Michigan State c/o 2020 Applicants

[Felixor90]

Thanks.

Are you required to answer all the questions? I'm just curious because I have no research experience for example, so a question that asks about my research experience wouldn't really be something I'd have an answer to--or not much of one anyways.

You can leave them blank.

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[LuckySpartan]

For "Description/ Key Responsibilities" in the experience section, are you all doing bullet points or paragraphs?

 

[finnickthedog]

For "Description/ Key Responsibilities" in the experience section, are you all doing bullet points or paragraphs?

I'm doing paragraphs. I like the flow better.

 

[LuckySpartan]

I'm doing paragraphs. I like the flow better.

I agree, it does flow better but the filler words are taking up WAY too much of the limited characters we get. Do you think a list is an appropriate option?

 

[heyyimhayley]

I agree, it does flow better but the filler words are taking up WAY too much of the limited characters we get. Do you think a list is an appropriate option?

I've heard (mostly from around here) that both options are fine, but be consistent. I personally did paragraphs and just made it work with the character limit, but I've heard of people do lists and be fine.

 

[finnickthedog]

I agree, it does flow better but the filler words are taking up WAY too much of the limited characters we get. Do you think a list is an appropriate option?

I think lists are perfectly fine. I just went with paragraphs because I prefer them and I've had no problem staying within the character limit so there's no issue for me.

 

[LuckySpartan]

Thank you both! Lists it will be

 

[rubberducky5]

Good luck to you as well! Are you IS or OOS?

Hey LuckySpartan! I'm IS. How about you? Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Is this your 1st time applying as well?

 

[LuckySpartan]

Hey LuckySpartan! I'm IS. How about you? Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Is this your 1st time applying as well?

I am also IS and yes it is my first time applying. Hopefully my last

 

[wallydo]

I am also IS and yes it is my first time applying. Hopefully my last

Love your optimism @LuckySpartan.

Just about to finish my two summer courses on Thursday, Calculus and Microbiology, with 4.0! Now I can switch my focus back to my application. Now where did I leave off?

 

[LuckySpartan]

Love your optimism @LuckySpartan.

Just about to finish my two summer courses on Thursday, Calculus and Microbiology, with 4.0! Now I can switch my focus back to my application. Now where did I leave off?

That is awesome!! Congrats my friend!! Your hard word has paid off

I don't know about you but I can't wait for this application to be done! My puppy (he's actually 11) is most likely having a TER (total elbow replacement) in the next two weeks at MSU, so my goal is to get this application submitted before all this craziness occurs!

 

[wallydo]

That is awesome!! Congrats my friend!! Your hard word has paid off

I don't know about you but I can't wait for this application to be done! My puppy (he's actually 11) is most likely having a TER (total elbow replacement) in the next two weeks at MSU, so my goal is to get this application submitted before all this craziness occurs!

I am so very pleased to hear that you were able to move forward with surgery. Wonderful news. You are smart to get your application finished prior. I have cared for many a dog following orthopedic surgery and it can be time consuming. I wish your Golden and you all the best through surgery and recovery!

 

[finnickthedog]

Love your optimism @LuckySpartan.

Just about to finish my two summer courses on Thursday, Calculus and Microbiology, with 4.0! Now I can switch my focus back to my application. Now where did I leave off?

Nice work! I'm jealous. I fell short of a 4.0 with my summer classes, but I totally relate to the feeling of "thank god I don't have to worry about that on top of my app anymore".

That is awesome!! Congrats my friend!! Your hard word has paid off

I don't know about you but I can't wait for this application to be done! My puppy (he's actually 11) is most likely having a TER (total elbow replacement) in the next two weeks at MSU, so my goal is to get this application submitted before all this craziness occurs!

Good luck to your pup. I'll be thinking of you guys.

My submission goal is somewhere between the 15th and the 19th.
I'm still trying to get my summer bill paid off so I can send the transcripts so that's my big hold up. I am still waiting on my last two evals but I don't think those should take too long (knocking on lots of wood over here). I'm also working at finalizing the wording of everything, and waiting for some additional opinions on my PS but it's coming together okay I think... I hope... I'm so incredibly nervous about submitting. I hate the feeling of finalizing things. That dread that comes right after you do it? Yeah.

