R
REB_23
22 year old female, FL resident, 1st time applicant
Applied: Tufts, Colorado St., Oregon St., UGA, UTK, UF
Rejected: Colorado St.
Interviewed: UTK, UF, Tufts (declined)
Waitlisted: UGA
Accepted: Oregon St., UTK, UF
Attending: TBA
Overall GPA: 3.9
Science GPA: 3.87
Last 45 GPA: 3.88
Degree:
Bachelor of Science, University of Florida (May 2017)--Zoology
Had to drop my Wildlife Ecology and Conservation minor this semester :'(
GRE (Q/V/W): 160 (76%)/154 (63%)(?)/ 5.0 (93%)
Pro-tip: definitely study for the verbal section (I did not...)
Veterinary Experience
--42 hours as a volunteer vet tech over the course of two weeks during Christmas vacation (LOTS of small animal surgery hands-on work)
--290 hours as a volunteer vet tech over one summer at a mixed animal practice
--300+ hours as a volunteer at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital (Neurology, ICU, and Large and Small Animal Ophthalmology)
--50 hours shadowing the lead veterinarian at the Palm Beach Zoo
--400+ hours as a volunteer at Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Lab (I worked with two veterinarians, but we mainly did research on FL Panthers, WT Deer, and other wildlife, so I listed this under research...whoops. I got TONS of hands-on necropsy experience and even field work)
Animal Experience
--80 hours at a medical service dog organization
--10 hours at Petsmart adoption events
--60 hours at a wildlife sanctuary
--10 hours at poultry, dairy and beef cattle, and swine operations for an Intro to Animal Sciences class
--450 hours as an Avian Care Intern at the Palm Bch Zoo
--20 hours (just started this at the time of applying) at a hippotherapy center
--10 hours at Nose Work Trial events
--200 hours as a pet-sitter for geriatric pets
Employment
--Almost 4 years as a tennis instructor and summer camp counselor
--Lab Technician Assistant at Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Laboratory (I work under two veterinarians and do necropsies on all species of wildlife. I am also a part of ongoing studies on DVE, FL Panthers, and I do Avian Influenza sampling on hunted ducks)
Research Experience
--See under vet experience.
--Currently completing an honors thesis focusing on the ectoparasite burden and communities seen on the imperiled Eastern Fox Squirrel. I'm taking photographs of the squirrels' pelts and reading their RGB values to correlate them to ectoparasite loads/species. This involved extensive necropsies of the squirrels, as I had to skin them and comb their pelts for ectos.
Extracurriculars/Awards
--15 years playing tennis (USTA sanctioned tournaments as well as a competitive high school athlete)
--High school's top volunteer award
--Varsity Tennis Captain all 4 years of high school
--Varsity Athletic Award all 4 years of high school
--MVP of Tennis team 3 years of high school
--AICE Diploma
--Dean's list (3.75+) all but one semester of college
--President's Honor Roll (4.0)
--2 years as a member of the Pre-Vet club
--PR Director of Pre-Professional Service Organization
--2 years as a College of Liberal Arts Ambassador (currently the Vice President)
--Pre-Health Diplomat
eLORs
--Boss/Lead Veterinarian + FL Panther Veterinarian at FL Fish and Wildlife (FWC)
--Ophthalmology Resident at the UF Small Animal Hospital
--Zoology Professor
--College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Advisor/faculty head of CLAS Ambassadors
Personal Statement
Opened with a descriptive story of seeing a panther on the necropsy table at work and how it was the first one I had seen that died due to being hit by a car. Continued with discussing what led me to veterinary medicine as a child, how volunteering/working at FWC made me realize how important these types of cases are for disease research, population dynamics data, and to ultimately help at-risk species. Also talked about how I gained different skills from the job that can be applied to veterinary medicine (communication, critical thinking skills since we have to diagnose animals PM and notice the tiniest of details). Also brought up how volunteering at UF's Small Animal Hospital exposed me to a range of technologically advanced procedures that require you stay up-to-date with literature in our field. I ended it with one of my favorite quotes from Aldo Leopold :
"the last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, what good is it?," which I feel is very important to veterinarians. I basically said that my goal as a veterinarian is to answer this question and help treat these animals which serve us in many different ways (agriculturally, emotionally, and have an important part in their environmental niches).
Notes About Myself
I am a first generation college student, so this entire process was quite daunting to me. In college I didn't know if I should focus on grades or hours more, so I feel that my time during the school year wasn't too well spent volunteering-wise. I also really wanted to do wildlife medicine, but working at FWC showed me that I have to sacrifice a lot to do so and with the current political climate, I have decided to switch my end-goal to some sort of specialty (I'm really leaning towards Pathology...I love infectious diseases and necropsies
).
