Would applying this cycle be a waste of time

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smilin1590

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I will have all my pre-reqs done for a few schools by the end of the spring 2011 semester. I was wondering if I should get my feet wet and apply to a couple schools (without the intention of getting accepted :p) or I should just wait until the next app cycle? Also, if I was to apply this cycle, do I just send my fall 2010 transcripts out to the schools as soon as I can? Would this also be beneficial in determining whether or not schools even want to bother looking at the rest of my application. Some parts of the application process are still a little foggy to me...that's why I love you guys:love:

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I think you should totally apply!! I regret not applying a year earlier. Who knows...if you get in, you can go early! You don't even have to graduate college! You could save a lot of money and time if you were accepted a year early.

When you apply, send the transcripts most up to date, and the schools will specify if they want more updated transcripts later.

If you aren't accepted this year, talk with the schools, and they will be able to tell you what parts of your application to work on. I would only apply to schools that you think you have a shot at getting in because it can get kind of pricey.
 
If you're eligible to apply, why wouldn't you?
 
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For all the schools, having the pre-reqs done by the spring semester before you'd enroll in vet school is plenty of time. I say go for it! It's a great experience and you might very well get in! :luck::xf:
 
The only thing I was concerned about was that they wouldn't see enough of my pre-req info to consider me worth while since I won't be finished with pre-req's until the spring. P.S. I love you all! Most supportive people in my life and I'm being completely honest
 
The only thing I was concerned about was that they wouldn't see enough of my pre-req info to consider me worth while since I won't be finished with pre-req's until the spring. P.S. I love you all! Most supportive people in my life and I'm being completely honest

Nope, it's very typical that people don't finish their pre-reqs before the spring prior to entering vet school. :) Very typical and they wouldn't hold it against you, at least as far as I know. :)
 
Some schools specify that you have no more than 1 or 2 prereqs to finish the spring before matriculation BUT a lot of schools don't specify and you can have as many to finish as you want (as long as you actually finish them!)
 
What's your instate? Do they have a chart on their website saying how many degrees people had? Would you apply broadly or narrowly? If your school(s) only accepts 1-3 juniors out of a class of 130ish, then I'd suggest taking a good long look at your application and try to decide if it is competitive (as if we really can say ;)...I personally believe the adcoms and darts theory of acceptance...). Some schools really want lots of upper level sciences and I've heard of a few that like seniors and graduates just because of the perceived greater maturity compared to juniors. Some others have a huge number of junior sucessful apps.

Either that or apply with the intention of finishing and getting a cycle under your belt.

Good luck :luck::luck:!
 
Definitely apply, but maybe seek out schools that do folder reviews so you'll know what you need to improve on for the next time if you don't get in.
 
Go for it! I applied last fall, which was my second year in college. I came in with about 30 AP credits, so I am a "junior" now. I had to take the second semester of physics, O Chem, and Biochem this year, so they didn't see much of my pre-reqs.... and it worked out for me!

To me, having a piece of paper that says "BS" on it is not worth another year of out-of-state tuition. I don't think it will matter once I have my DVM.
 
Go for it! I applied last fall, which was my second year in college. I came in with about 30 AP credits, so I am a "junior" now. I had to take the second semester of physics, O Chem, and Biochem this year, so they didn't see much of my pre-reqs.... and it worked out for me!

To me, having a piece of paper that says "BS" on it is not worth another year of out-of-state tuition. I don't think it will matter once I have my DVM.

I agree! I did the exact same thing, came in with 30 AP credits and applied this year as a "junior", even though it was really only my second year. This year I took(or am currently taking) physics II & lab, orgo, biochem, eukaryotic cell bio, micro & micro lab...and I got in! It never hurts to try, and if it saves you an entire year of tuition/living expenses...definitely go for it! :)
 
Do most schools remove the +/- after a letter grade when they calculate cum. GPA and science GPA?
 
The only caveat; don't apply to any school you wouldn't be willing to attend if you got in to it. Otherwise, if you have the money and fulfill the requirements, go for it.
 
I applied this year, totally with the expectation of it being a practice run and just hoping to get feedback to give me more direction for next year, but I ended up getting two interviews, and am on two alternate lists. I'll still have pre-reqs to finish this summer, but both schools allow that.
I've had a few application reviews from schools that I did not get into, and everyone was really supportive of not being discouraged and trying again. From what I've heard, it's different from some other grad schools because I think it doesn't hurt your chances if a school sees that you are applying a second time...if anything, they see that as a sign of your commitment. And if you get an application review from a school, and they keep that on file and then see that you took their advice before applying again, that can also help.
As I said, this is only my first year applying, and I'll likely be applying again next year, so I'm not really 100% sure about any of this, but it's the impression I've had so far with my experiences.
 
I'd say I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said... It couldn't hurt to apply & at least see how it goes, as long as you also have some solid experience. If you don't have much experience though, I might considering waiting, just to save on the cost.
 
I'd say go for it if you have the cash to burn and are ready to tough out the emotional roller coaster ride. Having forgone 2 application cycles with the stats of an average applicant, I get a little inkling of the "I could be almost done with 2 years of vet school" thought. I personally don't regret it though, since I knew I was definitely not competitive enough for my dream school at the time. I also think that for me, the past 2 years has been an incredible growing experience and that I am now a much more mature and stable person than I was back then, and feel absolutely sure that now is the right time in my life to start vet school.

