Junior Undergrad Seeking Advice and WAMC for applying next cycle!

[StephieC20]

Hello all! I wanted to share my experiences and stats and hear from you all about how you think my standing is for applying next cycle and what I could do to improve my chances! Thank you in advance to those who reply!

My cumulative gpa is at 3.94, I’m not sure on where my last 45 credits gpa is at but I estimate about a 3.9. I have not taken the GRE yet but plan to do so in the spring. Ive taken a variety of course work other than the advanced sciences like Latin, Spanish, world music, history of western theatre, intro to sociology, and a Shakespeare class.

My veterinary experience consists of working as a kennel assistant (who assisted with restraint during appointments, post surgery care, filling medications, and any procedures the dr. Needed help with), shadowing at a small animal clinic, interning with a mixed practice vet, shadowing in an animal research facility, and assisting in surgery in a spay/neuter clinic. I’m at about 800 hours but plan on getting 300-400 more hours before i apply including shadowing at an emergency clinic, which is an opportunity i was just offered.

My animal experience includes volunteering and working at an animal rescue, volunteering at a local boarding stable, and working in animal care at an avian rehab facility. My hours are around 2000 for this.

I have about 400 hours of animal behavior research with a professor and am an officer of our pre-vet club and honors program on campus. I am also a Head Resident Assistant in a residence hall. Through the pre-vet club I’ve taken a lead on a TNR program for the local feral cats and volunteer at other events on campus. I play in the African Drum Ensemble on campus as well.

What do you think i can do to improve my application? Am I well rounded? How many hours would you qualify as a good experience with a field of veterinary medicine? (Ive got 50 hours with the lab animals but am thinking about returning for more) In your opinion how do i look as an applicant?

I’m planning on applying to Ohio State, Michigan, UPenn, Lincoln Memorial, Georgia, Florida, Virginia Maryland, Purdue, and maybe UC Davis. I know its a lot of schools for the first round but i want to put myself out there and see what kind of response i get whether its interviews, acceptance, or a rejection with advice on improving for next cycle of applications.

Thank you!

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[Georgethecat]

Hello all! I wanted to share my experiences and stats and hear from you all about how you think my standing is for applying next cycle and what I could do to improve my chances! Thank you in advance to those who reply!

My cumulative gpa is at 3.94, I’m not sure on where my last 45 credits gpa is at but I estimate about a 3.9. I have not taken the GRE yet but plan to do so in the spring. Ive taken a variety of course work other than the advanced sciences like Latin, Spanish, world music, history of western theatre, intro to sociology, and a Shakespeare class.

My veterinary experience consists of working as a kennel assistant (who assisted with restraint during appointments, post surgery care, filling medications, and any procedures the dr. Needed help with), shadowing at a small animal clinic, interning with a mixed practice vet, shadowing in an animal research facility, and assisting in surgery in a spay/neuter clinic. I’m at about 800 hours but plan on getting 300-400 more hours before i apply including shadowing at an emergency clinic, which is an opportunity i was just offered.

My animal experience includes volunteering and working at an animal rescue, volunteering at a local boarding stable, and working in animal care at an avian rehab facility. My hours are around 2000 for this.

I have about 400 hours of animal behavior research with a professor and am an officer of our pre-vet club and honors program on campus. I am also a Head Resident Assistant in a residence hall. Through the pre-vet club I’ve taken a lead on a TNR program for the local feral cats and volunteer at other events on campus. I play in the African Drum Ensemble on campus as well.

What do you think i can do to improve my application? Am I well rounded? How many hours would you qualify as a good experience with a field of veterinary medicine? (Ive got 50 hours with the lab animals but am thinking about returning for more) In your opinion how do i look as an applicant?

I’m planning on applying to Ohio State, Michigan, UPenn, Lincoln Memorial, Georgia, Florida, Virginia Maryland, Purdue, and maybe UC Davis. I know its a lot of schools for the first round but i want to put myself out there and see what kind of response i get whether its interviews, acceptance, or a rejection with advice on improving for next cycle of applications.

Thank you!

Your grades are excellent. You’ve got a good start on your vet hours in a variety of settings. Do you have any large animal hours? You’ve got leadership positions and interests outside of vet med. So yes, I’d say you are a well rounded candidate .

Have you developed relationships with at least 2 vets and an academic professor or two who can write you strong LOR’s?

Do one of the GRE prep programs like Magoosh so that you have an idea of where you stand with the GRE.

