The Review Criteria
1. GRE- All applicants are required to take the GRE within five years of their application. Most schools require the submission of a cumulative score for the verbal and quantitative sections that is at least 1200. In addition, many schools require that you take the Analytical writing portion of the general GRE and some even go so far as to require the Biology Subject Exam, though minimum scores are dependent on an incoming class for these last 2 requirements. Some schools (though a minority at present) require that you take a VCAT test rather than or in addition to the GRE. Because of the range of testing requirements, you should plan ahead and look at all of the schools you are interested in attending. Make sure you complete all of the exams required for all of the schools you are thinking about applying to. UGA-Vet requires the general GRE with the Analytical writing portion and the Biology Subject Exam. The class of 2008 averaged a 1174 cumulative verbal and quantitative, a 4.70 on the analytical writing, and a 611 on the subject test, so don't take these exams lightly; prepare well for them. If a test is taken more than once within five (5) years of application, the school will consider the best score. You really need to strive for a 1200 on the GRE. Thats not to say you can't get in with less than that, but you will have to have a higher GPA to offset a lower GRE score and you don't want to be anywhere near that borderline. By the same token, if you have a GPA lower than 3.5 you can offset that (to some degree) with a higher GRE score.
What this all means is that the GRE (and its alternates/additions) is one of the most important tests you will take during your undergraduate degree and you don't want to go into it ill-prepared. Make sure you plan study time into your education program so that you can do well on the GRE before you take it. If you are a self-motivated learner, then you can probably do well with several self-help books from your local store. If, however, you need a little help keeping motivated then you really should look into a GRE prep course. I don't recommend one over the others, but they will keep you on task and the key is to take lots of practice tests.
2. Grade Point Average- The minimum GPA is a 3.0. Applicants with a cumulative, science, or last 45 credit hours GPA below 3.0 will not be considered. The applicant's GPA is compared to the average GPA of students who have gone on to attend veterinary school What this means is you need a GPA of 3.5 to be considered average for this criterion and a GPA higher than 3.5 is highly recommended. You need to work very hard to get good grades in all of your classes, even one bad semester can really hurt your chances. Taking an occasional withdrawal is better than getting an F (usually, though some schools will calculate Ws as Fs), but you have to consider not doing it too often or the committee will look at you askance. UGA-Vet, like most vet schools, will calculate 3 different GPAs: a cumulative GPA that includes every course you've ever taken, a science GPA that includes either all science courses you've taken or just the science courses a particular school is looking for (depending on the particular school), and a GPA of your last 45 credit hours or so. These are then given weights in the overall scheme of rating individuals; unfortunately the weighting is school specific and very well guarded, though many schools tend to favor the last 45 credit hours (there is hope if you had a bad freshman year) and the science GPA over the cumulative. The class of 2008 at UGA-Vet had an average cumulative GPA of 3.53.
3. Research- Research is the foundation of veterinary knowledge and is an area of national need for veterinarians. So, vet schools consider participation in research activities to be an important part of the preparation of pre-vets. Veterinarians depend on medical literature to remain current in their fields and many veterinarians participate in research at some point in their careers. Research experience may be in any discipline and performed at any site, however, it must involve the testing of a hypothesis. Applicants should be able to describe their project, the questions being asked and their role in the conduct of the research. Research performed as part of a course requirement will not be considered. A senior thesis project is acceptable. The minimum research experience is four (4) hours per week for two (2) months (or the equivalent - 32 hours). The average experience is four (4) hours per week for three (3) months (or the equivalent - 48 hours).
This is an important criterion to keep in mind. Many a pre-vet tries to get into vet school only to find out that they needed to be actively doing research; don't be one of those people. Make sure you plan on doing some sort of research before you finish school. Here at KSU that means doing an internship or a directed study. Internships are research done with folks outside of the KSU faculty while directed studies are done with local faculty. You need to read over the directed study/internship guidelines on the departmental website so you have an idea about the requirements. Its a fairly extensive process (2 semesters in the case of directed studies), so plan accordingly. I highly recommend directed studies and if you have some thoughts about doing one, you need to look at the faculty in the department (use the website) and read about their interests. If their interests sound like something that would interest you, then you need to talk to that faculty member personally and discuss the possibilities. Internships are coordinated through Dr. Estella Chen.