But my de-stressors (puppehs) are set to arrive in two weeks so hopefully that'll help me relax a bit

 

[LuckySpartan]

I am so very pleased to hear that you were able to move forward with surgery. Wonderful news. You are smart to get your application finished prior. I have cared for many a dog following orthopedic surgery and it can be time consuming. I wish your Golden and you all the best through surgery and recovery!

Thank you! I do believe your surgeon or his co-worker that was also a resident at MSU will be coming up to scrub in on the surgery. We are still trying to coordinate but I believe Friday we will be going in for a CT scan and a force plate analysis. Yippee After nursing him through a total hip, I am a bit too aware of what is coming my way

My submission goal is somewhere between the 15th and the 19th.
I'm still trying to get my summer bill paid off so I can send the transcripts so that's my big hold up. I am still waiting on my last two evals but I don't think those should take too long (knocking on lots of wood over here). I'm also working at finalizing the wording of everything, and waiting for some additional opinions on my PS but it's coming together okay I think... I hope... I'm so incredibly nervous about submitting. I hate the feeling of finalizing things. That dread that comes right after you do it? Yeah.

But my de-stressors (puppehs) are set to arrive in two weeks so hopefully that'll help me relax a bit

I hear you!! I am SUPER nervous to submit it!! Every time I read over it all I change something.. And my PS... thats another story. So many words, so little space Surviving this application should definitely be a good indicator of ones ability to handle stressful situations! I think its the idea that it all really comes down to this. I don't like it at all! And I also don't like evaluators who wait till the absolute last day to submit their LOR

 

[LuckySpartan]

I friends! I just wanted to share this with you all as my friend who is a professor recommended it....http://www.paperrater.com When it comes to writing your personal statement you obviously want humans to read it but this is a great program that not only checks proper usage of words but checks readability statistics. Enjoy!

 

[wallydo]

Thank you! I do believe your surgeon or his co-worker that was also a resident at MSU will be coming up to scrub in on the surgery. We are still trying to coordinate but I believe Friday we will be going in for a CT scan and a force plate analysis. Yippee After nursing him through a total hip, I am a bit too aware of what is coming my way

I hope Friday goes well. He will be in the best of hands when surgery time comes!

 

[Cometbt]

Hello fellow applicants! Just wanted to stop by and say hi This is my second year applying here so if you've got questions about the interviews or anything feel free to ask!

 

[davisa]

Getting Ready to submit my application for the first time. Hope I'm not too far behind the eight ball--it was difficult to balance what experiences I wanted to wait and add to my application before I turned it in. Lets go MSU!

 

[LuckySpartan]

Getting Ready to submit my application for the first time. Hope I'm not too far behind the eight ball--it was difficult to balance what experiences I wanted to wait and add to my application before I turned it in. Lets go MSU!

Yippee!!!! Good for you!! I wish (desperately) that I was finished with mine! Still inputting descriptions for my experiences ( totaling 52, I should have thought this through better) but after that, and a few PS fixes.. Ill be done!

With that said, you are not behind because if you are... not sure were that leaves me!

 

[finnickthedog]

The fact that people have submitted already (or are submitting very soon) freaks me out... makes me wonder if I'm so far behind.

I still have to get the darn transcript sent out and that's my big hold up but I'm also still waiting on two evaluators (I've given them a couple more weeks to submit--I think the deadline I gave them was about a month before VMCAS deadline but I gave them a few additional days because I got the requests out a little late), going over experiences and rephrasing things, debating whether to include and explanation statement, and fine-tuning my PS.

For those of you still working hard at this app--where are you at?

I'm seriously about to rip my hair out over this transcript thing though. I will breathe a lot easier once this issue is resolved.

