You are either: A. a student in undergrad, not yet graduated
but are looking for as much advice as you can about how to get into vet school,
what classes to take, grades to get and clinics so shadow
B.
A college graduate that has applied to vet school before, and failed to get in.
C.
An older, wiser college graduate with a
Masters degree? Or maybe you are a farrier or equine dentist?
D.
Maybe it has been a while since you have gone to school and are looking to
finally pursue your dream of becoming a vet.
E.
You are one of those Indigo children or kids born in the 2000’s who are so damn
goal oriented and are researching your life 10 yrs in the future. Damn you. You
are so smart and driven. And only in high school. Well, read on if you want.
What I should say is that every applicant is different, with
different backgrounds, histories and stories, and strengths and weaknesses. I
want to simplify the application process and give major points of advice to
help you in some things:
1.
get you into vet school
2.
help you be successful in vet school, as I am
current vet student with some experience in what helped me, and what I wish I
knew.
I.
Getting in.
Probably the best thing that helped me (I understand I
should tell you my journey into getting into vet school- for a later post) was
that the schools that did not accept me allowed me to talk to a counselor 4
months after my application, and the school TOLD me what I need to improve. For
me it was my GPA.
I don’t want to sound like your mother, your mentor, or
another professors telling you this but: GRADES MATTER MOST.
Sadly, it is a number game. I cannot say with certainty that
there is a human being looking at your file, or whether it is a computer but,
numbers are played first.
A school may state on their application website that they
accept GPAs of 2.9 and up. But for the most part, they want to be able to say
that their incoming class had the highest GPAs than other vet schools.
No one is perfect, and I am sure there are few vets that had
perfect, pristine records of As in all their classes. All I can recommend to
the person in high school or to a college student: be mindful of your grades in
college. Try for A’s and B’s.
Sadly, I cannot recommend a magic GPA number to keep. It
differs from school to school. And the way the schools play with you GPA is
funny too. Consider what my little piece of paper said when I applied to one
such vet school:
Over all GPA 15
pts
Last 45 credit hrs GPA 15
pts
Science GPA 15
pts
GRE 14
pts
Clinical Experience:
Small animal 1 6
pts
Large animal 2 6
pts
Total:
12/12
References:
1 11
pts
2 11
pts
3 11
pts
Consider this like a rubric. GPA may be only 15 pts, but
they look at THREE different GPAs. I am rough on the numbers, and cannot say
how much references weigh against GPA; plus schools tend to look at numbers
first, GRE, then experience. Then references.
So say you got some As and Bs. That A in English, public
speaking and animal nutrition was helpful, right? But you mostly got Bs in
science, and that one C in Organic Chem? Well if you didn’t get those As in the
last 45 credit hours of college, it might not help. You tend to get into your
organic and biochem, and hard sciences at the end of your colleges years
(typically). And maybe the school considers your nutrition class a science
course, but maybe it doesn’t!. Maybe you took a psychology and got an A. That’s
helpful. But if you got a B and it is a science course, it is not so helpful.
Ok, you got the picture. You know they look at your GPA in
three ways. Some schools also require a certain score on the GRE. Recently,
Oklahoma State Univ decided that applicants don’t have to take the BiologyGRE.
Check with what schools you are applying!
Invest in courses and programs at your school to get the
best score possible. I know. You can whine to me all you want and I hear you.
The GRE is not a good indicator of ones future success in graduate school. I
mean, for me, I got a pretty bad score. I remember grimacing as I was on the
phone with my counselor and I continued to study, practice and pour money into
taking more GRE exams and got no better a score. I am just like you, maybe: I
do not test well on standardized tests. We can talk more about that later.
Clinical Experience: This doesn’t say as much as your
letters. Your reference will be telling! Was this person active, engaged,
focused and helpful? Or did they seriously just sit on their ass, with arms
crossed and just watched? Did they ask questions? Are you a hard worker?
What this one school told me was that they look to see if
you have worked at at least two separate clinics. They can be two large animals
clinics, but they like to give you full points (on the rubric thingy) if you
worked at a small animal and a large animal clinic. This can also be a zoo or
aquarium! And if you have worked/volunteered at three different clinics, even
better! I showed record of working/volunteering at four different places and
got full points.
With references, the more places you have been the more
letters you can get. But keep it focused. Lots of letters are great but once
you have passed the numbers game, the actual humans reading things don’t have a
lot of time to read more than three letters.
