What is my chance??????

[xxalic3xx]

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Hi All,
I’m new here so nice to meet you all! I am graduating from my undergrad in june 2011 and I’m only applying to WesternU. I am an international student and westernU isn’t affiliated with any states and I really like the idea of PBL and reverence for life philosophy. I know they don’t look just on GPA and GRE but also your whole personality and background. So I wanted to know what are my chances of getting into WesternU.

I was born in Taiwan, grew up there until I was 11 and moved to Canada. Then I came to Seattle for undergrad. I’m majoring in Biochemistry and minoring in Japanese. My cumulative GPA is 3.1. My grades weren’t good during my sophomore year because I was in an abusive relationship and many things happened that distracted me from studying and such… I’ll be taking GRE in 2 weeks and on the practice exams I’ve been getting 1150 – 1250. I hope it’ll be a little higher than that when I take it.

I have about 1000 hours so far for both vet and animal experience. They are approximately 50% SA and the rest equally dispersed between food animal, equine, farm animals and exotic animals. I know a lot of people here have thousands of hours and I wish I had that too, but I can only do volunteer work in the US because I am not a citizen. I only work for a vet when I go back to Taiwan during breaks. I have about 500 hours under vet and I’ll be doing more when I head back in Aug.

So I wanted to know what are my chances of getting into WesternU and what can I do to strengthen my application? Thanks all! And good luck to everyone who’s applying!!!

 

[goldielocks137]

I think you have a good story which will really help you. The supplemental application last year had ten mini essay questions, so if the current one is the same then you should be able to write some pretty interesting answers and that might help offset your GPA. As will a good GRE score.

 

[Minnerbelle]

You might also want to take a look at Tufts. I'm almost positive they also take international students, and they also have the same reverence for life type of philosophy.

I'm guessing this means you'll be here on a student visa? FYI - If not, you'll be considered the same as any American student that's applying from a state without a vet school (with an interesting story to boot).

 

[xxalic3xx]

Yep, I am on F-1 visa and it expires a year later after I graduate from undrgard. I think it's for people to stay here and find a job. If i get into a vet school, i need to transfer it from UW to my future vet school.

I will definitely look into Tufts! Thanks!!! but why isn't Tufts in the list of "designated school" on VMCAS? i think i saw it in the others section??????

You might also want to take a look at Tufts. I'm almost positive they also take international students, and they also have the same reverence for life type of philosophy.

I'm guessing this means you'll be here on a student visa? FYI - If not, you'll be considered the same as any American student that's applying from a state without a vet school (with an interesting story to boot).

 

[xxalic3xx]

Oh, i know maybe this needs to be in another thread...but how do people generally start their PS? I was thinking of starting it off with a story in my childhood that lead me to my vet-dream...then kinda work its way from there......
what about how to end it?

 

[zxz130]

Oh, i know maybe this needs to be in another thread...but how do people generally start their PS? I was thinking of starting it off with a story in my childhood that lead me to my vet-dream...then kinda work its way from there......
what about how to end it?

Starting off with a childhood story is good but make sure it's not too long because the main bulk will be your unique experiences that set you apart from everybody else. Of course you will have show how these experiences relate to you choosing vet med/growing in vet med.
Since you want to start off in the past with the childhood it may be good to end with a vision of yourself in vet med in the future?
That's just what I think. Since I'm not a good writer I like to keep things simple.
Good luck with your application .

P.S. I'm pretty sure Kansas State also accepts Internationals as well if you are interested.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Tufts has their own separate application and their own separate personal statement (way shorter than the vmcas ps)! You can find it on their website.

Not to be super nosy, but what do you plan on doing with your DVM once you earn it? Can you practice with it in your home country? Or are you planning on staying here? And if so, is it easy to find an employer that will support your work visa in your chosen field of vet med once you have a degree? These were questions that one of my interviewers started asking me, until I realized what he was getting at and I told him I had a green card. Then he blushed, looked at my file, and said never mind. So be ready to have good answers to these!

 

[RunTheWorld]

Yep, I am on F-1 visa and it expires a year later after I graduate from undrgard. I think it's for people to stay here and find a job. If i get into a vet school, i need to transfer it from UW to my future vet school.

I will definitely look into Tufts! Thanks!!! but why isn't Tufts in the list of "designated school" on VMCAS? i think i saw it in the others section??????

