“5… 4… 3 … 2… 1… Switch!” Pre-vet Students Supporting Diversity (PSSD) Treasurer Chelsea Chavez said.
Sounds of squeaky chairs, chatter and rustling papers echoed in 1020 Gladys Hall on Oct. 14.
“I didn't think [vet student] speed dating was going to be extreme speed dating,” Benjamin Hwang said.
But when there are 37 UC Davis undergraduates, 28 UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (UCD SOVM) students, and only an hour and a half to socialize? Short “dates” were the only option. Undergraduates spent two minutes with each vet student. Within a mere two minutes, undergraduates found out what fields of veterinary medicine the vet students want to specialize in, how to be competitive for UCD SOVM, and shared similar childhood aspirations of becoming a vet.
“I bonded [with one vet student] about how our parents reacted towards both of us becoming vets,” Michelle Ledezma said. “[And I told her] when I was little, I wanted to work with large animals because I thought domestic [medicine] was boring. Now, I have a cat so I changed my mind.”
Undergraduates also learned only 180 hours of veterinary experience are required for admission. UCD SOVM also takes into account GRE scores, letters of recommendation, other animal experience, GPA for the last two years of undergraduate and overall science GPA before admitting into the 4-year program.
PSSD club members Carolina Gomez and Tiffany Tse also learned important lessons from the vet students.
“Every veterinary student’s animal and veterinary experience prior to applying to vet school was unique,” Gomez said. “I have been worried that my experiences have not made me competitive enough, but hearing their stories gave me hope. That is priceless.”
“There were a couple of vet students I talked to who had [decent] grades but they still got in,” Tse said. “I feel that I no longer have to stress out so much about grades and have [a GPA] discourage me from applying [to vet school] in the future. Most importantly, I learned to never give up.”
More pictures can be found on our Facebook.
“I didn't think [vet student] speed dating was going to be extreme speed dating,” Benjamin Hwang said.
But when there are 37 UC Davis undergraduates, 28 UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (UCD SOVM) students, and only an hour and a half to socialize? Short “dates” were the only option. Undergraduates spent two minutes with each vet student. Within a mere two minutes, undergraduates found out what fields of veterinary medicine the vet students want to specialize in, how to be competitive for UCD SOVM, and shared similar childhood aspirations of becoming a vet.
“I bonded [with one vet student] about how our parents reacted towards both of us becoming vets,” Michelle Ledezma said. “[And I told her] when I was little, I wanted to work with large animals because I thought domestic [medicine] was boring. Now, I have a cat so I changed my mind.”
Undergraduates also learned only 180 hours of veterinary experience are required for admission. UCD SOVM also takes into account GRE scores, letters of recommendation, other animal experience, GPA for the last two years of undergraduate and overall science GPA before admitting into the 4-year program.
PSSD club members Carolina Gomez and Tiffany Tse also learned important lessons from the vet students.
“Every veterinary student’s animal and veterinary experience prior to applying to vet school was unique,” Gomez said. “I have been worried that my experiences have not made me competitive enough, but hearing their stories gave me hope. That is priceless.”
“There were a couple of vet students I talked to who had [decent] grades but they still got in,” Tse said. “I feel that I no longer have to stress out so much about grades and have [a GPA] discourage me from applying [to vet school] in the future. Most importantly, I learned to never give up.”
More pictures can be found on our Facebook.