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Post by 2026tiger on Apr 25, 2023 12:44:56 GMT -5
Thank you for your input topaz. Im genuinely not accustomed to getting exactly what I want. I’m just looking for feasible options to make pursuing higher education attainable as a person who lives below the poverty line, im okay with a challenge. The main issue I’ve had is that my grades are pre-COVID, so its created an uneven playing field and tuition is just too high for me to go back. I can’t get a loan because I have huge OSAP debt. OVC gives 4 attempts total, so a masters is off the table. I appreciate your input nonetheless Trying to get a bit of a better grasp of your situation. You said going to other provinces will require additional school to meet their requirements. Is this to do with specific pre-reqs like OChem? I ask because you generally have to be a non-student resident for 1 year to qualify for the residency requirement. During this year, you would likely be working to make ends meet.
Will OSAP fund you if you apply for another degree program just to get those pre-reqs done locally? I did a non-degree semester which I was fortunate enough to be able to pay for out of pocket. I know OSAP doesn't cover this, but they may offer funding if you applied for a degree program even if you don't finish it. Another consideration to make about OSAP for vet school is that I believe OSAP has a cap on how many years of education they fund. I'm not fully clear on this but something to look into.
Like yourself, I graduated in 2019 and it took an extra semester to make things work out (admission average from 87.5 to 92.3). What are your marks like? If you are 90%+ and do well on the CASPer (a joke of a test, if you work on your typing speed, it's fairly easy to game your answers, there's templates I've seen on Reddit which nail exactly what they're looking for) then it all comes down to an interview.
Another option for doing that extra semester is coordinating with SFS. Being low income (and possibly meeting other requirements) you may have access to grants and scholarships. The university has a huge number, talk to SFS and see what options are available to you.
Your situation sounds very difficult and I truly hope you are able to find a way to make things work to achieve your goal. I think having more vets come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds is extremely important, because it gives them a unique and likely better perspective when working with clients who face similar issues.
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Post by maybe2027 on Apr 25, 2023 14:31:43 GMT -5
First off, I would caution you against saying that COVID inflated grades and that CASPER possibly had a negative affect on applicants. For many hopeful vet students, COVID was not a gift, specifically for those registered with SAS. COVID proved to be an additional challenge for attaining the marks necessary for admission to OVC, rather than the other way around. This said, I know many people, including myself, who made it happen. CASPER can be seen as a leveller, whereby students who have lower averages have to opportunity to score well and up their entrance average. I feel for you, and I respect your determination to do whatever it takes to achieve your dream of becoming a veterinarian. This said, everyone who applies to vet school are highly driven, so please do not diminish others efforts. You said it yourself, your grades in 2019 were on the low end, and that at some point your were offered an interview (which would have been after the supposed 'COVID grade inflation'), but did not get in. This makes you no different than everyone else who was refused entrance. There were people who had over a 95 average who were rejected after a poor interview. If you want to go to school abroad, then go to financial institutions and contact the Canadian loans centre and ask them what is available to you. Many international schools have information on student loans right on their websites. Ross veterinary school is one of them medical.rossu.edu/media/9316/rusm-canadian-financial-planning. I wish you the best of luck! Thanks for sharing your input furinmyeyelashes. Ultimately, my knowledge of how Winter/fall 2020 went down differs from yours. I didn’t say CASPER had a negative impact, that would be silly since it gave me a chance to interview. I genuinely appreciate your points and im sorry if I hit a nerve, its not my intent to “diminish others efforts”, as i said, im just feeling a little frustrated with the system, not others who I know also deserve a spot at OVC. Not sure why, but my main question seems to have gotten lost in translation. The question was if anyone who comes from a low-income background had been successful in securing loans for international school, because the banks I have contacted all say the same - you need a co-signer with assets because you are considered a flight risk. It doesn’t seem like anyone here has experience with that so far.
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Post by maybe2027 on Apr 25, 2023 14:46:30 GMT -5
Thank you for your input topaz. Im genuinely not accustomed to getting exactly what I want. I’m just looking for feasible options to make pursuing higher education attainable as a person who lives below the poverty line, im okay with a challenge. The main issue I’ve had is that my grades are pre-COVID, so its created an uneven playing field and tuition is just too high for me to go back. I can’t get a loan because I have huge OSAP debt. OVC gives 4 attempts total, so a masters is off the table. I appreciate your input nonetheless Trying to get a bit of a better grasp of your situation. You said going to other provinces will require additional school to meet their requirements. Is this to do with specific pre-reqs like OChem? I ask because you generally have to be a non-student resident for 1 year to qualify for the residency requirement. During this year, you would likely be working to make ends meet.
