Future DVMs- C/O 2021!

[Osudairy]

This might sound weird but - I'm one of the low GPA people. I think I'll be applying with a 3.2 overall/last 45/science/everything. BUT, I've never had to retake a class, and the lowest grade I've gotten on a prereq was a C+ in calc-based Physics I, but I followed that up with an A- in calc-based Physics II. Everything else has been As and Bs (mostly Bs). Does any of this count for anything? I've seen some higher GPA folks that have had to retake classes, but that's something I haven't had to do. Honestly, I don't even know why my GPA is so low, lol. Bs seem to drag it down a whole lot more than As pull it up!!

You could retake classes that you got the low scores in. However, that will not count for this cycle. I would just apply and see where you are with this year's cycle. There have been some people admitted with that GPA. It also depends on your experience, EC activities, PS, ect. It is difficult to pull up a GPA by only retaking 1-2 classes because you already have a heavy weight of credits if you are close to graduating.

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[sheltermed]

You could retake classes that you got the low scores in. However, that will not count for this cycle. I would just apply and see where you are with this year's cycle. There have been some people admitted with that GPA. It also depends on your experience, EC activities, PS, ect. It is difficult to pull up a GPA by only retaking 1-2 classes because you already have a heavy weight of credits if you are close to graduating.

Would it really be worth retaking classes I got Bs in, though? I feel like it wouldn't. As I said, lowest prerequisite was Physics I and that was a C+. No Cs elsewhere. Probs no going back now. If anything, I'll have to go for a graduate program if my undergrad GPA is too low.

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[dyachei]

Would it really be worth retaking classes I got Bs in, though? I feel like it wouldn't. As I said, lowest prerequisite was Physics I and that was a C+. No Cs elsewhere. Probs no going back now. If anything, I'll have to go for a graduate program if my undergrad GPA is too low.

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nope, not worth it. better to take upper level courses and get As in things you havent taken before.

 

[aggievethopeful2021]

Would it really be worth retaking classes I got Bs in, though? I feel like it wouldn't. As I said, lowest prerequisite was Physics I and that was a C+. No Cs elsewhere. Probs no going back now. If anything, I'll have to go for a graduate program if my undergrad GPA is too low.

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I would see where you are with this cycle. Check different schools and apply smart. If your experiences are great, focus on the schools that value those. If things don't work out this cycle, you might consider applying for a graduate program. I also am one of those low GPA people and am in a masters program right now. I love it. It's not for everyone though.

 

[lhmhtd]

Would it really be worth retaking classes I got Bs in, though? I feel like it wouldn't. As I said, lowest prerequisite was Physics I and that was a C+. No Cs elsewhere. Probs no going back now. If anything, I'll have to go for a graduate program if my undergrad GPA is too low.

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I agree w Dy. Retaking classes you got Bs in wouldn't hurt, but I think taking some extra classes in upper level sciences would be better. I'm not entirely sure you *need* to even do that. After a couples years of perusing the Accepted Applicant Stats threads on here, I have found a theme. Applicants who have a unique story and can showcase it, and relate it to vet med almost always seem to get in. That's not to say you can slack everywhere else, but I've seen some people post with great GPAs and GREs and not get in some places, whereas some people have fairly average numbers, but bring something completely unique to the table. I think that makes an applicant memorable and I personally think that's a huge deciding factor. I'm not claiming to be some kind of expert, but simply saying I would figure out where you stand out, and really showcase that in your PS and interviews.

 

[lhmhtd]

I don't know what's wrong with "I dropped the ball." Maybe not specifically those words, but.... it's ok to say "I was struggling with some problems in life, and didn't perform well academically because of it."

I mean. They key is turning it into a positive. You can't turn the D into a positive, but your answer can be positive. Saying "I dropped the ball. But .........." and then highlighting how well you did later once you got the balls all back in the air to be juggled. Devote 33% of your answer to what happened, but 66% of your answer to the evidence after that semester that will convince them they don't need to care about that particular grade.

