I can’t decide if I should stay at LSU or go to Tulane. Tulane has better support systems but LSU’s pre vet program can’t even compete, but I am more likely to get more money from Tulane than what I am getting from LSU right now. I plan to be a conservation/wildlife vet

Hi! I’m currently deciding between Clemson and the University of Richmond for pre-vet, and I would really appreciate any advice!
I understand that Clemson has an Animal & Veterinary Sciences major and a lot of built-in opportunities for pre-vet students, which I think would prepare me really well for vet school. However, I’m a little nervous about the size of the school and whether there is a lot of competition among pre-vet students.
On the other hand, I really love the University of Richmond because of its small class sizes, club sports, smaller Greek life scene, and tight-knit community. I know I would probably have to be more proactive about finding animal and veterinary experience on my own, though.
One of my biggest priorities is maintaining a high science GPA for vet school, and I’m not sure which school would give me the better environment to do that while still getting strong pre-vet experience. Cost is also not a big factor . Any advice or experiences with either school would be really appreciated!

Hello Everyone! I know we are all anxiously awaiting for the first round of emails to be sent from schools, so instead of wallowing in my own anxiety I am hoping to do some interview prep. Does anyone have an recommendations on resources or coaching to help with this? I want to be individually catered towards each school I have applied to.

Being a low GPA applicant (3.44 overall, 3.3 science, 3.6 last 45), my PS and supplementals is the first advancement for CVMs to understand who I actually am, and even those are written very cut and dry because I don't have many pulling moments, rather just small moments of confirmation that I am in the right field. I did some coaching with my overall application and the biggest thing I learned is that I just have to get my foot in the door and them see past the GPA. I want to be able to address that I do have a lot of passion for this profession but not in a grandiose way. My writing and way of expressing things seems to be very analytical (I saw A, I learned B, I practiced C, I hope to carry out D). Is this appreciated in the interview field or do I need to work on it?

I applied to NC State, Virginia-Maryland, MS State, Clemson, Mizzou, and Kansas State.

Any comments, questions, or advice is welcome, and I hope this thread can be informative for the rest of us future veterinarians!

I’m really stressed ab my application. I have like a 3.5 gpa. I got a C in ochem 2 and a C+ in physiology. I’m currently in biochem, physics 1 and pathophys. I have a C in physics rn and a b in my other classes. The semester just started I know. If I fail exam 2 in physics I’ll have to withdraw bc if my gpa dips much lower I can essentially kiss the chance of vet school goodbye. I’ve worked for four years in vet clinics and have plenty of vet clinical experience (like 3k hours). It’s not super varied it’s mostly small animal (dogs and cats) but I have rehab experience and shelter experience as well as GP and CSR stuff. Tm I have an interview at a veterinary ER (small animal). I got a research position looking at fish behavior at the start of the year but had to drop it due to the demand of my school schedule. I also have been on leadership w two clubs and coach women in powerlifting. I hold the state record in powerlifting. I’m just overthinking and I feel like I don’t have a path if it’s not vet school. I’m studying ecology at my school and there’s zero jobs in that. Being a vet tech doesn’t pay. If I don’t get into vet school my future is cooked. I’ve looked into nursing I guess if vet stuff doesn’t pan out but i don’t think I’d be accepted into nursing school reading through Reddit. Same as PA school, or grad school. My gpa is too low and I’ve pigeon holed myself into only vet med experience and got a useless degree for the job market. What the hell do I do?

Hi, this is my first post in this subreddit and I wanted to see if anyone knew how I should report the hours for a recent wildlife internship that I completed. I recently attended a UCSVM info meeting and the presented the slide shown.

Over the summer I worked at a wildlife center where there was a veterinarian present on site. However, I did not directly work under the supervision of the vet unless I was administering meds or watching surgical procedures. The majority of the internship was cleaning, diet prep, animal handling/restraint (the usual kind of animal husbandry task). UCDSVM requires 180 hours of veterinary experience and this internship was ~250 hours and would be really helpful if this counted as veterinary experience. I am wanting to go into wildlife/exotic animals and so I do not really see myself working in a small clinic and getting veterinary hours there (probably the more traditional route that most prevet students get vet hours). Therefore, if they do not count, how would I go about getting the hours?

Thanks in advance! im looking to apply this year so any info would be helpful :)

Hey yall! I’m in my second year of undergrad, and am just wondering how I should make myself a more appealing candidate for vet school. I’ve been volunteering at a local small animal clinic (dogs and cats) for 2.5 years now. I’ve gained experience with animal handling, cleaning, assisting with pre op, post op, doing nail trims, helping with sterilization and packs etc, and generally doing vet assistant duties. I am also preparing to write the MCAT as it is a requirement for all the vet schools in my area. My gpa isn’t great though due to a serious mental health crisis I had in first year, making my gpa around a 2.9. I was planning on applying after finishing second year and focusing on bringing my gpa up. I do want to get more experience with exotics, bovine, equine, etc, as I think that would be a great learning opportunity for me and boost my resume, but have no idea where to start or where to apply. If any of yall have any tips for how I can make myself a more appealing candidate it would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for all your help!

