WSU (Washington State) C/O 2021 Applicants

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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brownswissfanatic

brownswissfanatic

University of Illinois C/O 2025
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Hello! Anyone else applying for WSU (Washington State)? I'm OOS. 2nd time applying for Vet school, but first time applying for WSU.
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WSU applicant over here! Woot woot!
 
2nd time applicant for both VMCAS and WSU specifically!
 
So does anyone know how WSU calculates science GPA? Last year I asked and they said Math & Science GPA, but this year their website says Physical & biological sciences (see prerequisites) does this mean they only look at prerequisites when calculating science GPA and they only look at science courses now? I'm confused...
 
Coopah said:
So does anyone know how WSU calculates science GPA? Last year I asked and they said Math & Science GPA, but this year their website says Physical & biological sciences (see prerequisites) does this mean they only look at prerequisites when calculating science GPA and they only look at science courses now? I'm confused...
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The pre-req and science gpa are separate. All of your pre requisite classes will be included in the science gpa, but you'll have additional (non-required) classes as well, depending on what you've taken.
 
Does anyone know if WSU has a maximum number of LORs they'll accept? I thought that I saw 6 or 7 as a max last summer, but now I can't find anything. (I'm not going to have that many - 4 for sure and maybe 5. I was just curious.)
 
Would anyone happen to know if they accept some prerequisites from 2-year colleges? I'll probably end up emailing them to ask, but figured I'd see on here first.

1st time OOS applicant :)
 
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PrincessButterCup said:
Does anyone know if WSU has a maximum number of LORs they'll accept? I thought that I saw 6 or 7 as a max last summer, but now I can't find anything. (I'm not going to have that many - 4 for sure and maybe 5. I was just curious.)
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I think VMCAS itself takes a max of 6, so I assume most schools will have that as a cutoff too (maybe some will only read up to 3-4 though, no idea)
 
Devastating said:
I think VMCAS itself takes a max of 6, so I assume most schools will have that as a cutoff too (maybe some will only read up to 3-4 though, no idea)
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Aha! That must have been the max I saw before.

I only submitted three last year because I wasn't sure WSU would read more than that, but apparently they do. They suggested I add a letter from my other major's department in addition to the letters I submitted before.
 
Also... I read on the Factors When Picking a School document that WSU has "very, very little hands on work" -- is this still the case, to anyone's knowledge?
 
sheltermed said:
Would anyone happen to know if they accept some prerequisites from 2-year colleges? I'll probably end up emailing them to ask, but figured I'd see on here first.

1st time OOS applicant :)
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You can e-mail them the syllabus and see if they will accept the course. I'm taking an online biochemistry class this summer and the WSU people approved it for me, so I know it will count.
 
sheltermed said:
Also... I read on the Factors When Picking a School document that WSU has "very, very little hands on work" -- is this still the case, to anyone's knowledge?
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They require first years to spend a certain amount of time - but only like, 6 or 7 hours, @Caiter92 ? - in the teaching hospital. The entire hospital is totally open to students, and they encourage you to come and observe/help out whenever you have time.
 
sheltermed said:
Also... I read on the Factors When Picking a School document that WSU has "very, very little hands on work" -- is this still the case, to anyone's knowledge?
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As a current 4th year I can tell you that I am busting my butt getting hands on experience ;)
 
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sheltermed said:
How is it for the first and second years?
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If you go into the hospital (which you're required to do for a small number of hours per semester anyway) you will almost certainly get pulled into helping (especially if it's busy). They also have summer rotations for the underclassmen. We have a 3rd year (she just finished 2nd year) on the ortho rotation with us. She takes cases and is the primary on those patients and scrubs into surgery they same as we do. There a few things she isn't allowed to do yet but it isn't much.

Also remember, you will have time in vet school for sure. But vet school is a different beast and for most people requires a lot more time and energy than any previous schooling. So focusing on classwork doesn't always leave a ton of time for that stuff anyway.
 
PrincessButterCup said:
You can e-mail them the syllabus and see if they will accept the course. I'm taking an online biochemistry class this summer and the WSU people approved it for me, so I know it will count.
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Out of curiosity, is it the CSU one? When I was looking for one that seemed to be the one suggested most on here is why I ask :p

If it is, the instructor is hilarious and I really liked his lecture style!