Yanno?

Always appreciate the wise words of an old man such as yourself.
jk, thanks for the input!

 

[LetItSnow]

Always appreciate the wise words of an old man such as yourself.
jk, thanks for the input!

lynch html

Oh wait. Wrong thread.

 

[WildZoo]

Really wish VMCAS had followed through on that rumor that they'd start accepting GRE scores so we wouldn't have to worry about getting them in to every individual school...

Did they really not follow through with that? It wasn't even a rumor, it was a feature that they stated the would be implementing. Lame.

lynch html

Oh wait. Wrong thread.

The people who don't play WW are going to be so confused

 

[finnickthedog]

The people who don't play WW are going to be so confused

They aren't the only ones!
I legitimately thought I was in the wrong thread for a second. I don't need this confusion in my life.

 

[Devastating]

Did they really not follow through with that? It wasn't even a rumor, it was a feature that they stated the would be implementing. Lame.

No, I don't think so At least they haven't seemed to mention anything about it. Shoulda known not to get my hopes up

 

[Trilt]

No, I don't think so At least they haven't seemed to mention anything about it. Shoulda known not to get my hopes up

It'll half-work in about five years.

 

[mht2k3]

Did they really not follow through with that? It wasn't even a rumor, it was a feature that they stated the would be implementing. Lame.

From what I can tell based on http://www.aavmc.org/testdeadlines.aspx and https://portal.vmcas.org/vmcasHelpPages/instructions/academic-history/tests/index.html

VMCAS are now accepting GRE scores for the schools, that I'm assuming they will pass on with the rest of the app. Its still individual codes per school though, so its not like you just send in one score to VMCAS and they distribute it out. I have no idea why this is any better since we still have to pay a fee per school.

 

[WildZoo]

From what I can tell based on http://www.aavmc.org/testdeadlines.aspx and https://portal.vmcas.org/vmcasHelpPages/instructions/academic-history/tests/index.html

VMCAS are now accepting GRE scores for the schools, that I'm assuming they will pass on with the rest of the app. Its still individual codes per school though, so its not like you just send in one score to VMCAS and they distribute it out. I have no idea why this is any better since we still have to pay a fee per school.

So...another dumb, useless feature. Sounds about right!

 

[Devastating]

From what I can tell based on http://www.aavmc.org/testdeadlines.aspx and https://portal.vmcas.org/vmcasHelpPages/instructions/academic-history/tests/index.html

VMCAS are now accepting GRE scores for the schools, that I'm assuming they will pass on with the rest of the app. Its still individual codes per school though, so its not like you just send in one score to VMCAS and they distribute it out. I have no idea why this is any better since we still have to pay a fee per school.

Hm, so that's why there was a code with "VMCAS" at the end for OSU (and maybe a few other schools, but not all of them)? Wow, soooooo much more convenient

 

[LetItSnow]

It'll half-work in about five years.

And once they fix the broken half, the working half will break.


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[DVMDream]

Hey, at least VMCAS did listen to us when we told them it was stupid to have some arbitrary September verification recommendation with a confusing, "but everything still isn't really due until October". They actually took our recommendation to open up the application in may and make the deadline in Sept so the schools can have all applications verified and to them by October.

 

[LetItSnow]

Hey, at least VMCAS did listen to us when we told them it was stupid to have some arbitrary September verification recommendation with a confusing, "but everything still isn't really due until October". They actually took our recommendation to open up the application in may and make the deadline in Sept so the schools can have all applications verified and to them by October.

Truth. Gotta give credit where credit is due, and vmcas definitely takes one step forward for every two backwards.




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[DVMDream]

Truth. Gotta give credit where credit is due, and vmcas definitely takes one step forward for every two backwards.




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Yup, one tiny step forward and two giant leaps backward.

