non trad, low undergrad GPA, first time applicant, lots of experience

[topanga_231]

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[HorseObsessed]

Davis has primarily relied on GPA and GRE for out of state applicants in past years. The GPA looks to be pretty close to a 4.0, so it might save you some money to take that off your list.
NCSU also requires a 3.4 to even consider an out of state applicant. What is your cumulative GPA for all your coursework?
For Minnesota, all math and science courses must have been completed within the last ten years, and this may be true for other schools as well (Cornell and Missouri at least do not state that requirement on their website, but I did not check all of the schools on your list). When did you complete your prerequisites?
If you scroll through the class of 2027 admitted students thread, you will see many non traditional students who got in. However, I have also seen many students with lower GPAs and exclusively small animal experience NOT get in, even after a few tries. If you are in an urban area and can't get out to large animal at all, see what other areas of vet med you can get experience in-- if there is a med school near you, there's a good chance there's a lab animal vet you can shadow. You can also try for an exotics clinic or a zoo, or make the long drive out for just a few days of equine or food animal shadowing.

 

[HorseObsessed]

Davis has primarily relied on GPA and GRE for out of state applicants in past years. The GPA looks to be pretty close to a 4.0, so it might save you some money to take that off your list.
NCSU also requires a 3.4 to even consider an out of state applicant. What is your cumulative GPA for all your coursework?
For Minnesota, all math and science courses must have been completed within the last ten years, and this may be true for other schools as well (Cornell and Missouri at least do not state that requirement on their website, but I did not check all of the schools on your list). When did you complete your prerequisites?
If you scroll through the class of 2027 admitted students thread, you will see many non traditional students who got in. However, I have also seen many students with lower GPAs and exclusively small animal experience NOT get in, even after a few tries. If you are in an urban area and can't get out to large animal at all, see what other areas of vet med you can get experience in-- if there is a med school near you, there's a good chance there's a lab animal vet you can shadow. You can also try for an exotics clinic or a zoo, or make the long drive out for just a few days of equine or food animal shadowing.

Addition to the Davis comment-- they are no longer requiring GRE, so it is unknown what they will look at besides GPA for out of state students this cycle.

 

[topanga_231]

Addition to the Davis comment-- they are no longer requiring GRE, so it is unknown what they will look at besides GPA for out of state students this cycle.

hi ! I actually attended the Davis info session last week re: GRE. they are no longer requiring the GRE, but they are also viewing applicants more holistically both in and out of state and added in another factor similar to those that have had more of a journey to get to vet school. You are right though, with my stats - not a good chance at all.

my pre- reqs are all recent, as in the last two years. I will def look into aquarium / exotics experience for the remainder of the summer, as well as large animal. it would be silly to not try to get some experience and have that be why I don't get in.

I have been keeping an eye on the successful applicant thread- some great info there. thanks for the suggestions!

 

[HorseObsessed]

hi ! I actually attended the Davis info session last week re: GRE. they are no longer requiring the GRE, but they are also viewing applicants more holistically both in and out of state and added in another factor similar to those that have had more of a journey to get to vet school. You are right though, with my stats - not a good chance at all.

my pre- reqs are all recent, as in the last two years. I will def look into aquarium / exotics experience for the remainder of the summer, as well as large animal. it would be silly to not try to get some experience and have that be why I don't get in.

I have been keeping an eye on the successful applicant thread- some great info there. thanks for the suggestions!

If you're in a major city (I'm assuming New York?) I highly recommend reaching out to lab animal vets for diverse experience. I'm in Houston, and was able to Extern at Baylor College of Medicine with their lab animal vet. Not as many people are interested, so they're not as competitive as zoo positions.
Thanks for the UC Davis info! That's great to know.
There's a New York Times article about the hardship score, which I assume is similar to the UC Davis thing. It's been in use for a while at UC med schools since California has not had affirmative action for a while. They count a variety of things, including whether English was your first language, if you're a first Gen college student, etc. basically designed (and proven to be effective) at creating a more diverse class.

 

[topanga_231]

If you're in a major city (I'm assuming New York?) I highly recommend reaching out to lab animal vets for diverse experience. I'm in Houston, and was able to Extern at Baylor College of Medicine with their lab animal vet. Not as many people are interested, so they're not as competitive as zoo positions.
Thanks for the UC Davis info! That's great to know.
There's a New York Times article about the hardship score, which I assume is similar to the UC Davis thing. It's been in use for a while at UC med schools since California has not had affirmative action for a while. They count a variety of things, including whether English was your first language, if you're a first Gen college student, etc. basically designed (and proven to be effective) at creating a more diverse class.

I am all for that re: a more diverse class & profession. I am diverse bc of my age, thats really it though. so ive taken them off my list.

thank you for the tip on lab animal vets! I will look into that.

 

[supershorty]

hi! looking to apply this cycle, non traditional.
graduated from college 20 years ago with a low GPA. what's kept me from applying. have done other things in between, diverse applicant in this regard . community service work.
stats, my weaknesses first:
undergrad GPA cum 2.8 / graduated 18+ years ago.
last 45 undergrad: 3.4
did some graduate school, 3.5 in more recent coursework there (social work)
pre req gpa : 3.3/ 3.4
casper results pending, will update with score
did not take GRE
experience : about 10K hours small animal. something like 8 K as a tech.
40 hours research, animal
50 hours research, non veterinary
exotics about 100 including my own pets
limited large animal but I in an urban environment.
community service work totally not animal related, working w homeless and underprivileged kids
I'm a pretty strong writer, used a narrative focus for my personal statement. Focused on resilience and purpose.

I am trying to be really strategic with where I apply because It adds up quickly! of course, like all of us, id like to do this only once.

so far ive got:

Cornell (IS), Missouri, Minnesota, LMU, Iowa, OSU, Ross, Western, SGU. considered Davis, VMCVM, North Carolina, but feel like a long shot with my stats.

any feedback or suggestions?open to applying to more or taking some off- thank you

I would take Davis and NCSU off your list for sure. Those programs are extremely competitive for OOS applicants and your GPAs will not be competitive there. Your pre-req GPA is a little low and that could be worked around, but you'd need an outstanding last 45 and then to target schools based on that. Are you planning to take any more courses or retake any in the future? A 3.5 isn't bad, but when you have other GPAs that you need to try and overcome, you'll want something stronger than that.

I would work on getting your last 45 to be great vs good (like 3.7 or higher) and then think about schools like KSU, ISU, UMN, Michigan State, and the accredited island schools. I don't like to recommend schools without a teaching hospital like some of the ones on your list but that's my own personal preference and feeling that there's a strong benefit to having easy access to a specialty hospital.