One thing to keep in mind is the emotional toll it might have on you. There's going to be a huge emotional roller coaster regardless of whether you expect to get accepted or not. Actually, from personal experience and watching other people, I've seen people who apply to various programs that are out of their reach initially go in with the "oh well, I'm pretty sure I won't get in anyway so it's ok" attitude. After they've finished their application and they've gone a month after submission, for some reason, confidence seems to go up, and hope starts to well up. By the time decision letters are coming out, the same people sometimes convince themselves that they worked so hard on their applications and they're pretty happy with it, so chances are they'll get in. At that point, it can be kind of devastating when the rejection letter comes. Of course it's a moot point if you get in, but before you commit to applying, I'd assess how good of a rejection taker you are. If you know that you're a sore loser, or tend to take rejections personally, then I'd wait.
 
I had 2 friends get into Purdue after 2 years undergrad. It's possible. I say go for it - if you don't get accepted, at least they have seen you before and you have a baseline to show improvement from.
 
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I'd say go for it if you have the cash to burn and are ready to tough out the emotional roller coaster ride. Having forgone 2 application cycles with the stats of an average applicant, I get a little inkling of the "I could be almost done with 2 years of vet school" thought. I personally don't regret it though, since I knew I was definitely not competitive enough for my dream school at the time. I also think that for me, the past 2 years has been an incredible growing experience and that I am now a much more mature and stable person than I was back then, and feel absolutely sure that now is the right time in my life to start vet school.

One thing to keep in mind is the emotional toll it might have on you. There's going to be a huge emotional roller coaster regardless of whether you expect to get accepted or not. Actually, from personal experience and watching other people, I've seen people who apply to various programs that are out of their reach initially go in with the "oh well, I'm pretty sure I won't get in anyway so it's ok" attitude. After they've finished their application and they've gone a month after submission, for some reason, confidence seems to go up, and hope starts to well up. By the time decision letters are coming out, the same people sometimes convince themselves that they worked so hard on their applications and they're pretty happy with it, so chances are they'll get in. At that point, it can be kind of devastating when the rejection letter comes. Of course it's a moot point if you get in, but before you commit to applying, I'd assess how good of a rejection taker you are. If you know that you're a sore loser, or tend to take rejections personally, then I'd wait.

Of course if you have someone like my dad, a person who won't let you get your hopes up because every time you do he tears them down, you can still handle rejection pretty well. I went into this application cycle not expecting anything, just to get my feet wet. I ended up getting an interview which was just about the most exciting thing ever, and while I'll be disappointed if I get rejected from that school (which it looks like I might), I got more than I anticipated from this cycle so overall it was a success. Minnerbelle's right though, this can be a very emotionally draining process and I don't think I would have been ready for it at the age that you are right now. I grew up a lot over the past few years, but some people don't need that time to mature. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!
 
One thing to keep in mind is the emotional toll it might have on you. There's going to be a huge emotional roller coaster regardless of whether you expect to get accepted or not.

Listen to this girl. The entire paragraph that follows this quote is so, so true.

Truth be told, I'm fairly good at taking rejections myself. I've had a lot of experience with it. :cool:

However, it was still difficult, especially as they began to accumulate. I actually think of the places that I applied this year, Cornell was probably the best overall fit for me and the way that I tend to learn, and I really tried to get that across in my supplemental essays. So even though I logically know that my GPA isn't really competitive for OOS admissions there, I still had a little bit of hope that someone there would be able to look past it. This meant that even though I "expected" it, I took that rejection pretty hard and it led to a few days of major self-doubt.

This triples if your IS/best chance school is one of these ones that takes longer than most of the others (UCDavis, UF, Tennessee, NCSU). Last year I admit that I rolled my eyes a bit at sumstorm's freaking out all over the place about making backup plans after getting rejections from all of her other schools and still waiting to hear from NCSU. But man, after this cycle I can totally empathize and I can't imagine what my mental state would have been if UCD didn't do interviews like NCSU doesn't. At least with having gotten an interview and it going really well I had some idea of where I stood.
 
The other big drawback beyond just the emotional aspect that Minnerbelle and Nyanko mention is that applying is a huge distraction (again, whether successful or not).

I don't think you can imagine the wasted hours wondering why you haven't heard anything yet, or wondering what you will hear, or speculating why you got dinged (or waitlisted, etc), or travelling to interviews, or just filling out forms, or calling on the phone, or refreshing SDN or refreshing SDN or refreshing SDN.

If I were in school I would not want applying to interfere with my studying (let alone my social life - what little I had back then) unless I were really sure it was worthwhile. Spend your time on classes and getting experience. If you have a good app, then perhaps you don't need "practice" applying, and the best way to have a good app is not to waste your precious time and mental energy.

And keep in mind this advice is this is from someone(me) who had a relatively easier app cycle (early waitlist, early interviews, and some early acceptances, no outright rejections)
 
I always assumed most students applied with their fall transcript before they graduate with the knowledge they still have to finish any pre-reqs before matriculation into vet school, just like any other post-grad institutions.

Otherwise everyone would be waiting around twiddling your thumbs for a year before they could even apply :)

Go for it!
 
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