 

[davisa]

I have slaved over the experiences--trying to be thorough without annoyingly specific (which has been a bit difficult for me). I struggled so much with how vague VMCAS was about experiences. Essentially their instructions always say something to the effect of "whatever you think is best." Which at this point I'm not entirely sure I can even make a decision as to what I think is best.

For those of you still working hard at this app--where are you at?

I hope to have the experiences done tomorrow (so close!). I am confident with my billionth draft of my PS, but haven't posted it yet, and the last thing hanging over my head is that I have had some difficulty with an evaluator who hasn't submitted an LOR yet. I sent out the request mere days after VMCAS opened. Hoping I don't regret my choices...

 

[wallydo]

For those of you still working hard at this app--where are you at?

Long way to go! I've only entered a handful of experiences and my PS is still being drafted. I don't plan on submitting until close to the deadline. I have a surgical externship at Ohio State later this month that I would like to include. I also was just hired as a research assistant at MSU and would like to include any of that if possible. I suppose it doesn't really bother me that I won't have submitted until September.

 

[LuckySpartan]

The fact that people have submitted already (or are submitting very soon) freaks me out... makes me wonder if I'm so far behind.

Holy man, same here! When I hear people talking about doing their supplementals already.... I'm like "Hello, lets get back to personal statements all you over achievers ". By time I get to the supplemental, I might be at a loss for words!

So far all my LOR's are in (thank God)
I have all my experiences added but need to finish up the descriptions, by tomorrow hopefully
My PS is in its 11th draft and I should be close to a final one by Wednesday
All my transcripts are in and verified
What else....
Explanation Statement... Might do a quick one liner because I took Fall 2014 semester off for medical stuff
Other than that... I think I am done!

Oh the GRE lol... I am going to take that later this month and submit it to MSU by the Sept 30th deadline.

 

[Felixor90]

The fact that people have submitted already (or are submitting very soon) freaks me out... makes me wonder if I'm so far behind.

Ignore what other people are doing (to a certain extent). As long as you turn in your app on time, it doesn't matter if you were the first or last to turn it in. What matters is the content of the application itself, so take your time and don't freak out. The only difference it makes is that people that turned it in first get to do the supplemental first, but everyone has the same amount of time to finish it so it's not an advantage at all. I turned it in super early last year (2 weeks after it opened) and I regretted it so much because I rushed it and left out some cool experiences I had during the summer.

Again, relax and don't freak out or you're gonna go nuts by the time April comes.

 

[LuckySpartan]

Curious... when entering the descriptions of duties etc for veterinary experience... Are you giving specifics or more of an overview of what you saw/ did and how that effected your view of veterinary medicine? Unsure how to format this....

 

[finnickthedog]

Curious... when entering the descriptions of duties etc for veterinary experience... Are you giving specifics or more of an overview of what you saw/ did and how that effected your view of veterinary medicine? Unsure how to format this....

I've literally just been putting "I did x" (phrased in a not so pathetic way of course).
If there are other things I need to address like it being a seasonal position or the fact that it took place under multiple organizations (as is the case for a couple of mine) then I include that. Sometimes I include specifics if I need an example other times I'm more general in my duties because they are self explanatory.

 

[Mooseofluv]

Ignore what other people are doing (to a certain extent). As long as you turn in your app on time, it doesn't matter if you were the first or last to turn it in. What matters is the content of the application itself, so take your time and don't freak out. The only difference it makes is that people that turned it in first get to do the supplemental first, but everyone has the same amount of time to finish it so it's not an advantage at all. I turned it in super early last year (2 weeks after it opened) and I regretted it so much because I rushed it and left out some cool experiences I had during the summer.

Again, relax and don't freak out or you're gonna go nuts by the time April comes.

Indeed, that's what all the advisors have told me. Especially if you have experiences this August that could bolster your application. I don't plan to submit till about late August.

 

[finnickthedog]

Ignore what other people are doing (to a certain extent). As long as you turn in your app on time, it doesn't matter if you were the first or last to turn it in. What matters is the content of the application itself, so take your time and don't freak out. The only difference it makes is that people that turned it in first get to do the supplemental first, but everyone has the same amount of time to finish it so it's not an advantage at all. I turned it in super early last year (2 weeks after it opened) and I regretted it so much because I rushed it and left out some cool experiences I had during the summer.

