1) How many schools should I apply to? Some people told me three to five?
No matter where you go to vet school, you will earn your DVM, and will become a licensed veterinarian. I think it is important to apply to a vet school that you would be happy and proud of attending. Research prospective schools and go visit prospective veterinary schools and see if they are right for you. Do you like what their school has to offer, do you like the location, do they have a reputable program, have you meet their schools prerequisites. These are all valid questions you should ask when considering what vet schools to apply to. Also consider applying to a vet school in a state you are a legal resident of. I know for example, they don't have a lot of spots reserved for out of state applicants, so applying for a school in a state you have residency in might likely increase your chances of being accepted. It also doesn't cost as much cause you aren't paying out of state tuition. Now how many schools should you apply for? This is a very valid question. As an undergrad at UC Davis, I was once advised, "If I didn't apply to more than one vet school (UC Davis) then I obviously didn't want to be a veterinarian that badly." I actually took this advice to heart and actually it made me cry cause I knew in my heart that UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine was the school for me. I was a junior at UCD at the time and I honestly think it's the worst advice I ever got. I do kind of agree in that applying to multiple schools may increase your chances of getting in to vet school, but if your heart is set on one school, why waste your time/money applying to other schools? I think I also took it to heart because I really did want to be a veterinarian even though I didn't really want to go to another vet school besides Davis (for various reasons, like having family less than an hour from UCD and besides the fact that I absolutely loved their program and teaching hospital, not to mention their faculty). It's important that you don't seem too desperate when applying to veterinary schools, I mean vet schools want students that want to go to their school. They want to know that you have done your homework researching their program and that they can offer you what you want. With all that said, I think it would be wise to apply to the schools you feel fit your needs/finances best. I would encourage you to apply to not more than 3, but I have heard of people applying for more than 5. So really, it is a personal choice, but this is my personal opinion.
http://vetschoolinfo.blogspot.com/2009/07/choosing-right-vet-schools-to-apply-to.html
2) What is an effective way to study for the GRE? Should I take classes?
AHHH....the GRE! Trust me, you will never forget those letters! I took the GRE three times. The first time, I didn't really study very hard, I read a couple of GRE prep books and thought I was prepared...WRONG...needless to say I didn't do very well. The second time I took the GRE I studied really hard, again reading GRE prep books and GRE vocab flash cards. I did better the second time, but not by much. I felt really discouraged cause I thought this test would prevent me from pursuing my dreams, so I enrolled in a Kaplan GRE course. I somehow landed a coupon to take the GRE course for half price (I would look into this, sometimes they give these coupons to clubs on campus or are set up in front of the bookstore with coupons). I felt the Kaplan class really got me to wrap my head around better strategies for taking the exam. In short, I felt it was worth the money for the course, which I think was ~$600 (half off the normal cost of $1,200). Also if you have time, I would take this prep course in person and not online. I think it will benefit you more cause you will have someone to hold you accountable for attending your GRE prep classes and completing your GRE prep homework...Yes...homework! I really liked my teacher who was a grad student at Davis in the Math department and she was also very helpful with the vet school admissions process. She read my personal statement and gave me her input on how to revise it. Also if you have specific questions about GRE problems, it's easier to ask a person rather than a computer. Aside from taking the GRE prep course (btw, there are other ones besides Kaplan, I just went there cause I had the coupon) I encourage you to get a GRE prep book now, I would get it used off Amazon (cause they are cheap and usually a lot available). Start learning one GRE word per day, sign up for Dictionary.com word of the day. Trust me, learning these words is not easy, many of them are old English and the average person does NOT use them in our daily vocabulary. As far as an effective way to study, that is really what works best for you. There are a lot of free practice materials online as well, just google GRE preparation and I am sure you will get many hits. It's not something you can study for overnight. The third time I took it (after the Kaplan class) I really improved my writing and Analytical scores, but still didn't improve much on the Verbal portion. That section was just really hard for me and I told the admissions committee, I know my Verbal score was low, I didn't grow up with parents who went to college and these words were challenging for me. I also mentioned that I had drastically improved my Analytical and Writing portions of the exam and I really believed my Verbal score was an accurate reflection of my actual capabilities. (I am a first generation college student). With all that said, please don't be scared of the GRE, think of it as like studying for a class, if you make the effort and spend the time, I am sure you will do very well. Also research the schools you apply to, but I don't think it hurts your application if you have to take it multiple times, at least at Davis, although you do report all your previous scores, they only look at the highest from each section.
3) What would you say is a competitive GPA?
If you look at the average applicant
http://sharonostermann.blog.com/2011/01/12/averag/ , the mean GPA is a 3.5 for students accepted to UC Davis. My GPA was lower than the average, a 3.3, and I have know people who've gotten in with even lower GPA's, but it is important that you are successful academically in your undergraduate classes, particularly in your science courses. If you have a lower GPA, don't let that keep you from pursuing your dream of becoming a veterinarian. Maybe try repeating courses to get a better grade (if you got less than a C or if you took it a long time ago). Work on other aspects of your application such as animal/vet experience, getting good letters of recommendation, writing a great personal statement, etc.
4) Most of my volunteer work is around small animals, which is what I want to focus on, but should I try to find experience in other areas
That's great you have a lot of experience with small animals since that is primarily what you are interested in, but I will warn you that the veterinary admissions committee is looking for a well rounded applicant. See my post about my personal experiences I had before applying to veterinary school: http://livingmydreamkn.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-experiences.html
I would personally encourage you to get experience in other areas such as large animal, exotics, or even research. In vet school, we learn about all animals in our classes and it is important to have a basic understanding of large and small species.
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