Applying having been out of school for a few years?

[boodles]

I have always known I wanted to go to OVC, in fact I wrote my first letter to the admissions office at 13 years old. I did everything exactly as it should be for admission to OVC during my undergrad at York U, but when I graduated, I needed time away from the books and was dealing with other life events.

When I graduated from my undergrad, I had the mean admissions average to OVC so I was not worried. Since then, I see admission averages have skyrocketed, and now I’ve been out of school a couple years. In turn, I have THOUSANDS of hours of work experiance both with and without vets, and was hoping to apply this coming fall.

Will being out of school for a few years tank my chances?

Should I even bother applying with an average lover than 90?

Will my 4000 hours in a vet clinic, and 6000 hours of animal experience count for anything?

I’m feeling pretty bummed about my chances I almost don’t even want to apply, but it’s always been my dream and goal.

[lowenger]

Hello Boodles

Please read over how we select our students at www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/recruitment/en/applyingtodvm/selectionprocess.asp.

Nowhere is there an assessment done of when courses were done or if people have taken a gap year(s). We even encourage those who are changing careers to apply to the program and provide guidance on how they can prepare themselves for application.

Academics are an important part of the assessment, that is true. If you feel you are not a competitive applicant you can try to improve your prerequisite marks by taking a non-degree semester or applying for permission to take courses part time depending on your situation.

If your dream is to become a veterinarian you might also consider applying to another AVMA accredited school outside of Canada. You could also check the requirements for the other vet programs in Canada, although they require residency within the geographic territory they service.

[Applicant658]

May 27, 2021 9:26:56 GMT -5 lowenger said:

Hello Boodles

Please read over how we select our students at www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/recruitment/en/applyingtodvm/selectionprocess.asp.

Nowhere is there an assessment done of when courses were done or if people have taken a gap year(s). We even encourage those who are changing careers to apply to the program and provide guidance on how they can prepare themselves for application.

Academics are an important part of the assessment, that is true. If you feel you are not a competitive applicant you can try to improve your prerequisite marks by taking a non-degree semester or applying for permission to take courses part time depending on your situation.

If your dream is to become a veterinarian you might also consider applying to another AVMA accredited school outside of Canada. You could also check the requirements for the other vet programs in Canada, although they require residency within the geographic territory they service.

Hi, may you please explain to me what a non-degree semester is? Would I be able to do this if I am currently in the process of obtaining my science bachelor degree? Thank you so much!

[Deleted]

A non-degree semester is exactly what it sounds like! A semester of study that is not part of a degree program. Most universities offer this, and it allows students who have already completed a degree to take additional courses (for example, to take prerequisites they didn't complete during their degree) without enrolling in a whole new degree they don't need. For OVC, you need to make sure any semester you take as a non-degree student still meets the same criteria as degree semesters to be considered valid

If you are currently enrolled in a bachelor's degree I'm not sure why you would want to do this though? It would be easier and cheaper to simply enrol in whichever prerequisites you need at your own university.

Also in general, there are a lot of disadvantages to doing a non-degree semester... For instance you will be paying per course and it will likely cost as much if not more than if you were enrolled in a degree program, but you won't have access to university facilities and programs, you will have the lowest priority for course enrolment and you will likely not be eligible for financial aid (like OSAP).

It is pretty much always better to enrol in an actual degree program, even if you are only planning on taking a semester or two (you do not need to actually finish the degree!).

[Applicant658]

Great thanks so much for the info!