Application Questions

[ilikecake]

I'm working on my application, and while it's not nearly as bad as I was expecting, it still gets a bit confusing. First of all, where am I supposed to send my GREs and transcripts? Do I send them to just VMCAS, just my schools, or to both VMCAS and the schools I'm applying to?
Also: experiences. So, every summer growing up, my parents sent me to Poland. I have a ton of family there, and most of them live on farms. Therefore, I spent a TON of time taking care of cows, chickens, pigs, you name it. However, it wasn't supervised by a vet in any way, nor did it have an official supervisor. I've read that pet ownership doesn't count, but this wasn't really pet ownership..was it? I also see people posting stats with pet ownership included, so I'm a little confused as to whether I should include that or not. What do you guys think?

Edit: I also forgot to ask- in the box where you write the description, are you writing in bullets or a paragraph describing the experience?

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[mht2k3]

in the future, you could probably just put this in the Future DVMs- C/O 2021! thread, but:

First of all, where am I supposed to send my GREs and transcripts? Do I send them to just VMCAS, just my schools, or to both VMCAS and the schools I'm applying to?

You have to send your GREs individually to every school you want to apply to. I would go onto their website and find the exact code they want you to send in. Transcripts are only sent to VMCAS. Once you input the school into the app, it will give you a pdf to download that needs to be included when you request your transcript from the school.

Also: experiences. So, every summer growing up, my parents sent me to Poland. I have a ton of family there, and most of them live on farms. Therefore, I spent a TON of time taking care of cows, chickens, pigs, you name it. However, it wasn't supervised by a vet in any way, nor did it have an official supervisor.

I'd put this under animal experience.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

I'm working on my application, and while it's not nearly as bad as I was expecting, it still gets a bit confusing. First of all, where am I supposed to send my GREs and transcripts? Do I send them to just VMCAS, just my schools, or to both VMCAS and the schools I'm applying to?
Also: experiences. So, every summer growing up, my parents sent me to Poland. I have a ton of family there, and most of them live on farms. Therefore, I spent a TON of time taking care of cows, chickens, pigs, you name it. However, it wasn't supervised by a vet in any way, nor did it have an official supervisor. I've read that pet ownership doesn't count, but this wasn't really pet ownership..was it? I also see people posting stats with pet ownership included, so I'm a little confused as to whether I should include that or not. What do you guys think?

Edit: I also forgot to ask- in the box where you write the description, are you writing in bullets or a paragraph describing the experience?

1. Your user name makes me happy, because I too like cake.
2. Agree that your farm work would be animal experience
3. I'd ask the schools you're applying to what they prefer (bullet points or paragraphs). I heard from one school I picked that you should treat the application as a very professional document-no abbreviations, complete sentences, etc. Other schools might be more lenient. If you can fit what you need to say in paragraph form, do it. If you're really struggling with the character limit, try to cut down on the unnecessary words (for example: 'I administered vaccines, fluids, and other injectable medications' -> 'I administed injectable medications.'). It's less specific, but it still shows the general task you performed.
4. Send your current transcripts to VMCAS. Some schools require fall transcripts as well (they will tell you this on their website), and those go directly to the school once that time comes.


Side note: I thought VMCAS was going to accept GRE scores for the schools starting this year At least that's what they made it sound like they'd do. Hopefully in the future...

 

[ilikecake]

1. Your user name makes me happy, because I too like cake.
2. Agree that your farm work would be animal experience
3. I'd ask the schools you're applying to what they prefer (bullet points or paragraphs). I heard from one school I picked that you should treat the application as a very professional document-no abbreviations, complete sentences, etc. Other schools might be more lenient. If you can fit what you need to say in paragraph form, do it. If you're really struggling with the character limit, try to cut down on the unnecessary words (for example: 'I administered vaccines, fluids, and other injectable medications' -> 'I administed injectable medications.'). It's less specific, but it still shows the general task you performed.
4. Send your current transcripts to VMCAS. Some schools require fall transcripts as well (they will tell you this on their website), and those go directly to the school once that time comes.


Side note: I thought VMCAS was going to accept GRE scores for the schools starting this year At least that's what they made it sound like they'd do. Hopefully in the future...

And I like puppies Thanks so much for your help. I'll just write all the descriptions in complete sentences in that case. I'm applying to a few different schools, and I'm sure I'm better off being too professional than having my application seem sloppy!