How to Record Animal Experience Hours

[TopazDS]

Hi,
I'm still in high school, but I decided I was going to be a vet when I was an eighth grader, though I do have a back up plan in case I don't get accepted into vet school (go biomed engineering!)
Though this is a long way down the road, I know you have to have animal and vet experience. I've been shadowing a vet during the summer, and I was first wondering if that is considered vet experience or... anything experience. It's strictly watching, listening, and asking questions mostly. Should I be recording this?
Also, since I'm in HS and volunteering and a dog rescue, a horse rescue, and I'm a member of the USEF young rider program, is there a certain way I should be recording these hours of animals experience? Should I be recording them at all? I don't know how any of that stuff works, so I'd just like to get everyone's opinion on how you/if you recorded your animal experience.

Thanks!

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[that redhead]

I would recommend keeping track of the time you spend in these different experiences, as vet school applications will ask you for hours of vet experience (such as shadowing) and animal experience (such as rescue and riding).

 

[TopazDS]

Would it just be in a notebook of some sort or does it need to be "official" like signed by the barn manager or kennel leader?

 

[that redhead]

Would it just be in a notebook of some sort or does it need to be "official" like signed by the barn manager or kennel leader?

Nothing has to be signed or "turned in" to anyone when you apply; it's an honor system where you just plug in your hours. You could do a notebook, an Excel spreadsheet, whatever works best for you

 

[TopazDS]

Wow, I learned something already! Thank you

 

[WillowLeaf]

Yep, keep track of all your hours. For animal and veterinary experience, it's helpful to record:

• Name of the business/shelter/clinic/organization
• Name of supervisor. If vet experience, name(s) of vet(s) you shadowed or worked with.
• Contact information (I think VMCAS asks for a phone number) for the organization/business/clinic. This would be easy to google later too.
• Hours per week if you have weekly hours. Also total number of hours.
• Start date, end date. Include the month (I'm not sure if VMCAS asks for the day of the month, or just month/year).
• Brief description - what you did, what your responsibilities were.

I made a spreadsheet, but whatever works for you. I kept a fairly detailed record once I started college (including, once I was close to application time, a few notes about things I might want to include in my Personal Statement), and it made it really easy to transfer into VMCAS instead of going "oops, I have no idea how many hours this was!".

Also keep track of non-veterinary community service or leadership experiences (I think there's a section for community involvement, clubs, and stuff). I didn't do this, and I know I could have included a few more things on my app but I didn't remember enough details to put it on VMCAS (I remembered getting some math awards but had no idea what year, or what exactly the award was for).