aka "How I got in to vet school"
I include this segment because it's exactly what I wanted to know when I was applying and interviewing. I hope it helps someone out.
I only applied to 3 schools, because the school I want to and am going to is in-state (i.e. cheaper tuition). I didn't get in the other 2 schools. 1 rejected me outright and 1 rejected me after the secondary application. Probably 5 schools (1 reach, 2 possibilities, and 2 safety schools) is a better number.
A note about non-certified schools: I spent a lot of time looking at Ross University on St. Kitts. If you can afford it and if you have been turned down by certified schools twice, it appears to be a good option. I believe Ross looked at becoming certified but decided against it because their students were already successful at becoming certified practicing veterinary medicine in the United States and they didn't need the extra scrutiny that a certification board entails. However, it requires you to spend 2 1/2 years on a very small, underdeveloped Carribean island.
My school had a new ranking system that they were using this year. They first look to see who is academically qualified (I think that means a GPA of at least 2.75, GRE of 60% or so). Then they check how difficult your classes were and cut a couple more people. Then they examine your recommendations, essays, and activities and cut some more people. The remainder get to interview, and decisions are made after looking at the recommendations/essays/activities and the interview.
Obviously you want the best GPA and GRE scores as possible. My GPA barely qualified but I had very good (89th percentile) GRE scores. I didn't have a lot of volunteer experience with practicing veterinarians, and I think that hurt me a lot. I do have a lot of experience with research veterinarians, though, and had some unusual volunteer experiences and recommendations. No matter what the school says, have at least 1 if not 2 recommendations from a vet.
The interview is more of an examination of your motivations of becoming a vet, your personality, business sense, etc. It wasn't too bad... I was interviewed by a practicing vet, a faculty member, and a 3rd or 4th year vet student. They hadn't seen my application. I was asked 7 questions, and they didn't respond to my answers... they just wrote down a score and then asked the next question. After that was done, we chatted about my research and hobbies, and I asked some questions about the college and a veterinary career. Overall, I really liked the format, although I wish we could have talked longer (it was half an hour long).
Question 1: You can learn a lot from your successes and your failures. Tell us about such a time and what you learned from it.
Question 2: Tell us about a time you had to work with someone with whom you had conflicts, and how you handled it.
Question 3: When was a time when you had to be a follower rather than a leader, and what did you learn from it?
Question 4: You're working on a class project with 2 other people. You divided up the work evenly, but when you meet the night before it's due, you find out you're the only person to have done their share. You'll all get a low grade tomorrow if that's all you turn in. What do you do?
Question 5: The roles that animals play in society are often misunderstood. Pick a group of animals (food, research, service) and explain how they are misunderstood. How would you explain to someone the role they do play in society?
Question 6: What was your favorite course in college and why? What would you say to the administration if they were going to cancel that class due to budget constraints?
Question 7: What university did you go to, and why did you pick it?
Note on how to dress: all the guys were wearing suits, and a majority of the girls were also in suits. I decided to wear a nice pair of pants and a sweater, and I'm glad I went in that. I was comfortable and when it comes down to it... they're interested in who you are and what you have to say. Look presentable, but be comfortable.