Again, relax and don't freak out or you're gonna go nuts by the time April comes.

You're right of course.
So hard to remind myself to just chill out over here. I've always hated deadlines.

 

[equus_susurrus12]

Hi All!
I am also applying to MSU (my #1 choice) this year. I did my undergraduate at UCD and worked at the VMTH there after graduation. I moved to Michigan earlier this year and have, like many, been working at a clinic. I have also been working hard to improve my GPA (low due to a chronic illness diagnosed in undergrad) by taking courses at local community colleges...hoping my numbers make the "crunch". My passion is Large Animal, although I am working with small right now and enjoying it a lot. I am also interested in possible duel degree options as well.
Cheers and good luck to all!

 

[finnickthedog]

Hi All!
I am also applying to MSU (my #1 choice) this year. I did my undergraduate at UCD and worked at the VMTH there after graduation. I moved to Michigan earlier this year and have, like many, been working at a clinic. I have also been working hard to improve my GPA (low due to a chronic illness diagnosed in undergrad) by taking courses at local community colleges...hoping my numbers make the "crunch". My passion is Large Animal, although I am working with small right now and enjoying it a lot. I am also interested in possible duel degree options as well.
Cheers and good luck to all!

So why Michigan?

I'm just curious. I basically only picked it because it's my IS. I mean it looks like a great school but I didn't really explore other options.

I've been working hard to improve my GPA over the past year as well. It's definitely still one of the lower ones.
How is the application process going for you?

And best of luck!

 

[Vdubs03]

I'm applying to MSU as well. It's my IS so let's hope for the best. Good luck to all the applicants. I got an email confirmation yesterday that they received my application and will begin calculating my SIS score. It's all happening so fast!!!

 

[finnickthedog]

I'm applying to MSU as well. It's my IS so let's hope for the best. Good luck to all the applicants. I got an email confirmation yesterday that they received my application and will begin calculating my SIS score. It's all happening so fast!!!

Oh wow, and I'm over here in the "still haven't submitted my application" camp.
It's kind of comfy here though... I can keep tweaking things.
Best of luck!

 

[equus_susurrus12]

So why Michigan?

I'm just curious. I basically only picked it because it's my IS. I mean it looks like a great school but I didn't really explore other options.

I've been working hard to improve my GPA over the past year as well. It's definitely still one of the lower ones.
How is the application process going for you?

And best of luck!

Well, my boyfriend (been together since high school) got a "real person" job over here. I also think it is more affordable to live compared to California right now. As per the vet school, well I really like their curriculum and the direction they are taking their large animal program. I also think that their admission process will be the most hopeful for me- especially because they don't take accumulative GPA into account. I worked in LA ICU at the UCD VMTH and got some great training and letters of rec. Many people ask me why I don't apply there... it really comes down to I don't have the numbers. Davis is INSANE to get into. I know someone who had a 3.73 accumulative and worked as a surgery tech during undergrad. She got letters of rec from all the faculty at UCD and she didn't even sit an interview. So I am doomed there. I have a Scarlet B stamped on my back.

I think the app is going well. I am in my final draft of my personal statement, but gosh....I feel like I am never going to be fully content with it.
How about you?

 

[LuckySpartan]

Oh wow, and I'm over here in the "still haven't submitted my application" camp.
It's kind of comfy here though... I can keep tweaking things.
Best of luck!

I have to agree. As much as I look forward to it being done and over with... I enjoy the fact that I can continue to improve it when these bright little ideas surface in my head

Also, just for the fun of sharing.... My dog had his total elbow replacement (TATE elbow) at MSU on Friday! It was an amazing experience, there were at least four surgeons scrubbed in and a room full of observers being that Lucky was the 10th elbow replacement done at MSU. Because this was Luckys second joint replacement there with Dr. Dejardin they also interviewed/ photographed us for an article that will be placed on their new website (set to roll out soon). Lastly, the hospital director, Chris Gray, came to check on my boy when he was waking up which was incredibly kind! I was able to chat with him for a bit, he is a pretty awesome person! Lucky is doing great, starting to use the leg a bit more.

