Hi everyone,
Do most people who get into vet school get accepted their first time? And what is a competitive GPA to obtain when applying? Also, do you have to be a genius to get accepted to vet school? I have a 3.9 GPA now but I am not what you would call a genius. I work hard for my grades and I studied a lot, and it doesn't always come easy to me, for example chemistry. This class gives me a lot of frustrations and sometimes makes me go nuts...I'm glad I'm not a chem major lol. My 3.9 gpa will probably sink after this semester (I have all A's so far in my classes) but finals coming up and they're all cumulative and I really don't think I can get an A on all of these cumulative finals 🙁.
For those who got rejected their first time but are now veterinarians, what was your backup plan? was your plan just to keep reapplying or did you have a second career in mind?
thanks!!
Anecdotally, a lot of the vets I worked with took more than one try to get into vet school. Three of the BEST vets I ever worked with took two, two and three times, respectively, to gain admission, and one transferred from an island school to the mainland her sophomore year. Another DVM I know of took three times to gain admission and is now double boarded. That being said a lot of them went to school 15+ years ago. These days I think it's more common for people to gain admission their first or second time, but it took me three tries and I'm LOVING it. I'm getting good grades, but more importantly I'm learning a ton. I'm definitely not a genius, either. My undergrad gpa was a "paltry" (/sarcasm) 3.5 and I certainly did not get straight As in science.
I didn't have a backup plan, which means I'm very grateful to be in school now. Veterinary school WAS my backup plan--actually my backup backup plan. I wanted to go into a certain kind of research, decided I hated it, switched to something else, hated THAT, then spent a few years really soul searching and trying different things and settled on veterinary medicine. I spent a few years working as a tech to make sure I really had a sense of what the hours were like, the challenges, talked to a lot of vets about what they loved and hated, would they do it over again, etc. So I feel like I went into it with eyes wide open (though of course BEING a vet is different than hearing about being a vet). If I hadn't gotten in I probably would have had a kid, gone and gotten a PhD or masters and worked in a related science field, but it's not what I wanted and I don't think I'd have the same satisfaction as I do in the field of veterinary medicine.
Thanks for replying!!!
Also, we all know veterinary school is a very rigorous program. It states on your profile you are currently a Veterinarian Student. How often do you study, and how do you cope with the stress of vet school? Thanks!! & Good luck with your career in Veterinary Medicine!
I have to preface this by saying I was working 40-50 hours a week before school started (for a while I was working 80 hours a week) and I find veterinary school way less stressful and hard than work. I have more time off and I feel more relaxed. That being said, I guard my time incredibly jealously and any event/project/etc that I don't love and isn't required, I simply don't spend time on. I focus on prioritizing my learning and my down time, so every night I give myself a couple hours to read, fool around, watch television, etc. I try to stay at school after class every day to study the day's materials, review the material at night, and pre-view the material before the lectures. This way it's always kind of percolating. I take notes during class, make flashcards after class, write outlines, draw diagrams, make concept maps, etc. I do study a lot, and I study probably 6-7 days a week, but with 24 hours in a day I need 8 to sleep, about 6-8 to be in class, and of the remaining 8 I probably dedicate 3-4 to studying and 3-4 to relaxation/mental health/exercise/spending time with husband/friends. It's really worked so far. Of course there are weeks/days where that all goes out the window and the learning is intense and stressful, but more often than not I have a pretty good work-life balance. I make sure that I never double-book my weekends--despite all the cool trips and events going on, I pick ONE per weekend and the other day is to be spent with hubby and/or relax and get some studying in. It's much more doable than I thought. That being said I know years 2 and 3 get much harder, so I'm expecting that to change, but until then I'm just focusing on whats working and whats in front of me.
