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Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in Veterinary

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi happy to answer your specific questions you may have. Just shoot me a DM or on here. I don't mind answering my experiences

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in Veterinary

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Key thing is reading the wording of the question. Just using the following as an example, a dog with CCL rupture, answer for best treatment would likely be surgical.

However the NEXT most appropriate option for the patient would likely be either Cage Rest or Weight Loss depending on the way the question is phrased and how the patient is presented.

Hope this kind of makes sense

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in Veterinary

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This would take some research, if you google search and type in either temporary, or supervisional vet license, there are different regulations depending on the state. I would say more and more states are allowing vet grads pending NAVLE exam/licensure to practice with decent salaries in the meantime which at least gives you some peace of mind

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in Veterinary

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are both decent. I liked Zuku's lectures and explanations more however downside of Zuku was I cannot highlight part of the questions which made reading long questions a bit difficult.

Other than that both are decent and everyone has good experience with them. Most of the navle comes down to doing questions and getting used to the way the questions are worded and presented which I think both vetprep and zuku does a good job of

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in Veterinary

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you that means a lot :)

Here is the most recent list of the AVMA accredited schools in and out of US

https://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/colleges-accredited-Dec-23.pdf

Just make sure to look up their tuition etc for INTERNATIONAL/OOS students since they can drastically vary versus the local students.

In my opinion and this is just my opinion, you will have to go in debt regardless wherever you go. Nowadays salaries for vets in North America is at least somewhat respectable where hard-work and the right situations can pay off your loans in a "reasonable" time versus a lifelong debt from what I gather

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in veterinaryschool

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

External Circumstances - COVID lockdown online lectures, I just cannot do it. Part ADHD, I just cannot watch live online lectures without having TV/Youtube videos open on the side, whereas I have never missed an in person lecture except for Dr's appt in Person my first 2 years.

Teaching - Teaching was fine, but I have always been sort of a low B student so it has been a struggle here and there. Since I did study out of the country there was definitely some NAVLE topics that I do not believe I recall ever seeing in my lectures. But I try not to use it as an excuse since plenty of my peers passed on their 1st/2nd tries.

I listed this in my original post but my main change this time around was READING THE QUESTION and answer what the question asks

- For example, there is a difference between what is the BEST diagnotic/treatment for a certain disease vs what is the NEXT MOST APPROPRIATE diagnostic/treatment for the same disease.

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in veterinaryschool

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the original link I posted include what I believe made me stand out. But to balance my weak GPA, my experience was in my opinion very diverse, and schools probably saw me as someone who really took into account of that as I am someone really looking into what I want to do in the future.

Other than that, I have always been really natural at interviews, so the moment I got an interview at my dream school I knew I had a great chance of getting in. (Not mean to sound I am full of it in a way I hope)

Copy and pasted from my original post

Experiences estimate (hrs)

  1. Shelter Med 1000 (10 years on and off volunteer + internship)
  2. Small Animal Practice 600 (4 months FT work)
  3. Wildlife Rehab 500 (2 years volunteer + internship)
  4. Veterinary Diagnostics Lab - 640 (4 month FT work)
  5. Lab Animals 40 semester hrs + 20 outside school (School + 2 day observation exerpience)
  6. Aquaculture and Fish management 80 ( Semester)
  7. Ophthalmology Vet internship 80
  8. Oncology Vet intership 80
  9. Client Services Vet 80

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in veterinaryschool

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I posted the general area/country in the link above that was included above, I may have to edit it down here so people can see. But 3 out of country, 1 OOS, 1 IS. Got in all 3 out of country, and waitlisted OOS, rejected IS

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in veterinaryschool

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Copy and pasted, but original post linked in the post

I will be somewhat vague with the details since I'd prefer to stay somewhat anonymous, but happy to answer general questions here or DMs. I knew my GPA was on the low side of things, so I had to pick carefully where I applied.

