Doctor Ham
Full Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2023
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 93
It's that time of year. I'm reading your applications. That means I'm spending time going through your grades, considering your extracurriculars, evaluating your experiences, and reading your essays. I'm going to throw out some simple advice that hopefully helps some of you.
1. Proofread everything. Have different people read your essays. A simple grammatical error isn't going to make me throw out your application....but when we're splitting hairs and I have one application that is well-edited, and one that lacks attention to detail, those little things might be what makes a well-edited, polished application better.
2. Make sure you fill out every section. It's painful to get an application that is missing entire sections of input - I might know, based on your letters, that you've worked at a vet clinic, but if you don't list that experience anywhere, and leave the experience section empty, I have no way of knowing what you did.
3. If you don't have lists of research assignments or extensive awards, that's OK. I consider those things "extra credit" on an application, not requirements. So don't feel compelled to list your 7th grade achievements just so the category isn't blank.
4. If you got a C in organic chemistry, don't sweat it. So did a LOT of other people.
5. If you got lower than a C in something, use the explanation statements to tell me why. Did you get hit by a bus? Have a baby? Was that subject just a struggle, and you made up for it later?
6. Everyone went through covid. We know classes were online.
7. Make sure your essays actually answer the prompts. When we ask why you want to be a vet, don't just rehash your resume - I can see that you were a vet assistant. WHY did that make you want to be a vet?
8. Make sure that you have submitted the correct number of LORs. I hate dismissing applications based on technicality.
9. Make sure those letter writers can give you a solid letter. Letters can absolutely make or break your application (if someone in the field tells us that this person absolutely does, or absolutely does NOT, belong in vet med, we are inclined to listen).
10. Give yourself the appropriate credit. If you worked as a cashier part-time for 4 years, that is valuable - include it. If you fed a cow a treat at a petting zoo when you were 8, that's probably not worth 600 hours of animal experience.
We spend a considerable amount of time reading your applications. The decisions we make are difficult, because we get so, so many qualified candidates. Give us what we need to see who you really are and how you can contribute to our profession.
1. Proofread everything. Have different people read your essays. A simple grammatical error isn't going to make me throw out your application....but when we're splitting hairs and I have one application that is well-edited, and one that lacks attention to detail, those little things might be what makes a well-edited, polished application better.
2. Make sure you fill out every section. It's painful to get an application that is missing entire sections of input - I might know, based on your letters, that you've worked at a vet clinic, but if you don't list that experience anywhere, and leave the experience section empty, I have no way of knowing what you did.
3. If you don't have lists of research assignments or extensive awards, that's OK. I consider those things "extra credit" on an application, not requirements. So don't feel compelled to list your 7th grade achievements just so the category isn't blank.
4. If you got a C in organic chemistry, don't sweat it. So did a LOT of other people.
5. If you got lower than a C in something, use the explanation statements to tell me why. Did you get hit by a bus? Have a baby? Was that subject just a struggle, and you made up for it later?
6. Everyone went through covid. We know classes were online.
7. Make sure your essays actually answer the prompts. When we ask why you want to be a vet, don't just rehash your resume - I can see that you were a vet assistant. WHY did that make you want to be a vet?
8. Make sure that you have submitted the correct number of LORs. I hate dismissing applications based on technicality.
9. Make sure those letter writers can give you a solid letter. Letters can absolutely make or break your application (if someone in the field tells us that this person absolutely does, or absolutely does NOT, belong in vet med, we are inclined to listen).
10. Give yourself the appropriate credit. If you worked as a cashier part-time for 4 years, that is valuable - include it. If you fed a cow a treat at a petting zoo when you were 8, that's probably not worth 600 hours of animal experience.
We spend a considerable amount of time reading your applications. The decisions we make are difficult, because we get so, so many qualified candidates. Give us what we need to see who you really are and how you can contribute to our profession.