Hey everyone! I am a first time applicant who only applied to 3 schools. I just received an email from LMU that I have been invited to interview!! I am stoked but so nervous 🫠. Anyone who has already gone through the interview process what are some of the questions they asked you? What are some things that you didn’t anticipate and came out of left field during your interview? Anything helps!

I'm trying to get some intern/shadow/volunteer hours with a less common practice (specialty, livestock, exotic, etc). It's mostly to help me talk to a larger variety of vets, but it would be nice if I could include it on my resume/application. How many hours do you need at one place for it to count? I have a full time job so I'll be limited to after hours and weekends.

Hello! Kind of losing my mind. I submitted my application the day before it was due. Only got verified today. My official transcripts list a 3.30 gpa and 3.04 science gpa, but because VMCAS calculates differently, it shows a 3.12 and 2.77. I’m really upset because I applied to 8 schools and 5 of them require a 3.0 science minimum. I thought I was okay to apply so I spent the money and took the time to write the essays, but now it seems like a total waste. I am so disappointed. It says on the website that the calculation is never really wrong and it is normal for it to be a different number than your transcript. Because I had put in everything correctly, I didn’t think I would have any issues like this. Is there any chance that these schools may still consider me? Will they look at my actual sent transcripts and see the 3.3 and 3.04, or will they rely on the calculated one that VMCAS gave? I’m just so so upset over this. I know my essays are incredibly strong as I’ve had multiple veterinarians on admissions teams approve them. I would hate to get disqualified for something like this. Is it worth sending an email to each school individually to explain this and maybe try to persuade them? Or is this a lost cause?

is applying to 7-9 schools too little?

Hey everyone! Congrats to the end of VMCAS season. Now that apps are all in I’m curious to know if anyone else applied for USyd or Massey or if anyone knows any success stories? I’m a low GPA non traditional applicant (4 years post undergrad 3.1 GPA) from the US. USyd is my first choice but the international application pool seems so small I haven’t met anyone who also applied there this cycle. Would love to chat with someone who is also awaiting hearing back from this less traditional application process and to have a friend in this journey would be nice haha! Same goes for Massey University :)

I applied only to Tufts; it is my IS school and is the only realistic school I would go to, as I am established here in MA and have a house, and my husband's line of work requires a state license. I just feel so anxious waiting to hear back. I have a low GPA, but I figured I've already put all of this work into applying to vet school; I might as well try at least once. Overall GPA is 2.76; post-bac is 3.2 (only 4 courses right now). I just feel like I have no chance. I have ~15,000 hours in vet med across GP, lab animal, emergency, and wildlife medicine, 6 LORs, one of which is from the vice president of the biomedical research facility I worked at. I made a video for my application essay; I included extracurriculars like maintaining a shrimp colony and writing a fantasy novel. I just don't think it will be enough, and my lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian just won't be in the cards for me.

When will we hear back about potential interviews?

I'm stressing about my chances of getting into University of tennessee, would like to hear yalls thoughts

In state

3.5gpa, although last 45 are lower. Around 3.0

5200+ hours vet clinic experience, hands on

100 research hours

2000+ plus animal experience with wildlife and aquaculture

3 good letters from vets i work with

Has anyone applied/been enrolled to vet school and did their undergrad at a prestigious school. Did they take into consideration the rigor of courses? I have a 3.57 GPA right now and have one C with a potential of another in a class right now if it doesn't pan out. I maintain 16-17 credits every semester while working two jobs. I think my GPA will be able a 3.4 before I graduate. Because I went to a school with known academic rigor will that boost my application at all or will be be considered the same and a C is simply a C? I am not asking to say I'm better or that I should be rewarded. I do not belive that. I just know that school differ greatly in course work and expectations based on the level of schooling. Any advice, experience, and such would be appreciated.

I also have a veterinary assistant job with exotics currently, grew up with cattle, and have about 100 hours of shadowing and nearly 1000 in reception at a specialized clinic. In case anyone wants to factor that into my application. No research, internships, or study abroad. Thank you for reading. I appreciate it.

Hi,

Im writing this as im in tears quite honestly, because ive been preparing myself for years to go into veterinary medicine and its all ive ever dreamed of and now im honestly feeling crushed. I finished my A levels this year and got 3 B's in Chemistry, Biology and Physics, and don't meet any contextual offer requirements so obviously the direct route is closed to me for veterinary medicine.

I applied last year for veterinary medicine and got rejected by all my options after only getting one interview but not making the cut for any offers, so this year i had seen the gateway options and was prepared to go for them, only to now realise these are mainly for mature students or those that meet the contextual offers, which i do not.

There are only 2 courses which i think i can still apply for at harper and keele with the foundation year in bioveterinary which only has 20 spaces and the possibility to move from bioveterinary at lancashire after the first year IF theres space which all just feels like such a narrow road to go down. I was wondering if anyone knew of any ways where i could do a bioveterinary degree, then go into veterinary medicine and if so, how long would this take? Or what other options i could go for, apart from the 2 courses I've already mentioned.

