Class of 2020 Applicants

[superkelpie]

If I recall correctly, you should be able to see if the evaluator received the notification and if the evaluation is "in progress" under the eLORs section beside their name. VMCAS usually sends an automatic email if your evaluators submitted the form. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to know the depth of that "progress" unless you ask your evaluator directly.

Thanks! One of my evaluators just submitted (so I can add to your answer!) and I got an email as well as an update directly on VMCAS (it says "Completed [Date]" under the name of the evaluator).

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[missdarjeeling]

I think you guys might be over-thinking it just a titch. If they saw exotics, and you saw exotics with them, check it off. If they didn't, don't. If it feels misleading, maybe it is. But if you did actually see exotics, then it's not misleading or dishonest at all. Just because it was a small percentage doesn't take away from it being real experience.

LIS's first, or thirtieth (I forget), rule: Just go with what feels most honest. The position you want to be in is when someone asks you about the experience, your answer defends whatever you put on the application. Yanno?

The exotics we saw were all after hours emergencies, since none of the doctors really did exotics on a regular basis. But I got to learn how to handle a few species and do TPRs and I got to do stuff like flush maggots out of a rabbit's wound. What makes me feel weird about checking off the exotics box is that my experience would probably add up to maybe 20 hours out of 1,200ish, and I don't want to waste characters clarifying in the explanation box. I wouldn't want someone to look at it and assume that I worked more with exotics than I actually did. At the same time, I did learn from what little exposure I had.

You're right, though. Definitely over-thinking it, so this is going on the list of things I'm not doing to decide on until later.

 

[LetItSnow]

The exotics we saw were all after hours emergencies, since none of the doctors really did exotics on a regular basis. But I got to learn how to handle a few species and do TPRs and I got to do stuff like flush maggots out of a rabbit's wound. What makes me feel weird about checking off the exotics box is that my experience would probably add up to maybe 20 hours out of 1,200ish, and I don't want to waste characters clarifying in the explanation box. I wouldn't want someone to look at it and assume that I worked more with exotics than I actually did. At the same time, I did learn from what little exposure I had.

You're right, though. Definitely over-thinking it, so this is going on the list of things I'm not doing to decide on until later.

If it were ME, I'd check small animal and exotic. It's honest. If anyone asks you about it, just explain it exactly like you did here. You DID get useful experience out of it (I don't do exotics - there are a ton I have no idea how to even hold - you're ahead of me in that regard - so it's worthwhile experience.).

But that's just me. You obviously have to let your conscience be your guide.

 

[finnickthedog]

So I asked my vet for a letter... and it didn't kill me. She was more than happy to write me one and sounded excited about it. She even offered to help me practice for the MMIs. So I'm feeling pretty good about the letter she'll write.

The only bummer is that asking for that letter was the easy one.
I'm less certain of the others and unlike her they probably aren't expecting me to ask.

 

[Gemgrrrl]

Does anyone who has done the process before think that it'd be entirely terrible to ask for a LOR via email? My school is an hour and a half away and I'd love to ask one of my professors, by I won't see them again until August. I really wanted to ask in person and I know I should've done this earlier but...

Writing a really good letter takes a lot of time and effort. If you can't be bothered to invest it, then why should they?

That being said, given the distance, I would recommend emailing them and asking for a face-to-face meeting. You could say that you're applying, and that you would like to talk to them about a recommendation letter. If they don't want to, then it gives them an out. If they are willing, then you should take the time to drive out and talk to them in person.

 

[Gemgrrrl]

I've been looking for advice on how many LORs to ask for/submit, but I haven't found anything on this site that specifically addresses that question. 3 is required, but you can have up to 6 . . . Is there a magic number? Does it somehow look bad to have more than three?

I'm pretty sure that, if you submit more than 3, schools will select which three they will read. To me, this is a good reason only to submit three. You run the risk of them missing the best one.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I'm pretty sure that, if you submit more than 3, schools will select which three they will read. To me, this is a good reason only to submit three. You run the risk of them missing the best one.

Thanks! I heard that regarding med schools, but I wasn't sure how vet schools would respond.