 

[battie]

I know I'm jumping the gun here a little bit as it's only May *but* I was just lying in bed this morning and thinking about the potential interviews I may get. I was thinking about how to answer the questions and I realized someone is probably going to be like "um hey you got a D in physics the first time, wtf is that about?" I searched the forum but couldn't really find anything that addresses the best way to answer questions like this. Obviously you want to be honest and not blame your teacher, but I honestly don't know what I'd say other than something along the lines of I just really dropped the ball. Of course that kind of answer is probably not the best one, so what are some of yalls thoughts? I mean literally, there was no excuse, I was honestly super depressed and had just moved to a new place, with no friends or family. It was the first time i'd been away from my mom and I felt really overwhelmed at a huge university and felt like I had no social support. My husband was at school literally about 13-15 hours a day every day. I kind just fell into a funk and didn't really care for a few months. Idk, any thoughts are appreciated.

I had an F on my transcript and was not asked about it at my Kansas interview my first cycle or my Illinois interview my third cycle. It partly depends on the interview style of the school, too. Illinois has to go by pre-written questions that they don't really deviate from. So the only way we would have gotten to my F would have been through the, "Tell us a time you failed?" route. But I never brought it up. So keep that in mind as well.

 

[sheltermed]

I'm still feeling weird about entering my experiences!

Could someone let me know what they think of this example? - I had my own pet sitting service for several years. I named myself as the organization and supervisor (should I list of one my former clients?), and said that it was part-time, 4 hours per week. Here is my description:

- Ran a pet sitting service year-round for members of the community.
- Cared for various species, including dogs, cats, horses, goats, chickens, ducks, pigs, and pet birds.
- Cared for some animals with special needs - administered oral medications and treated with subcutaneous fluids.
- Former client contact information for references can be provided upon request.

I think it sounds okay, but I just want to make sure!



Edit: Here's another. Brief research experience, presented a poster on something I did in class (worked on the poster and presentation outside of class)

SOARS - SUNY Orange Achievements in Research and Scholarship

- Prepared and presented a research poster (outside of class) regarding a project completed in the laboratory section of General Biology I during the Fall 2013 semester.
- The project gave a basic overview of Mendelian inheritance through the use of a Drosophila melanogaster model.
- Spoke with the public, explaining the basis of the project and answered questions.

Enough of a description?

 

[vetmedhead]

I'm still feeling weird about entering my experiences!

Could someone let me know what they think of this example? - I had my own pet sitting service for several years. I named myself as the organization and supervisor (should I list of one my former clients?), and said that it was part-time, 4 hours per week. Here is my description:

- Ran a pet sitting service year-round for members of the community.
- Cared for various species, including dogs, cats, horses, goats, chickens, ducks, pigs, and pet birds.
- Cared for some animals with special needs - administered oral medications and treated with subcutaneous fluids.
- Former client contact information for references can be provided upon request.

I think it sounds okay, but I just want to make sure!



Edit: Here's another. Brief research experience, presented a poster on something I did in class (worked on the poster and presentation outside of class)

SOARS - SUNY Orange Achievements in Research and Scholarship

- Prepared and presented a research poster (outside of class) regarding a project completed in the laboratory section of General Biology I during the Fall 2013 semester.
- The project gave a basic overview of Mendelian inheritance through the use of a Drosophila melanogaster model.
- Spoke with the public, explaining the basis of the project and answered questions.

Enough of a description?

Take out the part about client contacts upon request - they assume you would be able to provide that and you can write something more valuable with the characters you'd free up by not including it. Instead consider giving more descriptions/detail. As an example, here's a copy of what I wrote for a petsitting thing I did during Thanksgiving one year:

Pet sat during Thanksgiving break for a household with a large number and variety of animals, including six cats, five large breed dogs, rabbits, sulcata tortoises, a bearded dragon, two large parrots (African Grey/Scarlet Macaw), six sun conures, twenty crested geckos, and a horse. Due to number of animals, it was necessary to stay in the home for the entire length of the owners’ absence (2 days). Groomed, fed, watered, cleaned up after, and exercised animals as appropriate. Cared for geriatric canines and felines that required medication. Monitored humidity/temperature levels for reptiles.