Applied: Tufts, Colorado St., Oregon St., UGA, UTK, UF
Rejected: Colorado St.
Interviewed: UTK, UF, Tufts (declined)
Waitlisted: UGA
Accepted: Oregon St., UTK, UF
Attending: TBA
Overall GPA: 3.9
Science GPA: 3.87
Last 45 GPA: 3.88
Degree:
Bachelor of Science, University of Florida (May 2017)--Zoology
Had to drop my Wildlife Ecology and Conservation minor this semester :'(
GRE (Q/V/W): 160 (76%)/154 (63%)(?)/ 5.0 (93%)
Pro-tip: definitely study for the verbal section (I did not...)
Veterinary Experience
--42 hours as a volunteer vet tech over the course of two weeks during Christmas vacation (LOTS of small animal surgery hands-on work)
--290 hours as a volunteer vet tech over one summer at a mixed animal practice
--300+ hours as a volunteer at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital (Neurology, ICU, and Large and Small Animal Ophthalmology)
--50 hours shadowing the lead veterinarian at the Palm Beach Zoo
--400+ hours as a volunteer at Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Lab (I worked with two veterinarians, but we mainly did research on FL Panthers, WT Deer, and other wildlife, so I listed this under research...whoops. I got TONS of hands-on necropsy experience and even field work)
Animal Experience
--80 hours at a medical service dog organization
--10 hours at Petsmart adoption events
--60 hours at a wildlife sanctuary
--10 hours at poultry, dairy and beef cattle, and swine operations for an Intro to Animal Sciences class
--450 hours as an Avian Care Intern at the Palm Bch Zoo
--20 hours (just started this at the time of applying) at a hippotherapy center
--10 hours at Nose Work Trial events
--200 hours as a pet-sitter for geriatric pets
Employment
--Almost 4 years as a tennis instructor and summer camp counselor
--Lab Technician Assistant at Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Laboratory (I work under two veterinarians and do necropsies on all species of wildlife. I am also a part of ongoing studies on DVE, FL Panthers, and I do Avian Influenza sampling on hunted ducks)
Research Experience
--See under vet experience.
--Currently completing an honors thesis focusing on the ectoparasite burden and communities seen on the imperiled Eastern Fox Squirrel. I'm taking photographs of the squirrels' pelts and reading their RGB values to correlate them to ectoparasite loads/species. This involved extensive necropsies of the squirrels, as I had to skin them and comb their pelts for ectos.
Extracurriculars/Awards
--15 years playing tennis (USTA sanctioned tournaments as well as a competitive high school athlete)
--High school's top volunteer award
--Varsity Tennis Captain all 4 years of high school
--Varsity Athletic Award all 4 years of high school
--MVP of Tennis team 3 years of high school
--AICE Diploma
--Dean's list (3.75+) all but one semester of college
--President's Honor Roll (4.0)
--2 years as a member of the Pre-Vet club
--PR Director of Pre-Professional Service Organization
--2 years as a College of Liberal Arts Ambassador (currently the Vice President)
--Pre-Health Diplomat
eLORs
--Boss/Lead Veterinarian + FL Panther Veterinarian at FL Fish and Wildlife (FWC)
--Ophthalmology Resident at the UF Small Animal Hospital
--Zoology Professor
--College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Advisor/faculty head of CLAS Ambassadors
Personal Statement
Opened with a descriptive story of seeing a panther on the necropsy table at work and how it was the first one I had seen that died due to being hit by a car. Continued with discussing what led me to veterinary medicine as a child, how volunteering/working at FWC made me realize how important these types of cases are for disease research, population dynamics data, and to ultimately help at-risk species. Also talked about how I gained different skills from the job that can be applied to veterinary medicine (communication, critical thinking skills since we have to diagnose animals PM and notice the tiniest of details). Also brought up how volunteering at UF's Small Animal Hospital exposed me to a range of technologically advanced procedures that require you stay up-to-date with literature in our field. I ended it with one of my favorite quotes from Aldo Leopold :
"the last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, what good is it?," which I feel is very important to veterinarians. I basically said that my goal as a veterinarian is to answer this question and help treat these animals which serve us in many different ways (agriculturally, emotionally, and have an important part in their environmental niches).
Notes About Myself
I am a first generation college student, so this entire process was quite daunting to me. In college I didn't know if I should focus on grades or hours more, so I feel that my time during the school year wasn't too well spent volunteering-wise. I also really wanted to do wildlife medicine, but working at FWC showed me that I have to sacrifice a lot to do so and with the current political climate, I have decided to switch my end-goal to some sort of specialty (I'm really leaning towards Pathology...I love infectious diseases and necropsies
).
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