<p>I applied to ten schools and was rejected to six of them (Brown, Princeton, Amherst, Vassar, McGill, Tufts), waitlisted at one (Tulane), and accepted at three (Wheaton, UVM, UMO). I realize that I do have options and that I'm not completely out of luck, but I do not wish to attend any of the three schools I've been accepted to. First off, I received poor financial aid from all of them, and I need the financial aid. Secondly, I'm not in love with any of them. Therefore, I do not want to "settle" for a school or spend one year at a school where I will rack up tons of debt and then transfer. I applied to them as "back ups" but I never even thought I'd have to consider them. After reading a lot of threads on CC I'm starting to think that maybe my list was top heavy and that I may have approached the entire application process in the wrong way. I have high goals for myself and I really want to go to vet school. Right now, I'm seriously considering taking first semester off to study abroad or do something else useful and meaningful, and applying somewhere else for spring admission. I'm not sure how vet schools would look at this decision though.</p>
<p>I think a gap year could be beneficial to you as long as you do something that advances your professional goal. For example, if you volunteered in a shelter for a year or convinced a city to convert its animal control center to a “no kill” facility or worked with a vet then I think you would have more success next year than this. However, if you wasted the year then you could find yourself with even worse options next year. </p>
<p>Have you considered community college? In states like NY and California they offer nice, inexpensive solutions to someone in your situation.</p>
<p>The community colleges in my state are not very good, and I want more than anything (excepting going to a college of my choice, of course) to get out of my state and away from home, declaring my independence, if you will. </p>
<p>If I were to take a gap semester/year I would really love to do some work with animals in another country, preferably farm animals and horses. Do you know of any programs like this?</p>
<p>tayrenj, if you lack financial resources, going to another country to work doesn’t seem feasible. There are few study abroad opportunties for those who haven’t yet attended college. </p>
<p>I encourage you to give UVM another look. It’s a wonderful institution and has a strong relationship with Tufts’ veterinary program, which is one of the nation’s best programs. Its location is ideal for your interests. I know three people who attended UVM and each loved their experience. Although UVM doesn’t enjoy the same reputation as some of the schools to which you applied, it may prove to be a better prepatory ground for veterinary medicene than those schools. If you can, take a visit and see what you think.</p>
<p>You need to look at schools in your home state if you need aid. The only public Us in another state that meet need are UVA and UNC-CH, both very difficult to get into.</p>
<p>I was in the same situation but I am in cc now. So suck it up and do what you got to do. I hate NY but I accepted the fact that I had no other choice. Now am in my second semester in cc and plan on transfering for the spring '11 semester. Trust me before you know it time will fly by and you’ll be gone.</p>
<p>Or if you don’t want to do that then you should probably research community colleges in the states of the different schools you want to go to. Look for articulation agreements on the cc websites so that it will be easier for you to get into.</p>
<p>I would actually disagree with the above poster regarding opportunities for a gap year if you are interesting in working on a farm or at a stable. There are quite a few farms/stables/riding related inns in Europe that will exchange riding lessons and/or room and board for work. The programs are kinda similar to Au pair model for nannies coming to the states. I’d start at a site like this: [Help</a> Exchange: free volunteer work exchange abroad Australia New Zealand Canada Europe](<a href=“HelpX”>HelpX) but google will probably get you farther than CC on this topic.</p>
<p>I would, though, encourage you to think about why these three schools aren’t what you want, and what kind of school you would be applying to instead, and why. If you think these schools wouldn’t prepare you for vet school, you are mistaken. Where you went to college really really really doesn’t matter, and in particular, UVM and UMO might actually be great for someone interested in animals - especially large animals because of the large farming communities in the states, and the overall shortage of large animal vets. I don’t know much about UMO, but I know UVM has a ton of animal science and pre-vet related stuff, as the previous poster mentioned.</p>