 

[Cephal0pod]

Hi all. Not sure if someone's addressed this yet.. in the evaluations section, I am unsure what to write in for the Personal Message/Notes area? I've already asked my letter writers for a LOR beforehand (in person and via email). I definitely want to include thanking my eLOR writer again, but I don't want to seem repetitive. What do most of you put?

I said something to the effect of "Hello [evaluator]! Here is the online evaluation/recommendation form I spoke with you about. Thank you so much again for being willing to write me a recommendation letter, it means a lot to me and I am very thankful for your support."

Maybe it was unnecessary and I could have said something more brief, but a genuine "thank you" can go a long way and mean a lot.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I'm pretty sure that, if you submit more than 3, schools will select which three they will read. To me, this is a good reason only to submit three. You run the risk of them missing the best one.

As usual, depends on the school. Some have that policy, others will read whatever you send them. It's best to check with the schools you're applying to and strategize based on their policies.

 

[Innerspeaker]

There are schools that in their supp. application, they ask you to specify three of your evaluators on VMCAS, which I suppose gives them an idea of the ones to focus on. I imagine it would be best to prioritize them if they 1) come from vets or 2) people who worked with you and can really write a good letter.

 

[Bunny Blaster]

There's some really good advice in this thread
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/that-redheads-guide-to-personal-statements.1127335/

Awesomeee!!! thank you

 

[StinaBee]

Hi friends!

This is my first year applying.
So far I've got Davis, Penn, Kansas, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Cornell, and Iowa on this list, but I am sure that is overkill.

I am from Nevada, so I don't have any home-state advantage. Does anyone have any experience with/opinion about the WICHE program?

Thanks!

 

[finnickthedog]

I added four blank spaces to my experiences section. Overkill? Maybe.
But I'm already tentatively planning one or two experiences between now and submission so... blah.

Also realized today I have to ask my vet for her email again because she forgot to give it to me. *sigh*
I'm too awkward for this.

How is everyone else coming along?

 

[crv2016]

I added four blank spaces to my experiences section. Overkill? Maybe.
But I'm already tentatively planning one or two experiences between now and submission so... blah.

I think that's really smart! I redid my experiences because I had forgotten to add something and they would be out of order, and only once I was finished reorganizing them did I realize I should have left some blank spaces. I'm hoping to volunteer with the spay and neuter clinic at the sanctuary I'm volunteering at, and I'm on a wait list for clinic assistant volunteers at the rescue I'm volunteering on the wildlife rehab side at (yeah, my summer is busy ahaha), plus *maybe* seeing if I could shadow the rehab center wildlife vet for a shift or two. Woops! I copied everything into a word document before I redid my experiences, so redoing would just be a lot of copying and pasting, but it'll be super boring to do it another time.

 

[missdarjeeling]

Preparing to retake the GRE since my scores are well over 5 years old by now.

Two of the schools I'm applying to explicitly say they don't even look at the analytical writing section. I need to check with VA-MD to see if they have a similar policy. Does anyone know off the top of their head? I couldn't find it on their website. At the open house, the admissions counselor only quoted figures for verbal and quant, but I'm kicking myself that I didn't think to ask about this when I was there.

Assuming that none of the schools I'm applying to even look at the writing score, would it make sense to skip the section or at least half ass it? The last time I took it, I remember being just drained after having to spend all that time writing something based on the crappy prompts the first time around, and I feel like if I could safely write it off, it'd let me save some mental energy and stamina for the sections that actually matter. Anyone ever do this?

 

[heyyimhayley]

Preparing to retake the GRE since my scores are well over 5 years old by now.

Two of the schools I'm applying to explicitly say they don't even look at the analytical writing section. I need to check with VA-MD to see if they have a similar policy. Does anyone know off the top of their head? I couldn't find it on their website. At the open house, the admissions counselor only quoted figures for verbal and quant, but I'm kicking myself that I didn't think to ask about this when I was there.

Assuming that none of the schools I'm applying to even look at the writing score, would it make sense to skip the section or at least half ass it? The last time I took it, I remember being just drained after having to spend all that time writing something based on the crappy prompts the first time around, and I feel like if I could safely write it off, it'd let me save some mental energy and stamina for the sections that actually matter. Anyone ever do this?