MSU has a such an advanced case load, can't think of a better school to learn from decorated faculty! If you haven't seen it yet, check out the video of Dr. Bryden working with a doc from the college of human medicine on a cleft palate surgery...
http://msutoday.msu.edu/feature/201...utm_source=msufacebook-post&utm_medium=social

 

[finnickthedog]

Well, my boyfriend (been together since high school) got a "real person" job over here. I also think it is more affordable to live compared to California right now. As per the vet school, well I really like their curriculum and the direction they are taking their large animal program. I also think that their admission process will be the most hopeful for me- especially because they don't take accumulative GPA into account. I worked in LA ICU at the UCD VMTH and got some great training and letters of rec. Many people ask me why I don't apply there... it really comes down to I don't have the numbers. Davis is INSANE to get into. I know someone who had a 3.73 accumulative and worked as a surgery tech during undergrad. She got letters of rec from all the faculty at UCD and she didn't even sit an interview. So I am doomed there. I have a Scarlet B stamped on my back.

I think the app is going well. I am in my final draft of my personal statement, but gosh....I feel like I am never going to be fully content with it.
How about you?

Well as soon as my transcript gets out to VMCAS I'll probably call it a day and submit.

I keep polishing my statement and my experience descriptions but at some point it has to be enough.

I'm having a hell of a time getting my transcript sent out though. I wanted it out weeks ago but I had an issue with my summer bill (it's complicated so I won't elaborate) that was holding it up. Finally convinced them to take my money today so hopefully the hold will be gone by Friday and I can order/express mail the dang transcript. Hopefully from there everything goes smoothly and VMCAS gets/matches my transcript up quickly. In the meantime I'm banging my head against a wall and polishing away at the parts of my app I can actually control.

At this point though I'm starting to get nervous about getting my application in at all. This is what I get for taking summer classes to raise my last 3 semester gpa.

 

[Felixor90]

So why Michigan?

I'm just curious. I basically only picked it because it's my IS. I mean it looks like a great school but I didn't really explore other options.

I've been working hard to improve my GPA over the past year as well. It's definitely still one of the lower ones.
How is the application process going for you?

And best of luck!

Just wanted to add some points that made me apply to/pick MSU:

• Huge caseload. They were the only school out of the ones that I applied to that have a 24/7 vet hospital. The other ones had regular 9-5 M-F schedule with much smaller case loads. More cases = more experience during clinics, even if it means having to be on call.
• Options! I still haven't picked what I want to specialize in, but MSU is great for everything I'm considering.
• Much more scholarship money/opportunities than the other schools I applied to.
• If you stay in MI after vet school, they'll give you IS tuition for your last year, which is a ~$30k refund.
• The Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health. I grew up watching vets on tv send their really weird cases to MSU for testing when they couldn't figure it out. My dad saw it happen on TV the other day and called me just to tell me that my school was on TV lol!
• The people. OMG the people! The only other school that came close in this regard was Iowa State. You really feel welcomed during the interview and like you're wanted, unlike some schools that make it seem like you're just another applicant (*cough* Illinois and Kansas). Dr. Baptista alone would have made me pick MSU. She was so warm and welcoming and really made people feel more comfortable during a very stressful day. Her "debriefing" after our MMI's felt more like a pow-wow than anything else.
• I'm a masochist and got tired of living in the perpetual summer that is South Florida and wanted to move somewhere with real seasons and a winter. (Not, not really.)

 

[psilovethomas]

Just wanted to add some points that made me apply to/pick MSU:

• Huge caseload. They were the only school out of the ones that I applied to that have a 24/7 vet hospital. The other ones had regular 9-5 M-F schedule with much smaller case loads. More cases = more experience during clinics, even if it means having to be on call.

Yes, our caseload is great and continues to grow larger. However, it is very overwhelming at times and can be less conducive to actual learning. We have skipped rounds on many rotations because we simply don't have time due the number of cases.