Some of it I would probably rewrite looking at it now, but I got the point across and adcoms know what I cared for, what I did ("petsitting" can be very time intensive or simply being in the same house as the animal), and what exactly I had experience with. Give as much detail as possible.

You may also notice that I didn't use "I" - you don't need it. Stay to the point. It's your application and adcoms will understand that you did it. I know it's not technically "grammatically correct", but it is effective and it is what my pre-veterinary advisor told us to do. She said it was more important for them to understand what you were doing and using every last letter of that character count to give them as much detail as possible.

As another example, here's what I wrote for 800(!) hours worth of being a vet tech at animal control:

Summers. ~50 spay/neuter surgeries and ~75 new patients a week. Vaccinated, microchipped, dewormed, sedated, restrained, medicated, and drew blood from dogs/cats. Ran heartworm, parvo, and FIV/FELV tests, fecals, and skin scrapes. Prepared animals for and assisted in surgery. Ran post-op care. Intubated dogs. Treated cruelty cases and injured animals, assisted in euthanasia and necropsies. Attended shelter rounds, performed basic physical exams, educated others about animal health and disease spread. Species seen: dogs, cats, goats, pigs, horses, birds, wild mammals, small exotics, reptiles.

It sucks trying to condense your whole life into ~600 characters. Make the space count.

 

[sheltermed]

Take out the part about client contacts upon request - they assume you would be able to provide that and you can write something more valuable with the characters you'd free up by not including it. Instead consider giving more descriptions/detail. As an example, here's a copy of what I wrote for a petsitting thing I did during Thanksgiving one year:



Some of it I would probably rewrite looking at it now, but I got the point across and adcoms know what I cared for, what I did ("petsitting" can be very time intensive or simply being in the same house as the animal), and what exactly I had experience with. Give as much detail as possible.

You may also notice that I didn't use "I" - you don't need it. Stay to the point. It's your application and adcoms will understand that you did it. I know it's not technically "grammatically correct", but it is effective and it is what my pre-veterinary advisor told us to do. She said it was more important for them to understand what you were doing and using every last letter of that character count to give them as much detail as possible.

As another example, here's what I wrote for 800(!) hours worth of being a vet tech at animal control:



It sucks trying to condense your whole life into ~600 characters. Make the space count.

I guess listing all the species I had worked with doesn't imply what I did? I said things like horses and goats, which presumably means time-consuming barn chores ... do you still think I should describe it? I figured I'd just make it as concise as possible, and where I felt like they could [probably?] fill in the blanks, I left out small details.

Did you think the research poster description was decent?

 

[TrashPanda]

Silly question time! I have only 2 hours of food animal veterinary experience, and I'd hate to not include it but I don't know how.

While helping out an equine vet, an owner had an emergency case with a cow (that took 2 hours). Should I:
A) Not include it at all
B) Include it under the equine experience and write in the description that there was also one cow (if so, should I check off "food animal" as well as "equine"?)
C) Make it its own 2-hour experience in VMCAS
D) Other (Please specify: ________)

 

[lhmhtd]

Silly question time! I have only 2 hours of food animal veterinary experience, and I'd hate to not include it but I don't know how.

While helping out an equine vet, an owner had an emergency case with a cow (that took 2 hours). Should I:
A) Not include it at all
B) Include it under the equine experience and write in the description that there was also one cow (if so, should I check off "food animal" as well as "equine"?)
C) Make it its own 2-hour experience in VMCAS
D) Other (Please specify: ________)

C. I would make it its own experience, and say what you said here, that you observed an equine vet do some emergency procedure (be more detailed than that). Schools know not everything you put down is going to be a large amount of hours. Include it, and if you can somehow describe what you learned that you hadn't known prior to said experience, bonus points.