They cite average as 4.5 on the website, so I assume they look at it.

I had fun with that section, and used Jennifer Lawrence's nude pictures as my example in the issue essay. Ended up with 98th percentile so someone enjoyed it...

 

[HorsesandHogs]

For the LORs, can an evaluator see who my other evaluators are?

 

[WildZoo]

For the LORs, can an evaluator see who my other evaluators are?

Nope

 

[battie]

I had fun with that section, and used Jennifer Lawrence's nude pictures as my example in the issue essay. Ended up with 98th percentile so someone enjoyed it...

I used Emma Watson as an example for one of my prompts, something about can anyone demand true privacy any more. lol.

I am slowly but surely narrowing down my list. Need to go through an e-mail a few schools some questions, particularly about the analytical portion of the GRE. I really would rather not have to retake it.

 

[Caiter92]

Um, so I went to edit my experiences, and my whole application is gone. I still have an account, but when I log in I get a "start your application" window. Not the main portal I was getting with the four sections. Has anyone had this happen?

Kind of freaking out. Obviously, plenty of time to fix this is the application is gone for good, but I had already typed in both my transcripts and all my experiences. Ugh. Today has been a crappy day and this is not helping!

 

[Caiter92]

I realized the last time I logged on was this morning when I looked up my ID number to make my supplemental app account for my instate since that just opened today. Did that some how delete the app? Everything was normal and fine then.

 

[Bunny Blaster]

Um, so I went to edit my experiences, and my whole application is gone. I still have an account, but when I log in I get a "start your application" window. Not the main portal I was getting with the four sections. Has anyone had this happen?

Kind of freaking out. Obviously, plenty of time to fix this is the application is gone for good, but I had already typed in both my transcripts and all my experiences. Ugh. Today has been a crappy day and this is not helping!

Wow that's terrible....I just checked my application and nothing got deleted or anything..... D: maybe try to reach one of the vmcas admin??

 

[WildZoo]

I realized the last time I logged on was this morning when I looked up my ID number to make my supplemental app account for my instate since that just opened today. Did that some how delete the app? Everything was normal and fine then.

I old definitely contact someone at VMCAS directly before you start redoing things.

 

[heyyimhayley]

Iowa's supplement is WORKING if anyone was curious!

Edit: by working, I mean I could create an account... but it's telling me the deadline for editing it has passed, which shouldn't be true.

 

[Skimble]

I old definitely contact someone at VMCAS directly before you start redoing things.

This is a funny typo.

 

[WildZoo]

This is a funny typo.

Hmm. I could edit it, but I'm gonna leave it because it made me laugh

 

[Skimble]

I can almost hear it in a little toddler voice, like "I not a baby, I a big girl!"

 

[WildZoo]

I can almost hear it in a little toddler voice, like "I not a baby, I a big girl!"

Imagine the surprise when everyone finds out I have a man-voice

 

[that redhead]

Hi friends!

This is my first year applying.
So far I've got Davis, Penn, Kansas, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Cornell, and Iowa on this list, but I am sure that is overkill.

I am from Nevada, so I don't have any home-state advantage. Does anyone have any experience with/opinion about the WICHE program?

Thanks!

I don't think more schools are overkill at all, especially with no IS school. My grades were pretty bad and I applied to 11 schools. If money isn't too big of an issue, better to apply broadly and have options than have to do it all over again next year. I don't have any direct experience with WICHE though, hopefully someone else can chime in

 

[finnickthedog]

Hi friends!

This is my first year applying.
So far I've got Davis, Penn, Kansas, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Cornell, and Iowa on this list, but I am sure that is overkill.

I am from Nevada, so I don't have any home-state advantage. Does anyone have any experience with/opinion about the WICHE program?

Thanks!

