How did you get here?

The number one question I get asked is, “How did you end up in Kansas?” The answer starts with softball. My younger sister played school and travel softball so she was on many different teams. One of those teams had a teammate who had a dad who was a veterinarian at Zoo Atlanta. Because of my connection, I got to talk to him about his journey to becoming a vet and shadow him at the zoo. He went to Kansas State for vet school so I started looking into it. Looking into their vet program, I found their Early Admission Program and I was sold. This program allows college freshmen to apply to veterinary school. They look at letters of recommendation, your high school transcript, your ACT score, and an essay. Surprisingly, they wanted you to show public speaking experience. Lucky for me, I was on the debate team in high school and my freshman year of undergrad. If they like you, you get to come in for an interview. They make this a lot like the vet school application interview where they ask you questions to gauge your personality and get a feel for your understanding of what it’s really like to be a veterinarian. This interview is to make sure you have what it takes to make it through all of the schooling, and the street smarts to be a good veterinarian. After my interview, I got into the program. Admission guarantees a spot for you once you finish all of you prerequisite courses as long as you keep a high enough GPA. This program was amazing for me. It takes a lot of the pressure off because you know if you just keep your grades up, you get to start vet school. A lot of other students finish their undergrad degree and don’t get into vet school on their first try.

I did five semesters of undergrad to finish my prerequisites, took the GRE, and then filled out K-State’s vet school application and I was in. I didn’t need to write any more essays or get any more letters of recommendation. I got to take a spring semester off of school and work in a vet clinic and then I started in the fall. Now, I’m a third year and I’m preparing to go into my clinical rotations and I am so grateful that my sister played softball.