Where can I improve/WAMC at Different Schools?

[potentialsheltervet]

I applied this cycle to TAMU (in-state), TTU (in-state), CSU, and Purdue. Already wasn't offered an interview at A&M. Since I'm a planner I've been scouting schools that I can apply to next year since CSU and Purdue are both insanely competitive for OOS. I'm curious about which schools I might have the best chances at.
My stats (anticipated at time of application next cycle):
23 year old female, will have BA in English and MS in veterinary medical sciences w/ shelter medicine concentration, will be 2nd time applying
Career goals: become a small animal shelter vet, do general shelter practice, high quality high volume spay/neuter, shelter behavior, and provide low-cost vx services to community
Overall GPA: 3.89
Last 45 hour GPA: 3.9
Graduate GPA: 4.0
About 3000 hours of animal experience, almost all dog/cat from working at a boarding facility for 2.5 years in undergrad. A smidge of livestock (chickens, goats, horses, donkeys) petsitting experience
Around 150 hours of animal experience as a shelter volunteer
Vet experience:
200ish hours from working as a vet assistant at a private practice (mostly aided with restraint, started doing some blood draws and would prepare blood smears, fecal smears/floats, heartworm tests, etc.)
I'm not sure how many hours I will have from this when applying next cycle as it is ongoing but right now I have about 160 hours from volunteering on my shelter's spay/neuter truck. I mostly do recovery monitoring once the vet has finished surgery (extubating, monitoring vitals, vaccinating) but have also started helping with prep (intubating, expressing bladder, shaving, scrubbing) and I do blood draws and microchipping when needed
Just started volunteering with the same shelter vet on Thursday afternoons doing general care so that's a couple more hours per week.
I estimate I'll have around 500 vet hours when applying next cycle but that's just a guess.
I don't have that many unique experiences for my app but I do have a dog training certification (Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner) and had a scholarship from my undergrad for being a National Merit Scholar (basically I did really well on the PSAT in junior year of high school)
Since I don't have outstanding vet/animal experience I think schools that really prioritize academics are a better bet.

Schools where I meet the prereqs and think the programs might align with my goals (shelter medicine opportunities are a huge plus):
A&M/Tech (I know both are very large animal/equine focused but if I could get IS tuition that would be very nice)
CSU (yes, expensive and I have a slim chance but it's essentially my dream school)
Purdue (re: above)
Kansas State
University of Illinois- Urbana Champaign
Iowa State
Michigan State
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
Cornell
Oklahoma State
Virginia-Maryland
University of Washington (this one is up in the air because I know it is insanely competitive even for an OOS vet school)

Any thoughts, suggestions? TAMU doesn't seem to be doing file review this cycle but my guess is the lack of vet hours and particularly large animal hours is what did me in.

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[snuggs114]

I applied this cycle to TAMU (in-state), TTU (in-state), CSU, and Purdue. Already wasn't offered an interview at A&M. Since I'm a planner I've been scouting schools that I can apply to next year since CSU and Purdue are both insanely competitive for OOS. I'm curious about which schools I might have the best chances at.
My stats (anticipated at time of application next cycle):
23 year old female, will have BA in English and MS in veterinary medical sciences w/ shelter medicine concentration, will be 2nd time applying
Career goals: become a small animal shelter vet, do general shelter practice, high quality high volume spay/neuter, shelter behavior, and provide low-cost vx services to community
Overall GPA: 3.89
Last 45 hour GPA: 3.9
Graduate GPA: 4.0
About 3000 hours of animal experience, almost all dog/cat from working at a boarding facility for 2.5 years in undergrad. A smidge of livestock (chickens, goats, horses, donkeys) petsitting experience
Around 150 hours of animal experience as a shelter volunteer
Vet experience:
200ish hours from working as a vet assistant at a private practice (mostly aided with restraint, started doing some blood draws and would prepare blood smears, fecal smears/floats, heartworm tests, etc.)
I'm not sure how many hours I will have from this when applying next cycle as it is ongoing but right now I have about 160 hours from volunteering on my shelter's spay/neuter truck. I mostly do recovery monitoring once the vet has finished surgery (extubating, monitoring vitals, vaccinating) but have also started helping with prep (intubating, expressing bladder, shaving, scrubbing) and I do blood draws and microchipping when needed
Just started volunteering with the same shelter vet on Thursday afternoons doing general care so that's a couple more hours per week.
I estimate I'll have around 500 vet hours when applying next cycle but that's just a guess.
I don't have that many unique experiences for my app but I do have a dog training certification (Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner) and had a scholarship from my undergrad for being a National Merit Scholar (basically I did really well on the PSAT in junior year of high school)
Since I don't have outstanding vet/animal experience I think schools that really prioritize academics are a better bet.