Will OSAP fund you if you apply for another degree program just to get those pre-reqs done locally? I did a non-degree semester which I was fortunate enough to be able to pay for out of pocket. I know OSAP doesn't cover this, but they may offer funding if you applied for a degree program even if you don't finish it. Another consideration to make about OSAP for vet school is that I believe OSAP has a cap on how many years of education they fund. I'm not fully clear on this but something to look into.
Like yourself, I graduated in 2019 and it took an extra semester to make things work out (admission average from 87.5 to 92.3). What are your marks like? If you are 90%+ and do well on the CASPer (a joke of a test, if you work on your typing speed, it's fairly easy to game your answers, there's templates I've seen on Reddit which nail exactly what they're looking for) then it all comes down to an interview.
Another option for doing that extra semester is coordinating with SFS. Being low income (and possibly meeting other requirements) you may have access to grants and scholarships. The university has a huge number, talk to SFS and see what options are available to you.
Your situation sounds very difficult and I truly hope you are able to find a way to make things work to achieve your goal. I think having more vets come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds is extremely important, because it gives them a unique and likely better perspective when working with clients who face similar issues.
I honestly never thought about applying for another degree program and completing a semester locally, thats a great option to look into. Yes, for example, AVC requires Ochem, english, and one more course to satisfy pre-reqs and full time semester requirements. In terms of OVC, I have a 90 average and did well on CASPER. Im hoping for one more shot at the interview Thank you so much for your input and positive message, it means a lot
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Post by Impatientlywaiting on Apr 28, 2023 13:07:13 GMT -5
Has anyone received an invite to interview? I can only check my email so many times in a day😫
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Post by thewaitinggame on Apr 28, 2023 13:47:47 GMT -5
Has anyone received an invite to interview? I can only check my email so many times in a day😫 Still nothing😭 I’ve been checking WebAdvisor constantly and the wait is killing me!!
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Post by VETHOPEFULL on May 1, 2023 13:33:12 GMT -5
Interviews are out. So happy I got one!!
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Post by yay!! on May 1, 2023 13:50:49 GMT -5
Also got an interview!!! Good luck to everyone and congratulations, this is a huge accomplishment!
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Post by any 99 on May 2, 2023 13:31:59 GMT -5
Anyone with 88-89% and 4 casper got an interview ?
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Post by Sadbeans on May 2, 2023 14:49:00 GMT -5
Anyone with 88-89% and 4 casper got an interview ? Had a 91 and a 4th in Casper, didn’t get one.
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Post by futurevetty on May 2, 2023 17:39:50 GMT -5
those who received an interview, what were your grades? I feel like you need at least a 93+ average now
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Post by Highave on May 2, 2023 20:26:37 GMT -5
To those with crazy high averages, did you take lighter semesters to increase your averages with easier “bird” courses? I feel like that is the only way to have an average of 95 and up!! Does the OVC care what courses you take in the last two semesters or not?
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Post by OVCparrot on May 3, 2023 9:01:37 GMT -5
To those with crazy high averages, did you take lighter semesters to increase your averages with easier “bird” courses? I feel like that is the only way to have an average of 95 and up!! Does the OVC care what courses you take in the last two semesters or not? Obtaining an average of 95 and higher definitely does not involve taking a bunch of "bird" courses. My peers and I who are already in OVC obtained high averages by taking courses that were of interest to us, and by putting in the time necessary to be successful in those courses. This said, there are some courses where you can do exceptionally well, but only if you understand the content that is presented to you. What is considered an easy course for one person, can be extremely difficult for another. We see this all of the time at OVC. Take courses that you are interested in. Take courses similar to ones that you have previously been successful in. Take courses from professors that you enjoy and learn well with! OVC doesn't care what courses you take in the last two semesters, as long as you have met all of the prerequisites. Best of luck!
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Post by StressedGoose on May 3, 2023 13:48:38 GMT -5
Anyone with 88-89% and 4 casper got an interview ? Had a 91 and a 4th in Casper, didn’t get one. I had a 90.7 average with a 4th quartile Casper and was lucky to get an interview.