PrincessButterCup said:
They require first years to spend a certain amount of time - but only like, 6 or 7 hours, @Caiter92 ? - in the teaching hospital. The entire hospital is totally open to students, and they encourage you to come and observe/help out whenever you have time.
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I asked at my interview how many hours were required and I can't remember now, but it definitely wasn't many. Less than 10 for sure, I want to say only around 5? I was surprised it was so few!
 
Caiter92 said:
Out of curiosity, is it the CSU one? When I was looking for one that seemed to be the one suggested most on here is why I ask :p

If it is, the instructor is hilarious and I really liked his lecture style!



I asked at my interview how many hours were required and I can't remember now, but it definitely wasn't many. Less than 10 for sure, I want to say only around 5? I was surprised it was so few!
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4.

4 hours is all they require. But they expect you to act like you are in a professional program and take the initiative to get more on your own. lol
 
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Abney said:
4.

4 hours is all they require. But they expect you to act like you are in a professional program and take the initiative to get more on your own. lol
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Thank you!

Yeah I was so surprised! I had been thinking it was going to be a few hours required every week or something. But nope, they said we could go in once to get those hours and then never step foot in the hospital again until we needed to fulfill the requirement again haha
 
Caiter92 said:
Out of curiosity, is it the CSU one? When I was looking for one that seemed to be the one suggested most on here is why I ask :p
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It's through Wisconsin's online university. It was the least expensive one I could find. :p
 
Caiter92 said:
Thank you!

Yeah I was so surprised! I had been thinking it was going to be a few hours required every week or something. But nope, they said we could go in once to get those hours and then never step foot in the hospital again until we needed to fulfill the requirement again haha
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Oh it would be difficult to get hours every single week I think. Most weeks I'm sure it could be done for sure, but when exams start coming up timing of things gets a little tighter.

They always use the analogy of trying to take a drink from a fire hose. That's the amount of information flying at you and every semester they step it up. So many semesters your classes may very well take every ounce of what you've got.

This is also from the perspective of someone who is by far not a genius so some will definitely have an easier time. But most of my classmates have been in my same boat :p
 
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Abney said:
Oh it would be difficult to get hours every single week I think. Most weeks I'm sure it could be done for sure, but when exams start coming up timing of things gets a little tighter.

They always use the analogy of trying to take a drink from a fire hose. That's the amount of information flying at you and every semester they step it up. So many semesters your classes may very well take every ounce of what you've got.

This is also from the perspective of someone who is by far not a genius so some will definitely have an easier time. But most of my classmates have been in my same boat :p
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Also, NONE of this is meant to be scary. Trust me, if I can do it anyone can do it!!
Just giving a realistic idea of vet school for a large number of people.

(also Jibbers Crabst, I cannot believe 2021 is applying fuuuuuu)
 
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Abney said:
Also, NONE of this is meant to be scary. Trust me, if I can do it anyone can do it!!
Just giving a realistic idea of vet school for a large number of people.

(also Jibbers Crabst, I cannot believe 2021 is applying fuuuuuu)
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Don't worry, you didn't scare me. I'm terrified all on my own :p

(jk. Sort of)
 
Abney said:
Also, NONE of this is meant to be scary. Trust me, if I can do it anyone can do it!!
Just giving a realistic idea of vet school for a large number of people.

(also Jibbers Crabst, I cannot believe 2021 is applying fuuuuuu)
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You'll be gone by the time anyone from this class even gets there. Do you feel old yet? :p

(kidding, kidding :))
 
Caiter92 said:
Don't worry, you didn't scare me. I'm terrified all on my own :p

(jk. Sort of)
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Just think! This time next year, you'll be one of the wise vet students giving the incoming class advice and telling scary stories. It'll be great.
 
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PrincessButterCup said:
Just think! This time next year, you'll be one of the wise vet students giving the incoming class advice and telling scary stories. It'll be great.
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Oh god, I will be that awful person who makes up crap to scare everyone so it doesn't seem as bad when they actually get here. I just know it.
 