I don't think more schools are overkill at all, especially with no IS school. My grades were pretty bad and I applied to 11 schools. If money isn't too big of an issue, better to apply broadly and have options than have to do it all over again next year. I don't have any direct experience with WICHE though, hopefully someone else can chime in

I don't think it's overkill either since you don't have an IS.
(And of course assuming that money is not an issue)

Now if I went applying to that many schools it would be overkill. But I have an IS so realistically I'm probably not going to spend the extra money going elsewhere when it would be more practical to wait a year and apply to my IS again.

 

[Caiter92]

I old definitely contact someone at VMCAS directly before you start redoing things.

Ha, yeah no worries. Was not even remotely considering retyping any of that until VCMAS told me it was gone for good.

I emailed them last night before I posted, and still haven't heard back, but everything was back to normal this morning. So weird! Very glad this happened now and not the day I went to turn my app in or something.

 

[Caiter92]

Hi friends!

This is my first year applying.
So far I've got Davis, Penn, Kansas, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Cornell, and Iowa on this list, but I am sure that is overkill.

I am from Nevada, so I don't have any home-state advantage. Does anyone have any experience with/opinion about the WICHE program?

Thanks!

I would definitely apply to any WICHE schools you have the prereqs for, especially if they have seats specifically for your state.

WSU is a WICHE school, as are Colorado State and Oregon State I believe. I think some WICHE states give you in state tuition, but at the very least it's usually only 50% more than in state, so cheaper than paying out of state at another school. If you're at the Pullman campus, WSU allows you to change residency pretty easily after one year, so youd be able to pay IS for three of the years.

 

[LetItSnow]

Preparing to retake the GRE since my scores are well over 5 years old by now.

Two of the schools I'm applying to explicitly say they don't even look at the analytical writing section. I need to check with VA-MD to see if they have a similar policy. Does anyone know off the top of their head? I couldn't find it on their website. At the open house, the admissions counselor only quoted figures for verbal and quant, but I'm kicking myself that I didn't think to ask about this when I was there.

Assuming that none of the schools I'm applying to even look at the writing score, would it make sense to skip the section or at least half ass it? The last time I took it, I remember being just drained after having to spend all that time writing something based on the crappy prompts the first time around, and I feel like if I could safely write it off, it'd let me save some mental energy and stamina for the sections that actually matter. Anyone ever do this?

I wouldn't half-ass or skip it. What if one of those schools changes its policies? Or you decide to apply somewhere else next year if (hopefully not!) you don't get in?

If you're there and taking it, might as well do your best. Just seems like you might set yourself up for a headache later if you don't. Other than "effort" is there a reason to not do it well?

 

[JaynaAli]

I vote to do it as well because like LIS said you never know what will happen.

My story which isn't too relevant to your situation but still explains my reasoning: I got into my IS through an early acceptance program and did not have to take the GRE. A wise resident told me I should go ahead and take it just in case I wanted to specialize and grad programs needed that score or if something happened and I lost my provisional acceptance and needed to apply to other schools. I blew her off and told her I knew I wouldn't want to specialize and didn't take it. Fast forward four years to late in my junior year of vet school and I did want to specialize and some programs in said speciality require GRE scores and I didn't have them. So I had to take it later on when I didn't have much time to properly prepare. I regretted not taking it when I had more time and money. I would have regretted it more if I'd eventually needed all three portions and have to retake that whole entire stupid test because I skipped a portion. Now, most residencies don't require GRE scores so it won't matter to most people post vet school admissions, but if you fall in love with path you may need them later!

 

[Glammyre]

I vote to do it as well because like LIS said you never know what will happen.

My story which isn't too relevant to your situation but still explains my reasoning: I got into my IS through an early acceptance program and did not have to take the GRE. A wise resident told me I should go ahead and take it just in case I wanted to specialize and grad programs needed that score or if something happened and I lost my provisional acceptance and needed to apply to other schools. I blew her off and told her I knew I wouldn't want to specialize and didn't take it. Fast forward four years to late in my junior year of vet school and I did want to specialize and some programs in said speciality require GRE scores and I didn't have them. So I had to take it later on when I didn't have much time to properly prepare. I regretted not taking it when I had more time and money. I would have regretted it more if I'd eventually needed all three portions and have to retake that whole entire stupid test because I skipped a portion. Now, most residencies don't require GRE scores so it won't matter to most people post vet school admissions, but if you fall in love with path you may need them later!

