It is that time of year again, time for animal-loving students everywhere to be rushing to the mailbox, checking every day for the letter that could change their lives.

For the past week, Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine has been sending letters to the hopefuls who applied, informing them if they have been accepted for the 1997-98 school year.

For some, the letters mark the beginning of a lifelong dream to become a veterinarian. For others, it leaves them unsure of what will come next.

Professor John Greve, chairman of the Admissions Committee for the College of Veterinary Medicine, estimated that about 1,660 applicants this year vied for their place as one of the 100 members of next year’s beginning class.

The selections were made by a committee of seven faculty members at the college, and two veterinary practitioners, one from Ankeny and one from Boone.

Of the 100 spots, 60 are reserved for Iowa residents, and 16 for residents of North and South Dakota and New Jersey. The remaining 34 slots are for students who have done their undergraduate work at Iowa State.

“They’re looking for somebody who is an excellent student and who can perform well under pressure in an academic situation,” Greve said.

The students have until April 15 to accept or reject their admission.

Of the determining factors for admission, first and foremost, Greve said, is GPA, which counts for 50 percent of the student’s application. While a 2.5 GPA is the minimum needed, Greve said that’s not good enough.

“If you don’t have a 3.2 or 3.3, you might as well forget it,” he said. “I see nothing wrong with a B-plus average, but these days it’s usually below the cutoff point.”

Besides their grades, students are evaluated on their veterinary and general animal experience, whether they have a bachelor’s degree, their transcripts and their score on the Graduate Record Exam.

Each factor is assigned a point value, and the students’ numbers are plugged into a formula to determine their final application score. The 100 highest scores are accepted, and the next highest scores are put on an alternate list.

Vicki Dehaan, a senior in animal science from Pella, was one of the lucky 100. She sent her application to the college in October and didn’t find out her fate until last week. The wait, she said, wasn’t as bad as it might seem.

“For the first few months, you forget about it,” she said, “because you know it will take a while. But in February, I started looking and wondering.”

Another student for whom last week ended months of anxiety is Andrea Taylor, a senior in animal science from Robins. She was not accepted. She said she has a pretty good idea why.

“What killed me was my GRE score,” Taylor said. She said the average score for those who were accepted was between 185 and 190, with several being over 200.

“I thought about it, but not overwhelmingly. Then, around February, I started to get obsessed with my mailbox,” she said.

Taylor plans to reapply next fall, but since she graduates next December, she’s not sure what she’ll do in the meantime. But one thing’s for certain, she said. “I’m definitely not giving up.”

The selection process has changed throughout the years, and Greve said more changes are in the works. Before 1976, he said, Iowa State was one of the few vet med schools that actually interviewed applicants. Now by not interviewing, ISU is in the minority.

“We’re beginning to feel like the GPA is overrated, and we’re missing something about the applicant.” Greve said that “something missing” might be a personality assessment of the applicants.

The selection committee is pondering reinstating the interview process or adding a written personality assessment.

Greve said his office has been flooded with calls from students who weren’t accepted, asking why their application wasn’t good enough.

Greve offered this advice to aspiring veterinary students: “Have a realistic expectation and a second career goal in mind. Be realistic. The world is full of good opportunities. Just because you don’t get into vet school doesn’t mean you’re a dreg of society.”