You should definitely apply to Tufts! I'm also an international student (from Canada) and I think that made me stand out a little. I also applied to Western because of their reverence for life policy. Tufts has a very similar policy, and they also have a PBL class about once a week like Western. Tufts uses it's own application though, so it's a little more work but most things you can copy from VMCAS and trust me, it's completely worth it! I applied "just for fun" and not really expecting to go there or even get accepted there, but it turned out to be my dream school! The admissions office and international office were so helpful through the application process. Also I transferred my F-1 visa from my undergrad in Memphis and they made it so easy -- it took like an hour tops to fill/mail everything! If you have any questions feel free to message me anytime!

 

[xxalic3xx]

Awesome! I think I’ll apply to Tufts as well! Thanks for your information. So I was wondering if the recommendation letters are electronically submitted or not? I’d like to inform my eLORS if they need to submit another copy.. May I also ask you what’s your stats? If you’re willing you can PM me. I am most worried about my GPA because I know international student admission is so competitive and schools usually only have certain spots for them….except for WesternU that treats eeveryone equally...Thanks!!

You should definitely apply to Tufts! I'm also an international student (from Canada) and I think that made me stand out a little. I also applied to Western because of their reverence for life policy. Tufts has a very similar policy, and they also have a PBL class about once a week like Western. Tufts uses it's own application though, so it's a little more work but most things you can copy from VMCAS and trust me, it's completely worth it! I applied "just for fun" and not really expecting to go there or even get accepted there, but it turned out to be my dream school! The admissions office and international office were so helpful through the application process. Also I transferred my F-1 visa from my undergrad in Memphis and they made it so easy -- it took like an hour tops to fill/mail everything! If you have any questions feel free to message me anytime!

 

[RunTheWorld]

Awesome! I think I’ll apply to Tufts as well! Thanks for your information. So I was wondering if the recommendation letters are electronically submitted or not? I’d like to inform my eLORS if they need to submit another copy.. May I also ask you what’s your stats? If you’re willing you can PM me. I am most worried about my GPA because I know international student admission is so competitive and schools usually only have certain spots for them….except for WesternU that treats eeveryone equally...Thanks!!

The LORs are electronic at Tufts as well. I just sent both links to the same three people and they didn't seem to mind doing two different LORs. I'm pretty sure they were able to use the same letter for both. I think my stats were pretty average. 3.56 GPA, 750q and 490v GRE (I still don't know the writing because I never got my scores haha!) and only about 800 veterinary experience hours. I don't think they have too many international applicants, because I actually couldn't even type in my full Canadian address in my application and they had to e-mail me for it! So I don't think there would be much competition with other internationals, but just with other out of state applicants. Also, on Western's website it says they can only take a certain percentage of international students, so you wouldn't quite have the same advantage as a citizen (unless they changed that this year). I got an interview to Western, but withdrew when I heard from Tufts, so I can't say if I would have got in or not. I think if you try really hard this semester and show that you can get high grades, then these schools would definitely consider your application! Also it may be an interesting angle in your PS to write about the differences in veterinary medicine between Taiwan and the US/Canada. Tufts has a great International Medicine program, so I think they'd be really impressed by that. Both Western and Tufts were really interested in my experiences in Namibia, and I was asked about it a lot in my Tufts interview. Hope this helps!

 

[xxalic3xx]

Tufts has their own separate application and their own separate personal statement (way shorter than the vmcas ps)! You can find it on their website.

Not to be super nosy, but what do you plan on doing with your DVM once you earn it? Can you practice with it in your home country? Or are you planning on staying here? And if so, is it easy to find an employer that will support your work visa in your chosen field of vet med once you have a degree? These were questions that one of my interviewers started asking me, until I realized what he was getting at and I told him I had a green card. Then he blushed, looked at my file, and said never mind. So be ready to have good answers to these!

I plan on eventually having my own practice here in the United States. If I do end up in Taiwan it’d be for my family. I just need to take the board exam in my home country to practice there. As far as I know, it isn’t hard to find an employer that supports work visa. The hard part would be actually getting employed. F-1 (student) visa gives you an extra year after you graduate from school for you to look for jobs or other things. Once you take a job offer, the employer will need to write a letter to confirm your status and you just apply for work visa and the rest is for the immigration office.
I plan on working in a teaching hospital first few years and work for shelters after I get my DVM and then slowly move towards having my own practice.