Schools where I meet the prereqs and think the programs might align with my goals (shelter medicine opportunities are a huge plus):
A&M/Tech (I know both are very large animal/equine focused but if I could get IS tuition that would be very nice)
CSU (yes, expensive and I have a slim chance but it's essentially my dream school)
Purdue (re: above)
Kansas State
University of Illinois- Urbana Champaign
Iowa State
Michigan State
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
Cornell
Oklahoma State
Virginia-Maryland
University of Washington (this one is up in the air because I know it is insanely competitive even for an OOS vet school)

Any thoughts, suggestions? TAMU doesn't seem to be doing file review this cycle but my guess is the lack of vet hours and particularly large animal hours is what did me in.

Hi! Your GPA obviously isn't holding you back from pretty much any school. I would definitely work to get more vet experience- I don't know if it's possible for you to look into a full time vet assistant job over the summer before you apply again, but if you are able to do that, I think it would help you a lot. What are your extracurricular experiences like? Schools want to see who you are as a person outside of veterinary medicine, so list anything and everything that you can. Seriously- I listed a couple service things that I did for two hours a week for a couple of months for one of my undergraduate classes. If you don't have much in this area, I would work on finding volunteer opportunities to strengthen your application for next year.

School wise, have you considered applying to Tufts? I'm also interested in pursuing shelter medicine in the future, and their shelter medicine specific program drew me to apply there.

 

[potentialsheltervet]

Hi! Your GPA obviously isn't holding you back from pretty much any school. I would definitely work to get more vet experience- I don't know if it's possible for you to look into a full time vet assistant job over the summer before you apply again, but if you are able to do that, I think it would help you a lot. What are your extracurricular experiences like? Schools want to see who you are as a person outside of veterinary medicine, so list anything and everything that you can. Seriously- I listed a couple service things that I did for two hours a week for a couple of months for one of my undergraduate classes. If you don't have much in this area, I would work on finding volunteer opportunities to strengthen your application for next year.

School wise, have you considered applying to Tufts? I'm also interested in pursuing shelter medicine in the future, and their shelter medicine specific program drew me to apply there.

Hi! I've thought about Tufts but I find their letters of evaluation criteria to be unnecessarily restrictive. I don't feel I would be able to get two personal, informed letters of recommendation from professors or advisors and I want to be able to use references that I think know me best.

 

[battie]

Definitely agree that TAMU and TT are your best shot. Sure, being Texas, production species are important. But any rural vet med programs they have would also involve a lot of shelter med-esque components i.e. working on a budget, working with a limited amount of diagnostics/treatment options, etc.

Consider adding Florida to your list due to the Maddie Shelter Program. But literally any school can be on your list once yoy have 500+ vet hours. Shelter med externships can be found anywhere.

For what it's worth, how solid do you think your essays and letters are? The fact TAMU knocked you out already gives me red flag vibes. They generally interview 50%+ of in state applicants and accept nearly 30% of their in state applicants.

I wouldn't count you out completely yet. But planning ahead is never wrong (coming from someone who took 3 cycles cause of poor planning).

 

[potentialsheltervet]

Definitely agree that TAMU and TT are your best shot. Sure, being Texas, production species are important. But any rural vet med programs they have would also involve a lot of shelter med-esque components i.e. working on a budget, working with a limited amount of diagnostics/treatment options, etc.