I'm looking at applying to WSU as well! I keep going back and forth between WSU and Florida. I was trying to look at successful applicants, but does WSU look more holistically or are they more numbers based? Trying to get a good feel as to which school I will be more competitive at. Also, how is their One Health/translational medicine program? Are there opportunities for me to dual degree?
 
cheathac said:
I'm looking at applying to WSU as well! I keep going back and forth between WSU and Florida. I was trying to look at successful applicants, but does WSU look more holistically or are they more numbers based? Trying to get a good feel as to which school I will be more competitive at. Also, how is their One Health/translational medicine program? Are there opportunities for me to dual degree?
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You're best bet is to actually talk to an Admissions counselor at WSU - they would be great in helping answer these questions for you. :)
 
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The class of 2020 admissions stats are up now! (http://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/class-statistics)

I'm curious about the number of admitted 2nd+ time applicants. Only about 16% of the entire accepted class applied more than once. I guess I'm so used to hearing that most people don't get in on their first try, it's really common to apply again . . . I would have thought the accepted stats would support that? (Though people could just be telling me these thing to make me feel better about being rejected. ;) ) Does anyone know how common it actually is to apply more than once? The paranoid side of me is worried that there's some bias or something against returning applicants. Do admissions committees even take your number of application cycles into account?

I swear I'm not actually as high strung as this question makes me sound. :p
 
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PrincessButterCup said:
The class of 2020 admissions stats are up now! (http://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/class-statistics)

I'm curious about the number of admitted 2nd+ time applicants. Only about 16% of the entire accepted class applied more than once. I guess I'm so used to hearing that most people don't get in on their first try, it's really common to apply again . . . I would have thought the accepted stats would support that? (Though people could just be telling me these thing to make me feel better about being rejected. ;) ) Does anyone know how common it actually is to apply more than once? The paranoid side of me is worried that there's some bias or something against returning applicants. Do admissions committees even take your number of application cycles into account?

I swear I'm not actually as high strung as this question makes me sound. :p
Click to expand...

I doubt it makes much of a difference how many times you apply. thanks for posting those. It's interesting to see.
 
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PrincessButterCup said:
The class of 2020 admissions stats are up now! (http://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/class-statistics)

I'm curious about the number of admitted 2nd+ time applicants. Only about 16% of the entire accepted class applied more than once. I guess I'm so used to hearing that most people don't get in on their first try, it's really common to apply again . . . I would have thought the accepted stats would support that? (Though people could just be telling me these thing to make me feel better about being rejected. ;) ) Does anyone know how common it actually is to apply more than once? The paranoid side of me is worried that there's some bias or something against returning applicants. Do admissions committees even take your number of application cycles into account?

I swear I'm not actually as high strung as this question makes me sound. :p
Click to expand...

There's a figure somewhere for the average vet student and while I can't find it, I think it said on average a person will apply 1.6 times. Another aavmc website tells me that 50% of applicants end up attending.
 
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PrincessButterCup said:
The class of 2020 admissions stats are up now! (http://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/class-statistics)

I'm curious about the number of admitted 2nd+ time applicants. Only about 16% of the entire accepted class applied more than once. I guess I'm so used to hearing that most people don't get in on their first try, it's really common to apply again . . . I would have thought the accepted stats would support that? (Though people could just be telling me these thing to make me feel better about being rejected. ;) ) Does anyone know how common it actually is to apply more than once? The paranoid side of me is worried that there's some bias or something against returning applicants. Do admissions committees even take your number of application cycles into account?

I swear I'm not actually as high strung as this question makes me sound. :p
Click to expand...

I was told a story by a friend about some guy who was applying to med school. The guy was asked "if you don't get in this time, what are you going to do?" He replied," I will apply again, and I will keep on applying until I get in." Idk what his stats were, but apparently this guy went and got a masters, more experience, etc, and every year he kept applying for med school. On the 7th time, due to his persistence, he got into med school.
When I first heard this story it inspired me and made me realize that persistence is key, especially with the schools you are interested in. The schools will notice the persistence.

Now, hopefully, the majority of us wont need to wait 7 years before getting into vet school. I also remember attending a Texas A&M Vet school open house one year, and I was told by several students that many of them applied "2-3 times" before they got in.
God willing, this 2nd time will be the charm for me!

Stay persistent (and optimistic) my fellow future vets! We will get in, one day!
 
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brownswissfanatic said:
I was told a story by a friend about some guy who was applying to med school. The guy was asked "if you don't get in this time, what are you going to do?" He replied," I will apply again, and I will keep on applying until I get in." Idk what his stats were, but apparently this guy went and got a masters, more experience, etc, and every year he kept applying for med school. On the 7th time, due to his persistence, he got into med school.
When I first heard this story it inspired me and made me realize that persistence is key, especially with the schools you are interested in. The schools will notice the persistence.

Now, hopefully, the majority of us wont need to wait 7 years before getting into vet school. I also remember attending a Texas A&M Vet school open house one year, and I was told by several students that many of them applied "2-3 times" before they got in.
God willing, this 2nd time will be the charm for me!