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Post by OVC2027 hopeful on May 3, 2023 14:57:59 GMT -5
Had a 91 and a 4th in Casper, didn’t get one. I had a 90.7 average with a 4th quartile Casper and was lucky to get an interview. I got a 91 average and 4th quartile and got one. It’s not just based on your average. Perhaps there was an issue with your references or something you said on your BIF? Unfortunately OVC does not give feedback.
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Post by orcaamethyst on May 3, 2023 15:28:28 GMT -5
To those with crazy high averages, did you take lighter semesters to increase your averages with easier “bird” courses? I feel like that is the only way to have an average of 95 and up!! Does the OVC care what courses you take in the last two semesters or not? Obtaining an average of 95 and higher definitely does not involve taking a bunch of "bird" courses. My peers and I who are already in OVC obtained high averages by taking courses that were of interest to us, and by putting in the time necessary to be successful in those courses. This said, there are some courses where you can do exceptionally well, but only if you understand the content that is presented to you. What is considered an easy course for one person, can be extremely difficult for another. We see this all of the time at OVC. Take courses that you are interested in. Take courses similar to ones that you have previously been successful in. Take courses from professors that you enjoy and learn well with! OVC doesn't care what courses you take in the last two semesters, as long as you have met all of the prerequisites. Best of luck! Most OVC students would have been strategic about course selection prior applying to maximise their averages. If you’re applying in 3rd year, combine heavy prereqs (stats/biochem/genetics etc.) with lighter electives (musc/frhd/whatever is recommended by past students) to give yourself time to focus on the more difficult courses. Yes you will probably do better in classes you find interesting but there are some that are undeniably bird courses. Getting a 90+ average requires hand work AND strategy, unless you’re a genius or study 24/7 and pull >95 in every class no matter what
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Post by Sadbeans on May 3, 2023 17:02:51 GMT -5
I had a 90.7 average with a 4th quartile Casper and was lucky to get an interview. I got a 91 average and 4th quartile and got one. It’s not just based on your average. Perhaps there was an issue with your references or something you said on your BIF? Unfortunately OVC does not give feedback. That helps to know that, I was going to look in to my bif now bc I thought it was good but maybe I missed something. Will be trying again
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Post by tiredturtle on May 3, 2023 21:44:02 GMT -5
Does OVC let you know if you your referees gave you a red flag in their assessments or do you have to ask? I got an interview last year with an 89% and 3rd quartile CASPer score while this year I had a 93% with a 1st quartile CASPer score. This year I also changed one referee. I am just trying to figure out if the CASPer was the difference-maker for not getting an interview this year or if it was the referee as well. I trusted my referee when asking for the assessment but after not getting an interview, I'd like to understand the differences in my application and how it affected my results comparatively.
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Post by currentovcstudent on May 3, 2023 22:34:08 GMT -5
I just wanted to reiterate what orcaamethyst said. Getting in to OVC is not only about 'working hard' to get the high marks necessary for admission; I completely agree it's normal and common for many students to indeed pick historical 'bird' courses to help boost their averages. Definitely there are people that get accepted and struggle with the heavy courseload as a result, but this occurrence is not equivocated to all of those who took bird courses (because then the majority of each class would struggle). I don't think it's realistic to state the way you get a 95 average is by only taking courses you're interested in, because that's simply not true. Bottom line--do your best, work hard, and take whatever courses you feel will benefit you (which looks different for different people). Whether that means taking only courses of interest, or only courses that come 'easy' to you, do what works and what will help you in the long-run, weighing the pros and cons of whatever decision you make.
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Post by Hopefuldvm2027 on May 3, 2023 22:51:29 GMT -5
I’ve seen/heard multiple people state that its not only about the grades for OVC, so even if you’re at the low end of the top 200, you still have a chance. Are there any current students that applied with a “low” average that could share some tips about how they approached the interview process? How do you set yourself apart from 100+ other applicants with a much higher average?
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Post by DVM2027Hope on May 5, 2023 12:33:48 GMT -5
For anyone browsing this thread who is super down about their grades and are nervous to apply - I received an interview this year with a ~87 average and fourth quartile Casper. I did have excellent references, and ample experience. Not sure how I didn't get cut but it just goes to show, always try!
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