What is your instate school? That is likely to be your best choice financially and where you’ll have the best odds of getting in.

 

[StephieC20]

Thank you for your response! The mixed practice vet was primarily large animal, with a majority equine. I’ve got one vet who wants to write a LOR and the professor who i do research with is going to write another. I’m on the hunt for a second vet. Is having two vets better than a professor, a vet, and then my supervisor for my RA position? My instate is Ohio State but id happily go where ever i get in (if i hopefully do!)

 

[DVM2024]

Your stats look fantastic. Grades are excellent, veterinary and animal experiences are well-rounded, and you've done a lot of extracurricular activities outside the realm of vet med (being an RA will look especially good, imo). The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is, if possible, see if you can join a research team at your university, that way you can get some experience actually performing research rather than simply shadowing. And, of course, do your best to ace the GRE. As far as LORs, every school is different, and my friend who attends NCSU (which recommends 2 letters from vets) was accepted with 1 from a vet, 1 from a prof, and 1 from her non-animal workplace supervisor.

But, to be honest, your application is superb as is, and I doubt you'll have much trouble getting admitted.

 

[EngrSC]

Thank you for your response! The mixed practice vet was primarily large animal, with a majority equine. I’ve got one vet who wants to write a LOR and the professor who i do research with is going to write another. I’m on the hunt for a second vet. Is having two vets better than a professor, a vet, and then my supervisor for my RA position? My instate is Ohio State but id happily go where ever i get in (if i hopefully do!)

Aside from having 1 LOR from a vet and 1 from a professor, pick people that know you very well and will write you strong LORs. VMCAS allows you to submit up to 6 letters and while some schools will have you specify which 3 to read, others will read them all (UGA is an example). I ended up submitting 6 - SA vet, LA vet, 2 science professors, an engineering boss, and the president of a non-profit I’ve been with 7 years. The redundancy also made feel a little less stressed during the application process in that I still met the minimum requirements if someone didn’t submit on time (thankfully they all did)! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having your RA supervisor write you a letter if you’re confident it will be a strong one.

 

[Georgethecat]

Thank you for your response! The mixed practice vet was primarily large animal, with a majority equine. I’ve got one vet who wants to write a LOR and the professor who i do research with is going to write another. I’m on the hunt for a second vet. Is having two vets better than a professor, a vet, and then my supervisor for my RA position? My instate is Ohio State but id happily go where ever i get in (if i hopefully do!)

You'll have to look at each school's website for how many LOR's they require and who they should be from. Besides meeting the requirements, focus on who will be able to write the strongest letters for you. Ask ahead of time, in a nice way , if potential LOR's feel comfortable writing a strong letter for you. A meh letter is not a good thing.

Your stats are very good. Obviously nothing is guaranteed for anyone, but you stand a very good chance of being accepted somewhere. I'd focus on applying to schools that are in the same ballpark cost of your instate (Ohio State) and that you meet the pre-req's for. At the end of the day when you graduate from vet school you will appreciate having spent the least amount of money possible for your degree.

The numbers vary a good bit depending on the website (VIN & AAVMC)......
Ohio State (IS 81 seats) total resident cost: $240,130 to $282,656
Michigan State (OOS 37 seats) total nonresident cost: $313,997 to $363,985
UPenn (OOS 85 seats) total nonresident cost: $376,678 to $384,295
LMU (115 seats) total cost: $286,820 to $322,474
UGA (OOS 15 seats) total nonresident cost: $297,392 to $311,262
Florida (OOS 26 seats) total nonresident cost: $275,480 to $323,133
VAMD (OOS 40 seats) total nonresident cost: $302,284 to $332,895
Purdue (OOS 42 seats) total nonresident cost: $246,561 to $292,141
UC Davis (OOS) total nonresident cost: $258,630 to $339,386

Just based on cost alone, you might want to consider NC State (OOS 20 seats) $203,526 - $222,612, Washington State (OOS 25 seats) $211,524 - $250,117, and Missou (OOS 37 seats) $238,288 - $238,302.

Several of the schools you are considering don't require the GRE any longer: Ohio State, Michigan State, Florida, VAMD, and Purdue.

You've probably already looked into all of this, but here are some helpful links:

https://www.aavmc.org/assets/site_18/files/vmcas/geninfo.pdf

https://www.aavmc.org/assets/site_18/files/vmcas/prereqchart.pdf

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[battie]

The letter from my residence life supervisor was awesome and definitely an asset to my application. I also almost exclusively talked about residence life in my interview as well.