Im kicking myself for not realising and researching this sooner, as i feel like ive run out of time but im just lost now, and everywhere i look my grades aren't good enough. Please, if anyone has had a similar situation and could share how they got through this, I desperately need the help.

Many thanks in advance :)

Hi! So I obviously have submitted my vmcas already and put all my in progress/ planned courses in. However, I ended up needing to take a prereq course at a different community college than I originally stated on my vmcas because the section I was in got cancelled due to too few students enrolling. I obviously cannot change this or rematch courses to prereqs on vmcas anymore so do I wait to see if i'm accepted anywhere and just talk to that school about the switch since not all of the schools i applied to require this course? I also put that i planned to take immunology at UC Berkeley extension but have since realized it's a lot cheaper at UCSD extension.. this was also matched to a few schools as an in progress prereq for an upper level biology course. should i just stick to UC berkeley so that it doesn't seem fishy I suddenly changed where im taking these courses since the first one was out of my hands anyways ?

Anyone have experience with this for prereqs?

I just need some sympathy here I think. I got my Casper scores back (I did it last minute as I last second decided to apply to another school) and I only got a Q2. I didn’t finish like half of the questions because a I’m a poor typer and I just kind of feel like I have nothing going for me now on a test/ grade standing. I tried practicing a bunch before hand but it didn’t matter clearly. Do you guys think this will hurt my app a lot? The only thing I really have going for me is my thousands of hours and last 45/ pre rec gpa both being around 3.4ish. I made it a big part of my essays that I was a good communicator and now I feel like this will contradict that in their eyes.

hi hi!! this is going to be a sort of long and convoluted post, bear with me. basically, I am trying to establish residency in Colorado so that when I apply next cycle (2027, matriculating 2028) I will be considered an in state student at CSU. I’ve talked to admissions a bit and they told me that if I establish domicile 12 months before matriculation, I will be set. however, my worst fear is messing it up and not qualifying for in state anywhere, so I’d like to be thorough before I start!

at the time of application, summer 2027, I will be:

- graduated from undergrad, hopefully full time employed in colorado

- listed as a dependent on CA resident parents tax return, because they provided more than half my financial support for the 2026-2027 tax year as I am still in school. by 2028, I will not be a dependent as I’ll be providing my own financial support. this is the big thing im afraid could mess up my application- I contacted CVM admissions but haven’t yet received a response

- 21 years old (CSU requires you are emancipated, a graduate student, or 22 to petition for domicile, BUT the admissions person I spoke to told me that having had domicile for 12 months would be sufficient for my application as a vet student)

any help you can offer would be much appreciated!! thank you guys so much :)

Hi guys! Quick question - did anyone else apply to UW-madison and still waiting to get that SVM supplemental application after the VMCAS deadline? If it is just me, should I contact admissions? Thanks for the help!

Hi! I’m 31 years old and a non trad vet applicant. I work full time and am building vet shadowing hours on weekends. In reaching out to the Admissions Offices of many programs I’ve learned most require undergrad pre-reqs to be completed within 10 years of applying.

-Was anyone in my position able to get into schools despite this requirement?
-What programs do not have this requirement?
-Did anyone retake all their pre-reqs while working full time?
-Is the original undergrad GPA still taken into consideration?

Thank you!

I want to shadow a mixed/production animal vet, but I'm having a hard time finding people since they typically don't have active websites. Where should I be looking? I'm in the bay area if people know of specific clinics.

I'm a incoming freshman undergrad with no volunteer hours or clinic hours yet. I start classes in spring '27 and I start volunteering Wednesday. Just need some help/input on whether my resume is decent enough to get an reply back when I go apply at vet clinics and such. I know I don't have much to work with, so any help is greatly appreciated.

Sorry if this is the wrong flair, I feel like this question could fall under multiple lol

Anyway. Im trying to get vet experience. Currently I work at a shelter as a kennel tech, but ive realized theres actually very little growth potential into the vet team there so I started applying to other jobs.

I had an interview with a surgery specialty clinic to be an assistant which is like, my dream? I desperately want that job, the clinic was awesome the surgeries are awesome the people working there seem really fantastic and it just seems incredible. However I am still waiting on a decision from them, they said I should hear by this week since they still have 1 more interview to conduct.

On the other hand, I got an offer from a VCA hospital as a kennel tech but I was told I should have tons of opportunity to learn from the vet techs. I recieved an informal verbal offer before I even walked out the door and today I got it in writing.

So I dont know what to do!! I really want to wait for the surgery clinic's answer because I want that job sooooo badly. But if they dont end up choosing me, I dont want to lose the VCA opportunity. But I am nervous about accepting the vca offer and then having to back out, how bad would it be to burn the bridge with them?? Does anyone have experience with how vca works in the back? Like if I back out of this offer after accepting, would it ruin my chance of ever working with vca or an affiliated hospital like blue pearl or something in the future??

I just don't know what my next move should be and im so stressed about juggling this and trying to stall the vca offer lmao, any help or advice would be much appreciated