On Thursday five members(myself included) of the UCSB Pre-vet club piled into one car and hit the road to check out the UC Davis vet school (6 1/2 hour drive). Our day on Friday was a full day of activities that spanned from 830 am to 630 pm. We met with an admissions director that led us on a comprehensive tour of the school, the labs, and the teaching hospital. We got to sit-in on two classes with all the other vet students. I had to laugh to myself when I noticed that there were still more than a few vet students navigating their facebook pages during lecture, I guess vet school isn't all that different. The day ended with a B.B.Q. for all the students, vets, profs, and visitors in the courtyard of the vet school. I ran into a girl that I used to work with at a vet hospital in SB two years ago, who had since applied and got accepted to UCD. It was very exciting to see a familiar face and learn that one of my peers had made it. She had some good advice and many encouraging words for me. As some of you know getting into vet school is no walk in the park and it seems everyone you meet in the field has a story (or two) of friends that apply 5 times before getting in. Some of you may not know all that much about vet school (clients at work used to ask all the time Do you have to go to school to be a vet? der) and the details are sometimes surprising. Here's a summary of the numbers:
Vet School is 4 years spent like so: year 1 science/theory, year 2 apply science to animals, year 3 surgical experience/more classes, year 4 clinical practice.
Classes typically will last from 9 to 5 five days a week, and then you get to study. No body works, everyone is a full-time vet student.
After graduation many choose to do an externship for 1 or 2 years or gain specialty training.
Here is a list of things that keep me up at night:
There are 132 Medical Schools in the US, compare that to only 28 veterinary schools in the US.
Over 7,000 people apply to vet school and only roughly 2,500 get accepted. By the numbers about 1 in 3 make it in to vet school whereas almost 1 in 1 make it into med school.
Here are the stats from UC Davis Veterinary School's 2009 admittance:
Prerequisite course work to apply:
1 year Inorganic Chemistry (with Lab)
1 year Organic Chemistry (with Lab)
1/2 year Bio Chemistry (with Lab)
1 year Physics (with lab)
1 quarter Physiology
1 quarter of stats
1 year English
1 year Intro bio
1 year Calculus
1/2 year Genetics
* (some schools require microbiology, cell biology, or animal nutrition)
Peace of CAKE !
Average GPA 3.53 (I am currently at 3.2, could finish maxium 3.3)
Total Number applied to UCD: 1153
Number of students accepted: 143 (only 23 guys)
17 UCSB students applied, only 1 was accepted
23 UC Santa Cruz students applied, none were accepted
2 PhD's and 14 Masters students were excepted
Mean number of hours of Vet-related experience at time of application: 3,100 hours
The GRE: the GRE is a standardized test like the SAT's that gauges a students intelligence or at least their ability to study. There are three sections: Verbal, Quantitative (math), and Analytical writing. A very high score will gain you acceptance into any school you want, a low score will keep you out of grad school. The average GRE for accepted Davis students was 73% (seventy-third percentile, in other words better than 73% of all kids that took the exam). Every year 500,000 people take the GRE. Taking a GRE prep course for around a grand is strongly recommended in addition to GRE study books and practice exams
Applying to vet school will cost you around 1,000-2,000 dollars if you only apply to 8 or 9 schools.
The admissions personnel I met with on Friday had one message: be afraid, be very afraid,.....and also get really good grades! Toward the end of the day I found myself in a large treatment/surgery room that was strangely familiar. It occurred to me that I had been this very same room ten years ago almost to the day. Ten years ago I traveled to Davis to sit-in on a tiger spay with Dr. Turner, a day spent in this room set me on this path, and now I am back a UC grad ready to apply. Even more ironic was the timing of my last day at San Roque Pet last week. It seems the circle is now complete (kind of a starwars reference). I am more scared than ever about looking forward, but also more motivated and closer to the end than I have ever been. In less than six months I'm placing my bet. Hopefully vet school is in the cards for me.
Next week... The Avett Brothers Concert
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Since the day we met, I've known the odds of you getting into vet school, and yet my opinion on the matter remains the same: you can do this. Deep within you I know you know it too...you've proven it to yourself by how hard you've worked, and how far you've come. Now you just have to let those admissions officers know how bad you want it too. Your grades are competitive and your experience (in both life and work) is well above average. You're going to do fabulously on the GRE's, and we're going to get you face time with your top vet school choices this summer.
ReplyDeleteYou may feel at times that you are sludging through a mudflat rather than walking through a park, but just think of how much more that acceptance will mean, when you finally make it through to the other side!
I have complete faith that all your hard work will be rewarded someday!! You have always faced adversity with a great attitude and committment. Your passion to vet medicine and your life experiences will take you very far. You have already faced life's toughest challenges (cancer) and overcame! Keep up the good work and never stop dreaming!!
ReplyDeleteYour trip sounds amazing!!! Davis must have been a blast! I am sad I wasn't able to join you. I hope you learned a lot. I love how you have the stats up! A lot of information, for an aspiring vet school applier. I am so excited for the Avett Brothers!
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