This isn't my first post, I had an account here before but I can't remember the login.
24, F, CA resident, 1st time applicant
Undergrad: UC Irvine
Applied: Davis, Glasgow, Dublin, Penn, Wisconsin, Edinburgh
Rejected: Davis, Glasgow, Penn, Wisconsin, Edinburgh
Waitlisted: Dublin
Attending: Dublin
Cumulative GPA drum roll please... 2.836. Took an immuno class after and got an A. Also got an A in a micro bio lab and lec but that was after the application was due.
Science GPA: 2.842 (bio classes were high but physics and some of the chem didn't help)
Vet Experience:
(The application asked for the quantity in terms of days)
~550 days: Spinal cord injury research using rat and mouse models. I had 3 separate positions in this lab (undergraduate researcher, then lab helper and finally full-time lab tech). This job was very hands-on: lots of surgery, pre/post-op care and behavior testing along with bench work as well. Llamaslug was my co-worker and we helped each other through the hell that was this job. The work was amazing but the environment turned us into walking soul-less skeletons.
~26 days: Spent Sundays at a small animal clinic. It was fairly understaffed which meant that I had a lot of hands-on work but it also meant that I was my own teacher sometimes.
-I had a few other random vet experiences as well but they're not worth mentioning.
-After the application I began volunteering at an equine hospital so that I could have 3 major fields of vet med experience. I notified the Atlantic Bridge (Dublin's North American application service) and they said that they would include the note in the application. They are very helpful and very nice people to work with.
Animal Experience:
-English show jumping from childhood through high school
-Horse trainer assistant (kept horse health records and helped manage things at the barn while the trainer was away for shows.
-.National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps . (government job). They have a list of animal care professionals to call in case of large-scale emergencies like Katrina etc. I was never called but it was nice to have on my application.
-Pet sitting and bearded dragon breeding (very small scale)
LORs:
-PI from brain-computer interface lab (who was also my professor for 2 classes)
-PI from spinal cord injury lab
Dublin only wanted two letters, my other VMCAS apps had letters from my horse trainer and an equine vet.
Extracurriculars:
Undergraduate researcher:
-Biomedical engineering lab--rat and chick embryo dissections, neuron culture and fabrication of microfluidic culture devices.
-Brain-Computer Interface lab--using electrode caps and EEG to allow people to communicate via a computer when completely paralyzed.
-Various volunteering jobs for charities sprinkled throughout life
Sun and Ski club in high school
National Student Leadership Conference
Academic Sorority (only 2 quarters, wasn't for me)
Job shadowing MDs in high school and college
Smattering of academic awards
I feel like applying through Atlantic Bridge rather than VMCAS helped in my case. It would have been so easy to just click the box next to Dublin but I did their separate application instead. Maybe this showed them some extra effort? Their application is pretty free-form. I was able to stick everything I wanted in there because they didn't have word limits (unlike the dreaded VMCAS--how are we supposed to convey how an experience shaped us with those damn limits?!). Since they were the only ones seeing it, I was also able to tailor it to their program and show that they were my first choice. I even mentioned an interest in Irish history/ literature in my personal statement.
Anywho, I never thought I'd get in on my first try. I was going to take a year to strengthen my application or even get a post-bac. Then I thought about how great if would be if I
did get in this year.
Hopefully this helps some of you! I remember reading this thread before and thinking that I didn't have a chance.