Consider adding Florida to your list due to the Maddie Shelter Program. But literally any school can be on your list once yoy have 500+ vet hours. Shelter med externships can be found anywhere.

For what it's worth, how solid do you think your essays and letters are? The fact TAMU knocked you out already gives me red flag vibes. They generally interview 50%+ of in state applicants and accept nearly 30% of their in state applicants.

I wouldn't count you out completely yet. But planning ahead is never wrong (coming from someone who took 3 cycles cause of poor planning).

I THOUGHT my essays were pretty good. My writing style tends to sound impersonal and sort of aloof so maybe they didn't sound genuine. TMDSAS doesn't do a personal statement per se; they have prompts that, in my opinion, don't allow you to fully talk about your goals. Their references aren't letters either, it's evaluation forms where the references go through a rubric type and indicate how well they think the applicant did in certain situations. I think that's also pretty restrictive but they didn't ask my opinion. I thought my references were good as well, since they're from an employer of 2.5 years, the shelter vet I've known for two years, and a vet tech who oversaw my training program and used to be president of the association of veterinary behavior technicians.
Honestly I was surprised and very bummed that TAMU flat out rejected me like that. It was very disheartening, especially since I know they really value grades so it felt sort of like "okay, they just don't like who I am."
U of F is where I'm getting my master's from through the Maddie's fund program! Honestly though heat and humidity make me feel physically ill and I am not keen on spending another four years in that environment.

 

[battie]

If you get outright rejections from the rest, definitely consider having people evaluate essays prior to submission next year. That would at least give you a buffer there.

As far as a school list next year, I honestly think you could be competitive anywhere with the masters and the increased hours.

 

[potentialsheltervet]

If you get outright rejections from the rest, definitely consider having people evaluate essays prior to submission next year. That would at least give you a buffer there.

As far as a school list next year, I honestly think you could be competitive anywhere with the masters and the increased hours.

Thanks for your feedback! I had my sister and her peer review co-worker review my essays but neither have ever applied to vet school. I definitely plan to use SDN's partner essay reading thing (blanking on what it's actually called) if I do have to apply next cycle. I also gave myself zero time to write my essays this cycle so I will NOT procrastinate them again.

 

[potentialsheltervet]

Well... I've now received a rejection without interview from 3 out of the 4 schools I applied to. The only one I'm waiting to hear from is CSU and given that one was the longest shot anyway it is looking very bleak for this cycle. So... where do I most need to improve? What can I do to overall strengthen my application? The major things that will change will be I should have my master's degree by the time I submit next year's stuff. I already have 70 more vet experience hours and should have at least 400 by next cycle. Pondering getting a job at either a local clinic or the local animal shelter. I'll be getting more people to read my statement of purpose as well. Is there anything else I can/should do? Getting LA or equine experience would be a bonus I'm sure but thanks to this new COVID wave I am doubting that will be possible. I also don't have research opportunities since I'm no longer an undergrad and my MS program is online.
I'm feeling extremely dejected after receiving that most recent rejection and anticipating a rejection from CSU so focusing on what I can do rather than what I can't change will help me out, I think.

 

[potentialsheltervet]

Also, maybe a TMI, but I'm feeling like... It seems impossible to get into vet school. With the insane number of applicants these past few years, I just feel like I'm never going to be good enough. I absolutely love vet med and I have so much fun with anything vet related, but I feel like I've already missed my chance to do something that makes me stand out since I wasn't overly involved in undergrad. I know that's a popular sentiment over these past couple cycles but I'm feeling like complete garbage right now.

 

[EngrSC]

Also, maybe a TMI, but I'm feeling like... It seems impossible to get into vet school. With the insane number of applicants these past few years, I just feel like I'm never going to be good enough. I absolutely love vet med and I have so much fun with anything vet related, but I feel like I've already missed my chance to do something that makes me stand out since I wasn't overly involved in undergrad. I know that's a popular sentiment over these past couple cycles but I'm feeling like complete garbage right now.