 

[WildZoo]

Silly question time! I have only 2 hours of food animal veterinary experience, and I'd hate to not include it but I don't know how.

While helping out an equine vet, an owner had an emergency case with a cow (that took 2 hours). Should I:
A) Not include it at all
B) Include it under the equine experience and write in the description that there was also one cow (if so, should I check off "food animal" as well as "equine"?)
C) Make it its own 2-hour experience in VMCAS
D) Other (Please specify: ________)

I would go with option B, and might as well check off food animal and equine.
I look at it similarly to my tech job at a small animal hospital where we did some work with injured wildlife. Seems excessive to it break it into different experiences since it was with the same vets and the same business.

 

[deleted676737]

I would go with option B, and might as well check of food animal and equine.
I look at it similarly to my tech job where we did some work with injured wildlife. Seems excessive to it break it into different experiences since it was with the same vets and the same business.

Agreed with WZ. Go with option B. I had a very similar situation (the only real food animal experience I attained was from an equine chiropractic practice, of all things). I did basically the same thing that she proposed.

 

[TrashPanda]

Thanks @lhmhtd @WildZoo and @SandstormDVM!

I think I'll try for B unless I can't fit everything into 600 characters.

 

[lhmhtd]

Oh, didn't realize it was with the same vet you'll be listing other experience under. Yeah, do B.

 

[ilikecake]

Hey guys! On the personal statement, more specifically: "what you have to offer the profession and your career goals and objectives," how specific are you being? Are you making this section half your personal statement, or just a few sentences? I'm not sure how central this has to be to the whole essay.

 

[lhmhtd]

Hey guys! On the personal statement, more specifically: "what you have to offer the profession and your career goals and objectives," how specific are you being? Are you making this section half your personal statement, or just a few sentences? I'm not sure how central this has to be to the whole essay.

I'm personally making it a pretty large chunk, because I know I want to go into pathology. That's part of what makes me unique so I'm definitely going to capitalize on that. If you're going to just say something like, "I think I'll be a great vet and I want to work with small animals in general practice," that is absolutely fine, but I wouldn't spend a ton of space on it, because the majority of applicants are SA. I mentioned this earlier, find what makes you stand out, and sell yourself using that. Think of how many PS the adcoms read that talk about people loving animals and wanting to help them and their plan is to work as a general clinician. Again, that's perfectly fine, but won't set you apart.

 

[Osudairy]

Hey guys! On the personal statement, more specifically: "what you have to offer the profession and your career goals and objectives," how specific are you being? Are you making this section half your personal statement, or just a few sentences? I'm not sure how central this has to be to the whole essay.

This part of the PS is where you really want to shine and stand out to the ADCOM members. I made this section about my experience in nutrition and my graduate research in that area and I believe it made me stand out among other applicants. Talk about the unique things you can contribute to the profession based on your experiences and what you want to do with it.

 

[dyachei]

I'm personally making it a pretty large chunk, because I know I want to go into pathology. That's part of what makes me unique so I'm definitely going to capitalize on that. If you're going to just say something like, "I think I'll be a great vet and I want to work with small animals in general practice," that is absolutely fine, but I wouldn't spend a ton of space on it, because the majority of applicants are SA. I mentioned this earlier, find what makes you stand out, and sell yourself using that. Think of how many PS the adcoms read that talk about people loving animals and wanting to help them and their plan is to work as a general clinician. Again, that's perfectly fine, but won't set you apart.

no, no, no.

This is where you say things like "I'm a critical thinker and here's how" or i bring creativity to the profession and support those statements. Sell you! Not just I will be a great vet, let me into your school.

 

[floridajl]

I asked in the NCSU c/o 2021 thread if they really care what order our experiences were in since they no longer get reordered after submission, and this is the response I got.

I can't speak for the other schools but NC State prefers that applicants list experiences in reverse chronological order (like on a CV or resume). It helps with order and differentiation.