Stay persistent (and optimistic) my fellow future vets! We will get in, one day!
Click to expand...

There was someone from this forum who applied seven times and was admitted from the rejection list. I don't remember her name, but it was a crazy story.
 
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brownswissfanatic said:
I was told a story by a friend about some guy who was applying to med school. The guy was asked "if you don't get in this time, what are you going to do?" He replied," I will apply again, and I will keep on applying until I get in." Idk what his stats were, but apparently this guy went and got a masters, more experience, etc, and every year he kept applying for med school. On the 7th time, due to his persistence, he got into med school.
When I first heard this story it inspired me and made me realize that persistence is key, especially with the schools you are interested in. The schools will notice the persistence.

Now, hopefully, the majority of us wont need to wait 7 years before getting into vet school. I also remember attending a Texas A&M Vet school open house one year, and I was told by several students that many of them applied "2-3 times" before they got in.
God willing, this 2nd time will be the charm for me!

Stay persistent (and optimistic) my fellow future vets! We will get in, one day!
Click to expand...

Eventually "persistence" just turns to annoyance. It isn't wise to just apply year after year after year. This discussion was had at one point, I'd have to locate the thread. How many years one applies is up to them but at some point, people do need to consider moving on. Spending a decade continually applying and hoping just isn't wise for many reasons.
 
PrincessButterCup said:
The class of 2020 admissions stats are up now! (http://dvm.vetmed.wsu.edu/admissions/class-statistics)

I'm curious about the number of admitted 2nd+ time applicants. Only about 16% of the entire accepted class applied more than once. I guess I'm so used to hearing that most people don't get in on their first try, it's really common to apply again . . . I would have thought the accepted stats would support that? (Though people could just be telling me these thing to make me feel better about being rejected. ;) ) Does anyone know how common it actually is to apply more than once? The paranoid side of me is worried that there's some bias or something against returning applicants. Do admissions committees even take your number of application cycles into account?

I swear I'm not actually as high strung as this question makes me sound. :p
Click to expand...

I applied three times.
 
DVMDream said:
Eventually "persistence" just turns to annoyance. It isn't wise to just apply year after year after year. This discussion was had at one point, I'd have to locate the thread. How many years one applies is up to them but at some point, people do need to consider moving on. Spending a decade continually applying and hoping just isn't wise for many reasons.
Click to expand...

I somewhat agree. If the person has done nothing to improve their application, leaving it exactly the same as last year, there is no point in trying to apply that following year. The applicant should at least make some improvements like retaking the GRE, getting more experiences, getting a masters degree, retaking a class that might've lowered their GPA, and researching schools that better fit stats. Leaving the application exactly the same as the previous cycle is definitely not a wise idea. That will just lead to rejection again.

Yes, the number of times one applies is up them. But if a person knows that veterinary medicine is their calling, and they wouldn't be happy doing anything else, that person is not going to give up that easily. God forbid, if it takes me 7 years to get into vet school, so be it! Sure,I might end up with some other extra masters degrees along the way. But I can't see myself doing anything else but veterinary medicine.
 
PrincessButterCup said:
There was someone from this forum who applied seven times and was admitted from the rejection list. I don't remember her name, but it was a crazy story.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested in hearing more of this story! It sounds interesting! Details please!
 
brownswissfanatic said:
I somewhat agree. If the person has done nothing to improve their application, leaving it exactly the same as last year, there is no point in trying to apply that following year. The applicant should at least make some improvements like retaking the GRE, getting more experiences, getting a masters degree, retaking a class that might've lowered their GPA, and researching schools that better fit stats. Leaving the application exactly the same as the previous cycle is definitely not a wise idea. That will just lead to rejection again.

Yes, the number of times one applies is up them. But if a person knows that veterinary medicine is their calling, and they wouldn't be happy doing anything else, that person is not going to give up that easily. God forbid, if it takes me 7 years to get into vet school, so be it! Sure,I might end up with some other extra masters degrees along the way. But I can't see myself doing anything else but veterinary medicine.
Click to expand...

