistants if you are able to drive to the San Fernando Valley 🙂 it's work directly under a vet. A few schools weigh the last 45 units as more important so look into that when you are figuring out schools to apply too. My GPA and gre were pretty similar to yours and I've gotten into 5 schools so far. You can go look on the accepted applicants for 2021 thread if you want to see. I would just buff up your experience as much as possible and try applying!

 

[kayed12]

Do you have anything lower than a C in prerequisites (I'm guess not...)? If not, I'd take some other upper level science classes to raise your science GPA. I don't know what you've taken and what is available to you but any upper level class would be useful. Consider things you are interested in!

My current tech job started as a volunteer gig and slowly grew from there. A lot of people start in the kennel. If you do, definitely express interest in getting as much hands on experience as you can!

HIGHLY recommend Magoosh. It helped me immensely and I improved my scores greatly the second time I took the GRE using it!

Thank you so much for your response! I do have one C+ in 1 pre-req (Intro Bio I). I am considering taking some more upper division classes. Additional question, if I do take more upper division, do these need to be at a 4 year? Will it look bad if I take them at a Community College (for financial reasons)?

Definitely going to go with Magoosh!!

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Thank you so much for your response! I do have one C+ in 1 pre-req (Intro Bio I). I am considering taking some more upper division classes. Additional question, if I do take more upper division, do these need to be at a 4 year? Will it look bad if I take them at a Community College (for financial reasons)?

Definitely going to go with Magoosh!!

Check with the individual schools, but for the most part most don't care where you take classes, just how you did in them!!!

I prob wouldn't retake a C+ in an intro bio class but instead focus on getting A's in upper level classes.

Good luck!

 

[cdo96]

Thank you so much for your response! I do have one C+ in 1 pre-req (Intro Bio I). I am considering taking some more upper division classes. Additional question, if I do take more upper division, do these need to be at a 4 year? Will it look bad if I take them at a Community College (for financial reasons)?

Definitely going to go with Magoosh!!

It depends on the school! I know OkState is particular and say "All upper level courses must be taken at a four-year institution. This includes Animal Nutrition, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Organic Chemistry. These courses may not be taken at a two-year or community college". Some may be more lenient than others, but I wouldn't expect to be able. I would check with the schools with which you wanted to apply to!

 

[kayed12]

Check with the individual schools, but for the most part most don't care where you take classes, just how you did in them!!!

I prob wouldn't retake a C+ in an intro bio class but instead focus on getting A's in upper level classes.

Good luck!

Thank you so much!

 

[kayed12]

It depends on the school! I know OkState is particular and say "All upper level courses must be taken at a four-year institution. This includes Animal Nutrition, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Organic Chemistry. These courses may not be taken at a two-year or community college". Some may be more lenient than others, but I wouldn't expect to be able. I would check with the schools with which you wanted to apply to!

I will be looking at the schools I am interested in. Thank you!

 

[Kmg049]

Hello! I'm having trouble with making sure I'm posting in the right place... so if not let me know I am currently an animal science major with a minor in secondary edu at Sam Houston. I'm not sure I want to be a teacher but have always dreamed of being a vet. I stopped pursuing vet school after doing poorly my first year in college, thinking I couldn't be a vet because of my low gpa. My accumulative gpa is a 3 with a 3.4 at Sam.
I'm expected to graduate in May of 18 with my degree and I'm just curious... is it too late?
Here are a few questions I'm looking for answers or advice...
- if I complete this degree then get a masters in biology or a science, could I get accepted into vet school with my undergrad minor not being pre-vet but education?

- I have almost no minor classes done so far. If I switch to pre-vet as my minor and do stellar in the minor and math (along with my gre) would there be a chance of acceptance with a lower gpa major and high minor gpa?

I'm honestly scared to start over and then fail... I think that's my biggest fear. I don't want to screw up again..
any advice would be wonderful. Thank you so much