- Joined
- Jan 17, 2010
- Messages
- 72
- Reaction score
- 0
What happens if you get rejected by each school you apply to. Do you have go give up and find another career? Or can you go back and make yourself a more competitive applicant and apply again.
What happens if you get rejected?
- Thread starter evenstar7139
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2003
- Messages
- 641
- Reaction score
- 0
If that happens, the choice would be up to you whether you give up or not.
In many cases, vet students (myself included) have applied more than once before getting that acceptance letter.
The usual practice is to make an appointment to talk ( on the phone or in person) to the school that rejected you, and see what can be done better for the next application cycle. They will tell you what they want to see improve. It would be up to you to decide if the changes requested are out of reach for some reason ( may take too many years, or can not afford to do what is requested [enrolling full-time with other people to support, etc...]), or you're ready to give it another go.
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2009
- Messages
- 1,328
- Reaction score
- 8
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2007
- Messages
- 2,378
- Reaction score
- 19
Flames!
You just reapply if you want to. As far as I know, you can re-apply as many times as resources allow you to (it's expensive). This is my 3rd application cycle and I've gotten better each time (except at waiting, I still suck at that). I think someone on here last year got in on her 7th try? Something like that.
You just reapply if you want to. As far as I know, you can re-apply as many times as resources allow you to (it's expensive). This is my 3rd application cycle and I've gotten better each time (except at waiting, I still suck at that). I think someone on here last year got in on her 7th try? Something like that.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2010
- Messages
- 72
- Reaction score
- 0
Hmm is there any way to avoid mistakes that would cost lots of money to fix? By the way, what are some examples of such?
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2008
- Messages
- 1,118
- Reaction score
- 189
Well sometimes rejections are the result of a mistake on your part:
Maybe you didn't see that the school requires all your pre-reqs to be done by a certain date and you didn't finish one or more
Maybe your transcripts/GRE scores did not arrive on time (maybe because they got lost or because you requested them/took the exam too late)
But really, oftentimes rejections just simply come down to the whims of the Admission Committee Gods. You might be a great candidate but they have tons of great candidates. Maybe they feel you don't fit right for their school, whatever. That part you can't anticipate ahead of time.
All you can do is do your best in your classes, prepare yourself to take the GRE and take it early enough that you can either A) send the scores or B)re-take it if you need to and still have time to send your scores, Get good and varied veterinary experiences and develop a relationship with vets/professors so you'll get good letters of recommendation, don't procrastinate too much with your supplementals (unless you work well like that...and even then..try not to procrastinate), practice your interviewing skills etc.
Thos are the things you have control over. I think for the most part you should try to send out an application knowing it was the best you could have done with what you have available to you that year.
The rest of it is out of your hands.
Maybe you didn't see that the school requires all your pre-reqs to be done by a certain date and you didn't finish one or more
Maybe your transcripts/GRE scores did not arrive on time (maybe because they got lost or because you requested them/took the exam too late)
But really, oftentimes rejections just simply come down to the whims of the Admission Committee Gods. You might be a great candidate but they have tons of great candidates. Maybe they feel you don't fit right for their school, whatever. That part you can't anticipate ahead of time.
All you can do is do your best in your classes, prepare yourself to take the GRE and take it early enough that you can either A) send the scores or B)re-take it if you need to and still have time to send your scores, Get good and varied veterinary experiences and develop a relationship with vets/professors so you'll get good letters of recommendation, don't procrastinate too much with your supplementals (unless you work well like that...and even then..try not to procrastinate), practice your interviewing skills etc.
Thos are the things you have control over. I think for the most part you should try to send out an application knowing it was the best you could have done with what you have available to you that year.
The rest of it is out of your hands.
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2009
- Messages
- 177
- Reaction score
- 1
I'm not sure there are any real "mistakes" that you can make -- besides the obvious things like having to retake a class several times to get a C- or better. Other than that, if you don't get in this year and you're serious about being a vet, you pick yourself up, brush yourself off and gear up to make yourself an even better candidate next year.
My mentor vet applied three times before getting in and she's amazing -- honest to God amazing.
My mentor vet applied three times before getting in and she's amazing -- honest to God amazing.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2009
- Messages
- 2,381
- Reaction score
- 5
i think they were referring to something like a low gpa, where you would need to take more undergrad classes to raise your gpa/ retake courses you did bad in/or apply for a masters program and keep your gpa up.
For the most part - you can do a lot to maximize the odds of getting into a particular school. They publish what their minimum requirements are (you should have, at a minimum, all of the classes they require. More is better). You can also see the averages for the students they accept (at least at all the schools I've looked at).
