I'm fairly curious about this because I always wonder why would somebody apply to a vet school if they are not qualified for it? I saw, for instance, that Michigan State last year reviewed roughly 1000 out of state applications, but they received 1400 applications out of state. Obviously I'm not expecting an exact number but maybe just a ballpark number. Basically I'm asking because, as we all know, vet school is hard to get into. However, are the high numbers in part due to a bunch of unqualified applicants applying to each school every year? Thank you!
What percentage of vet school applicants would you predict each year do not meet the qualifications of the school they apply to?
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There are definitely people who apply who don’t meet the qualifications (like prerequisite courses, minimum GPA, don’t send in their fees on time, letters aren’t in on time, etc).
Then there are those who technically meet the “hard” requirements but are far off the average (like those who meet minimum GPA cut-off, but only just). A lot of people are qualified enough but maybe don’t have as strong an application as most others (fewer hours, more bland LORs) and there are certainly some who are stellar on paper but lack the interpersonal skills or understanding of the field leading to a bad interview.
Then there are those who technically meet the “hard” requirements but are far off the average (like those who meet minimum GPA cut-off, but only just). A lot of people are qualified enough but maybe don’t have as strong an application as most others (fewer hours, more bland LORs) and there are certainly some who are stellar on paper but lack the interpersonal skills or understanding of the field leading to a bad interview.
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I can't speak for everyone, but I am a bit of a non-traditional applicant, with my B.S being in Marine Sciences, and the Master's I'm finishing now in Earth & Environmental Science, so there were a few pre-reqs that I don't have completed right now. I applied to somewhere in the ballpark of 10 schools, with 6-7 needing maybe 2-3 more classes and the others needing maybe 4 more that I had not taken. I intended to complete the 2-3 prereqs required by all institutions, but for the remaining few I would gauge their interest in me as a candidate and proceed accordingly.
This strategy has saved me some money and stress, because working full time and doing a master's full time I don't have a ton of extra time for additional classes. However, hedging my bets in this way has put me in a bit of a precarious situation where I have to find time in my schedule to fit a 5th class for this semester.
Overall though, my real goal for this cycle was to get an interview or two, and I have been fortunate enough to get 4 so far and one acceptance! (Coupled with a few rejections and pendings lol)
I would say there are a good amount of people like me, who are relatively strong applicants who go into the cycle understanding the competitiveness and maybe have a few prereqs left for whatever reason, but still want to see who shows interest. That way if a second cycle is necessary you have feedback to work off of.
This strategy has saved me some money and stress, because working full time and doing a master's full time I don't have a ton of extra time for additional classes. However, hedging my bets in this way has put me in a bit of a precarious situation where I have to find time in my schedule to fit a 5th class for this semester.
Overall though, my real goal for this cycle was to get an interview or two, and I have been fortunate enough to get 4 so far and one acceptance! (Coupled with a few rejections and pendings lol)
I would say there are a good amount of people like me, who are relatively strong applicants who go into the cycle understanding the competitiveness and maybe have a few prereqs left for whatever reason, but still want to see who shows interest. That way if a second cycle is necessary you have feedback to work off of.
Another point is there’s sometimes surprises. I’m not particularly proud of this but when I applied to University of Florida, I didn’t realize they didn’t allow community college courses for their microbiology prerequisite. This is clearly stated on their website but not on the prerequisite chart put out by the AAVMC.
They offered me the opportunity to fix it by retaking the class but a) at this point I had already received several interview offers and b) I took the course at a community college in the first place because it was the only in person option local to me.
A different situation is that my required course GPA fell below Iowa’s minimum cut off. Every year they decide on a minimum cut off based on the applicant pool. The way they calculated the required course gpa had my gpa fall 0.03 below the minimum.
They offered me the opportunity to fix it by retaking the class but a) at this point I had already received several interview offers and b) I took the course at a community college in the first place because it was the only in person option local to me.
A different situation is that my required course GPA fell below Iowa’s minimum cut off. Every year they decide on a minimum cut off based on the applicant pool. The way they calculated the required course gpa had my gpa fall 0.03 below the minimum.
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Sometimes there are just too many excellent candidates for a certain number of spots and adcoms have to find a way to choose. And like I said, sometimes people can be a perfect candidate on paper and then they bomb their interview or are a jerk or something else that can’t be measured with a solid metric. There are plenty of well-qualified applicants that don’t get accepted at each particular school, but if they apply intelligently and broadly, they should get in somewhere. If you get rejected by everyone even with a solid application, definitely pursue file reviews with those schools to see where you’re weak. But some people just get told, “you’re great, we just had a lot of people to choose from” which is tough.
I definitely agree with the above. I would add that different programs look for different things and you can’t know when applying if you’re an ideal candidate. I.e. apply broadly as that redhead said.
For instance, I was rejected by Purdue and accepted at Cornell. I got a interview with CSU but not with Missouri.
Would I have guess this outcome? Not in a million years.
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