 

[Pugsforlove2014]

Yes, our caseload is great and continues to grow larger. However, it is very overwhelming at times and can be less conducive to actual learning. We have skipped rounds on many rotations because we simply don't have time due the number of cases.

Are you a senior this year? I was just wondering.

 

[Felixor90]

Yes, our caseload is great and continues to grow larger. However, it is very overwhelming at times and can be less conducive to actual learning. We have skipped rounds on many rotations because we simply don't have time due the number of cases.

So what can be done to fix that in your opinion? More clinicians?

 

[Vdubs03]

I received MSU's supplemental application today!

 

[psilovethomas]

Are you a senior this year? I was just wondering.

Yes.

 

[psilovethomas]

So what can be done to fix that in your opinion? More clinicians?

More support staff (techs) or more students. Your class has more students than mine, so that might be helpful.

 

[Pugsforlove2014]

Yes.

Can't wait to be there, the entire vet school starting in 1 week is getting daunting honestly.

 

[equus_susurrus12]

Well as soon as my transcript gets out to VMCAS I'll probably call it a day and submit.

I keep polishing my statement and my experience descriptions but at some point it has to be enough.

I'm having a hell of a time getting my transcript sent out though. I wanted it out weeks ago but I had an issue with my summer bill (it's complicated so I won't elaborate) that was holding it up. Finally convinced them to take my money today so hopefully the hold will be gone by Friday and I can order/express mail the dang transcript. Hopefully from there everything goes smoothly and VMCAS gets/matches my transcript up quickly. In the meantime I'm banging my head against a wall and polishing away at the parts of my app I can actually control.

At this point though I'm starting to get nervous about getting my application in at all. This is what I get for taking summer classes to raise my last 3 semester gpa.

Yes I sympathize! I too was taking summer classes to boost the last 3 semester GPA. Its been crazy trying to coordinate it all. But boy will it feel good when we press submit. Then its up in the air!

 

[finnickthedog]

Yes I sympathize! I too was taking summer classes to boost the last 3 semester GPA. Its been crazy trying to coordinate it all. But boy will it feel good when we press submit. Then its up in the air!

My summer classes shouldn't have been an issue since I took them in May/June but my school screwed things up so it's been a mess trying to get it all handled. If I'd never taken summer classes at all though I could have sent them back in May or June and it all would have been so much smoother.

I finally got my transcripts sent out though so I'm really in the home stretch now. Will have my own official copy to go over what I entered in the app, then I can recheck everything else and as soon as VMCAS shows me that my transcript is received I can hit that button. Should be about 7 days maximum. Then I get a break until they send me that supplemental.

Waiting is going to kill me though. I'm glad I have plans and things to occupy me because I'm not thrilled about waiting around to hear back from the school (of course I'm sure none of us are).

 

[equus_susurrus12]

Thank you both! Lists it will be

I did lists. I tried to make them easy to read and similar to how I would list responsibilities/roles on a resume. I also asked the MSU adviser and she said either paragraphs or lists are fine.

 

[bullymama18]

I did lists. I tried to make them easy to read and similar to how I would list responsibilities/roles on a resume. I also asked the MSU adviser and she said either paragraphs or lists are fine.

Okay good deal because I did the same thing

 

[LuckySpartan]

I checked as well. I decided to go with lists for employment and paragraph form for all the rest. It is what worked best for me in sharing my experiences. Hope everyone is doing well with their app! I am about to submit mine tomorrow

 

[bullymama18]

I'm planning on submitting sometime later this week. Still have an ELOR to submit and some essays to edit. Do I have to wait until my transcript is verified to submit

 

[LuckySpartan]

I'm planning on submitting sometime later this week. Still have an ELOR to submit and some essays to edit. Do I have to wait until my transcript is verified to submit

That I am not sure of. For some reason I am thinking you do but don't quote me on it You can call the VMCAS and they will tell you. We are almost there!!!! (P.S. Your pup is adorable! His black nose in the picture looks like a perfect heart.)