4. Veterinarian Shadowing- Applicants should spend enough time with a veterinarian(s) to understand the challenges, demands, and lifestyle of a veterinary doctor. Shadowing must be done with a licensed vet. Time spent shadowing residents, doctors, nurses, EMT's, Ph.D's etc., will not be considered. The minimum shadowing requirement is eight (8) hours following a veterinarian(s) of any specialty through all the activities of an average day. The average applicant spends twenty-four (24) hours with a veterinarian(s).
This is not an onerous task and should be standard fare for all pre-vets. Don't overemphasize this and spend too much time shadowing, you may even accomplish this task easily if you have or get a jog at a veterinary office. Its important that you understand the medical world you are going to enter, but don't think that lots of hours here will make up for short-comings in the above areas. This should be thought of more as a check box than a gradient, check it off when you get 24 h and move on (a few more hours is fine if you really enjoy it and it doesn't detract from the other criteria).
5. Small Animal/Large Animal Experience - It is important that the applicant be comfortable working with and around animals and working with smaller pet animals is very different than working with larger animals who are ill. Direct exposure can be gained in a variety of ways. Experience can be gained through volunteering or working in animal hospitals, zoos, veterinary clinics, animal research facilities, or animal agricultural businesses. Applicants must be actively involved in patient contact. Patient contact must include patients other than pets of family and friends. As there is a shortage of large animal/food animal veterinarians in the US, the more large animal experience you have, the better; not everyone will get to treat cats and dogs for a living. You must have small animal and large animal experience, though minimum hours vary depending on a particular school.
Keep in mind that this is not just being in the same room as sick animals (hugging the wall with a grotesque look on your face is really a no-no). You need to have these be hands-on, cleaning up spittle, defecations, micturition (look it up), etc. If you are smart you can accomplish these hours at the same time you do your volunteer hours (see below) or as part of your job.
6. Leadership Ability- Dedication, determination, ability to make decisions and a willingness to contribute
to the welfare of others are indicators of one's ability to succeed in veterinary
medicine. Individuals with these characteristics readily accept positions of leadership
and are an asset to their community and profession. Leadership capacity can be demonstrated
in a variety of ways. Positions in employment, church, community and school organizations
including coaching, tutoring and mentoring will satisfy this requirement.
The minimum leadership requirement is one (1) leadership experience lasting three(3)
months during the three (3) years prior to application. The average applicant has
three (3) leadership experiences each lasting three (3) months during the four (4)
years prior to entering veterinary school.
This is an important criterion that you must be working on from the very beginning. There are many student organizations that can be found on campus to help get these hours; Biology Students Organization (Tri-Beta), KSU Chapter of Pre-Veterinary Medical Association, Leaders in Kennesaw program (LINK), and numerous others. Its not enough to just be a member of these organizations, you must show leadership potential, which means officer positions. You can also show leadership by being captain of sports teams or by being a student political leader, so if you enjoy sports or politics and actively engage in one keep that in mind. There are a lot of ways to show leadership, just make sure you start in early and keep it documented.
7. Volunteerism/Community Service- The veterinary profession likes to see a strong tendancy for service within the community. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to the community by involving themselves in service and volunteer activities. Work performed in service learning courses and community service performed as part of employment does not satisfy this requirement. The minimum community/volunteer service is three (3) hours per week for three (3) months (or the equivalent -36 hours).
Start early and volunteer consistently rather than a one time thing to get your hours. Don't make it look like you did it just to get into vet school, instead regular volunteering sends the message that you have a definite commitment to the community. If you volunteer in the right places, you can get your patient exposure hours at the same time. Don't get so caught up in volunteering that you start to suffer in some of the other areas. There is an office on campus that may be able to help you with volunteer opportunities.
8. Other Extracurricular Activities- The committee is interested in how applicants deal with the demands of their lives outside of the classroom. This is a strong indicator of how well they handle responsibilities and deal with stressful situations. It also predicts how well they will handle the difficult demands of vet school. The minimum requirement is some involvement in outside activities. The average applicant devotes twenty (20) hours per week during each of the four (4) years prior to entering veterinary school to activities such as work, volunteer service, research, athletics, student government and family obligations. Don't let these dominate you and have other criteria suffer for it.