 

[xxalic3xx]

The LORs are electronic at Tufts as well. I just sent both links to the same three people and they didn't seem to mind doing two different LORs. I'm pretty sure they were able to use the same letter for both. I think my stats were pretty average. 3.56 GPA, 750q and 490v GRE (I still don't know the writing because I never got my scores haha!) and only about 800 veterinary experience hours. I don't think they have too many international applicants, because I actually couldn't even type in my full Canadian address in my application and they had to e-mail me for it! So I don't think there would be much competition with other internationals, but just with other out of state applicants. Also, on Western's website it says they can only take a certain percentage of international students, so you wouldn't quite have the same advantage as a citizen (unless they changed that this year). I got an interview to Western, but withdrew when I heard from Tufts, so I can't say if I would have got in or not. I think if you try really hard this semester and show that you can get high grades, then these schools would definitely consider your application! Also it may be an interesting angle in your PS to write about the differences in veterinary medicine between Taiwan and the US/Canada. Tufts has a great International Medicine program, so I think they'd be really impressed by that. Both Western and Tufts were really interested in my experiences in Namibia, and I was asked about it a lot in my Tufts interview. Hope this helps!

Yeah! That’s what I read on WesternU’s website…but I recently emailed WesternU’s advisor regarding my pre-reqs and I asked about that, and she said I’ll just be treated equally as everyone else since they are a private institute….hmm, maybe I should ask her to clarify again. I don’t know if they changed it this yr or not. Do people send another copy of transcript when fall quarter ends? I’m in a quarter system and I’ll acutally have an updated transcript in dec (before interviews I believe), so should I mail them an updated copy of it?
and Wow you got some really nice experience! I wish I had more experience abroad as well. I’ll be talking about my experience in Taiwan on my PS. It’s kinda bad that WesternU’s interviews are closed…need to make myself standout in 30 min..

 

[bluesails]

I know a lot of people here have thousands of hours and I wish I had that too, but I can only do volunteer work in the US because I am not a citizen. I only work for a vet when I go back to Taiwan during breaks. I have about 500 hours under vet and I’ll be doing more when I head back in Aug.

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but isn't there OPT that you can get on a student visa? Optional Practical Training where you can be employed for a total of up to 12 months? That way you can stay in the US more for your experiences.

Also, this is just because I'm curious and I haven't volunteered for a clinic in the US yet - did you mean that under a student visa you can only volunteer and never work for money? That doesn't bother me so much as long as I find a place to live and eat a lot of unhealthy cheap food while I do it, but I'm wondering if it's possible at all to volunteer or if they just disallow it when you are paid for your work.

 

[xxalic3xx]

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but isn't there OPT that you can get on a student visa? Optional Practical Training where you can be employed for a total of up to 12 months? That way you can stay in the US more for your experiences.

Also, this is just because I'm curious and I haven't volunteered for a clinic in the US yet - did you mean that under a student visa you can only volunteer and never work for money? That doesn't bother me so much as long as I find a place to live and eat a lot of unhealthy cheap food while I do it, but I'm wondering if it's possible at all to volunteer or if they just disallow it when you are paid for your work.

Acutally, I didn’t have any idea on OPT until a while ago. The international advisor at my school always told me that I was only allowed to work on campus. I just did some research and found out that I am eligible for OPT but it only gives me 12 months during my whole undergrad career. It’s only 12 months for 1 academic level – ie. Bachelors or masters. I think you can get an extension too, or something like that.
So I guess in a way international students can still work at clinics, but the work has to be related to your academic area, you just need to apply it and such.
I found this info on my school website…….should’ve have looked more into it instead of just listening to my advisor..🙁

http://iss.washington.edu/employment/f1-employment/opt

Are you an international student, too? Or are you planning on coming to the US to study?

 

[bluesails]

I'm going to be a freshman at Dartmouth College in the fall, so just starting my pre-vet career hahaha. Anything I should be careful of? :O

 

[VeganSoprano]

I would imagine an internship would count too. If you match you'll know where you're going in Feb/March of 4th year and won't have to scramble.

 

[RunTheWorld]

Yeah! That’s what I read on WesternU’s website…but I recently emailed WesternU’s advisor regarding my pre-reqs and I asked about that, and she said I’ll just be treated equally as everyone else since they are a private institute….hmm, maybe I should ask her to clarify again. I don’t know if they changed it this yr or not. Do people send another copy of transcript when fall quarter ends? I’m in a quarter system and I’ll acutally have an updated transcript in dec (before interviews I believe), so should I mail them an updated copy of it?
and Wow you got some really nice experience! I wish I had more experience abroad as well. I’ll be talking about my experience in Taiwan on my PS. It’s kinda bad that WesternU’s interviews are closed…need to make myself standout in 30 min..

You definitely need to send your fall transcripts. I think most schools require it. I also had to send my spring transcript to Tufts after I graduated, so you can't slack off that last semester haha! Western's interviews are closed, but their questions are so open ended--for example "when was a time when you showed leadership?"--that you can pretty much talk about anything you want. I talked a lot about Namibia in my Western interview as well, and I'm sure you would end up talking about your international experiences as well!