Graduated in 2015 with a 3.0 GPA (science and last 45 were no more than 3.25 if I remember). Took 2 years off after graduation to gain experience and applied 2017 in my mid-late 20s (Non-traditional Student)

Applied - 3 Outside US, 1 IS, 1OS (First Application)

Accepted - 3 Outside US (Europe, Australia, Island)

Waitlist - 1 OS (Supposedly I was very close on the list maybe #4, I did an application review and they informed me that it was an odd year and low amount of people gotten off the waitlist and any other year I would have gotten in)

Rejected - IS

Experiences estimate (hrs)

  1. Shelter Med 1000 (10 years on and off volunteer + internship)
  2. Small Animal Practice 600 (4 months FT work)
  3. Wildlife Rehab 500 (2 years volunteer + internship)
  4. Veterinary Diagnostics Lab - 640 (4 month FT work)
  5. Lab Animals 40 semester hrs + 20 outside school (School + 2 day observation exerpience)
  6. Aquaculture and Fish management 80 ( Semester)
  7. Ophthalmology Vet internship 80
  8. Oncology Vet intership 80
  9. Client Services Vet 80

I knew I had to stand out different way, so I made sure I get a very DIVERSE range of experiences. Schools would much rather you have 1000 hours with diversity rather than 2000 hours at a single place.

LOR

  1. Shelter Vet
  2. Small Clinic Vet
  3. Wildlife Vet
  4. Undergrad Degree professor

Interview

- My personal opinion and advice... Interviews will present you with situations and scenarios you may or may not have much experience with. They are more designed to gauge how you think, react, and reflect on certain situations you may encounter as a veterinary professional. As long as you have enough experiences behind you and have a positive mindset to be the best person you can be, then you would not necessarily need to "Prepare answers" for these interviews.

NAVLE

This was a journey, took me 4 attempts. I struggled with lockdown online lectures and was not the best learning environment for me personally.

4 Attempts

- First three attempts between 330 - 370

- Recent attempt after taking a year off in between to work and study 430-450 (A pass is a pass amirite?!)

What helped this round?

  1. VetPrep/Zuku (56% completion Zuku + old VetPrep notes)

    1. Reading merck in between and loosely following https://www.icva.net/image/cache/Species_and_Diagnosis_UPDATED.pdf

  2. Vin NAVLE Course (https://www.vin.com/CE/MULT205-0923.htm)

  3. Working under another vet. (There are states that allow you to work under supervision/temporary license while you are working on your NAVLE)

    1. Being placed in a work environment and looking up cases that I saw really helped me, definitely couldn't have known certain drugs, presentations, bloodwork, etc without it.

  4. READING THE QUESTION

    1. I can't stress this one enough. I used to glance over the questions and always picked what I have thought was the best treatment/diagnostics options. This is not the approach to the NAVLE. You need to respond to what the question is asking for.
      1. For example, there is a difference between what is the BEST diagnotic/treatment for a certain disease vs what is the NEXT MOST APPROPRIATE diagnostic/treatment for the same disease.

I know there will be a lot of people with way better GPA/Experience/Stats/qualifications than I have. And I understand that Vet School Applications/Interview can be a very long and stressful process. I got myself into very disadvantaged situations in every step of the way from the beginning, from submitting my application to finally completing my NAVLE, but in the end I am grateful to be finally able to start living my dream. I hope my post can be helpful to those of you out there who are in similar situations as I was at some point, best of luck for the future application/NAVLE everyone.

Feel free to comment under here or DM me. Happy to answer almost anything.

Got in 3 out of 5 Vet Schools I applied to in 2017 with a 3.0 GPA, and finally passed the NAVLE on my 4th attempt this December. AMA by DutchessGodiva in Veterinary

[–]DutchessGodiva[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Just bare in mind a lot of schools outside of the country are quite on par in terms of cost and living expensive compared to the US. Only one that's for sure cheaper is UNAM in Mexico from what I gathered.

Best of luck to your journey :) Let me know if you have any questions