I completely understand when something is your "passion", but at some point even with making ALL the corrections you can to an application, the process becomes very unfulfilling and stagnating like that is not enjoyable. I get it, because I applied 3 years in a row myself, but there is much more to consider than just "this is what I want to do and I will keep trying until I get it". Life changes on you as it moves along. I used to not ever care about owning a house, having vacation, having work/life balance, etc... I didn't value those things 8-9 years ago, but as time has gone on, I do want those things. It is easy to say when you are in the middle of applying and your focus is only on getting into vet school that you will just keep applying until it happens, but life does happen and priorities change as life changes. Also, there really are other things to consider. For me, I could have gotten a masters, but I didn't want one, I had no interest... there was no reason to spend even more $$$ to obtain a degree that I did not want nor care to have. Retaking a class is simple, but that is usually the first thing people do, so that isn't much to consider once you are at application number 6, 7 or 8. Same goes with retaking the GRE.

Actually, someone explained this really well I will just quote them....


Here is a quote from BlackDog17 from a couple of years ago in response to someone who stated that the only people who don't get into vet school are those that stop applying, I think she put it very well...


BlackDog17 said:
This is utterly absurd. I'm getting the distinct impression that this argument is no longer about the OP's dream school and more about your own applications.

I'm sure it's probably comforting to you to think that if you just stick with it you'll get in someday no matter what. I hate to disillusion you, but that's simply not the way it works. Yes, there are people who never get into veterinary school. There's no point in sugar coating it. Rejections are the reality of any competitive program, be it vet school, medical school, law school, whatever. You have to be mature enough to accept that. Yes, people do stop applying, but that's because they're realistic and mentally healthy enough to realize that an acceptance isn't going to happen for them. That doesn't mean that if they just kept at it for another five, or ten, or twenty years and wished upon a star hard enough they would have been accepted. Some people just never get accepted for whatever reason. It happens.

From your previous posts it sounds like you may be a non-traditional applicant, so maybe you already have a comfortable career and can continue throwing time and money into applications year after year for the foreseeable future without causing to much detriment to yourself. But do you really think you can advise a 21 year old applicant to do that? Do you really think it's fair to tell applicants that they should just put their lives on hold for the next ten or twenty years - never establish a career, live at home working for crappy pay (because if you have any experience in vet med at all, you know that most jobs that look good on an application don't pay well), never settle down anywhere because maybe next year they'll be moving to vet school, etc - because if they just keep trying maybe they'll get in before they're too old to walk to class unassisted? That's ridiculous. At some point you have to move on with your life and continuing to apply and get rejected year after year with the same "it will happen someday!" mentality is just delusional. As the famously misattributed Einstein quote says: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Not to mention that after a while your pre-reqs will start to expire. For most schools this will be after about 6 years. So then you're pouring even more time and money into retaking your pre-reqs so you can apply yet again. And if you still don't get in, what do you do? Apply for another six years and then retake everything a third time? Maybe if you've got money in the bank and nothing better to do with your life that's fine. But that's terrible advice for most applicants. Most won't be able to afford it (no career, remember?) and most will be incredibly unhappy spending their lives stagnating like that. At some point it just becomes an unhealthy obsession. After a while schools are going to see all those unsuccessful attempts as desperate rather than endearing.

You seem to think that getting accepted to veterinary school is like winning the lottery, and if you buy enough tickets eventually the statistics swing in your favor and you'll win. That is incorrect. You are spreading misinformation and the advice you're giving to future applicants reading this thread is terrible. I highly suggest you take a look at threads like Successful Applicant Stats or the Plan B threads to get a better idea of what it really takes to get accepted after multiple application cycles and how applicants make the decision to stop applying when they've been rejected too many times. There have been many people on these forums who have had to make that difficult decision. Telling them that they would get in if they just applied another dozen times is neither correct nor helpful.
Click to expand...

Obviously this quote is directed to someone else, so don't take any of the pointed remarks to heart, they aren't to you, but the general information she posts in here is absolutely on point.

I get that it makes sense now that this is your absolute dream, so you will apply until you get it, but, in reality at some point, there has to be a decision to move on because life will move on whether you decide to or not and you don't want to miss out on other opportunities.

For now, though you are on application number two and I hope that you won't need to apply anymore after this, so that this will not even matter. Just know there is more to be considered as you increase into the 6th, 7th, 8th plus application cycle.
 
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The advisors at LSU always said something to the effect of: don't ever feel bad about having to apply multiple times, because many if not most people do take 2-3 attempts and admissions are understanding of this--but if its gotten up to your 7th-8th try and still no acceptance, they may start gently nudging in a different direction and suggesting that perhaps vet school is not a good fit for you. I am all about persistence and Personally with the improvements I'm working on I am hopeful I'll get in by try 3 (I mean this cycle works too though ;)), because #4 may be pushing it. we'll see. I'm rolling with the punches.
 
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