So in case anyone was wondering, at least one school cares. I can't say I'm surprised, but I can say I'm still frustrated (even though I ordered all mine in a word document before entering them - I'm still worried something will go wrong, since it IS vmcas).

 

[lhmhtd]

no, no, no.

This is where you say things like "I'm a critical thinker and here's how" or i bring creativity to the profession and support those statements. Sell you! Not just I will be a great vet, let me into your school.

no I don't think someone should say "I'll be a great vet, let me in." I'm trying to say, be unique. Show that you understand the profession, you know what you're getting yourself into, you're mentally capable, etc, and back it up, but if you can spin that to showcase your uniqueness, that's what you should do. I was pointing out that there's no problem with wanting to be a general practice vet, but don't just leave it at that.

 

[dyachei]

no I don't think someone should say "I'll be a great vet, let me in." I'm trying to say, be unique. Show that you understand the profession, you know what you're getting yourself into, you're mentally capable, etc, and back it up, but if you can spin that to showcase your uniqueness, that's what you should do. I was pointing out that there's no problem with wanting to be a general practice vet, but don't just leave it at that.

Ok, just wanted to be sure. I know you don't see the joy of being GP because you've got a different goal in mind, but I want to make sure others understand this is the chance to sell why you would be a good vet. and it has little to do with knowledge

 

[lhmhtd]

Ok, just wanted to be sure. I know you don't see the joy of being GP because you've got a different goal in mind, but I want to make sure others understand this is the chance to sell why you would be a good vet. and it has little to do with knowledge

No I totally see the joy in being a GP and I have tons of respect for those who do it. I plan on doing that for a couple years before persuing a residency, in fact. I was trying to elaborate upon the fact that while there's nothing wrong with wanting to go into GP, it's a fairly common career goal so yes, as you said, sell yourself by letting them know you know how to think and possess all the qualities of a great vet, all while highlighting your own individual, unique traits.

 

[cdo96]

Hey guys! On the personal statement, more specifically: "what you have to offer the profession and your career goals and objectives," how specific are you being? Are you making this section half your personal statement, or just a few sentences? I'm not sure how central this has to be to the whole essay.

I made it the last third or so. But I was kinda lucky in the whole deaf thing, so I was able to incorporate overcoming challenges with me offering the profession diversity/ compassion etc


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[finnickthedog]

Hey guys! On the personal statement, more specifically: "what you have to offer the profession and your career goals and objectives," how specific are you being? Are you making this section half your personal statement, or just a few sentences? I'm not sure how central this has to be to the whole essay.

I think I spent a good chunk of it talking abut what I had to offer the profession (or at least I tried to) but I only spent a couple sentences on my career goals.

 

[lilylilac]

No I totally see the joy in being a GP and I have tons of respect for those who do it. I plan on doing that for a couple years before persuing a residency, in fact. I was trying to elaborate upon the fact that while there's nothing wrong with wanting to go into GP, it's a fairly common career goal so yes, as you said, sell yourself by letting them know you know how to think and possess all the qualities of a great vet, all while highlighting your own individual, unique traits.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to work in GP before a residency? Especially since I think you recently mentioned you want to do pathology?

 

[lhmhtd]

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to work in GP before a residency? Especially since I think you recently mentioned you want to do pathology?

A few reasons. 1. I'd like to start paying off some loans instead of letting them continue to accumulate and snowball out of control. 2. I think it's a good idea to get a good foundation in general animal health before specializing, for me personally. 3. I'd like to give my husband a chance to get established in his career as well.

 

[lhmhtd]

Ummmmm, I didn't talk to anyone on the phone, and I'm not sure what this is about. Anyone else get an email like this?

 

[sheltermed]

Wait, so you need to enter your experiences in VMCAS in chronological (or reverse) chronological order, and you can't change the order once you've entered them? ...Do I have to start over? I entered experiences almost completely randomly.

