WAMC at UGA?

[lmbisho]

I'm applying in September to attend in the Fall of 2020. The only place I'm applying currently is UGA, and I would love to know how I'm stacking up. I'm an SC resident and Clemson University student, and won't have quite completed all of my necessary credits (Biochem. & Microbio.) until April 2020, but all of my other credits are done now.

GRE Scores:
Verbal: 159
Quant.: 163
Writing: 4.5

GPA: 4.0

Experience:
-392 hours shadowing rDVM
-104 hours as a kennel assistant taking care of boarding animals over the weekends at rDVM clinic (though no one was present while I was there)
-420 hours working on Clemson University's sheep farm (no veterinarian, just animal hours)
-180+ hours as an intern working night shift at an emergency animal hospital (still in progress, 36 hours a week, 180 done so far)
*I will potentially be hired as a technician assistant in about two weeks, in which case I will receive my own patients, a salary, and much more responsibilities. Will have about 504 hours at this hospital by the end of the summer regardless of promotion though.
-20 hours handling animals during an Animal & Veterinary Science class at Clemson (swine, sheep, dairy cows, beef cattle, and horses)
-I will be joining the Fetal Fescue Research team, dealing with fescue consumption in sheep and beef cattle beginning in late August, meaning that I will have about 20-40 hours of research under my belt upon applying, and that will continue until May (no veterinarian, just animal hours)
-I will potentially be shadowing a large animal veterinarian beginning in August, which would at most give me about 30 hours of experience to put on my application, but at least it's something.

Letters of Recommendation:
-Training coordinator of the emergency animal hospital
-Aforementioned rDVM
-Supervisor of volunteer work that I do (I teach Sunday School and teach elementary school kids how to dance 'cause I'm just THAT cool)
-Boss and manager at the sheep farm
-*Potential: large animal veterinarian that I may be shadowing beginning in August

Personal Info.:
I want to be a small animal veterinarian. I have not fully decided on being an rDVM, emergency medicine doctor, or maybe even something different, but I am fully set on small animals. Idk if this has anything to do with acceptance rates, but I'm a white male, 17 years old, but I will be 18 by the time I apply.

Please provide any feedback or recommendations. I've tried to be proactive and responsible, but I know this is a highly competitive field, and UGA is extremely competitive for SC residents. Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Georgethecat]

I'm applying in September to attend in the Fall of 2020. The only place I'm applying currently is UGA, and I would love to know how I'm stacking up. I'm an SC resident and Clemson University student, and won't have quite completed all of my necessary credits (Biochem. & Microbio.) until April 2020, but all of my other credits are done now.

GRE Scores:
Verbal: 159
Quant.: 163
Writing: 4.5

GPA: 4.0

Experience:
-392 hours shadowing rDVM
-104 hours as a kennel assistant taking care of boarding animals over the weekends at rDVM clinic (though no one was present while I was there)
-420 hours working on Clemson University's sheep farm (no veterinarian, just animal hours)
-180+ hours as an intern working night shift at an emergency animal hospital (still in progress, 36 hours a week, 180 done so far)
*I will potentially be hired as a technician assistant in about two weeks, in which case I will receive my own patients, a salary, and much more responsibilities. Will have about 504 hours at this hospital by the end of the summer regardless of promotion though.
-20 hours handling animals during an Animal & Veterinary Science class at Clemson (swine, sheep, dairy cows, beef cattle, and horses)
-I will be joining the Fetal Fescue Research team, dealing with fescue consumption in sheep and beef cattle beginning in late August, meaning that I will have about 20-40 hours of research under my belt upon applying, and that will continue until May (no veterinarian, just animal hours)
-I will potentially be shadowing a large animal veterinarian beginning in August, which would at most give me about 30 hours of experience to put on my application, but at least it's something.

Letters of Recommendation:
-Training coordinator of the emergency animal hospital
-Aforementioned rDVM
-Supervisor of volunteer work that I do (I teach Sunday School and teach elementary school kids how to dance 'cause I'm just THAT cool)
-Boss and manager at the sheep farm
-*Potential: large animal veterinarian that I may be shadowing beginning in August

Personal Info.:
I want to be a small animal veterinarian. I have not fully decided on being an rDVM, emergency medicine doctor, or maybe even something different, but I am fully set on small animals. Idk if this has anything to do with acceptance rates, but I'm a white male, 17 years old, but I will be 18 by the time I apply.

Please provide any feedback or recommendations. I've tried to be proactive and responsible, but I know this is a highly competitive field, and UGA is extremely competitive for SC residents. Thanks!

Your grades and GRE scores are excellent. If you only have the 2 outstanding pre-refs at the time of application, I wouldn’t guess that to be too big of an issue given your 4.0 gpa.

A little light on vet experience hours, but over the minimum required for UGA. Can you ask for a vet recommendation from the emergency hospital? I think it would be to your advantage to have 2 recommendations from veterinarians

Otherwise focus on your essays etc and demonstrate that you are mature enough (not dissing on your age, just saying you are younger than most applicants) for the challenges of vet school and how you know that this is the career that you want. Maybe mention how you were able to achieve this much at such a young age? Worst case scenario is that you don’t get in this cycle and you request a file review.

You are doing the smart thing by applying to what is one of your IS options and a very affordable option Your stats are excellent and I wish you the best of luck.

 

[lmbisho]

Your grades and GRE scores are excellent. If you only have the 2 outstanding pre-refs at the time of application, I wouldn’t guess that to be too big of an issue given your 4.0 gpa.

A little light on vet experience hours, but over the minimum required for UGA. Can you ask for a vet recommendation from the emergency hospital? I think it would be to your advantage to have 2 recommendations from veterinarians

Otherwise focus on your essays etc and demonstrate that you are mature enough (not dissing on your age, just saying you are younger than most applicants) for the challenges of vet school and how you know that this is the career that you want. Maybe mention how you were able to achieve this much at such a young age? Worst case scenario is that you don’t get in this cycle and you request a file review.

You are doing the smart thing by applying to what is one of your IS options and a very affordable option Your stats are excellent and I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you so much for the advice and encouragement! I will try to get a vet recom. letter from the hospital. Given the nature of the job, we don't interact with the doctors personally very often, but I'll try to maximize that to hopefully get an evaluation.

I was always scared that my age would be a problem, but I think if I word it right, like you suggested, I can make it seem like a good thing. I made sure to ask everyone that I'm getting recommendation letters from to specifically touch on my maturity and ability to integrate with people that are older than me, so hopefully that will be enough that my age won't concern them.

I appreciate your response!