If you having higher test scores, higher GPA, more than the minimum class requirements and several different vet-related work experiences (IE - volunteer or get a job at a local animal hospital or something. Cover small animal/large animal, work at a few different places) and you really have a good chance of getting in.
From what I understand, schools almost always give preference to in-state students; so, if you are young enough and really are convinced Vet School is your goal - it doesn't hurt to be in the state that makes the most sense for that goal. Want CSU? Move to Fort Collins for a year and establish residency.
I'd also suggest applying to several schools. If you don't get in, by the time you know you didn't get in - it might already be too late to do much of anything in time for the next application cycle. Using UC Davis as an example - you won't know until April if you were accepted or not - and by then the Spring semester is over. You've got Summer and then it's time for next year's applications. That doesn't give you much time to improve your application and you end up in this horrible state of limbo where you are can't do anything but apply again and hope. Not cool.
If you having higher test scores, higher GPA, more than the minimum class requirements and several different vet-related work experiences (IE - volunteer or get a job at a local animal hospital or something. Cover small animal/large animal, work at a few different places) and you really have a good chance of getting in.
From what I understand, schools almost always give preference to in-state students; so, if you are young enough and really are convinced Vet School is your goal - it doesn't hurt to be in the state that makes the most sense for that goal. Want CSU? Move to Fort Collins for a year and establish residency.
I'd also suggest applying to several schools. If you don't get in, by the time you know you didn't get in - it might already be too late to do much of anything in time for the next application cycle. Using UC Davis as an example - you won't know until April if you were accepted or not - and by then the Spring semester is over. You've got Summer and then it's time for next year's applications. That doesn't give you much time to improve your application and you end up in this horrible state of limbo where you are can't do anything but apply again and hope. Not cool.
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2010
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 1
I've already been through the grad school application process for the Humanities, and in some ways vet school admissions are very similar (even if the exact requirements aren't).
Lots of people don't get into grad school and professional programs on their first try, but succeed on a subsequent attempt. There is no penalty for taking steps to be a more competitive applicant, then trying again.
In any given grad/professional program, there is a limited number of spaces, but a huge pool of applicants. Having talked to people who have served on adcoms, the largest number of applicants get weeded out in the first round, for one very basic reason or another--incomplete applications, failure to follow directions, combined low GPA and GRE, poor writing skills, and/or lack of prerequisites. So paying attention to detail and following up on things like current transcripts and LORs will at least keep your app alive through the first round.
In the second round, the adcom look at LORs, experience, and the personal statement. Many applicants will have great numbers, but tepid or irrelevant LORs, or a badly-written or unconvincing personal statement. Some might not have a high GPA or top GRE scores, but they have other strengths (lots of experience, for example, or a powerful personal statement).
By the third round, there will already be a small stack of applicants who are definitely going to get offers. The adcom's job at that point is to decide who among the remaining candidates will get an offer, be waitlisted, or finally be rejected. And at that point, everyone is a strong candidate who could potentially do well--but they aren't all equally so. In order to pare down the list of finalists, adcoms start looking for any reason not to admit, even if it seems petty. And when there's only one more spot and three equally strong candidates in line for it, deciding who is going to get that offer and who will be waitlisted can come down to flipping a coin.
So in order to get in you don't have to be perfect, but you do have to know what your weaknesses are and how to either remedy or offset them. And if you're rejected on the first try, that just gives you another year to make yourself an even better candidate and polish your application further.
Lots of people don't get into grad school and professional programs on their first try, but succeed on a subsequent attempt. There is no penalty for taking steps to be a more competitive applicant, then trying again.
In any given grad/professional program, there is a limited number of spaces, but a huge pool of applicants. Having talked to people who have served on adcoms, the largest number of applicants get weeded out in the first round, for one very basic reason or another--incomplete applications, failure to follow directions, combined low GPA and GRE, poor writing skills, and/or lack of prerequisites. So paying attention to detail and following up on things like current transcripts and LORs will at least keep your app alive through the first round.
In the second round, the adcom look at LORs, experience, and the personal statement. Many applicants will have great numbers, but tepid or irrelevant LORs, or a badly-written or unconvincing personal statement. Some might not have a high GPA or top GRE scores, but they have other strengths (lots of experience, for example, or a powerful personal statement).
By the third round, there will already be a small stack of applicants who are definitely going to get offers. The adcom's job at that point is to decide who among the remaining candidates will get an offer, be waitlisted, or finally be rejected. And at that point, everyone is a strong candidate who could potentially do well--but they aren't all equally so. In order to pare down the list of finalists, adcoms start looking for any reason not to admit, even if it seems petty. And when there's only one more spot and three equally strong candidates in line for it, deciding who is going to get that offer and who will be waitlisted can come down to flipping a coin.