 

[cdo96]

Wait, so you need to enter your experiences in VMCAS in chronological (or reverse) chronological order, and you can't change the order once you've entered them? ...Do I have to start over? I entered experiences almost completely randomly.

Apparently you should consider it. I put my experiences in an excel sheet so I could put them in reverse chronological order. Also, if I have to reapply next year, I have the sheet handy so I can add in my newest experiences.


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[vetmedhead]

Apparently you should consider it. I put my experiences in an excel sheet so I could put them in reverse chronological order. Also, if I have to reapply next year, I have the sheet handy so I can add in my newest experiences.


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Good idea - I definitely typed all of my stuff up in an excel sheet and a word document. I actually thought it was a bit easier to type everything up on those, then enter them into VMCAS as soon as I was done tweaking/editing everything - that way I could reorder things or add stuff as necessary without having to delete and reenter everything.

 

[sheltermed]

Apparently you should consider it. I put my experiences in an excel sheet so I could put them in reverse chronological order. Also, if I have to reapply next year, I have the sheet handy so I can add in my newest experiences.


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omg....what have I done!?!?!?!?

 

[cdo96]

omg....what have I done!?!?!?!?

I recommend copy and paste to copy over your long paragraphs. Split your screen in two, pull up the PDF, and copy them over. It didn't take *too* long for me, but then again, I didn't have that much experience.


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[Osudairy]

I recommend copy and paste to copy over your long paragraphs. Split your screen in two, pull up the PDF, and copy them over. It didn't take *too* long for me, but then again, I didn't have that much experience.


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Man I am glad that out pre-veterinary program director back in UG beat it into our heads to always use chronological order. I just automatically did it that way back when I applied. Sucks that sheltermed has to do some copy and pasting, but at least everyone else who reads this will know for sure.

 

[sheltermed]

I recommend copy and paste to copy over your long paragraphs. Split your screen in two, pull up the PDF, and copy them over. It didn't take *too* long for me, but then again, I didn't have that much experience.


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Looking at my experiences section, it threw all of them into a random order, as in, not in the ordered I entered things. It's totally random. So, even if I re-enter everything in chronological order, won't it just shuffle them up again? Meh

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Does anyone else have an employer/family friend type person doing an evaluation?

One of my experiences that WSU thought was unique was a goat tending job I did off and on (for the owner while she left town). I know her pretty well now, and I went on a backpacking trip with her a few years ago. She offered to write me a letter for my application this year and I said yes, but in starting to have nagging doubts about the number of evaluators I have this time . . . all three from last year, plus one WSU asked me to add, plus the goat owner.

I guess I'm just afraid that 5 letters is a lot. I know they will all be strong, but I'm worried it will feel like over kill?

 

[sheltermed]

Does anyone else have an employer/family friend type person doing an evaluation?

One of my experiences that WSU thought was unique was a goat tending job I did off and on (for the owner while she left town). I know her pretty well now, and I went on a backpacking trip with her a few years ago. She offered to write me a letter for my application this year and I said yes, but in starting to have nagging doubts about the number of evaluators I have this time . . . all three from last year, plus one WSU asked me to add, plus the goat owner.

I guess I'm just afraid that 5 letters is a lot. I know they will all be strong, but I'm worried it will feel like over kill?

I don't think 5 letters is a lot, I have 5 -- 3 from significant vet experiences (small animal, large animal, and wildlife), one from the PI of my lab, and one from a professor. However, I'm not sure how much weight this one in particular would pull for you? I have had several similar experiences where I would be a repeat pet sitter for farm animals, but they were my "clients," if you know what I mean. I may be wrong, but I feel as though this is what your situation sounds like. They will still think the experience just as unique if you include it in the experiences section with her contact information, should they decide they want to verify the experience with her. Again, I can be totally wrong!! - just my thoughts on it!

Edit: I also think a family friend type person might not be an ethically appropriate letter writer in the first place. Not 100% sure.