You’re young and your GPAs are awesome. Regardless of what happens, you will be ok. Your best bet is to do file reviews to get specifics on how you can improve.

You do not need to be an undergrad student to do something great. You can do something completely unrelated to vet med that you enjoy (use your English degree maybe?). I talked a lot in my essays and interviews about my former career and they seemed to like that. My point is, make yourself well-rounded and enjoy your life, whatever that looks like for you

 

[Ariel-Li]

My advice may sound weird, but since your GPA is outstanding, but not particularly strong with vet experience (and from previous discussion, maybe not very strong essays and/or recommendation letters), have you considered Davis?

Their selection of OOS students are extremely quantitative, with your current stats, as long as your science prereq GPA is above 3.93 (ish) and GRE quanti percentile over 80% (ish), you're pretty much guaranteed an interview. They don't look at vet/animal experience, the qualitative part of your eLors, or the essays as far as I know. Not that you shouldn't try to diversify your experience or improve on the essays, but I think this is worth a try.

 

[potentialsheltervet]

My advice may sound weird, but since your GPA is outstanding, but not particularly strong with vet experience (and from previous discussion, maybe not very strong essays and/or recommendation letters), have you considered Davis?

Their selection of OOS students are extremely quantitative, with your current stats, as long as your science prereq GPA is above 3.93 (ish) and GRE quanti percentile over 80% (ish), you're pretty much guaranteed an interview. They don't look at vet/animal experience, the qualitative part of your eLors, or the essays as far as I know. Not that you shouldn't try to diversify your experience or improve on the essays, but I think this is worth a try.

Hmm... that's a thought. I'm missing one of their science prereqs right now since I had to be super selective with which courses I could take before the English department yelled at me, but I may just have to muscle up and take it already.
I just calculated my science prereq GPA according to their course listing (sans physiology, since I've not taken it) and it's a 3.52, so not great. Unfortunately I screwed my prereq GPA by getting tons of AP credit, meaning my not great grades have very little buffer. Scanning their website it mentions evaluating all science courses GPA. I calculated my science GPA by hand including this semester's courses and that would be a 3.78ish, so not up to their standards still. My GRE quant was in the 70th percentile so also not quite there. I guess retaking the GRE wouldn't be the worst thing but the cost of that plus the physiology course (and the anatomy course I'd need to take before the physio...) is a little prohibitive for me. I appreciate the input though! I think it'd be quite the long shot for me.

 

[Andy'sDun]

I THOUGHT my essays were pretty good. My writing style tends to sound impersonal and sort of aloof so maybe they didn't sound genuine. TMDSAS doesn't do a personal statement per se; they have prompts that, in my opinion, don't allow you to fully talk about your goals. Their references aren't letters either, it's evaluation forms where the references go through a rubric type and indicate how well they think the applicant did in certain situations. I think that's also pretty restrictive but they didn't ask my opinion. I thought my references were good as well, since they're from an employer of 2.5 years, the shelter vet I've known for two years, and a vet tech who oversaw my training program and used to be president of the association of veterinary behavior technicians.
Honestly I was surprised and very bummed that TAMU flat out rejected me like that. It was very disheartening, especially since I know they really value grades so it felt sort of like "okay, they just don't like who I am."
U of F is where I'm getting my master's from through the Maddie's fund program! Honestly though heat and humidity make me feel physically ill and I am not keen on spending another four years in that environment.

I'm looking at the same shelter vet program at U of F, and am also in Texas. Do you know if TMDSAS categorizes the shelter med classes as part of the BCPM gpa? Was hoping to verify that they will consider those as "science" classes when calculating gpa!

 

[potentialsheltervet]

I'm looking at the same shelter vet program at U of F, and am also in Texas. Do you know if TMDSAS categorizes the shelter med classes as part of the BCPM gpa? Was hoping to verify that they will consider those as "science" classes when calculating gpa!

I think they do. TMDSAS makes it so difficult to see anything so I classed them as other science but looking at my GPAs it seems they did count it as part of the BCPM GPA.