So in order to get in you don't have to be perfect, but you do have to know what your weaknesses are and how to either remedy or offset them. And if you're rejected on the first try, that just gives you another year to make yourself an even better candidate and polish your application further.
Dude...that is hardcore.HopefulAg said:
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2010
- Messages
- 72
- Reaction score
- 0
Dude...that is hardcore.
Yeah that's awesome 😎 Good for him/her!
Hmm...what do you do in the meantime...when you're the playing lets-try-to-get-into-vet-school game each year. Take more college classes? Continue working in a vet's office? Perhaps do some career completely unrelated to veterinary whatsoever (web design for instance)?
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2009
- Messages
- 1,328
- Reaction score
- 8
The best possible thing to do is to keep learning and getting more experience - research, different vet fields. For example, I started out in equine, and switched to small animal for the past two years to expand my experience. Taking more electives to advance your education is always a good idea. I have one pre-req left this spring but am also taking Parasitology, because it's cool and if I do well it will improve my GPA and my transcript, as well as help me once I'm IN vet school.
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2009
- Messages
- 768
- Reaction score
- 318
If I don't get in this year, I'll definitely apply again next year. I'll call the schools I applied to for post-mortems to see what I need to improve on my app. I'll keep working at my same clinic as long as they'll keep me, but perhaps nix one of my other volunteer things in favor of another volunteer opportunity that would get me some non-small animal experience. I might take a summer class to get in a second quarter of biochem, but I'm not sure I need to because my grades are pretty good. I will retake the GRE (and actually study this time) as well.
If I don't get in after 3 tries, I may start to re-evaluate, but I'll worry about that if it comes. For now, I still have 7 schools that haven't accepted or rejected me, and I'm gonna wait until I hear from them before thinking too much about next year. No need to count your eggs before they hatch.
If I don't get in after 3 tries, I may start to re-evaluate, but I'll worry about that if it comes. For now, I still have 7 schools that haven't accepted or rejected me, and I'm gonna wait until I hear from them before thinking too much about next year. No need to count your eggs before they hatch.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2010
- Messages
- 72
- Reaction score
- 0
I have experience showing/breeding dogs, riding horses, and training dogs/horses. Would a vet school be interested in knowing that?
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2009
- Messages
- 1,328
- Reaction score
- 8
All of those things fall under the category of "animal experience." Most vet schools require at least 200 hours of "veterinary experience" where you are working directly under the supervision of a vet. While all those things are good, frankly, they are not enough. You need to get experience in a clinic setting, seeing clients and patients.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2010
- Messages
- 72
- Reaction score
- 0
Yes, but, what I'm asking is...are those things I listed even worth mentioning to them at all? Are they only interested in what I have done in a vet clinic?
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2009
- Messages
- 3,629
- Reaction score
- 1,994
depends on the school. Some say yes, others say no. Some schools come right out and say "do not include hours spent on your own animals"
So if you train your own horse, no. If you spend time training other peoples, then yes, in that case. Same for dogs. My dog knows all her obedience commands, agility, etc, but I didn't include all the hours i've spent with her. I'm ALWAYS training her, I don't see how I would add up all the hours I'm awake with her, so I didn't include any of that.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 18,996
- Reaction score
- 11,451
Dude...that is hardcore.
Here's the fuss:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=621642
Still makes me smile. 🙂
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2009
- Messages
- 2,381
- Reaction score
- 5
wowww never saw that thread before lol thats awesome! so much hope 😀 i also saw LVTDVMs link to their blog... im so jealous of their cute house!! that is exactly what i want my first house to be!! It reminds me of our first house as a kid and its been my fav one even though it was the smallest one i've lived in. too cute!!
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2009
- Messages
- 75
- Reaction score
- 0
This made me
.There have been some great responses so far and I'm not sure how much I can actually add to the topic since I have yet to apply, but I do have a Plan B in case I don't get in on my first try that will (or at least should) make me a more competitive applicant the following cycle. If I don't get in on my second try, I'll have to come up with another Plan B (or Plan C. whatever) but I think I'd apply a third time. If I still had no luck after round 3, I'm not sure what I would do. I'll just have to deal with that set of problems if it ever comes up. I don't think I have 5+ app cycles in me, mostly since I'm a non-trad and entering the game at 26 instead of at 22 puts me at somewhat of a time disadvantage.
Hopefully, some of that made sense and was helpful. 🙂
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2010
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 1
I'm new here and have gotten my first round of rejections, just waiting on 2 more (I'm a bit of the perpetual pessimist), but it definitely makes me feel better knowing I will eventually get in even if it takes 7 tries.
😳
😳