Seconded. You never know if you'll need all of those scores again. I've applied to a couple of different graduate programs since starting veterinary school to make a dual degree program work, so I've definitely needed to reuse my GRE scores.

As much effort as the test is, I really doubt you want to take it a second time.

 

[missdarjeeling]

Other than "effort" is there a reason to not do it well?

Well, my reasoning is that in the practice runs I've done this time around, I do better on the quant and verbal if I don't do the writing section. I noticed that the first time I took it years ago, but it seems more pronounced now that I'm a little older and losing some of that anxiety-fueled testing stamina.

For the other reasons you mentioned, I'll probably try to do my best on the writing, but I wish it were possible to opt out of it for programs that only require verbal and quant. Even my first time around when I was applying to PhD programs in a writing-heavy humanities field, no one cared about that score. I still put in effort when taking it and got a decent score, but all the departments cared about were my writing samples because that told them more about applicants' abilities than the GRE writing section ever could. It's just a little frustrating to have to jump through all the GRE hoops all over again, even the writing part.

 

[LyraGardenia]

They cite average as 4.5 on the website, so I assume they look at it.

I had fun with that section, and used Jennifer Lawrence's nude pictures as my example in the issue essay. Ended up with 98th percentile so someone enjoyed it...

I used Anthony Weiner as an example in one of my essays, and scored in the 97th percentile (a 5.5). I wonder if we had the same question? I took the GRE in September 2013, so I don't remember what it was exactly.

 

[dyachei]

I used Anthony Weiner as an example in one of my essays, and scored in the 97th percentile (a 5.5). I wonder if we had the same question? I took the GRE in September 2013, so I don't remember what it was exactly.

you shouldn't talk about it anyway

 

[LyraGardenia]

you shouldn't talk about it anyway

I know, I'm just slightly curious.

 

[LetItSnow]

Well, my reasoning is that in the practice runs I've done this time around, I do better on the quant and verbal if I don't do the writing section. I noticed that the first time I took it years ago, but it seems more pronounced now that I'm a little older and losing some of that anxiety-fueled testing stamina.

For the other reasons you mentioned, I'll probably try to do my best on the writing, but I wish it were possible to opt out of it for programs that only require verbal and quant. Even my first time around when I was applying to PhD programs in a writing-heavy humanities field, no one cared about that score. I still put in effort when taking it and got a decent score, but all the departments cared about were my writing samples because that told them more about applicants' abilities than the GRE writing section ever could. It's just a little frustrating to have to jump through all the GRE hoops all over again, even the writing part.

Huh. Weird. But if it really makes a difference in your score, I can see your reasoning! I guess you just have to decide what's best and go with it.

I hear ya bout hoops. The only tiny almost-worthless piece of advice I can offer is that vet school is one hoop after another allllll the way through. At some point you just have to decide to smile and move past it, or it can kinda eat you up. But it definitely doesn't end once you 'get in'.

I have a feeling you'll be fine this cycle.

 

[Soon2bedogtor]

I started a Vet Tech Program through Penn Foster, just for whatever reason, don't really know why, but should I include that on my "colleges attended" or do most vet schools think thats not a real school?

 

[LyraGardenia]

I started a Vet Tech Program through Penn Foster, just for whatever reason, don't really know why, but should I include that on my "colleges attended" or do most vet schools think thats not a real school?

That's an awful lot of money to spend on something for no real reason. Do you want to be a vet tech if vet school doesn't work out? If not, why do it? In most areas you can get shadowing/work experience just fine without becoming a certified tech. I think it should definitely go on your app somewhere, although I don't know enough about the program to say where. But schools are going to want to know why you're going through the program, and "just because" isn't going to cut it. If the money isn't an issue and you want to expand your technical skills and have a backup plan in place, sure, go for it.

