what are my chances?

[jackiemew]

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Hello everyone!

I'm currently a junior in Rutgers New Brunswick Campus. I was wondering if you guys could give me some advices on my application. apparently this would be the first time i'm applying to vet schools and i'm really scared and intimidated... I just started my application and also want some recommendations for schools (though I know I would have to go anywhere that accepts me haha..) regarding what would be the right level for me..

I'm turning 22 next week, female, Asian, New Jersey resident...

My cum GPA is 3.83, major/science gpa will be around 3.9..
Just took GRE on 22nd and got 720v/780m..still waiting for writing. I was very lucky..

So the academic part is less of worry. my concern is that I don't have enough
experience..
Our family moved to US when I was in high school and our financial situation was very difficult...although my mother became a lawyer and opened up her own office she was the only one making the living (my dad has disabilities..) and I had to help with her business for full time until the second year of my college.

So after that, I did internship at small/large animal practice.. but pretty much the chores which was 70 hours. did vet assistant in another SA practice for about 120hours. currently working as a receptionist/assistant at small/exotic animal practice and will get about 700 hours by the time I hand in the application in Sept.
(Oh by the way, does your chances get affected by how fast you hand in your app?)
I'm doing research right now about the OCD in horses with phD/VMD professor from Upenn..and that will yield about 100 hours. I guess this can be counted as a vet experience but that is my only research experience.
other than that..I worked as a pet sitter, and also I am a hedgehog breeder. That's about it for animal experience.

for EC, I'm currently the president of a magazine club, used to be a member/performer of a Korean Cultural club.

It will be great if you guys could give me any suggestion/or comments..
My dream school is Upenn, and I'm thinking of taking one year off after graduation and moved to phila and gain more experiences if I don't get into any of the schools 🙁

 

[CatPartay]

With your grades and GRE score you sound like your golden and will get in no problem. I would trade in 1,000 hours of my animal experience for your GPA and another 1,000 of my hours for your GRE score!! I would not stress. Good luck.

 

[petdrhpful2015]

Jackie,

It sounds like your academics are in great shape so congrats on that. As far as the experience goes, it sounds like you're on the right track. You have small animal, exotic, and equine which is great. I'm sure working at UPenn won't hurt either. The pet sitter and hedgehog breeder both count as animal experience on the VMCAS, which is also great. I would say the only thing you might want to look into is something that adds a little more variety, maybe emergency, wildlife, zoo, etc. There is no formula for getting accepted to school as I'm sure you know, so definitely just check as many boxes as you can and you'll be in great shape.

The only other suggestion I might make is to incorporate something about your move to the US and how it has impacted your ability to get experience. There is a place on the VMCAS application to explain any extraordinary circumstances you've encountered or you can try to incorporate it into your personal statement as long as it fits. That way, the committees have some idea about who you are and where you are coming from, and also why you are different from other applicants. You just need to reassure them that you are committed to the field and that starting this process 2 years into college in no way reflects how badly you want it.

I wish you the best of luck...I know how stressful the process is. Just stay positive and it will show in your application.

 

[squirrelsrule]

WOW, you rocked the GRE! Awesome job!

I think you are good to go on experience as well. Not as much as some, but enough I think.

I am applying for the first time this year as well and have been looking for schools that value academics over experience as well because I have a 3.99 GPA and 1280 on GRE and only about 600 hours of vet experience. One school I would look into is Michigan. It seems they rank academics pretty high and they seem to also take into account if you have overcome a tougher background.

 

[jackiemew]

petdrhpful2015
squirrelsrule
CatPartay
Thanks to all of you guys for your kind comments!! I will definitely look into more variety of experiences and Michigan school... and for GRE.. I guess I just had some lucks.. Never expected such score for myself either. haha.
Thanks again and I wish you guys good lucks as well!

 

[Bismarck]

You may also wish to look at the sticky "what are my chances" thread at the top of this forum to see how you stack up with other people. You can also see what other people think about candidates with qualities similar to yours, etc. I would also suggest looking at these threads to see where people applied, got accepted, and what their stats were. It looks like you've been working hard towards your goal. Your GRE and grades are fantastic and will be a strength for sure when you apply.

Good luck!

 

[scb44f]

(Oh by the way, does your chances get affected by how fast you hand in your app?)

Just to answer this concern, no. Vet school applications are non-rolling (meaning that you may submit your application a week before the deadline and you're in the same position as if you had submitted it right after the application opened).