Try to go for: a veterinarian, a professor (an academic),
and a mentor. Or you can have two vets and a professor. Don’t get your mom to
write a letter (sorry mom) even if she is a medical doctor. I once was suggested
that I get a political figure to write me a letter, like your local DA or mayor
in your town. But most likely you will need to have done some campaign work for
them…
I think I had: 2 vets, a professor and my backups were more
vets and a judge I knew.
Also great advice I was given when selecting references:
a.
Choose someone who is passionate like you, cares
about your goals, and is very well spoken. I worked with a lot of excellent
vets and surgeons, but I also read some of their letters, and there wasn’t much
of depth. I know getting in can seem like “it is who you know” and you might
want to play it that way (at least south of the Mason-Dickson line, it can be
that way…) but it does not make a great recommendation letter.
b.
Sit down with the person, talk to them about
your goals, who you are a little bit more, and maybe write down for them why
you think you should get into vet school/ why you want to be a vet. Always give
them your resume or CV, and provide them with a detailed description of your duties
under their guidance. Also make sure they know how many hours you completed at
their clinic. (Should you keep track of that, YES YOU SHOULD!)
Keep track of your hours at the clinic/farm/ranch/zoo!
c.
This should go under resume, but get feedback
from them on your resume…
II. Getting in when you didn't get in the first (or second or third) time...
So you don’t have the grades? Go back and retake those
classes. If you got a C in biochem, retake the course and try for an A. Why?
Some schools play a trick, and do not accept the new grade, but instead take
the average of the two grades, and leave you with a B!
What if you already graduate college? How are you supposed
to retake those courses without getting into a masters program? Do you go for a
second degree?
I know I should describe my story but, the break down is
this:
If you have a good enough GPA for a masters program but not
good enough for vet school, you can try for a masters.
If you really don’t have a great GPA at all, but you
finished your undergrad degree, you might want to try to get a second degree,
in something different but along the same path as getting into vet school. For
example, maybe you got a 2.9 GPA in your BA in Biology degree. That is a poor
GPA. But you can go to a school, nearby, or far, that offers a BS in Animal
Science and accomplish that track.
This allows for you to take out federal loans, instead of
private loans, to accomplish a second degree. And maybe after only a year in
this degree program you can get a second degree, OR!!! Have already applied and
been accepted into a vet school with these new grades you got! Maybe! J
I must recommend this book: Get Into Veterinary School: Insights by an Admissions Expert- 2012
Edition- for High School, College and Returning Adult Students by Joseph
Piekunka
This former admissions director at Cornell has EXCELLENT
insights. Some of his advice may not apply for you. It is up to you to talk
with a counselor, and mentor, on what you need to do to get into vet school.
Some applicants don’t get in because of lack of experience
and poor reference letters. I recommend that those individuals get their life
in order. Is this what you want to do? Spent some nights at an emergency clinic
too. Experience every facet and hour that can be spent in a vet’s boots. Spend
time on a ranch. Sometimes vet medicine doesn’t happen in a clinic with AC. But
most importantly, what goes along with experience in a veterinary setting is
time. I really checked my hours and doubled checked it, and after 3.5 years at
a clinic (1.5 of those years full time, almost 50 hours per week average) I spent
over 5,000 hours in a that one clinic. That warrants a strong letter of
commitment. So if you only spent time at two clinics over two summers, that
does not show enough commitment to your vet career.
This post is long enough. In that book I recommended (and
used the last year before I got into vet school), it also discussed hiring
admissions counselors to help give you a plan, and beef up your application for
the next time you apply. For one thing, it’s a lot more money put in, and no
guarantee. You do get well informed on what you need to do.
But if you think I can help, message me or comment here.
I should also recommend the Student-Doctor Network for
forums on students trying to get into vet school, ect.
III. Once you are in... and more to come....
You can read my stories on semesters 1-2 and what classes
you take at Ross. But I want to post here what classes I recommend to the Pre
Vet student. Some you will find, may be required for vet school.
Pretty much required for most vet schools:
Biology 101 classes
Chemistry I and II with Lab
Organic Chem I and II with Lab
Biochem I and II with Lab
Microbiology
Genetics
English
Public Speaking
Recommend you take before vet class, so you have more
success:
Anatomy (comparative)
Physiology (basics and comparative)
Microbiology
Pathology and Histology
Parasitology
Immunology
Animal science (know breeds and animal husbandry)
Animal Nutrition
Reproductive Physiology