 

[bullymama18]

That's an awful lot of money to spend on something for no real reason. Do you want to be a vet tech if vet school doesn't work out? If not, why do it? In most areas you can get shadowing/work experience just fine without becoming a certified tech. I think it should definitely go on your app somewhere, although I don't know enough about the program to say where. But schools are going to want to know why you're going through the program, and "just because" isn't going to cut it. If the money isn't an issue and you want to expand your technical skills and have a backup plan in place, sure, go for it.

Yeah I would definitely ask the schools' opinions as well. Especially since you aren't physically going to class everyday. I looked into it 3 years ago when I at first wanted to be a tech. But my opinion is if you're doing it to get a "leg up" so to speak and "boost" your application and/or knowledge on vet med, then I guess go for it. I have been doing tech work for about 9 months now and I have learned SOOOO much just by the vets teaching me and by learning hands on. So if I were you, I would save your money. But it's your app so it's up to you. If you want a solid opinion, ask a vet school since they are the ones you're wanting to impress ya know?

 

[Cometbt]

So when entering courses for prerequisites for each school if they're not super specific in what they want can we just pick whichever class we think fits best/we got the best grade in? For example, some schools are asking for organic chemistry, but they don't specify if it's 1st or 2nd semester. Is it ok for me to pick the one I got a better grade in? Also some say just "biology/zoology". Will we know before it's too late if we picked a course that didn't fit their requirements?

 

[finnickthedog]

So when entering courses for prerequisites for each school if they're not super specific in what they want can we just pick whichever class we think fits best/we got the best grade in? For example, some schools are asking for organic chemistry, but they don't specify if it's 1st or 2nd semester. Is it ok for me to pick the one I got a better grade in? Also some say just "biology/zoology". Will we know before it's too late if we picked a course that didn't fit their requirements?

Maybe check the school's website and see if they make any mention about which class they would use or ask the school if they don't.

Some might use the higher grade, some might prefer the more recent grade, and some might actually mean the first semester. Just don't know.
It might not even matter, because they may just look at all your grades anyways.
But... I figure it is probably better safe than sorry.

 

[wigglebutt]

FINALLY finished adding experiences! After re-doing them several times because of reverse chronological order and not being able to add things in the middle that were forgotten, and then forgetting a few place holders for new experiences. That was a great idea, guys! :[ A personal statement is going to feel like a cake walk after that

 

[Teepster87]

Question about personal statments. I hope I didn't glaze over this if it was mentioned somewhere previously.

I still have to do some editing and condensing, but I am worried about the character limit. Is it bad form to try and save space by using vet/ vet med/ etc instead of writing it all out every time? Could I potentially eliminate spaces altogether as well? Icouldgetsomanymorewordsinlikethis.

 

[LetItSnow]

Question about personal statments. I hope I didn't glaze over this if it was mentioned somewhere previously.

I still have to do some editing and condensing, but I am worried about the character limit. Is it bad form to try and save space by using vet/ vet med/ etc instead of writing it all out every time? Could I potentially eliminate spaces altogether as well? Icouldgetsomanymorewordsinlikethis.

Heh. Man. I remember making so many passes through to cut out characters to squeak in under the limit.

I <personally> wouldn't use 'vet' or 'vet med'. I feel like it's just a little too colloquial. You could use 'doctor' instead of 'veterinarian' in most contexts, though. In my PS I talked about wanting to go to the University of Minnesota ... which seemed like a huge waste of characters, so after writing it out once I stuck with things like "here" and other ways to talk around it without having to write out the full school name.

 

[Teepster87]

Heh. Man. I remember making so many passes through to cut out characters to squeak in under the limit.

I <personally> wouldn't use 'vet' or 'vet med'. I feel like it's just a little too colloquial. You could use 'doctor' instead of 'veterinarian' in most contexts, though. In my PS I talked about wanting to go to the University of Minnesota ... which seemed like a huge waste of characters, so after writing it out once I stuck with things like "here" and other ways to talk around it without having to write out the full school name.

Thanks for the response! I hope by the time I get somewhere close to a final draft I won't be worrying about this, but I never expected 4500 characters to go by so quickly.

 

[Innerspeaker]

When I was filling out the rough draft of my PS, I thought it could be 5000 WORDS instead of characters. Whoops.